This is my entry for the Underground Explorer competition.
This article, Wyvern Cavern, is the creative property of Coroxn.
Wyvern Cavern is a cave near the foot of Mount Draynor, inhabited by Draconus Wyvern (or Wyvern Dragons). Wyverns are dragons that have qualities dissimilar to a dragon, such as no feet, two heads, or icy scales. The Wyvern Cavern has four different rooms, rooms that are incredibly large and spacious. The Space between rooms is vast... empty. (Whooo! Star Trek quote!). Long corridors, filled with the souls of dead Wyverns, are the only route to the final cavern, which has only one beast: the caved wyvern.
First Room[]
The first room has no extraordinary qualities, it is only a large, plain, dark, cavern. This room is filled with weaker Wyverns, four to be exact. They are:
Spider Wyvern[]
The Spider Wyvern is some sort of weird Spider-Dragon hybrid. Though this sounds like a potent combination, it's not. The dragon body ways heavily on the spider's legs, and the flaming web turns to ash in a few seconds. As a result, it is the weakest Wyvern.
Legless Wyvern[]
This Wyvern, very long, and with reptilian scaly wings, ranks at almost weaker than the Spider Dragon. It is saved from the very bottom of the food chain by the fact that it is extremely mobile. Though adventurers may want to hunt this beast for it's rich hide, it stays to the ceilings of the cavern, meaning melee is useless. Ranged combat is the best to take these down.
Long-tailed Wyvern[]
This Wyvern has a body length of only 4 feet, but it's tail is ten times that. Spiked, with a serated edge, this tail is a lethal weapon, capable of keeping up with even the greatest swords. The weakness that inhibits this Wyvern is it's legs are stubby; it moves slower than a tortoise. If you can get in close, this Wyvern is toast.
Furry Wyvern[]
This Wyvern has serated teeth, and a thick wad of fur instead of scales (giving it the lowest defense of any Wyvern) all over it's body. This Wyvern preys on the other three in it's large room, but is not strong enough to brave the other rooms.
The Dungeon Entrance, Leading Into The First Room
Second Room[]
The second room is a desert landscape, with clay and heat abundant. A sort of magic sun is high in the cavern, unreachable to us. Light clothes are recommended for this room, as the bolstering heat can wreak havoc on you if your wearing heavy armor. There isn't a drop of water in sight, and there is an abundance of treacherous quicksand. There are lots of pretty, giant desert flowers, which the one herbivorous Wyvern likes to eat. Many of the Wyverns hide from the heat and light emitted from above. The second room is full of cross bred Wyverns, four races of them. These animalistic Wyverns are:
Turtle Wyvern[]
This Wyvern is a cross-breed between a Wyvern and a giant turtle. It has a strong defensive shell, which keeps all blades at bay. The limbs and head of this creature often withdraw inside it's shell, meaning most adventurers will simply leave this Wyvern alone: That is, until it unleashes it's bone-crushing teeth on a stray limb. It hides from the sun inside it's shell, and eats the desert flowers.
Scorpion Wyvern[]
These dragons take their name for their venom-infecting tales that arch over the back. It is the only Wyvern that can hunt the Turtle Wyvern, by slipping it's tale down the neck-whole. It is a highly aggressive Wyvern, the only one willing to hunt Tiger Wyverns; although things often end up badly for it. It constructs huts for itself out of stone, where it hides in wait for a prey, and from the light's glare.. Males travel from female to female, impregnating them and then moving on. It often kills adventurers that come down this far, and skeletons are not uncommon around the Wyvern's huts.
Butterfly Wyvern[]
This beautiful Wyvern's main attribute is it's graceful, colorful, butterfly like wings. It is the main source of the prey for the Scorpion and Tiger Wyverns, and it eats nectar from the abundant desert flowers. Adventurers also hunt it for it's multi-colored scales that glisten in the sun. Which is, in fact, how this dragon hides from the almighty magical sun's immense heat; the scales reflect all the light.
Tiger Wyvern[]
This Wyvern, strongest in the room, is a master of stealth and hunting. They are unbelievably fast. They have very sharp teeth, and they are surprisingly intelligent; they are able to identify the neck of any animal (which is, without fail, where they always bite). Once they latch onto a victim's neck, they will trash it around until it stops moving. They are also armed with razor-sharp claws, which it uses to fight other males for the females. The females, with tiny claws, fight off the Scorpion Wyvern (the only Wyvern that will attack it's species) with it's large, powerful tail (which is tiny on a male). This dragon is right at home in the heat of the desert, and is colored black and orange.
Third Room[]
The third room is the largest (and, quite frankly, the oddest). It is divided into six parts, each with there own respective element: Fire, Water, Lightning, Ice, Light and Air. You can skip them if you wish, but they are a great source of rare drops. Such as the Flaming scepter, Aquatic ring, Lightning blade, Frozen amulet, Phantom cape and Gale helm.
Flaming Niche[]
The Flaming Niche is a volcanic wasteland. There are cracks in the ground, which omit a light: This is actually the lave flowing underneath the cracks, to fall through these cracks is to invite death. This niche is inhabited by a single race of dragon, The Pyrowyvern. It is always on fire, which it uses to attack. It is large, and the dragon's teeth inject a flaming toxin. If you put out the flame, you kill the dragon, it's only weakness.
Aquatic Niche[]
This niche is not an actual niche, just a pool of water. It's inhabitants, the Aquawyvern, is enormous and deadly, no one has actually measured it, because it is usually fully underwater. A flash of blue, a roar, and some poor adventurer has been dragged underneath the depths.
Lightning Niche[]
This niche is made of metal, smooth and polished. The dragons here (The Electrowyvern) are a brilliant electric yellow color, and breath lightning itself. If you are in contact with enough of it, it can be lethal, although usually burning is the only side affect.
Frozen Niche[]
Much like the Aquatic niche, this niche is only a pool of (frozen) water, with icicles hanging from the ceiling. This ice forms into small dragons, Glaciowyverns, which have a lethal bite, and jagged icicle spines go along the spine. It breathes freezing breath, which can be deadly.
Phantom Niche[]
This niche is poorly lit, and inhabited by ghostly dragons that can become incorporeal at will. Only snatches of this creature (Phantowyverns) have been seen, from torchlight: The best we can tell, it has a purplish head.
Gale Niche[]
The air niche has, for some strange reason, a strong gale blowing at all times. It is also the highest of the niches, so all we can see of the Aerowyverns is that they are white, with short tales and wide wings. When attempts were made to climb up for a closer look, it flapped it's gigantic wings and raised a gale that blew us from the niche.
Items received from the Third Room:[]
Flaming scepter[]
Flaming scepter is the only item the Pyrowyvern will drop. While wielding it, players need not use fire runes, as flaming scepter will take their place. It has a higher Magic bonus then a normal staff, however, and it also has a special attack. This attack, called Pyropillar, summons up a great jet of flame to engulf the target. It can also be used to light fires without a tinderbox.
Aquatic ring[]
Aquatic ring is the only item dropped by the Aquawyvern. Whilst worn, it takes the place of water runes in rather the same manner a water staff does. It also has a special attack, Whirlpool. Whirlpool has water swirl around the target, effectively binding it for sixteen seconds. It can be used to douse fires.
Lightning blade[]
Lightning blade is dropped by the Electrowyvern. The lighting blade is slightly weaker and similar in appearance to an adamant scimitar. It has a special attack: Jolt, which deals minor damage and temporarily prevents the target from using ranged attacks.
Frozen amulet[]
This is the only drop of the Glaciowyvern. Frozen amulet is an amulet that offers the special move Icicle Shards, which deals high damage, but freezes the player for four seconds. It can be used to turn buckets and jugs of water into jugs and buckets of icy water. If used twice, it turns jugs and buckets of water into jugs and buckets of frozen water.
Phantom cape[]
As the Phantowyvern's only drop, the Phantom cape boosts ranged attacks, and allows for a special move, Jump. Once Jump is active, any target hit with a ranged attack will switch places with the player. If worn while the player dies, it will keep the player's lost items in a pile on the ground even when the gravestone has gone. However, this pile can be raided by other players.
Gale helm[]
Gale helm will double melee damage done to the wearer, but will half all ranged damage. It offers the special move Tornado, which will stun and drive back any monster within range.
Final Room[]
The final room is notoriously dangerous. It a large, round, cylindrical room, where there is no hiding from its inhabitants: the caved wyvern. There are spiral stairs along the sides, that wind all the way to the ceiling. At the last step of these stairs, a giant egg is clearly visible. The caved wyvern won't acknowledge its existence, so it seems unlikely it laid it itself. There are a number of large stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, some of which contain small crystals.
The Caved Wyvern
Trivia:[]
- If any of the Wyverns left the cave and attacked the kingdom of Misthalin, they could probably decimate its population. But, for some reason, they seem pretty happy down in their deep, dank cave.