The Benefits of Spelunking

There were only three days left before the Great Hunt had officially begun and Serah was by no means lazing around. By day she scoured the forests and mountains of Verderis to search for poisonous flowers and roots. With her new paralysis toxin, as well as careful use of sleep powder, she was able to gather venom from various reptiles, pseudodragons, and insects. However, by night, she did something completely different. She spent most of her nights tracking Iskadi's movements, she scouted out his hunting spots, and keep track of the different nests he used. As for how she got away with doing she simply tricked Rasze, she explained to him that she was out foraging or exploring caves. Her reasoning was that she wanted to help make new potions for the store. She also asked him for help in crafting less potent versions of her potion ideas.

She would go to him with an idea, a set of ingredients, and the moment Rasze refused to add a specific element to the potion, she knew she had to use it for Iskadi. However there were two downsides to doing all of this behind his back and one of them was the fact that her potions only worked in theory, not in practice. But, time was not on her side and she didn't have time to test it, nor was she willing to. She didn't want to threaten the lives of woodland creatures by testing her potions on them but she still needed to pull out every trick she had in the book to win. So, if it meant using untested (and potentially explosive) potions to win, then she'd do it.

The second downside was the fact that she didn't have her own private workshop. She initially thought she could just use her father's workshop while he was away or while he was asleep. But after giving it some thought she realized it would be impossible to do. She wouldn't have enough time to mix her potions, clean before Rasze could come back, and have enough time to sleep (something she already didn't have enough of). So, instead of a lab, Serah had been mixing her potions inside the forest for the past three days. To do this she needed to move around, making sure she didn't stay in one place for too long just to avoid predators and marked hunters.

She had been successful in avoiding detection so far but she knew she couldn't keep it up forever. And so, Serah strapped on her well-worn bag, and began exploring the northeastern outskirts of Verderis for a workshop. At first she thought it would be easy to find a place to call her own but after searching for three hours she realized it would be anything but.

"This would have been a lot easier if I could get Mana to build a hut for me out here." She spoke to herself to vent her frustration. "What's a girl got to do to get some privacy out here?"

"What about you, do you know where I can find a nice cave?" She said as she squatted down near a caterpillar crawling up a leaf. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I think I'm going crazy..."

Serah stomped around while keeping her voice as soft as possible. She didn't want to attract unnecessary attention but she was still rather angry. There were three important things she needed:

1. For obvious reasons, it had to be hidden. As a human, she wasn't allowed to participate in the great hunt, so people couldn't know what she was doing here. Also, getting seen making dangerous poisons would make her already bad reputation worse.

2. It needed decent ventilation. Alchemy was dangerous business, one whiff of something deadly could end her then and there. Even with her mask on she needed a place where air could freely travel, which means no tight enclosed spaces.

3. It needed to be far away from dragonkin and wildlife. This one was a no-brainer, she didn't want to accidentally kill anyone, and it's already happened before. She needed a place where the fumes from her concoctions wouldn't reach anyone.

With that in mind, Serah spent most of her time looking for thick marshlands and large caverns, the former being the more preferable option. Unfortunately for her, most of the forest had already been thoroughly explored. After hours of walking through the forest and talking to animals and plants for direction, she sat near a waterfall to rest. She washed her face and hands in the river, took out a sandwich, and took a quick lunch break.

However, before she could even finish eating her food a small green dragon approached her. The dragon was wingless, sported rough green scales, dark green spines, and had a bulbous neck sack. This was a Gecori; a venomous dragon species that hunted prey with its agility, intelligence, and poisonous breath. The Gecori had sharp claws, slender bodies, and a long tail. Their slender build allowed them to move quickly in narrow passageways and tight terrain. However, despite their myriad of deadly traits they often regarded dragonkin as a mutual companion. Throughout the years Gecori dragons learned that if they accompanied the dragonkin they were most likely to be treated well. Often receiving food in exchange for company or aid and while they were friendly to dragonkin they were never really domesticated. This was because of two reasons, the first was the fact that they had a habit of living underground, and the second was the fact that adult Gecori dragons were viscously territorial.

Upon seeing the young Gecori dragon slowly inch its way towards her, Serah froze up, unsure whether the young dragon would leave her alone or tear her throat out. Did she know these dragons were friendly? Yes, of course. It would be hard pressed not to hear stories of friendly Gecori from time to time, but unfortunately for her, they were friendly to dragonkin.

The greed dragon hissed at her, rattled its tail, and slowly moved towards her, carefully observing her movements. It circled her as it approached and Serah did her best to stay still, careful not to startle the Gecori as she slowly reached out to grab sleep powder from her bag. But before she could get a single ball, the young dragon was already on her - stepping on her outstretched hand.

She could feel its claws dig into her skin, she almost jumped at first, but she knew it would have been a death sentence at this close of a distance. Instead she kept her quiet as the dragon began sniffing her. She closed her eyes as its face reached up to hers, she could smell its swamp-like stench and carcass-laden breath, but when she opened her eyes she wasn't afraid anymore - she was surprised. The dragon had begun cuddling up to her, circling her like a playful animal, and making soft high-pitched noises at her.

"I'm guessing I smell like a dragonkin huh?" She said as the green dragon presented its face for petting. "And now that I'm not shaking for my life, you're kind of cute aren't you?"

"Oh what the heck." Serah began petting the dragon, running her hands across its face, and scratching its chin. "Who's an adorable idiot who can't tell the difference between me and a dragonkin? You are! Yes, you are!"

The young dragon looked elated at receiving affection, its tail curled along her waist, and its head was lovingly bumping onto her chest. As it left her arms the Gecori stuck its tongue out and stood with a playful stance. It shot its rear up and began shaking it in anticipation. Serah stood up to play with it, jumping to grab the dragon only for it to dodge out of the way.

As the dragon nimbly moved around Serah it took its opportunity and stole her sandwich. For a brief second the two stared at each other.

"Okay, I don't want that back" Serah explained "but if you think you can get away with stealing from me you have another thing co- Hey!"

The dragon bolted away from her before she could finish. It moved fast in a zig-zag pattern, moving across the river with speed and grace. Serah gave chase but it was too late the dragon was already out of sight.

"Where in Bahamut's beard did you run off to, you scamp..." Serah asked as she looked around. Eventually, she heard some skittering noises near the waterfall; as she walked closer to inspect the surroundings, she saw a small crevice covered by moss.

The crevice was so narrow that no adult-sized dragonkin would be able to squeeze through it, however it was the perfect size for her. After she had retrieved her bag from across the river she took out a jar of planted fungi and squeezed into the crevice. As she moved in deeper the fungi began to glow in the dark, shining the cave walls around her in bright green light.

As she moved through the tunnel the narrow pathway began to widen and deep inside of the tunnel was a rather sizable cavern. To her left was a large cavern, lined with smooth stone walls, and to her right was a large opening that lead to a seemingly bottomless pit. Above the pit she could see a stream of water falling from a narrow opening. Where the water pooled into, was a mystery in and of itself. At the top of the cave's ceiling was a series of stalactites and near the bottom she could see stalagmites and stone columns. Lastly there was a series of cave networks and tunnels that she thought would take days to explore.

Water droplets could be heard falling throughout the tunnels and skittering noises from small creatures accompanied it like a foreboding symphony. The cave had many features that could deter would-be explorers, from its mysterious stream of water, to whatever cave-dwelling creatures live inside of it. To many, this was a claustrophobic and paranoia-inducing cavern but for Serah, it was the perfect private workshop.

"Well, I'll be damned..." Serah said as she stared in awe, surrounded by near pitch-darkness. "This will do just nicely.

Serah unpacked her bag, laid out her portable table and alchemy supplies, put on her mask, and began mixing.