[IN PROGRESS] Partly's Honeycomb Hunt

[knux400]

"Hmm." Lumin looks over the available materials. "The sticks might work as a base, and then we could lay the flat bits on top? We might have to make trips, but this seems like it should do it. I've got some rope if we need anything to bind things together with."

[Pichi2214]

"Sure, that works for me!" They put their notebook back into their backpack and follow Lumin, putting sticks in the side pockets of their backpack and carrying them over to the rest of the group for bridge building purposes.

[knux400]

Lumin piles up any sticks Vial can't easily carry and piles them on top of the flat bits, forming a makeshift sled. They get behind the sled, placing their large claws on the end and preparing to push. "Would you mind steering, please? Just make sure I don't drop all this in a ditch or anything."

[Pichi2214]

"Sure thing!" They move next to the wooden board, holding the plank in place and checking the path ahead.

[knux400]

Once Vial's ready, Lumin leans in and pushes the sled. It's pretty strong, and the two of them get up to a good speed once they've got the momentum going.

[Ignispark]

Dia is wordlessly slicing brambles, because she has a knife in her mouth and cannot talk. She occasionally glances over to see how Partly is doing.

[skinstealer]

The hazydaze is in a similar boat, fumbling a little as xey try to get a good angle for cutting. Xyr wide face doesn't work well with cutting...

...but the two of them are making decent progress, bit by bit!

[Pichi2214]

They steer the board ahead towards the rest of the group.

[skinstealer]

The sled starts gaining more and more speed, zipping down the hill- and thanks to Vial's steering, just narrowly avoiding hitting the brambles themselves.

Partly jumps a little at the sudden arrival, but breaks into a wide smile. "Mmpphmph!"
Xey spit out xyr knife into xyr paw. "Good job!"

[Ignispark]

Dia finishes the cut she's doing before slipping her knife into its sheath and adjusting it to be secure.

"Nice work."

[Pichi2214]

They pull on the board to get it to slow down. "Thanks! :> How far did you two get?"

[skinstealer]

Xey backed up to stand up on xyr back legs, getting a good look. "Hmm...halfway. Good enough for a bridge, I'd say!"

[Pichi2214]

They kinda wiggle beneath the bigger board to push it up, so the others can position it properly against the brambles. "Let's try making a bridge then! I've got sticks in the backpack that we can use to help secure the board."

[Ignispark]

Dia heads over to assist in positioning the wood as best she can.

"That's good. I'll, do what I can to assist in the matter."

[skinstealer]

Partly steps out of the way of folks working, taking xyr bag off and looking through it. "Hmmm...you bunch have got me thinking about the rumors I've heard. Gotta be some kind of notes in here from the guy I've heard about the honeycomb from..."

[knux400]

Lumin steps in, producing a roll of rope from their pack and slicing off segments to tie the structure together in places.

[Pichi2214]

After the sticks and the bigger board is properly secured Vial wiggles out from beneath the contraption. "I say we did a well enough job! Anyone who wants to go first?"

[Ignispark]

Dia immediately scoots over to try to make her way across, carefully, while reciting the following: "To quote myself, What could possibly ever happen to someone trying an untested method over mild to moderately risky objects."

She is carefully watching the reaction of the ramp in case she needs to leap off.

[skinstealer]

Thankfully, the ramp holds- a little rickety, but stable enough for an easy trip.

"Ah, that's it!" Partly looks up from xyr journal. "Nothing here about monsters, but the old caves did have some mineshafts said to hold more than just honeycomb- and they can be a bit tricky to navigate. Nothing to worry about, though."

[Ignispark]

Dia hops down on the other side, softly shouting.
"It's relatively safe! Feel free to head over!"

[knux400]

Lumin watches carefully as Dia makes her way over the ramp. Seeing that it's probably fine, he gently tiptoes over, hopping down off the end with a slight thump.

"I've got little orange cones so we can mark where we've been, just in case it gets too twisty in there. It should be fine, though."

[skinstealer]

"Smart thinking!"

Partly waits xyr turn to go over, determined to be the last to cross.

[Pichi2214]

Vial pats the side of their backpack where the notebook is stored. "I've also got my lil book to map out the area! Gonna try n sketch out our path as we go."
They hop over the brambles with the bridge.

[skinstealer]

Partly takes a deep breath before bounding across the bridge xemself, landing with a little dust cloud.

"I think we're more than equipped, then...let's go."

---

The "DO NOT ENTER" sign feels more ominous up close, a few stray claw marks dug deep into the wooden surface. Partly doesn't seem too bothered by this, sauntering right in. The suns on xyr head and tail leave a little bit of light, keeping xem illuminated as xey step into the darkness.

[knux400]

Lumin follows suit, its large pupil finally widening to something more than a narrow slit.

"About time. It's bright out there." They mutter to themselves.

[Pichi2214]

Vial takes a moment to write down "Cave Entrance" before following after Partly, their own star shaped head glowing next to Partly's little suns.

[Ignispark]

Dia glances around, following the rest in. She doesn't have much to say on current events, pondering if those claw marks were from workers, or something else...

[skinstealer]

The cave itself is cool in temperature, the air around them getting colder as they head further away from the entrance. The atmosphere is eerie and unnerving, and as the light behind them fades with distance, the party's set of lights feels like it just barely cuts through the darkness.

Partly, however, continues to seem unshaken, even walking with a little spring in xyr step. "You know, caves aren't so bad once you're actually in them. They look scarier on the outside to me!"

[Ignispark]

Dia idly comments: "...As far as caves go, this is a nicer section...likely as it was used as a mine...natural caves, excluding the impacts of animals, often don't care about things like ground fit for traversal. Wet caves can flood...some caves are always underground. Some are full of volatile materials. Some are so tight you can barely fit, forced to crawl awkwardly. I'm quite sure it could be scarier on the inside. Luckily, as said, this is a mine. So it shouldn't be."

[knux400]

Without saying anything to the group, Lumin holds their own claw up to the marks on the wall, attempting to compare sizes.

I'm more concerned about what made those marks. Not many critters are capable of doing that, so what else could it be...?

[skinstealer]

The claw marks are of a similar size to Lumin's own- possibly critter-created, but hard to tell. They are, however, thinner...by a large margin.

"I'm not too familiar with mines, really!"

[Pichi2214]

As they venture deeper into the caves Vial stops every now and then briefly to scribble down the route, catching up to the rest with quick hops after. As they notice how dark it gets they reach over to their backpack again and pull out a small lantern, their paw glowing for a moment as a magical flame appears within the glass cage, causing both the environment to be brighter and the lantern to float next to Vial as they follow the rest.

[Ignispark]

Dia makes sure her helmet light is on, otherwise simply staying and staying alert.

[knux400]

Lumin stops briefly to pull a stack of neon orange plastic cones from their pack- instead of being perfectly conical, each one has a sharp edge on one side, making them look like a teardrop when seen from above. Lumin places one at every intersection the group comes across, making sure the pointed end faces the way they came from.

[skinstealer]

Partly suddenly stops after a few more minutes of walking, the light from outside completely gone now. "Oh, hey! Look!"

Xey step around with xyr tail whipping at the ground, highlighting a transition into wooden planks. "We're starting to get into the mines...do you think we'll find any treasures around? Aside from the honeycomb, I mean."

There's a strange wind coming from under the planks, lightly disturbing the clouds on xyr body- but if they notice, they don't make any note of it.

[knux400]

Lumin looks around thoughtfully. "Well... It's a mine, so presumably there's something of value worth harvesting."

[Ignispark]

"Perhaps an old tool, something left behind by an old inhabitant before it was closed down...really could be a lot here, excluding the ore-."

[Pichi2214]

"Hmm.... I've not really been in caves much so I wouldn't know. I'm excited for whatever we found though! :>" They hop once, wiggling their little body. "I'm mostly looking forward to the honey.... but if we find other stuff i'll certainly not complain."

[skinstealer]

The planks below them creak as Vial hops, Partly continuing not to pay it much mind.

"A tool, huh...I don't know much about that, but I wonder if there's anything people back in the Nexus can learn from!"

There's quiet again for another stretch, the only real sound coming from the sound of pawsteps on floorboards.

"Yknow, I think-!"

Without warning, the boards below them start to crack, snapping and sending the four of them careening into the darkness below-











-landing roughly on slightly spongy ground, just enough to keep anyone from getting too hurt, but enough to cause some soreness.

[Ignispark]

Dia coughs. "...I'm giving this mineshaft a 2.5/5 star safety rating so far."

[Pichi2214]

As they fall Vial's star shaped head glows more brightly, before dimming a bit as they safely glide the last bit to the ground landing next to the others. "Oh my, oh gosh! Are y'all alright? D:"

[knux400]

Lumin lands sideways, sending orange cones everywhere. It quickly scrambles to its feet, gathering the cones and placing them back into a neat stack. Once they've got everything situated, they look around for a way forward.

"My fault. I should've checked that bridge before we all walked on it."

[skinstealer]

Partly takes a moment to get to xyr feet, wobbly at first.

"...oh...oh no, this wasn't a part of the plan at all..." Xyr clouds crackle as xe stretches out, xyr face twisted into a grimace.

"I'm- don't take blame, Lumin, I'm the one who got us into this mess...I guess I did advertise danger, but I really thought it'd be safe."

Xe looks up with a frown, the former path too high for any of them to reach. "...that's out of the question..."

There's two paths ahead, with some investigation. One has cool air, and the other, warm.

[Ignispark]

Dia taps their paw against the ground a couple times, eyeing both directions.

She glances down the path with cooler air.
"...Honestly, I have no idea which way is mostly to return to the source the more swiftly, if any...but we will have to pick one and see where it shall lead us."

It points down that way.
"I think that I have a better feeling about venturing towards the cooler air. What do the rest of you think?"

[knux400]

Lumin thinks to himself for a moment.

"...Hot air tends to rise, so if the plan is to go up, I'm thinking the warmer air is our best bet."

[Pichi2214]

"Hmm... I do agree with Lumin, if we want to get out I'd try the warm air. On the other hand... who knows what we'll find in the depths. ..do we know the path to the honeycombs? Or do we have to go deeper anyway to find them?"

[skinstealer]

"...I think...we should probably focus on getting out. Even though I really want to find the combs, I'd feel way worse if we all got trapped down here!" Partly sighs, rubbing xyr cheek with a paw. "Warmer air it is, then."

Xey start walking forward, xyr high spirits clearly troubled by the group's situation, judging from xyr posture and the fact that xey keep looking over xyr shoulder to make sure people are following.

[Pichi2214]

Vial nods. "Of course! I wouldn't anyone to get actually hurt..." They waddle close to Partly, their star shaped head providing a soft light.

[Ignispark]

Dia seems rather neutral. She nods, following. "Mmm. Likely a good idea."

[knux400]

Lumin stops to plant a cone in the landing zone, tip facing the tunnel they're heading towards, before quickly catching up to the group.

Without a word, they begin shifting towards the front of the pack. It seems like she's going to walk at the front the group if no one else says anything.