Cousins Eli DakWentz <| sep |> Stalactites are formed when mineral water dripping from the ceiling leaves those minerals behind as it drips . This mountain range is probably located beneath a great aquifer . Water constantly drips down the mountains in steady rivulets . Thin patches of lichens , mosses , slime molds , and algae grow on the damp rock , catching what amounts to starlight from bio luminescent plankton in the lake below . At the peaks of the mountains grow a strange variety of red ivy . Vines hang down in thick cords hundreds of feet to the lake below , where flytrap like flowers bloom , and lure blind lake ~~ trout ~~ piranha with their meaty aroma . Drow fishermen and kuatoa raiders alike climb these vines to move between the lake surface and the mountains above . Geckos here hunt flies , spiders , centipedes , and even bats in the wild , and the drow wizards magically enlarge the most cunning and ferocious of these lizards to use as mounts . Gecko saddles combine magnetic stirrups and a harness that rises up and fastens over the rider ' s shoulders to keep the rider seated even when inverted .