ROLEPLAY

Holeth, Winderly 18, 1st AC 2617

It is decided, Eeri and I will leave for the Old Lands in a few cycles. The announcement in front of the friends of the CEK was not easy. The reproachful look of Wixarika especially. Yet you should have known better, my ardent li'l Fyrossa. If I trained you, it was so that you could take my place. The Empire needs an akenak with fresh ideas, not an undisciplined old gruff one like me. Of course, they tried to stop me. But what I didn't foresee was that Eeri would have born a kid in the meantime. A kid, Eeri?! ramèch! Of course, she should stay to bring him up. But that's like trying to stop the advance of the sawdust dunes. More stubborn than a bodoc that girl. And so much the better. I like better her coming with me, but I'd never tell her.

I have been preparing this for years. Years of reading and reading again the old chronicles I transcribed on varinx leather and stored at home. Years to refine my vision of these forgotten lands.
The ranger Dorothée has elaborated a map a little more detailed than the one I gave to the Imperial Academy. Most importantly, it is more solid, so it is less likely to get damaged during our journey. I don't completely agree with some things, especially about the location of Baldos Reef. But overall, it looks good to me. By the way, on next Pluvia 8th, we have an appointment with Barmie Dingles so that he can tell us a little more about the geography of the Old Lands. He will probably make some changes to the map and maybe give us some advice on how to avoid the kitins. I just hope he won't try to talk us out of our trip. Not that I'd give in. But that would make me angry pretty quickly. At 63, one's past the age of being mothered. Even, I have never been mothered, my poor mother died in childbirth.

But I digress, as always. Anyway, after this meeting, it will be time to depart. We may need a few more weeks to fine-tune the preparations. Eeri and I plan to meet regularly to do this. Soon we will be spending years together, although we haven't seen each other for months. She has changed, by the way. More tired. Probably her kid. I don't care who the father is. I only hope she hasn't lost her fighting spirit. I rely on her a bit. These last ten years, I spent much more time in the hallwayss of the Imperial Academy than on the battlefield. Eeri, she is somewhat my armed wing. I am the head, she is the legs. ramèch, if she reads this, she kills me! Don't worry Eeri, I know you're not just a bunch of muscles. One can't survive what you've been through without a little spirit. And spirit will be needed over there. Probably more than will muscle.

Tria, Germinally 9, 2ndt AC 2617

A first page of a log book. I'm going to have to engage in this writing exercise, as often as there will be something important enough to be worth reporting. Anyway, who will read this except me? Azazor and I have made a mutual promise to keep our respective writings to ourselves. It will be better that way. My writings are and will probably be much more chaotic than his, full of ideas thrown on the paper as soon as they will come to my mind. Never mind, I'll sort it out and rewrite the important stuff when I get back. But where to start?
He'll read that only if I don't come back… You'll excuse me in that case, my good Fyros. We're going to spend some time together, so I'd better go out some of my anger and doubts in writing, rather than blow them up between us. But come on, reading all this again will make me laugh in some years time.

The hour is coming. Every minute that passes makes me savor the world around me a little more. The lapping of the water in Thesos, the sound of the wind laden with sawdust, the crackling of the wind, a bodoc steak and a shookie... Even a sip of fresh water. Who knows what it will be like over there. Ah, what a great idea: I'm starting to talk about what gets drunk or eaten!

And yet time is short. Barmie Dingle, the Guide of the Rangers, spoke to us about this Marauders' fortress we will undoubtedly not be able to pass discreetly, even less in force. We will absolutely need something to negotiate. Something to convince them to let us pass, on the way out, and then on the way back. Good arguments, a bargaining chip, objects? Perhaps a message, information? Some homins can probably help me, starting with Mazé'Yum. Between his contacts with the Marauders of the New Lands, and his membership in the Black Circle, we will find something. I just have to convince him. I have to keep all this to myself, a negotiation with the Zorai-goos is always a delicate deal. It should only be about doing them a favor, not about promising them anything in return. A scalded varinx fears the retch, as they say. But it is not won.

Barmie had also hinted that the Marauders and Rangers in the old lands helped each other out, in a way, ones being the eyes, others being the armed wings. So it wouldn't be silly to pose as Rangers over there as well. Rangers messengers. It's not won, with the Fyros exuding imperial discipline from three dunes away, but I'll have some cycles to train him to pronounce a perfect "Woren siloy", to make any hominist misunderstand.

And then again that Barmie... Indeed. I spoke to him for a while in private, to ask him about the Trytonists. We talked about Marauders, Rangers, but what about those?
I could see very quickly the difference between him and the homins from here, from the New Lands. It's quite surprising, finally, to come across a homin who doesn't jump out of fear when he hears the word Trytonist. Most people here think that the mere fact of pronouncing this word in a low voice makes a regiment of The Kuilde appear, determined to chop them into small pieces.
His answer is clear, and makes sense. There are no Trytonists in the Old Lands, Barmie had never heard of them before coming here. They also have no interest in being there, so far away. Why would they hide so far from the Powers they fight? I'll see on the way, maybe we'll come across some. It's quite a long way to this citadel.

And then... We'll have to leave Thesos behind. This chit of a Fyros will grow up without me. It's a done deal, everything is finally organized so that he won't lack anything during his youth, and so that he'll be educated by the cream of the crop of the Fyros discipline. That will be something, he will not have to undergo my instability and my madness. I am getting used to his presence, though. I will almost miss him a bit. Kyriann is right, I am unbelievably irresponsible, except I hope when it comes to survival. We'll need that.

Come on, that's already a lot for a first page of a log. I still have a lot of things to deal with.
First, find Mazé'Yum. Then, find a powerful poison, and its antidote. Azazor, if one day in the future you read this, don't worry, it's not meant for you, and it will never be meant for you. Just a kind of hunch, something that my intuition tells me to get. Mazé'yum will probably be too narrow-minded to provide this for me, I have a feeling that he has, in his own way, a certain affection for me. I will have to turn to the Matis, there is a rumor that one girl in particular is singularly interested in that sort of stuff.

Quarta, Thermis 28, 2nd AC 2617

I met Canillia.
Strange homina. And I'm writing this, I who am probably just as strange in my own way. Anyway, the rumor was right. A poisoner, one of those cold-hearted Matissas, ambitious and ready to do anything to achieve her ends. However, cautious, mysterious, and thoughtful.
After a few questions about why I was looking for such products, she described to me the effects of the poisons she could prepare for me, with calm and precision. My reason is not clear, yet. A bargaining chip, a means of leverage... Her poisons are terrifying. A paralysis after a few seconds, and if it is left to act without antidote, a death by asphyxia in the following minutes. Also disturbing is the possibility, in very small doses, of using it to put a wounded person to sleep in order to better heal him. I will have to trust her in her indication of the dosages, hoping that I will never have to use it. I didn't ask any questions about how she was able to test all this. The apprentice scientist I am knows that it's best not to question everything, and that the result of hard work and successful research rarely comes without cutting one hair on a yubo.

Should I be suspicious of what she asked me to write and sign, on a varinx leather, that she was making these poisons for me, so as not to be accused of any murder I might commit? Each poison formula is signed, she told me: she could be quickly identified. I understand her cautious attitude, but have little optimism for her future. So young, already so many rumors about her. If more than that her productions are easily identifiable, she won't go quite far. Well, after all, it's not my problem, and in a few weeks all this will be far behind me.
If she herself uses this poison while I am here, she could also have me charged. So I will have to write down, with precision, the quantity of poisons she will provide me, and she herself will have to apply her seal on a second varinx leather. As long as I am here, and in any case as long as possible after my departure, the vials will remain sealed.
After I explained the reasons for our trip, she gave up demanding any payment, only asking me the promise to return alive.
Strange homina, really. I can't believe I could write anything positive about such a homine, but after all, this journal is not the place to lie. I even think that, hadn't she been Matissa, and Alkiane above all, I would almost have wanted to know her better.

The next one to meet is Mazé'Yum. Ha, how silly of me, I had to send him an izam, instead of wearing out my quill about this orskossa.

That's enough writing here for today. I need to save room in there for when I'm gone, it'll no doubt have a lot more to tell. Or maybe not, who knows?

[s]Meet Barmie and learn more about the Old Lands[s]

[s]Finish my training as a butcher of the kitins' nests[s]

Now I have to be on good terms with all the tribes of Kamist allegiance. I don't know if it will be of any use over there. The Kamis seem unable to bring the dead back to life in these far-off lands. Or maybe they only reserve it for the most deserving. That's why I prefer to leave knowing that I will have done everything to make myself look good to them. You never know. Besides, there is always to be learned rubbing shoulders with other tribes.
The only ones left are the mysterious Gibads, whose camp I discovered recently in the Void area, and the Beachcombers. It's not going to be easy with the latter, it's a pain to access their camp and they are particularly suspicious. It's already been a true ordeal before I managed to get them to give me delivery missions. Of course, these deliveries are made in the Enchanted Islands area. Talk about an enchantment!

Oh yes, the Hamazans of the Dead Seed are left, too. But I think I'll do without their sympathy. At least they don't show any intention to kill me when I approach their camp... and I don't either. That's already much to ask me.

What else? What else am I forgetting?

[…]

Wixarika. Did I properly complete your training, my ardent li'l Fyrossa? Will you be able to replace me when I will be away? And the CEK, what will become of them? Sure, I trust them to continue the research, track down the white kitins' domes and finalize the map of the their nests. But I can't help but feel that I'm failing them.

The closer we get to the departure date, the more doubts I have. But that's how it is. I always asked myself so many questions. And so few answers in return…

Tria, Nivia 15, 2nd AC 2617

One thing done, and not the easiest.
I reached out my hand to Kyriann, and gave her my Drakani badge, to keep in a safe place until the day I come back to the New Lands. She wiped away some tears. Ostium disputed a bit, trying to understand my reasons. But fortunately, they didn't make it more complicated. And they didn't ask any more questions. I like that better, and I'll look forward to see them again. Jazzy, on the other hand, has kept smiling, as if he has known what all this entailed.

Now the real work begins: changing my hairstyle, modifying my tattoo, and discreetly passing myself off as someone I am not. All this has been spinning around in my head since Barmie told us about the Marauders, and the probable difficulty of passing this fortress, or simply of dealing with the homins of the Old Lands. Mazé'Yum confirmed the only solution that seemed valid to me: to be one of them, to have my own Zin crystal. Most importantly, he will give me the help I need to convince officer Atimoskain to let me into the Marauders' camp. Apparently evidence that I fought the guards in various cities. And completed a few missions, under the radar, in their outposts in order to get "me" talked about among them, too. Starting with the Matis country, that will probably be enough, and at best, it might be fun. That should be enough for me to get what I need from them. Compared to what one hears from the Marauders of the Old Lands, those of the New Lands seem quite naive to consider such an ordeal as a mark of bravery. No matter, and so much the better, this will make my job easier.

I hope my Drakani don't get wind of this. Azazor mustn't know either. What good would that accomplish? I just know he'll do what's necessary on his end, he's resourceful too. At best, this Zin crystal will save both of our lives if I have to show it in order to get us accepted by one of the Marauders' clans over there. At worst, it maybe will only save mine.

As for Mazé'Yum, I will find a way to send him information, that is what he wants. The future of the New Lands is decided over there, he tells me. According to him, communications with the Old Lands are possible, if one is not afraid that the message will be lost or read by whoever carries it. I had started to learn how to hide information in trivial amber cubes with him, but I still doubt I will be able to do it by myself once over there. If not, a code must be given to him to decipher important information, but visible, undecipherable writing on a message will draw much more attention.

That only leaves me with a few days, time is running out. Get some amber cubes and finish learning to code them. Get a Zin crystal and some items from the perfect Marauder's kit. Also learn some marund basics. I'll have time on the way, but it's not thanks to the old Fyros that I'll succeed in acquiring a convincing pronunciation. I also need to get some small goo bombs from Mazé'Yum too, and my order from the Matissa is ready.
Eeri, you amorphous ploderos head, enough writing, shake your kostomyx, you have gingerbread on your retch!

19h - Quarta, Nivia 22, 2nd AC 2617

To the Fyros authorities who will read this memoir: I owe you the whole truth. I told you that I was leaving to refine the map of the Old Lands, the map of the Oflovak Road, and to learn more about the kitins of these distant lands. But what I didn't tell you and won't tell you before I leave, is the other reason why I'm doing this trip.

This one came to me through our meeting with Barmie Dingles. He told us about this marauders' citadel at the very end of Oflovak Road. Marauders who wouldn't let us pass without compensation. I realized that this was a great opportunity. The marauders have managed to survive without the help of the Powers. They have developed a technology that allows them to teleport without the help of Kamis or Karavan. They know how to make weapons, drilling machines, armor. All this science, all this knowledge, deserves to be shared.
Remember that robbery at the Imperial Academy by the tribe of the Scorchers. It all came about because the chancellor refused to share the knowledge, in this case a manuscript on gooified timaris. Because we did not trust them, because we wanted to keep the knowledge, jealously, for ourselves alone. This is what we have to fight.

I say that as long as the marauders do not encroach on our territory, as long as they do not infringe on our interests, an exchange can take place with them, as well as for food and raw materials as for knowledge. This is what I will negotiate at the citadel. To open a dialogue with them. I doubt that it will be enough for them to let us pass their citadel, but at least it will work in my favor. And then, I count on Eeri to find something more tangible to offer them.
When I get back, I'll tell you that in person. I will tell you that yes, I negotiated with the marauders. Yes, I dared to offer them to exchange our knowledge, our manuscripts, our ambers. But not out of treachery, rather out of a sense of diplomacy. For a long time I was adept at axe diplomacy. But for now I don't think it's the most effective.

I still have in mind to become a talumetimos in the Imperial Academy. If I am ever to have that honor, then I will be the one in the House of Truth, with respect, of course, to the other pillars.

Holeth, Medis 18, 3rd AC 2617

What a day. Or days, rather. I woke up after apparently several nights of fever, I lost track of time. Three days, four days? When I found the strength, I mechanically tore a pact to Fairhaven, as if I had to report to the Drakani. When I got there, I emptied a big byrh at the counter, I was thirsty. Then I realized that Kyriann and Eolinius were there, with that windbag of a merchant. Kyriann had a hard time recognizing me, because of my hair. That's when I became aware of the present situation. As the conversation went on, I came to my senses, and suddenly felt in incredible, if a little confused, shape, an energy to tear the horn off a bodoc with a swipe of a toe.
Word will probably spread very quickly that before returning to Thesos, I had a very close call with a murderous impulse. No one would have cried to see this Feinigan a dagger planted in lower abdomen. Come on, let's be positive, if not me, someone else will do it, and I hope by offering as much gratuitous a suffering as I had foreseen doing. Was it during or after… in anycase the memory came back to me. The baths. That thorn, on the living dagger. I don't think Kyriann, or Feinigan, realized anything when I took off my glove, to check if that mark was a bad dream. The effort I had to make to contain my reaction probably created this impulse, as if Feinigan had to pay for the shenanigans of that damned Matissa.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the dagger strike didn't go off.

That'll teach me, once again. You're such a suckling yuba, Eeri. You need to know your enemies even more than you already do. I should have known what precautions to take when grabbing a live dagger from those damned orskos. She calls herself a scientist... I wish her a terrible end, may her poisons get the better of her.

————

Now that I have taken the time to analyze the different stages of my reaction to the substance she injected me with, I can deduce two things: it is not the poison she prepared for me, if only I can trust the description she gave me.
It must be a drug similar to the one used by the Marauders. Probably not pure black sap. I have already observed a long time ago, with the Legionaries, the addiction phenomena following the first injection of this latter, and its side effects which can last several weeks or cause death. My symptoms were much milder.
Thinking back to the black sap, it occurred to me that Vao had left Zora a few months earlier, and that he had been seen near Yrkanis. The link with Canillia seems obvious, though perhaps too easy, or too direct. I must warn Mazé'Yum, he may know something about that. If he doesn't work with her, any information I can give him will be to the disadvantage of the Matissa.

As for this mark, in the palm of my hand... I now question all her words. The reason was neither to make me pass some rite or give me the opportunity to recognize, or be recognized as one of them, trained with these "ienne" or "uenne", as she explained to me. Agents of the realm, cleaners. Scum. Fleur would apparently be in cahoots? I don't remember everything she told me. I have to warn the Drakani. Or maybe it's her plan to incriminate someone else, again, in order to go unnoticed?

Now she could take advantage of that mark, I don't know how. To incriminate me in any wrongdoing. She wants me to return from the Old Lands, indeed. My reasons for leaving are even more urgent, I am trapped.
But I will be there, back, in several years.
I will be her death, her suffering.

————

Note to self: poison to test on a pike, on kincher or kirosta, and on any other non-kitin creature.
Second note: make a copy of this journal entry, more factual, and leave it in my apartment... And another for the Drakani.


————

I was almost about to forget. Before I met Canillia, before she drugged me, I had another meeting with Mazé'Yum.
He gave me two books, instructions, a lot of information, and enough to make me respect the Marauder agent, to enter the camp of the Hidden Source. The time is short, the hour has come.

Lordoy Nair Tao-Sian

Despite my guild's recent troubles with the Theocracy, I appeal to your unique skills. I know from your past exploits that you will not turn away from a homina in need.

Our friend and former guild member, Eeri, wants to leave soon for a trip on the road of Oflovak, but she has just had an attack. For a moment, she didn't seem to be herself.
Could you give us a consultation like you did for Ny-Jazzy?
We won't take up your time and your price will be mine.

Kyriann Be'Zephy Rie
Taliar Tryker
Leader of the Guild Bai Nhori Drakani

Note written before departure

Quinteth, Mystia 11, 3rd AC 2617

I think that's it, I'm ready. I hope Azazor is too.
I finally got the Marauder crystal back. Then I wore it down a bit, dropping it a few times, then rubbing it vigorously on the blade of a retch. It will look like it has lived. I loaded it to the brim, then tried their teleportation system. I must admit that it is quite practical, ingenious. The only bad side is that you have to be a Marauder to use it...
This crystal and a few words of marund will do the trick. Anyway, neither Azazor nor I will be able to hide that we come from the New Lands. It's this, or nothing.

I finally wrote a letter about Canillia, for Mazé'Yum. He will do what he would like with the information. After all he has done for me to help me prepare this journey, I would prefer to be able to talk to him about it face to face, but I'm afraid I won't have time to see him. It would have been awkward to bring up this topic of conversation in front of Azazor and those who will be present during our little departure ceremony.

I also wrote some letters. Goodbye letters no, more like letters of friendship and encouragement. Sometimes it's important to write and let the homins who are dear to us know why they are so. And sometimes things are easier in writing, even with the words of a Fyrossa as poorly poetic as I am.

————

My bag is ready, too. I won't be taking this Marauder armor after all. It's too heavy, and taking it would mean giving up on a lot of other stuff. Instead, I made myself a black kostomyx, of the best quality, as light and resistant as possible. I think I did pretty well, at least I won't have learned this craft for naught. You have to travel light, as light as possible, and above all you have to have room for enough weapons, ambers and other materials, and various products. No or few food, only things that we will need in case of a hard time. We will have to hunt from day to day, as soon as the opportunity will present.

Tomorrow we leave for Silan, and we will take our first steps into the unknown. I was told that as a child, I had arrived by this same road, brought by a group of Rangers. Lost child, or rather, foundling. How old was I? 5 or 6? I don't remember. Maybe some memories will resurface, some sensations of déjà-vu.

So these are my last words in this diary, which I will not take with me. When I return, it will be the first part of our travel memoirs. I'll rewrite all this, because well, it's really lacking in style.

Dua, Pluvia 8, 3rd AC 2617

First night on Oflovak Road. Nothing particular to report. After a quick crossing of a desolate plain with only micro-vegetation, we moved to a forest type biotope. Beacons covered with moss but still standing (Eeri tells me that the rangers regularly visit this portion of road to maintain them). Strangely, we crossed no homin although this piece of road is known infested with bandits. But obviously we are lucky, for the moment. Or else two Fyros in heavy armor, that deters. By cons, we saw kitins, but not bigger than those we know. And not particularly numerous. How powerful they are, I can't say: we didn't try to kill one. Despite what Eeri says, I feel like right now the Powers could still bring us back if they wanted to, but I have a doubt. Maybe we're already too far away. And I don't want to play mektoub here. Dying in this quest, I'm ready to accept it, but not just yet!

Let's say that this first day is rather easy. For the moment we are on familiar ground, for Eeri at least. Her experience as a ranger is a plus. What worries me is when we enter the labyrinth. There, we will be both butt naked in front of the unknown. Eeri tells me not to worry. But since my loincloth expeditions in the Scorched Corridor, I know that too much confidence kills. Knowing the terrain too well, one forgets the basic rules of caution.

Sleep.

Note for remembrance
Maze: succession of forest areas above and jungle below. Pro-kamis biotope below, pro-kara above. In the sky the ships of the Karavan, in the underground, the place of the Kamis ? Of the Dragon?

Sleep, now.

Prima, Medis 14, 4th AC 2617

The days pass and look alike, the road too. The summer heat makes the trip more difficult, but our mektoubs hold up. No matter, the New Lands seem already far behind us. Azazor already looks quite tense and worried, yet the road we are on is still relatively safe. I wonder how he will react later.
I keep thinking about all the people I left behind. The Drakanis, at first. I hope nothing will happen to them, considering the bunch of brainless degenerates lurking around. I hope the Zorai-goos will stay away from them, but I don't have much hope, these Trykers are very good at getting into each trouble surging in the New Lands. I'm thinking about Wixarika, too. I know she'll take care of my little monster just fine. I would have made a pathetic mother anyway, what's the point in attempting? I also know she won't have an easy task for waking up the patriots and shaking the Empire. Still, I hope the Empire will rise again and regain its greatness, some day. A strange voice echoes in my head when thinking of this... "you might as well piss in a strammel."

Azazor spotted this black mark in my hand, which has spread a bit, but strangely doesn't hurt anymore. I don't know if it will disappear or keep spreading. I vaguely replied to his comment about it, telling him that I'd had that mark for ages, and that it was now just a spot of color. Damn Matissa, I can't write that enough. I hope Mazé'Yum will take good care of gooifying her pure, white pretty skin.
I'll sure have to tell Azazor some things. There's no point in hiding everything from him now. He has no choice but to accept what I have become and what he doesn't know. But still, I'm afraid to come to that moment, afraid of this confrontation. But still, I'm afraid to come to this moment, afraid of this confrontation. It will happen soon enough, I pray that it will be as late as possible.

Enough of writing for today. I mustn't turn this research log into an outpouring of moods. Doesn't bode well... At the same time, for now, there is not much to observe, except that Azazor is snoring so loud a madakam would enamor.

Dua, Fallenor 14, 4th AC 2617

For several weeks, we have been trying to follow as best we can the beacons of the Oflovak Road. I tried to count to see if they were about equally spaced. Wasted effort, their distribution is completely anarchic. Sometimes, we spend a whole day walking following a direction, without being sure to be on the right way. We doubt, we look at the day star to be reassured: always in the east. We follow what we believe to be a track. But it is surely not one. An illusion, we say to ourselves. We go to bed in the evening telling ourselves that we went the wrong way. And then the next day, bang, a beacon, we breathe again. Other times, we cross a beacon every hour. Then we move forward confidently, sure to go in the right direction. But most of the time, we cross only two or three markers per day. And still, you should see the state of these. As much at the beginning of the road, they had an aspect more or less correct, as much, since we entered what seems to be the famous Maze, they are only old pieces of wood covered with moss and in so advanced a state of decomposition that it is difficult to locate them in the vegetation.

Let us speak about the vegetation. An alternation of forests and jungles with between the two biotopes, a transition say… abrupt. You have to climb, that's it. And when I say climb, it's not an idle word. I was expecting a slope, like the one to reach the Hidden Source from the Matis forest. But no, this is true mountaineering. I think it's some kind of big bushy roots that separate the two biotopes, not any sheer cliff. You can hold on to these gigantic steps to climb. Sometimes there are even beacons on the wall that show you the direction. It is a horror to climb, carrying your bag, pushing the mektoubs from behind so that they don't slide, while holding on to the clumps of vegetation growing on the root with one hand. If Eeri hadn't been there, I would have cried. Yes, I'm writing this down: this is the most physical thing I've ever done. Even training with the Fyros Legions was easier.

Once at the top, we realize that we changed biotope. We look for the following beacon and here we go again. After several days of uninterrupted walk in the forest, another giant root, but to be climbed down this time. And we alternate so again and again. It is simple, that goes up, it is the forest; that goes down, we know then that we are going to pass to ragus and other najabs of the jungle. And the whole without dying and without getting lost in this endless immensity. On the map, it is indicated "Dangerous zone". I don't dare to imagine what it will be like in the Sea of Wood or the Scattered Desert.

The worst part for now is the forest. The Heretic's Hovel is a pleasure trail next to it. At every crossing, we have to spend a while looking for the beacon that will show us the right direction. Oh, when you're not in a hurry, it's okay. But when you have a herd of jugulas which sticks to your buttocks, it is not so funny. Nevertheless, we try to avoid these creatures, but we have to believe that they love to hide behind a tree or a root, to catch you by surprise. Then we advance at the step, slowly. We sniff to feel if there is not a smell of jugula in the air. Or of torbak. But those are less vicious.

And then… there is the jungle and its najabs, the jungle and its ragus which run after you to make you their next meal. By cons, we did not meet any ocyx. I'd say too much the better. I don't want to know what an ocyx fire burn would do in a world where, I understand, kamic magic is no longer there to repair our wounds. We've managed so far to avoid the blows, so impossible to check. And scarifying myself on purpose to check… we'll see that later. Well, there was that swipe of jugula claw on my armor the day before yesterday. But nothing that touched the flesh. As for the ocyx fire, on the other hand, I know by experience that it will go through the armor, however Fyros it is. No kitins either, none in the forest nor in the jungle, and none of the gibbais seen from time to time in the distance saw fit to pay us a courtesy visit. Always concerning the jungle, at some time we entered a kind of tunnel. I figured we were going to move into a Prime Roots type biotope, but not at all. It was still the jungle. Maybe we weren't deep enough to have any environmental change. I don't know, I have so hard a time that I'm unable to think about what I see at the moment. So I note and we will see later, with a clear head. If we arrive at Fort Beacon one day I mean…

Oh yes, and the best thing: today we already lost one of our two mektoubs. Climbing is already not practical for us homins, but for fully loaded mektoubs, it's just not possible. This damn mektoub has slid down one of these huge roots and has broken his head below. And of course, most of the potions I had brought with me were broken in the accident. Fortunately, I keep the varinx leather pieces in my bag. Eeri laughs at me and my "priorities". But keeping track is the most important thing. When she saw the burst toub, she laughed and then simply said: "''We'll have to tie up with the remaining toub next time.''" I don't know how she keeps her ability to laugh and then get serious the next second. Even when I took that swipe of jugula claw, she found a way to laugh and make fun of me. There are some Fyros who are made of a different wood… Or maybe it's the beginning of the madness.

Well, right now, she's cooking the mektoub's paw that she's been carrying around all day, the paw of the one who burst while falling during this day. Oh, she really wanted her mektub's paw. "''One mustn't waste!''" she said, looking at me with her crazy eyes. I didn't dare contradict her.

Eeri, please don't crack. At least wait until we're out of this damn maze!

Quarta, Germinally 10  Tria, Germinally 21, 1st AC 2618

So far, the road is relatively entertaining. This is not Azazor's opinion, and I am working to push his limits. I'm convinced that it's better to do it now, rather than wait until we're really faced with the unknown. I feel that the Fyros is panicking slightly, within. Poor guy. I should spare him, but for the moment I can afford to keep him still in this state. When the time comes, I will know what to say for him to regain his composure.

And then we lost Azazor's mektoub. "künos, I slipped, künos." I said, in a small voice, and that didn't make us laugh. "ramèch", I added, with a grimace.
These beasties are not cut out for such a path. Climbing and jumping from root to root, I must say, that's not their thing. It's not ours either, I won't lie. However, Azazor pointed out the absence of gibbais in the area, and that is a good thing: they would be the only creatures able to chase and get us in these areas, with their long limbs. Fortunately, jugulas do not chase us there, and when we have to climb, neither do the jungle predators. An observation in passing, although not very useful: pursued by the jaws of a najab, the mektoub proves to be very agile when it has to climb roots to avoid being gobbled up. On the other hand, the same is much less at ease when it comes to descending. Maybe it's due to the position of its eyes, or maybe to the straps and bags we tie on it that prevent it from moving freely. I'll look into it. Maybe it was just too loaded.

In short, we lost a mektoub, bad luck. This stupid animal put a paw where it should not, it made a pretty good fall, and impaled its trunk below. It was not a pretty sight, and it calmed us down... Of course I did my best not to show my concern to Azazor, we must not lose our heads. We drank a good shooki in memory of the animal, knowing that we would leave the little barrel there. Then we took the tools, the dried meat, the two or three potions that we could save, since most of them were in pieces, so the most precious part of the animal's pack, and we abandoned some pieces of armor, some bulky provisions... Then, we put that as we could on my mektoub, and not to overload it too much, made some room in its pack too. I tried as best I could not to discard some of my more delicate goods. Azazor was ogling at this or that packet, asking me if it was really necessary to keep all this stuff. Well, I shouldn't have told him "You'd better look for the next beacon!": he asked even more questions. Then he almost opened the box containing the living dagger. So I explained about the books, and vaguely that everything else was important. However, I'm starting to regret having brought along those goo bombs from the Black Circle. It's not trivial, and above all, it wouldn't do for my mektoub to make the same misstep, that would make quite a cloud. I wonder what I'll use them for, and if it wouldn't be better to discretely abandon them in a corner of the jungle... For the next climb, I will have to keep these parts of the animal's pack in my hand, it will be safer. And then maybe I should talk to Azazor about them.

Then my poor mektoub looked at me from afar, cutting up its fellow beast to detach a large piece of thigh, with a gleam in eyes oscillating between infinite sadness and total indifference, without reacting... That changes me from the already exhausted and slightly irritated gaze of Azazor... The groom hadn't lied, the beast is well trained, in good shape, it won't fail us. I mean, the mektoub we have left, not the Fyros. For the latter, I added a touch of essence of ocyx in the mektoub roast. That bucked him up. It has been a good evening, we would have thought we were at the Yubo's Paw, Lydix's grunts replaced by those of distant predators.

Besides, I had to dig for wood to light a fire in this damn country. Everything is too wet, there is not enough light. Azazor laughed at the poor quality of my harvest. But it must be said that on the one hand, jungle and forest grounds are not of my expertises, and on the other hand, kif kif, from a Fyros who wouldn't hold a pickaxe by the right end... This wood seems quite strange to me, a bit different from what we could find at home. Wet, soft, and a strange smell. But since I've never really digged in these parts of the New Lands either, other than in Nexus, which is obviously a special case, I'm not so sure of myself. Maybe the motega in forest is just poor quality, like most things one can find over there. It is a bit late to ask Nilstilar which wood he usually uses to boil his water in the forest, but I will manage to collect some samples on the way back, if we still have room.

The next day, we took the time to find our bearings on the map. Azazor tells me that we are not going around in circles, but I am beginning to doubt it slightly, without showing it to him. But I trust his sense of observation and his knowledge of the stars, which is much better than mine. It's been quite a few days that we're moving here, and Azazor thinks that we'll need another month of walk to reach Fort Beacon. If he is telling the truth, we should soon arrive in this forest area overlooking the Sea of Wood. Maybe he's trying to persuade himself, I do my best to believe him.
We will see. We must advance without thinking too much, and at least, that, we know how to do.
Fort Beacon... From there, I may find someone to carry a letter or two to Fairhaven and Thesos.

Come on, we have to sleep now. We have found a slightly elevated, sheltered spot, we must take advantage of it. The days look all the same in this labyrinth, we must make sure to dream of something else to not leave the slightest chance to discouragement.

Spoiler: Lexicon

künos: chief
ramèch: shit
kif: laugh

Tria, Pluvia 3, 1st AC 2618 (I guess...)

Why did I listen to her? We are lost somewhere in the Sea of Wood, we have nothing left to eat but bark and a few sparse plants, and we are thinking of killing our last mektoub to avoid starving. This is what happens when you listen to Eeri's genius ideas.

We have managed so far to stay on the road, to follow the beacons. Then, at the exit of the Maze, on approaching the cliffs, when the road forks to the left and the path becomes narrower, misfortune get us running into a huge herd of jugulas. We then left the road to approach the cliffs from the right, hoping that we could walk along them and pass all the same, as we often did in the New Lands, when it is a question of best avoiding of dangers. Usually this technique works well. But not here: we might well to skim the cliff as close as possible, but the herd of jugulas was still present. I had then the idea to go back and to pass the herd by following the cliff from the left. But Eeri had then another brilliant idea. Ah this genius…

What if we go down the cliff by climbing that big root, there, to get directly into the Sea of Wood. Then, going northeast, we'll end up finding the road again.''" [...] "''The mektoub? Of course, he'll succeed making it down.

So yes, he did manage to climb down. It wasn't far from seeing him too slide and burst at the bottom like the first one, but no, he survived. Except that he won't survive our craving to eat, now that we're lost I don't know where in the Sea of Wood. Probably somewhere off the map. I don't have any landmarks left. We did head northeast once at the bottom of the cliff, but we didn't find the road.
However, thinking about it, we should have simply followed the cliff once at the bottom, going back up to the north. That would have made it a bit longer, but at least safer. Except that Eeri wanted to go fast. Except that Eeri, when she has an idea in mind, when she feels confident, she rushes headlong. I understand, I used to be like that before I realized that the Fyros technique of rushing straight ahead is a mistake, especially here. I guess she hasn't evolved since the Fyros Legions. After that, I blame her, but that's also my bad. I should have been firmer with her. I let myself be fooled by her self-confidence. But I'm the head here. And she's the legs. That's how it was planned.

Since our arrival at the bottom of the cliff, more than three weeks have passed. We advanced more or less in the fog during one week towards the northeast. Because yes, it would have been easier if there was not this thick fog which makes it impossible to see the horizon. Everything is dull here, the ground is bare, nothing grows or almost nothing. This Sea of Wood, it is the negation of life. I feel so weak here, my head is spinning more and more, and it doesn't get any better with the time spent in these desolate lands. It's as if this Sea of Wood was sucking our vital energy. As if it was feeding on us. And to make it worse, we couldn't see the cliffs in the distance that should have been on our left. Then, after one week of walk without crossing no beacon, we tried to go on our left, to join the cliff even if we couldn't see it. We finally reached it, after only one day of walk. Then we went along the cliff. And after ten days of walk skimming it, nothing. No beacon, no slope or any access to go back up to Fort Beacon. There, we should again turn towards the south, if I trust the position of the day star whose glow struggles to pierce the fog.
So either we went too far north and we missed the wall beacon indicating the way, or… we are at the level of this hill noted on the map east of Fort Beacon. We think we follow the west cliff whereas we turn around the said hill.

Hope that's it. At sight, it will take us a whole week to reach the cliff while going towards the west. Then, theoretically, we'll have to go down a bit and we should find the road. We will have not to miss the beacon. If so, we would get too far down. We don't have no more right to make a mistake. But if we don't go westright, we also risk to arrive at the cliff south of the road. We'll have to walk as straight as possible and hope that this damn map is correct. The mektoub has no more fodder but it seems to be satisfied for the moment with the micro-vegetation which grows by places. He moves slowly, but he follows us. And us? We ate our last piece of dried meat yesterday morning. Are we going to be satisfied with bark and grasses for a week?

I am afraid. There, it's written, I'm afraid. I hear noises, strange noises. A dull rumbling that could be heard in the old days at the edge of the cliffs in the New Lands. A kind of mooing of a big beastie. I thought it was the cracking of the bark, but here it's much louder, and it's clearly not the same noise. It's more… guttural. Eeri talks about a giant shalah. It sounds like a monstrous bodoc to me. And tapping too… does a bodoc tap? I don't want to meet what's making that noise. A few days ago, I thought I saw a shape in the distance. A gigantic something. I didn't tell Eeri about it. I'm afraid she'll want to go see what it is. I'm not ready. So I shut my mouth and kept on walking. Maybe she saw it too and didn't say anything either. Maybe she's afraid too? At least she doesn't show it.

Writing is definitely too exhausting. But I prefer to do it now, while I still have enough strength and a clear mind. Because this place makes you crazy if you stay here too long, I'm sure. We should call this Sea of Wood the Desert of Confusion. Or better yet, the Desert That Drives You Mad. Maybe it's madness that makes me see dark shapes on the horizon. Maybe it's madness bellowing in my head and banging in my skull. Hallucination, delirium, madness… The Sea That Drives You Mad…

ramèch, I don't want to die like that, starving and completely mad in the middle of nowhere! If the mektoub holds, I hold. If Eeri doesn't crack, I won't either!

At worst, if the mektoub dies, we'll have something to eat. And if Eeri dies? Same thing haha! Hop, a batch of sawdust legionnaire accompanied by his crazy herbs…

I'm tired, I'm scared, I want to go back home…