The Isle of Monstrum

Far to the south of Aurleen, hidden in the sea of Khorrum, there is rumored to be an Island; the Isle of Monstrum. It is said to be protected by a gigantic sea creature, the Serpent of Monstrum. Only one person has stepped on the island and lived to tell the tale. In this chapter of the chronicle, I, your humble chronicler, will summarize the tragic ending of the Oddysey of Gruggoum Mudgut, one of the most famous explorers of Aurleen, whose journey turned out to be a tragic Oddysey.

Summary

Mudgut and his crew set out from a cold departure from the port of Torda. Their journey had been long and perilous, with many near-death experiences. Their original crew, 34 strong, had dwindled to a number no more than 7 at this point in their journey. Yet in the eyes of Mudgut this was all worth it, as his work had turned out to be more valuable than he could have ever imagined. Moreover, his trusty Aasimar protector Orophiel was still by his side, so he felt he had nothing to fear but his passing in history. He describes in his last work, The anomaly in the Sea of Korum, how he stood watch over the bow as the ship left for an uncertain path, guided only by old wives' tales and fishermen's delusions of sea monsters and sirens. I will grant the liberty of citing this part from another entry in the chronicle, The monster in the sea of Korrum

8th of Veal, 92. It is a cold departure from the port of Torda, though not unheard in this time of year, it is still exceptional. Orophiel doesn't seem to be phased by any of it, however. The two of us have been granted a place to study and work in the captain’s quarter, luck would have it that we have picked one of the more luxurious vessels. 10th of Veal, 92. Unfortunate news from the captain. He has received a message from Moth's light outpost. Apparently, a heavy storm is ravaging the coast. The captain is calling an emergency meeting. [..] Orophiel, after seeming to be intensively studying the world map, took me aside with an unusual look of worry on his face. He seemed to have plotted out the presumed new course suggested by the captain and urged me not to agree with it. A matter of life and death, he called it. 11th of Veal, 92 [..] Orophiel stood watch in the crows nest the entire morning, not looking away even when the cook brought him lunch. [...] By the gods, what a disaster we escaped. Halfway between high noon and sunset, Orophiel thaumaturged his voice to signal the captain to set a starboard course immediately. The captain, not at the helm at that moment as he was attending the crew, hurried back to the wheel when we were hit with an unnatural gust of wind which effectively doubled the knots sailed at that time, later determined to be Orophiel's work. That was when all crew onboard unmistakenly witnessed the beast. About 2 miles out, straight ahead from the bow, a gigantic snake-like torso revealed itself for a brief moment before disappearing again underneath the waves. The captain had set course starboard for no more than 20 seconds when a gigantic serpent head rose from the abyss, mouth agape and traveling the same course we had been traveling mere seconds ago. One of the spikes on its head made contact portside, gaping the deck - and luckily only the deck - in the process. The bow wave of the beast pushed us aside at least three widths if not more, almost capsizing the vessel in the process. The beast returned to the depths as its long body followed, scales at least 1 meter across, and fins on the length of its ever-arching back. It seems as if the beast has lost interest after this encounter, as no further sighting occurred. [p.68-83]

That night, still shaken by the events that transpired that day, they entered an unnaturally dark mist.

"It has been to the dismay of our entire crew that we find ourselves in the middle of this sea without any bearing. Even the starlight seems to have disappeared. We are blind. The entire crew is panicking as it is. Noises can be heared. I think the sirens have found us. They are calling! The captain is trying to ease the crew, but to no avail. The calls are coming ever closer. How... sweet? maybe these creatures aren't that bad after all. Which unholy beast could produce sounds that beautiful. None! It must be angels, sent out from Heaven! [...] She stands there, at the helm. Totally unfazed by the siren calls. But how? A strange glow seems to emit from her. Thank the gods that she came to me in the port. But why is she fighting the angels? Doesn't she know that they're here to help us? Look at how they are releaving Jack from his bodily fluids with their majestic nails and teeth. I envy their aesthetics, how erotic they look dressed in their crimson suits of blood. God i wish they would liberate me from my mortal form. [...] We have escaped. If it were not for Ophiel we would have been lost. She navigated the ship out of that hellhole as if her eyes were not clouded by the unnatural darkness. I was emberassingly taken by the Siren's charm." [P.128-133]

After these events, at last, they had their sights on the elusive island of Monstrum. Mudgut describes the island as 'a hellish place filled to the brim with humanoid cannibals with fur and teeth'. As they set foot on the island to set up camp, they had their first encounter with these humanoids. To their absolute horror, their ship was swallowed whole by the serpent as they tried to flee back to their vessel. In the end, they survived that first night. But not without significant losses: of the 26 crew, only 13 managed to live through this first part of the journey. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the crew now shifted their priority of exploration to finding a way to get off the island (much to the dismay of Mudgut). As they traversed the island - continuously harassed by the inhabitants -they came to the conclusion that it was all for naught anyway, as the island did not contain anything worthy of notice save for this mysterious race of cannibals. In the end, only the captain, Orophhiel, Mudgut, and one other crew member survived the trial as they found themselves surrounded by yet another group of cannibals, but now with their backs towards a cliff. Facing impossible odds, Orophiel called for her protector for guidance, which she gave. As a heavenly light came down from the sky, mudgut saw Orophiel look at him with melancholic ambiguity (Orophiel had given no emotional expressions at all before this point), as the world around Mudgut became saturated in heavenly splendour. The next thing Mudgut remembers is being fished out of the sea, dazed, confused, and with only his word to confirm what had transpired.