Ebensen's Journal

*one entry so far, the last one*
22 Frostfyre 567
By the Celestials, could the legends have actually been true? Does the Hallow Jar exist, waiting in the Urwald Jungle for someone to come by and claim it? Could I have found its foretold resting place?
I just finished traveling down the Keurenti River, and, after a day's journey through the thick jungle, I happened upon an ancient pyramid of a temple, far older than anything I have discovered before. The architecture is nearly pristine, with hardly a crack across the entire structure. If it weren't for the vines dancing over the cobbled stone, I'd think it were built a few days ago. It's unmistakably that of the Antuda Empire, that much I know for sure, but what is it doing here, so far from the heart of their civilization? And the stone, that I have never seen before. Where was it quarried? How did it get here, to the middle of the jungle? Why is it so pristine when all other structures of the Antuda Empire lay in ruin?
I've made a few trips around the massive base of the structure, and I can't find a way into it. No doors, no stairs, though I did climb the blocks to the apex and looked about. Nothing but jungle for miles, and still no way in. There has to be something I'm missing. It seems impervious to any of my attempts at chipping samples of the stone, leaving nary a scratch on the surface.
There are inscriptions at the base, four of them, one facing each direction, written in celestial. They speak of the elemental planes: one for air, one water, one fire, one earth. A story of a hero who closed them, sealing them from the material world forever. But that can't be true, can it? The rifts, they're going strong as ever, last I heard. In fairness, that was months ago the last I heard from the civilized world, so who knows how much may have changed.
My native guides have been growing restless with my poking about the temple, and they grow uneasy whenever I crawl up onto the massive blocks. But I can't help my poking and prodding. There has to be some way in. There always is. This temple is just waiting for me to discover its secrets, diving into its history and finding that which lays within.
But nightfall is calling me now, and my natives are beginning to put out the fires. Tomorrow is the day I discover its secrets, I can feel it.

Purpose

This journal chronicles the adventures of archaeologist Kristoph Ebensen. He made it to ensure that his work could be continued if he met an unfortunate end, as well as hoping to educate others of any discoveries he made.

Historical Details

History

Ebensen's Journal was written during the early to mid Celestial Age by Kristoph Ebensen, premiere archaeologist of the Praesidium Archive. It was found on a decayed dwarven skeleton near the mouth of the Keurenti River, hundreds of miles from where the last entry details his whereabouts.