Sealing the Night Vault

I used my claws to drag a flat piece of dark slate right against the calcite archway. Crimson ruby dust from earlier still glittered along the quartz bridge, but night drafts were shrieking up from the deep shaft. Before curling up, I set my beetle captive safely inside its mineral moat, its golden pyrite crown catching faint reflections. Bracing two heavy granite fragments against the slate outer wall, I locked our high sentry ledge into a pitch-black vault. Resting my chin against the cool stone, I listened to the muffled cavern wind dying into silence outside.