To all who have doubted the stories of previous explorers of the far reaches of the globe, I have here the account of my own journey there, complete with photographic evidence of its astonishing locales and creatures. By the time you have read it through, you shall be astounded, and I shall have added my name to the list of science’s greatest.

  Day 1

  My real journey starts now, here at the edge of civilization. After a four-day trip in a packed train and several hours on an ornery donkey, I have finally reached Khasim, the last true town on this corner of the world. Behind me lie the marked parts of the map. Before me, there is only the unknown. I need only to stock up on a few final provisions before my journey can commence. And, of course, to fish my crew out of the tavern. Curse the fools!

  Day 3

  At last, we are off! With Khasim in our wake, I have commenced traveling through the Ashen Wastes and towards the mountain. Already I am seeing things that no civilized being has seen before! Just this morning, I found a number of small, spidery creatures crawling around the remains of my firepit. One of the porters startled them, but I snapped a picture before they all scurried away.

  I’ve dubbed them ‘pointers’. They’re no larger than a hand, and they scare very easily. I’ll have to see if I can catch one...

  Day 10

  We came across a stream this morning and refilled our waterskins. Even purified, the stuff tastes like ash. Alas, the sacrifices we make for discovery. No luck on catching the ‘pointers’ yet. They’re damnably fast.

  Day 17

  It’s been unusually hot as of late. Other than that, not much of note has happened. I’m still trying to get used to these travel rations. The mountain is looking much closer, at least.

  Day 26

  Something to report at last! We reached the base of the mountain yesterday night and just finished exploring one of its caves. I am relieved that everything seems stable—there was no magma or toxic gas to be found, although there was also no sign of the ancient civilization that once lived here. At least I can now be assured that the mountain won’t be puffing out toxins anytime soon and running us out like it did with them.

  Having scouted it as thoroughly as we could, I think we should take shelter in the mouth of this cave. It will be better than sleeping outside, at the very least.

  Day 27

  Explored some more caves today. I found some old ruins, long since abandoned by all except vermin. I’ve taken a picture of them to have something to show for today’s explorations.

  It hasn’t been as fortuitous of a day as I’d hoped. One of the porters pricked her hand on a ‘pointer’ while trying to catch it and the wound swelled hideously. Later, I caught sight of a spindly creature wandering about outside, but it bounded away before I could set up the camera. Hopefully another of these ‘striders’ will show up for a photo before we turn back.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The ancients who lived here seemed to have a thing for geometric shapes. The crabs and wyrms appear to share that sentiment.

  Day 30

  Today marks the halfway point for my expedition. The same cannot be said for my provisions, unfortunately. Shame all the wild stuff tastes like ash.

  Day 31

  This morning I was awoken by what I thought was a chorus of birds, until I realized that it was just one bird with many beaks. The feet had an odd shape, though, so I included a picture.

  On a more important note, I found some new ruins, and these ones have cave paintings! It will take more tests to determine exactly how old they are, but my guess is that they date back to the time of the last eruption. More news soon, hopefully!

  (a note on the picture) My morning songbird. Note the four toes on each foot. A mutation, or possibly a new species?

  Day 32

  All day and all night I’ve been pouring over these ancient runes. The language appears to be some primitive form of Rysillic, albeit with considerably more characters. So far, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but from what I’ve deciphered, it seems to be mostly records. Lots of people were afraid and complaining, as expected, given the earthquakes and other events preceding the eruption. Additionally, they had multiple records of correspondence with a ‘messenger’ of some sort, although I can’t tell who it was the messenger of. So many questions!

  Also, we went fishing to refill our provisions. Everything we caught tasted like it came from a fireplace. And I got pricked on those spines more times than was worth it.

  Day 33

  Not much luck on the runes today. I went out for some fresh air and a walk to get my mind off of things. Afterwards, I took a few photos of the local wildlife. The biodiversity here is amazing, and I think there might be several undocumented species. I’ll have to see if I can classify them the next time I get a free minute. I fear we’ll have to head back soon. I can only hope to decipher some more of the runes before that happens.

  (a note on the picture) Flightless, fast, territorial. Possibly an apex predator?

  (a note on the picture) Several of these were grazing outside the cave.

  Day 34

  No progress today. All dead ends. Running out of time.

  Day 35

  I need more time! The days grow short and with provisions going as they are, the end of this expedition seems inevitable. All I’ve learned about the ‘messenger’ is that it seemed to know that the mountain was going to erupt. Other than that, I can’t say anything for certain. The bits that remain are too scattered, and my time here is too short.

  Day 36

  Regretfully, I’m turning back. It seems wrong to leave with so many mysteries unsolved. The lack of food demands it, though, and besides, the crew is getting tired. They only signed up for so much. I guess this is it.

  Day 39

  On the road again. There’s not much to see or talk about; it’s just the same grey sky and flat land around us for miles. I wish we could have stayed a few more days at the mountain, but that is behind us now. Ah, regrets.

  Earlier this morning, we passed a couple of tall creatures. Mostly, they just watched us, but one of them trailed behind our group for a good few miles. I don’t think it meant harm, but I’m glad it’s turned back now.

  (a note on the picture) A curious fellow, but a little too large for my liking.

  Day 45

  The mountain looks a lot smaller now. Ahead, the road stretches on.

  Day 52

  We’re almost home. Soon, I’ll be back in civilization’s warm embrace and eating food that doesn’t taste like soot. I suppose it’s something to look forward to, if nothing else.

  Towards the end of the day, I finally saw another of those ‘striders’. It was a whole herd of them, actually, wandering through the ashfield. They were feeding on the tops of the charred trees, and I remained hidden in the hopes that none of them would notice me. They seemed unbothered, and I was able to take several pictures as they wandered past. At least something good came out of today.

  Day 58

  We’ve made good time, and I think we’ll reach Khasim tomorrow. After that, the rest of the journey will be easy. That’s that, then. I’ve got some good data on the wildlife at least, as well as the pictures to prove it, and I guess that’s the most I can ask for. There’s nothing left to do but hope this journal inspires others to allow more expeditions out here. Until that happens, I must be content.

  Signing off for now.