Chapter 2: Killing Some Stinky Trogs

With the midday sun beating down on their backs, the party left the scorching sands of the beach and proceeded into the diseased jungle.

It is now 4pm. You have travelled 6 miles, deep into the heart of this diseased jungle.

You currently staring up at a dead tree dangling with copper pots and other metal knick-knacks, all tied together with ropes. This is the third such tree you've seen. A single pull rope at the base of the tree looks like it can be pulled to bring the whole mess of metal bashing against each other like some kind of primitive alarm. A single troglodyte could have made quite the racket with this contraption.

The jungle is cooler and much darker than the beach, but also damper, stickier, and full of biting insects. The trees are unhealthy, having been chewed through by a passing swarm. Thick vines are choking out much of the vegetation, and thorny underbrush dominates the forest floor. Worst of all, the smell of Troglodyte hangs thick in the air.

Between the biting insects and Ygne's headache, she manages to lose the way. Luckily, with the help of Ryte's maps, you find yourself back on your way in about an hour.

Elspa diligently searches for useful plants to make her people's medicines with, but such plants are not flourishing in this sickly jungle and she finds nothing.

Frick has not seen or heard any sign of trogs along the way. However, on multiple occasions he guided the party around savage spiked pit traps that otherwise would have caused some nasty injuries.

Catching wind of the trogs has been easy; they haven't hid their tracks at all, and their potent odour and penchant for destruction has left telltale signs of their passing. Jarveena is pretty certain that the Trogs are holed up in a cave that opens out from a rocky outcropping that you can just make out through the underbrush up ahead. Frick has also spotted two concealed platforms that would have a good view of the terrain leading up to the cave entrance, one on either side of the cave but each one 30 feet high up in the trees.

What would you like to do?

For those of you who succeeded on your Nature checks to identify Troglodytes, here's a reminder of what you know about their abilities:Something that you can all agree on: The elaborate rigging of these metal-strewn trees is far beyond their intelligence. Their religious practices are also peculiar. Rarely do such creatures move beyond devouring and violence, but you've witnessed complex ritualistic behaviour, albeit gruesome and gory.

If you wanted to return for the rum, it wouldn't take as long because you have Ryte's map. Moving the 300 lbs. barrel might be a challenge: 3 or 4 strong characters taking turns could do it but it would make stealth pretty difficult. You could find a way to split it up into easier to manage containers as well.

As far as shelter goes, now promising solutions have presented themselves. The occasional stone pillar or wall still a stands erect from some long gone civilization The troglodytes' concealed platforms up in the trees are the best idea you've seen yet.

You make excellent time and arrive just before the setting of the sun with a 300 lbs. barel of pirate-strength rum. It is twilight, which gives advantage on stealth but disadvantage on perception checks. You park yourselves just outside of visual range from the concealed platforms, just beside the clanging tree, while you set up for your assault.

Jarveena scales a big, strong tree which, despite being strangled by vines is still standing. The smell of troglodytes is thick in the air, and you can see a troglodyte in each of the platforms near the entrance. They casually hold ropes which lead back to the clanging tree, presumably to trigger it. You have a reasonable line of sight to the entrance of the cave and the escarpment leading up to it