Rashes, The Crust, and Sitting Indoors: My Week of Isolation on Jargun-Ba

Not gonna lie, Cosmic Nomadics, this past week has really sucked.

Welcome back to The Halcyon Daze! If you read my last post, you know Ka’vex and I finally landed on Jargun-Ba. Here’s what happened next.

Ka’vex landed us at the foot of the mountains on the western base of the crater. I put on my suit and Ka’vex opened the door and I got to see Jargun-Ba with my own eyes, up close and personal, for the first time. While Ka’vex was setting up our shelter I explored the area. He told me to stay within earshot, but I got a little wrapped up in walking around and got turned around in the jungle. 

I’m not an outdoorsman. Where I grew up I’d only ever seen actual plants on screens or behind glass. The colors were so vibrant and bold that I was hypnotized by them. Even with the full body suit and the air filters I could swear I could smell and almost taste the bountiful life around me. 

And that’s when I discovered what a blisterbark tree is, and toxvine, and dagger trees. If you haven’t heard of any of them I’m not surprised. If anything I envy you. I got to learn all about them in rapid succession when I tripped on a toxvine, releasing a cloud of noxious fumes, stumbled into a dagger tree, which tore my suit, and then plopped smack down in a puddle of blisterbark sap.

Note to self: Always listen to Ka’vex. The man knows his stuff.

So yeah, the thorns on the dagger tree tore a hole in my suit and cut open my leg. The sap from the blisterbark got into it and my leg went numb to the point I couldn’t walk on it. I started crawling back to where Ka’vex was, shouting for him and scared out of my mind. After that, I don’t remember much, but he must have found me.

When I woke up I was in the shelter with a note from Ka’vex lying on my chest. I’ll let his words speak for him:

What kind of dumbass wanders off into the jungle after being warned how dangerous it was? Answer, the dumbass reading this note. I’m gathering supplies to treat your wounds. There’s no vapor clouds around right now, but you need to stay in the shelter anyway. I repeat, keep your ass on that cot, and don’t move. There’s food and water on the table. Eat and drink, but do not get off that cot. I don’t care what you see or hear, do not move. If you have to piss then do it in your pants and think about your choices. I’ll be back tomorrow.

PS - Do Not Leave The Shelter

So that’s what I did. I’d already not paid attention to what Ka’vex told me once, I wasn’t going to do it again. He came back, rubbed some truly awful smelling goo on my leg, and told me to stay put. And that’s how it went the next couple of days. Ka’vex brought food, water, and goo and then left again. I sat it in the shelter with nothing but my thoughts for five days. 

Correction, I had my thoughts, my clothes, and the filtration mask he made me wear at all times except when I was eating and drinking. That brings up the next annoyance. My eyes started getting this crunchy buildup around them that itched like crazy. Since I was told not to take off the mask I couldn’t even clean it off. When I told Ka’vex about it he laughed and said, “Ah, you got the Crust. Surprised it happened so soon,’ and left without another word.

I found out later that Crust is just something that people get down here who aren’t immune to cyanochaos vapor. Something about small bits of it still floating around in the air. Plus, you have to wear masks and other safety gear all the time, which makes some kind of weird cocktail around your face. Maybe one of you guys is a doctor and can tell me why you think it happens. Comment down below your theories, because I'm at a loss.

Anyway, it’s not enough to cause mutation, instead, it makes you start getting that itchy, crunchy build-up around your orifices. ALL your orifices. I’m going to leave the details of that up to your imaginations. Just know that it wasn’t pleasant.

My first week of Jargun-Ba I got to see the planet for twenty minutes. My mistake wasted a ton of time being able to explore and talk to Ka’vex to learn everything I could. I still learned a lot, just not exactly what I was hoping or expecting. But it was still lessons well learned. Sometimes we screw up. We do things we aren’t supposed to and we have to live with the consequences. Never take those lessons for granted, or you might repeat them.

I’m definitely going to listen to every roaking word Ka’vex tells me from this point on. 

But, I’m on the road to recovery. Ka’vex tells me that in another day or two, I’ll be well enough that we can do what we came here to do. This first week on Jargun-Ba has taught me the importance of caution and respect for the unknown. As I recover, I’m more determined than ever to uncover the secrets of this planet, but I’ll be doing it with a lot more care and a lot more listening to Ka’vex. Stay tuned, Cosmic Nomadics. Jargon-Ba may have gotten a good punch in, but I’ve learned my lesson. Hopefully, you all can learn from my lessons too. 

Until next time, keep your eyes Crust free and watch the stars.

Deno Wynn