Maddy actually felt refreshed when she woke. She almost felt like her old self before she had been kidnapped into this hell hole...almost.
She stretched muscles that were no longer weary and she gratefully accepted Precious' goodberry for breakfast. It may not be much and it may not be as satisfying as eggs or freshly baked bread, but it was filling and nutritious.
She watched Precious and Hue work in tandem to try to get their bearings."Do you guys need any help or have you figured out which way we need to go?" She points, "If I was Jimjar, I'd bet it's that way."
The cavern's false starry sky shines dimly down as you make your way along the shore of the underground lake. Precious and Hue work together as you stick close to the cavern's edge, examining various tunnels and openings as you pass them, trying to determine their direction.
After you've been travelling for a few hours, Maddy begins to feel a strange rumbling in her pocket. Suddenly remembering Kip, she pulls him out just in time - he suddenly swells and grows, returning to his original size. You hear an enormous gurgling sound as his tummy rumbles.
Eventually, you come to a small waterway that is flowing into the lake. There is a well-worn path alongside it, and its tunnel is fairly spacious. It seems to be going in the right direction (roughly northeast, though how anybody can keep a sense of direction in this place seems like magic of the highest order).
The pathway is dark, but Dawnbringer is happy to brighten the way. The walls of this tunnel are well-worn and smooth, hinting that at some time in the past, the water was higher and running faster. There are few stalactites here, and the ground is relatively flat and easy to walk. Precious even finds some pale, blind eels in the water. They look terrible, but make good eating. Along with the ripplebark, and even some sporebread made from ground bluecap, you have enough food to fill your bellies, instead of only relying on Precious's magical nuts.
Maddy was surprisingly happy to see Kip returned to his usual self. She buried her face in what she figures is his neck and gives him a hug. The rumbling in his stomach concerns her and she wonders what kind of meal she can provide for him.
Spotting the well-worn path, she gave Hue and Precious a clap on the shoulder. ”Nicely done you two. This path looks promising.”
Spotting the well-worn path, she gave Hue and Precious a clap on the shoulder. ”Nicely done you two. This path looks promising.”
”Aye. ‘least it be a path often trod, an’ we should be getting’ closer to Blindgenstone,” the dwarf grunted, stumping on his own hopeful feelings that safety might be close ahead to avoid disappointments. ”If we be lucky, this be a trade route tae the gnomish city. If we ain’t, an’ recent developments seem tae point in that direction… I dunno. This mighta be a path raidin’ parties o’ local nasties use, an’ there’s one such comin’ back in our direction.”
The tracks are old; scuffed up places in the algae and lichen, or just clear places where the ground cover hasn't had a chance to build up. There is no evidence that the trail has been used recently, but it would take somebody extremely skilled to be certain of that either way.
Kip does his carrion crawler thing, and finds carrion to dine on. Some of his finds are truly old and horrific, and his breath is terrible, but he seems content enough. He'll also eat a nut when necessary to assuage his hunger.
The next seven wake/sleep cycles pass uneventfully. This section of the Underdark seems to be completely devoid of any life bigger than a fish or a centipede. The trail continues on along the river, which gets slowly smaller as you travel towards its source. Occasionally you have to scramble up a steep slope as it cascades to your left, but the trail never becomes overly difficult or treacherous. Sometimes you pass through larger caverns, sometimes through narrow corridors, but the way is always passable with relative ease. After a few days, it even becomes boring.
A few hours after the 8th "morning" since the oozing temple, Precious hears the sound of many footsteps coming from ahead. Perhaps dozens of footsteps, strangely clanking in the echoing passageway.
”Sounds ’head,” Precious grunted. ”Lotsa folk, dozens, heavily armed an’ armored, or ‘haps carryin’ lotsa metal goods?” He glanced around the tunnel, wondering if there was any chance of hiding to let the approaching group pass, if it just happened they were the likes of whom they’d best avoid, rather than a potentially friendly deep-gnome caravan heading out of Blindgenstone.
With Maddy feeling more rested along the journey, her mind felt more aware of her skin and what may be lurking within. Every so often she would fidget and brush her arms before flexing her fingers.
With Precious sounding a warning, Maddy is instantly on alert. There was as great of a chance that they were friendly as there was that they were hostile. "Kip and I can meet them and get eyes on them if the rest of you want to hide. He's kind of hard to hide and they may not give a carrion crawler much thought down here."
I should see them before they see me Alex opines helpfully
Hue mused, "I really need to ge' myself something to see with." as he moved to the nearest cover.
Maddy moved to hide and motioned at Kip to crawl onto the ceiling. If the ceiling was higher, she would have gone with him in her saddle but she figured she would draw the attention of whoever was coming if she was hanging from the roof.
"Could be they be friendlies, but considerin' our luck o' late..." Precious murmured, looking around for places for them to hide. On one hand, if they hid and were discovered, their efforts could be taken as preparation for a surprise assault. But if this was some Drow raiding party on the way back home... any effort to avoid detection might mean the difference between survival and death... or worse.
Alex rather significantly fails at her stealth attempts, so significantly she herself is aware that only someone completely blind would not notice her. As such she boldly strides into the middle of the pathway and uses her once a day silent image to conjure a purple glowing rune reading the word "truce" in undercommon.
Which could be a good idea, as that focues attention on her, while her party is stealthy.