The boars appear to be untouched, though there are some vultures or condors overhead. The stronger of you bring them along as you return.
When you reach the small settlement, Rickety sees you coming and approaches. "So, what did you find? And what's with the pigs? A little hunting excursion along the way?"
Your man is dead...something hit him or bit him on the head.
Looking at the pigs...
These guys, well they did not like that we were walking down the path. We felt that maybe dinner was a better use of them.
"Well, that's a shame about Lyle, but he was an old drunk bastard, anyhow. It appears that Rotgut has taken a liking to you." At that, you notice that the red macaw has followed you and watches from a nearby branch. Rickety calls out to a boy barely old enough to have a scruff of frizzle about his face. "Tob, carry those pigs around back and have Cook get them ready to put in a pit. It'll take a while for them to cook up, but we should have a hell of a party while we wait to rechristen this ship you brought us."
"I guess now that we have a parrot, we're real pirates."
"Nay, we still need a peg leg and an eyepatch. Still, let's walk. I was in the water for a minute and something tried to drown me already. Also, my fur smells bad when wet."
"Yeah, I don't think I want to try fighting a snake from a row boat. Walking sounds good to me," Grak says.
The jungle is thick and difficult to pass. You will need a machete to make your way through the undergrowth. You might even want to hire one of the locals to act as a cutter, but that is up to you.
You move along beside the river, which is brown and flows sluggishly.
The red macaw continues to follow along, flitting from branch to branch as you make your way.
Ordrax keeps a slight distance between him and the river.
Do not want any snakes to pop out of the water for an easy snack
He looks back a few times at the macaw.
I heard that those bird are pretty tasty. I am starting to get hungry.
As you head upstream, the ground beneath you becomes increasingly wet and difficult to pass. The highest ground is hard and cracked, and you suspect that, without the recent drought, this area might be completely impassable by food.
After a few miles, the area becomes extremely difficult to pass. The thick undergrowth grasps at you as you pass, and the mud grasps at your boots.
Grak trudges along, constantly scanning the river and the jungle for any movement. As the travelling becomes more difficult, Grak struggles to keep from walking out of his boots.
"Maybe we should have taken a boat after all. This isn't getting us very far," he says surveying the thick jungle. "Unless someone has an idea on how to get through this, maybe we should turn around."
You can get a guide by the name of Stoddard to cut for you and move you along.
"Not too far ahead there are some ruins. Some snakes tend to hang around there, sunning on the rocks."
"I suggest we just cut through it. Unless someone is hiding in ambush, waiting to take potshots at us, it's just mud."
Grak looks at Stoddard and then back at the jungle. "If you say so. I can't see a thing. At least we know there is something up here," he says as they continue on.
"No, don't take my word. I'm hungover and anything I say is likely terrible advice. Stoddard! Earn your pay, how do we get through this swamp?"
Pushing through for a few more hours, you are swarmed by mosquitoes, swatting myriad insects and slogging through swamp. Stoddard does his best, but the lowlands are nearly impassable. Nevertheless, you pass through the muck and vegetation, finally reaching stone. Stoddard smiles as he cuts through a final palm frond. As it falls, you see beyond it a structure of fitted stone in ruins.
Columns line the walls of this small room, each decorated with a high-relief carving of a lizard creature in a different pose. Some of the lizard sculptures sit serenely in meditation or reach out with their faces as if to deliver blessings to the viewer, while others adopt more naturalistic poses. The floor is littered with decaying plant matter and mud, and the stench of rotting muck pervades the area. An open archway leads south out into the jungle, while a second leads north deeper into the temple.
ordrax remains still as he takes in the scene. Shifting his eyes from one spot to the next.
...lizards?...
Raush breathes fully, a smile on his face. "Aaah, this smells like home. I honestly thought some crocodiles were going to bite us back there."
He starts moving north. "This must be some sort of druidic place, or maybe there were lizardfolks around. Or nagas, or maybe someone worships a reptile god. Was there a deity of snakes somewhere in the world? Sounds like there should be one."
Veltisiel looks around for anything worthy of note.
The length of time the trip is taking starts to wear on Grak. Every 30 minutes or so he asks how much farther until they reach the ruins.
"Finally we made it. Your idea of "not too far ahead" and mine are very different," Grak says to Stoddard before looking around.
This appears to be a temple devoted to Ydersius, but a Ydersius from before the time when his head was separated from his body.
Keep an eye out for snakes. There may be something of value here. A door maybe that leads to something of value.
Columns line the walls of this small room, each decorated with a high-relief carving of a humanoid lizard in a different pose. Some of the lizard sculptures sit serenely in meditationvor reach out with their hands as if to deliver blessings to the viewer, while others adopt more naturalistic poses. The floor is littered with decaying plant matter and mud, and the stench of rotting muck pervades the area. Beyond, a second arch leads north deeper into the temple.
Ordrax doesn't notice much, but he can't help but miss the three people emerging from the temple. The is a human woman, perhaps of Garundi extraction, heavily tatooed. A halfling woman and a human man, each wearing a chain shirt. The man carries a morningstar, the halfling woman a crossbow, an axe at her belt.
The tatooed woman steps forward, shouting "Who in the Abyss are you? This is our find. Get out of the way and we won't have any trouble."
Ordrax looks surprised that someone is here but it quickly fades as he hears the woman speak.
Laughing slightly at the threat, his teeth showing
Wow, really...straight to the threats...ok then.
Your huckle bearer, not anymore and it is too late for that.
He looks up at the others and then points at the tattooed woman.
I call dibs on her toes.
"Ah. Well, if it's their find, fair is fair, it's not like we're pirates or something, are we? Oh, wait, we are. I mean, I wasn't even too interested in this thing, but if you're so willing to defend it, well, color me curious!"
Grak is surprised to find someone here. "Oh sure, why couldn't we have just used the path they cut to get here. Would have saved us a bunch of time," he thinks to himself.
He chuckles at Ordrax's and Raush's statements and waits to see how the 3 "explorers" react.
"Let's not get too hasty. We don't have to kill them. They might be useful," he says.
"Who are you and how did you get here?"
The group seems cowed by Ordrax's sudden ferocity. "Of course, little lizard man. Clearly you are the superior force. We found this ruin while we were making our way toward the shore. There isn't much here, anyway. You take it. Just let us go."
Picking up on a vibe that he touch a nerve...
not so fast...I do believe some questions were asked...and would require answers.
The obvious leader puffs up her chest and says, "I am Asvika. We came here from the South. We were lost in the jungle for a short time, but the sea breeze brought us in this direction. We are close to the shore, yes? The river must flow into the sea near here. The river has broadened into a delta..."
Grak looks over the group. "From the south you say. How did you get to the island? Do you have a ship moored off-shore? Are you cast-a-ways?" he inquires.
Ravenna glowers from behind, mostly slapping away mosquitoes.
"We came into the jungle near Blood Cove, and cut our way here. We were 2 weeks exploring, and a week lost before we came to the river and followed it here."
"Well, I'm satisfied with them, and curious about this temple. Sometimes places like this have offerings and other treasures inside, and the seas know if we need some liquidity. Unless Ordrax is adamant on expanding his toe collection, I believe we can leave these folks go do their living, yes?"
"Out in the jungle for 3 weeks and a week of that lost? That's impressive. You know, we could use such resourceful people for our crew. You looking for a job?"
"What sort of job? You some sort of explorers? There are all sorts of ruins hereabouts. We could lead you to them, for a price..."
"Of a sort." Veltisiel speaks for the first time, "We're free captains. Lots of adventure, plenty of pay, and quite exciting. Well, technically I'm the Free Captain, but we do like to let our crew have a sizeable say in the sailing. What do you say?"
"You're pirates?!Then what are you doing here? Treasure seeking? You may be disappointed, but good luck. And you have a ship nearby? We aren't skilled sailors, all, but we could work off passage to a port, and Wendell here is an experienced sailor."
"In a sense. We've only just recently acquired our ship, so we're getting a lay of the land- so to speak" Vel glances towards the officers who dragged him along with them, "But if you so choose, we'll take you along." he offers.
"I'll recommend ruins in the jungle to any short-staffed captain in the Shackles, then. Let's take a look inside, then."
Raush moves towards the entrance of the temple, prodding at the floor with his staff.
toes....
In the second room, Raush sees a mosaic of a lizard-faced figure decorates the floor of this room, though the tiles that would form its eyes are missing. The north end of the room is filled with rubble blocking an arched passageway. To the west, vines and foliage intrude into the temple through an open-air balcony, while a similar balcony to the east remains relatively clear of plant life. An open archway leads south.
"Glad to hear it. It's always good to have more help," he says before following Raush into the next room.
He pauses to take in the scene before turning to the new recuits and pointing at the pile of rubble. "Did you see what was behind there," he asks.
He then turns to Ordrax. "Care to scamper up there to see what's beyond that? Otherwise it looks like we need to head out the east balcony."
Let us see what we can see then.
Ordrax slowly climbs up rubble and looks around a bit before trying to squeeze himself through the small opening.
As he start to push throught he stops his squirming and remains still. He eyes and head moving from side to side...looking for the danger that should be there.
A large statue of a lizard-faced man sits on a pedestal at the north end of this small shrine. The statue’s arms and legs are missing, and deep scratches have been gouged into its face. Pieces of broken stone, rotting plant matter, and other assorted rubbish lie in heaps on the floor of this room. The smell of rot is particularly strong here.
Rubble slides from the top of the pile in both directions as Ordrax makes his way into the gap.
Raush pushes his quarterstaff halfway through the opening Ordrax squeezed through. "If you're in danger, tiny one, scream, hold on to my stick and I'll try to pull you out!"
I got a large statue of a lizard-faced man...on some pedestal. It is missing the arms and legs...the face is gouged from some deep scratches like whomever did this really did not like it. Rubbish is heaped all around me and there is a strong rot odor. No one about that I can tell.
Ordrax is just noticing that the statue is wearing a real leather belt when he is surprised to hear a voice to his right.
"Quite a sight, isn't he. Terrible what was done to this place. Are you a pilgrim, scaly-kin?"
Turning to the voice, you see a cloaked, red-scaled kobold in a cloak, holding a long wooden staff.