Journey to the center of Faierie

In which some (or all) of the Category:HOZZ brothers journey into the depths of Faierie.

The Hozz brothers somehow work their way all the way down to the adamant, where they are doing something important (or just goofing around). They take with them a seed of a Sky Vine, which produces (when mature) a huge gas bubble, like a baloon. To escape (while under persuit by the denizens of the deep perhaps?) Ziggy uses his fay powers to rapidly grow the SkyVine, and the brothers float up a shaft.

Plot

There are any number of reasons to go into the depths. It could also be a mission to communicate or barter with The Zarth. Perhaps they were sent there by one of the elder Fay. Perhaps Hugh wants an adamant sword. Perhaps one of the Fay smiths requires mechanisms from the Zarth Mechanomancers. They could gather strange and wonderous treasures on the way, only to discover that the Sky Vine will only cary so much, so the must leave most of it behind.

This would be a major plot-arc, covering several months, if not a year or more.

• It would realistically take several days, or even weeks, to float all the way up a shaft several thousand miles long (depending on the actual dimensions of Faierie, if there is such a number). To descend safely would take even more time. On the way the brothers will no doubt have to battle, cajole, circumvent, and befriend the Zarth through whose realms they wish to travel. Overall, I'm seeing this as a really big storyline, probably for later on after the characters are somewhat farmiliar and comfortable with Faierie.
• On the other hand, owing to the fickle and changeable nature of Faierie, it might only take them a few days, or even hours, to get out, but months to get down, or vice-versa. They could easily travel there, but once they have arrived, become hopelessly lost. The mutability of Faierie allows us to (if we wish) make this into a much shorter, and more minor, story.

Inspiration

Okay, the image I got in my head is one of the massive shafts which penetrates all the way down to Adamant. It is perhaps a mile across at the bottom, and several miles at the top. I'm envisioning a series of images as they ascend the shaft. The single translucent Sky Vine baloon floating alone in the vastness, illuminated from below by the Brothers Fay light.

• First the craggy walls of the deep, illuminated only by the light the brothers carry with them. The walls are studded with crystals and odd veins of ore. Slimy tunnels puncture the walls, extending into the blackness. Occasional rivulets of brightly colored ichor ooze down the walls, or drip from gaping caverns.
• Next, the higher reaches of the depths, outcroppings have collected the fallen remains of life above, and fantastic fungi grow on the walls. Subterranian rivers of the clearest water flow into the shaft, only to be swallowed up by the engorged fungal forests. Grubs and blind Fay of otherworldly composition peruse the fungus. Everything is bleached white and yellow.
• Higher still are the vast webs of the mottled spiders and other blind things which feed on those who tumble down the shaft. Beaded threads hang down and stretch out from the walls. Carnivorous ogres live here as well, making frames from the bones of their victims on which the spiders spin webs ever farther out into the shaft.
• As the light draws nearer (tinged with pastels by the encroaching plants above) Mold and moss appear on the walls. Streams of water run down from the heights, and fay dust drifts lazily in the drafts of air. A few tiny bugs scuttle over the patina on the walls, which have now given way from solid stone to boulders and earth. The shaft begins to widen at this point.
• Now the balloon is floating in the haze of life near the surface. The walls of the shaft (perhaps miles distant at this point) are covered with plants, vines, flowers, overgrown outcroppings, and Sylvan Fay. The air is filled with Fay dust, and water. There are even a few clouds suspended in the gulf. Flocks of flying creatures cavort in the vast open spaces. The light slants down through the canopy of the great enchanted forests above, illuminating the scene with shafts of gold.

Finally, the balloon drifts clear of the shaft and into the forest, but there is still a long ways to go though the forest until reaching the free air. This could continue for several more scenes, ascending through the various levels of the forest, sky vine cities, solid-clouds, and finally into the upper airs and the edge of the outer fire. Getting down could be an adventure in itself.