The Tropic Thunder found a few more supplies like a barrel of drinkable (but nasty-tasting) water, a few torches, some rope, and the like.
The sloshing sound they heard in the smuggling chamber comes from the churning waters of a sea cave. Fueled by what must be powerful submerged currents, the water laps and splashes against the walls of the twisted natural cavern that leads to the west. A sandy slope descends from the door down to the edge of the subterranean tide. Dozens of purple and red sea urchins glisten in shallow divots along the ground and lower walls here, their spines glittering with water.
The shallow water was about a foot deep and the deep water ten feet deep, with the transition between the two zones being a sudden drop off. It was difficult to move through shallow water - further, Grunk had difficulty standing up from the surging current.
Grunk slipped and fell on the shallow water and landed on a patch of sea urchins a few times. He took some damage from the spines and felt nauseated from the urchin's poison for a minute, after which his strength was sapped.
A large pool of water sloshes in the western portion of the caves - this pool is twelve feet deep at its deepest point. A five-foot-wide tunnel leads north at the base of this pool; this submerged tunnel travels on a twisting course to the northwest before emerging from the seabed in the harbor between Parrot Island and the gate that separates Shadowshore from Cudgel District; from there, it's a few dozen feet swim to the surface and a few more swim to shore. The currents in the tunnel are strong but not overwhelming. The tunnel entrance is difficult to see even underwater. From above the water surface, it is even more difficult.
Once the Tropic Thunder found the underwater tunnel, their method of escape was to have Grunk swim to safety through the underwater tunnel from the sea caves to the harbor. Then he cleared the boulders and opened the trap door for the rest of them.
There is a door at the end of the sea caves, which doesn't have a lock, but the Thunder bashed it down as normal.
The smell in this chamber is horrific, a cloying stink of rotten meat rising from the bloated, seeping body slumped in the middle of the floor. The corpse' dark, almost black flesh bulges against its armor, ready to burst at the slightest touch. An intricate tattoo of a dragon clutching a flower is barely visible on his shoulder against the diseased flesh, and clutched in one hand is a crumpled scroll.
This body was once Penkus. When Vanthus locked him and his companions in these tunnels, Penkus made it all the way to the sea caves before one of the undead caught up to him. Penkus took at least one blow from the undead before he made it through the pool in the chamber the Tropic Thunder found his body. Yet even after he locked himself in this ancient guardroom, he didn't actually escape the undead menace, for he had contracted a disease. As the days wore on he grew more and more sickly. When he realized he was going to die, he hastily scribbled a note condemning his "friend", hopefully providing anyone who found his body all the information they need to avenge his death.
Penkus' suit of masterwork studded leather armor is still serviceable, although it needs to be cleaned before it is used. He wore a gold ring on a bloated finger, and a masterwork dagger was hidden in a boot.
There was a secret chamber next to the previous one, and the air in it is stale, yet unlike the other chambers in the complex the place seems quite dry - even dusty. Cobwebs hang in thick sheets from the ceiling, and against the northern wall sat three large sea chests.
All three sea chests were locked and the keys are long-lost; but Graim got them open.
The first chest was filled with copper and silver coins.
The second chest contained a dozen bags, 10 of which contained gold coins. The remaining two each contained a small handful of assorted gems.
The third chest contained eight ceramic or glass vials fitted with a tight stopper. The stoppered containers are no more than 1 inch high and 2 inches wide, and Graim identified them as some kind of potions. The chest also held a thin wood baton 6 inches long and about 1/4 inch thick, which weighs no more than 1 ounce. It is decorated with runes, and Graim recognized it as some kind of a wand. Inside the chest was also a small jade coffer. Inside of this coffer, resting on a tiny velvet cushion, is a light brown gemstone. This is an earth elemental gem, identified as such by a strip of paper tucked under the cushion.
"There is a door at the end of the sea caves, which doesn't have a lock, but the Thunder bashed it down as normal."
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