Spelunking to the Cascade - RPLOG
Participants
Date
7/10/477
Log
The mole tour guide leads Natska and Cassidy to a wide fissure leading further into darkness. The mathemagical headlamps each of them wear light the complete darkness around them and show their squat guide checking his ropes and gear. "You ladies are sure you would not rather go see the King's Vault?" he asks hopefully, "We can still turn around. It's a lot easier than getting to the Cascade."
The pair had heard about the beautiful, seldom seen cavern only the night before and had hired on this guide. He had been rather reluctant, but had finally given in.
Natska gives their guide a smile, and a small shake of her head. "No, but thank you. The Vault will be another day! Today it's the Cascade, or get lost trying." While their guide checks over his equipment, Natska follows his lead; patting down her own heavy coat and checking her bag before looking over at Cassidy, her tail flicking behind her.
Cassidy nods at Natska's words, hands tucked in her coat pockets. "Yes. We will visit the Vault, later! I'd heard this place is quite lovely! I mean, if you'd -really- rather not do it, I'm sure we could find our way on our own," she says wiggling her brows. "Besides, you did agree to it already!"
The mole shrugs and unslings a long rope, tying it to a protruding stone. "You can't blame old Dankin for trying," he says, "The King's Vault is bigger, you know, and easier to get to. There are stairs and everything." The mole grins at the two ladies as he clips himself to the rope. "Just follow close and careful and we'll get you to the Cascade in no time," he says, tossing a pair of climbing harnesses to his charges. "You just get those on," he says, "And hook on here."
Natska examines her harness for a moment, then gives Cassidy a quick wink and a grin as she starts getting it on, double checking her straps and buckles to make sure everything is snug and in place. "Great! I am looking forward to it."
Cassidy chuckles quietly to herself and adjusts her little headwear before securing the harness over her form. "I am, too! And don't worry about the trouble, Dankin. We are capable ladies! And we can fly, too, should the need arise." She slips on over and hooks her harness onto the designated point.
"Couldn't have two fine women like yourselves wandering about alone down here," Dankin says, carefully easing himself over the edge of the fissure, "You'd never find the Cascade on your own anyway." The mole starts to walk carefully backward. "It is not sheer here," he says, "but the ground drops away after about a hundred paces. Just let yourselves down nice and easy. I'll have light for you to see by."
Natska nods her head, watching for a moment before she carefully follows the mole's example. "We could, yes. I still enjoy doing things without the aid of math sometimes, though. Even if I still cheat!" The jaguar's tail flicks and she grins at Cassidy, letting herself down the slope.
Cassidy nods and starts to lower herself down, as well, behind the other two. "Oh, I wouldn't want to try to find it on our own anyway! I just mean that the... Troubles of getting there won't bother us too much. Yes, going without math is fun, sometimes, but we have it as a back up if we fall or something!"
It becomes apparent why Dankin claimed they would never find this particular cave on their own as the trio lowers themselves through the ceiling of an ENORMOUS cavern. The moles carefully helps the two ladies onto a narrow spine of rock the extends through the vast space, the light from their headlamps showing a steep drop into unseen depths on either side while huge, fanciful rock formations are only hinted at with their limited lights. "This way," the mole says quietly, hooking another rope and piton into the stone here and clipping his harness to it, "And let's keep it quiet for a bit. There are beasties that make their homes down here that I would rather not meet."
Natska whistles, although she does so very softly and under her breath due to their guide's warning. Her light sweeps back and forth as she follows the mole along the span of rock.
Cassidy peers around the area, ears twitching. She's impressed by the scope of things, but she remains silent as per the guide's warning. She does mouth a silent 'wow' though, before following along. Sweetwater certainly didn't have very many places like THIS!
Dankin leads down the long arch of stone until it widens out into a small ledge running along the cavern wall. "Watch your step," he says, hammering another piton into the wall here, "The ledge is sturdy, but narrow." The magic headlamps are easily bright enough to show the path ahead, though it arcs quickly out of sight.
Natska gives their guide a quiet nod, and the graceful jaguar follows after him. She alternates between looking down at the ledge and up where the mole is leading, careful to not step too far from the wall.
Thankfully, Cassidy's size helps her stay on the proper path! She's not large enough to misstep that wide, but she does remain cautious and alert all the same. She's not concerned about it, but if she were to accidentally fall it -would- give her heart quite a start.
Dankin smiles back over his shoulder at the two ladies. He inches forward a few more feet, then vanishes! After a moment, his round, black head reappears, seemingly jutting directly from the rock. "Good trick, eh?" he asks quietly, "It's an illusion made by the placement of the rocks. Makes the entrance hard to find. This way!"
Natska raises her eyebrows as the mole vanishes, then carefully approaches the same place where the mole went; she takes a moment looking back and forth at the rock walls, then snickers as she looks back at Cassidy. "Nothing fancy involved at all, just the way they line up. Neat, huh?" Her tail flicks, and then she hurries after Dankin.
Cassidy chuckles softly and nods. "Certainly is a neat little arrangement... The planet is quite neat, sometimes, I must say! It always find a way to impress me," the fennec says, following after the others and slipping into the little spot.
The mole guide has stopped just ahead at a bend in the narrow fissure. "Cascade is still a little ways off," he says, "Listen!" He holds a broad hand up to his ear. And he is right. There is the faintest sound of a distant waterfall. "Can't follow the sound down here though," the mole warns, "Sound bounces around so much that you can't rightly tell where it's coming from!" He taps his nose as if he has shared some great secret, then leads on into a series of small tunnels. Not too claustrophobic, but certainly not grand hallways.
Natska perks her ears and tilts her head to the side, thoughtfully listening for a moment. "Mmmm... I do hear it! Ooo, I can't wait to actually see it." She nods, and shuffles on along with the mole, scrunching up her shoulders a little reflexively as she begin heading down narrower corridors. "Like the Undertunnels, almost..."
Cassidy closes her eyes for a moment to take in the sound before nodding. "Yeah. I can hear it! I'm very eager to get up close to it. It sounds... Like quite a lovely sight! Is there a reason people don't go there often?" She asks, giving a flick of her ears as she follows along. "Just because it's harder to get there?"
"Don't know much about your undertunnels," Dankin says, "But these are old ice wurm trails." He continues to talk quietly as they move along. "Gotta be careful about which ones you follow," he says, "And I will ahow you why the cascade gets few visitors, Lady. Aside from the tricky climb." After a few more twists and turns, Dankin stops and turns around. He puts his fingers to his lips and mimes, tiptoeing before looking at the ladies to be sure they understand.
"They are... vast and winding and easy to get lost in," Natska says quietly. As their guide makes a show of being stealthy she puts a few things together and thinks she gets it; she flashes Cass another smile, then takes care to move quietly and keep her harness buckles from jingling as she sneaks along behind Dankin.
Cassidy lofts a brow, but seeing as silence was called for, she doesn't speak on it. A simple nod and a hum of consent as she scoots along, content to just take in all the ice, rock, and snow.
The tunnel gives way to another huge cavern and the distant roar of falling water is joined by a rhythmic sound that could almost be mistaken for breathing, aside from its sheer scale and volume. Dankin hurries along in silence and stops in the center of the huge chamber and points off into the darkness to one side. There, at the edge of the light, is what can only be an enormous, taloned foot! It does not move, but there is no doubt that it belongs to a creature of remarkable size!
Natska freezes for a moment as she spots the talon; as much as she wants to raise her head to peer into the darkness for the rest of the beast, she doesn't want to wake it up by shining a light in its eyes. She slowly nods her head at their guide and raises a hand to her light to keep it from spilling too far.
Cassidy's ears stand straight up at the sight, eyes practically lighting up. "Oh man," she whispers softly in awe. "What an exhilarating fight that'd be..." She shakes her head slowly before looking at the chamber itself. Exciting!
Dankin frowns and shakes his head, waving the pair along. As they leave the chamber he resumes his gentle trot. "That's why nobody comes down here," he says, "I don't think it ever wakes up, but I would hate to risk it."
"Oh my," Natska says, almost breathless. "Oh my!" Her excitement is plain in her tone, although she does keep her voice low. "That was enormous. Gigantic. How long has it been sleeping down here?!"
Cassidy rubs her chin and grins. "I'd love to fight it, sometime," she says quietly as they move on, tail flicking happily behind her. "That would be a battle for people to sing song and praise about, don't you think?" SHe can't help but grin and shake her head. "I wonder if it's friendly, though."
"Been sleeping since we found it almost twenty years ago," Dankin says, "And I hope it stays that way." He comes to a stop and waves Natska and Cassidy to a stop. "The Cascade is just ahead," he says, reaching up to dim his light, "Turn down your lights for a minute before we go in. It's worth it."
Natska snorts, but she can't help smiling at Cassidy. She gives the fennec a quick hug and a nod, then dims her light. "I don't know if I would want to try waking it with just us here," she says. "That might end badly. Maybe it is, though."
Cassidy gives a little flex and winks. "I could totally handle it. With you here, no doubt!" She laughs quietly and reaches up to dim her light as directed, nodding. "I am looking forward to seeing what lies ahead."
"I just hope you will wait until I am visiting my cousins in Hilrock before you try it," Dankin says, leading the two ladies forward a few paces into a large space. The roaring sound of a great waterfall echoes all around in the darkness as the mole reaches into his pouch to produce a fist sized ball, engraved with complex mathemagical runes. "And here it comes!" he says, tapping a rune and tossing the ball high into the air. As it flies up, the little ball ignites with brilliant white light and hovers in place, about ten feet in the air, revealing a breathtaking sight.
It is no wonder this cavern is called the cascade! Seven roaring waterfalls tumble down from high above in the darkness and the water bounces and tumbles amidst a forest of huge crystals that jut from the wide shaft. Great crystalline structures take the light of Dankin's little kevinoscope and fracture it into a million rainbows that dance and shimmer in the misty atmosphere of the waterfalls. "What do you think, Ladies?" the mole asks, "Worth the trip?"
Natska breaths in with a short gasp, then quietly coos as she tilts her head up and back, trying to see everything all at once. She puts her hand on Cassidy's arm and gives is a small squeeze, her ears perked and tail still as she takes in the view. "Ooooooooh. Yes! Absolutely!"
Cassidy raises her brow as the ball goes up, pondering the little thing for a moment before blinking at the breathtaking sight that it reveals. "Oh wow. Yes, definitely worth the trpi. This is... Amazing!" She stares for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief.
Dankin grins and puts his hands on his hips. "I don't come often," he says, "But it always takes my breath away." He smiles and takes a seat, fishing a small picnic basket from his pack. "Take as long as you like," he says, laying out bread and cheese, "We'll head back when you are ready."
Natska smiles happily and bows her head towards Dankin. "Thank you for bringing us! This is more than worth the journey." She looks over at Cassidy, then gives her beloved a short kiss. "Let's look around and enjoy it, dearest."
Cassidy nods at Dankin and smiles. "Yes, thank you." She leans up to return the kiss before offering her arm to Natska. "Shall we, then? Let's go take a closer look!" She says energetically, already starting to scoot off.
