Alma's Archive 02-16-XXXX

Alma’s Archive [02-16-XXXX]: It seems my internal clockwork is somewhat off- sleep refuses to come, even though I am bone tired from the events of the day. The body is weary, but the mind continues whirring on. So here we are, quill in hand- hopefully one will find catharsis in reporting on these trying tribulations. Getting it off one’s chest, as the saying goes. After our perilous encounter with more of the local fauna, our group was in desperate need of rest. As the behemoth’s corpse sunk into the shadowy waters below, Iss took to harvesting some of the crustacean’s remains, though for what purpose remains to be seen. Seeking out shelter, we then retreated to the aforementioned lavish chamber to take a breath and brace ourselves for what was to come. All of us were in a sorry state, yet Valspira appeared to be in particularly dire straits, and so elected to return to the Walrus and tend to her injuries. Part of me was sad to see her go, yet given her current condition in addition to the existing tensions between her and Iss, it’s for the best I suspect. Though it is impolite to say, the last thing we needed was to be distracted by petty grudges.
It is my hope though that in time, the two can sort this squabble out. Sometimes all one needs is distance to truly gain perspective on a situation- perhaps a few days to cool down will allow some room for clarity in this respect. Of course, that technically isn’t my business. But I cannot help but think of what is to come once we reach land. The sorceress seemed interested in our journey to the Mire, and from what I can make of her, it is not with malicious intent. More capable allies would undoubtedly improve our odds of success. And of course, there is still the matter of Malice’s disappearance. There appears to be some connection between her and the tiefling, and that their respective spellbooks are at the heart of it. Thus, having her continue to accompany us would be only beneficial at this time.
But I digress.
More importantly, there have been troubling developments regarding Eldur’s affliction. Whilst we were resting, he attempted to perform an incantation by calling on the Blade’s power: this is my current theory, given the inferred absence of innate arcane abilities. Yet it seems that something turned the tables in the Tabaxi’s moment of weakness: before our eyes he transformed into a drow figure with glowing amber irises, and when he spoke it was not with Eldur’s words. The entity, identified as one Elenzen Mizzrarren, proceeding to speak of controlling our companion as one does a slave or pet, and threatened to harm him should we interfere. Well, I say we, but clearly my prior attempts to have Eldur relinquish the blade were noted, as he directed his attentions on me… at one point I attempted to glean into his mind as the Mistress has shown me, but its mental processes felt foreign to all I’ve previously encountered. There were only glimpses- of a bright yellow star, out in the inky void, and a feeling of reverence towards this otherworldly object. But that was all I saw before I was expelled from its consciousness, unable to break its control.
I truly did think this Elenzen would lash out in that moment, that it might unsheathe his blade and tear me asunder. Were it not for my other companions in attendance… I do not care to think of what would have happened.
And then it was over, and Eldur seemed to regain himself, though the drow form continued to persist. We were all a bit disoriented by all that we had witnessed, yet he continued to behave as usual- completely oblivious to the severity of the situation. It took every ounce of my willpower to refrain from berating him then and there- “I TOLD YOU!” I wanted to shout at him, pointing to the countless times I’d tried to speak with him only to be disregarded. Yet to do so would have been childish and inappropriate, given our immediate circumstances, so I held my tongue, just barely.
If he thinks he can just wave his paw and pretend it never happened, he’s got another thing coming.
Once that perturbing incident passed, the rest of our break went by without trouble. Iss discovered a curious hat undamaged by the brine- an enchanted item capable of enhancing one’s mental acuity. I, trying to be considerate of my compatriots, offered that one of the others might find it helpful, but Mirik seemed to think I might put it to good use. This may be true, but I thought there might be others who could utilize such an item- perhaps Iss or Mirik. The former clearly took offense to my proposal though, so something must’ve gone awry…
Moving on, we descended into the lower levels of the wreck, once more facing down a slew of deadly creatures. Oversized eels, bloodthirsty galeans, strange schools of sprite-like entities. There was even one of the Thalassian guardians hunkered down, head encapsulated in coral like its kin. That was a fearsome being among many, yet it displayed a measure of intelligence which the others hadn’t. I hoped to find some means of communicating with it, yet the other three were determined to kill it without a second thought… of course, they had to go and loot it afterwards, decapitating it and gathering any other remains of apparent interest. I try to be understanding of others' ways, try not to comment on Mirik or Iss’s habit of collecting ‘trophies’ from fallen foes (The trident they uncovered being of particular interest)… still, I could not mask my disgust or discomfort when the giantess attempted to wield its bloody head like a sock puppet. I will spare you the details, but it was too gruesome for my tastes.
Gradually we worked our way through all that opposed us, though by the end of it we were bloodied and beaten. There came a time where I thought we would die in those frigid depths... Yet as luck would have it, that shifty swashbuckling feline came though, finding in one of the old rooms an ancient bottle of enchanted wine. We all took a swig of it just for the hell of it, and instantly felt it soothe our most grievous wounds. Whether it was fate or fortune, I cannot say, but we weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Finally, we followed Mirik’s hunch and swam through the breach she’d previously noted in the hull. Here the water was rich with tiny plankton, little light coming through these murky waters. All around us the walls and ground were plastered with dense coral growth, and in the middle of the cavern was a spongy, cerebral-like mass- a hive mind of sorts. From what we could make of it, this organism had taken control of the biome and its inhabitants- indeed, I could feel it attempting to force its will upon my own mind. Given the circumstances, we had to take offensive measures.
I will not mince words- it was a frightening affair. Massive tentacles thrashed wildly, coral attempted to impede our movement, and some pulse was emitted that seemed to draw more of the mind-controlled denizens to us. The other three confronted the hive-mind directly, swiping with blade, tooth, and trident. Meanwhile, I attempted to offer assistance from a distance, but found myself harried by bloodthirsty sharks and the like. For a time it looked rather grim- both Mirik and Iss had been injured by its psionic blast, the latter taking a particularly nasty blow from one of the tentacles. Yet the titaness proved herself once again to be a relentless warrior, striking the monstrous entity down with her newly acquired trident. Successfully repelling the remaining creatures with the ring Mirik had given me, at last we had reached the end of this nightmare- or so it seemed. To be continued…
Notes to Self: -”My life is forfeit to the Knowing Mistress”: Iss said this after we fought off the crustaceans. Perhaps it is a colloquialism among her people? It seems rather grim though. I’ll ask about that once we’ve a chance to rest up a bit. -When the opportunity arises, I’d like to properly assess the stone discs Mirik found in the belly of the ship. Perhaps it is nothing, but my curiosities’ been piqued, the carvings being something I’ve not encountered before. -Amending my previous comments regarding our Tabaxi companion… I am unsure how to proceed, whether my original plan will be successful given these complications. I will sleep on it, and go from there.