Overview
Tucked away beneath Iridine's harbors lie a series of caves opening out into the ocean, laden with pockets of underwater caves allowing the tide to rise up into them. With an opening to the sea, it was only a matter of time before smugglers made use of the caves, ultimately building an opening up into the city's sewer tunnels to provide an avenue to get their illicit goods in and out of the city unseen. While smugglers seldom use the caves nowadays, rowdy sailors can still be found mucking about in them in addition to the natural inhabitants both living in the caves and brought in by the tide.
Hostiles
Within the sea caves, you will run into disgruntled sailors, bats and serpents that have made the place their home, and even crabs and snakes brought in by the tide.
a large bat - More nuisances than anything, these particularly large bats will often be fluttering through the caves, striking at any humans roaming about. With parts of little value, in addition to their penchant for constantly retreating to a safe distance from attackers, many adventurers and hunters choose to simply ignore the bats to go about their business.
a cliff crab - Considerably large crustaceans that are very commonly washed in with the tide. They have thick shells and are quite sturdy, requiring quite a bit more effort to take down compared to most of the other wildlife found in the caves. If you are able to dish out a good bit of damage and don't mind spending a little extra energy, however, they pose little threat to your well-being and have some parts that fetch a fair amount of coin.
a sea snake - Fairly large snakes with decently potent venom that come in with the tide. They don't pack a strong punch and are relatively easy to defend against, but make sure to have adequate armor coverings to try and prevent their fangs from getting through on a lucky bite, as you certainly want to avoid their poison. Their hides and fangs fetch fairly good coin.
a massive subterranean serpent - As the name implies, these massive underground serpents can be found wriggling through the caves outside their nests. These serpents can be very dangerous to the unskilled, as they will use their massive bodies to bash at their prey, and their huge fangs can pierce armor with ease. In addition to the initial pain of their attacks, their bites will inflict very potent poison that will leave you stumbling around dizzy and confused. It is not recommended to face these alone without being sufficiently trained in avoiding or blocking their attacks as much as possible, but killing them will reward a hunter with very valuable, albeit weighty, parts.
a massive crab with a crimson shell - Much, much bigger than their cliff crab cousins, these giant crustaceans can very rarely be spotted scuttling through the tunnels. The boss of their domain, these guys will have no trouble landing blows on even seasoned combatants, and they can take quite a beating before being knocked out. They offer a thrilling fight and their massive shells and claws can bring in a lot of coin, but their parts are so heavy that it is seldom worth the effort. Unless you are looking for some excitement, these crabs are best avoided.
sailors/marines - Particularly mean-spirited sailors find their way down in these tunnels for any number of reasons, and will pick a fight with anyone that crosses their paths. They typically carry bronze dirks and tridents, but they can rarely bring a rusty (iron) trident along as well. They will tend to change their fighting patterns to fight more aggressively at the start, and turtle up the more damage they take. They pose a generally higher threat than all but the massive crabs in the tunnels, approach them with caution until you feel you are sufficiently skilled to deal with them.
Notable Loot
Those with a strong back can find a great deal of value for their time spent in the sea caves, as much of the loot can be rather valuable at the cost of being generally quite heavy. Skilled hunters will especially find their time well-spent here. Below is a general guide of noteworthy loot and skinnable parts for the caves.
Bats - Skin them if you're looking for skinning practice; their parts aren't worth enough to justify the time to skin and sell them.
Snakes/Serpents - The hides and fangs of these critters both fetch good coin, although the hides can weigh you down quick.
Cliff Crabs - The shells and claws from these crabs are reasonably valuable, but weight a fair bit.
Massive Crabs - The shells and claws for these guys weigh a lot; many hunters find that they cannot even carry the shells by themselves. While they fetch quite a lot of coin, you will find that the same weight in parts from the smaller crabs and snakes will be worth more. If you're looking for a quick hunt, though, then hauling one of their shells off to sell will not disappoint.
Sailors - The weapons, especially the rare iron tridents, are the only items worthwhile to pull from these guys.
Notable Dangers
Snake/Serpent Venom - Successful bites from these guys that are not stopped by armor will inflict a dose of poison, and subsequent bites will intensify the potency of the poison. This poison can quickly sap your energy and make it more and more difficult to land blows, so be wary of taking multiple bites.
Killer Critters - The wildlife in these caves will continue to attack you after you are rendered unconscious, so be extremely mindful not to get yourself knocked out in the caves lest you find yourself waking up in a coma ward.
Weapon Catch - The trident-wielding sailors can often fall into a cycle of using weapon catch over and over again, tying your weapon up and leaving you less defended in the process if you are being engaged by any other attackers.
Areas of Interest
Entrances - There exist two entrances into the sea caves. On the eastern end of the tunnels, one can enter through a ladder deep in Iridine's sewer tunnels. For adventurers capable of climbing steep cliffs, a western entrance can be access via a cliff near the northwestern gate to Quartz Heights.
Hidden Areas - Two hidden areas exist within the caves for adventurous types to discover.
Safe Areas - In addition to the aforementioned hidden areas, those in need of a respite to catch their breath or tend to their wounds can find a safe area near the eastern entrance by crawling under a crevice that is too narrow for the wildlife to get through.
Mysterious Pearl - One might come across a large pearl sitting inside a giant nest deep in the tunnels; it is not advised to try and take that pearl!
Miscellaneous Tips
Meat Galore - The snakes, serpents, and crabs found here are significantly large in size and offer a great deal of meat to those wanting to skin them, ranging from four pieces to as many as nine pieces of meat. If you're looking to fill a sack of meat for cooking or to feed your hounds, this is the place for you!
The Enemy Of My Enemy - The wildlife in the caves see the disgruntled sailors as any other human, and will attack them on sight; the sailors will defend themselves accordingly. A shrewd hunter can use this to their advantage and tie their prey up in combat with one of the sailors to gain an edge in the fight.
A Wagon Away - If you are planning a big hunt in the caves, you'll need a viable means of transporting all the weighty creature parts. A wagon can be parked in the cliffwalks above the western cliff entrance if you can safely climb up and down, giving you a convenient place to unload your loot whenever you get weighed down.
Flat-Footed Sailors - The sailors you'll encounter here are extremely inept when it comes to dodging, relying almost entirely on their weapons to defend themselves. Take the time to learn how to best use your weapon of choice against knives and tridents to exploit their weaknesses, and be prepared to utilize well-timed feints when the sailors get critically low on health and turtle up. If you are hunting in a group, a means of disarming the sailors or locking their weapons up can leave them open for other members of your party to absolutely wreck them.
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