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Northern Wilds

1.

Renzo’s Journal

Lore

[Ice and snow have obliterated the date and first few lines of this journal. The following words are still legible.]

…and at last, we’ll realize the dream that has kept us going lo these many years, months, and days: Nexus! A new home beyond the Fringe! Never thought I’d see the day that Nellie, me, and little Tyka would have a real home of our own with a garden, a roan or two out back, a good dog, maybe a used bot to help us with
the chores. A lifetime spent on those cold, leaky rustbuckets is too long. Now Tyka will get to grow up on a real world with a sky over her head and ground beneath her feet.

And to think we wouldn’t even be here if Nellie’s mother hadn’t been lost in that mysterious engine explosion. I’d never wish such a dire and terrible thing to happen to my beloved bride ever again, but I have to admit – the little inheritance her mother had set by is the only reason
we were even able to do this. We managed to scrape together just enough to pay the Protostar real estate man for a nice little plot on the ground. Not one of their fancy floating houses, that’s just the sort of thing little Tyka would plum walk right off. Sure, we spent all we had on the deed, and I’ll have to take a few extra jobs here and there to get by at first, but the little green man promised us Nexus is the planet of new beginnings and
prosperous lives. And who can argue with that?

And now here we are on board. We just departed the launch bay, and I’ve been given permission to head to the forward cabin to grab us a few refreshments. I’m leaving Nellie and Tyka all buckled in to their seats, and I’ll be back in two shakes. Nothing could possibly stop our dreams now!

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Northern Wilds

1.

Lusk’s Report: Vol. 1

Lore

Northern Wilds Expedition X-Minus 37 Minutes

Got time to jot down some notes while that big… Whatever-It-Is lumbers on past. Hope I ain’t gotta deal with one of them long-haired giants anytime soon.

So Brightland’s got the survivors at the crash site under control, much as anyone can. Callin’ his little crash site camp “Settler’s Reach.” Funny, true, and pretty damned sad. That may be as far as them settlers reached this time, but me and my team
of science-types aim to see them on to Tremor Ridge, or Gallow, or wherever the hell they aim to go. So while Brightland keeps his one good eye on the flock, we aim to check out our surroundings, see what we can find out.

Saw some funny-lookin’ tracks up near the ridgeline. Somethin’ light-footed, on two legs, what ain’t yetis. And there’s a lot of ’em. Could swear I hear some kind of shoutin’ going on up in the hills. Yappin’ like heynar, but
communicatin’ like Aurin hunters on the stalk.

Gonna see if I can’t get a closer look and send the others on ahead. Almost regretting leaving without a weapon, but it’s more important to document my findin’s and these here voice-to-text data tablets are heavier than I’d like. Speaking of which, I need to shed some baggage, so I’m stashing these initial notes here. I’ll pick ’em up on the way back. If you’re readin’ this, and you ain’t me, leave it here, would you?

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Northern Wilds

1.

Lusk’s Report: Vol. 2

Lore

Northern Wilds Expedition X-Minus 123 Minutes

Them yetis and the rootbrutes were a might tougher to deal with than I expected. The rootbrutes come by the name honest-like – they got roots what’ll brutalize you. See, a rootbrute looks like your typical space mushroom, right? Everybody’s seen them big, mutated, vacuum-resistant funguses on asteroids and suchlike, feeding off the nutrients in the metal. Now imagine them giant space-shrooms
gettin’ up, walkin’ around, and flingin’ clots of poison sludge at ya. And as if that wasn’t enough, if you stand in one place for too damned long them roots of theirs’ll crawl through the dirt to come pokin’ up at ya where the stars don’t shine!

They got a long reach, is what I’m sayin’, and when ya gotta fight ’em, and ya will, it’s best to stay light on your feet.

Lotta yetis in these here parts. No tellin’ how they got to Nexus, but I seen big furry bipedal
beasts just like ’em on damn near every ice planet this side of the Core. Wonder how they wound up here? Eldan, I suppose. Or maybe just convergent evolution. I seen stranger things, and this Nexus variety is bigger and meaner’n most.

No point negotiating with yeti. I ain’t hearing any kind of language that’ll translate. Best to just take ’em out if they come at you.

Spottin’ more and more of them little biped tracks as I go.
Must be approaching an encampment or village or some such. Saw what looked like a little blue man with big eyes in the woods a short spell ago, but he plumb vanished soon as he saw I’d seen ‘im. Then more of that damned yappin’.

Startin’ to reckon I might not be the one to pick up these journals after all, but I gotta keep pressin’ on. Still wish I had more to fight with than this utility knife. So if you’re readin’ this, and ya ain’t me, a word of advice: if ya got a weapon, draw it.

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Northern Wilds

1.

Lusk’s Report: Vol. 3

Lore

Northern Wilds Expedition X-Minus 212 Minutes

They got the others, my people what went on ahead. Got me, too, but I reckon I can just about toss this journal clear of the cauldron if’n I can keep it outta this soup. Amazin’ what a human body can withstand when injected with enough emergency pain medication. I mighta failed to bring a weapon, but by stars, I remembered plenty’a medishots. And it’s gettin’ pretty hot in this here cauldron already, I don’t mind admittin’

So, real quick-like. The little
blue bastards are Skeech, near as I can tell. Hell, it’s all they ever say. They’re a damned sight smarter than they look, too. This valley’s theirs, and they know it like the backs’a their scrubby little hands. They were corrallin’ us the whole damned time, makin’ us think they weren’t payin’ us no heed at all while they kept us movin’ toward this stinkin’ cave. And I mean that literally. This stew pot they got me in is right up next to this nasty-smellin’ hole in the
ground what looks to serve as their real home.

Yeah, reckon this here might just be the last entry I imagine I’ll be making in this journal, but so be it. I had a good run. Seen things no other Exile has, from the glittering star whales of Cetacea 6 to the Blasted Foundries to Nexus its own damned self, and I got no regrets. Except the fact them damned Skeech already cut off my throwin’ arm and have it roastin’ over a spit. That surely does hurt, no matter how
many medishots I dump into my system.

One last thing, assumin’ you’re an Exile sent to find me. I think my team’s still alive in that cave. Saw them Skeech haulin’ some suspicious-lookin’ bags into the caves, and them bags were kickin’ and screamin’ to beat all. If ya can help ’em, consider it the fulfillment of a dyin’ man’s last wish.

Yeah, that’s gettin’ hot. Ow. Ow. Crap. Ow. This is Lusk, signin’ off. Give ’em hell, Exile.

Guide

Entrance of Coldburrow Cavern.

Entrance Map of Coldburrow Cavern.

Map

Northern Wilds

1.

Skeech Poetry

Lore

“Skeech Skeech Skeech eat SKEECH Skeech Skeech”

by Skeech

Skeech Skeech Skeech SKEECH SKEech bite Skeech!
SKEECH SKEECH Skeech cook SKEECHSkeech skeECH,
SKEech SkeechSkeech Skeech eat SkeechSKEECH.

SKEECHSkeech Skeech Skeech kill Skeech Skeech
SKEECH SKEECH SKEEECHSkeech KILL SKEECH Skeech!
Skeech Skeech Skeech SkeechSKEECH kill Skeech,

SkeechSkeech eat SKEECH
SKEECH SkeechSKEECH,
SKEECH SKEECH SKEECH SKEECH SKEECH kill SKEECH!
SKEECHSkeech Skeech bite Skeech Skeech SKEECH
SKEECH SkeechSKEECH spirit Skeech SKEECH SKEECH!

Skeech Skeech Skeech
SkeechSkeech Skeech Skeech Skeech
Skeech Skeech Skeech
Skeech SKEECH Skeech Skeech Skeech
Skeech hate Skeech kill Skeech eat Skeech Skeech SKEECH!