The dao attacks with advantage against Tobin, and would have hit (17 against AC), but the shield blocks it.

The dao now sinks down into the earth. Those within 5 feet or with range can make Opportunity Attacks if you wish. That would be Bazavur, and also Tobin (but with disadvantage from being prone.

Aiwin and Soar are up.

Tobin:

Grateful his shield stopped the killing blow, Tobin is too distracted to take advantage of a parting attack—he is mostly just thinking of how he can get out of the Dao’s reach.

Bazavur takes another swing at the creature as it seems to meld back into the earth. (Opportunity attack, reaction: 19 to hit, 15 damage)

Aiwin takes a breath as the fight continues as he steadies himself and begins to release a slew of arrows against the creature.

OOC:

attack against Dao 15 to hit for 11 damage, additional 4 damage from hunter’s mark

attack against Dao 21 to hit for 8 damage, additional 2 damage from hunter’s mark.

Bonus Action: Using this attack to cast Ensnaring Strike, strength save 15 or the Dao is restrained, if restrained it will take 4 damage at the start of its next turn.

attack against Dao 17 to hit for 11 damage, additional 3 damage from hunter’s mark

Action Surge:

attack against Dao 21 to hit for 6 damage, additional 2 damage from hunter’s mark

attack against Dao 28 to hit for 7 damage, additional 6 damage from hunter’s mark

Bazavur hits the creature as it disappears into the ground.

Alas, Aiwin cannot see the Dao any longer; it is down below the ground.

(Does anyone have any plan to follow it or force it to resurface? Because if you don't, it won't be coming up again and you are out of initiative)

Tobin:

Scrambling to his feet, Tobin tries to defend himself as well as possible (Dodge action) and prepares to Shield himself again (as needed).  He has no plan or method to unearth the Dao.

Those two hits battered the poor librarian badly, but somehow he is still standing.

Aiwin calms himself as the creature disappears putting back the five arrows he drew as the adrenaline ran off. He begins to make sure the area is safe before looking around for the arrows he fired and trying to recover them, only able to find half of the arrows he just sighs "So what now? Any chance that thing is stalking us?"

Tobin:

Tobin shakily pulls a potion out of his pouch and drinks it.  The worst of his wounds start to close, but he still looks really badly injured.  “Does anyone have healing spells available?” he asks.

Potion of Healing:  10 points

Varan makes his way over to Tobin, "Well fought little one. Seems Lady Luck is with us still." He gives Tobin a slap on the back casting cure wounds, healing him for 8 more points. Varan shrugs, "I kicked that pot into the water a little bit ago. If anyone wants to fish it out and finish it off." 

Tobin:

Somewhat refreshed, Tobin uses a thread of magic to Shape Water the pot back to the surface and onto shore.

Tobin, you retrieve the rather battered black kettle.

Soar shakes her head and rejoins the party. "That was not my favorite thing! Tobin, you're beat up bad, it did not like you at all. Here," she says, casting cure wounds for a paltry 5 hp and then lays on hands for another 10. "I'm not sure if that awful thing is coming back, but maybe we need to destroy the teapot? Can anyone see anything on it or in it?"

She holds the teapot so Tobin doesn't have to, and she looks closely at it, ready to smash it to the ground if it starts smoking again. Anything written on it? Stuck to it? Can you see inside it?

Perception: 10

Tobin:

Nodding gratefully to Varan and Soar, Tobin says, “Thank you, I am feeling much better.  It would seem the defenses in this maze are targeted at keeping out enemy spellcasters.  Thankfully I have powerful allies.”

You can see inside the pot there is a small, but very lovely, jade gemstone.

Soar looks up. "So there's another stone in here, I'm going to guess this gets us through? Hopefully we open up another pathway. This is getting tiresome. I wish I knew a shortcut out of this thing, or at least the solution!"

She picks up the stone and, assuming nothing bad happens to her, she keeps it in her hand and hands the pot to someone else. "Shall we give it a go?" and she walks toward the other pathway.

Tobin:

"Yes, let's keep going.  I hope future challenges don't take too much of my spell power.  I am starting to run low," replies Tobin.

You follow the path through the maze, and find yourself at a now familiar clearing, with a large sundial in the centre. You enter from the south, and the sundial's unnatural shadows point North, South-East and South-West.

As has been the case each time, this clearing appears identical to the one you visited earlier, but there is nothing at all to indicate that you or anyone else has ever passed through it.

(You have previously exited this - or a similar three-shadowed - clearing via the east and west exits, I believe)

Tobin:

Sighing, Tobin marks the entry passage again.  He once again tries to make sense of the pattern, if he can.

Intelligence check:  9

If there's a pattern here Tobin, it eludes you.

Tobin:

"I can't figure it out, but we are entering from the south.  We have gone east and west from this pattern of shadows before.  Let's choose to go north where a shadow is, or perhaps one of the non-shadow paths--northwest or northeast," suggests Tobin.