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.

A Soggy Retreat

 After a few moments, Sister Isolde sort of...melted away. It seems it was some sort of vision to mask an attack. There is a giant, tentacled monster attacking us physically and psychically! It took a while to pull the captain out of her beglamourment, and the creature swam around a lot, making it very hard to engage. It eventually broke the boat that half the party was using for air, so they had to abandon the fight. Finally, I managed to engage it and keep it from zooming around (almost dropping my mace in the process), long enough for Cap to zap it to death. Thank The One!

With the creature dispatched, Mimi's Sextant led us to some sort of Gailatian hatch. Unfortunately, Aerathor had to surface, but the rest of us got inside. It seemed to be some sort of large vehicle, but with no obvious means of locomotion or control. Getting in half-flooded the compartment, but we were able to find and extract a small chest containing another letter and two apparently Gailatian objects. I feel as if the image we chase comes just a little more in view with every discovery, but there is still so much to uncover!