Following the small stream into an expansive wooded grove, the troupe decides to tether Feldspar and proceed quietly forward. As they get Feldspar situated, Ravenna begins to get agitated- muttering to herself and cringing with eyes squeezed shut. She produces a flask of something potent, and Magnus and mar’Khabazza decide to press on ahead, leaving her with the horse. She is soon bleary and unconscious.
As the duo proceed along the banks of the stream, they spot two Sudaar , shabbily clad in crude leather clothing in similar fashion to some of the slain red orcs the troupe came across on the trail from the Great Road. They are clearly on some kind of watch, but their backs are turned to the pair as the orcs face northward.
It is an easy decision to ambush the two Sudaar in the hunt for the missing metallic box. Luring the Sudaar into a copse of trees, mar’Khabazza and Magnus swiftly and silently kill one each and searching the slain uncovers no box. Instead each orc has in its possession some kind of talisman: a simple plus sign woven out of grass.
The duo moves on to explore the terrain further, following the stream into the valley. The stream flows past the faint intersection in the woods where the two Sudaar were standing watch to merge with another stream that plunges into a large pool that drains into a sinkhole at the far end.
Mar’Khabazza and Magnus sneak further in and spot two more Sudaar corpses feathered with arrows in the middle of an open glade. These two are from a different tribe, judging by their better quality gear and general health. The duo continue to scout the area, spotting additional corpses. They deduce that two tribes of Sudaar came together to raid the merchant caravan but were now fighting over the spoils.
After scouting the original path through the valley the two circle back around to the south and spot a rough-hewn entrance on the east side of the valley. They decide to move up to the ridge of the eastern side so they can look down onto the opening and accidently stumble across two of the red orcs with the low quality gear and the woven crosses. One Sudaar is killed immediately by Magnus, the other is skewered by mar’Khabazza and howls in pain. It tries to flee into the woods, but is hamstrung by mar’Khabazza and dies. The noise of the combat elicits rough howls of glee and savage cries from the opening, but Magnus and mar’Khabazza elect to continue their scouting rather than meet the perceived threat of the cave opening head-on.
The duo loops back to explore the sinkhole and Magnus feels wary of it, and mar’Khabazza feels his hands mysteriously feel slimy, as if they had been dipped in oil. It is a localized effect, bothering only mar’Khabazza and only when in proximity to the pool. Not wanting to take unnecessary risks, they return to fetch two of the Sudaar corpses to drop them into the pool.
As the corpse roll into the pool with a splash, a standing wave forms upstream and flows towards the corpses faster than a horse’s gallop. The wave grows to four feet high- a roiling, churning, frothing wall of water that slams into the slop with a watery boom. As it recedes, it pulls the corpses with it to disappear into the depths.
Mar’Khabazza exclaims, “A water demon of some sort!” and the two hurry back into the forest, lest the commotion attract unwanted attention.
Sure enough, three red orcs dressed in high-quality gear come to investigate and are telling rough tales in their foul language as they look over the pool. At this, mar’Khabazza and Magnus retreat back to Feldspar and Ravenna to rest and make new plans after a long day of scouting.