Seldom Spring

Erric won't disagree with his friends.

"I don't know how many derro," Thrakk replies. "But it shouldn't be very many. Not this close to the surface."

"I'll watch our flank," Ebokk says, motioning with his shield.

Maldorn has heard enough for now: "Very well, let's go. I suggest someone who can see in the dark goes ahead of us. We'll hang back a good 20 or so feet with Dack and his torch. To the derro!"

"I will lead," Thrakk says, giving the old man another look of confusion before marching toward the western passage. (What is the party order? Ebokk is last, but what is the order with everyone else? The passage is single file. DM rollz: 21)The party leaves the large cave with the pool in the middle — the myconid's home — and enters another five-foot-wide tunnel. The tunnel takes a few twists and turns before Thrakk pauses. He quietly says over his shoulder. "We've reached another smaller cave." With the orc's big frame in the way, it's very difficult to see what's ahead.

Jambiya will be just in front of Ebokk at the back. 

Erric's in the middle, keeping an eye on Thrakk. As he passed through the myconid cave on the way to the new passage, he'd telepathically try to ask the myconids, "is this where the derro are? Anything we should know about them?"

He will also try to get another use out of the fungus telepathy before leaving the chamber to message his friends, and not Thrakk, as he saw Maldorn do. "We don't need to get rid of anyone, and definitely not the derro. Thrakk can do what he likes, and I'm comfortable with us holding back to watch what these derro are like."

If still able to, Maldorn agrees with Erric telepathically. Additionally, he advances just in between Erric and Jambiya, leaving the spot in the single file line immediately after Thrakk for Anafrey to occupy.

"What does a derro look like again?" Anafrey would seemingly ask out of nowhere as she follows along behind her companions. 

History to see if Jambiya's fathers ever talked about derros: 12

From #2566: As the large fungus speaks, another non-fungus shuffles into view from the north west. It looks like a small dwarf, but with gray skin and white hair.

OOC: That's what a derro is.

The myconids do not respond to Erric's query concerning the derro. Perhaps they are too far away (they are about 35 feet away), or are choosing to remain silent.

In response to Anafrey, Thrakk says quietly, "Gray dwarves."

Jambiya, you don't remember many of your fathers' stories involving the Underdark, and you don't remember either of them using the term "derro". It could be they encountered some and just thought they were pale dwarves.

Erric is ready to get a move on, myconid advice or no, and follows Anafrey and Thrakk, and if the party wants, will have Jack ahead of Thrakk with a torch unlit, ready to light if needed. How far into the tunnel does the fungal light extend? What does the tunnel look like as we travel through it? Any sounds we pick up?

If the torch is unlit, Maldorn asks for Jambiya to hold on to a piece of his clothing (she is just behind him in the line). Otherwise, the old ranger won't be able to "see" where he is going.

Erric, the tunnel makes almost a 90-degree turn to the left only 15 feet in, and what light illuminated that section of the tunnel is cut off after that first turn. As for sounds, you really don't hear anything. Aside from the breathing and walking of your party, it is eerily quiet.

So, Thrakk is standing at the end of the small tunnel looking into the new, "smaller cave", and Erric is 15-20 feet behind him, followed closely by Maldorn, Jambiya, Ebokk, and then Anafrey.

It's pitch black, so Thrakk, Jambiya and Erric are the only ones that can see. What are you doing?

Erric whispers “should Jack light the torch?”

If yes, he asks the unseen servant to light it, and Erric ducks down to the ground to peek through Anafrey and Thrakks’s legs.

“I could use my lights?” Jambiya suggests.

Erric turns to Jambiya, grins, and whispers, “sure! Then we can have Jack in our back pocket to do anything else that might be useful.”

Jambiya will light our way with her faerie lights, keeping them low and dim, enough to see by, but only as many of them as needed to see our way. Using her darkvision, she’ll add more lights and zoom them into spaces that she can see have no danger. Does that make sense, DDP? They seem more flexible than a torch, so she wants to use them that way to keep us safe, as hidden as possible as we travel, but also to illuminate what we need to see with their long range.

OOC > Each dancing light sheds "dim light in a 10' radius" so it's not great for seeing details, but there can be up to four of them, and they are good enough for navigating tunnels. I think of them as little tinkerbells, and that helps me visualize it.

If Thrakk's really not moving and his body's obscuring what's in the smaller cave, can Erric see what's in it through the bigs' legs?

Quote from rkmobius >>

If Thrakk's really not moving and his body's obscuring what's in the smaller cave, can Erric see what's in it through the bigs' legs?

OOC > Probably not unless we Jambiya sends one or more of her lights in there, which she doesn't want to do until she can see in there herself (with her dark vision).

Jambiya scoots up in position with Erric, to look around Thrakk and see ahead.

Maldorn grips his bow and grabs an arrow in preparation for the worst. He waits to hear from the smalls regarding what they see ahead/through orc legs...