"Nothing is there. At least I hope there is nothing anymore. Ok, I do not know for sure, and the treasure was there, just lying in the niche, but when the monster attacked, no one rushed to protect it. Feels like the monster first ate every living rock in there. We can look again, of course."

After voicing these contradicting thoughts, Kairus pulled Hun aside and shared his thoughts about the scroll's ownership (if only to get rid of them). "You think it can be your friend?"

Yulmiath feels a little bad for pulling a frog from wherever it was before it leapt from the hat into an environment that couldn't be further from where a frog would like to live. Packing the hat safely into his pack he hopes no little critters make themselves at home in there.

Kicking his heels before the group decide on their next move, he helps dismantle camp.

A Kobold never *forgets, nor do they easily forgive! This Kairus would learn when his initial attempt at pulling Hun aside is met with the kobold pulling up the goggles just so the triton could see narrowed eyes. Yet after looking to Mr. Thicc and seeming to think about things just a touch more, the goggles are back down as Hun grudgingly followed along in the end.

"What? The scrolls? Hah! Young Volo is many things, but a caster of spells? Eh! He is quite the talented writer though... for a human. So, I wouldn't put it past him per se. Either way, uh... hm..." He rubs his chin. "You know it occurs to me that I probably should've asked those Geonids if they saw the man -- Which I definitely will next time -- But either way, there not exactly firm clues of anything yet. And as it stands, he'd be more grateful to be rescued over worried about a little missing property that isn't his notes... or at least so I imagine."

Hun then crosses his arms and looks back to the cave entrance, humming in thought before declaring aloud for all, "Since it'll be a full day 'fore we reach the next one, let's have a thorough look around here for a bit. Doubt we'll find any more treasure, but all that treasure hadn't just appeared there. And if in, uh... let's say an hour or two we don't find anything, we can always depart and try to reach the half-way point to our next stop. Agreed?" 

"Somethin' occurs ta me..." Rhogal comes to a realization, "Could them obsidian pieces be part o' that snakey statue?"

"Even if they were, I doubt they would've bother to see it broken apart... or could if its enchanted. Buuuut, you do raise a good point! One moment!" Hun digs out his share of the obsidian chunks, adjusts his goggles, and started examining the grooves to try and gauge if any grove could've belong to some sort of iconography or greater object. 

Investigation: 12. 

As Yulmiath leads the packing up of their camp, Kairus, Rhogal, and Hun engage in some conversation. The kobold swiftly dismisses Kairus' theory that the scrolls could have belonged to Volo or his companion, but seems more intrigued by the druid's suggestion regarding the obsidian chunks they found. A quick examination of said chunks allows Hun to arrive at the conclusion that they are quite natural in form and do not seem to have been worked on with chisel or other tool.

The discussion turns to next steps. Kairus is fairly confident that the cave has little else to offer but others seem interested in at least giving it a more thorough look. Eeyal picks up on the hints but reminds the group that she is no cave delver: "Others will have to take the lead."

Krodhen and Yulmiath lead the group through the northeast passage. Much like Kairus did the night before, the party has to climb up three ledges within a tunnel before arriving at the next large chamber. After climbing up the third ledge, you find yourselves entering a large chamber from its southeast corner. It has plenty of rocks laying about, but it also has a few natural stone pillars connecting the cave floor and ceiling. A large ledge on the west side of the chamber leads downward to a tunnel that seems to loop around and connect back to this same chamber's northwest corner. Looking at the northeast corner of this chamber, one last ledge overlooks a small alcove. You have learned not to trust rocks in this region of the island but, other than that, there seems to be little here that deserves your attention at first glance.

@Yulmiath: You do not see either the bat or the rat who escaped from your hat last night.

Yulmiath hopes that the bat and rat released from his hat of woodland creatures have been successful in carving out comfortable niches for themselves within the caves.  Maybe he'll spot them in due course, although if those creatures are more noctural than he is, maybe not.  He wishes them well nonetheless.

As the group takes a few steps into the larger cave, they soon notice that there are no other clear exits. There is short path that loops around and a few nooks, much like Kairus had reported. Eeyal asks: "Shall we leave or do you want to spend more time here?"

(OOC: Eeyal previous suggestion was to aim for the next closest cave, which is the one in hex {J-15} in the map. That said, you are free to choose whatever cave you'd like to visit next. It is not like she know what you are going to find there.)

"Ah, uhm, sorry Eeyal. Got lost in my own thoughts for a second there." Hun gives his head a good shake and mutters something in draconic, before finally stepping up to really examine the immediate chamber. "Hmm... hmm... I wonder...Say Young Blue! Key-uh-Kairus! That's it. Say some kind of greeting in that, uh, tongul of yours 'n all that. Let'em know we brought a gift of sorts should they speak with us." He asked and would wait patiently by one of the columns to see the results of the Triton's silver tongue. 

If nothing comes of it however, the kobold simply nods and takes it upon both himself and Mr. Thicc to check out the seeming looping tunnel to the northwest, searching for any signs of an adjacent tunnel or more mineral deposits to consider in the future. 

Kairus shrugged and said out loud in Primordial. "Hello?" In his opinion, if the fight and then logging of strangers did not draw the attention of inhabitants, no matter of talking would. "Nobody's home. Nice cave, but empty. Let's check the next one."

"Eeyal, do we need to break out the climbing gear again?"

Rhogal again offers the same spells to be applied to someone.

As per Hun's request, Kairus calls out in the tongue that has proved most useful in these parts. Much as the triton suspected, nothing happens, no one responds. If the geonids were piling up "food" for the Xorn, it seems they did not stick around to watch its actual ingestion.

Since no one is home, Hun goes exploring further. The looping path to the northeast is just that: a short tunnel that exits and reenters the same space. Should a beast claim this cave, this could easily be its sleeping quarters. Yet, there is no evidence of such. In the alcove to the northeast, Hun finds a few claw or fang marks. Judging by what he has seen of and heard about the Xorn, the kobold guesses the creature might have been a bit careless when eating its meals in this alcove. Looking about, Kairus has the impression the cave might just have been vacated, and is now waiting for its next tenant.

With no suggestions to counter the one made by Eeyal, the groups make its way back to the cave entrance and begins their day-long journey to the next closest cave {J-15}. Yulmiath asks about climbing, to which the tortle responds: "Not just yet. The first part of our trek today will take us through grassy hills and around another patch of jungle. I see no reason to enter it, but am willing to do so if you prefer not to travel out in the open. From there, we can either take the south path or the southeast path. If going south, we'll either climb up and down the last volcano in this area or try to walk around it {I-14}. If taking the southeast path, we'll climb down a large, sloped cliff and take a coastal path from there {J-13}. Either way, we'll be traveling along the coast in the later part of the day and into the evening {J-15}."

Rhogal reminds everyone that he can magically enhance some folks' climbing abilities. Eeyal thinks for a bit, scratching her chin as she does so, and then adds: "This volcano I mentioned," she points at it in the horizon "We call it Omgar's Slumber. It is the second largest volcano in the island, but it has been inactive for a long time. It might be the tougher climb, but there aren't a lot of creatures that can call a volcano their home. The coastal path should be easier to follow after the climb down the sloped cliff, but I'd be surprised if we pass unnoticed by those lands. From here on out, we'll be entering the tribal lands, so beware. There aren't many of them, but some territorial tribes live in these parts. They are not kind to strangers."

She lets the group digest the information before asking: "So, which path would you like to take?"

Yulmiath shrugs, "Coastal path sounds easier and a break from climbing might be nice.  What are these tribes like? Anything to worry about?"

"Coastal path!" Kairus could not state it faster! Actually, no, he could, Yulmiath beat him to that but the triton did not mind since it was the same choice. "Just think about clean cool air! And the ability to wash off all this ash and dirt we accumulated in the last days." He really hoped others do not need more convincing and joined Yulmiath's other question. "Yes, who are they and what are their customs we should watch for?"

Hun side-eyed Kairus with an exasperated look. Yet rather than mince words and point out some of the faults in the excitable Triton's points, the Kobold eventually just sighs and shakes his head. "As for this coastal path as well. Are we talk'n a walk along the cliffs and beach. Or is it also all the more imperative we head back for that canoe?" He asks of Eeyal.

"Three votes for the coastal path," the guide says. "We have a winner." Focusing on Hun's question first, Eeyal states: "After we descend the sloped cliff, we'll land on a hilly grassland area that extends for quite some distance before we reach the actual coast. We can travel through the grassland with the sea in our distant left, or we can make it closer to the coast before heading south. Sure, the canoe would make the southward trek quicker, but traveling back to get it on the other side of the mountain will surely cost us a lot of time, and that's before we account for bringing he canoe back over the mountains."

Assuming her answer was satisfactory, the tortle turns to Kairus and Yulmiath: "These are tribes from the Chultan mainland. I am sure you heard of them as you are familiar with that land. They use canoes to reach the Island in search of shipwreck survivors to hunt and eat." She pauses for effect before continuing: "That's right, they are cannibals. Ironically, they avoid High Horn lest they crash their canoes as well. They have claimed this area of the island as their hunting grounds. Since we'll be traveling in the open, it is a matter of when they find us rather than if."

Her knowledge shared, Eeyal begins leading the group on the first third of the day's trek. It is mostly a regular walk during a hot day. Yulmiath's new hat comes in handy in protecting his dome from the sun. Krodhen's heavy metal armor ensures the half-orc is under a persistent layer of transpiration. Mr. Thicc's platting reflects the sun somewhat annoyingly at Rhogal, who is at the right height for his eyes to be bothered by the reflection of the morning sun. As the group advances, they are getting closer to both Omgar's Slumber (the dormant volcano) and the patch of jungle Eeyal had mentioned. The plan is to skirt around the jungle toward the cliff while keeping the large volcano in the background.

It is late morning by the time the Snackers reach the sloped cliff. It is a long way down, but the dirt forming the long slope is flaky in nature. A courageous explorer might venture sliding down the slope in some sort of board or sled, if not in bare bottoms. That could surely save a great amount of time if done skillfully. Alternatively, Eeyal had recommended a safer but slower climb down the slope. "At times we may even be able to walk," she states as she points to the farther points of the slope where the angle of inclination is not as steep. "What do you prefer, Packers?"

(OOC: Each of you'll need to roll a skill check based on your preferred method of conquering the sloped cliff. I invite you to be creative narratively and roll your appropriate skill of choice. If descending as a group somehow, we can roll a group check. As before, skill checks can be buffed or circumvented by the use of spells or class/racial features.)

Buoyed by his new pirate cloak, Krodhen is keen to test whether it improves his balance "I am up for the challenge of a hill slide....anyone else feeling inspired?"

"You forgot to say who are they," Kairus asked the question and wanted to get an answer. "I saw many humanoids in the ports of Chult, some claiming to be natives. So, who are they? Turtles? Humans? Tabaxies? What are we up against?"

The idea to slide down initially got him very excited. "Krodhen, you will look smashing gliding down in your new cloak! It's like riding a wave!" But the talk about cannibals seemed to leave an impression and the triton demonstrated uncharacteristic caution. "But maybe we should not do it. We do not know this slope, meaning potential injuries at unexpected obstacles. But what is worse, we can end up separated, against who knows what. How about do it more organized? We have two shields and Mr. Tick. That can be bound together in something like a train, we all sit on it (or I can fly behind) and at least descend together."

Yulmiath continues his new, nonchalant worldview with another shrug.

"So long as we're not the ones being eaten, everything should be fine."

Eyeing up a likely route down the slope, Yulmiath takes a few strides back from the edge, then undertakes a few stretches, ensuring he's as limber as he can be for what lies ahead.

Grinning, he turns to the other Snack Packers, "See you all at the bottom!"

Turning and sprinting forward, he launched himself feet first down the slope, sliding until he hits an obstacle, then, bouncing off it, using his legs to cushion the impact and reposition himself to continue his descent.

Athletics - 6

(OOC Ok, so at least one of us needed to do a bum slide down the hill! In my head, Yulmiath is going for the longest and most awesome baseball slide ever. Let's see if the dice agree!)