>> Opening LOG file "1.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.1.3287, Garlen Valley It is the first day of my expedition in this strange, unexplored world. My life is disappointing - an unfulfilling long job and friends who have broken contact with me. I have nothing left in my old life. This year, I start my new life. And you're my first friend, computer. I think I'll name you Horace. My only link to the outside world. No wonder people come to this place. The Nexus uplink is free. The Valley, as most of the people here refer to it, is a beautiful and peaceful place surrounded by mountains on most sides, aside from the wooded side. The mountains seem to block much of the view of the outside world, only piquing my curiosity more. What could lay beyond those jagged rocks? Winston's is here, too. I had a glass of red wine to celebrate the beginning of my new life - perhaps my last taste of alcohol in a long, long time. I have already packed my supplies; a few months worth of dry rations. A tent. A bedroll. A messkit. A fire starter. A solar charger. Horace. A few water bottles. Iodine tablets. Painkillers. Some changes of clothes. Electric camp stove. A knife. A multitool. A .45. Sixty rounds of ammunition. Electric lantern and flashlight. Some soap (biodegradable). Mug. Coffee. Binoculars. Lightweight towel. First aid kit. Rope. Toothbrush. Its a lot, but I need as much as I can carry. Eventually, I'll run out of rations. My gear will break. I'll need to forage. To create. It will be challenging, but I think I can do it. I will follow the life of a hermit, his only connection to the world an old laptop. Hello Garlen, goodbye old me. ---------- END LOG ---------- ((this blog is public, available for all to see.))
>> Opening LOG file "2.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.2.3287, Midnight Woods Sugar and creamer is a commodity in the wild - thus, as I transition into my new life, I also transition into drinking my coffee black. Eventually I will run out of coffee, however. I nexsearched around for some cool things you can do with plants. Apparently you can make tea out of some tree leaves. I've finally begun to make the trek into what the locals call the 'Midnight Woods'. Aptly named, because it is utterly dark in here. Even at daytime, the canopy blocks all light - few grasses and green plants can survive on the ground because of the trees hogging the light, so it looks like fungi and mosses thrive and act as the grass. Some of the mushrooms even seem to glow, providing a pretty blue light in the darkness. Its comforting. I've even seen some bugs flock to these certain mushrooms for their light, a form of symbiosis or something in a hostile world. I don't really know how far the Midnight Woods go. There isn't really a map of this place, because only insane people like me would dare to venture out. I can already feel eyes peering at me from the dark veil of the night - I heard the beasts of this world can be nasty, so I'm sure to always keep a small fire going at night to ensure they don't mess with me. I saw some strange ruins on my travels, and a large obelisk extending out above the canopy. I decided to steel my resolve and head inside - thankfully, nothing greeted me there other than bones. Seems to be some kind of tomb. I examined the wall and found traces of gunfire, and the floor was strangely oily. Nothing else useful, so I decided to carry on. Its night now, and I managed to find a nice clearing to make camp in. A small bit of moonlight penetrates the canopy here, allowing me a view of this world's moon. And the stars. Where is this world? I wonder what the moon is like. Did the inhabitants of this world ever visit it? ---------- END LOG ----------
>> Opening LOG file "3.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.3.3287, Ringed Hills Its already day three of my new life, and I feel amazing. The things I once took for granted - the fresh air, crystal clear water, all seem amazing to me now. As I travel, I can't help but admire every passing flower, every stream cutting through the earth. I will shun modern life. Nearing the end of the day, I found that the trees became less frequent as I slowly ventured into vast fields of green grasses and rolling hills. These strange archways of stone and broken giant rings embedded in the ground litter this place. Who put these arches and rings here, and for what purpose? As I travel, I can see the vastness beyond the horizon. I think I spot a massive storm in the far, far distance. It looks like dust, or sand. Is there a desert there, I wonder? It began to rain, clean water showering over the green hills. I quickly got to pitching my tent under one of the giant stone arches to avoid the rain, and then snuggled up in my blanket from the mild chill of the inclement weather. I can only wander what other ancient structures lie out here. What was that obelisk I saw back in the woods? ---------- END LOG ----------
>> Opening LOG file "4.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.5.3287, Ringed Hills Forgot to do a log yesterday, was distracted by the rain. I managed to get some travelling done though - these hills expand pretty far. While travelling, I saw something flying in the sky - it looked like it was made of fire, and had what looked to be a mask on it. I decided to lay low and let it fly away - don't want to risk any encounters with whatever wildlife this land holds. I wonder what other creatures I'll find out here. Hopefully none that want me dead. Travelling a bit more, I'm starting to see more vegetation. It seems I've entered some kind of woods, except instead of trees there were large forests of bamboo-like plants in different assortments of colors sprouting from the ground. I'm not sure what to call this place, so I'll just call it the Rainbowstalk Woods. Creative name, I know. Being out here has been really good for me so far. No clients to deal with, no going home late to nobody but a dark bedroom. Nature is awesome. If it doesn't eat me. ---------- END LOG ----------
>> Opening LOG file "5.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.6.3287, Rainbowstalk Woods Okay, I found something pretty weird today. It looked like some erosion from a river had revealed something weird, partially buried in the dirt. It was a huge sphere of black metal, with strange deep blue etchings on it. I had to steel my resolve just to touch it, and it felt a little warm when I did. I honestly have no clue what the hell this thing is, so I'm just going to take note of it and carry on. The water had made it looked pretty clean - there wasn't an ounce of rust or any wear from the water. Algae didn't even seem to want to grow on it. I wonder if there's anything else like it out here. ---------- END LOG ----------
>> Opening LOG file "6.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 1.8.3287, Rainbowstalk Woods Okay. For the first time during this trip, I had to fire my pistol. These woods sure look pretty, but... something was camouflaged among the bamboo. It looked exactly like it, then it began to reach outwith long, spindly arms, and it was huge and sharp thorns came out of it. Despite its height it was very fast like a pair of stilts, forcing me to open fire at whatever it was. Due to its thin nature it was difficult to hit, but I managed to hit it I think in its center and it died. Hard to hit, but when you do hit it, I imagine it does a lot of damage with such a thin body. That experience was positively terrifying, and now I jump every time the wind causes the rainbow stalks around me to sway. Its almost hypnotizing how they sway, their prismatic colors shining off and sparkling into my eyes. Maybe that's how they get you? They wait for you to stop to look at the pretty colors, and then they snatch you. Either way, I want to get out of here as fast as possible. I kept travelling, and was lucky enough to not encounter any more of the stalk monsters. The rainbowy bamboo around me slowly dwindled as I began to enter a place that was somehow stranger than the one I was just in. The terrain was rocky and uneven with jagged cliffs and chasms cut into the ground - purple and blue mosses and lichens clung onto the rock almost like a grass and other types of mushrooms and fungus thrived here as well, growing off of rock faces or even mushrooms growing to be as large as trees. The air here seems to be a light periwinkle color, maybe from all of the fungus spores collecting into the depression that is this place. In the sky I can see what appears to be.. jellyfish, floating through the air without a care for gravity. They do not seem to be hostile, thankfully. Oh, let me just take a picture. [Image attached.] This place looks downright strange, but its oddly beautiful. I settle down for the night under a big mushroom and set up my tent - there wasn't any soft ground to put my stakes into, so I had to use the rope and tie it around some big mushrooms. As I lay here and watch the sun set, I now see that this place is even more stunning at night; mushrooms glow as they puff out blue spores that seem to glow like little fireflies, and the jellyfish floating above me seem to glow a soft blue as well. I like this place. I don't know what to call it, though. Maybe one of you will have suggestions. ---------- END LOG ----------
>> Opening LOG file "7.log" created by 'loneascetic15'... << __________________________ 7.10.3287, ??? [An image is attached. It seems to be a blurred photograph taken facing downward, grey stone covered in cyan glowing lichens and mosses visible. At the edge in the photo there seemed to be a thick, purple tendril made of a wispy phase matter presumably holding the device.] ---------- END LOG ----------
