*ding*
Rock (shell compatibility: none)
“Hmm. Rocks won’t fix my shell. I’ll have to keep looking.” The snail looked around and headed towards the nearest non-rock it could see. The broken shell shifted as the snail ascended the curved wall of the tunnel. When it approached a glowing red light source, it used Identify again.
*ding*
Light crystal, red (shell compatibility: none)
The snail checked the yellow light source just to be sure, but it was unsurprised to find it also had no shell compatibility. The snail returned to the tunnel floor before continuing down the tunnel because the broken shell hung uncomfortably when the snail wasn’t flat on the ground. After a few hours of creeping down the tunnel, the snail encountered something living.
*ding*
Cave isopod (lesser, neutral)
A white creature with bands of shell and a fair number of legs crept past at breakneck speed (compared to the snail). The snail recognized the shape of the isopod as one of the creatures that ate fallen leaves and lived under rotting logs. The snail didn’t see any leaves nearby, so it watched the isopod curiously. A second creature suddenly flowed across the ground and attacked the isopod. The snail, startled, retreated into its shell. After a moment, it extended one eyestalk in order to use Identify.
*ding*
Cave centipede (lesser, hostile)
The snail withdrew the eyestalk and held very still. “My broken shell won’t protect me much, but maybe camouflage still works.” The snail fervently hoped. After a time, Tremor sense detected the centipede moving away. The snail waited until it was certain the centipede was really gone before it began moving again. The empty husk of the isopod lay nearby. The snail felt an odd shiver of fear at the sight of the silent white corpse. “Wait, corpse? Will this have experience I can absorb?” The snail paused at that thought before deciding to find out. It slowly approached the ominous remains.
*ding*
Corpse: Cave isopod (lesser). Estimated experience: 1. Absorb experience?
“Yes!” The snail gave a little cheer and waited long enough to absorb the single experience point. “I wonder why the centipede didn’t absorb the experience?” It wondered as it continued down the tunnel.
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The snail began to encounter isopods more frequently. An abnormally large grouping of isopods near the tunnel wall drew the snail’s attention, and, as it crept closer, its olfactory tentacles detected water. Feeling thirsty, the snail moved towards a gap in the isopod group in order to reach the water. A white patch on the ground burned the snail’s underside, even through the mucus layer.
“Ouch!” The snail wailed. It drew back its head to stop touching the white stuff, but the burning continued. The snail used Identify.
*ding*
Salt (shell compatibility: none)
The snail’s thirst grew with each second. Desperate for water, the snail crept around the edge of the white patch. It slid over top of several isopods that didn’t move out of the way. The snail slowly waded into the water and began sucking in as much liquid as it could. The burning sensation disappeared as soon as the snail touched the water, but the thirst continued for several minutes. When the snail could think clearly, it examined the water.
*ding*
Mineral water (shell compatibility: poor). Absorb into shell?
“Huh?” The snail wondered. “How could water fix my shell?” When the snail could think of no answers to its own question, it replied to the prompt. “Yes, absorb.” A brief whirlpool formed around the snail. The snail waited, expecting to feel some sort of effect from absorbing the water. After a minute of nothing, it checked its health.
*ding*
“That number went up, so I guess I will recover a little more health now. Oh well, better keep looking.” The snail picked a path out of the ring of isopods that avoided the white patches of salt.
Beyond that first puddle of water, the tunnel became less regular. There were cracks in the floor and occasional piles of rubble. The snail spotted a few spiderwebs and some gnats around some of the larger puddles. It places where the water was near the red light sources, several patches of lush moss grew. The snail ate some of the moss, but only enough to satisfy its hunger. The isopods combed through the moss, munching at the base and slurping up things that were too small for the snail to see.
Danger sense flared as the snail was about to reach across an especially wade crack in the ground. The snail quickly retreated into its broken shell and held still. Tremor sense informed the snail of something walking nearby. The thing was significantly larger than the snail and walked slowly. As the thing walked closer, Danger sense grew louder.
“Camouflage-camouflage-camouflage-camouflage.” The snail repeated a mantra of hope that the danger would pass it by. The snail had little hope that its shell would protect from an attack, so it tried to mentally prepare itself to respond with Ensnare.
Tremor sense detected something else skitter nearby. The larger creature suddenly sped up to a sprint and collided with the second, smaller creature. A brief struggle followed, then both creatures were still.
*ding*
Tremor sense level up: 2
Danger sense slowly slid back down and returned to the background noise in the snail’s mind. Tremor sense could tell that the larger creature was still alive, but was doing something instead of walking. The snail cautiously extended its head and eyes to find out what it was.
*ding*
Cave scorpion (lesser, neutral)
“Eeep!” The snail turned and crept away from the scorpion as fast as it was able. The scorpion continued to eat the centipede it had slain and ignored the snail.