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
  

Eyrún future was wildly uncertain, though with that uncertainty came a remarkable amount of freedom. There was nowhere in particular she needed to be, and so this was why she'd ended up at Firefly Lake, bringing along her two raven companions with her. The sight alone tonight was quite remarkable, the sun hanging low in the sky and casting a brilliant display of colors across the lake's still surface.

The brilliant scent was alluring in its own right, for no reason other than sheer beauty, and though Eyrún wasn't one to often stop and admire the scenery this evening was proving a special occasion. Maybe it was the fireflies that made the scenery that much more alluring, but she slowly drew toward the lake - though quickly realized the fireflies were strangely thick, like some kind of impenetrable wall. And even more weirdly, they looked... oddly delicious? Plowing through them felt oddly impossible, so maybe a mouthful of them would begin to clear her path. With her raven companions circling close by, she wasn't too worried about her decision....

Bringing: her 2 raven companions!
Choice: Eat the fireflies!

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 can’t eat all the fireflies. There’s too many. Why did you think you could eat all of them? You don't- in fact after you've taken in a substantial amount, you vomit. Hey- it glows. 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
  

Unsure what had overcome her - perhaps the will of the gods was simply too strong for her to ignore, for reasons she couldn't begin to grasp - eating the fireflies seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do to remove them from her path. Unfortunately they instantly made her stomach churn, and before she was able to react she felt herself begin to wretch, instantly throwing up the fireflies she'd attempted to ingest. The glow was visible in her bile before she even let her stomach calm, and she frowned as she examined it, though she stepped over it and quickly moved toward the lake.

The crystals that floated over the lake's surface were unusual. She hadn't seen those before. The cascade of wings flapping behind her told her that Huginn and Muninn were close by, so she didn't feel like she was completely alone. With as much grace as she could muster, she leapt toward the first crystal, attempting to make her way over the bridge. Her stomach was still churning, but she hoped the feeling of faint nausea would fade.

Firefly Lake

You walk gingerly across the steps. Water just barely flows over the surface, making them quite slick. One wrong pawstep and OOF! You slide into the water, cutting your paw on the edge of the stair as you slide down. Afterwards, you are able to swim 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
  

Her nausea was quickly forgotten as she began her careful trek over the crystal bridge. The faint outline of the staircase in the center of the lake had caught her attention, and once Eyrún had something in mind she was slow to forget it, even if the journey would prove to be dangerous. And before long she realized just that - one misstep and she was sent tumbling, fortunately near the edge of the stairs. She felt a sharp sting as the corner of one of her paws was sliced on the edge of the staircase, though she managed to pull herself upright and steady herself as she scrambled onto the stairs.

What a strange little creation, these crystals stairs were. This was no doubt the sign from her gods that she had been looking for. They ushered her down, and she followed down carefully. She decided to take the slow and steady approach, not wanting to risk another fall as she ventured deeper down and into the cavern below. The sight was breathtaking - a cascade of shimmering holo light sparkled at the corner of her vision, though she focused on the movement of her paws as she was plunged into darkness.

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!

Though Eyrún's intent was to carefully move forward, before she was able to make any good distance she found herself slipping on the slick rock. A quiet movement behind her told her that her raven companions had too entered the cave, though thoughts of them quickly faded away as she tumbled down into the passageway. The fall was hardly as bad as it could've been, but by the time she reached more stable ground and scrambled frantically to her paws she was feeling sore from the trip. Was she really so clumsy? No; she was convinced now she was being tested by the gods, and she wasn't about to fail this test.

The cavern seemed relatively level here but Eyrún was not fully convinced. Hearing the sound up ahead, she found herself growing curious. But being reckless clearly hadn't done her any favors yet. Slowly and cautiously she attempted to make her way further, wanting to close the distance between herself and the shuffling noise up ahead.

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)
  

Apparently moving cautiously was the best idea. Feeling the ache from her fall, Eyrún remained acutely aware of her surroundings as she ventured deeper and deeper into the cavern and toward the sound of the unusual shuffling. Finally she came upon something quite peculiar, a bunch of old fabric twisting into an obscure shape. Beneath them... more of those fireflies, moving rapidly about as if trying to form some particular shape. Unsure what exactly this sight means, Eyrún does nothing, only stands and watches cautiously as she tries to make sense of what is happening, to no avail. The gods might be both testing her as well as playing tricks on her, and she doesn't want to be too hasty in reacting to any of these oddities.

Down the Rabbit(?) Hole

You watch the creatures curiously as they fumble and falter to adjust their costume. Their movement gets more erratic ad they try to hide under the cloth, but then in one fell swoop, they disband as if embarrassed by their failure. You are left to ponder such oddities as their light fades into the darkness.

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
  

The little display was short-lived; Eyrún watched thoughtfully as the fireflies buzzed about under the cloth, their light eventually fading and the cloth settling to the cave's floor. How curious. Eyrún was right to not have acted too hastily, instead observing the scene before continuing on. Slowly she continued forward, the cavern opening up to a large room brimming with stalagmites and stalactites. The scene looked quite dangerous - even more so as her eyes began to adjust - though another path looked equally as tempting, a small running river cutting through the cavern's center. Swimming had never been her strong suit, so instead she chose to carefully navigate around the stalagmites, only pausing to take a quick sip of the water that flowed through the cave, suddenly feeling quite parched.

Sp̶͙̆͗̚̕ooky Cavȩ̴̧̩̖̱͔̈͑̾̅͂̊͝ͅ

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 various cuts and scrapes don'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. While back stepping at one point, you pin one of your raven companions against the wall with your body. As they struggle to get away, several feathers are plucked painfully and fall to the ground, but eventually you all find your way through.

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
  

The water felt refreshing - in fact far more so than she had originally anticipated. Gulping down the fresh water, she lapped the stray droplets from her lips as she continued onward, deeper into the cavern. Already she felt her aches from her fall down deeper into the cave lessening, as if the water itself was healing her. As she moved through the maze of stalagmites, the fluttering of wings behind her grew louder. Her two raven companions moved close by - at one point she even pinned one against the wall as she tried to navigate around one of the bigger stalagmites. Muninn squawked quietly but moved away from her, a bit frazzled but otherwise unharmed. Eyrún continued on, the cavern growing smaller and smaller. After a good trek it branched off into two separate avenues - one smaller, the other much larger but also seemingly more dangerous. Despite the danger, Eyrún headed into the larger cavern, certain it would lead somewhere more useful despite the inherent danger that lay ahead of her.

Crȩ̸̱̞̈́͗̆̾̀̑̈̇vice S̵̡̥͉͌͗̿͋̾̓̀̍h̴̢̆͛̉͗̏̎̇́uffle

You climb through the large tunnel. It's spacious, but hosts many challenges. One one such path, there's a steep drop you manage to navigate. At the bottom, there appears to be the skeleton of one who was not so lucky. Within the bones there's a nice accessory that looks like it would be good for fighting later. Well... he doesn't need it anymore. You scoop up the object and eventually make it out of the tunnel.

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!
  

Climbing carefully through the tunnel, Eyrún caught sight of a steep drop below. Navigating to the bottom of the drop - managing to not slide this time - she noticed the skeleton of someone who apparently hadn't been quite so careful. Without even inspecting it, she scooped up whatever accessory the unlucky one had left behind, deciding it might prove useful later. Paws carried her carefully down the next stretch, until it opened up to a large room, with a floor full of sparkling crystals. The sight was enchanting - but clearly very dangerous - as the nearby sound of a crystal falling and shattering proved. Heading directly toward the noise seemed dangerous, so Eyrún decided to go right, away from the crashing noise as she felt the aftermath of the crash still quivering in her paws.