[Shuell]

Manifest of the KMS Suche:
1. Baron Wilhelm von Reichenow - expedition head
2. Frederick Wisting - second-in-command, navigator
3. Carl Meyer - lieutenant, expedition doctor
4. Louis Albrecht - lieutenant, gunner
5. Woldemar Amann - biologist
6. Elmar Nebe - dog driver
7. Yannick Bolender - carpenter, laborer
8. Horst Donha - cook
9. Karl de Serrano - Iustonian engineer
10. Thorvald Kutchak - Vertanskan geologist
10 other workers of little importance

1st Entry

I have decided that I will keep a proper record of this most daring journey to the Hyperborean Mountains, in order to properly transcribe the events that take place during this expedition. I am writing this on the 3rd of February 1898, as the Suche leaves the Northlend port for her journey, three weeks after the departure of the Ausdauer to the mountains as an advance party. The odds of us meeting one another are quite unlikely, with Wisting plotting a route through the pack ice to reach further inland.

Retrieving funding for this journey has taken quite a while, seeing as I had managed to successfully petition the Imperial Geographical Society its worth half a decade ago - no doubt because other colonial expeditions further south take higher priority. I am quite lucky that the Vertanskans had shown interest in settling the area - King Johann was quite eager to approve us upon hearing news of that, and had secured us a fine sum of imperial tokens for our trip.

Although the IGS had insisted on picking the crew I had brought along with me, I had been able to recruit 5 or so men from my own previous journeys, including my trusted second-in-command Mr. Wisting. He had pushed for me to bring along Yannick as a final chance for him to prove his worth, despite the fact that the lout had fallen into drunkenness and poverty over the last decade despite the efforts of his compatriots to assist him. Mr. Meyer, the expedition doctor, had no medical background but had been trained in a “speed course” prior to our departure. Finally, we had brought on board Mr. de Serrano and Mr. Kutchak, two foreign-born men of relatively low standing. While Mr. Kutchak’s political ambitions are likely different from our own, his experience with the Vertanskan tundra will prove quite useful to our journey.

Despite the fact that we suffered more delays than initially expected during preparation, many of my men had been able to outfit themselves accordingly for the trip into the far north, bringing heavy furs and salted fish onboard in the event that our own supplies run out. although we are certain that the chances of uncivilized natives living in these mountains are low, I had ordered armaments brought onboard regardless as a precautionary measure against wild animals. While I had managed to purchase myself one of Kruger’s self-loading pistols, Wisting had decided to stick with the Seerevolver issued to him during his time in the Imperial Navy.

The boat journey itself will, with any luck, be short - the main issue being navigating around the first horn to the dip inland. Our ship is quite small and steers poorly in open waters, but it is made out of sturdy wood and should more than easily navigate the pack ice. We plan to make a final stop at Point North, where we shall gather additional supplies for our trek to the Hyperborean Mountains.