Behind the screen: They have some of their own troubles right now, and no one (other than that psychotic elf) wanted to go into the lake, what with a Hydra in there. Or more to the point, some of them, like Siobhan, probably would have done, but she's been held back by internal politics. Also: They thought that the lizardfolk would honor their agreement, if not the Hydra. Or the Fish. Or... other things in the lake. It's dangerous enough that they generally don't go in there, even to chase interlopers.Well, that was unexpected. I’d kind of thought they’d have done that an hour ago.
That's not a terrible idea, but you're going to have to probably make another attempt at Deception if you want to try to explain where your friends are. (Dead?)I’m just going to surrender and try to distract them away from the rest of the party. Maybe lead them toward the kobolds if you guys hide.
Not that it will matter but Merrick has 1 HD left over.I'm going to let Team Caves Act first, as it wasn't much of a surprise to them. I'm a little concerned that I haven't heard from @Snarf Zagyg lately. Check in if you're out there, Snarf! We miss you!
Everyone in Team Caves, please double-check that my "one-line" for you is up to date. You're looking pretty resource-poor, but that's part of the nature of this adventure. It should get to the point where it's a struggle to survive due to lack of your best abilities. I hope everyone enjoys it enough that the hardship of it isn't too grueling. OTOH, I hope you aren't too attached to your characters...