Forgive my analness, but my wife was a geology major and she convinced me to take a bunch of geo and archeology classes.

All right, if its option 3, then for the stalactite not to collapse, it must constantly \"grow\", as any other cave formation, to counter erosion. Thus, water must actually \"seep\" at all layers and the cave roof, pulling a fresh supply of mud down over it.
I guess this is kind of obvious, but the real question is: What effect does this have on the inside of the stalactite? Well, I\'m guessing that many of the small streams terminate before the main lake, forming smaller lakes on all the levels, which seep through the ground and help moisten the inside and out. I\'m also guessing that places devoid of plant life are exceedingly muddy and moist. Thus, any ?light deficient? areas will be very boggy and the only dry areas will be artificially made by hauling in stone (like the
Citadel of DarkRock ). Additionally, mudslides might be common on lower levels, near the edges. Like any cave, humidity is probably pretty high, which gives some justification of why no feathered creatures have immerged despite the magic crystal. Water mist may also be common, forming \"clouds\" at varying intervals down the stalactite at certain times of the day.
Comments?