Meili blinked a few times after Ran's notion, then nodded hesitantly. "He probably knew why I came." Inete's insight saved her from overthinking the subject.

"Krer N'busa..." Meili repeated the name. "I wish you were there with us. I am sure he would be happy to know that he is still remembered." She paused savouring the story then said determinedly. "Even if what we are facing is not vampires, that new threat is using blood magic too. The gifts will not be wasted."

The description of the boomerang's and the bottle's abilities only added to her confidence. "Probably used it for hiding from the undead and then striking them from afar." The conclusion was obvious but the new information was inspiring nevertheless and called for action.

"Not sure this is the best place to stay even if it's safe. In the mud and with the water, rocks and tree branches pouring from above... Who knows what next can come from up there? I am with Ran here, we need to check the other tunnel."

Velan opened his spell book and heard with attention as his companions talked. He whispered arcane words, performing the rituals to identify the items Meili showed him. There was relief in knowing that no pact was sealed between any Seeker and a shadow from the past. Inete’s words made him more relieved yet. Even through academic disputes it was all but certain Krer N’busa was an enemy of undead. Obsessively so, one could say. That gave reason to his help, to the artifacts at hand.

“This one is a Eversmoking Bottle.” He said when the second ritual was finished. “By removing its stopper releases a cloud of smoke on a sixty feet radius from the bottle. The cloud increases ten feet per minute until reaching a hundred-twenty radius, can be moved by moderate or strong wind and disperses ten minutes after closing the bottle. To close it you need to say the command word.” Then he pointed to the bulmerang. “This was Krer’s. It requires attunement but strength the attuned against magic that tests one’s will. It returns to the attuned’s hands after each attack and carries magic to make its offensive more accurate than that of normal weapons. Anyone who knows how to use a javelin can wield it effectively.”

Provided it was a ranged weapon the wizard calculated Mica and Meili were the ones that could make better use of it. The bottle was a thing for hurried escapes. Everything surprisingly safe to use.

“I can use Ninlil to confirm when the beasts leave, but if we are not going to reach our destination before dark then I think we may be better here. That said there is no guarantee the rope will stay in place after a full rest.”

Danica:

Ran agrees with Velan about the boomerang. Ran can chuck something like a handaxe or a javelin pretty well but the boomerang looks like it would benefit from a more subtle touch. 

He raises the torch again and climbs back into the tunnel, this time turning to look in the direction they hadn't gone before.

Mica nods his head at Inete’s story. “That makes sense.  I got a strange sensation that he was a hunter of evil when we entered the tomb.  May his spirit be at rest, these tools will go to good use in the fight ahead.”  He looks at Meili as Velan describes what he has learned of the other items “Take the boomerang Meili, you will put it to better use.”

 He looks over at the rope with doubt “I am not sure we can climb back up through all of that mud.  Best to explore the other side of the tunnel, see where it leads.” He raises his torch and with a hand axe in his other hand, follows Ran into the tunnel.

Meili looked at both warriors with a clear "are you sure?" expression, but then nodded, added the boomerang to her set of undead-fighting articles, lowered the mask again and joined the search of the other half of the tunnel, this time leaving the torch behind.

Glancing everyone over while Velan was identifying the items and Meili was talking a mile a minute, she got the impression that the young woman was still riding on a high of adrenaline and perhaps wasn't aware of how much more banged up she was compared to the rest of them. As Inete gave them a bit of a history lesson and expounded upon the being that had gifted Meili these items, the sailor was a bit more reassured that she was recovering okay from that bad head injury. But it was Hew who really drew the druid's eyes.

While listening to Meili, Danica would silently make her way over close by where the dwarf was trying to nonchalantly lean against a wall before attempting to make eye contact with the man. A slow nod of acknowledgement that she hoped conveyed that she understood what he was dealing with before resting a hand on his shoulder, giving it a hopefully comforting grip before using the last of her more powerful magic to cast Cure Wounds on him. It wouldn't do much for what was ailing him, but perhaps it would make him at least a little more comfortable. Glancing back up at Meili as she asked of taking the boomerang, Danica smiles, "Mica's right. Plus, you've got the whole set now. I look forward to seeing you make death afraid Meili. But you can't do that all when you're a shove away from falling over. Do you want me to heal you some?" 

As the discussion of what they should do or where they should go immediately next got tossed around, Danica would grimace up at the rope that she had came down from, beginning to untie herself from the makeshift harness at the one end of it. "I'm all for exploring more but..." Glancing to their guide she asks, "Hew, how much longer did we have before we reached M'bala?" The elf stays close to him as they move forward to explore the other half of the tunnel following Ran, shrugging her wheel shield off of her back and tapping the skull to illuminate it with  Light. "I don't think we should rest down here so let's not linger too long, eh?"

Hew Heals: 15 HP (11+4 from Disciple of Life)
Meili Heals: 3 HP (From Chalice Starry Form)
((Also, Danica would ask Meili if she wants additional healing and do that BEFORE the Starry Form fades since it only lasts 10 minutes.))

"I feel much better, thank you for your help," gratefully bowed Meili, catching the soothing starlight, reflected from Hew. Now she looked not worse than Danica herself. Should the druid decide to cure her own wounds and share that cure with her, she would not say "no" but would not specifically ask for it.

Danica:

 Hew thinks for a moment.  "The rain slowed us; how much I cannot (cough) say.  We never would have made it before nightfall in any case.  By tomorrow we should be able to see the plateau.  I would estimate we will get to the base by midday tomorrow.  Then we begin to climb."

With the party having decided to press on, they turn left coming out of the sinkhole chamber and begin traveling in that direction.  A bubble of light with caps of darkness at either end, you move down a seemingly endless hall.  There are other partial collapses along the way, but nothing that provides more than a nuisance.  One of these collapses hides a sinister secret... amid the rubble lies the remains of a spear trap.  Whether it was the only trap, or you somehow evaded the others without seeing them, you cannot say.  But you reach the end of the hall without incident.

The hallway goes around a 180 degree turn and then begins rising in a stone staircase. This continues on, back in the direction you came.  50... 100... 150 the low, wide steps trudge ever upward.  At the top of the stairs there is another turn and then you find yourselves in a low ceilinged (5') chamber with a double set of stone doors on the far wall.  You can hear the faint sound of rain from the other side and the floor of the chamber is covered with cool, dirty water.

With the collapsed spear trap in mind, and the nature of what was protected here visible on Meili, Ran eyes the doors with suspicion.

"Thinking these gates might be a touch trapped?" Ran ventures.

He looks around the edges for any thing that might be triggered when the doors are opened. It will likely be aimed at someone coming through the door from the other side but it could be a pressure plate that lets something loose to mess up an already bad day.

Perception: 14  

"Could be," somewhat reluctantly agreed Meili. In the last temple they "visited" the doors were the only thing not trapped but the spear trap in the corridor was a rather convincing reminder about caution. She also looked at the floor, trying to price the dark water.

"And the thing that sets it off can be covered by the water now." She got out her sword and tried to gently touch the floor below the layer of water, pressing harder eventually and when (or if) nothing suspicious was found made a step forward. (Investigation: 7)

"It sounds like a way out, though." She intended to make it all the way through to the doors.

“I don’t know. Enhanced by magic you, Meili or Ran have good chances to making the way up. From there you could help the others up.” Velan answered Ran, pondering the risks. Inete had showed him quite clearly how dangerous the fall was and the only way he could hope to return to the surface with his own strength would be a strike of luck. “That said, I am more than happy with looking for another way out.”

The wizard kept his familiar out of the tunnels and follow his companions, thinking if he shouldn’t work more on his divination. Since arriving in Chult he was intent on finishing the theorem behind Leomund’s Tiny Hut and the attack of the Warlock a few nights before gave him further reason for that but as the party was divided he could not help but consider how less worrying everything would have been if he knew the Sending spell.

It was Ran’s question that brought him back to reality. Velan didn’t like the low ceiling and Meili was right about the possibility of the water hiding its trigger but if the sound of rain was any indication she was even more correct about those doors being an exit. One far better than the mud sink hole that dragged them there.

“Danica, help us look for any trap.” He asked the druid, counting on their darkvision and starting to examinate their surroundings.

Notes: Velan keeps Ninlil outside the tunnels and looks for traps, asking Danica for help (the help action for advantage)

Investigation: 13 (Passive 15)

Danica keeps close to Hew as they continue. During the climb up the stone staircase, she made sure to be behind him, reaching up to brush a hand against his back or arm occasionally to give him Guidance in a vain effort to help make the climb easier on him. 

The sound of rain was a welcome one, familiar even, though the standing water was a little concerning. At Velan's suggestion, she nodded, "Right. An Meili, be careful. You might be able to scare Death but I don't think traps are gonna be very afraid of you. Maybe this'll help." She would draw out her scimitar and tap the tip of it to cast Light on it before holding it up aloft above their heads. Scouring not just the water covered floor but the walls and the doors they were attempting to make their way towards. 

Meili, your careful prodding of the murky water doesn't locate any traps, but you do find a moldy skeleton submerged in one of the corners.

Ran, inspecting the door you cannot spot any traps.  You do see that the heavy stone door was secured from the inside.  Caved stone pins set into the floor prevent the doors from opening inward.  Over what may have been centuries, the stone pins have calcified and won't come out easily.  [A successful athletics check against DC 18 can break or dislodge the pins.]

Velan, with Danica's help you identify the residue of magical glyphs painted onto the stone doors... telltale sign of a magical trap.  Inete can recognize some of the old Chultan symbols,  with her help, Velan can attempt to identify a means to disarm the trap, if one exists.  [Make an arcana check with advantage against DC18.]

Maybe in some (distant) future, Meili was about to learn how to properly "scare death" but as for now, she did not discover her inner frightener yet. The skeleton made her pause and then she carefully prodded the obvious example of the death with the tip of her sword, if only to be sure the thing is not about to rise.

Notes: Arcana Check Rolled on the capaign log. Higher number rolled was a 15 so failure.

 Danica is fast to help and together with her the wizard find glyphs. The memory of the trap back at the temple where they found the Alchemy Jug came into his mind instantly. There a lightening spell would be all the worse, with all that water on the ground. The question was, how could they overcome such thing. They needed to, lest they attempt an increasingly unappealing climb under mud and debris.

“Magic glyphs!” He shout fast and loudly, pointing to the inscriptions. That should be enough to dissuade any Seeker from moving much further ahead. Pointed to the inscriptions. Inete recognizes them as old Chultean in origin. “Do you think it’s decorative writing or some abjuration?” The Chronurgist asked her. Could be Evocation or even Invocation, he thought unsure. The language was too different to anything he knew, the presence of the water and its effects over the integrity of the writing didn’t make the ask any easier.

Velan looked at the rest of the group and shook his head. It was frustrating to admit, but he had no answer about the nature of what seemed to be magic there. If it was something put in place to stop intruders then they would need to disarm it the old way – triggering it from a safe distance and then crossing.

Mica follows Ran up to inspect the doors.  He frowns at the pins locking the door shut. “Locked from the inside?  Do you think it was that poor sod’s job to lock himself in here to keep the tomb secure?” He points over at the skeleton in the corner.  Mica turns to try to force the pins open, but jumps back at the last second as Velan warns the groups of the magic glyphs on the door.  As the others investigate the glyphs, Mica moves to investigate the corpse that apparently locked the doors, perhaps they set the wards and held a clue on how to remove them.

Perception to search the body: 22.

Investigation on any clues linked to the glyphs: 9.

.

Meili looked in the direction Velan was pointing and nodded. "Can that ward be the thing that killed ... whoever was this man?" Actually, that was a question to her or Danica, rather than Velan, so, she looked closer at the skeleton. There was a slim chance the mouldy bones could still say something. While Mica was searching for things pointing at removing the ward, she tried to help by looking for the cause of death.

(With rolls like this Mica does not need help but if Medicine can add anything, here is the roll: 18 (9))

Ran looks at the doors as the others examine the area.

"A regular trap I could take a stab at disarming," Ran says. "But one of those magical seals is more your domain."

He looks around and looks at the same skeleton the others were examining.

"Any idea how to set off the glyph?" Ran asks. "Say a skeleton slamming into them?"

Then he shrugs.

"If not, we just clear the room and I can just go and pry open the doors and hope whatever happens isn't enough to kill me."

Inete shakes her head.  "I'm just not sure.  A glyph like this though... I think we need to assume it is a trap."

Mica isn't able to make any sense of the glyphs either.  He and Meili take a long look at the corpse instead.  It is just a loose collection of bones now, with all the flesh and any fabrics long since rotten away.  They are ancient.  All of the bones are accounted for and none show any sign of fracture, no cuts, etc.  There is no obvious sign of injury or cause of death.  There is also no sign or predation...  it looks like the flesh must have just rotted away naturally once the room flooded with groundwater.  Also under the surface you find a small glass vial mixed in with the bones.  It may have once been stoppered but it is just full of murky water now.

Hew grimaces.  "If you can't find a way to disarm it, then the lot of you best stand back.  I'll see if I can trip it."

[Do you play along with Hew, or does anyone do something different?]