Er'tsuda Expedition: Day 1

I spent the better part of yesterday making sure I had everything in place for this trip. I absconded with a Nexus Book from one of the harbor pedestals, just in case I found myself stuck in an Age with no return access (unlikely, given that the DRC have already stamped this Book with their seal of approval, and this was done well before anybody on their staff had a Relto Book). My backpack is loaded with gear and supplies, and I made sure to pack the tent I bought on my recuperative trip to the Surface earlier this year, since there wasn't much available information on the Age's climate or terrain beyond what little I could make out in the Gateway Image.

Today I took my first step toward the larger project of exploring, cataloging, and eventually restoring the remaining Ages of the D'ni empire, though to be honest this Age feels a lot like ground I've already covered before.

I'm amazed at how similar this Age is to Er'cana, in both climate and structure. I suspect the D'ni knew a good thing when they saw one, and rather than continue to experiment with other ways of feeding the Lake algae, they stuck with the first thing that worked and endlessly iterated that idea into a more and more efficient industry.

The link-in point was in the middle of a long-abandoned shanty town in a small offshoot from a major canyon. Wind gusts blasted through the settlement and rattled the few buildings that still stood, and the dust it kicked up stung my eyes. It seems like I'll be getting plenty of use out of the D'ni goggles I found in the Cleft. I'd hoped to be able to set up camp here, but I think I'll look for a less blustery location.

After documenting the layout of the shanty town (I suspect whatever workers the D'ni "employed" here used this village as their home), I made my way out into the main canyon. The offshoot containing the settlement is actually about 200 feet from the canyon floor, and long catwalks connect it to a large factory-looking structure that straddles the walls, almost looking more like a bridge than a building. No part of it actually touches the bottom of the canyon; instead it arcs gracefully but powerfully across the chasm, anchored to either side in a brutal mass of stonework. Tall, slender water reservoirs line the walls of the canyon on either side, and empty into irrigation canals that lead off downstream to parts unknown. The architectural differences between this Age and Er'cana are striking, while at the same time there is a similarity that underscores the common purpose of these two Ages.

Eight sets of familiar-looking elevated tracks feed into the bottom-most level of the factory, four to a side. Given that the irrigation canals only run out from one side, I'd venture to guess that either these tracks run in huge loops, or that there is some other irrigation platform further upstream that irrigates harvesting grounds in that direction. Hopefully I'll be able to find out.

I've spent most of the day today going over the area around the link-in point. Lacking any real survey equipment, my measurements and maps are probably far less accurate than I'd like, but they'll have to do for now. I'm going to take one of the catwalks down to the factory tonight and set up camp for the night in its more sheltered environment. More tomorrow, I hope...