Journal entry of Jon Frant the Scholar, dated summer of 1105

Journal entry of Jon Frant the Scholar, dated summer of 1105
[translated from a dated form of Trevö]

A difficult trek over the mountains and through the tundral plains had me pessimistically wondering if this expedition would prove worth the effort, but alas, persistence has yet again paid off! It has been sixteen days since my arrival in the coastal city of Vaior in Yidmark, and I have already found an incredible lead on the curious island that has been surfacing in odd locations in my research.

Upon arriving in Vaior, I met my Contact in front of a squat stone building owned by a matron in her middling years. My rent was negotiated (quite fairly, I must note) with my Contact acting as an interpreter, and I was given a bedroom in the southeast corner outfitted with a desk, grease lamp, bed, and trunk. Food was to be provided in the dining room twice a day: once an hour after dawn, and again an hour before dusk. I thanked the matron, Iravi, for her generosity, and went to bed.

The following morning, my Contact connected me with Bjonva, the wizened Yidvian man charged with keeping city records and accounts (thankfully, Bjonva, being a former ice merchant, spoke adequate Trevö). He invited us to dig through the centuries of codices, manuscripts, and reams of loose parchment stored in hundreds of stacks in his large cellar, and I immediately went to work. The majority of records Bjonva had stored away had to do with the ice trade in Vaior: certificates of sale, trade agreements, records of shipwrecks, ice handling techniques, etc., some dating from before the Yakaszi wars. My Contact accompanied me in translating each document of interest we found, with Bjonva graciously giving a couple hours each morning to help translate as well. I helped the best I could by pulling out anything I found that looked less like an official record and more like the writing of a sailor (which were few and far between). If it were not for Bjonva’s confidence in his possession of the information I was seeking, I would have never come to this city in the first place.

Then, today, on the sixteenth day, I finally found what I was looking for. My Contact unearthed a flimsy, stained manuscript that was crudely written by a Yidvian merchant (likely dated back to 600-700 years ago, largely preserved by the cool temperatures of the cellar and the wooden box it was stored in). The Yidvi manuscript detailed his naval voyage northward on the Oshin sea, when he discovered,"“an island not drawn on any map I had known, and on it lived creatures unlike any I had ever seen. It was an island barren of tree, moss, and sand, composed solely of stone. I approached cautiously, and the strange inhabitants watched me while more seemed to come out from caves within the island. There were no shoals, so I was able to dock easily enough, and the crea[...]” (this part of the manuscript was unfortunately too damaged by water to read) “[...] so I now know the truth. Born of magic, they are older than the mountains, and know more of the arcane than the best sorcerers in Whirn. It is a shame my vessel sank, struck by lightning from under the sea. I only hope this account reaches the shore before I too am destroyed by the Boulder.”"I whooped for joy upon reading this, as it corroborates the other texts I had found at the University about this mysterious island! My suspected connection between Wahrog the Boulder and the island’s shifting location now seems all but confirmed! I wish I could stay here longer and study the odd traditions of the Yidvi peoples, or perhaps the unique intricacies of the ice trade, but I must deliver this finding to my patron, Bödre Trefeaux. Tomorrow I will bid my Contact, Bjonva, and Iravi farewell, and begin the journey back to Zhökis, this time by sea. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll catch a glimpse of the island myself!