The first several pages of the journal seem to lack anything of interest apart from the year stated in the entries were over a century ago.  It isn’t until you get to the last few pages that things become more interesting, starting with the entry that tells of how there were at one more three of them and they too had awaken in this chamber, which they refer to as the Sacred Grotto, after a falling as they sought shelter within the crevice.  The next entry becomes a little more troubling.<br/><br/>Entry 42:<br/><em>We are not alone down here.  In just a short trek down one of the tunnels, Azurel had identified the tracks of at least a dozen different monsters.  It is odd, because as well travelled as the caves seem to be, the grotto well awoken in seemed to be entirely undisturbed.  As alien as this place is, it’s hard to deny that it is certainly beautiful.</em><br/><br/>Entry 43:<br/><em>Food down here is scarce; fortunately our Rings of Sustenance will get us through that particular trial.  The only thing Azurel was able to find that wasn’t poisonous was a few purple mushrooms that she called ‘Blessed Caps’.  Apparently they are very rare and very valuable as a cure for all known poisons and diseases while also restoring a wary body to perfect health.  The only side-effect seems to be that it renders the user entirely infertile for two days.  Seems this accident might be a lucrative one once we get to the surface.</em><br/><br/>Entry 44:  (The writing of this page is a lot more erratic compared to the others.)<br/><em>Eri is dead.  She got separated from us as we were fleeing from an erratically behaving minotaur. All the monsters down here seem to be erratic according to Azurel.  We found her several hours later… Only after the monster was finished with her.  <del>I can’t believe</del> <del>Her clothes were torn from her</del> <del>That thing had its way</del> It raped her.  We found her battered and broken with its seed all over her.  Oh, Eri… I’m sorry you had to go like that.  I wish there was more we could do for you than to clean you up and bury you beneath a tree in the Sacred Grotto.</em><br/><br/>Entry 45:<br/><em>I don’t know how long we have been down here, but for the first time in weeks, Azurel and I are finally ready to leave the Sacred Grotto for the first time since what happened to Eri.  It took me that long to enchant our rings with protective magic to make sure we don’t end up like her.  Even the most grievous of injuries those things could inflict upon us would be superficial; though no less tiring.  So even if we are overcome as Eri had been, we will not die from whatever those things do to us…  I don’t know whether or not that is as much of a boon as it seems.</em><br/><br/>Entry 46:<br/><em>A lot has happened since my last entry that I made what could only be years ago.  It is hard to tell time after being down here for so long.  Though we don’t know the cause, all the monsters down here behave like the minotaur that killed Eri.  They are all male and are driven by lust.  They seek nothing more than to mate; some for seemingly nothing more than the enjoyment of it, some if the intent… to breed.<br/><br/>We learned the latter the hard way.<br/><br/>This entry isn’t for my sake; rather it is for you, the hapless soul who finds themselves in the same situation as I was in when all this started.  Azurel and I are tired.  We are unable to find the will to go on after having been taken far more times that we care to count by far more types of creatures than we could have ever suspected would reside down here.  We take solace in our defeat in that we may bring hope to those who follow us.<br/><br/>There is a way out.  We have seen it with our own eyes and had nearly escaped this dreadful place. Something grabbed us before we could make the climb.  An unholy creature with black tentacles pulled us off the wall and took us until we both succumbed to our exhaustion.  When we awoke, we were back in the Sacred Grotto; a place we were resolved to leave for good.  It took us months of exploration to find the exit and there were so many trails along the way that we couldn’t even begin to retrace our steps.<br/><br/>So, this is the end of our adventure.  Azurel and I are resigned to resting against the very tree that we laid Eri to rest.  Please, take the rings and this knowledge so that you may survive the hardships that await you.  Know that the Sacred Grotto, the chamber where you found us, is the only place we’ve been that is truly safe from monsters.  For whatever reason, they cannot step through the archway. If you are a woman, keep those mushrooms handy; no matter how monstrous or alien the things down here may seem, they all possess the potential to impregnate you.  Though we will never meet one another, we like to think of you as companions bound by the trials of this place.  Know that we are cheering for you to succeed where we had failed.<br/><br/>Your friends,<br/>Kalie, Azurel, and Eri<br/><br/>P.S.<br/>If you happen across a feline named Manaki, please give him our gratitude and a kiss on the head for us.  He was the closest thing to a friend we have ever found down here, even if earning his loyalty came at a price.</em>