Quillary actually laughs, but kindly. “Hildigrim, I have already died. The messages we received are lies.”

She watches him begin going, and says, “We should find the sender of these messages, perhaps these creatures will thank us if we free them.”

Then she will pull her club out and follow him.

(To be clear... The party is headed directly to the chamber where Quillary saw the 3 troglodytes (the southern-most area of the map in post 4659) ?
Or did you want to explore any of the other side passages?
Any precautions, or march straight in?
Any battle plan made ahead of time? )

OOC - continuing the strategy session from the PMs, Quillary may make the better scout in this case due to pass without at trace.  You mentioned dropping down to gank the bad guy, do you think Quillary can take whatever it is by yourself?

Maybe, but there is a good chance she could get mind controlled, too…

Drusk (after hearing Quillary's reflective comment): "If something is using mind powers, maybe it is best to stick together.
If I remember correctly, when Jorin was mesmerized by that squid-face, we snapped him out of it by smacking him a few times."

Quillary looks up. Having heard the stories of the groups adventures before she joined, she says, “Do you think it could be another one? Or… the same one?”

Jorin shudders at the mention of his previous dealings with mind controllers and says, "Agreed, we are strongest together in the face of a foe.  I do think a stealthy scouting would help us strategize beforehand.  Quillary could go in front, covered by magic, just until she sees what awaits us?"

Drusk: "She saw 3 guards in that cavern. Do we want to try the north passage at the previous intersection? Have Quillary try to sneak past them to see what is in the next cavern (by herself)? Or do we go to those 3, in which case, do we talk or fight?"

“There is no talking. We will not be talking to them, they will listen only to the commands of their master.”

Quillary smiles, again, sadly. “I will scout, and will return with what I learn. If I do not return as a spider, do not trust me when you see me next.”

(So Quillary is casting Pass Without Trace on the whole party, changing to spider form, and then trying to sneak past the 3 guards to see what is beyond them?

Roll Stealth 4 times for Quillary. The first 2 are for disadvantage at the guard cavern, and the other 2 are in case I need it later.)

(Erm, PWT is only good in a 30’ radius around her, so if she sneaks past the guards and the party does not, she will leave them behind…)

"Before you sneak off by yourself," Hildigrim pipes up, "why don't I send Volo? He is smaller than your spider form and may be able to move about less conspicuously. Also, if I am looking through his eyes, I might be able to cause him to return to his pocket dimension and avoid danger if I am fast enough."

“This is a good idea, Hildi. Send Good Volo.” Quillary ruffles the bird’s feathers affectionately.

edit: assuming Hildigrim popped him back into existence

(For Volo, a pair of Stealth rolls and a pair of Perception rolls. And one Initiative roll.)

Stealth #1: 21

Stealth #2: 22

Perception #1: 13 — advantage for hearing and sight: 18

Perception #2: 5 — advantage for hearing and sight: 12

Initiative for Volo: 8

Initiative for Hildigrim (to blink him out of existence to avoid danger if needed): 25

Volo flutters down onto Hildigrim's shoulder and accepts Quillary's physical touch. When she agrees and no one else objects, Hildigrim places an outstretched hand on one of the rock walls. His familiar flutters forward, trying to be stealthy, while the halfling peers through the owl's eyes magically.

The party (while keeping one eye on your surroundings, to be safe) is in a circle around Hildigrim, listening to him speak about Volo's observations. (OOC: Kind of like families sitting around the radio listening to baseball games, before there was TV.)

Volo carefully sneaks past the cavern with the 3 troglodyte guards. Since it is very quiet in that room, the fluttering of his wings is more noticeable than you'd like, but Volo gets past them. (The owl only noticed what Quillary saw last time.)

Volo checks out a few side passages that go 20-30 feet before ending in nothing. He follows a winding passage that leads to another small cave. (60' away from the guard cave.) This 30-foot-high cave is littered with the bones of four kuo-toa. The bones have all been thoroughly chewed and their marrow sucked out.

Volo flies another 60' along twisting passages, and comes across a larger cavern (irregular shape, 70' long and 30' wide). The walls are coated with the river slime. 12 troglodytes are resting atop sawed-off stalagmites in the middle of this 40-foot-high cave. The walls bear pictographs of kuo-toa abasing themselves before a creature that resembles an otyugh (a bulbous monster with three legs, long tentacles, and a gaping maw).

Around a corner of the cavern (sight-line mostly blocked), Volo notices some movement from something big. A blue, squishy tentacle (like the body of an eel, about the thickness of Jorin's thigh) is on top of a rock. Three eyes (in a vertical row) at the top of a massive fish/eel head turn in the direction of Volo. The thing is completely silent, even when moving. A few seconds later, all 12 troglodytes become active, looking around the part of the cave where Volo is perched. Soon enough, one of them sees Volo, and points at the owl. The other troglodytes pick up their spears and darts...

Hildigrim/Volo is up.

"Oh, yuck," says Quillary as Hildi narrates. Then, just like in the old radio serials, she gasps and puts her hands to her mouth, "Oh, no, Good Volo, get out of there!"

Almost lost in his narration, Hildigrim gasps, "Hainard's hairy —" before lifting his hand and snapping. He blinks and looks around and then snaps again.

Does Volo appear?

Also, does Hildigrim have any idea what that creature was? Nature: 8

Volo's last sight in the trog cavern was a javelin headed for his face (like a scene from a bad 3D movie).

Last time Volo was "blipped" out of danger, he pecked at Drusk's head until he was calmed down.
This time, Volo pecks at Hildigrim's head. (The owl is unhurt, just flustered.)

The owl didn't get a good look at the thing back in the trog cave. But 3 eyes (lined up in a vertical row) doesn't seem "natural" to anyone.

"It seems like we know what is controlling the troglodytes. And perhaps is responsible for the death of all the Kuo-toa. And likely responsible for our dreams. We should send it back where it came from," Quillary says resolutely. "Without fighting through hordes of troglodytes, if we can help it?"