Chapter 6: Calamity Caves

You spend another couple of hours traveling along the canyon. As you get further and further from the avalanche a calm seems to come over you. You see no sign of any burning mammoths, nor the giants Ivarsa seemed to have allied with.

Finally you find that the canyon ends in a large limestone cavern. You can see the entrance from a distance and it stands at least 15 feet tall, enough for you to get your mammoths through.

How deep they are and where they lead you do not know. Wipakoa suggest you rest for the night and wait with the caves until the next day. Or spend a couple of days preparing for another expedition. How long do you wish to take, and is there any preparations you want to make?

You set up camp with the following, some 15 minutes travel away from the cave. You have a night of rest, and get up a dawn, ready for another day of exploration.

Entering you see light filters in through the entrance of this large limestone cavern. Though sheltered from wind, the air within the cave is chilly. Small piles of snow lie in heaps near the entrance. Inside, guano, skittering insects, and ice mark the rocky ground. Multiple wide tunnels exit this cavern. Above, bats roost among pockmarked stalactites.

You see one 15 foot exit to the east and one 5 foot exit to the west and to the south a 10 foot wide hall continues. You also see two ledges. One to the west near the southern exit and one to the east right next to the eastern exit.

Beyond the light from the outside, you see no source of light deeper inside.

Looking to the west you see an inclined passage that you can, even without entering it, tell is much warmer than the rest of the caves. Slimy, transparent grease, which radiates heat and smells sickly sweet, stains the walls every 10 feet or so.

The eastern opening also inclines some 100 feet or so before turning or ending (it's hard to tell without going further inside). You can sense a strong smell coming from the cave, some kind of animal musk. You can see some kind of shadow in the distance aproximately 60-70 feet down the cavern, it's unmoving, though hard to identify without getting a little closer.

Tomas is unsure about the oily substance, but the animal musk is smilodon urine.

Just as Iroven says that, Artesia can hear a low growling sound from the eastern passage. None of the other can hear it however. It seems to come from deep inside the tunnel.

Tomas can't recall anything specific about Smilodons, but know that despite Imek's wishes to train one, they are looked on as dangerous prey and many have been hurt or worse in attempts to hunt them.

Koram however is able to recognize the oil as an oil secreted by an animal called lagofirs. Lagofirs are semiaquatic omnivores that resemble a rabbit the size of a large dog. They're social creatures, playful but territorial and protective of their kin. Lagofirs live in family units and gather in larger groups as often as their environment allows. They're commonly found congregating along rivers, lakes, and coasts, where they subsist on fish, crustaceans, marine plants, and small mammals.

Lagofirs have a stout body, rounded back, large hind legs, long ears, and a short, fluffy tail. Their powerful incisors are capable of cracking through clam shells, chitin, and bone. Both their front and back paws are webbed, and their front paws are highly dexterous, enabling them to grasp objects and perform simple manual tasks.

Lagofirs secrete a thick, sweet-smelling, flammable oil that coats their fur. Warm to the touch, this oil keeps them insulated and comfortable in frigid water and cold climates. Lagofirs mark their territory by brushing against solid surfaces, coating them in oil that, to other lagofirs, identifies an individual. This makes their lairs, known as burrows or forms, incredibly hazardous. A single spark in a lagofir lair can cause an explosion.