Loose Bones Caves
High above the cove, a craggy, narrow cave entrance sits ominously in the face of the sea cliffs. Inside is wet, and slick with moss. The cave slopes down, down, under the beach, out under the sea, and leads to a fine treasure.
1 – The Entrance
2 – The Trapped Bones
3 – The Pearl
4 – The Mussel
5 – The Red Hawk
1 – The Entrance
Getting to the cave mouth requires a difficult climb up the cliff face. The opening is about 5-feet wide and might require a bit of a squeeze for larger characters. This part of the cliff is over some sharp and jagged rocks – jumping out past them might require some effort.
Immediately apparent upon entry is how the entire cave slopes steeply downwards. It appears to crawl down the cliff and then out under the water. Water drips from the rough, natural stone and puddles about on the floor. There is nothing of significance here, save for a narrow passage leading onward.
2 – The Trapped Bones
The passage drops out into an open area. There are three separate off-shoots, one of which is significantly steeper than the others. Here though, visible from the end of the entrance passage, is a large boulder. It seems to have fallen from the ceiling, and it has pinned down a skeleton named Jorge. He is stuck, and it would require significant effort to release him.
Jorge is a distrustful skeleton, who found a secret treasure in this part of the cave. In another room is a massive, over-sized, purple mussel. In its mouth was a massive, over-sized, black pearl. He managed to tickle the mussel open and roll the pearl out before being caught under the falling boulder. The pearl rolled into 3 – The Pearl. He definitely does not want anyone else to make off with his pearl, but probably wants to escape more than he wants to profit.
| Jorge might… |
|---|
| beg to be released |
| offer information about his treasure as payment for assistance |
| reveal the secrets of the purple mussel |
3 – The Pearl
This passage curves slightly, leaving the massive, over-sized, black pearl just out of sight until the last moment. It is 6-feet in diameter. Removing it from the cave would be quite tricky. If it is touched, the massive, over-sized, purple mussel in 4 – The Mussel wails loudly, screaming and crying but exclaiming nothing intelligible. As the mussel wails, the cave shakes and shudders. Pieces of rock fall from the ceiling, probably requiring some effort to avoid. If the mussel wails long and hard enough, eventually the cave entrance will collapse.
4 – The Mussel
This large area is nearly entirely dominated by a massive, over-sized, purple mussel. It is easily 10-feet tall, and wider even than that. Its natural state is closed and dozing, but it wails and sobs uncontrollably if its massive, over-sized, black pearl is touched. The only way to console it is to put it to sleep, through various means (gentle rocking, a quiet song, magic, etc). If attacked, the mussel will become hostile, thrashing and snapping but not pursuing.
5 – The Red Hawk
This path has been eroded down to a smooth and slippery state. It gently switchbacks its way down, down, down until the light from the entrance is not visible in the slightest. The increased pressure is quite noticeable. At the end, the path drops out into a naturally open chamber. There is rubble and loose rock everywhere, and a sizable puddle of water.
Above, crashed through the ceiling of the cave and acting as a plug, is the bottom hull of The Red Hawk. Inside is a copious amount of treasure. However, if the hull is breached, treasure isn’t the only thing that begins to fill the cave. Water from the ocean begins pouring into the cave, filling it in minutes. It will require great effort to make it back up and out of the slippery cave while carrying any amount of treasure.