Thom nods to Stena "Right. Keep walking, yeah?" and he continues to uncomfortably walk through the crystalline growth that he'd never seen before this capture.

Thom CON: 11

Thom says to Lia "No kidding. The fuzzies, yeah?" and he smiles at her. 

End Day 6 of Freedom, traveling to Darklake: Miles traveled, ~41 fast pace

Shuushar -who has been hesitant to speak to the other kuo-toa, though by their own descriptions, they are outliers to the kuo-toa culture- doesn't handle the faerzress well, stumbling to the side before vomiting vigorously. Derendil carries him through the faerzress, and it's a miserable jaunt for those of you poisoned, the bulbous clusters seeming to grown and shrink as you mildly hallucinate. Even those of you who aren't poisoned, feel an itchy foulness. 

The kuo-toa scholar pauses once you've traveled a few minutes "I'd like to attempt something, if you'd all stand well back?", he repeats in Undercommon, Elvish and Dwarvish. He casts a spell, waiting eagerly for some sort of response.

 Five strange creatures pop into existence around Sloopidoop, flattened domes hovering in the air, with tentacles dangling below and a pair of eyestalks above. They flail about in obvious distress, perhaps due to the same uneasy effect of the faerzress has on you, but obviously regard Sloopidoop as a threat, as three of them secrete a spray of oily fluid over him as the band of creatures flees away from the party into the recesses of the faerzress.

"Huh. Weird.", he says, speaking only once, but all of you are able to understand. He sniffs his shirt. "Urk. Oh, that's nasty." 

Despite his words, he's grinning from gill to gill.

As you travel another 20-30 minutes through the faerzress, he takes notes of your response to the area as well as any other info you share. When you reach the far side, he wishes you well. "I'll stay and make some more observations... "

Sarith Survival: 7

Wandering: 5

Somewhere a wrong turn gets taken, even with Galingal helping Sarith navigate.

The party spend six hours wandering before stumbling out into a vast waterfilled chamber.

Shuushar, having recovered from his poisoning along with the rest of you, speaks up eagerly.

"Darklake, it's here! Slubludop is only three or four miles that way!"

It seems you have come out a bit to the right of the kuo-toa village, perhaps closer to the right-most passage you avoided because the drow trader recommended it.

Galingal stops and takes in the Darklake. Reaching what has been his only goal for days now leaves him with a momentary sense of being adrift. He quickly shakes that off as he reminds himself that they're not free of their pursuers yet.

"Can we get boat in Slubludop?" Galingal asks Shuushar.

He looks over at the others to see if they're ready to press on to the village or if they need to rest here.

"We should be careful when approaching town," Galingal says. "Drow could still be here first, waiting in ambush."

As he voices that thought he takes a second look around where they are now, seeing if he missed any signs of life.

Perception: 24   

"Yes, boats they have. Can buy. But can be violent. Haven't learned how to be better yet. I tried to teach them too."

"Just have to remember that religion very important. Good to agree, make offering to goddess. Get better deal that way, yup."

“What were those floating creatures?!”, Lia asks as they flee.

Arcana check (if needed?): 5 

When they mention a tribute, she says, “Well, we don’t have much to offer, in truth. But we will try and fit in best we can!”.

Stena just shakes her head after the flying tentacles monsters appear and leave and mutters with no small amount of scorn,

"Koa-toa."

--

To Galingal,

"We should push on and try to get out of the open. Aye don't relish the idea of dealing with a city of lunatics but better their uncertain help than the drow."

"Nah, those aren't kuo-toa, those were flumphs.", Jimjar interjects.

"They worship Blibdoolpoolp. Scavenger goddess, so stuff you have is good for offering."

Stena looks at Jimjar in confusion at his comment before shaking her head and adding,

"Gnomes."

Thom would've been a bit startled at Sloopidoop after he cast the magic and seemed to make those domed shaped creatures appear "Sloobedoo! What are those things there?!" and he watches them shoot the oil on him and fly away "and what the blazes did they do just there!?"

Thom also stops to take in Darklake. He notices how dark it is and elbows Lia gently and says "Yep. It's a darklake, yeah?!" and he chuckles. He makes sure Stena isn't looking when he does this. 

Thom nods at Galingal and also just now takes a good look around to make sure there are no other signs of life around. Perception 15

Thom takes in Shuushar's advice. He wasn't planning on doing any of the talking anyhow once they got to the kuo-toa village but took mental notes about what he said. 

Thom then says "So... how we get across to the village then to get the boat? Darklake safe to swim?" he thinks about the company he's in and then regrets asking that last bit. 

Thom also tries to say Blibdoolpoolp quietly to himself but if anyone looks at him they can see he just can't pronounce it.

He stops after a few tries. 

Jimjar shakes his head, grinning. "Your pronunciation is awful. You got the 's' on the end, but the rest of that was way off. Fff-luum--ffss. Flumphs."

"Yep, flumphs! A strange creature, only able to talk via telepathy, but I think they were startled, they got me with their defense mechanism. I think there's something similar on the surface world? Black and white creature... a.. skonk? *****?"

Shuushar nods at Thom, then shakes his head, then shrugs. "Sometimes Darklake is dark lake, other times tunnels, and rivers and pools and islands. Not all one big lake, but lots of small bits, all in one area."

What you can see of the Darklake is via luminous fungi growing on on various rocky surfaces, and a few that seem to be underwater, but there are no immediate creatures that the party needs to be concerned about.

"I have swum the Darklake... bad idea for you. Water not good, and if you splashy splash about, maybe something come to see, yes?"

Lia considers their options, “We’ll need a boat then, of some kind. Or safe passage. Should we head to the Kao Toa settlement? See if they can help?…”.

Stena rolls her eyes at Jimjar's levity and sighs.

She is ready to move and keeps glancing back the way they came and then to the direction the drow trader told them to follow.

"No reason to linger here."

There are no boats waiting on the shore for you or anything like that, so it seems to be a return to the tunnels and skirting the Darklake, keeping it to your right as you go. Shuushar seems confident he can get you there, however you've traveled for 6 hours so far, and have another 3-4 hours to travel at that same pace. Do you want to keep pushing on and try to reach Slubludop today with an extended fast march, or find somewhere to camp and arrive after a long rest?

Galingal takes in the group, judging where they are mentally and physically.

”Would push to town today. The uncertainty and violence there might be enough to keep Drow from going there.”

(OOC vote for keeping up the fast pace and getting there today.)

"Agreed."

“Yes, let’s keep going…”, agrees Lia.

With a consensus to push on, you follow Shuushsar's lead, your path weaving to and fro, sometimes needing to cross streams or rivulets feeding into the Darklake. Shuushar explains that the water before it reaches the mingled waters of the Darklake may be drinkable, but there are enough foul sources and other things within the larger bodies of water that drinking from them is not a good idea. You're all able to drink what you wish, and fill waterskins.

Sometimes your path curves away, moving through tunnels and other passages, not unlike what you've been through before, others it opens up and the expanse of water and stone can be seen to your right. It is in one such area, the trail of cleared scree right along the water's edge, the left hand side a slope of rubble from a former cave in, that as you're hurrying along, the most perceptive of you hear a clattering in the darkness upslope. A pebble skips off Derendil's ear and he yelps, but the clatter grows loader as larger rocks bound towards the party.

((DEX Saves from the party!))

Derendil and Lex (and her passenger), manage to avoid taking a hit, but the others all get clocked by various sized rocks, the rubble bounding past and splashing into the water to your right.