Trill jots in her journal and shows it around to the deaf folks and Aimon.

The way was closed, I think it needs blood like Drokki did before, but I didn't think I could do that while flying with the chest and keeping out of the range of those things, so I flew back to the mushroom so we could make a stand.

Once they have a chance to see her intent, Trill will make a shallow slice on her palm and smear the rock in the same way they saw before.

As Trill places her bleeding hand on the cold stone wall, she feels the rock under her hand quiver in ecstasy as it sucks away her blood like some sort of vampiric creature. She instinctually knows that some entity accepts her offering, and the stone wall in front of you dissolves into a dark mist that clings to the air like a heavy sheet. You can see the tunnel that you were in before on the other side of the vaporous wall. 

"If I get back up top and feel the sun on my face, I'm never going underground again for as long as I live," he says while watching the stone suck away Trill's blood. "This place truly sucks."

He heads through the opening and into the tunnel on the other side quickly, half expecting the stone to come back and trap them mid-step.

Once on the other side, he moves quietly ahead to make sure nothing it waiting for them.

(Stealth 23  )

((OOC: Sorry, been super busy today at work))

After the fight with the undead, and after his rage subsides, Oak just still has this ringing in his ears. He tries everything to get rid of it, and just follows along as the party find their bearings and find the blood sacrifice wall.

As they approach the wall, Oak is leaning to one side shaking his head, like he’s trying to get the last of the swimming pool out of his ears. But nothing is having much effect. After Trill opens the way, he follows on through there too.

Caelynn stops as they reach the wall, brow furrowing in confusion. This was definitely where they came through before, so why did the passageway suddenly disappear? Before she can comment, Trill holds up her note and places her palm on the wall.

"Creepy..." She follows the others out of the tunnel, hanging back a bit so Aimon has space to do his scouting. "Back to the tavern, then?" She suggests.

Aimon melds into the shadows of the tunnel and scouts out the area. He finds nothing in this tunnel besides a few mice that scurry away at his approach. The distant dripping of water breaks the otherwise silent gloom around you.

With Aimon gone Trill is the ears for Caelynn and Oak.

Aimon reports back and tells Trill the path looks clear and then lets Caelynn lead them back to the city and the tavern for some much needed rest.

Seeing as the tunnel is clear for a moment, the party begins the long trek back to the tavern. After wandering through tunnels for quite some time, you eventually make it back into the chasm that the insane derro call home. Even though you've been gone for a few hours, the streets are still bare, but the familiar sound of hammers and voices fills the air. You make your way through the cleft and up the stairs to the city proper with no trouble. You make your way to the great wall dividing the visitor area from the actual city, and the guards let you pass with no incidents. In fact, several of the Druergar who see you look impressed and respectful of your wounds. You pass by the Blade Bazaar, and those who can hear listen to the normal sounds of economy: joyful exclamations, annoyed haggling, and shouts of anger. 

You walk down the steps of the Gholborne's Lair and push open the heavy door. Smells of food and conversations greet you. You can see the rest of your group sitting anxiously at a table, and they all look up at the sound of the door opening. As they see you enter, they leap to their feet and rush towards you, smiling in relief. As they approach, you see Jimjar sigh and slip Eldeth some coins. Eldeth says to the group, "We're so sorry! By the time we got back up, we couldn't find you. We were going to stay down there to wait for you, but there was a militia of Derro beginning to form. We had to come back here so we wouldn't be attacked. Jimjar talked us passed the gate, and we came here as soon as we could."

 Jiimjar flashes an sly grin as he flips a coin in the air, "A little platinum goes a long way."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!", Trill tells the others in Oak and Caelynn's voices, clapping her hands over the sides of her head, then pointing at them.

"We fought some weird screaming things that came out of a lake," Caelynn elaborates, thinking she gets the gist of what Trill said based on her gestures. "I can't hear anything now, and I don't think Oak can either."

"Yeah," Aimon says as he collapses into a chair at the table. "This pair have been fun on the way back here. They think they're speaking quietly but they're pretty much at full volume. Glad we didn't run into anything else."

Aimon orders more food and drink for everyone and while he eats, he tells Eldeth and Jimjar (and Stool) everything that happened since they were separated, including the deal with the demon lord.

"And who builds a city on top of a lake filled with zombies?" he says as he finishes the tale.

He looks around the table and ends up laughing that they're all there and managed to survive this far.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I could use some sleep."

Trill is taking good care of Caelynn and Oak, communicating with them through a combination of hand gestures and written word. Losing the ability to hear is one of the worst things that could happen to a kenku, and she is used to being communication challenged in a different way, so can understand some of what they are going through at the moment.

Oak smiles broadly when he sees the others. And he goes and sweeps everyone up in enourmous bear hugs, all at once, and then again in ones and twos.

He can’t hear, but he thinks he’s making no noise too, or that no one can hear, or that he can’t talk. He’s just happy and confused. So he’s not bothering to speak. He’s just smiling and enjoying being safe and having everyone back together.

He’ll smile over at Caelynn. And separately he’ll mime eating and drinking to Trill. 

Trill repeats Oak's order from the previous night to the waitstaff as they come around.

Through some combination of the others' reactions and Trill's writing and miming, Caelynn comes to realize that her volume control has gone out the window. So, she opts to keep silent, passing notes with Trill until the food gets there. Once she's eaten, she'll take out one of her daggers and continue to work on the carvings on her armor, only looking up if somebody tries to get her attention specifically.

Trill takes an interest in Caelynn's project, and offers to help guide her etchings by asking Caelynn to describe what she's wanting, then laying a pattern on the armor, tweaking it until Caelynn is happy with it, but giving her a pattern to trace.

((One of the uses of prestidigitation is "You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour."))

Caelynn shows Trill the section of armor that she's already worked on, then sketches her plan for the next bit in the journal - a swirling pattern interspersed with leaves, flowers, and bits of Elvish script.

Trill bobs her beak appreciatively. As long as it seems she'll be able to help rather than hamper, Trill will work to help Caelynn's efforts, while keeping an eye on Oak as well.

As the story of what you encountered unfolds, Eldeth listens and asks a few clarifying questions. Topsy listens with rapt attention, wide-eyed in amazement. Jimjar wriggles his eyebrows at the Druergar behind the desk and flashes a suave smile. The woman blushes slightly, and a small smile appears on your face as she hurried herself back into her paperwork.

As It is that time between lunch and dinner, your food takes a little longer than expected. You are each brought a plate containing a mushroom which is cut and tastes like a steak (which I think is hilarious if Oak eats it) covered in a brown gravy. It is served with something similar to mash potatoes with a side of pale tubers that are surprisingly sweet. A small platter of spidery crab legs is also set on the table along with a variety of small cups made of zhurkwood containing dipping sauces. To drink, you are brought a cup of fine dwarven ale, but it is a bit spicy. The total for the meal comes to 3 silver per person. 

As you begin to eat, the door to the inn bursts open as a patrol of Druergar guards strides inside. In the center of the group of eight guards stands a human woman. You can see she is covered in soot. She wears simple, ragged gray clothing that seems a bit too large for her. Around her neck is an iron collar inscribed with glowing orange runes that smolder with an intense heat. One of the guards scans the room for a moment before his eyes settles on the party. He and the rest of the guards approach with the slave in tow. When they arrive he says with a sharp salute, "I am Sergeant Bardovsrgun! Captain Grayskull has ordered me to deliver a package!" One of the guards sets a large bundle with a note on top of it down on the ground near the table while another guard hands Oak a flat, gray metal disc covered in small runes. The dwarf continues, "That is all!" He spins around, and the guards patrol leaves the establishment as abruptly as they entered.

Frila finds herself in an underground tavern in front of A group of strange people. A bar is set  to the wall just ahead of you and to the left. A large central chamber serves as a dining room, and many tables and chairs surround a large put in the ground that has a low wall encompassing it. You can see a few doors scattered around in the walls, and a large staircase ahead of you and to the right allows access to then other floors. You can see many people of various races sitting at the tables and eating food while others stand at the bar and get drinks from an well dressed orc man. On the far side of the bar table thing, you can see a few people booking rooms from a short Druergar woman. Chatter and smells of exotic food fill the air. The tavern is dimly lit and carved from the dark stone. 

Everyone, to ahead and describe what your character looks like.