Alice turned the page, her eyes scanning the first lines of the second book. The handwriting was noticeably different, a scrawl that spoke of a man more accustomed to the rough life at sea than the careful penmanship of scholars. The words were direct, and unadorned, but carried a weight of lived experience.
I have delivered this book to the Sword Temple in hopes that it can be stored here for the knowledge to be kept for generations and for those who need the information I can provide. I may not have a great story to tell and none of it is about swordsmanship. It was a skill I never tried to pursue, but I admire the knights who can perform great feats with a sword.
I am a simple sailor, one who has traversed the seas from Dawncoast to the Dandelion Isles for more years than I care to count. My name is not important, but my story, I hope, will be of use to those who seek to understand the spread of corruption that plagues our lands.
I've spent most of my life at sea, a vast place where the sky and water meet. My name might not be famous, but my story is about my time sailing from Dawncoast to the Dandelion Isles and the dark trouble that spread over our lands.
When I first started sailing, it was like living a great adventure. The ocean was a huge stage for us sailors. We battled the waves, raced against the wind, and looked up at the stars. Our biggest worries were storms and competing ships. We fought against nature and others for the best trade routes, not against some dark, spreading evil.
But as time went on, things began to change, slowly and quietly. The ports we used to visit started disappearing from our maps, and our goods didn't arrive on time. We heard stories about odd things happening far away, but we didn't pay much attention, thinking they were just sailor's tales.
The first real sign of trouble came from the Dandelion Isles. We heard scary stories about those beautiful islands. Villages full of life were left empty or vanished as if they never existed. This left a strange, empty feeling. Dawncoast and other port cities started to have issues as well. I chalked it up to drunk sailor stories, but then I experienced it as well.
The kingdom's navy, which used to help keep peace at sea, started getting involved. They changed our sailing routes, and places that were once busy with ships and trade were now off-limits and eerily quiet. We watched helplessly as more islands disappeared from our maps, their stories and memories sinking away.
The trouble didn't stop at the islands. Even cities on the mainland, once lively and bustling, began to shrink. These places lost their energy and became like empty shells, reminders of what they once were. Eventually, entire islands were off-limits. No one was to trade with them anymore and whoever was left was expected to find a way to survive. The corruption had set in too far to save them. Some islands have been lucky. The people saw the signs and took off to the mainland. I carried some of them to new homes. They have been looking to restart their lives.
As I write this, the world as I know it is changing. More and more sailors and traders are being called to join the navy. There's a feeling of urgency like we're all being called to fight against something we can't see. The sea, which used to feel like a place of freedom, now feels smaller and more confined. I think my time to join this fight is coming soon. My days of freely sailing the seas with my crew might be ending, as I and many others get pulled into this battle against the darkness that's hurting our lands and seas. If I continue to sail then it will be under the command of the navy.
Elias slid down the ladder into the storage area. Alice looked up from her book and so did Thompson briefly. He stepped over the fallen vault door and stopped at the doorway.
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“How goes the reading?”
“Slow,” answered Alice. “Also, I have a question for you. This book I have been reading mentions Dawncoast and the surrounding townships. What was it like there in the early days of the corruption spreading? I have been trying to find out about the source of the corruption. We will likely need to go there next.”
“I have lived and worked around Easthaven for most of my life. Even as a teen in the Sword Temple, I didn’t go out to Dawncoast until I was called on for the war effort with my master. We occasionally went out to Veilten, the city that we crossed through, to get supplies for the temple. I got some information and news through the people there and in the smaller surrounding villages I visited during the protection missions I took on. Dawncoast wasn’t particularly special for me. Even as the corruption spread it just became one of the many port cities that got hit by the corruption cultists.”
Alice nodded thoughtfully, absorbing Elias's words. "But did anything stand out about Dawncoast during those early days? Any unusual activity or events that might hint at why the corruption targeted it?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
Elias leaned against a shelf. "Well, now that you mention it, there was something," he began slowly. "Dawncoast was always a bustling port, but around the time the corruption began to spread, there were rumors. Stories of more monsters and varied creatures coming out to attack people. Eventually, everyone knew it to be true as the bodies of corrupted monsters were presented.
Alice's interest was clearly piqued. "Do you think they were related to the Corruption Cultists?"
"It's possible," Elias said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "They were shrouded in mystery. For a while, they were just reimagined stories from old. None of the guards could find strong signs of the cultists reemerging. If they did find such a thing then the guards didn’t report it until the signs were obvious."
Alice closed the book in her lap, her mind racing. "That might be a lead worth pursuing. According to these books, the effects were felt first around the city and in the Dandelion Isles. Searching there could provide a crucial piece in understanding the spread of corruption."
Elias nodded in agreement. "It is possible. If you're planning to head to Dawncoast it will be best to continue following the King’s Road. It will be more difficult to sail beyond the city, however. The waters are now infested with sea monsters and I’m not sure if we will be able to find a suitable ship. I know that we still have a way left to travel, but finding the source should be our final step. There you should be able to use the rituals you have started to practice to cleanse the source of the corruption.”
“Do you think that I am ready to take those final steps,” she asked with a hopeful gaze.
“I think that you have worked hard to get to where you are now. You have done so well in training and mastering not only each piece of swordsmanship but also the art of Sword Breath and its connected abilities. You need not be so worried. It will be fine,” he said reassuringly.
Alice's fingers brushed over the book's cover, the texture of the leather grounding her thoughts. She considered his statements and what she had learned so far. A plan grew in her mind, and she was more certain than ever of what she needed to do.
“We need to head to Dawncoast and investigate it. However we will likely need to travel even further to the Dandelion Isles. I believe that I could ward off sea creatures with my magic if we need to travel that far. My question now is, which of the islands would I need to travel to? Surely I can’t just travel to the closest one and I will find exactly what I am looking for.”
“You could search through some of the old maps for clues,” said Thompson finally popping up out of his book to provide some commentary. “There are a few maps in the storage I looked at that covered troop movements early in the war against corruption. Let me go check.”
He set his book down and stood up. The maps section was tucked away with other scrolls and were bound nicely to preserve their contents. Around the edges, the color in them had started to fade. He pulled out one of the maps and untied the string holding it tight.
“This is the map,” he said as he scanned it. “It is a bit hard to read because of its age while also being dense with information already. Let’s see. Veilten is marked here and so is the Sword Temple. The islands are below it here.”
Thompson paused as he scanned for exactly what he was looking for.
“The earliest troop movements were by the imperial navy on back-to-back stops to the fifth petal and then sixth petal.”