Her voice cold, Cynara considers the holy symbol. "We'll have to do something about that one, too. Padrym, that was well done; if she'd had the chance to channel against us here or at our first meeting that item could have made things harder for all of us." She cuts the right ears from the downed gnolls. "Ordinarily I'd say this would be a good place to camp for the night, but I find I don't much care for the company. Let's get the camels and our tracker friend and try to go a little farther before we stop."
Nabo leads you on for a short time along the ridge of the hills, though soon stops excitedly "Big stinky-smell up there" gesturing towards a hollow similar to the one you left behind in the valley before Tar-Urkatha. You cannot see into it without drawing closer, but you believe that a cave entrance may be held within.
The sun is just beginning to descend below the line of the horizon.
The tall elf tilts her head in the way all of you have come to associate with her listening intently, and then she sniffs at the air and squints down at the ground. "Not that anyone should find this surprising, but I see no sign of gnoll or hyena tracks. I don't hear any hyena cries, either, and I don't smell anything like gnolls about."
Back at the bramble ambush.
Love seps out of he shadows returning the fragile flask to his pack as he does.
"Subtle work there Padrym. You have a real feel for this kind of job." Love's broad smile belies the apparent criticism in his words.
Later
"Hmmm we appear to have left the dog-boys territory. No more tracks. Whatever is around here they are giving it plenty of room." Love contemplates the fading light. "What say we pay them a visit 'round dawn? Be right neighborly no?"
The night passes easily for those on watch, the area where you have camped reasonably clear of wildlife. You hear a few distant howls and yips carried on the breeze, but to your relief they stay distant. The morning brings light drizzle and a cold change, but you are ready to move on shortly.
Returning to the hollow you find it as you left it. The open area in the hollow is littered with bleached and drying bones of gnoll and hyena alike, though there are not any fresh bodies. A large cavemouth opens up at the throat of the hollow, and looks large enough for the giant that you faced to pass within.
Moving towards the cavemouth, you are hit by a strong stench akin to the cave giant you slew before Tar-Urkatha... though at least the stench doesn't seem fresh. Nabo refuses to draw any closer than the entry of the hollow, staying well clear with the camels in tow.
The initial entry chamber is empty and it looks like there are two passages branching off deeper into the cave. Both are sized large enough for giant's passage. The entry chamber is limned with a layer of filth and giant sized tracks are easily seen on the floor.
Additionally, you'd guess that there are more than one size of giant tracks on the floor - meaning that more than one giant lived here...
Moving easily into the cave, the group travels through a winding passage and into a chamber replete with a stench of a different kind. Multiple pens like the ones that the cave giant built to house the lizards are set up within the cave. Clearly this was a stable of sorts for a sizable number of cave dwelling lizards... though there are none still alive. Decaying corpses of several lizards lie in the pens and outside of them, though a simple count shows that the number of dead don't equal the number of pens.
The rest of the chamber has a mound of rotting animal parts that was likely their foodsource. Against one wall are a selection of oversized crude wrangling tools, which were likely used in the care of the lizards. There are also a number of smaller tunnels off the main chamber, though they do not lead anywhere.
Cynara examines the dead lizards with skillful hands. "Look here, at these stab marks--clearly from a blade, and one no more than three fingers wide. I think they were killed by someone our size. And they were in good shape before they died. I'd guess that the giant fled with a few of his lizards when he was chased off and the chasers took care of the rest of them." Standing up, she shakes the decayed gore and bits of lizard off of her hands. "Dolgrym, I have a favor to ask of you...."
"Aha, I thought that was what you were talking about. Coem here, then." He takes the elf's hands and casts a quick cantrip. Cynara's hands begin glowing bright as a torch with radiant light.
Unfortunately, the elf's hands were just as grimey as they had been before. The dwarf begins cackling at the sight of the glowing hands. "Tough luck, lassie. I don't have Prestidigitation memorized today. I do have Light prepared though," he continues laughing a the prack he played.
Cynara smiles a little weakly at Dolgrym's jest. "Now, if you'd made only the filth glow I could have washed it off better. My thanks, Padrym. You've probably seen...and smelled...what happens when healers don't wash." She is lost in reverie briefly, and the memory is apparently not a happy one, then returns to the present and follows Feigr.
Heading towards the second tunnel the lizard stench diminishes and giant stench resumes. After a longer intermediate tunnel it opens into a larger chamber that you'd guess was a sleeping and living area, with filthy pelts making two beds of sorts in one corner and a collection of well gnawed bones against one wall. There is a powerful smell of excrement on the air, and none of you particularly want to explore the one offshoot tunnel from the room as the worst of the smell comes from that direction.
"I've no idea, but I'm not seeing anything worth further exploration here."
Perception
"That is strange, look there. There are booted footprints as well as the giant prints. Also some blood stains mixed in with the dirt." Khepri point it out for the others.
"You think there might be a hidden tunnel somewhere around here?"
The party searches the room and is not able to find any secret doors or hidden passages.
Love is sure that this is predominately a natural cavern system, though some of the walls and roof have been crudely worked to provide more room. Looking over the tracks you see that they are mainly centered around the entrance to the chamber and near to the dried blood.