Zack is able to cross successfully without any issues! Vigil and Kalgren should be able to cross just fine.

Once the others have crossed, Zack once again gets his mage hand out and undoes the rope from their origin point on the other side of the river so that they can collect their ropes again. "Well, that was interesting. Shall we continue now that we've avoided those... creatures?"

Vigil crosses the river without too much effort. Once he reaches the other side, he turns to the lizard creatures. "Any ideas what those things might be?", he asks Oriander without looking at him.

Kalgren followed suit. 'Onwards to adventure then?' He asked after he put away his rope. He kept a leery eye on the reptilian creatures just to be sure.

"They're jus' some giant lizards. Long as we respec' 'em, they'll leave us be." Oriander responds to Vigil before motioning on ahead. "Onwards!" He laughs and resumes walking, giving a small wave to the giant lizards as they pass. The two stare blankly at Oriander before finishing their drink and moving away.

Zack follows Oriander as he continues up the hill, watching the giant lizards as he waves and they finish their drink before moving on. As they move further up the mountain, he continues to keep looking out for anything that might seem dangerous (Perception: 13).

'So Oriander,' Kalgren spoke up after they passed the reptiles, 'Anything else we should know before we plunge headfirst into the dark underbelly of the earth?'

He tried to play it off as a joke but Kalgren really was not that keen on spelunking.

"Don't trust your ears, don't trust any lights not in your hands, and don't go deeper than you think you can get back out from." Oriander says... his accent strangely disappearing as he says those warnings. It's almost as if he were echoing some ancient being, instead of his own words.

They approach the foothills after several more hours, and he motions up the path. "...The river keeps goin'. The deeper in ya go, ya should find a large cliff. That is the glacier wall. A large chunka ice broke from there, shatterin' the mountain. Past it will be the way to Mother Mouth."

"You're not joining us, Oriander?" Zack says as he looks in the direction the guide pointed, then back to the Goliath.

"That will depend. My ancestors took this trial, and tradition would dictate... ya go alone. ...But, should ya ask seriously, I wouldn' min' seein' what they saw." The goliath grins a bit.

(WOO! a potential excuse to make use of the sidekick rules in Tasha's.)

Zack looks to the others with a querying glance - What do you think? He looks back to Oriander with a smile. "Consider it your own trial, if you wish. But with all respect to your customs, we are not here for the trial, we're here looking for creatures murdering and kidnapping villagers. Frankly, I'd be happy with the aid especially with your knowledge of the area and customs."

Vigil shruggs. "Normally, I wouldn’t agree to bringing civies in a dangerous location. We got enough with watching our own backs, can’t start having to watch out for everyone’s. But this one’s built like an oak. Could probably take care of himself."

'And should we get lost down below, we'll have someone who knows what to do.' Kalgren chipped in. 'But I am with Zack: we're here to do a job, nothing more.'

He did a final check of his equipment. 'Well,' Kalgren swallowed, 'Let's get this over with.' He walked down the path Oriander pointed out.

"Very well." Oriander grins as he moves onward in front of the party then to continue leading them.

(Do we want to just vague time skip to the cave then? I'm leaving it up to you if you want to experience some of the mountain trials. :D)

(OOC - I'm happy to skip if everyone else is. Unless there is anything of importance, but I can't see Zack taking in the sights. He'd be more interested in solving the mystery first and finding the creatures.)

OOC: Let's proceed to the next chapter :D

OOC: Yeah same for Vigil. He wants to find the cause of the disturbance and deal with it.

(Next Chapter it is.)

After a couple days worth of climbing over the rough terrain, sheer cliffs, and dealing with chasing off animals that got a bit too curious for their own good, the party would find themselves at the mouth of a giant cave. It looks like it could fit an ancient dragon with its wings extended and then some. Oriander looks into the darkness that opens up in the gray stone of the mountain with a sense of reverence and awe. Snow gently flutters down, surrounding him like a flickering aura.

"'ere we are. Mother Mouth..." He says, his voice quieter than it had been this whole time. "If there is any place these monsters holed up, it's here." The goliath turns to the group, wondering if they could feel the energy from the cave... A feeling of heaviness despite the thinner air. But is it of holy nature, or is the mountain exerting fear from the invaders?

Zack looks up at the cave entrance in awe, mouth agape. He eventually comes to his senses after taking in the sight, sets his jaw and looking to each of the others, he gives a nod - ready to proceed.

Vigil unsheats his scimitar as he makes his way into the cave entrance. He found the size impressive, but the tiefling didn't show any sign of awe. He was focused on the job at hand.