Is a shrug the equivalent of flipping the bird where Ez comes from?
He said he wanted to check out the crack. He changed his mind when she said what she was doing. The shrug was simply barbarian-speak for "as you like."
Nope, but this medium does not lend itself well to subtext. It just sort of felt like Surana might have been short on patience. With all the #@$% that we have been through recently, Ez saw her and the others quite shaken, but then she pulled herself together awful quick... Ezraen is just wondering if things are starting to show through the "cracks". And to counterpoint, he DID also point out the other chamber as well as the crack, so he was inclined to check that out as well.
If she is just being noncommittal, that is one thing, but I am not confident enough in this place that Ez would discard the buddy system.
Pro-tip: don't worry about subtext from a barbarian. If & when she thinks Ez should get bent, I assure you he'll know.
He seemed more inclined to check out the crack, saying it was probably our "best bet." He already looked in the cave and didn't see ten monsters in there or anything, so she wasn't concerned about going back alone. Maybe there's still danger there, but she's pretty quick and noise carries in tunnels. She could back up & shout out. IOW, she doesn't care if you guys come or not. Hence shrug.
No worries, I figure it plays out well, since Ez' Insight is not great. As he levels, it will get better (I think it is trained), and I will play it out further that way. Ez just glanced in the chamber quickly, so he is sure there is no obvious way out, but he thought of it as an afterthought. Mostly because he would rather find a dry way out than potentially coming up in Darklake. Ez will still come with, hoping for another out.
Particularly if a certain demon lord still haunts the Darklake...
Erevan returns Ezraens look with a noncommited shrug of his own, as if saying, She can do fine on her own if need be.
The elf turns and follows Surana, making sure not to touch Glabbagol. Erevan does not know if the gelatinous cube's touch is damaging, but the half-digested drow had him startled and unwilling to try.
"Do you think that pit trap might have a way out?"
Orsik follows along and repeats his question from before: "The drow got in. How did he plan on getting out?". He also points out that if the water is coming in, air must be going out somewhere.
OOC:
I mentioned this a long time ago (back in Velkenvelve) so you might not remember but your characters certainly would: The drow are able to access the surface world with magic that lets them pass through stone. None of you know the nature of this magic but you all experienced it when you were captured and brought to Velkenvelve. That drow could not have been here that long ago. Either he had a way out or planned to find a way out. (Edit: or came here against his will, like you)
You have found 3 potions, a magic mace, a magic dagger and a magic bottle so far.
Also...a tip. It's tough in this format, but if you are in a situation without an immediate time crunch it's a good idea to do something to gain advantage on any important check. Usually I'll allow multiple PCs to make certain checks or will allow the help action to impart adv (but not both). So two characters can do a check OR the one with the weaker bonus could help the one with the better bonus. Occasionally I may require the helper to make a check to see if they mess up and make things harder...but that is rare.
Unless there is an rp reason for it, it is always a good idea to to make life and death checks with an extra d20, imo.
The water is rising slowly. As you make your way back to the cave you didn't explore the pudddles you noticed before cover most of the floor of the rooms and passages.
"Well, I don't know... I heard that my darker ancestors had magicks that would allow them to pass through the earth itself, but who knows? Maybe that was a priest or priestess and may have had access to those powers. Maybe there was a tunnel alongside us that collapsed in and there used to be a way in and out. That blasted demon prince probably collapsed many a tunnel around here with his thrashing..."
OOC:
As the water is rising it may be a good idea to make sure that none of those gray oozes are lurking in there. Maybe we can have Glabbagol go first?
