Diving deep down into dark dank caves what do you expect to find?  Giant insects? Glowing crystals? Alexander with a- oh wait no sorry I got distracted on that last one by the delivery driver. Ahem, anywho back to the caves. Bugs, crystals, fungi, and all that good stuff. But would you expect trees? An entire forest covered in a gentle green blanket of leaves. You say you wouldn’t? That it’s a silly thing to expect? Well while we are quite silly here, and proud of it, that’s the right answer. You won’t find trees, but you can find things that look like them. Introducing today’s topic, a peculiar environment from a far off world, I present to you: Sunken Forests!

Sunken Forests are a delightfully unexpected thing to find for junior and experienced spelunkers alike. They are found deep underground where the light has no hope of shining. The daylight that is. Without torches or spells or other light sources to illuminate these spaces I wouldn’t have much to report today. It is fairly obvious that you’ve entered into one as soon as you see it. Giant tree like structures with what appear to be green leaves rustling in the wind. Except there isn’t any wind. So how could they be rustling? Because they are in fact alive! The leaves and the trunks are both alive in fact. Not that real trees aren’t also alive but- oh you know what I mean. There are three creatures in particular that make these forests special.

Cave Trees

Okay so I realize I said you wouldn’t find trees and then the first thing I list is called a tree, but they aren’t actual trees! They aren’t even plants. In fact they are more like coral. Hard coral specifically like you’d see in a coral reef. These creatures use and acid to break down and eat the ground beneath them and then use that to create a protective carapace that just looks like bark. Their primary predator burrows through the ground so they congregate and branch upwards as they grow. The grooves on the ‘bark’ (carapace) are actually holes for their mouth to reach out and eat prey. The mouths also essentially drool a sweet sap that is laced with a toxin that knocks creatures out that eat it. So they basically put things to sleep and then eat them while they slumber. Which is honestly horrifying. Remember friends, never take a nap near these guys. 

Leaf Bats

Just like how the cave trees aren’t actual trees, leaf bats aren’t actual bats. Or even related to bats. I think someone said they might be related to pigeons? They have small bodies with two sets of green clawed wings and a long tail. The green coloration comes from the symbiotic fungi that they use to digest prey. Yes, this means that the inside of their wings functions as an external stomach. Complete with hooked barbs to help keep prey in place.  So don’t touch their wings even though they are cute. It hurts. A lot. They are completely immune to the sleep inducing sap from the cave trees and actually let it coat the inside of their wings and claws and use it to immobilize their prey. Leaf bats use their long tails to hang off of the boughs of the cave trees while they digest. This keeps them off the ground and protected from most predators. The discarded remnants of their prey are dropped on the tree and provide easy snacks for the trees. While leaf bats rarely go after anything larger than them, if a creature has been put to sleep by the sap of the cave trees they will gladly use their claws to tear flesh from the unconscious creature. A pretty scary way to die in my opinion. Let me reiterate, these forests are horrible for naps. No I didn’t try. At least I didn’t get to lay down fully before my guide told me not to. 

Slumbering Hammberbeaks

Small dark furred creatures with pitch black beaks and two sets of front legs. The beaks have a mostly flat reinforced section that they use to crack and widen the openings in the cave trees. Their long, thin secondary appendages are used to reach in and scoop out the… meat? and guts and well you get it. They scoop out the creature part of the cave trees and bring it back to their burrows. The secondary limbs are a bit fragile though. They have to keep them close to their bodies when burrowing or defending themselves or they risk damaging them. Unlike the leaf bats, the hammerbeaks are not immune to the sleep toxin of the cave trees. As a result they spend most of their time adorably asleep. Which is why I thought a nap would be nice in the forest. They just looked so peaceful. But uh… in case you forgot, the bats have a tendency of attacking sleeping creatures. Which is why the hammerbeaks only come out to grab their prey and then retreat underground. They don’t go for the ‘roots’ of the trees very much since that end secretes a fairly powerful acid, which apparently doesn’t taste that good.

So, now that we know what to expect and how to avoid being eaten, we can explore and admire these sunken forests to our heart’s desire. And bottle up some delicious cave tree sap. It makes the best sleep aid jelly. It kind of tastes like a fruit honey? Can’t quite place what fruit it tastes like. But remember, only eat it in the safety of your home. Or your friend’s home, after all we encourage visiting and hosting your friends.

Until next time, 

Onwards to adventure!

– CozyPandaDragon