[closed] to dungeons deep

[thisisamazing]

who: Team Intrepid Explorers: Hiccup Haddock, Christian Fischer, Dave Stutler, Keith, Yuri Plisetsky, Jon Snow, & Freya Vaughn
what: Mission: Cave Crawl
when: Late February
where: A network of caves out in the wilderness.
warnings: Uhh. Spooky cave stuff?


Hiccup originally found the caverns on a solo jaunt into the jungle with Toothless. Well, he found the entrance - they didn't go much deeper inside than a handful of yards, to be safe. Now that they have a full party, complete with some actual fighters, they should be able to go quite a bit deeper.

The group takes a truck as far out into the jungle as possible, loaded with equipment, and between the dragon and the lion, manage to get most of it up into the cave entrance itself. The first 'chamber' they come across is large, oval-shaped, branching off in several directions. It's dimly lit with bioluminescent algae (or clusters of worms, maybe?) and small clusters of softly glowing crystal dotted across the ground and walls, protruding from stalagmites and stalactites. There are a few shallow pools of clear water, filled with blind, pale fish. At points, the scurrying of small creatures in the distance can be heard echoing through the room.

It's set up as a base camp, of sorts. A place to go back to, to keep from getting too lost in the maze of tunnels and caverns. Some pop up tents and some electric lanterns provide light and make it a little more comfortable for rest periods. At one point, some firewood is brought in, and a nice fire started in the middle of camp for heat and light.

It doesn't take more than a day to get out there and get the place set up, and then the real exploration can begin. Team members are encouraged to always go down the branching tunnels in at least pairs, if not more, and to mark the cave walls as they go to keep from getting too lost. The only goals are to discover and to learn, and, of course, to stay safe.

[ooc: Feel free to use this post like a 7 person mingle log! Post top levels, tag around, thread hop to your heart's desire, find cool shit, etc.]

Comments

ii

[buildingcastles]

[Christian is all for exploring the caves. That is, until reality reminds him that he's not that much of an adventurer and hasn't had much cave experience at all. He mostly sticks close to the rest of the group, following their lead and hoping he doesn't get trapped in some forgotten tunnel.

He stops short when Freya asks her question, because that is not something he expected.]

Smell? Uh... I smell rocks?

ii

[luckyescape]

[It's a sad day when a Ghostbusters reference goes over someone's cute little head.

Freya looks back at Christian with a raised eyebrow. Her lips curl over as she tries to hide her amused smile.] I have a good sense of smell. [Her nose is both a blessing and a curse, some things you really don't want to smell but Freya's gotten used to sorting through scents and finding the ones that matter.] Something lives down here. It smells round and slimy. [Smells are hard to describe.] But it's also something metallic but like gem metallic.

Let's check it out.

[Freya turns forward and silently steps forward to find the source of the interesting scent.]

[buildingcastles]

[If he were more inclined to notice ghosts he might have remembered the movie more. Or not. It's difficult to tell how close to the human world he is or isn't sometimes. But whether he would know or not, he'd probably give the same answer. Because he's a pain in the ass.]

Oh. Oh, you smell things. As a talent. That's- you can smell gems and metal.

[Hey, he's surprised and kind of impressed? At least by the idea.]

What if it's a golem?

[luckyescape]

[Despite not being human, Freya thrives in their society. She loves seeing what people can create or the ideas that they come up with. Movies have always been one of those things and even after all the shit that's happened in her life, she continues to sneak into new releases to see what the film industry is up too.]

Let's go with that. [She hasn't outwardly told anyone she's a wolf though a handful of people have figured it out on their own. The fact that it isn't a secret annoys Freya so she's less inclined to come right out and say as much.] Everything has a smell. It can also be really gross sometimes. [She doesn't like being able to tell so much about a person because she can smell them, it's like a fucked up invasion of privacy, so she tries to tune smells out.]

It might be but I've never run into a golem before so I don't have a basis of comparison for that. [She pauses and looks over at him.] Do you want me to go first? I'm like a foot shorter than you so if it is a golem he might over look me.

[buildingcastles]

[Despite his world being full of strange occurrences, Christian doesn't have many encounters with anything like werewolves. Any physical creature that happens to cross over to the spirit realm and become one of the lesser known kind is magic, a being of another kind entirely, and a transformed human is something he rarely sees--usually under very bad circumstances if he does. He doesn't immediately think of the werewolves and supernatural creatures people expect to see, and to him Freya seems just like any other person. Magic itself is a flowing thing, separate from any living creatures.]

Everything. So you can smell rocks, then? I was joking.

[But it's worth noting, because now he does wonder what is so strange about her.]

I... think you should probably go first.

[No shame in that. If she's volunteering, he assumes she's confident enough to take on whatever they find.]

[luckyescape]

[Freya's race had been born using magic. Before werewolves there were wolves, protectors of their territory and family, the perfect species to help the Shapers protect the earth. Life and magic are one in the same in Freya's world.] Yeah. You can't tell me you've never smelled a rock before? Or eaten dirt. I'd like to say that dirt taste better than mud. [Maybe she's a little strange.] Okay. [She presses a finger to her lips to indicate that she's planning to be silent. Freya steps lightly as she goes further down the tunnel towards the source of the odd smell. Of course there has to be something in their way and, to Freya's dismay, it looks like a very large bug. ew... Moving faster than a human can see, Freya flicks what looks like a pocket knife in her hand before stepping forward. Her aim sucks which means she'll probably get dirty... she is not looking forward to that. At least it hasn't seen them yet, or smelled them, Freya hopes its the only one.]

[buildingcastles]

I can safely tell you I've never eaten dirt or rocks.

[Christian isn't entirely sure what to make of her answer. He would normally assume she was teasing him, but the way Freya says it is so sincere he has to believe that she's done both before. And what does he do with that?

He waits while she steps forward and follows behind her into the tunnel. Ahead of them seems to be movement, but in the dim light Christian has to squint to see the creature.]

What is it?

[He speaks softly, but in the empty tunnel filled with only darkness and still air his voice carries.]

[luckyescape]

That is probably more normal than being acquainted with the taste of both dirt and rocks. [She knows its weird but sometimes weird is a good thing. It gives her an edge... sometimes. Freya creeps a little closer and then pauses at Christian's question. She turns back towards him, directing her voice in a whisper but low enough not to alert the large bug.] You ever seen that old bug alien movie with Neil Patrick Harris? [She pauses.] Never mind. It's a very large bug. I think it's the only one but it's super gross. I'm going to try and lead us around it.