Diary of Rith Ilralsesh

Unknown Date, 1003

Over the past few weeks of travel the surroundings have become increasingly ominous, lush green vegetation giving way to twisted, leafless trees. The joking and bantering has dried up and the dwarves don’t stray far from the camp at night. I am not usually one to fall prey to such pessimism, but my mortality is weighing heavily on me and I have decided to begin recording my experiences. I have lost track of the time… I will have to ask our priest (don’t ask) for the date before I make my next entry.

1st Granite, 1004

By some strange coincidence, the day we finally reached our destination is also the first day of Spring. As we walked this morning, following the river we had been following for months, we could hear the faint sound of a distant waterfall. The sound became louder and louder until at least we stood at the precipice overlooking the place where the river cascaded in a deafening roar, splitting into 2 tributaries down below. The priest signaled us to stop, and shouted over the din that this was the place.

Log in to see images!

Perhaps I should back up and explain why we had brought a priest along, and indeed, why we had come at all to this forbidding hellhole. It began several months ago in our homeland, Storlutnomal, when the river began to spawn abominations. Children playing near the water began to disappear, and our fisherdwarves would vanish only to reappear a couple weeks later as an undead, a flesh eater. As time went on, the problem became worse instead of better.

So they sent us, 7 dwarves on a mission to find the source of the corruption, contain it and ultimately crush it. Though I have been chosen to manage the details of our labor here, Dobar Stukosber the priest is the only one with the knowledge to effectively combat our otherworldly threat, though I feel that he has been holding back from us. It makes no difference to me as long as he pulls his own weight. Dwarf of God or not, I’m going to make him useful.

Log in to see images!

We have christened our outpost Uthgurugog, “Demonbane”, a fitting title for the work cut out for us. There’s a great deal of work to do now. There are no mountains here, we will dig down into the silt and rock next to the cursed river, make a home for ourselves, and do the job.

Strike the earth!