Blue Lacuna — 206 of 467

Chapter - Volcano Cave

The prose name of Volcano Cave is "the cave in the volcano caldera". The description of Volcano Cave is "[volcanocavedesc].". To say volcanocavedesc:

if night begin; say "It's even darker in here than outside; the black lava swallows any ambient light, surrounding you with featureless blackness. The exit [d]back[x] outside is all you can see";

otherwise;

if we are going, say "Your eyes struggle to adjust to the dimmer light. After a moment you start to make out detail. ";

say "This small tube only goes back a short distance before a collapsed ceiling cuts it off. [exits].[paragraph break]Drawn on the wall are a myriad of overlapping [o]sketches[x]";

end if.

The exits text of Volcano Cave is "The only way out is [if dir]back [up][otherwise][d]back[x][end if] the way you came; the bright daylight that direction reveals only boulders in the sunken pit". Report going from Volcano Cave to Cinder Cone: if night begin; say "You emerge into the light of the [light-source] again."; otherwise if raining; say "You reluctantly step out into the downpour once again."; otherwise; say "Blinking[if midmorning or midday or afternoon] and shielding your eyes[end if], you emerge into the [if sunrise or morning or evening or sunset]bright[otherwise if afternoon or midday or midmorning]intensely bright[end if] light of the sun and climb back out of the collapsed pit."; end if.

The series of sketches is a setpiece in Volcano Cave. Understand "myriad" or "overlapping" or "sketch/tree9/trees" as the series. The description is "There must be a hundred of these simple rock-on-rock drawings along the cave wall. Most of them are countless variations of the [if tree1 is named]windsigh trees[otherwise]ubiquitous withered trees[end if], often overlapping each other multiple times. Though the quality varies from stick figures to quite sophisticated drawings, you would guess they are the work of a single young artist-- or perhaps two-- over time. [paragraph break]Three drawings in particular catch your eye: a crude drawing of two [o]girls[x], a [o]landscape[x] scene, and a complex [o]study[x].". The dream-text of series of sketches is "loose-leaf sheets of paper covered in meaningless scribbles".

The crude drawing of two girls is a setpiece in Volcano Cave. The description is "Though the drawing is basic, the scene is still quite clear: two young girls, holding hands, sneaking through a secret door into a volcano while a larger man, face in hands, seems to be crying, oblivious.". The dream-text of crude drawing is "loose-leaf sheets of paper covered in meaningless scribbles".

The ropeway drawing is a setpiece in Volcano Cave. Understand "landscape" as ropeway drawing. The description is "More sophisticated than the first, this drawing quite clearly shows the island's northern mountain, rising above the marsh. The large man is climbing it, with a thick cable strapped to his back, covered in sweat with a crazed look in his eye. Papers covered in scribbles are falling from him, piling up in stylized mounds on the ground beneath. On the other side of [if Edge of Ravine is unvisited]a great rift[otherwise]the ravine at the forest's edge[end if], drawn very small, are the two girls, watching, backs to the viewer. [paragraph break]Several of the ubiquitous tree drawings overlap this image." The dream-text of ropeway drawing is "loose-leaf sheets of paper covered in meaningless scribbles".

The final drawing is a setpiece in Volcano Cave. Understand "study" as final drawing. The description is "The last drawing is astonishingly good for chalk marks on an uneven surface; better perhaps than you might have believed possible in this medium. Again, something within you tingles; you are sure this is the work of a wayfarer, though not a piece that has been used to travel.[paragraph break]The drawing shows two glowing portals, the light almost swallowing the female figures-- a few years older now, with long black hair stretching down to their waists-- in the act of stepping inside them. One is gone already, only a foot remaining; the other is about to enter. In the center is the broken man, outlined by a portal that does not glow, turning to grab the woman's hand with a terrible look of sadness and desperation on his face. He realizes it is already too late.[paragraph break]At the bottom of the image are two [o]lines[x] of text in a neat, controlled hand.".

The cave-lines are a story-based scrawl in Volcano Cave. Understand "line/lines/text/writing" as cave-lines. The printed name is "two lines of writing". The standard message of cave-lines is "Goodbye, father. May you find your peace again. Lethe.".

The dream-text of final drawing is "loose-leaf sheets of paper covered in meaningless scribbles".

Instead of touching a setpiece in Volcano Cave, say "You touch the drawings delicately, imprinting a ghost line of white chalk on your fingertips.".