Syranna gave us instructions for finding the Kindred. We follow these, and they take us to a network of caverns, which we begin to explore.
The entrance to the caverns has a spherical bubble carved out of it. It doesn't appear to be hewn or the result of volcanic activity, and there are some pock marks in it that I can't identify.
We find some more ethros, and decide not to engage them. We mark the ground where we've been both because we don't want to get lost and because the caverns are known to shift, so any aid we can offer ourselves in navigating them could be useful.
Darkmantles. We find two stalactites that look different than the others, they're a lighter color. John throws a rock at one of them and they reveal themselves to be creatures lying in wait. We easily dispatch them. After reporting this information back to Syranna, she identifies them for us.
We discover a corridor that has some carts in it and some ominous scorch marks on the wall. We can't find the source of the scorch marks and nothing of value is in the carts, so we move on.
We discover some black robes with white fur lining. We take these back to Syranna, and she says the following: "I've seen those before in the Heart of Night. There some religious group there that wears them during their holy days, but it's not a religion that I know anything about."
We encounter two Myconoids which are clearly in bad shape, and don't attempt to communicate with us before rushing us. We take them down without issue, but examination of the bodies indicates they're suffering from some sort of affliction.
We find a hole with a crack leading downward that has some fresh air coming out of it. Nightingale investigates it but doesn't find anything useful.
We find a rickety bridge spanning a chasm, and we use ropes to cross it.
We discover a stone idol that radiates faint abjuration magic in a squared room. The idol has chunks removed from it. We attempt to pull it off its platform with a rope but don't succeed. I suspect the idol is enchanted with an alarm or other magic ward and we give it a wide berth. It doesn't seem valuable.
We come back in to the ethro room via a different entrance, and this time we attempt to sneak through the room. The ethros immediately move to engage us. There is a long fight in which we are ambushed by a large lizard-like creature with vestigial wings that bleeds acid. Conventional weaponry doesn't seem to be effective against it, but poison, lightning, and cold damage work well enough. We chip away at it very slowly until it dies.
Some notes about the behavior of the ethros: They don't acknowldge Alena at all, so it is possible that they only acknowlege sentient beings, but then again they attacked Badger so who knows? The venom which protected us from the previous encounter didn't seem to have an effect on this group. Also, they don't exhibit the ability to coordinate their attacks or strategize on the battlefield. I'm not even sure these creatures are in fact alive.