Comet waited at the base of the mountain, Ursa Major, for the maned wolf. She had asked them to go on this expedition with her since she remembered that they were quite happy helping her with the snow fort last time. So why not ask them to go explore another cold place?

The pup shivered, the cold here in this cave was much more intense than the snow in Polaris. Compared to this, that was nothing. It was a piercing chill, the kind that went through even her thick fur that was suited for this kind of environment. Although of course, she was warmer than most animals who came here without such fur.

@Esther

Esther was not happy about how they agreed to explore another cold place, but as they landed next to the wolf, claws scraping the ground so they didn't slip, it it wasn't so bad. Sure it was cold, but their fur would at least help some of that issue, even if their wings would be quivering before long. (And truly, curses for them not knowing a helpful fire spell anymore). This was a new place to look through, though, so the maned wolf minded the cold less. Surely there would be all kinds of things to find.

Being with the wolf from before was just another thing to add to the situation. It didn't matter anyway - since they were both there for the same thing. To explore. If it meant going with someone you almost distasted then it didn't matter much. As long as the two of them could protect one another if danger approached (that is to say, the only thing Esther can do is catch things on fire. Really dangerous fire. Fire that burns cold instead of hot).

"...Are you looking for anything specific?" The maned wolf questioned, despite themselves.

Hopefully this didn't end up in a fatality.

@Comet

"Nope! But I bet we are some of the first ones here, which means we can discover new things!" Now there are both upsides and downsides to this, the first being that they would be the first animals to find the new things, and the second being that the new animals they found might be very deadly. Either way, it was going to be a fun expedition.

"I found a tunnel nearby that looks like it goes into the mountain. We can start there. Come on!" and with that, Comet bounded over to a hidden tunnel behind a rock.

@Esther

The comment about the two of them most likely being one of the first groups to start exploring had to be true for the most part. Except Esther wondered if there was an entire community in this part of the caves before it opened back up from... Whatever happened back in the cave where they took down the big golem. Esther still didn't quite understand what all of that was, either. Comet was just a kid too, so surely she didn't know anything about it? Esther wanted to ask - but something didn't feel right about asking a child to tell them about all of that. No, they would ask someone else.

When the kid ran off to one of the tunnels, Esther hoped it was one they could fit inside.

"Be careful! You don't know what kinds of things could be in there!" The maned wolf called out.

Esther didn't have any experience in fighting much... So it could be a problem if they suddenly ran into anything dangerous. Either way, they plodded through the cold to follow the wolf.

@Comet

Comet poked her head back out of the tunnel. "Nothing here! Come on!" And back in she went, the tunnel was certainly big enough for the maned wolf to fit in. Which was good. It wouldn't do to go exploring by herself, would it?

She looked around, partially waiting for Esther to catch up, but also to see if anything cool would appear.

The tunnel seemed empty, a cold wind whistling through it every now and again. It was in a side-alcove--nearly hidden from view, exposed only by a recent crumble of thick ice--that Comet would find the unusual: the skeleton of a creature, crumbled by age, curled in one corner. Its gemstone was no longer present, if ever one had been; by its side lay a strange, unfamiliar weapon.

This weapon was not unlike a mace, or a bat: a long, tapering length of stone, perhaps three feet from base to tip. Yet it had been carved, in one piece, with knobbled spikes protruding from it--a haphazard knapping, neither symmetrical nor in any pattern. It looked primitive, yet there was the faintest touch of magic to it. What that was, it would be hard to say. In the dim light of the cave it was barely visible at all--and heading any deeper, the cave would be pitch black.

The bones had belonged to a beast some seven feet tall, bipedal or capable, at least, of walking so; it seemed almost ape-like in its structure, with a blunt muzzle and thick teeth. It had once had fingers, perhaps used to grip, and carry, the weapon.

Which begged the question; how would the two Gembound carry it-?

Unidentified Item!

Comet has discovered an unidentified item within Ursa!

1★ Fangstone Mace A battered, spiked stone mace imbued with latent magic.

☆★★★★★ FANGSTONE MACE An ancient stone mace, strong despite its worn appearance. The stone has been knapped and hammered to leave jagged, crooked protrusions that can lacerate and impale as the weapon itself crushes bone. A latent magic touches it, for those who can sense such things, and a faint green sheen is visible in bright light. This weapon's full power is not yet discovered. ELEMENT: unknown MAGIC LEVEL: 100 DURABILITY: 200 SPECIAL: This weapon's full potential has not yet been unlocked. MATERIAL: Stone (Enchanted) ATTACK: 5 ADDED: N/A DEFENSE: N/A WEIGHT: 8 EQUIP: Held, Weapon Currently owned by: Comet

@Comet @Esther

Comet walked carefully through the tunnel, when she saw it from the side of her eye. It was easy to miss, hidden behind thick ice. "Over here!" She looked into the alcove, and saw a skeleton, the animal looked like it had been dead a long time. But the interesting thing was leaning next to it. It was a mace, but it had something special about it, a touch of magic. This was treasure indeed!

"Could you help me carry this?" asked Comet. She hoped to carry it outside and bury it in the snow where she could retrieve in later.

@Esther

Esther followed the kid into the tunnels, due to their eyesight they could see perfectly fine. Having eyes that saw well in the dark. Comet would be just about the same, able to see well despite the darkness. At least, if she was anywhere near the same biologically she would. It didn't matter, anyway, since Comet seemed to find something interesting laying in the cave next to a rather large skeleton.

What killed that thing?"

Well it was pretty apparent that there had been life in this place before the entrence had been unblocked. They wondered if there was some more strange things inside.

"Wonder what killed that thing." The maned wolf voiced, turning to Comet and the mace looking item. Esther had no idea how they would help carry that. Sure their claws worked for picking things up, but they couldn't stand up straight like that at all.

"I'm not helping you bring it back to where you live after this." they replied, moving forward to see how heavy it was.

@Comet

"Yeah, it must've been something BIG." Comet sniffed the mace. The whole thing was spiky, except for the handle part, so that must be the only way to carry it. Or... "How about I freeze it into an ice cube? Then we can slide it out." There was not a lot of water on it, but the glaciate still allowed the mace to be frozen safely. Now that the spikes were trapped in the ice, there were less chances that they could get hurt while pushing it.

"Let's push outside for now. I'll dig a hole and we can continue exploring." Comet threw all her weight against the mace encased in the ice, and worked on pushing it out.

@Esther

Esther was shoving the now weapon covered in a block of ice through the opening of the cave with the wolf. There wasn't really anywhere they could put it anyway - no digging from how cold the place was. Esther figured Comet could figure that out herself, they weren't going to help on that part. Letting the kid push the rest of the thing outside, Esther looked around to see if they could spot anything else that might be interesting. If they found that, the maned wolf wondered what else could be inside the cave.

@Comet