Uru Blogs is an aggregate of explorers' in-character blogs and journals.
Many explorers enjoy keeping a journal noting their discoveries and journeys
in the cavern, and many others enjoy reading these journals.
Welcome to the new Uru Blogs. Read about other explorers' thoughts and discoveries in their latest ournal entries here — and join if you have a journal! Also check out Myst Blogs for blogs by Myst fans.
I should not have taken the box. That really gave it away. Removing some of the material from the Little Box may have certainly made someone suspicious, but that could have been a fluke, to them at least. A wander — no. I keep coming back to the fact that a wanderer would have taken the whole thing. I only took what I normally take — a sample. They had to have noticed that the scoop was gone, too. Was it that item that caught their attention? Maybe that was the dumb thing, taking that scoop. But shoot, it was just a silver scoop, nothing of value. Till it…. crap.
Apparently the material was of some import, because whoever it was then took the whole box, the Little Box, but left the Big Box. Empty.
Just looking at me, empty. Just try returning the material now, clever woman.
Well, if they left that to ‘catch’ a thief, they succeeded. At the same time, I did try later to put that box back too. What am I going to do with an empty wooden box? If I ever find that tavern and a chair like the other I will. Now they are gone, too. It seems the more I try to put things back the way they were the more they become irreversible. I’d worry, but I don’t know what to worry about first. A box, a box, or a tavern disappearing? Pick one and worry.
If I hadn’t taken a sample would the box have disappeared? That one will bug me.
All actions have an equal and opposite reaction. All potentials manifest somewhere.
Oh boy, I really don’t like the thoughts I’m thinking.
The event that triggered my decision to write about this part of my journey was the disappearance of the Little Box. I realized, when I went back and saw that it was gone from the Big Box, that the smell of its contents had reached someone who cared. Besides me.
And I didn’t really care at the moment I found it, I just got excited at a new find. Especially since that find came on the heels of the Lara Documents find. We all thought for so long that all we got was more DRC evasiveness and the nonsensical stories about Guild history (which didn’t do a thing for me, btw). I really wish people wouldn’t believe what they are told just because someone has been given a “title” and a script. Anyone can tell a story, but not many can tell a good one. And then there’s “delivery” which is often more important than the story itself. I mean, how often have I told a joke so badly that it was nowhere near funny? Too many — terrible at telling jokes. Or stories.
So I stick to telling what “is.” What I say I see is what I see. Or what I smell, in this case. Besides, the truth has always been more interesting to me. So, no storytelling blather here — just the truth.
And the truth right now is: The Little Box is gone. I don’t know when it was taken. Sometime between infinity and February 3, 2008. Heck, I don’t even know when it was put there — centuries ago? Last October?
I was planning to say something about it when the gateway controllers announced they are closing the gate on April 4. You know, I thought about maybe getting some help. Or at least find out that someone had dropped it–
No…. they wouldn’t have dropped it….. can’t drop a box and have it land there.
I really should say that I decided to write down the story when I found the Big Box, not when I discovered the Little Box had disappeared. After all, had I not found the Big Box I wouldn’t have known about the Little Box at all. Its subsequent disappearance would not have made a difference to me. It would have come and gone, and in my little universe I would never have encountered it.
But I did. I realized there was a fragrance in the room. It was different from those outside, and couldn’t be coming from any plants. So, like I always do, I followed my nose. The dust was pretty thick, but dust there can get thick rather quickly. So that doesn’t tell me how long it had been in there.
I still can’t believe no one has ever made mention of it. I mean, as carefully as explorers have scoured the ages and any surrounding area, no one noticed it? I suppose it’s possible, since I wouldn’t have either had I not been sniffing for it.
Jeeze that’s embarrassing to say. Sniffing for it. I think it’s a good thing I haven’t said anything to anyone. Although now I’d like to tell Veralun. Since we’ve developed the Guild of Healers site a little, and there is some interest (positive, thank goodness) I am learning that there are other people who are interested in the properties of plantlife in and around the Cavern. That’s his area of expertise; maybe he will come back there with me and study the scene.
Ruby might, too, although she had something of a bad experience there last year. Still, she might actually be willing to tell me about the area where I found the Big Box.
I really should go and talk to the people at the Zoological Society. They might know something about it. I have plans to get more involved over there now that I have studied some of the resins and extracted a few of the essential oils. I just need to decide what how to introduce my project.
Part of my hesitation with the DZS stems from the fact that I haven’t collected many essences, so I don’t have a lot to contribute yet to their database. I try not to disturb any of the living plants, since I don’t know what effect digging into them would have. I’m grateful that some ooze oil or resin and others flower and drop petals or leaves. I don’t feel nearly as guilty picking up petals or holding a vial up to running sap. Well, I don’t feel too guilty cutting a stalk or two, or picking a few blades of grass. I’ve picked up whole clumps of grass that had been uprooted, especially in Tsogal. People can really tear up the landscape when they take off running to get through the door. Delin, too.
It’s been a few months since I last wrote here. There wasn’t much to tell; I decided to stay on the surface while the cavern was silent. Of course I have been alert to any signs that something would change in the cavern, so it didn’t take long before I noticed Tweek’s blog post about a posting in the DRC forums from Victor Laxman. Not long after, replies from Marie Sutherland and Dr. Kodama followed.
After an absence of two years they planned to go to the cavern this very weekend! Reports are coming in from the few explorers that still lingered in the cavern that they indeed met the DRC.
I feel that I should return to D’ni… I’m going to get my stuff and prepare for a journey.
The cacophany of the Bahro has been silent for many, many months. Whatever Yeesha does to keep them at bay, it has been working.
In my wanderings, I reached the Great Shaft. Descent. And the Eder Tomahn. It did not ache as K’veer did.
Doctor Watson, of the DRC left his journal here. It is a sad thing, feeling of lost hope, lost dreams, and yet, at the end, there is a glimmer of light. He returned here, just before the Bahro came, bringing new thoughts… one of which I’d been having myself- That to be safe from the Bahro, humans must make a linking book. I wonder if that still stands, or if Yeesha’s efforts have made it moot.
Then again, given the nature of the Art, who would pass up the chance to travel to a world of their own imagining, if only they could write the book… Bahro or not, if the travelers have the tools, they will do.
And they have been doing. I know there must be others here, who did not leave, or who have slowly returned. A smattering, I assume, but I have seen no one.
Surrounded as I am by whispers and shadows and the subtle hint of voices, it did not startle me at all when yesterday I heard voices in the city, they seemed odd, but my mind was focused elsewhere, and I made no note of it. It was only after, relaxing in Tsoghal, that the oddity came clear to me. Those voices had not been speaking in D’ni!
Are many others coming? If they do, what of the Bahro? What of the spirit of this place?
What a day, what a day..
My trip to Ae’gura was delayed slightly when I discovered water on the floor in the office on Sul. There really shouldn’t be water on the floor, it goes against the principles of the water. So I took a look into it, and it would see my calculations for the seal in the office was off, the temperature emanating from it has slowly been lowering.
As a result we have removed the seal to allow for the temperature to rise which is a shame as I liked the design of the seal. In its place I opted to use the old mesh walkway design we used for Sul before the stability issues. It will allow for safety whilst allowing for the correct temperature to be maintained and kept without loss through the metal and glass.
Sophie has agreed to give me a hand resolving the issue which should be fixed by tomorrow, it’s only a small area to replace so it shouldn’t take long.
Eventually with the issue understood I headed to the city to collect my samples. It would seem whilst I was in there some security sensors left by the DRC were set off, not by me but it must have been elsewhere. Sophie contacted me over my KI not long after I had been in the cavern to say that Victor Laxman had posted a message on the DRC forums about the sensors going off and asking if someone can go and investigate.
Not sure if he’ll get a reply but if he does, can it mean DRC back in the cavern? It’s been a while for sure, and it would be nice to bump into Sutherland again.
However I have my samples, and tomorrow I hope to continue with my studies.
Laxman reports there’s been some possible activity in the Cavern. (source: Tweek) I’ve even heard a few have taken up the Art of Writing. Although D’ni Explorers Guild work was suspended when funding dried up, I’ve made a few independent trips down since for old time’s sake. Perhaps I wasn’t alone in doing this? My wife thinks it was probably just a safety cone that fell over. I’ve got to be cautiously optimistic, but perhaps there are more explorers out there… enough to get something organized?
I have resumed my studies on the water in Sul after the storm rolled in on Fahets. An earlier visit to the Age revealed that the bad weather had not let up and as such my plans to explore the area outside of the basin will have to be put on hold for now.
Instead I returned to Sul, where the work has been progressing nicely and I believe we are close to shifting the Age to the next phase.
I had been wanting to continue my experiments with the water after an idea I had regarding the formula used in the Er’cana pellets, fortunately I had retained my notes regarding my experiments with the pellet recipes and picked one that I feel may benefit the experiment.
As it stands I have a few hours until I have to return to Er’cana and harvest the pellets.
I have also been musing what effect the Sul water would have on the water from D’ni, with both containing algae species with different traits, would it be possible for both to co-exist in the same body of water? Would the D’ni lake benefit from a mixture?
I have decided that tomorrow I shall make a trip to Ae’gura and take some samples back to test.
It was quite a shock Linking into Fahets once again, had grown accustom to the silence that greeted me, or the near silence. Sometimes a breeze would rustle the grass, or the slight creaking of the Norapods.
Today it was different, in contrast it was almost a cacophony of sound. In our absence the wildlife in Fahets has continued to grow, expand and flourish, the air was buzzing with activity from insects and the sounds of birds.
My desire to catalog the wildlife has me thinking about climbing out of the basin and exploring the surrounding area.
Not sure how long this will continue for, as thick clouds have gathered in the sky above and I can hear the rumble of thunder, sounds like it’s going to be a bad one. Hopefully the pump will continue working nicely until we install the new, less botched together, version.
Need to remove the book of commentary for now so it doesn’t get ruined. Perhaps it is also time to look into protecting the Link in point and books with a structure or something to shield from the rain.
Well, a fair bit has happened since my last post on this blog, mentioned some of it on my Twitter account, but, otherwise, most of it hasn’t been commented on.
I’ve managed to find a bunch of people down here, and have been working on some things with them, lately.
One of them figured out how to fix the Imager (Thanks again, Diafero), actually. Its all working perfectly, now, too.
I’ve turned the pub office into a meeting place for us all, so, I’m looking for a new base of operations, now. I brought in a soccer ball from the surface, for the group, and am working on bringing down the stone slab that blocks a small room, or so the “sounder” one of the others has. The sounder tech is D’ni, and as a result, very interesting. The room should be perfect for a Nexus book and pedestal.
I’m still hanging about in the workshop age, and that’s where my stuff is at the moment. The sounder seems to indicate that there’s another room behind the shelving in the pub, but right now, I don’t have the resources to get at it, and, to be honest, I don’t really feel the need to, yet, either.
Going to be bringing in some drinks/etc in, too. I think one of my experimental firemarble batteries might even be able to power a fridge, or something. Here’s hoping.
The things Sophie can do with D’ni technology has always amazed me, in this she is much liked David was, given she worked with David closely it isn’t a surprise that she knows her stuff.
The imager is an experiment in a hybrid format of examples we have found in D’ni and the imager style we saw at The Cleft. The goal of the imager is to hopefully allow for 2D and 3D rendering. Calibration of the imager is routed through a program that runs of my laptop, fine tuning take place through the calibration scale on the casing of the imager itself. Soph has said the internal structure is pretty much complete, the casing still need some fine tuning.
Today we fired it up and ran a model based on settings taken of the water in the Age. Hopefully it will allow me to enter calculations and see how the model would react and compare it to the actual water to see if I can predict how it would react under certain conditions.
We had a few glitches getting it running, after some tinkering we managed to fire it up about 30 minutes later and it performed superbly. I took a short video of it working which I will place up on Beneath later.
It has been a busy few days, the work on the lab has been completed more or less. We installed a ladder for the pool of water and Sophie has been working with a smaller version of the imager she was going to put in Cass which is currently sat on my desk next to my laptop.
My studies into the wildlife have fallen by the wayside lately as we have been working in the lab. Eventually I plan to get topside again and further my studies, fortunately the long night cycle of Sul means I have ample time with which to work.
But for now I sleep, the hour is late and I am so terribly tired.