New faces

After half a mile of trudging along the side of the underground river, the adventurers found a grill across the flow of water and some steps leading up into a cave. Or cavern because once up the steps they could see in the distance (maybe 600-700 yards) the lights of a small village of Etzlimende across a calm lake. There was no way of determining the limits of the water as in every other direction was darkness.

On the wall nearby was a gong which was soon rung. After a short wait, the sound of a small boat could be heard and soon a small coracle came into view. A short, hooded figure with skeletal limbs (albeit through the application of white paint) indicated that the journey to the other side was not free and, one by one, the party made the slow journey to the village lights. Although the scout was sure they were being watched by aquatic ogres, or merrow, they managed to reach safety unchallenged.

The village started several yards back from the shore and stretched away into an side cave roughly 250 yards by 350 yards (about 10 football pitches). The resident population seemed to be almost entirely goblinoid, possibly 150-200 in number with a smattering of visitors from many backgrounds.

The main industry of the village appears to be the preparation and selling of food, a foul-smelling mix of blind white crustaceans and fish ('Etzlimende' means "Lake of Stinky Fish" in goblin). Market stalls cluster together selling provisions for those travelling from the surrounding underground world. Some accommodation was also available although of a poor standard - all the buildings are created with ropes and sheets made from cloth or skins.

Some of the party decided to have a break here in the market village, leaving the remainder to be recruited by a small group of travellers (a mech, a tiefling scout and a wizard) in search of rumoured mausoleums.

The wizard's familiar was sent off clutching a sunrod to check out the limits of the lake and, on its return, the new party soon had a rough sketch of the cavern. The irregularly shaped lake was maybe a mile from end to end with a couple of waterfalls and a river feeding in fresh water.

Jajij the boatman indicated that the merrow did indeed have a mausoleum on the far side of the lake and would be prepared to arrange for a large boat for a 'reasonable' fee. Instead the party relied on the magical summoning of a huge swan boat, maybe 15ft by 25 ft, to get them across the water.

The depth of the water varied across the lake, usually 10-15ft deep, but half-way across the tiefling's darkvision failed to find the bottom of a particularly gloomy hole beneath them.

Moving on, the sound of waterfalls was soon very loud and the party decided to see if there was a concealed cave behind one of them but without luck. As they did so, three merrow rose out of underwater tunnels and tried to board the swan boat. The adventurers defended valiantly and soon the trio were feeding the fishes, their blood clouding the water.

[[3 merrow - 250 xp per boat member]]