"I know, I know..." comes a faint, gravely voice from before them, as the Changeling proceeds. It mumbles and mutters, unintelligibly for the most part, interspersed with the sound of trickling and running water, and the repeated impact of one hard object against another hard object. The light in the tunnel grows at the same pace as the volume of the noises, and the tunnel slowly broadens. The damp becomes stronger, and soon the party's feet and shoes are splashing in... not puddles, but the edge of a body of water. A new and growing body, trickling past them back towards the entrance of the Hollow ever-so-slowly. The scent of decay and alcohol and sickly-sweet lessens, overpowered by the smell of cool water and... some sort of mineral? They are soon wading calf-deep through the water as they proceed onward, following the sounds and the light. As the eyes of the Lost adjust, they can see that beyond them, where the light is brightest, there are greens and blues, growing things and sky, and the whistle and twitter of birds. It is the mouth of a cave, surrounded in thorned briers. It opens at the far end of a large cavern that the tunnel flows into, about the size of a small apartment. Chipped right out of the rock-candy mountain.
This may have been where the Sandman once slept to carry out his onieromancy, but it would be impossible for most people to sleep here now. The cavern is flooded, with water so crystal and clear that it's breathtaking. Refraction and the constant movement of the water makes it difficult to tell how deep the pool is, but it must be at least a couple feet. Loose objects, the Sandman's sodden possessions no doubt, drift forlornly on the random currents. More water flows into the room... from an unexpected direction. It runs down every wall, as if you were standing inside a fountain, and drips from the ceiling, where it runs too in a glistening sheet, seemingly in defiance of gravity. It's beautiful, the way it all plays with the light, some drips creating miniature rainbows that then scatter their colors in reflections and refractions all across the room. "I know, I know what she's afraid of, I know," the ragged voice mutters, then there's a grunt and the sound of cracking rock candy. At the far end of the cavern, where it opens to the sky and the green beyond. He is balanced on what look like plastic milk crates weighted with hunks of rock candy, so that he can reach up to the top of the cave's mouth. In his hand is a shank that may once have been a pie server at one point, sharpened and chipped, that he uses to chip away at the rock candy above him, splattering himself with water as he does so. The way the water is running, it is clear after a moment that he is broadening some sort of stream, a stream of water that defies gravity, flowing down from the mountain, and instead of pouring like a waterfall over the mouth of the cave, inverting and flowing across it's roof, then down it's walls.
The man himself, for it is a man, could be mistaken for any member of the homeless population, but for his too-large eyes, and his long, pointed ears, and the fact that the light thrown up on him from the water paints shadows where there should be none. The multiple sources of light throw these shadows up against the walls, unnaturally dark on the glistening water. And the shadows are arguing. Their conflict is silent, but their gesticulation is obvious and wrathful. Fingers point, hands slice, fists ball and shake. Then one turns, facing the intruders, and as one shadows and man turn to follow. He is... hollow. Not literally, but there is a sense of emptiness about him. A creature sunken-into himself, as if with famine or mummification. His teeth are rotten, hair and beard overgrown and scraggly. His flannel shirt dirty and torn in multiple places, and his pants more like the suggestion of what slacks would be before moths made a seven year feast of it. How did this man ever get children to approach him? Glamour, probably. His eyes lock on Ava. "I know you. I know you, Ava Marie Campbell," the voice is different, but the cadence, the emphasis, is identical. "I know you, I know what you're afraid of." The shadows make angry, enraged gestures, and the Sandman giggles, a horrible, drunken sound coming from him instead of the little girl.
He looks... sick. Starving. Weak. It takes two tries for him to get down off the egg crates, and he slips anyway. He reaches a hand out to catch himself on an egg crate, still making a terrifically huge splash. None the less he rights himself, brandishing his shank before him in his right hand. His left drips blood into the pool, hot and red, bleeding from where the egg crate left a gash. An empty green booze-bottle passes and he snatches that up in his injured hand, breaking it against a rock-candy boulder. "I know what you're afraid of. I know what you're afraid of. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE AFRAID OF!"" His scream echoes hugely in the room, spittle flying from his mouth. He thrusts the shank into the air, pointing toward Ava, "You ruined it! You ruined it again!" His sunken chest heaves, sweat mingling with the water glistening on his body, "You ruined it and you're going to ruin it again! I'll kill you!"Whoever this man is, he is clearly insane and violent. You may all try to speak to him, if you wish. Or, you may roll initiative immediately. The cavern is about the size of a small apartment, and he is currently at the opposite end of it from you. It would only take a single movement action from anyone to cross the space and be touching-distance from him. However, because of the water and the slick candy floor, before each action characters must make a Dexterity + Athletics roll to keep their feet, barring mitigating factors. Failing this roll means you slip and fall in the water, losing your action, but succeeding your roll on the next turn means you stand as a free action. Additionally all physical rolls, including that previous one, are going to be penalized by 2 due to the slippery footing and the necessity of wading, and your Defense will be penalized by 1 if you're in the water, barring mitigating factors.