Welcome to "The Diary of a Miner"; a blog detailing the adventures and mysteries that I, Syeonyx, embark upon in my quest to further my mining and survival skills! It'll be tough, there will be good times and bad times, but I'll always be alive to post my adventures... probably...

Odd occurrences

     From where we were on the coast, we had two options: we could either head South to the next portal, or South West to the site in the centre, then head due East back to the next one. I was in favour of heading South West to the central one, and then head out to the East and continue the arc of sites. UOPETA seemed to think that was a good idea too, and we set off towards the South West. It was getting into late morning now, and we all hoped that if there were any more portal, they would be active. It took much longer to destroy an inactive one with the pickaxe than to destroy an active one with the Solus stone. Taking a look at the map, I realised that after this minor diversion, we would literally be following the trail of sites back to the base. It was all rather convenient, but also rather worrying that they were so close to us. Who knows how many more had been put up and activated since HoN Co. had been able to replicate portal technology. As usual, we would need to check on the primary portal situation after this lot, and then go after some more. Hopefully we would find another report telling us where they were next time round as this method was far too time consuming!

     We set off towards the South West, back in land to find the next site. As expected, the tree coverage increased, making UOPETA's job easier. We also noticed an unusual increase in the number of sheer cliff faces surrounding us. Many times we came to small, thin sections between cliff walls that climbed high into the air. UOPETA had his work cut out for him; even I knew that this was the perfect place to spring a trap on someone. We had to move fast but quietly. Alternatively, we could find a long winded way up to the top of the cliffs, survey the entire area beneath us and make our way back down. But that would add a few hours to our journey, and we didn't have the luxury of time! After awhile, we began to slow down. UOPETA knew we were close to the area located on the map, and we fanned out to look for anything. As usual I was on the hunt for a hole. Despite the considerable lack of proof that the portals were mainly located underground, I still believed that a hole could always hide something as sinister as a portal. After some time, UOPETA called us over, and we found him standing in the opening of one of the cliff walls.

"This is very unusual... It seems to continue down a little way before ending abruptly... I still think there's more to it... Pass me a torch THEROS."

THEROS fumbled around in the bag and pulled out a torch, passing it to UOPETA. Lighting it, UOPETA disappeared into the opening, the light from the torch slowly receding further into the cliff. We remained outside to keep watch on anything that might attempt to come out or attack us. As well as that, if the passage did end abruptly in a blank wall, it would be foolish of us to all go in, rather than a single person. Additionally, if this was a trap, it would be damn right stupid for all of us to fall into it! After a few moments, UOPETA poked his head out from the hole with a smile on his face:

"Bingo! I think we found one this time!"

THEROS and myself looked at each other oddly. I had thought this would be another dead end, but as UOPETA led us through to opening and down into the passage, we found it curved back on itself and to the left, leading down, rather than dead ending! We continued down, the light from the torch throwing shadows around the thin passage, and we continued to the bottom of the passage in single file. After a few metres, we noticed that the path curved back on itself again, this time to the right, and also leading down! From where we were, I could see the meek purple light that emanated from below, in a chamber that seemed to be covered in moss.

"Jackpot!"

We entered into the chamber one by one, UOPETA being incredibly cautious about this one. I wasn't surprised considering what had happened to him last time, but instead of the portal catching our eye, a very odd, out-of-place feature took us by surprise. On the right-side wall, was a thin waterfall that down into a small hole... What was that about...?

     THEROS took out another torch and approached the waterfall, lighting up the surrounding area...

"Erm... You're going to want to see this!"

UOPETA and myself approached the waterfall, and peered through the waterfall into the darkness. At first I couldn't see anything; the reflective nature of the water was causing me to see mainly light from our side, and the glare from the torches wasn't helping either, but after awhile, my eyes became aware of an odd, cube sat in the corner of the room, fire leaking from it...

"An Affinitas cage!"

So it was...! There, in the corner of a very small room past the waterfall was an Affinitas cage. Looking around, I couldn't see movement aside from the small embers that burnt from within, and the spinning dwarf skeleton.

"Right... The portal is active, so there's no need to prioritise... THEROS, use the Solus stone on the portal, Syeonyx, go through and destroy the cage. We don't want to leave anything here. Be careful!"

Removing the pickaxe from my back, I quickly stepped through the waterfall, onto the other side. Holding the pickaxe poised, I approached the cage, waiting to be ambushed by the undead, or a Creeper! But nothing happened. After a moment of waiting silently, I brought the sharpened head of the pick crashing down onto the cage. A few more hits, and the cage fell apart, indicating it's destruction with the skeleton disappearing in a poof of smoke, and the feeble embers dying out completely... I stepped back through the waterfall to the other side, only slightly wet. The portal was destroyed, and THEROS was waiting for the stone to become visible again.

"Excellent work! Right then, collect the stone and let's move out. Don't forget to cross this location off..."

THEROS nodded, and we followed UOPETA out of the chamber, back up the passage after the stone had been retrieved.

     From where we were now, we were to head due East past a pool, and up to the furthest most site. We hoped to find something there as well, but we couldn't guarantee anything. This way would put us back on track for following the path, and we should be able to deal with the remaining portals before the end of the night. It had only just crept past midday by the time we emerged from the opening, and we instantly set off to the East. As we ventured further and further East, the cliffs shrank considerable, to be replaced with quite the opposite! There were numerous holes in the surrounding area, getting bigger and bigger towards the site. When we arrived, there was a huge open network of tunnels, passages and caverns! We had our work cut out for us this time! To start with though, THEROS took out the Solus stone and held it outstretched...

"Nothing... It could be inactive... Looks like there is bound to be one around here somewhere..."

"Yeah... Good place for a trap though too! Keep an eye out."

We split up to cover more ground, and we all went into a separate cavern. We all had our blowpipes ready in case a guard or a Creeper emerged from the darkness, but I kept a free hand close to the pick. I didn't want to be defenceless against a skeleton! After some time of wandering around, and going in circles, my passage led into THEROS' and I ended up following him, knowing there was nothing back in mine. Eventually, we accidentally met up at the junction of the tunnels, not having found anything. Luckily it was mostly exposed, and the sun provided enough light to see by.

"Any luck?"

"None... Maybe if we work backwards, and look for something else... There has to be a chamber or a passage that leads off to it. This place is too great a place for a portal to be for there not to be one here."

We went back the way UOPETA came, and walked in a staggered line, hoping to find something. Then something caught my eye, and I drifted off to the left. As I approached I felt a horrid tingle go up my spine, and I reacted by readying an arrow. Creeping closer, I noticed some dark stone set into a small chamber that was practically invisible if approaching from the opposite way. Then I heard a noise. I froze. Waiting patiently, I then kicked a stone into the area, hoping to draw it out. A shape emerged with speed and I fired the arrow! I quickly readied another, but found out it was just a chicken fluttering from the shadows... My heart was in my mouth, beating ten to the dozen! After calming down, I called the others over. I pointed into the corner, still panting slightly from the shock, and THEROS lit a torch to illuminate the area. As expected, in the small hole was a portal. The obsidian frame seemed to absorb the light, creating an odd shadowy effect. As though there was an absence of anything around the rest of the stone. It wasn't active, so I took the pickaxe from my back, and jumped into the hole...

     After it was destroyed, THEROS crossed the location from the map and we emerged from the strange network of passages. Rolling it back up, we all set off towards the South West again, around to the next portal. We were making good progress... Even if it was scaring me witless!

Syeonyx signing off

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