Caution

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"Caution, the City of Beasts, the City of a Hundred Tongues. Its spires rise through the forest canopy; a hundred, one for every tongue – scarlet, dusky green, royal blue. This close, the spires are less like coloured glass, more like glossy crabshell. The Menagerie sets up in a gently sobbing meadow just north of the Pilgrim Gate."

Caution is a city in the Presbyterate just north of the Bleeding Forest.

Vigilance

"Turn back, turn back. You have not lived enough. Learn Caution."

Adam's Way

Caution is a city located along the Nameless River upstream from Adam's Way, bordering the Bleeding Forest to the south. The coastal citizens of the Elder Continent stop here en route to the Mountain of Light. The city has an idyllic atmosphere, with grassy streets, sparkling flowers, and pulsing springs of pure freshwater. Its most iconic structures are its hundred spires, made of a chitin-like material in the shape of "a big glass pineapple." Each spire has a different color, and corresponds to a unique language spoken in Caution called a Tongue. Caution also has other strange sights, such as "wells that chime and gardens which rhyme."

Caution is generally closed to those outside the Presbyterate. Travelers who brave the journey south to reach it must first pass through the Pilgrim Gate, a triple-lobed gate made from shell. This gate is guarded by the Pilgrim-Wakers, bird-people with wings and beaks, who only allow the long-lived to pass; to qualify, one must confide in them their greatest regrets. The Word of Caution, a tablet of secret passphrases written in Caution's various languages, provides another way to enter the city. The bearer of this artifact is allowed to pass the Pilgrim Gate for free, and is entitled to respect from Caution's citizens. When the Word's phrases are spoken aloud, Caution's citizens will act upon their instructions without hesitation. Diplomats to Caution also exist; they are instructed to never bow too low, never be more than they appear, and to know that immortality may yet be within reach, in spite of the Presbyter's laws.

A Nicatorean relic.

The Temple of Meetings is a hollow oak tree split apart by a stalactite at the very center of Caution. In ancient times, each newly appointed King of Caution would sit vigil in the Temple, wearing a crown and wielding a mirror and flint dagger. According to legend, one of these kings was none other than Nicator, though his reign ended in disaster. The era of kings has long since ended, and Caution is said to be ruled by a Regent, though this may be hearsay. An ancient city known as the First Caution once existed, but nothing else is known about it.

The Beasts of Caution

"You pass through the triple-lobed gates. Boars, Wolves, Tortoises, Lions gather as the Pilgrim-Wakers cry your entry. Beasts line the grassy streets, press their painted snouts against the windows of their mansions as you pass."

"There are the Beasts – everywhere the Beasts, watching you with human eyes."

The Knapt, made of banded flint.

Caution's citizens are called Beasts. They are described as humanoids with animalistic qualities, such as forelimbs, muzzles, and snouts, but all possess human eyes. It is not clear if this is because they are transformed humans, or because they are simply wearing masks. Beasts often wear face paint, as well as jewelry made of banded flint, a petrified form of light found near Caution. Some Beasts use banded flint for their weapons, and one even nicked off Feducci's ear with a spear. It is possible for humans to be inducted as Beasts: they must consume wine and chertapples before a gathering of Beasts, and enter the darkness below the Temple of Meetings. After an unseen process, they will emerge reborn as a young Beast, such as a Foal.

A key part of the Beasts' culture is their lack of regrets; as one of them puts it, "No regrets, in Caution." They also know how to navigate the Bleeding Forest and are aware of the Prison of Flint. While they are willing to host Snuffers, they are deathly afraid of the Thief-of-Faces, as they fear losing their faces will leave them exposed to be "seen."

Beasts are titled after specific animals which dictate their role in Caution's society:

• Lions boast of their skills and deeds in the aptly-named Boasting Ring. The strongest Lion in the ring wins the weakest Lion's name.
• Apes act as scouts, watchmen, and poets, and study the Elder Continent's many mysteries.
• Wolves act as healers and guides. They possess (or produce?) a beverage called Wolf-milk, which heals the state of chertiness induced by the Bleeding Forest.
• Panthers are not permitted to enter water. Hence they are interested in water-borne stories, such as those of the Unterzee.
• Striped Horses provide manual labor and build the Tongues and spires of Caution. Before they construct a new spire, they first consume water with the "appropriate assonance" from Caution's rhyming wells.
• Tortoises reside in a pit and claim to be from none other than London. However, their knowledge of the city seems jumbled, placing doubt upon their claims.
• Salamanders are Caution's soldiers and wear armor and crested helmets. They speak in hisses, and are interested in detailed reports of the Surface, most assuredly not to prepare for an invasion.
• Boars write the histories of Caution on the spires' roots, using blood to ensure the spires are well-nourished. They typically use blood from the Bleeding Forest, but also add a bit of human and Beast blood. Apparently, if the mixture is just perfect, the spires will produce eggs, though this has never been seen yet.
• The Old Hound runs a stall for wares, including goods imported from London at great expense. She claims she liked when she was "ugly," but it matters not as she shed her regrets in Caution.
• Parakeets act as Caution's journalists and gossipers.
• Leopards drink blood, but are otherwise not expanded upon.
• Serpents and Owls are mentioned but not expanded upon.
• Mice are described as small, noisy, and populous, but no one knows what role they serve. They like hearing scary stories of the lands beyond the Elder Continent, but they claim the Zee is warm and calm, and is where "good dreams" come from. They consider tales of the Zee to be lies intended to confine them, based on the words of "the Holiness."