Moving the boulder was impossible, 200 odd years of it being set in place has pretty much fixed it there in mud and fallen leaves.
So Steven and I sought an alternative way out of the well by scaling the rock.
A short walk from the well we found the living area for Fehnir’en and Nalen, a small area like the one situated in the well, containing a bedroom and small study. It seems they would head down to the well to eat with the others. Not to surprising really, even members of a close knit family still want their moments of privacy and peace.
There were no paths leading off into the forest, if there were they have long since grown over. So Steven and I headed into the nearest gap in the trees to explore.
We wandered around for about 2 hours before we found Jilen’s camp. A large boulder sat in the middle of a clearing. Sections of it had been carved out, and a wooden structure attached. Wooden steps lead across to a stream of fresh water. The first thought that hit me was that it was all very neat and tidy, for a location that has been around 200 years I expected it to be overgrown. The problem with this line of reasoning was that I assumed Jilen was no more, this reason was quickly changed when a figured stepped out from the house as we approached it.
Unsurprisingly he was weary, the man has been in solitude for 200 years, and it is very apparent we are not D’ni, a fact that Jilen himself acknowledged and muttered as we approached. So it came to a surprised to him (and an amusing one at that) when both Steven and I waved, said shorah and introduced ourselves.
He ushered us inside and motioned to sit before pouring us all a drink which he later mentioned was a wine he had made from some of the fruit that can be found in the forest, interesting idea, I should try doing that with the Norapods in Fahets some time.
We sat for a few hours talking, Steven doing most of it on our side as his D’ni is better than mine. He asked who we were? Why we came to Ahryeeto? What happened to the plague? And many more questions. We explained how D’ni had fallen, many fled to the Ages like he had, then 200 odd years later humans discovered the Cavern and had started restoring and living in D’ni. How Atrus had gathered survivors and moved to a new home called Releeshahn. He took a lot of interest in the news about Releeshahn, not sure what he made of humans being in D’ni though.
A lot of what Jilen had to say we already knew from his journal. He had sealed the well up after Laia died and kept an eye from a distance over all that time in case people returned. Which is why he was expecting us, he had been watching our efforts in the well since we stepped through.
Dusk fell on Ahryeeto and we parted company, Jilen wanted to rest and think over what had been talked about, especially the part about Releeshahn and joining the others. I asked him if he would mind us stopping by again sometime and speak to him more. As an Archivist he would be an excellent source of information regarding D’ni history, he said he will come find us in time.
Before we left however, he noted the Books on our hips, I asked him if wanted to take a look at Relto, but he said maybe later. He watched in awe and confusion as Steven Linked out first, the Book going with him instead of falling to the ground. Looking to me for an explanation, I told him that it was written by a D’ni descendant who was very good with the Art, with that I bid him goodnight and left myself.
At first I was hesitant about continuing the restoration process on Ahryeeto after discovering Jilen was still living there, I explained to him that more may find their way to his house if we release the Age, but he didn’t seem troubled by that, he was keen for others to see it. I guess it’s the archivist in him, Ahryeeto is now a page in history that others can witness.
I spent the day working on the translation for the book that was discovered in Ahryeeto, turns out it was a short journal written by Jilen himself.
It gives a short description of events that took place after the family had fled from D’ni, as well as helped up wrap up the small mystery of who the figure was laying in the bed on Ahryeeto and who were the two that were in Lehns.
Seem Jilen did not stay in the immediate area with them but ventured out into the forest to find his own place.
We were now faced with the possibility that we may spend the rest of our days in this Age. Laia offered to set up a spot for me to live in with them, but I felt perhaps I should let them have their space, with Fehnir yet to show up I felt they would need it for mourning, I did not doubt that my friend had fallen to the same cloud that had taken many other lives.
Heading back to the Link in passage, I took the tunnel up to the upper areas of the forest and decided to find myself an area to set up a camp, Laia kindly lending me construction tools to aid me.
– Journal of Jilen
The passage where the book had been found had been blocked by Jilen himself, to protect himself from the plague. Steven and I plan to head out into the forest and see if we can find where he lived, see what other items of interest can be found.
Admittedly there isn’t a whole lot of work to be done in Ahryeeto. The Age is in fairly decent condition.
We had taken a bit of a hiatus from the location after working on Fehnir’s house due to the amount of documentation discovered there. We’ve managed to make enough progress on the translations that the rest can be handled by Steven and his team. As a result I have returned to the Age to continue with a more thorough exploration.
My previous trip had been a quick one, collecting samples and seeing what the immediate location was like. I Linked through to the enclosed area, which I now noticed is actually tunnel that appears to lead up through the rock to the forest above. The way was blocked off however by a large bolder, I was about to turn away when I noticed a book on the floor, on closer inspection it appeared to be a journal.
I placed it in my bag to take back to my office to translate and headed out to the well again.
Descending the stone path I followed it around the rock wall towards the house, heading in I took the time to look around more. The first room appears to be a kitchen, a small stove and work bench is to the left and to the right a small table with four seats.
Past this room was a single bedroom where I had discovered the corpse on the previous trip. In this room was a largish bed and a desk which contained a Book back to Fehnir’s house and a Book to Lehns, oddly it contained little else, perhaps his usual equipment was back in D’ni?
Back outside I walked over to the well, an actual well this time that the family likely drew drinking water from, and looked up at the rock face. It would appear that there was once a waterfall that dispersed water into the basin, a section of the rock face is worn away that would indicate such, however no water currently flows, perhaps it has been blocked, either by Fehnir and his family or naturally.
I do not (hopefully) foresee this Age taking a long time to release, there is not a great deal that needs fixing. For now, however, I plan to being work on this translation.
What a busy morning, however Fehnir House has now been released to the greater public.
Linking Books to Fehnir’s house can now be obtained from our Order Page. Some may be asking “why a Linking Book for a D’ni location?” well for two reasons.