Bleached Bones

Bleached Bones can be found scattered across the Crystal Desert region. When clicked upon they display a short text comprising of a journal entry - or presumably the last words of the deceased person to whom the bones belonged.

The notes seem a varied assortment of entries from different groups that tried to live in the desert. At least two entries indicated that they came after the Elonians. These bones are part of the quest Family Soul.

Note: The bones are hard to spot without holding down the [Alt] key, being very small and inconspicuous. Map with the locations of all bleached bones

The following are the Bleached Bones entries sorted by desert area:

The Arid Sea

 * "My third day alone. I managed to cover Leah with enough sand and debris to hide her from my sight. I can't bear to watch as the elements and insects ravage her corpse, but I haven't the strength to bury her properly. Soon I'll join her on the other side, but in the meantime I wish nothing so much as to be as far from her as possible. Gods, have mercy on me."
 * "Why did we come out here? My daughters have grown sicker each day, and nothing I can do will save them. At night I see the gleaming eyes of creatures that wait just outside the firelight for me to fall asleep, so they can feed on my little ones. Their mother, dead these last two weeks, will curse me from her shallow grave, but I have no choice. Tonight, the soup will contain enough choke root to put the girls to sleep once and for all. When they are safe once again, I will eat of it myself, for I'll not face the morning without them." ((It is discovered in the Nightfall quest Family Soul that this set of bones belongs to a man named Rotal, husband of a woman named Shanrah, who can be found in Crystal Overlook in Elona.))
 * "It came out of the dunes like a kraken out of the sea, all teeth and meaty, flapping jaw. There was no time, nowhere to go. It bit down on Menrick, and when it pulled away, all that was left of the man we had called our leader were his leather boots and the remnants of his ankles." - Found close to the area boundary to Skyward Reach.

Diviner's Ascent

 * "I have walked for three days without food, two without water. I can no longer remember what it was I thought to accomplish coming into this gods-forsaken place, only that my pride has cost me everything I loved, and will ultimately cost my life. My skin is burned; my lips are cracked and have adhered to my teeth, so that I can no longer close my mouth. My eyes are but two pebbles that scrape against my eyelids when I blink. Today I close them for good. To whomever reads this: leave the desert and go back to your home. Nothing you left behind can be more deadly than this place."
 * "There are remnants here of others who came before. I can only hope they were the Elonians. The ghostly figure we've been following around the desert has assured us he will meet us in Elona Reach. But the dunes here all look alike. We've been searching for this place for days. Though the wind blows away our footprints, I'm beginning to think we're walking in circles."

Prophet's Path

 * "The strange snakelike creatures have been harrying us day and night. This last attack claimed poor Nylund. I just hope that if my time comes that I don't go the same way. Since then, a silent determination has settled over the others. They've begun calling the strange brown boxes 'chestnuts.' We've discovered that when we place them on the stone pedestals they light up. But either the teleporter is broken, or we're still missing the key to activating them because we're no farther then the day we arrived." - Found southwest of Augury Rock
 * ''"Traeg plots against me, and for that I can't blame him. I welcome his blade in my back, and only hope the gods don't judge me too harshly when I reach the other side."

Salt Flats

 * "... Our rations were exhausted two days ago. We held out as long as we could, but this afternoon we voted to amputate Cerzak's injured leg and distribute the meat equally among us. Even if he survives, he'll not walk again. But if we don't do this thing, as vile as it is, none of us will live to see another day."

The Scar

 * "They're out here, just watching us. Waiting until we fall asleep so they can take our teeth. But I won't let them. I resolved three days ago not to sleep until we find the old boat wreckage at the end of the dry riverbed. They'll not catch me with my eyes closed. They'll not get my teeth. They're mine. All mine." - Found on top of a mountain.
 * "The sores that cover my body have begun to ooze yellow fluid, and the fever keeps me unconscious much of the time. The children come and go, spooning weak broth into me as though it might do some good, but we all know that my time is near. The quill shakes in my hand, and the words swim on the parchment before me. I expect this will be my last entry. Who will look after my family when I am gone?"

Skyward Reach

 * "The creatures are coming. I hear the clicking of their claws drawing nearer in the darkness. It's all I can do to keep from screaming and alerting them to my location. I don't know why I continue to write... I suppose I'm comforted by the thought that someone, someday, might tell my family what finally became of me. I'm sorry, mother. I should have listened to you."

Vulture Drifts

 * "I led my people into this vile desert with the hope of a new life. What we have found instead is a place that seems almost to delight in trying to break us. I have seen entire families devoured by creatures that can only have come from the nightmares of Grenth himself. I have watched children waste away from disease as their parents stood by helplessly. Fewer than half of us remain, and those who still live have lost hope."
 * "My grandfather told me stories of Turai Ossa when I was only a little boy. In life he was a legend. In death he is little more than a needy, wanting spirit. It's all his fault that I'm in this predicament. If I don't find him soon ..."

Other Campaign
There are also sets of Bleached Bones in Factions and Nightfall. On the Shing Jea Island in Cantha, they are located on the northeast shore of Haiju Lagoon (from its central island) and north of the collector Junsu, just above the point where the The Thieving Nanny quest is resolved. There are also sets in Joko's Domain in Elona, directly outside the Basalt Grotto, in the NorthWest of The Ruptured Heart (part of the Pilgrimage quest), and in the Remains of Sahlahja. They appear to have no dialogue attached. In addition, they used to appear in the Luxon or Kurzick settlement camps in Kryta, which no longer appear, after completion of either the Destroy the Kurzicks! or Crush the Luxons! quests. These quests were part of a storyline sequence designed to familiarize players with the Factions campaign before it was released. The quests and the settlements disappeared shortly after the campaign's release.

Ausgebleichte Gebeine