We found one of the missing crew today, a man by the name of Damas. The man had fallen overboard in the storms but had made it to shore and had made a simple camp in the wilderness – he seemed like he had fended for himself quite well, but he seemed reluctant to follow us back to camp – so much so I feared he might try and run from us. We were forced to bind him and warn him he was to come with us.\n\nWhen we brought him back to camp, some of the crew gave a cheer to welcome him, but became silent when Captain Isabella emerged from her tent – her gaze was fully on the missing crewman, who I now realized, was truly our captive.\n\nIsabella declared him a deserter, and ordered him bound and gagged, awaiting her judgment. Ruiz looked as if he wished to object, but I think he knew it would earn him a place by the deserter if he did.\n\n- Manuel

This letter is faded with age

Castaway

Isabella ordered Damas beaten for desertion. His pleas became screams, and when the beatings stopped, we were ordered to drag him to the great tree and bind him there so he would set an example. “Let him spend the night,” she said. The mutineers had long since vanished, and nine stone-covered mounds had taken their place – Isabella had finally buried them. Perhaps alive.\n\nAfter Damas, Ruiz came to me in the night and said that if we were to find more of our number, we were not to capture them, but instead, warn them. He said that if we found others, they would end up as the one we had found today. I told him that Isabella would surely punish us if we disobeyed, and he hissed at me that we would be punished if we followed her orders as surely as if we disobeyed them.\n\nWhatever she is, she is not our Captain, not any longer – if we do not leave, we shall end up acting as her or else we shall be executed as surely as the others we found were.\n\n- Manuel

Punishment

Ruiz is gone. I fear to say “fled” or “escaped,” and so are the men, but many of us believe it to be true.\n\nCaptain Isabella has demanded a search, pretending that he must have been attacked by one of the beasts that prowl the isle, but I saw it on her face, the tremble of anger in her voice – she knew he had fled, and she was to blame.\n\nRuiz, I hope you have run far from this hell we have been cast into, and I pray to God you find peace far from here where you might live out the rest of your days.\n\n- Manuel

Ruiz, Missing

It has been three months as we have camped on Desembarco Eterno. This night, however, Isabella has ordered us to prepare to march in the morning – we are to leave the safety of the camp and head north, along the ancient road the scouts discovered two days ago. It seems a gamble to uproot us all, but the men said that Isabella does not trust leaving men at the camp, not after Ruiz escaped, and she fears more desertions – if we all travel together, she may watch over us more closely.\n\nWhatever the truth of it, we are not such fools as to argue with her command.\n\n- Manuel

The Ancient Road

Captain Isabella has not yet revealed our destination, and I am not sure she herself knows – she simply seems to be searching for something, and refuses to speak of it. The Heretic helps her in her efforts, though his counsel has proven to our detriment, and to hers, I suspect.\n\nIn the morning, we march for the North. I for one, am glad to leave Nine-Man Knoll. I cannot bear that place, for I am angry at myself for those who were punished, yet still am relieved I was not the tenth man to join them.\n\n- Manuel

The March

The ancient road has taken us to the borders of a great marsh. Part of me wonders if Ruiz fled here, and I make a vow to myself that should I see him, I shall make no move to capture him – he has earned his peace, and I do not wish him to suffer as we have.\n\nThe marsh stretches out in many directions, but scouts have spotted a peak in the distance. Captain Isabella has ordered us to march for it, and plans to use it to see more of the land and decide our next destination.\n\nAnd so we march. This fen is a foul place, not nearly as inviting or warm as the shores to the south. Yet the Captain orders, and so we follow.\n\n- Manuel

The Great Marsh

A land of great beauty and mystery where the forces of life and death are in eternal conflict

Isabella's Folly Chapter - NWGuide Database of Lore

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