Following the absolute debacle that went down in Russia, I have been thinking, lately, that I might find some way to show my respect to my fallen comrades. Nothing too grand, of course, given how many have already died I dare say that anything elaborate would bankrupt me by the years end. but a nice, semi-meaningful gesture, to show I appreciate their sacrifice. As it stands, I have been thinking of putting my glassworking skills to use, to make a commemorative statue of each of the fallen, or an artful drinking glass. Yes, a glass statue sounds wonderful, I can arrange them on my desk in a nice little display, a showpiece, to share with those in the business.

Included in the journal are a series of pictures of carefully made glass statuettes -

A Glass Crucifix, with a heavy base to rest on. A glass eyepatch has been shaped on the Crucifix on its left side.

A Glass Heart, a keyhole shaped in the front. Inside the keyhole can be seen fangs, like those of a wolf.

A Glass Motorcycle, split in two, the two halves melding with a glass base that somewhat resembles a forest floor.

Following my previous job, I have learned a most useful spell. Through it, I can observe the history of others through the reflection of a mirror. I have taken the liberty of testing it on my employees, particularly those I am unfamiliar with, to see what I can glean, and provide opportunities to those who can use them better. Admittedly, I have yet to master deciphering the information gleaned through the spell, but even with the limited knowledge I have obtained, I am already more than capable of allocating people into roles they are better suited for.

I am beginning to grow worried about people becoming suspicious about all my hospital visits. Ever since I lost my hand, I have been getting injured every few months, quite badly, too. It is something of a concern to most people who know me, and I dare say I may be on some kind of self-harm watchlist by this point, certainly not something one of my career wants. I shall have to employ measures to make myself less conspicuous in the future.

Cassio, a co-worker from two of my past jobs, has worked his own manner of magic to replace my missing hand. A boon of epic proportions, it must be said, as I have sorely missed being able to hold two things at once! Certainly, I owe him now, but considering his abilities, I was most certainly going to invest in keeping him on retainer anyways, as mending permanent damage is a most vital ability.

Following their previous use, serving as much needed body doubles and "living", for lack of a better term, shields, I have been working on improvements to my copies, primarily in their persistence. While useful, they would have been far more so during my previous job if they didn't shatter with any and every attack, at the very least they could have soaked a little more damage for the more unfortunate of my fellows, though Cassio's skills should manage the worst of the consequences.

Due to my unexpected extended leave of absence, there was quite a bit of trouble when I finally managed to return to my office, many important meetings and such having been missed. Fortunately, the records of my flight going missing in transit helped smooth any ruffled feathers, so the damage is not long-term, but it was certainly a reminder that not all of my jobs will be the short, couple day affairs they have been most of the time. I must develop countermeasures to future such absences.

The most obvious, of course, is to continue working on my duplicates, improving them until they can stand in for me during my absence, play the role I need of them. Elsewise, I may need to bring some of my more trusted subordinates in on my secrets, at least enough that I can communicate with them using my mirror during an unexpected extended vacation, but this invites risk of elements that abhor my kind discovering me. Careful considerations must be made.

I have, of late, been working to further understand how best to reinforce the existence of my clones. Through improvements of their replication abilities, I have granted them the ability to speak, and I have managed to improve their resilience to the point that they do not simply shatter at all but the most minor of blows, which brings me to my latest objective. Where my previous work has reinforced their physical bodies, my latest goal is to improve the resilience of their existence, to the point that they can sustain themselves for a prolonged period of time. Already, they are able to mimic a true individual, if I can make it so that they remain in existence for as long as I wish, then I shall be able to abscond at will, leaving a decoy in my place, and leave others none the wiser! I could even, with some improvements to my disguising magic, transform myself completely into a new man, and abscond to start a new life, if the need were to arise. A most useful advancement indeed.