"Alright," Krodhen agrees and focuses on the statue for a second or six (Divine Sense).

"I don't feel anything inherently good or evil about the statue or whatever may lie within. If anything, it seems distinctly... neutral."

Hun raised a brow ridge in response to Yulmiath, before letting out a huff of his own and turning his attention to the water room. "That so? Well, that settles that then. It's no torture, but probably something in place to help maintain whatever it is binding the spook to the room perhaps. I... I'm gonna take a closer look at it. And if I can't find an easy egress for getting at the water without breaking the thing, then we can move on for the... *shudders*... tunnels."

With that, the Kobold motions for Mrs. Thinn to follow him into the next room, and should nothing untoward happen along the way, then with his construct companion to help boost him up as needed, he studies the statue looking for any latches or anything else out of place that might suggest some type of button/release mechanism.

-Investigation: 24. 

If unable to find anything within the next few minutes, Hun then merely huffs again in mild disappointment before returning to the others ready to usher them along to the secret passage near the treasure room, and by extension see the door reopened once more if at all possible. 

Yulmiath continues his pacing, slower now as if his frustration is easing.

"That ghost is an innately a knobhead, I can tell you that for free, Krodhen!"

"Waaait!" Kairus stepped in front of Hun if the kobold tried to open the door to the spook right away. "You are brave and all, Grandpa, but we know already the thing is freely roaming the room. Some precautions just to be really safe."

He tried a few strings on his cittern, then nodded in satisfaction, and played a melody so far never heard by others. "Now you are safe. To a degree." Kairus stepped aside, waiting for Hun's examinations.

Asking for a few more minutes, Hun decides to look over the statue more carefully. Those watching the process have come to know the kobold well enough to tell when his heart is not fully dedicated to the task. Perhaps there isn't any holes or buttons on the statue, or perhaps Hun never really wanted to find any. Soon, the artificer turns around and confirms that the water seems to be truly sealed within. With a shrug, Hun starts to move out of the small room. Yulmiath offers to break the statue but it looks like Hun has made up his mind.

For a second, Kairus suspects the artificer is going back to the cage room with the ghost. The bard begins to cast a protective spell but Hun spares his the magical charge. He clarifies his intent of walking back to the treasure room and, more specifically, to the large visage of Umberlee sculpted on the wall of the eastern alcove in that chamber. Yulmiath agrees with the move by sharing his thoughts on the ghost and why it should be left behind.

One amulet is touched to the relief and the goddess' mouth begins its slow process of opening up. Without any urgency, it seems to the Snackers that the process doesn't really take an exaggerated amount of time to be completed. A minute or so later, the mouth is fully opened and the party can make their way back into the caves if so desired.

MAP:

Kairus stepped on the moistened rock floor of the cave and looked around suspiciously. "I don't think that xarn-monster had a nest full of eggs or can live with another of its kind in the same space. But you never know." He looked once again now checking the surroundings (13) more intently. "Aaanyway... To the right is a dead-end - another cave, also with a pool of water. We did not see anything other than little crabs there. To the left is the same, but it leads to the bridge over the chasm and somewhere we have not been yet. I mean, another cave we have not been to yet. There is also something like a corridor with overly strong winds and water shootings. Can check it too, but did not see any life there."

"I say we check what is past the bridge first. At least, we can reach the area on foot."

Hun licked his chops at the mention of little crabs; but otherwise, he listened to Kairus assessment with a look of rapt attention broken only by brief moments of thoughtfulness of a point. "So too is the possibility of crossing through the cave all the same, as it sounds as if it roughly leads in the same direction. And if it was but just strong winds, I'd push for us taking that route all the same!" Hun pointedly admits.

"But, those jets of water do have me concerned... If I could take their measure from afar and get a rough estimate of the sort of pressure we're dealing with then... hmmm... Let's get to the mouth of it at least, and go from there. Though either which way, I'd prepare some rope along the way to tie each other two, as both routes could be quite perilous given the condition of the bridge." He further asserts, before without further hesitation, entered the cavern with Mrs. Thinn in lockstep behind him in making for a northerly course/direction of the bridge. And if able to make it to the mouth of the windy passage without being harassed by some unforeseen obstacle, he'd ask for the others to wait a moment while he took the time to study as much of the conditions within as was possible from his angle; such as timing the spouts, noting any changes in intensity of the wind over a couple of minutes, and gauging the possible slipperiness of the ground  lining the passage judging by any glistening stone or how much of the spray reached the entrance.

(OOC: If Detect Magic is still up by this point, ignore the guidance roll)

-Investigation: 25. (No adv. unless being assisted based on goggles limitation)
Plus Guidance: 2. 

Kairus is understandably cautions upon stepping again into the caves adjacent to the temple. As he walk-and-talks, he is sure to keep an eye out for any indication that another Xorn may attempt to ambush them. The triton has learned that these earth elementals are quite hard to hear, see, or even feel before they lunge on their enemies. Therefore, even after spotting no hint of another nearby Xorn, the bard remains apprehensive. 

Having already gotten the lay of the land here, Kairus directs to group to either the bridge or the set of small cave chambers that are stormed by gushing waters and rushing winds. The weighing of risks has an obvious result to the triton, who recommends taking the bridge.

Hun thinks otherwise, favoring at least a quick examination of the wet and windy chambers before a final decision is made. He learns that seawater erupts through at least four holes along this windy passage, at apparently unpredictable intervals. The artificer also deduces that, should a creature be in these slippery chambers when water and wind come rushing, they would have to rely heavily on their physical prowess to keep their footing, other solutions notwithstanding. It is feasible that a person swept by the water and wind combo could end up falling down one of the many blow holes.

@Hun/@Ori: Detect Magic is indeed still up, but you spot no sources of magic on your walk past the Umberlee visage to the bridge and/or blow holes.

"Reckon it's time these ropes start pulling their weight.  Tie ourselves together, get one of us across, either me or Krodhen, maybe both, then we pull the rest of you through?"

Yulmiath starts counting out the coils of rope around his body. "So they'd be pullig our weight, I guess. Any other ideas?"

"You know, I am all for swimming or flying but after sort of trying it both in this cave I would rather take my chances with the bridge over there." Kairus pointed at the bridge. "Can fly over and fix the rope on the other side for safety, but if you all want to dive into the waterholes here, enjoy. I'll go over the chasm."

Should others agree to go the easier path first, Kairus will do as he said - use his cittern magic to Fly across the chasm with one end of the rope in his hands to fix it on the other side and then follow each of the "crossers" to help keep balance on the bridge.

Should others insist on checking the windy tunnel, Kairus would still fix the rope on the other side, but will not return to the tunnel instead checking what is past the bridge.

"And me without my Shoes of Gripping..." Hun quietly groused following his brief exposay on his findings. "... Unfortunately, I don't disagree with Young Blue here." He eventually admits and turns to look up at the Triton. "At least as far as crossing the bridge goes. Or even better yet, if one of the stronk boys here don't mind ferrying people across, I'd say use the magic on them if you can. Then we can do away with dealing with the bridge for at least a tidbit."

Before anyone can raise a question about logistics, Hun promptly raises a hand and says, "Need I not remind you that one of us can turn into a feather weight and even with all this gear on me, I might as well be a feather weight. So in two or three trips tops, we can all be over within a minute easy. Just drop off Mrs. Thinn over there first and she can help protect those dropped afterwards until we're all across! Better, yes? And that way if the bridge does start to give out on the way back, then folk at least have the option taking the other tunnel or some employ some other trick."

Kairus surprisingly easily agreed to the new plan - to cast the spell on someone stronger. Not that he considered himself weak, but Yulmiath or Krodhen were more muscular. "Can make Mrs. Thinn fly too - would solve all kinds of problems," suggested the triton.

Whoever was the designated flyer, got the appropriate musical inspiration that lifted the creature up. Before they all went to the other side, Kairus still tried to find the most stable rock/wooden post/anything to fasten the rope and bring the other end of it to the other side.

"I suppose I ken help in this endeavor..." Rhogal says, searching his satchel. He soon produces a few mushrooms with bright red caps.

"If yer lookin' ta do some carryin', these will do ya right by make ya stronger fer a few minutes, but more than long enough ta get across the bridge."

(OOC: With a group effort like this, you guys don't even need to roll.)

A bit more conversation is all the Snack Pack needs to unequivocally make their selection. The bridge hangs 30 feet above the crashing waves below and connects two caves. Many of its planks are missing, and those that remain are rotted and unsafe. It would be easy to imagine a plank snapping underfoot, forcing the bridge-crosser to stay firm on their feet or fall into the water below. The crossing would surely only get harder with each fallen plank too!

Luckily, the Pack comes up with a solution that won't have them ever touch a single on of those planks, at least not in this first trip over the chasm. What follows is the quick pluck of Kairus's cittern, the savory ingestion of some of Rhogal's performance-enhancing mushrooms, some tying of Yulmiath's many lengths of rope for additional safety, and a few more of Hun's calculations.

-> Who is flying and enhanced (1 = Yulmiath; 2 = Krodhen)? 2 

Mrs. Thinn is the first to be carried across. Another length of rope is tied to the construct so she can serve as an anchor on the other side. Because of the strong wind gusts at irregular intervals, the spray of cold water, and the extra caution needed to bring everyone to the other side, this ferrying process is not a swift one. Nonetheless, the flyer keeps his time-limit in mind and Kairus is sure to remind him of it too. By the time the whole team reaches the other side, the flying juices are nearly depleted, though not quite.

Given a few seconds to finally look around their destination, the party sees another irregularly shaped natural chamber. Rising up from the floor of this damp, dark cave is a grotesque, ten-foot-tall statue of a sea monster with glistening eyes and tentacles. A raised stone basin, its base carved to resemble a surging wave, stands nearby. Against the walls are two smashed crates, two clay urns, and three rotted wooden chests. On the southeast corner of the chamber, the group spots a passage leading them back to the area with the blow holes.

MAP:

Taking the room in, Yulmiath looks at the statue, apprasing whether or not those glistening eyes might not be worth something.

Investigation - 18

"Reckon those might fetch a pretty price... Reckon if we removed them it would free that ghost back there? Or will it make this place slip into the sea or will the statue come to life?"

"The spook insisted his torturer was alive. That thing does not look alive to me. Don't know if it turns alive should one touch it, but definitely don't want to check."

Kairus studied the monster for a few moments, pondering what can it be but then just made a circle around the cave. "Oh, look, blowholes on this end too. I bet it's the same tunnel. Good thing we did not go there." He checked the crates and urns. "At least no need to shoot anything here - the urns are certainly "dead" already. So are the crates."

"Well? Anything worthy of checking out?"

Perception: 22

"Not sure if he necessarily meant alive in the same sense as you and I, young blue. Could even be we have a situation similar to that snake tunnel on our head. Just with less bones." Hun said. This time in lieu of spouting his usual warnings of not touching anything or getting too close to things, the kobold settled instead for uttering the phrase, "A copper for your thoughts", activating the magic of his amulet to search for thoughts beyond the party nearby. Even if that meant stepping uncomfortably within touching range of the statues tentacles, but not without Mrs. Thinn kept close. 

If nothing comes of his magical search, he'd leave others to further explore to their heart's content to once again begin the overly long process of adjusting his goggles once more.

Yulmiath, Kairus, and Hun step a bit farther into the chamber. The triton is quick to note that neither the gusty side passage nor the many broken containers nearby should demand their attention. Indeed, the smashed crates, the clay urns, and two of the rotting chests are empty. That said, a third rotting chest is closed and still seems functional. Separately, Kairus also notices something interesting about the stone basin in the chamber. Pipes built into its base have filled the basin with seawater to the brim, until it began overflowing. At the bottom of the basin, under some 10 gallons of seawater, are two rusty iron keys.

Yulmiath focuses instead on the large, tentacled statue dominating the space here. The barbarian also seems particularly interested at the figure's eyes. It soon becomes apparent that the piece depicts a Kraken, and the dragonborn would know from sea tales that this is known to be one of Umberlee's many forms. Moreover, the statue appears to be covered with slimy mildew.

At this point, Hun taps his amulet and opens his mind, but he does not detect any creatures in the room other than his companions. The kobold then begins to adjust his goggles once more while the dragonborn and triton continue to look around. These two then finally notice something else. Clinging to the ceiling behind the statue is a nine-foot-long slug with glistening black skin and tentacles sprouting from its head. It opens its mouth, revealing sharp teeth.

(OOC: I'll ask everyone to roll their own initiative for this fight. Also, everyone but Yulmiath and Kairus is surprised. So, @MB and @Blue can take a turn when rolling their initiatives as well. After that, we'll go into initiative round 1 proper.)

Hun Initiative: 6. 

(Mrs. Thinn is also not surprised, and would user her reaction to deflect attack on any melee attacker in range.)

Yully's Initiative: 16

"What is it with stuff clinging to the ceiling in here?!"

Depending on how high the ceiling is, Yulmiath will either use his breath weapon, or a ranged attack.

If within 15ft:

Stepping forward to get within range, Yulmiath inhales deeply, before releasing a stream of flame over the ceiling, focussing on the slug-like creature.

(It needs to make a DC13 Dex save or take 11 fire damage.)

If not within 15ft:

Yulmiath's hand flashes to a javelin, he steps into a throwing stance and then the weapon is a blur as it is hurled towards what he thinks might be the creature's head.

Attack: 12 Damage: 7

(If beyond 30ft, javelin throw would be at long range, so is this is the case, here's another attack roll for disadvantage: 17).