My dear Karolina,
It’s our second night here, in what is now known as Cove. We spent most of the day exploring the surroundings, not wandering too much into unfamiliar territory.
Funny way to put it, unfamiliar. Everything here feels raw and strange.
We divided ourselves into groups so we could cover as much territory as possible – even so, no one found anything relevant except for scribbles and glyphs scattered all over the place. There is still a pair that didn’t return – hopefully they had better luck than the rest of us.
Samto kept saying we were safe here but it’s hard to shake the feeling that something else is worrying him.
The sun had barely risen when I heard what seemed to be screams and hasting engine noises – all the group was asleep but Samto was looking at the source of the sound, eyes peeled, no flinching.
I thought all this solitude was hindering our senses and making me hear things but Samto’s reaction kept me honest. And afraid.
Was he scared?
The …thing… we heard on our way here – the one I’ve told you about in yesterday’s letter – barely made a dent on his spirit. He picked up the pace and made us move faster and silent, he did, but other than that, it looked like a familiar sound to him.
One can only imagine what else must be out there that can tamper with his solidity, if that growl didn’t scare him.
When the rest of the group woke up, everything was quieter. Samto decided not to mention the rattle to anyone, and I followed his lead.
Jonah had opened just one eye and was already asking about the glyphs we kept seeing – “We need to know what they mean, Vin! Imagine if they are directions to treasures or worse, imagine if they mention traps or something”, I remember him asking. I’m thinking the exact same thing – we may be losing valuable information by not being able to read this strange writing. Not much we can do until the Aurora arrives.
Ah yes, the Aurora. Before leaving, I learned from the captain that a small ship called Aurora was scheduled to arrive at the island a couple of days after ours – it meant to bring provisions, materials and some items requested by people at the base camp.
Since the ship was already coming, I took the opportunity to send word to some of the scholars you told me about, hoping they would get a ride and come to the island.
If they accepted the challenge, I will meet them in the next following days. Hopefully we manage to return to base camp before Aurora leaves to the mainland again, so I can make sure the letters I’m writing reach you.
Jonah was adamant for not being able to request some things for himself – I’m guessing he would resume his order to hooch and an airpla…forgot to mention this!
He is, indeed, one of the best pilots I have ever met, however, he doesn’t have a plane right now, as he so eloquently put it – “Life happened, brother. Had some issues with some transports that got me deep into the red line and then clients just stopped coming in. Had to leave my sweet Lacie as collateral. Brother, what a sad sight, to have my beautiful Lacie grounded. Those wings need to fly, man.”
I’m guessing this enterprise is as important to him as it is to myself, even if for different reasons.
Anyway, I digress. I was talking about our second day here.
After the morning coffee we bundled up in pairs and set out to cover each team’s territory. Me and Jonah were stuck with the part of the jungle to the west of the Cove. Besides the constant complaining of my fellow explorer and some random glyphs marked in trees and rocks, it was an uneventful exploration – there was a lot more jungle noise, though, which strangely made me feel more at ease.
Never thought the sound of jungle predators could feel so welcoming.
As I’m writing this, the last group is yet to return.
We are planning to leave the Cove tomorrow, at first light. There is still much to explore, here, but without proper help we may be over our heads.
Hope your scholars come through.