After steeling himself(themselves?) for the foul trip through the rancid water, Morin(and whoever decides to go with him) dives down into the water and pulls himself hand-over-hand along the prepared rope and through the underwater tunnel. For better or worse Father Kyte's spell allows him to breath the awful water, and soon he emerges under the hot Numerian sun. (DC 15 Fort Save or sickened for 1 minute.)

On the pond's shore he finds a contingent of guards already waiting for him, though it seems he isn't why they are there--a number seem to be properly injured and being treated by others or being loaded onto and carried off in stretchers. Nearby a mass of oil-soaked fungus burns--occasionally twitching as it does and being stabbed by a watchful, spear-wielding guard. A few better-dressed people, possibly from the nearby estates, stand about either gawking or helping to tend the injured. As Morin(and company) regain their composure and take in the sight, the same guard who had greeted the party as they emerged the day before, though now with his left arm bound in a sling, approaches while eyeing the pond's water for signs of any more disturbances, "Good, at least some of you made it out! We assumed the worse when we saw the monster come out."

Only a few steps behind him comes a middle-aged woman in finely made clothing covered by a leather apron and unfortunate smudges of dirt and grease. She passes the guard, unfazed by the stench of the water and the violent surroundings to kneel down and offer a wineskin to the gnome--filled with proper wine--and ask, "Are you alright? And your team? Are there more beasts coming?" She seems genuinely concerned for Morin's well-being though it is eclipsed by her concern for the town and the evils emerging from beneath it.