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Mordulin left the others clustered and began to walk slowly the full circut of the cavern, sticking to the sandy soft middle and avoiding the edges where she knew stalactites and stalagmites were hidden among the shadows. She had spoken no falsehood, things were different, which became increasingly clear after Fatin and Ravesque built a fire. "For one thing, that," and she pointed upwards, to where the rising smoke was seeping through a visible crack into the outside world. Back when her children had been housed here, she had never attempted to light any fires - partially because few did back then and partially because she feared they'd all suffocate from the gases before long.

"But mostly," she continued, and moved toward the cavern's rear, "that." This time, she gestured to a hole black as night -- even the fire did nothing to penetrate the darkness -- from which came a soft current of air that had an odd scent about it. Rocks partially concealed it, but if cleared, Mordulin suspected its size would allow a were to pass through it. "There's a small cave off to the side. But this... this used to be a rock wall."

yes, I am pushing this along as much I can... I'd like to have the pack-wide thread in February, so speed = good.

"I... I don't know." She confessed, perplexed as she stared at the hole in the cavern wall. To her, nothing short of mind-boggling magic or impressive stores of dynamite could have created that black chasm. A more educated were might have told her about seismology, and how earth moving in one place might effect another. Archeron Peak, for example, being as volatile of a mountain as it was, could have easily been the source of the disturbance, even though it was some fifty plus miles away. Still, all of that would mean little to the four wolves gathered there now, especially to the eldest of the present, whose mind leapt always to the present. "It depends on how adventurous we're feeling."

As for her, she was ready to go plunging down the black tunnel headfirst, even though she knew such blind deeds to be folly.

The French that rolled off of Fatin's tongue caught the eldest of the gathered wolves somewhat unprepared. A language she knew only bits of, but one that was laden with memories. Still, between her scattered knowledge and the inflection of the auburn female's voice, she understood the meaning well enough, if not the actual words. Fatin and Ravesque stepped forward together, a torch between them. Deciding a spare wouldn't be such a bad idea, she selected a torch-branch from her own and held it with a surprising ease. Too bad they hadn't any animal fat to rub the end with, the thing would have burned longer that way. Oh well, this would work as well, and she held it at a careful angle, off where the smoke wouldn't blow in her face.

The troop made careful progress down the caves, and the alpha took care to leave clear marks - both scent and visual - on the mixed terrain. No sense getting lost down here. But like the others, she had exclamations of wonder and joy at the subterrain world unfolding around them. "Who would have thought?" She queried absentmindedly, not really expecting an answer from anybody. After a while, they progressed down into the bowels fo the earth, the cavern behind and the dark of the tunnel closing in about them. Time crept by slowly - but it was really not long at all - when a passing draft from a branching opening caught the torch flames and nearly extinguished them. The group halted, and Mordulin offered up a question. "Do we investigate things like this," she gestured to the hole at her right, "Or do we press on?" Despite the words still hanging there in the air, she was already looking to see if the hole - and source of the draft - was navigatable or just a dead end.

here is a link to the tentative den map, for reference

After nodding an 'I heard you' to Ravesque, Mordulin barked experimentally but with a good deal of volume - as someone who might need help might bark. The result was both loud and unpleasant, as the enclosed space brought about a repetative echo that made her ears want to close in on themselves. Confusing, as well, because the stone distorted the sound quickly. Once the sound of her own voice finally died away, the alpha commented, "Maybe we should stick together." Besides, even in pairs, she found the cave system daunting. How three and four made a difference she wasn't sure, but it did, and she wasn't going to self psycho-analyze at this point.