Ardan's Journal, 22nd of October

I've had a little trouble sleeping on the Isle. Something about this place gives me the creeps.

Ardan, 24th of October

Great... as if waking up in the middle of the night wasn't bad enough, now I'm having nightmares. I dreamt last night that I was walking through a dense forest in the middle of the night. There's something moving alongside the path next to me, but I can't see it. I have no clue what it is, but I know it's wrong. The next thing I know is Sorjin's hand on my shoulder waking me for breakfast.

Sorjin, 26th of October

We've been on the Isle for 6 days, scouting around on foot. The terrain isn't conducive to this kind of exploration- we spend half of our time either skirting the muckier areas or getting ourselves out of them. Ruby is still on the Ascendant, and Sapphire has been helping us. He is holding up quite well, and it appears that my research was quite wrong about the Isle's effects on such animations. Perhaps the mist itself will affect him adversely, but for now we seem to be in the clear. I wonder if the earth magics are less affected than other types. In any case, I'm willing to bring the ship inland now. If we could just skim over some of the swampland here, there might be more solid land further in.

Ardan, 27th of October

The nightmares are becoming more intense. I'm dreaming the same dream every night, only it becomes more vivid each time. I spot details that I would never notice when awake- I'm no tree nut, but I seem to have gained such knowledge. Types of underbrush, the meaning of scratch patterns on bark, and the sounds of various night birds- these are all known to me. Suddenly, I hear my pursuer alongside and I begin to run. Whatever it is keeps up with me... I see light ahead... it's a full moon and there's a clearing ahead... I burst into the open...
And I snap awake as Sorjin again shakes my shoulder. Invariably, he's there just as it gets really freaky. I don't know if I should be angry or relieved.

Rosso, 27th of October

Ardan appears to be getting agitated. He gets a little weird as darkness falls, and seems really nervous in the mornings. Most of the day, he seems fine. He probably just misses the sea- we're a few miles in, exploring the swampland near the shoreline. We haven't seen the ship in a few days, but it looks like we're heading back soon. Me, I'm having fun around all the greenery. I just hope that we get near some more solid forest land soon- it's a lot of work to travel in this terrain.

Sorjin, 28th of October

When we arrived back at the Ascendant, Ruby was clearly agitated. A harpoon had been fired. I questioned him with the iconic tablets, and gethered that a sailing ship had passed nearby three days ago. Ruby fired a warning shot and they apparently accepted that and left. I'm glad that things seem to have fared well, and I hope that we haven't made a new enemy. At times like this, I almost chide myself for not trying to endow my servants with the power of speech... but the tablets suffice.
We loaded everything back into the Ascendant in the afternoon, save for minimal camp supplies, and in the evening Ardan broke out a bottle of rum that he had somehow stashed on board. He proposed a toast and shared some with Rosso and myself. Then he proceeded to drink himself silly and pass out by the fire. Great. If he expects to be coddled in the morning, he's sorely mistaken.