i think the machinery and dust could somehow be tied to the people that lived before sornieth/the current age, it may have something to do with an abandoned factory?
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TOPIC | [GALA] Journey into Snowspire Caverns
i think the machinery and dust could somehow be tied to the people that lived before sornieth/the current age, it may have something to do with an abandoned factory?
[center]Day 1 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/59#post_25231848]Here[/url] Day 2 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/70#post_25276848]here[/url] Log Day 4 [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/93#post_25410645]here[/url] Day 5 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/95#post_25447621]here[/url][/center]
[quote=Day 3 Log]So I'm Sitting There...BBQ Sauce On My... awoke suddenly to the site of a small glowing mouse sitting atop hecate's head. Shaking the creature off, we all stared at it in curiosity. It was covered in tiny bioluminescent baubles and, as we looked up, we could see several more similar creatures running around in the distance, their lights bobbing up and down in the passages of the cave.
After a few minutes of watching in confusion, we ate, packed our things, and followed the little glowing mice - wherever they might lead us.
As we progressed, we noticed a bright light coming from the cavern ahead. Following it, slightly worried about what it might be, we eventually came to a breathtaking sight. The passage opened up into a massive underground ecosystem where everything was bioluminescent. Little animals scurried around, glowing. Plants grew along the walls and up towards the ceiling, glowing. Glowing insects buzzed around glowing flowers and glowing bats slept atop the glowing ceiling. We wondered what the cause of this might be, and noticed a thin, clear dust drifting throughout the air of the room. Yet, we had no trouble breathing and did not seem to be experiencing any harmful effects.
As we continued through the bioluminescent caverns, picking up a number of samples along the way, we wondered how there could be so much life in what we had expected to be such a barren and lifeless cave.
We continued on, carefully investigating everything on the ground beneath us, but it wasn't until later that we realized we had failed to look to the ceiling. A few hours in, a couple of drips fell down onto our heads. We looked up and found ourselves face to face with a massive, glowing spider.
As the spider dropped from the ceiling towards us, our team readied for the inevitable combat.
hecate, pushing the rest of us out of the way, lifted her claws into the air, chanting a spell and beckoning to the vines around her. Moments later, long ropes of plantlife rose up and wrapped themselves around the spider. Flailing in desperation, the beast struggled to escape, but was unable to do so before the vines tightened around it, squeezing it to pieces.
Our enemy defeated, we continued on into a smaller side passageway.
After a few hours of following the small and winding tunnels, we eventually came to a massive, peculiarly straight tunnel with rough, ice-coated sides. It measured perhaps 100 meters in width and an equal number in height. We followed this tunnel for another few hours, collecting various samples from the walls, before setting our camp, eating our meal, logging our activities, and going to sleep. [/quote]
as usual, hecate has to carry the team. she earns an [color=red][b]A[/b][/color] today for her use of nature magic to weaponize the plantlife in the cave againt the massive spider that the group runs into. anteros and phaedrus “readies for the inevitable combat” but did nothing, maybe because there was nothing to do, maybe because they’re scaredy cats. they earn a [b][color=red]C[/color][/b].
Day 3 Log wrote:
So I'm Sitting There...BBQ Sauce On My... awoke suddenly to the site of a small glowing mouse sitting atop hecate's head. Shaking the creature off, we all stared at it in curiosity. It was covered in tiny bioluminescent baubles and, as we looked up, we could see several more similar creatures running around in the distance, their lights bobbing up and down in the passages of the cave.
After a few minutes of watching in confusion, we ate, packed our things, and followed the little glowing mice - wherever they might lead us.
As we progressed, we noticed a bright light coming from the cavern ahead. Following it, slightly worried about what it might be, we eventually came to a breathtaking sight. The passage opened up into a massive underground ecosystem where everything was bioluminescent. Little animals scurried around, glowing. Plants grew along the walls and up towards the ceiling, glowing. Glowing insects buzzed around glowing flowers and glowing bats slept atop the glowing ceiling. We wondered what the cause of this might be, and noticed a thin, clear dust drifting throughout the air of the room. Yet, we had no trouble breathing and did not seem to be experiencing any harmful effects.
As we continued through the bioluminescent caverns, picking up a number of samples along the way, we wondered how there could be so much life in what we had expected to be such a barren and lifeless cave.
We continued on, carefully investigating everything on the ground beneath us, but it wasn't until later that we realized we had failed to look to the ceiling. A few hours in, a couple of drips fell down onto our heads. We looked up and found ourselves face to face with a massive, glowing spider.
As the spider dropped from the ceiling towards us, our team readied for the inevitable combat.
hecate, pushing the rest of us out of the way, lifted her claws into the air, chanting a spell and beckoning to the vines around her. Moments later, long ropes of plantlife rose up and wrapped themselves around the spider. Flailing in desperation, the beast struggled to escape, but was unable to do so before the vines tightened around it, squeezing it to pieces.
Our enemy defeated, we continued on into a smaller side passageway.
After a few hours of following the small and winding tunnels, we eventually came to a massive, peculiarly straight tunnel with rough, ice-coated sides. It measured perhaps 100 meters in width and an equal number in height. We followed this tunnel for another few hours, collecting various samples from the walls, before setting our camp, eating our meal, logging our activities, and going to sleep.
After a few minutes of watching in confusion, we ate, packed our things, and followed the little glowing mice - wherever they might lead us.
As we progressed, we noticed a bright light coming from the cavern ahead. Following it, slightly worried about what it might be, we eventually came to a breathtaking sight. The passage opened up into a massive underground ecosystem where everything was bioluminescent. Little animals scurried around, glowing. Plants grew along the walls and up towards the ceiling, glowing. Glowing insects buzzed around glowing flowers and glowing bats slept atop the glowing ceiling. We wondered what the cause of this might be, and noticed a thin, clear dust drifting throughout the air of the room. Yet, we had no trouble breathing and did not seem to be experiencing any harmful effects.
As we continued through the bioluminescent caverns, picking up a number of samples along the way, we wondered how there could be so much life in what we had expected to be such a barren and lifeless cave.
We continued on, carefully investigating everything on the ground beneath us, but it wasn't until later that we realized we had failed to look to the ceiling. A few hours in, a couple of drips fell down onto our heads. We looked up and found ourselves face to face with a massive, glowing spider.
As the spider dropped from the ceiling towards us, our team readied for the inevitable combat.
hecate, pushing the rest of us out of the way, lifted her claws into the air, chanting a spell and beckoning to the vines around her. Moments later, long ropes of plantlife rose up and wrapped themselves around the spider. Flailing in desperation, the beast struggled to escape, but was unable to do so before the vines tightened around it, squeezing it to pieces.
Our enemy defeated, we continued on into a smaller side passageway.
After a few hours of following the small and winding tunnels, we eventually came to a massive, peculiarly straight tunnel with rough, ice-coated sides. It measured perhaps 100 meters in width and an equal number in height. We followed this tunnel for another few hours, collecting various samples from the walls, before setting our camp, eating our meal, logging our activities, and going to sleep.
as usual, hecate has to carry the team. she earns an A today for her use of nature magic to weaponize the plantlife in the cave againt the massive spider that the group runs into. anteros and phaedrus “readies for the inevitable combat” but did nothing, maybe because there was nothing to do, maybe because they’re scaredy cats. they earn a C.
| meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy |
YYALLS
they/them |
|
[center]Day 1 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/59#post_25231848]Here[/url] Day 2 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/70#post_25276848]here[/url] Day 3 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/92#post_25410624]here[/url] Day 5 Log [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/95#post_25447621]here[/url][/center]
[quote=Day 4 Log]There was no dawn, and we couldn't be sure of what time it was - or even what day it was - but nevertheless we awoke feeling quite rested. Taking the time to eat a meal and pack up our items, we soon found ourselves up and ready for another day of exploration.
It was not long into the day's walk that our path began to spiral upwards. Although we had not yet seen any creatures, we had heard the frequent shuffling of tiny footsteps echoing through the halls. We knew we were not alone, and we were not afraid, although we soon would be.
It was later in the day when we came to a large, circular hole in the wall. Seeing the movement inside, we approached cautiously, turning our lanterns down as dim as they could go. We found ourselves looking down into the most massive room we had yet seen. At the center of this large and round chamber, was a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth. Nearing 200 meters tall, and equally wide, it was easily the largest living creature we had ever laid our eyes upon. Around it, thousands of tiny version of this similar creature were all feeding a constant flow of various plants and animals to the 'mother.' There were stacks of grasses and plants arranged in nests, where all of these strange and horrible creatures wiggled about.
In that moment, the exact same thing was going through all of our heads 'Great dragon gods what kind of horror is that?!'
Of course, we did not have too long to take in this situation, as it was soon after that the 'mother' had spotted us, reaching one of its tentacles up through the hole, which was conveniently situated about halfway to the ceiling of the massive room. We knew we had to act, and quickly.
We backed away from the hole as anteros climbed into a nook in the passageway, beckoning for his teammates to follow. There we stayed, quietly waiting and watching as the beast's tendril blindly felt around the passageway.
We quietly crept from our hiding place and... noPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. We scurried back where we had come from as fast as we possibly could.
Having decided that the best course of action would be to survive the journey and come back with back-up (a lot of back-up), we began to seek out safer areas to explore. For the rest of the day, we wandered downwards, collecting samples, eventually finding a nice, quiet place to make our camp (and forget what we had just seen). There, we ate, logged our activities, and slept. [/quote]
honestly, grading my team this week was very difficult. i want to commend them on their instinct to survive, but come on guys! where’s your sense of adventure? they found the tentacle monster (but didn’t see any dragon eggs…are they just unobservant?) but then they RAN FROM IT.
so instead of a letter grade for day 4, the team is getting evaluated on a pass/fail basis. they [b][color=red]pass[/b][/color], but with little fanfare. anteros gets an honorary mention for potentially saving the other’s butts, but he was probably doing it more for the attention than out of genuine care. *flexes muscle*
Day 4 Log wrote:
There was no dawn, and we couldn't be sure of what time it was - or even what day it was - but nevertheless we awoke feeling quite rested. Taking the time to eat a meal and pack up our items, we soon found ourselves up and ready for another day of exploration.
It was not long into the day's walk that our path began to spiral upwards. Although we had not yet seen any creatures, we had heard the frequent shuffling of tiny footsteps echoing through the halls. We knew we were not alone, and we were not afraid, although we soon would be.
It was later in the day when we came to a large, circular hole in the wall. Seeing the movement inside, we approached cautiously, turning our lanterns down as dim as they could go. We found ourselves looking down into the most massive room we had yet seen. At the center of this large and round chamber, was a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth. Nearing 200 meters tall, and equally wide, it was easily the largest living creature we had ever laid our eyes upon. Around it, thousands of tiny version of this similar creature were all feeding a constant flow of various plants and animals to the 'mother.' There were stacks of grasses and plants arranged in nests, where all of these strange and horrible creatures wiggled about.
In that moment, the exact same thing was going through all of our heads 'Great dragon gods what kind of horror is that?!'
Of course, we did not have too long to take in this situation, as it was soon after that the 'mother' had spotted us, reaching one of its tentacles up through the hole, which was conveniently situated about halfway to the ceiling of the massive room. We knew we had to act, and quickly.
We backed away from the hole as anteros climbed into a nook in the passageway, beckoning for his teammates to follow. There we stayed, quietly waiting and watching as the beast's tendril blindly felt around the passageway.
We quietly crept from our hiding place and... noPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. We scurried back where we had come from as fast as we possibly could.
Having decided that the best course of action would be to survive the journey and come back with back-up (a lot of back-up), we began to seek out safer areas to explore. For the rest of the day, we wandered downwards, collecting samples, eventually finding a nice, quiet place to make our camp (and forget what we had just seen). There, we ate, logged our activities, and slept.
It was not long into the day's walk that our path began to spiral upwards. Although we had not yet seen any creatures, we had heard the frequent shuffling of tiny footsteps echoing through the halls. We knew we were not alone, and we were not afraid, although we soon would be.
It was later in the day when we came to a large, circular hole in the wall. Seeing the movement inside, we approached cautiously, turning our lanterns down as dim as they could go. We found ourselves looking down into the most massive room we had yet seen. At the center of this large and round chamber, was a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth. Nearing 200 meters tall, and equally wide, it was easily the largest living creature we had ever laid our eyes upon. Around it, thousands of tiny version of this similar creature were all feeding a constant flow of various plants and animals to the 'mother.' There were stacks of grasses and plants arranged in nests, where all of these strange and horrible creatures wiggled about.
In that moment, the exact same thing was going through all of our heads 'Great dragon gods what kind of horror is that?!'
Of course, we did not have too long to take in this situation, as it was soon after that the 'mother' had spotted us, reaching one of its tentacles up through the hole, which was conveniently situated about halfway to the ceiling of the massive room. We knew we had to act, and quickly.
We backed away from the hole as anteros climbed into a nook in the passageway, beckoning for his teammates to follow. There we stayed, quietly waiting and watching as the beast's tendril blindly felt around the passageway.
We quietly crept from our hiding place and... noPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. We scurried back where we had come from as fast as we possibly could.
Having decided that the best course of action would be to survive the journey and come back with back-up (a lot of back-up), we began to seek out safer areas to explore. For the rest of the day, we wandered downwards, collecting samples, eventually finding a nice, quiet place to make our camp (and forget what we had just seen). There, we ate, logged our activities, and slept.
honestly, grading my team this week was very difficult. i want to commend them on their instinct to survive, but come on guys! where’s your sense of adventure? they found the tentacle monster (but didn’t see any dragon eggs…are they just unobservant?) but then they RAN FROM IT.
so instead of a letter grade for day 4, the team is getting evaluated on a pass/fail basis. they pass, but with little fanfare. anteros gets an honorary mention for potentially saving the other’s butts, but he was probably doing it more for the attention than out of genuine care. *flexes muscle*
| meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy | meowdy |
YYALLS
they/them |
|
[center][size=6][font=Comic Sans MS][b]Logbook of the Vortex Squad[/b][/size][/font][/center]
[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/18#post_25112117]Team[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/56#post_25227466]Entry 1[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/67#post_25260927]Entry 2[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/85#post_25318701]Entry 3[/url] | Entry 4 | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/96#post_25471355]Entry 5[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/99#post_25525256]Entry 6[/url] | [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/105#post_25651575]Entry7[/url][/center]
[indent][size=4][font=Lucida Console][b]Entry 4 - A Close Encounter[/b][/size]
[font=Lucida Console][b]Date[/b]: Feb 01, 2017
[font=Lucida Console][b]Location[/b]: Near the Massive Underground Room - Camp in the Tunnels[/indent]
------
[columns]..
[nextcol][size=5][font=Trebuchet MS][b]THE (?)MORNING[/b][/font][/size]
[size=4]There was no dawn here in the tunnels. No way to tell the pass of time. How long did we already wander about this place? A day, days, maybe a week? Let us say, we all awoke at this morning feeling quite rested and after the vital intake of food, the team packed the essential items and samples to continue our exploration.
Not long into the day's, our path began to spiral upwards. We had not seen any creatures--to my bitter disappointment--, only heard the frequent shuffling of tiny footsteps echoing through the halls. I would have loved to be able to study these lifeforms more closely. Maybe a day or two, preferable some weeks! But, alas, we continued our journey into the deeper section of the caves.
Still, we all knew we were not alone and we were not afraid. Although we soon would be.
[size=4][font=Trebuchet MS][b]DISCOVERY – Some miles down the tunnels[/b][/font][/size]
[size=3]It was later in the day when we came to a large, circular hole in the wall. I no longer could suppress my curiosity as I noticed movement inside. Avalanche reminded everyone to approached cautiously, so we turned our lanterns down as dim as they could go. Oh, how I wanted to complain back then! I wanted run inside--to study, investigate, learn! But we did good to take precautions...
We found ourselves looking down into the most massive room we had yet seen. But even more stunning: At the center of this large and round chamber, was a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth. Nearing 200 meters tall, and equally wide, it was easily the largest living creature I--and even my teammates and friends--had ever laid our eyes upon.
[center][size=4][i]What an absolutely extraordinary lifeform!![/i][/center]
[size=4]Then, we noticed thousands of tiny version of this similar creature around it. They were all feeding a constant flow of various plants and animals to the 'mother.' In the immediate vicinity, stacks of grasses and plants were arranged in nests, where all of these strange, extraordinary, yet horrible creatures wiggled about.
I requested to get closer, but my teammates voted against.
Signed
[indent][size=6][font=Trebuchet MS]Aztec[/indent][/columns]
[center][img]http://orig07.deviantart.net/7c30/f/2011/111/5/3/divider_ii_by_rbsrdesigns-d3ejqrj.png[/img][/center]
[size=4][font=ARIAL BLACK][b]OBSERVATION – Studying the monster through the circular hole in the wall[/b][/font][/size]
The moment we laid eyes upon that horrendous creature, the exact same thing was going through our heads: [i]'Great dragon gods what kind of horror is that?!'[/i] Still, we had hold back Aztec, who got out of line with his overeagerness for a second.
Of course, we did not have too long to take in this situation! Suddenly, the 'mother' had spotted us--despite the caution taken--and reached out one of its tentacles up through the hole, which was conveniently situated about halfway to the ceiling of the massive room. We knew we had to act, and quickly. Or something horrible was about to happen! Fighting wasn't an option either.
So we backed away from the hole as quick as possible. Loki then climbed into a nook in the passageway, beckoning everyone to follow. There we stayed, quietly waiting and watching as the beast's tendril blindly felt around the passageway.
Quietly creeping from our hiding place to get another look at the creature, as we noticed something even more appalling: There were Nocturne eggs down in that cave!! That thing was apparently eating dragon babies like popcorn!!
It was bad. Very bad! Absolutely terrible! We couldn't ignore it! Had to do something to get the little, yet to be born dragons out of this deadly trap. So, we had to hatch quite the plan if we were to take out a horror like this.
Signed in one's own hand
[indent][size=7][font= Haettenschweiler]Lance[/indent]
[center][img]http://orig07.deviantart.net/7c30/f/2011/111/5/3/divider_ii_by_rbsrdesigns-d3ejqrj.png[/img][/center]
[size=6][font=Monotype Corsiva][b]NEW PLAN – The passage leading upwards[/b][/font][/size]
We already knew that there had to be a way to fight this thing, a way that didn't simply involve conventional combat. Because--let's face it--we were not going to be able to take down anything that big. Not with just the three of us. Lance was an excellent fighter and I myself am not that bad either. But against that thing... we had no chance to defeat it in a head-on attack.
So--while we were watching this thing function--we looked around the room, hoping to get a few ideas.
Aztec, having spent a good few minutes deep in thought, eventually pointed to the ceiling of the cavern, saying:
[center][i]'Do you see all those cracks up there? There's even a hole just above the creature's head. Perhaps we could collapse the ceiling down onto it. I'm not sure how we could do it, but if we can find a way up there we might be able to get a better look.'[/i][/center]
It wasn't much, but we now had a plan. We started to thoroughly search the area to see, if we could find a passage that would lead us upwards, above the creature. Fortunately, Avalanche's map would do just the trick. We began to go back, through all the tunnels we had passed, until finally we began to move upwards.
When we had nearly reached the top, we found a secluded place that we thought might be safe enough for a bit of rest. There, we made our camp, settled down and ate our meal. But the encounter with that horrendous creature had left us anxious, edgy even.
This time we slept in shifts for safety reasons. The first was taken by Aztec, who after some hours had awoken Lance, me being the last one to keep watch over our sleep. As one may have noticed, the log for the day was partly written by all of us to ease the tension during the shifts taken.
All entries read and signed
[indent][size=7][font=Monotype Corsiva]Loki[/indent]
[center][size=1]RESOURCE DIVIDER [url=http://canzeda.deviantart.com/art/Divider-II-205834303]X[/url][/size][/center]
Logbook of the Vortex Squad
Entry 4 - A Close Encounter
Date: Feb 01, 2017
Location: Near the Massive Underground Room - Camp in the Tunnels
Date: Feb 01, 2017
Location: Near the Massive Underground Room - Camp in the Tunnels
| .. |
THE (?)MORNING There was no dawn here in the tunnels. No way to tell the pass of time. How long did we already wander about this place? A day, days, maybe a week? Let us say, we all awoke at this morning feeling quite rested and after the vital intake of food, the team packed the essential items and samples to continue our exploration. Not long into the day's, our path began to spiral upwards. We had not seen any creatures--to my bitter disappointment--, only heard the frequent shuffling of tiny footsteps echoing through the halls. I would have loved to be able to study these lifeforms more closely. Maybe a day or two, preferable some weeks! But, alas, we continued our journey into the deeper section of the caves. Still, we all knew we were not alone and we were not afraid. Although we soon would be. DISCOVERY – Some miles down the tunnels It was later in the day when we came to a large, circular hole in the wall. I no longer could suppress my curiosity as I noticed movement inside. Avalanche reminded everyone to approached cautiously, so we turned our lanterns down as dim as they could go. Oh, how I wanted to complain back then! I wanted run inside--to study, investigate, learn! But we did good to take precautions... We found ourselves looking down into the most massive room we had yet seen. But even more stunning: At the center of this large and round chamber, was a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth. Nearing 200 meters tall, and equally wide, it was easily the largest living creature I--and even my teammates and friends--had ever laid our eyes upon.
What an absolutely extraordinary lifeform!!
Then, we noticed thousands of tiny version of this similar creature around it. They were all feeding a constant flow of various plants and animals to the 'mother.' In the immediate vicinity, stacks of grasses and plants were arranged in nests, where all of these strange, extraordinary, yet horrible creatures wiggled about. I requested to get closer, but my teammates voted against. Signed
Aztec
|
OBSERVATION – Studying the monster through the circular hole in the wall
The moment we laid eyes upon that horrendous creature, the exact same thing was going through our heads: 'Great dragon gods what kind of horror is that?!' Still, we had hold back Aztec, who got out of line with his overeagerness for a second.
Of course, we did not have too long to take in this situation! Suddenly, the 'mother' had spotted us--despite the caution taken--and reached out one of its tentacles up through the hole, which was conveniently situated about halfway to the ceiling of the massive room. We knew we had to act, and quickly. Or something horrible was about to happen! Fighting wasn't an option either.
So we backed away from the hole as quick as possible. Loki then climbed into a nook in the passageway, beckoning everyone to follow. There we stayed, quietly waiting and watching as the beast's tendril blindly felt around the passageway.
Quietly creeping from our hiding place to get another look at the creature, as we noticed something even more appalling: There were Nocturne eggs down in that cave!! That thing was apparently eating dragon babies like popcorn!!
It was bad. Very bad! Absolutely terrible! We couldn't ignore it! Had to do something to get the little, yet to be born dragons out of this deadly trap. So, we had to hatch quite the plan if we were to take out a horror like this.
Signed in one's own hand
Lance
NEW PLAN – The passage leading upwards
We already knew that there had to be a way to fight this thing, a way that didn't simply involve conventional combat. Because--let's face it--we were not going to be able to take down anything that big. Not with just the three of us. Lance was an excellent fighter and I myself am not that bad either. But against that thing... we had no chance to defeat it in a head-on attack.
So--while we were watching this thing function--we looked around the room, hoping to get a few ideas.
Aztec, having spent a good few minutes deep in thought, eventually pointed to the ceiling of the cavern, saying:
'Do you see all those cracks up there? There's even a hole just above the creature's head. Perhaps we could collapse the ceiling down onto it. I'm not sure how we could do it, but if we can find a way up there we might be able to get a better look.'
It wasn't much, but we now had a plan. We started to thoroughly search the area to see, if we could find a passage that would lead us upwards, above the creature. Fortunately, Avalanche's map would do just the trick. We began to go back, through all the tunnels we had passed, until finally we began to move upwards.
When we had nearly reached the top, we found a secluded place that we thought might be safe enough for a bit of rest. There, we made our camp, settled down and ate our meal. But the encounter with that horrendous creature had left us anxious, edgy even.
This time we slept in shifts for safety reasons. The first was taken by Aztec, who after some hours had awoken Lance, me being the last one to keep watch over our sleep. As one may have noticed, the log for the day was partly written by all of us to ease the tension during the shifts taken.
All entries read and signed
Loki
RESOURCE DIVIDER X
Oh gosh this is getting exciting now! :D I was waiting with baited breath for my Day 4 log and I was in no way disappointed.
The Lundlaevungar:
Scenes from Day 4
The darkness was complete, all around them, apart from the dim glow of the lamplight. Yet despite the scuffling sounds of the creatures that they were following, Bucky felt no fear. He was done with fearing what could, what might: he saved it for when he had good, solid reason. The little tentacle-creature they had seen the day before wasn't much of a threat.
They were approaching a large, circular hole in the wall when Bucky spotted movement inside and held up a hand to stop Skadi and Mimir from moving forwards. He dimmed his lamp still further, until the flame barely flickered, and they did likewise - though Mimir hissed at him, "What exactly is the point of this?"
"Whatever's in there - you don't want it to see us before we see it, do you?" Bucky growled back.
Mimir ruffled his frills and backed down, letting Bucky take point as the three crept towards the entrance.
They reached it, and looked down into the largest chamber they had seen yet: an enormous round cavern, with at its heart a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth, enormous and terrifying. Thousands of the little mop-creatures were swarming around and over it, carrying plants and animals to feed into the monster's maw.
"Tidecaller's teeth!" Mimir cursed, recoiling in horror from the hole in the wall and voicing the very thing they were all thinking: "What kind of horror is that?!"
Mimir realised his mistake instantly, as did his companions. As soon as he spoke, he drew the attention of the enormous creature. Its eyes swivelled around and its tentacles wiggled, and it reached one huge limb up, up and towards the hole that they were perched around.
"Come here," Bucky hissed as the three of them scrambled backwards, away from the inky black tentalce that was groping for them.
He shoved both Skadi and Mimir unceremoniously into a nook in the passageway - Mimir squawking indignantly the whole time - and was just clambering up beside them when the tentacle started feeling around that section of the cavern. For a moment, they thought it might pass right over Bucky's wings and think they were simply another part of the wall - but the creature must have been too sensitive to touch for that. It wrapped its horrible tentacle around all three dragons and started to haul them out.
Mimir tried to reach for his cutlass, but it was pinned against Skadi's side, and her claws were in turn trapped uselessly between her teammates. The three dragons struggled, but to no avail. They were dragged inexorably back towards the nest.
Then Bucky twisted, and with a final wriggle managed to loosen the tentacle's grasp enough to free his powerful hind legs and claws.
He ripped into the creature, forcing it to let him go, and he went to work attacking it more diligently than before - slashing and clawing at the tentacle until it was severed completely and fell limp from around Skadi and Mimir.
Bucky scooped Mimir up and helped Skadi to retreat around the neared corner. Mimir was too relieved and exhausted even to say a word as his companion carried him. They collapsed there, the three of them panting, and tried to calm the panicked beating of their hearts.
"What is that thing?" Bucky asked eventually in a voice that was so cautious it was barely audible, even though they were all sitting pressed against one another.
"I have never seen the like of it," Skadi admitted, shaking her head. "I hope never to again."
"We have to go and have another look," Mimir said eventually, and then instantly held up his hands when his companions rounded on him. "Well, we can't very well go back now! Empty handed!"
Skadi glared a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head. "The pirate is right - we should at least try to gather some information about the creature."
It wasn't quite what Mimir meant, but at least he had Skadi convinced that they needed to go and have another look into the cavern. He turned to Bucky and waggled his frills in what he hoped was a cajoling manner. "Well?"
Bucky didn't look convinced, though it was hard to tell under the hat and mask and goggles, and given Bucky's habitual stoicism. However, he did stand and say, "Let's go look."
The crept, very carefully, out of their hiding place and back towards the nest, where they peered once again through the opening. Mirir scanned the area, this time trying not to let his shock and revulsion take hold and attempting to look for anything of value. He spotted something - but not anything he would wish to see down there.
"By the Eleven, are those Nocturne eggs?" he hissed, pointing a finger.
Skadi and Bucky both turned to look, and the three of them watched as the little creatures carried a small clutch of eggs towards the large monster - to be eaten, of that Mimir was sure now.
"Oh, no," Skadi breathed, and turned away. "No."
Mimir looked away too, unable to stomach the thought of witnessing such a thing, but Bucky kept his gaze fixed on the scene before them, his mostly-hidden expression somehow becoming even more grim. There was a long silence, and then Bucky said, "We stop this. Now."
"And how d'you plan on doing that, eh?" Mimir snapped, his frills flaring wide in lieu of shouting. "There's only three of us down here, and that thing's huge!"
Bucky shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
Mimir's face contorted into a snarl, but before he could snap about being the only one who ever did anything useful - at least with his brain - Skadi laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He forced himself to calm down.
Grumbling, Mimir hunkered lower down and peered into the cavern again. Of the three of them, he was the best suited to come up with a plan - he was the one who came up with ideas, brilliant ideas. Not like Bucky, who just followed orders, or Skadi, who was a good warrior but, at the end of the day, not capable of the same creative leaps he could manage. He could think of something. He just needed a little time. And a little more reconnaissance.
Eventually, he straightened up and beckoned Bucky and Skadi to lean in closer as he pointed towards the ceiling. "The roof of this place is all covered in cracks, see? There's even a hole right above that monstrosity's head. We might be able to bring the ceiling down."
Bucky actually clapped him on the shoulder. He felt a momentary sting of annoyance - especially since Bucky used his prosthetic limb and it hurt - then remembered that this was probably meant to be a show of support and thanks.
"See? You thought of something," he said, "I knew you would."
"How do we get up there?" Skadi asked, peering at the roof of the cavern. It looked a long way away, from here.
However, Mimir grinned and reached into his coat for a very familiar roll of parchment. "Fortunately for us, I have a map ..."
The Lundlaevungar:
 Skadi The Huntress |
 Mimir The Pirate |
 Bucky The Winter Soldier |
Scenes from Day 4
Into the nest
The darkness was complete, all around them, apart from the dim glow of the lamplight. Yet despite the scuffling sounds of the creatures that they were following, Bucky felt no fear. He was done with fearing what could, what might: he saved it for when he had good, solid reason. The little tentacle-creature they had seen the day before wasn't much of a threat.
They were approaching a large, circular hole in the wall when Bucky spotted movement inside and held up a hand to stop Skadi and Mimir from moving forwards. He dimmed his lamp still further, until the flame barely flickered, and they did likewise - though Mimir hissed at him, "What exactly is the point of this?"
"Whatever's in there - you don't want it to see us before we see it, do you?" Bucky growled back.
Mimir ruffled his frills and backed down, letting Bucky take point as the three crept towards the entrance.
They reached it, and looked down into the largest chamber they had seen yet: an enormous round cavern, with at its heart a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth, enormous and terrifying. Thousands of the little mop-creatures were swarming around and over it, carrying plants and animals to feed into the monster's maw.
"Tidecaller's teeth!" Mimir cursed, recoiling in horror from the hole in the wall and voicing the very thing they were all thinking: "What kind of horror is that?!"
Spotted
Mimir realised his mistake instantly, as did his companions. As soon as he spoke, he drew the attention of the enormous creature. Its eyes swivelled around and its tentacles wiggled, and it reached one huge limb up, up and towards the hole that they were perched around.
"Come here," Bucky hissed as the three of them scrambled backwards, away from the inky black tentalce that was groping for them.
He shoved both Skadi and Mimir unceremoniously into a nook in the passageway - Mimir squawking indignantly the whole time - and was just clambering up beside them when the tentacle started feeling around that section of the cavern. For a moment, they thought it might pass right over Bucky's wings and think they were simply another part of the wall - but the creature must have been too sensitive to touch for that. It wrapped its horrible tentacle around all three dragons and started to haul them out.
Mimir tried to reach for his cutlass, but it was pinned against Skadi's side, and her claws were in turn trapped uselessly between her teammates. The three dragons struggled, but to no avail. They were dragged inexorably back towards the nest.
Then Bucky twisted, and with a final wriggle managed to loosen the tentacle's grasp enough to free his powerful hind legs and claws.
He ripped into the creature, forcing it to let him go, and he went to work attacking it more diligently than before - slashing and clawing at the tentacle until it was severed completely and fell limp from around Skadi and Mimir.
Bucky scooped Mimir up and helped Skadi to retreat around the neared corner. Mimir was too relieved and exhausted even to say a word as his companion carried him. They collapsed there, the three of them panting, and tried to calm the panicked beating of their hearts.
"What is that thing?" Bucky asked eventually in a voice that was so cautious it was barely audible, even though they were all sitting pressed against one another.
"I have never seen the like of it," Skadi admitted, shaking her head. "I hope never to again."
Formulating a plan ...
"We have to go and have another look," Mimir said eventually, and then instantly held up his hands when his companions rounded on him. "Well, we can't very well go back now! Empty handed!"
Skadi glared a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head. "The pirate is right - we should at least try to gather some information about the creature."
It wasn't quite what Mimir meant, but at least he had Skadi convinced that they needed to go and have another look into the cavern. He turned to Bucky and waggled his frills in what he hoped was a cajoling manner. "Well?"
Bucky didn't look convinced, though it was hard to tell under the hat and mask and goggles, and given Bucky's habitual stoicism. However, he did stand and say, "Let's go look."
The crept, very carefully, out of their hiding place and back towards the nest, where they peered once again through the opening. Mirir scanned the area, this time trying not to let his shock and revulsion take hold and attempting to look for anything of value. He spotted something - but not anything he would wish to see down there.
"By the Eleven, are those Nocturne eggs?" he hissed, pointing a finger.
Skadi and Bucky both turned to look, and the three of them watched as the little creatures carried a small clutch of eggs towards the large monster - to be eaten, of that Mimir was sure now.
"Oh, no," Skadi breathed, and turned away. "No."
Mimir looked away too, unable to stomach the thought of witnessing such a thing, but Bucky kept his gaze fixed on the scene before them, his mostly-hidden expression somehow becoming even more grim. There was a long silence, and then Bucky said, "We stop this. Now."
"And how d'you plan on doing that, eh?" Mimir snapped, his frills flaring wide in lieu of shouting. "There's only three of us down here, and that thing's huge!"
Bucky shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
Mimir's face contorted into a snarl, but before he could snap about being the only one who ever did anything useful - at least with his brain - Skadi laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He forced himself to calm down.
Grumbling, Mimir hunkered lower down and peered into the cavern again. Of the three of them, he was the best suited to come up with a plan - he was the one who came up with ideas, brilliant ideas. Not like Bucky, who just followed orders, or Skadi, who was a good warrior but, at the end of the day, not capable of the same creative leaps he could manage. He could think of something. He just needed a little time. And a little more reconnaissance.
Eventually, he straightened up and beckoned Bucky and Skadi to lean in closer as he pointed towards the ceiling. "The roof of this place is all covered in cracks, see? There's even a hole right above that monstrosity's head. We might be able to bring the ceiling down."
Bucky actually clapped him on the shoulder. He felt a momentary sting of annoyance - especially since Bucky used his prosthetic limb and it hurt - then remembered that this was probably meant to be a show of support and thanks.
"See? You thought of something," he said, "I knew you would."
"How do we get up there?" Skadi asked, peering at the roof of the cavern. It looked a long way away, from here.
However, Mimir grinned and reached into his coat for a very familiar roll of parchment. "Fortunately for us, I have a map ..."
Oh gosh this is getting exciting now! :D I was waiting with baited breath for my Day 4 log and I was in no way disappointed.
The Lundlaevungar:
Scenes from Day 4
The darkness was complete, all around them, apart from the dim glow of the lamplight. Yet despite the scuffling sounds of the creatures that they were following, Bucky felt no fear. He was done with fearing what could, what might: he saved it for when he had good, solid reason. The little tentacle-creature they had seen the day before wasn't much of a threat.
They were approaching a large, circular hole in the wall when Bucky spotted movement inside and held up a hand to stop Skadi and Mimir from moving forwards. He dimmed his lamp still further, until the flame barely flickered, and they did likewise - though Mimir hissed at him, "What exactly is the point of this?"
"Whatever's in there - you don't want it to see us before we see it, do you?" Bucky growled back.
Mimir ruffled his frills and backed down, letting Bucky take point as the three crept towards the entrance.
They reached it, and looked down into the largest chamber they had seen yet: an enormous round cavern, with at its heart a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth, enormous and terrifying. Thousands of the little mop-creatures were swarming around and over it, carrying plants and animals to feed into the monster's maw.
"Tidecaller's teeth!" Mimir cursed, recoiling in horror from the hole in the wall and voicing the very thing they were all thinking: "What kind of horror is that?!"
Mimir realised his mistake instantly, as did his companions. As soon as he spoke, he drew the attention of the enormous creature. Its eyes swivelled around and its tentacles wiggled, and it reached one huge limb up, up and towards the hole that they were perched around.
"Come here," Bucky hissed as the three of them scrambled backwards, away from the inky black tentalce that was groping for them.
He shoved both Skadi and Mimir unceremoniously into a nook in the passageway - Mimir squawking indignantly the whole time - and was just clambering up beside them when the tentacle started feeling around that section of the cavern. For a moment, they thought it might pass right over Bucky's wings and think they were simply another part of the wall - but the creature must have been too sensitive to touch for that. It wrapped its horrible tentacle around all three dragons and started to haul them out.
Mimir tried to reach for his cutlass, but it was pinned against Skadi's side, and her claws were in turn trapped uselessly between her teammates. The three dragons struggled, but to no avail. They were dragged inexorably back towards the nest.
Then Bucky twisted, and with a final wriggle managed to loosen the tentacle's grasp enough to free his powerful hind legs and claws.
He ripped into the creature, forcing it to let him go, and he went to work attacking it more diligently than before - slashing and clawing at the tentacle until it was severed completely and fell limp from around Skadi and Mimir.
Bucky scooped Mimir up and helped Skadi to retreat around the neared corner. Mimir was too relieved and exhausted even to say a word as his companion carried him. They collapsed there, the three of them panting, and tried to calm the panicked beating of their hearts.
"What is that thing?" Bucky asked eventually in a voice that was so cautious it was barely audible, even though they were all sitting pressed against one another.
"I have never seen the like of it," Skadi admitted, shaking her head. "I hope never to again."
"We have to go and have another look," Mimir said eventually, and then instantly held up his hands when his companions rounded on him. "Well, we can't very well go back now! Empty handed!"
Skadi glared a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head. "The pirate is right - we should at least try to gather some information about the creature."
It wasn't quite what Mimir meant, but at least he had Skadi convinced that they needed to go and have another look into the cavern. He turned to Bucky and waggled his frills in what he hoped was a cajoling manner. "Well?"
Bucky didn't look convinced, though it was hard to tell under the hat and mask and goggles, and given Bucky's habitual stoicism. However, he did stand and say, "Let's go look."
The crept, very carefully, out of their hiding place and back towards the nest, where they peered once again through the opening. Mirir scanned the area, this time trying not to let his shock and revulsion take hold and attempting to look for anything of value. He spotted something - but not anything he would wish to see down there.
"By the Eleven, are those Nocturne eggs?" he hissed, pointing a finger.
Skadi and Bucky both turned to look, and the three of them watched as the little creatures carried a small clutch of eggs towards the large monster - to be eaten, of that Mimir was sure now.
"Oh, no," Skadi breathed, and turned away. "No."
Mimir looked away too, unable to stomach the thought of witnessing such a thing, but Bucky kept his gaze fixed on the scene before them, his mostly-hidden expression somehow becoming even more grim. There was a long silence, and then Bucky said, "We stop this. Now."
"And how d'you plan on doing that, eh?" Mimir snapped, his frills flaring wide in lieu of shouting. "There's only three of us down here, and that thing's huge!"
Bucky shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
Mimir's face contorted into a snarl, but before he could snap about being the only one who ever did anything useful - at least with his brain - Skadi laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He forced himself to calm down.
Grumbling, Mimir hunkered lower down and peered into the cavern again. Of the three of them, he was the best suited to come up with a plan - he was the one who came up with ideas, brilliant ideas. Not like Bucky, who just followed orders, or Skadi, who was a good warrior but, at the end of the day, not capable of the same creative leaps he could manage. He could think of something. He just needed a little time. And a little more reconnaissance.
Eventually, he straightened up and beckoned Bucky and Skadi to lean in closer as he pointed towards the ceiling. "The roof of this place is all covered in cracks, see? There's even a hole right above that monstrosity's head. We might be able to bring the ceiling down."
Bucky actually clapped him on the shoulder. He felt a momentary sting of annoyance - especially since Bucky used his prosthetic limb and it hurt - then remembered that this was probably meant to be a show of support and thanks.
"See? You thought of something," he said, "I knew you would."
"How do we get up there?" Skadi asked, peering at the roof of the cavern. It looked a long way away, from here.
However, Mimir grinned and reached into his coat for a very familiar roll of parchment. "Fortunately for us, I have a map ..."
The Lundlaevungar:
|
Skadi The Huntress |
Mimir The Pirate |
Bucky The Winter Soldier |
Scenes from Day 4
Into the nest
The darkness was complete, all around them, apart from the dim glow of the lamplight. Yet despite the scuffling sounds of the creatures that they were following, Bucky felt no fear. He was done with fearing what could, what might: he saved it for when he had good, solid reason. The little tentacle-creature they had seen the day before wasn't much of a threat.
They were approaching a large, circular hole in the wall when Bucky spotted movement inside and held up a hand to stop Skadi and Mimir from moving forwards. He dimmed his lamp still further, until the flame barely flickered, and they did likewise - though Mimir hissed at him, "What exactly is the point of this?"
"Whatever's in there - you don't want it to see us before we see it, do you?" Bucky growled back.
Mimir ruffled his frills and backed down, letting Bucky take point as the three crept towards the entrance.
They reached it, and looked down into the largest chamber they had seen yet: an enormous round cavern, with at its heart a writhing mass of tentacles and eyeballs and teeth, enormous and terrifying. Thousands of the little mop-creatures were swarming around and over it, carrying plants and animals to feed into the monster's maw.
"Tidecaller's teeth!" Mimir cursed, recoiling in horror from the hole in the wall and voicing the very thing they were all thinking: "What kind of horror is that?!"
Spotted
Mimir realised his mistake instantly, as did his companions. As soon as he spoke, he drew the attention of the enormous creature. Its eyes swivelled around and its tentacles wiggled, and it reached one huge limb up, up and towards the hole that they were perched around.
"Come here," Bucky hissed as the three of them scrambled backwards, away from the inky black tentalce that was groping for them.
He shoved both Skadi and Mimir unceremoniously into a nook in the passageway - Mimir squawking indignantly the whole time - and was just clambering up beside them when the tentacle started feeling around that section of the cavern. For a moment, they thought it might pass right over Bucky's wings and think they were simply another part of the wall - but the creature must have been too sensitive to touch for that. It wrapped its horrible tentacle around all three dragons and started to haul them out.
Mimir tried to reach for his cutlass, but it was pinned against Skadi's side, and her claws were in turn trapped uselessly between her teammates. The three dragons struggled, but to no avail. They were dragged inexorably back towards the nest.
Then Bucky twisted, and with a final wriggle managed to loosen the tentacle's grasp enough to free his powerful hind legs and claws.
He ripped into the creature, forcing it to let him go, and he went to work attacking it more diligently than before - slashing and clawing at the tentacle until it was severed completely and fell limp from around Skadi and Mimir.
Bucky scooped Mimir up and helped Skadi to retreat around the neared corner. Mimir was too relieved and exhausted even to say a word as his companion carried him. They collapsed there, the three of them panting, and tried to calm the panicked beating of their hearts.
"What is that thing?" Bucky asked eventually in a voice that was so cautious it was barely audible, even though they were all sitting pressed against one another.
"I have never seen the like of it," Skadi admitted, shaking her head. "I hope never to again."
Formulating a plan ...
"We have to go and have another look," Mimir said eventually, and then instantly held up his hands when his companions rounded on him. "Well, we can't very well go back now! Empty handed!"
Skadi glared a moment longer, then sighed and shook her head. "The pirate is right - we should at least try to gather some information about the creature."
It wasn't quite what Mimir meant, but at least he had Skadi convinced that they needed to go and have another look into the cavern. He turned to Bucky and waggled his frills in what he hoped was a cajoling manner. "Well?"
Bucky didn't look convinced, though it was hard to tell under the hat and mask and goggles, and given Bucky's habitual stoicism. However, he did stand and say, "Let's go look."
The crept, very carefully, out of their hiding place and back towards the nest, where they peered once again through the opening. Mirir scanned the area, this time trying not to let his shock and revulsion take hold and attempting to look for anything of value. He spotted something - but not anything he would wish to see down there.
"By the Eleven, are those Nocturne eggs?" he hissed, pointing a finger.
Skadi and Bucky both turned to look, and the three of them watched as the little creatures carried a small clutch of eggs towards the large monster - to be eaten, of that Mimir was sure now.
"Oh, no," Skadi breathed, and turned away. "No."
Mimir looked away too, unable to stomach the thought of witnessing such a thing, but Bucky kept his gaze fixed on the scene before them, his mostly-hidden expression somehow becoming even more grim. There was a long silence, and then Bucky said, "We stop this. Now."
"And how d'you plan on doing that, eh?" Mimir snapped, his frills flaring wide in lieu of shouting. "There's only three of us down here, and that thing's huge!"
Bucky shrugged. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
Mimir's face contorted into a snarl, but before he could snap about being the only one who ever did anything useful - at least with his brain - Skadi laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He forced himself to calm down.
Grumbling, Mimir hunkered lower down and peered into the cavern again. Of the three of them, he was the best suited to come up with a plan - he was the one who came up with ideas, brilliant ideas. Not like Bucky, who just followed orders, or Skadi, who was a good warrior but, at the end of the day, not capable of the same creative leaps he could manage. He could think of something. He just needed a little time. And a little more reconnaissance.
Eventually, he straightened up and beckoned Bucky and Skadi to lean in closer as he pointed towards the ceiling. "The roof of this place is all covered in cracks, see? There's even a hole right above that monstrosity's head. We might be able to bring the ceiling down."
Bucky actually clapped him on the shoulder. He felt a momentary sting of annoyance - especially since Bucky used his prosthetic limb and it hurt - then remembered that this was probably meant to be a show of support and thanks.
"See? You thought of something," he said, "I knew you would."
"How do we get up there?" Skadi asked, peering at the roof of the cavern. It looked a long way away, from here.
However, Mimir grinned and reached into his coat for a very familiar roll of parchment. "Fortunately for us, I have a map ..."
So because I apparently can't follow my own words, I'm going to go another double post day.
Fun.
[columns][color=transparent]spacecauseyoucan'tcntr[/color][nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=11740830]
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[center][font=copperplate][color=LightSteelBlue][size=4]Khione[/color][/font] & [font=Gabriola][color=DarkOrange][size=5]Jaynum[/size][/color][/font] & [font=Century][color=crimson][size=4]Ciphers[/color][/font][/size]
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=5]"Mistakes Were Made"[/size][/font]
[url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/54#post_25214579]Day 0[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/70#post_25274407]Day 1[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/2089268/71#post_25281355]Day 2[/url]
[b]Day 3[/b][/center]
The next... [i]morning? [/i]came and went quickly for the trio. Meal eaten, camp packed, and setting back down the tunnel in hopes of discovering the beast that carved it out. While the tunnel had continued to by straight for a time, it soon began to twist and turn, but an intersection brought the dragons to a stop.
"Oh-ho, of [i]course[/i] this would happen," Khione chortled. "How do you expect to figure this out if you're so Shade-bent on finding that monster?"
"Or maybe we could just turn around and go home and be safe. I think that sounds nice," Jaynum piped up, still not in favor of searching for the monster.
"Well actually it's pretty easy," Ciphers murmured as she padded up to the walls of the intersection tunnels-- but it wasn't. She ran her paws over the ice and stone, groaning and whining when she couldn't immediately figure the direction. Still, time prevailed and she pointed down one tunnel. "I-- I think it's this way."
The tunnel stretched endlessly, the same monotony of stone and ice. Samples were collected and sorted but still the paths ran together. Then something was spotted. A tangle of black tendrils fluttered past the team. They stopped, blinked a few times in disbelief, and gave chase. The trio scurried after the mass for a few beats but skidded to a halt at the hive of passages in front of them.
"Oh geez," Ciphers spoke deadpan. "This is a mess."
"I don't see anything!" squeaked Jaynum as he peered down tunnels.
"Then I'll pick this one," Khione took off down a path, the other two following. Once again they got lost, and once again Jaynum's map saved their hides.
"Good job, frost-breath," Jaynum grumbled as an ember scorched a corner of the map. "You keep getting us lost!"
"Come off of it," his Imperial carrier admonished. "We were gonna end up lost anyways with all tha-- [i]Woah![/i]" she yelped as she slipped on a patch of ice.
The tunnel was turning completely to ice, in fact, glistening brilliantly from the flames of torch and wisp alike. And Ciphers' slip was not the last. Khione fell once before learning that her claws could be used as a makeshift set of ice picks. Ciphers: a handful more, then she started digging her own claws in for tracking. Jaynum... Well he took the ice in stride, plunking down on the floor of the cave and sliding along, leaving a slick path behind him.
This continued until the cave began to incline, and the slow picking turned into a rapid slide down, down, down. Jaynum screamed in terror. A chasm was approaching, and fast.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
Just then Khione screeched out a spell and ice webbed across the crack. The trio passed harmlessly over it and caught into a shelf in the wall. Finally safe from one of the many horrors of the cavern, the dragons caught their breath and unanimously agreed to get the heck out of the cave.
While Jaynum could fly back up, Ciphers and Khione could not and instead had to slowly crawl back up. In his lasting agitation, the small Spiral raced up and down the icy cave, tagging his companions and flying back up to the mouth of the passage. By the time the Imperial and Wildclaw exited the cave, he had passed out on Ciphers' head.
"Out like a light," the Imperial mused, slightly shaking her head. "But now to find a safe place for camp... Also, I've got a question for ya, Khione."
"?"
"Why the heck were you tucked up all close to Jay last night?"
"Mmmm, no reason," she flustered, the snow around her picking up.
Ciphers gave a devilish grin.
"Shut up! He's [i]infuriating[/i]," Khione shouted ([i]If only dragons could blush[/i]) before grumbling something unintelligible, glaring at pick-marks and scratches in the rock. "I got cold, okay?"
"Ok-ay, " Ciphers sing-songed, then dropped her pack. "Anyways, this looks good for tonight."
Just like each time before, camp was readied and another night was passed in the icy heart of the Ice territories.
-----
Eheh. Well this sucks, imo. But it's ~something~. And look at me, having to fit my weird lore into everything. Until the next one, which will hopefully end up better. I got some good ideas about that one. :I
So because I apparently can't follow my own words, I'm going to go another double post day.
Fun.
The next... morning? came and went quickly for the trio. Meal eaten, camp packed, and setting back down the tunnel in hopes of discovering the beast that carved it out. While the tunnel had continued to by straight for a time, it soon began to twist and turn, but an intersection brought the dragons to a stop.
"Oh-ho, of course this would happen," Khione chortled. "How do you expect to figure this out if you're so Shade-bent on finding that monster?"
"Or maybe we could just turn around and go home and be safe. I think that sounds nice," Jaynum piped up, still not in favor of searching for the monster.
"Well actually it's pretty easy," Ciphers murmured as she padded up to the walls of the intersection tunnels-- but it wasn't. She ran her paws over the ice and stone, groaning and whining when she couldn't immediately figure the direction. Still, time prevailed and she pointed down one tunnel. "I-- I think it's this way."
The tunnel stretched endlessly, the same monotony of stone and ice. Samples were collected and sorted but still the paths ran together. Then something was spotted. A tangle of black tendrils fluttered past the team. They stopped, blinked a few times in disbelief, and gave chase. The trio scurried after the mass for a few beats but skidded to a halt at the hive of passages in front of them.
"Oh geez," Ciphers spoke deadpan. "This is a mess."
"I don't see anything!" squeaked Jaynum as he peered down tunnels.
"Then I'll pick this one," Khione took off down a path, the other two following. Once again they got lost, and once again Jaynum's map saved their hides.
"Good job, frost-breath," Jaynum grumbled as an ember scorched a corner of the map. "You keep getting us lost!"
"Come off of it," his Imperial carrier admonished. "We were gonna end up lost anyways with all tha-- Woah!" she yelped as she slipped on a patch of ice.
The tunnel was turning completely to ice, in fact, glistening brilliantly from the flames of torch and wisp alike. And Ciphers' slip was not the last. Khione fell once before learning that her claws could be used as a makeshift set of ice picks. Ciphers: a handful more, then she started digging her own claws in for tracking. Jaynum... Well he took the ice in stride, plunking down on the floor of the cave and sliding along, leaving a slick path behind him.
This continued until the cave began to incline, and the slow picking turned into a rapid slide down, down, down. Jaynum screamed in terror. A chasm was approaching, and fast.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
Just then Khione screeched out a spell and ice webbed across the crack. The trio passed harmlessly over it and caught into a shelf in the wall. Finally safe from one of the many horrors of the cavern, the dragons caught their breath and unanimously agreed to get the heck out of the cave.
While Jaynum could fly back up, Ciphers and Khione could not and instead had to slowly crawl back up. In his lasting agitation, the small Spiral raced up and down the icy cave, tagging his companions and flying back up to the mouth of the passage. By the time the Imperial and Wildclaw exited the cave, he had passed out on Ciphers' head.
"Out like a light," the Imperial mused, slightly shaking her head. "But now to find a safe place for camp... Also, I've got a question for ya, Khione."
"?"
"Why the heck were you tucked up all close to Jay last night?"
"Mmmm, no reason," she flustered, the snow around her picking up.
Ciphers gave a devilish grin.
"Shut up! He's infuriating," Khione shouted (If only dragons could blush) before grumbling something unintelligible, glaring at pick-marks and scratches in the rock. "I got cold, okay?"
"Ok-ay, " Ciphers sing-songed, then dropped her pack. "Anyways, this looks good for tonight."
Just like each time before, camp was readied and another night was passed in the icy heart of the Ice territories.
Eheh. Well this sucks, imo. But it's ~something~. And look at me, having to fit my weird lore into everything. Until the next one, which will hopefully end up better. I got some good ideas about that one. :I
Fun.
| spacecauseyoucan'tcntr |
 |
 |
 |
The next... morning? came and went quickly for the trio. Meal eaten, camp packed, and setting back down the tunnel in hopes of discovering the beast that carved it out. While the tunnel had continued to by straight for a time, it soon began to twist and turn, but an intersection brought the dragons to a stop.
"Oh-ho, of course this would happen," Khione chortled. "How do you expect to figure this out if you're so Shade-bent on finding that monster?"
"Or maybe we could just turn around and go home and be safe. I think that sounds nice," Jaynum piped up, still not in favor of searching for the monster.
"Well actually it's pretty easy," Ciphers murmured as she padded up to the walls of the intersection tunnels-- but it wasn't. She ran her paws over the ice and stone, groaning and whining when she couldn't immediately figure the direction. Still, time prevailed and she pointed down one tunnel. "I-- I think it's this way."
The tunnel stretched endlessly, the same monotony of stone and ice. Samples were collected and sorted but still the paths ran together. Then something was spotted. A tangle of black tendrils fluttered past the team. They stopped, blinked a few times in disbelief, and gave chase. The trio scurried after the mass for a few beats but skidded to a halt at the hive of passages in front of them.
"Oh geez," Ciphers spoke deadpan. "This is a mess."
"I don't see anything!" squeaked Jaynum as he peered down tunnels.
"Then I'll pick this one," Khione took off down a path, the other two following. Once again they got lost, and once again Jaynum's map saved their hides.
"Good job, frost-breath," Jaynum grumbled as an ember scorched a corner of the map. "You keep getting us lost!"
"Come off of it," his Imperial carrier admonished. "We were gonna end up lost anyways with all tha-- Woah!" she yelped as she slipped on a patch of ice.
The tunnel was turning completely to ice, in fact, glistening brilliantly from the flames of torch and wisp alike. And Ciphers' slip was not the last. Khione fell once before learning that her claws could be used as a makeshift set of ice picks. Ciphers: a handful more, then she started digging her own claws in for tracking. Jaynum... Well he took the ice in stride, plunking down on the floor of the cave and sliding along, leaving a slick path behind him.
This continued until the cave began to incline, and the slow picking turned into a rapid slide down, down, down. Jaynum screamed in terror. A chasm was approaching, and fast.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
Just then Khione screeched out a spell and ice webbed across the crack. The trio passed harmlessly over it and caught into a shelf in the wall. Finally safe from one of the many horrors of the cavern, the dragons caught their breath and unanimously agreed to get the heck out of the cave.
While Jaynum could fly back up, Ciphers and Khione could not and instead had to slowly crawl back up. In his lasting agitation, the small Spiral raced up and down the icy cave, tagging his companions and flying back up to the mouth of the passage. By the time the Imperial and Wildclaw exited the cave, he had passed out on Ciphers' head.
"Out like a light," the Imperial mused, slightly shaking her head. "But now to find a safe place for camp... Also, I've got a question for ya, Khione."
"?"
"Why the heck were you tucked up all close to Jay last night?"
"Mmmm, no reason," she flustered, the snow around her picking up.
Ciphers gave a devilish grin.
"Shut up! He's infuriating," Khione shouted (If only dragons could blush) before grumbling something unintelligible, glaring at pick-marks and scratches in the rock. "I got cold, okay?"
"Ok-ay, " Ciphers sing-songed, then dropped her pack. "Anyways, this looks good for tonight."
Just like each time before, camp was readied and another night was passed in the icy heart of the Ice territories.
Eheh. Well this sucks, imo. But it's ~something~. And look at me, having to fit my weird lore into everything. Until the next one, which will hopefully end up better. I got some good ideas about that one. :I
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
|
Listen to the Thunder
Hear Us Roar Zh duh wkh Fodq ri wkh Vfuhdplqj Vwrup |
|
Day 5: Hall of Mirrors
Dear God.
Quote:
'Morning' came - and it brought with it aching backs and cold toes. By this point, we were beginning to grow a bit tired of having to sleep on the cold, hard ground, but our trip was nearly halfway done and there was still so much more to see. We ate our breakfast, packed our camp, and hopped up to continue our journey.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Polynya's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Staccato punched the wall with all of his might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as he sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Polynya used her knowledge of first aid to tend to the wounds, leaving Staccato patched up and ready to continue on.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Staccato beckoned us away from the pit, showing us how to disguise ourselves with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Polynya's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Staccato punched the wall with all of his might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as he sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Polynya used her knowledge of first aid to tend to the wounds, leaving Staccato patched up and ready to continue on.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Staccato beckoned us away from the pit, showing us how to disguise ourselves with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
Dear God.
Day 5: Hall of Mirrors
Dear God.
Quote:
'Morning' came - and it brought with it aching backs and cold toes. By this point, we were beginning to grow a bit tired of having to sleep on the cold, hard ground, but our trip was nearly halfway done and there was still so much more to see. We ate our breakfast, packed our camp, and hopped up to continue our journey.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Polynya's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Staccato punched the wall with all of his might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as he sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Polynya used her knowledge of first aid to tend to the wounds, leaving Staccato patched up and ready to continue on.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Staccato beckoned us away from the pit, showing us how to disguise ourselves with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Polynya's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Staccato punched the wall with all of his might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as he sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Polynya used her knowledge of first aid to tend to the wounds, leaving Staccato patched up and ready to continue on.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Staccato beckoned us away from the pit, showing us how to disguise ourselves with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
Dear God.
FR+3
Here is what I got from today's exploration:
Ahem...
OHMIGOSH WE'RE GONNA TAKE DOWN A MUTANT TENTACLE MONSTER!
Ahem...
OHMIGOSH WE'RE GONNA TAKE DOWN A MUTANT TENTACLE MONSTER!
Here is what I got from today's exploration:
Ahem...
OHMIGOSH WE'RE GONNA TAKE DOWN A MUTANT TENTACLE MONSTER!
Ahem...
OHMIGOSH WE'RE GONNA TAKE DOWN A MUTANT TENTACLE MONSTER!
Quote:
'Morning' came - and it brought with it aching backs and cold toes. By this point, we were beginning to grow a bit tired of having to sleep on the cold, hard ground, but our trip was nearly halfway done and there was still so much more to see. We ate our breakfast, packed our camp, and hopped up to continue our journey.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Aule's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Aule punched the wall with all of their might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as they sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Valaraukar tried to tend to the wounds, but was unable to do enough to spare Aule from becoming incapacitated.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Valaraukar beckoned us away from the pit and began to cover us with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Aule's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Aule punched the wall with all of their might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as they sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Valaraukar tried to tend to the wounds, but was unable to do enough to spare Aule from becoming incapacitated.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Valaraukar beckoned us away from the pit and began to cover us with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
Because OF COURSE Aule has to be the one to take out the barrier...
(Aule is the only medic we've got, but also the only non fighter so I think we'll be okay if it comes down to it)
Quote:
'Morning' came - and it brought with it aching backs and cold toes. By this point, we were beginning to grow a bit tired of having to sleep on the cold, hard ground, but our trip was nearly halfway done and there was still so much more to see. We ate our breakfast, packed our camp, and hopped up to continue our journey.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Aule's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Aule punched the wall with all of their might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as they sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Valaraukar tried to tend to the wounds, but was unable to do enough to spare Aule from becoming incapacitated.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Valaraukar beckoned us away from the pit and began to cover us with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
We had not been looking for long when we came across the beautiful sight of sparkling gemstones, everywhere. As we entered a series of crystalline caverns the passages became tighter and more jagged, and the crystals more and more reflective - almost creating a hall of mirrors that easily disoriented us as we wandered through. The light from our lanterns flickered against the floors, walls, and ceiling, bouncing around the corners and sometimes nearly blinding us upon hitting a gemstone at just the wrong angle. We continued through these caves, although slowly and cautiously, taking samples as we went and hoping that we would not become lost.
Fortunately, Aule's map kept us on track and headed in the right direction.
Eventually we made our way to the center of these caverns - and up ahead we could see a promising pit in the floor, but it was unfortunately blocked by a thin crystalline wall.
Aule punched the wall with all of their might, allowing us to make our way into the chamber. Unfortunately, this might not have been the smartest move, as they sustained a number of cuts from the broken gemstone shards in the process.
Valaraukar tried to tend to the wounds, but was unable to do enough to spare Aule from becoming incapacitated.
Now able to pass through the wall, we were able to look into the hole in the cavern floor. We had the perfect, bird's-eye view of the large open chamber containing the horrible 'mother' of all mutants. The creature, a writhing mass of black tentacles and eyes, wiggled about, eating the dragon eggs and other foods that the tiny, similar creatures brought it.
Now that we were here, we realized that we needed to be very careful. The horrible creature could easily reach one of its tendrils up through the hole to grab us. This was a good time to be stealthy.
Valaraukar beckoned us away from the pit and began to cover us with bits of leaves and moss, covering up our bright scales with dirt and mud to assist in this task. When we had finished making ourselves look like ordinary rocks and plantlife, we crouched down at the edge of the hole, peering over the side.
From here, we watched the creatures, taking notes and learning as much as we could.
One of the things we first noticed, is that it was quite clear that these 'creatures' had once been a relatively normal form of wildlife. Years of exposure to the dust had left them strange and mutated, with unusual black tentacles and extra eyes and other limbs. Some of the creatures had mutated more than others. There were creatures nearly recognizable as mice and bats, and others that had long since left their status as 'normal wildlife' behind.
The second thing that became clear is that the 'mother' was nearly entirely dependent on the smaller creatures. It was so large that it could no longer fit through the tunnels, leaving its children to dig tunnels, collect food from the caverns above, and perhaps even venture outside of the cave itself. The fact that it was eating nocturne eggs, helpless beastclan individuals, and other surface-dwelling creatures indicated that the appetite of this thing may be forcing the helpers to the surface.
The third and final thing that we noticed, is that the cause of all of this seemed to be the dust, which was drifting up from narrow slots in the floor. Creatures collected the dust in piles and licked it up - almost as if it were a source of energy itself. The creatures had such a great appetite for it that there was nearly none on the walls or in the air in this chamber.
When we grew tired of watching the creature, we retreated into a secluded corner of the crystalline caves to make our camp and sleep in shifts. We still had the full intention of trying to take it down - as it was clearly a serious hazard to dragonkind - but we needed to be fully rested in order to do so.
Because OF COURSE Aule has to be the one to take out the barrier...
(Aule is the only medic we've got, but also the only non fighter so I think we'll be okay if it comes down to it)
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[center][size=4]Jessica's Log, Day 5[/center]
Well, well, well. Things are really getting interesting.
Last night, I noticed a strange, distant sound while taking watch - like a continuous wind. Sathonyx brought it up this morning, and it turns out everyone else heard it too. So we had the day's goal: Find the source of that sound.
As I'm the group's only tracker (silly vegetarian Tundras don't know how to hunt), I ended up doing most of the work. It was a lot of "walk, stop, listen, walk, stop, listen, backtrack". Very boring. Also not the same as hunting, because we were looking for something stationary. Important: the caverns we went through continued to be manually-made and dusty. Russ's protection spell is the best.
Around lunchtime, we came to a room with many metal vents in the floor. The sound was very distinct here. Our squat little potato, Sathonyx, peeked through and declared that the source of the sound was a machine in the room beneath us. Even more intriguingly, oodles of dust were drifting out of the vents and leaving the room through yet more vents in the walls. That's right: the source of the sound was [i]also[/i] the source of the mutagenic mystery dust. It seems that the sound itself is mostly the sound of moving air and engine noises.
Since the vents were too small for us to fit through, we had to do yet more listening to find a route to the machine proper. I am not ashamed to admit that I used some guesswork, but we made it there eventually (Thank you, Shadowbinder, for blessing me in that regard).
The chamber we found was large and cylindrical, with metal-paneled walls. The machine itself is a monster, still running despite being partly covered in ice. Huge and complex. Even Sathonyx had never seen anything like it. I wish we had some more technical know-how in our clan. There are signs/labeling on the walls, but in an unknown script; Russ is taking rubbings. After some hours of blindly poking around, we set up camp in the same room (no dust in here).
One more thing: that fluffy knife-legged abomination is still following us around. Russ is feeding it from my rations despite all protest from Sathonyx and me. He says it can help guard us. Hmph. Oh, also he wants to name it "Hrelling". I don't know if I'm spelling that right? Stupid Icefield names sound like death rattles.
"Augh! Hrelling! Lo, I am slain."
------
A very exciting day! Still no combat, but Jessica managed to be useful today in other ways. A shout-out to @Lundlaeva for giving me a source of names to choose from for my new Permafrost Impaler (I literally just scrolled through the list of Einmyrir's children until I found one I liked).
Jessica's Log, Day 5
Well, well, well. Things are really getting interesting.Last night, I noticed a strange, distant sound while taking watch - like a continuous wind. Sathonyx brought it up this morning, and it turns out everyone else heard it too. So we had the day's goal: Find the source of that sound.
As I'm the group's only tracker (silly vegetarian Tundras don't know how to hunt), I ended up doing most of the work. It was a lot of "walk, stop, listen, walk, stop, listen, backtrack". Very boring. Also not the same as hunting, because we were looking for something stationary. Important: the caverns we went through continued to be manually-made and dusty. Russ's protection spell is the best.
Around lunchtime, we came to a room with many metal vents in the floor. The sound was very distinct here. Our squat little potato, Sathonyx, peeked through and declared that the source of the sound was a machine in the room beneath us. Even more intriguingly, oodles of dust were drifting out of the vents and leaving the room through yet more vents in the walls. That's right: the source of the sound was also the source of the mutagenic mystery dust. It seems that the sound itself is mostly the sound of moving air and engine noises.
Since the vents were too small for us to fit through, we had to do yet more listening to find a route to the machine proper. I am not ashamed to admit that I used some guesswork, but we made it there eventually (Thank you, Shadowbinder, for blessing me in that regard).
The chamber we found was large and cylindrical, with metal-paneled walls. The machine itself is a monster, still running despite being partly covered in ice. Huge and complex. Even Sathonyx had never seen anything like it. I wish we had some more technical know-how in our clan. There are signs/labeling on the walls, but in an unknown script; Russ is taking rubbings. After some hours of blindly poking around, we set up camp in the same room (no dust in here).
One more thing: that fluffy knife-legged abomination is still following us around. Russ is feeding it from my rations despite all protest from Sathonyx and me. He says it can help guard us. Hmph. Oh, also he wants to name it "Hrelling". I don't know if I'm spelling that right? Stupid Icefield names sound like death rattles.
"Augh! Hrelling! Lo, I am slain."
A very exciting day! Still no combat, but Jessica managed to be useful today in other ways. A shout-out to @Lundlaeva for giving me a source of names to choose from for my new Permafrost Impaler (I literally just scrolled through the list of Einmyrir's children until I found one I liked).
