The hawk detects nothing of concern to it, and so you open the door.
The walls of this room are lined with small wooden cages. Inside each cage is a dirty mound of straw. There is nothing of real interest here.
Faywen moves to the easternmost door, examining it for any traps as well.
Trox takes a look at the cages.
"Looks like nothing here. Good... good."
If nothing immediately attacks Trox is ready to keep moving. he impatiently watches the others as they get ready to move.
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"Let me handle this." Reynard says, stepping forward with a set of tools in hand.
Druamin looks over the straw lined cages. "I'm guessing animals. Let's keep going." He steps aside so that Reynard can work on the east door.
Crates, barrels, and mounds of miscellaneous refuse lie heaped against the walls here. To the north, the sound of crashing surf echoes.
"Anything interesting in there?" Faywen whispers from the back of the line, an eye out for trouble.
"Looks pretty empty," Druamin replies to Faywen. "There's a passage." He nods at Erond. "Yeah, let's keep going."
Druamin moves to the front, Kuba trudging behind him.
The floor of this cavern (D7) seems strangely polished and smooth. To the east, a thick curtain of vines and nettles hangs down over a wide opening, overlooking the Varisian Gulf.
A blue creature covered in red eyes and tentacles (2 of which being much longer than the others), swipes at Druamin from its perch among the stalagtites. But the attack is clumsy and does little but make Druamin notice it.
Unsure quite what he's dealing with, Reynard fills the time by hurling a dagger at it. Then he tries to move around it to set up a flank.
Trox identifies the creature as a Tentamort.
"Nasty things, these tentamorts. Two ling tentacles - one to grab you, the other with a stinger to poison you and liquify your insides for eating. They aren't that hard to kill, but too often by the time you know they are there it is too late!"
Reynard's dagger drives home one point, as he lodges a dagger into one of its eyes.
Cool - both Reynard and Erond hit their target. Vinccenso is up.
The tentamort lashes out at Erond, but clearly it is hurt and not very accurate.
At the sound of fighting, Faywen steps past Trox and as close to the fight as the cramped conditions will allow, summoning water into her hand as she moves. As soon as she has sight of the creature attacking her allies, the undine flings the gathered elemental matter in its direction.
If you move up, you can reach it.
"Well best get this done with. Not sure how I ended up in the back of the line."
She weaves her way between the people to get to the front and bring the sword down.
"Guess I am not so rusty at this."
"Wow Trox. Something got into you I guess." Druamin strides up to the tentamort and strikes out at it.
He holds a hand up towards Kuba. "Stay there Kuba. I don't think we need you yet."
Trox slides in there, dodging the flailing tentacle and cuts off part of the appendage. It takes both Druamin and Erond to finish the thing off, but luckily the creature falls to the ground, dead.
The cave you are in leads to open air, but contains little besides a few bones of birds, it seems. But a passage leading further back reveals the lair of this creature.
Dozens of strange dead bodies lie scattered about this room (D8). Most are sea birds and ospreys, but there are six dead goblins here as well. Each body is literally skin and bones, as if all of the interior organs and muscles have somehow been drained away, leaving behind skeletons draped with leathery, slowly rotting skin.
Besides the armor and weapons that lie in rotting, rusty heaps, one carcass still wears a suit of +1 hide armor (made from dogs) and bears a ruined (but once masterwork) horsechopper and a masterwork short bow.
Trox wipes her blade with a piece of cloth that she keeps tucked in her belt. She stares at the creature for a moment in with a sad look before sighing and turning to see what else is going on.
"There are halflings in town and that armor, despite being vile, is very valuable. If we are to do this we use the enemies tools against them even if it is to sell and buy supplies."
He starts gathering anything that could be of value while mumbeling to himself in a less gruff, higher, voice then normal.
"That was good I had room to get close and try and get its attention if we did not kill it quickly."
"Well struck, friends. I hate to think what that creature could have done if it got a hold of any of us." Faywen steps into the room after the others and kneels next to the goblin corpses, examining them. "They couldn't have rotted this quickly...what could have done this?"
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"Let me take a look. I have some knowledge of anatomical matters." Reynard says, before taking a few moments to examine the bodies.
"Thank you for indulging me, Reynard. Once we're done in here, I think we should keep moving. Our fight, short as it was, likely drew the attention of anything else still around."
Druamin nods at Faywen. "Agreed. Let's keep moving. There were more doors off of the main landing when we first came down the stairs. We should go back there."
Druamin and Kubo follow Trox as he makes his way back to one of the unexplored halls.
Faywen nods, following after the others. She is careful to keep an eye on the rear, in case something tries sneaking up on them.
Once they are ready Trox will position to either open the door or be one of the first though the opening.
This bedroom has a faint musty odor. The bed is covered with matted gray and black hair, and bloodstains mar the stone floor, while a morbid stack of birds' feet lies heaped on the floor by the side of the bed.
Working your way to the next door to the north, you find:
This one-person bedroom shows many signs of having been lived in. The bed itself is rumpled and unmade, and a half-eaten meal of bread and
smoked salmon sits on the nightstand. A few articles of dirty clothing sit at the foot of the bed.
Looking in a mirror in the corner, adjusting his armor, is the likely tenant (picture on map).
You get a surprise round.
Faywen, reacting to the surprise inhabitant, summons a water blast, ready to slam it into the first enemy she sees.
Tox raises his sword and simply states.
"Come out"
As he stands to one side of the door, sword ready to strike.
Remaining in the hallway, Druamin also calls to the man. "We'd like to talk to you. Join us out here."
"Um, no thanks. I think I will just stay in here. Who are you?"