Oh. Hmm. That's new.

I had a rotten day at work, so I went down to the Cavern tonight to get the heck away from all of the mental baggage I brought home with me.

I found some interesting stuff.

First, the Hall of the Kings is open, and most of the books are there. This brings joy to my heart - I really love the way that room looks when all the books are in place on their pedastles and everything is lit up. There's a sense of history.

Second, Victor Laxman was about, and accordingly, the Cavern was PACKED. This isn't too surprising; the word is that Cate Alexander was riding him pretty hard about the Great Zero time estimate mistake, so when he started Bevin-hopping, I figured that's what he was doing. Espechially when I found that the Great Zero book was in the Neighborhood - yay!

I used it first, then I registered something strange when I went back to drop off my first set of markers. (I want KI-caching in the cavern, ok, so we can hide tupperware the way the Bahro hide stones. I'm not obsessed, really I'm not.)

But back to the point - the book has got Yeesha's mandala on it. NOT the DRC stamp.

That either means one of two things. Either Yeesha put it there because we're going to need the Great Zero for something - is she going to reactivate the Tokotah Alley link that some of us explorers used when the Cavern was officially closed? - or Laxman is working with Yeesha. I'm rather less inclined to believe the latter. I will wait to see what (if anything) Ms. Alexander has to say about it. I wonder if the book will dissappear. (That won't stop those of us who already have been gifted with a copy for our shelves.)

In the course of my running around to collect markers, I noted that the rope bridge is indeed gone - you can get to everywhere except the Library now - the lower library stairs are blocked by rubble and barricades, but from the bridge, it looks like the building itself is intact. (Good. Libraries should stay intact.)

And I couldn't find any markers in the neighborhood at all. That was very strange. There used to be quite a number of them there.

Since I was already down in the cavern anyway, and I ran into an explorer at the Great Zero who mentioned there was something new there, I linked over to Gahreesen to collect the pillar I hadn't gotten yet... There were more of those strange grumbly animal noises I noted when I was exploring with Jishin the other day. I didn't see what was causing it, but I'm guessing the Gahreesen wildlife is becoming somewhat more agitated by the flow of explorers trickling through its home. I certainly would be. But I'm equally certain to be glad to have my Relto book, if any of those critters try to eat me!

But I went over to the Fortress itself, and...

...so pretty. But what is it FOR? I'm pretty sure the mark isn't a kanji, but for all the world the mark behind the ...shrine? For lack of a better word, I'll use Dragonia's - is not 中 but that's EXACTLY what it looks like.

And you have to chose to step into a faerie ring to get it. I hope this thing's benevolent, whenever we get done constructing it. But I think that's enough risky behaviour for one evening. I have to go to work tomorrow, after all. But my Relto looks lived in now - and it's nice to have my islands back too.