Quest #28 "Kegenstien's Expedition Over the River"

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

"Well lead on Darklin". With one last look at Elnaerel she follows Darklin into the cave.

[OGRE MAGE]

The River
Moonday, 22nd of Goodmonth
Late Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

Hearing his impatient friends following him inside, Keyon decides to continue through the wet and extremely slippery tunnel. He passes a few more of the open holes in the cave floor, but gladly nothing reaches out to say hello. The stone floor is worn smooth and covered with a slick light green algae of some kind, making a simple act like standing up straight a bit more challenging in the wet passage.

A short distance further inside, the tunnel turns back on itself while revealing a much larger chamber with even more holes in the floor. There is a large patch of what looks like seaweed or rotting kelp laying on the wet floor along the far wall. The strange smell of salt and decaying vegetation is rather pungent. Small crustaceans can be seen milling about through the stinking bed.

Water plopping and subterranean wave suction is still the only sounds that can be heard throughout the complex.

Actions?

map:

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Keyon 6/6
Keg Woodwright 13/13
Elnaerel 10/10 3/3
The Knife* 5/5
Feanol 4/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM
Darklin Sylvanas 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM

[Bluehorse]

Keg

Turns up his nose. I don't know what I think of this place as a shelter. Seems to be less bugs but those little crabs are all over. Drift to sleep and roll over into one of those holes and you're a goner too.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Looking around at all the small crabs.

This could be a renewable source of food if the crabs keep coming here to lay eggs they can be harvested to feed the towns people. Catch them young and raise them to adult. Cook'em up and repeat. They will have to do a bit of growing though.

Watch that edge Feanol. If you fall in there you are going to get swarmed by little bitters.

[Bluehorse]

Darklin

This could be a renewable source of food if the crabs keep coming here to lay eggs they can be harvested to feed the towns people. Catch them young and raise them to adult. Cook'em up and repeat. They will have to do a bit of growing though...

Keg perks up and looks at the crabs with different eyes. That's.... that's a damn good idea... well, that is a step in the right direction. We have a source of meat for the town if we relocate here. And it wouldn't take much to put some rails or something around the holes to keep folks safe. I'm liking this better and better.

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel rolls her eyes when everyone enters the cave and follows.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife nods along with the idea of harvesting the crabs. "That's a very good idea."

He looks curiously at the holes along the tunnel. "I wonder how deep those things are? Do you think maybe there's a big mother crab down there?" For a moment he considers volunteering to take a quick dip, but then remembers his previous adventure under the ship. No, maybe not right now.

The gnome sniffs. "Ugh. Is that the seaweed bed? It reeks. That'll have to go before we move in here."

[Bluehorse]

OM... is it literally a bed made out of seaweed or is this more like a carpet? Does it seem natural?

[Paladin]

Keyon

"Let's see what lies deeper in before we get too excited," Keyon suggests in a low voice. "Though I pray it's nothing hostile," he adds with a faint grin. "Our approach will have alerted anything with ears." He flexes his knees to lower his center of gravity and treads carefully over the slick surface, pausing at regular intervals to check any pools beneath him for movement, then peering deeper into the ripe-smelling cavern.

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel speaks almost in a loud whisper, so everyone can hear her: "Remember that we saw footprints coming inside this cave. Except if those were from seaguls, something is waiting for us in there. Be careful."

[Darklin2]

Darklin

There was definitely something large living here. That bed is huge.

Darklin moves to the giant moss bed and starts poking around the edges with his sword.

You know if you wanted to hide anything valuable this would be a good place to do it.

And he starts to search the moss bed with his sword. Looking around the edges first and then moving to the middle or large piles of moss.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Dark Cave
Moonday, 22nd of Goodmonth
Late Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

Keg turns his nose up at the horrific smell of the rotting kelp, until Darklin suggests the area could be used to breed the small crabs that scuttle around it. Though there certainly wouldn't be enough food to feed the entire town, a nice crab boil might be a pleasant treat once in a while.

Getting closer to the seaweed, the group senses that something man sized or larger must have used this bed area to rest in, and possibly other unmentionable acts. Not a bed in a furniture sense, Darklin pokes around through the mess with his sword. He doesn't find anything of value, but there are a few more smaller holes in the floor that splash up to keep the center of the pile wet underneath. Besides a few badly glazed sea cucumbers, the folds of dead vegetation are otherwise void of anything of interest.

This area looks like it has been searched before, maybe multiple times. Small shelves protrude from the rough rock walls here and there, all of the contents now missing. Other than the splashing waves and dripping water, there is no sound coming from beyond the continuing passage.

Actions?

map:

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Keyon 6/6
Keg Woodwright 13/13
Elnaerel 10/10 3/3
The Knife* 5/5
Feanol 4/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM
Darklin Sylvanas 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM

[Bluehorse]

Keg

Om... is this place any more or less comfortable "westherwise?" Does it seem like it could be made into cool storage with some work?

The big man shakes his head
I think that is all we have here. Rotten kelp and potentially a crab dinner. Let's see what lies further in.

[Paladin]

Keyon

"Since we're all here, I'll carry my things now," Keyon says, suddenly remebering that he'd left his backpack in the party's care. Once that's settled, he continues scouting the cave.

Still treading carefully, the young elf probes deeper. He inspects the floor closely and pauses now and then to look above and to either side.

[Jernau35]

The Knife

The Knife starts to get a bad feeling about the tunnel behind them. Not just the fact that anything could crawl up out of one of the pools. He also recalls the footprints they saw outside. Only some of them entered the cave. What if the rest of the creatures that made the prints were on their way back to the cave now?

The Knife nudges Feanol and whispers "I'll watch the rear."

[Karaunios]

Elnaerel looks at the glazed sea cucumbers with bewilderment and wonders if they have any relation with the unmentionable acts that might have taken place in here. Not wanting to give it more consideration that needed, she turns to the corridor further in and continues on with her companions, her morningstar and shield held firm in her hands.

[Darklin2]

Darklin

Darklin will check the alcoves and holes for any hidden alcoves or holes that are concealed.

Anyone see anything out of the ordinary along the walls?

[OGRE MAGE]

The Dark Cave
Moonday, 22nd of Goodmonth
Late Morning, Hot, Humid, Buggy

The ladies don’t comment on the items found in the brown patch of rotting vegetation, though the place does seem to have a female touch to it, albeit vaguely.

Deciding to press onward, Keg wipes the growing drops of humidity away from his wet brow, certain that this cave wouldn’t work to keep anything fresh or cool. The Knife recalls the three toed footprints in the sand outside, remembering there were more sets of prints entering the cave than there were that exited it. (just wanted you to be clear on that)

No secrets are found in the walls or alcoves, but along the next passage, dried seaweed, shredded string, and smashed crusty fish husks line the floor in some kind of weird carpeting. Another wider chamber with natural sunlight shining into it opens up beyond the strange covering on the floor.

Actions?

map:

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Keyon 6/6
Keg Woodwright 13/13
Elnaerel 10/10 3/3
The Knife* 5/5
Feanol 4/4 1/1 CL, DM, RM
Darklin Sylvanas 8/8 1/1 CL, DM, RM

[Jernau35]

Right. I got the impression from the footprints outside that one group had split into two. Some went into the cave and some into the trees. It was really just a "here's my action" post.

The Knife

The Knife starts up with his strange whispering. "Yes, I bet he is glad to see daylight again. I mean, it wasn't totally dark back there, but pretty much so. The rest of us are fine, but I don't know how he does it. Maybe he's part giant? He could be. He's big enough. But can giants see in the dark? What? They'd keep bumping their heads on the ceiling? Good point".

Shhhsss! He might hear us."

[Bluehorse]

Keg

Raises an eyebrow at it all. Odin's beard... what the hell is all this? Who could live like this?