After some time looking at the knots put in place by Roak, Albricht is eventually satisfied that they won't be coming free anytime soon.  When the others have descended the ladder Albricht follows them down to the room below.

<Can I assume that the party finishes this trek and opens the door to the room with the sun painted on the wall, where the werebears were going?>

Albricht kept to the rear of the group, not wanting to spook the werebears, and not really trusting himself against throttling them into rugs if he got the chance. There was something about those two that rubbed him the wrong way, the killing way as it were.

The party does, in fact, finish this trek and opens the door to the room with the sun painted on the wall, where the werebears were going.

Both of the werebears turn their heads toward the door as the party enters, although one fairly obviously is doing this out of habit, with light continuing to stream out from his face.

"Ah.  You.  Have you encountered a problem?" comes the question.

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 31):

"Indeed. A pair of medusae have made themselves home in one of the chambers. Luckily, none of us made direct eye contact. We've secured the door, but a unique threat like this calls for...unique solutions."

Voran walks up to the werebears. "I have an unusual proposition for you. The blind bear could go in and attack the medusae. If the fight goes badly, Sherborne and I could stay outside the room and heal you if needed if you retreat to the doorway."

"Medusae are evil, to be sure, but their nature alone is not enough to warrant trying to kill them."

"Which of you did they injure without provocation?  Did you barge into their home, as you did ours, or did them come upon you unawares and begin attacking without preamble?"

The dwarf snorted, a derisive sort of sound that reminded one of that made by bloated rock-mites exploding when exposed to sunlight. "They called us 'little morsels'... when something in an unknown place threatens to eat me, that's a good enough reason for me to get serious about not being eaten!"

"Knew these goody-goodies weren't serious about their convictions. Happy to dish out their Law, but reluctant to actually keep innocent adventurers from being eaten by snake-women..."

This was said from the back, just loud enough to be carried across the room to reach the werebears.

The elf holds his brow and shakes his head slightly.

"This one is making me question my career path. I'm just interested in getting back to the city at this point!"

Both of the werebears pointedly ignore Albricht.

"If you're so concerned about getting back to the city, why didn't you just continue on when you locked them in that room?" comes Meshif's gentle question, in response to Lanliss' statement.

"Because at some point they are going to find a way out of that room and come looking for us! And when they do, it's reasonable to assume they'll show up here, just a few rooms away, where you've set up your post! Your brother can't meet their gaze in his current state, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous to you both. That's why we thought you'd be interested in defeating them with us, before they waltz in here with shining eyes, hungry lips, and a gravel casserole dish!"

Roak shrugs. "Like Lanliss was saying, they are a chaotic threat. If you don't want to mess with them hoping they won't come after you, that's fine."

"We do generally prefer to avoid violence and death unless the threat is fairly direct," Zadar explains, "and they are probably pretty bad at getting up and down ladders."

Meshif seems almost as if he might say something, then subsides, sitting pensively.

Voran proposes that the party go east and explore the unexplored hallway rather than bother the werebears further. "We will be back to heal you, like we said," he says to the blind werebear.

<I've read a proposal to the group.  Is that what you all want to  do?>

"I would prefer to return to the ladder and climb it back to the city. It's our only way back to the city, and I'd rather face its dangers now, rather than after we've faced more monsters like the medusae."

"Come to think of it, the ladder went no higher than that room. Perhaps the werebears will let us sleep in their room and then cure the blindness in the morning."

"Those of us that didn't ambush the werebears, at least."

"If they will have us I would appreciate their company."

"Ambush? They started it all!" Albricht snorted. He stood near the door, fully prepared to leave, but hesitating a bit and then sighed.

"Snake-women and haunted crypts make for strange bedfellows. Lucky for us, one of'em's blinded. If they promise to stay on their side of the room, I'll rest with my back against the door on this side."

The dwarf's own wounds weren't minor and they'd been trekking around down here for some time. More than that however, he had a bit of a hunch, the sort that one ignored at his own peril...

Voran considers. "I will intercede for the dwarf. Albricht, you must agree to let me keep your weapon while we are in the room with the werebears, though.

Meshif and Zadar agree readily enough for the party to stay with them, at least once it is pointed out that Albricht will be kept away from them.

<Per the rules & rulings thread, you can heal your character level plus your CON bonus overnight.>
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:25, Thu 16 Jan 2020.

Elboc wakes up, feeling refreshed but still bruised. After learning spells for the day, he waits to see the results of the continual darkness spell.

Before sleeping, he opens his book to remember any spells previously cast. In the "morning" he steps out of his sleeping bag and rolls it up, then dons his armor.