Esteemed Empress Samyrrah Almandine,
I have confirmed the rumors concerning an undocumented settlement near Etsia. My team and I spent roughly a week exploring the forests, trying to find any evidence of such a village, and we discovered it by almost falling in! The settlement is rather small, comprised of only a few buildings, but built into what can only be described as a crater of some sort. Even stranger, the walls of the village are littered with valuable gems!
Luckily, the inhabitants of this village were not only peaceful and inviting, but speak Mercurian as well (albeit with a heavy accent I have never heard anywhere else). After speaking with the leader of this village, who also seemed to act the part of a shaman, I was given a brief history of the settlement, which was named Vastaus by its inhabitants. Pormest, the leader of the village, explained that this village was founded roughly 150 years ago by a Perthian trade group. This caravan discovered the strange depression in the landscape and began to investigate the very unusual concentration of valuable gems scattered throughout. Soon, the traders came to an interesting conclusion: these ores are sentient!
Now, upon hearing this, I immediately began studying these jewels myself, and I have found no indication that these rocks are anything other than mundane. However, the villagers all seem to believe that these rare stones are capable of higher thought, to the extent that they will have completely one-sided conversations between themselves and a random jewel!
On to more political matters, I have explained the nature of Vastaus' current situation to Pormest. Specifically, the reality that Vastaus is currently within Dawnstar's borders and that the village will be expected to follow the laws accompanying it. Thus far, Pormest seems agreeable, and shows interest in visiting Etsia sometime soon.
In conclusion, I formally request that I may spend more time in Vastaus for research purposes, that I may document the lives of these relatively unknown people and this strange basin they inhabit.
All for the Empress,
Perri Venkalyn
(pics to come!)
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