Three Elks put the javelin away as Alisandra came out of the water.  He then pulled out his digeridoo. He gave her a knowing wink and took a deep breath.  A long blow into the base instrument caused all the water on her to bead up and drift about a foot away from her in all direction.  As his breath came to an end the water droplets hanging and vibrating in midair dropped to the ground, leaving her dry.

Rissa had been reaching for her orb, light already beginning to swell within it, when Three Elks began his song.  She stopped, staring in fascination at him as he worked his Art.

"Does it... does your blood burn, or sing, when you do that?"

She said at last, reaching out a gaudily ringed hand to touch his arm.

Lucien taps a finger on his chin. "The body came to be here somehow. I was simply wondering if it might have been a miner. Even if we didn't find anything, I appreciate the willingness to investigate possible clues." He nods in thanks to Alisandra.

He turns back towards the main passage. "Nothing else to do, but to push deeper into the mine then. There's still been no sign of the priest."

Alisandra nodded her thanks at Three Elks, then began putting her armor back on. She looked at Lucien, ”Well what kind of Marine would I be if I couldn’t swim, huh? Anyhow be ready in a moment.” When she was ready she cast a Light spell on another stone and handed it to Lucien, ”If you please?”

Cast Light on a stone

About 45 feet beyond the rocky chamber in which the party faced the zombies, the tunnel forks into two long, narrow tunnels. The trail of blood continues down the tunnel to the left.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:52, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

"Left it is then, along the bloody road."

Rissa suggested.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Sun 09 Aug 2020.

Lucien agrees. "I will send my familiar to check the other path." The owl takes flight, flying off down the right hand tunnel with directions to return after exploring for 5 minutes.

Waiting for the scout and his owl to choose their path Three Elks turns to Rissa to answer her question, "My magic both burns and sings, I guess; but probably not in the same way it does for you, which I believe to be a more literal interpretation.  When I cast... it is like the passionate songs of my people which are stored inside me...manifest.  Songs I've never heard with my ears I can hear in my heart and soul. I can feel my bones, my skin, and the air around me dance and vibrate with their songs. By playing a mere fraction of those songs with my voice or my instruments, I can summon their power to twist the reality of this world."

Alisandra commented, “Music has also long been used to issue order to troops. I attended a military academy that taught how to inspire through tactics, orders, and speeches.”

The narrow tunnel to the left continues for about 250 to 300 feet before opening into a chamber measuring roughly 150 feet by 125 feet. A strange scalloped depression in the northern floor area resembles a large human ear. A small pile of bloody weapons sits near the back of the cavern. An even narrower tunnel leads out of the back of the chamber.

The trail of blood ends in the middle of the chamber, where a large spot of it stains the ground.

After confirming that there are no apparent threats in the room, Lucien begins to move along the wall towards the center. He is careful to avoid approaching the depression directly, instead coming at it from an angle. He stops short of actually stepping into the sunken area to see if anything is more obvious now that he is closer.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:48, Tue 11 Aug 2020.

ALisandra follows Lucien carefully. She picked her way along putting her feet as close to where his were as is possible.

Lathan enters the chamber and looks around, slowly approaching the bloodstain in the middle. "It looks like this is where they raised those zombies," he observes. "I suspect those are their weapons over there."

The ear-shaped depression in the floor of the cavern appears to be a naturally-occurring formation.

After Lathan enters the area, Lucien follows and inspects the pile of weapons. "You are probably right. No sign of the priest though so we'd better move on."

Alisandra looked the weapons over, trying to see if any could be useful.

12:22, Today: Alisandra rolled 7 using 1d20.  Investigate.

Three Elks seem intent on trying to figure out what occurred in the room.  Why were there weapons just laying about?  Why was the floor shaped the way it was?  Was it a sink hole? Did acidic waters drip from the ceiling over the centuries to make it? "The floor...it kind of reminds me of a giant version of an antlion dirt funnel.  I used to play with those as a kid, trying to lure the bug out with a reed or knocking ants in."  The image was enough to keep Three Elks on the outer edge of the pit.

The weapons are an assortment of used blades, all in decent condition, but nothing exceptional.

Alisandra will take a spear, not necessarily to use as a weapon, but for other uses.

Testing Three Elk's theory, Rissa brought forth her orb.  With that strange double speak of hers, she sent to pulsing black balls of energy streaking into the center of the pit.

Rissa's eldritch blast chips away a few bits of rock but otherwise has no apparent effect on the ear-shaped depression.

There are no spears in the pile of weapons, just daggers, shortswords, longswords, and a single greatsword.

Rissa shrugged.

"No giant Ant Lions, whatever those are."

She laughed, but there was no mockery there.  If anything, she sounded relieved.

"Shall we keep going?"

Alisamdra will take the daggers in nstead.

Lucien nods at Rissa and then begins moving cautiously towards the far side of the room while he waits for the others to catch up.

Lathan follows Lucien to the far side of the cavern, ready to explore the smaller tunnel.