Bryde's Warning
This book can be found in a chest in a cave just southwest of the Capital Valley Tower, detailing the harrowing experience of another traveler who stayed the night in this cave and warning the reader not to attempt to do the same.
Coordinates¶
| X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|
| 454 | 73 | 1252 |
Transcription¶
To whoever,
I wouldn’t spend the night in here if I were you. Might seem like it’d offer you a little more protection than the woods will, but I’m telling you, something about this cave is bad news. Better to take the one-day journey south to Drabyel. That’s where I’m heading next, and I hope not to come anywhere near here again.
I never used to be scared camping in caves, and that’s a fact. The greybison roam through em all the time up by the Gulf. Until last night, I would have told you that the old stories about places like these were pure mihk.
Then came last night. I was heading way south to see my kid who moved to Mohta. The trip was going slower than I woulda preferred because Gehd, my horse, kept getting spooked. First, a swaying grain of prairie grass made him rear up in fright. I held the reins and soothed him, but barely managed to stay in the saddle. We took a long break, and he had some water, but it wasn’t three kilometers before he got scared again, this time from the long shadow of a tree’s leafless branch. This time he got me good. I fell to the ground, badly bruised, and it was all I could do to stop from getting trampled by my own steed! He stomped his hooves like crazy, and I got a good look at his face from below. His mouth was open, nostrils flared, and his eyes were like something out of a horror story- bloody red and wide as dinner plates. After scrambling to my feet, I tried in vain to calm him down, to no avail. And when I saw the figure of what looked like a hornless shadowy Drehmari in the distance, that was the last straw. I muscled Gehd over to tie him up at a nearby tree and found this old campsite to sit in and wait for his energy to ease. When he was still rampaging around at dusk, I unpacked and jumped into my bedroll to wait.
It were comfortable enough, so I decided to stay the night. Sleep was slow to come. I couldn’t stop thinking about poor Gehd. In fact, I can’t rightly say how many winks I got. Instead, I spent the night in agonizing fear. It felt like I kept waking up and walking up to the back of the cave, only for it to slide open and reveal a pack of grasswolves, illuminated by the light of my lantern. Or a cloaked figure with a scythe who pulled back his hood to reveal the horrified face of Gehd. Or a multitude of shadowy hands that reached out to grab me from the inky blackness.I couldn’t tell you exactly when I woke, but I was covered in cold sweat, and it felt like I had aged thirty years. I climbed out of the cave, only to find the skeleton of a horse where Gehd had once been. I must admit that I lost any remaining contents of my stomach at that juncture. I was gonna continue on to Drabyel right away to let them know about my ordeal, but I figured it would be better to do an act of public service and tell you, traveler, to get your sorry ass out of here and back on the road. The shadows are getting longer and stranger, my friend. If there ever was a time to listen to the old stories, that time would be now.
Good luck on your adventure, pal. You’re gonna need it.
Sincerely, Bryde Lentil