Further into the Cave

We found ourselves emerging from a small underwater tunnel, into a greater flooded chamber with a large raised portcullis at one end. But we had company - two giant crocodiles were in the water. Lynn was nowhere to be seen, and without her and Eli, we didn't stand a chance against them. Iroh and Xerxes and I got separated in the confusion, and I found myself escaping through a narrow tunnel. It led to an armory of sorts, full of weapons of Samsaran make. I took everything that looked valuable, and descended down a trapdoor into a barracks of sorts. All the beings inside were dead, and there was a large ornate fountain fed from an aqueduct. The water looked much too clear to be natural.

I paused here after finding a journal in the hands of one of the skeletons, and flipped through the pages. It all but confirmed what Xerxes told us - This was a peacetime Samsaran outpost, from before their extinction. The journal implied that the outpost was guarding the key to the last Samsaran safehaven - Nirvana. So it was true. And we were right on top of it. The final entries of the journal were dated near the start of the Samsaran extinction, and contained a few worried words about how communication with the nearby divination tower, and the empire in general, had ceased. I took the journal with me, and made to leave the room, but I was interrupted by a rumbling.

The impossibly clear water from the aqueducts had begun to take form - Water elementals were emerging from the pipes, perhaps alerted to my presence. I vaporized them almost immediately with a fireball, but more, larger ones began forming. I ran. Down a few bends in a hallway, and emerged on a platform above the great chamber that we arrived in. The portcullis was down, with the crocs on the other side. The only answer was that my uncle had found a way to close it, and had continued on. I spied the lever, and a nearby set of double doors.

I burst through to find Lynn, Xerxes, and Iroh in a large hallway that was being flooded with more of the elementals. Iroh was on the far side, trying to force a door open, while Xerxes and Lynn were on the near side, trying to get to him. We ran as best we could, and it turns out Lynn was carrying the key to the far door. We ran through just as larger elementals began to form, and barred the door behind us. When we turned around, we were in a large, rotund room with several platforms.

—Matau Ing'um

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