One of our teams has done extensive work in Nifehrehn, since Quaxo still hasn´t reported in. The age is deemed to dangerous for the moment, so we can´t let anybody in – and still, some of the equipment isn´t working yet – the frost of centuries has left some damage.

Tom Woods and Shane Kennett have made some small vehicles of spare parts of model cars, boats and airplanes, and equipped them with small cameras.
They affectionally call them the “Critters”. Critters 1 to 3 are land-based, with wheels or crawler tracks, Critters 4 to 6 are waterborne, 7 and 8 are airborne – and 9 is a small, floating thingy, similar to a balloon.
They will be used to explore hazardous or inaccessible areas.

Their first mission will be the research of a small ice cave in Nifehrehn. Our scientists suspect some creatures living in there.

I still owe you information about the other “unknown ages”.
Today, behold Unknown age 02:
It seems to have been some kind of submarine science station erected by the old D’ni. It is some kind of pod – but a different one than those we know from “Reziksehv” – with some observation cupolas. The marine life in this age is very different from what we know – there are no fish, but some strange, ribbonlike animals, which are slowly moving through the water.
The temperature seems to be quite hot – the pod is heavily insulated, but there are D’ni scales that show temperatures about 176° Fahrenheit (80° Celsius).
How these creatures can survive this hellish environment, is one of the goals of our research there.
Our interns have dubbed them “Hadesfish”, after the greek underworld.

Again spent some time in Shashodahl, this time for researches. The islands the resort is situated on are surrounded by a light blue, almost turquoise ocean, with abundant marine life.
There seems to be the wreck of a rather big ship in the vicinity of one of the minor islands – we haven´t been able to visit it yet, but our diving team (the guys from New Zealand, remember?) are planning to get there soon. I´m thinking about joining them – the water isn´t deep there, and even I as a absolute beginner in diving should be able to manage this.
And if Shane will have Critters 10 and 11 ready, the planned submarine-camera platforms, we´ll even have nice shots of the wreckage.
Looking forward to that!

The other big news is what we call “The Big Blast of Dasharen”. Well, I´ve reported about the powermarble experiment in Dasharen, and how well it went… seems that I was too optimistic. Two days ago, a major explosion destroyed not only the powermarble, but the encasement as well. The sensors Tom Woods had installed to monitor the marble recorded an extreme energy peak shortly before the explosion, then they too ceased to work (and to exist…)

If this explosion would have happened in Afelahn, I think the base would be rubble by now. The powermarbles are even more dangerous than I´ve feared… how can we make the power room safe enough?

Someone asked: “You wrote about “Unknown age 07″, what about 01 to 06? Any information on them?”
Yeah, there is information on them. I´ll gather it over the next days and give you summaries about what we know.

For the first time, we watched one of the huge predators of the age. A mammal with long, white fur, four legs, and a long beak with razor sharp teeth. It didn´t see us, just walked around in some distance, sniffing around on the ground.
I definetly recommend carrying a gun when visiting the age, at least when you plan to leave the outpost.

Meanwhile, Tom Woods and Shane Kennett have built a prototype power device, based on the power marble technology used by the D’ni.
They brought the parts to Dasharens surface, assembled them and activated the device.
We had decided to test it in Dasharen, because there is not much to be damaged, at least on the surface – mostly deserted area.
The power device worked flawlessly for some time – further tests will be necessary, but we are cautiously optimistic.

Work in Afelahn is progressing – we now have some interesting designs for the power marble-generator, and for the room containing the generator (I´m calling it a “power room” – I know, it´s not elegant english, but it fits my needs best.). We plan to do the excavation work during the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, I´ve finished my Alitnee egg-project. The eggs I´ve prepared will be displayed in Afelahn, there are some beautiful eggshells waiting to be seen!
Added signs to the doorways in Afelahn, so orientiation shouldn´t be a problem for future visitors.

By the way: I´m planning the release of Afelahn – still work to do, but I think, I can let people in approximately in one or two months. The age will change frequently, so I guess, sooner is better than later.

Still no news from Quaxo regarding the Nifehrehn project. I´m honestly concerned now, didn´t read anything from him since weeks – I think, we should look for him in Nifehrehn. Hope he´s allright.

We managed to clear the rubble in the first room, revealing a doorway to another, bigger room. Found remains of at least two D’ni in this. Tom Woods says, he thinks, the cave-in had happened just some years ago, so the two must have been killed earlier, maybe at the time of the Fall.
Found some kind of weapons near the bodies. Were they maintainers on some mission? City guards? Or criminials? We don´t know yet.

Soundings showed that there is at least one more room, even bigger. The door that leads there is huge and heavy, and jammed. Will have to bring some heavy tools to open it but first we´ll have to inspect the integrity of the surrounding rock.

No news of Quaxo as of yet… I hope, he is allright? For those who didn´t see the post: We have been planning an expedition to Nifehrehn to do research on lifeforms there. You can find the thread at the D’ni Zoologist Society forum, here.