Gaia's Ice Cavern... [RP w/kasumu_sekai]

[feathered_mages]

The dripping sounds and occasional gurgle of running water are more noticeable inside the Ice Cavern. A few patches of bare rock show through, but in most places the ice is still thick. The water and slush make the floor even more slippery than solidly frozen ice would be, as the Magelets soon find out. They seem to find it fun, though, not bothered at all by the cold as they look around.

Mistral looks around as well. He can see the place falling apart with the underlying magic gone, making it look changed and somewhat unfamiliar - but not as unfamiliar as it should be for someone who's never been inside it. He knows the way through, if none of the paths have been blocked by the thaw. And if they had, ice spells should let them make a way around.

Comments

[feathered_mages]

The Magelets and Mistral are giggling as well, and Lono gives the Tektite a hug. "It's a good bouncy bug," he says.

As soon as he's recovered, Mistral will turn to the hallway. The floor inside it is sandy, and they won't be able to go in more than a few steps before there's a sound of something moving under the sand. Two baby dodongos, legless things the size of dogs, unbury themselves and start to wriggle towards the 'intruders'. Mistral will just cast sleep on one, allowing the other to approach for Rydia to claim.

[feathered_mages]

And the baby dodongo that isn't snoozing wriggles to a stop and looks up at her.

Mistral smiles and gives it a pet. "Dmitri was this little at first. They get legs when they get bigger, and their hides keep getting tougher. I don't know if there's a limit to how big they can get."

[feathered_mages]

It's just a little wriggly legless rock-chewing iguana thing at that age.

"Maybe. They're not really magic creatures like Eidolons, though," says Mistral, thinking about it. "It might depend on how much they eat, or what kind of rocks and things they eat, or just about anything."

The Magelets, meanwhile, are 'tucking' the other, sleeping, baby dodongo in for it's nap - by covering it up with loose sand with only the head sticking out.

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods. "Maybe. Or maybe the Gorons would know. I don't know if they really try to get them to grow bigger, though, because one of them told me the really big ones might eat Gorons. They make bomb bags and things out of them, too. The Gorons do, I mean." Mistral thinks that's kind of sad, and wouldn't want the cute little Dodongos hurt.

Luckily the Magelets aren't really listening as they cover the other one up. Or, if they did overhear, they didn't understand.

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods. "Their city is just a little further up the mountain. We can ask there. And there's a really good place there that lets you see a view of the whole valley down below, so we can decide if we're going anywhere else here." He'll start to head back to the entrance.

"Bye bye, dodongo," Lono says to the one they've covered in sand. Juro will give it a little kiss on the head.

[feathered_mages]

The Goron City is only a little further up the mountain. It's mostly inside a cavern, but outside the entrance is what can only be called a rock garden - a raised platform filled with sand, and a bunch of small pyramidal rocks in a circle, with another in the center. Rather zen, really. It's from here that Mistral will point out a good place for landscape viewing.

Far below, the river they'd passed to reach Kakariko flows past Hyrule Castle and into the distance. There's a glimmer over that way that might be ocean or a large lake. Hyrule field itself is large and green. Other than the Castle with its surrounding town and Kakariko, another structure is near the center of the field - a mostly oval structure with tall walls. The first edges of a forest can be seen in one direction, and a hint in another of the landscape drying out and possible distant desert.

Magelets are just going 'Ooooo' at this.

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods. "Things are always pretty from this high up." Not that the Waltzlet is biased, no, not really.

"What's the round building?" asks Kaze.

"I'm not sure," Mistral admits. "We didn't get to look at much of the rest of this world the last time."

A Goron near the entrance to their city watches them for a bit, but doesn't seem too alarmed. It's likely he remembers Mistral from before. It's a little hard to forget someone who asks around for what to feed their baby Dodongo.

[feathered_mages]

The Goron will be able to tell her that, until they reach adult size, how fast a dodongo grows is mostly dependent on diet. The ones that become giant-sized, though, they're not entirely sure what causes that. Some kind of magic, something they ate, or maybe they're just very old. Sometimes, the same thing happened to Gorons. Biggoron who lives on top of the mountain is so big that no one has ever seen all of him at one time. But getting that big is very very rare, and only Biggoron and his smaller brother Medigoron are of such unusual size.

He'll also be able to tell her some things about the surrounding areas of Hyrule, though he admits that he's never actually been down off the mountain. He's heard of the Gerudo that live in the desert, and don't like anyone in their territory. The Zora live behind a waterfall at the beginning of the river, though some of them are found in Lake Hylia as well. And the forest is said to be home to fairy children that never grow up, and other things that get lost in the woods and change.

[feathered_mages]

The Magelets are still looking at the view, with Mistral watching them.

The news sets them all chattering among themselves, with notable bits being that there is a river and a forest at home so they're more curious about places that aren't like home. Which means the strange round place in the middle of the field, the lake, or the desert. And it sounded like the Gerudo didn't like people in their desert, which left the strange place - LonLon Ranch, though they didn't know that - or Lake Hylia.

Mistral seems content enough to let the Magelets pick things for now. He's sure any choice is bound to have something interesting there. But one thing he does remember... "We won't want to be out on the field after dark. Things come out of the ground then that my bell couldn't affect."

[feathered_mages]

The Magelets think it over for just a moment before agreeing on the lake. The building might be boring, but a big lake sounds fun.

Mistral just chuckles and will start to head back down the mountain. "A lake does sound like it might have some interesting animals nearby. The really interesting ones usually aren't in people's houses or towns."

[feathered_mages]

Mistral nods agreement as they head back down the mountain trail. "Yes, but a lot of them can't come out of the water. Some might be amphibious, though."

"What's 'amphibus'?" asks Galen.

"Amphibious," Mistral repeats. "It means something that lives in water and can come up on land as well."

"Like toads," chirps Juro.

[feathered_mages]

Going down a mountain is often easier than going up one, and this time is no different. It won't be long before Mistral sneaks to put another sleep spell on the poor guard so they can make their way out through Kakariko.

And going down all those stairs will be much easier than going up them.

Once they're back on the field, the Magelets will run about on the grass a bit, happy to see grass again after all that bare rock. But they will at least head in mostly the right direction, with a bit of herding.

[mage_hatchlings]

The Magelets occasionally pick up rupees as well. Not because they know of any use they have for them, but because they are pretty and shiny.

And soon they'll reach Lake Hylia. There's no danger of nighttime Stalkids here, though there are other things. Not so much near the very edge, though, where the Magelets immediately beeline to splash in the water.

It's quite pretty here.