Drogen reluctantly gets up and into line. "Moradin grant me guidance and patience," he mumbles to himself.

Arokas stays where he is, sitting on the ground with his back to the wall. “Not you Thunk,” he says in Dwarvish as Thunk tries to go with everyone. While the group is still getting ready to go, he says out loud so everyone, including the guards, hear him in Elvish, “How far the powerful make us fall/Tossing the weak aside/Until the avalanche takes stride/And crushes them without a pause.”

Tanis murmurs in dwarvish to Drogen and Eldeth, and undercommon to Jimjar and Bizm.  "Good luck."

He repeats quietly to Eldeth, the dwarven scout what Sheriff Markham Southwell of Bryn Shander had told Tanis, the half-elven scout before every ranging.

"Eyes open, scout."

If Thunk tries to follow the drow against Arokas' advice:

Jorlan makes the prisoners form a line and walks them trough the outpost. Going over a spider-silk bridge to reach a stalactite housing two guards playing some card game in a small table. A ladder goes up into the stalactite leading to the floors above.

He leads the group over another bridge to reach the southern ledge. You see three hollowed stalactites with entrances connecting to it, and three caves going into the mountain. Jorlan directs the group to the middle cave. You find it contains cots and small chests for the garrison, one of the cots is occupied by a drow resting in a meditative trance. He points to a pile of buckets full of refuse (undercommon) "take those and don't spill anything here." He waits for you to take the buckets and leads you to the southern cave, where you find another barrack and are given the same instruction.

Finally he takes you down the southern staircase and commands you to empty and rinse the buckets in a pool that covers the ground below your caves. A small waterfall pours water into it, but you assume that it drains to an underground river, as there are no other waterways visible.

OOC: here is a map of the place, in a spoiler block because the image is big.

Drogen grumpily completes the task as commanded. Making a mental note of the layout of the caves.

     Thunk listen to Arokas.  Thunk not listen to Arokas quick enough.  Thunk stand in line considering Arokas' words too long and Thunk gets shot with bolt.  Thunk fall down.  Thunk sleep. Thunk very intimidating like that...

Arokas sighs and shakes his head as Thunk falls asleep due to the bolt. After the group and the guards leave, Arokas says in Dwarvish, “Hopefully I’ve planted some seeds of doubt into Jorlan’s mind. He might be more sympathetic to helping us, but I don’t know if it worked. Coming up with poetry on the fly isn’t that easy, so we’ll have to wait and see if it works.” Until then, Arokas waits in silence and counts various objects around him to pass the time.

"I think you did plant a seed of doubt, Arokas," Tanis concurs (in the same language, dwarvish).  "I doubt he will ever sympathize with us, but he may wish for there to be an embarrassing incident for his rival Shoor or even Ilvara which could give us an opening."

Asking Derendil's help (in elvish), Tanis, as gently as possible, moves Thunk's unconscious body to one side of the cavern and stations himself in front so as to forestall any reprisals against Thunk from Ront should more violent, bully of an orc wake up first.

(Making sure also that nothing bad befalls Thunkers, Thunk's spider).

     Thunk snores out his thanks.

In the prison cell, Derendil helps Tanis move Thunk's body. Turvy and Topsy wait until the rest have eaten to claim the food scraps and sit with their backs against a wall before they start eating.

Sarith walks over to Tanis and Derendil and speaks softly, trying to keep his voice down not to be overheard by other prisoners (elvish) "we were lucky that it was Jorlan here getting people out. Had it been mistress Ilvara we would have felt her whip before hearing her voice." He nervously scratches behind one ear and continues "I overheard that the supply patrol from Menzoberranzan is a few days late, should supplies run low I don't think our captors will go hungry so we can eat. But that same patrol is supposed to take us all to the slave market in the capital, I don't know which fate would be worse."

Meanwhile, down at the cavern level, Drogen and Bizm feel that the opressive sensation of antimagic is not noticeable. The group notices a few other drow walking around the complex and a pair keeping a lax watch at a guard post at the base of the southern stairs. Eldeth keeps close to Jimjar, grateful to have the deep gnome translate for her. Both of them keep silent and move to follow Jorlan's orders, but their eyes betray that they are looking for the best route to escape this prison.

OOC: Drogen and Bizm, please roll for perception.

Drogen perception 23

Arokas, seeing the other prisoners talking amongst themselves, shakes his head. He gets up for the first time in what seems forever, stretching his legs and walking over to the group. In elvish Arokas says quietly, “Look, I don’t know if I can trust you, and you don’t know if you can trust me. But I can help us escape from here, as long as I can get out of this cell. Just don’t keep me in the dark of what’s happening, and I’m good.”

Getting close to the pool at the bottom of the cavern, Drogen hears a telepathic voice roaring "Flesh for the Faceless Lord!". A black tentacle reaches out of the pool and grabs Bizm by her feet dragging her underwater. You can hear the other guard complain to Jorlan (undercommon) "mistress Ilvara is not going to be happy that we lost some buckets."

Eldeth, Drogen and Jimjar jump a few feet away from the pool, putting some distance between themselves and the pool. Jorlan curses under his breath and regains control of the situation "those buckets are not going to clean themselves! Whatever that was it's busy now, move to the other end of the pool and finish your task!"

---

In the cell, Derendil turns to Arokas and nods gravely (elvish) "freedom is a noble pursuit, I would gladly take you on our quest to leave this wretched place."

Arokas snorts softly. “Freedom,” he says (still in elvish). He looks at the three others. “I’m assuming you all have plans on what you’re going to do and where you are going once you get out of here. But I have nowhere and nothing to return to. I’ve been a vagabond for half my life now. I got thrown in here for trying to rob a drow. I don’t even know which way I would go once I got out of here.” Arokas stares hauntingly into the ground. ”Seems my life’s been one…never mind.” He shakes his head.

Startled by what just happened to Bizm, Drogen whispers a silent prayer to his god while continuing on with the task at hand. Trying to remember as much useful info on their surroundings as he can while he does so.

Tanis begins to nod as Derendil speaks, despite the quaggoth's apparent madness, but then is taken aback at Arokas' words.

"True, most of us desperately wish to be free and return home.  If you do not, you would be welcome in the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale.  I am no one special.  My father was a fletcher and my mother a baker, but I was a scout in the Bryn Shander guard under sheriff Markham Southwell.  It is cold, but the people are friendly once you gain their trust, and Southwell is gruff but fair.  Your magic would be valued.  No stealing or robbing, though..."

Tanis trails off uncertainly...

Arokas is likewise taken aback by Tanis’ words. “I was desperate to rob, I didn’t do it because I enjoyed it. Um, thanks for the offer. I’ll…I’ll think about it.”

Derendil frowns hearing about Arokas stealing, but calms his face and adds "robbing from these damned drows that have cursed me into this shape is something that can be forgiven, specially after rendering a great service. Help me go back to my people in Nelrindenvane and I'll make sure you have a place you can call home."

Jorlan wastes no time in herding the prisoners back to the barracks "put the clean buckets where you found them! then back to the cell you go!" Going back though the silk rope bridges and guard stalactite he opens the cell door and lets the three surviving prisoners in. He takes a glance at Arokas, but says nothing seeing that he is surrounded by many others.

Coming the rest period you have trouble falling asleep and nightmares constantly pester you. Half remembered dreams about oily tentacles reaching out for you, visions of two headed snakes, and plagues of maggots make you wake in a cold sweat feeling that there is something worse than the drow out there in the dark.

“NO!” Arokas yells in Elvish with a start from his slumber. He quickly retreats to a corner, huddling into himself as small as he can make himself. Arokas is hyperventilating and shaking, repeating, “Not again, please, not again.”

Drogen will try to gather the others together and inform them of what happened while he was performing his task and what he saw. He will also attempt to draw out the layout of the place from what he can remember on the cave floor using the flint shard he found.