Firefly Lake

Before you enter, you may bring 3 things with you. These may include companions, accessories, and the like. Please list them at the start of your thread. There is great risk involved to all that you bring along as well as your chosen character, though you may find there will also be equally great benefit.

Any rewards gained in your adventure will be account bound and therefore not tradeable unless simply gems. A handful of the benefits will be for the character you bring only.

Your choice in character, companion, and accessory will possibly impact your story. Different attributes and aspects of your character, companion, and accessory will provide risks or benefits depending on the various encounters, and where one wolf would fail a situation another wolf might pass it with ease.

As the story progresses, encounters will become riskier though you can choose to abandon the adventure at any time. If you choose to remain, you do so understanding the risks!



Coming to this area, the sun rests low in the horizon and many fireflies are just starting to light the sky in its stead. There is nothing inherently spooky about these scenes, however the complete lack of the usual chittering of birds and rummaging of creatures puts even the most steadfast of visitors on edge. The water calls to you, reflecting the last luminescent rays of the golden sun as it sinks into the horizon. It seems as if every step is blocked off by a wall of fireflies which seem unpassable.

How do you attempt to get through?

• Barge your way through
  
• Eat the fireflies
  
• Leave
  

OOC: Jupiter is bringing Amadeus, his emperor tamarin companion (battle), Bubbles, his boar companion (battle), and his winning personality since he's a naked hobo with no accessories.

"All's I'm saying is I think a cock would really round us out," Jupiter said as he pushed through the reeds that separated him from the water's edge. He took in the eerie scene without really seeing it and then looked back catch the swaying reeds with a hind paw so Bubbles could walk through. Normally he would have let the reeds hit his short legged companion in the face but he really needed Bubbles to be on his side here. He was going to do whatever he needed to get the pig into his good graces.
"We have enough cock. You bring enough cock to the table," said Amadeus, who was sitting high up on Jupiter's neck and peering between his ears. Steering, as he liked to call it. "No more cocks." For emphasis he rapped Jupiter's head with his knuckles.
"I think you both just like to say cock," said Bubbles as he jumped through the reeds. With a burst of speed he took the lead and sent a cloud of fireflies billowing away from the group. In typical boar fashion Bubbles would plow through any obstacle that got in his way. Bugs included.
Jupiter followed loosely at the pig's heels. He could feel Amadeus' fists in his fur tighten and knew the tamarin was going to continue to argue. Quickly he said, "I just think if your name doubles as a euphemism you should embrace it and any cock who'd join our boy band would agree. We're getting a cock. I'm getting a cock."
"First a skunk, then a pig - no offense Bub - and now you want a rooster. Do you even know where to get one?"
Bubbles snorted. "If there's one thing Jupiter can find it's a cock." He let out a huff of air and sent a cloud of fireflies spinning away. The ripple of bugs earned a wave from Bubbles. "Is anyone else seeing this? These things are thick as shit tonight."



Jupiter #6062C3
Amadeus #453F6E
Bubbles #9E5597

Firefly Lake

From this point on, you can exit at any point, even if the option is not listed! If leaving is listed as a choice, then you may only ATTEMPT to exit!

You barge into the wall of fireflies, pushing yourself through their buzzing wings. You feel strength welling up inside you with each step. As you finally make your way through the mass of fireflies and towards the water, you see a small bridge of strange, floating crystals leading through the middle of the lake to a… is that a downwards staircase into the lake? Those stones look a little slippery.

How do you attempt to get through?

• Use the bridge
  
• Swim
  
• Jump over the gap
  

The conversation turned from cocks to bugs and then died out all together as the trio pressed on and the bugs got worse. Amadeus ducked behind Jupiter's head and buried his face in his scruff to keep the insects out of his face. When at last they broke through the cloud a strange sight awaited them. They all paused at the water's edge. Jupiter was feeling great. Why exactly he had no idea. He'd just gotten smacked in the face by a bunch of glowing insects, he had a crabby monkey on his neck twisting fistfuls of his scruff, but he was still somehow feeling frisky. So of course if the options were trippy crystal slip hazards, dark water or jumping, he was going to choose jumping. Like superman he was leaping things in a single bound. "Hang on, 'Deus!"

OOC: Jupiter chose to leap the gap.

Firefly Lake

You kick back, ready, steady... Jump! Mid-leap you realize the bridge was much larger than you anticipated. You fall, bashing your face against one of the stones and sending your companions flying. You realize later, perhaps, that your nose is bleeding. Eventually, you all manage to haul yourself up onto the surface of the staircase.

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

You step down the finely chiseled stairs which seem to be made of thin sheets of crystal, showing the water below as fish swim beneath your very paws. As you go lower, the fish swim beside, then above you until you are slowly immersed into a dark, watery chamber. When you come off the stairs, you find you are standing on solid ground, though far above you can still see the surface of the water. Light from above shimmers and refracts into tiny rainbows across the ground. The only place to go now is deeper into the cavern which narrows and darkens. The cavern grows quite steep and your eyes have not fully adjusted to the darkness. One should be careful as they descend into the depths.

How do you attempt to get through?

• Slow and steady wins the race
  
• Mad dash
  

The whole leaping things like superman idea? Not a good one. Jupiter slammed into the stone hard which send Amadeus vaulting through the air like a tiny mustachioed missile. It was a scene Bubbles found terribly funny. The boar's laughter, akin to the raspy, telltale wheeze of a long time smoker, grated on Jupiter's nerves. Bubbles rasped and bubbled and snorted his mirth while Jupiter held a paw to his bleeding nose and looked on in aggravation. Amadeus emerged from the shadows rubbing his forehead. "Not cool, Bubs."
"Did you see the 'stache fly?" Bubbles held up his hooves to the corners of his mouth and fluttered them like wings.
Jupiter, still holding his nose, retorted, "Yuck it up while you can, pig. Karma's a bitch."

---

The trio emerged from the stairs and stood looking around quietly for a moment. Jupiter was the first to consider the dark passage. He slapped a wrong way facing Bubbles on the rump to get him to turn around. "Who wants to walk further into the mystical, totally-not-a-magic-gullet, cave?" Both companions murmured their interest. "And who thinks the cackling pig should go first?" Jupiter, looking sly, raised a paw as did Amadeus before he climbed back up onto Jupiter's neck.
Bubbles huffed and rolled his beady little eyes. "Tits, the pair of you." He strode slowly and confidently into the darkness with Jupiter following loosely behind.

OOC: Jupiter picked slow and steady.

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

You slowly descend down into the depths of the cave. As you walk, you feel a small notch in the wall. And another. And another! In each, sets a tiny gem. By the end of the tunnel, you have a nice handful of gems! You'll have to count them later!

Now, the cavern levels out, but is still tricky to navigate. You’re sure you hear shuffling ahead, but can't see anything to match the noise. What do you do? This is open ended! Respond as your character would, but only to the point to where you ATTEMPT something! No cheating!

It seemed to grow colder with each step down. That alone was enough to concern Amadeus, who hunkered down so that only his eyes were above the crown of Jupiter's head. Bubbles, for no good reason at all, was unperturbed. He neither noticed the chill nor was smart enough to take in the ambiance and deduce that things were afoot. Jupiter noticed but wasn't concerned. He wasn't surprised by much of anything which may or may not have been linked to intelligence as well.

The trio paused when movement could be heard. Amadeus raised up briefly to peer into the darkness and then hunkered down again. "I don't like the sound of that," he whispered.
"You don't like the sound of anything," Jupiter whispered back. "Maybe its our new buddy the cock."
"Cowards," Bubbles said in a normal voice before starting towards the noise.
Jupiter reached out, grabbed Bubbles' tail and drug him back. The pig's hooves made angry clacking noises on the stone as he tried to pull away.
"Let him, he's from a litter of 12, we can get another."
"We're all going. I just think we should all go together. You know, united front and shit." Jupiter waved a paw dismissively. "And then if something jumps out we trip the pig."

Emboldened by Bubbles' charge of cowardice, Jupiter took the lead in attempting to track down the source of the noise. His goal was to approach whatever was making the noise as quietly as he could. He wanted to see it before it saw him so he'd have time to make a judgement call. Normally his approach would be more blase, but Amadeus' fear was mellowing. Though he'd be hard pressed to admit it, he loved the little tamarin. Until Legion Amadeus had been the only one to look out for him. He loathed the thought of missing out on an adventure and it would take a lot to make him abandon it, but he owed it to his friend to take it easy.

OOC: Jupiter chooses to investigate the source of the noise.

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

You approach slowly, carefully, and silently. You smell nothing, but eventually come upon the dim glow of a group of fireflies struggling to put on a cloth which would make them appear as if they are a rat. The cloth is pulled this way, then that way, but the uneven buzzing of the creatures beneath it make it hard to settle evenly.

What do you do?

• Watch them
  
• Try to help them
  
• Bugs are tasty- chomp (eat/ attack them)
  

A soft glow off in the distance drew the trio in. It grew steadily brighter and brighter as they approached until the writhing, fluttering shapes of countless fireflies could be seen. Intrigued by the sight, Jupiter stopped and canted his head to the side. He had no idea what he was looking at. He chortled a laugh and smacked good-naturedly at Bubbles with the back of his paw. "Well, hell. Now I've seen everything." This had to be the strangest thing he'd ever seen - and he'd seen some strange shit. But, honestly, what did he expect? He'd walked down magic stairs after skipping out on a magic bridge. Of course at the end of that was something weird.

So if this was going to be a trip why not embrace the weird? "Caught ya with your ass...es...hanging out, did we?" he said as he stepped forward. For once Bubbles didn't join him, just blinked after him like he was crazy. Amadeus seized the moment Jupiter passed Bubbles to leap from the wolf to the pig. He had no interest in approaching freaky fireflies. "Here little dudes," Jupiter said as he tried to help fix the costume. "We'll have you looking like a proper, face-chewing rat in no time."  

OOC: Jupiter chooses to help

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

You help the small fireflies to adjust their rat costume(?) over the horde. After the cloth is secure, the bugs drift to the ground and run (fly?) in a few small circles as if to imitate a rat. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," they chant in unison before drifting off further into the cave. A few linger behind, enchanted by your cunning abilities. They carry a small jar and place it at your paws before flying in and creating a lantern, lighting your way through the rest of the cavern.

Sp̶͙̆͗̚̕ooky Cavȩ̴̧̩̖̱͔̈͑̾̅͂̊͝ͅ

The main cavern opens up to a large area full of stalagmites and stalactites. Your eyes adjust (if you have fireflies, their light dies out) allowing you to see just how vast this underground expanse is. Water trickles through the center of the cavern running from the wall near you and creating a small river cutting through the room all the way to the end. It seems clean, but there is no telling what lurks in the depths.

How will you navigate this room?

• Carefully around the stalagmites.
  
• Swim the river
  

While you're here... there's that water...

Do you take a sip?

• Sip Sip
  
• No sippy
  

What do you do with the fireflies and bottle now that they are burned out?

• Break the bottle and release the fireflies
  
• Leave the bottle with the fireflies
  
• Scoop some water in the bottle
  

Helping fireflies adjust under a rat shaped cloth was a new one for Jupiter, but he did his best. In the end he was left with a creepy ass rat with nary a stray firefly hanging out. The rat-firefly scampered around chanting thank yous in a creepy voice. "Uhhh you're welcome, you're welcome...uh, yes, you're welcome... Uh what?" He stared down at the small, empty jar in confusion and then blinked when the fireflies began to fill it. "Oh, I see. Neat, thanks. Being a lantern's better than being a rat, eh?" Jupiter glanced down the what he could see of the cavern. Onward!

---

The light fizzled out at the entrance of a large cavern. Jupiter glanced down his nose at the jar, which was clamped between his teeth. He tapped at it with a paw and slurred around the rim, "Lihl doos?" He set it down and peeked inside.
Bubbles leaned in to look at the fireflies. "They're dead, aren't they? Told you your breath was bad. Poor little guys smothered."
The fireflies weren't dead. Jupiter reached over to thump Bubbles' nose lightly. "They're fine." They were also totally useless now. He set the jar down. The fireflies had gotten in on their own so surely they could get out on their own. "You've been a big help, fellas. See ya around." Then, spying a small river, Jupiter wove between the stalagmites that separated him from it. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm thirsty and I dunno when we'll see what next so..." He sniffed at the water. Smelled fine, looked fine. Hopefully it didn't give him the shits. Jupiter took a drink. Bubbles followed suit. Amadeus abstained.

Jupiter licked his lips and straightened. He couldn't see very far in any direction so without the lantern the goings would be slow. That was fine. After his little nose tweaking incident slow was his speed for this adventure.

OOC: Jupiter chose to drink the water, leave the fireflies behind and navigate the stalagmites.

Sp̶͙̆͗̚̕ooky Cavȩ̴̧̩̖̱͔̈͑̾̅͂̊͝ͅ

You set down the fireflies and they buzz lazily out, coming to rest on many of the surrounding stalagmites. Your thirst gets be better of you and you take a sip of the water. It's crisp and cool and when you're done drinking, you find that your nose doesn't hurt as much anymore. Onwards, you take to climbing around the stalagmites. Some areas narrow so much, you're forced to pull back and try another route. You eventually clear your way into the next room, feeling rather accomplished and much more skilled than before!

Crȩ̸̱̞̈́͗̆̾̀̑̈̇vice S̵̡̥͉͌͗̿͋̾̓̀̍h̴̢̆͛̉͗̏̎̇́uffle

You cross into the next room and the passages just keep getting smaller and smaller! Finally, the passage forks into one that is very small, but stable-looking. The other is large and spacious but appears to be much more treacherous.

How will you navigate this room?

• Big Tunnel
  
• Small Tunnel
  

Jupiter hummed thoughtfully, his eyes darting between the choices that lay before them.
"I don't like the look of either of them," Amadeus said as he pushed Jupiter's ears down and leaned forward to get a better look.
Both Jupiter and Bubbles snorted at the same time but Jupiter was faster to the draw with a retort. "You never like the look of anything."
Bubbles, his smarts on full display, added, "Yeah!"
Jupiter hummed again and briefly tuned out his companions. In the end he decided to take the bigger tunnel. He could be careful. The only hitch in his plan was Bubbles who wasn't exactly light as a butterfly on his hooves. "We'll take the big one. Bubbles...follow me, eh?"

OOC: Jupiter chose big tunnel.

Crȩ̸̱̞̈́͗̆̾̀̑̈̇vice S̵̡̥͉͌͗̿͋̾̓̀̍h̴̢̆͛̉͗̏̎̇́uffle

The large but steep tunnel twists and turns. You find yourself slipping, lost, and totally out of breath. At one drop, you miss your step and find yourself waking some time later at the bottom of the pit. You find Amadeus beneath you, unconscious with a small gash on the back of his head. The cut bleeds and is sure to leave a scar.

Ç̸̭̩̻͔͖̱̥̉̚ŕ̶̨̛͙͍͓̲̣͕̎̃̾̎̄̑̐̏̔͆͝͠ȳ̸̡̼͉̙̻̘͚͕̘̿̌stall̴̞̪̀͋̎̏̂̄̔́̈́̀̆͐̕͝ĩ̷̛͎̦͉̼̤͇̏͠në̸̻̗̣̏ D̴͔̲̲̫̭̤̲͌̑̅͗̔̐̇̒̾͐͌͝͝epths

The tunnel leads you into a vast room where pinholes of light shine down from the ceiling and down onto a sea of sharp but enchanting crystals below. The place is as breathtaking as it is lethal. You feel as though if you don’t turn back now, you will not be able to leave the tunnel the same as you came. You take a deep breath and decide to descend the glittering slopes. At your feet, there are surprisingly soft mosses with many microflora sprouting up between the rugged crystals and fireflies loom lazily in the air. Somewhere in the distance, a crystal from the ceiling falls like a dagger into the ground below. You do not see where it lands, but it shatters with enough ferocity to be felt in your paws.

How do you navigate this risky wonderland?

• Left, towards the crashing noise!
  
• Right, away from the crashing noise!
  
• Over the giant crystals!
  

The party moved on in sour silence. Amadeus hadn't uttered a single 'I told you so' but it was implied in his sullen manner. The tiny tamarin now sat on Bubbles' back. Like the 'I told you so' it was implied he would rather have the pig fall on him than Jupiter and had thus switched rides. A crash caused all three to jump. Jupiter, being only a tad brighter than Bubbles and bolder on account of his predatorness, was intrigued. His curiosity was insatiable and it would take more than a little surprise siesta to throw him off the hunt. He wanted to know what one of those things looked like all broken up. What did it hurt anyway?

OOC: towards the boom.