Zevriel makes a face at Mival’s idea, shaking his head. “Not sleeping on dead fish-men. That’s bad luck. Better to drag ‘em out, or dump them somewhere else first. Anyway, there’s all that old furniture in the hag’s room—maybe we break up some of it, or use busted doors to make a float and flat surface. Could sleep on that, or use it to help get back out.”

He glances around the group. “How much was that ferryman’s price, anyway? I’m light on coin—don’t want to slow folks down or make you pay for me.”

Zevriel folds his arms, looking calm. “I’m not tired. Just got here, really. If some of you need a rest, I’ll keep watch while you rest, or we could continue to scout a bit more. Up to you. But if you cannot sleep in water, we can try and collect wood and clothes from the fishmen and build a platform of some sort.”

[[Who is still with us? I've noticed that the campaign page has dwindled down to just four players, I thought it was six or so before. On the topic of rest and/or return, I would argue to press on or try to rest here again before returning.]]

"The hag's furniture!" Mival facepalms "Of course! With that we could create a sort of 'dry island' here and try to rest. The Merrow have just been defeated, after all... no more should come right away. Maybe this time we can do it".

"However, if we decide to go with Geados, the fiendish ferryman," the doppleganger explains "his fee, for each person to be transported, is one soul of a sentient creature or 10 GP".

[[ OOC: Ardana and Tarysaa are still with us - I'm a little more concerned about Elias and Paqen's silence (Paqen by the way no longer has the character connected to the campaign - even if the character still exists). Anyway, let's see if Ardana and Tarysaa accept the proposal to camp on an artificial island and finish resting in the dungeon - you had already spent a few hours - or if they prefer other solutions. ]]

"There are sections of the first 'basement level' that are dry enough.   Even the weapons room... though we did encounter a giant spider there.. so no room can be considered totally safe and secure."  Tarysaa looks about as she speaks.  "With a bit of exploring, we could probably find another 'mostly dry' room; though it would be wise to mark our explorations so we can find spots like the water breathing shrine more easily."

Zevriel nods hard, glad to see Mival thinking the same way. “Y-yeah, let’s drag these fish-folk over to the hag’s place,” he says, wiping his dagger on a bit of ruined cloth. “Dump ’em there, haul her chairs and doors back here. Stack the wood, makes a dry patch we can sit or sleep on. Couple of trips—shouldn’t be tough.”

He turns to Tarysaa. “Those other dry rooms you found—are they close? If they’re a long swim, might be safer to stay put. We’re half-rested already.”

Zev glances around the little space. It’s no inn, but it feels calm. “Elias, Tarysaa, Ardana—you three look beat. Get your sleep. Mival and I can share the watch after we shift that junk. I’ll keep a blade ready.” He gives a small grin. “Not as comfy as a feather bed, but beats drowning.”

A last thought crosses his mind, and he adds quietly, “We’ll worry about the ferryman later. Ten gold— or souls— is too steep right now. I'd rather take my chances swimming to be honest.”

Mival makes several trips to bring, little by little, the witch's furniture up to the place chosen by the party to try to finish the rest. Something has changed in the furniture, both because it no longer moves on its own initiative, and because it seems to have lost its inexplicable resistance - in fact the Doppelganger brings it up in pieces. But with the last pieces, he also brings a surprise: "Look! Inside a chest that was in the room, there were all these coins - and these four chalices!" and he shows the party a total of 80 gp, 1100 sp, 2600 cp and 4 elegant copper chalices with silver filigree.

[[ OOC: Feel free to decide how you want to divide it all. ]]

This time the rest, relatively dry on the water-soaked wreckage, ends successfully! 5 long hours pass without events, at the end of which the party feels completely regenerated and ready for any challenge.

[[ OOC: Gratz! This time the Long Rest was completed without any problems! ]]

Tarysaa was awake an hour before the others (( Elven Trance 'Rest')) and spent a bit of time examining the chalices using her rituals.

Detect Magic  and Identify << if any of them 'detect' as magical or having some form of magical qualities.

She will greet everyone as they wake and describe whatever she discovers.

Tarysaa only needs the first ritual, Detect Magic, to determine that the pretty goblets may have artistic and monetary value, but no magical power.

"They're very beautiful..." Mivak comments, however "Even without magical power, they must be worth a lot - certainly much more than my mother Kara usually earns in a day repairing wagon wheels! The adventurer's profession is risky but rewarding, it seems..."

Zevriel turns the copper-and-silver cups over in his hands, admiring the work but looking a little awkward at all the glitter. “Best we keep things plain and fair,” he says. “Split the coins five ways—enough for each of us to pay our passage or patch our gear.” He sets one cup back in the pile and steps aside. “Each of you take a chalice, too. I’ll pass on mine.” He gives Mival a small, encouraging nod. “You’ll need something fine to show your ma… and maybe to soften whatever hard words come first. A gift helps.” Zev shrugs, a faint grin tugging at his mouth. “Coin’s useful, sure, but I’ve never had much taste for fancy cups. Just glad we all made it through the night.”

(That would net everyone 20gp, 220sp, 520cp and a chalice for each one minus Zevriel, including Mival.)

Mival is excited about the treasure he has conquered... but even more, it seems, about what still remains to be discovered; in fact, as soon as he has secured his share, he is immediately ready to start exploring again: "And now? Shall we go back to the room with the rune circle and see where the southernmost path leads?"

Zevriel tightens the strap on his pack and shakes his head gently. “Best we finish this floor first,” he says, voice straightforward. “That hole in the hag’s ceiling—might link to other rooms. And there’s that passage off the shrine we never checked. If we dive deeper without knowing what’s above us, we could end up squeezed between trouble on both sides.”

He gives the dark water a wary glance. “Cold depths will still be there when we’re ready. Let’s clear what we can reach on foot, make sure our way back stays safe. Then we tackle the unknown.”

(Effectively, he suggests to start with the passage NW of the shrine.)

The party begins to swim to the unexplored northwest part of the shrine. In doing so, Zevriel and Paqen get to know the ghostly warrior figure the other party members had already met on the way there, a translucent, light-blue figure of a corpulent captain of the guard, with short, shaggy hair and an upturned mustache, wearing a chain shirt, shield, longbow, and longsword.

The undead looks suspiciously, from the shallows, at the two he doesn't know, then asks the others: "Those two are with you? Are they helping you... to find out what happened to Lord Rassalantar?"

Elias, who had been the one to negotiate with the wraith the first time, swims to him to talk to him. But first he murmurs to his companions: "I think I can easily convince our dear Captain Satboar that our new friends are our helpers - and that's the truth, by the way! But I wonder... do you think it's worth investing a little time in telling him what we've discovered? Given this undead's connection to Lord Rassalantar, perhaps finally hearing about what happened might give him peace - or maybe even just ease his pain."

Ardana nods and agrees with Elias.   We should share what we know, it may awaken memories within him that will aid in our quest

Elias, then, once he reaches the shallow waters, begins to tell the story of your latest discoveries in a compelling way, while the dead eyes of the undead seem exceptionally... to shine with interest, as if a spark of life were returning to them.

When the bard finally reveals that Mival is a descendant of Rajmund Rassalantar, Captain Stedd Satboar opens his mouth wide in disbelief, fixes his eyes on the boy and no longer seems able to take them off him: "Incredible!" the undead speaks with a voice choked with emotion "My lord has fallen, and yet... his lineage has survived over time! So his death has not been in vain..."

While he is still speaking, the form of the undead seems to become more... evanescent. A completely unfamiliar smile appears on the captain's face, while his material form vanishes completely. It seems that the soul of Captain Stedd Satboar has finally found peace!

"So much loyalty to Rajmund..." Mival murmurs, moved "I'm glad the captain was finally able to reach... his final destination, whatever that may be."

The party is finally free to reach the unexplored area. It is an area of ​​shallow water; seemingly a system of ordinary-looking corridors. Which direction to take?

Zevriel watches the ghostly captain fade, a quiet respect settling in his eyes.
“Glad you got your rest, Captain,” he murmurs, voice low and plain. “Took courage to stay that long.”

He gives Mival a small, approving nod. “Your kin did something right. Man served him even after death.”
A brief smile tugs at the corner of Zev’s mouth—no more words needed.

He turns to the fork of corridors, studying the stonework and where the water lies shallowest. His tracking sense kicks in—simple, but sure.

“Reckon the right passage runs over that dragon’s lair,” he says, tapping the wall with a knuckle. “Left one likely sits above the hag’s old room.” He pulls his twinblade free, holding it low.

“Let’s try right first. Feels safer—Nesurentul beneath us if trouble comes.”

Unless someone objects, Zev edges forward at a steady pace, blade ready, keeping an eye for any shift in water or shadow as he leads the way down the right-hand corridor.

Zevriel takes his first steps and...

[[ OOC: Zevriel need to roll both a Perception check and a Dexterity Saving Throw ]]

Perception 12 and Dex save 19

...and he fails to see the pressure plate camouflaged in the floor - and made even harder to spot by the refraction of the water.

But our hero suddenly realizes that he has stepped on something... something potentially dangerous! And, driven by instinct and reflexes, he leaps back just in time to avoid a roughly 5-foot-diameter boulder that has been released by a hidden trapdoor that has opened in the ceiling.

Zevriel is unharmed, but unfortunately the boulder now blocks the way... if the party wishes to proceed, it must be removed or destroyed in some way. Or the adventurers can decide to take a different route.

Zevriel lands hard on his backside, water splashing up around him. Eyes wide, he lets out a sharp breath, staring at the huge stone now lodged in the corridor.

“Trap. Big one,” he mutters, still catching his breath. He gives the boulder a wary look, wipes his hands on his armor, and pushes himself upright. “That way’s done for us.”

He shuffles back to the fork, cheeks a bit red but blade still ready. “We’ll take the other passage,” he says—half to the party, half to himself—moving even slower this time, every step deliberate as he starts down the left corridor.

The other corridor holds no nasty surprises... at least until the next T-intersection. From there, you can continue north (and the route will then turn east) or east (and the route will then turn north).

Zevriel pauses at the fork, squinting down each corridor. When both branches seem to bend toward the spot behind the fallen boulder, he gives a short nod.

“That’ll loop around to where I tried first,” he says, tapping the eastern-then-north turn with his blade tip. “I want to see what’s past that rock—just safer from this side.”

He sets off down the east-then-north route, moving cautiously but with clear purpose, checking the floor and walls as he goes. “Stick close,” he adds over his shoulder, “and shout if you spot another trick stone. One surprise like that’s enough for today.”