[OOM] Bad goes to Worse

Report NN(T1)5, Lieutenant Sherral Maduin, 7/8/704OV.
Fourth Day Post-Midlight Shard Activation.

We reached the downed airship in good time – better than I expected, even, and with minimal trouble – but the people in it must have drawn the dead to them. Although we cleared the mob, it was not without the loss of a soldier, and Judge Zecht exhausting himself by manipulating the Mist around us to his aid.

Within we found a about six soldiers, with medical supplies, weapons and uncontaminated food, and an experienced combat medic around my age, Lieutenant Kara Tellurin. The airship was too badly damaged to be salvageable, and even if it was, it wouldn't have flown in the Mist storm.

We took a few hours to rest and prepare for the trip back. Lieutenant Tellurin informs me that their group numbered nine four days ago, but that three of them have already died from either injuries or the Mist sickness. She gave both Zecht and myself a check-up, and confirmed that I'm healthy.

Zecht, it seems, has begun to sicken – she noted some discolouration on his skin. He insists he is fit to lead still. It is not my place to question him.

We have set off for the rendezvous point.

Our numbers stand at thirteen.



Report NN(T1)6, Lieutenant Sherral Maduin, 8/8/704OV.
Fifth Day Post-Midlight Shard Activation.

Upon our return to the main group, we found nearly all of them dead. In most cases they seemed to have fallen on their swords, but there is evidence that one or two were restrained and disarmed and instead died through repeated self-inflicted impacts to the head.

Only Snuffles survived. We found him comatose from the Mist sickness.

Judge Zecht surmised what had happened quickly. We have been pursued from the palace by a banshee, a spirit whose voice can cause any who hear to commit suicide. Lieutenant Tellurin was visibly shaken by what we found. I assisted her in administering medical care to Snuffles, and as we continued on our march, carried him.

He awoke towards the end of the day, his condition seeming much improved. The medicine seems to be having the desired effect.

We made a camp at a Kiltia temple. With only a few entrances and sturdy walls, it is easy to defend even with our limited numbers. Lieutenant Tellurin and I took the first shift on patrol, but only had problems with a few errant walking dead who were quickly dispatched, and did not seem indicative of a larger force.

As we came off our shift, Snuffles was there to greet us. Given his usual disposition, he seemed very calm, but he was unsteady on his feet. He led us down to the Kiltia's basement, where we found nearly three dozen dead bodies of Nabradian worshippers, un-animated as of yet, having seemingly all committed suicide using whatever means were available. We burnt the bodies to keep them from animating, and said prayers to send them onto Faram.

We now number ten.



Report NN(T1)7, Lieutenant Sherral Maduin, 9/8/704OV.
Sixth Day Post-Midlight Shard Activation.

A soldier died in the night. There is little explanation for it, he simply did not wake up. We assume he was sick.

Another's condition had rapidly grown worse, and we have discovered a new symptom – old wounds reopening. Moving him would've surely mean death. Judge Zecht spent the morning isolated with maps, attempting to decide the best route to take.

Kara Lieutenant Tellurin is increasingly distant towards me. She is shaken by what we saw last night, and by how quickly we are falling, and I fear that I, muddy and bloody and ill-equipped for social situations as I am, am little comfort.

Numerous soldiers suggested we abandon the sick man and move on without him. Snuffles was among them, spurring them on from the rear with sly remarks. Pragmatically, they were perhaps correct, but I was incensed by the suggestion nevertheless. When they attempted to physically prevent Kara Lieutenant Tellurin from treating him, a fight ensued.

I fared well, and took down several, before Snuffles snatched me and, with unnatural strength for one so small and so ill, lifted me and bore me down – and through – a wooden table. He had me pinned and dazed and was delivering punches to my head when we were interrupted by Judge Zecht.

I feel I could have taken him.

Snuffles was ordered to patrol the perimeter while I and the other participants in the fight received medical treatment. According to Lieutenant Tellurin I may have sustained a concussion.

The sick soldier died shortly afterwards anyway. Kara Lieutenant Tellurin insists that someone has contaminated our supply of medicine, citing its seeming acceleration of his condition. I do not know whether to believe her.

We have continued our march. We number eight.

[OOM] Argh.

Report NN(T1)8, Lieutenant Sherral Maduin, 10/8/704OV.
Seventh Day Post-Midlight Shard Activation.

I have started to bleed intermittently from nose and mouth, and there is a patch of discolouration on my skin. As of yet, the nausea does not prevent me from doing my duties. We have medicine, but not enough to provide ample supply for everyone – I have taken the bare minimum needed to keep my symptoms in check enough to continue doing my duty. If we return to the fleet, they will be able to provide full treatment.

From the early morning onwards we started encountering small groups of the dead, and a few Nabradian war machines still functioning, gone haywire from the Mist. They were few and far apart at first, but as the day wore on we encountered them more and more frequently. By the onset of evening, there was one skirmish approximately every fifteen minutes.

By the time we stopped to rest, we were all exhausted, and those of us who were ill had found our symptoms to be worsening. I retained my policy of taking only the bare minimum of medicine – we are nearly running out of medical supplies, and we are not far from the edge of the city and the Salikawood.

Thankfully, Kara Lieutenant Tellurin is healthy. She is one of the few medics we have, especially with Snuffles' antagonistic behaviour, and it would be unfortunate if she were compromised.

Our numbers remain eight, having not lost anyone today.


Report NN(T1)9, Lieutenant Sherral Maduin, 11/8/704OV.
Eighth Day Post-Midlight Shard Activation.

We reached the Nabreus Bridge and our only path out of the city and into the Salikawood, a much safer area for us. We were not expecting to find what we did: An army of the dead, larger even than the one we encountered at the Verdpale Palace, arrayed in our path, with more arriving with every moment. In times past, Nabudis' criminals would dump their victims into the Nabreus Lake, and now the Mist has animated their remains.

Presiding over the army was a (possibly the) banshee, its force of will holding the army to coherence and blocking our path. The battle was bloody and hard fought. I received a wound to my face and another to my leg, among smaller injuries. Other casualties were more severe – three soldiers died in the early stages of the battle, torn apart by the dead. All seemed lost when the banshee began to scream, and we felt our sense of self begin to slip away.

It was Judge Zecht who saved us. He tossed the Midlight Shard to me and then, using a powerful Mist attack, he cleared us a path. Kara, Snuffles and I made for the bridge, with myself and Snuffles carrying a soldier too injured to walk. Zecht destroyed the bridge behind us, trapping himself in the city to hold back the army from pursuit.

Our numbers are now only four, but we have reached the Salikawood, and the worst has passed. Still, we will be lucky if any of us make it to the Phon Coast and a potential rescue.