I am Byrne, a bonecrafter of the Apache tribe, who dwell in a fortress at the foot of Genoa mountain, on the shore of the great Lake, in a place that is called Zephyr. We were a simple but happy people; we fished for our food, climbed the mountain in search of wild game and lumber, scaled the scrap heaps seeking materials for tools and clothing. By night, we sat around our fires and laughed and told stories of hunts and battles past. All was good, and we were content. Our leaders, Geronimo and Seahawk, were wise and fair in their direction, and we never resented them.
But then, one day, everything changed. Geronimo and Seahawk disappeared. We still don't know what became of them, but we fear the worst: that their scalps were taken by another tribe, or that they were killed by the deadly raccoons that lurk in the dark places high on the mountain, or that they strayed into the deadly green fog. Whatever happened to them, we cannot know, and this is not the story of Geronimo and Seahawk. This is the story of what happened to what was left of the Apache after they were gone.
Day 1, 6:00 PM UTC-06 North American Central Time:
Haven't seen Geronimo or Seahawk for a while now, and we've started to worry. We thought that maybe they were just out scouting, or spying on the Eidola conducting their blood rituals to the south of us, but they have been gone too long for either of those. Searches of the area have turned up nothing. There is nothing else to do but wait and see.
Day 1, 6:45 PM:
Seahawk and Geronimo still nowhere to be found. Franconian had a panic attack because apparently Geronimo had borrowed his favorite socks, and he can't sleep without them. We were able to console him with some salmon and shiny quartz for now, but this tactic won't work forever. I tried to talk to Ganz about the situation, but he had just made himself some new clothes and was busy rubbing them all over himself and moaning. I'll try again later.
Day 1, 7:12 PM:
The situation is becoming grim. With no one to direct us, some of the tribsemen are growing restless and violent. A wandering trader called out to the fortress, and Gorilla and several others charged out and beat him with sticks until he ran and dove into the lake and swam to safety. He dropped his bags as he fled, and we claimed them for ourselves. We found several pieces of string, some parts of a raccoon, and some quarters. We stashed the treasure in a basket inside the fortress; if Geronimo and Seahawk get back, they will be proud of us all.
Day 1, 8:08 PM:
Ganz is dead. We were all so hungry, so very very hungry. We had more mouths to feed, a new member, named Rass. It was so easy...he was still sitting in the corner, rubbing his new clothes and making purring sounds. I pulled the short straw...just one swing of the tomahawk to the back of the head was all it took. Such a shame...I really wanted his hat.
Day 1, 8:56 PM:
The inevitable guilt over killing Ganz is setting in. I think it's affecting Rass worst of all; I've seen him eyeing the gate a few times, like he's thinking about leaving. He wouldn't leave, would he? Not now, when we need to stand together. Of course, I'm having an easier time of it than the rest of us; because I was the one who struck him down, I was given Ganz's heart as my portion, and so I gained his courage. Also his coat, which is very nice and velvety. I see why he was rubbing it so much now. Shame about all the blood.
Day 1, 9:17 PM:
We decided that to take our minds off of Ganz we needed a project. A few of us took our shovels and went out north of the fort and dug a great pit in the ground. We're not sure what to do with it now. The general consensus is that we should keep some bears in it, but no one knows how we would get them in there. Maybe if we throw what's left of Ganz down there as bait...
Day 1, 9:32 PM:
Saw Ganz by the bear pit. Gorilla says he saw him earlier by the fishing hole, just sort of standing there, swaying back and forth in the wind. When I saw him, he was walking, looking down at the ground, moving slowly. I waved at him, but he didn't wave back. I'm worried that he's mad at us for killing and eating him.
Day 1, 10:11 PM:
Ganz is not Ganz anymore. Gorilla saw him standing by the bear pit again and went to try and talk to him. We heard his screaming from inside the fort. By the time we'd gotten there, Ganz had pulled off one of his legs and was trying to eat it. Franconian, Rass, and I all charged Ganz and managed to push him into the pit. While the others got Gorilla back to the fort to bandage him, I glanced into the pit. I think we must have dug something up, something evil. I couldn't see anything in the darkness down there, except for Ganz's dead, hollow eyes. Well, one of them, anyway. Frank ate the other one.
Day 1, 10:43 PM:
Gorilla is in a bad way. He probably won't make it through the night. Some of the others think we should kill him and eat him while he's still fresh, but I'm not prepared to take that route yet. I don't know how much longer I can hold their hunger in check, though. I'm getting pretty peckish myself...
Day 1, 11:02 PM:
Went to check on Ganz again. He's not looking up anymore, so I can't tell where he is by his eyes, but I'm pretty sure I saw him slumped against the wall of the pit, motionless. I'm really, really hoping he's not going to be able to get out of there.
Day 2, 12:02 AM:
It's hard to believe it's only been 6 hours since we lost Geronimo and Seahawk. With everything that's happened, I would have guessed it had been several days at least. We'll need to eat again soon. Gorilla is getting weaker.
Day 2, 3:26 AM:
Gorilla died. The others ate, but I couldn't stand to join them. He was just a boy, young, naive, innocent. None of this was his fault. He didn't deserve to die like this, dismembered by an undead fiend and then eaten by his closest friends. I managed to find some grubs down by the shore; those will tide me over for now.
Day 2, Time unknown:
I do{unreadable}l that this was bad idea. We need to {unreadable}awk and Geronimo, still {unreadable} Ganz {unreadable} strange noises in pit. I{unreadable}eak from hunger. Grubs might have been {unreadable}onous. Others starting to loo{unreadable} me like they were looking at Gorilla. I'm scared.
{At this point the journal ends. The last few pages and back cover appear to have been chewed off and possibly eaten.}
12-10-2010, 12:32 PM
aliksteel
Nice read, And compelling story.
12-12-2010, 09:00 AM
Airbornenik
This is sad, I am Caine a basketweaver and I was inactive for 2 weeks prior to 12/12/2010, finding ventrilo access cut off as was said happened to the previous clan geronimo was in. I log in to see a far improved base to the one I saw last, but confused without ventrilo access. Then I was told by Ace and Frankco that the leaders disappeared, they continued working.
12-20-2010, 06:16 AM
Pandamin
I really really, really enjoyed reading that.
Gripping with a good spot of humour.
I would like to hear more stories from our friends to the north, if anyone is still alive.
12-20-2010, 12:32 PM
joexxxz
They way u wrote, sounds like a bed time story lol
