My Travels by Ploch Pridestride (Volume 17)
After stocking up supplies in Port Hope we immediately focused on the next step in our plans. It was our goal to reach the haunted ruins of Drefia using small boats that would allow us to stay close to the beach which had some major advantages: while exploring the coastline we could gather food and water in the jungle and avoid the dangers of the treacherous reefs of the northern coast at the same time.
Of course this would still be a dangerous and daring enterprise - else it would have been done before -, but we were sure that it could be done. Indeed the voyage started smoothly. We grew accustomed to the difficulties of the coastline quite fast and none of the giant sea creatures that were rumoured to plague the reefs were sighted. The first actual threats we faced were quite ordinary beasts of the jungle which - although dangerous - did not turn out to be of greater danger than the animals we had encountered during other travels. However we did not expect at all the very jungle to turn against us. We were setting up camp on a clearing that seemed peaceful, even idyllic. With hindsight this fact should have alerted us, but we were exhausted from a lengthy trip and relieved to get some rest without having to drive some beasts away first. All of a sudden, thorns shot all over the clearing and the previously calm jungle ground came to violent life. Plants we had never seen before were biting our feet with the ferocious greed of a rabid hyaena. Complete disorientation and panic took over and there was yelling and running everywhere. When we finally made it back to the boats, most of the equipment we had carried with us was lost and there was no one among us who was not injured, some were even poisoned. We spent a hard night directly on the beach and woke up drenched, covered with sand and salt all over, our wounds burning like fire. Yet we decided to continue our expedition.