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[Glass]

Go deeper.
As stated, Kib’s survival experience is subterranean-oriented. It’s better to go down there where her experience applies than to try to make, say, a raft and float across the sea, where far less is under her direct control.

[mightymushroom]

Go deeper.

Boat building, even a basic raft, is not so easy without good tools. Kib's inventory has a conspicuous lack of nails or rope to hold large constructions together. Carving the wood for interlocking joints is possible but nothing in her background suggests she'd have that skill right away. Not to say she can't look for fungiwood as she explores: wood has many useful uses. A club or a handle for a stone-headed mace/hammer, if nothing else.

Also, if she knows what to look for, keep an eye out for rock that could be used as a sharpening stone. Proper upkeep of tools is a component of proper upkeep for herself.

[King Zultan]

Deeper we go.

[Murphy]

Niwirtar (meaning "winter-land" in Human) was a mountainous area far north of the Oldlands valley, separated from the warmer world by a lonely mountain pass. Framed by the cold seas, its edges riddled with fjords and islands, it was home to no civilization other than scarce mining camps, sea raider hideouts and other minor settlements. But even of those hardy folk, not all knew there was another Niwirtar out there. The one under the hundred year old ice and unforgiving mountains. (Technically it is probably a region all its own, but the difference is academic.)

Down from the limestone grotto of the sea-cave, Kib made her way past some irregular formations of calcite and chert. It would've been a nightmare to traverse for a non-dwarf, but Kib's stone sense was quite enough to find the otherwise hidden path to the deeper levels. Pain in her injured leg had subsided by now, and she focused on keeping alert for any sounds of monster presence. Nothing. Just the gurgling water somewhere below.

This was going to take a while. Even with her dwarven expertise, the underground option was the long way around, but Kib always preferred the rational choice at the expense of potential boredom. She homed in on the sound of gurgling, soon finding herself in another grotto. She could see this was now the cave biome proper: rivulets of clear water made their way along the mycelium of tower-caps dominating the area; fireflies flitting around illuminating the pitch blackness. She saw a small bat resting its wings at the top of the highest tower-cap, readying for a hunt. Time to make camp?

Kib considered cutting down one of the tower-caps for material, and was in the process of choosing the least gnarled one, when a mound of orange underbrush rustled in a corner. As a thing rose up from its resting position, its long mane previously near-blending in with the color, it stared at Kib with its large eyes, assessing for danger, thick hooves padding the moist earth. Just a draltha. Whew. Still, Kib knew she would not be welcome to stay long enough to do carpentry without provoking the giraffe-like being.

She left the creature to continue its interrupted nap, packing her meager camp to go farther down the tunnel. No compass needed--thank Maar for the dwarven sense of direction. But just a short distance in, the tunnel became sloped, then took a sharp dive into a vertical shaft. She tossed a pebble in: twenty feet or so. By the sound of it, probably another grotto. Not a hard climb down, but she would not be able to climb back without tools.

Kib retraced her steps to the copse of tower-cap trees. There was a large crack in the floor across the room, water flowing down into it; Kib had not previously noticed it due to distance. She would bet it was a path climbable down and up, and the water had to go somewhere. But of course, the slumbering beast was in the way, Kib had already alerted it once, she was not too keen on doing so again.

Make a choice:

• Descend through the shaft to the new grotto
• Sneak past the draltha and examine the crack

[King Zultan]

Lets go down the shaft towards the new grotto.

[mightymushroom]

Not a hard climb down,

but she would not be able to climb back without tools.

Regardless, I concur with Kib's instinct to let sleeping dralthas lie.

[Murphy]

After a consideration, Kib figured she'd rather take her chances with the new grotto. She didn't have the tools to rappel nor to carve handholds into the hard rock, but after just ten feet climbing down, the shaft opened into a hole in the ceiling. Kib lowered her backpack down on its longest strap and dropped it, then took the leap herself.

Landing down, she found herself on a flat top of a cliff surrounded by another underground landscape. It stretched far into the distance, peppered by scarce rock formations, puddles of water and moss, and most alarmingly, by what looked like heaps of old bones. Carved columns supported the ceiling at even intervals; Kib could make out some kind of writing etched into the surface of the closest one, its flowing lines distinct from any script she knew. All of it looked old and abandoned.

Spoiler: A bit of visual (click to show/hide)

Whatever civilization built these was probably not the civilization Kib was looking for, if it even still existed. Well, no going back now. Kib went for another climb down, off the cliff onto the cave floor, as she attempted to mentally assess the right direction to the mainland. It appeared to coincide with the general direction in which the cavern continued. Kib regretted missing the chance to make more torches; she only had three left. Her dwarven vision meant she wouldn't be completely blind without them, but fire was still the best way to ward off a lot of potentially troublesome critters.

Besides, she couldn't quite place the uneasiness this ancient place caused her. Was this some sort of sacred hunting ground? Too many bones lying around, most belonging to large cave fauna--dralthas and elk birds. She imagined ancient cave-dwellers herding these grazers in the sacred cave, and once a moon coming to thin the herd, running down and killing some creatures, to butcher them in place leaving the skeletons as a spiritual offering. Weird, really. Wouldn't they have use for the bones?

It took her a full day of travel before she had come up on another copse of tower-caps, huddled around a small spring of water bursting from a crack in the wall. Being able to build a campfire again was most welcome. Kib stared into the flames for a little while, then settled for a meal and a nap, keeping her gun and knife close.

While resting down, she watched the shadows dance on the wall. It was then that she noticed a single shadow that did not move.

[Murphy]

She thought it at first to be just a trick of the light. It resembled a thin robed figure, standing right at the edge of the lit area of the cave wall, as if watching. But when Kib rose up from her resting spot to grab another piece of a log to throw into the fire, her own faint shadow was cast on the wall, and the figure suddenly came into motion. It lunged at Kib--no, it lunged at Kib's shadow--yet as the lunge connected, she felt icy pain in her side as if she was stabbed for real.

Realizing the danger, Kib ducked away. As she scrambled for her axe, thoughts raced in her mind; was this an invisible foe whose shadow betrayed their presence? No, it seemed not to be that: the umbral shape stopped momentarily, now that Kib's own shadow was on the cave floor instead of the wall. Then it began to slither down, moving unlike anything close to the shade of a real object. She stifled the impulse to stamp out the fire; she was somehow convinced that illumination was limiting the creature to this form. Who's to say it doesn't become omnipresent in the absence of light?

As the thing lurched forth in another attack, Kib used her spatial sense to place her axe in the way. The resulting "clang!" reverberated through the cave, followed by an angry hiss. Was it wounded? Is it, like many supernaturals, not fond of good steel? She glanced around frantically, trying not to lose sight of the creature.

Her weapon arm felt numb from the cold, but she shook it off. It was finally clear what to do. She whirled the axe in her hand, moving in such a way that her shadow would strike against the thing, but missed, stumbling and accidentally stepping into the campfire. "Argh!" Her boot took the brunt of the singe, but the flames started sputtering. Kib lit a torch from the dying fire, then pressed her back against the wall, watching for the gloom to make its next move.

It coalesced on the floor, appearing to nurse a "wound". It no longer looked like a robed figure, but more like some kind of beast. Lingering on the very edge of the torchlight... Ready to strike.

Kib is in a standoff with what probably killed all these creatures in the cavern, a literal living shadow that can attack victims through theirs. So far it seems unable to get at her so long as Kib doesn't cast a shadow for it to attack, but in complete darkness it might also gain freedom to strike directly.

Kib is wounded twice, still resolute in spirit and has moderate supplies. Note: these wounds are about as much as she can safely take. One more, and it's real risk territory.
Make a choice:

• Try to outrun the thing. The cursed cavern has to end somewhere.
• Lure it closer, then steal the initiative and attack.
• Cling to the wall, casting as little shadow as possible, and sneak away.
• Find a way to spook it off (describe how), leave before it returns.

Spoiler: Update on game mechanics (click to show/hide)

Generally I keep the game mechanics "under the hood" and am reluctant to provide numbers / stats, but you may want to know I've phased out How to Host a Dungeon as the main rules system. It had served admirably to create a setting, but for this new season I'm adapting Ironsworn RPG to facilitate some (hopefully) epic adventurer stories.

[Glass]

If she can make a second light source - light a second torch - and make sure there’s a light on either side of her, there shouldn’t be a shadow to be attacked, right?

[Murphy]

If she can make a second light source - light a second torch - and make sure there’s a light on either side of her, there shouldn’t be a shadow to be attacked, right?

I'm afraid torches are not quite that bright. It'd just mean two somewhat fainter shadows, at best that might throw the gloom off for a moment, at worst it'd make Kib more vulnerable.

[Glass]

Ah, damn. Oh well, worth a shot.
Seize the initiative, then!

[mightymushroom]

I may have had a clever idea. _{I hope.}

If she can make a second light source - light a second torch - and make sure there’s a light on either side of her, there shouldn’t be a shadow to be attacked, right?

I'm afraid torches are not quite that bright. It'd just mean two somewhat fainter shadows, at best that might throw the gloom off for a moment, at worst it'd make Kib more vulnerable.

BUT with one torch Kib should have some pretty amazing control over her own shadow, right? Moving it to and fro could change the direction in which it falls very rapidly. I think this may be the key to luring/controlling the creature's movement so that Kib can seize the initiative.

[Murphy]

It occurred to Kib that she could easily manipulate her own shadow to lure the creature where she wanted it to be. As she clung to the wall, she was thinking of a plan for doing just that, when the specter moved again, in the blink of an eye becoming a figure on the wall a mere foot from her. Kib screamed, dropping her torch and jumping off... before realizing she'd been tricked into losing her nerve.

It was now or never. Kib assumed a combat stance, axe forward, her shadow standing off against the vile thing on the wall. She could do this with her eyes closed. She attacked in an instant, and was rewarded with another wail of pain from the creature; it rolled back, nearly to the edge of vision, but the moment Kib reached down to pick up the torch, it was upon her again; she swung the torch, her shadow dashing around, barely avoiding the assault. So damned difficult to shake off to even attempt gaining advantage for an attack.

But it seemed to slow down after a moment, perhaps its wounds were taking their toll after all. Kib positioned her torch the right way before aiming a decisive strike--her shadow's axe struck into the figure's midsection, cleaving it in two. Another horrifying wail shook the caverns, knocking Kib onto the ground stunned.

Adrenaline slowly abating, she tried to focus her vision. It was dark and quiet now; the torch and campfire were both snuffed out. No attack followed, and when with trembling hands Kib sparked another torch alight, the mysterious shade was nowhere to be seen. Her entire body protested against going anywhere, but she knew she wasn't staying in this cavern a minute longer than it'd take to find the exit.

She could barely feel the fingers of her weapon arm, and the wound at her stomach felt similarly numb. No blood, just hoarfrost and whitened skin. Damn, if this went as deep as stabs usually go... She fished out her medkit from the backpack; there had to be some kind of frostbite salve. "Ah, there!" Clumsily, she applied some of it to her frostbitten skin. "Here's hoping the old rat knew his stuff."

Kib is recovering, uneasy morale-wise, and still has her supplies. She will need to make camp again soon, just not... here.