Beneath

I dislike chaotic weeks, and the last three have been long.

I returned to the surface last week to have some stitches removed from my head, and whilst up there I discovered we had a family gathering to go to in Kansas for July 4th. So after much running around like a headless chicken and 6 hours across several states we finally got there.

As a result of all this, releasing Fehnir’s house got delayed slightly, but we should be allowing access tomorrow with any luck.

Not a huge amount of work has taken place since Whil and Blake Heatly dropped in, the place is still a bit of a mess, but we can tidy it up later. Personally I’m inclined to leave it as is, the location is a snap shot in time, albeit one you can walk around, but it shows the emotion and destruction Veovis and A’gaeris’ actions that fateful day.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking to release Lehns, despite the fact the Mahri have apparently moved on, we felt the Age was an interesting (albeit cold) one which people would enjoy.

As a result I have been searching the streets around the area the Lehns Book was discovered in the hopes that we could find the owners home and find more documentation regarding the Age.

After the second day of searching I finally discovered the house some 5 minutes walk away from where the Book was located.

Doing a quick check over to see if it was safe I ducked in and had a quick look around, it wasn’t until I got to the second floor that I realized this was the place we were looking for. Upstairs sat the Book room which apparently doubled up as a study for Fehnir, a Guildsman in the Guild of Archivists (not sure of his position). Unfortunately it seems Fehnir didn’t make it out, as his body lies next to his desk.

But he was surrounded by artifacts I recognize from previous visits to Lehns. It seems he has a second Age in his possession, which from what I could quickly glean, is called Ahryeeto. Unfortunately the Book contains the tell-tale signs of what we dubbed “Plague Seeding”, the Book is covered in that mucky brown residue and a palm print clearly shows activity after the plague had hit, most likely A’gaeris and Veovis.

I returned to the location a while later with some of the guys to start overseeing Phase 1, bringing a Maintainers Suit with my I decided to venture into the Age to see what was up. I had been there only 5 minutes when I suspicions were confirmed with the discovery of a shallow grave near the house within the Age, and another body inside the house.

Once the samples come back as green I shall have to return for an extended exploration trip.

However upon returning to Fehnir’s house I discovered a chaotic scene. The teams had set out to check the structural security of the surrounding buildings, as the district had taken on a lot of damage during the Fall. Unfortunately during their poking around one of the buildings gave way, the team managed to Link out quickly using their Relto Books, so thankfully no-one was hurt. But the collapse caused large amounts of damage to Fehnir’s house, blocking off large portions of it. As a result the area has been closed off for 24 hours to let everything settle before the teams return to check out how safe it is.

In the meanwhile I have the collection of journals taken from the study to translate with Steven.

It has been a while since I was last in Fahets, the stark contrast between how the Age looked then and how it does now is shocking.

The basin hadn’t changed a great deal, lichen was spawning across the rocks, new plant-life was weeding its way through the grass.
mushroom and flowers were spreading out making their homes, along with some odd circular plants.
The air was thick with a hazy veil of fog like substance, musty in smell, a bit like old books, I have taken samples to test to see if I can analyze what is in the makeup and if it’s safe or not.

Indeed it was the upper levels of the basin where the changes had more of a profound effect, the skyline littered with towering pillars of what look liked rock, but were on closer inspection a bark like substance.

How had these things grown so fast?

Norapod dot the upper levels, jutting out from the swamp waters below. There are no means to venture out further without laying some decking down and building some walkways. But from where I stand on the basin’s edge, I can see what appears to be another land mass. Below fishes swim around, with strange lights following them. I shall have to catch a sample for studying.

Above a shadow stirred, accompanied by a deep buzzing sound, the fog obscured what it was.

It’s like this Age was stuck on pause, waiting for someone to come in and press play…I’ve visited a great many Ages, I’ve never seen a boom in wildlife on this scale…is it seasonal or something else?

Walkways need building, I would like to visit that secondary landmass, it could be a prime location to setup a small area to work in, and to protect the books.

Spent a lot of time up on the surface lately, previous to my departure I had a crazy few weeks that left me feeling burnt out and disillusioned with what we were doing.

I have spent time enjoying the weather, spending time with my family. All the while trying to push past how I feel, trying to find that spark again that drives me, it has been, difficult. Even more so when those I talk to for support feel the same way themselves, it’s easy to be drawn in and settle in that rut.

The other day I was stood out on the porch of our house on the phone to my parents in England, it was raining heavily and I felt the urge to return to Fahets. I had left on the eve of heading out into the Age further and exploring new areas for people to one day walk along, I had left my studies on the Age abandoned and I thought is this a healthy mentality to have, countless Ages to explore and are we to throw them aside when we grow bored of them?

So today I decided to head back down into the cavern, my previous notions about venturing out of the shadows to meet people had reversed, I now find comfort in the dark recesses of the cavern.
I decided to take a walk through one of the hoods, gaze out over the stretch of orange lake try and find that feeling I had when I first came down here, a feeling that has eluded me for years and continues to do so.
But I wasn’t as alone as I thought, as I walked towards the fountain area I spied a solitary Bahro staring at me, watching.
I walked up to him/her and it didn’t flee, just stood there chittering slightly, as I walked around him/her he/she moved around to face me. We stood there for several minutes in each others company, with I not saying a word (despite my desires to be able to actually communicate with them) before the Bahro vanished from view and I returned to Sul to turn in for the night.