Pocket flies over the pit, and sees the NPC listed as 'Halleth Garke' on our google sheets in the pit. The undead looking creature looks up, and Pocket you see its red eyes as it says in common "Hey... HEY! Who's there! Yes, I am alive! Well... uughhhh I will explain later. Please, help me get out of here! I can't climb up myself!" its voice sounds deep and broken. 

Please make a nature check to determine if you know what type of creature it is. Anyone else can make the same check if they decide to take a look in the hole. 

I won't update the map just yet, but assume that the NPC is in the well.

Peek stays back for now. "Who's in there guys???"

Pocket's Nature Check: 10

Pocket knows nothing, but Cami does look in and try to help by seeing who was inside to give her own view on the matter.

Cami's Nature Check: 7

Cami, it seems to be some type of undead creature, albeit visibly more intelligent because it is speaking.

"Come on! Throw me down a rope or something! it's not that far!" the creature glares up at you Cami.

Fril flies up and closer to get a better look at the creature in the pit but he hesitates to throw a rope down immediately. Instead, he asks, "How did you get down there in the first place?" If Peek is up for it, he also motions for Peek to step a bit closer and see if the goblin has any idea what the creature is.

(Fril) Nature: 10
(Peek) Nature: 9

Fril, you fly above the creature just as Peek peeks down.  The creature responds "Oh! There's more of you! And a goblin to boot. Look, my name is Halleth, Halleth Garke. I am a cleri... WAS. I WAS a cleric. Of Waukeen, to be precise. My adventuring team decided to try our luck here in the dungeon. They were keeping treasure from me, and eventually beat the living shit out of me and threw me in here. God knows why. Jealous of my looks I guess. Ha haha *cough cough cough*.. ugh... I woke up down here as... hell, I don't even know what I am now, but I am not human. And I will get my revenge on those fools who I called friends only a few days ago. Now please, throw me down a rope so I can get the hell out of this pit and plot my revenge. I've been down here for more days than I can remember....."

"Who are you? Who are all of you?"

Farok throws a rope down.

"ANOTHER one of you!?" Halleth says as he sees the hulking Farok drop down a rope. It's not far (10ft), and an undead half elf climbs up the rope with Farok as a quality anchor. 

He comes out of the pit. You can now see the creature's full body. It has no gear. "Ahhhh. Yes. Revenge. Now I can seek my revenge." he doesn't thank you for the rope, he just starts to pace around. "Something's changed... I've changed... Just look at me. I feel is rage and hatred towards my former colleagues. I can... sense them. I must get my revenge. They left me here to die. Now they shall be the ones to suffer that fate."

Halleth points to the secret door that Peek is standing by. "There. By the goblin. That way leads to where my colleagues are. I can feel it. They all must die. Will you follow?" 

((Halleth does not know what is past the secret door, he just knows/senses that that is the direction he needs to go to get to his former friends that wronged him.))

Peek just stands there, wide eyed. 

I won't update the maps yet, but Halleth is now on the map, in that room out of the pit. There are other things in this room as well from the previous post if you look back.

What's next?

Cami looks at Farok, a bit confused. "So what now? After killing every bugbear we came across without asking any questions, we're gonna do the same with this guy's former friends? I really wanted to wait a bit to learn what's going on first."

Fril nods, "I agree with Cami. We should learn more about you before we simply believe that your colleagues all need to die. I find it hard to believe that an adventuring party would throw their cleric down a pit with no good reason. How did you really end up down there?"

Insight: 5

“Another of me?!” Farok asks. “I am with my companions here. Some may have earned death, but I shall not grant it to them without reason.”

((it looks like an undead half elf. It is not a typical undead zombie and seems to be a lot smarter than one. And it also seems hellbent on revenge. I put an image of 'him' on the NPC tab in our google sheets.))

Halleth responds "ugggghhhhhh..... yes, you all make sense. Let me explain better. My brain is, well I don't even know what it is anymore." (all of this he is speaking with a good amount of zombie slur, but you can definitely understand him) "I am, WAS, a cleric of Waukeen. I belong, BELONGED, to the Fine Fellows. An adventuring group out of Daggerford. You heard of us, THEM? Well, I used to be until the bastards screwed me over. And killed me. Or tried."

"We all came down here like most brave souls do... for the loot. Came down a few days ago. I noticed the bastards trying to hide stuff on me. I asked them about it, and they killed me in cold blood or so it seemed. Cracked my skull and threw me down this pit. All I remember is accusing them, then them beating the hell out of me, and then I woke up down there like this."

"I have revenge flowing through my cold veins and I need to seek it. I can somehow sense their locations."

"Why are you all here?"

If anyone hasn't made a nature check for this thing, you can go ahead. 

(With the Nature check already made, I'll make a different check.)

Cami spends the next few seconds after his question just thinking, her mind someplace else, as she tries to see if she remembers the names he mentioned.

Intelligence Check: 20 (I want to say History since it's a thing relating to people (in which case, add +3 for proficiency), but at the same time, it's a present thing, not history, unless it's been around for a while. I dunno, what's the "current events" check?)

While Cami is thinking, Fril replies to the undead half-elf, "We are all here for our own reasons, but we are each capable and we figured out that this place is potentially very dangerous so we decided to stick together." Scrutinizing the undead he continues, "We've all been through at least a few fights together and I trust these people," he gestures to Cami, Farok, and Peek, "to at least look out for me. How do we know we can trust you?"

((in this case it would be a history check Pertuie. I will add the 3!))

Cami, being from Waterdeep you have heard of this known adventuring team based in Daggerford which is only a 100 miles SE from Waterdeep, but you don't really know anything specific about the group other than they, well, adventure.

Fril, Halleth responds "Although I cannot prove to you now any justification towards the vengeance I seek, let me join your band and help you in whatever it is you quest for here until we reach my wrongdoers and I repay them for their actions. I shall protect you. I shall protect you all as an offer of trust until we reach my enemies."

He pauses, and then looks at you all with his red eyes. "However...... trust or not, I will be getting my revenge one way or another."

"What say you?"

Talking to the group Fril says, "I have no qualms letting this creature roam with us. If he proves useful then it will be worth it and his enemies don't quite seem like very nice people. I would have no problem dispatching them if they truly treated this man so unfairly. Besides, it would be better to have him with us than just wandering the area and potentially creating problems. Besides, the next goblin outpost can be put on pause for a moment and his former party might have some ideas as far as what else we can expect on this level once we defeat them. What do you all think?"

"Not yet. I have more questions!" Cami says, determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. After saying that first to Fril, she turns to Halleth. "Hey! About the people that were working with you. Did you know them well or was it your first time meeting each other? It's hard to believe someone you trusted would betray you for no reason. Perhaps they were manipulated into it, be it by the circumstances or magic."

Cami, Halleth moves towards you and you notice he does not walk like a zombie would walk. He looks much more stable.

"If it is details that will allow me to execute my revenge, then it is details you shall have."

"I knew them all well enough. The problem is they are all self-righteous greedy bastards who wanted everything for themselves. Seems they've even taken my gear and holy symbol. Although I won't be needing it anymore. Yeah, I worked with them before. We descended into Undermountain one tenday ago. There's myself and 4 others. One of them I think had nothing to do with it, because I didn't see him attack me, and, well.... I don't sense his location in my decayed mind. The other three I have engraved and burned into my mind their locations which must be part of this affliction that has bestowed me after they murdered me. They are on the level below us. They are split up. Bastards probably got lost, the morons. I must have my revenge."

"Copper Stormforge, Midna Tauberth and Rex the Hammer, I WILL have my revenge." (he says that part to himself)

Then back to Cami

"What say you?"

“If those you seek are one level below, then we may not be able to help you immediately. We have work to finish here first.” Farok says, gesturing towards the direction they were heading. “Perhaps in exchange for our assistance you will provide yours? It will slow your revenge, but show us that you are trustworthy, as well as maybe do some good.”

Farok, Halleth responds "Then proof of trust you shall have. Given the way you are all headed, it seems we will be travelling together regardless." as he sees you gesture towards the secret entrance towards the main Xanathar guild outpost. "Dangers might await us, yes? I prove my trust by protecting you all."

Halleth has never been further in the dungeon, he just senses where his enemies are. So he won't know what is next. Neither does Peek.

After this conversation, Peek would say "Um, so, we have new friend traveler now? Yes! Hey, you all see the big map in here, yes? Peek not ever touch buttons before." he points to the huge map carving on the west wall of the room you're in.

This elaborate image is a cross-section map of Undermountain, with what is clearly Mount Waterdeep and the City of Splendors at the top, and twenty-three hollowed-out dungeon levels stacked below it. Each dungeon level has its own stylistic side view, but no names or details are included to suggest what a level is called or what it contains. Three features stand out:

- Next to the third level is a bas-relief of a flaming skull.
- Next to the sixteenth level is a bas-relief of a comet.
- Next to the twenty-third (lowest) level is a bas-relief of a tower with a tiny rune engraved above it.

Close inspection reveals that the flaming skull, the comet, and the tower are buttons that can be pressed.

What is next? What might the order be when heading into the secret door and towards the Xanathar outpost? Halleth is happy to go first. All he sees is revenge, he doesn't care about potential dangers that might await. 

Maps are updated.

"I think we should avoid the buttons for now. At least until we can get a better idea of what they do." Fril says cautiously. "Are we in agreement about letting Halleth accompany us, at least until he can find his vengeance?" If the group is in accordance and we are proceeding through the secret door, Fril will suggest that they approach stealthily similar to the other outpost that they dispatched and that he and Peek stay towards the back again.