Subterranean Cave Navigation
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## Overview Potential routes through the basaltic cliffs that allow for ascent to the plateau summit, serve as dwellings, or provide a means of escape. ## Mechanics and Rules * **The Hidden Path**: Fissures or caves within the basalt serve as potential entry points. These caves are often water-worn with smooth sides. * **Troglodytic Dwellings**: The **Accala Indians** inhabit caves on the internal basalt escarpment. These caves are located on a specific stratum of soft rock between the volcanic basalt above and the hard granite base. * **Defensive Utility**: Caves provide narrow-mouthed refuges where large saurians cannot penetrate. The Accala caves are reached by long, steep stone stairs that are too narrow for large animals to mount. * **Internal Features**: The caves are warm and dry, featuring straight passages and walls decorated with excellent charcoal drawings of the plateau's fauna. * **The Forked Escape**: Some caves are "forked," with one arm leading to a cul-de-sac and another potentially leading through the cliff face to the outside world. ## Examples from the Story * **The Chart of the Caves**: A young Accala chief provided Malone with a bark chart showing eighteen cave openings. One cave, marked with a cross, was a forked passage that led to a small rift overlooking the cliffs. * **The Moonlight Rift**: The expedition escaped through a cave rift "not larger than a window," which allowed them to descend a hundred feet to the plain using their rope. ## Narrative Significance Caves represent the ultimate solution to the "locked room" problem of the plateau, providing a secret exit that bypasses the impossible cliffs.
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