“That seems like the best option. Really though, I’m curious about the owlbear’s whereabouts.”

As Evy kind of made a secondary option suggestion, I don't want to progress unless you decide for sure what you're doing. I'll say you get to the first room with the three options, and everything looks the same.

(No worries)

”Ahead, I guess,” Evy whispers to her imposing cousin, and follows him 10’ distant, like usual.

Val whispers to Evy as they walk forward slowly: "How are you so sure that this owlbear will be ready to fight at our side? You mentioned something to this effect earlier and I assume this is where your curiosity is coming from."

He leads the way through the middle path, making use of his eyes, ears, and nose to detect any danger before it is too late.

-> Perception: 4

The path ahead almost immediately forces the duo to choose left or right. Val looks, listens, and smells, but see, hears and smells absolutely nothing. It's as if he has a bucket over his head.

As Val quests about like a mole with a head cold, Evy sighs and closes the gap between them, looking and listening both ways.

Perception: 14

Val's shrug of helplessness must have activated something instinctual within Evy!

Evy hears movements of the two-legged kind coming from both directions: eight to the right and 10 to the left.

She whispers such to Val in infernal, and begins backing back down the passage, not wanting to get caught between them. At the original intersection, she looks down the direction of the owlbear den, and makes eye contact with Val, her eyes questioning.

"You are about to either save us or make things much worse." He shrugs. "To the owlbear!"

LOL

Roll stealth, both of you.

Evy is naturally stealthy! 6

Yeah. She runs down the hall, stage-whispering none too softly, "Do we want to hide, or do we want to make it mad, and then hide?"

Val keeps moving: "If those troglodytes all follow us, the beast is bound to get mad regardless."

-> Stealth check: 22

The cousins walk down the passage toward what Val suspects in an owlbear. The tunnel descends a noticeable amount. They turn a corner and see it curled up inside a large nest in the center of a 40-by-40 chamber. There is a tunnel directly across and a second heading left.

Are the sounds of pursuit following us?

Val looks at his cousin and whispers into her ear out of an abundance of caution: "I see you looking over your shoulder. Let's make sure they are following before risking waking up the beast."

She nods at Val, motions for him to wait here. She will sneak back up the hallway slowly until she hears the sounds of pursuit. If they are coming closer, she will turn and run back, if not… she’ll come up with a plan.

Stealth: 10
Perception: 15

Welp.

You don't see anyone.

She will keep going, up to the intersection. Because how could she miss so many troglodytes in a tiny hallway? :)