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CAVE STATUS
QUESTS/EVENTS
Autumn arrives, subdued by the caves' depths. Skittering leaves, thick fog or drifting mist, and cooler temperatures provide a crisp fall atmosphere. The spectres of Andromeda drift in and out of visibility, and pumpkins begin to spread beneath foliage shifting into hues of amber and flame. Strange whispering can be heard at the edges of empty tunnels, and the Carnival seems more boisterous than usual...
Draco is known as the womb, and it is warm with humid air. It is a fairly small room with dark, dim lighting that almost feels like it hides darker colours in shadow, and brings brighter colours to the surface. This room feels too dark and too bright at the same time, with the Black Spire at its center a constant, shifting shape whose facets glimmer at different angles each time one looks. It is constantly changing forms, and the groaning of moving crystal reverberates throughout Draco, its sound rhythmic like that of breathing or a heartbeat, or both. Carved onto the Black Spire is a strange symbol, a forked Y-shape with the left arm ending in a circle, the middle as a half-circle, and the right as pointed fork, like a snake tongue. In pockets along the walls of Draco are hollowed out areas for growing chrysalises to form, and failures remain as broken, hollowed tombs.
LOCATIONS
The Black Spire
At the heart of Draco pulses a living, breathing Spire that is hot to the touch and is an oily black colour, shining with neon green iridescence. Several hollowed spaces sit at its base to house chrysalises made by Architects. Being near the Black Spire adds Corruption points.
The Womb
The back wall of Draco has more pockets in the living stone than the other walls, intended for the fast and healthy creation of many new Mother Valkhounds. Some ancient ones remain, cracked and broken, often with scratches in their faces or arrows sticking out of fissures.
The Climb
A steep, vertical set of ridges and cliffs makes up the west wall of Draco, littered with swept-aside bones and cracked gemstones.
The Aperture
The entrance to Draco which seems to widen and narrow slowly, almost as if the room itself were a living, breathing thing.
Aug 19 2026, 02:08 AM (This post was last modified: Aug 19 2026, 02:09 AM by Snicker.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 100% RESTORED TO 100%
Chunky friend (or friend Chunky) let out a noise that was not quite snicker or giggle, or perhaps even laugh. "Yyyyeah. Like that." Sure.
But they couldn't compromise the rapport they'd just built - and perhaps secured! - As they traveled deeper into the growling guts of Draco. Despite the convenient meat shield, Snicker found themselves trying to peek from behind Chunky's fat legs, something prickling across their spine no matter how safe they thought they were.
An incidental glance back, to check how far they'd wandered from the tunnel, netted an unexpected result.
"ARRROUUUUUWW!" The sound ripped from Snicker's throat as they leaped several feet in the air, fluffing to twice their size as they shot over Chunky, scrabbling painlessly past quills and over his plated back to hide behind his rump.
"UM! HELLO! LARGETHING!" It blurted, unsure of whether it was a good time to start saving face.
Coincidently, as soon as he glanced behind to see if he was getting too far ahead, he, too, notice the Sentinel just kinda standing there. He suddenly stopped moving, only reacting when Snicker suddenly leaped over him. Um, were they playing a new game?
He looked back at the sentinel, tail beginning a bit of a wag from curiosity. "Hi, hiiii!" he rumbled moving forward, ears twisting up. "Are you a Snicker-friend, too? Wow, Snicker, you really do have lots of friends!" He didn't actually realize that Snicker had been trying to hide. His head tilted, blank eyes blinking slowly as that snail-paced brain worked to catch up with the situation. "Largething is a cool name! I'm Snicker's Friend Chunky. Are we friends now too?"
He looked delighted at the thought, wow he'd only been here for a few minutes and already he had two new friends!
The Sentinel leaned back slightly at the sudden startled feline yowl. It was surprise. He hadn't meant to shock anyone, and had actually forgotten they didn't know he was there, so the reaction jolted him probably almost as much as his sudden appearance had jolted them.
"...Hello," he managed after a moment. It was an echoed reply, puzzled almost, like he was still piecing together the whole "oh, I snuck up on them accidentally" thing. His hand tightened and loosened absently around the halberd haft as he worked his way through that thought, and then he focused on them.
"It does not know a... Snicker." He'd probably heard it mentioned in the conversation and it'd just gotten lost somewhere in the thing he called a "brain" perched between his weirdly shaped ears. And now he heard it again, and it took him a minute to figure out what the child was saying. "Ahh. They are Snicker. Chunky. It is The Sentinel. Perhaps they will become friends. The Sentinel ensures safety. It will watch," he informed them both. But there was no threat to him; any ominousness to his looming a bit behind them wasn't deliberate. He was just sort of absently... present. Present, but absent.
Sep 02 2026, 09:56 PM (This post was last modified: Sep 02 2026, 09:56 PM by Snicker.)
MAGICKA LEVEL 100% RESTORED TO 100%
Balancing delicately on Chunky's spine, they did a graceful twirl in order to face the Sentinel. Chunkyfriend could not be trusted with diplomacy.
With the Snicker's new vantage point, the immediate terror was quelled some. The stranger didn't seem quite as tall with their loyal friend doing their duty as stepping stool. But Chunky hadn't gotten the memo, apparently. When he turned to face the Sentinel, it took Snicker a moment to realise it'd have to move again.
They moved so that the correct end was facing the newcomer. "Helloooo!" They purred, tilting their head at an angle to fully soak in the valkhound.
"Sentinel... Doesn't sound like your name, Largething," They suggested.
