The outside world is a cold, harsh place. That's why you came here. The cavern provides you with a minimum of shelter and - more importantly - the hope that you will one day be chosen to receive a place by the enormous fire hidden away in the dark depths below.
To be chosen, you will have to impress the inscrutable hooded figures that rule this place, but that is much easier said than done. Nobody has ever seen the Hoods react to an audition before - positively or negatively, or at all, and their Shadow servants never give anything away either.
And yet, there's always a chance. So long as you can outwait your competition.