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Following the trail created by the whistle was easy since it led directly down a tunnel until we reached a pond. Some mounds of mud got our attention because of some hands sticking out of them, one of which had a ring. We knew [or at leat hoped] this was not the couple we were after since the trail led past them. But that ring merited investigation, even if we feared it was a trap.
It was, and a flood of mudmen jumped out of the water and after us after Quarion Feycrown, the eladrin mage tried to use a mage hand to take the ring. They were of no great threat to us, but their real purpose was to hold us in place while their betters downed us with large and punishing balls of mud. Abraxus the dragonborn paladin and Merill the halfling thief suffered much of the damage.
Realizing that the minions would keep us pinned too long [ooc-Since we had 7 PC, our DM added waves of minions instead of the rare one.], I ordered those who could move to concentrate on the greater threat instead of trying to clear out the nearer enemy. [Ironically, I had ordered most of these people back earlier since they were the more vulnerable.] Merill, Quarion and Jarren the human wizard were able to move forward and concentrate fire on the real threat. [I was not able to take my own advice since several of the minions kept after me, but I was able to heal the wounded.] Ryltar the drow ranger also started attacking their missile people, but minions distracted him too.
The wizards and the thief were quite effective in clearing out most of the big mud men and the lesser ones began to run low too. Cyrus the elf scout got the last of the mud throwers with a very powerful blow. Soon we were free to examine that ring and the bodies more closely.
The dead proved to be most of the party that had been sent out before us to find the missing prince. We give them a brief service and devoted their gear to the goal they had died to achieve.
Continuing on, we found the tunnel becoming more and more magical. Finally we found another pond, with a strange waterfall at the far end. But before we could examine it, we also noted a locket in the water. It had belonged to the missing prince and had a picture of the elven lass. Clearly she had lured him here for whatever devious purpose she had in mind. [The devious fey in the party didn’t admit to anything, but didn’t object to continuing.]
The waterfall proved to be stopped. Our wizards talked about time running slower in the feyworld, which seems insane, But it turned out that the waterfall was a wall when we tried to push thru, but only water when we tried that very slowly.
So we found ourselves in a room, where there was more evidence that the couple had passed this way, and so we continue to trail after them.

SEASONING OF GREENBOW – 3. Dirty and Clean

The passage continued to lead deeper into the mountain, tho I was not sure if we were above or below the level of the cave entrance as it went both up and down. However, it eventually led to a muddy cave, where we beheld a grim sight, the hands of a man and a main coming out of lumps of mud. We debated whether there was any hope at all that our mission had not come to a tragic end, but as we did so, the inhabitants of the pond, some antimated mud figures got up and attacked us.
Fortunately, most of us were alert, and they did not achieve the surprise they had hoped. They did manage to surprise Taragdin the Satyr thief and he was seriously hurt. So was I for that matter, But Bin the changling psion managed to cut down their numbers And Petunia Petals the pixie wizard managed to finish the one who was attacking me. Thereafter, it was just a matter of moping up. Violet the pixie bard kept us , Taragdin in particular, on our feet. Tamlin Parsnips the pixie barbarian gave out good damage, perhaps as much as I did. And quickly out foes were reduced to the mud they had come from. [The whole area being rather magical, I should not be surprised to see them come back or be replaced. However, they did not do so while we were there.]
We were surprised to find the mud on the victims to be tough, and none of us were physically strong. However, eventually we confirmed that these were the bodies of a man and a woman. [Also a halfling . It seems those mud men could be deadly.] Happily for us, they were not the couple we sought. We had heard that the humans had sent out a party too and it seemed like these were some members of it.
Continuing on, we reached a very strange waterfall, which was falling at an extremely slow speed, perhaps an inch a minute. It is said that time in the feywild can run at strange speeds And so this seemed to be a sign this was our way in. Adding to this feeling was a locket we found, which had a picture of the missing lass, which was likely lost as the couple crossed the waterfall.
Our own crossing was more difficult than expected. Bin especially had a bad time until we figured out the trick and managed to enter a room on the other side of the waterfall. There we found evidence that the couple might have come that way, and so traveled on in much better spirits.