Moth and Snory check along the walls of the roper chamber for secret doors. Tango checks a water feature for the dragon compass. Scram checks for the perfect stone to illuminate and throw. Nala checks down the next passage for something new to fight. Ssatschia checks the same passage for something new for Nala to fight and finds a pair of purple wormling adversssariesss. Tango dashes down to sneak a hand crossbow bolt. The biting, stinging wormling exacts brutal revenge on Ssatschia, rendering him unconscious. Nala expedites her greatsword to dice the wounded wormling into mush. Ssatschia, borrowing life from Snory who borrows it from Kelemvor, inflicts revenge wounds on the second wormling. The second wormling finds itself unluckily attacking Tango before Moth takes it out.
Woozy Ssatschia surveys his deific reserves and suggests stopping for the night, but Nala, Moth, and Tango remain healthy enough to eagerly explore a blood trail leading to an adult purple worm. Nala lands a perfect hit on the squishy purple worm which makes no effort to avoid. It is already dead already. Nala goes in search of the worthy opponent that killed a fully grown purple worm and finds a metal dragon statue looming over a seemingly unlocked chest. Kawaii, she observes in the only orcish word she knows. Clink, clink, clink, Scram observes regarding the inviting chest and fancy statue.
Moth puts a hand on the chest which brings the clockwork dragon to tail-razor-slashing life, slashing Tango, Scram, and Moth. Nala goes to work on the dragon with her sparking greatsword. Moth joins with his sparking fists. The dragon bites and claws anyone in reach, dropping Tango. Snory sets Tango right with a healing word. Ssatschia calls for a withdrawal. Tango entreats the riled clockwork dragon for a peaceful negotiation. The clockwork dragon negotiates: LEAVE! Tango, Moth, and Nala accept. Scram, unable to help himself, shrinks the chest to half size which irritates the dragon into futilely spewing a short cone of fire over the abandoned, shrunken chest.
The party barricades in a nearby room for the uneventful night. Tango sneaks back to the dragon and surreptitiously scales its back looking for an access panel to muck up. A barely noticeable collar encircles the dragon’s neck to a latch in the back. Tango masterfully unlatches the collar, and the clockwork dragon crumples to the floor, released from the long inert commands of the twice late Phlouwurz the Skeletal Necromancer.
Nala flips the chest open and liberates the dragon compass.
