We started out in the morning, as rested as we could be given the circumstances. I thought it would be good to feel dry land beneath my feet once more, but right now I find myself longing for the deck of the Sea Wyvern beneath my feet.

I have never seen jungle like this. Not in Tomoachan, not in the swamps outside Fort Blackwall. The heat and humidity are like a physical weight upon us. How is it possible that it is more humid on land than it was on the deck of a ship on the open sea, with water all about? Large biting insects plague my friends, but are unable to pierce my scales with their mandibles. The foliage is unlike anything I have seen before. The trees, the vines, the leaves on the bushes are huge. As if we have shrunk to less than half our size—or, more likely, as if they have grown here unmolested since the dawn of time.

We were slogging our miserable way through this jungle when Galan stopped us with a raised hand. “Something is hunting us.”

We were attacked by a pack of six ferocious lizards that Galan called megaraptors. Standing twelve feet tall with wicked killing talons on their feet, the beasts were truly formidable adversaries. We lost Densu, and each of the rest of us is sorely wounded from the battle.

I burned through spells like I have not done before, and Aramir and Galan plied their weapons with their usual skill. Lydara, I think, would have died if not for Urol’s ministrations. The thick foliage blocked her arrows from their targets—as lethal as she normally is, in this fight she was next to helpless. The very jungle itself was working against us—except, of course, on the occasions where it blocked one of the raptors’ claws. The terrain here can cut both ways.

The most potent spells I know were sporadic in their effect on the beasts. Oddly enough, the most effective spell in the battle was a relatively simple spell called Shocking Grasp, which I learned long ago but have never before had to use in combat.

We shall have to give serious thought to how we face the threats on this island. We have been here for less than two full days and have already faced greater danger than we have encountered for some time.

We will have to use all of our skill and cunning to survive. For I am sure that the denizens of this island will be using all of their skill and cunning to devour us.

For now, we must press on. I can only hope that we are not tested like this again today, for if we are I do not think we can survive.