Darkest Diaries: A Scrawled Notebook (Part 1)

(The writing is nearly incomprehensible, though not much else would hinder the ability to read the notes inside the notebook. The author was apparently rather good at keeping his belongings intact... not so much at writing.)

Day 1

We arrived at the... charming, let us call it, town that was reputed to have fallen into the hands of some foul miasma. I rode with two companions on the stage coach; one was a man of few words. On our entire trip, I learned two things: his name, Ferris, and his occupation -- that of a mercenary. Luckily, my other companion was much more talkative. His name was Montug, and he was a scholar from a far away land, who had studied the occult, and given himself wholeheartedly to... darker, practices. He was not so welcome in the main lands, and neither were his unusual habits. The local guards let him know this rather abruptly, when he was sent out, exiled to this cursed place. A man after my own heart; despite outward appearances, he seemed educated. Polite and well-mannered would be the least I could qualify him of being.

The lord of this place wishes to depart rather hastefully, leaving the town in the hands of 'the Caretaker', a rather... enigmatic, man. Constantly grinning, despite the grim allure of the place, and.... very, very eager. I will have to ask around about him when I get the chance; I am rather curious, if he is simply dull, or outright mad.

Day 1, Entry #2

The Lord has granted us a grace day, allowing us to settle in nicely before having to step foot outside. This allows me to make an inventory of the belongings I brought, which is quite pleasing. I ensured I'd brought my leeches, and my surgical knives, in the case of needing to do any bloodletting, and made sure the leeches were being kept alive. I also happen to have quite a few ointments of my making, as well as a few chemicals of the more... unsavory, kind. The academy wouldn't let me bring anything but what I had on me when they sent me away -- what fools! I'll show them their error, when I single-handedly find the cure to the evil in this place. Every last affliction these lands have, I'll rid the world of... and I'll march back triumphantly to the same halls I was cast out from. They'll have no choice but to admit my genius!

Day 2

Our grace day was... very educative. I now see I have much work on my hands; the people of this land are sick. I see them, walking along the streets with dark eyes, drooping faces, stooped shoulders... I can see it in their mannerisms, their bodies wracked by stress and illness, their hands shaking, their knees barely able to support their weights. I feel sorry for them. The Lord Garland wishes for us to depart on the morrow, maybe to see what we are capable of. We'll be departing in groups of four; the remainder of our little... 'roster', I'll call it, will stay within the hamlet, to ensure that no harm befalls its residents, that we may have a home to return to after we have accomplished... whatever mission we gave ourselves. Though I question the effectiveness of not bringing maybe one more person, the Lord won't budge, and he will hardly speak of the matter. He gets irritated... quite easily. It is dark outside now, and my candle is beginning to burn out. I will document our venture, but for now, I will rest.

(The next few entires are written sporadically, showing no clear concept of time throughout them)

Entry #1: As we enter the forest, the 'Weald', as the Lord calls it, it is clear that the groves are ailing. I look around myself; the trees are clearly infected with some manner of... fungal parasite, that has spread through the entirety of the land. In order to cure it, we will have to find the source.

Entry #2: We came across a group of bandits. They were quite clearly starving, and desperate to find some travellers to rob of their possessions. I picked one from the group, and chose to tackle him on my own. I let him have a whiff of some new chemical product I had made back at the academy, and the results were... satisfactory. Immediately, he began reeling back, and coughing, preventing him from killing me. Shortly after, he began trembling, though was still able to move freely. Before I could take note of further changes in behavior, Ylna, one of my companions, lodged a quarrel in the man's brain. She hardly understood why I was irritated at that. I think she thought I was in danger.

Entry #3: The Lord warned us to beware of where we stepped, and it seems he was correct; shortly before I was about to take a step forward, he stopped me, and pointed at a patch of ground. Upon inspecting it, I noticed that it was a cleverly hidden patch of fungi. He had us step back, and had Ylna shoot the patch. It erupted violently, spewing spores for entire minutes, if I counted correctly. The cloud lingered for a while longer, during which we took several steps back, and had a share of our rations each, waiting to be able to pass.

I will need to be rather careful when inspecting the fungus, until I know more of what their effects are.

Entry #4: The wildlife here is truly amazing; earlier, we saw a group of maggots devouring a corpse laying on the ground, in the midst of our path. Though, contrary to what one would usually witness, those maggots were very large -- easily the size of a large hound each. Upon further inspection, each of the maggots also had several, smaller maggots attached to their underbellies.

Working Theory: The maggots grow as they eat, and spawn more offspring that are fed off the surplus. A simple solution is to reduce the amount of corpses they can feed off, and any infestation should be circumvented.

Entry #5: We encountered a second group of maggots; this time, I attempted to test my compound on one of them. I can't say for sure, but it seems the fumes hardly have any effect on the beasts. They must have resilient lungs.

Note to self: Attempt to increase the ratio of cyanide in C-12 by a factor of 1.25.

Entry #6: We've made good progress. I've had a few more test subjects, though nothing conclusive; battles are resolved far too quickly to observe any meaningful changes in an organism infected by my compounds, at least beyond tremors, coughing fits and minor cognitive impairment. These seem to work well enough to dispatch bandits, though, so I will not complain for the time being.

Entry #7: We encountered some hounds, earlier. Ylna was, unfortunately, bitten by one of them, and started feeling hazy. I suggested that we take a while to rest, to which the Lord agreed. It is much too early to know, but I have vaccinated Ylna as a preventive measure to any illness she might have gotten from that bite. I cleaned her wound thoroughly, and had it bandaged. She is sleeping now, but I have good faith that she will make it out well, thanks to my expertise.

Entry #8: We reached a crossroads in the forest. The Lord looked up at the sky, and decided it was time we returned. I will have to prepare myself accordingly for my return to the forest -- I will have more than a few samples to gather.

(The bottom of the page seemingly had writing as well, but apparently the author thought better and scribbled over it, rendering it illegible)