#i still wanna do the 'hector was possessed like thancred but it lasts longer and has dire physical & mental consequences' plotline

[sealrock]

febhyurary, day 8: crystal

30th sun of the 2nd astral moon, 1568

elaine tatlonghari's field report #19 "it is the nineteenth day of our excursion deep within the eastern region of the twelveswood, and before now we have uncovered naught but the standard fare of dirt, rock, and peculiar vegetation samples. just when it seemed our luck, and our studium funds, were running out, my fellows from the excavation team stumbled upon something rather curious: a shimmering yellow stone—nay, 'stone' is not what I would call this, more like a crystal. no bigger than my hand, I find its weight strangely leaden cradled within my palm. upon further inspection, it's not like any crystal I have seen. to be so perfectly smooth without so much as a scratch, complete with jagged edges sharp enough to puncture skin. whereupon hitting a light source, the crystal takes on an almost translucent appearance. it appears to have a pattern etched on its surface, but I do not yet know its meaning. my associate haeljarr believes it to be some sort of star map for an ancient civilization that once inhabited this corner of the twelveswood, before the time of the amdapori; could it be a representation of an age-old constellation? I'm not so easily convinced; to have lay under the dust and grime of crushing rubble for such a long stretch of time with nary a sign of age to show for it... haeljarr was always fond of his lofty summations. it is my belief that this crystal is of our age, perhaps dropped by another archaeologist somewhere out there. we will not know for sure until further studies are done. nevertheless, we shall continue our excavation on the 'morrow in hope we uncover more crystals like this. if they're anything like allagan tomestones, this discovery should hold some worthwhile knowledge."