@ERode@Superman@Pyromania99Isabella took note of Tetras holding a hand up, signaling a stop. She looked at him questioningly, unsure of why they did so...and he immediately took a few steps towards the front of the cart, drawing his swords. Investigating the area would certainly be a good idea, but it wouldn't be a very good idea to get too far away from each other. The former Baumn Princess walked over to Tetras with her ever calm expression, scanning the forest herself as she did so. She didn't see anything, but that didn't mean something couldn't be hiding out there, so she posed a simple question to Tetras.
"See something?" She questioned, her voice sounding a bit aloof in its manner as she approached the great sword wielding knight.
She, of course, noticed the bird flying off in a rather hurried manner, but she hadn't thought much of it. Maybe he was having differing thoughts here?
As Isabella and Tetras observed their surroundings and Ophene and Tsukiko conversed in the cart, all was quiet save for a few more Toucans showing up, peering at them silently from their perches upon the tropical trees. Occasionally, they squawked at each other, but for the most part they were eerily silent.
And then one landed in front of Isabella and Tetras, staring at the two knights. This Toucan was...odd, however. It was larger than your average one, almost the size of a large owl. Several sharp spikes protruded from its larger beak, which had a large jungle fruit of some sort in it. The fruit made a crunching sound as its tough shell was crushed in its beak as it chomped down. The toucan tilted its head as it swallowed the fruit, as if it was judging the adventurers that stood before it.
And then it turned around, gave a wave of its wing and hopped off down the path, before taking a sharp right and disappearing into the jungle.
Isabella furrowed her eyebrows questioningly at the bird, unsure what to make of it. That was certainly not normal avian behavoir, she was certain, as she read about various types of birds in her studies. She didn't know the Toucan all that well, but she was confident in her analysis. She gave a look over to Tetras, holding a hand up to her chin as she thought.
"We shouldn't stray too far." She said after a few seconds of silence.
@RedDusk@Ariamis@Lauder@Black AliceAs Ankt split from the group a little ways to investigate the mysterious splash emanating from one of the various water pools that dotted the side of the cavern, there was a few more splashes from the others. If looked, nothing would be seen. However, if Ankt happened to look into the clear water from the pool he was investigating, he'd find a few creatures staring up back at him.
Crabs.
At least a dozen or so hand sized crabs stared up at the lizard. The source of the splash was then obvious - several of these crabs must have been lounging on the rocks beside the pools, and startled by the groups entrance and attempted to hide themselves. The stone colored crabs noticed themselves being watched, before scuttling along the bottom of the pool, disappearing into a small hole in the rock wall where water was filtering in. No doubt connecting to the sea, or another place in the cave.
It was an odd sight, though. If any of the group did their research, they'd realize that no one knew anything about crabs living in the Grotto. Aside from the Piranha hounds that ate mostly fish that strayed into these pools, these crabs have yet to be documented. At least, officially.
Maybe a bit of a disappointment for Ankt, as these small crabs couldn't be what killed the guard, could they?
Nazr would receive a similar experience from using his detection skills. Countless numbers of these crabs could be felt through the walls, likely living in the watery caverns that dotted the grotto. However, he would also notice that a little further down the stone pathway there were several other creatures lounging by the pool. Their presence was entirely different from the crabs. A few were moving about on all fours, waiting further down the cavern.
Likely Piranha hounds, hungry and waiting for something to waltz close to them so they could eat. Another likely candidate for what didn't kill the guard. A single Baumn guard could likely take a pack by themselves, given they didn't get careless.
Jagred, though, had perhaps a bit of better luck in his endeavors. As he stood quiet, observing the area, he'd notice a pool of water that as of yet, hadn't had any crabs jump into it. It was one of the larger ones, with a small stream of seawater flowing into it from above. If he focused he'd notice one of the crabs, walking along its edge in an attempt to skirt around it and still avoid the adventurers. As soon as it reached the center spot in front of the pool, it hopped in...and promptly disappeared beneath the clear water.
He would also notice the pool was definitely deeper than the others. The sunlight dimly illuminating it revealing nothing but inky blackness, likely signaling it was quite deep. A few bubbles rose from the depths of the pool...maybe there was something down there?
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