Yu’s Log, Day 1

Having just arrived in Mylen and begun seeing what the place has to offer, there is a lot more sand and dust than I expected. As some advice for new arrivals, do not come wearing a floor length dress, the hem of it sweeping across the sand get’s extremely dirty and leaves obvious tracks that wolves like to follow. I look good, but I don’t think the wolves followed me to appreciate my good fashion sense.

I am yet to find a great deal of anything, but I was lucky enough to find a natural well at the coordinates 18;10. If you’re struggling in the sun with dehydration I recommend heading there for some water. Nearby at 16;10 there is a stone from which you can feel the divine light of Solweig emanating. I plan on praying there tomorrow. Also in the area at 16;12 is a cactus and at 18;12 a bush that seem to endlessly produce, although slowly. I am glad to see that the light of Solweig has touched Mylen as well. In the desert sand these are truly amazing gifts.

If you see this letter soon after it is written you may see me nearby, if you do, do say hello, I’m afraid I am a little starved of company as well as food.

Hello, my name is Yu

Hello, my name is Yu

Yu’s Log, Day 2

Today I did very little in the way of exploring. Having found an oasis I used this day for collecting food and water, to stock up on some supplies before venturing out again. I met a human chap named Hawl who had seen my previous Log and came to check out the Sacred area. He seems nice enough although we haven’t spoken much.

I was also able to use some of the water to wash out the dirt from my dress. I do aim to keep hygiene up even when exploring, but I do have a feeling that by tomorrow night, my efforts may be have been in vain.

I did not realise how exhausting travelling like this would be. I hope that soon enough I might be able to find or build some proper shelter, there are only so many nights I can sleep in a tent before I may go a little mad. Let’s hope that my endurance does not fail me.

Tomorrow I intend to go out searching, perhaps I will find some interesting things for that day’s Log. I hope Solweig will shine brightly on us.

Greetings, I am Svetlana, an author and Ex-cultist seeking redemption, it is a pleasure to meet you both. We are very lucky these sacred locations were blessed by the gods in order to assist us in settling in these harsh and unforgiving lands.

This is my second day here, my first day I made some prayers at the sacred stone and traveled southeast until the mountains stopped me. I saw an unfortunate soul that has lost their life. I wonder if they died to the beasts or to thirst?

I returned to the sacred locations today gathered some of their bounty and am praying. The best plan of action appears to be to rely on these sacred locations and hunt the nearby dangerous wildlife whilst these lands get populated with more new arrivals.

-Svetlana

P.S. much like Yu’s long dress, my attire is not ideal either, black robes in the desert heat is awful, and it’s fairly light robes so the cold nights are especially harsh.

Hello Svetlana. I can’t help it, I’ve got to ask. What kinds of books do you write? I’m afraid I didn’t bring any for entertainment and would very much like to hear one of your stories. Perhaps read your next book.

My works were a combination of fiction and reality, I combined my experiences within the cult I was a part of with some creativity of mine, to focus on mystery and horror. They were filled with short stories following character’s investigating supernatural occurrences, which typically lead to the character’s deaths (or worse).

My stories were not particularly for the faint of heart, but my inclusion of real creatures and rituals of summoning from the beyond added a large sense of realism to the stories which many in my home enjoyed.

Maybe when we have properly settled in these lands I will write my stories again. If I remember any good stories I wrote, I’ll be sure to share.

Yu’s Log

Day 3

Today, with some advice from Hawl I headed North West to search for the cave he mentioned. And I was lucky enough to find it at 2;2. Although it is too dark to see in it right now to explore. Hopefully we can get a fire running and try to get inside with some torches to light the way.

Nearby at 4;6 I came across a lone building, going inside I found rows of beds side by side and divider curtains between them, in draws mostly empty I found syringes and bloody bandages scattered about. The whole place was inundated with cobwebs, but there was barely a speck of dust. But the whole place shimmered with a light, a light seemingly coming from nowhere. I have been lucky enough not to fall Ill often in my life, but I know often hospitals are filled with the Light of Solweig for its divine healing powers. From what I can see, this place was a hospital in time gone by. The physicians there likely left long ago, but perhaps the Light that remained would be sufficient to be a good place of rest. If I am ever in need, I may return here.

Just outside I met a woman in black named Svetlana. She seems cool, she said she’s an author, I need to find out what kind of books she wrote. I didn’t bring a book for entertainment, hopefully she can help fill that void. She also said she’s an ex-cultist, which sounds both cool and scary, I didn’t press her on the subject. She also has black horns growing out of her head, she seems mostly human aside from that, I thought it might be a touchy subject so tried my best not to stare. Perhaps when I know her better I can ask her more about it. She certainly fits the mysterious heroine role, quite like Deinyne Canestra from The Shape of Shadow. Oh that is a brilliant book! I wish I had brought it.

I hope this letter finds its intended audience well, Yu, Hawl, and future arrivals in this area.

I have ventured around the perimeter of this area, and it appears we are surrounded on all sides by mountains, the only way to go forward appears to be the cave (2:2).

I visited an Oasis which is a nice resting spot in this desert, it is directly north of the sacred locations I believe. (15:5)

There is a potion seller to the north east (25:3) after speaking with her, she appears to be here gathering ingredients for her potions.

I told her of our need of a light source to get through the cave. She is willing to offer us empty bottles for acorns, and she is willing to let us use her cauldron to produce oil using her suggestion of hazelnut. With the oil we can put together a couple of branches and some wolf fur to make a torch. We should be able to traverse the cave using those for lighting.

She also told me that soon there is going to be a marketplace in this area so it might be a good idea to lay down some basic roles between the three of us? Doing so will allow us to specialize in what each of us does best and then trade for what we need.

-Svetlana

Hello Svetlana,

Thank you for sharing the location of the potion seller. Maybe with her help we can make some proper progress. In terms of what I can do to help, I am probably not your ideal ally out here. I’m not much of a fighter, or a builder really. I am quite good with my hands though, I sew and embroider, and I have a pretty good ear for music, I don’t wish to brag but I am quite something on the piano. So I may be able to help with crafting that torch together once we have the ingredients. I can also help with the basic jobs of collecting food and water from the Sacred Bush and Basin. I could try some of the other jobs, but I think they are probably best left to someone else.

I have to retract my prior statement of traveling around the perimeter of our area, I had believed I had done a full loop but I had miscalculated. If you travel further east following the mountains past the Potion Seller there is Valley pass that I am thinking of passing through.

However, I am currently low on food and water, and am spending much of my time gathering necessities to survive here. Perhaps due to the city life conveniences I am not used to doing such things to survive. I am managing though and should be okay for the time being.

Exposure to the rituals that the cult I was once part of has led me to develop some incredible strength at the cost of my vitality. Due to my body’s condition I have been hunting down some of wildlife with some in-human force but need to be careful of being attacked myself.

I also have been making great strides in prayer, I believe that my sincerity and desire to redeem myself has led my connection to Yourick to grow stronger. I expect his blessings will be a great boon to our survival and future in developing these lands.

I’m glad to hear you have some strength to help Svetlana. It’s comforting out here to have someone strong when there are foxes and… bad people, abound. If I can help save you some time in the day for hunting by providing a meal, perhaps in return you can regale me with some stories of your adventures.