Ruven collapses against one of the cave walls, panting and cursing in Dwarvish, as their language leads to more colorful insults.

 Once he regains his composure, he'll settle in to rest, leaving the watches to the obviously capable giant.

Con save: 14

Quinn walks with the group, mostly in silence. He’s missed wandering the wilds and all this trekking sets his mind at ease. He occasionally ranges ahead of the group, foraging and picking medicinal herbs along the way to top off his medical kit. 

Upon arrive at the cave entrance, he kicks off his boots and checks his old calloused feet for blisters. 

He laughs at Ruven’s complaining. 

“No use whining, Ruven. He could care less. Sit your butt down and rest. I’ll make you some tea. 

Anyone else want some?”

(Jurgen rolled a 10 CON Save)

"Thanks Quinn, Yes, I'll take a tea."

The party rests in the mouth of a narrow, rocky, natural cave. 

Gundren shakes his head as he watches Quinn remove his boots. "We're not done yet!" he exclaims, pulling a torch and tinderbox from one of the mule's packs and lighting it. "We have to find Tharden and Nundro. I expect they're camped not far from here. Follow me." 

He begins to clamber northeast, deeper into the rocky crack, where a narrow passage continues. There is a faint rumbling sound of thunder; the stone vibrates subtly underfoot. 

Meanwhile, Boona, who volunteered to take first watch, has already fallen asleep. (-2!)

Ruven is Exhausted (note new 2024 exhaustion rules. Bryony and Syzygy should roll a DC10 CON save as well, or take one level of Exhaustion also.)

A faint breeze, moving northeast into the tunnel, causes Gundren's torch to flicker.

“I guess the tea will have to wait.”

Quinn pulls himself up and follows Gundren.

DM: what’s the weather situation? Is there bad weather imminent or does it appear that the booming is coming from the cave?

(Quinn - make a Survival check.)

*snore*

Survival check: 18

Ruven works his way up slowly, muttering more things such as "damnable rock-biter" and the like. And what in the devils of all the nine are you doing lighting a torch? I was under the impression you were wishing to remain inconspicuous?

Quote from Mattan_Braddus >>

Rather the surly sort Ruven says as he walks by Gundren. He spends the time sorting through his parchment notes, and then tries to strike up a conversation with Syzygy. I heard tell you would be the one to ask regarding any tomes recovered from the marauder's hermitage. Did you happen to find any?

 Earlier, as Ruven attempts to strike conversation Syzygy hides his perplexity. Half a wizard's magic-trickery is their word choice. "Just a few scrolls." Syzygy says thin lipped and unsure if he answered the question. Despite the awkward encounter for which Syzygy had quickly parted, Syzygy was beginning to admire the wizards ambition.

………

con save 22

Now, Syzygy felt comfortable in the cave. Although, he couldn't tell if the odd rumbling underfoot was from Boona's snoring or maybe an echo from what sounded to syzygy like dwarven filth spilling from Ruven's mouth. Either way, Syzygy had no doubt that power infused the stone here. Syzygy felt enveloped, almost as though he were hovering inside a mind, his own mind? or suspended in a magnetic field. As Gundren urges the party on he feels that wave, current, pulse expand, Syzygy leans in and his mind opens and and contracts around Gundren.

Detect thoughts

Quinn notes that the weather is clear outside. After a few minutes he hears, and feels, it again: not quite like thunder, it sounds more like distant breaking surf, echoing, vibrating, through the cave system.

(Is everyone following Gundren? Anyone waking Boona?)

Syzygy senses Gundren's lust for gold, his worry about his brothers, his paranoia about spies. He can also tell he is exhausted and near collapse, but fueled by a mania for a quest near completion.

The entrance tunnel leads into a large natural cavern supported by a pillar of rock. In the western part of the cave, behind the pillar, are three bedrolls and a heap of ordinary supplies: sacks of flour, bags of salt, casks of salted meat, lanterns, flasks of lamp oil, pickaxes, shovels, and other gear. The northeastern section of the cavern has collapsed, forming a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-deep pit. A sturdy hemp rope is tied around one of three stalagmites in the cavern and dangles into the pit.

Amid the supplies, you see a leg. Approaching, you see it is attached to the body of a dwarf, dead for at least a week.

Gundren crumples to his knees. "Tharden!" he cries.

(Yes, Jurgen and Draco would be right behind Gundren)

As they approach the dwarf, Jurgen lets out a sigh "Oh no. Thandren." He instructs Draco to be on watch. He looks to the other bedrolls for any others. 

Ruven steps into the cavern, sees Gundren fall to his knees, then sees the body. He immediately starts forward towards the body, flexing his hands to try and stop them from shaking. You, kobold, come here and help. Adopting a clinical manner, he kneels down next to the dead dwarf and begins to examine the body to determine exactly what happened.

investigation 6 (advantage roll if Jurgen helps: 17)

Bryony had been following Gundren as well. At first she just sees Gundren fall to the ground, letting out a strangled cry. Then she sees the body. Her face crumples. There has been so much death lately. Losing Kimberley had almost broken the little halfling, and the only reason she was still going was because there was still a job to do, and she had to protect her friends. So far from the interactions she'd had with him, she didn't think she would ever be friends with Gundren, but she still felt sympathy for him. Losing a family member, especially a brother, would be so devastating. 

She walks up next to Gundren and lightly pats him on the shoulder. "I am so sorry."

Quinn kneeled beside Boona to wake her. Had he not known better, one might mistake the reverberating echo in this cave to be Boona's thunderous snoring. He gives her a gentle shake, then a more firm shake, to no avail. He reaches for his water skin and splashes a bit of water on her face. "Boona! Wake up! We have to keep going."

After waking Boona, Quinn picks up pace to get to the front with Gundren just in time to hear him wailing for his brother. His stomach drops as he realizes what's happened.

Quinn takes his hooded lantern and lights it to better illuminate the room. His eyes scan the walls and ceiling looking for anything that might be lurking.

"Ruven, Jurgen, any sign of how he...?"

Perception check: 18

Gundren is crumpled on the cavern floor like a deflated balloon, the fatigue of the day catching up with him all at once. He looks almost as bad as when some of you found him in Cragmaw Castle. He doesn't respond to Bryony's kind words.

Jurgen is little help to Ruven, but checking the other bedrolls, he finds no other bodies here.

Ruven examines the dead dwarf. He was stabbed in the neck (roll a medicine check to determine any more. Keep in mind that all Ruven's d20 rolls are at -2 due to exhaustion.) The corpse wears a beautiful cloak, but carries nothing else of note.

Quinn sees nothing of interest on the walls or ceiling of this natural cavern.

Bryony should roll a DC10 CON save, or take one level of Exhaustion.

Likely cause of death is the neck wound here Ruven murmurs, mostly to himself. He tries to determine more, alternately flexing his hands and rapidly blinking.

medicine 8

A deep puncture wound, as from a spear, from behind. Perhaps while he was prone, possibly sleeping. An older, somewhat overweight dwarf, Tharden didn't have the physicality of a trained fighter, so he may not have had much of a chance.

Quinn crouches low, focusing the lamp and his eyes on the ground looking for clues.

"Anyone see any tracks?"

Survival check: 16

Boona wakes with a start, " Nothing to report..."

She clambers back to her feet and advances up to the corpse, " This brother? Sad...."

" Boona can carry with....or bury here?"