2022.04.26, Nikonai Nikanios

Expedition into the High Wilderness with the intent to cull the robots at the northern dam, report by Nikonai Nikanios.

Date of the expedition is April 26th. Report written the day after.

Important points: -Strange unidentifiable figure on the way to the dam, hard to focus on, disappeared into the ether -In the long room that spans the whole dam, the way we came in is marked with an X -In that same room there is a pitch black wall that behaves weirdly. Try not to get lost in it -Machinery in the westernmost tower of the dam was destroyed in a way that didn’t seem like water damage -DO NOT venture alone. The wilderness itself is dangerous -We have a dog now

Thoughts: -The dam may be useful to us, particularly the hydroelectric power plant -The water wheels could also be powering the robots, so if we forsake their possible use we might be able to make the dam safer very easily -The explosion cleared the way for a possible new way to get up and down, a path that the robots don’t seem inclined to take -Translating the book might help understand the dam a little better

[GETTING THERE]

Crossed the portal with Worthy Friend and Castille Liescat with the objective of getting rid of the robots in the dam that another expedition found far to the north of the sunken village. While I had never been there, my fellow expeditioners had, so we had little trouble actually reaching it. Headed north until we hit the cliff, followed it northwest to the valley. The troubles started there. There was something in the path in front of us, small and twitching. Luckily we thought to check our surroundings and found that this was a trap laid by a group of giant herons. They’re surprisingly clever. We tried to flee and scare them off, I sustained minor injuries while we escaped.

Eventually we reached the sunken village, which I had only read about previously in other reports. Here I realized that in the labels I placed over Emery’s possible map, the spot labelled (2) is probably the sunken village (or the hopworth willow, but close enough to not matter) while the spot labelled (1) is probably the dam rather than the sunken village. I shared this with my party members but they already knew this. Very embarrassing.

We followed the river upstream, northwards, on its right side. To our right there was a steep slope, and to the left of the river the terrain was more hilly.

[THE VAGUE FIGURE]

Eventually we found a patch of rubble and dust, the place where Worthy Friend scared off the herons pursuing them in the last expedition. But there was something else. A figure that seemed like that of a kin, but none of us could make out any of its features, even when we got closer. Two arms, two legs, a head. Probably. Worthy Friend called out to it and it reacted, I think, but I couldn’t say how. Castille got closer to it than we did until it disappeared. Her report should have more details.

We moved on from that, some ways north along the river once more, until we reached the dam. It reminded me of the wheels and the enormous water lock we had back in the Archipelago, but this one is in even greater disrepair. This is where Emery’s map, if that is indeed what it is, ends, so I desperately want to reach the top.

The dam has four domed structures, each with a water wheel above them. Only the second from the left is turning, which is the one the previous expedition infiltrated. Castille used some sort of enchantment to help us walk on the water to get to the dam rather than risking swimming, which was a lot of fun. We went in through a window they broke last time.

[THE DAM ITSELF]

The robots seemed to be dormant, inside their wall compartments. Worthy Friend wanted to bring the roof down on the robots, which I think was a great plan, but we ended up settling on exploring the place and trying to find a way to shut them down in a less violent manner. I’ll not bother explaining the route we took so I’ll draw it instead

[drawing here when I can bother to do it]

The lower passage was covered in bronze pipes and machinery. The stairs took forever, the water wheel was turning. We decided it would be too dangerous to tamper with it but I think we could either use its power for our own ends, or try to stop it to disable the robots. The wheel was behind a gate with a sign written in the same language as the book they recovered in the last expedition

[THE NOBLE QUARTER]

Going through a hatch in the wall, we entered a very opulent room, very different from the rest of the dam. Worthy Friend and Castille had been here before and taken the book from this room, but it was new to me. Paintings of war and battles, the people in them wielding ornate weapons and magics. This is pure speculation but I suspect there is a connection between these images, the one found in the drawing in the sunken village, and the strange figure we met with on our way here.

We go through a few doors and I get extremely lost. This whole place is hard to navigate, and I think we’re gonna need either someone taking notes of every turn, or marking the hallways and doors in some way. Some of the hallways lead into rubble. We end up in a very large room with a similarly large and ornate door that is locked, but Castille has no problem picking the lock. Take stairs leading to an extremely large room, probably spanning the whole length of the dam. The southern side of the door has windows overlooking the river, the northern one has tapestries and paintings. Worthy Friend and Castille take one of them.

[PITCH BLACK]

But one section of the wall is very different. Pitch black, no light reflects off of it. We try to touch it but we can’t reach it, somehow. Castille walks into it and just… keeps walking. She’s still here but she looks like she’s walking into the distance. Luckily she’s holding the traversal hook so she had no issues coming back. Her report will have more details about what she saw.

Oh, important detail - - - - The door we came through to get to that very long room is marked with an X

[DANGER]

At this point we try to fiddle with the panels and they open, with the robots they hold springing to life. We run downstairs, go through a hallway and come face to face with rubble, completely blocking our escape, while the robots walk in and block our exit. Castille and Worthy Friend dig through the rubble while I try to keep the robots at bay when everything turns on its head. Ringing in my ears. Through that ringing I think I heard metal tearing. I think this blocked passage lead to one of the water wheel towers, and we hit some explosive that cleared that passage. Castille and Worthy Friend fell down the tower, I just got lucky. I’m very glad they didn’t die from that, though they got some bad wounds. Looking for an exit I find one below, and we escape to the lower tunnels of the westernmost tower.

I can’t be certain but I think the robots weren’t pursuing us down that tower. Maybe they only stay in their own area. Maybe they physically can’t leave.

We made camp there. The piping here was rusted and broken. We walked down the hallway and into the dome, and found all the machinery and security robots destroyed. Maybe water pressure. But every robot had a puncture hole in its head. This is also pure conjecture but maybe there’s some sort of robot civil war going on between the towers? Once we recover the remains we can check if their weapons fit their “injuries”

[THE VORACIOUS SKY]

We decided to turn back to the portal. Found yet more angry herons on the way. Rather than fighting, I caught their attention and ran alone to the east, telling the rest of the party that I would meet them back in the sunken village. After breaking line of sight I hid under a rock until the squawking stopped, and thats when things got… weird.

First sign of something being wrong was that the ground beneath me felt like an animal’s muscle flexing and unflexing. I quickly bolted out from under that rock, but it wasn’t just that spot. Everywhere was moving weirdly and the sky felt so big and wide and blue and the stars felt like they were boring into me. It felt like the sky was trying to grab me. I just ran to the sunken village as fast as my legs could take me. As I got closer things slowly started going back to normal. I don’t think separating again would be a good idea. And I would very strongly advise against anyone thinking of embarking on an expedition on their own.

[PUPPER]

After my friends helped me recover, we went east to the cliff, where we found a pack of alligadogs. Castille’s report on them said that they tended to fight between themselves, so we gave them some food to fight over. The smallest one of the pack couldn’t get even a bite, and approached us for more. We captured it and Castille named it Mulbruk. The rest of the pack chased after us but gave up soon after, they don’t seem to be built for endurance.

After that, we reached the portal and nursed our wounds. We didn’t succeed in culling any robots but we learned a lot about the High Wilderness.