Berrus takes the short sword and moves back to the entrance to look at it in better light

Berrus, the blade has a blue sheen to it, and the steel seems to swirl, showing hundreds or thousands of folds made during the smithing process. If you hadn't found the blade in this cavern in the middle of the Chultan jungles, you'd have sworn it was dwarven made. It's definitely very good craftswork, and the Professor had already pointed to it as something likely to be magical. You find a peculiar thing about the pommel of the blade though, as it shows two bearded faces, one smiling in joy, the other grieving. 

Glasses:

”B’ark, truly Gruk chose well when he chose you to be the leader of his warriors.  You fought well and kept your tribespeople together trough a terrible battle.  We should do honor for your dead and the dead of our Lizardfolk allies as is customary,” says the Professor to the Grung warrior, bowing deeply to her in a show of great respect before all present.

“For the bodies of the hags, I did not have a plan, other than to strip them of any valuable items and perhaps consign them to the flames.  Once we have stripped the Skull of valuable items as well, I was thinking we could present it to the Lizardfolk as trophy and reminder of Grung and Lizardfolk shard sacrifice.  For the Grung, you now have the tools used to kill the three hags, so the Grung will always be reminded of this battle and the travelers who did them honor.,” Snively says, adding, “So I am eager to hear what your thoughts are for the disposition of the hag bodies.”

Berris..."this is a good blade.  Dwarven make or im no dwarf." He clips it to his belt and returns to the alcove

Fang would grab the bracers and bring them to glasses to see if they had any magical properties to them. He is intrigued by the use of another animals skin being used as clothing. He also collects the needle for Glasses to inspect.

Fang would inform Glasses about the skeleton with the sigil on his forehead as well as the bronze rod.

In the last tomb, if any of the jewelry was indicated to be magical Fang would gather it for identification. Otherwise he would leave it, having no interest in shiny trinkets and baubles with no function. (Though the large pearl sounds like its needed for identify and if not grabbed by others. Fang would grab it also to bring to Glasses)

Upon returning from the last crypt, Fang would wait patiently to hear about the shield. Asking Glasses if there’s anything on the hags that sheds more light on the vision he received. He would then begin field dressing the monkeys. (Provided there is enough time, would make items while the others explore the giants skull)

Professor, you're thrilled when Fang brings you a ring with a sizable pearl in, and after a little application of force, you remove the pearl itself. Spending time to focus on the various items brought to you, you start to clear your mind and feel the weave, letting it guide you towards the magical auras of each of the items you have before you, to determine what they do.

The shield Fang brought you is drenched in abjuration magic, and seems to be able to draw power from nearby people. The ring similarly has a protective aura of abjuration magic surrounding it. The crocodile hide bracers are definitely magical, but it seems to be some shamanistic ritual, and a school of magic that you can't trace. Berrus' new blade similarly holds a magic that you can't trace, but surprisingly enough, as you lift your head, you see a smilar aura surrounding Maxine. The needle meanwhile is clearly brimming with transmutation magic. Looking over the bronze rod, you sense its powerful magic, but identifying the schools of magic is proving almost impossible, as different fragments seem to bubble forth after a couple of heartbeats. You do however sense that Shae is surrounded by a very similar aura like the one you feel coming off of the rod. The plate armour is not magical, but well crafted, and the steel survived until today, speaking to its quality. The bracers meanwhile give off a very animalistic vibe, with a hint of evocation magic.

Shae, studying the murals, you're almost certain that the feathered snake was like the quetzalcuotls you spotted in the jungle.

After stripping the dead of their artifacts, but then laying their remains to their most respectful rest, you all head outside to search the hag's lair. How do you want to go about doing so?

Glasses:

"There is much powerful magic here, and it will take me some time to unravel its mysteries, but the shortsword appears to have magic similar to you, Maxine, and the rod seems to match your aura, Shae.  The steel gauntlets seem to be infused with primal evocation magic, the plate armor is finely made but not magical, the crocodile skin bracers seem shamanistic in origin, and the ring and shield have some protective magics.  The pin has transmutation magic, which I find very interesting," Snively says.  "It will take me the better part of the morning to actually identify the detailed powers of these items, so let us go check the skull first," he adds.

Approaching the skull, Snively keeps up his detect magic, concerned that the Hag may have left a trap for them.  Depending what he senses, he will likely have the others stand back and try to touch the skull with a light stick or something using his air mastery.  If that doesn't trigger anything, but he still senses protective magics, he will use the Identify spell on the skull to find out exactly what traps may be in store for them.  If there is no magic on the skull itself, he will still be very cautious and try to open the door from a distance, scanning for magic and magic traps as he goes.

Maxine, disappointed with her inattentiveness, was determined to methodically turn the hut upside down and inside-out to find anything remotely interesting. Investigation: 18

Berrus takes position outside the skull seemingly unwilling to enter

Professor, there seem to be no special wards or curses placed on the skull itself. Maxine, having already been inside once, clambers up and into the skull through the eye socket.

The interior is unlit, but Maxine, you find you can find your way around the place fairly well. Like last time, the interior is stacked full with shelves, crates, an containers, and as soon as the Professor steps through, he can confirm that almost anything here has a magical aura, though with so many impressions it is very difficult to get a bead on any particular schools of magic.

Maxine, your attention would immediately be drawn by a glass beaker with a metal frame to hold it over an open flame and a glass stirring rod and a mortar and pestle, and several containers with ingredients, including salt and powdered iron. Nearby you spot several pouches with dried leaves and berries, clippers and leather gloves, and several empty glass jars. You furthermore find some glass vials containing some more volatile chemicals, such as sulphur, potassium, copper and zinc.

As your eyes wander across the shelves, you see multiple flasks with thick liquids in them that might also be interesting. One of the liquids is rose-hued and seems to be warm to the touch. A second flask contains an orange liquid that seems to flicker, with steam or smoke forming at the top of the liquid, held back by the cork. A third bottle is smaller, with a dark purple liquid with a barely noticeable pink cloud inside it. A fourth container contains a cloudy green liquid, with several transparent bubbles floating in the liquid itself. You spot two more that contain a slightly glimmering red liquid. A third red liquid seems almost the same, but instead of glimmering, it contains small bubbles of light within. The last liquid you find is amber-coloured.

Is anyone else going into the skull to search it?

Would you look at that - a laboratory! TA true alchemical laboratory! Maxine almost regretted hag's death now - the woman (can she be called a woman? Or just "a creature"?) had a scientific mind. On the other hand, Maxine would not be able get all of this, should hag survive. All what was needed now is ether a way of transportation of all of this, or ... well, Maxine was ready to settle down for a while. She could be useful to the now pacified tribes around and exchange goods with them, while still working on her own projects.

Detailed analysis of the suspicious liquids Maxine left to "after we all decide what to do".

(Any bags to pack - carefully - all these marvellous goods?)

Glasses:

The Professor will help Maxine search, focusing on isolating the sources of magic and making sure she gets at least those.

Investigation:  16

also, Snively will try to assess if the skull weighs more or less than 500 pounds, as his Floating Disk spell might come in handy here.

The skull is easily a thousand pounds, so the floating disk won't help you. 

As Maxine is browsing the substances and the lab, the Professor is more focussed on two books in among the possessions. Both seem to describe arcane rituals and magical research. Beyond that, the hag's lair is filled with baubles and trinkets, most of which appear magical. You find two wooden boxes with a strong aura of transmutation magic, a handy mirror that gives off an aura of divination magic. You also find a pipe that emits conjuration magic.You also make some more grizzly finds, such as a set of cutlery carved from what looks like grung thighbones, a dinner plate made from the shell of a tortoise, and several shrunken heads, probably from the demon monkeys you've been fighting before. Several of the glass jars seem to contain biological samples, such as separated eyeballs, and a conserved crocodile hatchling.

Seeing Maxine struggle to carry all the supplies, you point her towards the hag's personal chambers, where you find a backpack that seems well-suited to the task.

Glasses:

After helping Maxine with the items from the Skull, the Professor tracks down B'ark, Fang, and Berrus, speaking to them in their respective languages, "What do we want to do next?  We have the hag bodies, the skull, and quite a few items of value.  Do we stay here and set up camp as a neutral territory, or do we take everything over to one of the villages?  I could use a quick rest and some breakfast, then start identifying the items so those who fought can have a fair idea of what trophies of the battle they wish to lay claim to."

Turning to B'ark, Snively says, "Speaking of trophies, you haven't told me your plans for the hag's bodies yet--are you keeping that a surprise?"

Having been in the hag's hut before and remembering the tumble she had while in it, Shae would choose to accompany Berrus outside. Should Maxine need an extra pack to carry some of her desired items back, she would offer to do so.

Maxine looked around thoughtfully: "I am voting staying here. Looks strange, sure, but these a walls with the roof - have to admit, I missed it,  it is easily defensible, we are not intruding on anyone's territory - the hag's are dead, it has the reputation of place where one should not trespass - might come handy too, any we do not need to carry everything we found at once but sort out the most needed things."

"We only have to send the word to the rest of the crew to come here."

Fang looks up from his task of skinning the monkeys as glasses approaches. He considers for a moment the questions and responds, “I think sorting the spoils here and then taking them and the dead to their respective village seems the best course of action.” “There are a few at home that I would like to get this fresh meat to. But I imagine it will remain unspoiled for a little while longer at least.” “Although I suppose there is always the option of returning the dead first and then coming back to divvy up the spoils.” Feeling satisfied with his answer resumes skinning the monkeys, occasionally glancing up to observe the goings on near the skull.   

Glasses:

Looking out at the cost of victory, Grung and Lizardfolk alike, the Professor adds, "We will also want to make sure we do honor to those we lost today, as best befits their culture."

Hearing glasses latest words pauses again from his task. “Not sure what the frogies will do with theirs, but there’ll be less pressure on the hunters today that’s for sure.” Then resumes skinning the monkeys.

As the grung survivors, with the help of lizardfolk warriors start lashing together branches to create makeshift stretchers for the wounded and dead, with Fang leading the column to head back to the village, the rest of you are catching a breather, and taking a careful break to recover somewhat from the previous night's ordeal. B'ark and N'ala both implore you to get back to the village by the night, and Fang tells you he's going to be back in the early afternoon.

Shae, you are using the last of your medical supplies to treat the most obvious wounds on your friends, before Maxine looks at your own. After almost two weeks in the jungle, you've long since learned to silence your squeamish side, and you dig heartely into the two grilled monkeys that Fang left behind. Then, the professor starts to prepare for his identiyfing ritual, laying the items out around him and taking the loose pearl, placing it in front of him on the ground.

About ten minutes later, he moves on to the next item, after scribbling some notes into his notebook. Does anyone else want to do anything or are you just taking the time to properly look after your wounds?