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Rusty Quill presents

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Hey everyone, Alexi Talanda here and welcome

0:54

to a brand new episode of the Ostium Sagas.

0:57

Did you know you can get access to a bunch more unreleased

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Ostium Sagas content? It's easy.

1:01

Just become a supporting patron at the $5 level

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On our Patreon, you'll get access to many new episodes

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Once again, that's patreon.com ostiumpodcast.

1:21

Now I'd just like to thank some of our new patrons

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us. We really appreciate it.

1:33

Okay, let's get this Ostium Sagas episode started,

1:36

shall we?

2:00

The Ross

2:09

Jim Sagas 44, Saga 3,

2:12

66 MYA, Part 8, The Final

3:15

I knew it was exactly the same as when I opened the

3:17

door in Ostium, because I was so surprised

3:19

by it. We were told there would most likely

3:21

be blackness on the other side of the door, but

3:23

not to worry, just to go through. But

3:26

blackness wasn't what I'd seen, but the weird,

3:28

shiny, oily effect. And

3:30

now that I know this, that something has gone clearly

3:32

wrong with all this, I'm wondering for the first

3:35

time if the people in charge of the Ostium

3:37

network knew this was going to happen to me

3:39

in some way, but still had no problems

3:41

or qualms sending me through the door

3:44

and sending me to my certain death.

3:50

I know, I know, I'm piling on

3:52

worry upon worry here, but in case

3:54

you haven't noticed, things are looking pretty

3:57

bleak right now. My only outlet

3:59

is invited to join me.

3:59

in this journal, and until now I

4:02

should be asking myself why have I bothered writing

4:04

any of this down, given the situation

4:06

I now find myself in and how it

4:08

is very clear there is no way I'm coming out of this

4:11

alive.

4:11

And the question remains, more,

4:13

how can I avoid a very painful

4:15

death as opposed to a quick and easy one?

4:21

But

4:21

all that has changed now in fighting this oddity

4:24

at the bottom of the cave. I have not

4:26

given the size of this ostium yet, and

4:28

that's because there is no possible way I am able to

4:30

fit into it and potentially give myself

4:33

an easy exit from this world. As

4:35

to where it goes, who truly knows?

4:38

But the one thing that is certain is that it is somewhere

4:40

other than this Armageddon, where the world

4:42

is coming to a very definite and fiery

4:45

end. What will fit quite

4:47

easily into the ostium, yes, you

4:49

have no doubt surmised by now, is the

4:51

journal which I continue to write in for posterity's

4:54

sake.

5:00

I said I had come to a decision involving

5:02

myself in certain matters, and

5:05

that is, when I am ready, I will drop this

5:07

journal into the ostium, hoping

5:09

it will end up in someone's hands who may benefit

5:12

from the story I am sharing within these pages.

5:15

In that way, it makes all this, this

5:17

sad and very unexpected end to my

5:19

life that began with so much hope and promise

5:22

when I just stepped through that ostium door, hoping

5:24

to venture into ancient Egypt

5:26

where not all have been in vain.

5:31

My story will live on in some way, even

5:33

if I will not. So what

5:36

is there left to do to make me feel complete,

5:39

to make things feel worthwhile in the life

5:41

that I have lived? Now

5:43

knowing what I know, what I have found, and

5:46

that I have a literal ticking

5:47

time clock counting down at

5:49

a considerable rate, I return

5:51

back to the front of the cave. The fire

5:53

was beginning to wane, not the one we will be

5:55

able to tell by the temperature in the cave, which

5:58

had risen considerably and was now making a big difference.

5:59

making me sweat with little effort. But

6:02

keeping the fire going had been a goal. No,

6:04

a requirement since I first

6:06

got it lit, and it seemed silly to

6:08

let it just die now. That

6:10

word choice is intentional by the way.

6:17

I also heated up some of the meat and ate

6:19

my fill. My last meal. Then

6:22

I rolled out my prayer mat and went about

6:24

my sacred routine. And after

6:26

that, I went and sat at the entrance to the cave

6:29

and looked out at this dying world. I

6:31

thought about a number of things.

6:40

The water had already begun to recede, making

6:42

its way back to the former lake bed. Although

6:45

who knew how long it would remain in that state.

6:48

There were likely more earthquakes to come, more

6:50

planet-wide upheavals in store. I

6:53

thought of the massive amount of information and knowledge

6:55

I had accrued to prepare for my journey

6:57

that was now all but useless in this primordial

7:00

world that seemed more like a different planet.

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That naturally led to the terrible fate that had befallen

7:43

me. And as I went through each step,

7:45

each moment, from being told what could

7:47

be done at the Osteome network, choosing

7:49

where I wanted to go and all the meetings

7:52

and preparations thereafter. Was

7:54

this all unavoidable in some way?

7:56

Was my fate truly set with no possible

7:58

change?

7:59

And while my beliefs said no, it

8:02

is set in stone and immutable, in my

8:04

heart there is much more than a growing seed

8:06

of doubt.

8:08

This seed was already planted and is

8:10

now flourishing, not just into a flower,

8:12

but a mighty tree with many thick strong

8:15

branches.

8:20

I had just blindly walked into a situation

8:22

that was filled with such promises and hopes. We

8:25

were told many had returned from various times

8:27

to tell their incredible tales, but had

8:30

I ever talked with any of those people? No. Just

8:33

assumed that everything had gone fine and

8:35

everyone had returned safe and sound. Sans

8:38

issues. Which leads me to

8:40

the question of whether this was some terrible accident

8:42

to have been stranded here that the Ostium

8:44

network could do nothing about. What did

8:46

they know full well what was going on, and

8:49

what was to befall me? Again

8:51

I must follow my heart which says they knew exactly

8:53

what they were doing. To end up here

8:56

on this historic day feels like too

8:58

much of a random coincidence.

9:00

They wanted this to happen, they wanted

9:02

me here,

9:03

and therefore they wanted me to die, or just

9:06

simply did not care.

9:08

But why? What was their goal?

9:10

What do they get out of it?

9:15

They can't exactly watch me do anything here, it's

9:17

not like there's a hidden camera somewhere. So

9:20

perhaps it's simply being able to confirm that it is

9:22

in fact possible to send someone through a door 66

9:26

million years in the past.

9:27

And then I think about that small Ostium at the bottom

9:30

of the cave. Too small for me to

9:32

pass through, but not too small for my journal,

9:34

which they know I have. Did they know

9:36

what would happen to me? That I would find the

9:39

cave? That I would find the Ostium

9:40

at the end of it?

9:43

I feel that is crossing into the realms of wild speculation,

9:46

and I will just stop there.

9:48

So what else is left? Sadly

9:51

I feel nothing. We

9:53

have reached the end of my story as I feel

9:55

I have completed what I set out to tell, and

9:57

as I sit here at the bottom of the cave once again.

9:59

Then, under the torchlight, I

10:02

can feel the heat begin to reach even here,

10:04

which must mean it is pretty unbearable at the cave

10:07

entrance.

10:08

So I feel it is time now to send

10:10

this journal on its final journey, and

10:12

as to whose hands it will end up in,

10:15

I like to hope it will be someone who can benefit, who

10:17

could make my words worthwhile. I

10:20

am not sure yet how I will end it all.

10:24

I will make my last prayer and

10:26

then either wait for the heat to smother me, or

10:28

perhaps I will take a dip at the receding lake

10:31

and not come up for air, or maybe

10:33

I will go looking for a dinosaur to keep me company

10:35

in my last moments of life. I

10:37

do not know, and it will be a mystery

10:40

that shall remain unsolved within these

10:42

pages.

10:46

While I am by no means happy with this doomed

10:48

end, I will say I got a chance

10:50

to see a time and place no one ever has.

10:54

So I suppose there is that.

11:07

With those words, I bid

11:09

you adieu.

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