A New Dawn: The First Step

Hello again, Meredith the Journal. I write you now from my little corner of the very sad remains of a house, forgotten by time, gods, and the ones who ones called it a dwelling. For the historians who find this it's important to seriously remark, I am on Luyost. The material plane is beneath my feet, and it's sky shining down above me. The sun is real, and while the sky remains blue, I have yet to look closely as to whether or not the sky has shifted, perhaps new stars were added in our absence? While this sounds wonderful in and of itself, there are some important topics that require further mental elaboration.
 
Let us start with my companions for this journey. The brave who volunteered with me for this mission.
In summation there are 5 groups that make up the explorative force. I've spoken with each group, and gotten their measure. I believe it worth noting the destination of each of these groups before getting into the details of my own.
 
Group 1: Consisted of; Garen Fisher(Tiefling), Tishmal Stonehammer(Dwarf), Fordina Weaver(Orc), Darri Dremmer(Dwarf), Ripple(Water Genasi) - The destination was to the north east, Port Whitecap.
 
Group 2: Consisted of; Tahana Fluke(Gnome), Bartok Silverjaw(Aasimar), Zilk Trinna(Bugbear), Linny Ironshell(Tortoel), Anri Creek(Halfling) - The destination was to the south west, Sirosa Harbor.
 
Group 3: Consisted of; Juniper Dornetti(Hobgoblin), Cyprus Dornetti(Hobgoblin),Tash Virko(Kobold),Tei Shien(Human),Girk STallar(Goblin) - The destination was the same as ours, Palessa, only an eastern route.
 
Group 4: Consisted of; Tael Nymree(Elf), Emilen Nymree(Elf), Caydi Springdream(Minotaur),Moz Khedir(Human),Trata Marsh(Lizardfolk) - The destination was to the northwest, to explore the coasts.
 
Group 5: Consisted of; Vereshia Nodelmiir(Aasimar), Sonechka Yurieva(Human), Jokra(Kobold), Helena A(Minotaur), Arbur(Minotaur) - The destination was to the the north, Palessa.
 
As a member of group 5, I can speak of only our experiences thus far, however I could see the resolve of the other groups with my own eyes. We got together before heading off to our assigned destination, to explore Luyost, and formed plans of prevention, ways to communicate information with one another, and plans for safekeeping the knowledge we find. I also instilled within them my own words, not that that meant much i'm sure, but I told my companions I had not prepared it, when in truth I most certainly had. It was an excellent speech too.
 
To get back on track, I will begin speaking about my experiences with my group, starting with meeting them. You should understand who you travel with, Journal. I will work towards that goal as we all fix our world.
Sonechka Yurieva: We have some previous history, and I find her quite the wonderful friend. To see her openly weep at the sight of the sun, her sun, filled me with such otherworldly joy. None deserve it more, as she has truly prayed for this moment to happen. She is a cleric, devout to none other than Syren & Atora. She is a skilled asset, with invaluable magics, and a good friend to boot. (Just don't get her started on a sermen, trust me.)
 
Jokra: A kobold with a bit of mystery. While I know little about him, I do know that he possessed quite a bit of arcane knowledge and skill. I believe he will be invaluable to this journey as he has demonstrated a fair amount of wisdom, and knowledge. It will be interesting to get to know him better.
 
Helena: The stature of this minotaur is truly imposing. At least in terms of physical build, in terms of personage she is actually quite sweet. Very easy to get along with, and brave to boot. Leading every charge for the scouting party, a commendable attitude. No doubt seeing her in battle will be inspiring, and a valuable learning experience. You see, i'm something of a combatant myself, and competitive to boot. Simply put, I look forward to seeing who can crush the most heads between us. (Authors note: I'll win.)
 
Arbur: Another Minotaur, but a bit more diminutive than their warrior kin, carrying a beautiful instrument, to which the name I cannot conjure at this moment. Still, they have already wielded it once, and brought the entire scouting party together with it. I have a feeling that their knowledge of music, art, and creation will make Luyost as beautiful as it once was. I'm glad we have at least one openly creative mind, it will be an invaluable perspective to have around.
 
Now, Journal, with my companions in mind let me describe to you the journey to Luyost.
To begin, I will shortly remark on the preamble leading up to the adventure. The scouting parties were gathered before the Temple of Infinite Clarity, given food to our fill(It was so good), and a rousing speech from our commander. It truly was inspiring. With that our souls, and the teleportation pad were ready for us to go.
 
Leaving for Luyost was a bit uncomfortable. I can only speak for myself, of course, but the teleportation to another plane was a bit disorienting. Perhaps due to my magical inclination I took to it easier than others. Still, it was worth it for the most beautiful view one can imagine. The sight of a world not seen in hundreds of years, a sight I can't wait to show my mother. This was her world after all, she is one of the few who remember it as it was. I will restore it before bringing her here. I cannot inflict anymore heartbreak on that woman, things have been difficult enough for her since father's passing. That was all I could think about, in my moment of arrival. It means the first step in restoring the world, for her, for people like her, for the entire outer planes. Order must be restored.
 
To put that aside for a moment, though we will revisit it Journal, everyone took a moment to gather their senses. Some wept, some simply laid down feeling the real and living grass beneath their feet, the weight of a real sky above their heads, and the beautiful glorious sun high in the space above the sky. As I stated previously after this, the groups gathered, discussed, and then went our separate ways. Our group was right on track as we made our way, due to some expert navigation and pathfinding by Sonechka, we mapped our path visually with her cartography skills.
 
For the most part the trip was quiet, we found some activity within the outskirts of the forests, signs of an ecosystem. Markings of a brutal predator, and the corpse of their prey. We know what these are the markings of, however we know not if they've somehow been tainted by the planar corruption. I imagine it would not be a pretty sight. One worth documenting though when we do see it. We also took some samples of living fauna from the land itself, I plan to make a meal with it to study it's properties. I tested it for corruption, and on the surface that holds true. I will check again before consumption. The fauna's name was Livium.
 
Eventually the journey grew dark, and troubling, and honestly quite alarming. As it had literally grown dark in a manner of minutes, an unnatural shade of night that held it's own air that was thick enough to choke on. Naturally we continued through, hosting all manner of paranoid thoughts, and actions. We kept our guard up until we stumbled upon a light within the dark, this too was a manipulation of it's trickery. As we soon enough figured out we were in the Shadowfell, well a manifestation of the Shadowfell. While the planes expand their influence on the world, they create almost pocket-like dimensions of their likeness. I doubt this is an actual gateway into the Shadowfell, I imagine it could be manipulated into one. Without a doubt, it houses all manner of Shadowfell minions, which we have avoided thus far.
 
Upon further inspection the light we discovered was in likeness to a campfire, perhaps a tactic to lure in the living that had worked previously? Conjecture at this point. Still, beside it was a rundown old house, it appeared at one point to be used as a hunting lodge, this information comes in the form of Helena, Sonechka, and Jokra, who did most of the inspecting of the house. Erstwhile, Arbur and I investigated the fire. A not as fruitful effort, as all I managed to garner was the school of magic fueling the artificial flame. It was transmutation, which knowing that school could mean all manner of things. Few of which would actually be in our favor, I doubt it was a ward, but one would think a ward would be made of abjuration rather than transmutation. I wanted to investigate it further, but I couldn't risk endangering the mission for my curiosity. I destroyed it then and there for the safety of my companions. Collecting the shards that made up it's remains, they still held the runes for further study.
 
This place is draining on the soul, I feel exhausted and we truly weren't walking for that long. It cannot have been more than a few hours, though the sky now likely darkens and we cannot even see the stars. I wonder if we should make an effort to weaken the Shadowfell's influence in some way, and how that is even possible. I must discuss this with my compatriots...another time, of course. They all settle in for bed, I imagine I am the only one who could stay up all night and have such discourse. I will let them rest, they all deserve it, coming so far. I'm proud to be walking beside them, truly.
 
This was a long one, Journal, and my hand is tired. So for now my scrawling for the day will end here.
 
Vereshia Nodelmiir, First in the door, leading the charges, officially an explorer of Luyost.
We will make this world safe again. We have to.
 
P.S, somehow if you're divining my journal Succisa, please grant me some guidance on how to cleanse the land of this Shadowfell, and other ailments. If we can only find the method, we can end this madness, and bring peace to Luyost by weakening the influence of the other planes.