The badger leads the party back into the maze, occasionally sniffing and giving off small snarls. When it comes upon the remains of the large evil looking rats it snarls menacingly and gives one a slash with its clawed front paw before pressing on.
The badger leads off into a slightly narrower passage of the maze area, NR4ZN had followed the largest openings whenever there had been a choice. The zoder has to squeeze through the muddy walls, giving himself a new covering of mud, but is able to do so without problem.
The muddy maze finally clears out to the southwest. Just a few paces from the maze, the floor sweeps sharply downward, forming a small pool 20 feet across at the bottom of the
recessed floor. The surface of the pool, a good 30 feet below the ground level, is thick and
murky with algae, with small clouds of flies buzzing lazily above it.
The rest of the chamber is nearly 40 feet across, but only a narrow ledge of flat earth
encircles the sunken center to either side. The footing on the ledge appears sturdy, but the
steep sides of the pit look slick and muddy. On the opposite end of the pit, far to the southwest, a 10-foot-wide tunnel extends further into the earth.
The badger sniffs the air then lets out a low rumbling snarl that exposes his teeth as the animal's gaze draws down to the pool below. There is a little disturbance in the algae as a bubble erupts up and pops.
The badger pauses for a moment snarling then when nothing more seems to happen it carefully steps out onto the narrow ledge and begins to make its way around. It is surprisingly agile and sure-footed.