Adventurer's log, Illak Oboktholest, son of Kobok the Miner
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5th Granite 1050Investigating legends of a submerged Dwarven stronghold under the Boiling Sea, I've recently stumbled upon a map charting the route to a place named "Rashtun", suspiciously close to the Boiling sea (in fact, the map puts it right on top of it). With my trusty mule Zasit, I decided to follow the map and see where it led me.
7th Granite 1050There are a lot fewer wild animals around the Boiling Sea region than I expected. Plenty of eagles though. Skeletal eagles.
10th Granite 1050I've come to the edge of the boiling sea. The map urges me on, but there is no discernible path through it...
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There are few words to describe what I have found. I am dead tired from the swim down, and my mule has a good portion of my writing supplies with it, so I will be brief. Along the shore was the hint of a cobblestone path, and upon following it into the sea I found it extended all the way to the bottom of the sea, mostly covered in sand and silt.
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What I found at the bottom defies words, so a hastily drawn picture will have to do.
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Going up to get more supplies in the morning. Sleep now.
11th Granite 1050The name "Rashtun" was etched on the wall near the entrance. I have found it!
I have no idea how they keep the water out of their tunnels though. Swimming into the tunnel, I expected a sunken ruin, but as soon as I crossed the threshold I found myself floundering on dry (though mossy) smoothed rock.(here a
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The tunnel was a decent length for typical Dwarven constructions, though the staircase that terminated the tunnel was not.
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I can say with certainty that I have never seen nor heard of such a grand construction of stairs in all of my years as an adventurer. I wanted to count them, but I feared losing track and having to start over. Stairs are not my thing.
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The stairs paled in comparison to the hall.
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I hear the roar of a waterfall in the distance, perhaps an underground river? That would explain the large amount of mist that obscures the roof of this great endeavor.
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I still have not found any of the inhabitants. I fear that perhaps I have come too late to meet any of them.
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I have found a great artifact.
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A plaque near its base contained only a name, "Vunomonor Rotik An". Perhaps this is an offering to a god of the same name? The eyes are rubies of such size I have never seen before. The body of the great beast is entirely made of obsidian, finely polished so that I can see my own unkempt face in it. My fingers slide right off when I try to rest my hand on the flank. The tusks appear to be made of steel, but is of such a luster I cannot help but wonder if it is in fact silver.
12th Granite 1050Have not slept since I got here. Too much to see, so little time. I will sleep now, I'm about to collapse, but one last entry. I have found the waterfall. It falls from a height I cannot see down to a pool behind the elephant.
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13th Granite 1050I managed to climb on top of the elephant statue with the aid of some rope. It was very slippery, but I managed to draw a good portrait of a portion of roof and the source of the waterfall.
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I heard a bit of rumbling today, I could not tell where it came from. Not a single bit of dust fell from the roof. These Dwarves knew their masonry. I also heard some scrabblings, as if from a cave spider, but I may have imagined them.
14th Granite 1050The flow on the waterfall has slackened. I think it is fed through the mountains, perhaps some volcanic eruption has temporarily blocked off an aquifer. In any case, the mist lifted enough for me to see the full grandeur of the entryway.
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I can hear more scrabblings. I came upon some remains today, near a large grand tomb. They were not buried properly at all, in fact the body looked like it had died on top of the sarcophagus rather than elsewhere, and it still had armor and a warhammer. I think I may want to leave.
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To anyone who reads this journal, take heed. The ancient stronghold Rashtun is abandoned for a reason. I saw their gleaming eyes today, oh how I hate the eyes. Giant cave spiders. Thousands of them. I have only myself to blame, looking around now I see how obvious their tracks were. Small pits in the smooth floor, easily overlooked in my wonder.
Now I am holed up under the elephant statue, the spiders are too big to fit under, but I fear that I won't last long when they call their brood to drive me out.
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Rashtun is not abandoned! I saw him, a single dwarf, commanding the spiders! I will attempt to reason with him and perhaps he will agree to let me leave.
[The journal ends here]