Xarkris gathers his wits about him and checks on his teammates. Using his Pasive Perception skill, the Paladin will search the circulation cave for traps, secret doors, and clues.

Xarkris discovers nothing in this room that could be harmful, and also doesn't identify anything that could clue the party in to where they are, other than the obvious of 'a crystallised cave'. [I'll typically include all the things you see with Passive Perception in the first room description, and the further things would be a Perception roll, but since Xarkris' Passive Perception is so high, there usually isn't anything additional for Xarkris to find with a roll that he hasn't already spotted passively!]

When the rest of the group is ready, Xarkris will raise his shield protectively in from of him and clutch his Battle Axe in the other hand and proceed down the only corridor visible.

Xarkris warily traipses through the crystallised corridor until he finds that it comes out in a large open cave, the tunnel you came through from a few feet above it's floor. Most of the room is stacked high with either empty or unopened crates, however in the corner, there's an enormous mound of clay for seemingly no reason. Only Xarkris notices that parts of the seemingly mundane heap look to be shaped like lopsided arms or contorted faces, piled upon each other and squished into one. Across from that is a counter, over which an elderly looking female elf is slumped, dressed in pure white priest's robes and armour. As she hears your footsteps on the gemstones, she straightens up, smiling at your approach to call over 'Adventurers, welcome to Crysaclus Cavern! Please, put down your weapons and relax; you have made your way to the first fully safe dungeon, as far as I'm aware. It was cleared long ago and with the help of other residents here, it has been transformed into the perfect safe haven for those passing through, as it contains all the amenities you could ever hope for. My name is Dilitia Fairsmathe, and I run the general equipment shop in this facility, however I am also more than happy to answer any questions you might have about here or about the dungeons, since I am fairly versed in its lore!'

Xarkris lowers his Battleaxe only slightly and stomps toward Dilitia, rising to his full height as he approaches the counter. He glares down at the elf and growls “Greetings, Dilitia. I am Nemmonis Xarkris! At your service.” Xarkris bends low at the waist, staring deep into the eyes of Dilitia while doing so.

I rolled a Dirty 20 for an INSIGHT CHECK. What impression do I get from this creature?

Sly dusts herself off after the fall and checks that all of her belongings are still with her. She makes sure the keep up her disk that is still carrying emeralds from a few dungeons back.

The wizard inspects her surroundings, finding them much more palatable than the Bastion of the Lich One.

She follows Xarkris to the desk, cautiously.

"Well met. Our congregation hearkens to the appellation of 'Heralds of Dawn'. My name is Sly. What manner of benefaction does this locale offer?" she inquires from Dilitia.

The wizard points to her floating disk, that had just about managed to keep the 130 emeralds and 37 chunks of adamantine armor pieces afloat. "Specifically, I - We - aspire to exchange these treasures for coin. Exact mintage inconsequential."

Dilitia looks up at Xarkris from her seat, and he gets a good read on her. She's got a welcoming and kind demeanour, but also seems extremely relaxed for the environment she's in. The small smile on her face gives him the impression that she's likely much more than she's letting on, not in a bad way, just that she's clearly somebody more important and powerful then the humble shopkeep facade she's presenting. She responds back 'It is a pleasure to meet you and your companions, I hope you find your stay restful and replenishing.'

She then looks towards Sly and the large disk following behind her, piled up with all sorts of wealth. She informs her that 'This cavern system's ownership is split between two friendly yet feuding monsters; Crataclak the tlincalli, and Selvidos, the young crystal dragon. Before the Shadow Weave was introduced, there were two communities far deeper underground in larger caverns, one consisting of tlincalli, and the other of crystal dragons. The Weave cut this part of the cavern off from the deeper caves, and the surface, leaving those two trapped in here together. The source of their bickering comes from the fact that they both believe they're beneath somewhere completely different. Crataclak says that this cavern is inside the desert mountain of Krasdart, whilst Selvidos claims this cavern is deep below the ice of northern Tyraa. Therefore, to prevent arguments, they stay on opposite sides of the caves. You can find Crataclak to the west, and Selvidos to the east, and both of them fulfil similar roles. Crataclak likes to scavenge items adventurers bring through to build up his junk pile, whereas Selvidos prefers to accrue more wealth in her hoard. Therefore, I imagine you would be able to barter with either of them over what you have behind you for some coin.' She also lets you know that 'To the north-west, you'll find our forge, to the north you'll find the Shadow Weave portal, and to the north-east you'll find the simple lodgings we have arranged.'

Sly muses at this.

"Methinks that dragon would probably be inclined towards the emeralds."

She turns to the party.

"I'm of a mind to sell the armor pieces to the tlincalli. Did any of you have a use for them?"

[As a reminder, and to correct myself: the armor pieces that Sly has on the disk are normal plate armor pieces, iron, not adamantine. There are 370 pounds, which comes to about 37 gp of profit. There are 130 emeralds, worth 5 gp each, price previously estimated by Sly. So the profit should be around 650 gp.]

[Mmhm, those numbers are correct, though I think I said it at the time, and so I'll highlight it again just so you're aware of this for when it comes to selling the emeralds in particular; Sly's estimated value is based on what they would be worth outside the dungeons. What Sly will be able to sell them for here might differ from that number depending on their scarcity, but whilst the value might be under or over that number, as a rough estimate you'll definitely get around that, since you definitely deserve a hefty reward for your troubles!]

While Sly converses with Dilitia, Xarkris turns his attention to the other item of interest in the room. He crouches out of caution and readies his shield and Battleaxe and slowly approaches the enormous mound of clay and the parts of the seemingly mundane heap in the shape of lopsided arms or contorted faces, piled upon each other and squished into one. The Dragonborn Paladin prepares the face what may be a GIBBERING MOUTHER.

Dilitia notices Xarkris cautiously approaching the heap and calls over to him that he shouldn't worry 'Oh, don't fret over that thing, it's just clay, you're welcome to take as much as you like. I know you might have doubts as it can start to look macabre if examined too closely, but that's just the inanimate remains of the clay golem delivery workers I have come through every season. I paid a contact on the outside pretty much my whole adventuring fortune to have them reliable create and send golems carrying crates with supplies in every three months, but I'd say it was worth it, since not only do they keep supplies high, but they'll also collect the bodies of any unfortunates on their way through, which is why the dungeons are clear of any bodies that aren't recent. Well, aside from the first dungeon, since the amount there is always so high it would be too much for the golems to carry, let alone remove faster than they pile up again. I'm well aware that seeing the bones and corpses of adventurers lying around before you can be the most demoralising thing, which is why I made sure to keep the first ten dungeons as clean as I could so that the start of this great endeavour was as encouraging as it could be. However, since I destroy the golems when they get here, there isn't anyone that goes ahead and clears the way later on, so you might start to see more and more of the dungeon's grim reality around you. Here's to hoping that by now, the adventurers heading onwards have enough skill to protect themself from too much further harm.' 

Bilyur responds sadly to the priest, "Ah. I had wondered. I had hoped, vainly, that the lack of bodies meant few fatalities in the dungeons. There were only a couple we'd seen, and it sorrows me that many others have died. Incidentally, though, have any of your golems brought the remains of a small tabaxi woman? Or perhaps a halfling man? They're former... associates of ours; we met in the dungeons. Perhaps they are here?" 

Dilitia's eyes light up at Bilyur's description of the pair, and she says chirpily that 'Ah, I have good news! Two adventurers matching your description are here and boarding in the resting cavern, and whilst the halfling seems to be incredibly sickly, on the whole they are okay! I'm sure they'll be delighted to reunite with you once more!'

"Ah, excellent. I am delighted to hear they are all alright. The Tabaxi woman, Ivory, seemed to be in an extreme hurry to complete the dungeons. I'll admit I had worried that her haste would cause them harm. And I am also sure they will be delighted to see us." Before any of the others can give them away, Bilyur will start heading towards the 'resting cavern'

{{OOC: I feel like I'm carrying this session, guys. If we need to take a break, pls let me and shiver know so we can make it official and I stop trying to restart it.}}

Dilithia nods and says 'They did seem to be wanting to move through them as fast as they could, but due to the evident illness of the halfling, I convinced them to take a day off here to rest. I'm sure your presence will hasten his recovery even further.'


[I'll leave what Bilyur finds in the resting rooms for now, as like Rhino says, interaction has definitely slumped, and whilst this dungeon isn't particularly eventful at all and is more an opportunity for you to restock and ditch unneeded loot, with Vitus taking their break, I feel that only three players really makes it seem like the party is stretched a bit too thin at the moment. With each individual player likely wanting to go off and do their own thing in this dungeon, that feeling might only increase, so I'll likely wait between posts to hear what people's intentions are in this dungeon, and then post all the results of each player's choices as one post. Hopefully that should help break down any feelings of carrying, even if things are going slower.]

[I was sort of waiting for people to tell Sly if they wanted to do anything with the materials she was carrying, but I'd be lying if I said that my motivation hadn't also flagged a bit. Back now.]

Sly isn't enthused at all about the prospect of reencountering Ivory, remembering all too clearly her haughty and egomaniac streak.

"I shall seek out this dragon in the meantime. Mercantilism calls."

The wizard heads off in the indicated direction to Selvidos, her heavily laden magical disk lazily bobbing along behind her.

Xarkris will escort Sly to her destination, keeping a wary eye out for danger.

[Awesome! I'll have Eggo go with Bilyur to split the party evenly!]

Bilyur and Eggo Lass head west, whilst Xarkris and Sly go east. Bilyur and Eggo find that after they leave the large storage cavern, it branches off in two directions. Knowing that Crataclak is to the south, i.e. the left tunnel, they head right, going north until they find a Salamander stoking a huge forge, and dressed in similar priestly robes to Dilitia. It gives you a polite nod as you pass through the tunnel, which leads to the Shadow Weave, a pulsating black mass filling the passage that leads out of these caves. It feels odd  to find the exit so soon after arriving compared to some of your past struggles, but it does give you comfort knowing that you can leave at any time. Finally, you continue on to find the resting caverns, which unfortunately isn't even as extravagant as the dormitories in Lisa Lilylip's swamp hut, simply consisting of a collection of bedrolls laid down on the flat portions of crystal. However, what catches Bilyur's interest is who is near the back of the room: the pair that he had came looking for, and a stranger. 

Ivory steps forward with a flick of her tail, muttering 'Well look at this...you caught up... but where's the rest of your party? Get eaten by zombies in the last dungeon? Nyaha, I wish that was true, as that would mean that the Alliance of The Swift would have surpassed the numbers of your pitiful crew. May I introduce you to Bressol, the newest recruit of my party and an expert druid.' She gestures to the stranger leant against the wall, who is a fairly thin human with a gaunt face and lank black hair hanging over it, his clothing a stitched mess of black wolf furs and what looks to be bracket fungi somehow. Most notably, he wears a crude leather eyepatch over his right eye, and it's stained with what could be either blood or berry juice, like the rest of his filthy face. He steps forward and extends a hand to shake, introducing himself to you both. 'Nice to meet you two. As my companion just said, my name's Bressol, and I'm a druid, though I don't think I'm quite as good as she's suggesting. We met in this dungeon, and I felt bad for the sorry state of her halfling buddy, so seeing as I've been going alone for a while, I thought I'd tag along with them.' He steps aside to give you a better look of Hugh, and he isn't doing particularly well at all. His skin is pale, and his eyes are sunken and yellow, with small boils starting to appear on the back of his palms and around his neck. Overall, he's incredibly sickly. It's curious, as this new member of Ivory's party seems friendly enough, yet you're not sure if you can entirely trust him, seeing as he joined forces with the likes of those two, and you can't be certain if he's joined the pair out of the goodness of his heart, or if there's something more he wants. 

Meanwhile, Xarkris and Sly head east. Unlikely the other two, the tunnels quickly converge with their destination, opening up into a vast cave piled with riches. They follow it through, and then find Selvidos at the back of her lair, which is clearly both her den and the heart of her hoard. The majestic crystal dragon unfurls her glittering wings as she slumps down from a pile of treasure, and her tail flicks from side to side like a dog due to her pleasure to meet you. Her form is captivating, her scaled form equal parts crystal as it is organic, making it seem like the beast is one with the surrounding environment, with some of the thinnest parts of her body, like the tip of her tail or spread of her wings, being entirely clear. She smiles widely at you,  coming closer as she asks 'Greetings, adventurers...do you have riches you want to exchange? As you can see about you, I have an abundance of amassed wealth that I am more than pleased to trade away for other items of value that you may have gathered on your travels.' Overall, Selvidos is an enthralling creature to behold; dragons are always the most captivating of monsters, and this dragon's splendour and glowing personality is a shining example of this truth.

"Well, hello, Bressol. I, too, am pleased to meet you. Though I feel it is my duty to warn you about your newfound companions," He turns towards Ivory, his eyes spitting icicles, "Your friend here, she calls herself Ivory. She also coined the term Alliance of the Swift. Now let me tell you what that name means." He turns back toward Bressol. "She has no care for others, and she has no goal but to complete the dungeons as quickly as possible. She is using you as a ladder and nothing more; all she wants from you is whatever aid you can offer before she dispenses of you. In the second or the third dungeon, I do not recall perfectly, we rescued a woman who had entered the dungeons involuntarily. Almost immediately afterward, we solved a puzzle to receive the password to continue. Having entered the dungeon behind us, Ivory saw fit to take this newly freed, still frightened woman hostage, and threatened her death if we did not give up the password." All this time, he has been advancing towards Ivory, which may have been more intimidating had he stood more than three feet tall. He stops, staring into her eyes. "It would have taken her perhaps an extra day or two in order to solve the puzzle on her own. Yet she took hostages instead, to save a little time." To Bressol, directly. "You seem to be a compassionate fellow, having joined these two because the one looks sickened. But do not expect any in return when Ivory can save a day by leaving you behind." Exiting the room, Bilyur says, over his shoulder, "Sly and Xarkris are simply in the other room, trading with the dragon. Though had they been dead, I would expect no more compassion from you, even after Xarkris saved your life from the hag." To the entire Alliance. "I wish you good luck on your journey. I hope you realize you're better off without her." Unless there is a response, Bilyur will walk calmly out of the room and go to rejoin Sly and Xarkris. 

Xarkris strikes his chest and bows low in salute to the great dragon. “Peaceful greetings, Great Selvidos. I am Nemmonis Xarkris”