We enter a cave, greeted by the humid air and the sound of water dripping from stalactites. To our left, a gurgling sound emanates from water feeding into a lake, flowing more heavily than before. The water is murky, yet the rocks on the bottom are still visible. To our right, a waterfall cascades into an underground river leading towards town, accessible to those who can swim. Directly ahead, a vein of gold descends from the ceiling.
I lift my lantern, searching for any changes since our last visit. With an 18, I notice no significant differences, though my last memory is clouded by fleeing from snakes. Pie estimates extracting the visible gold with a pickaxe would take weeks, even with all of us working, it would likely take three. We contemplate starting a horse farm with our findings, roughly estimated at 10,000 gold.
Leaning over the edge, I find no eels in the water. Pie and Cheddar scout the gold vein, with me following, on alert for any ambushes. Suddenly, as Pie steps into water, it boils with snakes. Polly uses a Jump spell to rescue him, and we all leap over the snakes, with Chadee lighting a cigarette on the other side.
Approaching the gold, we notice snakes in all surrounding water bodies. Cheddar watches our backs, guns drawn. The snakes, identified as rat-snakes, hint at a nearby food source, though no rats are visible.
As Pie mines the gold, echoes fill the cave. He’s emotional, recalling a friend’s body we passed earlier. Hearing a distant sound, Polly investigates but only finds falling rubble. I join her, asking for silence to listen. My thrown rock causes more shifts. Sneaking closer, I nearly trip but catch myself. Despite rolling a natural 20, I see nothing beyond the cave’s mouth. Pie, also rolling a nat 20, finds 100 gold.
Chadee shares a fanciful story about rats. Polly’s nature roll suggests various creatures could be nearby. Taylor recounts tales of Gnarl Lizards and other dangerous cave dwellers.
As we move to investigate, Pie’s pickaxe breaks, and we hear a menacing growl. A battle ensues with a giant black snake, possibly a young black dragon, known for its acidic breath. In the fight, our weapons and strategies vary, from using a smoking sword to firing guns and casting spells, each with varying success.
The dragon eventually retreats into the water, leaving us to deal with the aftermath, including an unconscious wolf and a partially destroyed gold vein. Despite the chaos, the gold remains, now requiring more effort to extract.
We level up and decide to explore the dragon’s lair, finding treasure including gold, a Potion of Resistance, Moonlit Chain, Oil of Unlife, Healing Vapor, a broken dagger with a flaming rune, and a Dragon’s Breath potion. The adventure leaves us with more resources but also a reminder of the dangers lurking in such expeditions.