The staging ground for the Training Dungeon is a relatively flat, sandy area just outside an overgrown steel gate. The gate is rusted shut, but can be pried open.

Characters may, but are not required to, post here before entering the dungeon. They may use this time to make preparations, organize groups, hand out supplies, and so forth. No one has come to supervise the would-be adventurers: it's all up to them!

Characters in this Quest will not enter chrysalis or die unless the players wish them to; injuries are unlikely to be serious unless a character decides to actively jump into lava or the like. Risks and rewards will vary in their type based on the dungeon branch! When your group is prepared, your character(s) may enter the branch of the dungeon they wish to explore using the links below. Each branch may include many characters, but individual characters may only explore one branch, as all exploration will occur simultaneously.

(For smoothest flow, it's best if numbers are split relatively evenly through the branches: those with only one or two characters might not perform so well, and those with too many won't have enough loot to split!)

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Volcanic Vents - Click Here
Described as a section of hot, smoky natural cave. Well-lit by lava; most sections do not require a light source.

Risks: lava, smoke, natural cave hazards.
Rewards: looting the dead who came before. Armor, weapons, revivable gemstones, coins. Some of it may be enchanted.

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Ancient Ruins - Click Here
A proper dungeon ruin, built from now-worn brick and seeded with proper treasure. Pitch black inside, for the most part.

Risks: Puzzles. Traps. Typical dungeon dangers.
Rewards: Seeded treasure, including chests of coins, armor, weapons, some enchanted.

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Natural Caves - Click Here
Water- and time-worn natural tunnels. Possibly the easiest branch to conquer. Mostly very dark and will require light. This section is not for the bug-phobic or thalassophobic.

Risks: Natural pitfalls, wild animals, collapses, and so forth.
Rewards: Revivable gemstones, possibly lost adventurer loot.

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Jungle Overgrowth - Click Here
A mix of ruins and caves, overgrowth with jungle. Parts are open to the air high above, allowing natural light to illuminate good sections of it.

Risks: Natural hazards, puzzles, traps, wildlife--you name it.
Rewards: Treasures, lost armor and weapons, revivable gemstones, coins, and more.

Fleas had been back and forth from this area a few times. In fact, she'd set herself up a nice little workbench, in her opinion at least. It wasnt a true workbench of course, just a rounded area in the sand she'd cleared out with her paws and a few wing flaps. She'd arranged a set of various flammable things here after a few trips back and forth: dead grasses, sticks, leaves, some with that oil she saw coming off dead things.

She'd seen brushfires before, she knew that some of that stuff could light up nicely. Now she...just needed to put them together. And figure out how to light them. Fleas sat back on her haunches. What now? She bit at a spot on her paw as she thought. It took a few tries, but she got something she thought would last a little while. A big stick, each end wrapped in that foilage and tied with grasses.

Perfect for holding in your mouth. If you were Fleas, at least. She didn't know how the other, larger critters she saw would take to it. Foilage burned quick though. Would oil? She hummed in her throat. It was best to try it, at least. Fleas dipped each end in the oil. She'd make two more copies of her flame stick, just in case this attempt went up in flames.

Fleas spat her newly formed torch out, and stepped back, admiring her handiwork. That oil made it smell bad. Real bad. But maybe that was a good thing! It was time to test out the sast step then: lighting it. Fleas didn't have fire magic, nor did she really know how to start a fire. But she did have her element. She couldn't recall ever using it that much, but..maybe this time, shed be able to summon something. She shook herself out, puffing up, feeling the subtle current that ran in her fur, in her veins. Fleas narrowed her eyes at the stick.

Fleas had been expecting a small spark. She'd nearly forgotten how to use magic in the first place, after all. But it turns out that being fluffy makes you a really good conductor of electricity. What followed was not a small spark, but a veritable bolt of electricity. The torch was on fire, yes. But all of it was on fire, including the part she'd meant to bite on to. She stared. Stunned. A stray ember burned her paw. She was back to the present. Not soon enough to stop her extra supples from catching alight too.

"Wait--shit!" She yelped, rushing in. She desperately scraped sand in heaps onto her torch. And then she'd forgotten about the supplies on fire. Again. So she had to rush back to those. After a few minutes of that on repeat, Fleas ended up with a completely burnt torch, and two freshly (and accidentally) lit ones. She heaved a sigh.

"Got an extra torch," Fleas mumbled around the stick in her mouth. She half walked half ran down the ancient ruins tunnel, embarrassed to stay near the disaster she'd made.

;exit

(Fleas has left one lit torch and one very burnt stick!!)

The Survivor had come when the news reached its ears. It knew it would have to be careful, surrounded by so many Gembound, who could reveal it - but that was so many opportunities to learn, as well.

And it also was beginning to get a hunch, that the island across Fornax's ocean, would be a perfect stronghold for a new Hive Node, in time. This was important recon, after all. And this Drone was not alone in that assertion, as they could feel another further beyond, heading into one of the tunnels already.

This one will be taking a different path, sibling, they tell the link, informing not just the distant Halcyon but any others, should they come. That way, more is seen by us.

But their focus in the outside had been watching Fleas make her torches. Curious eyes watch the way they did it, binding reeds and wood in that horrid-smelling oil. And then she lights it, clearly more successfully than she intended.

The end result was one of the three being consumed too quickly, and spare supplies destroyed, and Survivor feels a bit bad watching it. But then the jackal takes one, leaving the other. Likely for whoever wished to take it. The generosity is not lost on the Drone.

So it would slowly waddle up, studying it. Fleas had made it double ended, to be held in the mouth. They'd glance up at Fleas trotting off, and call after her, "Thank you!" before taking it up themself. They'd have to get used the heat on their face, and the light right close to its eyes, but it would be preferable to the pitch dark.

Then there was not much else to do but press on. Survivor would turn as well, heading down the path towards the natural caves.

Survivor is taking the other torch left by Fleas.
Exit Survivor

Someone else already had the bright idea of making torches. Attikias wasn't idle while he'd come along, but at the same time he hadn't made any more lanterns either, just the one in his backpack from when he'd been in Fornax the last time.

It was good enough for him, but maybe not for the others. He didn't want to go into a dark cave himself, but...

Casting his gaze out to the gathering (and watching some already brave the depths), Attikias lifted his hand in the air and projected out, "Hey! Anybody need lights? I can make lights!"

Talk about deja vu...

!! attikias is offering to make lights !!

Hrimfaxi had fully planned on full on sprinting straight into one of the tunnels at random, and in fact, was a hoof into the threshold of a tunnel entrance. A nearly missed offer of a 'light' thing had their ears swiveling back with a crack. Free lights? Hrimfaxi twisted around, nearly tangling themselves in their awkward knobbly legs. That one! The tall, purple one! That one had something called lights! Hrimfaxi didnt know what a light was, or what it did. None of those thoughts bounced about galloped up to Attikias, bouncing with excitement.

"Hi! I want light!!" They squealed. Hrimfaxi trotted in place, waiting impatiently for the mysterious light to be given to them.

@Attikias (horse wants light)

'There's treasure down there.' Angel had never heard of treasure. They haven't heard of many things, and they wouldn't have come with if they weren't running on raw curiousity. They hadn't said a word the whole time. The adventuring party was sizable as is; they wouldn't notice another creature joining them, not that Angel would have cared, but...

Choices. Lifting their head, Angel mulled over all of them, lingering while groups had already started to delve. Which way..? Wing-ears flicked up and down, teeth clinking together. It was dark. The one way they'd wanted to go, with the metal gates, that already had a party going in, and they didn't particularly want to be with a large group. That left the dark halls. That left the ruins.

As good as their vision was, they couldn't see much when they peeked in past the torch casting light and natural glows of the adventurers. They couldn't glow like that. Glaring at their palms, Angel pinned their ears back until their thoughts were interrupted by Attikias's words, light being offered across the group.

Light would be good. They wanted light. Hunching into themself, Angel leveled a stare to Attikias as they approached him, squinting until they held out one hand. 'Give me light.' They didn't say a word in their demand, only grimacing in need for it.

He'd gotten a few people asking; well, he could make extras. Of course people would need them, right?

His first customer chilled the air around them. Was that just his imagination? They were though, and Attikias grinned and laughed, holding up his hands. "Alright, alright, one second." He had some rope somewhere...

Twisting around himself, Attikias reached under the cloak he had on and unlatched a loop of rope, not strong enough to particularly hold himself and more meant to loop and wrap around to carry other things. "Hold still?" He dragged a good length of it out, pulled out his sword and started sawing through, efficiently creating a long, loose loop with a knot at the end. "Aaand..." A little focus, a little glow...

A warm light suffused over the length, spreading out and bright enough to cast out. "There. C'mere." Gesturing for Hrimfaxi to bend their head, Attikias threw the loop over top of it, settling it against their smooth chest.

@Hrimfaxi

And next was the cat-- cat-elf? Whatever they were. They had hands, so a necklace wouldn't be as good. Hm. Well... He already still had a length of rope in his hands, and it was easy enough for him to make a smaller loop for Angel to hold.

"Here, put this around your wrist." Holding it out, Attikias channeled his magic into the rope, frowning at it. He'd made it big. "Might have to double it up..." Its glow was colder than Hrimfaxi's, shining across their metal and reflecting. A bit like his mirror-lanterns... Hm. Tilting his head, Attikias furrowed his brows as he wrapped the rope three times loosely around their arm and knotted it in place.

Good enough. He nodded, stepping back with his hands on his hips.

One more?

Why not. Unfurling the rest of his rope, Attikias frowned at it; he could've just enchanted the whole thing, couldn't he? Ah well. Kneeling down by the wall, Attikias channeled one more burst of magic into it, letting the glow spread across the whole thing. It'd be enough to hand out to multiple people if he cut it up.

And that's what he started to do. Sawing through, Attikias left a small pile out of varying sizes for anyone to take, quickly knotting a few in case they wanted to wear it. It didn't take long, long enough for Melody to start getting antsy, and he huffed as he stood back up with one strip pocketed for himself.

"Righty. Lights here, feel free to take them," he pointed out to no-one in particular, waving over anyone looking and pointing down to the pile.

Job done. "Plover?" With the crowd thinning, Attikias meandered towards xem, nudging their arm before jerking his head towards the overgrowth. "Ready to go? Let's go."

!! free lights :) attikias cut up some rope and tied some of it so people can carry it !!