The last thing Kalgren saw before everything went black was one of the creatures backing away from Vigil's lit blade .'They fear fire.' Was all he could manage to utter before the sweet embrace of unconsciousness engulfed him.

Kalgren felt warm. Which was odd because he could clearly remember collapsing on the cold floor of a dark cave. But it was not dark. If anything, he was surrounded by a warm light. Am I outside in the sunlight? He pondered.

'No.' Came a pleasant voice. Kalgren turned to look. A figure was standing a few feet away from him. It looked feminine. At least he thought so, for the figure was so bright he could not look at it fully. It oddly felt rather familiar, despite Kalgren being sure he had never encountered an actual glowing person before.

I take it you are-

'Yes.' Replied the figure. Kalgren did not know light could smile.

Does that mean I'm-

'No.' The voice reassured him. 'You are not to walk into the light just yet.'

Kalgren let out a sigh of relief. I had hoped our first meeting would be less dramatic.

'Is it the light? Is it too much? I'm not sure if I can turn it down.' Kalgren did not know light could sound worried. He laughed. It seemed to put the figure at ease. He felt a tug at the back of his neck, like something was wanting to pull him away from the light.

Guess that's my cue to go. Hopefully we can one day meet face to face under more favourable circumstances. He waved at the figure.

The figure waved back. 'Trust in the Keeper of the Eternal Sun and all shall be well.'

I certainly hope so: we're both on His payroll.

And with a final laugh, Kalgren slipped into a blissful sleep.

Once the group has managed to find a secure location to catch their breath and tend to Kalgren, Vigil extinguishes flames and his blade and sits down to patch himself up. 

(OoC: Do we take a short rest?)

All the while, Vigil’s mind was trying to figure out how the monsters had bested them. The creature’s behaviour was different from when they first encountered them in the village. First, the rapid mutation had caught them off guard. They didn’t display this kind of ability back in the village. Perhaps they simply held back. Or maybe something in these caves was giving them special capabilities. Then, there was the bigger one. It seemed that there were different  specimen of these things. Was this the alpha or had they yet to encounter it? Both possibilities were concerning.

(OOC - Zack doesn't require a short rest, however given everyone else took hits, especially Kalgren, he's happy to take some time to recuperate.)

Oriander grits his teeth a bit as he settles himself down on a broken stalagmite by the river's edge, patching up his wounds.

"Did it... did it seem to anyone else the black one, the one that gave them the double claws... recognized Kalgren?" He asks, looking down at the half-elf as he dreamed away.

"It definitely did seem to react differently," Zack nods. "We are surely on their home turf. While in town, their goal was just to abduct, but here... defense. Perhaps the one that swallowed Kalgren in town..." He strokes his chin for a moment, "Do you think it communicated? Something about Kalgren? Like now he's marked?"

Something clicked in Vigil’s mind. Kalgren still had the mark he had craved in his arm. Maybe this is why the alpha had reacted so strongly against him. 

"I don’t think they communicated with him, not like they seem to communicate between one another. But you have a point. That mark seems to make whatever magic is animating these things more hostile. The boy’s going to be in danger all the while we descend in this cave."

Short rest hit dice:

10

4

(sorry for the delay between responses. Going through a change professionally. I got a lot on my mind.)

Zack nods, "Unfortunately I don't possess any magic that might remove or heal that mark on him either."

(OOC - all good man. Don't stress about the game, we'll be here. Hope everything sorts out soon for you.)

Oriander shakes his head and folds his arms. "...Hrm... I don't like it either way. How are we going forward from here then? We may be able to fin' a way 'round, maybe fin' a weaker entry point fer us to get stronger. There are a number of ruins here in Mother Mouth too, 'm sure. Maybe we go treasure huntin' for some gear?"

Oriander looks at the two conscious party members. "...Or we go 'ome for a bit 'n come back. River shoul' lead us out."

(DM Question - how fast is the river flowing? Ie. Is it easy enough for us to cross or will it be a bit of a challenge like the river we crossed coming up the mountain.)

(here it's easy enough to cross cause it doesn't have the full brunt of gravity on its side. it's still cold though, so you'd have to be mindful with the cold weather gear)

"Perhaps we cross here?" Zack pointed to the river flowing through the cave, "It's not overly wide and it might offer us some alternate route past those things."

Kalgren groaned and weakly opened his eyes. His hands instinctively reached for the place where he got stabbed. Someone had patched him up, crudely, but the wounds were not bleeding and in the current circumstances, that was the best he could hope for. He perched himself onto an elbow, still a bit woozy from the whole getting stabbed and falling on the ground ordeal.

'What happened?' He asked, his voice weak but steady. He noticed the creatures were not around anymore. 'Did we vanquish them?'

"Sadly no," Zack said, shaking his head, then seeing his friend a little woozy still, moves to aid him in standing, "The creatures retreated. But we're concerned that the mark you placed on yourself made you a specific target. Do you have any way of removing it or healing it?"

Quote from SpieltJoos >>

"Sadly no," Zack said, shaking his head, then seeing his friend a little woozy still, moves to aid him in standing, "The creatures retreated. But we're concerned that the mark you placed on yourself made you a specific target. Do you have any way of removing it or healing it?"

 'Huh?' Kalgren replied. The words took a moment to register. 'You mean this?'

He held up his left arm. The lines were slightly faded as it had been an undeep cut but the symbol could still be clearly seen on the outside of his forearm.

'Might as well try.' Kalgren placed his right hand on top of the mark. A brief flash of light was emitted from underneath his palm that soothed the flesh.

He held up his arm again. 'Is it gone?' He asked.

OOC: Using a 4 from Celestial Patron's Healing Light feature to heal. Whether that heals/removes the mark is up to our DM.

(Yep, it's healed completely, though the faint outline of the mark is still there as a silvery scar that would only really be noticable at the right angles of light.)

Vigil squinted his eyes at the light coming from Kalgren's hand as he healed himself. This didn't seem out of the ordinary. Some priests were known for their abilities to tend to injuries. He had also seen him casts spells earlier in the fight, so spells to cure wounds were not out of the realm of possibilities.

"Hopefully, this'll do it. Though, I'm not gonna hold my breath for it.", Vigil says. "We should get moving, we're not going anywhere fast. Zack's plan was to cross the water. Don't like the fact that these things can hide underwater, but I don't see any other option."

"Well, it's not perfect, but hopefully we might find some other pathways over there," Zack searches for an easier path across the waters (Perception: 10).

Zack... doesn't see a way across easier. However... a stalagmite is there that might be able to be used somehow...

Kalgren looked on at what Zack was trying to accomplish. He noticed the mage walking up and down the riverbank searching for a way to cross but there did not seem to be an easy way to do it, let alone somehow not being flushed away by the current. Oriander might be able to do it: he was big and heavy like those stalagmites jutting out of the water.

It took about eleven seconds for the idea to pop into Kalgren's mind, far longer than he would have like. He chalked it up to having been unconscious just a few minutes ago. 'What if...' He motioned to the others. He cast a Minor Illusion to make it look like a stalagmite was lying across the water. Or was that a stalactite? He never could remember the difference. 'Eh?' Kalgren gestured at the others with a questioning shrug.

"Perhaps," Zack nods, "How do you propose to dislodge one so that we can lay it across?"