Published by: The Santae Team
Identifying The Ancient Fossils
Rose was sitting at her laboratory bench she had setup in Sienna Canyon, near the half-constructed shell of the experimental Resurrection Machine, nose buried in a book while Dex, her Twilight Harlowin companion, dozed at her feet. "Welcome back," she replied, still looking down at the pages. Only after she had finished reading the passage she had been so engrossed in did she look up to greet Orion with a smile.
"Is that the tome of ancient illustrations?" Orion asked with interest, stepping closer to look over Rose's shoulder. "I have some notes on the nature of the fossilized creature now -- perhaps enough to find a match."
"You think so?" Rose cried, excited. "Let's look right away."
Together, the researchers flipped through the ancient reference book page by page. Until...
"There!" Orion cried. "That looks familiar..."
The illustration showed a lithe, two-legged creature with a feathery crest and tail. It also showed signs of winglike feathers on its forelimbs -- although they looked too small to maintain flight. The ancient inscription lacked intricate detail, but it bore a remarkable similarity to the fossil imprints in Echoes Cavern!
"It's called the Pheros," Orion read from the ancient illustration's caption.
"This is it," Rose said wonderingly. "This is the creature whose fossils we're discovering -- the creature we may be able to resurrect!"
Published by: The Santae Team
Harrison Discovers Rare Mining Gear
Harrison stood outside his store in Sienna Canyon. Until a week ago, this place had been a peaceful and quiet corner of Aleriea where new visitors were infrequent. Ever since the Fossil Cave was discovered however, it was now a bustling crowd of budding miners trying their best to excavate fossils and other mysterious items.
It had been great for business so much that Harrison had ended up increasing his restock rates just a few days ago to supply the constant demand for Pick Axes and Mine Carts - and his sales showed no signs of slowing.
As he was retrieving yet another supply of Elite Pickaxes from his cellar, he stumbled upon a cache of items which had been locked away for so long that he had completely forgotten about it.
"Soot.." he said out loud, "Come help me open this up!" he mumbled in his thick, deep voice. After a few moments, his trusty Charcoal Seamso, came bounding in to help lift the items. "We can give these out to adventurers who are helping to uncover the mystery!".
Seamso's ears were notorously strong and could lift most things, and so with just a single swipe, the crate was carted out to the front of the store, and opened up for the world to see.
"Adventurers! If you're mining, and purchasing from my store, I want to award you for your efforts!"
Community Personal Event: Mine For Ancient Treasures
Elemental Foxes Pounce Into Herding
Silvershade had never seen a Minimal trail like this before. Signs of different elemental magic were criss-crossing each other everywhere they looked!
They were following a narrow stream of hot lava that meandered through the cold woods, melting a path across the frozen earth. Occasionally they spotted a red-hot glowing pawprint on a rock -- but the trail was half-obscured by drifts of snow and spikes of ice that coated the trees and ground seemingly at random. In other places, the tracks seemed to vanish completely into freshly-opened fissures in the ground, as though miniature earthquakes had shaken the earth at random intervals.
Signs of fire, ice, and earth magic were all over, a kaleidoscope of elemental influence. With their practiced skill, Silvershade was able to find signs of direction within the chaos and follow the trail toward where they hoped the Minimals would be hiding.
When they felt the earth tremor underfoot, they knew they were close. As they broke through the trees into a clearing, a wave of heat and a wave of cold hit them in quick succession. The culprits were here!
Three fox-like Minimals were chasing each other around the clearing, pouncing on one another in turns with wagging tails. Glacore's freezing breath sent clouds of mist through the air, Terradon's heavy steps sent tremors through the ground beneath, and Moltanox's molten coat dripped a trail of lava in its wake -- but despite their contrasting elemental natures, no one of the Minimals seemed to take the upper hand. It was all a cheerful game to them!
Silvershade hid at the edge of the clearing to watch the playful foxes romp. They couldn't wait to help lead some Adventurers to come see these amazing elemental creatures for themselves!
TL;DR
★ Complete Personal Goals to receive mysterious new mining-themed items.
★ Three new Minimals have made their way into Herding and Vespera's Store.
Published by: The Santae Team
Putting The Pieces Together: Ancient Fossils Revealed!
Vespera sifted through the materials piled up in her Mining Cart, examining each sparkling stone in turn. Mining had revealed plenty of rare ores, but how could the ancient fossils be safely extracted?
She reached into her pack to pull out the trusty Ancient Fossil Codex -- a manuscript that had already provided lots of useful clues in the exploration of Echoes Cavern. The faint glow of the Fossil Chamber was just bright enough for her to read by. Vespera paged through the Codex from cover to cover, studying it deeply.
Her perusal of the Codex reminded Vespera of the research Orion and Rose were doing. Vespera started feeling more and more hopeful as she flipped through the pages. The pieces were all coming together!
For months, Orion and Rose had pored over the Codex, too, deciphering its cryptic instructions and the minerals that would be needed to realize their design. These minerals, imbued with ancient energy, held the promise of powering their most ambitious invention yet: A Resurrection Machine capable of restoring the creatures whose remains had been preserved in stone.
The Codex spoke of minerals like Petrastone Amber, Petrified Prism Shard, and the most important component: the Petrastone Relic. Each would be essential to harnessing the energy needed for this monumental task.
Finally, Vespera flipped the Codex carefully closed and replaced it in her bag. Nodding decisively, she turned to Ripple and River. "That was the key -- I understand now! Let me show you how to extract the fossils..."
With the guidance of the Codex -- and some very careful pickaxe work -- Ripple and River returned to the walls of the Fossil Chamber to continue mining.
After a while, Vespera heard a peep from River. The adventurer walked over to go look at the Raylen's most recent batch of mining discoveries. Using the techniques from the Codex had caused all kinds of new materials to appear: Chunks of amber that caught the light with a warm glow, scintillating rainbow-hued crystals, a stone that hummed with a powerful sense of ancient energy -- and several fossil fragments!
An air of excitement permeated the still air of the deep cavern as
Vespera held the fossil shards carefully in her hands. The rough stony
fragments were cool to the touch, but seemed to pulse faintly with
energy. “This isn’t just a discovery,” Vespera murmured, brushing her fingers across the fossil’s surface. “It’s a chance to bring these majestic creatures back.”
Vespera walked back over to the back wall of the cavern, where deep grooves perfectly matched the shapes of the fossil fragments in her hands. One by one, she worked to fit them into the wall, watching with delight as the outline of the ancient creature seemed to take shape.
First, she placed the fossil that had been given to her by the weary traveler she had met in Shadow Veil Pass all those weeks ago. Then, she added the five that had been newly mined from the nearby cavern. They fit perfectly -- but some fossils were still missing!
"Hmmm." Vespera took a step back from the wall, crossing her arms as she surveyed the incomplete collection.
"I need to find the weary traveler again..." Vespera mused. "I wonder if he knows where the final pieces could be hiding?"
Consult The Codex To Mine For Fossil Treasures
Dig into the depths of the Fossil Chamber to discover ores, stones, and gems of all kinds. But to discover fossils themselves, some more specific guidance is required.
The Ancient Fossil Codex is full of detailed notes, diagrams, and descriptions that will help you delve even deeper into the secrets of Echoes Cavern. Add the Ancient Fossil Codex to your Artifact Collection to learn the secret to discover fossils!
Copies of this rare manuscript can be purchased from Yara at Timeless Relics. Pay her a visit to start your journey toward fossil discoveries today!
Dig Up New Hidden Avatars
Two new hidden avatars can now be discovered somewhere around Santae -- or maybe somewhere beneath?
Dig deep into Echoes Cavern and the Fossil Chamber to see if you can add these avatars to your own collection!
TL;DR
★ Using the Ancient Fossil Codex, Vespera discovered how to mine fossil fragments and other rare materials.
★ Add the Ancient Fossil Codex to your artifact collection to discover fossils of your own!
★ The newly mined fossils fit into the Fossil Wall deep in Echoes Cavern, but some pieces are missing. Vespera plans to seek the advice of the weary traveler she once met to discover the final parts.
★ Two new hidden avatars are discoverable!
