The next day after, the party made their way back into the caverns, while the elves and tauren stayed at the camp.
Their first plan was to examine more closely the place where Jarlax and Elhalan had told them Naralex was sleeping -- but when they made their way to that part of the caverns, what they found was a barrier of intertwined and thorny vines blocking the way. As much as they tried to hack their way through, the barrier just kept on growing back into place.
Could this have been part of the ritual that Jarlax had been channeling, or a precuation the remaining Fanglords raised after what happened the other day? Whatever the answer, the party made their way onward to the east.
They found a massive, open, winding chasm, with pools that poured into from towering waterfalls.
In the murky waters of one of those pools, an old turtle reared its head as the party approached. It looked as old as the caverns themselves, and introduced itself to them as Kresh. Kresh quicky recognized the adventurers through what had been shared with him by other turtles; the threads quickly connecting to the turtle whose life the party had spared out in the above-ground oasis weeks before.
The old turtle told the party that he had hopes to reconvene with an old, lost friend of his; a towering thunder lizard by the name Skum, who had gone lost somewhere further into the caverns.
He could also warn them of the strange figures who had settled lair further into the caverns -- the elves -- and he was willing to join and aid them if they helped him find the aforementioned thunder lizard.
As they made their way on, turtle in tow, the party spotted an owl sentry that the elves had put out to alert of any would-be dnagers. Gan Jedi was quick with his bow, and managed to take it out with a single shot before it could fly away.
Up along rocky cliffs and over a bridge, they found traces of elven camps but no elves to inhabit them. It was while exploring one of them that the surrounding shrubs, a small cluster of thorny lasher plants, all sprung into action and lept at the party in an ambush.
Though the plants themselves were a quick match for them, Servius Felheart quickly noticed what was about to seize the moment and join the fray; a slow-creeping spread of moss, clinging to the sides of the cavern walls, quickly dislodged itself from it and barrelled ahead at the party.
Once the fight had ended and the party could scout on ahead, they found it forking off -- a long tunnel to the left, and a partly submerged path to the right. They opted for the long way, as slowly and quietly as they could, their caution eventually rewarded with a glimmer of light that they assumed to be a live campfire.
Again they spotted a sentry owl, perched atop a rock and keeping eyes out for intruders. This time, the familiar bird was too quick for them; it took wing before any attacks could land, and flew off out of sight. No doubt to head back and warn whichever elves were nearby.
So the party quickly mobilized a plan to try and trick the elves. They set off a distraction and tried to sneak away, but unfortunately they -- their turtle friend in particular -- left such an echoing commotion in their wake that the elves had no trouble tracking them down to descend upon them.
The party retreated into what looked to have been a ritual chamber of sorts, by the number of scattered lights and effigies the elves had scattered about the place. They fought off the elves as they came, as well as vipers, wind serpents, and other beasts under their command.
A shocking turn came when, out of the bodies of one of the slain elves, a dark and viscous goop emerged and seemed to take sentience. Worse yet, out of the walls and out of the ground, a number of shadowy tendrils were taking form. Was this a result of Zachariah's tampering with the ritual the day before, or were these the oozing monstrosities that Nalpak and Muyoh had told them of?
The battle waged on, and ultimately put the party toe to toe with another one of the Fanglords; the fierce and zealous Lord Pythas. It was a vicious fight, but the party ultimately came out victorious.
And in the aftermath of it, they heard a mournful cry echoing from deeper down in the caverns.
Kresh could recognize the sound in an instant; that had to be the voice of his old friend, Skum. The turtle rushed on ahead, leaving the party to little choice but to chase after to catch up with the creature.
The way on ahead was treacherous, but the party ultimately managed to navigate it safely. What they found at the end of their chase was a broken animal pen and a scattering of dead, lightning-scorched elves. At the heart of it all was a towering behemoth of an old thunder lizard, its horn even then crackling with power.
Kresh tried to calm the beast down, speak reason to it, but it was to no use. The old lizard Skum spewed forth lightning as it charged at the turtle, and the party rushed in to intervene and save the turtle's life.
When they then moved on, it was a mournful old turtle they left behind. Regrettably for the party, their most pressing task was to find the last Fanglord -- Serpentis -- and bring an end to the druids' dark plans.