Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen! I, Zachary Blackadder, am here once again to continue the story of the exploration of Handergash Island.

When last I wrote, I told of Captain Edmund Handergash, his sighting of an unnamed isle and his actions in sponsoring an expedition to this new land just before he disappeared. Today I will tell the tale of how associates of Kiniska’s Circus discovered a link to Handergash, which led to our own journey of discovery to that unknown locale.

As many of you know, our enterprise has a number of individuals working across the remote areas of the world in search of exotic beasts, ancient artifacts, strange tales and more. Their quest is to bring these rare items and experiences back to the civilized world so that we may share them with you here at the Circus. It is through one of these individuals that we found a clue to Edmund’s missing expedition and the location to Handergash Island!

Chloe Taylor, an adventurous woman and long time employee of the Circus, regularly travels among the peoples of Polynesia for the Circus. While touring a native village, she came across an old fisherman with a most unusual catch. No, it was not a fish or any living creature, but a barnacle encrusted trunk with a metal lock and hinges. A quick inspection by Chloe found the box to be completely sealed and unflooded. Also, Chloe determined that it still contained an unknown, undisturbed cargo. Our curious agent purchased the box and brought it back to her home port in Darwin, Australia.

Despite some difficulty, Chloe and was able to open the box and examine her find. Inside was a jumbled collection of personal effects, clothing, some mechanical toys and what not. But, the greatest find was a book. Upon opening the tome, she read the title “Personal Journal of Captain Edmund Handergash.” As she was a resident of a busy port city, Chloe quickly grasped what she has discovered. It was the captain’s log of a sailing vessel. In fact, the only surviving document on the fate of the Godfrey, her crew, and one Captain Edmund Handergash…complete with sailing charts and map coordinates. An astounding find that would change many a life!

However, in her excitement, Chloe paid little attention to the other contents in the chest. This would prove to be a major error. For the insect shaped mechanical toys would prove to be far more than childish playthings. I will explain further in my next entry.