The two of you continue your trek, having passed close to the body of water you have come to think of as 'the Lake', and are now passing through a long twisting passage.

Gal, you're the first to hear the slapping of feet against stone, soon followed by the panting wheeze you have come to associate with a kuo-toa exerting themselves after having traveled for days with Shuushar. It is coming up from behind you, and seems to be in quite the hurry.

Galingal looks around quickly for somewhere that Stena and he can hide - an alcove, a side passage, anything.

As he does, he motions to Stena.

"Kuo-toa come," he says in a near whisper.

Perception: 14  

It's not much, just a slight recess, that they are almost certain to see you behind when they pass, but might bring them close without noticing if you're able to hide behind it.

Galingal frowns at the only cover anywhere near by, the slight recess. 

He looks over at Stena, trying to judge her mood.

"Run or fight?" Galingal finally asks. "They've probably been running for awhile so we might be able to stay ahead of them. But they probably know these tunnels too."

(@DM - have Stena and Galingal being moving the whole time or could they have gotten a short rest in? Not that a short rest helps Galingal much except for some HP)

((I know Rod mentioned somewhere that he might be a bit more sporadic, so if decisions need to be made for the pair of you, it's on you.))

((The sense I got was that you two were keeping moving, as sitting and waiting around an hour means that the others are that much farther away from you, potentially making it to Slobludop well before you get there. Your call though, if you want to wait and let them get further ahead, but be able to rest.))

Stena and Galingal have been on the move since the fight at the kuo-toa ambush. With his energy level low, Galingal would be able to do little more than stab halfheartedly at any foes coming down the tunnel now.

He jerks his head at Stena and starts down the tunnel in the direction they were heading. Galingal quickens his pace until they're going as fast as they can, recognizing Stena's shorter legs mean Galingal needs to adjust his gait slightly.

Stena gives you a dour nod and hurries after you, the footsteps that had echoed up to you falling behind. As you emerge from the bit of tunnel you'd been in, you find yourself approaching a narrow span of stone that arches over water. The far side is beyond your vision, but it doesn't seem like there is an alternate to crossing the natural bridge.

The question would be if you make a stand and confront the KT behind you here, or cross the bridgeway and see what's on the far side.

((In case it wasn't clear, it seems that Lex and Derendil think you're still under attack.))

Galingal doesn't slow down. He moves quickly out onto the stone bridgeway. If the forces coming at them are too many, they can at least limit how many they have to fight at once if they're on the bridge.

He keeps moving with Stena, hoping to get a glimpse of the other side before the kuo-toa show up and spot them.

Let's have a Perception check as the other side comes into view?

((Nevermind, Gal's got stupid good Perception.))

As you cross, you can hear the water gurgling beneath your, it has a rapid flow to it here, something you've not really seen much of in the times your travel has come close to the water. The bridge not too high, so you're able to see the water below you as well, but by the time you reach the middle of the span, the shore behind you is out of view for a bit before the far side becomes visible. You see the path continuing on, through a small field of mushrooms, before vanishing into a relatively wide tunnel. 

You spot above that tunnel, and ~50 ft to the right, a small protruding shelf, with a cave opening. The rock below it is rough, plenty of potential hand and footholds.

Galingal points to the cave and sprints to it and eyes the rough rock, deciding it will hold them. He may not know much about Stena but he’s sure she would take any offer of a boost as an insult and instead he climbs up into the cave to check it out before Stena gets there.

Perception if needed: 8  

Stealth once both are in to hide enough to not be seen from below but to still have eyes on the bridge and hopefully the tunnel: 11  

It's dark, damp, but most importantly, unoccupied.

As you watch you see a kuo-toa form come slinking across the bridge, looking around warily, particularly towards the upstream side. They don't carry any spears or shield, and once they get off the bridge, begin skulking along, trying to make use of what cover there is as they hurry for the tunnel below. As you try to keep an eye on them, the catch a flash of movement from your hiding hole, give a burbling yelp, then sprint off into the tunnel.

((Just to help clarify, as you approached the bridge, it was ahead and to the right, spanning across water that was flowing right to left, you're now looking back on it, so it's flowing left to right. It was looking to its right, your left.))

He asks the others, and reports back that no scary elf was seen.

((Can't see Slobludop from here, and if you asked, he would tell you it was an hour or so away.))

He beams as you thank his goddess.

As you placate him, the rage leaves Derendil's eyes and he nods, listening to your explanation.

When you finish, Ploopp steps forward, greeting the Prince with an awkward attempt at a courtly bow, and speaking in that same odd 'pretty sure he's speaking Undercommon, but I can understand him' voice, "Ah! We have royalty among us! Welcome your Highness! I regret I have nothing befitting your station in terms of comforts and amenities, but appreciate your efforts on behalf of my people! Have you traveled far from your own lands? Your companions indicated they wish to return to the surface world?"

The other KTs, having heard their leader address Derendil as a prince, also give bows or head dips of deference to him, before going back to their work, now that the likelihood of being attacked by an angry quaggoth seems to have passed. 

"Oh! Yes, ahem. I am Prince Derendil of Nelrindenvane, and I indeed wish to return to my homeland on the surface. The form you see before you is one I have been cursed to wear, that of a hulking brute instead of the elf I am.", Derendil seems a bit taken aback by the immediate acceptance of him as a Prince by the kuo toa, and perhaps overshares a bit more than he otherwise would. 

((You can make an Insight check on the KTs if you wish. Or History, if you haven't rolled that on them in since before you got captured.))

"Perhaps the curse is not a curse, down here. Surely your current form is more suited to surviving down here than that of a surface elf. The pale elves would take a much greater interest in you if you LOOKED like surface royalty. The Sea Mother dredges all sorts of things up and turns them to her purpose. Perhaps you are one more bit of flotsam caught in her nets that can still be turned to a greater purpose? After all, you all found your way to me, yes?"

Derendil ponders the kuo-toa priest's words. "I would not have found a boon advisor in young Thom here if I had not been trapped in this form and this place..."

Ploopp turns back to the rest of you. "So the boat may have carried your dwarves on to Slobludop, and you've an elf out there somewhere too? There may have been a fifth boat we missed, but it seems that at least some of your companions have been brought further onward. We have provisions, if you're hungry, and we can rest a bit, or we can push on towards Slobludop and try to liberate your friends before she has them in her clutches."

Galingal watches the kuo-toa for a few moments, silently cursing himself for the clumsiness that gave their position away. It’s obviously running or hiding from someone.

Galingal raises an eyebrow at Stena and places a finer over his lips indicating they should wait a moment to see if anyone appears following the other kuo-toa.

If no one appears after a few minutes, Galingal will climb back down. He’ll look upstream where the kuo-toa looked to see if he spots anything. Then once Stena is down he heads into the tunnel, continuing on their way.

Thom would grin and lower his head as the KT's address Derendil. He nods as Derendil explains about also wanting to get back to the surface.

Thom would say to Ploopp "As you can see mate, it's paramount that we get back to the surface yeah? *Ahem*, for the Prince. So he can return to his proper form. You make a good point about his form down here though, yeah?" and he looks at Derendil and Lia and shrugs his shoulders. 

Thom smiles and nods in acknowledgement at the prince when he mentions the boon advisor bit. 

At this point I think Thom would for sure make an insight check on all of this interaction with himself and the KT's and Derendil. No need for a history check as I don't think Thom would even have a clue, but the insight for sure as he is in this moment and now that he's calming down a bit wants to try and get an idea of what might be really going on here. 

Regarding Ploopp's question about moving forward now to Slobludop or resting and eating first -> Thom wants to wait on the results of the insight check.

Thom insight: 16

No one or nothing seems to be following the kuo-toa, and after waiting a bit, the two of you climb down. Looking back upstream, you don't see anything.

((Let's have a... Survival check from Galingal. I think it may be a few days until Rod's back, so if you would have voiced any concerns or conferred with Stena, you can roll with advantage, if you're keeping it on silent mode, then just your straight roll.))

"Yes, yes, quite right. She'll never suspect that a quaggoth, and the rest of your assorted company are actually a surface elf prince and his retinue!", he chortles rubbing his hands together.

You get the clear sense that he has some of the madness that Shuushar alluded to his people often being afflicted with, but Ploopp's focus seems to be on reuniting his people under worship of the Sea Mother, and removing his daughter from power. You don't know what that would mean for Shuushar, if he were to turn up again, but you get no sense that he intents to play you false, from what you are able to tell, he genuinely wants to use you to back his play to regain power, and once that's secured, will do what he can to aid you on your way to the surface.

Galingal watches the taciturn dwarf as they continue on their way. There have been no extra words shared between the two of them since they headed out from the ambush grove. Stena has issues with Galingal, and he doesn't particularly care what they are or why. But there are functional issues they must address. Galingal never asks how she is, or what she thinks has happened to the others. But, he does discuss their movements. She knows tunnels and his sense of direction is good.

Survival: 8