18th Malachite, 11
The night in the swamps is particularly quiet and peaceful. In the next morning while packing up the camp I have a little chat with Ettad. I know the mountains are my destiny, but I also have a feeling that Ettad's not going to stick around much longer. So I ask him if there's anything he'd like to do before our paths divide. He wants to go sightseeing.
He mentions a legend about a strange monster: a molemarian. Apparently it's a weird creature living in a nearby cave. Being half-man, half-mole-rat it surely should be a weird sight. I agree to explore the cave with him. We leave the camp and head towards the mountains.
After a short hike, Ettad finds an anaconda and punches it right in the mouth, exploding its teeth everywhere. I never knew they have so many teeth.
Moments later, he repeats the trick with another anaconda. Now he's just showing off.
We cross another river. Luckily no alligators around here. Ettad kills yet more anacondas. I don't understand how he manages to find them all. They're well camouflaged creatures, after all.
We have to cross another river, and Ettad disappears in the downstream. Wondering where he went, I go after him and find a lot of dead fish. Ettad looks slightly beaten. I wonder if he wrestled with something bigger that got away.
Later in the evening we come across another lake. The beach looks like a nice place for a campsite, but then I see the hippos. Better to move on before Ettad spots them.
The night falls before we reach the mountains and we have to spend another night in the swamps.
19th Malachite, 11
Another quiet night goes by. We get up before sunrise and continue hiking towards the mountains. Soon the terrain starts to change. It's too dry for anacondas and hippos. Ettad runs after birds, trying to catch them. He hasn't killed anything today and is starting to look frustrated.
After a few hours of walk we finally reach the mountains. I've heard them called The Bronze Towers. We start climbing the mountain, the molemarian's cave should be somewhere close.
I'm so excited to be here! The mountains are filled with mineral veins and gems, and they're visible right there on the face of the rock! I'm pointing a particulary nice cluster of gems for Ettad to see but he's not impressed. Humans! Just when I'm about to strike the earth with my pickaxe, Ettad drags me away.
While on our way to the molemarian cave we spot another cave and decide to explore it.
The cave seems quiet, only a lone helmet snake which offers no challenge to us.
The cave soon opens into a huge underground cavern, filled with strange mushrooms.
Ettad spots more snakes and kills all of them.
I don't want us to get lost in the cavern so we head back to the surface. To our amusement we suddenly find falcons flying inside the cave. I have no idea how they got inside. Ettad bats them to the ground.
The night falls before we reach the molemarian's lair. We could search its hideout in the darkness, but I think it's better to do it in the broad daylight.