Troubles in Otari

Mienna examines the wall closely, sizing up the crack and the stone around it. After a moment she brings Ayanda over, pulls out one of her daggers, and strikes a few small gouges in the stone. Stepping back, she gets Ayanda to strike the wall with her cold spells in the gouges, then rears back and kicks the wall between the resulting ice and the crack. With a crash the wall splits along a crack behind the ice, and the resulting slab of stone falls backwards.

You proceed through the new doorway and find yourself in what looks like a cavern. Up ahead, the dim passageway ends at the edge of a cliff.

Fritz walks to the edge of the cliff and glances down and then around. He tightens the straps of his breast plate, adjusts his pack and sheaths his sword, adjusting it to his rear and out of the way. He looks into the deep dark before glancing over his shoulder with a smile.
“Race you.” He says, quickly cinching a rope around himself and tying it off as he starts to down climb the cliff side, feet carefully finding footholds and just before his head vanishes over the edge he gives an encouraging ‘Come on’.

Ayanda looks down the cliff. "I am in no rush. Call up when the rope is set."

"Well I'm down," Mienna says, before stepping off the cliff edge. A moment later she pulls out a hatchet and drives it into the cliff wall, slowing her fall so she can climb down more properly.

Parul grins wildly and follows after Fritz as fast as possible, scrambling down the side of the wall. Unfortunately, in her haste she slips and drops significantly faster than she would like to, only barely managing to grab on to an outcropping of rock before she becomes a splatter on the ground.

As both hang from their precarious positions, Ayanda gently and skillfully rappels down the rope Fritz had set. "Perhaps your haste was a bad call. But then, what do I know?" she chides as she passes both of them down to the bottom.

As you descend, you see claw-marks in the cliffside. Up ahead is a grotto whose dusty floor has recently been disturbed, leaving dozens of vaguely footprint-like impressions. To the left is a tunnel that leads to another chamber. However, there's not much light down here, so only Ayanda can see clearly at the moment.

After Ayanda lights a torch and Parul casts a spell to illuminate her weapon, you continue through the tunnel, which opens into a large chamber. Patches of glowing blue fungus cling to the ceiling, and vast strands of webbing are strewn across the floor and walls of this cavern, stretching between stalactites like shimmering curtains.

Mienna raises her hatchets and starts carving her way into the webs, alerting a giant spider hiding above. As the group closes in on the spider, it retreats up the wall, leading Mienna and Fritz to attempt to climb after it. Mienna doesn't manage to get off the ground, while Fritz makes it to the spider, but slips off the wall as he tries to pull the spider off. Following him down, it attempts to take advantage of this seemingly easy prey, only to be met with Mienna's blade cleaving it in two.

Hidden among the spider's web is a cocoon, which contains what's left of a long-dead kobold ... and a shortsword with an emerald in its pommel.

After the web-infested cave, the passageway leading deeper underneath the streets of Otari appears to be mostly natural, but someone, or something, has worked to open the cavern and level out the floor, making the passage easily traveled. A crude barricade made from old wooden planks and part of a barrel blocks the entrance to a side tunnel, while the main passage continues into a winding, gloomy tunnel.

Fritz winces as he pulls himself up and off the ground, coughing as the wind was knocked out of him. He leans, hand to the wall, and rubs tenderly at his side.
“Gravity is the worst foe.” He mutters to himself before he pulls himself taller, biting into the wince as bones scrape and bruises shift, and starts forward – then a sudden stop, a sigh and relaxation, and a friendly nod to Parul at the healing magic. “Thank you.”

Part of Fritz joyfully gasps as the cocoon is open up, and he sights the hilt – although his face falls, if only a little, at the size of the blade.
“It could be ageless artifact, just like in the stories! Someone should take it.” He glances around at everyone and a shrugs. “And I suppose I could if no one else needs it. I could do with a dagger.”

Once they pass a little deeper, past the webbing, he chuckles and nods towards the barricade, looking it over and giving it some test pokes with the tip of his sword.
“This way?”

Mienna looks over the barricade as well. "Certainly looks like something the Kobolds would throw together, which means it's either the right way or they were trying to keep something out. Either way, seems worth checking out to me," She says, hefting a hatchet.

The others agree to Mienna's idea, and Fritz helps her break down the barricade.

Beyond the barricade, an old cavern corridor winds down into the earth, ending in an ancient burial vault lit by a strange torch with a blue flame. Alcoves line the walls, each one containing a rotten wooden coffin, while the center of the room has a raised platform holding a stone sarcophagus. Standing inside are a group of undead beings, seemingly awakened and angered by the ruckus. They immediately attack.

The group quickly rushes in, dispatching the zombie with ease. The skeletons prove more troublesome. As blows are traded back and forth, Mienna goes down. Soon Fritz follows. Parul and Ayanda do their best to hold the line, and some decisive spells from Ayanda manage to turn the tide and destroy the undead. Soon after, Ayanda and Parul manage to get the others back up with healing elixirs.

Picking herself up, Mienna starts trying, poorly, to bandage her wounds. "I guess it was the 'keep something out' option," She says, shaking her head and giving up on the bandaging. Collecting her weapons, she looks over the tomb. "Well, we might as well strip this place of anything useful, but then I would request we head back topside and get someone a bit better than me to look over these wounds."

There's nothing useful on the zombie, but the skeletons each have a scimitar and a shortbow with 20 arrows. Inside the sarcophagus is a polished shield shaped like the face of a roaring lion. Our heroes also discover through some experimentation that the torch affixed to the wall is an Everburning Torch, which they promptly claim as their own.

With that, they return to the surface level of the Fishery. As luck would have it, one of the lesser priests of Sarenrae is there, conversing with Tamily.

"...and they still haven't come back," you hear Tamily say. "I'm getting worried. Can you go ... oh!" She perks up as she notices the party. "You're back ... but wow, something roughed you up really bad, huh? Just what the heck is down there?!"

In the meantime, the priest heals you all back to full.

"Skeletons, a zombie, and a nasty spider," Ayanda replies. "I'm honestly surprised the kobolds even managed to get to your basement."

"...wait, what?"

Upon hearing more details, she's completely dumbfounded. "So, there's a whole cave network down there? I never knew ... well, would you four be willing to keep exploring down there? It sounds like there might be a lot more down there that we don't know about."

"Most likely, yes," Ayanda replies. "We can deal with the problem, but it may take a while. Even just the few things we already encountered took a lot out of us."

"Okay." Tamily nods, then looks at the priest. "Rico, can you go with them?"

"...um, no, I'm... really not cut out for that kind of thing..." the priest mumbles. "...but... I'll be up here if you need healing."

"It is greatly appreciated," Mienna says, giving the priest a smile. "My own skills with medicine have been... less than trustworthy today."

And so the group resumes their exploration.

In the next tunnel, there's a ledge off to one side. Parul climbs up and opens an ancient wooden door, revealing a ruined chamber. Mold and rot stain every surface. On the far side of the room is stone statue of a giant squid, its tentacles reaching toward an altar in the center of the chamber. The scum covers almost everything, but it hasn’t touched the silver bowl sitting atop the stone altar. The water in the bowl is perfectly clear.

Fritz scrambles up after Parul. The first order of business is tying off a rope to let the other’s scurry up with no trouble. The second order of business is to turn around and look at the room. He does recoil a little at the strange statue, and the scum of rot and mold clinging to the walls with an ‘Eeugh’ and a slightly disgusted look before he blinks it away and leans in a little.
“I know that statue. It’s Gozreh. Mom and dad…” He trails off and glances about again. “I’ll share that story when we’re finished with this room.” He says, on edge and bringing his shield up and resting a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Mienna climbs up and inspects the bowl. The water inside roils like a stormy sea.