Guide

Map

Deradune

1.

The Poacher’s Journal

Lore

(This rough leather-bound journal is next to the corpse of an Oghra poacher.)

DAY 1
Lots ‘o animals down planetside, like big furry sacks ‘o money waitin’ to be shot, killed, ‘n skinned. Plenty ‘o hides, furs, ‘n ivory to be had. By the Code, we’ll be rich when we’re through with this haul.

DAY 3
Plu’Tha got drug off last night. Not sure what got ‘im, but it weren’t pretty what we found in the grass when the sun come up. Couldn’t tell if it were really Plu’Tha or not… weren’t enough of him left. He’s gone all the same.

DAY 5
Lost another one, this time that fathead Higa. Probably fell asleep on guard duty. Serves the lout right. None of the Grund’re gonna sleep on watch after this!

DAY 6
They come out of the grass after dark, like ghosts. Took Gizu off, one on each ‘o his legs. He screamed ‘n screamed. Was sorta funny, ’til the screams stopped and they come back lookin’ for someone else. We done some shootin’ but didn’t hit nothin’.

DAY 7
They ain’t natural, these pumera what come after us. Ain’t afraid ‘o guns… ain’t afraid ‘o nothin’. I keep tellin’ Hrogh we better get back to the Fat Molly and put this place behind us. Hrogh says I’m a yellow-back coward, he does. I’d cut ‘is ugly throat if I didn’t want ‘im ‘tween me and them pumera so much.

DAY 8
Just me ‘n Hrogh left now. Only place left to go is camp, but it’s a good haul to get there with them two demons after us. Them Dommie bastards are thick as flies ’round here. If we ain’t careful, the Draken’ll chop us to ribbons… if them bloody pumera don’t tear us up first.

DAY 9
Movin’ out after dark. Should be back at camp ‘fore long, then back to the Fat Molly. Hrogh’s got first watch. I’d stay up if I weren’t so tired. If Hrogh nods off, I’ll kill ‘is Grund arse and sneak back by myself.

(The Oghra’s journal ends abruptly.)

Guide

Map

Deradune

1.

Ullana Shadeleaf’s Diary

Lore

(This small book is lovingly crafted from natural materials and smells faintly of flowers.)

And to think we came all the way from Arboria to this paradise, only to find the Dominion was here, too. Everything they touch is contaminated. All they hope to accomplish is antithetical to what is right and good.

I see no hope for Deradune as long as the Dominion’s roots delve so deeply into the fertile ground of the savannah.

It is the Draken, come to this place like demons of war, thirsty for blood. Dumb brutes. They know nothing of morality, nothing of their place in the natural cycle, nothing of the Weave that draws all living things together. They strive to kill all they encounter, finding glory in slaughter, waging war as a hobby.

How they disgust me!

Worse, my spies say the Draken have started a Great Hunt. The beasts of the savannah, even the most ferocious and deadly of them, stand no chance against a swarm of Draken hunters.

Some Draken may be killed – deservedly so – by the animals, but the savannah’s denizens will suffer nonetheless… all for sport… all for blood! It sickens me to think of such a thing!

Let us not forget the Chua, little fiends that they are. They, too, ply their technological cancer in Deradune, working in tandem with the horned devils in Bloodfire Village.

We must do what we can here, hoping we are not rooted out and brought to ground by our Dominion enemies. We can no more sit upon our tails and wait for the Dominion to leave than we can rise up against them in force and hope to drive them out.

No, ours must be a guerilla war, a conflict of quick strikes and hasty retreats.

[The entry ends.]

Guide

The Lost Caverns entrances.

Map

Deradune

1.

Vezaar’s Journal

Lore

(This ragged book looks to have been discarded by its owner.)

6.8
Father goads me. He wishes for me to bring him the honor he could never seize for himself. He will learn soon enough I am not his puppet to be jerked about.

Find the Lost Caverns, the old fool commands. How? I am Draken! I am not a jabbit to be digging in the earth!

8.8
My search for the Caverns begins. May Werza guide me!

22.8
Two weeks and nothing! I suspect my father is laughing at me as I write this! By Hazak! I curse his entrails, that they be knotted upon themselves like angry serpents!

24.8
I have found the Lost Caverns. While walking in the hills east of Bloodfire Village, the ground gave way beneath my feet. I am unhurt, but I find myself in a dark place. I must find my way out!

25.8

If these are the Lost Caverns, they are infested with prey! Moodies, razortail, and pumera all make their dens here beneath the savannah. The bones of some great beast, long dead, jut from the stone walls.

It is as if I have been swallowed….

29.8
I hunt in the shadows. Time loses its meaning. The Moodies fear me! The razortail scamper away at my approach! The pumera bend their necks in deference! Here in the darkness, I am a god!

Day Unknown
Swords? Shields? Who needs such toys? The weak! I am Vezaar, first of my name! My claws are deadly! My teeth are like daggers! My horns are stronger than spears!

Blood and bone! This is what life was meant to be!

My people are fools, toiling under the yokes of soft humans like pets bred for fighting! Never again will I bow my head to a Cassian weakling while uttering courteous words! Vezaar is finally HOME!

Day Unknown
My father tried to contact me on my datachron. I did not answer. I threw the cursed thing away! Let him think me lost. I will never return to the surface!

Day Unknown
This journal is tedious. No longer will I scribble between its covers. My time is better spent hunting Moodies and razortails and pumera, sating myself on their flesh. Soon, these pages will be kindling for my fires. I care nothing for these memories any longer!

(The last pages are torn and smudged by a reddish-brown substance.)

Guide

Map

Deradune

1.

Giba Corli’s Research Notes

Lore

(This computer tablet contains Giba Corli’s research notes.)

Mammodin most powerful animal on savannah. Explosive mammodin even more powerful! Kill many enemies simultaneously when detonated!

Dilemma: Mammodin not inherently explosive. Solution: High-grade explosives must be added!

Explosives acquired. Stability questionable. Must warn Biba.

Mammodin explosives harness design complete!

New dilemma: Fastening harness to mammodin may result in pulverized Chua. Solution: Will have Biba fasten harness to sleeping mammodin.

Control of mammodin problematic. Require mammodin mind control device.

Prototype mammodin mind control device complete! Require test subject!

Willing test subjects in short supply. Must bribe Draken to help.

Mammodin mind control device initial trials inconclusive.

Test Subject Alpha suffers from psyche exchange. Now thinks he is mammodin. Will have Biba euthanize him.

Test Subject Beta killed by biofeedback loop. Spectacular cranial explosion! Must have Biba clean brains and bone fragments from control device prior to finding new test subject.

Test Subject Gamma suffered seizure, now drooling idiot. Minor adjustments required. Perfection of mind control device imminent!

Seeking new test subject. Though bodies of prior subjects have been disposed of in river, remaining Draken suspicious. Unwilling to help. Unacceptable!

Priority! Must locate new test subject with sub-par intellect!

(The research log ends.)

Guide

Map

Deradune

1.

The Exile Miner’s Journal

Lore

(This small journal looks old, but it has been well cared-for.)

Day Zero
We land on Nexus tomorrow. I’m pretty excited! Heck, everyone’s excited! I can’t remember the last time I was outside.

Day One
We’ve arrived in Deradune. It’s not exactly what I was expectin’ – a little on the barren side, but it’ll do for now. And here I was hopin’ for some trees!

Scuttlebutt is, the hornheads got a village nearby. That oughta make things… interesting.

Day One – Later
Of all the rotten luck! Command’s assigned me to the mines. You know… minin’. A bot could do my job better, but we’re short on bots. Guess I’ll have to make the best of it.

I spend years aboard ship, get stationed on Nexus, and then I end up workin’ underground. Who did I tick off, I wonder?

Day Two
We’re minin’ accelerite. I guess it’s valuable or somethin’. One of the mercs told me it speeds folks up. He said he knew a guy who knew a guy who inhaled a bunch of accelerite dust. It made him fast – real fast – but it also aged him ten years in about two minutes.

I’m not sure if it’s true, or if he was just tryin’ to scare me, but I’m wearin’ my breath mask… just in case.

Day Four

I just saw Arkos down here. That guy’s one tough hombre! He’s been fightin’ the Draken his whole life, practically. Just havin’ him around makes me feel better.

Day Five
There’s trouble with the transport’s drive system. Hopefully, the mechanic can get it up and runnin’ soon so we can get some of this ore back to the fleet.

Makin’ matters worse, the Draken know we’re here. One of the guards saw one of ’em sneakin’ around, probably a scout. That puts us in somethin’ of a bad spot.

Ah, well. Back to work. This accelerite ain’t gonna mine itself.