"Dwarves ain't much for swimming at the best of times, but that underwater tunnel went for a good long while. I thought I wasn't never breathin' air again. No, I'll not be goin' back under there," Simeon vows. "I'll show ye the way, then I'll be off. I need to get outta here and warn me folks back home. As for the drow, I seen three. Pretty sure that's the lot, but couldn't be sure."
"very well then Simeon, I understand your position and wish you the best on your journey home safe to your family. Beerg extends his hand out to the dwarf, "Thank you Friend and may Torm watch over you"
The mention of Drow does give Sorin pause. Dark elves were the stuff nightmares were made of growing up. She knew no one who had faced one let alone seen one herself. Torm dictates courage, but she was always taught to respect the abilities of your enemy.
Sorin contemplates for a moment trying to recall lore of the ebon skinned elves. ”Tell me Simeon, were any of the drow women? And did any of them show any ability to produce magic?”
Kraz stands back and watches the others speak to the dwarf.
"So them white half orc things are them Quaagoth's then. Kraz was wondering what them things was. You be careful on your way out."
Simeon shakes his head at Sorin's questions. "Nay, none of them cursed spider priestesses did I see. Just male warriors, thank Haela. Doubt I'd be here if any o' them witches were about. And yep, quaggoths indeed. They'll tear yer arm off if they get angry. Righto then, let's stay quiet, and I'll lead ye to the pool. As soon as ye tell me how t' get outta here, that is."
Simeon leads you carefully to the north, stopping often to pick his path. After about ten minutes of travel you have managed to avoid seeing any other creatures, and Simeon takes a tunnel curling back to the south and stops again. "I was movin' pretty fast, only came this way the one time. But we dwarves know tunnels, by Dumathoin," he whispers. "A hunnerd feet on, there's a wee camp. I reckon that's where ye'll find the other patrol, if ye're unlucky enough. Maybe they're out, an' ye can get by without a fight. Either way, take the tunnel on yer left that leads back this way, north. There's a hard t' spot crevice some ways up on the right, leads into a big room with an old altar. That's where ye'll find the pool, and the rope. Good luck t' yer, an' I'll see you topside, if'n ye return." With that, he sneaks off, as best a malnutritioned dwarf can sneak, towards the bridge and the entrance to the Twisted Tower.
”Jack and I will sneak forward. Determine if the camp is occupied or not. ” Sorin waits for Jack then moves forward, keeping an eye out for traps as they go as well.
During their period of regional dominance, the drow were renowned for capturing the folk of other races, both as slaves and for use as subjects in the drow's wicked experiments. The caverns you are currently exploring may well have been part of that ancient stronghold, or lead to such areas.
Jack sort of hangs back as Sorin announces their sneaking forward.
"I would love to help out their love, but I can't see in the dark! One of those human shortcomings, I suppose. Unless someone has a magical means of assisting me, I am stuck here in the light of Nilelane's globes!"
"You get back to us in a hurry iffin you see anything.."
Sorin makes ves down the passageway quietly trying to determine what the party will soon encounter.
Quiet as a mouse, Sorin moves carefully down the tunnel. As Simeon said, after about a hundred feet the tunnel opens up into a relatively large chamber, roughly 20 feet wide and 40 feet long, although a number of other tunnels run out of it. The tunnel directly to your left switches back and heads north, as mentioned by Simeon, and four other tunnels head in all directions. Across the far side of the chamber, near the mouth of one of the smaller tunnels, is a dormant campfire. A bedroll is visible in the far tunnel. There is no sign of any creature here.
Sorin heads back to let the others know what she found. Something is off though. Why only one bedroll?
As she comes back to the others ”The chamber is empty. Strangely one bedroll and a dormant campfire. Something doesn’t feel right but I can’t figure out what it is. ”
Hmmmm, only one bedroll..... well at least the patrol is out, although an ambush could have helped us. So the passage on the left to the north it is then?
"Kraz thinks we should move cautiously.."
You all move forward quietly through the silent tunnel, and soon come to the intersection chamber. It is as Sorin described, with a dead campfire and the lone bedroll in the mouth of the small far tunnel. You all halt just before entering, getting the lay of the land, and Nilelane moves her globes of glowing light into and around the room, to no effect. The tunnel to the left is visible from where you are.
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Kraz whispers..
"Kraz doesn't think anyone cares if you take the coals.."
Jack moves into the room with the others and scans the firepit and bedroll, as well as the exit from the room.
Perception:
Investigate:
Beerg has a closer look at the firepit for any signs of rituals that might have been performed here.
Sorin moves into the room but stays close to the entrance that we came in. Something still not sitting quite right with her, she waits and watches.
While Nilelane successfully picks up a few bits of coal, Jack moves over to the area also, looking at the firepit and the bedroll in the small tunnel mouth. The bedroll looks in good condition, and the firepit seems to have been unlit for a day or more, although there are old remnants of small, gnawed at bones around the edge of the fire. Jack isn't sure what to make of it. There has obviously been some activity here over the last week, but like Sorin has mentioned, something feels a bit off.
Beerg also crouches by the fire, but can see no trace of any magic rituals being performed in or around the fire. Sorin keeps watch carefully, weapon at the ready, the hair standing up on the back of her neck.
The tunnel stretches on for some way, heading slightly downwards. There is no crevice to be seen immediately, perhaps it's further on.
Sorin remains in the shadows as the party follows the dwarves directions.
Kraz glances over the exits to see any obvious fresh tracks.
"Kraz thinks it's been a minute since this place was used. He thinks we should move on."
Investigate:
Feeling that something is still off with this scene, Jack give another look at the "campsite" to try and calm his worried mind.
Kraz spots tracks, but he can't really make out if they are fresh or old, or what might have made them. Jack decides that it may be possible that the campsite has been staged, but there is no solid evidence one way or the other. The fire has certainly been in existence for at least a week, maybe for a period of months.
Finding out nothing definitive, the party moves down the tunnel as directed by Simeon. After 60 feet or thereabouts, Jack notices, hidden behind a natural outcropping of rock, a three-foot-wide fissure that seems to widen as it leads down into the earth. As the party considers the fissure, a slight breeze emanates from the crack, building swiftly to a reasonably strong airflow, and as it does a low whistling sound swells. After a moment or two, the current of air dies down, as does the eerie whistling sound.
You squeeze into the crevice, then follow it downwards for 30 or 40 feet, before it opens out two feet above the floor of a cavern. The cavern is huge, almost 180 feet long and 70 feet wide, and shaped roughly like a huge kidney bean. There has obviously been activity here, some of it recent, as the walls and ceiling of the cavern, ranging up to 35 feet high, bear the evident smoky markings of torches, although keeping one lit in the brisk breeze currently passing through the large cavern must be difficult. The cavern is wet and crystalline structures cover the walls, ceiling, and floor with a splendor of caramel ribbons, curtains, and other formations. A rune or marking of some sort once appeared on the wall near the entrance fissure, but it seems to have been deliberately obliterated with covering paint or smoky grime at some time in the distant past.
Three features of the large room draw your immediate attention. First, on your right near the middle of the inside arc of the kidney bean shape is a large slab of rough-hewn granite, almost level and almost rectangular in shape. Dark liquid once flowed here and dried, whether blood, poison, or some other substance, you cannot tell. Second, on the left (the outside of the arc), about two-thirds of the way into the cavern is a small hole through which the wind seems to be blowing at a tremendous velocity. Third, in the far distance, at the opposite end of the cavern, is a large, calm pool of water.
As the party moves in, Sorin will maintain stealth and check out the Altar.
Kraz follows her in, keeping an eye out for unseen murnurk's..
with darkvision 60'
But is obviously focused more on Sorin's butt..
Sorin casts her eyes over the altar, but is distracted by Kraz's badly-hidden appreciation of her rear. The altar is only 5 feet out from the rock wall, and the dark liquid stains defy classification at first glance.
Kraz doesn't notice anything lurking about, but then he is also distracted.
Jack slides into the shadows and follows the group as they move towards the slab. He takes up position to keep the party in sight, but also to have a clear line of fire if something should arise. Once at the slab, he will inspect the dried material.
Stealth:
Investigation:
Jack approaches the slab, his crossbow at the ready. He reaches the altar, satisfied that the party is alone in the chamber. Peering at the stains in the dim glowing light, he curls his lip in frustration; it is difficult to see clearly what it may have been.
Blushing slightly at the attention, ”Hey, eyes out there.” she says a little too loudly to be stealthful.
She pauses and waits after being slightly too loud. If nothings no happens she will head over to the water to take a look. She approaches it very cautiously though, ready to roll out of the way if something were to attack her.
Beerg will walk cautiously but not with stealth in the center of the room to ensure that if anyone is around the attention would be solely drawn on him "Knock, knock, anyone home?"
Sorin approaches the water at the far end of the large cavern. As she gets nearer, it's obvious that the water level is quite high, mere inches below the edge of the rock floor. In fact, it appears at some point in the recent past some of the water has overflowed onto the floor and settled into a large depression near the edge. As she gets right to the edge, she can see, just near where the overflow occurred, the end of a rope, tied to spike driven into the wall of the pool.
Nilelane's spell drags the obscuring matter off the rune, and it appears to have been painted in blood, or some blood-coloured pigment. Nilelane is nearly certain that it is a drow rune, although she doesn't know what it stands for.
Despite his noisy entrance, nothing springs from the darkness towards Beerg. It appears the cavern is empty of all life except for him and his companions.
"Kraz thinks that probably the water the dwarf was talking about. Kraz also wonders if maybe we are going a bit far into the earth."
Nilelane mixes the water in with the flakes of dried material in the flask. It appears to defy rehydration to a large extent, but it appears likely that it may have been paint at one time.