Beneath

Ami's Work Crew have made progress in their Visual Survey of Descent so far. Here is a comparison of the recovered survey from 2024 to the current survey being done in 2025.


2024.

2025.

As I mentioned in the town hall today, it seems that the previous crew saved time by drawing the layout based on the modeling work done in Myst V for the area. The reality is quite different. Progress is ongoing, and the Sounding Devices are still lost in shipping, so more thorough structural sounding checks are being delayed in favor of visual spot checks for the moment.

I have an update from Ametist's crew who have been working on the elevators. As of yesterday, the two Shaft Elevators are now functioning under limited loads, and the main floor elevator platform is mostly operational, but still requires some work on the timer mechanisms. After Ametist is happy that it's working correctly, I've given her an extra week of "Just give it some TLC and polish" leeway that she can use at her discretion to make sure that everything is holding up to her expectations before she hands the project back over to Ami's teams for general maintenance and upkeep work on the Node Doors and Ventilation Systems.

It is my expected hope that we'll be able to open up Alpha Stage Testing for the Elevators in early November.

Forgot to post here, but the Shaft is open for initial stress tests of the various systems. Access is through the usual testing means.

The Three Elevators (Courtesy of Ametist's work crew), the main Generator, the Fan Ventilation System, and several node doors (Courtesy of The Overflow Station Crew) are operational, but undergoing additional scrutiny following an Earthquake on the site last Friday.

I'd like to remind folks to wear their hardhats while in Descent, as one worker got hit by debris on Friday during the Earthquake. Hardhat saved her life. I've authorized a request for additional Hardhat Stations on the site. Additionally, if something has been marked with signage telling you to keep away from it, please heed those requests and don't take them as a challenge to do the thing.

We're taking safety very seriously on this one.

Thanks for the reminder to wear our hard hats. Too many things can go wrong. I feel the same dread when I'm out cycling and see other cyclists without helmets.

I have to say, I'm concerned by the number of quakes that have impeded the work in just the last couple of years. It's been a recurring problem since the shaft was first delved. I know how important this path is, given its history. But at what point do we accept that it may never be a safe path to the Cavern, and should we explore an alternative? Not sure what that would be, since the only other option right now is to link there.

The problem with finding an 'alternate' path to the cavern outside of linking is that it'll always travel through underground areas. Pretty much everything's going to cross through geologically unstable places.

Ami mentioned the other day she was wondering if this wasn't part of why Yeesha gave us all Relto Books- to shortcut this process entirely.

That makes sense. None of us would ever have reached D'ni if we had to use the Great Shaft and the path. She had to give us another way.

I think Yeesha more was just trying to shortcut the lengthy path to get more people to D'ni quicker for the sake of the Bahro. Likely, if the DRC had been our only avenue, we'd all have been taking the Descent Path and it'd probably have been more properly maintained all this time.

Ken Telinome wrote: Fri Dec 12, 2025 4:30 am That makes sense. None of us would ever have reached D'ni if we had to use the Great Shaft and the path. She had to give us another way.

Well, I wouldn't say "None of us"! Folks HAVE used that path many times over the decades. I know many people who have done so. And honestly, the last time there was a major shakeup with the route seems to have been in that span of time between 2008 and 2010. Most of the damage the various work crews have been dealing with up until now seems to date back to that period, and given the DRC haven't been majorly active since 2007, the lack of maintenance and repair to the path has it's reasoning right there.

I don't have access to the DRC's route records from before then so I couldn't say with any certainty when the last major shakeups to the route were, but I'd imagine they were keeping their established route well maintained during the intervening years since Loftin and Elias found the Cavern back in the late 1900s. The DRC definitely brought down tons of supplies through that route during the years.

Kelsei A. Taylor wrote: Fri Dec 12, 2025 8:15 pm I think Yeesha more was just trying to shortcut the lengthy path to get more people to D'ni quicker for the sake of the Bahro. Likely, if the DRC had been our only avenue, we'd all have been taking the Descent Path and it'd probably have been more properly maintained all this time.

Seems about right to me for the Early 2000s period of Yeesha's activity.

Apologies for the lack of good news, but it seems there was another major earthquake that struck the Great Shaft last night. We're in the process of re-surveying the damage, and looking to ascertain the scope of the damage. It seems to have been contained to the main shaft area, however, and not the rest of the path. We will be considering how to move forwards in the coming days.

Traveler263 wrote: Tue Apr 14, 2026 6:17 pm Apologies for the lack of good news, but it seems there was another major earthquake that struck the Great Shaft last night.

Was anyone hurt?