The Fe'gan Mountains are the highest, coldest mountains Lambastia has to offer, with the highest peak recorded at 8589 m (28,179 ft). Only the toughest creatures survive here, and the trek to get to the Basantha Shrine lays through these harsh conditions. (+3 Endurance)

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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/25/2017 8:48 PM

“You’re really not bothered looking at it over the feed?” he said.

”Well, it is kinda gross. But it doesn’t actually look that bad if you don’t know what it is, and the feed is pretty dark, so I can’t see it very clearly,” Melanie said.

“Lucky you,” said Fabio. Of course, the most important part was probably that she didn’t have to smell it. “I’m about to start eating, so can we please talk about something else?”

”Sure. There’s plenty of things grosser than bat guano. Let’s see...” Fabio could hear Melanie typing again. He was going to regret this, wasn’t he?
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/25/2017 8:51 PM

”World’s grossest skin diseases? Maggots found inside 80-year-old man’s eyeball? Oh, how about this? Delving deep into the world of bacterial infections!” Melanie read off what Fabio could only presume were the titles of a list of articles she’d pulled up. ”Any of those catch your fancy?”

No,” Fabio said. “And if you keep going, I’m going to bag some of the bat shit and personally deliver it to you, so let me eat in peace.”

”Ugh, what a killjoy,” Melanie said. ”Fine. Eat your stupid granola bars. Let me know if anything interesting happens.”
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/25/2017 8:51 PM

“Will do,” said Fabio, though she would probably hear him moving--- or screaming, if it turned out to be necessary--- sooner than that. He resumed rooting around in his bag for something edible. He knew that he’d packed snacks, just not where they were under all this...

Eventually he came up with a bottle of water, a bag of pistachios, two slightly squished sandwiches and a snack cake. Not bad, for a light meal, out in the middle of nowhere. He was certainly hungry enough not to care.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:17 PM

He considered wolfing everything down so he could get on with the rest of the cave, but he decided to take his time instead. While he would have wanted to get home by evening--- the idea of staying here overnight held no appeal whatsoever--- he knew that eating too quickly would only make him uncomfortable later. Besides, this was a break. He was going to enjoy it.

... That was what he’d thought, anyway. But there was only so much one could enjoy anything when one was in a cave that had, unfortunately, turned out to be inhabited.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:18 PM

It wasn’t that anything actually found him, but he couldn’t relax entirely. Not that his surroundings were the scenic sort that made relaxation easy to begin with, but the looming threat of that Grondalith, or possibly another Grondalith, tracking him down... He felt ill at ease despite himself.

He tried to quell the feeling as best he could and focus on his food, but that edge of alertness necessitated by the circumstances sapped any enjoyment he might have had in eating. He ate methodically, almost more as a chore than anything.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:19 PM

The sandwiches were average, though the squishing had hurt their quality rather less than he had feared; the pistachios were still pretty tasty. Water was water, but he found that he was thirsty. In retrospect, that made sense, considering how long he’d been down here, but it hadn’t exactly been the first thing on his mind.

It didn’t take terribly long to finish eating, even though he wasn’t rushing himself. It didn’t take long to clean up either, since he only had plastic bags to contend with. The bottle went into a side pocket for easy access.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:19 PM

He wanted to have it easily within reach so he could keep himself hydrated as he went on. Though, as he thought this, another thought came unbidden to his mind: he hadn’t packed for a long trip. Hell, he hadn’t packed for an overnight trip. There was no bedroll, only enough food for a single meal... If he got stuck down here, things might get pretty dire.

But thinking about it wasn’t going to do him any good. His best defense against that kind of outcome was just to get going.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:19 PM

With those thoughts in mind, he hefted his pack back onto his shoulders, stifling a groan at the sensation. His body did not welcome the return of its oppressor for the past who-knows-how-many hours, and it was bent on making sure he knew about it. He gave himself a moment to adjust, then set off, at as quick a pace as he could comfortably manage.

The good thing about the skylight was that it made everything easy to see. He still had daylight on his side, in that regard; it was the middle of the afternoon, and summer to boot.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:22 PM

He supposed, given that it was summer, he ought to be glad he wasn't sweatier. It hadn't really occurred to him before, but the inside of the caverns was really quite cool. If it weren't for the lack of light, and the dead air, and the guano, and the residents, it might actually have been enjoyable.

Which was to say, it was still terrible, but at least it wasn't sweltering. He could be thankful for small blessings. Down here, he needed just about all the blessings he could get.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/26/2017 11:24 PM

Almost immediately, Melanie's voice came back on over the comm. "Fabio, are you moving again?" she said. He wondered if she was bored, or maybe more worried than she let on. He honestly hadn't expected her to pick back up so soon, considering how flippant she'd been this whole time. Well, not that he blamed her in this instance; she was unusually hobbled, and thus far there had only been one incident of real, worthy note, even if that particular incident had terrified him pretty thoroughly.

"Yeah, what's up?" he said.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 6:08 PM

"Did you update your map?" she said. He paused, blinking in surprise; of all the things he'd expected her to say, that hadn't been one of them. It wasn't that it should have surprised him; it related to the mission at hand, after all, so it wasn't as if she had launched into some wild non-sequitur.

But he really had forgotten all about the map. "Huh. You're right, I haven't," he said. He was already shrugging off the pack again, looking through it for the mapping supplies.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 6:12 PM

"Yeah, I figured you hadn't," Melanie said. She sounded smug, but in this case he supposed he would let her have this. It was his fault for not remembering, after all. "Plus this seems like a good time for it, since you don't have to hold up the flashlight yourself or anything," she added.

"Right again," Fabio said, because she really had a point there. If he could find a place to sit, he'd be set. "Look at you, making sense and being helpful. Who are you, and what have you done with Melanie?"
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 6:14 PM

"Hey, I'm always helpful," Melanie said. "You want to know how many times I've saved your ass?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was just a joke," said Fabio. Having located the map, he was now in the process of pulling it out, and grimacing again as the scent of the pen wafted out with it. Ugh, he should have just brought his own. At least he was doing this after he'd eaten, and not right before. Then Melanie's wording sank in, and he frowned. "Wait, do you really keep a running tally on that?"
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 8:54 PM

"You bet. Mostly for future reference, and also in case your head ever gets too big. It's a real concern."

"Gee, thanks," said Fabio. He was kind of surprised, but honestly, he shouldn't have been. This sounded exactly like the sort of thing she got a kick out of. He was curious as to what exactly counted as 'saving his ass', but he was sure her explanation would just annoy him, so he caught himself and held off on asking about that. Better to busy himself with the map, now that he had it.
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Re: Of All the Places to Be... [Caving; L] [H by Z]

Postby crow » 08/27/2017 8:57 PM

He added in a note about the glowing moss, then doodled out the stretch of tunnel that had contained the guano. Ugh. Every time he thought about it, he felt unclean. It was like one of those shows that explored hoarder homes that had gotten all gross with animal feces, except nobody lived here. Hopefully. No one was that desperate, right?

... No, he knew from experience that there was no low too unthinkable to sink to, if the circumstances were right. Or wrong. Still, a derelict was probably less of a threat than man-eating stone beasts.
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