Unmotivated Deity

Upon seeing the deeper shadow hidden within the dark pool Jien felt that his assumption had been accurate. There appeared to be at least one creature living here in this deeper tunnel chamber, though it was hard to tell whether it would be considered a danger to them if they settled in the cave above.

There was also the question of what the rose glowing in the center of the pool was. If it was an ordinary plant that would be fine in itself, but if it was a magical plant it could be just as dangerous as the components of his Serpent Guard. And then there was the possibility that the flower was a part of the beast hiding beneath the water's surface.

Jien took the scene in for several long moments before signaling for the group to gather near a wall of the chamber close to the entrance to discuss. As the "leader" of the group he had the right to decide how to handle this development, but he found it easier to get the other's input on the topic. He still didn't particularly want to be a leader, so having everyone weigh in would relieve him of the stress.

After everyone had huddled by the wall, facing the pool of dark liquid and kaleidoscopic fog Jien spoke in a low tone, doing his best to ensure that his voice wouldn't carry far. "I believe it is likely that there is something living in the pool in the center of this chamber. The shadow hiding deeper in its depth and that unknown rose are concerning."

The others focused on his words, taking a longer look at the pool and confirming his deductions for themselves before turning to him and nodding. Bernard was the first to respond with a slightly solemn expression. "What do you suggest we do?" His question was a simple one but would likely determine the flow of the group going forward. One wrong call could cause discord in their ranks, while one success could bolster their mood for a long way to come in this dreary atmosphere.

Hearing the question was both expected and a bit stressing for Jien, but he did his best not to show it, hiding behind a stoic expression, as much as he could. "We could follow a few different paths." he stated, taking a look at how everyone was feeling at this moment.

He found that Barret was the same as always, silent, aloof but attentive to his surroundings. He was true to the training and education his family had provided him. Meanwhile Rosalind somehow maintained her energetic cheery smile, even in the dank darkness of the cavern, seeming a beam of sunshine among the dreariness. Olivia and Lesley also seemed to carry a semblance of the same cheeriness, though not nearly as intense as Rosalind.

Seeing that for the most part the group seemed in decent spirits Jien decided to present some of the options that required action. If everyone had felt dispirited his suggestion would likely have been to leave this place for now and merely keep an eye on this cavern to determine whether they needed to worry about this unknown inhabitant. However, he felt that he could use the current mood and a possible victory as momentum to keep the group going through this, the toughest portion of this training camp.

"We could ignore what we see here and work to collapse the path to this cavern" Jien spoke calmly. "If we do so we could potentially seal this danger but then we would make further exploration challenging because we didn't see any other paths above other than the smaller cavern."

As Jien offered this suggestion, he found the reception rather lukewarm. Nobody said anything against it, but Jien could tell that none of them really even considered backing down from this mysterious creature hidden from view. Seeing this Jien offered his second suggestion. "We can navigate around the pond, see if we see any paths leading elsewhere and then after mapping the rest we can consider the creature in the pond."

Jien paused here once again to get a feeling for what the others were feeling, but it was harder to tell this time, so he chipped in a few more words to help. "If we do this there is the chance that if the creature can exit the water, it will attack us while we search. If we are smart about it this won't be much of a concern but will also make things more tense."

This time he didn't try and gauge their reaction, instead throwing out his last suggestion so he could get their final input. "My final suggestion is luring the creature out and cutting it down. If we are lucky, it may be edible in which case we will have saved us the effort of trying to hunt, but even if it isn't it should have something usable to us."

As if this suggestion was what everyone was waiting for Rosalind's bright smile widened as she gave a thumbs up and, in a voice, almost too loud for their current environment stated. "I will be the vanguard once we draw it out!" It was only after almost everyone present gave her a glare that she seemed to remember where they were.

Lesley sighed and followed Rosalind's lead in consenting to the plan. "If we can find or create a platform that would be best so that I can get a clean line of sight on whatever it is." Olivia wasn't far behind to butt in with her own thoughts. "If Rosalind draws it out of the water and Bernard is able to block it from moving then the rest of us can probably attack it from the sides."

Jien took a minute to think through that plan while looking around the cavern, spotting a rock roughly as high as an adult's waist, a bit away from the shore of the pond. Pointing at it he faced Lesley. "Would that work?"

After Lesley cautiously walked over to the rock and carefully climbed atop it, he found it fairly easy to balance, though a bit slick from the moisture that permeated the air. After testing to make sure he would have firm enough footing Lesley smiled and gave a thumbs up in their direction.

It seemed that this day would not only be about finding a spot to stay but also their first real battle as a team. Jien couldn't help but feel a bit excited, but also quite a bit more nervous.