09.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
Tomorrow we will leave
Upēsis and move down the river in search of the tribesmen who the colonists have fought before. The army believes that these primitive natives pose a threat to us and our main source of food. Our job is to make sure that the people of
Upēsis remain safe from future attacks.
Ag. Valmar Teidke, commander of the expedition, has managed to provide me with the
Arc4 that I'm currently writing on. We've also been provided with two snowmobiles. The vehicles will be driven by
Vkt. Artios G. Palmanis and
Kt. Karlia H. Valinn while I and Teidke will sit behind them. We've been given fresh semi-automatic rifles straight from the factories of
Gale Arsenal and we will be wearing long and heavy white coats with warm ushankas.
10.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
Nothing of note has happened on the first day. We left
Upēsis early in the morning and now we are setting up camp next to a cliff that will hopefully keep us safe from the freezing wind. If we're to travel down the river again in the future, then we might need to establish small outposts where our people will be able to sleep without the threat of hypothermia.
13.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
One of our snowmobiles has broken down, and the heating devices we brought with us aren't enough. If we fail to find shelter in the next day or two, we'll freeze out here. It seems like we were given far too many weapons and not enough equipment to survive the trip down the river. Thankfully we still have plenty of food, and there's a source of drinkable water right next to us.
Kt. Valinn believes that we should turn back but the
Agēsi is against it. He thinks that the
Sei are close.
Vkt. Palmanis and I still have faith in our commander, even if that faith is slowly falling apart.
14.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
The situation has improved. We left our snowmobiles behind and continued on foot at the crack of dawn. As the sun rose, we all felt and saw a change in our environment and the temperature. Nature seems to thrive in these new lands, at least in comparison to what it's like back in
Taisas. At around midday, we found a pleasant grove where the trees seemed strong and healthy. The ground under the trees was covered in moss and grass. Eventually, we spotted an old shack in the distance. The
Agēsi ordered us to surround the building, and once we were all in position, he gave the order to approach it slowly and with our rifles ready for action.
Kt. Valinn peeked through a large hole on the side of the building and gestured the commander to take a look.
Ag. Teidke lowered his rifle and told us to open the door which was thankfully unlocked. The room was completely empty — not a single piece of furniture nor anything else. Only a dried up splattering of blood that stained the wooden floor and a part of the wall. We tried our best to figure out what had happened, but since we lacked the proper equipment, all we had were our minds.
Vkt. Artios G. Palmanis estimated that the blood was from around a week ago, but other than that we were left to wonder.
Since we were only a few hours away from dusk, we decided to rest in the shack. Our commander ordered us to set up a night shift. He feared that whatever had left behind that blood was still lurking in the woods.
15.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
The further we travel, the stranger this land seems. The snow is melting here, exposing more of the grass and dirt. Palmanis suggested setting up a new settlement somewhere around here, but I doubt we'll get around to doing that anytime soon. Our scientists and engineers back home haven't figured out a way to create more Planetary Communication Pylons, and without them, we won't be able to send reports and other messages back to the capital. I am reasonably confident that further expansion away from our country's heartland will require the construction of additional pylons.
It's a few hours past noon, and we're resting our legs and warming ourselves in another building right now. This one is made out of bricks but its roof is practically nonexistent, and there are large chunks of the wall missing. It looks as if a minor skirmish had occurred in these parts a long time ago. We're keeping ourselves warm by burning branches and holding the heating devices close to ourselves. This old building is on a small hill near the river, right between the grove where the shack is and what looks like a proper forest in the distance. We will be moving out soon and hopefully reach the forest before sunset.
Ag. Teidke wants us to sleep in the woods and then move out at dawn. He told us that we'd be spreading out so that we could cover more terrain. Each of us should stay close enough to call out for aid if need be.
We had to walk in the dark for around half an hour, but we reached our destination. The others are currently setting up camp while I write this. The forest, although I can't see it very well, certainly seems impressive. The evergreen trees here are at least double the length of the trees back home and their trunks are around three times larger.
Kt. Valinn seems paranoid of something. She's always looking around and at times suddenly turns around to look for something. I'm not sure if the others have noticed her strange behaviour.
16.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
There's something else in the forest with us. Judging by Valinn's behaviour yesterday, I'm guessing that this thing has been following us for a while now. It doesn't seem human. I saw a glimpse of its shadow and it looked strange and twisted. All four of us are currently separated. If it wants to strike then now would be the time. I'm trying to make my way back to Teidke since he should be nearby.
We've regrouped and spotted a settlement in the distance. The place is surrounded by a wooden wall and they've got several watchtowers. Since no one else should live around here except for the
Sei, we're guessing that this must be the place. Unfortunately
Vkt. Palmanis' whereabouts are unknown. I fear he may have encountered either a patrol or whatever is following us. The
Agēsi has ordered us to move closer so that we could get a better look at their defenses. Hopefully, everything will go well. The trees will give us cover but if there's something here with us then we could be in trouble.
20.08.23 - Kt. Freidiks Ulum
They're all dead. Karlia was shot in the head by a sniper on one of the watchtowers and as we fled, the unknown lifeform attacked. I didn't get a good look at it but from what I could tell, it was vaguely humanoid. I'm pretty sure it got the commander but I didn't hear any screams or gunshots and now I seem to be the only survivor. In a few hours I'll reach the snowmobile and drive to
Upēsis with this report. Hopefully the army can sort this mess out.
I loved it! It's late and I've got to sleep, so this is a quick run-down of what I liked:
Thank you for the feedback Ondo! It's always nice to know what I did well as opposed to all the stuff I messed up :D #SaveTheHat
Maker of Maps