1. Written in different handwriting than the rest of the journal.
Dear founder, I left to get help but I don't think I will get far before the exhaustion will finally get me. I used the pages from one of my companion's journal to mark the route back to the heart of the library. If they have not been picked up, I must have faced my end. -N. Tarillon
2.
Our little expedition almost got a foul end before it had even properly begun. The two warring clans weren't of any help to us and the Sand people burned our ships, so there is no return back by any other means than flying. I am not a shipbuilder. We headed towards the jungle, following the coastline, hoping to find any clues. According to my calculations, the island should be around here somewhere. I hope...
3.
I was able to get us a guide! A young wyrmling from one the tribes curiously approached us, and I was able to bribe him to show us the way to the island. I hope that little scaly child likes the necklace my eldest daughter gave me as a parting gift. That little trinket turned out to be lucky, after all.
4.
We found the Island, at last! I couldn't believe it! It only looked like a normal, jungle-filled island, until you noticed it was floating. And then, the high cliffs and occasional white pillar sticking out of the canopy… It is just as beautiful as I had thought, yet… not as majestic. The outside has been taking heavy damage, but I hope the library itself, inside of the legendary mountain, is in better shape.
5.
It only took us half a day before we lost the first crew-member. A human man, who was in charge of the weapons was crushed under a boulder trap. We would have loved to bury him and honor his gods, but there wasn't much to bury afterwards. We read a poem in his memory (It was the first time I heard his name, I think, and I already forgot what it was) and continued on, through the great stone doors, watching our steps more carefully this time.
6.
The Library's defensive system is on and active. The second casualty was one of the guards, who wasn't nimble enough to avoid a spike trap I almost fell into. Poor guy, but luckily humans breed so quickly. Now we only need to find a way to deactivate the security measures...
7.
Quite soon after we descended into the library, we found strange, crystal-like mineral deposits growing on the walls. It is possible they originate from another plane. We need to conduct more thorough experiments, but for now we shall continue onward.
8.
The promising apprentice, Grasowkhem from the Jade Serpent delta, has been studying the crystals and they seem to have magical properties. They empower the user, but cause headache, ranging from mild to debilitating, with those who learn from the books. There have been no other ill-effects witnessed and our friend Neluse Tarillon, an elf caster who draws her powers from her patron, has embraced the extra boost she gets when she grinds a crystal the size of a human's fingernail (medium sized human male, index finger) into her morning drink. I prefer to go migraine-free myself, though.
9.
The corridors have proved out to be more dangerous than anticipated: we lost the third member of our group, a boy I was afraid wouldn't cut it, but he was so eager to come with and help me to carry the books back home, so I took the poor wyrmling with me. Barely of 200 years of age, and now he is with the Eternal Wind already, poisoned by an unknown monster which bit him, and he was too proud to tell about being bitten before it was too late. We are trying to identify what kind of monster it was, but it was hard to tell what was real information and what poison-caused hallucinations. He wasn't able to tell us much before he started bleeding from the eyes and collapsed, dead as a doornail.
10.
Many monsters rarely seen wander the abandoned hallways, leaving only traces of where they had walked or slithered, but even with our fragmented information Mirameghron, who is most versed in knowledge about alien plant and fauna, has identified some of the species with 75% certainty. He believes them to be great old guardian snakes, dangerous to come across and if the legends are to be believed -immortal. I say bollocks!
11.
Somebody forgot to pick up our medicinal kit from the last campsite. Neluse thinks this is a sabotage and we have a traitor among us, but I disagree. Her patron is acting too paranoid again, which seems to be a common thing with warlocks. Blasted otherworldly entities, they are why I always encourage the wyrmlings of my clan to read the books instead! Books don't lie or make you stab other people. Thank the Eternal Wind Mirameghron was quick enough to defuse the situation, otherwise I would have shred her into pieces for slandering my name by using such vulgar language. This will be the last time I take any non-scales into a research party!
12.
We did it! We finally reached the great courtyard of the library. It is just as pretty as I had hoped; the famous marble fountains were still working, even if the place otherwise was slightly derelict. Rare birds and unknown flowers fill the great library gardens with chirps and sweet smell. The urge to stop and start a new thesis is too strong, yet I know we lack the time. We need to secure the library first and establish a proper stronghold. After that, I am sure, there will be plenty of time for a proper field study.
13.
A tunnel collapsed when we had just entered the Hallway of Sages. I don't know what happened to the human guards who were standing just beside me. Suddenly they were gone, and a stone wall was there on their place. May their gods take good care of them or whatever they say when people die. Grasowkhem has been talking all about the Library and the text it could hide inside, like he could read the scrolls already. I admire his enthusiasm, but he's starting to get slightly obsessed about the library and we aren't even there yet!
14.
Curse the Eternal wind! Not that we lost the guards, but they took our last pack-bull with them too (if not counting the strange animals we found on the island and were able to harness, camel-related imbecile herbivores by the way). And that damned ox had most of our rations. We need to ration our rations (hah!). Naluse is sure this is the traitor's doings, but I am more inclined to think it was due to this place's age and broken supporting beams…
15.
Rations have been missing. Somebody is eating more than the rest of us. I might ask Mirameghron stand in guard the next time we stop to rest. Grasowkhem is taking notes on the crystals and I am writing this by the shadows of huge stone pillars while Mirameghron stands in guard. We must be getting closer to the core, I can feel it in my soul. For the first time in days I've had time to think about my family back at home. I hope they are doing well and Xirarholrar has remembered to dust my book collection like I asked.
16.
After the guard duty we established, the food has not been missing anymore, yet we seem to be one member short. A quiet half-elf who, I think, was one of the pack-herders, just suddenly went missing. When I asked around, nobody seemed to have noticed anything and Naluse only laughed when I mentioned it to her. But what would you expect from a paranoid, crystal-eating warlock, anyway.
17.
That cursed elf's substance abuse is making me worried. She doesn't understand my concerns, but I can see the change in her eyes, although I can't tell what it is. Just a nasty, nagging feeling that something is not right. Grasowkhem thinks it's alright, cursed green one! Those are slippery little serpents, I tell you, but it's good to have him on our side. He keeps Naluse at bay when she has one of those paranoia attacks again. They've started to appear more regularly, but it could just be that we are all growing weary from the exhaustion.
18.
In the end of the Hallway of the Sages we came to crossroads. Naluse and Grasowkhem got into a fight over it, but we eventually decided on the one leading to the right, as Grasowkhem suggested. Naluse hasn't talked ever since, and it has already been two days. Well, it's nice to have some peace and quiet… which actually brings to mind: didn't we have 5 packdeer instead of 2? Or was it bulls instead of deer?
19.
We finally reached the Library doors, but alas, they were locked with a puzzle. We are trying to figure out what is going on, we are on the edge and tired, but all Grasowkhem does is to keep talking about 'his library'. I had to remind him who's the leader of this expedition (hint: it's me).
20.
We got in! It was not that hard after all, and our party almost got separated when we didn't get the right answer first. Grasowkhem was about to head the other way, through that awfully narrow hallway which turned out to be trapped. But luckily, I managed to get the doors open before any casualties. But the library… it is beautiful! So many old tomes, perfectly where they had been left by the ancient scholars, covered in dust and cobwebs, but hopefully, readable. This is the greatest moment of my academic life!
21.
I was able to find the very first version of the Scriptures of the Illuminated, perfectly etched in thin gold sheets and adored with jewels which shone in the colors of the rainbow. I have never seen anything so beautiful and bright in my entire life. They will be the center piece of my clan's hoard, a worthy trophy to pass on to my daughter.
22.
I was so engulfed in knowledge that I did not notice the signs I should have, before it was too late. Grasowkhem took off with the most precious texts and left the rest of us in the library hall, locking the doors after himself. It doesn't open from this side, maybe as a safety measure or the old locking mechanism got faulty, who knows. The doors are huge and there is not enough space to turn into my real form to bash through the doors. The ceiling would collapse, and we would be buried in with the precious texts. It would be unacceptable! (I don't worry that much about myself, but the texts!)
23.
We have run out of food and (willing) human sacrifices. Luckily there are some creatures further, in the basement of the library, that has been deemed edible by Mirameghron. Horrible, foul-tasting creatures but edible, nevertheless. The only way seems to be down, to find the very core where we could switch off the magical alarm system. And get out of here. Curse that green, devious serpent…
24.
We've made some progress lately, but everybody has been feeling more or less ill. I am not a healer, but it could either be because of the foul, mutated creatures we've eaten or the fact that the deeper we venture, the stranger the place is starting to get. Crystals grow bigger than my head and they emit faint, purple light and the normal looking cave critters has started to grow extra appendages, too. But beggars can't be choosers.
25.
Naluse is losing it. She talks to herself -or her patron, it's hard to tell. There's only three of us left: her, Mirameghron and I. And I am contemplating on eating her, but I do not wish to anger that patron of hers. Also, she would probably taste just as foul as the beasts down here.
26. The original note has an odd linebreak after the first sentence and irregular letter size compared to the previous pages.
We've been dragging Naluse around, and due her going violent, we had to bind him with a rope.
She doesn't make sense anymore,
just rambles on an on like we wouldn't understand what she says.
27. This paragraph is definitely harder to understand. Smudges of ink here and there, and a few overwritten words.
Naluse has started hallucinating. She had a dre drem dream of a huge ecep eception expediti-on. And that we were part of it. Dreams are nice and all but what does she mean by "we are dragons"? Has she completely lost her mind? And what does she mean by the "we"?
28. Written haphazardly, text leaning towards left.
Naluse keeps talking to me. Close the portal, she says, bossing me around. Yes, yes, close the portal, of course it's always close the portal. But when you have an OPEN portal, why would you close it when it's right there, in front of your eyes, asking you to come further? And why is she crying?
29. Droplets have stained the paper. The writing is less decorated than earlier, but still from the pen of the same author. Short, hasty strokes.
Judging by the name list on my journal's index page, I am quite sure there were others. But as far as I can see, I am alone. Completely alone. I cannot remember who I am and the name Xirarhionylet on the cover page of this journal does not feel familiar. Is this even my journal?
30. The words are written on the paper far apart from eachother. Ink stains and harder to read, words repeating without any coherent structure.
I know I should do something
important
I am not sure what I should do?
Important.
Importan
importa
import
impor
impo
imp
im
I am where?
31. The last piece of paper is filled with incoherent scribbles of eyes and mix of elvish and common.
I am hre wher evribod DANGRE alon wher what tis place danrer ies were of is were of ies ies be ware ies dog BIG klous dor. dor.
On the reverse side there seems to be a more intelligible message written in elven script, but on a closer look one notices that every other line is written upside down. The text, translated, tells the following:
Is he dead or just lost? / Where is him [he]? / Where is Mirameghron? / Drift is open / Close the portal / Beware of eyes
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