Surveying the area, Brindle and Saraon both agree that the coast is clear.
"Let's get back to the camp...we may want to circle the metaphorical wagons in case those weren't the only ones skulking around," Saraon says to Brindle.
Brindle nods and lopes off toward the wagon, seemingly uninterested in looting...
The rest of the night passes uneventfully.
Come morning, the party sets out again after a quick breakfast of jerky, jarred apples, and coffee.
Around noon, the group finds the next location, a small cave up an old trail off the main road.
Three-toed, clawed tracks can be seen in the dirt around the cave.
Saraon, admiring the stark beauty of the wasteland, fails to notice the important natural details right in front of him.
Brindle points to tracks on the ground.
”Creatures have been here, not long ago...with three claws on each foot...”
"Good eyes Brindle. Anyone have any ideas what sort of things have three clawed feet?"
He asked hefting his Bardiche and cracking his neck. He was going to assume that the three clawed tracks were hostile...hell everything seemed hostile in these lands for the most part.
Sliding out from under the wagon, Sprig peeks at the tracks Brindle pointed out. "Hrmm... Some kinda bird?"
Now that the tracks have been brought to his attention, Saraon ponders what beast might have left them.
The tracks don't look like an animal's at all. Sprig identifies these tracks as those of a chupacabra, a bipedal reptilian beast known for draining it's victim's blood.
"An unnatural creature... Saraon comments grimly. "...Even if our path did not lead into that cave, I would recommend putting them down, so they do not prey on the surrounding lands. Even mosquitoes and bloodflies at least feed other animals."
Sprig redoubles his investigation of the markings. "Heck, there's somethin' about these tracks..." He flips through one of his books, stopping on a page with a crude illustration of some kind of lizard.
" 'Ere it is! The Spined Vampire, 'bout th' size of one o' my kind but more hunched over. Got these nasty lookin' quills on the back too. Rumor went 'round that when they bite a kobold, we'll eventually turn in to one o' them, though dunno if it's true." The little lizard shivered at the thought.
"Saraon's right though, best put down th' bloodsuckers while we can."
As the party discusses the potential of chupacabras, a growling can be heard from deep inside the cave. It seems that it's inhabitant is home.
Saraon raises his blade into a ready stance.
"Shall we?"
"stay back just in case eh Boss?"
He said his smile turning into a darker scowl as he slid from the back of the wagon and hefted his Bardiche. He strode torwards the entrance the bladed edge low to the ground.
Saraon tries to keep pace with Bas, his own weapon ready.
Sprig nodded. "Right, Ah'll be jes' behind y'all."
The kobold lights a small Hooden Lantern and holds it in one claw. "Ah don't need it t' see, but let me know where yer lookin' and Ah'll illuminate it."
Almost forgetting, the little lizard sets down the lantern to reload his pistol before picking it back up again.
A spined, reptilian beast that stands a hair taller than Sprig stalks out of the cave, letting loose a hissing roar before readying itself to pounce at the party.
Sprig and Katheryn were just faster than the creature though.
"Heck! There it is!" Sprig snaps up his pistol, taking a wild shot.
The kobold takes a step back, trying his best to keep his distance.
"Ah bugger" Katheryn muttered as she brought up her musket.
"This, there vamp ain't immune to bullets right?" Katheryn asked with a half smirk. "Might of asked first right?"
"Not that kind of vampire, Katheryn!" Saraon replies. "It's only called one because of its favored sustenance. Other than that it's just a beast and can be put down like one."
The parties bullets hit the chupacabra and it lets out an angered squal. It charges forward at the warriors up front, pouncing at Bas. It sinks it's teeth into him and rakes him with a claw for 9 damage!
Saraon takes a swing at the creature, hoping the momentum will throw it off Bas!
He cried out in pain as the claws and teeth started to tear into his flesh. The damned thing moved fast. He tried to leap over it to cut off its retreat into the cave... assuming the thing tried to run.
"Oiy! Spit 'im out!" Katheryn shouted as she took aim once more.
Sprig circles around the fight to get a better view of the creature. Once the coast was clear, he conjures a small globule of acid and chucks it toward the reptilian vampire.
Saraon's unable to connect with the chupacabra, but it hardly matters after Bas smashes into it with his bardiche, and when followed up by Katherine and Sprig's projectiles (magical or not) the creature lets out a final shriek before falling to the ground.
"Good work, everyone," Saraon says as they finish the monster. "We should proceed carefully, though. There may be more of them further in."
"I ain't to worried." Katheryn said with a sly smirk. "If bullets work, then those there be dead already"
"easy for you to say since you are in the back."
He muttered at Katheryn with no malice at all. Hell he didnt even really glance back at her instead aggresively stared at the wounds the creature left on him like his anger at them would serve to staunch the bleeding. He cracked his neck and moved towards the cave.
"these Cuppachubbies better look out."
"Do you want me to tend to your wounds, Bas?" Saraon asks quietly.
"Not sure if that's th' only one, best keep yer heads onna swivel." The lizard motions to the cave mouth, "We ready t' push on? Ah'll follow yew in."
"Do you want me to tend to your wounds, Bas?" Saraon asks quietly.
"Thanks, I'm good for now. May need it in a bit though if there are more of those damned things in there."
He nodded in thanks for the offer though.
Brindle nods, clearly impressed with her allies swift slaying of the chupacabra...
The party heads into the cave to find a grisly sight. The bones of humans and animals alike are strewn across the floor, and a primitive nest made of bones and branches is built around a metal canister, identical to the one in the "mines" of the Empire of Zond.
Saraon listens for any signs of movements...a nest this extensive likely meant multiple individuals...
"You know, iffin' you opposed ta me being behind, I can take the lead." Katheryn smirked. "I'm sturdy. Don' need to fear me breakin'"
Saraon sees no other signs of movement in the cave.
"That's...odd. It seems like there's nothing else living within this place. If that's true, then this one chupacabra has been preying on the area for possibly months, maybe even years. And we're the first ones to overpower it? We should proceed with caution as we retrieve the cache. This feels too easy," Saraon says, raising his sword to a ready position. "Unless there ARE more out hunting, and this one was left behind to guard the nest..."
"Well, Ah suppose there ain't much t' do besides take our prize and get out of here 'fore th' rest of them get back. Yew feel like doin' the honors?" Sprig shuffles forward, now wary of the cave entrance behind him.
"Som'thin' else?" Katheryn asked with a raised eyebrow. "These uha, these chupa, chupatara, thingies they don't go solo?" She added.
"You saw the thing, it was only about as tall as Sprig. Things that size usually don't achieve a number of kills like this unless they're pack hunters," Saraon explains as he goes to retrieve the cache.
Looking at these remains, some of them look quite old, possibly years. Sprig's surprisingly thorough knowledge of chupacabra's corroborates this. They'll often keep victim's remains in their lair for long periods of time. It's pretty likely that this is a solitary (and fairly successful) chupacabra.
Sprig investigates the cave a bit more thoroughly. "Hrmm, Ah'd say the number of victims here are a bit low fer a whole pack o' 'em. Strange, our 'benefactor' is leaving these caches in places like this. Just killin' the creature n' leaving th' cache here'd probably be easier then goin' through all this trouble. If Ah had t' guess, we're bein' tested fer somethin'."
"yeah it does seem a bit strange to me too. Still."
He paused and slid on some leather gloves before slowly approaching the cache looking for any sort of trap wheter natural or not...plus he didnt want any of the chuppaduppies meals on his hands. Sides it might be heavy like the last one.
The cache and the area around it is free of any traps. Much like the last one though, it's pretty heavy.
Hauling the barrel outside, the party's sees the number 4 written on it in blocky text, and they're able to crack it open without too much difficulty (and the light application of a crowbar).
There's a small, purplish disc with what looks like a slot in it. In a box labelled Explosive is a bright green substance that feels like clay, a small cylindrical object with a trigger rests next to it.
A mask made of a transparent material with two large cylinders over the mouth is also in the cache, and next to it is another piece of the firearm, likely a piece of the barrel, and three more softly glowing silver disks.
Sprig investigates the cave a bit more thoroughly. "Hrmm, Ah'd say the number of victims here are a bit low fer a whole pack o' 'em. Strange, our 'benefactor' is leaving these caches in places like this. Just killin' the creature n' leaving th' cache here'd probably be easier then goin' through all this trouble. If Ah had t' guess, we're bein' tested fer somethin'."
Saraon scratches the back of his head.
"That...makes a certain amount of sense. I had thought that they had left the caches behind and then whatever was 'guarding' them, whether a brute beast like the chupacabra or a...unique...person like the mad 'emperor' moved in after the fact, not knowing the value of what they were sitting on."
"Nah, out here... I doubt many be havin' much of nothing." Katheryn said with a shrug from her shoulders. "However, might you be handin' over some of that? Iffin' I get a closer look, might be helpful." She added as she pointed to the pieces of firearms that where strung about.