L97. Taking up Responsibility I

Item : Zindel's Old Journal

Zindel's name is inscribed across the journal's worn cover. Curious as to what such a thing is doing here, you opt to peek inside.

Flipping to a random entry, you find a hand-drawn scene depicting ferocious monsters, their fangs wet and bared. Scattered about them lay their human kills, both the ground and the bodies smeared with red ink. Everything suggests that this was drawn by a child's hand.

Nevertheless, the monsters are detailed enough that you instantly recognize them as the Carrion-eating Bulwark Maggot and Carapace Gnat native to the southwest.

There's a written entry underneath...

"Today I saw the beasts kill many elders. I wanted to be brave, but I ran. My stomach won't stop hurting. There was so much blood..."

Your heart catches in your throat. This must be one of Zindel's lost memories.

You turn the page.

Item : Zindel's Old Journal

"I know they'll come for me next...

And I'll end up like all the others. Why couldn't the elders stop them?

I have to be stronger when I grow up! I'll protect dad, sister. Everyone."

The style and tone of these words confirm your assumptions. You're reading Zindel's childhood thoughts.