Ce'rek and Solace ranged ahead. The passageway stayed narrow for the better part of an hour's trek, but evened out. Nearly immediately after leaving the cavern with the ledge, the floor pitched markedly down. Clearly, the path sought a lower elevation. Its floor was worked and smooth, as were the walls and ceiling. Long years of toil and deft hands had made the passageway easier to traverse than the roughshod natural rock Solace and Ce'rek were accustomed to. Toward the end of their hour's jaunt, they smelled the Darklake long minutes before they could see it; the air grew moist and acquired the scent of moldering wet things left too long. In the hour they walked, neither Ce'rek nor Solace discerned any side passages. Instead, the passageway narrowed its focus; it straightened and canted down. Darting its length in the dark, the pair could
feel purpose underscoring the tunnel's severity; it angled toward something, and would not be deterred.
Both of them saw it at the same time. Up ahead some 60' the passageway gave way to an open area where a tangle of reeds mired in wetlands that stretched into darkness. Small pockets of something phosphorescent glowed dimly in the reeds, little dots of colored light here and there. When they moved forward to the mouth of the passageway, the pair detected a marsh filled with clusters of reeds that looked as if they'd come to Solace's waist and Ce'rek's shoulders. Nothing moved. There was no light. No breeze. The air was still. Quiet.
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OOC:
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Let me know where you want to head on the map below, [MENTION=6829052]Wrex[/MENTION] and [MENTION=23484]Kobold Stew[/MENTION]. If you're attempting particular actions or skill checks, describe what your character does and provide a die roll.
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While Ce'rek and Solace scouted ahead to reconnoiter the passageway and possible entry to Sloobludop, Raza, Kamael, Brinn, Kago, and their fellow Velkynvelve escapees quickly re-located the dead kuo-toas to the deeper recess of the ledge where the bodies would be less easily spotted. Stool wasn't much help, but Shuushar, Turvey, and Jimjar pitched in. Once the dead were moved, the group settled down on the ledge but away from the bodies and took a short rest. Between the foraged food and rations taken from the kuo-toa, there was--for the first time in four weeks, at least for Raza--enough food to go around so that everyone could fill their belly.
With time to spare whilst waiting for Ce'rek and Solace to return, Raza picked up the glass orb and settled in to make a more thorough examination. When her heart rate slowed, and while she held the orb in both palms, she felt its magic reach out and touch her magic at its core. The effect was at first unsettling, as if someone was watching her intently from afar, then pleasing. Raza felt the press of the orb's magic; it wished to bond with her, but was giving her the option to decline.
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OOC:
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Kago, Kamael, Brinn, and Raza get the benefit of a short rest, PHB 186, [MENTION=23298]industrygothica[/MENTION], [MENTION=33284]Yavathol[/MENTION], [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION], [MENTION=40413]GlassEye[/MENTION]. Examination over the course of the short rest reveals that the smooth glass orb is a Driftglobe.
Driftglobe: This light-producing orb weighs two pounds. A driftglobe does not require attunement, but it does require that its bearer bond with it. Indeed, a driftglobe is highly likely to imprint on the first individual to touch it, particularly when it is new or has lain dormant for a long period of time. The bond is both good and, perhaps, troublesome; the driftglobe is imbued with heavy divination magic. The command words used to activate the driftglobe are the custom-made product of bonding with the globe, and are suggested to the globe by the bond-mate. If its bond-mate has line of sight and is within 60' of the driftglobe, the bond-mate can speak a command word to cause the driftglobe to emanate light per either the light or daylight spell. While light is at will, the driftglobe is capable of producing daylight once per long rest. Additionally, as an action, a second command word may be spoken that causes the driftglobe to rise in the air and hover no more than 5' off the ground. The driftglobe hovers in this way until its bond-mate or another creature grabs it. If the bond-mate moves more than 60' feet from the hovering driftglobe, it follows the bond-mate until it is within 60' of her, and will take the shortest route to do so. If prevented from moving, the driftglobe sinks gently to the ground and becomes in active and its light winks out. If the driftglobe cracks or shatters, its magic is lost.
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