As this unfolds, Carl moves forward, his face screwing up and he glares at the winged kobold, his eyes turn dark black for a moment and a drop of blood comes to his nostril.  He takes a few deep breaths in as the two headed beast takes flight.  

He casts Mind sliver : Sharrak must make a DC 13 intelligence save or take 1 point of psychic damage and take 1d4 off its next saving throw.  

Auriel watches as Sharrak slips free from Hildigrim's grasp. For a moment, he considers hurling a javelin after the winged kobold, but the creature vanishes from sight before he can act. His hand, halfway raised, falls limply to his side.

"Lothron naeth!" the eladrin curses in his mother tongue. He turns to face his companions, frustration and embarrassment clear on his tattooed face. "That played well in my mind, but then I went and messed it up. My apologies." Sighing, he adds, "I wanted to stop him from raising the alarm, but now Sharrak will certainly do just that. What do we do now?"

"Maybe it's for the better? If Jeralla thinks Sahnd is trying to betray her, she might retaliate and the archer will just fire an arrow without us having to do anything." Hex looks up to where they believe the archer to be with a skeptical look on her face. "Though we probably can't risk hoping for the chances of that happening... We can stick to our original plan? Have Auriel climb up instead, since its not exactly my strong suit." She turns to look at the paladin. "Risky without the invisibility but it's up to you."

Auriel looks up at the tall statue and says, "I can certainly try, though I don't have a bow of my own to shoot a flamming arrow. You'd have to lend me any of yours", he adds, glancing at Hex and Hildigrim.

If no one objects or suggests another idea, Auriel grabs the zipline and starts climbing up.

(ooc: He'll use his inspiration to roll at advantage to climb up)

Hildigrim blinks, caught off guard by the request. He glances at the bow on his back, then up the rope line, then back at Auriel — weighing all the terrible fates his favorite weapon might suffer.

After a moment’s hesitation, he shakes his head. “I’m not sure it’s safe. Hex couldn’t make the climb, and she isn’t even wearing armor. What if they spot you? Or hear you?”

He lifts his hands and stares at them, still faintly trembling from the chill of the river. He certainly isn’t in climbing shape himself.

“Maybe … we try something else,” he says, turning toward the path that winds away from Krulek’s camp. “We didn’t scout very far down that way. There might be another angle. Another weakness.”

Hex nods at Hildigrim's suggestion, though no one can see it. "That is true... I didn't even think about his armor. I know I was the one who brought it up, but honestly I am hesitant to have him climb up there. If we go with Hildigrim's plan instead, I can scout a little bit ahead of you guys, put this invisibility to good use. If I spot something dangerous or interesting, I'll let you guys know?"

Auriel looks down at his armor, thinking that carrying it day and night has, in fact, given him the athletic build better suited for climbling the rope. But it's undeniable that there's still a high chance he'll be seen during the climb. So he says, "Okay, that sounds good. Let's go, then."

Auriel waits until he stops hearing Hex, then follows, closing the march.

Hildigrim follows close behind Auriel, privately relieved he doesn't have to part with his bow.

Working with others hasn’t proven quite as easy as he hoped. He’s always managed well enough on his own — despite growing up in a large family. His interests had always been solitary, and he never minded that. But when it came to collaboration, to teamwork, he’d always believed he could rise to the occasion.

Still, since Olisara Lightsong suggested he join the investigation into the Cult’s activities, he’s wondered. She never actually said why Watcher Wasanthi left — only implied it was of his own volition. That silence gnaws at him, especially now, as he walks among new allies with uncertain footing.

He pushes his glasses up his narrow nose, his mind continuing its gentle hum — thoughts running just beneath the surface, like a quiet tide behind vigilant eyes that scan the path ahead.

Hex pops her hood up and heads down the path Hildigrim mentioned, keeping an eye and ear out for any signs of danger. Though she was invisible, she still made sure to move as quietly as she could while maintaining a reasonable speed. Time wasn't necessarily on their side now that Sharrak knew they were here. Her performance as Rathene wasn't exactly perfect either.

“Hrrrm.”  Carl just grunts to himself and walks along, following and scanning the skies, watching for any sign of Sharrak as they go.  He puts his carving in a pocket and puts away his small pocketknife now that they were on the move.  “Where will he go…” he says out loud, thinking about their next steps.

Moving forward, you find an area where the river on this side of the statue can be safely forded. Moving carefully across it, trying not to disrupt the waters enough to be seen, you safely cross the river, reaching one of the massive statue's arms. On the other side of the arm, you can barely make out voices speaking, but the volume doesn't carry hear loudly enough to hear any individual words.

Auriel has the feeling that if he broke into a sudden dance, he wouldn't make any more noise than he's making just trying to walk quietly. Not wanting to risk giving his companions away, he stays still, letting them try to catch what the voices are saying. In the meantime, he remains alert. With Sharrak gone, the eladrin keeps imagining a swarm of kobolds spilling out from the shadows at any moment.

Thankful for the cover of the cascading waterfalls and the thick curtain of fog, Hildigrim moves quietly, ears pricked at the sound of distant voices. He strains to make out what’s being said, but the words are lost in the din.

He glances around instinctively, knowing full well he won’t see her — but that’s precisely why he tries.

“Hex?” he stage-whispers. “Hex? Want to sneak ahead a bit? See if they’re with Krulek or the dragonborn?”

Hex instinctively nods at Hildigrim before she realises he can't see her and makes a sound of affirmation. She moves closer to the where the voices are coming from, trying to get a look at who's talking and listen in on their conversation.

The thick scrub leading forward is disturbed by Hex's invisible movement, but even to the onlooking party, who knows to expect it, it may as well only be a light breeze moving the leaves and branches. Hex moves closer to the conversation.

The king's statue's ruined forearms rest on his thighs, forming two platforms high above ground level. Sea fog swirls over the statue, and the roar of the waterfalls is deafening. While the party awaits Hex's return, the fog shifts slightly, briefly providing clearer glimpses through it. A grim warrior stands on the eastern arm of the statue. On the arm opposite, a red-scaled dragonborn woman faces him.

For Hex:

Hex immediately drops down to crouch out of sight and curses at herself for not paying better attention to how much time had passed. She pulls the hood of her cloak down over her face a little further and swiftly makes her way back to the rest of the party, hoping no one saw her.

"The path leads to where the negotiations are happening. Doesn't look like they're going to be finding common ground anytime soon. It was like watching two petty children argue."

At first, Hildigrim startles at the sudden reappearance of Hex — tiefling once more — but a quick check of his mental clock steadies him. The surprise passes, replaced by focus.

He furrows his brow at her words. "That's where they're meeting? Is there another way to reach the other camp?"

"Well, according to Sharrak, the cave they told us about before would let us sneak around Jeralla's camp." Hex nods back down the path in the direction they came from.

"But how do we climb up there? I don't see any way other than using the zipline and jumping across the waterfall," Auriel says. "Or is there something I'm missing?"

Auriel surveys the area, then answers his own question. "It looks like our options are either to climb the cliff face or to follow the path across—or around—the other statue's arm. The latter carries the risk of Krulek or Jeralla spotting us. Personally, I favor the climb. Still, those of you better suited to stealth might prefer the other route. If we all choose to climb, the first up could secure a rope to aid the others."

He glances at the others, wondering if they might have another idea.