Log 20

Erdtree burial. I'd heard stories of the practice, but I always imagined it to be a more… dignified thing. Sitting where I am now, it's hard to imagine that this is meant to be seen as a blessing, but perhaps this is another sign of how far things have fallen in these lands.

The light led me to a catacomb. The place is in a dire state of disrepair, and clearly hasn't been tended to, or even seen signs of life, in ages. The lingering spirits of the dead still remain here, whispering to themselves of a proper rest denied to them.

Still, the fact that no life remains within this place does not mean it was uninhabited. What I imagined to be a statue suddenly came to life and attacked me. For creatures made of stone, those little imps move with shocking dexterity, and they're clever too. They darted past my guard, they set up ambushes, used themselves as bait, pretended to be mere decorations, even crawled along walls. One fell upon my back while I was preoccupied with its allies, and its blade found my throat and snuffed out my life. I suppose the raining wolves should've taught me this already, but I can't let my guard down for even a second in these lands. Danger lies around every turn, and comes from all directions.

I don't know if I should be impressed by these things' intellect or disappointed by the dimwittedness of Godrick's soldiers that these things fought with greater coordination and strategy than any of them have.

To make things worse, statues littered throughout the halls spat fire at me, nearly cooking me alive in my armor. Thank goodness for these flasks of healing, or I would've been dead several times over.

A locked door blocked my path, but after some exploration I found a lever that seemed to open it. Past the door another living statue awaited me, though this one was… special.

It was several times larger than its kin, with a gruesome visage and deep, haunting eyes. It moved unnaturally, more like a statue than the others, but with disturbing speed and strength. It was hard fought, but I prevailed.

Now I sit here contemplating my victory, and staring at what that thing guarded.

A massive, twisting mass of roots, entangling innumerable corpses. The bodies are decrepit and withered, the roots feeding on the bloated mass of flesh. Are these the roots of the Erdtree? Is this what Erdtree burial truly means?

I suppose when I think about, it makes a certain sense. Dead bodies returning to the Erdtree ought to look like this. But the stories always painted it in such a holy light, it's hard to believe that this same image is what the sacred scriptures spoke of. It's almost enough to make one wonder what this is all for.

I should banish such heretical thoughts from my head. It's not the place of a fool like me to think on such things. I am only a sword to be wielded by the hands of my betters. I've looted the treasures from this place, like a common graverobber. Now I take my leave.


Log 21

Whenever I think this place can't surprise me any longer, I am proven wrong. The Lands Between are a wondrous place, joyous and divine, truly.

After I left that foul tomb behind me, I spotted a cliff overlooking a beach below. I rode down to investigate, coming across another of those hideous trolls on my path. The beast was just as mighty as its brethren, but fell nonetheless. The beach itself was comparatively plain. At first the most notable thing about it was the hideous wildlife. Horrible, gigantic masses of tentacles with massive beaks, trying to swing my blade against them felt like trying to sink it into a mass of mud, but their beaks proved more vulnerable.

Past them, however, I spotted one of Kale's kin, another of those nomadic merchants. He wasn't as personable or as chatty as Kale, but I traded with him nonetheless. It's not as if I'm performing an act of charity, just buying what I need, but I suppose Kale did ask me to trade with his people, so I suppose there's no harm.

Past him, I spotted a herd of demi-humans wandering through the sand. These things were nuisances back when I was patrolling the borders of Elis, now they're barely worth the ink in this journal. They were guarding what appeared to be the entrance to a cave, however, which may prove worth investigating.

Before I entered there, however, I decided to finish exploring the rest of the beachside coast, lest I get sidetracked and lose track of myself. The edge of the coast seemed innocuous enough at first, before the dead came to life.

I've seen plenty of those decrepit, half-dead people wandering around, the ones unable to find a proper death in this broken land, but this was different. Piles of bones and hanging skeletons suddenly sprung to life, as if pieced together by the hands of some twisted mortician. By the time I realized what was happening, they were already upon Torrent and I.

Though frightening, and holding the element of surprise, the skeletal creature did not pose much more of a threat than the foot soldiers I've faced so far, and fell rather easily. They had another surprise in store for me, unfortunately. When I cut one down, I turned my attention to another of them, Torrent neighing wildly with panic as they began to surround us. I cut them down and pushed them back with wide swings, but when I thought we were safe, I felt the spear of another stab into my leg.

At first I thought another of them that I didn't spot had snuck up on me, even though I was certain I'd cut down the skeleton that ambushed me. Then, as I turned around, I realized what was happening. The foul undead creatures were refusing to stay dead, as soon as I cut them down, their bones began to quake once more as they reanimated again.

In a panic, I fled atop Torrent, who seemed as frightened as I was. We passed through some strange gust of wind, and before I knew what was happening, Torrent and I were thrust hundreds of feet up into the sky. I nearly fell from my saddle then and there, but Torrent had no trouble landing us on safe ground atop the cliff. I'm still not certain what exactly happened, but I don't think I'll be returning to that beach just yet.

I've landed right where this all began, at the entrance to that mausoleum where I emerged from after waking. That masked man, Varre, spoke to me again. He seemed quite intrigued to learn I've been granted entrance into the Roundtable Hold. I still don't trust that man, something about him just seems wrong. I'll have to keep my guard up around him.

For the time being, I'll return to the Church of Elleh and rest for the night. Tomorrow I'll resume my exploration.

-Accolon of Elis