diff --git a/compiled/dat/EderNaybreeEnglish.loc b/compiled/dat/EderNaybreeEnglish.loc index acd811276..011f5e798 100644 --- a/compiled/dat/EderNaybreeEnglish.loc +++ b/compiled/dat/EderNaybreeEnglish.loc @@ -2,6 +2,2979 @@ + + 12-16-23 EDER NAYBREE MOUNTAIN HIKE REPORT LOG + +ADAPTATION OF CHATLOGS FROM SKYISBLU AND KELSEI A.T.; NOTEBOOK ADAPTATIONS FROM TIERNAN QUINLAN AND DIRANDA. + +FIRST DRAFT BY CALUM TRAVELER. + +APOLIGIES IF TENSES ARE INCONSISTENT: FIRST DRAFT. (NOT DONE NOT DONE NOT DONE.) +The sun begins to rise over the horizon of Eder Naybree, sparkling the purple sand beach to life with the orange, warm glow of the sun. The fractured rock along the far side of the harbor wall becomes visible, as the shadows are chased away, and the birds caw in acceptance of a new day. + +Unlike most times, however, the netting at the end of the harbor has been pulled back, and a series of canoe boats lay tied up against the metal pipe spanning the beach, dividing it in twain. + +The adventure to the mountains is soon to begin as the first person links to the Beach from the secondary Naybree Book on Calum's desk in Chiso Preniv... + +Skyisblu looks out to the water, rays of light dancing across its surface. She raises her hands into the air in a stretch, letting out a yawn. + +"Wah, this is way too early for any sane human being to be up, but I guess that sunrise helps a little," she complains, half-jokingly. "Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day for a hike." + +She makes her way down to the beach, near the canoes, and lets the rather heavy-looking backpack fall from her shoulders and onto the sand with athud. "I think I may have over-prepared for this!" + +She drops to the soft sand next to her bag and watching the reflection of the sun on the water as she waits. + +Derek Oblum links in, glances a few looks around him and spots Skyisblu, he removes his blue shades and greets, "Hi, I'm Derek and this is my big thermos full of coffee, wanna share before we do a whole season of Survivor without cameras?" He sits in front of Skyisblu, the sun behind his back. + +Sky looks over at Derek and then the thermos with a big smile on her face. + +"We only just met, and I think you are my new favorite person. I would love a coffee!" she exclaims as she pulls a tin mug from her pack. "And what's this about Survivor? I used to *love* that show - well, when it used to be about *actual* surviving!" + +"I know right? It's TV after all, but we can ensure that our journey is well documented even without cameras. Speaking of which, I've never heard of a bad time that started with a selfie!" + +He adjust his KI to reverse and raises his mug of steaming hot coffee to pose for a picture, "To caffeinated early birds !" + +Sky leans in and holds her cup up for the picture, squinting from the sun as she smiles. + +"Well, I have been studying up on the local flora and fauna on my many visits here. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the plant specimens up close, and seeing how many of the edible ones I can find, " Sky replies. "I'm looking forward to the hiking, too, and getting to see the wilder side of Naybree." She gestures to the vine-covered cliffs behind the beach. "If you can call **that** tame! I swear, Calum needs to hire a full-time gardener in here!" She laughs. + +Derek chuckles. "That's true, I mean I guess Garden Ages are meant to self-manage on some degree, they were written with a natural balance in mind.. I think, feels like it at least." + +"Yeah, but this one has a mind of its own! The beach area has only been deemed safe to visit as of very recently, and the vine seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to taking over every surface in the age. Not to mention the tremors that only recently subsided..." As if to prove a point, a low grumble emanates from somewhere in the distant cliffs. "I think if I were to describe Eder Naybree's "natural balance", it would have to be slightly off balance, and with a hit of the chaotic thrown in for good measure. But I do love to explore here. " + +"Each time I see some increasing chaos in an Age I think about the state of the descriptive book, they're durable sure, but how much?" Derek asked. "Humidity in a cave is not unheard of." + +Eresh links in, carrying a basket, greeting, "Hello everyone! Good to be back on Eder Naybree!" + +Derek waves to Eresh "Hello there, welcome to th-" He stops as he heard a second link. + +Catchen linked in as well. "It's been a metric While." + +Eresh grinned, "Oooh, the more the merrier! Is Runa'mei around, too? I saw her around D'ni a couple of times. I wonder how she likes Earth so far?" + +Sky turns and waves. "So good to see you again, Eresh!" + +"I thought Runa'mei was D'ni, is he indigenous to Eder Naybree?" Derek paused. "Or native... whatever term we want to use." + +"She's from here," Eresh said. "Hi, Sky!!" + +Calum links in, fumbling a backpack that seemed to have slipped loose at the last moment. "Shorah, all," he calls out. "Don't mind me, just... urhg... stupid backpack!" +Derek comes over to help with Calum's backpack. + +"Runa'mei and Kelsei will be through once they fetch our visitors from Rei'schu," Calum announces. "Ah, thank you, Derek." + +"Do you need any help?" Eresh asked. Then, she blinked as she remembered, "Oh yeah, she's from Reischu. I confuse Reischu with Naybree sometimes, I heard them together so often." + +"Yes, well, not surprising given Runa'mei's grandmother held the-" Calum gets brushed aside as a link completes next to him, having not quite having managed things, his backpack hitting the snad. + +Tiernan Quinlan has linked in, dressed in hiking togs and carrying his travel medic kit as well as a well-stocked backpack. + +Sky laughs as she jumps up, dumping the last of her coffee into the sand, and making her way towards the other who have just linked in. + +"So she's not D'ni?" Derek asked as he picked up Calum's backpack and attempted to help put it back on. + +"Not entirely," Calum says. "Shorah, Tenny." + + +"Hi, Tiernan!" Eresh greeted. + +"Shorah all!" Tiernan waves, and then sees the situation Calum is in"Ach, hey, let me help you, Cal." + +Calum just sort of flounders with two people trying to help him with the same backpack, and so he explains to Derek, "Runa'mei's Grandmother was D'ni, a girl who survived the Fall and escaped here to Naybree. She then relocated to her family's Age, Rei'schu, after having recovered the book from their home." + +Derek raises both eyebrows at the perspective of a half-D'ni half-bookworlder might be part of the team. "Oooh, interesting." Then, realizing he's left his bag elsewhere, Derek said, "My own bag's over there, be right back." And he rushes off to grab it. + +Calum gives Tenny a pleading look as he just gives up situating the bag for the moment and the two of them let the thing fall down onto a beach chair. + +"I've got my medical kit, jus' FYI," Tenny said. + +Calum nods. "Good to know. Hopefully we won't need it." + +"Aye, but no worries!" Tenny smiled. + +Derek comes back to the group carrying his bag, it's properly packed, not about to burst but really stuffed. + +"It's good to be prepared for anything," Sky said. "I can't tell you how many day hikes I have been on where one of those kits has come in handy, even if it is for a simple scraped knee." + +"I've just returned from Kolkata, India." Eresh reported, "I brought a thermos of first flush tea from Darjeeling, and a big pot of chicken biryani from Kolkata." She takes out a casserole with lid and a thermos. + +Derek hums approvingly at the inventory description, and offered his own supplies, "I have coffee if people want a stronger kick to start the day." +Tiernan's eyes widen. "Darjeeling, Eresh?" Tiernan finds a spot and settles in, checking his equipment, but he does keep glancing over at Eresh with what can only be described as 'puppy-dog eyes'. + +"Yes, I visited the tea gardens of Darjeeling! I brought the tea from there! Eresh grinned as she took out a plastic cup and poured some tea from the thermos. + +"Oh aye," Tiernan says. "C-can I--" He grins as she opens the thermos. + +Wordlessly, Eresh hands Tenny the tea cup. + +"Ah, an' Dira said she'd like t'come along," Tiernan says, taking the cup from Eresh. "She's on her way now." He sips and sighs with a contented smile on his face, content with the very good tea. + +"I've got mostly just surveying equipment on me, plus a Blank Book and some Ink," Calum says. "My personal goal is to hopefully find a safe spot somewhere on the mountains and write a link there to set up a long term observation outpost." + +"So our mission is to establish a basecamp, on a vantage point." Derek asked, "Is that right?" + +"My personal goal for a long term project is to find a nice space for that, yes," Calum said. "But as far as the actual mission goes, we're just going to do basic surveying." Calum digs through their bag for a moment, then fishes out a box of sensors. "Also, spreading out these lovelies around to check for geological instability." He paused. "Long Term, the ideas is we'll get a better picture of how the Age is holding up given the lunar decay. As long as the sensors hold up and don't go missing, we should be fine to leave them for a while." And then he grinned. "Also, save some of that Coffee for Kelsei, I'm sure she'll want it." Calum gave a quick bow. "Excuse me for a moment while I check the boats." + +"Excuse me, the what now?" Derek asked, following Calum. "Lunar decay?" + +"The Moons were, for a while atleast, suffering some decaying orbit, getting closer to the planet," Calum explained. "It was part of what made the quaking from that chainsaw accident so potent." + +"Also, is there a serious worry about these sensors going missing? Calum?" Sky asked as she, and the others, walked after Calum as well. + +Calum looked to Sky, "As for whether they'll go missing or not, I'm just being paranoid. I've lost one from the clifftops. I think one of the little buggers in the fissure took it." + +"The moon is going to crash into this place, right?" Eresh asked. "Do we know when?" + +Derek grumbled, "I don't have Majora's mask in my bag, unfortunately." + +Calum sighed at Eresh's question. "When? Hard to say. I'm tentatively putting it at a few hundred years from now." + +"I can run some calculations on tha', if y' need, Cal," Tiernan hmmed softly. "Been meanin' to get back here and get some equipment set up anyway." + +Calum noded to Tiernan, "Once we have some better data from the wider sensors. The Garden is a good point of data, but we need a few more observation points." + +"Aye, well. Me schedule has opened up, so I can definitely help out here," Tiernan sighs a bit and sips his tea. + +"Does anyone live here?" Eresh asked. "They'd need to be evacuated." + +Calum looked to Eresh, "Well, that's also what we're going to try to figure out with part of this survey. See if we can find any signs of civilization." + +"A garden Age that is threatened by imminent planetary impact, this day just got a whole more exciting," Derek remarked. "If I had FATE dice I'd roll for monkeys right now. Anyone want Coffee?" + +"Monkeys!" shouts Sky "Maybe that's who stole the sensors!" She laughs. + +"We need to roll for elephants, too, Derek!" Eresh grinned. "There were elephant warnings at crossings in Darjeeling!" + +"Again, I don't have FATE dice, I think Zekh kept them," Derek lamented as he fetched a pair of binoculars in his own bag. + +Diranda links in, blinking. "Oh wow, I forgot how amazing this place is, in person!" + +"Hi Diranda!!" Eresh offered a teacup. "Have some tea!" + +Calum gives a wave to Diranda, and returns to checking the boats, the rest of the group wanders back over towards Diranda. It is a small beach after all. + +"This is just... wow. Amazing! Hi guys!" Diranda grins. "Hey, Tenny, how are you doing?" + +Tiernan smiled, "I'm doin' better, if yer askin' what I think y'are." + +Diranda nods and finds a spot to sit down and look at her backpack. "Corey wanted to come too, but work and all that..." + +At that moment, a boisterous personality links into the beach. A towering, muscular woman whose hiking clothes seem drawn from the more down-to-earth sort of traditions. Furs and small plates of armor. + +To those who have met her previously, it is immediately recognizable who she is. General Amara'da, one of Rei'schu's mayorial leaders, and the head of the Hunters School. + +She stretches her arms upwards into the air, and lets loose an exhilarated cry of "Smell that Salty Air!" and then laughs with what sounds like a 'fafafa' sound. + +Derek whispers, "Oh we have a pirate ? We're gold." + +Sky attempts to hide her laugh at Derek's comment, instead heading over to greet the great hunteress. + +Calum snorts in amusement, then stands from the boats and walks over to greet the General. "General Amara'da, good to see you again." + +The General grins brightly. "A hike through unexplored mountains? Hah! I wouldn't miss this for anything! Do you know how long it's been since I've had a chance to go somewhere unexplored?" + +"Welcome!" Eresh greeted. "Good of you to join us! Care for some biryani? + +Tiernan stands up and offers Amara'da a bow. "Shorah, Amara'da! It's nice t' see y' again." + +"Biryani? What's that?" The General asks as Runa'mei links in after the General. + +"Rice, meat, eggs... you can walk for days on it," Eresh said. "And it's tasty!" + +"Hello, all," Runa'mei greets. She steps clear of the very trodden sand at the link in, just as her cousin, Kura'quen links through after her. + +"It's from my world; my husband's city is famous for it-" Eresh's attention turned to the new arrival now. "Hi Runa'mei!!" + +"Sounds great!" Amara'da grins. "Nice to see you again, too, Doctor!" + +"That's the biggest expedition I've ever been in!" Derek remarked to himself. + +Diranda tilts her head and waves. "Hullo!" + +"Are we waiting for anyone else from Rei'schu?" Calum asks Runa'mei. + +"No, no," Runa'mei shook her head. "Though Priestess Karin'da sends her regards." + +Kura'quen, meanwhile, is quite distracted with the sight of the beach entirely. She, like Runa'mei, is dressed in Earth Modern hiking clothes, which look to have been borrowed from Kelsei's wardrobe. + +She whispered, "Sara'aou," in awe of the tranquil beach atmosphere. + +"Give her my regards, too!" Eresh said. "I have brought an image of Mother Durga for her, the goddess of my city. She reminds me of the goddess I saw on Reischu." + +"I'll be sure to safely ferry it back on our return trip," Runa'mei smiled to Eresh. + +Eresh gives her a bronze statuette wrapped in red silk, saying, "She represents the power of Nature." + +As Runa'mei accepts the gift and stows it into her backpack, Kelsei linked in, huffing for breath as she plucks some chicken feathers from her hair. + +"Where'd you get the chicken?" Eresh asked. + +Sky runs over and gives Kelsei a big hug, all while helping her remove some errant feathers. + +"Er, everything alright there?" Calum asked, holding back a chuckle. + +Kelsei ignored Calum to look at the General, "Amara'da, please tell me why exactly did some of your students decide to prank us by dumping a bucket of feathers onto me and the Priestess before I linked through?" + +Amara'da laughs in amusement. "The sneaksters in training managed to pull it off, did they?" She smiled, proudly. "I challenged them before I came through to douse Karin'da! Sorry they got you in the crossfire, though." + +"She took it far better than I did," Kelsei grouched, before thanking Sky for her help. + +"Ah, so those are feathers from the chickens we gave them, eh?" Calum guessed. + +"It seems so," Runa'mei mused, and then helped Sky and Kelsei with removing feathers. + +"I wonder what you guys cooked with the chickens," Eresh asked, "and did you keep any alive for eggs? Eggs are tasty!" + +Kura'quen coughed politely. "General, perhaps you should not encourage your hunters to become pranksters? I think we've had enough of that from certain parties." + +"Nah nah, it's fine," Amara'da waved it off. "If they can sneak up on a priestess, they can sneak up on anyone and anything. Their next challenge will be sneaking up on me!" + +"We haven't slaughtered very many yet," Kura'quen said. "We're trying to build up a sizable population before we do such in larger groups. Those feathers are probably just fallen ones collected from the henhouses." + +"Our chefs managed to resurrect some old recipies with the ones we have killed so far, though," Amara'da said. "Ah, to have a dish long since thought extinct... that was a good dinner." + +"I can ask around for some recipes, and I can come visit Reischu with some spices as well," Eresh offered. "And we could look into growing plants, vegetables and spices, on your soil." + +Amara'da nodded. "Of course! That would be fantastic!" + +"We've been meaning to invite you all back, formally," Kura'quen said, "but you know how things go, sometimes. The General and I decided to come visit when I heard from Runa'mei you all were going out into the Mountains." + +"A good hike is good for the soul is good for the bonds of company," Amara'da said sagely, nodding her head. + +"So true, " Sky adds, nodding in agreement with the General. + +"Ach, I know what y' mean. I have been wantin' to come visit y'all for a while to study your stars," Tiernan said. + +Diranda stands up, smiling. "I have only been here for a little bit at a time, but I'm glad I got to come along on this trip and finally meet you folks. I've heard so much about you from Tenny and Cal and Kelsei." + +"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kura'quen smiled. "We're glad you could make it as well." + +"Same same!" Amara'da said. + +"Thank you so much," Diranda says. "Actually, I'm Dr Diranda Valerian, I'm an anthropologist. I specialize ancient timekeeping on my world. Everyone calls me 'Dira'. My brother's idea of a cute nickname, you see." + +Tiernan chuckles. "Our resident clock expert." + +"Oh! Like a historian on clocks?" Kura'quen asked. + +"Oh yes!" Diranda says with a grin. + +"So! Traveler! Show me these boats we'll be sailing on!" The General requested, having not much interest for the talk of clocks that go tick tock as they talk. + +"Sure," Calum said, and lead the General over towards the boats to show them off. + +"Let's go to the boats!" Eresh said excitedly. + + +"Maybe we'll wait for the General to finish her own checks," Kura'quen suggested. + +"So, how are far are we travelling?" Sky inquires, looking at the mountains across the water."I like a good hike as much as the next person, but I am not looking to scale Mount Everest, either." + +"I think it will depend on the landscape over there," Runa'mei said. "How rough the mountains are, and such." + +"Well, should we need 'em, I've packed some climbing equipment and rappellin' gear," Tiernan says. + +"I'm not much of a climber, so I probably would stick to walkable trails," Kura'quen admitted. "Amara'da... might try climbing with her bare hands, if she finds an appropriate cliff." + +"I'll stick with you, Kura'quen," says Sky. "I don't mind a good scramble, but you won't find scaling any rock faces anytime soon!" + +Tiernan looks to Calum, "I've also got a journal in here in case y' need me to record thin's, like I did last time." + +Calum gives a hasty thumbs up, distracted as they are. The General seems very fixated on a particular canoe's design and seems to be asking Calum questions about how much weight it can carry- using absurdly large weight sizes that the boat definately would not be fit for. + +Runa'mei sighs, hearing this, and laments, "She's probably thinking about how many giant crabs she can carry home in one of these things." + +"I can help with that, Tenny," Diranda offers. + +"Those canoes look distinctly smaller than even one Reischu crab, though," Eresh said. + +"Probably best," Diranda adds, glancing at Cal and the others. "Might not be a bad idea to compile our journals too." + +"That they are," Kelsei said to Eresh. + +"We could also record audio logs," Derek suggested. + +Another linking sound soon followed, and the surrounding air gave way to a familiar face in a somewhat unfamiliar appearence. + +Jules Lavisham stood before the group, the usually tailored shearling coat, black jeans and brown bruges giving way to a far more practical attire of a navy blue waterproof jacket, hiking trousers and mountain boots so sturdy looking they could crack a particularly vicious bag of walnuts in one swoop. + +Tiernan jumps up. "Jules! Glad t' see you mate!" + +Jules took a deep inhalation, the sea air filling his nostrils with appreciation. "Ah! What ho, Tenny! Long time no see!" Jules takes a step off the linking point and turns expectantly. + +Tiernan chuckles. "Aye, definitely. Been far too busy this year..." + +"Now, if all goes to plan and he remembers what he's doing..." Jules paused, expectantly. + +Diranda waves. "Who, Jules?" + +Another linking sound was heard, a new figure appeared, stumbling forward in a half-run, the kind destined to meet with the ground but only after a prolonged fight. + +"-Jules you!-" the figure seemed to shout before being muffled in his own scarf and landing in a heap. + +After a moment Ed spoke, "Jules... Ugh. I swear I know how to do that. I'll never believe you that they're safe though. Oh," Ed paused, looking up for the first time. "Hello everyone..." + +"Sound effort that man," said Jules as he helped his friend to his feet. "It can take a while to get your sea legs back with this business if its been a while. Definitely recommend staying off the spirits as well before trying it too, I've had one too many nights down here that have ended with regret on that count." + +"Don't drink and link!" Calum announces, still half distracted with the boat inspection. + +"It's curious that it's so bad for linking," says Edward getting to his feet, "given its well known and celebrated benefits for hiking and so on." He locates a thermos in the pockets of his ridiculous fishing jacket and takes a surreptitious swig. "Not that I ever touch the stuff. Are we going in a boat? I didn't realise there would be boats here." + +"Shorah, Ed," Kelsei greets. "I believe I've heard enough about you from Jules to feel like we've already met! I'm Kelsei." She offers her hand in greeting. + +Ed takes a few uneasy steps towards the shore, rubbing his temples and clicking his jaw a few times, taking in the vista. Hearing Kelsei he turns and shakes her hand warmly. "Hello! It's certainly nice to meet Jules' other friends. Don't believe a word of what he said of course," he smiles. + +Tiernan walks over to greet Edward. "Hullo there! Tiernan Quinlan, resident medic." + +"Oh don't worry Ed," Jules smiled at his friend. "I've done you the courtesy of leaving out references to the more outrageous of your many scandals. Have to leave something for the readers of your posthumous autobiography." + +"Don't joke," Ed laughs, "I'm sure there's enough of me left in that book to do two blurbs and a summary." Ed's attention turned to Tiernan, "Hello good doctor!" he greets, reaching out both hands for a double clasp kind of handshake. "I shall be needing of your services almost immediately I imagine so stay close, there's a good chap," he says conspiratorially in Tiernan's ear. + +Tiernan blinked, then glanced at Dira. "Ah, well then, I have two people I'll have t' keep me eye on." + +Diranda blinked innocently. "No Great Zero here, Ten." + +Tiernan just raised an eyebrow, "Jus' you keep tha' in mind. I don't want t' have t' explain meself t' Corey if y' get hurt." + +Yet another link completes as a figure wearing a fedora appears. Robert Murry is geared up ready for another adventure. His backpack is filled with rope, clips, and a small pick ax. On his belt is a whip. He blinks his eyes to adjust to the different lighting. Then he notices some familiar faces in front of him. + +"Well, looks like the gang's all here. Jules, Tenny! It's great to see you guys. I've got so much to tell you about the studies and surveys I did for Doobes in the Great Shaft and Caldera. I worked so har..." Robert cut himself short when he saw Sky glaring at him with metaphorical daggers. "Uh yes... much to catch up on indeed." Robert quickly recovered. "Yo, Tenny! Good to see you." + +Diranda waves at Murry from her spot on the ground. "Heya Murry!" + +Kelsei giggles at that remark of Jules', then says, "Hello, Robert." + +"Hiya Kelsei," Robert greeted. "Ready for this?" + +"Oh, as ready as I'll ever be," Kelsei says, linking her left hand with Runa'mei's right hand. "Atleast we'll have some gallant hunters with us incase we run across some hostile wildlife." + +Runa'mei mumbled something unintelligble in either English or Rei'schuian. + +Tenny waves to Murry. "Actually, I would like t' chat about th' Great Shaft at some point. I've got some questions." + +Robert nodded. "I still owe you a visit to the Great Shaft and the Caldera. As soon, as I get clearance from Doobes." Robert pats his whip. "I hope we don't have to worry about attacks. At least from animals..." It felt like a dozen daggers were plunging into his back now. + +"Good to see you Kelsei, and you too Runa'mei!" Jules grinned as he was fast finding himself surrounded by familiar faces. "Hope you've been well, not too many angry tussles and all that." + +"Oh, I'm doing fine," Kelsei said. "My work has been tiring, but not so testy." + +"Well," Runa'mei began, only to paus as a shout of laughter from over by the boats comes from General Amara'da, who mightily claps Calum across the back. "...I've been fine. No tussles lately, Jules." + +Ed looks over at Robert and instantly feels underprepared. He looks admiringly at the pack with so many useful implements already visible from the outside. He pats the strawberry laces in his trouser pocket subconsciously. + +Calum, a bit unsteady, coughs as he meanders back over to the group, stating, "Amara'da's happy with the boats. So we'll be ready to go as soon as everyone's gathered up their supplies." Calum greets the new comers with a nod and a 'Shorah all.' Then, smiling, "Glad you could make it, Jules, Ed. And Robert, good to see you." + +"Hi, Calum. Please tell me that you've been staying out of trouble." Robert winked at him. + +"As well as I can be," Calum replied, wincing with a slight roll of the right shoulder. + +Ed makes a little wave towards Calum. "Calum isn't it? Always a pleasure to meet one of Jules'. When you say supplies,um..." Ed trails off. He's wearing a fishing jacket with many pockets bulging with various multi-tools and freshly purchased hiker's delights, and a very eager but obviously brand new furry trapper's cap and equally worryingly new looking boots. + +Calum nods in greeting. "Whatever you've brought with you. I've gotta get my pack and then we can load up into the boat " + +"Excellent. We'll hold fast until we're needed for the fetching and carrying." Jules looked around for anyone he hadn't acknowledged yet. "Rob! Hello hello! Looking like a Lucasfilm lawsuit in waiting as ever!" + +"I've got one of those little flint and steel things you can get," says Ed to nobody in particular, patting another one of his pockets, visibly comforted by it. He smiles and looks over at Jules and listens to his conversation. + +Robert grinned at that last remark from Jules. "Ha, ha. I see those Comedian lessons are finally paying off." And the friendly bantering began. + +"Ed, this here is Dr Robert Murray," Jules began the introductions, "specialisation in archaelogy and geneology. Knows his way around many a jungle, this one. Rob, this is Edward Kensington-James, head librarian of our university and official keeper of a number of our rarer collections." + +"Pleased to finally meet you Ed," Robert greeted. "Jules has spoken of you fondl, er, many times. I've been meaning to come to your library for some research." + +"Don't you go bushwhacking my index cards -" Ed stopped for a second, considering. "Actually, there are some risky volumes I could use a hand with, there's a whole shelf I'd definitely feel happier reordering with an escort." + +"Well, Jules keeps asking me to guest lecture for him," Robert offered, " I could lend a hand for you too." + +"He's asked me to do that too before while he was off galavanting in his books," Ed remarked. "I must say it's one thing to hear about it, it's quite another thing to be here" + +Robert looks around for a moment. "Words are no substitute for being here in person." + +"It is something, to say the least," Runa'mei agreed, gazing out into the lake towards a carved statue on a small rock island. + +"How have your explorations gone, Runa'mei?" Robert asked. + +"Nothing new since we last talked," Runa'mei told him. "Unfortunately." + +Ed takes a moment to look around happily and breathe the air deeply. His eyes land on the same statue following Runa'mei's gaze. He turns suddenly to Jules, "I'm not going to get trapped in a board game again am I? You promised!" + +Kelsei laughed. + +At Ed's outburst Robert turned to Jules with raised eyebrows questioningly. + +"It was just the one round," said Jules to Rob by way of explanation. "I took a calculated risk on a dice roll. How was I to know I should never, ever be trusted with matters of Maths?" The absurd content of his words was matched only by the total sincerity with which Jules said it - a not uncomment occurrance when references to his life outside the Cavern were made. + +"No, no, this place isn't a Jumanji situation," Kelsei said, finally controlling her giggles. "Those statues were carved by a girl who lived here in the Age, a long time ago." + +Runa'mei and Kura'quen share that knowing look that cousins sometimes are known to do when something crops up relating to family history. + +Robert rolled his eyes and shook his head. He then handed Ed a some pieces of moleskin. "Here Ed. Put this on the back of your bare ankles. It should prevent blisters from those new boots." He muttered something incoherent about about the dangers of Jules, mathematics, and magical board games under his breath. + +"Hey, thank you" Ed says and sits down to fix his shoes. "Is that where we're going?" he asks Kelsei, "I guess I hadn't thought about people," his voice trails off. He looks up at Runa'mei and Kura'quen, "sorry if I said something insensitive before I said hello, are you two...?" he trails off again + +"I've heard weirder, even back home," Runa'mei said with a small shrug. + +"You're fine," Kura'quen smiled. "I'm Kura'quen, and this is my cousin, Runa'mei." + +"Our great grandmother was the girl who lived here," Runa'mei said, in way of explanation. "After the Fall." + +"Kura'quen and General Amara'da over there-" Calum motions over at the General, who is still preening over the boats with a childlike glee. "Are two of the Mayor-Leaders of a couple towns in the Age of Rei'schu. Though, this is less of a formal diplomatic thing and more just a 'everyone wants to go explore an unexplored place' sort of thing, all things considered." + +"It's our day off," Kura'quen said, smiling brightly. + +"Glad you're joining us on this adventure, Kura'quen!" Jules beamed. "I hope you've been keeping well." + +Ed smiles at both of them in turn. "I wasn't sure - it's nice to meet you, and you your, uh, your grace?" + +"I've been well, thank you, Jules," Kura'quen said- then she laughs. "Oh! No no, we're not... Please don't. Just Kura'quen is fine for me. It's the General you'll want to append the title to, usually." + +Runa'mei waves a hand through the air. "The Priestesses are more worthy of a 'your grace' than the mayors, typically." + +"They are closer to Chezahcen than most anyone," Kura'quen nodded in agreement. + +Ed's eyes drifted over to the General and he choked back the "take me to your leader" that rose in his throat before going back to fiddling with his shoes. "Ah yes, thank you. You'll have to forgive me, I always go a bit Swiss cheese about the brain these days when I link in" + +"The Priestesses are the Spiritual leaders, essentially, and the Mayors handle the day to day stuff," Kelsei added in explanation, smiling at Ed's reaction. "Every town has a leader and a Priestess stationed to manage things in a pair, usually." She paused. "Say, speaking of, how has Jae'dhar been handling things on her own?" + +"She's..." Kura'quen paused, diplomatically, "She's handling it as well as she can, and we've assigned a younger Priestess to shadow her for the time being." + +"To Translate from Politalk, she's busy cleaning up Haru'sara's messes," Runa'mei blandly translated her cousin's words. + +"You didn't have to say it like that." Kura'quen sighed. "Unfortunately that man has left a larger mess than we initially thought, and even with him out of the job and doing who knows what who knows where... well. Relocating a whole settlement and rooting out the political corruption in his village management systems..." + +Robert groaned at the mention of Haru'sara. The big, pompous former mayor was still At-Large somewhere and hadn't been found yet. + +"At least it won't be at risk of being flooded anymore, right?" Kelsei asked. + +"There is that," Kura'quen agreed. + +"Well, we're still looking for Haru'sara for the new messes he's been leaving for us," Robert remarkled. + +"Yes, well, fortunately we won't be having to deal with his shenanigans today," Calum said, shouldering his backpack. + +"Yes, fortunately," Kelsei agreed, and checked her watch. "Shall we get going?" + +"Yes, let's," Calum nodded. "Alright, everyone! Gather up your stuff and let's get the boats loaded!" + +"I think so," Robert said, avoiding eye contact with with the woman glaring at him by the boats. "Let's get going." + +"My doctor has forbidden me from loading," says Ed getting to his feet, "but I will go over and pre-inspect the ludo deck..." + +Jules hoisted his own backpack of assorted hiking necessaries and prepared to assemble with the others in the direction of the boats. +--- +The group gathers up their things and groups together onto the canoes. Soon, the boats are loaded, untied, and set out into the water. Calum's boat takes the lead, navigating the group out into the lake. + +The perpetual wall of mist in the distance, blowing across the lake with the course of the winds, becomes taller, and more looming, but less 'solid' as the group gets closer. + +An eerie sound, akin to the whistling one could hear in the desert sands of the age of Minkata, could be heard as the group passed into the wall of mist... or perhaps it could be closer described as a fog. The air takes a chill to it that it otherwise lacked the moments before entering the haze. + +There is a feeling of uncertainty amongst the group, but Calum keeps the course steady with a judicious and frequent checking of the KI's GPS, keeping on a straight line through the foggy environment. + +Nobody speaks a word, for some irrational fear grips the hearts of those traveling through the mist wall that if one spoke, it would be the signal for some horrid thing to snatch them out of the boat. + +Runa'mei keeps her eyes sharpened through the mist, trying to see if anything else is traversing through the mist and fog. + +The looming forms of the distant mountains become larger and larger, dominating the view even through the haze surrounding the group. The distant sounds of a goose-like bird honking echo through the air, sending a shudder down Kelsei's spine. Even so, Calum smiles as he rows, as if remembering a fond childhood memory. + +But then soon, the air begins to warm again, and the expedition emerges from the fog on the other side of it, with the looming expanse of the nearest shoreline coming closer and closer. Finally, the group pulls onto a choppy, lakefront beach, of a much smaller, thinner nature, with a darker purple sand than the vibrant lavenders of the island the crew had just left. + +There is a wall of sharp looking pine-like trees growing where the sand abruptly ends, transitioning into a forest floor of needles and grass. Yes, they are pine like trees, but much like the Chubby Noodle Tree of Naybree's garden's back half, they seem to be bent to the wind at their topmost bows, being straight and tall before abruptly curving away, and around, pointing towards the direction the sun would set in, in several hours. + +Not at all bizzarely for Eder Naybree, the colors of the pines are of blue and pinks, blending into purple colors as one loses focus on the individual details. + +Examining the shoreline, it is soon obvious that this landing area is peninsula among a winding, curving lake shore. A large chunk of lake can be seen protruding forwards towards the group's left, when facing the treeline. + +Stretching on to either side is the lake shore, creating a rough, crescent shape, is the hilly landscape of the mountain front... except, in the distances, where it seems to lower down into plains. The other side of the lake is hard to see, due to the mist wall, but from this side, there doesn't seem to be any towering mountain shapes looming opposite of this side of the shore. + +As the group surveys that way, they see that the wall of mist is heavily obscuring sight of the garden that had been left... but strangely, something glowing a soft pinkish color seems to move through the mist wall, visible only on this side, perhaps as reflection due to the light of the sun as it rises overhead.... But whenever one tries to focus on it, to discern further details, it seems to shift and move away, like something that does not want to be observed. + +A crow-sounding bird caws loudly, and one of the massive green feathered birds takes flight from a nearby tree, taking to the air, and circling over the lake, heading towards the garden of Eder Naybree. + +In spite of a chill in the air that has nothing to do with the actual temperature, Calum cheerfully remarks, "Ah, just like camping back in the mountains when I was a kid." + +Amara'da laughs, "Hah! Yes! That was a fine trip across the lake!" + +The silence- and the tense atmosphere- now broken, the group feels free to explore the immediate area and chat a bit about their recent experience. + +"Some fine stroking there General," said Jules. "You should tryout for our annual university Boat Race. Oxford wouldn't stand a chance for a generation." + +Amara'da laughs mightily. "I should be so honored! This ox named Ford would never stand a chance!" She grins, clearly playing up the humor. + +Tiernan climbs out, offering a hand to the people in the boat with him. Dira steps out, holding on to Tenny's hand and looks around her. + +Skyisblu jumps out of the canoe and lands with both feet in the wet, purple sand, making a sploosh noise. She takes a deep breath, lungs filling with the damp, misty air. + + "I wonder if this fog is going to burn off as the sun gets higher in the sky, " Sky ponders aloud to no one in particular. Her eyes follow the path of the green-feathered bird overhead, then she reaches into the canoe to grab her backpack, which she shrugs onto her shoulders, dancing around a little to seemingly adjust its balance on her back. + +"Now that's a question," Calum ponders. "I haven't seen it burn off from the Naybree side before. Doesn't exclude it getting thinner on this side, though. We should keep an eye on it." + +Robert helps Jules and Ed out of the canoe. He looks slowly up the mountain before them. "I spent months climbing up the inside of a mountain. Now, I'm climbing up the outside of another." He grabs his gear from the canoe and hoists it onto his back. + +"It's basically the same, without the bats and claustrophobia, " Sky quips back with a wave of her hand, as if Robert had never been hiking on a mountain before. She taps the toe of her pink hiking boot against a rock to knock some of the sand off of it. + +"I don't suffer from claustro..." Robert started to say. When he looked and saw that Sky had made that comment, he clammed up. + +"Either way", Sky continues, looking out the corner of her eye at Robert, "hiking in caverns is nothing.' I've been hiking up active volcanoes. If you're looking for a challenge..." she trails off as she ventures towards the edge of the sand to look more closely at some plant that has taken her attention away from the conversation. She pinches a leaf between her fingers and, rubbing it, she takes a sniff and smiles to herself. + +"I'll have you know that I've climbed plenty of mountains. The Andes in Peru, the Himalayas, the Alps... I could go on and on," Robert snapped. + +"Pfft - " Sky responds disinterestedly, her whole attention seemingly taken up by the shrub in front of her, "those are just mountains. Where's the challenge in that?! Where's the danger?" She emphasizes the last part a little too much, clearly aiming to get a reaction out of Robert. + +At this point the rest of the group of explorers looked like an audience at a tennis match, looking left, then, then left again. + +Robert finally shook his head in defeat and walked away, muttering something about missing bloodthirsty pygmies. + +"Ooookay," Kelsei said with an exasperated sigh. "I am NOT touching that with a tenfoot pole." + +"Calum, hand me some sensors," Runa'mei requested. + +Calum tossed the box over with a "Have at it." + +Runa'mei caught it, and then slug the box under one arm before gently taking Kelsei's hand and guiding her away from the landing point, walking along down the beach towards the direction of the rising sun. + +For a moment, there was silence, then Kura'quen remarked, "So we all just saw that right? It wasn't just me?" + +"Which part?" Amara'da asked. "The emotional fall out, or your cousin going on a beach-walk?" + +"The-" Kura'quen blinked. "No, the- the glowing pink stuff in the fog!" + +"What? Seriously?" Amara'da asked. + +"Yes! Fog does not act like that! Creatures act like that," Kura'quen motioned at the strange light reaction in the fog. "I'm suitably freaked out." + +Amara'da shrugged. "I've seen weirder." + +"Of course you have," Kura'quen said. "Well, I haven't. What even causes that?" + +"Well, I can't tell you what it is but I can already assume what it's thinking," Derek guessed, "it's staying hidden so it's not ready to engage with us yet, it's probably either shy or esteeming us as a potential threat, and it's sort of likely to take a closer look at us while we sleep." + +"Maybe we should Link out and sleep somewhere else, then," Eresh offered uncertainly. + +"Weeeeeell.. I wouldn't be defeated so quickly." Derek said. "I kind of want to know what it is, maybe set up a bait with a video device. Though it's as likely to take BOTH the food and the device. It could very well try to eat both too..." he paused. "Also I think we have only one writing kit for the whole expedition, so we can't leave without losing our progress until we reach basecamp. Or, if the situation is too dire to stay, we can use our current kit, link out to get a new one, link back in and continue the journey." + +"I'll set up a camera, gimme a few minutes." Calum began fussing with the backpack. + +Calum finishes setting up the camera on a tripod- one of those DRC Surplus 2000s era VHS tape camcorders- aimed at the fog layer, and flips out the digital viewfinder screen, only to pause, and remark, "Huh. Weird." + +"What is?" Kura'quen askes. + +"The glow in the fog isn't showing up on the screen," Calum answered, and, out of curiosity, raised their KI to take a picture of the strange light phenomenon. "...It's showing up on the KI. That's very weird. Probably just the display not being able to show it. It is an old camera, after all." + +"Do you h.. no you wouldn't have thermal vision on this thing, would you ?" Derek asked. "Well if it was a ghost or some other electromagnetic interference like a sprite, it would do the opposite and show up on the screen while we couldn't see it with a naked eye." + +"Unfortunately no, no thermal," Calum said. "And agreed, it's probably not an electromagnetic thing." Calum seems lost in thought for a long while, keeping the recording going, just for proper data recordings sake. + +Jules went to check on Ed and hopefully smooth some ruffled feathers of one Dr. Murry. + +Sky listens to the conversation while quietly humming the theme to "Ghostbusters" to herself. + +"When you're on an Age, with some purple lights.." Derek completes skyisblu's tune and hums along. + +"Who you gonna call?" Sky answers back to Derek's prompt. + +As if narratively tempted by such an exchange, a shriek of shock comes from somewhere down the beach- in the direction Runa'mei and Kelsei went in. + +Robert and Jules jump up and race to the spot the screams came from. Sky gets up from her spot next to the plants and runs after Robert and Jules. Derek puts his binoculars on and looks in the direction of the scream. + +The group carries on down the beach, only to stumble upon someone else's campsite, much as Runa'mei and Kelsei did. The owners don't seem to be actively there at the moment, but the place is freshly set up, with a camping tent, a pair of chairs, and a small firepit. + +That in of itself is not what seems to have startled Kelsei into screaming, however. That pleasure lies in the fact that a large creature has emerged from the lake and is sniffing around a cooler full of food. + +"What the f- ?" Derek cuts himself short. + +It looks to be a strange combination of a squid, a salamander, and a dog. If one were to have taken the dog like face, added squid like tentacles for the mane of hair, and slapped it onto a salamander's body. It is, like many other things in Naybree, a very bright shade of purple-pink. + +"Okay there's something large and alive over there, it's menacing," Derek said. + +"Oh wow," Eresh whispered. "Pretty exotic. It reminds me of Reischu." + +"It's too small for that," Runa'mei remarked, gazing at the creature as she held her right arm out defensively infront of Kelsei. + +"What in the world is that thing?" Kelsei asked, a small tenor of fear in her voice. + +"It's like a manticore, but remixed by the Upside Down from Stranger Things?" Derek takes the camera and heads in closer to film the creature. "Fantastic." + +"It's a Salty Sea Dog," Calum joked, half in awe, half in utter confusion. + +The creature, whatever its origins may truly have been, continues rooting around inside of the cooler, clearly seeking something from within it. + +"Yeah, life finds a way, yaddi yaddi yadda, jesus that thing is..." Derek stared for a long moment. "Incredible." + +Sky stays a little behind the others, making sure Robert and Jules are between her and the creature. + +Robert extended his whip back ready to strike if needed. He got in front of everyone. + +"We don't have knowledge of a previous expedition in Deep Naybree through this sector, right?" Derek asked. + +"There haven't been any other trips out here that I've authorized," Calum said. "But that doesn't mean people couldn't slip a net and get their own boat out here." + +The campsite was definitely a contemporary earth setup. + +"Well, someone has been here. We need to find them," Robert remarked. + +"Should we call for them?" Derek asked. + +"Maybe they'll come running if they heard me scream?" Kelsei offered, not taking her eyes off of the creature. + +The creature, as a matter of fact, seems to have found its goal in the form of a wrapped sub style sandwich. It lifts it out with two of its squid-tentacle mane limbs and carries it over towards a rock, ignoring everyone else as it hunkers down and begins prying apart the wrapping. + +"Well, that's one type of food thief that we need to look out for," Derek said, "they could take our supplies if we're not careful." + +Once the sandwich is unwrapped, the beast headily begins going to town on it, very much like a hungry puppy. + +Robert yelled out,"HELLO? Is anyone here? Do you need help?" + +"Hungry little critter, aint it?" Amara'da remarked, observing the creature eat. + +Flecks of lettuce and other topings get sent sprawling aside, but the tentacle arms snag them and throw them back onto the meal pile as the beast eats. + +Derek flinched, "Yeah and we probably look appetizing too." + +"It ignored us and went straight for the cooler," Runa'mei said. + +"Probably thinks we're too big for it to take down," Amara'da agreed. "Scavenger?" + +"Because it found it first, there's no way to tell what he's gonna do once he's finished," Derek pointed out the possibility. + +"Looks like a scavenger, yes," Runa'mei agreed with a nod. "I think... does that sandwich smell like fish to anyone?" + +"It does," Calum agreed. "Did anyone bring any fish-meat with them?" + +Robert relaxed his stance and recoiled his whip as the beast continues to eat its pilfered meal without even so much as paying attention to the group of explorers. + +Sky is pretty sure the cans of tuna in her pack won't be giving off any smell that would attract the creature. + +Derek frowned, "I don't think this creature would be able to emit the kind of light we saw earlier. Unless it's something it uses only to deter predators or call for its kin, communication." + +"Yeah, I'm not seeing any signs of bioluminescence," Calum agreed. + +"Also, I'm not seeing any wings," Kura'quen said. "It looks land and sea locked?" + +"Amphibious, yeah," Calum agreed. + +"We're not calling it Dogsquid yet yeah?" Derek asked. + +"Definitely not calling it a Cthuludog," Calum joked. + +Derek snapped his fingers, "Doghulu." + +"If we're naming it, maybe 'Abanuvvy,'" Kura'quen proposed. + +"Flowing Scavenger? For it's tentacle arms?" Runa'mei asked of her cousin. + +"Seems apropriate, atleast?" Kura'quen shrugged. + +"Abanuvvy the Doghulu," Amara'da remarked with a slight grin. + +"That's a mouthful, General," Kura'quen griped. + +"I think I'll name it Scamp," Robert quipped. + +Robert and Jules looked around the campsight for clues to what happened to the campers and where they may have gone. + +Calum joins Robert and Jules in searching the campsite, and finds a deflated, folded up inflatable boat. "Well, looks like someone set out either before or after we did...." And then, with a start, "Ah, heck, did I make sure everyone had the right start time? Did we forget someone?" + +"Some of us still have a hard time converting KI time to local time, " offers Sky. "Maybe someone left early thinking they were actually late?" + +"That could be," Calum said, sighing. "Well, hopefully they're out here somewhere and haven't run into anything larger." + +"Or smell like fish." Sky adds, only half-jokingly. + +The 'Doghulu' thing seems to finish its meal, stand up and shake itself off, and then leap back into the lake, vanishing away beneath the surface after several moments of swimming. + +Sky lets out the breath that she didn't know she was holding all this time, shoulders relaxing at the departure of the creature from sight. She lowers again to the ground, rubbing her hands through the soft purple sand. + +"This whole setup smells fishy to me," Robert said. "OUCH!" he exclaimed as a pebble hit the back of his head. He turned around, rubbing his head. Sky had turned away, humming again. + +"Don't throw things, people," Calum said, tiredly. + +All of a sudden, Silas Folxhaven approaches the campsite from the opposite direction to where the others had come. "There you all are!" His voice carries a mix of worry and relief. "We heard a scream. Lucky we did, too, we weren't quite sure which way the group had gone, and I think we landed in the wrong place. I swear we almost got eaten by something in that fog too," he said, half-joking. "But more importantly, is everything alright?" + +Silas looks around, trying to take in the situation. + +"Shorah, Silas!" Calum greeted. "And we're fine. Just had a scare with a sea creature who had a hankering for one of your cooler sandwiches." + +"It seemed very interested in that sandwich more than anything else," Runa'mei said, sounding a little amused. + +Silas chuckles. "Well that's good. Shorah, all! I don't think I've met all of you yet. My name is Silas Folxhaven. I've been around the cavern for a few years now, but I tend to keep to myself. Surface business has kept me away for awhile, too, unfortunately. So I'm glad of a chance to get my hands dirty with a project here again." He glances to his left to make sure Sivae caught up. + +Behind Silas, a taller woman moved out from the brush - having issues with the low hanging foliage that kept getting trapped in her short, thick hair. She squints in annoyance, pulling a stick from her wig before hurrying up to Silas' side once more. Her KI identified her as Sivae. + +"I oughta just shave my mop at this rate." She spoke under her breath gruffly, before shifting gears mentally to take hold of the situation once more. Yes, they were following a scream, but it now looked like that was handled. Catching the last bit of what Calum said, "All's well? No one dead, eh? Nice." She leaned over the shorter man's shoulder, holding onto it as she extended a hand to the new friend. "Name's Sivae, friend. Pleasure to meet you." + +"Nobody's dead except that sandwich," Calum said, giving a wave. "Good to meet you. Sorry about the coordination fail. My fault there. We should have all set out together." + +"No, no, I think we ought to have known better than to set out for uncharted territory without the group. Could've gone a lot worse than it did." Silas laughed good-naturedly. "Thanks for organizing this!" + +Sivae's extended hand turned to a thumb's up, before relaxing it to hang next to her side once more. "Is on us for being the curious rats we are, friend. We were //too// terribly excited about the expedition. How long's it been since we've gone with a group, Siles?" She thinks, "Several years..? Maybe a decade? I'yunno." + +"Well, I'm glad you could join us," Calum said. "Did you see any easy footpaths out the way you went?" + +"Nothing much so far," Silas said. "We strayed further into the trees a bit, but it all seemed pretty untouched where we were. Then again, for the most part we just followed the beach to find everyone else's landing point, so it's quite possible I missed something." He sits down at the edge of the camp, with a grunt or two as he situates himself. "Looks like people have been here, though, you fellas didn't set this camp up did you?" Then he adds quickly, "Oh, don't mind me, I just need a bit of a breather. I might be getting too old for this." + +"...No? We thought this was your camp?" Calum said, frowning. + +"I've got a flare gun in my bag, should we use it to alert our presence to these campers?" Derek offered. + +"I'd say that scream worked almost as well as a flair," Silas joked. + +"True.. maybe they're on their way," Derek was hopeful. + +"Agreed," Calum said, a tenseness filling their frame. + +"Maybe we scared 'em tho'." Sivae answered then looked down to SIlas with a smile. She decided to cross her arms in place of sitting. + +"I wonder..." Runa'mei said. "I'm going to look for tracks. Give me a moment." + +"Be careful Runa'mei" Derek warned. + +"Always am," Runa'mei said as she wandered off and began checking the treeline. + +"Hold on," Kelsei said. "So, if you two didn't set this up, and we didn't set this up... Then who did?" + +"Thassa good question, eh?" Sivae smirked. "We'll probably find out soon enough... if our neighbors aren't shy." + +"Well, I can't say it's impossible people haven't slipped the nets at the beach before now," Calum said. "They're mostly there to keep people from getting caught by the currents. So it could be anybody..." they trailed off. + +"They aren't having a dip in the water, aren't they?" Derek asked. "Or fishing ?" + +"They're in for a scare if they run into one of those dogthulus," Kelsei mumbled. + +"Have you seen signs of people still living here recently?" Silas asked. + +"That's what part of this survey was about," Calum admitted. "Seeing if we could find signs of civilization." + +Silas began studying the camping gear. "Maybe this equipment could help clue us in." + +"Take a look, see if you find any journals or notebooks," Calum suggested. "And tell me if you find anything marked with a flask-shape on the cover." + +"Flask shape, hmm..." Silas pondered the notion. + +"Like a face with a spiral on its forehead?" Derek asked. + +Kelsei looked at Calum, frowning. "Do you think...?" + +"It's a possibility I don't want to ignore," Calum said. "And no, think like a klein bottle. Kinda wide base, narrow top, maybe a plume of some sort at the top?" + +"I think I saw that in Fahets?" Derek frowned, trying to recall something. + +"Probably unrelated," Calum said, in regards to that. "I'm thinking more that journal that lumberjack left behind." + +Along with the others, Tiernan and Diranda have been quietly helping where asked, while Tenny's also been quickly updating his journal when he can. + +"I mean these people have to sleep eventually." Derek said, deciding he will look for how many sleeping slots are installed within the camp, number of tents and sleeping bags. "Maybe we can find their boat too." + +Derek soon sees that there is a single tent, two folding chairs, and a folded up inflatable raft. No sign of an airpump in the immediate viscinity. There is the aforementioned cooler, as well. The tent, when inspected, is found to be locked with a numerical padlock. + +"Oh..." Derek realized, "they were expecting intruders." + +Sivae, in the midst of their conversation, approaches the tent, staring at it long and hard. "Yep, looks like we're not getting in there. Not... well, without committing a crime." + +"Crime on a lawless world?" Derek supposed. "Not the hardest." + +Tiernan hmms. "I might be able to see if I can crack it." + +"Not the first time we've broken into something, Siles!" Sivae smiled. + +"It's suspicious, but maybe its to keep out the wildlife?" Kura'quen asked. + +Amara'da snorted. "They would've locked the food bin in there if that's the case." + +"You can crack codes, Tiernan?" Eresh asked. + +"They could have used a regular padlock with a key, but they chose a code instead, so they might have set this up for another group," Derek said. + +"Well, I could certainly try," Tenny said. + +"Or.. locks can be picked, codes can only be guessed." Derek pointed out, then, said, "Oh please, knock yourself out on this numerical code, I'm actually interested in your method." + +"There's only so many combinations.... unless this one decides to never work again after so many times," Sivae said. + +"Sometimes code locks can be bypassed, too, with the right techniques." Silas said, "Though, the best ones usually don't have obvious exploits." + +Runa'mei returns to the group, looking disgruntled. + +"Any luck?" Kelsei asked. + +"I found two sets of tracks. One seemed to be some brushed over tracks, the other set doubled back onto itself in a loop. Someone had an idea they might be followed." Runa'mei answered. + +Dereks looks at the number of numerals on this padlock, finding it to be a basic three digit luggage tumbler. "Three numbers, okay then," Derek remarked. + +Diranda thinks. "If it's a mechanical code lock, I might be able to at least help." + +Silas notes Runa'mei's words, and his eyes widen. "I wonder what they were expecting, did they know a group was coming?" + +"Or it's for the locals.." Derek frowned. "That don't know these numbers." + +"We didn't exactly advertise it, but we did let it be known we'd be coming out here," Calum said. "Why leave a camp site if that's the case?" + +"Maybe they're quirky like that," Sivae shrugged. + +"Quirky," Kura'quen grumbled. "Right." + +Tiernan hmphs. + +Amara'da glanced to Tiernan, "Before you go scrambling that thing, try turning the digits all one to the left or right." + +"I can think of three reasons," Silas said. "Either they wanted us to find it, or they left too quickly to take it down. Or... they intend to come back, but don't want to be followed in the meantime?" + +"I don't suppose someone brought a pair of metal cutters?" Tenny asked. "Easy to make quick work of that without needin' t' solve it." + +Diranda blinks at Tiernan. "Well, yeah, that's a point." + +"When weird gets weirder, let's leave no stone unturned," Derek looks inside the cooler to check if there is anything left, with special attention brought to the non-food and non-drink items. The cooler is full of sandwiches, generic brand water bottles, and a sealed pack of pepperoni slices. "Nope.. just food and water." + +Derek closes the lid of the cooler. "I mean I have a hunting knife, we could just cut through the tent.. with no way to close it back. But we don't know if we're against anybody or simply encoutering other campers." + +"You know," Silas said, "it's also possible they just used a code lock because it's what they had. I've done that sometimes." + +"I think we should note the spot on a map and push forward on our expedition, we still have a lot of road," Derek suggested. "Besides, we still have to setup OUR own camp, even before reaching basecamp." + +The sandwich wrapper the dogthulu tore open blows in the breeze, drifting towards the forest. + +"True," Tenny says. "All I've got are trauma cutters." He considers. "Probably best t' leave it, unless we know for certain there's someone hostile out here." + +"Ye... probably best to not make enemies yet." Sivae nodded. + +"Agreed," Calum said, watching the wrapper go. "We can come back here if it's a problem." He opened his KI and generated a Marker Mission, noting the local coordinates down on the marker. + +Derek goes after the wrapper to catch it, "Now now, no polluting another dimension for no reason." + +"My thoughts exactly, Derek. Leave it just like we found it." agrees Sky + +Upon catching the wrapper, something smudgy and ink like stains Derek's fingers, "Ow.. what's..? Ew. Okay I got a.. sample." + +"We didn't bring gloves, right?" Eresh asked. + +As Derek turns over the wrapper to see if it's squid ink or something else, he sees that the wrapper has been written on with an ink marker. The remnants of the word "-uary" can be seen written on it. The rest of the word has been smudged to illegibility. + +"Is that written in English?" Eresh asked. + +"Huh, what happened?" Silas asked, getting up and approaching Derek + +"The creature finished its meal and let that paper go, there are some characters on it, can we get the rest?" Derek asked. + +"Oh! Maybe it's a code? Or a message?" exclaims Sky. "Let me see your hand and the paper, Derek" + +"Looks like it might have said 'Sanctuary,'" Eresh guessed based on what was there. + +"It end in -uary, maybe Sanctuary, February.." Derek said, "January." He holds out his hand and the paper and Sky looks closely at the marker smudges. + +"Usually when you write on a sandwich it's when you order and the person who makes it writes your name on it." Derek said "Or it's the type of sandwich. Though, I know no fish that has its name ending in -uary." + +"I wonder if they wrote on the other ones. Let's check the cooler!" Silas said. + +At that prompting, Catchen looks in the cooler. + +And at Silas' enthusiasm, Sivae joins up with Catchen at the cooler and begins rummaging through the sandwiches with whoever else is there. + +The two find the other sandwich wrappers were indeed written upon by sharpie marker, though it is smudging due to the proximity of condensation due to the water bottels. It's hard to read clearly on some of them, but with some squinting it's easy to piece together that the words "January" and "February" have been written on them. + +"Hmmm," Catchen hums. "How do the sandwiches look?" + +"Opp, looks like there's more." Sivae said. "They are a little soggy, but they seem to be fine tuna sandwiches." + +"Expiration dates?" Sky throws out as a reason for the months written on the sandwiches. + +"Probably not an expiration date, probably a code or names." Sivae thinks, thinks long and hard. Thinks so hard that she dissociates and forgets where she is just for a second. + +"It's the code!" Derek guessed. "January is 1, Febuary is 2. Let's try 102!" + +The tumbler lock does not yield on 102. However, wheel 3 does catch on 2. + +"Would it be 012?" Derek asked. The lock pops open. "There we go," Derek zips the tent open. + +Inside the tent, there are two sleeping bags, and a small wooden box with a journal sitting ontop of it. The journal is marked with the same flask icon as the lumberjack's journal from the back area of Eder Naybree. + +Hearing the tent zipper, Sivae turns back and returns to reality. "Welp, there we go. Friend's got it." + +"I think we've found your flask symbol, Calum," Derek said. + +"Twelve... December?" Kelsei asked, looking at Calum. + +"Yeaaaah.... that's about what I expected," Calum lamented tiredly, and knelt down to reach for the book. + +Calum opens the journal and pages through it. It is a scientific log written by someone codenamed "January," detailing how a man named "December" requested January and "February" to survey the local mountains of Eder Naybree. + +Further details in the journal cover the trip through the fog layer, and making camp. + +The journal ends with an entry about setting off into the forests. It is dated three days earlier, and has not been touched since. + +"Do they mention anything about the pink lights?" Derek asked. + +"No pink lights mentioned," Calum says, reviewing through the journal again. + +"Maybe we just start out in the direction of the tracks Runa'mei found, then, and hope we can find where they pick up." Silas suggested. + +"Sounds like their team is in trouble," Derek said. + +"That sounds like the smart thing to do," Kelsei agreed. "If they've been gone for several days, we should atleast try to find out what happened to them." + +"Kind of worries me, but hey, we got strength in numbers," Silas said, encouragingly. + +"I'm not the type to say no to a rescue mission, besides we know how to call them, January and February," Derek said. "Unless they have already linked out and failed to come back, I wouldn't expect anyone to go to a place without any linking book to exit the Age, being stranded is pretty much a beginner move." + +"Runa'mei, let's try and follow those brushed out tracks," Calum suggested. "That seems like the immediate course they're trying to hide." + +"Agreed," Runa'mei nodded. "General, with me?" + +"Of course, Chezwyrd Chen," Amara'da nodded. + +The two take the front of the group, and head towards the place where Runa'mei found the brushed over tracks. + +"And if we lose one or two it's no biggie, we've got plenty," Silas laughed. "Sorry, bad joke." + +"S i l a s!" Sivae exclaimed. + +Derek chuckled. + +Sky throws a panicked look at Robert and Jules at that comment from Silas. + +"Should we take the cooler?" Kura'quen asked. "Incase we run into more wildlife?" + +Derek sees skyisblu's distress and comes to her asking, "Coffee ?" + +"Thanks Derek, but I think it just might make me more jittery at this point," Sky answered. + +"Or focused," Derek countered. + +"You'll get used to his... jokes." Sivae doesn't look annoyed, or disappointed. It is honestly hard to tell how she feels at the moment after that. + +Sky notices that Robert and Jules are conversing in hushed tones about something. Jules then heads to the tent and starts studying the journal more closely. + +Further inpsection of the journal does not convey much new information, as it seems to have been started deliberately for this journey. There is, however, a small metal key pressed between the blank pages near the back of the book. + +"Eresh, do you have some tea left ?" Derek asked. "Maybe a warm softer drink will help soothe the nerves." + +Amara'da returns from the forest, stating, "Good news. They only brushed their tracks for a short while before giving up on it. Runa'mei is checking ahead to see if they gave any more tricks." + +"Amara'da, in which direction where the tracks heading?" Robert asked. + +"Uphill, winding slightly back the way we came from," The General said, pointing backwards towards the main landing site. "From what I could see through the trees, there was maybe a river inlet coming from higher up in the mountains that way." + +"Phew, so we've got a good starting point, then." Silas is already sitting down on the ground again, though prepared to rise and depart whenever the others are ready. + +"We have a key. Where's the lock that it goes to?" Robert wondered. + +"Another puzzle." Sky remarks, looking around the tent area for another lock to open. Inspecting the wooden box the journal was resting on reveals it has a small lock on the front. "Oh! Robert! Over here! " Sky exclaims excitedly, as she points to a wooden box just under where the journal was found. + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"Maybe the key works on this - " she says as she picks up the small object and extends it to him. + +The key matches the lock, but it does not fully fit inside. It seems to be a two key lock, requiring a second key to fit in alongside the first. + +"It's not quite right. There's something missing." Robert looked at the key closely. "It needs another key I think. Everyone search the place." + +"Maybe it's buried," Derek suggested. + +"Or maybe one of them has it on them?" Kelsei suggested. + +Catchen begans searching the campsite. The firepit holds nothing but dead embers and charred coals. There is nothing else in the cooler besides sandwiches, water, and that sealed bag of pepperoni. A further search of the tent finds a copy of a Science Magazine from April of 2023, featuring the topic of Austin, Texas' Moonlight Towers, a broken combat knife hidden beneath a pillow (The blade is missing, but the hilt seems to be sentimental, with an engraving reading 'To My Darling' on it); and a spare pair of socks tucked up at the bottom of a sleeping bag. But no key. + +"That's possible. Kelsei," Robert said. + +Sky pushes the sleeping bags around, looking for hidden pockets. She tossed the pillows around, feeling inside their cases for anything hard and key-shaped. + +"Nothing here. Boo," Sky pouted. "I guess you're right, Kelsei - they must have taken it with them." concludes Sky. + +"Makes sense to separate them, unfortunately," Kelsei sighed. + +Sky nods. + +Derek takes the box and shakes it gently to try to determine what could be inside. The box lets loose a dreadful chiming noise, as if a thousand tuning forks were clattered against a windchime. + +"That's... weird." Derek wasn't sure what that noise was. "Coins ?" + +"Oh gosh, Derek! Don't break it!" Sky gasped. + +"There was a harmonic sound to it," Kura'quen mused. "I almost want to say it sounded like a crystal, but... they don't sound like metal rattling against eachother." + +Robert snaps his head to Derek's direction. "Crystals!" he exclaims. + +"Maybe they recorded something on it?" Amara'da suggested. "We should take it with us, just incase it's one of ours." + +"Wait.. crystals that record things?" Derek asked. + +"Rei'schu is home to some very unique crystals," Calum said. "Some of them were stolen, and gifted to the group I suspect these two campers belong to." + +"You guys have one key, maybe we can pick the second lock," Derek suggested. +Robert looked to the General, "Armara'da, if they came from your world, then you definitely should take control of them." + +"We'll take it to Runa'mei, she might be able to force the lock open," Kura'quen said. + +"Agreed," Amara'da said, motioning to take the box into her custody. "For the time being, I'll hold onto it." Derek hands over the box. + +"Speaking of Runa'mei, we should probably catch up to her," Kelsei said. + +Jules and Robert returned to their hushed conversation on the other side of camp. Robert pointed to something on the ground and to the area in the opposite direction of the footprints. Sky eavesdropping, heard the words Mad Rasputin. + +Kura'quen, hearing those words as well, moves over to check on them. "Did you find something?" She asks in a quiet whisper. Looking where Robert was pointing, there's nothing but a piece of driftwood that looks a bit uncomfortably like Haru'sara's old crown, but doesn't seem to be the same object, and just has an uncanny resemblence to it. + +Kura'quen pulls it from the sand to inspect it, only to find that it is the head piece of a very larger piece of wood than it first seemed. Almost like a staff, or, perhaps, a chewed up oar. It is very old, and missing a lot of mass, and even has a few faint traces of D'ni carving on the 'hilt' of it. + +The words are too faded and worn to read, however. Kura'quen offers it to Calum to inspect. + +"Huh. Not surprised we'd find something like this here, somewhere, given the age's history." Calum remarked. "Probably a sailing relic from who knows when. I wouldn't be surprised if we find old D'ni stuff scattered around here from how often the Age traded owners." +With no objections from the rest of the expedition, Calum gives the go-ahead for Amara'da to lead them along the path that Runa'mei was following. Through the forest line the group goes, up a gently sloping hill. + +The sound of a flowing river gradually comes into view, but strangely, it is not the only sound. It's hard to parse at first, but as the minutes drag on, it sounds like... whispers, almost. The subtle realization sets an edge into the atmosphere. + +Kura'quen asks Amara'da, "Did this happen the last time?" Her voice is quiet, as if afraid to speak louder. + +"No, it didn't," Amara'da frowned. + +But then the group breaks through the tree line and arrives on the shore of a rapidly flowing river. Vapor rises into the air where the chilled water meets the warm air, creating the fog and the mist in the area. If one looks down stream, they can see that there's a clear shot to the larger part of the lake that had been noted as being near the landing site. + +Seemingly, the mist ends where the river meets the lake itself, but then the implication that this chilled water stream is feeding into the cold front in the middle of the lake surrounding Naybree's garden island is had. Perhaps it, and other rivers like it, combine together into the swirling, massive wall of mist? + +The whispers continue on as the group looks up river for Runa'mei, and they find her, surveying a large statue that seems to have been carved in the same style as the large statues in the Naybree garden. + +It is styled after one of the strange sea-creatures that the group saw on the beach, sitting on its rear legs with its front legs resting forwards, with some kind of object held between the paws. + +Runa'mei is presently holding the arms down against the river water as it courses past the statue, making the strange whispering sound, it seems, because as the group approaches, she raises the arms again, and the sound ceases. + +"What in the world is this thing?" Kelsei asked, approaching Runa'mei. + +"Another of Grandma Athsheba's artworks," Runa'mei surmises. "As for what it does... I'm not quite sure. This object it holds makes a curious noise when it touches the water." + +The object itself does not seem to be anything special at a first glance. A panflute type object made of stone, it seems, except that it has the coloration of Nara. Dark greenish brown with flares of bronze holding it together. It is older than the statue that holds it, easily. A careful examination reveals that it is engraved with old D'ni script. + +"Any signs of our wayward scientists?" Calum asked. + +Runa'mei shook her head. "The tracks carry on upstream, seemingly in a hurry. I'd wager they got spooked off by the whispering sounds when they lowered the statue arms." + +"Interesting," Diranda says. She walks over to look at the statue as well. "I wish I could read that." + +"Molly could, I'd bet," Tiernan says thoughtfully. + +"Maybe it's the strength of the current, maybe it's a reaction between this water and what looks to be nara that causes this sound, who knows." Derek asked, "Can we make out any words out of these whispers?" + +The group conferrs, but finds that the words sound vaguely D'ni but nothing discernable + +Having never seen the creature the others encountered, Silas is puzzled by its appearance. "What is this creature? It almost looks like some otherworldly gargoyle. Well, I guess it is otherworldly in this case." + +"Nara on Naybree?" Eresh asked. "I wonder how many D'ni visited this place?" + +Kelsei remarks, "It's a statue of the sea creature that startled me, Silas." Then, to Eresh, "Given how many times the age changes hands, it's impossible to guess.' + +Calum agreed. "Don't know if this flute dates back to the original owner or a later one." He gave a gentle but firm tug to remove it from the statue. It comes clean easily and can be returned just as easily. "Athsheba made sure it could be moved, though." + +Derek theorized, "Maybe there are other statues that serve the same purpose. I don't think the fact it's removable would be to replace the flute, nara is too durable to worry about damage." + +Runa'mei nodded in agreement. "That seems likely, yes." + +Ed, Jules, and Robert were all over the statue, examining every inch of it, and trying out the mechanism to try figuring out how it worked. They were arguing about various sources of D'ni writings to decode the inscriptions. Skyisblu observed the scene before her and chuckled. The men reminded her of little boys on Christmas morning as they were opening their presents. Robert noticed her looking and smiling, but Sky suddenly turned away. + +Derek takes a KI picture of what remains of the D'ni script. "If this statue is meant to hold items in the water, we should find others (if they exist) near other streams of water." He supposed, "Maybe even this very stream, in higher spots." + +Robert turned to Runa'mei and said, "Your Grandmother was a genius in the construction of this moving statue." + +"It seems to be a good step up in her skills from what we saw in the garden," Runa'mei said to Robert. "I wonder why she made it though? Why make a statue you can raise and lower the arms on just for a flute effect?" + +"It could act as a switch for something we have yet to find," Robert mused. + +"Wait.. I'd like to try something." Derek comes closer to the water. "Put the instrument inside the stream please." + +"Just the instrument or with the arms?" Runamei asked when Derek dipped his head underwater to see if it sounds different. + +Runa'mei paused. "Ah, well." She lowers the arms into the water with the flute in place. + +The sharp whispers begin to emerge through the air, on the surface atleast. Beneath the water, there is a subtle distortion to the effect that brings it into alignment somewhat. There is, atleast, a distinct "Shorah" that can be heard at the start of the segment. Though, the rest is still unintelligible. It's almost as if there are parts of a larger audio missing. + +Derek pulls his head out of the water. "Found something." He gets a towel from his bag to dry his head. "The water.. speaks. It just said hello to me." + +"I guess it's a distortion filter," Calum supposed after testing it for himself. "Or maybe we're just in the wrong place for it to work right?" + +Derek takes a second picture of the statue, then asked, "May I see the flute ?" + +Runa'mei removes the flute from the water, and the statue, and hands it over for inspection. + +"Only heard under the water...hmm..." Robert said in thought. + +Derek checks inside the flute to see if it has any sort of deposit, grime or things stuck in it. + +A glance inspection of the object's interior reveals a metalic interior with a series of notches and bumps, but nothing seems to be stuck inside of it. If anything, the recent submerging in the water has cleared out any gunk within it. The object is remarkably clean on the inside, and looks sort of like a music box, if a music box were a flute. + +Derek frowned, "So, I wasn't expecting it to be dented, but maybe in need of a good clean to clear up the sound, unfortunately -or fortunately- it's pristine." + +"If there were a cavern under the stream, it might be clearer in tone there," Robert guessed. + +"You think that might be the tonal key?" Derek asked. "Acoustics ? What would be the point of this statue then." + +"Maybe the device and the statue are two separate things?" Kura'quen supposed. + +"Well it's meant to be removed and transported, so probably." Derek sighed. "At least we have the first word." + +"You mean, if the statue was built by Athsheba to make the whispering sound, maybe she repurposed the flute from somewhere else?" Kelsei asked. + +"That just begs the question, why make a statue that makes such a harsh whispering noise?" Calum frowned. "I get maybe if she thought someone was coming from D'ni to come after the Rei'schu Descriptive, but if that was the case why leave the book in the garden, and not out here?" + +"Runa'mei, was it you that put a marker on the campsite ? You should probably add another one here." Derek asked. + +"That was me," Calum said, messing with their KI for a moment. "And done." + +"Oop, sorry Calum." Derek said, "Was that statue mentioned in the journal we've found, of January, February and December ?" + +"Nope," Calum said. "They seemed to have left that book behind before coming out this way." + +"Why is audible when underwater? Could it be calling a marine animal to this spot? There may be more mechanisms upstream. Since the flute is removable, perhaps we should take it with us," Robert said. + +"Yeah, I definitely think we should keep the flute in case we need to slot it in another statue that doesn't have one." Derek asked. "Do we have a contact in D'ni to send technical pictures of the flute to ? How well do we know Laxman?" + +"I think everyone who could handle that is on vacation given the time of year," Calum said, even as Runa'mei takes the flute and tosses it up in the air with intent to catch it again, only for Kura'quen to snag it as it comes down. + +"Let's not trust that it's absurdly durable, please," Kura'quen said. + +Runa'mei just smiled at her cousin. "Fair enough." + +"No offense to the scholars in the group," Derek said. "It's just that we don't have a workshop or a lab at hand to do an in-depth analysis." + +Jules and Robert perked up. " Did you say Laxman?" Robert asked. Jules and Robert shared a knowingly look. + +"I think this might be more of a typical ResEng issue than a Laxman one anyways," Calum said. "This flute seems more of an oldfashioned machine than a technical marvel like the KI." + +"Yeah, isn't he the D'ni meganerd about technology ?" Derek asked. "I agree this instrument is analog, but there's still a D'ni mind behind it.. at least the material is." + +"While true, I haven't had a direct contact with him in... well, maybe ever. I usually talk with a few others who are more active on the technical side of things to pass requests along," Calum replied. "I don't know how much Laxman's paying attention to things these days." + +Robert smirked and shook his head. + +Derek nods. "Well, if we don't have anybody to send these pictures to in the city, I guess we'll have to examine it when we get back." + +"Might be a bit premature to send pictures anyways," Calum said. "Especially if we find more of these things." + +"If an analysis is what you need, I can contact Argon and ask my brother if he has anyone on staff that might be able to give you a detailed report," Diranda said. + +"I mean that might be a way to gather clues and leads while we're pursuing the exploration," Derek said. + +"That's a great idea, Diranda. They have superb equipment and scientists there." Robert said. + +Dira grins. "I'll pass your sentiments on to Corey, Robert. But, just send me shots of what you need studied to my KI and I'll get them to Corey's team at Argon." + +"I'll hold the light in order to get a good view of the inside of the device, if someone wants to take a picture. Dang I wish we had a macro focus lens on that thing." Derek lamented. + +Diranda attempts to use her KI to open a line to her contacts in the Cavern. Ordinarily, this should work just fine without issue, after all, the KI is a quantum device that can reach across ages baring exceptional circumstances such as the Neighborhood Meditation rooms, or the Gahreesen Wall Maintainer Nexus... + +That is to say, it is an odd thing to note when her KI fails to connect. + +Diranda nods. "Corey will want to see them in any case, he loves this kind of thing." She blinks. "Oh dear." + +Tiernan frowns a bit and looks over at her device. "Well, tha's a thin'." + +"What's up?" Derek asked. + +"I can't seem to connect." Diranda said. + +Derek contains a laugh "Oh, that's a rare one !" + +Tiernan raises an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the Valerian scientist. "Dira..." + +"No, the Zero was working fine when I linked out!" Diranda defended herself. "This isn't me." + +"...Anti KI field?" Calum asked, checking the KI. "Strange. That shouldn't be happening." Calum attempts to send a message to Kelsei's KI, both in the form of KI mail and Direct Message. Neither arrive. + +"We're out of the Lattice's grid, I didn't know that was possible, okay." Derek paused. "Do we have a maintainer beacon ?" + +"Mine is the same way." Robert said. "How odd." + +"That really shouldnt be happening," Kelsei agreed. + +"Okay, before we completely freak out everybody check their Reltos if you have one." Derek suggested. + +The group checked their Reltos, and found a slew of functioning panels. + +Tiernan turns to Derek and Kelsei. "Hm..." + +Diranda frowns herself and taps the KI's surface. + +"Hold on, what's everyone's KI Coordinates read?" Calum asked. "Naybree has a functioning maintainer marker. We should still be getting accurate coordinates even this far out." + +A check of the system reveals that nobody is receiving consistent coordinates, and neither are they updating when moving around. + +"Interesting." Derek said. + +Tiernan grumbles something about wishing he knew more about D'ni computer networks and sighs. + +Robert looks at Calum. " This needs a Calum solution if there was ever a need for one," he smiled. + +"Aye." Tenny agreed. + +"Alllrighty, that's weird," Calum frowned. "Looks like we've wandered into some kind of anti-KI field. I'm going to hike back to the beach and see if I can't see where it ends. Stay put until I get back." + +"Well, I can collect pictures, or we can just collect them ourselves and send them when we get back," Diranda says. + +"Be careful!" Robert warned. + +"Yeah, don't you go on your own Calum." Derek warned. + +"Sure, will do," Calum then sets off down river, following it along the course of the river down towards the beach. He can be seen raising and lowering his KI multiple times, even waving it through the air a few times. + +Runa'mei sighs, and then sets off after him at a run. + +"Well, this is concerning," Kelsei said. "I wonder if our wandering scientists ran into this too?" + +"Yea, this certainly doesn't bode well if it's intentional," Silas said. "Unless it's part of a puzzle or something. Maybe we'll be required to get our bearings without any outside data? Though I sure hope we don't get lost out here. At least we have the tracks..." Silas trailed off in a mixture of worry and deep thought. + +"As long as we can find our way back to the river, we should be fine," Amara'da said. "Still... what an odd situation." + +Robert sat on a rock and started drawing a crude map in his notebook. "I agree with Amara'da," he said. "As long as we follow the river we should be fine." +Eventually, Runa'mei returns, with Calum following behind at a slower pace, face frowning with a pondering look. + +"Good news is we've got a KI signal if we go back to the shore," Runa'mei reports. "Bad news is we have to get away from the river quite a ways to do it. Calum thinks it might be something in the rocks here at the river affecting the signal." + +"Might," Calum stresses. "Something doesn't seem right about that hypothesis, hearing it said back." He looks at the group, and says, "If anyone wants to turn back, this is probably the time. The rest of us should keep carrying on up river to try to find those scientists." + +"Well, they aren't going to find themselves..." Catchen said. + +"Turn back? No, I don't think so," decided Jules. "I want to see what those lot have gotten themselves into. And what precisely their game is." + +"Here, here. I'm with Jules on this point," Robert agreed. "The game's afoot. Let's get to the bottom of this mystery." + +Sky pipes up from the water's edge, where she has been pondering the workings of the "water-flute". "I'm here for the adventure, whether it be hiking, or this crazy mystery we've uncovered. Let's do this!" She adds, excitedly. + +Robert smiled at the sight of Sky's enthusiasm for adventure. He had found a kindred spirit in her. Then, he sighed as he remembered how angry she was with him. + +(Cal's Editing Notes: Apparently Robert damaged his KI while working in Descent. Similarly to this situation, the KI no longer let him receive or transmit messages. Unbeknownst to Sky, I'd later learn she repeatedly sent messages to him, only to receive no replies. When Robert finally got back to D'ni, he asked me to repair the KI. Unfortunately, the flood of messages when I got it reconnected made him rather panicked and flustered and he wouldn't tell me what was going on.) + +"Alright," Calum said. "Let's keep going then." + +The group carries on up the river's course, the misty air feeling chilling as the cold waters of the river mix with the warmer air as the sun continued its upwards course and heated the land. + +About five minutes of hiking after leaving the last statue, there is a flash of pink light from somewhere in the forest on the opposite shore. Before anyone can think to investigate, the sound of childish laughter and giggling can be heard, dissuading the notion before it can launch. + +"Please tell me that was just a crow," Kelsei mumbled. + +The group carries on, up river, until they are forced to stop as a small herd of deer-cat things are crossing the river, blocking the path. + +They are rather show-pony sized things, none of which could support a fully grown human's weight, with predominantly nightly blue fur along their feline bodies and swishing tails. There is a speckle of deep purple spots across the fur, and becoming a wild mowhawk mane of hair running down along the tops of their deer-like heads back down along their spines, and up to the hips where it abruptly cuts off for the tail's original nightly blue fur. + +Their horns sweep upwards, and seem covered in a mossy green texture that seems to sparkle in the sunlight. + +There are also young little ones, clinging to the backs of their parents, here and there, as they cross the river. + +Needless to say, only the lookouts spare the group any attention, and one gives a warning bleat of a 'dont come closer' that sounds like a cat's mrowl combined with the echoing shrill pierce of an elk call. + +Derek takes a KI picture. + +"I'll say one thing, this Age has a lot of unique wildlife," Runa'mei breathed out. + +"Is it wrong to say I want to pet one?" Kura'quen whispered. + +"I'm completely immune to cuteness so.. I don't know, maybe." Derek said, a bit defensively. "I know some people are sensitive to felines like sailors to sirens." + +"We'll let 'em go," Amara'da advised. "They're just living their lives, we're living ours." + +A smaller deer-cat, not quite adult sized, but not quite a babe- really, more house cat sized- hobbles away from the group and starts to wander closer to the explorers. One of the lookout deer-cats tries to stop it with a leg in the path, but the youth scatters around as youths tend to do and it hobbles over towards the group. + +"Nobody move." Runa'mei advises. + +The deer-cat looks at the group, and starts sniffing at people's feet. + +Derek whispers a harsh 'no' as it comes close to him, and the little thing bleats and scampers over to someone more friendly smelling like Sky, who is next on the visitors list. + +The thing rubs itself against Sky's legs much like a cat, evidently finding something familiar it liked about her, and it meow-beats approvingly. + +Derek stares accusingly at the adult creature, in a disapproving headshake. + +The lookout bleats a 'return' call, which the youth ignores, scampering over towards Runa'mei, taking one sniff, and promptly moving on towards Amara'da, repeating the process, and then turning towards Kura'quen. + +It gazes up at her, bleat-meowing balefully, and Kura'quen's eyes water with restrained tears. "Meio'riiiiin..." she half-squeals. + +The deer-kitten reaches a paw up and gently bats at her leg, begging to be picked up. + +The lookout once again bleats a return call, and stomps a hoof. Strangely, none of the other deer-cats seem to care that one of their youngsters has wandered off beyond looking over and snorting in a 'this is expected' way. + +"No, Kura'quen", said Jules in mock-disapproval. "You can't keep them." + +"Don't you dare touching him and angering the group," Derek warned. + +"I just want to pet it," Kura'quen whispered. + +"That's fine. Just make sure to ask them first." Jules smiled like any parent would to their child. + +Kura'quen's hands tremble as she looks at the lookout. "May I... atleast pet it?" She asked. + +Amara'da rolled her eyes. Runa'mei tensed, bracing for a potential scuffle. + +The Lookout just snorted, and called out one final 'return' bleat, a double stomp of its paws. + +The little one turns its head back and lets out a protesting bleat. As it does such, something small and metal gleams with the sunlight, hidden against its nubby little antlers. + +"What." Derek said flatly in horrid realization. + +Kura'quen kneels quickly, and snatches the thing from its horns, giving the creature a quick pet along its back and some chin scritches. + +The little thing bleats in glee, and then takes off back for the group. + +Kura'quen holds the tiny object in her hand, watching as the youngster rejoins the group, and the lookout gives it a scolding snort, but doesn't seem to punish the youth for its dallyance. + +"What is that?" Kelsei asked, gazing at the object Kura'quen had pulled free. + +"It's..." She looked at it. "It's a tiny ring with some kind of light on it." + +Kelsei takes it, and examines it. Then she swears. "Those damned scientists tagged it!" Kelsei shows the device, and indeed, it's a tiny tracking ring, meant to be put around the legs of birds, and not on the antlers of growing deer-cats. + +Derek knew the KIs didn't have a Lattice connection but he still checked for device compability with proximity tech. The device does not ping against the KI's systems. + +"If we could hack this, we might find where the signal is going, assuming it's not broken and still emitting." Derek supposed, "Either way, it's one less creature they can track." + +Inspecting the tracker reveals it is as basic of a transmitter as one can get. It has a tiny battery, and a signal emitter. No other circuitry can be seen. It is as low tech as a transmitter can be. It doesn't care who it's broadcasting to, just that it's broadcasting. + +"I'm formulating a view as to the quality of these scientist's characters," said Jules. "And I have to say, the conclusions are not flattering." + +"Come on.. it's not unheard of, at least it's not a Sharper situation," Derek said. + +"Atleast they didn't do something to make the herd spooked of humans," Calum said. "A Sharper like guy might've made them super skittish." + +"Besides we don't even know it's them, do they mention animal and herd tracking in the journal ?" Derek asked. + +"Not in the one we have," Calum said. "January doesn't seem to be much of a writer." + +"Sharper would have made steaks and jackets out of a few of them and shared blue venison in a private dinner in the city." Derek's stomach grumbled. "Speaking of food, we should have lunch eventually." + +"Food is probably a good idea, yes," Calum said, eyeing the deer-cat herd. "They seem to be quite a lot of them, after all." + +There doesn't seem to be an end to the deer-cats. They're crossing the river quite continuously. The youngsters of the same size of the one that had been chipped seem to be having quite a lot of fun hopping across the few rocky platforms jutting out of the river nearby while their minders watch them. + +The youth that had been chipped doesn't seem to have a guardian watching it, however. Nor does it seem to want to play with its age-mates, content instead to just sit and watch the group of explorers while the rest of the herd crosses the river. + +It is quite the herd crossing, infact. It seems less like a single herd and more like a few of them mixed together. A few variations of fur color are noticed the longer it goes on, brighter or darker fur colors. + +"..he's going to want to stick around isn't he." Derek sighed, seeing it watch the group. "Like ditching the group to follow us from a distance because the group is too large to notice one is missing." Derek lamented. "And then he's going to scratch a knee or fall or something and we'll have to rescue it." + +"It could be an orphan," Runa'mei remarked. + +"Could be," Derek sniffed. + +"So... shall we have some lunch while we wait for the herd to finish crossing?" Kelsei asked. + +"Maybe not right in front of them, some of the young ones will try to check closer in an attempt go get a bite," Derek said. + +"Yeah, we should head back a bit. Give them their space to do their thing," Amara'da agreed. + +"Oddly relaxing" mused Jules, stifling the urge to yawn. + +"But depending on how hot we want to eat and the time required to prepare some of the things, I'd say yeah we could use a snack." Derek said. + +The group settles back away from the herd crossing a bit further away. Keeping them in sight just enough to keep an eye on the crossing's progress. And thus, lunch preparations are had. + +Sky, still enamored with the velveteen fur of the little deer-cat, shakes her head to try and clear the thought that she really wants to take the little creature home, and instead lets her pack fall from her shoulders onto the ground. + +"This should help redistribute some weight," she murmurs to herself as she begins to pull packages and bags from the cavernous sack. On a flat-ish rock to the side of the trail, she spreads out the packs for everyone to snack on: piles of salty mixed nuts, crunchy breadsticks and some water crackers mix together with handful of dried figs and dates. Sky pulls a small knife from her pocket and flips out the blade, and proceeds to slice up some pieces of apple and a hard cheese that looks like a Parmesan. She adds them to the spread and looks up from her masterpiece. + +"Alright, everybody - snack time! If there's one thing I am good at, it's making any meal into an occasion." She smiles at her work, then grabs a piece of the crisp, juicy apple and takes a bite. + +Derek takes some of the snacks, he also shares some of his resources which are protein bars made of peanut butter with hazelnuts and a bag of spicy beef jerky. + +Robert accepts some snacks and settles down, watching the herd in thoughtful silence. + +"Thank you, Sky, so very much," Kelsei said, taking some of the snacks. + +Calum munches on a piece of cheese, eyeing the deer-cat herd, wondering if this was a regular occurrence or something more insightful of the changes the world was going through. + +As the group eats, Kelsei settles in next to Runa'mei, and sits as close as she possibly could. Runa'mei doesn't seem to mind and smiles as she munches on a breadstick. + +Amara'da keeps a watchful eye on the herd's lookouts, pondering just what they would be looking for that could cause them trouble with such numbers. + +Kura'quen keeps glancing at the one little deer-cat, that keeps watching them all the while. + +Derek catches on Amara'da's inquisitive and thoughtful look. "Yeah.. I'm thinking the same thing. My guess is a forest fire... If it was commonplace we would have seen more animal tracks, or even ground deformation after the passage of such a herd." + +Tiernan has been busy updating the journal. "Tha's it, I think I've got everythin'. Hopefully y'all can add things I didn't catch though." + +Diranda is flicking through the images she's managed to gather. "I wonder if there might be a way to upload these from the KI to my phone." + +Sky holds a small piece of cheese out, behind her back, hoping that the little deer-cat takes notice and comes closer. + +"I never thought about that before," Diranda mutters. + +"I've heard of people who managed to hack the Lattice to make their KIs do.. different things. Like projecting imagery at short range or even deploy refractive fields." Derek said. "Catching someone straight up go invisible in front of your eyes is quite impressive.. not gonna lie." + +"I wouldnt be surprised if some of the Maintainer level KIs had functions the civilian models don't," Calum mused. "Might be addon features like the KI lights or... who knows." + +The little one slips away from the herd again when something catches the lookout's attention for a few moments. It sneakily runs over, darts up to Sky, and sniffs at the cheese bit before snagging it and darting off towards a nearby rock to rest on while it munches on the cheese. + +Sky giggles. + +The Lookouts all bellow something loud and intoning, and the herd begins to pick up the pace. There's some confusion and panic amongst the younger members of the herd, as they scatter back to their minders, who seem to be keeping their wits about them, if a bit more steady. + +It's at that moment more flickers of pink light can be seen in the forest, on both sides of the river, along with the childish giggling and laughter being heard again. + +The lights flicker and fade away, but the laughter persists. The Deer-cat herd's lookouts seem perturbed, but determined to keep up their duties. + +"Oh.." Derek gasped. "These lights are making them flee!" + +"Seriously, what is that?" Kura'quen whispered. + +Robert jumps up and looks at the lights. + +Derek stands up and takes the camcorder used earlier to get some footage of Robert looking at the lights. "Ah right.. they don't appear on the camera.." + +Sky looks around, a little anxious at the panic of the creatures, trying to see what's spooked them + +The formerly tagged deer-cat sticks close to the explorers, while the main herd continues to pick up their pace. + +"This forest isn't haunted, is it?" Kelsei asked. + +Robert said, "The herd is closing up ranks, as if predators were stalking the herd." + +"It's more than a long shot, but let's see if the lights react to the sound that would make the flute." Derek said. "If anybody wants to try." + +"I'm not sure adding harsh whispers would make this scene any less unnerving," Kelsei frowned. + +There is a commotion from down river, somewhere between here and the first statue found. A flock of large birds are fleeing across the river, They look to be swan-goose hybrid like, at a distance. But they move too fast to get more detail than that. + +"What's wrong with the fauna of this Age ?" Derek asked. + +When one looks down that way, a light can be seen emerging from the forest. A flickering, phasing purpleish light that seems to be taking on vaguely humanoid forms. + +"It's best that we don't attract attention," Robert said. "Everybody pack up. We may have to flee here." + +"Sky... I'd really like you to hum the Ghostbusters tune right now." Derek whispered, not looking confident at all. + +As the lights come into contact with the misty haze from the river, they seem to stabilize more, as if the light is refracting differently. + +The sound of childish laughter continues to echo through the air, distorting and warping amongst the noises of the startled birds. + +The Deer-cat herd is frozen now, eyes all locked on in terror towards the moving phantoms. + +"They all seem to be fleeing the same thing, " observed Sky. "I wonder if there are not forest spirits causing chaos for the animals out here." + +She stops packing and stares into the pink lights. + +The lights seem to blink out, seemingly teleporting to another part of the river, taking on different shapes- the childish laughter vanishes. barking noises like men giving orders can be heard, but warped and distorted. + +The barest mentions of D'ni syllables can be parsed. Only a single word is fully grasped, however, "Jakooth." + +And then, as suddenly as it all started, the lights and their phantasmal forms vanish, taking the noises with them. + +"Wait a second..." Derek blinked. + +The Deer-cat herd resumes their march, moving at double time. Robert and Runa'mei take a stance between the group and the new visitors. + +"Wouldn't there be.. a correlation between these apparitions and the KI jamming ?" Derek supposed. + +"...That's a disturbing thought," Calum remarked. + +"Are they imager projections ?" Derek asked. + +"Like... refractions in the light coming into form thanks to the mist in the air?" Kelsei supposed. + +"This plus the fact these figures are going after the fauna.. that is presently tracked by devices such as one we just found.." Derek nodded. "Yeah.. something fishy is going on.." + +"Something is very wrong here," Runa'mei agreed. "That device isn't D'ni in origin, is it?" + +"No," Kelsei said, examining the device again. "It looks very surface made in design." + +She scoffed. "Frankly, I'd wager it's stolen surplus from a legitimate wildlife surveying organization." + +"Could be our missing scientists," Robert remarked. + +"I wouldn't put it past them to have unearthed some D'ni tech left here and revived it poorly," Calum agreed. + +"The only confirmed other group of Earthers, that we know of, on this side of Eder Naybree." Derek said. "I'd say.. we need a plan. What are your thoughts, everyone ?" + +"They don't seem to have seen us yet. " Robert thought. + +"If there is D'ni technology being used here, and it's affecting the wildlife, then they are disturbing the balance," Runa'mei said, a determined tone in her voice. "Even if the rest of you turn back, I must go on ahead to try to end this." + +"I'd like to help and I think the others too, but these people have invested resources into this and they are more prepared than we are, that's why we need a plan." Derek said. + +"Agreed," Amara'da said. "This seems exactly like your kind of job, Chezwyrd Chen." + +"Unfortunately," Runa'mei sighed. "As for a plan..." + +"Runa'mei, you go to the left. I'll flank to the right." Robert said. "Everyone else stay here." + +Runa'mei raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure there's anything to flank right now except the fording wildlife." + +"If the source of these images is technological, then it's a fair assomption to think that whatever emits these silhouettes is also receiving the data from the trackers." Derek said. "They would have put it all in the same place. If only because of the energy required." + +"Agreed, it's probably all in one place. We'll need to carry on after the scientist's tracks once the deer-cats are gone," Calum said. "If they've found D'ni tech, we'll find it by finding them." + +"Let's see what we can discover." Robert said. With that, he and Runa'mei headed out. + +"As for the KI jamming.. I think it's interference from that technology.. meaning that if our KIs start working, we're off-track." Derek guessed. + +"Something along those lines is probably happening, yes," Calum agreed, eyeing the now thinning end of the deer-cat herd. "Let's pack up our snacks and get ready to go. The sooner we end this the better." + +By the time the food is packed up the last vestiges of the Deer-cat herd have finished crossing, leaving the one lookout on this side, uttering a command for the little one to rejoin them. Hesitantly, it moves to follow, not quite willing to separate from the explorers after the recent fright. But, after giving Sky's legs one last brush-against pass, it rejoins the lookout and they cross the river together. + +The lookout gives the explorers a considering look once it's on the other side, then gives a small bow of its head and front shoulders as if in thanks for keeping an eye on the littleone, before it joins the rest of the herd and carries on into the forest. + +The little one utters a farewell meow-bellow, and disappears into the forest as well. + +"I'm always impressed by the sentience of the animals of the Ages." Derek said. + +"I'm impressed by the sentience of animals in Any age, ours included," Calum said. Taking some photos of the mess of deercat tracks on this side of the river. + +"We could backtrack their tracks to find where they fled from." Derek guessed. "Or continue upstream. What do you folks think ?" + +"Upstream," Runa'mei said. "We'll follow the Scientists, even if they double back." + +"We'd likely lose the lead following that mass of migration," Amara'da agreed. "Probably a lot of herds merging together." + +Derek nods in agreement. + +The group carries on the trail of the scientists, finding their tracks undisturbed a further ways ahead up river. +Several minutes of following the river later, another round of spooky purple-pink lights and childish whispering wafts out from this side of the forest, but it stops after about 30 seconds. + +"I wonder how they manage to cast it.. have we checked the ground ?" Derek asked. + +"I haven't seen anything that looks like a standard projector anywhere," Calum said. + +"Besides, if this is the same light we saw in the mist wall at the lake, where would an emitter for that be?" Kelsei asked. + +It isn't long before the group finds another of Athsheba's carved statues, this time of a large serpentine creature, looking like the strange lovechild of a shark and a sea-snake. It looks to be a more advanced version of one of the statues on the island Naybree's Garden is on. It has a moving neck, and an open mouth fit for griping something and holding it into the water. + +The mouth is slightly damaged, as if something was ripped out of it with far more force than was necessary. Here, the remnants of one of the scientist's worksites can be found. Their tracks become a muddied mess as they loop around back and forth around the ground next to the statue. + +Derek checks if the campsite looks more recent than the previous one they saw near the beach. + +A formal campsite doesn't seem to have been errected here, but there is a large flat stone that seemed to have been used to eat something on near the edge of the forrest, judging by the remnant of a sandwich wrapper tucked into a crevice. + +Derek picks up the wrapper, grumbling. "Gross." + +Examination of the tracks near the rock reveal a singular set of tiny deer-cat tracks interacting with the two sets of human footprints. This is likely where the men tagged the deercat from earlier. + +Catchen inspects the sandwich wrapper for numbers. Nothing clear is written on the wrapper, save for the letters "ebru" + +"One of these animals could have eaten the wrapper at any moment, not healthy." Derek guessed. + +Robert looks over Catchen's shoulder at the letters. "Hmm... February?" he muses. + +Catchen mused, "Unless Ebru is a place." + +"It's probably 'February', given these guys propensity for writing their names on their food wrappers," Calum said. + + "It's a shame they seem to have damaged the statue when they took whatever was in the mouth of it," Kelsei said, observing the serpent statue. "It doesn't look like it would hold anything anymore." + +"Do we remember the inclination of the flute when it was held by the last statue ? I'll try and find the right angle while someone who understands D'ni put thier head underwater to hear the message." Derek said. + +But attempting to recreate the previous statue's held angle results in the same sounds with no new information gleaned. Also, the water is much more frigid in this area than it was further down stream and gives a resounding cold shock to the person who tries. + +"I have hot coffee in my thermos." Derek offers a cup to Kelsei, who had put her head in the cold water. + +Runa'mei finally tracks down the set of scientist tracks heading away from the scene. It seems they've decided to stray from the river slightly into the forest, though the path continues on following the river upstream, just somewhat within the cover of the forest now. + +"Hmm... about the sandwich wrapper, my first instinct was that maybe the remaining letters mean something. 'Fary,'" Silas repeated to himself quietly a couple of times. "It almost sounds like fairy, or ferry? Like the creature, or like transportation across water. But that's probably a long shot." + +As the group carries on into the forest, following the tracks, Kelsei muses, "A ferry would be nice if we set up long term transport between the island and the mountains. I wonder if they used to have something like that?" + +"Who's they?" Runa'mei asked. "The original owners or any of the subsequent ones?" + +"Any of them, really." Kelsei said. "If these apparitions are D'ni, they had to find a way over here. We found the last bits of an oar already. Surely they also had boats!" + +Derek thought, "Or they had linking books.. to different locations of Eder Naybree." + +"They would still have to get there to write it first though," Kelsei said cheekily. + +"They would, but it's not worth building a ferry." Derek said. "I mean I wouldn't, a canoe trip would suffice." + +"Doesn't have to be a fancy ferry... Maybe some simple wooden docks?" Kelsei continued, "There are those wooden poles sunk into the water in the island harbor." + +"I suppose those could've been used to anchor some kind of dock at some point," Calum said. "Long since collapsed, though. Probably fell apart or got disassembled at some... oh what the heck is this?" + +The group enters a moderately sized D'ni-made clearing ringed by large square stone boulders, almost like a stonehenge. + +The area seems to be like someone tried to make a neighborhood fountain plaza sized area, but gave up midway through it after paving flat the ground for the floor and erecting a few wall anchor posts. + +Another flute object can be found here, resting against one of those large stone boulders. A much larger flute. Where the first one is four small tubes, this one has ten, and they are of varying lengths and sizes. + +The stone posts were not decorated by the original creators, but they have been defaced by Athsheba, with more of her cliffside paintings having been applied, detailing her sailing from Naybree's garden, passing through the mist wall, and hiking through the forest, after encountering the various creatures. The birds, the Doghulus, the Deercats... all of it seems fairly standard fare for Athsheba's methods of painting a narrative, save for the last post, which depicts a large pool with a waterfall falling into it. + +Athsheba is depicted sitting by the pool, holding a flute to her head. It's hard to tell if she's playing it or listening to it due to her simplified style. + +"A pipe organ." Derek looks around the stones, to see if there are markings on them that could be interpreted as musical notation, with the help of our Naybreeans. + +"Ah, now this looks very familiar," mused Jules. He had spent a portion of his recent time away from the Cavern touring places of historical and cultural significance, one of which was the titular ancient stone monuments in Wiltshire. + +Derek takes several KI pictures of these scenes illustrated on the stones. + +Runa'mei and Kura'quen take the time to carefully inspect each painted stone pillar, taking the time to take pictures with their KIs, and honoring their Grandmother's work. + +"Do you think this is the storyteller falls she talked about?" Kura'quen asked. + +"You mean that ghost story about a young Chezahcen finding a waterfall that spoke to her?" Runa'mei asked, sighing. "Yeah, this is probably what inspired her to make up that crazy story." + +"I think.. that now would be an appropriate time.. to try to bust the second lock on that chest we've found in the tent, that supposedly contains data crystals." Derek said. "Call it a gut feeling." + +"A ghost story is only a story until it's proven true," said Jules. + +"What story's that?" Amara'da asked, curious. "I'm not familiar with it." + +"You wouldn't be," Runa'mei said. "It's something Grandma Athsheba told us when we were young, before I was even chosen to be the Chezwyrd Chen...." Runa'mei paused. "A lock?" + +Both Jules and Edward perked their ears up at this. + +"Would you mind telling us the story?" Robert asked. + +"Of course," Runa'mei said as she was handed the little wooden box. "The story goes that Chezahcen, before she became the new Hunt goddess, was wandering the woods of the Old God's hunting grounds." She starts picking at the lock with some tiny little metal tweezers of an unearthly bronze color. + +"As she wandered, aimlessly, she saw various animals of the forest, and trailed them to a river," Runa'mei continued. "There, she followed it up stream, until she found a large cave the river came from. Whispering words could be heard from inside, so she went in, hoping to find people to help her." + +"It was dark, but her eyes saw well in the darkness," Kura'quen chimed in, eyes closed, speaking as if she were directly quoting her grandmother. "And so Chezahcen climbed through the cave, following the sound of the whispers and the words within, until she found the hole in the ceiling from which the light of her home world and the tears of its people fell from the skies above." + +Derek whispers, "Why does this feel like a Bahro thing ?" + +Runa'mei smiled faintly. "There, Chezahcen sat by the pool the tears made, and she mourned her world that the Old Hunt God was ravaging. She cried and she cried, and as she cried, the voices and spirits of those fallen came to speak to her. The voices of her ancestors, the voices of her fallen family, and friends..." + +"And Chezahcen was encouraged to keep on her journey, by the voices of those who had fallen," Kura'quen carried on. She took a deep, shaky breath, exhaling. "And so she would climb the falls, and it was there, at the top of the world, that she found the courage to continue to look for the Old God and vowed to take him down." + +"That's the end," Runa'mei said, continuing to pick the small lock. "The story was clearly meant to encourage Kura'quen and I to face a situation we were scared of, atleast, that's what we thought." + +"I think she must have based it off of this," Kura'quen motioned at the painting of the waterfall. "It's here in Naybree, not in the Hunting Grounds." + +Robert thought for moment. "Who else knows this story?" he asked. + +"It's definitely not a standard story," Amara'da said. "I've never heard this version before." + +"Sound message," nods Jules. "As all the best stories have. Thank you for sharing it with us." + +"When I became Mayor I wanted to see if anyone else knew it," Kura'quen said. "Even the Priestesses had no idea. Karin'da thought maybe Grandmother was quoting one of the D'ni versions of the myth." + +"If this story was ever recorded on a crystal and the scientists found it.. more people than expected." Derek said. + +"Would Hara'sura have heard it?" he asked with concern in his voice. + +"Probably not, no," Kura'quen said. + +"Well," Runa'mei said as the lock popped. "Let's find out what it is." + +"Good work on that lock, by the way." Derek said as opens the wooden box and peers inside. + +"....What tease is this, Chezahcen?" Runa'mei asked, finding the inside of the box was full of tiny metal tubes. Not a crystal in sight. + +"Is it a flute?" Kura'quen asked, picking up a fragment. "Or what's left of one?" + +"A disassembled flute ?" Derek supposed, "Or several, considering the amount of tubes." + +"Thank you, and yes, it seems to be one," Runa'mei said, examining a slightly bent tube. "Damaged, atleast, without the rock casing." + +Kelsei picks up a mostly intact tube and examines it. Then, she blows through it. + +A sharp whistling noise emerges, sounding like rattling glass in a breeze. + +"Probably the second instrument we should have found at the statue near the other camp." Derek guessed. + +"Maybe, maybe not," Calum said, picking up a rather rusted looking tube. "Could be they scavenged these from the beach?" + +"Maybe," Kelsei agreed. + +"If put together in the right order, they may form another D'ni phrase underwater, " Robert gusessed. + +"The question is, are these all separate messages, or part of a bigger whole?" Amara'da asked, gazing at the large flute nearby. "And where's that one from?" + +"You know what?" Chimed in Sky, still staring at the images on the stone posts, "I wonder if, in this last image, Athsheba is holding the flute under the waterfall. I mean, we've found that the flutes seem to speak messages under water, but none of us can make out exactly what is being said. What if we hold one under falling water? The message might be louder and more clear, given that our ears are not full of water!" + +"Thar makes a lot of sense," said Robert. "Great idea, Sky!" + +"It'd also help with timing, if there's a lot of flutes, too," Calum supposed. "If you got them all out of synch the message might not play properly." + +Sky nods and heads over Kelsei to take a look at the box of tubes. "If we blow into these one by one, we might be able to hear differences in pitch. We'll be able to lay them out in a sort of musical scale. That might help with the message getting played properly." She takes a tube from the box and blows into it. + +The pitch seems to vary the longer its blown through, making a rather spine shivvering noise. + +Attempting to piece the pattern together from the available parts seems to not quite provide anything discernable, but finding their looping points eventually does begin to piece them together into harmonic groups. + +"Like attuning an instrument." Derek remarked. + +"They did sound a bit like tuning forks when you shook the box," Kelsei remarked. + +Sky continues to shuffle the placement of each tube, blowing into some a second and third time, comparing notes and making more sense of the harmonic groups with each one. + +"I think this bent one is probably not going to work," Calum said, examining it. "Atleast, not without some tools to reshape it. I'd be afraid of damaging it if we tried to rework it out here on our own." + +"Given the significence of the place, I wonder if we could establish the outpost here." Derek wondered. + +"This seems like as good of a place as any to write a linking book," Calum supposed. "Though, maybe we should wait and write it at the actual cave, once we find it?" + +"That seems like the best location, as we will likely need to take these tubes back and forth to fix the bent ones, and then come back to test them under the water," adds Sky. + +"The cave might be a better place to establish our base. Better fortifications," Robert suggested. + +When Sky attempts to blow through a rusted tube, it does not produce a lot of sound, nevermind anything harmonic sounding. + +"Cave it is, then," Calum nodded. + +"Okay, let's leave a marker here and continue towards the cave, I suppose." Derek said. "The sooner we establish basecamp, the sooner we can refine what we found and make progress on this." + +Robert looks around for any remaining clues or items. + +Calum sets a marker in the mission, and checks the KI signal as an aside. "Still busted coordinates, by the way." + +Sky scoops up the tubes and lays them in order back into the box, stuffing the rest of the space with dead leaves to keep them from moving. "That should do it," she states as she stands up and wipes the dirt from her hands and knees. + +Robert examines the larger flute, and finds that it is missing several of the metal tubes from inside of it. Likely some of the ones from the box go into it, but it's best not to fuss with that here without a source of water to activate it. + +"Let's take the large flute with us", Robert said. + +Amara'da grins as she picks it up and slings it under one arm. "As good idea as any, Doctor Murry." + +Robert's jaw drops at the ease she picked up the flute. Note to self: Do Not ever get into a fight with her! he thought. + +Kelsei reaches over and gently nudges Robert's mouth closed. + +"You'll catch flies like that," she teasingly admonishes. + +"Right," he says coming out of his amazement. + +Runa'mei giggles, and then searches around the forest floor outside of the plaza for tracks. + +"I could have done that," Sky mutters to herself as she trudges along with her little box of metal tubes, seemingly insignificant now compared to the large flute in the General's arms. + +As the group carries on following the tracks back to the river, another pink glow flits through the trees. The sound of childish giggling whispers through the air. + +"I wanna scorn these giggles.." Derek grouched. "But I can't seem to find that authoritative parent energy." + +"What are those things?" Robert exclaimed. + +Sky quickly drops to the ground, pulls one of the tubes out of the box and gives it a might blow. A shrill tone fills the air... + +The glowing apparitions flicker and shift. + +"Try another one," Robert said. + +"Oh!" She shrieks, seeing the possible reaction to her action. She pulls out another and again blows a long, strong note into the air. + +"Interesting." Derek takes one too and gives it a blow. He gestures at Robert to do so as well. + +"Not all at once!" Sky says. "we don't want to confuse it, either! One at a time, so we can see the reaction to the tones." She points to Derek first, then to Robert to blow in their respective metal tubes, then she selects another and follows suit. + +Derek follows Sky's experiment procedure. + +The impromptu orchestra had a noticeable effect on the glow. + +The glowing lights, after several rounds of experimentation, seem to shift and jerk around due to the sounds, like an internet video is being skipped about by clicking at random points on the timeline. + +Eventually, the lights flicker and vanish, taking the sounds with them. + +"Yes ! Take that, ghosts !" Derek cheered. "Defeated by the Sonic Flutes... I prefer screwdrivers but eh.. that works too." + +"Well, at least they have good taste in music," Robert joked. Another pebble came flying out of nowhere. "Ouch!" He didn't have to turn around to see who threw that. + +"That was definitely... very weird," Calum remarked. "It was like..." He trailed off, staring into the distance. + +"A counteractive frequency ? Yep, probably." Derek said. "I'm still on the imager theory." + +"But if it is an imager, why all over the forest like this?" Calum asked. "And why are the images so out of focus?" + +"They must be casted remotely from a place, like an antenna or some other facility that is also likely receiving the signal from the trackers." Derek shrugged. "As for the.. choice of image and the blurry appearence.. beats me." + +"Calibration issues?" Robert asked. + +"Calibration issues?" Calum blinked. "I wonder..." + +"Small Zero." Derek smiles and refocus. + +The group carries on down the scientist's trail, returning to the river, and following it deeper into the mountains, the elevation rising subtly, yet rapidly, as the group carries on up the terrain. + +"Oof.. getting steep." Derek complained. + +Another flicker-glow of pink light skims through the area at one point, and the group observes its movements as it passes through the mist rising from the river. + +As the vague form of children running come into view, a sudden skip in sequence, replaces them with robed D'ni men walking in a different direction, but their forms seem... to be wrong for the area they are in. Walking through trees and rocks as if they are not there. + +Then, they are gone. + +Calum hums, "Calibration, huh?" + +"Echoes more like.." Derek countered. + +"Calum, could these be recorded images we're seeing?" Robert asks. + +"I'm beginning to think so," Calum said. "It's the same visuals from last time we got a clear view. Children laughing, then men walking..." + +"I mean.. if my imager theory is correct.. that's exactly what they are." Derek said. "I have no knowledge of imagers broadcasting live, except for that Kahlo project I guess." + +"It's almost as if it were tracking us," Robert said. Robert tried to look up at the top, but it was too far to make out anything. + +Kelsei took out the tracker ring and focibly tore the battery out of it. + +"There, now we'll see if we see it again," she said. + +Derek facepalms, "Of course." + +The group carries on up river. It isn't long before another flickering pink glow and the giggling of children can be heard again. They appear suddenly, halfway over the river, running into the forest, and out of focus. + +"Maybe not the tracker," Calum supposed. "It could just be coincidence." He looked at his KI, "Or they're tracking something else?" + +"This, or it's the nara flute." Derek said. + +"Nara might glow under the right conditions, but I don't think it's radioactive," Kelsei remarked. + +"No I think Calum is right, it's gotta be the KIs." Derek said. "Since they don't work correctly, we might as well turn them off." + +"It could explain the interference from communicating to the outside," Robert offered. +(CalNote: Here I'm relying more on Tenny's notations given we had our chatlogs turned off. Why did we risk it? Bluh.) + +With the group turning off their KIs, the hike towards the mountains continue on. While the flicker glow of more specters appear in the forest beyond, none more run into the groups path. Though, it is hard to say if disabling the KIs had any effect on that or not at this stage, as the group soon arrives at the base of a mountain, with the river emerging from the mouth of a darkened cave. + +The misty haze rising from the chilled river is stronger here, bringing the ambient temperature of the air down significantly. + +The sounds of harsh whispers can be heard from deeper inside the cave, sounding much like the first flute discovered. + +"I just hope that while they have been jamming our comms," Derek said "they haven't been listening in." + +"I don't think the KIs can do that," Calum said, digging out a flashlight from his backpack and turning it on with a click. + +"But if the jamming is due to a redirection, they absolutely have." Derek was insisting. + +"Maybe," Calum shone the light along the edges of the cave mouth, highlighting hidden reinforcements in the ceiling. "Hey, Robert, these look familiar? I'm reminded of Descent." + +It's hard to tell from this angle and with the poor lighting conditions, but it does seem like the roof of this cave was reinforced with Nara, or a similar substance. + +The construction style seems somewhat older than what is in Descent, but of a similar design ethos. Large blocks of compressed fusion stone arcing overhead. + +"You're right. It's Nara. The structures are similar to the path that spirals around the Great Shaft," Robert pointed out. + +"Are we equipped for spelunking right now ? I mean it would be a good reason to create a link here and go get proper, specialized supplies in the city. We know caves, intimately, that is something we can deal with if we have the right tools." Derek rambled. + +Catchen said, "Good point, how spelunk-equipped are we? The right tools seems smart...I for one have delved into far too many situations with only an ugly tracksuit and a KI." + +Robert had a sly smile on his face. He had just spent months surveying the route from D'ni to the surface for Patrick and his restoration team. "I brought a few things, just in case," he said. + +"If we're lucky it'll be a stable walkable path like in Descent's finished areas," Calum said. + +As Calum shines a light inside the cave, the sound of rapid fire giggling dopplars into hearing, followed immediately by a bright pink glow rocketing up along the river, zipping past the group and shooting up inside the cave before vanishing from sight as if it were but a shadow now lacking a light source to cast from. + +The sound, however, continues. The laughter of children echoes deeper and deeper into the cave before fading from hearing. + +It moved far too fast to be a recording's standard movements. Immediately following that incident, the world trembles slightly beneath everyones feet. Not enough to be concern of a major earthquake, but enough to make one wonder, 'what was that?' + +"I don't like that.." Derek said. "Robert, do you have a sismograph to determine if these tremors intensify ?" + +At that reminder, Calum sets up some sensors from the sensor box from his backpack, placing one on either side of the river at the cave entrance. + +"Runa'mei, did you set up some sensors down at the beach?" He asked. + +"I did," Runa'mei answered. + +"Which sensors?" + +"Um... 1, 6, and 8." + +Calum removes a reading device from the box and turns it on, checking the data feed for those sensors. + +"Well, good news is whatever's blocking the KI signal isn't interfering with the sensor broadcasts," Calum reported. "Whatever that shake was just now it didn't reach the sensors at the beach." + +"So what's the bad news?" Kelsei asked. + +"...Dunno what made that happen just now, but if I had to guess I'd wager something fell," Calum shrugged. + +Robert was shiny a light up into the cave, looking intensely. "Flow of the water has not been affected. That didn't feel like an earthquake, not a normal one anyway. If the sensors at the beach didn't register anything, then I would rule that out. Hmm, " he said. "I've had large doors open up in pyramids and hidden caverns that would have shaken the ground like that. Our presence may have triggered such an event that began with that light and giggling show." + +"Maybe a 'keep out' warning for tresspassers?" Amara'da offered. + +Robert smiled as he looked at Amara'da. "That hasn't stopped me in the past." He starts heading for the cave. + +"Then if it's a toggled occurence.. something that wasn't accidental, it should be safe." Derek suggests to Robert "We aren't going to solve anything by just standing in the mouth of this cavern, let's go while we still have time." + +"I guess we're going into the deep dark tunnel then," Kelsei said with a sigh. + +Runa'mei smiled at her, "Don't worry, we should be fine." + +Derek starts moving in, setting a headlamp on his forehead. + +"Lights out and on, if you have them, folks," Calum said. "We're going in." + +"And watch where you step," Robert said. "There could be traps set off with the wrong step. You know, booby traps." Another pebble hid Robert's head. He heaved a sigh and continued onward. + +The group navigates into the darkened tunnel, following along the still upwards sloping ground with only their flashlights for guidance. The temperature feels like it drops sharply in the presence of the frigid water running through the river, and filling the air with an almost... displeasing feeling. + +The ground starts to crunch under the explorer's feet as they enter a section of tunnels that has been frosted over with chilled condensation. + +Meanwhile, the sounds of harsh whispering grows in intensity, echoing loudly across the tunnels walls, reverberating against itself again and again. + +Eventually, the distortion of the echoes seems to resolve itself into something almost understandable. It sounds almost like a D'ni person giving a speech of some sort, but, distorted. Reversed? Yes, reversed seems to be the tone of it. + +Due to careful observation from Derek, the voice seems to be middle aged, and male. + +"Calum," Robert asked, "do you have a recording device to can play in reverse like the old tape recorders?" + +"Like a cellphone ?" Derek asked. + +"I've got one," Kelsei said. She digs out a tape recorder, and sets to recording some of the audio. + +"Keep recording in case it cycles," Robert said. + +Once Kelsei is sure she's gotten a solid loop of audio, she stops the recording, and plays it back in reverse. + +What comes out is definitely a middle aged D'ni male speaking in a somewhat jovial tone of voice. Infact, the man sounds almost... nostalgic. Like he's retelling a story. It cuts off in the middle of a sentence, and restarts at the same point. + +"That almost sounded like someone was giving an acceptance speech at some kind of ceremony," Calum remarked. + +Relistening to the segment for clarity, Kelsei consults a D'ni translation guide she kept in her backpack. "I'm not the best at D'ni, so, grain of salt here. To me it almost sounds like the man is talking about some amusing childhood incident." + +She frowns. "Either that, or he's talking about a workplace accident." + +"A confession ? Like an anecdote. Either way he's telling a story." Derek said. + +Finally, the group stumbles upon an artificially lit area, and finds the source of the whispering: another of Athsheba's statues. + +It seems to be originally stylized after a Deer-Cat, with large green firemarbles placed into the eyes, but it has been decidedly modified beyond that scope. It has been given large bird wings off of its back, a secondary tail off of its back, and the fire marbles seem to have been secured in place with narrow metal bands to give them the impression of cats eyes. + +Several more firemarbles hang from rope-loops from the ceiling, swaying in the breeze of the rushing river, illuminating the scene in blues and greens. + +The deer-cat is holding another flute into the water, creating the vocal audio that's being heard. + +"Well, that looks familiar," Runa'mei remarked. + +"Hello, Chezahcen," Kura'quen chuckled. "Fancy meeting you here!" + +"Your Grandmother sure knew how to evoke her watchful gaze, that's for sure," Amara'da said, approvingly. + +Derek takes in the scene, impressed by its sheer craftwomanship and the detail, choice of shapes and colors, the chimerical appearence of the creature. He takes a KI picture and says loudly enough to be heard over the constant reversed whispering. "Should we flip over the flute, to put the message in the right order ?" + +"We should take it with us, atleast," Kelsei said. + +"I'd also be tempted to compare it to the one we have.." Derek said. "To see if it's just another copy of the same, or a different message, or just check why one is garbled and the other is clear." + +It is another large sized flute like the last one found, however it has all of its tubes intact. It is constructed similarly to the previous ones. + +The only difference here is that it was installed in reverse compared to the first flute. + +"They may work differently in this water," Robert suggested. + +"Or it's not the water," Kura'quen suggested. "We are in a tunnel right now, after all." + +"If it was an accoustics issue.. let's slot our flutes in the hands of this statue." Derek said. "And see if we have a better hearing of the messages." + +Removing the flute is a bit of a chore, the statue will raise its arms fine, but it does not want to let the flute go without a fight. It takes some careful prying to remove it, but aftewards, it is seen that the other flutes do not fit into this statue's grip. The first one is way too small, and the second one is a single tube too wide. The statue seems to have been specifically designed to grasp this one specific flute. + +"Different water temperatures, closed in acoustics reverberating off the cavern walls, maybe, " mused Robert. + +Further, attempting to place the flute back in in reverse does not work either. Athsheba seems to have very intentionally wanted the reversed whispers for some reason. + +"I wonder if we're even supposed to know what it says. Maybe that's not the intent..." Silas offered. But unfortunately, if that wasn't it, then he had no idea what the intent could be. + +"It's art.. sometimes it's just what it looks like." Derek said. + +"Maybe the intent is for us not to try to understand. Or maybe we're missing the forest for the trees somehow." Silas said. + +Runa'mei, Amara'da, and Kura'quen all intone as one, "Concur." + +Kelsei giggles. "Well, I'm glad to see we share that metaphor." + +"Athsheba had to get these firemarbles from somewhere that wasn't the main garden," Calum said. "There's probably emptied sconces that got taken down, or more ahead. If this statue was made to intimidate people who don't know who Chezahcen is... I wonder what's ahead of us?" + +The group carries on down the tunnels, finding the occasional firemarble has been forcibly placed into rather uncanny looking statues carved by Athsheba, hidden as eyes or within mouths. She clearly spent a lot of effort to keep people out of here. + +Eventually, the group arrives at a large stone doorway, sealed shut, with the river carrying on underneath it. The doors carry with them the stylings of D'ni decoration, but something seems to have been painted on them, obscuring what was originally there. + +With the shine of flashlights, a stern, angry woman's face becomes highlighted. Another of Athsheba's paintings, this time of a very disapproving Chezahcen, stylized in some attempt at a large scale mural. + +Writing in childish D'ni handwriting is sprawled across the walls, and it takes Kelsei a few moments of consulting her translation guide to piece together what the various scribbles say. + +"'Yahvo Denies Your Passage.'" She reads. "'The Guardian bids you turn back. Do not feed the' ... The birds?? That can't be right..." After triple checking, Kelsei confirms, "Yes, that last line is "Do not feed the birds, for you will be trapped in their nest." What a threat!" + +Robert starts humming an old Mary Poppins tune about feeding the birds, tuppence a bag. "I had better stop," he said. "That song always bring tears to my eyes." + +"Blast from the past, that," Calum remarked. "Question is, what birds are the warning about?" + +Robert, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat, said, "Spread out and look around, but Don't Touch Anything." + +Sky looks from the door and Chezahcen's disapproving glare, to the river rushing under it. "I wonder what the nest is and why we wouldn't want to get trapped in it. I also wonder if that door goes to the bottom of the river, or if I can swim underneath it." + +Sky peers towards the water under the door, and sees the rough lines of a grating of some kind, blocking access. Only a fish could squeeze through those gaps. + +"Guess that option is off the table," she concedes disappointedly. "Whoever closed this off really didn't want anyone getting through." + +Robert eventually finds a small bird statue nesting atop a podium of D'ni design. The statue is decidedly not Athsheba's design at all, and seems original to the place... + +That said, Athsehba has scrawled the podium with more painted words reading the same "Do Not Feed The Birds." + +Opposite it, on the other side of the river, seems to be an identical statue. The bird statue on this side of the river has a metal beak that seems to open and shut. Operating it open makes it tick once, twice, thrice, and a fourth time before clicking shut. + +"That must be the key to opening the gate....OOOOooorrrrrrr getting locked up in a giant bird's nest," speculates Sky. "Now, what do we need to feed the birds? Clearly not breadcrumbs." + +Robert mutters to himself something about feeding it pebbles. + +"Polly wants a rock-sandwich?" Kelsei teases Robert. + +Sky throws a glare in Robert's direction, then looks back towards the bird statue, trying to size up its beak and anything they may have passed in the tunnels down here. + +Opening the beak does not reveal any signs of it being able to consume anything, though the beak does show signs of scratching on the inside edges. + +"FIREMARBLES!" Robert and Sky say at the same time. + +"Did we see any that would be small enough to fit in there?!" Shrieks Sky, a little too excitedly. + +"A little ways back, I think there was a more monstrous version of a Doghulu with eyemarbles that looked to be about the right size for the beaks," Kura'quen said. + +Robert motions to Sky, "Go for it." + +Sky spins around so quickly, she slips on the wet floor and misses a step as she runs back along the path to where the group passed the Doghulu statue. She takes her small folding knife out her pocket and extends its blade. Standing on tiptoes, she carefully pries the firemarbles from the statue, apologizes for blinding the poor creature, and pockets the marbles and knife. She then practically skips her way back to the group, where she hands Murry one of the glowing orbs to "feed' to the bird. + +Sky and Robert take the marbles to the two statues, and force open the birds mouths. With a joint click, the doors begin to grind and rumble open, even as the two explorers force the marbles into the birds mouths. + +The marbles just barely fit, with scratched in grooves on their surfaces fitting into the beaks just fine. But it's a tight fit, and the mechanisms in the birds jaws seem to fight back against the foreign objects shoved into their mouths. + +Sky stands alert, looking almost ready to duck, should birds come flying out from behind the door. + +As the doors separate from eachother, a wave of chilled air escapes through the widening crack between them. The tunnel trembles and shakes, and nobody is quite sure if the sudden crack of stone yielding is from the door mechanisms or from one of the firemarbles. + +Finally, the door mechanisms finish their opening arc, and hold open as a loud TICK cuts through the air. + +Robert, Jules, Kelsei, and Calum all freeze in recognition of one of the Descent Timer Button Counters. + +"Move through the door, fast!" Calum orders. + +Robert and Jules tried to hold open the doors as everyone ran through the opening. + +Another TICK resounds as the group hurries past the doorways. + +"Move! Move!" Robert yelled. + +A third TICK counts out. + +Sky takes a hurried step and slips on the wet ground again, her knee finding the floor. "Aiiiiiiiiiiieeee!!!" she screams in pain. She gets up quickly and hobbles her way through the door behind the others. + +A fourth TICK resounds. The jaws of the birds clench tight... + +But the doors do not move. Not yet. The group huddled together waiting. + +Runa'mei and Tiernan check on sky as everyone waits, having just barely made it through to the other side of the doors. Robert and Jules move away from the doors. + +A strange silence fills the air. A fifth TICK has not yet resounded. Only the quiet mumbles of Runa'mei as she checks on Sky's knee, and Sky's pained hissing echo in the tunnel. + +"Do... do you think the marbles will hold?" Kura'quen asked, her voice a tiny whisper, barely able to speak out, as if fearing her own voice would trigger the closing of the doors. + +Tenny gets his medical kit out and examines Sky's wound. + +Calum shines his flashlight around, looking on this side of the doorchambers... and mutters a swear as his flashlight finds a shattered, scorched version of one of the bird statues on this side. It's missing its head, and looks like it exploded. + +"Everyone, move," Calum whispered harshly. "Move now. Quickly. Get as far away from the doorway as we can." + +Robert picks up Sky without asking and the group runs. + +A sharp CRACK cuts through the air. + +There is a flash of light, and a burst of warm air rushing upwards from the tunnel behind them. Nobody dares to look directly, keeping their eyes on the light ahead of them. Then, there's the sound of cracking glass-stone, and the sudden grinding noise of the doors pulling shut. + +The pressure wave of an explosion ruffles over the group, cut abruptly short as the doors slam closed like a boobytrapped tomb. That said, the river is upended, and a backwards flowing wave of suddenly very warm water comes crashing down over the group. + +There is sputtering and coughing as the frigid air in the cave suddenly transforms into a miniature rain cloud on the spot. But beyond Sky's knee, nobody was hurt by the firemarbles detonating. + +Everyone stares back at the door for a long, tenuous moment, and then Amara'da remarked, "I think we know why some of those flute pipes were bent now." + +Robert finds a spot to set Sky down, and Tenny gets working to bandage her knee. Robert, Calum, and Runa'mei start examining where they were. + +The doors are sealed shut properly now. With the control mechanisms on both sides of the door destroyed... well... + +Calum inspects the remnants of one of the statues. The pillar base is intact, but very fissured and cracked. "We could probably hotwire the mechanisms if we pulled the statues apart, but we don't have the tools for that right now." + +"Do what you can with them. I'll see if there's another way out," Robert said. He looked over at Sky with concern. Tiernan was now tending to her leg again. After a few long moments, Robert looked at Tenny and whispered, "How's your patient?" + +"If she takes it slow and easy, she should be alright. How does that feel, Sky?" Tiernan asks her. "Do you think you can walk now?" + +Sky grabs onto Tenny's outstretch hand and pulls herself up on her two feet, and winces. She tentatively bends her injured knew back and forth a few times, then takes a couple of seemingly painful and slow steps. "Bah," she say, "'Tis only a flesh wound. I'll live." She laughs, but it is clear she is using the forced laugh to cover up her pain. + +She wobbles, and Robert catches her and supports her as she walks. + +"Thanks," Sky mutters, but leans hard on Robert's arm, secretly thankful for the help. + +"I think this is probably what my grandmother was warning people about," Runa'mei said, picking up a large fragment of one of the bird heads. "Don't feed the birds firemarbles. Could have been a little more clear about that." + +"Gotcha, y'all head on ahead," Calum nodded. "I'll poke at these statues. See what I can do." + +Runa'mei nodded, and she and Robert rejoin the group while Calum tinkers with the statues. + +As the group cautiously hobbles towards the brightened chamber, two voices shouting can be heard- men, 'speaking' english. + +"Damn it, J! That had better be our backup!" + +"Do you WANT August yelling at us for breaking FOUR door triggers?" the other person asked. + +"Oh! Must be the scientists," whispers Sky. +(Cal's Note:Kelsei turned on her KI and started logging again at this point) +Runa'mei and Amara'da take the lead position as a matter of course. + +"Look, I'm just saying, I'd rather it be March, or April, hell, I'll even take September or December!" the likely "February" says. "Anyone but Explorers, or those damned Squiddogs!" + +"How many months, er scientists, are there?" Robert wonders. + +"My world or yours?" Kura'quen asked Robert in turn. + +The group arrives in a large round chamber, looking similar in construction to the large fountain room in Elonin, just without a ceiling, and a massive pond taking up most of the floor. + +"Yeah, but if it's them, they blew up the outside triggers like we did with the inside triggers!" "January" said, his voice coming from high above. + +There is a massive waterfall running through the room's back wall, and along the walls, above the doorframe of the tunnel the group just exited from. It looks like a massive gear tooth, within which multiple flutes of multiple sizes and lengths are attached. There are multiple gaps where flutes are missing. + +"And August is going to skin our hides for wrecking equipment! TWICE!" January continued. + +"Look! I hear footsteps, mask up, just incase..." February said. + +There's a pair of familiar hissing noises- Maintainer Suit Helmets being donned. + +The group peers around the chamber, and then upwards, where several more gear mechanisms of various concepts tower upwards, reaching towards the heavens like fingers... fingers tipped with variously aligned imager coil dishes. + +Standing near the base of one of those gear mechanisms are two maintainer suit clad fellows. + +"Well... your paranoia paid off for once, Feb," muttered January as he spotted the group. "Uh... Shorah?" he offered in greeting towards the group. + +"Shorah, what is this, the calendar council ?" Derek asked. + +"Calendar MEN, thank you very much!" January corrects. + +"J, c'mon..." February sighs + +"Hardly much of an improvement," said Jules. "Be honest, did you take soundings on that? Like, at all?" + +The Scientists seem uneasy about that, and February remarked, quietly, "We, uh... kinda got told that was our name and we're sticking to it. It's dumb, I know." + +"No, it's not dumb!" January said. "It's Eloquent!" + +"Whatever, stop tossing your trash around." Dereks says holding out a sandwich wrapper. + +The two scientists look at each other accusingly. + +"I thought you said you cleaned it up!" February said . + +"No I said you should clean up your own messes!" January replied. + +Derek takes a KI picture of the two scientists from afar. The picture does not come out clearly due to all the mist in the air from the waterfall and the pond. + +Before he starts moving, Derek whispers to the rest of the group. "They've been here for a couple of days, they might be short of food or drinkable water, but we didn't find their linking books at their camps so they are not as desperate as they would at first glance.. except from their hierarchy apparently." + +Robert and Sky finally catch up to the group. Robert. He gently helps her settle on a Boulder to rest. As he starts to leave, she holds onto his arm tight. "Be careful," she says with a stern look on her face. "Now, go get them, Louisiana Murry!" Her face breaks into a grin and she let's go of his arm. + +He tips his hat and straightens up. He comes between Runa'mei and General Armaa'da. "So, what are you gentlemen doing here?" + +The scientists are currently in an argument about cleanup duties, and ignore Robert's question. + +"And for another thing, I think I happen to LIKE Council better!" February said. "Even if we're not a council at all, and you and August seem to get off on bossing us around!" + +"Oh would you LAY OFF! One time! ONE TIME I get to run an expedition and you treat me like the second coming of the Jade Emperor himself because I asked you to clean up your damned food wrappers!" + +"You're no Jade emperor! More a regular old Nero if you ask me!" February snapped back. + +Robert whispered to Jules, "This isn't a council, it's the Mickey Mouse Club." + +Derek whispers while he's still in range, "Sesame fishing street" + +Catchen cracks up. "I keep expecting Statler and Waldorf to chime in with a dig and a DOHHHHH HOH HOH any minute now." + +Derek speaks to the scientists again, "Well yes, we are the rescue, just not the one you thought you'd have. We found you by following the pink holograms, but on the way we also found tracking technology on the fauna, missing or damaged artefacts native to this Age and actual garbage with your name on it. Needless to say, it looks bad, but we still plan on getting you out of here." + +Derek lays on the wall behind him. "Now why don't you tell us what you're trying to do here ? And if you're worried of being stopped in your operations, well we can and we will, we have the resources and numbers of the Guild of Restorers." + +He stated this in a non-threatening way, simply mentioning it as a fact, tactical data to illustrate the bigger picture of the situation. "But things don't have to go that way, the method of your research can be adjusted and you could obtain the same results, maybe we could even help like we intended to when we found your abandoned camp, but you have to help us understand your objective first. If we agree, you thrive. If we don't, it ends here." + +That last part was a bit more threatening. + +The two "Calendar Men" stop their argument with eachother to gaze at Robert and Derek, listening to their questions, and passionate speaches. + +January replies, "We are not authorized to tell you the contents of our mission nor are we authorized to agree to a collaborative endeavor at this time." + +"Authorized?" Amara'da asked. "Who do we speak to then?" + +"We're not authorized to tell you-" + +"August," February interjected. "But good luck talking to him. He's not taking audiences at this time." + +Then, January adds, "Also, a tracker? Really, Feb? You just HAD to put a tracker on the cute fluffy thing, didn't you!" + +"Look, It was cute and friendly, and it didn't set off my allergies!" February protests. + +"That doesn't mean you put a tracking ring on it!" January counters, voice growing outraged. + +"Deercat's out of the bag now, but it looks like you even keep secrets from one another." + +"Look," Kelsei interjected. "Did you use the tracker to send those ghost-holograms or what?" + +"I have no freaking clue what you're talking about, honest," February answered. + +"This machinery isn't that advanced," January remarked. "We're barely able to get it realigned after- Wait, why am I telling you this?" He clammed up immediately. + + +Derek looks at the imager coils on the upper walls. The imager coils on their posts are at various angles and alignments. It seems like they have been thrown out of alignment at some point in the distant past. The scientists appear to have been working to get things back in alignment again, for some reason. + +Runa'mei put her hands on her hips, and gazed up at the men. "So you're claiming innocence in startling the wildlife by pursuing... a realignment of this machinery?" + +"Well you'll have to realign it again, also it must be a bit difficult to call for extra hands without working KIs." Derek said. + +"You're telling me!" February protested. "It was like this when we got here! Then the doors slammed shut on us and we got stuck!" + +"Feb. Shut Up! We wouldn't be stuck in this mess if that damned cat hadn't stolen our books!" January hissed. + +"Your incompetence caused chaos in the forests of this Age." Derek accused. "Now fix it." + +"What do you THINK we've been trying to do!?" February half shouted. + +"What part of 'it was like this when we got here' don't you understand!?" + +January hangs his head and mumbles, "Don't tell them that, Feb! That's classified information!" + +"Team, let's save nature." Derek says while looking at the coils. + +"Hold up," Runa'mei said. She stepped forwards, gazing up at the two men. "Are you sincere, in that you're saying this chamber was set up like this, everything out of alignment and misplaced, when you arrived here?" She asked. "That everything you've been doing here was an attempt at restoring the machinery?" + +"That's-" January started. + +"YES!" February exclaimed in relief. "My God, YES! We saw the damned holograms spooking the forest, and when I realized they were related to those damned statues and their infernal hissing-!" + +"Feb! Shut! UP!" + +"No! I will NOT shut up, you are NOT the boss of me and I am atleast FIVE years older than you!" + +"August will-!" + +"DON'T!" February glared, and stormed away from him, carefully walking along the walkways towards another imager. As he did such, the machinery suddenly starts to spin to life of its own accord. The grinding lock of a waterwheel beneath the falls coming to life heralds the rotational ring around the room starting to spin. + +As January moves to intercept February, the machine he's standing next to lowers down dramatically like a clockwork music box, rotating the angle of its imager down towards the hazy fog of the pond. + +A purple flicker of light forms at the center of the room, resolving into the image of a D'ni guild hall, emblemized with the iconography of the Guild of Writers. + +"It's not a pond is it." Derek realized. "It's a huge imager." + +A D'ni man stands at the central podium, and begins speaking. "Shorah!" He throws his arms wide, as an audience echos a Shorah. He begins speaking, in a way not to dissimilar to a man at an award ceremony. +He motions occasionally towards an elderly gentleman sitting nearby, who smiles happily. + +"Oh my god," Kelsei whispered. "It's the retirement ceremony." + +Derek tries to check if the man looks anything like Kadish. + +The man at the podium speaks a few moments longer, before speaking the words "Guildmaster Tae-" and the whole system seems to vanish out of existence as a gap in the flute track is encountered within the waterfall. + +"Calum, Do we have D'ni data storage to download this scene from the mainframe ?" Derek asks to Calum, only to remember that Calum is still down the River tunnel, working on the trigger podiums. Derek blinks. "Right." + +When the event resolves itself, the elderly man is now standing at the podium, talking. + +"And here we go again!" February said. "Old man whatshisface speaking about how he's glad to accept this Damned Age as a retirement gift for the ten thousandth time." + +"You can't control it, can you?" Kelsei asked. + +"No, we can't," Janurary said. "And since we've been stuck here, we've had nothing else to do by try to fix the damned thing so it doesn't keep projecting this damned ceremony across the entire age." + +"What happened to tell no secrets, huh, J?" February asked, toyingly. + +"They've already seen the damned thing, and if talking will keep them from damaging the priceless historical artifact then fine! I'll take whatever punishment August doles out." + +The hologram loop continues, with another imager construct grinding into a stop as it tries to lower, and clicking ominously before rising suddenly, and sending its projection out into the forest outside. + +The images within the room stop as the first imager shuts off. + +"We're not here to damage anything, if anything we came to find and rescue you." Derek said. + +"We don't need rescuing," January said. "Not unless you found our Book Bag that little rascal of a horned devil cat took from us." + +"Mister Fluffy Horns is NOT a devil cat, J!" February protested. + +"Ok, I don't speak cute." Derek sighed. "We have our own books and until our own exotechnician works out a way to open the gate again, they're literally the only way out." + +"Well, good thing you kept them close and the little furbeast didn't steal them too," January said. "But no, we're not going anywhere." + +"Not until this imager loop cycle finishes, atleast," February said, motioning at the whirling ring of flutes. "The ring kinda blocks the ladders down." + +"We're. Not. Going. Anywhere." January countered with a snap- a literal three timed snap in a Z shape. "August wants us to survey this age. And I'll do just that once you all leave us alone to do our job. Some accidental littering aside, I haven't done anything harmful. And I'm doing just fine up here." His stomach growls in protest, aching for food. + +"Did you just Z snapped at me ?"Derek asked. + +"So what if I did?" January said, clearly in the midst of a hunger induced anger fit. + +Derek takes a KI picture. The picture is even more full of foggy interference than the last one. Flicks of pink light dart across the KI image. + +"Oh yes, take pictures of me with a camera that doesn't work in this room, have fun with that," January snarks. + +Derek just grinned, "I never had a scientist Z snap at me, this made my day." + +The scientist seems utterly baffled by that remark, and goes to sit down, back turned to the group. + +"Can I have a middle finger too, please?" Derek asked. "I'll toss you some chips." + +"You'll have to excuse J," February said. "He's very... ah.... abrasive when he's hungry." + +Catchen proffers a snickers from her back pocket "Here, give this to him and see if it helps." + +An expert toss up to February is caught with a slight fumble. + +"Thanks." He waits for the imager cycle to raise the pillar that separated him and January, then slips over and tries to offer it to the other man. January takes it without a word and raises his helmet just enough to expose his mouth. + +As January eats, February tries talking to him in hushed tones. Trying to get him to acquiesce towards at least working together and not being overly aggressive to the explorers. + +While that happens, however, Calum comes up the path into the main chamber, and reports, "I've got good news and bad news. Who wants what first?" + +"Good news, please," Kelsei said, turning towards him. "We've hit something of a road block here." + +"Alright, well, good news is I'm pretty sure I hotwired the doors correctly because they have opened and closed successfully," Calum said. "The bad news is it's a bit of a moot point as the ceiling of the cave on the other side of the door seems to have collapsed onto the tunnel and blocked the path out. No clue how bad it is, but it'll require equipment we definitely don't have here to clear out." + +"So... we're trapped here, save for our Reltos," Kelsei summarized. + +"Basically," Calum looked around, observing the scene of the chamber as another imager triggered, and the phantom images of ghostly kids came running across the room, running up to the old D'ni man at the stage, and hugging his legs. "Oh, it's a giant imager. That's quaint." + +"Well, this is our last chance to create a link here." Derek said. "Unless we're ever able to clear that rubble, using machines that are just as likely to cause more damage in a cave that collapsed despite being reinforced by nara." + +"Right, time to write a book then," Calum said, moving to find a dry place and began unpacking his backpack. + +The scientists take notice as Calum takes out a blank Linking Book, a pen full of ink, and begins writing. + +"...You can forge a link back here?" January asked. + +"Well, yes, that's the idea." Kelsei said. "We write a book, and can find our way back here at a later time." + +The scientists looked at each other. + +"Do you have two books or just the one?" February asked. + +"Just the one," Calum said. + +January tensed. + +"J, don't," February said. + +Derek anticipated this and is completely ready to tackle on the ground and muscle January if he attempts to stop Calum, in fact he is positioning himself preventively, without unveiling too much of his intentions to January by being in a full stance but gives a knowing look to the others. + +"Let's allow Calum to work in peace," Robert tells the scientists. He grabs his whip and signals Runa'mei and Armara'da to be be ready. He said "Let me introduce you two gentlemen to General Armara'da and Runa'mei, Huntress of Chezahcen, of Rei'schu. Runa'mei is a granddaughter of the woman who built these impressive statues. They are not at all happy with the destruction you apparently have caused." He paused to let that sink in. Then, he glared at the the two scientists. "So how about some answers," he growled. + +Amara'da smiles menacingly as the scientists take stock of the situation. + +"Rei'schu?" February asks, sounding like he'd just stepped in a particularly muddy puddle. "J, we're supposed to avoid-" + +"I know!" January hisses. + +"Don't forget about me," Kura'quen smiles. "Runa's my cousin." + +"She is indeed," Runa'mei nodded. + +January mumbles several swears not fit for print like a foul mouthed sailor, culminating in, "This is getting out of hand. Now there's four of them." + +Yes, four, that wasn't a miscount. + +Jules smiled at the clear discomfort the scientists were exhibiting at the prospect of being on the wrong side of the women of Rei'schu. Hang on a tick... did he- + +"Did he say four?" Jules muttered in a sotto-like manner to Kura'quen. + +"He did, didn't he," Kura'quen hummed. "Excuse me, sirs, but do you by chance happen to know an annoying thief of a man with a propensity for pranks?" + +"Like you didn't already know after December gave away one of those crystals as an experiment!" February remarked, sounding slightly off put by the whole thing. + +Derek whispers and instructs to anyone looking passive, "Once Calum is done, take the book and link away to safety, we need to get it in a secure location as soon as possible. Once you've done so, link back here using the new book." + +The imager ring around the room continues to rotate, a middle aged dni man is now speaking an anecdote about the retiring guild master. + +This seems to be near the end of the cycle. Another few minutes- perhaps less, if the flute gaps are anything to go by. + +"Oh yes. Please excuse my forgetfulness. This is Kura'quen, another grandaughter of Athsheba." Robert said. + +Robert turned back to the group. "Derek has a great plan," he whispered. "Tenny, please, take Sky back with you and take care of her. That is if she decides to go. She can be stubborn." + +The group forms a sort of shielding crowd around Calum, to which he only notices enough to shift subtle where he's sitting to get some better lighting on the book as he writes. + +Utterly unobservant to the world in the moment. + +Sky looks angrily at Robert and the others. "Trying to get rid of me, huh?" she growls. "I am perfectly fine." She gestures to the clean white bandage that the doctor has applies to her wound. "In fact, I would think that I would be an asset now. Those two - " she points towards the scientists, "still think I am too injured to walk. I might hobble a bit, but if they make any sudden moves towards Calum, I can jump them. They'll never suspect a thing." She winks, then winces audibly to continue her ruse. + +Robert mocks surprise at Sky's accusation. Then he returns her wink and suppresses a smile. He turns back and tells Jules, "You really don't want to mess with her." + +The Scientists, fortunately, do not hear the prior exchange, keeping their eyes on the Rei'schuians, mumbling to themselves, trying to figure out what to do. + +Finally, January says, "Look, we can't tell you much of anything but we'll conceed this site's ownership to you and in... honor of that, we'll tell you what we can?" + +Kelsei snorted, "That'd be a start." + +"All right," Robert said. "Let's hear it." + +"Why are you here?" Kelsei asked. + +"We were ordered to survey the age and see if there was any abandoned D'ni tech around," February said, much to January's grumbling. "Obviously we found some." + +"Why?" Kelsei asked. + +"Why?" January asked in turn. "But for the noblest reasons! First hand edification! Science! Analysis!" He paused. "Uh, to see what would happen? In the spirit of Discovery!" He put an arm into the air. The clockwork mechanism behind him happened, in that moment, to twist around and send a large gear tooth into said arm, knocking January off of the ledge he was standing on and hurtling down into the pond below. + +KASPLASH. + +When he emerged a moment later, sputtering, the man said, "...Thank the D'ni for Maintainer Suits." + +"And naturally, upon finding such technology, you would of course notify the Restoration and work with them in order to share it with the wider community," said Jules. He was already anticipating where this narrative was going to lead. + +"Classified-" January began to state, even while floating in the water. + +"Nope." Feburary interjected. "August wouldn't allow it. He says our backers wouldn't fund us if we released anything we found." + +The imager ring finally shuttered its cycle, and a stone lock snapped into place. February tiredly sighed and made for a ladder to climb down to the ground level. + +"And these backers, presumably they themselves are also motivated by similarly higher callings?" Jules asked. + +"That's classified," January said after swimming to the shore opposite the explorers and spitting out some water. "Even to us." + +"Don't know who they are or why they're funding us, but hey, it pays the lab expenses," February shrugged. "And... any other miscellany." + +"Miscellany like chainsaws and shovels and jackhammers?" Kelsei guessed. + +"Well, yes! Fortunately we weren't tasked with acquiring any more wood samples." February said as he knelt to check on January. "Oh dear, did that thing dislocate your arm?" + +"Feels like it. Atleast it didn't rip it out of the socket," January mumbled. + +"Excuse me, I'm a Doctor, I can-" Tenny made to go help, hearing that, but January just shook his head when he heard it. + +"I have no doubt", said Jules, tossing Edward and the others a knowing look. "I am sure they expect some kind of return on their investment. The kind you'd get from, say, reverse engineering certain technological discoveries and securing the exclusive rights that come with it? You will forgive me, gentlemen, if this all sounds rather familiar to certain of our number." + +"Oh, of course it's all about reverse engineering these things," February said. "Chemical analysis, technical study... But we're not the first ones to do this. Surely you remember all those Video Game Companies that took an interest in the previous restorations? Only reason there aren't more of them about these days is because there's only so much humanity can take from D'ni's technology at this stage. We're simply not advanced enough yet." + +"That, and the scares from the previous restoration," January mumbled, favoring his dislocated arm. "Henderson? The Engberg girl? That whole karfin Bahro War." + +"Alexander got burned and the rest of the industry realized it was a lost cause if this place couldn't go a year without major trouble," February said. "I'm pretty sure the Bahro are why the Militaries haven't made serious headway down here." + +"The companies you refer to released their stories in order to raise the profile of this civilization's past to the wider public. Are you motivated by such ideals?" said Jules, getting increasingly agitated. + +"Or are you simply here to extract what physical worth you can find and damn the rest?" + +"I'm here to get paid," January said flatly. "The others have their own motives for joining our group, but me? I have student debt to pay off, and nobody else was hiring." + +"Personally, I've always just been in it for the novelty of exploration," February said, shrugging. "Though, I'll admit the pay is nice, too." + +Robert looked at Diranda. "What if we were to offer a better opportunity at Argos Labratories?" He asked. " Would that interest you instead of doing this?" + +"Unfortunately for your ideals, we signed non-compete contracts," January said. "Even if we left, I'm out of work in this field for a solid two years before I can get hired anywhere." + +"Same," February shook his head. "It's a nice thought though." + +"Are you sure your employer can be trusted?" Robert suspected who their employer was. + +"August is a tough man, but fair," January said. "Atleast, when we're not damaging the discoveries. But I think we can side-step that and pin the blame on whoever sabbotaged the equipment here." + +"As for our backers..." February sighed. "Look, you're worried about that crazed Rei'schuian man, right?" + +Jules and Robert looked at each, as if thinking Finally, we're getting somewhere. + +"That man is a lunatic when he puts his mind to it, but I'm fairly certain that's all just an act," January said. "Still, he gets us supplies and access to materials we'd likely be waiting years for to get otherwise." + +"Matierials like the crystals from our world?" Amara'da asked. + +"Yes, well, we know he procured them through less than legitimate means," January said, "but even so, the man said they were stolen from him first!" + +"And you believed him?" Kura'quen asked. + +"Over our heads, Mister Raspberry worked with August and Mister Tea for that deal," February replied. + +There's a pregnant moment of silence. + +Then, incredulously, Runa'mei asked, "He's calling himself Mister Raspberry?" + +"No, that's just our nickname for him," January winced. "Don't. Don't tell anyone we're calling him that." + +"Wait... Mister Tea?"Jules asked, startled. + +"All we have is an initial, so... Tea?" February shrugged. + +"Tea, Earl Grey, Hot!" January joked. + +"Raspberry, tea... we've got a whole godsamn continental breakfast on our hands," muttered Edward. + +February starts to chuckle at that, and it's quite clear that they're making a joke at the unknown man's expense. + +"I happen to like Earl Grey tea," Robert scowled at them. + +"It's nothing against the tea itself!" February tried to appease Robert. "It's just... Mister Tea is this older fellow. Drinks coffee out of a tea-cup like he's some elegant sort of fellow." + +"He's like Picard if Picard was a Martial Arts Master," January said. + +Calum frowned as he wrote, and muttered, "Can you keep it down a bit? I almost screwed up that word." + +Robert looks again at Jules in surprise. + +This caused Jules's eyebrow to twitch violently for a fraction of a second before settling once more, visibly shaken and wary of further incident. + +Kelsei and Runa'mei looked at Robert and Jules as well, similar looks on their faces. + +"Speaking as a coffee lover, this Mister Tea fellow sounds like a real villainous sort," Kelsei muttered. "You do not mix Tea Cups with Coffee! I'm sorry! That's not what a Tea Cup is for! It's for Tea! Not coffee!" + +"Oh, crap!," was all Robert could say. + +The two scientists laugh at Kelsei's outburst. + +"You see why we call him Mister Tea, right?" February asked. + +"It's ok, Kelsei," comforted Jules. "I heard what they said too. We'll get through this together." + +"Speak for yourself, Chief. Neither Earth nor Rei'schu has a law to fit such a crime," said Ed. "None that I'm aware of, at least." + +"None that I'm aware of either," Runa'mei said in agreement with Ed. + +"None Yet," Amara'da chuckled. + +"I don't... get why it's a big issue, but sure, why not, let's legislate someone's preferred drink cup, I guess," Kura'quen shook her head in disbelief at the General's remark. + +"There are ways in which certain things are done," asserted Jules, the current situation briefly forgotten. "So precious few absolute truths remain in this universe, we must hold on to those that do and NEVER let go." + +"To do otherwise would mean the end of All Things," nodded Ed solomnly. + +Kura'quen blinked. "Well. There is something to be said about tradition, I suppose." + +"I'd like to shove a whole can of Mountain Dew in Mister Tea's eyes, what does that make me?" Derek grouched. + +"Reasonable," February remarked. "He can be quite insufferable at times. Like he's used to being the biggest man in the room." + +"Not so anymore," Janurary chuckled. "Don't know what totem pole he got knocked down but boy did he get knocked down it." + +"We're used to tomb raiders, for tech, money or both, it's bad no matter the context." Derek said. "Especially if the act wrecks chaos, steals from populations and spread lies, which looks like it did, judging from everything we know. Next time you see August, tell him he better pack up because he's not going to continue his endeavour for long." + +Derek opens a bag of chips. + +"I'm sure he'll be quaking in his boots," January grumbled. "But it won't be me who tells him that. That's sure to get my pay docked." + +"I'll do it, don't worry," February said. + +Dereks turns to the rest of the group and casually says. "I used to be a professor, but people realized way too quickly what sort I was, so I decided to put the title away, though I did not quit." + +Diranda has been taking over writing in Tenny's journal, so she has been very quiet, observing everything and everyone, writing as she does. She finally decides to tap Robert on the arm and murmurs, "I don't think these people would be open to Argon. But they sound like they're from another lab we're familiar with." + +Tenny frowns, glancing at Diranda. + +"Oh, I see," Robert said. + +Diranda makes a note in her KI: Remember to talk to Corey about Cobalt. + +After what seems like an Eterninty, Calum finishes writing the Linking Book, and clutches it to his chest with his left hand as he stands, right hand hovering loosely at his side, flexing to work out a small writing cramp. "Alright, folks. Book is written. I'd ask who wants to volunteer to take the first trip out and back, but frankly I think it's best if I do that just incase it turns out I screwed this up. BRB!" And before anyone can react, his right hand has quickly pinky-finger thumbed open the Relto Book at his waist and touched the Panel with the ring finger in the same motion, linking out without having even looked at the book itself, leaving the room in silence. + +"Did he really just do that?" Kelsei asked, staring at the spot Calum vanished from as Amara'da just laughs and the two scientists shift uncomfortably. + +"Well, there goes our only chance of getting back here," January griped. "August won't be happy." + +"Eh, August can suck an egg," February said in turn. + +"Why does he always go off taking chances like that?" Robert asked Kelsei. + +"I think Calum just wanted a chance to show off his Ninja Linking Skills," Kelsei grouched, crossing her arms over her chest. + +A moment later, Calum re-appears, and lets out an exhale of relief. "Well, that didn't go wonky! Successful Link Written!" + +"So then!" Calum says, putting on his best Tenth/Fourteenth Doctor grin, and looks towards the scientists. "Let's do that note trade you mentioned earlier. But first, how's your arm... January wasn't it? Mind if Tenny takes a look at it?" + +"If he's willing, I suppose," January hesitated. "Can't hurt worse than it is." + +"Sooo," Calum turned to February, "This giant imager, huh? What a piece of work!" + +"Yes," February said, a little unnerved. + +"Where'd you find all those little flute bits from?" Calum asked. + +"...The what now?" February asked. + +"The little wooden box full of metal tubes?" Calum offered. + +"The... that's what that was? We couldn't get the box open. Never found the other half of the key," February said. + +"I wonder," Runa'mei mused. "Where did you find the box then?" + +"Buried under a rock near our camp site," February said. "We stumbled on it when we were building our fire, and found the key still inside the lock when we did." + +Calum looked to Runa'mei and she gave him a ruefull look as they both remarked "Athsheba" in near unison. + +"Our Grandmother really set up this whole endeavor, didn't she?" Kura'quen lamented. + +"When one lives alone, their brain goes to strange places in search of entertainment," Amara'da said. + +"The question I've got is why, though," Calum said, putting his hands in his pants pockets. "Why go to all this trouble to scare people off of this place? What's so special about it that she'd sabotage it all to fake a ghost scare?" + +"History." Derek looks at the Rei'schu of the group. "You girls have D'ni ancestry, right? I think you'd better investigate deeper on who that person in the recorded scene is. We had a ceremony for the opening of the D'ni memorial recently, I feel like this place has a similar level of reverence. But this time it's not as public, it's not as obvious.. feels more intimate, personal." + +Derek walks back to the members of the expedition but keeps his attention on the Rei'schu. + +"I don't know your ancestor much and I wouldn't put it past your grandmother to go to great lengths just for art and create something like this just because it's original and beautiful. But art is meant to be shown and shared, this isn't; so this isn't just art, it's an hommage." + +"Yes, of course," Robert agreed. He considered something for a moment while looking at the recording. "You have to wonder why this particular event." Then an idea hit him like a pebble on the back of his head. + +"Runa'mei, this ceremony seems important to Athsheba, like a memory from her childhood," Robert said. "Could the gentleman speaking be someone she knew? Perhaps a relative such as her father when she was a little girl? That might explain why she chose this recording and went to great lengths to protect it. This person," he said, pointing to the D'Ni man speaking, "may be you great grandfather." + +Derek refrains from saying "isn't that what I just implied ?" and simply smiles. "Then who is the child hugging his legs ?" + +Robert smiled at the sight of the little girl. + + "Athsheba herself, hugging her father," Robert mused. + +"I don't know if a kid would have the awareness about being recorded in an imager scene, but why not. I also wonder why the sound of the flutes are in reverse, maybe as a representation of her desire to go back in time ?" Derek said. "The whole place and its assets now shout "memory" to me" + +"Yes," Robert agreed. "You're right. We're standing in a Memorial." He looked sternly at the two scientists. "And as such, you two need to stop what you're doing to it. Now!" + +Derek makes a kind of side-nod, closing his eyes and smirking, the kind that sort of mean "Yup.. that's right. August is going to be mad that a memorial to Athsheba's father isn't going to be dismanteled into bits for his profit but hey.. that's life. We have the only linking book to this place now anyway so.. I think it's over, boys." + +Robert was glancing at Runa'mei and Kura'quen for a reaction. This latest realization would affect them both, seeing the damage that was caused. He knew he could not defend the scientists from the wrath of the Rei'schu women. + +He knew only too well how angry people can get when their temples, tombs, or other holy places are disturbed by outsiders. + +"hmm." Kura'quen thought for a long moment. "I don't know if I've seen anyone who looks familiar. Maybe in one of the removed recordings? We should see if the repaired flutes could shed some light on the matter." + +"I don't believe this is tied to our family, personally." Runa'mei said. "This looks like the retirement ceremony for the original guild master whom the age was gifted to, right, Kelsei?" + +"Seems like it," Kelsei agreed. + +"I don't believe our family had Ties to the writers guild," Runa'mei continued. "Grandmother was an artist at heart. Her statues and paintings... I've read the journal she left behind. Her parents taught her the basics of those skills. And given how long rei'schu had been in the family's stewardship, why would they give Naybree away? Didn't it pass between owners?" + +"Repeatedly," Calum confirmed. + +"I'm not sure that theory tracks, sorry," Runa'mei said. "Fixing the gaps in the imager record may be the way to go though." + +January and February just sort of look on in confusion at the whole exchange, and January mutters beneath his helmet, "I mean, we're not exactly doing anything but standing here right now?" + +Robert just scratched the back of his head. Sky, meanwhile, has been puzzling over the imager, the gaps in the recordings, and the box of metal tubes. She looks at Kelsei. + +"Think we can use them to 'fill in the blanks'?" Sky motions to the box. "It might take some trial and error and probably a lot of patience, but I bet we can gather a bit more information if we see more of the story of this place." + +Kelsei nods. "Might as well. General Amara'da, if you'd be so kind as to carry the flutes around for us?" + +"Heh, might as well, this has been the most fun I've had all day," Amara'da grinned. + +"And we can leave the bent ones for last, since they likely won't work anyways." Sky mentions as she limps over to the ladder to climb up to the imager. + +"Kelsei, do you think you could translate the whole speech, if you ladies are successful?" Robert asked. + +"Me? Fully?" Kelsei asked, and then snorted. "Maybe with a transcript? But hearing it aloud? I'll probably fumble a few words. I can't promise anything fully accurate." + +"Maybe Jules could help?" Robert offered. + +As Sky inspects the Imager Ring, it becomes clear that something else has been done to the ring's collection of flutes. A few seem to have been shuffled around and seem to not quite fit into their new slots. The flutes in the group's possession don't quite fit into the empty spots either. + +The only actual gap that seems intentional looks to be the one currently under the waterfall, where no holders for the flutes are present at all. The "zero point" as it were. + +"Well, shoot," grumbles Sky. "Looks like this might be more work than I thought." + +Going around in a circle, the flutes seem to be correctly mounted directly after that gap, but then there's a gap that the small flute could fit into. + +"Can I give lend you a hand?" Robert asked Sky. + +The following flutes seem somewhat out of order, followed by a largeish gap for one of the larger flutes. What carries on could be correct, and don't seem to have been disturbed, followed by another gap for one of the larger flutes. The rest of the track seems normal after that. + +"General, could you pass me the smallest flute in the box? Best to start somewhere logical, so let's try them by size first. Maybe the imager works like an organ does, and we need to place them from smallest to biggest." + +Amara'da passes Sky the small flute. It attaches in sort of wobbily, but seems to be held without issue. + +"Hmm...seems like it fits here. These next holes look bigger, so let's try the larger sizes." Sky looks over to General Amara'da, who passes her two more flutes. Sky juggles the unwieldy things under one arm as she braces herself against the wall with the other, slowly making her way around the ledge. + +The next gap does not easily accept the smallest of the two large flutes. Beyond that, there is a gap on either side when placed, regardless of its orientation. + +"Careful." Robert called up. + +Sky grunts as she waves off Robert's concern, trying to shove the flute into the gap. "This one is not right." She takes a step back and sticks her tongue out in frustration. + +Placing the larger of the two flutes, with its missing metal tubes, fits in snugly without issue, and only in the 'reverse' direction. However, in that orientation, it's impossible to slot in any of the random assortment of metal tubes and keep them in there. They just fall out. + +It seems with some pondering that Athsheba wanted this particular section to remain glitchy, for some reason. + +"I just thought of something, " Sky turns to Kelsei. "See how these last ones worked, but in reverse? I wonder if maybe some of these other ones have been turned around to confuse us. Like playing a record backwards, it won't make sense. The rest of the tubes don't seem to work, so maybe we can try flipping a few around and see if we can insert more of them that way?" Sky listens carefully, hoping to catch when the imager clicks on and begins its cycle again. + +"Suppose so," Kelsei said. "I'll try seeing if the first flute can flip while you place the last one." + +While Sky places the last flute, which can, indeed, fit in either reversed or right side up, Kelsei flips the first flute over, and finds that it locks in snugly in its inverted position. + +"It's locked in on this one!" Kelsei reported. + +"Oh! Let's try some of the others and see if the same thing happens! I bet we find more that lock in like that." Sky exclaims, suddenly excited at seeing a positive result. + +"Whichever direction you're going to do on that last flute, please do it quickly!" February advises. "You've got barely a minute before it starts again!" + +"And keep your arms and legs close!" January said, wincing as he clutched at his dislocated arm. + +Sky clumsily attempts to shove the biggest pipe into a gap, and finds that it, too, locks into position. Suddenly aware of the imminent start of the imager's cycle, she crouches down to the floor and waits... + +The waterfall wheel unlocks with its loud noise, and the Imager starts to cycle. + +"DEREK!" Screams Sky, suddenly thinking of something. "START RECORDING THE IMAGER!" + +Derek pushes the button on the camera to record. + +With the camera rolling on the scene, the guild hall materializes around the room as the first imager lowers into position. + +The D'ni man from before begins his introductory speech, and Feburary remarks, "Here we go again." + +Kura'quen meanders the room, taking stock of members of the audience where she can, incase she sees a familiar face. + +"SHHHH!" Sky shushes the scientist, so they can hear the audio. + +Kelsei quietly scribbles down a rough transcript of what she's hearing into her notebook. + +The D'ni man speaking motions towards the elderly fellow again, and right as he says the name- the imager suddenly jumps to a different track, reaching the first flute. + +A different fellow from either the first man or the elderly Guild Master appears on stage, speaking in reverse. He holds a pair of Books in hand, a smaller Linking Book, and a larger Descriptive. + +The linking book has a spine decoration on the cover matching the Eder Naybree books. + +Behind him, a fourth man is walking in reverse, carrying a framed painting. + +Robert watches in awe of the projection. Here we are watching the actual past of the D'ni civilization he thought to himself. + +As the speaker reaches the start of his speach, with a reversed "Shorah", the imager cycles back to its normal flow of dialogue, the elderly Guild Master is now speaking. + +Sky takes a mental note of the reverse section and its location in the sequence - It must be from the very beginning or the very end of the 'retirement ceremony', given the presence of the actually linking books that were presented. + +The guild master continues speaking, but this time, seemingly due to the affects of the replaced inverted flute, one of the other imagers clicks on and starts playing, showing more information than was previously seen. + +A catty-corner alternate projection of the room is suddenly overlaid onto the scene, as the imager in question does not seem to be functioning properly given its upset internals. The device tries to lower, only to raise up again after hitting resistance. + +It stays sort of frozen, with a second version of the room glitching over everything else, rotated on its Z and Y axises to place the second version of the room at an intentionally odd angle + +Atleast, that's how it is until the first imager finally ends its sequence as the glitched flute is reached in its cycle. + +As the normal room disappears, and the glitched flute enters the fray, most of the glitched room suddenly vanishes, leaving only the elderly guild master and the man carrying the painting. + +The man with the painting takes it from the guild master, a reversal of his actual gifting of it, and walks it away, sort of drifting at an odd angle across the room before he vanishes, carrying the painting with it, beneath a large rock in one part of the large chamber. + +Then, the sequence returns to normal, and the man and the painting are back with the Guild Master, as the room snaps back into focus at the correct angle as a third imager comes to life. + +The man releases the painting into the Guild Master's hands, and steps back, stating something that sounds like "I give you the greatest gift a Writer could ever wish for, that Jakooth could never dream of" to those who understand D'ni. + +Sky's eyes follow the movement of the man with the painting over to the rock, and you can almost see the lightbulb appear above her head as she comes to a sudden realization. + +The sequence skips again, and children are hugging the old man's legs, the painting and books are nowhere to be seen. As it continues to play, the sequence jumps, again, and one again seems displayed at an awkward angle and the children now run up to the man, but they come up to hug the man from off stage, which is now down the tunnel that everyone came into the chamber with. + +The whole imager sequence seems to twitch and blur as the mechanisms try to switch from one imager to another. + +The third flute has been hit now. A clacking noise from an imager that had refused to operate previously emerges, and the whole sequence of visuals stutter and freeze- the Guild Master is repeating the word D'ni word for "Linking Book" over and over again. + +The gear mechanism for the waterfall carries onwards, before finally it resumes its natural conclusion with a sudden jolt. + +The final imager is powered on normally, and in position. The elderly man is standing there at the podium, holding the Naybree Descriptive Book and smiling brightly while the man with the painting holds it behind him. The audience errupts into applause, and then the whole sequence fades off as the ring reaches the end of its track and the lock re-engages. + +The imager devices seem to make a sudden grinding noise, and all of them make a massive jerk and jolt as they return to different starting positions than they should have had. + +All of them focus on the center of the pond, and project an isolated visual of the Guild Master, with D'ni text hovering over his head, stating his years of service to the Writer's Guild... or it would, if the imager responsible for that text didn't suddenly spark and flare as it burnt out. + +All that remains for several precious moments is the elderly Guild Master, standing there, smiling at nothing, floating in the center of the pond, before fading out like the ghost he was as everything powers down. + +All is quiet. All is still. + +"Holy toasted banana bread, Batman!" shrieks Sky. "Did anyone else see those clues???Clearly, Athsheba was leaving messages for someone to find." Her eyes are still fixated on the opposite side of the room. + +"Agreed on that," Runa'mei said, walking over towards that one boulder. "Do you think she burried something here? Like the removed flute bits?" + +"I would bet my lunch that there is something under that rock. And something very important to solving this riddle. I am also thinking there might have been a hidden linking book down that tunnel we came in through, given the way the imager repeated that part to focus on the words. I am still trying to figure out what 'the greatest gift a Writer could ever wish for" is. Ink and books is too obvious. Maybe a legacy? A family to inherit that legacy? Recognition in the form of your ages being preserved for eternity? Oh! Maybe having your book in a great library would be that 'greatest gift'?" + +Sky is so excited at the revealing of new information, she is talking a mile a minute. + +Kelsei smiled. "Well, I think we won't find anything out by just standing here. Quickly now, let's get this rock moved aside!" + +It takes a very concerted group effort to shove the rock off of its resting position. The rock, it seems, is a lot larger than it originally appeared. Another one of Athsheba's statues, except partially burried. + +The top seems to be a normal boulder, but as it is rolled onto its side and away from what was there, almost like a jumpscare, the visual of a massive bird skull glares forth from the bottom side of the rock. + +"By Chezahcen, grandmother!" Kura'quen gasps, clutching at her chest. + +Sky remembers the clues from the tunnel earlier: "Don't feed the birds!" She calls out as she makes her way back down the ladder. + +She laughs at the way the big bird head is glaring back at their group for waking his "slumber' under the rock. + +"She's certainly gone all out on trying to ward away people every step of the way," Amara'da mused. "Must be some prize under here." + +With Calum and the General's effort of brushing the dirt away, the group finds beneath the bird statue is a large wooden box. The top of which is locked with a small lock, and a half-key sitting inside of it. + +January and February peer over everyones shoulders at a safe distance away, seemingly fearing another boobytrap. + +"I have the same feeling, like that imager flutes acts like the tumblers or the locking mechanism of a chest" Derek said. "Given that it moves so many parts, it might just have some sort of secret compartment added by Athsheba, carved, crafted within or simply an information depicted somewhere, alocation of where to dig in order to find something." + +"Well, what's in the box, Jack?" Calum muttered to himself as he borrowed the first key from whoever still held it, and slid it into the lock of the box. It fit in perfectly alongside the key already in there. + +With a twist of both keys at once, the lock releases, and a puff of dirt briefly pushes into the air as the box lid releases. + +"If that's true, I'm honestly shocked that she'd be such a good analog hacker." Derek said. + +"What is a giant clockwork mechanism but a moving statue?" Runa'mei supposed. + +"Kinetic art, with function." Derek replied, knowingly. + +Calum and the General pull the lid aside, revealing that the contents have been wrapped in what appears to be a bright pink colored rubberized sort of tarp with a D'ni number "13" emblazoned on the center of it. + +"Well that's familiar," Kelsei remarked. + +"The statue tarps from the Cathedral Island," Calum echoed. + +"The what now?" Kura'quen asked. + +"The island home Grandmother lived on before the Fall," Runa'mei answered. "It used to be a Cathedral for Chezahcen." + +"No, I got that part, how is that a statue tarp?" Kura'quen asked. + +"There are a bunch of old statues along the main path from the harbor up to the main house entrance," Kelsei said. "Almost all of them were covered with protective tarps like this one." + +"I guess we know when in Athsheba's timeline she set this all up," Calum supposed. "After she ventured back home to get the Rei'schu book." + +"Atleast for this final part," Kelsei agreed. "Let's unwrap it and see what it is." + +Amarada, Calum, and Runa'mei heft the wrapped object out of the box, and carry it over to a portion of dry, if slightly frosty looking floor. + +Derek lights up the unwrapping with his flashlight. + +Carefully, gingerly, the trio unwraps the tarp from its precious cargo, revealing... + +"A... a painting?" Kelsei asked, startled. "All of this for a painting?" + +It is, indeed, a painting. A very strange one. The visuals on it depict a familiar scene: a Pod Window, through which a haze of glowing orange murk can be seen, and within that murk? Shadowy shapes like fish, swimming in the dark. + +Calum inspected the frame, and reported, "It's not the same style as the ones from the Cathedral. I don't think this is from Atshehba's family." + +"Uh.. Tetsonot ?" Derek asked. "Have the exploration pods been deployed to other Ages ?" + +"Technically Todelmer is its own age from the other Pod Age," Calum said. "So yes." + +"Hey Derek, can you rewind the recording and see if we are looking at the same painting as was shown on the imager?" Sky asks. + +"Sure thing." Derek opens the memory card of the camera and starts fast-forwarding to look for the painting. Finding the appropriate spot, yes, it seems the two paintings are indeed the same. + +"Okay, so that wasn't a secret, then. But then what?" Sky thinks for a minute. "What if..."she muses, "What if this is not just a painting, but a linking painting? Remember we saw evidence that not just the Writers could create links to other places, but so could artist using specific types of paint created in Pirahnay, similar to the Ink? What if this is one of those?" + +"...Do you think the artist who painted that was that guy who had Pirahnay?" Kelsei asked, glancing to Calum. + +"I Mean..." He stared at the painting for a long moment. "According to the rumors you needed a special glove to make the link work." + +"So there would be no way to test out if is, then. Was that the only thing in the tarp?" asked Sky. + +A quick double check reveals that yes, it was just the painting. An examination of the box reveals nothing else inside of it, either. + +Dereks checks on the reverse side of the painting. The metal of the outer frame stretches across the back with no obvious signs of seamage. There is a small indent slot for it to be attached to a wall, however. + +Derek looks at the painting and is trying to see if the fishes are moving like they would in a linking panel. The painting does not seem to obviously move. But then again, considering that Linking Paintings were, in theory, even more static than the basic linking panels, that is not surprising. + +Derek turns off his flashlight, frowning. + +"Let's say for a moment this is a Linking Painting, what context clues could we gather from this?" Calum asked. "There's water, and fish, and a window, so this is underwater somewhere. I wouldn't want to link there without a full set of scuba gear." + +"Orange water, too," Kelsei said. "The Cavern Lake?" + +"A pod in the cavern ? I mean they have to build them somewhere I guess." Derek asked. + +"And do we know if there are actually fish in that Lake? Calum, you've done a ton of surveying in the Cavern, have you ever seen evidence of fish?" + +"Fossils, considering the age of the painting." Derek said. + +"Yes," Calum said. "There are some very large tredfish in there." + +"But who knows if those are the right kind of fish or not," Kelsei said. "For all we know this isn't even what the place links to, if it is a Linking Painting." + +"What do you mean?" Runa'mei asked. + +"I'm thinking about the Cathedral's paintings." Kelsei said. "They're clearly familiar places and ages, but subtly wrong. For all we know this could link us to Dereno, and the artist covered the panel with a fake image to trick people." + +Sky tentatively pokes at the painting, to see if she suddenly feels the magic catch and finds herself linked to the mysterious pod. + +Sky vanishes with the typical linking sound. + +"So much for needing gloves!" Calum snapped. "Nobody follow just yet!" He links through after Sky. + +After a tense moment, Calum returns with Sky at the designated spot Calum had written the Naybree return link to, both looking slightly more drenched than they were a few moments earlier. + +"Good news bad news!" Calum said. "Good news is it goes where it says it goes!" + +"What's the bad news?" Kelsei asked. + +"It's definitely under water and leaking," Calum said. "Pumps active, but it's a Tetsonot situation." + +Sky laughs. "Well, at least we tested that theory!" She squeezes water out of her hair and watches as it forms a puddle on the floor. + +The water puddle glows a faint orange. + +"That's an adventure for another day." Derek's stomach rumbled again. "I'm hungry." + +Sky points to the puddle. "Looks like the same water as in the cavern. Thinks that's where we went?" + +"Yeah, yeah, and yeah," Calum griped. "Place had the same smell as the overflow station to it." + +"If it's the cavern, then the link won't work once you're there." Derek said. "In theory." + +"As long as we don't take the painting to Earth, it should work anywhere," Calum said. "I'd imagine that's how they got away with it at the ceremony." + +"Here, have this painting that takes you at the bottom of the lake in case you ever want to drown without having to go all the way to the beach." Derek said. + +"So, what was that place, besides flooding?" Kelsei asked. + +"Not a pod," Calum answered. "It was like a very large neighborhood classroom with a window into the lake. I didn't see much else than that while we were there." + +"A secret writers school ?" Derek asked. + +"That, or a secret lab," Calum muttered. + +Derek looks at Calum with an eye that sorta means "There's a difference ?" + +"Personal use versus Teaching use," Calum clarified. + +Derek nods in understanding, a bit dramatically. + +Sky begins mumbling, thinking aloud. "What if that is the 'greatest gift a writer could ever wish for' actually IS a legacy of his writing, in the form of teaching it to future generations? But in this case, since it seems to have been kept secret, maybe it was teaching people not 'approved' by the D'ni to be Writers - like women?" + +"Possibly," Kelsei said. "Either that, or our Dear Guild Master was part of the Illicit Age Writers Club." + +"I'd suggest to link there, deploy a marker and get back, so we can locate that place without getting wet." Derek said. + +"Don't fancy a swim today, Derek?" Sky jokes. + +"Not happening today," Calum shook his head. "That link drops you right into a fountain of cold lake water." + +Derek pours out a cup of coffee from his thermos. "Interesting." He hands over the cup. + +"Regardless, I think we-" Calum turned to look at the scientists, only to see they've gone. "...Well, dang." + +"Wait.. how did they leave, I thought they were out of books ?" Derek asked. + +"...Did we ever clarify with them if their 'book bag' contained their Reltos?" Calum asked. + +"Maybe they aren't even Relto users." Derek said. + +"I didn't hear a linking noise from them," Kelsei said. + +Runa'mei said, "I'll go check the tunnel." + +Runa'mei headed down the entry tunnel at a hurry, and Amara'da followed her without hesitation. + +"Anyways, we should wrap the painting up and take it somewhere secure," Calum decided. "Word's going to get out about this, I just know it. If not from us, then those Scientists." + +"If they're lattice hackers and turned invisible, we need to be careful." Derek said, sure of himself. "Yes I fully believe this myth, in this instance." + +"Invisible scientists is the least of my worries," Calum said. "If that room is part of a larger facility? Who knows what we're going to find in there." + +"I'm going to try to find their tracks in the imager room." Derek said. + +"Have fun with that," Calum said, then hesitantly sips at the offered coffee, and flinches slightly at the temperature. + +"Maybe some food wrappers again.." Derek muttered. + +Amara'da came running back into the chamber to report, "They swam out through the river. The explosion dislodged the metal grating." + +"Which means we can also get out that way and check out the tunnel for clues. I'm already wet." Sky says as she looks down at her dripping clothes. + +Derek heads back in, hearing Sky. "What now ?" + +"Runa'mei's gone after them?" Kelsei asked. + +Amara'da nodded. "No stopping her when she's on a mission." + +"General, you and I will take the Painting back to my Relto," Calum said. "As for the rest of us... I think we should probably call it for the day. I don't know about you but I think I've had enough adventure for this little hike. But that's up to you all if you want to get back out there." + +"I guess that's as good as an outpost we can have in the current circumstances." Derek asked, "So.. mission accomplished ? I'll pay the first round in the New Guild of Messengers Pub once we get back. Does anybody have a Nexus book ?" + +Robert takes off his jacket and puts it around Sky. "Here," he said, "before you catch cold." He mutters to himself At least, I'm good for something around here. + +"I'll bring some camp gear from relto on the return trip," Calum said as Amara'da hefted up the rewrapped painting. "After you, General?" He offers his slightly soaked Relto book. + +"Sure sure," She reaches a hand out and links through, taking the painting with her. + +Calum links out a moment later. + +Sky accepts the jacket, but takes a sniff of the collar and scrunches up her nose + +"But.. my cup.." Derek said, reaching a hand out timidly towards the place Calum had been a moment before. + +Kura'quen chuckled. "I'm sure he'll bring it back. Probably." + +By the time Calum got back with a nexus podium and book in tow, Tiernan had to leave for a medical emergency on the surface, and Diranda followed him. The others, seeing this as a good excuse to break the adventure for the day, call it there and decide to head home and rest. + +the group says their goodbyes and heads home. + +...Save for Kelsei, who stays behind in the cave to wait for Runa'mei to return. Which she eventually does, an hour or so later, soggy, wet, and not having any signs of victory on the latest trek into the wilderness. + +"Any luck?" Kelsei asked. + +"I think I've let them go," Runa'mei said. "I'm pretty sure they stayed in the river and dove into the lake proper. Hard to track them from there, so I came back." + +"Well, let's head home. Everyone else has." Kelsei said. + +"Well, I'm certainly aching for warmer waters, atleast. A shower would be nice," Runa'mei said. + +"That it would!" Kelsei said. + +And so they linked arms, and linked home with a single use of Kelsei's Relto, leaving the imager cave as it was for the foreseeable future.]]> + THIS BOOK BELONGS TO CALUM TRAVELER. @@ -287,6 +3260,118 @@ Checking on my missed emails, it sounds like the museum door is ready to roll, t Meh. Too much work for this one today. Back to lying down and trying to sleep this off, maybe. +9/25/23 +I has no words. I am Tired. + +10/28/23 +Met with Detective Harry and talked about the ongoing investigations. He hasn't had much luck with his end of things either, though he thinks the symbol on the journal in Naybree is probably a bottle/flask of some kind. BatPrad showed up and we talked a bit about various things. Think I'll try to get Kelsei and Runa'mei to help be do a survey of Pod 12's area again, just in case. + +I'm probably jumping at shadows. + +11/9/23 +Naybree Beach has been opened, clifftops have been un-barricaded, debris in the channel has been cleared. Runa'mei surveyed the fissure. There's life down there. Some kind of nest. I'm not going to venture down there myself just yet. So far gotten all positive feedback for the Naybree project. Maybe now things will settle down and I can focus on some other projects. Like Pod 12. My attention feels like it should be drawn back to there for the time being. Probably the biggest potential concern at the moment. + +Why am I getting asked about Relto Pages, though? I don't have any control over such things. If Yeesha-or-Whomever is placing things, why do folks assume I would have any idea about it? If they're there, they're there, placed by whatever invisible hand places them. I don't control the pages. I don't even know who *IS* placing them. It's not my concern. +--- + +Hrmf. Looks like something got buggered up on Wayne's laptop imager. It's not letting me upload anything. Hopefully nobody put a virus onto the thing. + +Museum Door's working. Checking Library. Doors seem to be working fine. + +11/11/23 +Met up with Carl Palmner in Naybree last night. Had a nice catchup chat. But you know, it doesn't really sink in how *big* the place is until you lose track of someone and try to figure out where they are. I still think of the beach as a 'small' area, but the total explorable area in Naybree is quite large, when you factor in that fissure. + +Mafasa, Ahno, and TeaL were there, too, along with a few others. I even saw my dad wandering around, even, but I was too busy with the others to confirm it was him until today when he came over to visit. + +Had a talk in Chiso, after, with Cody, Sky, and Tiki. Probably stayed up far too late, but oh well. + +My Cousin is doing better, though his poor dog is on his last legs, it sounds like. Poor pup. I was reminded of Granddad's dog. And now I'm thinking about everything that surrounded his death, now. + +My Aunt says she's going to be coming and staying for longer periods starting next week. That will be great relief off my shoulders. I think I've had about enough grief and loneliness bottled up in my chest to the point I'm almost about to burst. + +In other news, a new TCT Podcast has been put up! There's an interview with Rand and Robyn Miller in it, celebrating Myst's 30th anniversary. +--- + +Welp, Kelsei found out about that remark about Runa'mei in the news recap section. I just got a call and an earfull from her around the same time I'd heard the bit. Runa'mei seemed to take it in good humor, saying, "As they should, I can be very dangerous in the proper circumstance." + +But Kelsei? Well, if I wasn't certain before, I am now. She's definitely crushing hard. + +11/12/23 +Did some work in Pod 12 today by installing a Maintainer Marker from my Gahreesen into a rotating device I've built into the floor of the pod. If those scientist lumberjacks are anywhere in this age, let's see them navigate around with KI coordinates that are changing every single forsaken second of this device's existence. Range seems quite limited to the immediate areas around the pod, though. Volcanic activity seems to be hampering the signal range somewhat. Not getting any coordinates in any of the other pods in my Instance of the age. + +Anyways, I'll figure out a control mechanism to make it start and stop manually at a later date. For now, enjoy having some constantly changing KI coordinates. + +Of course, the major success story is that by replicating the data in Naybree's Maintainer Marker into a 'blank slate' marker, I was essentially able to jumpstart the device's functionality. I'll pass this experiment along to Hazado and we'll see if we can spread this to *other* Maintainer Markers in the other ages. I don't know if we'll have much success with those, considering the DRC never managed to get them active, but if we can pull it off... Oh, that would be lovely. + +11/22/23 +Finally got into Varia again today for a survey. Professor M' was being very cagey about letting me into the rest of the island facility. Couldn't get into the Bank, couldn't go into the Foyer. Just the Merchant House and the little hub harbor area. I am not impressed, frankly. + +Kelsei and Jules are right about this guy, he seems to like having his underpaid not quite yet qualified interns doing the work everywhere. Whoever was shoring up the foundations of the lake touching buildings managed to stop them sinking totally, but I wouldn't trust this work with my life. The ground felt very shakey as I walked on it. This place is going to require a lot of TLC and proper infrastructure to make it ready for basic testing, nevermind a full release. + +I don't want to even *think* about what's going on inside the main island if I'm not being allowed inside. It is nonexistent to me as far as I am concerned at the moment, just to keep my brain from being overwhelmed with anxiety. + +Patrick will not be happy with this report. + +11/23/23 +It's Turkey Day. Writing my report to Patrick. + +11/29/23 +Well, that was an interesting Town Hall to read up on after the fact. Runa'mei and Kelsei have been ignoring my texts all evening. Gee, I wonder what they're up to after that showing of a day? + +12/05/23 +Aunt's gone for the week. It's finally sinking in that I'm on my own... and I've got another nearly full journal. + +12/11/23 +Gonna see about getting the final roster for the group together for Naybree mountain exploration. Guess we'll see. + +12/16/23 +Well. That was an eventful day. I'm going to have my hands busy writing this report. + +12/18/23 +Family visits made it hard to compile anything yesterday, and Babbel's Classical Music stream today was just too relaxing. I'll work on the reports now, but... ye gods. What kind of mess have we stumbled into with Naybree? + +I think I'm going to need a whole separate journal for this report. + +1/1/24 +I hate how calamitous life tends to be these days. Mom got covid, was hospitalized, and is now recovering. Grandma was not doing so well, but she's doing better. Got a lot of Surface Stuff taken care of... Aunt is coming to visit again in a few days, hopefully staying two weeks to help me not be so stressed. + +I hate this yo-yoing rollerocaster ride. Happy New Year, I guess. + +1/6/24 +Had unpleasant nightmares wake me up twice last night. You ever have a giant robot clown try to tear your jaw off with a single finger? Yeah, can't recommend it. + +I also ended up missing the AGM due to family stuff and other surface matters. I feel so exhausted. The constant back and forth of rest and stress and rest and stress is... it's unbearable. Aunt's probably leaving on the 10th, and then all of this weight and pressure is back on me and I'm... + +I'm the only one who can do it, unfortunately. Why must the universe conspire to keep me so busy and exhausted? I've burned through way too many model kits the last few weeks. This is getting to be a problem. I need a break. A real one. But... I'm not going to get that until the end of this month, it seems like. + +1/9/24 +Yep. Aunt leaves tomorrow. I'm so sick and tired of this all. My back hurts, everything's sore. I think I slept fairly well last night but idk. Doesn't feel like it's stuck tight in any meaningful way. + +This book's almost full, but I can't bring myself to find a new one. What's there to write about? How miserable my life is right now? I don't want to write it- don't have the energy- and I doubt anyone would ever want to read it either. Maybe I'll pick up a new book when I finally have something worth writing about. + +1/10/24 +Patrick's floating ideas about restoring Kirel's classroom and bookroom doors. Maybe some other touchups to the Eggroom. Hrmf. Can't find myself able to disagree, though... didn't the book room NOT have doors originally? + +1/12/24 +Apparently I was wrong about that. Thanks, Ehren, for a timely period specific photo. Kirel's bookroom DID have doors. + +1/14/24 +After a thorough re-examination of everything, (and I have to re-edit that log more too ugh), I'm fairly certain some of us misappropriated blame onto the scientists for things that were out of their control. They policed their campsite fairly well after they packed it up. Couldn't find any long-lasting traces of their presence there when I visitied today. + +The imager mechanisms seem to be on a continuous cycle activating and deactivating on a timer. I can't find a power on or power off button, so it seems this imager device was deliberately set in motion long ago. Our scientist acquaintances seemed to be on the up and up about trying to reset its functionality to not project its phantom images wild and everywhere across the age that it could reach. I'm willing to cut them some slack regarding those shenanigans as it seems they were stumbling into something Athsheba rigged up as much as we were. + +We'd probably have seen the same wildlife disruption and phantom images regardless of if the scientists were there or not, which leads me to believe the mass migrations we were seeing was not a result of the scientists' presence or actions- nor the imager projections, given how long they've probably been running for- but rather due to something else. + +The data the sensors are sending back is highly concerning. I think there's another potential sinkhole we've not seen that's caused the mass migrations. I don't have the time or energy to work on tracing this down right now. Probably best to keep the general explorer population away from this place. + +As long as these 'Calendar Men' scientists keep to themselves I don't see any reason to be aggressive towards them, beyond having stolen materials that are Rei'schu's problem more than ours. We haven't seen those artifacts get handed out beyond that initial event, and beyond the accident in Naybree, these guys seem to have been keeping to themselves. But that's Runa'mei's remit. Frankly, I'm more concerned over that troublemaker Haru'sara than these scientists. + +And honestly, Runa'mei's more distracted these days making googly eyes at Kelsei. That's not to say I'm not happy for them- seriously, good for them! I am happy!- but ever since that last trip it seems like they've been spending more time with eachother talking about eachother than anything else. Don't even get me started on whatever was going on between Sky and Robert on that last trip. Frankly I think this is just more proof that I am flat out *not* built to handle romance... and I don't have the emotional energy to handle that nascent identity crisis right now. + +I'm a little disappointed at how aggressive folks were when it came to confronting the scientists, though. I feel like we absolutely should have handled that a lot better. I get people are tense after everything with Logan Marcus and his 'True Seeds' but I feel like they haven't proven themselves to be that much of a threat worthy of complaint yet. + +1/15/24 +First pass on Explorer's Emporium today. I stumbled on link in and lost my glasses. Great. This is what I get for linking while hungry. Gonna need to go get my other pair and come back to find it, I think. After I eat. ]]> @@ -402,7 +3487,46 @@ I don't know how to comfort him. 10/12/23 -Runa'mei is back, although she's been asleep on the couch most days nursing off a lengthy bout of exhaustion. Fortunately she doesn't seem to have caught the cold Calum has. Why must the people I know and care about constantly push themselves to their limits?]]> +Runa'mei is back, although she's been asleep on the couch most days nursing off a lengthy bout of exhaustion. Fortunately she doesn't seem to have caught the cold Calum has. Why must the people I know and care about constantly push themselves to their limits? + +11/6/23 +Have had a bad day. Runa'mei's company is making it better. Also, a reminder to all people to please respect existing events and their organizers. Time and place for everything, people. + +11/30/23 +Well. That was. A night. Yes. Very much that was a night. Huh. + +12/4/23 +Another lovely cooking session with Sky. Alas, work continues to crop up and keep me busy. I could use a vacation. When does my December Holidays kick in again? + +12/11/23 +Wednesday, is the answer to that last question. This Wednesday. Work has been annoying, but Runa'mei's presence at home has been a huge relief of those annoyances. I can't wait to just... vibe, for a few days. Bask in it all. I don't think I'd change anything about my life at all right now. + +12/16/23 +That was. An eventful hike. Goodness. What a hike. Runa'mei's made her way back now, to no avail. Those slippery scientists got away. Oh well. We'll deal in the year to come. + +12/20/23 +Brought Runa'mei with me to meet my parents. Everything seems to be going well, atleast. + +12/23/23 +My father and Runa'mei have gotten entrhalled in an armwrestling competition. How is this my life? + +12/25/23 +Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. + +Things have been quite calm here. A shame my work life is about to start up again right after the new year. If only my vacation could last for an eternity... + +Alas, bills need paying and such. + +I've received a few new journals for Christmas, but I don't feel like starting a new one just yet when I have such choice to choose when starting one. I've still got a few more pages left in this book given how short some of the recent entries have been. + +1/1/24 +Happy New Year. Well, happy for me. From what I've gathered Calum has not been having a good time of things. Poor boy looked exhausted when we caught up this morning. + +1/7/24 +Had a great time at RFD today. Runa'mei made dinner. It was nice. + +1/14/24 +Returned to Naybree today with Runa'mei. It was a great day.]]> @@ -4294,6 +7418,8 @@ _Kelsei A. Taylor]]> MUSIC: "Sara'Aou (Shores of Naybree)" by Maurus +Thanks to Carl Palmner for his custom beach towel texutre! + Thanks to ametist for the help with the beach shore waves and water tips and tricks! 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