Watanabe dog paddles after Barlespin.
Sinna shows not trepidation as she enters the water , following Barlespin and Watanabe.
"I hate water!" says Morgam and jumps in.
Zaraith will follow in after the others.
Zaraith, Morgan, Sinna, Watanabe and Barlespin all swim through the underground entrance and emerge into the cavern. Ohitekah follows and you all stand dripping slightly on the banks in an underground cavern. As soon as your feet touch the dry land you begin to feel a little unwell. It must have been something in the water.
Watanabe, Zaraith and Morgan all feel unwell after their immersion in teh Weepong Pond
"Guys, can we sit a little bit. I don't feel well."
Morgan sits on the ground for a couple of minutes.
Dampness hangs in the air of this cave, condensing into heavy moisture on the slick, stone walls. The calm, dark waters wind around to the east up north, along a stony, soot-scarred beach. A five-foot-high ledge sporting several stalagmites rises to the east, beyond which a low-ceilinged cave beckons.
I draw my earthbreaker and slowly follow the tracks
Watanabe follows Ohitekah while trying not to vomit.
Sinna shakes her gear to get as much water out of it as possible, then takes a knee beside Morgan, "Can you continue, it looks like the others have found tracks..."
The tracks stop at a small cliff. It looks like a reasonably easy climb to go up.
Barlespin holds up his hand to Morgan. "You should rest. My people are natural climbers, so I will investigate." He tries to climb up as silently as possible.
Watenabe gives himself time to recover before climbing. I hope the frog doesn't get hurt. He says, "Perhaps throw down a rope?"
Since the other two who appeared to be affected by the water are resting, Zaraith will take the time to sit down as well. After he feels better, he offers to climb up and follow Barlespin.
A collection of stalactites and stalagmites choke this low-ceilinged cavern, making it difficult to squeeze between them. Matching stalactites close in from the five-foot-high ceiling, giving the impression of a maw of needle-like teeth bearing down on one another. A dead half-orc sprawls on the ground near the cave’s eastern entrance.
Barlespin ties the rope off on one of the stalagmites and lowers it down for the others, then approaches the dead half-orc and begins looking for a sign of what caused his death.
The half-orc corpse has many stab wounds in it, mostly in the back.
Sinna climbs up and accompanies Barlespin in his investigation of the half-orc. She straightens up, having nothing of value to offer.
Watanabe squints at the body and then casts light so he can see better. "That's Parda eveyone liked her, even me. It's a shame she had to die here." Not wanting to speak ill of the dead Watanabe didn't share everything he knew about the fallen half-ork.
Zaraith follows the others and examines the wounds, but can't tell much about them.
the stab wound was caused by a short bladed weapon like a dagger
Barlespin looks for any equipment on the half-orc that might be useful, or personal effects that perhaps could be returned to family or friends.
Once finished, he pulls the rope back up and straps it onto his backpack. "Deeper into the cavern, then?" He motions toward the maw of stone teeth before them.
The half-orc looks to have been here, dead for about 6 days.
Barlespin looks around at each person in turn, lingering on the ones in heavier armor. "Okay, so I'm the scout then ... Sounds good. I can run away real fast." He advances into the cavern, able to move more easily through the mass of stone protrusions than the larger creatures.
A dark cavern opens up here, its twenty-foot-high ceiling thick with stalactites. A rocky shore overlooks a placid pool and stream, fed by a trickle of water leaking from a narrow fissure to the north. A small garden of toadstools and dark mold grows along the banks.
A creature lurks here. The size of a short, stocky humanoid with webbed feet and claws, this frog-like creature has glowing white eyes. A brand is on its side and a tattered hood hands from it's head on strings.
Morgan follows others.
Barlespin backs away. He whispers to the others, "There is some creature in there. I do not believe he is one of my kin.
Do not recognize his kind."
Sinna moves forward carefully until she can see the creature, curious.
She moves back to the others, It is known as a blindheim....
Watanabe raises an eyebrow at Barlespin's comments and gets a good look for himself.
"Shall I shoot in that creature from the distance?"
Barlespin frowns. He glances at Watanabe. "Is it particularly hostile? Seems a shame to kill it for no reason."
"Hostile in the sense that an animal will attack for food if it's hungry enough. We could try to sneak around it but it's eyes emit a blinding light hence it's apt name, so that may be impossible. Maybe..." Watanabe almost suggests something but waits for others to chime in.
Zaraith waits for his companions to decide a course of action, although he does go ahead and draw his greatsword from its sheathe.
Barlespin says, "It doesn't appear that this thing is what killed the half-orc, unless it has some sort of spine attack. I could explore further along the water. If I climb along the walls along the waterway, I can avoid the poison water, perhaps. It's possible there are other caverns, perhaps which do not have obstacles like this."
"Perhaps. Although, you going alone may not be the best, especially if there are other things along those passageways."
I am a good climber I can go with you
Barlespin glances around for other thoughts. "We also could just try to go into that cavern to the right, and hopefully not engage it." He focuses his attention on Watanabe, who seems to know the most about this creature.