Scene 2: The Caves

Leana tests the integrity of the raft, then climbs on it. She tries to imagine what they will find at the tower. She also thinks about all the creatures in the water that must watch them from the depths.

"Have you got some tendies left?" the young druid asks Brickowsky. "Maybe the owlbear will be more inclined to form friendship with us if satiated." She considers steering the raft close to the magnificent creature to possibly gather some information about the strange place.

"Not much, but better than nothing." the wizard replies honestly. But all of them still fit their rations. That could be useful as well.

Heaving his heavy body in the raft, Brickowsky takes a paddle and awaits the others before starting to row.

Merton takes up a comically large oar for his body and sets next to the wizard

Hindle starts at what Leana so matter of factly suggested, "What?! I think that thing will think YOU are a tendie if you walk up to it!?" In case she decides to traipse over to where the thing is now, Hindle picks up one of the makeshift oars and quickly clambers onto the raft.

Shifting his weight a bit, he nods appreciatively. "This isn't bad for what you had to work with."

As she does not want to unnecessarily disturb the peace of this natural environment, Leana paddles onward. The creature does not seem too interested in them and the druid is fine with keeping it this way.

Though the paddle is unbalanced and awkward in his hands, Hindle tries to paddle with slow and even yet strong strokes, disturbing the surface as little as possible. He knows that some predators look for prey on the surface, and mumbles something about, "...sharks eating resting birds..."

Looking up as if someone else had spoken, he says quietly to the others, "Speak softly out here. Sound carries much farther than you'd think over flat water such as this."

---

Not really an accomplished oarsman, Brickowsky orients himself at Hindle in technique and tempo.

Leana nods and moves as part of the water as much as possible.
Be water, my friend.
She imagines becoming the water, flowing like the water.

hold on...something is down in the lake

"And up there as well." the dwarven wizard whispers to the rest of the group, showing them what he meant. "Let us hope, that they are no ropers..." he mumbles, half in a praying voice. Man! He hated ropers.

Taking a closer look, Brickowsky tries to descern if the stalagmites are ropers.

Anyone have water breathing?

"I only have air breathing. And the bottom of this lake is far below us. You'd be hard pressed to swim down there, if that's what you are thinking."

Looking back towards the moving spiders he says, "Those things might be a problem when we try to land...."

---

"Well...." Leana scratches her head absentmindedly "sort of...".
She puts away the oar and searches Brickowsky's look. The young druid is a bit shy about these things after all.
But maybe she can be of help and find out what there is to find out below.

"I won't be able to talk to you directly, though. I'll go see what's down there, then return." Hopefully.
Leana moves a few centimeters to the edge of the raft, holds on and lets herself glide in silently. Her eyes glow with an eerie green light as she taps into the primal forces of nature, calling upon the ancient power of the wild. The air around her ever so slightly begins to hum with energy. She holds onto the wood for a moment, then starts her dive. Not before her companions see darkly shimmering scales appear on her arms and shoulders, however. Her hand changes form as well. Fingers fuse together, transforming into powerful webbed claws that still grow.

She dives before they can see her transformation, as the change of face can be a bit rough to witness the first few times. But noone has a doubt about her current shape. When she resurfaces, the young woman is armored all over, she has thick dark scales formed along her spine, each one glistening in the light of the cave.

The primal instinct of the beast courses through her, but the druid’s mind remains sharp and focused. She is no mere animal; she is a force of nature, a guardian of the wilds in the form of one of its most ancient predators. With a last nod (an eerie thing to see a crocodile do) and a powerful lunge, the crocodile slides into the water, disappearing beneath the surface with barely a ripple, ready to strike from the shadows or protect the group she has come to think of family.

Leana dives.