13th of Deep Cold
Y22 of Second Age
Dear NGS,
Progress on the Attenlund expedition has begun relatively smoothly, though not completely without issue. Landfall was made on the 9th of Sun's Smile, on a small strip of land between the Rimeveld Mountains and the Attenlund Marshlands. Upon landing, we were assailed by a group of three Swamp Trolls, a species of troll which appear similar to the Frost Trolls, both in physical appearance and in capability. In the ensuing combat, one of the trolls was killed, one escaped, and one was captured. The captured troll, who is named "Kaz'Yem" has been invaluable to our research efforts, and has revealed much to us about the Attenlund and his tribe. According to a legend told by his "Old Shaman", the Attenlund Marshes used to be a "beautiful jungle" until something changed it. This would be the second instance of a region changing its biome in such a relatively short period of time. Kaz'Yem also revealed to us that a small circle of runestones found near the campsite was once part of a massive monolith which sat in the center of the Marshlands, until one day it was destroyed in some kind of explosion. Kaz'yem called the builders of this monolith the "big'uns", which, judging by Kaz's size, means they must have been very big. My current theory is that the monolith builders were the Titans; A race which one dominated the Almaran continent during Pre-Arrival times. Work is still ongoing to translate the runes of the runestones, and a series of charcoal rubbings have been attached so that you might conduct your own research. It is quite possible that the runes are the language of the Titans, and so a translation of them would be invaluable for research into Pre-Arrival Almaris.
Proper exploration into the Attenlund region will begin soon, wish us luck!
- Dilvyn D. Deveral
@Etow