Printehr's Press

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

-Henry David Thoreau

My first Pod Age, a Star Fissure that leads to nowhere, finally getting to see what’s behind the Eder Delin door, a personal tour of Ae’gura… today sure was a jam-packed day.

I hit my elbow this morning, HARD, against a rock in Relto when I was getting up. I can still feel the bruise, and its sore whenever I bend my arm. Oh well, something had to balance out all this good karma I’ve been getting lately. I popped a couple of ibuprofen from the bottle I brought with me (I get headaches semi-frequently) and downed it with some water, finishing up all the water I’d brought with me. I’m not worried, I just need to find the waterfall Relto page again before too long, since there’s no source of water on my Relto anymore. If worse comes to worse I know the other Explorers will have water on hand, but I don’t like to mooch.

Ok, that’s a lie, I love to mooch, but not if its something I can take care of relatively easy like getting my own water supply.

Also, I’m beginning to realize how much I miss indoor plumbing. I’ve yet to encounter an example of a D’ni toilet, so this morning’s business was taken care of on my Relto, survivalist-style. I’ll spare you the grisly details; suffice it to say I should have brought toilet paper.

Hungry and in search of something to do, I linked to the Nexus, then to the Ferry Terminal. My plan was to explore Ae’gura a bit, wander around and reacquaint myself with the island before heading to the Watcher’s Pub to socialize. As it turns out, I never actually made it to the Pub, and I didn’t get to explore Ae’gura until later on in the day. I wandered into the Museum, looking for the library, and found my first Relto page since I returned to the Cavern.

From there I took a look at the linking books on the pedestals next to them. I recognized them–not from the last time I was here, but from descriptions of other Explorers I’d read over the internet. These were the Pod Ages; well, Age, anyway. Each book lead to a different environment, an observation pod that allowed you to witness this Age’s natural, untouched ecosystem. I only visited the first one, Negilahn.

The pod was kind of spartan. There were ladders leading up and down to different viewing portholes. Each one had a button in front of it, but they didn’t seem to be functioning when I arrived; nothing happened when I pushed them. Down below I saw some kind of surge breaker and a couple of button pedestals. I couldn’t figure out how to get the system operating, but I figure I’ll head back soon, maybe with a couple friends who’ve been there before.

While I was there, I also found another Relto page after climbing a ladder to one of the uppermost portholes.

After my trip to Negilahn, I received a KI message from Chakra, who I’d met the night before. She’d gathered up another group and they were trying for the Eder Delin door puzzle again, since like me she hadn’t made it to the door in time either. I met her there, and she introduced me to the group. Mereena and DeAnn seemed to have to most experience, and I recognized TOOO from the forums there as well. There was a whole bunch of us, and we spent most of our time screwing up and cracking jokes (TOOO’s were the worst). Eventually we did manage to get the combination right, and I was able to run through with the others.

The other side was a Bahro Cave. Touching a symbol on the wall made half of a stone object over the Star Fissure dissolve, and falling after it I linked back to my Relto, where I got a message from Zuri. We met up in Ae’gura by the tent and he told me he’d completed the Journey and wanted to visit the Cleft. We linked to his Relto, and its clear he’d collected a bunch of Relto pages since I’d seen the place last, only the night before. We jumped through the Star Fissure together, but as I fell into the abyss, I just kept falling. This wasn’t like the last time I’d passed through my own Relto’s Fissure to the Cleft… I kept falling, and there was no sign of arriving at a particular destination anytime soon. With a sigh (I’m still not exactly sure how it’s possible to breath in the space between Ages) I linked back to Relto and gave Zuri the bad news. We figured it was because he jumped through and Yeesha’s rules would keep me from following if I didn’t go first. We arranged to meet back in Ae’gura, but I had to postpone our second attempt: Chakra wanted us to help the others in the group who hadn’t managed to make it through the door in Delin, and I felt like a bit of a heel for not checking in after I made it myself.

In Delin my role was quickly filled by another Explorer (he hadn’t made it through the door yet, and I happened to be standing at the cloth nearest the door, so I let him have it), so I mostly just stuck around to socialize and provide moral support. Despite some problems with the door (it refused to register some cloths, so we all had to link back to the D’ni Art Museum Neighborhood and then back), the group got it and I entered the door a second time. There was nothing new, and I linked back to Relto to catch up with Zuri.

Our second attempt to have me arrive at the Cleft was just as futile, and we concluded that I would be unable to pass through the Fissure until I’d retaken the Journey and unlocked all the pillars of my own Relto. Zuri let me know via KI message that he planned on staying on the Surface for a while, so we said our goodbyes and I headed back to Ae’gura, looking for something else to do.

I mentioned that I was looking for the Library and one guy, Dimitrios, volunteered to show me where it was. He went with me the entire way, giving me a guided tour as we went! It was very kind of him; I’ve been to Ae’gura before, but not for a couple of years, and I didn’t remember where everything was. Plus the DRC’s uncovered a few more areas in the intervening years, and I was grateful for the refresher. Dimitrios took me past the Kadish Gallery (which I’ll have to stop by sometime soon) and through the Concert Hall Foyer, reminding me to add Nexus links to my KI as we went. He stopped me on a rope bridge and pointed out all the sites, and showed me the way to the Hall of Kings and the Library. When we got there he had me add a Nexus link for the library to my KI, then bid me adieu; it’s amazing to have such nice people everywhere you turn your head! I’ve truly never encountered any community like that in the Cavern.

In the Library, I found two linking books to Ages I hadn’t visited before. One was on display next to a DRC notebook, which called it Jalak–the gaming Age I’d read about online.

I linked through, but there wasn’t much for me to do there solo, so I linked back to the Library (via my Relto and the Nexus) and examined the second linking book. There was no DRC notebook to identify it for me, just a cryptic journal filled with hastily translated D’ni numerals. The linking panel showed desert. This must be Minkata, then. I linked through and wandered around the bizarre structure and what appeared to be tree stumps in the desert. It was scorching hot, and I didn’t have anything I was looking to accomplish, so I linked back pretty quickly.

This evening I plan on beginning Yeesha’s Journey. I want more books on my bookshelves and to be able to pass through the Star Fissure to the Cleft again, but it’s not just that. Yeesha’s Journey is a near-spiritual experience, a pilgrimage, if you will.  Though I’ve undertaken the Journey before, more than once, it seems only fitting that I begin this new chapter of my life with the events that lead me to the Cavern in the first place.

It’s been so long, though… I don’t even remember where to begin. I think I will return to Ae’gura, and ask if there’s anyone there interested in undertaking it with me. Perhaps some of the friends I’ve made these past two days will be willing to help, for at least part of the way.

In the meantime, I’m beat. I’ve been up since early this morning, and I didn’t exactly get a good night’s sleep the night before, as amped as I was having just experienced my first night in the Cavern (Relto’s lumpy ground didn’t help, either). I think I’ll take a nap this afternoon before I carry on. Until tonight, then.