Nethren allowed observers into the cavern before he allowed testers.
Max, Hizon, Dagar, and Merrit stood inside a protected gallery overlooking the three routes. Kildra watched from a separate position with two performers who had participated in earlier trials. Veyrath monitored the entrance and emergency controls.
The Crowncap Guard waited near the central fungal growth.
It had changed since Max's first inspection. Dark plates covered more of its body. The pale caps forming its crown had spread into several layers. Amber light moved through the seams whenever the surrounding network reported motion.
The creature remained an eternal soul bound to Nethren's territory. Destruction would not permanently kill it.
The testers possessed no equivalent protection beyond Sanctuary's resurrection rules.
Nethren explained the encounter himself.
