Kevin's Watch

[someone pick a direction and go]

He shrugged. "As I said, one choice is as good as the other. "

Drawing the dagger from his boot, and releasing his hold on the fletching of his arrow, he quickly scratched a big arrow at eye-level on the wall, indicating the entrance tunnel. Then,still hefting the dagger, he looked enquiringly at the rest of them...

Irian shrugged. "Fine with me..."

"So Brother Charn's suggestion it is?" He looked about for dissent...

"Fine by me too." Sidling round the room, he scratched the rune for 1 next to the tunnel into which no tracks led, then sheathed his dagger again and took up his position, and his arrow, glancing suspiciously at the other tunnels.

"Let's be off down this un-railed tunnel first." Charn motions for Vargon to join him in entering the third tunnel, with lantern held in front of him, mace brandished in the other.

You all head into the tunnel with no tracks.

It goes downwards again, the further you go dwn, the cooler the air becomes, you notice it feeling a little damp, but fresh. After a couple of minutes you come to a dead end, the cause of which is a large underground stream flowing right through the tunnel, making further progress impossible for the diggers. It appears to be only a few feet deep and a few feet wide. You can't see anything in the water, but it looks clear and clean.

"Let us turn around and head back to the cavern, and pick a second tunnel to walk."

"Dead end." Xavier was pleased. One less direction danger could come from. "Right...back to the main room, and into the next tunnel over...let's leave the centre one for last. I'll put a 2 at the entrance to the next one."

"I'll catch up. I want to fill my water skin if the water is clear and just have a look around. The cool air is refreshing."

[Irian does a search check while remaining behind]

Irian finds nothing of note during her search, but as she turns around to follow the others away from the stream, a small creature suddenly jumps out of the water!

It appears to be female, it's about 4 feet tall and very slim and lithe. It has pale green-scaled skin and green hair and is wearing a revealing dress made, apparently, out of woven seaweed.

It says something in a strange language.

Irian seems to understand the creature, and begins speaking back to it in the same strange language!

Finding her way back to the larger cavern where the party awaits, Irian turns back to the creature. Crouching down to eye level, she points towards the entrance tunnel and continues speaking to the creature, which is a Nixie.

keeping his eye behind them, Xavier pauses, and watches the unusual creature talking to the elven spell-caster. He waited with interest to learn what it had said...

The Nixie and Irian exchange a few words, then the nixie hands her something and runs off in the direction of the surface.

Straightening up from her crouch, Irian calls after the Nixie. But she continues to run up the entrance tunnel towards the surface without answering.

Turning the vial of fluid which the Nixie had given her to study it, Irian eventually unstoppers it and wafts a hint of any aroma towards her nose...

[spellcraft check, please, for whatever I may be able to learn]

If the smell is not recognizable, she takes the tiniest drop imaginable, and cautiously places it on her tongue...

Impatiently, Xavier gestures Irian forward to share what she has learnt.

Smiling silently to herself as she recognized the liquid, Irian put the vial away in her backpack. "I assume this is just a gift of thanks for what help I could give. She had lost her way, and I simply supplied what directions I could."

Shouldering her pack and quiver, and picking up her cross bow, she glanced towards Brother Charn. "Lead on."

"Nothing about what lies ahead? Ah well...down the next tunnel it is."

Xavier fell back to resume his place in the march, watching often over his shoulder.

"Nothing. She was more lost than we are."

"Typical. Let's get going then. "