The Palenque Expedition.

My name is Alstead Fabulavir,
This journal is a chronicle of my ventures into the world of Daleha. A great deal of events have transpired in the past few weeks, bringing me to my current situation, as such I will not dawdle any further. I will start my tale by telling you how I came to find the city of Vis vires and the key-stone of Expono.

During an expedition into the Ruins of Palenque, my aid, Mr Ervine Dorian, and I happened upon a hidden chamber to the south west of the ruins. The chamber was assessable from the outside of the ruins and had been partially unearthed by a violent storm the previous night.

A long narrow hall lead to the chamber, opening up into a five sided room. The walls covered with pictographs and markings we had not seen on any other walls of the ruins before, this was of great interest to us, as we had ventured to this particular ruin many times before.

The ground beneath us was firm and dry but seemed to be dust and soil rather than stone. Situated at the center of the room was two steps to a low pedestal, about 30cm from the floor at its highest and 45cm in diameter at its lowest. Made of stone, it had no visible markings, and upon it sat a wooden mask.

The mask was shaped to fit firm to the face without any attachments, it had only one symbol spanning the entire front of the mask and housed no eye, nose or mouth holes.

We documented everything we could find and we took the mask back to the university for which we both worked. We studied it for several weeks before anyone donned the mask. Mr Dorien was the first to bring it to his face.

Upon contact with his skin the mask acted as an adhesive. Bonding with his skin instantly, Mr Dorien was unable to breath and passed out on the floor. Whether it was his loss of consciousness or the sudden jolt of his head connecting with the marble floor of our research laboratory, the mask came loose and rolled to a stable position on the floor next to his head, facing upwards. For a brief moment, I could have sworn to see the symbol faintly glow, perhaps it was the trauma of what I had just witnessed, perhaps not.

That was over seven months ago, and Mr Dorien has remained in a coma at the state hospital ever since. Since that day my research efforts have been locked solely on the mask and the secrets it holds. My efforts have come to a grinding halt as I have exhausted all avenues of study. All I am left with to help my dear friend, is the notion of donning the mask myself and experiencing its effects first hand.

So this brings me to my current state of affairs. I will leave a document detailing my studies and my current situation on my desk at the university. I will take the mask to my home then head out to the local bowling club and enjoy what just might be a final night with friends and family. Tomorrow, with the dawn of a new year, I will use the mask. It may kill me or, as my studies have suggested, it may hold some dormant purpose to which only Mr Dorien is privy.

On that note I bid you all good night and a grand new year, full of excitement adventure.

Sincerely,
Dr Alstead Fabulavir