It takes some time, but Morin is soon drawing handfulls of silver and copper coins from the muck. Most bear the marks of having been minted in Magnimar, Kaer Maga or Korvosa, but some seem much older, with obscure markings and cryptic languages beaten into the precious metal.
Sarusa extends Spirit Sense, and also peers down the left hand tunnel.
Morin joins Sarusa in listening down the left-hand tunnel. If she neither of them sense anything, he gives her a wink and a nod and slips down the tunnel as quietly as he's able, until he reaches the end of where he can see by Sarusa's light.
Karo stays near the rear of the group, watching for anything coming from behind.
Sarusa senses nothing untoward from the left, and between her and Morin's keen eyes, there is no sign of danger.
The left hand passageway opens into a small, low-ceilinged cave, littered with slender, yet flexible bones and overlarge, decayed and muck-encrusted fish heads, most likely the leavings of Locatha unlucky enough to be caught by the drakes. There are several ruined shell byrnies amid the debris, and buried in the filth, bones and rotting scales, Morin spies a fine rapier with a matching hilt and scabbard, tastefully decorated with copper filigree vines that flower into mother-of-pearl flowers.
To the right, you are able to spy a faint light. And exploration reveals a low exit to the caverns, just high enough for the taller members of the group to pass through without stooping. Beyond it lies the small, rocky beach that you saw from above this morning.
The central passage curves off to the left, beyond any of your vision, while a smaller sub passage lies hard alongside the lake-side opening.
Morin picks up the beautifully-made rapier, drawing it from the scabbard with an admiring whistle and saying, "Gah, wonder who left this here? It's a beauty. Karo, this would suit you." He slips it back into the sheath and offers it to Karozekas.
He then gestures at the main passage and says, "Shall we check out this tunnel, then come back and take a look at that smaller opening by the lakeside once we've checked out the lair proper?"
Sarusa nods, glancing over the drakes' midden. "There's still no sign or explanation to the infestation that plagued these beasts. Perhaps one of these two passages will generate a clue."
She glances at the shore's light. "I do hope Plod and Gellig are getting on well..."
"Any plan is better than.. no plan, right..?" Chloe asks wistfully, happier now than she has been in some time. "Let us press on."
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"There's still no sign or explanation to the infestation that plagued these beasts. Perhaps one of these two passages will generate a clue."
"You don't think that whatever the Drakes had could be contracted by humans do you? I don't want to have what they had."
Corbyn grudgingly presses forward with the party.
Sarusa turns to look at Corbyn, her eyes hard. "The worms were from another plane of existence, Corbyn. Anything is possible. However, the locathah never mentioned any of them getting the sickness, so we have that hope," she says, attempting to sound a bit softer, or at least less gruff.
She swings her club carefully as they walk, scanning for danger.
Karo nods and accepts the rapier. "Thank you Morin, I'll try to make good use of it." He loops the scabbard onto his belt amd follows the others.
The party presses deeper into the cavern and every few feet comes upon a filth-coated treasure, seemingly strewn about at random, perhaps in some fit of rage. All told, you find the following items:
A set of six ivory dice (30gp)
two silver plates and a silver noble's seal, all embossed with the same crest (60gp each, 180gp total)
an elaborate set of crystal wind chimes (60gp)
two ivory drinking horns banded in copper, bearing the same crest as the plates and seal (60gp each)
an engraved golden scarab with inset lapis lazuli of Osiriani make (175 gp)
a nice piece of unworked walrus tusk (45gp)
a copper scepter with gold inlay (50gp)
a porcelain mask (40gp)
the following small, semiprecious gems:
turquoise (11gp)
rhodochrosite (9gp)
malachite (8gp)
and agate (11gp)
and ten irregular freshwater pearls (10gp each)
136 platinum crowns, 1012 gold sails, 2712 silver shields, and 3540 copper pinches
there are also three potion vials, two scrolls, and a wand
At the back of the cavern, flanking what may have once been Qarxoosla's bedding down area stand two matching, three foot high, solid silver statues of dragons rampant, each weighing at least 10 lbs. (150gp for the matched set, or 65 gp each)
Sarusa scans the area with Spirit Sense again, wary of grubs among the goods.
"Karo, perhaps you can identify these wands while I search for the worms" she says, focusing on the gossamer weave of ley lines that overlay the visible world, trying to tease out nodes of not-locality.
Karo nods and begins to examine the items.
Morin's eyes light up at the first couple of finds, and as they move down the tunnel, his grin grows until it spreads from ear to ear and threatens to circle around behind his head. "What a glorious hoard! We're gonna have to bring the cart from town for all this!" He grows a bit more somber as he considers where all the treasures must have come from, "That drake mother's brought a lot of folk back here for lunch, it seems, and we're only seeing the stuff from those who had money, never mind the poor sailors she took. I'm glad we've put an end to her, for the sake of those who live by the lake and those who live below it."
Lifting the dragon statues reveals that they are extremely light. By your keen senses of deduction, you can safely assume that they are silver plated and hollow.
Karozekas discovers that the potions are of blur and protection from chaos. There is also an oil of bless weapon. There is an arcane scroll of alter self (CL3) and a divine scroll of remove disease (CL 5). There is also a fully charged wand of magic weapon (CL1).
Chloe just chuckles to herself as is her way. She's just as happy about this as many of the others.
"I-I can take some of these in my bag, as long as they're not too big, you know. As long as you're willing to.. help.. I can make trips, too..."
"All right, then," says Morin, "let's collect all that we can carry of this stuff and get out of here. There was one more little passage near the opening to the lake. Shall we take a look at that, so's we can tell the folks in town we did a thorough job of it?"
Morin begins moving back down the hall, his pockets bulging with ivory, gems and coin, and asks contemplatively, "Ye think we can climb back up with all this stuff? Or should we hire a boat again - maybe a different one - and come collect it that way? Pretty unlikely anyone's gonna come in and try to take it while we're gone, not knowin' Quarzoosher is dead an' all."
"We should alert the locathah," says Sarusa. "Some of these items may be theirs."
Sarusa nods to Morin. "Yes, we need to search this place thoroughly, and we need those mages, much as I didn't enjoy them, to investigate the otherworldly source of those grubs."
Sarusa picks up several piles of treasure and stashes them in her backpack, then shrugs and stashes more.
She lifts her chin and eyebrow at Tekk, intending for them to lead down the tunnel.
Well burdened with Qarxoosla's hoard, the party makes its way back to the lakeside cave mouth and the unexplored passageway. The air here is a bit fresher, the stench much more bearable, and the faint daylight beyond the low opening, combined with your new-found wealth leads to a not unreasonable sense of optimism.
Unfortunately, the remaining passageway is dark, low and cramped, and burdened as you are, will be difficult to traverse in a quiet fashion.
When your light illuminates the tunnel, you can hear a faint coughing from the depths, followed by a weak hissing.
אוי לך גנבים רצחניים, אז קדימה, לסיים אותי! בסופו של העינוי הזה אחת ולתמיד!
Oh you murderous thieves, come on then, finish me, end this torment once and for all!
Walking along awkwardly with his burden of treasure, Morin freezes when he hears the coughing and hissing, asking in a voice of quiet alarm, "What was that?"
Karozekas translates the strange syllables for the group's benefit.
Sarusa drops her treasure. "Tell it to show itself," she says to Karozekas.
Morin sets down his loaded backpack, draws his blades and says, "Guess we should take a look. Can you make us a little light, Sarusa?"
Sarusa nods and casts Light on a pebble, then tosses it into the darkness.
Sarusa's light reveals the rapidly expiring form of the last of Qarxoosla's brood. The pathetic dragonling is has done its best to dig itself into the rich earth of the cave walls, but the wounds it had suffered what seems like months ago when you first entered the caverns seem to have been its undoing. The acrid tang of it's acidic phlegm wafts out toward you. The floor before it is a ghastly soup of bile, phlegm, blood, and rapidly expiring worms.
With a last, shuddering breath, the drake collapses into its own fluids, whatever secrets it possessed dying with it.
You are able to return to Galduria without further incident, your bags and pouches bulging with Qarxoosla's accumulated wealth.
"Karo, hit this drake and the worms with your Ray of Frost repeatedly," says Sarusa, her eyes on the fresh corpse. "I want to to preserve it for those damnable arcanists, who may be able to identify those worms, annoying as they are. I mean the arcanists are annoying--well, so are the worms."
"I-I'm happy we cleared that up, Sarusa... I was confused, you know, for a moment." Chloe says thoughtfully.
Morin chuckles at Sarusa's wording, and agrees, "Aye, it'll be good to end our dealings with the arcanists and get back on the road to...where was it we were going again? Rivendell? Oh, right, Ravenmoor! You weren't the only one confused, Chloe, lass."
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"OK, That settles it! I'm out of here! No more Drakes, or worms, acid burns or tunnels. I'm taking my phat pile of loot and heading to Galduria to equip then I'm going to complete the mision."
Annoyed with the sight of the Drake, Corbyn storms out of the tunnel, mounts Plod and takes the lead back to town.
Karo nods at Sarusa's suggestion and begins pelting the drake and worms with rays of frost. Freeze ray! Freeze ray! Freeze ray!...
"But... Corbyn... She wants us to carry a whole frozen drake out of the-," Chloe calls out, again sounding way too breathy for someone shouting on top of their lungs.
"Lifting isn't my.. my strongpoint." she says apologetically to Sarusa(or the stalagmite that most resembles her at the time until she realizes her error and jumps).