To Be Determined

Chapter One: The Desert

Professor Olyvia Saris, Entry 1. Journal 3. Day 24.

The scorching heat radiating from the cracked sand is intense enough to reach me in the deep end of the cave which I have sought refuge in. Iliad, my partner in the field and Husband had been missing since I awoke several hours ago. He is not responding over the walkie-talkie.

We had a deal. We travel together and we travel at night. If for any reason we separate our fates are sealed. Neither of us would survive for long in this barren wasteland that we so tragically fell into. I am afraid the journal that I have previously been recording in was misplaced during the desperate attempt to cover some ground during the night. Going back would be suicide, every second out here is a second closer to our surely ultimate demise. With that being said, I must write a thing or two down to remind myself of my existence. The risk of dehydration means an increased risk of irrational behavior, a risk that I cannot afford to take. I am not entirely sure where to begin anymore. There are so many holes in the story that I am certain that the truth will always be a mystery.

I pull the pen away from the page. I must practice caution with the words that I write. I am already halfway through the journals that I bought for this exposition. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. At this time we anticipated arriving a hundred miles and some change west, an oasis waiting. The Rancid Sea, named after the mass sea burial during the plague that struck shortly before the oldest generation currently inhabiting the earth. Ironically this sea now provides the largest supply of clean water to the general population and its agricultural efforts. That is one of the many stops that we had planned on our track to find information about the plague. Iliad and I are researchers of sorts. He's an expert on land navigation, tracking omnivorous food, locating water, and a medic. I would have died nearly a fortnight before now had he not been there. My job is relatively multifaceted in comparison. I study diseases in a laboratory setting and have been infatuated with this ancient plague for my entire career. I am, essentially, the reason we are both in this situation. I haven't the option to turn back now, nor could I in the beginning. The Empress of Lochea, The home of STEM, has entrusted me as one of the top professionals to take on this quest for answers. The plague is going to resurface. It is only a matter of time before time runs out for another 75% of the population. To stop that, we must join forces with men and women of magic. We must visit the witch living in the Narrow Wood approximately 15 miles south of here. Hopefully, she will be able to answer our questions and send us in the right direction. I reached for the pen and continued the entry.

I am searching for a cure to protect our people from a resurgence of the Plague of the East. It is of utmost importance that the disease does not consume any more of our already fragile population. Our quasi-utopia depends on everyone remaining calm. If the rumor that the plague may resurface gets out, pandemonium will ensue and society will collapse once more. The Empress herself has put this task in our hands. I am afraid that if we come back empty-handed we will be executed before we can worry about catching the contagion. Currently, if our calculations are correct, we are 15 miles north of the Hex of the Narrow Wood. If she is unable to provide guidance, we will be traveling west to the city of magic, Beechhaven. Laboratory associates are anticipating my arrival and have been conducting studies. Their results have been inconclusive thus far. I can only hope that they have better news when we arrive. The sooner the threat of complete and utter annihilation is extinguished, the sooner Iliad and I can rest easy.

I had enough supplies packed for the duration of the trip, but the dangers that we met on the path could not have been anticipated. Without the tampering of civilization on the ecosystems of the world, evolution struck faster than anyone thought possible. Nearly everything is twice its original size and four times as mean. Man is no longer the fittest, so survival is a much more daunting task. Day 15 began our descent into the desert. On Day 17, an aggressive vulture swooped down from the heavens and grabbed my backpack. As the bird picked me up, my motorized bike crashed. A machete to the leg of the massive creäture convinced it that I was not an easy enough meal to exert energy on and dropped me from several yards up in the air. During the time of the attack, Iliad had been collecting water from a watering hole we had stumbled upon by happenstance.