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.

OOC: I'm not sure how much help Khonnir would need getting out of the cave.  If it seems necessary, I ask Cael to manhandle him through the tunnel.

After he had finished puking out industrial waste, Morin took a long, horrified look at the chaos around him, and felt a pang of guilt over his role in causing it.  Still, he reassured himself, it could have been worse.  From the looks of things, nobody was dead. Well, except for poor Mr T.  Maybe if Synn had been alive, she could have gotten the fungus through town without any kind of disturbance.  But a confused monster, bursting out of that tunnel in a panic and running into the guards posted by the water?  There was only one way that was going to go.  The poor kid never had a chance.

Taking a deep swig of the offered wine, Morin gave the guard and the councilwoman a weak smile.    "Don't worry, everything's under control.  Totally fine!  There shouldn't be any more monsters coming out of that cave.  Mr Tentacles here just...well, he slipped away in the middle of a fight and made it to the tunnel."

He looked the middle aged woman over.  Anyone who wore an outfit that nice as work clothes had to be important.  "Are you with the council?"  He asked.  "I've already met Freddert and Kyte and Baine, which means you must be Solantha Olandir.  Perfect!  We need to have a talk with you in private, but first the good news:  You owe us a scroll of resurrection!"  Clearly enjoying the moment, the gnome made a sweeping, theatrical gesture towards the pool, where the others were still pulling themselves out from the muck.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: Khonnir Baine!"

21:06, Today: Morin Matzylford rolled 5 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 1.  fort save.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:44, Wed 05 July 2023.

Cain waddles out of the foul water while helping Khonnir as much as he can. The dive was as just as unpleasant as he remembered it, but at least he managed to avoid losing his last meal. Or he would have, had he anything to lose after the previous dive inside.

The sight of the mess waiting for them outside worried him for a moment, but it appeared that the guards managed to handle the monster without more casualties. Not exactly an ideal outcome of this situation, but it beats having it go on a rampage through the town. And at least they would not have to search for the councilor and the guards now.

"Khonnir may not be dead, but he is injured somehow. We should get him to a healer as soon as possible. And I guess those three would need some healing as well, but that's up to you." He indicates their prisoners, leaving to the rest of the party to fill in the details on what has happened.

Just managed the save. I guess I could have used Twist Away, but I could not think of a way reflexes could save Cain from throwing up.
13:53, Today: Cain rolled 15 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 14.  Fort save (DC 15).

"Well, if I must." Councilor Olandir jokes to the gnome as she listens to his report. She seems somewhat puzzled by the Gnome's claim she owes him a scroll until Khonnir rises from the putrid water of the pond with Cain. She rushes over to the mute mage, now worse for wear after being overcome by the water, and greets him, "Khonnir, you're alive! What happened down there? ...are you alright?" She looks puzzled as the man returns her a weak, familiar smile but otherwise doesn't respond, his short attention drifting off somewhere else, and instead asks the nearby Cain, "What happened to him?"

Meanwhile, inside the Black Hill Caves Cael takes some time to gag the prisoners' mouths shut since the others seemed concerned about news of the Technic League spreading and begins the process of dragging them through the underwater tunnel.

As the prisoners begin to arrive the councilor looks to the party and asks insistently, "What's going on, did they do this?"

Ionaya looked like a drowned fay as her body was wracked with coughing convulsions. She shook, shuddered, and writhed like a wild thing freeing itself from a corrosive bath. She looked miserable and furious all at the same time.

Stumbling well away from the edge, she coughed up more of the liquid offal that somehow passed for water. Staggering over to Khonnir and the others, her lips moved as she softly coughed out something that could have been a spell or a curse.

[Language unknown: Usof conin virnd ilstin ch Ar are Iohe leekla eccare ei n stiundersugh ivil ithiveble. Etun caol utadma he Meceec dinmo is on. ]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:29, Thu 06 July 2023.

After a concerned glance at the cursing sorceress, Cain gives an answer to the councilor. "Hmm? Oh, we found him stuck in a... something. Not sure what happened to him there, he seems to recognize us and can walk - more or less - but that's about it. We hoped that Joram might know what is wrong with him, and how to fix it."

He busies himself helping Khonnir and the rest of the party out of the water, letting someone else inform the councilor about the prisoners.

Morin nodded along with Cain's explanation.  "Yeah.  We did our best look him over, but none of us are healers.  So the only thing we could really figure out is...well, that he needs a healer!" 

With a gesture towards Sanvil and the ropefists, Morin loudly added: "And while we were rescuing the councilor, these scumbags were setting up an ambush!  They killed our new girl Synn while she was alone, and they drove that fungus creature out into the town."  That was pretty much all Morin was willing to say in public.  The details could wait until there were a few less people around to listen in.

"Look, we need to get Khonnir some healing.  Would you folks mind locking up these scumbags somewhere secure?  And careful with Sanny, he knows magic.  And, uh..." Morin motioned for the councilor to crouch down, so he could whisper in her ear. "You shouldn't let them talk to anyone, except people you really trust." Letting Olandir stand back up, Morin continued in his normal voice.  "Once you've got them squared away, I would appreciate it if you could round up the rest of the council, and meet us down at the temple.  There's some important business we need to discuss."