In the following months, we “played it safe”, stood in ages like Afelahn, Risoahl or in D’ni and continued our research. Numbers still dwindled, to the point, when our group only consisted of four people: Shane Kennett, Jack Rowe, Tom Woods, and myself.
Chances were that in a few weeks nobody would be around any more.
I had big doubts myself about staying down in the caverns, but I had invested so much work and time, that I decided to stay, whatever happened around me.
Then, in march 2014, surface issues forced me to abandon my team for some weeks, spending a lot of time in my home country of Austria to sort things out.
I finally returned to Afelahn in June, only to find the age deserted. Everyone had left. I tried to contact some of the other groups, but no one answered. It was as if D’ni had once again died.
From my previous experience, I was sure, that D’ni finally would revive again, like it had again and again – still, a dark spot of doubt lay on my soul. What if nobody ever would return? What if D’ni was done for good this time?
I lost motivation. Many of my projects came to an abrupt halt. I locked away the books I still had, with the exception of Afelahn, which I visited sporadically.
Then, in september 2014, when I once again browsed some of the explorers forums, I read an announcement by some former team members of the Forberg expedition. Funding had been secured again, scientists, workers and explorers from the former team returned at a fast pace, and projects were restarted, continued and begun.
Euphorically, I packed my stuff, told the surface goodbye once again, and returned to D’ni.
It wasn´t for the first time, but it felt different – hope, and a feeling of determination were stronger and more urgent than ever before.
