26th of July
Unsure where to start a dig? Ask the nearest old washwoman. Or old men whittling by the road. They know everything! Yes, yes, I know, it takes a great deal of patience and you have to separate the wheat from the chaff, but it's the best way to learn about local legends. That's how we came to find Fox Hollow, where they say the soil sprouts clay pots (!).
28th of July
We dug up part of a vineyard on the outskirts of Fox Hollow, but what we found there... those were not pots, those were elven funeral urns. It seems the village is built atop an ancient Aen Siedhe[sic] necropolis... That cemetery dates, by my reckoning, to the time before the First Landing, so the graves might be full of valuables. The ancient elves buried their dead along with great wealth. We've already dug up a few choice baubles, but I'm sure if we look deeper we will find much more.
12th of August
Today we started a new dig, in a new location. Matthias spied a beautifully ornamented cameo in the ground, and when we tried to grab it... he discovered it was clenched in the hands of a skeleton. Anselm started to mock him, but quickly lost all desire to laugh. The valley was full of elven skeletons – men, women, even children... The bodies were all mixed, with limbs lopped off, many heads missing and children with crushed rib cages... what happened here?!
14th of August
Another sleepless night. Blood, cries, wails... I awake drenched in sweat, then I doze off for a moment and the same happens again. I told my fellows to dig a deep hole We'll throw that cursed cameo inside – it belongs in the ground, with the rest of the dead.
16th of August
Matthias disappeared during the night. No one saw him leave camp, his things are all in place... Anselm says we should follow his example and flee while we still live, but I... I cannot leave it like this! This valley is full of bones... Anselm screamed in my face, called me a madman, but I MUST tell someone what we have found. They say there is a group of archeologists from Castel Graupian at the Termes ruins... [rest is covered in blood]
