Adventures of Angelmyst # 13 Angel's in the Mist

angelmyst · **Posted:** Fri Jul 05, 2019 12:43 am

The adventures in me would not be stopped.

After the thaw, and the ages returning to somewhat normalcy, I had a hard time getting back to the Cavern. Every time I would visit, there seemed to be something missing.

Today, as I walked thru the City....all alone, except for a couple sleepy visitors, I had the unmistakable feeling that I was being followed. I hid...dodged, and ducked , to get a view of who was creeping me out.

Then....I saw him.

" You give up fast Angel....I thought for sure you would find my path easily....but instead, you found many of my hidden gems. You still have one more gem to find.

Ghen!!!

"What, are you doing here? You are dead......long dead, your corpse is dust, blown in the wind. I must be day dreaming.....you are not here!"

" Oh, I'm here......the Caverns are my roaming ground...every time you hear a Bahro cry, I am not far away. You, however, are why I am here today....you quit on me.....I wanted you to find my path. There are things to be discovered that only you will find....you have found much, but there is one...as I said....one more gem."

" Your gems almost killed me!"

"No...you were never in any real danger...perceptions are just that....not reality.

GO....seek....go to where you started, you will find what you need to continue the journey. I need you to find one more thing. "

With that he was gone....like Mal off the map, he just poofed.

Where did I start? So many journies?

I started with building my boat.....Ferry Terminal???

No....down the cliffs behind the library....that's where I really started...that's where the fire started, the drive to seek.

Dare I trust Ghen??

angelmyst · **Posted:** Fri Aug 09, 2019 4:02 am

I decided I had very little choice ….I had to find out what GEM he was talking about.

I took a couple days to get my gear in order. I headed down behind the library, fully expecting my boat to be there….but, it was not.

“Why am I surprised, this is Ghen I am dealing with”

I was ready to climb back up, when I saw it…a little note.

MY PATH…NOT YOURS.

Ghen.

Ghens path started in Cleft. Ill have to change my gear a bit.

I got rid of the things I would have needed in my boat, and added more food, then I headed to Cleft.

I am surprised that the DRC, or its counterpart, has never done something with getting this entrance either sealed or made safe and open to the public. It would be about time for the world to know of the Dn’i….their story needs to be told. More than just a few brave explorers need to know of this place. With all the advances, we could make the Cavern thrive again

The entrance was as I left it. A few blue flowers were struggling in the heat. I could totally empathise with them. I picked a bad day to start. It was 108 degrees…but it would be cool soon enough.

I wandered the slightly familiar path, through the’wormhole’ as Ghen had called it, down the steep slope, thankful the floor was dry. I came to the Well…a perfect circle, with blackness that could be felt beyond it. I stood on the narrow ledge, and envisioned young Atrus, standing here with Ghen…..when I heard it.

“So, you have decided to listen to me….I knew that your curiosity would not be denied.”

“Ghen!”

“Well, yes, and no…..I am the same Ghen you encountered in the Cavern, but I am really in your imagination. Along the journey, when you are in exact spots I have been…if you stop and contemplate, I will be here. I really want to help you…I want you to follow my exact path….there is something you must find.”

With that he was gone. So I am to have a guide of sorts.

Again I ask myself the question.

Dare I trust Ghen?

angelmyst · **Posted:** Sun Dec 08, 2019 1:06 pm

I decided that to trust Ghen and continue thru the Cavern, trying to follow his path as close as possible was my best option. I had already been trying that option, and for some reason Ghen decided to intervene and get me to take another plunge....almost literally, as I looked into the massive shaft, barely making out the steps that threaded down the great hole.
This time I was a bit more sure of myself, having my relto book at the ready...just in case.
My lamp made creepy shadows on the rock, and a couple times I almost scared myself.
I could hear Ghens taunt to Atrus...."Would you like me to hold your hand, perhaps?" I then did what Atrus did, I imagined I was inside a great Tree....my Tree.
After several hours of tunnels, I came to the eder tomahn. The awe I felt on my first sight of this place was just as enormous as now. I looked at my image in the stone.
" Angel", I said to myself, " What have you gotten yourself into? You nearly died on this fools errand once...you saw yourself....dead...in the future, you got lost, stranded, and nearly eaten by a beast...seriously girl, are you nuts!!?"
My reflection did not answer, if she had of, I would have confirmed my insane suppositions, and maybe headed back to the surface......but I opened the now unlocked door, and headed to the bunk, where Atrus has slept, and fell asleep peacefully. Was it my imagination, or did I smell Ghens pipe tobacco as I drifted off to sleep?

angelmyst · **Posted:** Sun Dec 08, 2019 1:08 pm

I awoke to Ghen shaking me awake. Just like he had Atrus a thousand lifetimes ago.
"So, day one, and you are still with me. Thought maybe the sight of those stairs would have driven you off....but it seems to me you have descended them before. Am I right?"
" Yes," I managed to say, not knowing if I was dreaming or if this was another of his appearances.
Ghen handed me a sack,
"Here, you will need these later."
I opened to find several firemarbles. I ran them through my hands, amazed at their smooth feel.
"Let's get going," he said, and this time he did not leave me. He led the way thru tunnels and caverns.
Finally he spoke again.
" Do you like this spot,?" He asked as he pointed to the scene before us.
I was in awe....I had not remembered this when I was here before. Crystal cascading from high above, rippling at my feet in breathtaking beauty.
"Dripstone"
Then he was gone again. Why did he take the time to show me drip stone. Was this one of the Gems he spoke of?
Where the path should have been was a pile of stones , and a light that led ahead, that should not have been there.
Then ....
" Go, this is one of those Gems...it is just for you."
Now why would Ghen have something just for me. I was not sure what to do. I decided to start moving the rocks, and as I did the path showed itself to be the path of the shell!

angelmyst · **Posted:** Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:13 pm

Why was there a path here? It made zero sense. If only I could go and then backtrack if it was a problem. This was not a game, I could not save my progress here, and then just come back if I died. I did not have a good feeling about this.

I decided to ignore this Gem and Ghen, and backtrack to find another path. I knew I had several hours of travel before I would come to the path to D'ni. I came to find the Path, not some wild gem dangled before my face by a madman.

I wandered for three hours with no sign of Ghen, did he give up? No, not a chance, this was Ghen I was dealing with, he was not going to give up. I could not shake the feeling that he had something sinister in mind. was he trying to hide something? Did I find somethings that I was not suppose to find in my other adventures? I had seen ages that no one else knew existed. were these ages written by Ghen? I may never know, but right now this was not my concern. I wanted to get to the City.

After a few more hours I smelled the faint, unmistakable odor of sulfur. I added more light to my path with my flashlight. Up to this point I was travelling with firemarble light. I wiped away layers of dirt and dust. Marble floor. I did not know I was here, since the centuries of accumulation had muffled my footfalls. The sulfur smell should be stronger.

I followed the path to a sheer drop. Where should have been a bubbling lake of lava, there was darkness, with just a few tiny cracks of sulfur steam seeping through. The bridge ahead was as it should be, except the section that was broken, was now fixed. Instead of a narrow piece of D'ni stone, there was very new construction. Who had been here? I did not know if I wanted to know the answer to that question.

I steeled my nerve and pressed on across the bridge. In a brief time, in relation to the past hours, I was in a cool cavern. It was time to rest...if I could.

Sleep came fast and hard, but not unhindered by dreams. Bahro screeching, drills whirring, linking sounds, voices. They seemed so real. I woke in a startle. That last linking sound was so real.....someone had been here. There was a small fire burning, with a pot of coffee brewing. The unmistakable aroma was welcome, but....who? Certainly not Ghen. This was current century supplies.

I decided that anyone who would bring me coffee, was not an enemy. I savored the coffee, cleaned up the site, and was going to douse the fire, but thought it better to let it burn. It was not in any danger of spreading, and I may have to come back.

One more day of travel and I will be in D'ni, if all goes well. Still no sign of Ghen. That had me puzzled. I still had a very uneasy feeling. I was in unfamiliar territory. All I had to go by was Ghen's journal. I was expecting a difficult path. Ghen had described fallen rock, missing floor, and a massive pool filled with water from above. After almost two hours of travel, I was shocked to find a clear path. The ledge that circled the cavern was clear of all dirt, and a railing had been placed where it was more precarious. I descended then climbed, passing one tunnel, and then coming to a large one. From Ghens notes the Gate was not far.

As much as I wanted to get there today, I was tired. I figured now was as good a time as any to take a rest. I wanted to be well rested and alert when I reached the southern boundary of the D'ni.

angelmyst · **Posted:** Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:31 pm

I woke, very refreshed, and surprised that I had no dreams, no strange sounds in the night, no sign of Ghen. I ate a bit of my rations, and set off, wishing someone had made me coffee again.

It was not far to the Gate, but when I arrived at where it should have been, I saw the same pile of stones, and scene that I had met before. ...and Ghen!

I told you I had one more Gem, and you ignored it, now you have no choice. Give up this fools errand of following my path to D'ni, or go through this path. You moved these stones once, it should be no problem for you to move them again.

I stood, frozen in my tracks. Should I just ignore him, and walk on, hoping this was all some kind of illusion? How could I have been so foolish to have trusted Ghen? but this was my dream, my destiny. I could not just give up, Ghen or no Ghen. I tried to walk forward, the rocks were very real, and I was not getting through. Good thing Ghen could not read my mind, because I wanted to pick up the biggest stone I could, and hurl it at his pompus head!

Angel, just follow the Path of the Shell.

He sounded so calm, so reassuring, so sinister, and down right scary......but i had to. I was compelled by my sense of adventure to go forward...Also something Yeesha has said,"The circle is complete, ....The beginning is tied to the end.... Now you can go where you wish." If all that is true, maybe this is necessary. Maybe it will help me understand... So I began the task of moving the rocks. They seemed lighter, but it was probably my imagination. When I was finished I looked over to when Ghen was sitting, calmly smoking his pipe. I had to take a rest, so much for entering the borders of the D'ni kingdom rested. If I entered at all that is.

angelmyst · **Posted:** Sun Jan 19, 2020 7:45 pm

after I had rested for a bit, Ghen spoke, calm and unbelievably reassuringly, "This gem will answer your questions, you will know what it means to be D'ni. You must make this trek before you go the the City."

So I checked my backpack. Everything I could think of, that I may need,was in place. I began to follow the Path of the Shell, having no idea where it led.

I walked into mist...not Myst...MIST, so thick I could feel it. All around me were voices.

Ghen, Yeesha, Atrus, and various people from the City, all speaking in a jumble. On I walked...and walked. Three hours had passed, and I was beginning to feel like I would go MAD!. I felt the ground, hard, marble feel. I had to sit and rest. Sleep was fitful. The voices kept pounding in my head. Linking sounds, many linking sounds.The smell of fresh brewed coffee then overpowered by sulfur. I woke in a sweat. Trembling with fear, I rose and started walking again. More hours passed. I checked my KI. Nothing. It had no power, I was alone,lost in this Mist.

I decided to write this all down now, and hopefully someone will find it.

I wandered for what seemed to be two more days, being driven mad with voices, and smells. Then, when I had no food left, and had been maybe two more days with no water,I heard one distinct voice.

"Angel, angel, wake up". It was my friend, Glendor, and I found myself in sleeping position at the Ferry Terminal.

"What day is this?"

"Why, it is Saturday, you were going to head to Cleft, and do another attempt at tracing Ghen's path today. I brought you that water purifying kit you asked me to find."

"What? I have not gone yet, the past several days was all a dream?"

A dream, maybe, but as I made my way up the stairs I could not shake the smell of pipe tobacco from my nostrils.

Adventures of Angelmyst # 13 Angel's in the Mist

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