Alamar Lepori's Personal Notes, Entries 5 - 9
Notes deciphered by Judy Hopps
Tarsen date: 12th of Ursus, in 221st year of the Second Age.
Master Researcher Alamar Lepori, of Her Majesty the Queen's Investigative Corps.
The city of Turalis is barren. My first visit to the city over a decade ago was much different. At the time it was nearly laden with gold and glowed in the sun. But like everything else the depravity of our kind reaches, it has been stripped to nothing since then. I'm sure the subsequent three expeditions funded by the crown made sure of that.
The point of this expedition was to investigate the findings of our base translations. Ancient texts found deep in the mountains of Tarsen as well as Aramarth matched the characters found on various items brought back by the expeditions to Turalis. With some guess work and a little luck, it appears that there is more to this city than was originally thought.
The texts seem to indicate there may be a chamber in the center of the city that contains something of great value. Its purpose is not entirely clear, but it seems to be linked to various depictions in artwork found in the city as well. In all the artwork, mammals of various kinds are seen gathered around a singular glowing item. It's uncertain if this is an act of worship or not.
There is also a very undeniable link to this object and the myths of Firesouls. Legends of the Firesouls exist in every major culture I've studied, and Turalis seems to be no exception. This chamber, if the texts are to be trusted, appears to be related to them.
Our team is tired, we've made camp just within the limits of the quiet city for the night. It's the same as last time: not a single living organism makes it home within the city. No insects, no plant life, nothing. The quiet emptiness is eerie.
My mind is wandering to the unfortunate members of our team we lost in the Painted Sea, five lost in total. Two to the collapsed path, three to sun exposure and dehydration. The rest of the team only barely managed to survive until we reached the oasis past the canyons.
Agrus and our assistants are in better spirits, but some of the locals hired for the expedition are restless. They're a superstitious lot, believing this land to truly be cursed. Somelas is as disinterested as always. I still don't know what that jackal's goals are.
Tomorrow we begin to look for the hidden chamber. May the Fires guide us.
Notes deciphered by Judy Hopps
Tarsen date: 14th of Ursus, in 221st year of the Second Age.
Master Researcher Alamar Lepori, of her Majesty the Queen's Investigative Corps.
For two days we searched for any signs of a hidden chamber. It has eluded us entirely, and without a map of this forsaken city, we can't even be sure we're looking in the right spot. We've come too far to give up now, however. Tomorrow we'll begin the search anew, looking for anything that might give us a clue as to where the chamber is located.
I cannot help but begin to doubt our journey's purpose. The chamber must exist, lest the five deaths that got us here were in vain. I doubt our benefactors would be pleased with that outcome either.
Our local help is getting more and more restless. Several fights broke up towards the evening, complaining of the dwindling food and water stores. We've maybe three days rations left, though a group heading back to gather more supplies from the oasis a day and a half north is possible. It still boggles the mind that no plants life grows within the city limits. I'm starting to believe the locals with their superstitions.
May the Fires preserve and guide us.
Notes deciphered by Judy Hopps
Tarsen date: 16th of Ursus, in 221st year of the Second Age.
Master Researcher Alamar Lepori, of her Majesty the Queen's Investigative Corps.
We've found it. There were doubts upon doubts, but ultimately we found the chamber. After scouring the center of the city, it was finally noticed that a main building seemed to have a room that pulled attention towards the back of it. Wilde was the one to notice, and searched thoroughly around the back of the room. He was able to deduce that the stone used in the wall towards the back was much newer and a different material. Looking at the maps we'd made of the city, it seemed logical that something may well be hidden behind a false wall.
We set to work immediately, prying at wall with our tools until we finally broke through. At first, we could not see well beyond the hole we'd created, but we knew we'd found something.
The next day was spent chipping at the false wall until a hole large enough for someone to enter was made. Somelas insisted he go first, more excited than I'd seen him in weeks.
Agrus and I followed after him, and torches were given to us through the artificial entrance. What we saw inside will always live in my memories as one of the most amazing moments of my life.
The inner chamber practically glowed from the vast amount of gold. The light of our torches danced brilliantly across the room, showing that it was in fact quite large. Texts were etched into the walls all around us, offering untold amounts of knowledge for us to decipher. However, I'm sure the true meaning of the chamber rests in the peculiar item at its center. Sitting in the center of the chamber is some form of altar, and behind that is a large, translucent sphere, deeply blue in color. This is no doubt the item depicted in our previous findings. I have no idea what it is, but it must have truly been important for the mysterious residents of Turalis to take such measures to hide it.
After basking in the glory of our find, we finally managed to pull ourselves out of there so the team could continue removing the false wall. Once a much more proper entrance is fixed, we'll begin documenting the interior and translating the texts.
I've already arranged for Wilde to take a portion of the team back to the oasis to gather more food and water, since it is very evident that we could be here for days, weeks even, while studying the findings.
I can rest easy knowing our visit to this accursed city wasn't in vain.
Notes deciphered by Judy Hopps
Tarsen date: 4th of Cervus, in 221st year of the Second Age.
Master Researcher Alamar Lepori, of her Majesty the Queen's Investigative Corps.
After taking over a week to simply catalog our findings, Agrus, Somelas and I finally began the process of translating the texts found in the chamber. In it is a wealth of knowledge concerning the history and beliefs of the citizens of Turalis. While many of our theories concerning the culture seem to be disproven by these, several others are strengthened and new theories are already developing between my cohorts and I.
The sphere in the center of the chamber seems to be of the utmost importance, central to not just the belief system of the city, but even the city itself. After revisiting some of our maps to include the new chamber, it would appear that this time is stored in the exact geographical center of the city, as if the city was built around it rather than it installed at a later time. The texts speak much of this item. Roughly translated, it is referred to as the "Resonant Stone".
This Resonant Stone is linked heavily to the Fires, said to be created by them and placed here for the benefit of all mammals. The city's residents revered the stone as a sort of physical link between the Fires and the world as a whole. It is here that the Fires were worshipped, a singular priest making contact with the stone and, supposedly, with the Fires directly. The descriptions of the priest, however, are disturbing. According to these texts, he wasn't merely a representative of the Fires, or even a herald. The priest was considered the active agent of the Fires, allowing the Fires to do extraordinary things through him. Healings, miracles, manipulation of fire, foreknowledge of events, even being able to read the minds of other mammals…it's fascinating.
We shall continue our research, working to unlock more secrets. May the Fires guide us.
Notes deciphered by Judy Hopps
Tarsen date: 10th of Cervus, in 221st year of the Second Age.
Master Researcher Alamar Lepori, of her Majesty the Queen's Investigative Corps.
After more translating, we have discovered things about this chamber that are unsettling. For all the gold, the rich history, and the beauty held by the Resonant Stone…there is a darker story here.
The Priest of the Fires was said to have true power over the physical world, given to him by the Fires for their purposes. This power is said to flow directly from the Stone to the Priest, but it requires the use of the Altar. Set into a small pedestal between the Stone and the Altar is the Key. This Key is a strange, bluish item with several notches on it, the tip appears to be sharpened. This Key was part of a ritual meant to invoke the power of the Fires, imputing them to the Priest of each generation. This ritual was held in high esteem, seeming to be a celebrated holiday meant to take place only once per generation.
This is where the story enters the darkness. In order for the new priest to gain these supposed powers, the former priest is sacrificed. The ritual plays out several times, over and over again, throughout their history.
This chamber, for all its beauty, is a chamber of death.