Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #100
Data:
“Hostile ship coming to ram us!”, shouted a sailer.
“Battle stations and prepare to repel boarding parties!” ordered the captain.
As the ship approached, its tattered and ripped black sails held firm in the wind. It wasn’t sea monsters, it was pirates.
Pirates in this day and age? This land just keeps surprising me over and over again. Honestly, I was expecting a Kraken coming to sink us or a squadron of harpies sent from above to tear us apart. Since it’s pirates, there was no problem, I’m literally more technologically advanced than any of the locals.
Dropping back onto the ship deck, I started rummaging through my bag to find my rifle. As the rest of the crew were preparing their swords, I started searching for and loading up on ammo packs.
As soon as the enemy ship got within range, I started firing my rifle into the ship and the pirates didn’t see what hit them. They haven’t even gotten within boarding distance and I was already here pushing back their attack with a rifle thousands of years more advanced than any of their weapons.
“Tell your men to get back and stay on the ship, I’ll handle this,” I said to the captain.
Since the pirates were scrambling to get to cover and trying to figure out how to defeat my future technology, I started firing towards the haul of the ship and I must say, laser and wood do not go very well together. Shortly after, their ship started going lower into the water and it was evident that they were sinking.
Our job was done, our ship defended, and I was running low on ammo. Seeing the pirates were no longer a threat to us or Sparta, we pulled away and left them. Just as we pulled away, it seemed the weather was getting better, the storm was clearing and the sun was creeping out of the clouds.
Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #101
Data:
The stars aren’t as visible in Ancient Greece as on planetside. One thing I miss about Haruspex territory is how little pollution they have and the clear skies they have at night. Stargazing north of Loyalist territory was something I never did often but on my adventures, the moments were notable and the highlights of my experiences.
I’m not an astronomer but I do wonder sometimes how come the Haruspex get a better view of the stars than us. To say I’m jealous is an understatement. My faction is too caught up with the schism between the factions that we don’t even think about expanding to the stars.
It’s been known for ages that there are planets beyond us, Next Island is only a ball in the void of space. We have the ability to go into space, we can build airships, and we have the resources, dominating space and the skies could be easy, assuming the New Elysian Order doesn’t shoot us down with their anti-dragon artillery.
We continued sailing around the smaller islands towards the big southern island and I noticed most of the islands were not populated at all.
“How come you guys never thought of expanding towards the south and build a naval outpost?”
“They are watching and they don’t like it when we settle too close”
“Who are They?”
“The Gorgon and her minions”
Yet another piece of Greek mythology brought into reality through this magical place. Is this what the Haruspex were trying to get me to stay away from? Are they allies with The Gorgon? Approaching Knossos, we didn’t have much choice but to go slow and avoid getting stuck on rocks.
“The armors from the south are highly sought after, if you do meet a trader who deals in them, please tell us, the Spartan army would love to get an upgrade” chimed the captain.
Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #102
Data:
After dropping me off at the shore, the Spartan ship immediately turned around and started sailing away. In the distance, I can see why: a small fleet of ships was stationed near the coast and just sat there. They didn’t move, they didn’t fire anything, just sitting there.
I couldn’t identify who the ships belonged to, with their white sails and green symbols. Do they belong to The Gorgon? More pirates? Maybe a ghost fleet? This place gives me the creeps with the stories from the locals and now the mysterious fleet. I just want to find out more about the portal to the unknown, not chase or get chased by ghosts I thought to myself as I ripped open a ration pack.
I sat down on the grass and just started admiring the fleet of ships floating in the water as I ate my ration pack. A ration of boar meat and papplon soup, certainly I’ve been too spoiled by the local cuisine that ration packs are something I dread to eat. However, I need energy and to keep my health up, so I have to gobble it down even if I don’t like it. Too many nights of wine and high-quality meats have made me resent an explorer’s life while backpacking through unexplored lands.
Once finished with my ration pack, I continued on the path that led from the shore, and from my binoculars, I saw it, some kind of gate. Working my way through the dirt path towards the gate, a blow dart flew towards me and hit a tree.
Swish shrieked the dart as it went past me. Immediately I dropped to the ground and crawled to cover. Ducking for cover still, I unholstered my pistol and started hearing for any sound that could give away the attacker’s position.
5 min in and I’m still on the ground, still listening, and proceeded to crawl to a better view. Crawling made noise, and the noise was not a friend. Soon enough, my instinct told me to roll left and just as I rolled, a dagger stuck into the ground. Pistol in hand, I fired several shots and took down the attacker as I rolled over to face them. That was close, I’m going to scout the rest of the area and end the entry here.
Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #103
Data:
The body I examined wore Woodland Haruspex clothing, they know I’m here. It’s only a matter of time before they send someone to find out why their comrade didn’t return, and soon enough they’ll know I broke the arrangement and report me to Elysian High Command.
I don’t overly care, what I’m doing is to satisfy my curiosity, I’ll deal with the Loyalists after. Continuing on once I confirmed there were no more ambushers in the area, I made my way down to the strange gate.
Hanging were banners and sigils of gorgons, each proudly flown from the gate. A toxic smell bothered my nose and I had a cold feeling as I approached.
“Don’t get too close traveler, I haven’t seen you around here before, you don’t know what you’re up against” said a man in some kind of scale armor.
“What is this place”
“The home of The Gorgon and her pets”
I honestly wanted him to be joking and being overdramatic but I knew he wasn’t. My entire experience in this land was like as if I was placed in a storybook. My curiosity continued to rise, and soon enough I started asking more about the region.
“Do you work for The Gorgon?”
“…”
“Who are you?”
“…”
He was not very talkative about his background or who he was. Never mind him, what I truly want to know at the moment was what was on the other side of the gate.
With my binoculars, I looked through the gate and saw a collection of stone statues. Magnificent works of art showing fear and suffering were. I kind of gave up asking the man and resorted to assuming things.
I assume he’s part of some cult that worships statues and a toxic environment. I also assume that the toxic environment’s effects can be negated with some kind of spell or injection. However, these are only assumptions, I need more information to confirm these.
“You know, curiosity can get you killed” snorted a guy close to me.
I turned around, and it was yet another man in the scale armor. “Who are you? What are those statues? Why do you say that?” I asked as I unloaded my curiosity on him.
“Come, I’ll answer your questions over some warm food” he chimed.
Name: Captain Hector Draken, EEF
Entry: #104
Data:
We talked from the afternoon into the night, discussing Haruspex involvement and why they wanted to keep this place away from prying eyes, and what is past the gate.
The statues? The victims of The Gorgon who couldn’t defeat her. All of them turned into solid stone. When I scanned them with my binoculars, they showed no signs of organic matter, just pure stone, oh how terrible it would be to go out like that. One moment you are looking at something and the next moment, you feel yourself losing control and sense of your body, turning into stone.
“Ahaha that’s why I stay behind. It’s safer if I just try to buy mats off the survivors and resell them to the Haruspex”
“What do the Haruspex want with them?”
“I’m not sure and I don’t care. They pay a hefty markup for mats”
“Don’t they just farm them themselves? Why go through you?”
“Well, it turns out Haruspex sorcery can’t defend against Gorgon curses. They’ve lost a few groups to The Gorgon and last I heard, they’re still trying to undo the curses” he said as he took another drink of wine.
“How much in mats have they even bought from you?”
“I lost track, but they’re up to something with them. I just assume they’re gearing up to take revenge on Medusa”
What he says is troubling, Haruspex are not known to be hostile or planning anything planetside but the sheer amount they’re spending on gear is persuading me otherwise. I’ll send the intel to the Loyalists tonight, maybe they’ll be a little more lenient if I get pulled in for questioning if I’m actively contributing to the defense interests of our faction.
“Do you know anything about a mysterious bottomless hole?”
“Ah, the locals talk of it, I heard it’s somewhere in the east, hidden away from mortals or something, I’m not sure, I believe it’s just a legend”
“Do people usually go east? Why hasn’t anyone confirmed if it’s truly real?”
“Ahaha I brought you to my camp to eat and rest, why are you chasing a myth?” he laughed and chugged the rest of his wine.
I’m getting tired from all this eating and drinking, I think I’ll rest and take up my journey to the east tomorrow.