Quillary eyes the petrified otyugh skeptically. "We should not stay here. The Kuo-Toa may return to reclaim their god now the intruder is gone. But I, too, would be interested to see what is through that passage as well, before they do," she indicates the underwater passage.

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

(The other boot...do we need to sift through the island trash to find it or are we thinking we'll find it elsewhere in our travels?)

Unless it was sealed in a lead box, Hildigrim is certain that Detect Magic would sense the other boot, even if it was buried under these copper coins.

The party has a tough time swimming down, as the Water Walk is making you very buoyant. (The trog zombie is left to guard the entrance, as it can't swim fast enough to stay underwater.) The tunnel goes 20' before connecting to another cave. It is somewhat pear-shaped, 40' and 50' at its widest and longest (but much smaller than a rectangular cave of that size). There is a 10' wide beach around the edges of this cave (most of it is filled with water). The ceiling is low (15' at peak) and there are no other exits.

The aboleth spent a lot of time here. Every surface is covered with slime, and the water almost has the consistency of oatmeal. (When you make it back to Waterdeep, you all agree to spend some of your loot for spas, baths, and professional clothes cleaning.) There are a handful of dead kuo-toa scattered about (some recent, mostly old), charmed thralls who were sucked of their life force.

Hildigrim is drawn to three different areas of the beach. As he pushes aside the slime, you discover gold coins and other non-magical items. If the party is willing to take 10 minutes to search, you can inventory your discoveries.

Hildigrim is focused on the three magical auras. The first is the other magic boot. (He verifies that they are for different feet, and not 2 left-feet boots.)
The second is a vial with a Greater Healing potion (4d4+4 kind).
The last is inside a large (but mundane) clay bottle that is corked. He pops open the stopper, and finds a scroll inside.

I think we will definitely take the time to explore thoroughly, especially if that is just 10 minutes.

(OOC: I'll take suggestions for the spell scroll. In the module, it is Magic Weapon, but I'm not thrilled with that.
Hildigrim should think of what 2nd level spells that he might like to copy into his spell book later on.
Pick one of the following: Detect Thoughts, Locate Object, or Mind Spike )

The party discards the junk that will be heavy and of low worth, like a copper goblet that is worth about 1 GP.
Pascal does keep a tarnished and dented silver pitcher. It isn't worth much (5 GP), but with some cleaning and Jorin smithing repairs, Pascal thinks it will look nice in the bistro.
You toss aside a rotted leather bracer, but recover the three peridots (100 gp each) attached to it. (I had to look it up: Wikipedia link )
For loose coins, there are 450 GP.

With nothing else to find, the party swims back out with your loot. As you bob to the surface, the trog zombie awaits. (Nothing happened to it during the last 15 minutes.)

IMHO, Quillary should have the healing potion so she can apply it to Jorin so he can get up and keep beating on people. Hildi should def have the scroll of his choice, and keep the two boots until they can be identified.

Ugh, oatmeal water...gross

I agree with mingo's loot distribution.

Reposting the old map from post 4862 (haven't updated it)

The party makes is way out of that larger cavern with the island, past the red X, and to the place where you left the raft.
The raft is no where in sight, probably floated downstream (to the lower right corner of the map).

Do you head downstream, or upstream (the "patch of dry land?" and other areas between the ettin lair and your current position)?

Well, I'm inclined to go downstream, hoping it eventually leads to the outside.

The party continues down the river, traveling 40' to the southeast. At that point, a number of crude stone javelins splash in the water in front of the party. On the right side (southwest) of the river is a passage that goes west, in the direction of the troglodyte caves. At the mouth of that passage are many trogs, behind rocks for cover, and continuing to throw javelins.

As your party is ready to counter-attack, the trogs let out cries of alarm, then terror. They throw down their weapons and flee to the west. (Pascal lobs a fire bolt at their escaping backs, because they annoy his lizard-man sensibilities.)

As things quiet down (expect for the gurgling of the river water), you look around in all directions, concerned that a new monster has creeped up on you. You see another passage on the left side of the river, that heads north. Besides that, you don't see anything unusual.

As you look around in puzzlement, Quillary's eyes settle on her zombie servant, that used to be one of the trog's comrades. Its flesh was bleached to the color of dead fish when the aboleth sucked its life force, and Quillary's spores have abused its flesh even more. Its face is locked in a scowl of pain and surprise. The creature continues its slow lumber, walking on the water of the river.

Quillary shrugs, and continues on down the river, ignoring the troglodyte caverns (unless we have to backtrack). She pats the trog-zombie on the shoulder sympathetically.

"This water should, eventually, flow out.  Let us keep moving with it."

I think detect thoughts would work better for Hildi if I get a choice.

Could Hildi have taken 11 minutes to cast identify as a ritual on the boots before leaving the pear-shaped cavern?

Quillary did not need to leave too quickly (it does eat up Water Walk a little, but she figures she can cast it again if needed).

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Could Hildi have taken 11 minutes to cast identify as a ritual on the boots before leaving the pear-shaped cavern?

(OOC: He can cast identify-as-ritual at the next rest stop.)

As the party continues down river, you get a glimpse up that northern passage. At the limit of Volo's eyesight are several dead and rotting kuo-toa and troglodytes. Some have broken arrows of Drow make in them.

After another 50' of travel, there is a narrow ledge by the river. A short distance from that is a colorful splash of crystals that Drusk didn't notice with his darkvision. This might be the sign you were looking for. It takes a minute of searching, but there is a curve in the wall that concealed a passage away from the river. Squeezing into it, you continue traveling away from the river.

After another hour, it widens slightly into a cave. There are signs that others have rested here (smoothed areas on the ground, blackened areas that might have been campfires), but not anytime recent. The passage continues onward, but your group is feeling tired.

Quillary look with some intent in the direction of the possible drow, but shakes her head and moves on with the party.

In the rest cavern, "This seems like a good place to rest," she says, dropping her pack. The trog-zombie goes to stand in the corner.

During the rest, the party investigates the magic items, helped greatly by Hildigrim's Identify.

Quillary claimed the greater healing potion. (Add to your inventory.)

The amulet is used to control a Shield Guardian. Since the construct is either far away or destroyed, it is of no immediate use.
On the other hand, it takes a lot of resources to create one. Maybe some day, Hildigrim can modify this amulet to control another construct.
(OOC: I have no immediate plans for this. But if the opportunity arises in the future, the amulet might be a nice story hook.)

The footwear are Boots of Elvenkind.
(I'm fine if someone else really wants these.
But if there isn't a strong claim, I making the case for Drusk. The boots would fit with his upbringing in Elvish culture.)

The party is able to get a Long Rest without interference.

Quillary stretches as she wakes, but the sound is more mewling than anything. She sits in her bedroll for a long moment. “I need… let us get out of the underground today.” She will break camp and be ready to go, gnawing on some hardtack from her pack.

She goes to stand over the collapsed body of the trog-zombie, kneeling down and whispering to it in her weird language.

(It turns out that Fungal Infestation lasts just one hour.)

Then she stands and looks about to see if the others are ready to go.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

(It turns out that Fungal Infestation lasts just one hour.)

(OOC: Thanks for pointing it out. I see it now in the Druid description, but I didn't notice before how much was truncated for the character sheet description.

It is probably easiest to let the zombie cease to exist.
Or if you like, we can can make a one-time exception, and make it into a regular zombie. It would end up staying at the bistro with your awakened shrub. You would have to decide how Quillary would cover up its decaying appearance and revolting odor (undead & troglodyte), but maybe you like the idea of Quillary having her own posse.
It is your decision.)

(I had the same problem, thinking the sheet bit had all the important bits… no, I’m cool with sticking to the hour, especially given Quillary’s relationship to death. Some things just don’t last.)

Cut to the next day, mid-afternoon at the Yawning Portal. The lunch crowd has mostly left, with a few patrons enjoying a leisurely coffee and the servers tidying up the tables.

There is a gasp, followed by most of the people taking in a deep breath of surprise. Arms emerge from the open well, even though no adventurers were expected. In short order, a quartet of filthy, grungy, terrible smelling, heavily armed humanoids climb out of the well. (OOC: If you have seen "Army of Darkness", none of you have a boom-stick. Link to YT scene.)

They move slowly but deliberately towards the exit. Before getting there, the half-orc pauses, strolls to the bar and slaps down 3 GP (plus a SP tip).
Drusk: "Five carry-out lunches, and 5 ales in travel mugs. Quickly please."

After the food and drinks are ready, to go your party leaves the Yawning Portal and its stunned inhabitants behind.