I Have Failed You

 When last I wrote, Aerathor was aiding 3 newcomers in neutralizing the basilisk threat. Under his direction, they lured both out the center cave mouth, and reflected their gazes back upon them. Suddenly, a THIRD comes from the far right mouth! Luckily, they were able to shuffle their reflective shield around to stop that one as well. That definitely bodes well for our exit.

In the back of the cave, our quartet heads further in and soon spot a giant floating aether crystal. Proximity to it dims my perception of The One, so I back off. Then, a strange floating tentacled monster appears between us and the crystal, and fires a beam of purple energy at the captain. She goes underwater, trying to approach it stealthily, so I advance slowly to hold its attention. It says only one word: "flourish." Cap and I both advance. Some globule creatures and some floating crystal prisms materialize and I realize that there are wall-tentacles that will likely be able to attack from the sides. I attempt to read the mind of our adversary -- it is thinking about consuming this world and moving on to another. She speaks to me briefly and tells me that this adversary is a manifestation of The Great Adversary! I brace for a shot from the creature, but it does not come from the expected direction. It fires at an angle, and refracts through the floating crystals back and forth across the cavern. I have time for only one thought as it hits me. My Lady, I have failed You.

Never Was Fond of Mushrooms

 The sextant points us behind the glowing mushroom in the back of the cave. There is a small water flow that is inhibited by it, as well. So, Cap and I start to hack our way through. While we're doing this, I take a closer look at the smaller variety we're cutting through. It's often used in potions, poisonous when raw, and often grows near semi-sentient varieties. As that last trait starts to politely clear its throat in my brain, the large central mushroom wakes! It "semi-sentiently" turns and attacks. As it stands, it releases the water it's been holding back, which pushes us a bit. I hold my ground and hear Her voice: "I will protect you." I don't think I'll ever get used to that. After a fierce battle, with the captain actually dropping once, she delivered the killing blow, stabbing it through the head.

During the fracas, Aerathor informs us of two inbound individuals. I gather they meant to loot previous non-returnees (and perhaps us), but once they were warned of the basilisks, they rethought their approach and, I think, are trying to lure them out the center cave mouth. At the very least, they may be distracting enough for us to get out unscathed (once we find our objective).

SHE!

 SHE MANIFESTED HERSELF TO ME!

Whew, I'm getting ahead of myself. 

Anyway, we returned to the ship with the letter and items we found below. Once we were secure, I endeavored to determine what these Gailatian artifacts could do. The belt would designate a spot as an anchor, then let you teleport back to that spot when the mechanism was released. There was a hand-sized sphere that would transform into whatever weapon you required it to be. I believe the captain asked Cole-Bay to try to modify it to accept a more usable grip. Finally, I took the pendant, which stores enough magical energy for one spell even more powerful than those I've learned so far.

When I had finished, I went into my cabin, thinking to get some rest. Before I could do more than strip off my armor, though, SHE APPEARED IN FRONT OF ME! The One manifested herself to me, though she spoke like someone who has just woken, a little slow and sort of distracted. She has definitely heard me or experienced my thoughts in some way (which, honestly, is unsurprising), as she told me outright that she might be Fiona. "My memory is fuzzy." She longs for the things of Gailatia. "It's been far too long." "I feel like I know Hector, but I don't really remember him." Looking at her, she looks similar to, but not identical to, the statue of Fiona we saw. But whether that is because they're not the same entity, or an imperfect artistic representation is impossible to say. She expressed her desire to reset the world, then faded away. I was unable to do, say, or even THINK anything for the next 10 minutes or so.

Mimi's sextant gave us a new heading and we set sail again. After 2 days, we spy the Tihar Peninsula, home of our friend Cole-Bay. The trail headed toward the Stockmere Mountains. The locals do not recommend it. "You better plan on not coming back." Apparently no one ever returns. Nevertheless, we will not be deterred. We eventually find a cave system. Inside there are incredibly life-like statues, which immediately set off alarm bells in my mind. Sure enough, there are (at least) two basilisks in the cave. The captain starts up a waterway in the westernmost tunnel. I follow, as I do not want her to be completely undefended, though I can't see in the dark and don't want to light anything and give us away. Luckily, there are some faintly glowing mosses or plants or something up ahead.