M'nine Exploration Journals

Chief Explorer: Elpis of Friends of the Fissure

August 1, 2008 (tentative date for day one)

Kelsey has agreed to assist me in exploring M'nine. After spending a few weeks studying the descriptive books, five in all, kept by the Kalamank family, we linked to the Age yesterday.

As I suspected, M'nine has been deserted for some time. Perhaps since before the Great Fall. Kelsey has returned to LaCasa to gather supplies and to bring through a few volunteers willing to work excavation. There is a small city worthy of an archeological exploration, plus some smaller structures in the countryside.

For now, I will attempt to present a written guide to the layout surrounding the link in site.

The book links the traveler directly inside a bell tower on the ground level. The tower's floor is circular, perhaps a 6 foot radius. Directly in front hang several signs with worn out messages that I will take some time to translate soon. I can make out 'Shorah' at the top of one, so that is promising.

To the right is a door to the outside and to the left is a narrow staircase leading up into the tower. Once I have time to don my climbing gear, I will explore the upper levels. The wood and stone that forms the staircase is crumbling in places. We must use caution and make sure all explorers are properly fitted with safety equipment.

On the ground floor, there are a few chairs and what appears to have been a writing table at one time. I cannot find any other documents than the signs on the wall, and the furniture is not usable from the deterioration over time. I made sure to take many photos of them for cataloguing, for I am afraid they will fall apart on us when we clean this place up.

On stepping outside the tower door, a gentle breeze hits me. I smell evidence that there is an ocean nearby. The terrain is hilly, so I cannot see the water, but I know that smell well from my travels with my parents.

The surrounding hillsides are green, with a 2 foot grass swaying in the wind. Trees are sparse and clumped in groups of two or three, but they are massive and their leaves appear tipped with gold from here. Curious stone structures similar to stonehenge are visible in all directions, each forming their own small group. A few look to have the leftovers of small huts too. I'm very curious to learn about these areas.

In the distance, the stone structures of the city are visible where two hills' crests meet. From the bell tower's door, a stone path leads towards it.

Although overgrown, there are pathways of stone leading from one stone site to another. I've walked them all, taking photographs. I'm glad I brought a few extra memory cards for my camera.

The vegetation here is mainly the grass. The unique feature of the grass is its vibrant color. Each blade is comprised of lines of color: dark green, bright green, light green and blue. I laid some strands against the white of my notebook pages and took pictures. I also gathered a few to send back to LaCasa for study. Sophrosyne and Okaasan may find a use for this grass.

Underneath the trees, grows a fern plant. The leaves are shaped similar to the lady fern, but the plant's interesting feature is that it has purple flowers along with some of the spores. Not all, but enough for the flowers to highlight the plant's color.

The tree's canopies are wide, sheltering the ground underneath almost like a full roof. The trees have large, wide leaves - dark green in the center and lightening to the edge where they are actually tipped in a bronze color, rather than the gold they appeared to have before.

The grass below the canopies is a shorter variety than on the hillsides and of a lighter green color. Each set of trees has at least one stone bench, a few of them containing two. The benches are worn, yet I can see the swirling leafy designs engraved into them.

No stone paths connect the tree canopies that I can see.

There are not many insects visible, but I did manage to see a few. One moves very fast, zipping by with a buzzing sound. It is the size of a pea. I have yet to get a good glimpse of one because of how fast it flies. I caught a glimpse of a sticklike creature high up one of the trees. I will need to climb up and record what I find within the canopy itself soon.

Birds have nests at the top of the bell tower and with the trees, so I'm sure there is a healthy insect population, but none bother me right now. I attempted to get pictures of one bird in particular. A beautiful creature with a white body, accented with bluish-purple feathers and a long plume.

The ground appears fertile and not too hard or rocky, as I first suspected. I've taken photos of some odd tracks. Both of the hoof variety and of a six-toed creature. Explorers will need to wear pants and boots until we know more. I found evidence of snake passing.

I did see a cream colored small rodent-like creature. Not as big as a rabbit, a guinea pig perhaps. It was across a canopy from me and disappeared into the foliage before I could take a photo.

The canopies and the area surrounding the bell tower seem clean, as far as I can tell through the grass. We may not find much in this area, rather than learning about the ecosystem.

There is a little debris among the stone structures. The one to the left of the door appears to have suffered the least amount of damage over time. I think I'll start the volunteers with that one first while Kelsey and I assess the city area.

I'll set up the camp gear we brought with us so far in the canopy closest to that structure. Then I should have just enough time to draw the map of the area, give each site their proper designation name, and make the excavation grid maps.