This note is found in Fort Ikon, and provides some background to the Legion Retribution side quest.
The air reeks of sulfur and smoke. It is difficult to breathe as I write this report. We have been ambushed, facing overwhelming odds. Some kind of Aetherial monstrosity has risen from the earth up ahead and is spreading aetherfire wherever it passes. I've never seen anything like it.
The Captain ordered us to punch through the opposition and take out that horrific thing, but he was killed in the initial attack that claimed most of our equipment and troops. The men panicked and we were forced to retreat. I managed to rally the few that were left, but it had become abundantly clear that we would not survive this. I pulled the battalion back to the entrance and ordered a full retreat to Fort Ikon.
With the Aetherials fast approaching, there was not much time to consider our options. I had the quartermaster hand me what was left of our explosive charges. We rigged the tunnel entrance and set them off, effectively sealing the mountain pass and the Aetherials in with it.
I regret to report that with the Twin Falls Bridge destroyed and the tunnels sealed, we are now effectively blocked off from the south, but I take solace in knowing that the immolation we witnessed will not spread beyond the mountain crags.
-Praetorian Marcus Eddin