"Leaving them here while we explore is probably best for the time being. Let's see what else is here further back, and we can try to rig something up on our way out."
"I agree with Agna, no sense dealing with this now when we've much more to do yet."
"That sounds reasonable to me as well, shall we return to our descent?"
As you turn to go, you spy a bony skeletal arm extending from the guano by the wall of the cavern. On it's extended middle digit is a tarnished but complete ring of silver. Inspection proves it magical, imbued with an aura that will lighten a falling dwarf and render them impervious to the risk of falling trauma.
Returning to the great drop off, the angle of decline is less vertical for some distance - and you are able to traverse without the need for augmented magiks. However after about 500ft of steep decline, the drop-off cuts back once more and returns to a vertical drop. Your darkvision cannot see the base, and a dropped stone falls outside of earshot, with no sound of impact able to be heard.
"Who's the worst climber? That ring would do them well."
The slightest sound strains the ascent through the shaft and reaches your ears. A wet smack followed by a telltale glop - the fallen stone hit water at the base of the tunnel.
Hilde ponders the question of the bats and realises quickly that they are cannibalistic meateaters. She need not adjust her own rations... as there are several corspes of fresh meat that would adequately serve.
Hilde gathers up some meat from the corpses and packs along the small bat.
"Ought to be an interesting travel companion Hilde. Ring might be best with you Padrym. Everyone ready to keep going deeper?"
"Alright, let's continue."
Bolstering their ability to cling to the wall through magick, and with a freshly liberated beast in tow, the group begins the careful descent down the remainder of the drop. It is another good six hundred feet before the base is reached.
The massive pit ends in a pool of still water enriched by countless generations of bat droppings. Small insects unique to this place swarm here. Examined closely, the bugs are miniature dragonflies, pure white, blind and pearlescent. They are no threat. The pool at its deepest is a hundred feet deep and is also home to blind cave fish and glass-clear cave shrimp. And besides the pool of water there are also three passages that trail off into darkness.
The flat tunnels lead off to the Northwest, Southeast and Southwest... there is no clear indication as to which would be of more favor than the others.
"Let's start southeast...one way looks as good as any other." Hilde takes advantage of the remaining duration of the spell to edge around the fetid pool to whichever passage the party chooses.
"I agree Hilde..,let's get to it. Southeast is fine with me."
Padrym harumphs and spits to the side.
"Good as any other is right. Let's be careful though. No telling what's down here."
"I'm feeling more and more at home the deeper we descend. But I agree with Padrym, one way is as good as the other to me. Let's go see what is down that way. "
The path to the South and East is chosen and steps follow steps as you tread it. The magiks of the wand expire and any thoughts of climbing the walls are given over to trudgery. After a good eight miles of walking (interrupted by a hungry dire bat who gorges on meat before disgorging the remainder of her bowls into where it is kept) to hit a fork in the path. The tunnel either continues South and East, or breaks off to the North and East.
"I'd say we continue to the south and east. Then maybe we come back and map the other branch."
The path to South and East continues for another twenty four miles, slowly curving northwards before abruptly coming to a stop. The passage is collapsed, the mouth of it choked with rubble.
In a spidery script of undercommon is a patch of writing on the wall in a fungal ink that glows under the gaze of your darkvision. It reads: “Be warned. Allies here may not be who they appear. The walking madness stalks the road between Taaryssia and Lucin-Lerehei.”
Gauging the stone, you wager that the cave-in and the warning are not old. They happened within the last six months.
Hilde wrinkles her nose at the smell from the bat, then casts a quick cantrip that sends the filth falling to the ground from the creature's temporary home. "Rest here, then return and check the next branch?"
"Probably a good plan. Doubt anything made it through that cave in."
A span of time is spent resting in the dead ended tunnel and your strength and vigor is restored. Backtracking you take the North and Eastern fork of the split - travelling another twelve miles from that point before two things take hold of your attention.
A layer of slimy residue is spied coating the floor of the corridor as it widens enough to walk four abreast. The slimy coating is prevalent for another couple of miles before a side tunnel leads to the left. The slime thickens slightly in that direction...
"Slime? Could that have come from a creature, or is that some form of alchemical stuff, I wonder?". Agna dared not step upon the stuff until the others inspected it. She also looked at it with her Detect Magic spell.
Hilde can get at least a 19 in any Knowledge area with her Lore Master ability; does she recognize the trail?
The trail seems organic to you, similar to those left by overworld molluscs. It shows no sign of magic.
"Either a lot of slugs or one very big one. Or maybe snails." She chuckles. "At least it's nothing that would qualify as walking, so I don't think it's the walking madness."
"Ugh, this is going to be nasty travel for the next bit. How big must the slug have been that left this trail? We'd better be on the look out..."
"I hate to waste time, but if this is a lair then this thing hunts. Maybe it's picked up something in it's travels around here that would give us an idea of what else to expect in the area. If it's not here then we don't have to kill it, and maybe we can just knock it out anyway. But I'd like to see if it's picked up any garbage that would tell us what other creatures live in the area."
"So investigate its lair, and leave, if we can, correct? That makes sense to me. It would be a good place for a clue....probably a nasty, slimy, clue, but a clue nonetheless."
"I agree. Let's look into that." Hilde makes sure she has paper ready to take notes.
Proceeding down the side-tunnel you find that the sludge on the floor of the tunnel gets thicker and more liquid...
Perception
"It might be home. Get ready to fight." Hilde nocks an arrow on her bow.
"You see any sign of him yet Hilde?"
Making your way down the tunnel with more focus upon your sight than the sound of your footsteps, Hilde picks up the scraping, sucking sound of what appears to be a gigantic slug ahead. Picking your way carefully forward those with extended darkvision just pick it out before you. Moving slow enough that you can outpace it... but filling nearly the entire tunnel in front of you.
Stali whispers, "Might be able to just outrun it, but I think I'd rather stand and fight. We get caught between it and some other trouble and it could be deadly."
"That's the spirit. Bring it on!"
After seeing the slug in the rubbery and sticky flesh, Hilde is able to narrow her memory and focus. They have an acidic spit that is powerful enough to melt steel, and their hide resists the flat of a hammer much better than the point of a blade. There is no intelligence behind the eyestalks, and you wager it will react as an animal would.
Agna, once the group made its decision, uses her first spell of the day, casting Haste on her teammates.
Initiative