The Village

== The Village ==
[A collection of research papers strewn across the table. Some are more singed than others, nearly unreadable.]
=== Entry 001 ===
The most recent shipment of quartz arrived intact. 128 pure blocks for the researchers to study. After our recent failure, hopefully this round we will discover why its composition is so effective against the tainted corruption. 
=== Entry 006 ===
There is word that the southwest settlement went up in flames a few days ago at the hands of an escaped Shardling. No one survived. The threat that this Corruption poses is vast. We must work harder. 
=== Entry 013 ===
The High Priest arrived at the colony today to take command. He immediately retreated to his “research alcove” to study. It’s hardly more than a hidden hole in the wall, if you ask me. I wonder what it is he does in there, with all those books and papers he carted in with him. Hopefully his study will have something to show for it. We don’t know how much longer we can go with so little progress. 
=== Entry 014 ===
He knows something that we do not. There is talk of other operations occurring in tandem with ours, but when we ask, he refuses to tell us what is happening. We grow more anxious by the day, but he assures us that we are making progress. 
=== Entry 020 ===
The chemical composition of quartz seems to act as an inhibitor - preventing the adverse effects of corruption from spreading on a molecular level. Some of my colleagues hypothesize that the reaction can be harnessed and implanted in living beings, making us effectively immune! But I can’t help but wonder if the opposite is true. If the-
[The next few pages of the entry seem to be torn out hastily]
=== Entry 021 ===
The High Priest does not share our enthusiasm for this hypothesis. In fact, he seems to be preparing to leave, despite this breakthrough. He shakes his head and mutters about compatibles and probabilities. Then he goes on to talk about history and precedents… as if they are more important than scientific progress! I am almost glad that he is taking his leave in the morning. I neither know nor care where he’s going.
=== Entry 024 ===
There are more rumors of death and corruption on the horizon. We grow antsy here, preparing for the worst. We’ve erected walls infused with sea lanterns and quartz as a deterrent. We do not know how much it will help. None of us are fighters… Just scholars. 
=== Entry 025 ===
[The last page is a traditional Katharosian prayer. The handwriting is shaky and smudged, as if written by someone in a hurry.]
== Priests Journal ==
[A hidden journal detailing the work of a High Priest.]
=== Entry 1 ===
I have arrived at the research colony at last. It is very busy, many scholars running amok. I may have been granted leadership of this colony, but they seem to be doing fine on their own. Anyways, I have more important matters to deal with. 
=== Entry 2 ===
My research has only just begun, but I’ve seen many promising opportunities for discovery. A plague that corrupts our people, turning their mind to insanity. We are at a loss as to where it started or how long it's been around, just under our noses, but I hypothesize it is much older than we expect. It seems almost too sophisticated to be a disease… almost like it has a mind of its own.
=== Entry 3 ===
My prayers to Katharos have gone unanswered since that fateful day. He told me then to pursue a way to destroy it… to eradicate the darkness from our pure plane. I must do as He commands, but I cannot help but be curious too. It is in a scholar’s nature to understand that which is a mystery before it is destroyed. But it is in a priest’s nature to never question his God’s word. And yet…
=== Entry 4 ===
I ponder over the origins of this Dark Taint the most. Perhaps it came upon us as magic did, during the Calamity. Perhaps it is another disease brought to us by those hog creatures during the war. Perhaps it is not a disease at all. So many questions, yet none of them can be answered through science alone…
=== Entry 5 ===
The scholars came to me with a new hypothesis today. I find it ludicrous. A simple piece of material embedded in flesh would not grant immunity, and even if we did manage to dilute it to just the chemical reactants, any infusion with a living body could be dangerous. If they survived the infusion, perhaps it could work, but the probability of death is just too high… We cannot risk innocent lives like that. What a nonsense distraction from my work.
=== Entry 6 ===
After many days here, I see that this colony is useless to me. Too little progress and too many prying eyes. I shall continue my research in solitude in my personal lab. Isolated as it is, in a tower in the middle of the ocean nearly eight thousand units to the south and five thousand units to the east of here, I believe it will be much more fruitful towards my studies. Perhaps I will take a few of the more discreet scholars with me. I shall leave in the morn.