Midrin

Day 1. Today I began my trip. I am writing this while taking a cart ride to the main city, where I’ll leave for the desert. I feel good about this. I’m excited to see my family, hopefully I’ll be back soon!

Note to self: Write a letter to mother as soon as possible.

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Day 2. The city is beautiful, but the surrounding area is desolate. I am beginning to get nervous, but I mustn’t let my family down. Toughen up, Midrin!

Anyways, the archaeologists told me the trip will only take a week. They also said it’s safe, and they are professionals, so I trust them.

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Day 3. I’ve reached the dig site! We set up tents near the oasis- it’s very pretty, unlike the rest of the desert. I wanted to send a letter home, but apparently, messengers don’t come out here. Oh well, only four days left, It’ll be alright.

Found some fossils at the dig today. Other than that, we haven't been able to find much, but we are hopeful that the cave we're going to explore later this week will have plenty of artifacts.

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Day 4. Today we went into the cave. I decided to stay here for the night, along with one other archaeologist. She's a Skydancer named Holly, she went to school with me. She's very sweet, I forgot how close we were. We're in the cave overnight to keep looking for signs of civilization, such as pottery, drawings, carvings, and the like. Going to bed soon, Holly is roasting meat and vegetables for dinner.

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Day 5. Last night a rumbling sound woke me up. I woke Holly up, and she went to go look. It was a cave-in. The archaeologists aren't expecting us to be back until tomorrow, so we're going to wait. For now, me and Holly are gonna explore and make the most of this. I'm a little scared, but we should be ok.

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Day 6. Help hasn't come yet. The archaeologists were trying to move the rocks, but they're Faes and Pearlcatchers, so they can't do much. They said they were going back to the city to get help, but the city is a day's flight away. I'm praying to the Windsinger that they can get us out, I want to go home.

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Day 7. Ran out of food. We still have some water, though, and the archaeologists should be here by tomorrow. I miss mother and Sierra. Holly is starting to worry more, she is due to be married next week. She obviously doesn't want to miss that!

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Day 8. The archaeologists came back with a Snapper to get us out, but a second cave-in happened while they were working. The ground around the cave is unstable. They're going to have to build supports to keep the stone stable, which will take another day. We're almost out of water. Holly and I have been searching for alternate exits, but we can't find any.

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Day 9. Out of water. The Snapper and archaeologists are done with the supports, but the sand around them keeps shifting. They're going to dig anyway.

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Day 10. I'm exhausted. I think this journal is going to be a record of my death, to be honest. I just want to go home, why did this have to happen to me? I miss my family.

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Day 11. I can hardly lift this pencil. I'm so tired. The Snapper made progress, but sand dislodged the supports and set the progress back. I want my mom. Holly is asleep, she's been asleep since yesterday. I don't think she's going to make it. Tomorrow the Snapper should be finished. I don't know if I can do this anymore. I want to tell my family I love them.

Holly stopped breathing earlier tonight. I tried to help her, but I'm so, so tired. I don't want to go.

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