As they walked, Corus explained everything that he'd uncovered whilst busting himself and Tandy out of prison. Apparently the halfling had been wrongfully convicted for murdering her husband without much evidence - but that wasn't all. The guards were guilty of creating false threats, dreaming up thieves and murderers to keep their presence in demand. This way, they appeared to be solving more crimes than were actually being committed, thus remaining in power and keeping a firm grip on the town.
Corus also mentioned the disturbing state of the entrance through which they had ventured, "I saw a couple of our friends from the watch on the way in. Seems they came up on some pretty nasty company. And then we came through the cave, and there must've been a dozen kuo toa corpses floating in the water."
"Shit," Aera murmured.
"Was Fortin Hara with them?" Oswin asked. Corus shook his head.
"No, but I saw the other two humans we'd run into," he said.
"Well, that's unfortunate, but good riddance," River said. Aylin chuckled.
The party continued onward in relative silence for a while, until they came to a new set of barracks. It was unclear why these were set so much further into the caves than the others, but it led to more rooms, and in the distance they could hear running water. Across the room, the party found another locked door. Deciding it must lead to an armory to plunder, they broke in via River's lock picking skills. When they entered, they found not an armory, but an empty room with three torches along the far wall.
A whimper echoed from one of the corners, and as they looked for the sound, they spotted a small boy with long blonde hair. He cowered against the wall as he saw them, covering his face. Aylin soothed him, coming to kneel in front of him and touching his arm.
"It's alright," she whispered, "We're here to help. What happened?"
"I... I don't know!" he cried, tears running tracks down his filthy cheeks, "I had a weird dream, and I heard singing, and then I woke up here."
"I'm Aylin," Aylin said, trying to calm him, "These are my friends, and we're adventurers. We're here to stop the witch, ok? What's your name?"
"I'm Jack... Jack Meoff."
A snort sounded from someone in the party.
"Well, Jack," Aylin said, holding out her hand, "we're going to get you out of here. Tandy will keep an eye out for you, so let her know if you need anything."
The halfling woman nodded, giving the boy her brightest smile, "I'm Tandy. Let's stick together, Jack."
With the boy absorbed into their party, they moved onward past the barracks and emerged into a massive, damp cavern. A tiny hole in the ceiling of the cave provided sparse light, which was supplemented by a few torches on the walls. To the right of the party sat an old horse pen, in which there seemed to be several Kuo Toa corpses. Ahead was a rotting ship, half of which hung off of a sheer cliff edge. The air was humid and chilly, filled with the chitter of bats and the rush of a nearby waterfall.
Oswin approached the horse pen, peering inside at the corpses. On closer inspection, he discovered five corpses which had been chained to wooden stakes, with signs in some odd language hanging from their necks. As Aylin approached, Oswin asked, "Do you have any idea what these say?"
Aylin shrugged, "No, but I do have a spell." She focused on the writing, and eventually the words swirled in her head and she was able to decipher them. "They list... crimes? This one stands accused of eating more than his portion of food. The other one fucked a cow, and one of these other ones started a riot over apples? I don't recognize their markings, so they must be in a different clan from Melvin."
