Spira presses her lips together in frustration.  "Well, I would have bet on that northern wall for a secret entrance too.  But if my brother says there's none I believe him.  In that case Geados does seem like the best bet we have left to find a way to sneak around.  I wonder ..."   She pauses briefly.

... Mival, do you know if anyone's ever tried asking him if he'd be willing to sell something besides passage?  Something like ... oh, say -- information.   If the Lords Below didn't summon him, he's most likely been down here quite some time and might know all sorts of secrets about the layout."

(EDIT:  After a brief pause for thought, she adds, "And do you know in what currency he demands to be paid?  I have heard of fiends before that will bargain willingly with a mortal, but generally they either demand souls as the price of their services or something else we'd be almost as reluctant to grant them.")

Leading the group towards the ominous helmsman, Mival recalls: "It seems to me that he accepts different forms of payment - money or souls... But I've never tried asking him to 'sell' information instead of his usual transportation services. We can definitely try."

The fiend's red-shining eyes are impassive as the party approaches.

"Hello Geados!" the Doppelganger greets him, "My friends and I might be interested in your services. Could you remind me of the rates? And... if we were also interested in information... could you sell us that too?"

The fiend's voice explains, without betraying emotion: "The fare per passenger is the sacrifice of any sentient creature (a creature that has free will, a soul - a mere animal would not suffice). But considering that there aren't that many creatures to be sacrificed down here, I'll settle for 10 GP instead, if one prefers to pay in coin."

"But no information," the sailor says firmly. "That's not my business. I don't deal in information, no matter the pay. I'm willing to explain the terms of my contract, but not to provide information of any other kind."

"Yea, I think we'll pay the gold," Roxana says. "About the terms of your contract though, I would like you to explain exactly where we would be transported to. How long will it take? What will we find at the end? And does this contract cover coming back as well?"

"Oh, all perfectly reasonable questions," Geados replies, fixing his red eyes on Roxana. "The payment is for transportation along this large corridor, where the floor has collapsed. So assuming this is the beginning of the corridor, I will transport you to the end of it. I can stop at any points you find interesting and wait for you (in case you want to get off the boat and explore) for a limited time, say an hour at most, and then have you continue your journey."

"But once you reach the end of the corridor, the journey will be over," the fiend explains. "I will return here to await any other customers. If you also want to make the reverse journey, the return trip, you will have to pay again (the same fare). You will have to shout my name or get my attention in some other way, but when I hear you, I will come."

"Furthermore, the contract calls for transportation - and during transportation I will take care of your safety," the boatman concludes, "but once you have disembarked (either permanently, for the end of the voyage, or temporarily, to explore) I will not fight for you. If you encounter hostile creatures, you will have to defend yourselves."

Roxana nods at the answers. "And again, how long will it take? And how far do we go?" She looks at the others to see if they are agreed on paying the gold.

"The distance is very short..." Geados explains "After all, we are talking about a corridor, not a road. There will be about 100 feet to travel. If we cruise without stopping, it will take very little, I would say less than a minute."

"Sounds solid to me," Rash says, already counting out his 10 gold pieces. "I'm ready to get movin' whenever everyone else is."

"I'm in.," Spira agrees, taking out one of the silvery platinum pieces that her order prefer to carry when they can.  "I'm a curious sort of body, though.  Would it be a reasonable question pertaining to your contract to ask how many points there are in that 100 feet that a traveler might find interesting?  For instance, openings on either side that we theoretically might want to explore."

"That's a reasonable question, child of the Lower Planes" the Fiend replies, his tone devoid of emotion. "There are at least three side openings - so if you're looking for as thorough an exploration as possible, you'll probably find them interesting".

Meanwhile, Aidwyn, Dawnborn, Anita and Gaer are also willing to pay for the transport; while Mival, without money but able to transform into a sea elf, thinks of swimming alongside the boat. However, since the boat, given its size, can only carry one passenger at a time, it remains to be decided who will be the first to travel with Geados...

Hearing that the trip is only 100 ft., Roxana shakes her head. She first addresses Geados. "Is there some reason that we would want to pay for your services rather than just swimming?" She isn't that interested in getting soaked, but it just seems such a short distance. "It would take what? A minute?" She glances at the others to see what they think. "I mean, I'm not sure I want to get wet and have everything I'm carrying wet. But really - 10 gold?"  

"I am accustomed to sailing in far more dangerous waters..." his eyes glowing red fix on hers "but even these are not without their risks - or predators. If you will be my passengers, I will do my best to protect you from harm, and defend you from attacks, as I carry you. If you will swim... perhaps you will be called upon to prove your worth more often" he shrugs. "It's your choice."

Roxana glances to Gaer, who had already agreed to the fee, then looks back to the boat. "Very well, I'll agree to your payment."  And she gets out the coins to pay him. "We should probably send one of our stronger party members first."

At Roxana's words, Darvin exchanges a look with Spira: "Maybe it's better if I'm the one who goes first, dear?"

The sergeant clearly considers himself 'one of the strongest party members'...

Meanwhile, Anita nudges Rash: "Is your invisible friend physically taking up space? If not... he could also go with Darvin, in charge of defending him, right? It would be an extra security..."

"Not a significant amount" Rash whispers back. "And it doesn't weigh anything... so yes, that's probably a good idea."

He taps Darvin on the shoulder and presents the soldier figurine.

"Here... tuck this little guy into your belt before you go," he says with a wink. "You know, for good luck or whatever."

Rash gives his warrior orders to protect Darvin. Since the warrior is weightless, it should be able to stand/sit on the railing of the ferry without tipping it over.

And so Darvin, ready for anything, climbs onto Geados's boat (followed by an invisible presence determined to protect him). Pushed by the fiendish helmsman's pole, soon the boat, following the corridor with the collapsed floor, is forced to turn east, disappearing from the view of the rest of the party.

After a while, Geados returns, alone, explaining: "Your friend awaits you at the first 'points of interest'. He waits for you to reach him, to decide where to explore".

One by one, our heroes reach Darvin at a point where, two short, smaller corridors open up to the north and south of the corridor, with the floor still intact, each one seeming to lead to a room. While the main 'navigable corridor' continues east. Darvin has landed to the south. Once the heroes are reunited (presumably partly north and partly south, for space reasons) they can decide whether to explore north or south (Geados will ferry everyone to the chosen shore). Assuming the party wants to stop and explore... In fact, nothing prevents them from simply continuing navigation along the main corridor, towards the east.

"Interesting."  Darvin can almost see Spira's curiosity bump growing as the exploration continues.  Her kindness bump, too, is back to its usual proportions after her admittedly fun turn playing the henchwoman to Anita's illusionary "Lord from Below".  As soon as Geados mentioned possible dangers in the water, she quietly slipped him another platinum coin for Mival.    Any arguments on his part she met with a patient but very persistent, "You're not swimming.," repeated as often as necessary.

Now she disembarks to the south beside Darvin and stretches theatrically ... and perhaps just a little flirtatiously, given that the boat journey so far hasn't been all THAT long ;-).  "Your instincts were spot on getting off on this side first, dear.," she compliments him.  "There's only so far the northern room can go before hitting that corridor we know about.  We should check it too before we go though, just in case there's some back way round we could use to get Tethis' shawl."  As she speaks, she looks across the water to see what she can see down the northern corridor.  Then she examines the southern one more carefully, shifting her position and moving about until she is sure she's gotten all the perspective she can without actually going down the corridor any further.

===***===

Perception (northern corridor) 11

Investigation (southern corridor) 14

Mival first tries to reassure Spira that a 'monster' like him can take care of himself... but realizing how much the tiefling cares about it, he stops objecting and agrees to use the boat too: "I'll refund the fee you paid for me, as soon as I find some treasure!" he promises.

"Has the long voyage tired you, dear?" Darvin jokes with Spira, seeing her performance upon arrival "Would you like a massage at the base of the neck, to relax?" and he seems ready to fulfill that wish eventually...

The Sergeant of Arvandor, once she starts to scrutinize and investigate, notices that to the north (since the door is wide open) there is a room that contains (at least) a rack of weapons.

The south door, however, is ajar, so she must open it completely, before examining what is beyond.

And beyond is a room that measures 10' x 50'. Unfortunately, the floor has mostly collapsed - but Geados's boat cannot negotiate the shallow water at the threshold; so in this case, exploring the room completely will probably require a short swim.

Already looking from the threshold, however, one can notice that very little furniture remains in the room (perhaps also due to the collapse of a good part of the floor). Only three beds remain, barely recognizable as such, their lower part, rotted in the water, has given way, favoring the ruin of the remaining parts as well - two are against the north wall (one in the easternmost area, the other in the westernmost area) and another is against the south wall, in the westernmost area.

As Roxana arrives at the junction, it seems Spira has decided on investigating to the south first. "I guess we're going to be swimming? Or do you have a different plan?"  She again seems reluctant, though if it's necessary then she'll just press on with the others. 

Mival, seeing that the room seems to be really lacking in elements of interest, offers: "If you want, I can swim... I can take the form of a sea elf, as you know. But... is it worth it, after all? There's practically nothing in here..."

"Hmm, it does seem a bit pointless to check. I just see old beds," Roxana says. "I'm fine with just looking to the north then moving on."  She hesitates just a moment before adding, "Though I guess there could be a hidden passage? I'm rather doubtful though."