[Celestial Scrapbook] The Caverns

Vale discovered the caverns during his wanderings; the opening had been tucked into the edge of a rocky hill where the river had split the land around it. Vale had been searching for a quiet and cool place to settle into as a base for their home for weeks now. It was spring and the warming weather was quickly becoming uncomfortable. Despite their new RuneFrost Cloak which helped Vale stay cooler even as the temperature around them was warming it was still a bit too warm as of late for Vale’s comfort. So Vale had been poking around the local area in search of caverns which would stay cool throughout the summer. This would also give Vale time to figure out how to thermoregulate a bit better with their Frost aspect. Vale had discovered this cave opening behind a local waterfall up in the cliffs not far from a small village several days ago. The village and this waterfall area were in what they now knew was called Mirewood Forest. Mirewood Forest apparently belonged to the Mirewood Estate of which the new Lord Mirewood was now leading. Little was known, other than gossip, about the new Lord of Mirewood Manor. What Vale had learned was that the new Lord was adopted into the family and was not seen as being particularly competent. Vale had only heard snippets of the gossip on their way through town and not really bothered to listen too closely even to that information. But they had made a mental note to keep an eye or ear open for signs of future trouble.

Vale had been more concerned about finding shelter for the coming summer months. That shelter, finally, being this cave opening. Vale stood, looking down the cliff face towards the river where the waterfall thundered down to meet the water below. The cave opening was slim, narrow enough to be missed if you were not looking directly at the right angle. Vale lifted their Everlit Candle and peered into the dark of the cave opening curiously. There was always a chance that someone or something else had claimed this cavern prior to Vale discovering it and it was not a good idea to simply barge into the area without any warning at all. Vale took a few cautious steps into the cavern, breathing a sigh of relief at the lower temperature just inside the area, before waiting several minutes. Vale then began making their way further into the cavern, nearly falling twice in areas that suddenly became steep, and having to carefully pay attention to their own footing as there was a small stream of water flowing downwards into the cave from the waterfall above. As Vale walked, and slid in some places, the Everlit Candle illuminated several beautiful chunks of quartz nestled beside pale mushrooms and cool green mosses. Vale stopped a few times to admire these chunks of hidden beauty before continuing down the steep cavern opening. Eventually Vale reached the floor of the caver and crawled out of the narrow entryway into a massive cavern of arching spires and a lazy stream rolling through one side. Vale looked around, holding their Everlit Candle up high to try and illuminate the room further. There was no sign of anyone or anything inhabiting the area. At least nothing large enough to cause immediate harm Vale noted as a few small creatures scuttled frantically away from the light. Vale began to explore the main cavern area. They noticed fish in the little stream, along with cave crabs, something like a crayfish, and several types of edible mosses or watercress-like plants. Everyonce and a while Vale would notice movement out of the corner of their eye only to turn and see nothing. Vale made note of this but did not sense danger, rather that something was curious about this new intruder in the cavern.

Eventually, Vale stopped traveling deeper into the cave system and began to turn slowly with the light of the Everlit Candle held as high as they could manage. It helped brighten the area but it did not fully illuminate the actual cavern enough for Vale to see into the corners or edges. So Vale paused, glanced down at some of the moss on the stoney ground, and placed the Everlit Candle into a bare patch. Vale then took off their Runefrost Cloak and folded it beside the Candle before beginning to gather up chunks of moss that were dry enough to use as kindling. Vale then scraped out areas of rock with a wide enough area that sparks would not bounce and began to light small patches of moss with the flame of the Everlit Candle. Vale did this in a small semi-circle just wide enough to allow for the area to be largely lit. Once they had finished, Vale took a moment to look around slowly in a circle. It was then that Vale finally spotted what they had been seeing out of the corner of their eye. A small Aprico was hovering at the edge of the cavern, it was white and had small splotches of deep blue. Vale smiled at the little creature and held still as it slowly approached.

“Hello little one,” Vale whispered softly while slowly moving to extend a hand.

The Aprico zipped backwards, then hid behind a small spire of rock, but VAle remained very still while waiting patiently. Eventually the little Aprico made a few halfhearted approaches, scrambling back to hide or simply hesitating in place, before finally bringing herself close enough to sniff at Vale’s hand. Finally the little Aprico nuzzled Vale’s hand and then allowed Vale to gently scoop her up. Vale gently stroked the little creature’s back while turning to look around the area again. It was much cooler inside the caves than it was outside and was much more to Vale’s liking with the recent changes in the weather. Vale looked around slowly, planning carefully, and then gently placed the little Aprico down beside themself as they looked for options to build a proper shelter. It took some time, and a lot of effort, but eventually Vale managed to clear away enough debris and moss to make a large patch of solid stone. It was relatively flat and smooth and Vale filled in any divots in the stone with packed moss and clay until it was full enough to place a flat stone on top. This led to a decent sized area where Vale could walk several paces, stretch out their arms, and have work space for any activities or projects. After that, Vale began gathering up stones large enough to form a foundation and set to work placing them around the edge of the flat area. The next several steps required Vale to return up above around the waterfall entrance and thus meant that they had to again wrap themselves with the FrostRune Cloak. Vale found a few spots that could safely hold a patch of burning moss lit by the Everlit Candle to light the way and did just this as they made their way back to the surface. Vale was thankful for the weeks in the deep forests and the handful of traveling tinkers they had stumbled upon prior to this task.

Vale had to make several trips, hauling down tall thin saplings of the Mirewood trees, branches, long reeds, narrow saplings of some sort of native bamboo that was a deep violet color, and as many ferns and strips of bark as they could find. It took hours but eventually Vale had a proper amount of tools to work with. Vale started by striping the saplings of their branches and leaves then putting the straighter pieces off to one side. The branches were broken down, the smallest pieces tossed into a pile that would later become kindling for the small fire that would provide light. Vale did not want nor need it for warmth but it would be necessary for light in these deep caverns. Vale had plans to purchase or trade for the little lanterns they had seen for sale at a shop in town at a later date but for now a small fire would have to work. This of course would also require Vale to figure out a way to drain the smoke upwards. Vale had seen, briefly, a few spots of faint light high above while wandering the caves before and had plans to put the fire as close to directly below that as they could manage. Vale cleared another large flat area for just this purpose, then built up a ring of large stones to create a barrier before putting branches, a few logs, and several bundles of moss or dried leaves into the center. Once the fire was lit, using the flame from the Everlit Candle, Vale retreated far enough that the heat did not bother them before returning to their previous task. With the light from the small bonfire it made the process go a great deal more smoothly. Vale was able to weave several long saplings together using their Wood Aspect to form a sort of large flat panel. Vale repeated this with more saplings and the thin bamboo saplings until there were three sides to the structure. Vale then took the thicker of the saplings, the ones that had been too large to weave with and planted one in each corner as deep into the stone and rough dirt as was possible. Then with a breath, Vale let out a long cool breath and channeled their Wood aspect. The saplings at the corners of the foundation took root, slamming roots deep into the underground stone, and connecting beneath the surface to form a square of support; they even wove into the foundation stones to form a solid structure. Vale then sat back, pulling away and nodding with a small smile as they noticed that the saplings had also created a roof of branches in a small dome. There were no leaves, just thin, intertwining branches. Vale then took the side panels and tied them into place with rope and twine. Leaving the structure looking simple but lovely. Vale cocked a hip, brushed their hair out of their face, and nodded happily before looking towards their other materials. There would be no need for an actual roof but Vale wanted something of a roof besides the thin intertwining branches. So Vale made himself a ladder with the leftover bamboo saplings and began weaving the ferns and grasses into the intertwining branches until a gentle pattern began to form. Afterwards, Vale put a thin layer of frost over the top, permanently freezing the surface and preventing the pattern from fading. The light from the nearby bonfire made the roof almost sparkle with the shine from the frost.

The little Aprico who Vale had opted to call Brus followed Vale around the entire time, scrambling about and nearly tripping Vale in several instances. Eventually she even followed Vale up and out of the caverns but did not leave the safety of the edge of the waterfall. Vale began working on a way to make stairs in that narrow cavern entrance. It took several more hours and by then another night and day had passed with only a few naps in between but Vale finally had a safer route in and out of the cavern. Small carved or built (or grown with the wood aspect for that matter) stairs had been put in with a little railing on both sides as well. Vale was currently sitting just behind the waterfall, their last and most pressing task for the time being was creating a door that would hide the entrance from outsiders. Vale had woven it of saplings and reeds the night before and had finished adjusting the fit with their Wood Aspect only just before sunrise. But now, Vale was working on weaving in moss and layering thin portions of clay to the outside of the door. It was a process that required Vale to color match to the surrounding area with a great deal of care and so far it was extremely tedious. Brus was swooping around beside Vale, pausing to sniff at snails or small items of interest, but did not go past the waterfall boundary. She seemed scared to exit the caves and Vale did not yet know why that was but Vale was hopeful that the little Aprico would grow braver as the days went by.

It was just as Vale was fitting the new door into place, finally securing the hinges and adding the camouflage coverings to the edges of the door when Brus chimed out a soft sound. Vale turned and noticed that Brus was peering down at the pool of water below the waterfall. Vale walked over and looked down to see with a shocked expression a rather battered and tattered looking Sol Roc. It was beautiful, but obviously wounded and tired as if it had been attacked recently. Vale tensed slightly and began looking around the edge of the pool for signs of strangers. Little Brus chimed out a soft sound again before nuzzling Vale’s leg. Vale glanced down at the Aprico and then back towards the wounded Sol Roc.

“I will try to help,” Vale promised then added softly, “but I do not think he will let me get too close."

Vale did try and failed to convince the Sol Roc to let them close enough to help. The Sol Roc did, though, accept some fish that was tossed towards it, and did not leave the little clearing around the pool of water and the waterfall. So Vale made the note to check on it in a few hours and see if the creature had chosen to stay. Hours turned into days and eventually weeks before the Sol Roc let Vale close enough to touch it. Even longer before it let Vale ride it’s back with a lightweight harness. Vale eventually named the Sol Roc Caelum and it joined Vale’s little family. Vale did some more searching around the inner areas of the caves and found two other openings. One, a large gap in the ceiling deeper into the caverns than they had gone before but perfect for putting in a garden below ground. Vale did just that, clearing away debris and other possible concerns before putting in raised beds of soil for plants that would grow well in the narrow strip of light. The other entrance was in the side of the cliff not far from the gap in the ceiling of the caves. This too ended up with a camouflage door and a set of stairs, a bridge, and several walkways. It was a wider and more easily accessible area for Caelum to enter and exit as well as made it less difficult to bring in supplies. The caves were large but not as massive as Vale had originally thought and with the purchase of several lamps and a long summer underground Vale managed to turn the large space into a home.