Theo journal
My Dearest Helen,
The captain tells me we are nearly halfway to the Americas. I don't know how he can tell, as all we haven't seen anything but water for the last week. Still, I trust him, as he is the captain.
Everyone but Edmund is anxious to reach shore. I think he's the only one that really understands how much work we have ahead of us since he's done this kind of thing before.
Caleb still assures me that I will be back in time for the birthing of our daughter. My deepest regret is that I wasn't there when Gregory was born, and I pray this doesn't happen again.
Your love,
Theo
Helen Sims,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Theodore has taken ill, and has asked me to send you this letter. As quickly as we landed ashore, his skin grew pale, and his legs could no longer hold him. We are currently resting in the village of Almeirim, and are delaying our expedition until your husband recovers. The locals assure me that it is not uncommon for Englishfolk to fall ill upon arriving here. Something in the water, or so they say. They also assure me to expect a full recovery on the part of Theodore.
Sincerely,
Caleb C. Cosgrove III
TCEED
Helen,
I am terribly sorry I have not been able to write you myself, and I hope Caleb's letters didn't leave you too worried. Rest assured that I am recovering and that the villagers here have been most kind. My illness may have been a blessing in disguise - it forced us to stay in this village longer than expected, and I do believe that Mr. Fields has fallen for one of the local girls. You were always saying how he needs to settle down, well think that that just might happen. He was always such a rover.
Despite being bedridden (or rather hammock ridden, as the case may be), being here has felt strangely satisfying. Almost like this is where I belong. I guess I was born to be an archaeologist.
Be that as it may, I miss you terribly and long to return home,
Love,
Theo
Helen,
My feeling of belonging has finally outweighed my illness, and we set off today. I don't entirely know what we were looking for, but as we ventured out into the jungle, I felt rejuvinated. I even found some ruins today! It was almost as though the jungle spoke to me and told me where to find what we were seeking. I have such a good intuition for an archaeologist.
We returned to Almeirim in the evening. Despite my enthusiasm, my body hasn't entirely recovered, so we didn't have any intentions of camping out there. Oh well. Maybe some of the locals will know something or other about what we found.
Theo
My Dear Helen,
I don't know what to say, but I think we just got kicked out of the village. I still haven't figured out how. Some of the locals were telling us that what we uncovered was an ancient temple and we would be wise not to disturb it. Then Eddie dueled with Collin. Eddie won, and thank god it wasn't to the death. I think that that young local Collin fell for was herself in love with old Eddie. At any rate, we've been driven off the village and are camped out at the ruins of the temple. I'm having trouble breathing from all the excitement. At least this whole fiasco forces us out of that village and onto what we're here to do. We have made some interesting finds in the ruins. Soon i will return with fame and fortune. This will be mine, oh yes. I just need to make sure THEY do not get it. Oh no, this is all mine. I know, it talks to me.
This letter may very well be the last one for a while. We're sending Dan, one of the hired hands to drop off some letters and hopefully come back with food. Since he can't go back to Almeirim, we don't entirely know where he'll go for this task. Hopefully it'll be somewhere close.
Theo
