The Colony - Turn 17 - It's a Dirty Job

With the lizard dead, the party turns their attention to looting and further exploration.


Start Date: July 23, noonish
Start Status: Further Exploration
Start Location: In the Wilderness (hex 39,27)

White Tulip: Smoke, Rennard, Shade, Zenobe, Mendel, One-eye, Maarek, Hagan, Sim
Exploring: Xon, Adrienne, Nogg, Aaron, Brigg, Candle, Kessel, Jinx, Javiera

The Turn

With the main threat dead, the party turns their attention to other potential threats and the rest of the cave. Several party members search through the debris, bones, and boulders on the ground while Candle examines the water for purity (it's safe to drink). Brigg and Kessel prepare to cross to the island, with Nogg holding ropes tied to their waists. The searchers find two more sets of human remains here and turn up scattered coins (41 GP, 87 SP, 404 CP), scraps of clothing and another torn-up uniform, and a moldy sack that probably once held bread and cheese.

Brigg and Kessel easily make it to the island and confirm the lizard is dead. The crossing is easy as the water is only knee deep. The island is about 30 feet long east-west. From their new position, the scouts can see the west end of the cave has a small shore with a few stalagmites rising from the floor. There is also another passage in the south wall of the cave, just past the west end of the island. The acrid odor the group noticed before is stronger here, and seems to be coming from the north tunnel.


The party advances to the island, and several people go to work on the lizard, removing claws, cutting off the head as a trophy, and removing the hide. It's a big job as the thing must weigh two tons or more. Brigg and Kessel are more interested in the nest on the western point of the island. It holds a dozen leathery eggs, each about 16 inches long. A careful search uncovers nothing else of interest on the island.

After examining the nest, the pair wades across to the western shore, which proves to be quite barren. Next, they check each of the tunnels, never venturing out of sight of the main group.

The north tunnel is solid stone and appears completely natural. It takes a sharp western turn after 10 feet, and a sheer 12-foot drop forms a barrier to progress. The pair can see another comparable drop 15 feet further along the tunnel. The trickle of water dribbles over these ledges and continues out of sight. The smell definitely comes from here.

The south tunnel narrows and takes an immediate turn to the east. Aside from a few scattered stones, there is nothing else in sight. It also looks like a natural passage.

It takes close to two hours to take care of the lizard remains. When the work is done, the group has a lizard head that weighs 100 pounds, 20 large but otherwise unremarkable claws (1 pound each), and a roll of untanned leather that weighs 300 pounds. The beast's stomach was devoid of anything useful or interesting.

Those who did the butchery rinse themselves off in the water, several times, and then the party forms up to continue their exploration. No one seems interested in trying to negotiate the drop-offs, so they turn their attention south. The tunnel allows single file only, runs almost straight east, and slopes gently downward. It opens into a rough cavern at the east end, which, in turn, connects to what's clearly a constructed room about 10 x 15 feet in size with a 15-foot high domed ceiling. The entry to the room is partially blocked by large boulders (a collapsed wall, perhaps). A 10-foot wide staircase runs east and down from the room's west wall.


OOC

Obviously, the party needs to decide what they're really taking from the lizard, and how.

You can get past the blockage, but it'll be a tight squeeze scrambling/crawling. There were no signs of passage along either of the tunnels.

The floor of the north tunnel is pretty slick from water and mud.

End Date: July 23, early afternoon
End Status: Victory?
End Location: In the Wilderness (hex 39,27)