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
  

Note: Bringing pangolin companion - Pan Naiche had taken a trek to clear his mind after all that had happened.  So much in his life had changed and so he made his way back to where some of his first memories had started.  Often the appearance of things can also change as one grows up, or perhaps the lake really had changed since he was gone?  It was oddly silent for this time of night.  Where were the crickets?  The cawing blackbirds were often still gloating normally at this hour around the lake, but not now?   Naiche recalled the fireflies from his youth and how much fun they were to try and swat or bite.  Were there more now, or was it just that the number grew higher up in the sky as Naiche had grown from when he was a pup back then.  Either way, what was once cute was now a nuisance.   Naiche wanted to get to the water, it had been his earlier intent, and even now as he saw it past the swarm that instinctive pull assured him that getting to the water was worth any amount of bugs.  Stepping forward he squinted his eyes shut realizing what a pain this would be.  Flattening his ears to keep as many of the bugs out of them as possible Naiche continued forward, eyes squinted but open. On Naiche’s back was Pan, his trusted pangolin companion.  The pangolin was used to ants crawling all over it so a bunch of fireflies probably didn’t mean as much to it, besides Pan didn’t have to do anything other than hanging on to Naiche.  The scaley creature just closed its eyes and trusted Naiche to deal with things Barging through with Pan Speech:"Live to fight" Think

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
  

Naiche’s tail is at half-mast a mix of cautious but curiosity keeping his interest.  Feeling pretty good at the moment he looked curiously at the crystals floating there and moved to the edge of the lake sniffing at the curios oddities.  Naiche so often saw the world through his nose and the many scents it took in.  He didn’t put a lot of trust in a floating rock of any type to hold him but logic said there was no harm in testing the rocks.  Worse case would be falling in the water and he’d just swim his way farther out.  Going towards the staircase was no concern at all in his mind. The question was what about the staircase?  That wasn’t normal and he couldn’t begin to explain it.  Not understanding the staircase was of course why he needed to get to it.  There had to be some trick of the eye for this, right?  The only thing that really gave him pause was the odd silence of the place.  Had something come from or left this strange staircase that caused the other animals to be silent, or even chased them off? He waited a few more seconds to see if anything triggered alarm bells in his head then moved to cautiously walk across the the stones, each step taken with care.  Pan for his part did little other than to wrap his tail a bit more about Naiche’s neck wary of falling off, but he as well could swim fine. Naiche will use the bridge Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Firefly Lake

You walk gingerly across the steps. Their slick surface glimmers in the light. On the last step, you find a beautiful stone and feel it may help you later. Tucking that away, you're able to proceed easily to 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
  

Naiche loved this! The scenery was beautiful and mysterious.  He imagined the water falling on top of him with an eerie shiver but a cave wouldn’t exist just to wait around for him to come inside so that it could collapse.  It was crazy to see fish beside him and over him.  The stone was an oddity that Pan held onto for him.  The little pangolin was quite useful in these things. The explorer in him acknowledge any unknown threat simply as more reason he had to proceed ahead.  However, while Naiche could be impulsive that didn’t mean fully reckless.  The cave was steep and a wrong move could end up with a serious injury.  Naiche watched his balance as he carefully made his way down the dark deep decent.  What was down there? Likely rocks and not much else.  Still, a clear cave you can see fish through is too awesome to not imagine more.  Maybe if he just found rocks they’d be as fascinating as the one they already found? Slow and steady wins the race Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

Even going slow and steady, the surface is dark and steep. One misstep sends you tumbling, tumbling, tumbling down the long passageway. You get various minor cuts and bruises on your way down, but are otherwise not too worse for wear.

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!

At first Naiche thought everything was fine, but that one wrong step had his heart jump.  Not being in control isn’t a fun feeling and feeling Pan tighten his tail about him and, pushing his curled palms harder against his head just went well with the cuts and bruises the trip down gave him.  Stopping the descent with a final ‘oof’ Naiche huffed and slowly got up assessing his damage in areas other than pride.  The golden wolf should have been more careful.  Naiche had been about to suggest the Pangolin walk on his own but then his ears pricked up on hearing steps. Naiche took another moment attempting to get a good scent on what it was moving beyond.  He moved forward with long but cautious strides, doing his best to step light and quietly.  The idea was to figure out what was ahead of him before whatever it was realized Naiche was also here.  It could just be someone else exploring, it could be prey, or it could be a threat.  What would natural species in such a strange cave even look like? Speech:"Live to fight" Think

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)
  

Naiche just stared for several seconds because well, bugs just don't do what these bugs were clearly trying to do. Were they maybe not true fireflies but something smarter that looked like them? Or were they well, this was beyond Naiche's understanding. A part of him wanted to swat the unusual thing away but the curiosity was itching too much too ignore. "Uh, excuse me..." as if a bunch of bugs with no room for a brain would understand him. Naiche stepped forward, dipping his head down and trying to use his muzzle to get the rat-costume on just right. What the heck were they going to do with it?? Try to help them Speech:"Live to fight" Think

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. You feel like you've done a good thing today.

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
  

On one hand Naiche imagined what a great story it would be to share about finding fireflies putting on a rat costume and how they ran around and actually spoke with the ‘thank you’s’, on the other hand whomever Naiche told it too would think he’d lost his mind. Naiche took a minute pondering his own sanity before continuing on.  He was happy to have helped the bugs and that in itself was weird. Coming to the huge cavern he took a few steps as if he would travel through the stalagmintes but changed his mind.  It could get tight in between some of those sharp jutting rocks that could do more damage than the few minor cuts he got sliding down.  Naiche moved to sniff at the water, helping himself to a drink.  This should be the same water that came from the lake right?  The notion of cavern minerals or anything else that might affect the water didn’t occur to him.   Pan wasn’t leaving Naiche’s back, it didn’t need water.  It wanted out of the cavern with the talking bugs. Naiche stepped into the water, and moving at an even gait made his way forward.  This wasn’t completely safe but it seemed safer to him than the alternative.  Of course, leaving was probably the safest option but this place was too amazing to rush off without exploring more.  If Naiche left now he would always wonder and eventually have to come back anyway.  Why not now? Swim the water Sip Sip Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Sp̶͙̆͗̚̕ooky Cavȩ̴̧̩̖̱͔̈͑̾̅͂̊͝ͅ

The water looks nice and you take a sip! It's cool and refreshing and you feel as if some of those minor cuts and bruises don't hurt anymore.

The cool water is inviting- if not a little chilly- and you take the plunge, swimming around the cavern towards the exit. On the edge of the water, you see a pile of large, glimmering gems and decide to scoop those up for later.

You eventually clear your way into the next room...

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
  

Naiche couldn’t imagine how drinking water would help soothe injuries but, it sure seemed to.  Maybe it was just coincidence or was there something somehow medical in the water? Odd but since it worked in his favor it was fine to him. No crocs leaped out of the water to attack him either so that it was even a pleasant swim.  This was a pretty strange but nice cave, at least so far.  Never underestimate a new place after all but, he was enjoying himself.  Pan seemed a bit more relaxed once they were out of the water as well, though the pangolin had been cautious to stay as dry as possible. Naiche looked between his two options, questioning himself.  He tended to avoid the more dangerous areas and play things safe but that didn’t mean the larger area was safer.  It was risky but so was a smaller opening where he had less room to move if something attacked.  Naiche considered the two for a few minutes before taking the smaller path.  Fortunately, he wasn’t overly large or bulky, but he still questioned his choice.  In the end it had come down to not worrying about an unseen problem and avoid the more obvious one.  He wasn’t a novice pup anymore, Naiche could take care of himself.   Small Tunnel Speech:"Live to fight" Think

Crȩ̸̱̞̈́͗̆̾̀̑̈̇vice S̵̡̥͉͌͗̿͋̾̓̀̍h̴̢̆͛̉͗̏̎̇́uffle

There’s no doubt about it. You’re stuck. You claw and grasp your way through the tunnel, your bones crunching and contorting as they grind against each other in the constricting space. As you finally exit, you find that most of your fur has worn away in the struggle and you don’t feel quite as tall as you did when you entered.

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!
  

Naiche looks at his sides and imagines what it must look like in the areas he couldn't spot.  Pan had been forced to climb through on his own as no way they would have fit with him on top.  Pangolin being smaller of course had it lucky.  Naiche grimaced where he no longer saw a full dense coat but more small patches along with wisps and far too much of his skin.  He’d made a bad decision.  Pan climbed back on and Naiche had the disturbing sense the little guy had it easier climbing on.  There was no way a wolf could grow shorter, it just wasn’t possible.  It felt like it had.   Naiche thought of turning around but wasn’t ready to go back the route he came.  A better path would offer itself and as long as he got through that path might as well see if any good would come from it.  The crystals made him momentarily forget the loss of his coat and shift in size, it was a breathtaking sight he’d never forget.  As he was wondering how stable they were he heard the loud crash.  Not stable. So to the left was certainly not safe, was it the same everywhere?  These things could kill a wolf, easily.  Naiche wasn’t scared of a good fight, but it was good no one was around to look to see his tail droop with lessened confidence.  Try to turn around? He’d already lost his fur.  Naiche stared at the sight for a moment before cautiously walking straight forward.  His paw steps were soft and testing of the path he took, this was no time to be careless.  For that matter he did his best to walk quietly let his own noise be the cause of destruction. Over the giant crystals (Holds Breath) Speech:"Live to fight" Think