Scene 2: The Caves

The group completes their short rest in the quiet, but safe dining room of Inn Plain Sight.

Merton settles into one of the corner booths, refocusing and recovering energy before they venture through the secret entrance. He takes nibbles at the hot wings and even a bit of karaage spider when the others aren't looking.

Hindle settles down at the opposite end of Merton's booth and takes time to rest and recover like the others. He makes sure to secure the hot wing sauce he had grabbed while using a new bottle from the kitchen for the hot wings and possibly karaage spider he eats before they continue on.

Leana settles into a cozy niche by the bar. It almost seems designed to have the best view of the room while keeping its inhabitants secure and pocketed away from eavesdroppers. She indulges in the herb-infused water she has prepared before meditating in preparation for the next leg of their adventure.

Brickowsky and Roaring Kitty make sure to help themselves to hot wings and potentially karaage spider with the good ale he had found when they first entered the inn. Once they have both had their fill, he burps in appreciation and announces to the others: "Ready when you are."

One by one, each of the adventurers suits back up and gather again at the secret entrance. No skittering can be heard, just the smell of fried spider and grease permeates the air. They walk gingerly through the entrance and turn the corner, Merton making sure to grab another torch to light their way. Brickowsky recognizes the stone in the tunnel as the same old stone from the tower he had seen in parts of the wine cellar. Soon, the tunnel splits left and right. What will our adventurers do next?

Brickowsky looks from one tunnel to the other, cocking his head to one side and inhaling deep, he tries to find clues that differentiate the two. Unfortunately, the spiders that skittered about earlier seem to have scattered any tracks that may have existed before. He can tell water seems to be dripping a bit louder from the right tunnel. He also notices the stones are a bit different in each tunnel.

As Hindle chomps down loudly on his karaage spider leg, Brickowsky crouches down to get a closer look at the stones lining each side. Both tunnels have stones from the old tower, but the left side's stones look more recently placed based on the scratches and coloring. By going to the right, it is more likely they will be following the tunnel referenced in the letter on the back of the Jadescales family portrait. With a nod of his head, he beckons to Hindle and the rest and trots down the right tunnel.

Soon the tunnel opens up into a large open cavern. A large body of water, perhaps a part of a sunken lake, appears and water drips into it from the stalactites. The sky can be seen through the large opening above the lake and the sun is barely peeking over the edge. Sunlight plays gently off the water and greenery that grows around this sunken lake. On the opposite side of the lake and through the opening, the old tower can be seen and throws a shadow onto the left side of the lake. Around the water, moss and flowers grow and spiders can be seen retreating into the shadows of the rocks and stalagmites. A tree, twisted with age, grows on the far side of this lake. On the right side of the lake, an owlbear snoozes in a ray of sun.

Leana, Brickowsky, and Merton split up on their side of the lake to find wood or other material that can float over the lake and be used as raft material. There do seem to be quite a few branches scattered about the ground. They keep a healthy distance from the stalagmites and rocks hiding possible spiders and the ray of sun the owlbear snoozes in. As they busy themselves, Hindle crouches down a little closer to the lake and whispers with Miet to check out the far side of the lake. Though not a sea, it is easy to tell the water is calm and he estimates it is about 300 feet across. Looking side to side, there's a decent amount of space for them to walk around the lake two by two except where vegetation or rock formations may force them to move single-file.

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Miet flies up rather high to go across the lake. Though the water is calm, her experience with Hindle has taught her not to get too close if she doesn't know what is there. The twisted old tree appears harmless as its leaves wave gently in the breeze that flows down through the opening. There is a surprising lack of vegetation within 5 feet of the tree. She can see some spiders bigger than the ones they encountered earlier running about, but they don't seem to be bothered by her, the owlbear, or the new visitors so far. She does not see any doors or openings to get out of the cavern at this time.

Miet flies further up and sees not far from the tree, but hidden by a stalagmite, are some rather large purple mushrooms. She finally exits the opening and flies closer to the base of the tower. She eyes another owlbear snoozing about 30 feet from the tower. She does a quick round about the tower, but whatever door was there seems to be buried behind rubble or vines as she cannot easily locate it. There are windows higher up the tower that appear to have no coverings. She returns to Hindle to let him know what she has found, but a little tired from flying about so much.

A decent amount of branches, moss, leaves, etc. have been gathered to make a raft that will barely fit the four adventurers sitting. It will be another thing to test if it will bear all of their weight. A brave couple of spiders have come out behind the stalagmites and are making some webbing about 35 feet away from the group. The owlbear is still sleeping, but the ray of sun is slowly moving away from its resting spot. The water is still quite calm except for the occasional breeze that ripples it.

The makeshift boat holds as the adventurers start to paddle their way across. Will you stop near the owlbear or avoid it?

The group swiftly, but quietly paddles by the owlbear. The ray of sun it was sleeping in is almost completely gone. The spiders that were building webbing seem to be following the raft as it moves, but they certainly can't reach the party in the middle of a lake. The breeze that comes in through the opening above is quite pleasant and the water is still except for their paddling and the breeze when it passes by. Does the group do anything else other than paddle? How quickly or quietly is each person trying to paddle?

As the group quietly paddles further through the lake, they are about 100 feet in when Merton's sharp eyes spot something shiny in the lake.

Leana keeps her eye on the spiders who have gathered another on their trek along the lake. Spiders seem to be moving towards the owlbear's spot as well.

Brickowsky cannot help but notice that some of the stalagmites look like they have been disturbed by outsiders as they paddle across.

Hindle is now able to tell better that the lake is freshwater and is at least as deep as it is wide.

As Merton informs the others about the shiny something he spots in the water, he takes note of stalagmites in the very edges of the lake that are not in the open air near where they are heading and by the owlbear.

Brickowsky sees stalagmites surrounding the lake, but the areas of disturbance are concentrated on the left side with the spiders. He also notices the stalactites above these stalagmites and tries to figure out if they are related to the cause of the disturbance. Are they ropers perhaps? If Brickowsky would like to investigate the stalactites and stalagmites from the middle of the lake 100 feet in, please roll an intelligence check. If Brickowsky would like to wait until they are within 30 feet of the rock formations to do the telekinetic feat, that is also an option. Or any other creative thoughts on the way across the lake!

Leana dives with purpose, the cold water barely fazing her in her new form. Beneath the surface, the clear water allows her to see the lake depths narrow the further down she swims. Other than some aquatic plants, there is a surprising lack of life in the water. Large pale boulders are gathered on uneven shelves of rock as she searches for what caught Merton's eye. A few tunnels can be seen around the lake depths, but she stays focused on her objective as she swims deeper and deeper. Leana, please roll either an investigation or perception check.

As Leana's scaly tail disappears under the water, Hindle focuses on the spiders heading towards the owlbear. With barely any cover where the spiders are, it is easy for him to fry the larger spider in the lead. The smaller spider skitters about the smoldering remains of its companion before running to the tunnel the group originally came from. The owlbear, none the wiser, flips onto its back and scratches its stomach before settling into a more comfortable napping position.

Watching the greenish beams dispatch the spider on the shore, Hindle only realizes what Leana is doing when she disturbs raft and roils the water with her entry. Abashed that he might have been the cause, his chagrin turns to confusion until her transformation is complete.

As her crocodilian form sinks below the depths, he says softly, "After a while, crocodile..."

"So, do we wait her or press on. She'll be able to catch us up in no time like that."

With Merton's description, Leana is able to quickly push past potential distractions and easily finds the shiny items that caught his attention. About 20 feet down, nestled inside a formation of rocks and aquatic plants, are a scattering of gold coins and a large leather bag. Leana scoops up the bag in her long snout and swims back up to the group that has waited for her. She looks down a tunnel as she passes by and sees movement. Probably time to get a move on once she surfaces...

Brickowsky takes a moment to study the tree they are heading to while they wait. It looks just like an ordinary tree except now he notices that, as a bird flies in and out of the branches (perhaps making a nest), the branches seem to sway the opposite of the breeze they've been feeling...

The party holds onto their makeshift raft tight and Brickowsky catches the bag Leana dropped off before it slips back into the water. Despite the speed they are moving at and the frightful impressions Leana communicates to them, the raft moves quite smoothly and quietly through the water. The party holds its breath as the only sounds they hear are the soft lapping of waves along the edges of the lake from their movements.

The party lands on the shore closest to the tree much faster than expected. They let out their breath and gather themselves back onto land. As the lake water begins to calm again, a large scaly tail can be seen arcing out where they had stopped, but it slips back beneath the surface and the water is still once more.

The tree is about 20 feet in front of them. About 5 feet around the tree, it is just bare dirt and stone with large tree roots sticking out, then the grass and plants start to grow again toward the lake shore. To the right are grasses and flowers, filling the area with a heady smell. To the left are stalactites and stalagmites, water dripping slowly between them. In between the rock formations, purple mushrooms grow.

Hindle looks more carefully at the purple mushrooms to his left. They seem to grow in twos and threes around the stalagmites on the ground so it would be easy to move around them. They are rather large though, at least half Merton's height. He and Merton would have to get a bit closer to confirm though.

Brickowsky lands on the ground with a sound *THUMP* and does a quick check of their surroundings. No spiders nearby, the owlbear still napping, and whatever was in the lake making no noise. It seems safe enough right now, even for a short rest if they needed. He hauls out the leather bag that Leana found to see what is inside.

It is an oiled leather bag, keeping whatever contents that were inside relatively dry and protected from corrosion. It is easy enough to undo the buckle holding it closed and undoing the cord keeping the contents tucked away inside. He dips his hand into a large amount of loose gold coins. Perhaps some had fallen out and caught Merton's eye. With his experience as a dwarf and adventurer, it is easy to tell the bag must contain over 100 gold coins. On top of the coins is a gleaming golden key, similar in size and shape to the key they found at Inn Plain Sight behind the Jadescales family portrait.

As Leana rests a bit after the exertion, Brickowsky finishes counting out the gold pieces for each person and hands Merton and Hindle their shares. Hindle stops to focus on their surroundings, but keeping clear of the weird plants on this side of the shore. Brickowsky and Merton walk forward to get closer to the tree and see what it's deal is, but staying out of the brown spots around the tree.

Brickowsky and/or Merton, please roll a Nature or Investigation check with advantage since you are both working on it.

As Hindle chides Miet, he notices out of the corner of his eye that to the left of the tree, in the shadows and behind a large amount of stalactites and stalagmites, are vines that go up and out the opening. From what Miet described, these vines may very well be the ones that were growing on the side of the tower. If they could climb the vines, and they reach the window she mentioned, they may be able to bypass whatever is behind the tree.

As Hindle ponders whether they should go through the door or take the vines up to the tower, he feels his patron's alien mind in the background. It brings visions of a long scaly tail and sharp teeth, and he feels an impression of dread, whether that is from the vision or his patron's strange fascination with the monster, it is unclear. The once still lake starts to move and waves start to lap the shore they landed on.

Brickowsky compares the two keys in his hands to the lock when Hindle and Merton start harrying him to move faster. Leana, still in crocodile form, retreats a little towards them, but opens her powerful jaws in preparation of whatever is approaching.

On instinct, Brickowsky starts with the aged key from the inn. He sees a slight glow from the door as he is about to insert the key, but decides to go ahead anyway as large sharp blue fins start to rise out of the lake. A low rumbling thrums through the group and a few small stalactites fall around them.

*Click*

The glow disappears and the door opens smoothly as the group piles through. As Leana's tail disappears through, the door closes on its own and the tree moves back in front of the door. The last thing they hear is the tree talking.

"Hrrm, hrrm. Ah, Phineas, good of you to finally join us."