It was on a subcontinent off the southeast
coast, perhaps a month’s journey in a galleon to get there. Once there, you
would have to go six days through jungles teaming with hostile insects and
strange plant life before you encountered anything resembling humans. Yet the
natives are not human, but creatures whose description I cannot relate as the
only records I ever recovered of them don’t describe anything that could live.
There they grow a strange plant whose fruit some describe as a bean, but I am
not sure it really is. That plant is the called by the natives the Azth-Nald,
after the man who first domesticated the plant, but the citizens of the old
empire called it the cocoa tree, and its fruit as the cocoa bean, and that was
what I was going to get.
I hired out some reckless adventurers for the job, led by a man named Gevam Far-Seer. I got these mercenaries a ship, a crew, and a captain to bring them to the subcontinent where the cocoa plant could be found, which was known as Kalektahl when it was known. And they set off, at which point I can only relate the events as was described to me by the survivors.
The first week of travel was good enough, winds were easy, sky was clear, and rations were plentiful. Then a storm came up, sweeping across the ship and many good men were lost to the wave and wind. Seawater got into the drinking water, and whole barrels were emptied to keep from it being too tempting for the men as the days wore on. Men would go for days without sleep, having at most two or three hours out of twenty-four if even that much. When the skies calmed, they were almost halfway to Kalektahl.
That was when things began to get ugly onboard. Though the mercenaries had done their best to help out, they were seen as a burden by much of the crew. They drank the same water ration and ate the same food ration, yet most of them wouldn’t climb the rigging and had a hard time following orders. According to the adventurers, it was because they couldn’t understand half the jargon, but the sailors insist otherwise. Some of the sailors suggested throwing them off the ship and collecting the cocoa plant themselves once they got to the Kalektahl, meaning more water, food, and money for themselves. Yet neither the captain nor first officer would allow it, and both men were intimidating even to me when I hired them, so it was easy to keep order on the ship.
Their rations were running low, the oranges having run out five days ago and the salted pork of all things was soon to follow, when they saw land. High jungles, bright and airy they seemed. They dropped anchor a mile offshore and sent the mercenaries out in longboats with some of the sailors. The sailors were to collect drinking water and foodstuffs, using a list I provided them from the imperial library to know which plants were good and which were bad. Oddly enough, it was the uglier things that were best to eat, such as the spikey fruits, rather than the more beautiful plants, which were toxic. But the adventurers had a much harder task ahead of them.
Gevam Far-Seer led his men through the jungle, using a map I provided them to find the native settlement. Yet while it was correct in those far off days, they were not so fortunate now, as it was two days after they should have found the settlement that they discovered a native village. Many of the men were sick at that time from insect bites, but fortunately their mage was not one of them. He cast a translation spell, spooking the natives something awful as they were not accustomed to magic of that variety. Diplomacy would be difficult.
While the natives mostly kept out of sight, someone claiming to be their chieftain arose and went to them. He wore a long cloak that concealed his entire body, and a large wooden mask carved like the head of a native wild cat covered his face. He spoke to them, and while they would not trade with the outsiders for anything they had, as he did not trust them, he told them where to find the cocoa plants in the wild. So Gevam Far-Seer set out for them.
It was a harrowing journey through horrors which the survivors are hesitant to speak of. Huge jungle cats prowled these lands, the trees so thick they could not see the sun some days. Yet those were the least of their troubles. The leaves of some plants caused infectious rashes to grow on the men’s skin, and some died from impure drinking water they’d collected. The insects were bigger here and more dangerous, some carrying off men, those the birds did not claw at. One night they camped over a scorpion’s nest and had to move on, the only alternative being the mage scorching the whole place. The heat drove two of the men mad, one running into the wild, the other eating random plants and dying not long into it. Yet it could not compare to what was ahead.
At the edge of the grove where the cocoa trees could be found was a huge creature, tusked and cruel. In its fatty hand was a bludgeon decorated with the skulls of the natives, or else some other creature that was not human. It was slow moving and bulbous, with scars about its bare blue skin. Whether it is beast or some reasoning creature, we do not know as it attacked immediately after seeing the adventurers.
The mage was the first it targeted, killing him in a single swing, or so we hope. Gevam drew his longsword and stuck it in its stomach, but the fat must be good for something as it didn’t do much more than bleed it. Gevam was kicked to one side, and two others stepped forward only to be crushed in the same swipe. An archer raised his bow and struck its eye, at which point Gevam rose and managed to strike a vein in its neck, though its last action was to shatter his body with its club. Yet it died soon after, and the men mourned their dead.
The men, led by the bowman, who was named Tephor, went about their business in the grove. They first buried the bodies of the men, as carrying them back wasn’t feasible, and removed the beast’s body out of the grove so it wouldn’t hinder their movements. They then collected several young cocoa trees, saplings really, and though they tasted the fruit, they couldn’t understand why so many had died to get bit of flora. And when I think about it, neither do I.
The rest of the journey was more of the same, but a bit less in regards to madness, hostile creatures, and sickness. It is unclear to me if Tephor and his men went to the village again, as they did not seem forthcoming on this matter. It would be sorrowful indeed if they took out their frustrations on the villagers, but at the same time, it might just be that they never went there again. In any case, they returned to the ship soon enough with the cocoa saplings.
The way back was clear enough weather, and the foodstuffs they brought with them was apparently quite a change from their normal fare. Yet it did not stop the idea resurfacing of the sailors throwing off the adventurers, as they were not only extraneous at this point, but disease ridden from the jungle. The ship’s surgeon quarantined the adventurers’ quarters and spent most of the return trip treating them. Only three out of twenty of the adventurers made it back to our shores alive: Tephor the Bowman, Insariaus the Tempered, and Hasya Long-Arm.
These three presented the cocoa saplings to me, and I have grown them to the best of my ability on our shores. I have prepared them according to the instructions laid out in the old records, and even made some customary foods. The cocoa beans, once dried, can be used to make a beverage from water or milk called hot chocolate, baked into a cake, or cooled into a bar and sections eaten. It is a delicious food if I do say so myself, and quite rich, though I would caution against eating this as an entrĂ©e as it is a sweet and must be treated as such. Therefore, my patrons, a give you this, chocolate available to you at a negotiable price. You’re welcome.
I hired out some reckless adventurers for the job, led by a man named Gevam Far-Seer. I got these mercenaries a ship, a crew, and a captain to bring them to the subcontinent where the cocoa plant could be found, which was known as Kalektahl when it was known. And they set off, at which point I can only relate the events as was described to me by the survivors.
The first week of travel was good enough, winds were easy, sky was clear, and rations were plentiful. Then a storm came up, sweeping across the ship and many good men were lost to the wave and wind. Seawater got into the drinking water, and whole barrels were emptied to keep from it being too tempting for the men as the days wore on. Men would go for days without sleep, having at most two or three hours out of twenty-four if even that much. When the skies calmed, they were almost halfway to Kalektahl.
That was when things began to get ugly onboard. Though the mercenaries had done their best to help out, they were seen as a burden by much of the crew. They drank the same water ration and ate the same food ration, yet most of them wouldn’t climb the rigging and had a hard time following orders. According to the adventurers, it was because they couldn’t understand half the jargon, but the sailors insist otherwise. Some of the sailors suggested throwing them off the ship and collecting the cocoa plant themselves once they got to the Kalektahl, meaning more water, food, and money for themselves. Yet neither the captain nor first officer would allow it, and both men were intimidating even to me when I hired them, so it was easy to keep order on the ship.
Their rations were running low, the oranges having run out five days ago and the salted pork of all things was soon to follow, when they saw land. High jungles, bright and airy they seemed. They dropped anchor a mile offshore and sent the mercenaries out in longboats with some of the sailors. The sailors were to collect drinking water and foodstuffs, using a list I provided them from the imperial library to know which plants were good and which were bad. Oddly enough, it was the uglier things that were best to eat, such as the spikey fruits, rather than the more beautiful plants, which were toxic. But the adventurers had a much harder task ahead of them.
Gevam Far-Seer led his men through the jungle, using a map I provided them to find the native settlement. Yet while it was correct in those far off days, they were not so fortunate now, as it was two days after they should have found the settlement that they discovered a native village. Many of the men were sick at that time from insect bites, but fortunately their mage was not one of them. He cast a translation spell, spooking the natives something awful as they were not accustomed to magic of that variety. Diplomacy would be difficult.
While the natives mostly kept out of sight, someone claiming to be their chieftain arose and went to them. He wore a long cloak that concealed his entire body, and a large wooden mask carved like the head of a native wild cat covered his face. He spoke to them, and while they would not trade with the outsiders for anything they had, as he did not trust them, he told them where to find the cocoa plants in the wild. So Gevam Far-Seer set out for them.
It was a harrowing journey through horrors which the survivors are hesitant to speak of. Huge jungle cats prowled these lands, the trees so thick they could not see the sun some days. Yet those were the least of their troubles. The leaves of some plants caused infectious rashes to grow on the men’s skin, and some died from impure drinking water they’d collected. The insects were bigger here and more dangerous, some carrying off men, those the birds did not claw at. One night they camped over a scorpion’s nest and had to move on, the only alternative being the mage scorching the whole place. The heat drove two of the men mad, one running into the wild, the other eating random plants and dying not long into it. Yet it could not compare to what was ahead.
At the edge of the grove where the cocoa trees could be found was a huge creature, tusked and cruel. In its fatty hand was a bludgeon decorated with the skulls of the natives, or else some other creature that was not human. It was slow moving and bulbous, with scars about its bare blue skin. Whether it is beast or some reasoning creature, we do not know as it attacked immediately after seeing the adventurers.
The mage was the first it targeted, killing him in a single swing, or so we hope. Gevam drew his longsword and stuck it in its stomach, but the fat must be good for something as it didn’t do much more than bleed it. Gevam was kicked to one side, and two others stepped forward only to be crushed in the same swipe. An archer raised his bow and struck its eye, at which point Gevam rose and managed to strike a vein in its neck, though its last action was to shatter his body with its club. Yet it died soon after, and the men mourned their dead.
The men, led by the bowman, who was named Tephor, went about their business in the grove. They first buried the bodies of the men, as carrying them back wasn’t feasible, and removed the beast’s body out of the grove so it wouldn’t hinder their movements. They then collected several young cocoa trees, saplings really, and though they tasted the fruit, they couldn’t understand why so many had died to get bit of flora. And when I think about it, neither do I.
The rest of the journey was more of the same, but a bit less in regards to madness, hostile creatures, and sickness. It is unclear to me if Tephor and his men went to the village again, as they did not seem forthcoming on this matter. It would be sorrowful indeed if they took out their frustrations on the villagers, but at the same time, it might just be that they never went there again. In any case, they returned to the ship soon enough with the cocoa saplings.
The way back was clear enough weather, and the foodstuffs they brought with them was apparently quite a change from their normal fare. Yet it did not stop the idea resurfacing of the sailors throwing off the adventurers, as they were not only extraneous at this point, but disease ridden from the jungle. The ship’s surgeon quarantined the adventurers’ quarters and spent most of the return trip treating them. Only three out of twenty of the adventurers made it back to our shores alive: Tephor the Bowman, Insariaus the Tempered, and Hasya Long-Arm.
These three presented the cocoa saplings to me, and I have grown them to the best of my ability on our shores. I have prepared them according to the instructions laid out in the old records, and even made some customary foods. The cocoa beans, once dried, can be used to make a beverage from water or milk called hot chocolate, baked into a cake, or cooled into a bar and sections eaten. It is a delicious food if I do say so myself, and quite rich, though I would caution against eating this as an entrĂ©e as it is a sweet and must be treated as such. Therefore, my patrons, a give you this, chocolate available to you at a negotiable price. You’re welcome.
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