Tyde will have Allistair fly over to where Kethra is waiting to see what happens next, and keep her company until we find out/return from whatever is in the crevice.

"After we've explored the crevice we can always refill our skins further down."

"How long as she.... ehh... hevermind." Xan looks back down, shaking his head at his own forgetfulness. "Uh... eh.. Sounds good to me. Not like a tight passage to remind me of... well... home, in a way." He admits, if though a frown. "Anyways.. Lead on then, Rubin. Less ya'll want me to take point from here or somethin?"

(So you’re going to check out the narrow crevice, but leaving Kethra behind?)

Kethra cheerfully greets Allistair, stops, then comes to a sudden realization. "Huh. If you could find me easily, then this so would any big bird up top."

Seeing everyone go to the crevice, Kethra pulls up the rope she threw over the tree and joins everyone else.

Rubin glances around as he enters the crevace... 9 (Perception...).

"Hey!"

Kethra would be surprised at the random act of fluffiness, then follows him to Mr. Tyde.

"Hey, umm.." she stops, has an idea and takes out an old coil of rope that Jairus' had secured a peculiar knot at the end. 

Holding up the opposite, free end end to the older man, she asks, "Mind helping me tie this around my waist?"

"I’m glad you asked! I'll use the other end for this".

Kethra hitches the rope around 3 javelins and the boat oar she’s been carrying around, then puts this makeshift anchor on the ground perpendicular to the crevice's opening (like a big wide grappling hook that stays put at the crevice opening).

"The last time we were ran into a questionable tunnel," Kethra explains to Mr. Tyde, "We used a rope to help guide us out just in case things went bad. We didn't have to use it back then, and hopefully we don't have to use it now...with that dead human over there hopefully we don't run into any ghosts or anything..."Her voice timidly drops off at the end.

"So, uh, you guys regularly descend into deep dark caves? I mean, at least regular enough that you carry around enough rope to guide you out." He gulps ever so slightly. He walks up to and inspects the makeshift oversized grappling hook. "Most ingenious".

Reluctantly he will follow Kethra when she enters the crevice.

" I was born in the earth, moulded by it... Why, I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING!" Xanranzan said dramatically as much as a man can after having already followed Rubin into the crevice to some extent... assuming it was large enough for a big guy like him to get in there anyhow. Which if it wasn't, well, he'd use the extra arm room outside the crevice to great affect, and put off for longer trying to figure out how he'd might worm his way through.

In either case, he is chuckling afterwards and shaking his head. "Ahhh.... but in all seriousness, I was pretty much raised in caves, tunnels, and caverns.Which, you'd think that'd be enough alone to give me a sense fer feeling things in the earth better than most, but... you'd be wrong."

(To DM: Out of curiosity, would you describe the crevice to be like this?)

Or like this?

(In terms of angle by which we're moving through it.)

(More like the first one.)

(Posting will be slower this week and next week-will try to get out an update tomorrow.)

As Rubin crawls into the crevice, he notices 3 white garbed figures standing in front of a staircase.  They’re obviously guarding it, but haven’t noticed him.

Do the stairs look to go up or down?

Down.

Rubin pulls back from the crevace, waving the others back. Once far enough away he glances to them. "There are stairs ahead, going downward." He glances back to the crevace. "These stairs are guarded by someone, several someones from what i saw." He looks up to the spire overhead. "I thought we wished to go upward though, so not sure if stairs going down help us much. What do you guys think?" he turns back to the others.

Quote from See_Ess >>

"So, uh, you guys regularly descend into deep dark caves? I mean, at least regular enough that you carry around enough rope to guide you out." He gulps ever so slightly. He walks up to and inspects the makeshift oversized grappling hook. "Most ingenious".

Reluctantly he will follow Kethra when she enters the crevice.

"Yeah...quite a few of the cults make their base underground," Kethra recounted as she tied her hair back with a ribbon. She then hid it behind her hood so that not a strand of white was visible.

"The first group of cultists were guarded by the undead corpses of the dead in the tomb underneath Lance Rock. The second one used a symbol of a tent and was under the protection of the elders who ran the city of Red Larch. The third one we just told you about...they built hid their base in an underground river underneath Rivergard Keep. The keep itself was guarded by mercenaries who didn't know any better...so yes, we've been in caves quite a few times yeah."

Quote from LordShadowthorn >>

As Rubin crawls into the crevice, he notices 3 white garbed figures standing in front of a staircase.  They’re obviously guarding it, but haven’t noticed him.

(How far are we now from the crevice entrance? Or is this right after entering?)

Quote from DragonDenn >>

Rubin pulls back from the crevace, waving the others back. Once far enough away he glances to them. "There are stairs ahead, going downward." He glances back to the crevace. "These stairs are guarded by someone, several someones from what i saw." He looks up to the spire overhead. "I thought we wished to go upward though, so not sure if stairs going down help us much. What do you guys think?" he turns back to the others.

"I think we're on the right path!" Kethra enthusiastically pushes past Xanranzan. Although kept her voice to a whisper, her excitement was evident.

"I mean, the cults above ground are often using ordinary people to keep themselves defended, but this time we might have got past all that...their actual secret stuff underground! Can you sneak in and see if they have any cult symbols? Or should we just shoot them? Come in, then back out since sneaking in the dark is your thing. But give us a yell if you get caught."

Although smooshed against the wall in the process, Xanranzan brushes off Kehtra's pushing past to grin at Rubin. "I freak'n knew it. And here some of ya'll were start'n to reconsider coming down here at one point." He states at a whisper, puffing his chest out a bit in pride. "But uh, yea. What she said. Unless this is the time fer me to make with the magic, and uh.. quiet everyone's steps a bit, I trust ya got it, Mr. uh--" He glances nervously between Rubin and Kethra. "Well, uh, y-ya know who are... *ahem*...anyhow, uh... yea, think ya can do it?"

"There are too many of them for me to take them all out without the alarm being sounded." Rubin says with a shake of his head. "Likely we'll need to hit them all together." He frowns though. 'We will have some explaining to do though if these are actually knights of Waterdeep though, and not cultists..."

The hooded girl nodded. "Yeah, so go check if they have any of those cultic symbols then! Don't shoot YET. Just go in, come back! THEN we'll decide whether to shoot. Wait..."

Kethra stares at Rubin quietly for a second, then frowns as if she made up her mind about something. She completely pushed herself past Xanranzan, giving him a little pat of apology for her intrusion.

"You know what, I'll come join you and be a distraction! I'm not the most charismatic girl and we'll lose getting the jump on them, but it'll be easier for you to get a better look at them, right?"

"Perhaps we all sneak up as close as we can and then rush at them and hope to take them out quick? I can cast Web and that should tangle up a few of them, maybe all?"

Tyde will think for a moment, stroking his beard absently, before adding, "I could have Allistair fly down from above and distract them for a just a moment as we strike?"

(ooc: Allistair can give the Help action to someone with a bad Stealth roll if we want to try and surprise them as a group? If this sort of thing is allowed?)