"I'm ready to continue as well," Violant adds.
Having heard no alternate options, Stom starts the process of trudging through the forest to the other side of the camp, keeping well away from the caged beast and ending the trek to the east of the camp's main building.
"Samael, you up for scouting and sneaking again to see if anything has changed?"
"Sure! Let me take a look.
"Okay! Good to go then".
Staying to the outside of the clearing and sneaking through the woods, you guys pass closer to the large wooden cage. There a number of torches and braziers near by that cause shadows to dance wildly, though with this illumination you're able to get a better look at the creature inside. The creature barely fit inside the wooden cage, its immense, sinuous body coiled awkwardly against the thick bars. Its hide was a mottled gray-green, damp and leathery, with ridges that ran the length of its back like the half-sunken spine of some ancient crocodile. Its barrel chest rose and fell slowly with the weight of its breath, a sound like a low, distant bellows rumbling in its throat.
The creature’s long neck curved back on itself, resting its massive head near its own flank as though too weary—or too confined—to hold it upright.
Moving on clockwise around the camp, there is the giant pile of yellowish clay and mud has been dumped here.
You guys notice the mud shift and move, something is moving inside the mud. A large amount of glowing golden eyes are shining out of the dark mud right at you guys. A quick count reveals 20 to 30 eyes, though its impossible to tell without getting closer what they could belong too.
Looking at the long necked creature Lyra tries to remember if she knows what it’s called by its just out of reach.
Continuing on she takes a moment to look at the colored clay but doesn’t seem to know anything special about it. this clay is colored but maybe that’s normal for this jungle, unlike the clay at home. “ she muses quietly to herself.
”hey” she whispers to her companions, you all see those glowing eyes too right?” as she points towards the moving mud.
"Hmm, that beast is surely large. I hope the cage holds.
Upon seeing the mound up close, Stom notices something in the moonlight. "Oh, that's familiar. There's bites of gold mixed in the with clay and mud. Something else too. Arsenic maybe. Could be hard to safely dig in that pit." Putting two and two together, Stom makes an assumption about the sick troops. "Could be arsenic poisoning from digging up the pit."
Initially distracted by the gold, Stom notices the eyes as well. "What could that be?"
Nature
Crafting.
Oppa notices the creature as she walks by but is distracted with keeping Doxie under control and really doesn't pay much attention to his surroundings.
Doxie lunges at the creature sniffing heavily and trying to make friends. Oppa has to shush her several times and tries to coax her onwards.
"Come on girl. Look they're eyes there in that pile of mud. Better stay sharp".
"I'm in agreement with Stom here, definitely not safe to dig here without some kind of protective magic. I'm a shut-in professor, not a biologist, I don't know the creature."
Stom asks the group how they want to proceed. "If we want to investigate those eyes loudly, I'll lead the way. If we prefer quiet, then I'm not the leader for that. Ha!"
Flllikkith, I’m glad I’m not the only one seeing those eyes. I say let’s leave them be for now and go in for the ambush
"Aye, that'll work. Let's just keep an eye on them when we head south. The building first then?"
Doxie sniffs at the eyes in the mud but follows Oppa as he goes.
Continuing past the arsenic laced pile of mud laced mixed with gold onto the lone cozy looking hut. The two lone guards continue their patrol around the camp circling the exterior of the mine, though the torch they carry all but leaves them blind outside the radius of the light, it isn't hard to wait and time your movements to move in the moments of darkness.
Had they had more guards available, this would have been much harder, but with only two their defenses are quite minimal.
Sneaking up to the house, there are no windows and only a single door at the front facing the mine. Inside you hear the tinkling of glass, and bubbling liquids. Opening the door, you guys rush inside where you find a cobalt-scaled kobold slitted eyes widened as the door slammed open. She was hunched over a shallow brass dish, a faint glow from volatile reagents illuminating her narrow snout and the curling smoke above her alchemical workstation.
“You” her voice rasped, thin and sharp like glass being scraped. “You shouldn’t be here. You can’t be here,” Her gaze darted to the walls and to the doorway, the only way in or out.
Her eyes narrowed, and though her voice trembled, her words carried the sharp edge of a survivor, “Wait. Don’t shout. Don’t strike. You’ve come this far without waking the others. That means you’re not here to slaughter every fool asleep outside. You want something. Information, yes? A bargain, maybe. I can give you both.”
She leaned forward, scales glimmering in the alchemical light, her forked tongue flicking nervously. “You’ll find me more useful alive than dead. What do you want from Hezle?”
Lyra, always ready to offer the path of redemption first, the sword second speaks up first. ”hello, I’m Lyra of her most holy flaming sword, tell us, who runs this camp and what are they searching for?”
Violant examines the alchemical supplies, trying to figure out what the kobold is doing while someone better suited to diplomatic conversation engages with Hezle.
Stom looks to the rest of the party to speak to Hezle the kobold, looking at the crafting apparatus in the room.
It looks like Hezle is some sort of alchemist though her workstation seems to be dealing with the gold that is being mined from here, testing the purity, separating it from the arsenic poisoning, and something else as well though its hard to tell from a distance what else she might be testing the gold for. Maybe something to do with maybe testing the gold for magical properties
"Ah, separating out arsenic alchemically. Either that or it's got some magical properties."
"Please be calm and speak quietly. We are here to gather information only... and have no ill intentions towards you".
He places his hand on Hezle's shoulder.
"The fact that we haven't attacked... though we have a fierce dragon with us is all you need to know. As Lyra asked what the goal of this place is, who is behind it, and what part do you play in this unfolding situation"?
Diplomacy
Diplomacy re-try.
Her scaled fingers still twitched near the alchemical tools, the fumes of acid and gold dust filling the air with a bitter tang. "“You. . . you’re not with Belmazog?" she hissed softly, glancing around as if afraid the name itself might summon something terrible. Her tail flicked nervously against the wooden floorboards. "Then. . . maybe you are not enemies. I- I only test the ore. Belmazog demanded we pull gold from the earth, purify it, make it shine bright."
Her claws scraped the table as she pointed toward a nearby crucible, where molten gold shimmered faintly with strange motes of red light. "But this gold, it isn’t right. There’s something alive in it. I think it carries the dragon’s pain, his rage. Belmazog is using the gold in her rituals. She's trying to extract this essence from the very gold itself."
She shuddered, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I did not want this. I wanted to leave, but anyone who disobeys, she offers them to the fire. Please, I’ll tell you what I know, just promise you’ll stop her and rescue our leader, Kyrion. She has him imprisoned at her fortress. The rest of my clan were working here but they fled the mine after getting sick, I stayed behind hoping to prevent them from hunting down the rest of my kin and to continue trying to figure a way to rescue Kyrion,"
Stom's face pales when Belmazog mentions that the gold might carry a dragon's pain. Scenes from his dreams flash in his mind before he dismisses them with a shake of head.
"What does Belmazog want with this gold? What rituals? What dragon?"
She adjusted her cracked goggles and pointed to a bundle of scrolls tucked beneath maps and shards of ore. Her hands trembled—not with fear now, but with conviction.
“The gold here, it isn’t just gold. It resonates with ancient draconic magic, like it’s still connected to Dahak himself. The Scarlet Triad—wants it because of that resonance. They call it ‘divine purity.’ They think they can forge chains and artifacts strong enough to bind dragons or gods.” She clicked her teeth nervously. “Or resurrect one.”
She exhaled and continued.
“My job was to test the ore. Separate the arsenic, refine the purity, then ship it to the main Cinderclaw camp for preparation. From there, the Scarlet Triad takes it somewhere. I don’t know where, they don’t tell kobolds their secrets.” Her tail lashed the ground bitterly. “I’ve never met them myself. Scarlet-robed agents only speak with Belmazog.”
At the mention of the boggard high priestess, Hezle’s scales dulled slightly, as if a shadow passed over her.
“Belmazog she was nothing once. A swamp priestess. But then she found them, fossilized bones of a massive dragon half buried in the mire. She claimed Dahak spoke to her. That he promised her glory and fire. Others believed. More came. A cult was born.” Hezle hissed softly, disapproving but afraid.
“Then the Scarlet Triad came. They gave her knowledge, rituals to build the dragon pillars and bind this land in his name. In return, Belmazog promised them Mwangi gold.” She shook her head. “She never questioned them. Her cult ensnared our leader and now is holding him hostage, doing unknown horrors to him unless I figure out a way to refine this gold,"
She looking at her companions, The name Scarlet Triad does sound familiar.."
"Where is Belmazog's fortress, you said you leader, Kyrion is imprisoned there? And weve also come across 3 of the dragon pillars and we destroyed them. Awful creations" she grimaces.
"So, if I'm understanding this, we've got a swamp priestess who has started a cult and wants to resurrect a god, and the Scarlet Triad using ritualistic knowledge to act as a scourge on this Jungle."
Hezle waves you over, "Three already? There are 9 in total, one here in this camp, I will mark the other's on your map, as well as Belmazog's Fortress. You must destroy all 9 before you can even think of trying to enter the Fortress of Sorrow, the Pillars create some sort of protective shield that blocks anything Belmazog wants from entering,"
"Yes our leader, Kyrion needs to be rescued, I fear for his safety, so many flocked to Belmazog's power but she brings only destruction,"
Oppa gently pets Doxie's head.
"It's no wonder Dragons get a bad rap with things like this happening. Looks like we've got a few more pillars to smash".
"The Scarlet Traid? Sounds familiar, but I can't seem to recall anything useful." Frustration is clearly evident as Stom continues to speak. "Well, I'm sure we'll learn something of them soon enough. What can you tell of the guards at this camp? How many do we need to deal with? Do you have allies here?"
"I am with Stom, the name sounds incredibly familiar... but I'm not sure where from."
Shrugging, her tail flicking with nervous energy, "Belmazog has infused many of them with draconic energy, they were charau-ka but now are closer to half-dragons than not. She's rallied many of the remaining Boggard Swampseers to her cause. She has kept the best and sent the Seers she dislikes here to tend to the arsenic poisoned workers, though they refused to aid my tribesmen and so the surviving kobolds escaped, I don't know how many made it out,"
Shuffling and pacing, "I have never been in the inner sanctum, the doors are warded by Dahak, anyone but those who Belmezog allows to enter dies if they so much as touch the doors, our leader Kyrion is no doubt kept in there and I'm sure whatever she needs this gold for is in there too,"
She pushes some of her alchemical supplies to the side and pulls out some paper and begins scribbling furiously with charcoal. "I can give you what info I can, which isn't much,"
Taking a look at her drawing and the locations she marked on their map. "my friends and I thank you for this. May the light of Her holy Sword shine down on you. We will continue our exploration and we will destroy all the towers. My Lady Firesword teaches redemption but if Belmazog and her swampseers refuse to return to the goodness of the light then we will be forced to use alternative methods."
Stom thanks Hezle for the information and encourages her to stay in the safety of this building. "Stay hidden here. We will take care of the rest of the camp."
Stom turns to the rest of the party. "I think the barracks is our target. Sneak to the south and storm in?"
Violant thanks Hezle as well
Nodding, gathering up some of her notes, "I will flee, I will try and find where the rest of my denmates fled to in the jungle, good luck, please free our leader from Belmezog, I'll leave you some things, feel free to take a look around this hut and take what you need,"
A search of the alchemical workstation in this building turns up four greater antidotes, two young white dragon’s breath potions, three lesser elixirs of life, a grim trophy, a striking snare, and a traveler’s anytool. A leather pouch filled with 20 nuggets of arsenic laced gold lies nearby—each gold nugget is worth 50 gp, and 4 doses of wyvern's poison.
Round 1 - Trashin' the Camp
- Samael ☘️ -
Boggard Swampseer 1, 4, 5 -
- Oppa / Doxie ☘️ -
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 - Asleep
- Lyra / Wilbur ☘️ -
- Violant ☘️ -
Charau-Ka Guards Walking around 1 & 2 -
Charau-ka Butcher 1 - Cooking at the campfire
Charau-Ka 1, 3, 5, 7 - Asleep
Charau-Ka Yellow 6 & 7 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Boggard Swampseer Guard 2, 3, 6 -
Boggward Warrior 1, 2 - Asleep and Sickened 2
- Stom Flintheart ☘️ -
Boggard Warrior 2 & 3 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Charau-Ka 2, 4, 6 - Asleep
"I'd like to sow chaos in the camp. How about if I go north and let the dinosaur loose? That might give you cover to go south."
Samael will begin juggling, start the Fourberrie stance, and move to the door.
Samael begins juggling and starts his stance, moving to the door ready for action.
The Swampseers continue milling about the sick creatures, tending to them through the night.
- Samael ☘️ -
Boggard Swampseer 1, 4, 5 -
- Oppa / Doxie ☘️ -
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 - Asleep
- Lyra / Wilbur ☘️ -
- Violant ☘️ -
Charau-Ka Guards Walking around 1 & 2 -
Charau-ka Butcher 1 - Cooking at the campfire
Charau-Ka 1, 3, 5, 7 - Asleep
Charau-Ka Yellow 6 & 7 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Boggard Swampseer Guard 2, 3, 6 -
Boggward Warrior 1, 2 - Asleep and Sickened 2
- Stom Flintheart ☘️ -
Boggard Warrior 2 & 3 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Charau-Ka 2, 4, 6 - Asleep
Oppa and Doxie express their interest in waiting to see if Samael is successful in freeing the dinosaur.
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 continues to sleep peacefully.
- Samael ☘️ -
Boggard Swampseer 1, 4, 5 -
- Oppa / Doxie ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 - Asleep
- Lyra / Wilbur ☘️ -
- Violant ☘️ -
Charau-Ka Guards Walking around 1 & 2 -
Charau-ka Butcher 1 - Cooking at the campfire
Charau-Ka 1, 3, 5, 7 - Asleep
Charau-Ka Yellow 6 & 7 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Boggard Swampseer Guard 2, 3, 6 -
Boggward Warrior 1, 2 - Asleep and Sickened 2
- Stom Flintheart ☘️ -
Boggard Warrior 2 & 3 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Charau-Ka 2, 4, 6 - Asleep
Lyra and Wilbur wait patiently while attempts to release the dinosaur.
Samael's speed is 30.
His stealth modifier is +14
He will wait until the guard is distracted, then activate his Bracelet of Dashing (+10 to speed for 1 minute), then sneak to where there is something to hide against/behind.
The object is to get to the cage without alerting the roaming guard, then open the cage and run away. If the guard sees Samael, he will make a dash to the cage.
One of the guards begins making his way over. Though the cage is crudely made, the sheer mass and weight of the logs gives the pen solid support. The western side of the pen is attached to a half dozen vines connected to counterweights and a wheel that, if turned, would open the entire side.
Samael you can tell this dinosaur is quite angry, will likely attack anything in sight, though you could try and use Nature to direct its aggression at least away from you.
Round 3 - Trashin' the Camp
- Samael ☘️ -
Boggard Swampseer 1, 4, 5 -
- Oppa / Doxie ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 - Asleep
- Lyra / Wilbur ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
- Violant ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Charau-Ka Guards Walking around 1 & 2 -
Charau-ka Butcher 1 - Cooking at the campfire
Charau-Ka 1, 3, 5, 7 - Asleep
Charau-Ka Yellow 6 & 7 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Boggard Swampseer Guard 2, 3, 6 -
Boggward Warrior 1, 2 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Dinosaur -
- Stom Flintheart ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Boggard Warrior 2 & 3 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Charau-Ka 2, 4, 6 - Asleep
Samael go to the westside of the cage and will open the door to the cage.
Then Samael will stride west-Southwest, hoping to draw the creature into/near the guards.
Samael spins the gate wheel winch, the wooden cage door slowly rising as the dinosaur roars inside, as the door is halfway open the dinosaur finishes smashing the rest of the way through, its tail causing a whip crack that cuts through the night air.
Some of the Swampseer's look across the mine at the far side hearing the dinosaur roar and crack its tail and begin yelling to raise the alarm.
Round 3 - Trashin' the Camp
- Samael ☘️ -
Boggard Swampseer 1, 4, 5 -
- Oppa / Doxie ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Charau-Ka Butcher 3 - Asleep
- Lyra / Wilbur ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
- Violant ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Charau-Ka Guards Walking around 1 & 2 -
Charau-ka Butcher 1 - Cooking at the campfire
Charau-Ka 1, 3, 5, 7 - Asleep
Charau-Ka Yellow 6 & 7 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Boggard Swampseer Guard 2, 3, 6 -
Boggward Warrior 1, 2 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Dinosaur -
- Stom Flintheart ☘️ - Delayed, insert whenever your ready
Boggard Warrior 2 & 3 - Asleep and Sickened 2
Charau-Ka 2, 4, 6 - Asleep
Lyra carefully exits the building and whistles for Wilbur to move up towards her.