Four days back!

It amazes me how fast things are coming back to me. Things I've hardly thought of for two years -- like the location of Yeesha's Relto pages, or how to play 'Heek -- simply bubble up in my mind when I need them. I was even able to run through all of Kadish Tolesa from memory with my partner* the day before yesterday! Everything from KI commands to Age solutions, it's all still in there, and merely by being back in that ancient Cavern it's coming back.

And the word is spreading faster than anyone anticipated -- last night the Uru Obsession 'hood had nearly 100 members rejoined, by today they may already be over 100. I saw a lot of familiar 'hood names on the Nexus too, and even more familiar people in my wanderings. I suppose it just goes to show that even without a central gathering place like the Cavern, the Explorers keep in touch. We had scattered to the winds, back to our homes around the world, but we all had our places to check for news. And once it broke, we went to our sources and shared what we had learned, and others there spread it to their sources, until before you know it 3,000 people were scrambling to find their Relto books and Link back down. (Or fly to New Mexico to climb back down, if they couldn't find their books.)

In many ways, it doesn't seem quite real yet. It's like a dream, it feels fragile, like I might wake up one day and find it all gone again. It scares me, that we might lose it again, but at the same time I've got hope. It's like the Restoration refuses to give up, and D'ni refuses to sleep deeply. This is what, the third or fifth go at a Restoration, depending on how you count it? Even if the DRC never takes over again (and really, I hope they don't, I just want them to join us as Explorers), we know how to occupy ourselves, and in time we may be able to restart a proper Restoration ourselves too. Years ago on this blog I posted about a dream I had of the future. The dream has been deferred, but it is not yet dead. The ending will never be written, as long as we continue to heed the Call.

Now I must go catch up on some Surface reading so I can head back underground. See you in the Cavern!

*I met my partner, Amun Aten, 3 years ago in the last incarnation of the Restoration. And we're still together now! He's better than anything the DRC or Yeesha could have done for me.

Returning. Always returning.

I made it back into the Cavern last night, and everything is just as I last saw it two years ago. It's really incredible to just be there again; there's a sense of "coming home" as if after a long trip. I spent most of the evening getting my bookshelf locks working again, though the locks on my Cleft and Myst books are particularly stubborn. Hopefully I can get them open soon, but for now I'm happy to have access to the rest of my Ages again. They, too, are as I left them, for the most part.

After I gave up on the last two locks, I found my way back to the Uru Obsession neighborhood, and ran into several old friends there. Words can't express what it's like to be there again, with those I once saw so often. Though our lives on the surface have changed over the last two years, it's a lot like we never left this place when we're underground. vid was kind enough to let me use his Relto to join the 'hood, so I'm one of the Obsessed again. But then, I suppose I always was obsessed with this place.

I'm trying very hard not to get attached again. I've seen the Restoration shut down twice now, with all of us kicked out of the Cavern, and I don't want to see it happen again. But when I'm down there, breathing that slightly musty air and talking to old friends, it's hard not to get attached. The Call is as strong as it ever was.

I don't know if I'll make it back down tonight, but the weekend is coming, and wild horses couldn't keep me from Linking down again.

Activity in the Cavern

*taps the screen* Is this thing still on? Hello? *blows off some dust*

It's been almost three years since my last post on this record of my journeys. Needless to say, the death of Wheely and Rose in the Cavern was a kind of ending for me, and though the journeys continued, I was less involved with the others, and more focused on my own explorations. Then two years ago, the DRC once again lost funding and the Cavern was closed. I had seen this before, I had known the sadness of an empty city once filled with life. So this time, I left. I knew others would look after D'ni. I still felt the Call, but I shelved my Relto book and took off my KI. After all, there are other worlds than these, and I had other journeys to follow.

Though I have found my way and made my home in a different world, I have always listened for news from the Explorers, following their progress from a distance. Many, like me, moved to new worlds, some carrying the old Explorer traditions with them, and have become respected groups in those worlds. Some have remained in the Cavern and Ages, doing what maintainance and repair work they can. Some have learned the ancient Art and now make new Ages. Others continue translation and documentation of artifacts. It goes on and on, continuing the work they did before. But yesterday, word reached me of activity on the old DRC forums -- Victor Laxman, Marie Sutherland, and Ikuro Kodama had all posted!

The forums suddenly were abuzz with people who hadn't even been to the site in months -- I had to dust off my old account too! We all knew something was up, but didn't really know what. After all, it's not every day the former DRC members show up after two years! And yes, I stress former, because they too have moved on. (Well, Dr. Watson moved on years ago, really...) They are now Explorers, like the rest of us, who feel the Call to return to a place older than mankind itself, a true Cavern of wonders.

Today, the Call can once again be answered. The Cavern is again open to all, free of charge. Time to make a new home.

I honestly never thought I'd get the chance to return. I'd left my Relto closed down, in hope I'd one day go back to visit, though after a few months I never did. My KI got put away somewhere safe, but of course now I can't remember where it is. My Relto book was still safely shelved, though I had to find it under a few other books, and it's still just fine if a bit dusty. However, when I went back today, I found all my book locks are rusted shut. I'm hoping to go back tomorrow and get them working again, but surface life always interferes. We shall see. But soon enough, I too will be down there again, with those I've not seen in two years. The Community returns. The Explorers return. Life returns.

"The deep city breathes. Uru again."