The group continued to the fountain for their short rest.  Now that you've rested for an hour, you have to decide where to proceed to.  

As they make plans in the fountain room, Sickle muses, “I feel confident we can take the beings Badger described below, if need be, though I’m not sure to what end. Perhaps there are clues or power to be gained there that would be useful ahead.   We need to find the Soul Monger, but I suspect we will need to work our way there, rather than sprint straight to it.  But, if you like, we can explore more, to get the lay of things, or we can go back to face those beings.  If and when we do get another chance to sleep here, I can prepare something that will help us move across or down that river below, without risking it’s effects directly.”  He pauses, “My vote is to take on the undead dwarves, kill them while we can, see what there is to see.”

"I also vote for the dwarves, for all we know they might be working on a machine that is powering the Soul Monger or even whatever disease this place is pumping out. If anything is is worth a look." Mal suggests.

Badger objects to taking on the dwarves. I think we should explore a bit more. Like Mal said earlier, we take the place level by level, avoid getting surrounded. Let's be methodical about this.

Grenk's faces twists a little bit.  "Thats a hard choice. I am all for destroying undead at any point in time and I've been itching for a fight.  However, there ain't much of my order left.  If I die before this is seen through, likely that will be the end of us," he says.  He stops and takes a breath.  "Im thinking that they keep fixing this place up and resting the traps like the kobolds up top.  Id say let's kill them cause it should make the place safer.  Let chance they rest something after we already went through "

The group looks around at each other, seemingly torn about their path forward.....

Badger snorts: If you die that will be the end of you, not of us. But he sees the sense in Grenk's logic, so he concedes: Fine then, we'll eliminate the known threats. Now, we need a strategy. I could just lob a fireball in the room, but there's no guarantee I won't get shot at first, or prevented from leaving the danger zone. I propose that Mal enters on the left and Grenk on the right. Silas and Sickle will remain near the door for support, and I will back them up as needed. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First we need to cover the preliminaries.

Badger pulls out a sheaf of blank parchment and starts scribbling furiously. Okay, I'll maintain the agenda. Grenk you'd better check your shield straps, we wouldn't want you to lose that at the crucial moment, and maybe check over the rest of everyone's gear as well. Mal you'd better count your crossbow bolts, just in case you need to start firing at range. In fact, count up all the ammunition, as well as remaining rations, water volume, and any other consumables, so we can calculate our expected time of survival down here. Silas, we should discuss the list of spells you intend to use and prioritise them in order of their benefit-to-risk ratio. Take this parchment. Sickle, you may need to transform into a beast, so lets catalog the options and discuss their relative strengths and weakness. Here's some parchment for you. I'll rotate around you all and assist, but let's agree to meet together in two hours, to begin the strategy discussion. Any questions?

Sickle had tuned out for a moment, but snaps back to the present at the end of Badger’s diatribe.  “Sorry, friends, I was thinking about chicken back home.  It sounds like we have a plan.  Time’s up, let’s do this!” he says, and he heads out of the room.

(You swear you hear the echo of some long-forgotten battle-cry...LEEERROOOYYYYY uh-JEEEEENNNNKKIIIINNNSSSS)

But... but... stammers Badger, waving the parchment at the departing half-orc.

"Where there is wisdom is worrying about being overtaken, there a worry we may create more troubles for ourselves. Back there, those undead did not venture out until we disturbed them," Silas chimes in, "This is was a sealed place so I suspect much of the dangers here sleep and if start waking them up, it would more trouble then if we lay the wild dogs sleep. As you just seen as well, some of us are not keen on being patient and are quite jumpy. We are not where to clear out this place, we need to find our goal, the soul monger. Our goal is to move forward, not exploration. We have wasted some time in what account to taking the long way to same point,"

As Sickle attempts to leave the room, Silas speaks up, entreating him to avoid the confrontation with the dwarves. Badger waves his papers about. Sickle taps his foot impatiently clearly wishing to just go. Mal and Grenk stand there...glancing about, newer to the party and wondering if they should voice their opinion and break the clear deadlock that has occurred between the party members.

Stuffing the parchment back into his backpack, Badger huffs: Okay! Okay, then. We'll do it your way. The orc way! But if you charge in there and get both your legs cut off, then don't come running to me. Badger collects his gear straps his helmet back on and waddles after Sickle. Turning to the others he adds. Sickle is first. Grenk you next, then Mal, Silas, and me last. Stay in single file. Four-and-a-half feet apart is optimal. Silas, tuck your shirt in.

Sickle visibly stiffens at Badger’s offhanded comment about “the orc way”.  He grips his staff tightly for a moment, closing his eyes, and you think you hear a low guttural growl come from him, then he relaxes, and turns and takes a knee in front of Badger.  “My friend, you are intelligent, and powerful, and a great aid to all of us. You also spoke in ignorance. That is why I will choose to forgive both what you said, and more importantly, how you said it.”  

He reaches into a pouch at his waist and pulls out a simple ring but with an ornate engraving, clearly a signet ring.  “This is my father’s ring, my father who raised me, who sits on the Council of the Sparkling Stones in Mirabar.  A human, a merchant, an ambassador, who brokered peace with the orc tribes in the Spine.”

He brandishes his staff, “This was a gift from my mother, an orc druidess in the Spine, who taught me the ways of the Ancients, who brokered peace with the dwarves and human miners of Mirabar.”

He puts them both away. “When you speak to me of ‘the orc way’, you intend to insult me, to mock me for being brash or violent.  I am neither, no more than you, my little gnome friend. Thouh, as you yourself have shown during our time together, it sometimes falls to people of violence to commit violent acts in the defense of what they cherish.  I too can see the wisdom in exploring this place, which is why I offered I was open to it.  But, as I said, I would rather we take on an enemy we know and see what information there is to be gathered toward our purpose. Unless you know where to go from here? No? Then let us go forth and slay these undead dwarves.”

Assuming they are ready, Sickle will lead the way as Badger suggested.

The tense moment passes as Sickle stands, turns, and moves off towards the secret door that leads down. Everyone's eyes dart back and forth....and then one by one fall into step behind Sickle. He reaches the secret door and pushes it open, revealing the stairs below. The strange skeleton thing is clinging to the wall ten feet down the stairs at the first turn. It looks up at the group.  

Anyone do anything in the moment? 

Badger has no actions at present. He is at the back, plus he is short and can't see over Grenk's head, plus he is a little sullen after the mild scolding and muttering quietly to himself... 

I am going to regret this, Mal thinks as she suddenly leaps forward and sprints at the creature and attempts to grapple it.

Acrobatics: 11

[OOC: sigh, yup, fourth roll of the morning with nothing above a 5, sigh.]

19

Mal leaps forward, trying to grab the creature, it skuttles nimbly to one side and all she get is the wall as she slams into the wall at the landing. It glances downwards down the stairs but seems unwiling to go that way.  It glances up at the group, also unwilling.  It attempts to stab Mal, his bony fingers pressing together like daggers. 

Attack: 20 Damage: 5

Attack: 21 Damage: 6

Everyone else's action.

Sickle will stretch a hand out and cast Bigby's Icy Hand and attempt to grapple the creature.  Contested STR check, Hand STR: 13

(if there is not enough room for the hand to fit, I will change my action to a Frostbite cantrip, CON save DC 15 or 10 cold damage and disadvantage on next weapon attack it makes before the end of its next turn).

"I believe this conflict could have been avoid but here we stand," Silas sighs before he holds his holy symbol and cast Guiding Bolt

Attack: 14 Damage: 18 if hits, next attack has advantage 

16

The hand grasps the creature, which tries to stab it's knife hands into the ice. Then Silas' arrow slashes through the air and strikes it, sending bones falling to the ground in bits.  

The skull and upper spine stay together though,...with shards of bone in a pattern. When you examine it, it looks like nothing more than a giant skeletal key.