"...Um..." The meek wizardess looks at the map of the caverns, frowning and looking at the others in the party. She knows that none of them really trust her, so she's determined to make up for her mistakes. "We, um, should probably avoid the troll...I don't, um, think we could take it...m-maybe we should see the Bree-yarks, first?"
"I think we should start with some scouting to get the lay of the land and where things are. "
"Good plan. Let's head out toward the caves that had been taken by the Bree-Yarks and scout that area." With a grin he adds, "We'll work our way up to the troll."
"Seems wise. Not rushing to the troll, not rushing into anything."
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Following a winding path through the dark forest that presses close on either side brings you at last through the thick belt of trees and to the entrance of what's either a large ravine or a small canyon, depending on your point of view. You'd estimate it's well over four hundred feet long and over a hundred feet wide. The narrow stream that paralleled the path trickles down the center of the ravine, forming great muddy puddles in several places, its source hidden in the trees that cluster at the far end of the ravine. Several other clumps of trees could hide almost anything up to and possibly including a giant. The walls of the ravine slope up steeply on either side-you have no doubt you can climb them, but you'd need both hands. Several cave mouths are visible on the slopes, crude paths leading up to them; more may be hidden by the trees. As a chill wind blows into your face, you feel sure that you have in fact found the famous Caves of Chaos, where many an adventurer has sought fame and left only his or her bones behind. The necromancer had informed you that the Bree-Yarks dwell in the cave immediately to the left of the entrance at ground level. He also spoke of a band of kobolds that dwell in a cave to the right at ground level, half-hidden by a corpse of trees. He did not specify which cave the troll inhabited.
"Kobolds be nasty little buggers in big groups, but they may be a good place to start if we are going to clear these caves out for good. Aye - start with the cockroaches and then the rodents..." Hagnar says to the group. looking around and sniffing the air. 'It'll be good to get back underground again, whichever cave we pick...' he mumbles to himself.
"Not sure I know what a Kobold is, but I'm OK with that plan. If they are easier to fight than goblins, I'm good with the idea. "
"Kobolds or goblins, makes little difference to me. They are both quick, small, and bite a lot. Let's just pick one...looks like the goblin cave is the closest, might not be a bad idea to start there in case the little bastards are working together and we need to make a tactical retreat."
Hagnar looks at the rough map the party has and grunts, "Ah - looking at the map, that makes more sense. Let's go crush some green skulls!"
"As many as we may be, these are both fecund races. We are liable to find ourselves outnumbered quickly without some scouting and a plan. I would be happy to assist with the scouting."
"Yeah, best we get a closer look and watch the place for a while to get a feel for their movements. Don't want a hunting party coming in behind us if we go in and trap us without a way out. "
Lucius would have gone on a scouting missing (since he's a fair hand at it).
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Zirrel and Lucuis move quietly towards the cave entrance. The rough cave soon gives way to worked stone tunnels. Only a few steps in, the passage divides in three. One continues straight ahead and ends in a door after some thirty feet. One angles off to the left, forking again at the edge of your vision. One goes twenty feet or so to the right and then ends in a t-intersection with two new corridors leading off to north and south. The muddy floor shows signs of coming and going in all directions, mostly from bare human-like feet.
Zirrel places a hand on the monk's arm, finger to his own lips, and draws the man back and out of sight of the humanoids. He shares what he just saw with Lucius, assuming his eyes had not pierced the gloom of the cave.
In a whisper "Do we want to look some more and risk it or head back? I think it might be too gloomy in here for me to see enough to be a decent scout. "
Whispers, "Let's get the others. I don't think they have detected us yet. You are more quiet, I will wait and listen."
He looks for a place to hide while the monk gets the rest of the party and listens for signs of what the little ones are up to.
"Will do. "
Then of course he manages to trip over some debris on the ground which he didn't see in the dark.