- See also: Western Approach
Codex text
Day 73
If not for this record, I would long have lost count of how long we've been lost in this Maker-forsaken wilderness. Nothing but glowing yellow sand and rocky pillars.
It is impossible to tell if we made progress today or if we are walking in circles. The broken pillar with the teeth that look like a wolf's - did we pass that earlier, or is there another just like it? Elerli has succumbed to the sun. Her face is red and dry and swollen, and we have neither water nor shade to offer. If we do not find the path soon, I fear she will not make it.
Day 81
Can it be less than ten days ago that I still hoped we would escape this wasteland with no deaths? Elerli succumbed that afternoon, and we've lost five since then.
They're getting more frequent. We caught a scorpion yesterday, but its meat provided no more than a mouthful for each of us. If we don't find water soon, none of us will return.
Day 95
Retli and Gorvin have found a solution to their hunger and thirst. Mari died last night, and they butchered her like a calf and ate the meat raw, sucking her blood for its liquid. I shudder even to write this, but my own stomach growled at the sight. I refused to partake, but I don't know how much longer I can go hungry. If I do not join their horrors, I will be the next to be eaten.
—Page from the Journals of Veril Dorel, from the Infamous Dorel Party, 7:19 Storm
Notes
- This codex parodies events that befell the real-life Donner Party. Some among the group resorted to cannibalism in desperation. "Dorel Party" is a clear allusion to the Donner Party.