Shortly after the war between the Empire of the Pomarj and the
Faerie Kingdom of Celene ended, the party of adventurers that played a role in the defence of a small fortress in the lands
north of the orc nation soon became involved in a conflict against a great menace. Many
still know the tales of the adventuring party that ventured forward to destroy
the madness that was spawned at the old Temple of Elemental Evil. We storytellers
keep that tale alive, but we also keep alive the tale of those who took up
sword, shield and spell to combat the evil when it returned years later.
--Crispinus the Tale-Teller
Many months had passed since Damoth Spiritlore and Vallan Durinheart had first set foot in the Fire Opal Monastery. With their new companions, Kuruk and Anastrianna Galanodel, they returned to the monastery. However, at the same time, an ill-fated party had also set their sights on the Fire Opal gem. Unfortunately, all but one met death in the jaws of the young red dragon known as Varnak. The survivor, Arjunan, joined our heroes, and together they found the Fire Opal gem and destroyed Varnak.
It's at this point that the bard Lia Spellsong re-enters the adventurers' life. Damoth Spiritlore, having now acquired his paladin mount (a great wolf named Giz), received a letter from the bard that asked him to come to the Village of Hommlet to investigate the region. The letter was delivered by Gareth, a young man who was asked by the Temple of Heironeous to become squire to Damoth and learn the ways of combat and the ways of his god. While journeying to Hommlet, the adventurers spent one evening in a farming region, where they learned of missing people that had gone to visit a nearby shrine to Obad-Hai. As it turned out, the shrine had fallen under the control of a tiefling cleric of Obad-Hai that participated in the most savage and cruel aspects of his god. Our heroes soon put an end to the tiefling's evil and put to rest the spirit of a dead ranger, who had vowed to return to the farming community that he had left in order to become an adventurer.
I have discovered fairly accurate records in the journals of Lia Spellsong, Redithidoor Halfmoon and others regarding the events around the third rise of the Temple of Elemental Evil. For the reader's benefit, I have included as much detail as possible.
3rd Waterday of Wealsun
Damoth Spiritlore, his squire and paladin-in-training Gareth, Vallan Durinheart, Anastrianna Galanodel, Kuruk Splatterfist and Arjunan the Brown arrived in the Village of Hommlet during the twilight hours of the third Waterday of Wealsun in Common Year 592. Arriving via the north road, they sought and found the Inn of the Welcome Wench, the location in which they were to meet Damoth's friends, Lia Spellsong and Tory the Composer. Upon entering, the party took over a table not too far from the exit and started ordering pints of beer. As Vallan became more and more obnoxious and loud, Damoth and Gareth set out to find Lia and Tory. After speaking with a female elf bartender (Maridosen), who gave the paladin the creeps, and getting nowhere, Damoth and his squire returned to the table.The owner of the inn, a human woman named Vesta, suddenly interrupted the various conversations taking place throughout the inn's tavern and introduced the musician, Redithidoor Halfmoon, an elven bard. The bard, with his recorder in hand, moved toward the fireplace, ignoring the boos and the one stein hurled in his direction. His performance left something to be desired, but the elf was oblivious to the crowd's disapproval. After the performance was over, Damoth tried to be friendly with Redithidoor and convince him he should look for another occupation. The bard would not hear of abandoning his music, though.
Meanwhile, Kuruk headed upstairs to look for Lia and Tory. With several rooms to search, he went door to door banging away. Finally, he discovered Lia and Tory, and quickly dragged them downstairs. Soon, the party, Lia and Tory, and even Redithidoor were seated at the table and making introductions. Talk soon turned to the Temple of Elemental Evil and the two times it had risen in power and then fallen. Lia explained that a local named Spugnoir had recently vanished, and that there were rumours of dark-robed individuals roaming about town after the sun had set. She was concerned about these events, and was worried that there might be something bigger going on than what she was aware of. Taking up a two-room suite for the evening, the party -- with the exception of Vallan, who chose to sleep outside down by the river -- went upstairs to get some sleep before beginning their investigations the following morning.
3rd Earthday of Wealsun
Damoth and Gareth rose early the next morning and slipped out of the suite and down to the tavern area of the Inn of the Welcome Wench. Getting directions to Spugnoir's place, the two followers of Heironeous were soon at Potions & Elixirs, the shop run by Spugnoir and his daughter, Renne. The two talked to the ten-year-old girl about her father's disappearance, and it seemed clear that Spugnoir was a bit of a local adventurer and was commonly exploring the old moathouse not far from the village and the ruined Temple of Elemental Evil. His last excursion was taking him to the moathouse, but that had been several days before. However, Renne had no idea how to get to the moathouse, and when questioned on the subject of who would know, she came up with the idea of talking to Captain Elmo, who was often found at the keep or at Terrigan's.Damoth and Gareth immediately set out for the keep and were soon admitted by the guards at the gate. Brief introductions with Captain Elmo followed, and Damoth explained that he was searching for Spugnoir and required directions to get to the old moathouse. Elmo was happy to oblige. Damoth then dropped the rumour about the dark robed figures that Lia had seen one evening. It had been the first time Elmo had heard of these figures and he wondered if maybe a new temple was to be founded in the city. In any event, he agreed to look into it.
Meanwhile, back at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Vallan, Arjunan and Kuruk had met in the tavern for breakfast while Anastrianna had headed back to the Temple of Ehlonna she had seen while walking through town the evening before. Soon, Anastrianna, as well as Damoth and Gareth, returned to the tavern and plans were made to head out to the moathouse immediately.
Aside from an attack on the road by three dire badgers, which resulted in three dead dire badgers that were soon to be turned into food and clothing by Kuruk, the ten-mile trip to the east was uneventful. Arriving around noon, the adventurers approached the moat. Dismounting and heading toward the dilapidated drawbridge, a frog the size of a man hopped out of the moat and attacked. It soon lay dead at their feet, and Kuruk sent its carcass to the bottom of the moat.
Moments after crossing the drawbridge into the moathouse courtyard, a large blue dragon emerged from inside the moathouse proper and attacked the party. The adventurers fought back, and it was only through a combined effort of swords and magic that they were able to drive the beast off. Although Kuruk had nearly died in the battle from the dragon's lightning breath weapon, the adventurers emerged victorious. However, the dragon escaped, flying up into the sky when it was sure the party was going to defeat it.
3rd Earthday of Wealsun
With the dragon gone, Vallan collapsed from his barbaric rage. In his weakened state, he was unable to fend off the party as they descended on him to give him a thorough cleansing. However, the struggle to wash the filthy dwarf was overheard by a pair of gnolls. As the party scrubbed Vallan clean, the two gnolls, who had been somewhere inside, came out of the moathouse and entered combat with the adventurers. The two gnolls died quickly without causing any casualties. Dressed in uniform armour (dark black scale armour with black capes and well-kept battle axes), the gnolls also wore golden symbols of a flaming eye around their necks.After taking everything of value from the gnolls' corpses, Damoth put the creatures to rest in the moat. Then the party regrouped itself into marching order and entered the moathouse. What had been the great hall had obviously become the dragon's lair. They found two bodies, one partially eaten but both clearly killed by the dragon. Lying next to one of the bodies (a woman) was another symbol -- a black iron triangle with an upside-down yellow Y inscribed within. None of the adventurers had ever seen either of the symbols before.
Steeling themselves for further surprises, the adventurers moved into the eastern set of rooms off the hall. Finding little of value, they eventually came to the last room in the east wing and were attacked by a grey ooze. Although no injuries were suffered, Vallan lost his magical warhammer to the creature's acid.
The party continued to search the moathouse rooms but found little but items left behind after the last occupation of the structure. However, the adventurers did find a set of stairs leading down, but with the cleric's daily nearly spells spent during the battle with the dragon, they decided to camp out and wait for the next morning before venturing underground. Choosing a room in the moathouse and barricading themselves in, the five adventurers settled in for an evening of rest.
Several hours passed before the sound of movement outside of the room drew their attention. As quickly as possible, they prepared for a fight and emerged from the room, only to discover half a dozen gnolls -- dressed similarly to the ones they had encountered earlier -- in the courtyard where they had fought the dragon. Apparently they had come up from below. Without a moment's hesitation, Vallan charged the gnolls, and in the ensuing the battle, all of the gnolls were struck down. With their enemies dead, the adventurers piled items of value or things they could sell onto their cart and then returned to their room to wait for dawn.
3rd Freeday of Wealsun
Nothing else disturbed their sleep that evening, and the adventurers awoke with renewed vigour. Damoth and Kuruk healed up the wounds that had not been mended, and then the entire party left the room in which they had barricaded themselves and headed downstairs into the moathouse's basement. The steps descended into a dank and cool room. A black, wet slime had collected between the pillars and stones of the walls, ceiling and floor, making the surfaces of the room slick. Connected to the room were several doorways and corridors. Starting with the nearest doors and searching the small rooms within, the adventurers discovered a form hiding behind a weapon rack.Preparing for another fight with the residents of the moathouse, the party had instead found Spugnoir, the father of the girl in the potions shop. He had been injured, he said, during a fight with the dragon. When the fight had gone sour, he had fled below the moathouse, where he had been trapped for several days. Also trapped were the gnolls and robed individuals of whatever organization had chosen the moathouse as its home. Their leader had been eaten by the dragon several days ago, and they were stuck underneath the moathouse, as well. Spugnoir had so far been successful in avoiding, them, though.
The party provided healing as they questioned Spugnoir further. Claiming to be a wizard, Spugnoir also admitted he had spent much time exploring the upper part of the moathouse, as well as some parts of the basement. However, things had changed since the last time he had explored the place, as the new residents had created new tunnels further in. Spugnoir agreed to join the party for the time being, and all of the adventurers journeyed further into the moathouse.
Not long after moving on, all six adventurers stepped into a room containing five floor-to-ceiling pillars and three individuals. Two were clearly gnolls, but the third was a human woman.
"Who's there?" the woman asked from behind one of the pillars as the party shuffled into the room. The answer did not come, as the adventurers charged forward to do battle. As the gnolls engaged their attackers, the ochre-robed woman emerged. As the first of the gnolls fell and Damoth stepped toward the strange woman, she raised one hand in front of Damoth's face and spoke one word: "Die." Whatever magic she had tried to use on the paladin clearly failed and she and the other gnoll soon lay dead the adventurers' feet.
While searching for anything of value and any clues as to who these people were, several items were discovered lying on a white blanket spread out on the floor -- an iron torch with three black cones, a black scepter decorated with violet gems, a small black sphere and a black metal tube containing a scroll.
After picking up the various bits found near the caster and the gnolls, the party continued on into the next room, where they made short work out of several animated skeletons. A tip from Spugnoir, who had been down in the moathouse dungeon several times, led them through a secret door and down a dark passageway. Eventually, the corridor split off into several different directions, but the adventurers stayed together, chose one route and moved on ahead.
They soon arrived in a large room. On the far wall were three doors, and passages led north and south out of the room. The party checked the doors, which turned out to be a mistake. Two of the doors led to empty closets, but the middle one set off a trap. They heard a heavy clunking sound come from behind them, and a quick check showed that a portcullis had fallen, blocking the path back to the secret door they had entered that part of the dungeon through.
After a quick discussion, the adventurers decided it was best to continue on ahead and worry about getting out later. After all, there was very likely more dangers in this part of the dungeon to deal with before trying to make their escape. North of the room with the door that triggered the trap was a room that contained several beds. A quick search turned up very little except for a couple of swords and personal effects. Moving south, the party encountered a lone gnoll, but he died under the adventurers' swords.
The party discovered what appeared to be another bedroom. Although of a half-decent size, it was obvious that only one person resided in the room. They searched the room and discovered a small box on top of the bed. Kuruk tried to open it and got a face full of acid instead. Exploding with rage, the half-orc cleric of Kord threw the box onto the floor and beat it with his greatsword it until his anger passed. When the box was finally opened, he found broken bits of glass and liquid splashed about, as well as a few scrolls, a ceremonial dagger and a letter written by someone named Geynor Ton. In the letter, the author described how he and his comrades had been trapped in the moathouse dungeon by the dragon, and how they had been unable to make contact with their fellows hidden away in the Hommlet mill. Filing that information away in their minds, the party agreed that they would pay a visit to the mill upon return to Hommlet.
Choosing a narrow hallway heading deeper into the dungeon, the party moved into a single file formation and walked with a purpose. Just before a set of stairs leading down, another hallway intersected, and the party was attacked by a vicious undead creature -- a ghast, they later determined. Because of the intersection, only three at a time could do battle with the creature, and in seconds, Arjunan collapsed -- paralyzed from a blow dealt to him. The creature died moments later, but as the party went to look over Arjunan, a falcon flew up the staircase and attacked.
The falcon seemed to be little but a diversion, as it vanished within seconds. Damoth, Vallan and Kuruk headed down the stairs to investigate, and in the doorway leading into a room, they did battle with two more casters.
Back in the hallway on the floor above, Gareth moved toward the prone Arjunan. A grim look appeared on Gareth's face, and the paladin's servant kneeled down slapped Arjunan across the face. Arjunan immediately began to protest, but Gareth drew an arrow and placed the shaft between Arjunan's lips, shutting the fighter up.
"That's for calling me Pee-Wee," he said, indicating the unfortunate nickname that Arjunan and Vallan had saddled him with.
"Gareth, that's inappropriate behaviour," Spugnoir said.
"Oh, he had it coming," Gareth said.
Down at the bottom of the stairs, the battle continued. The two casters, both dressed in ochre-coloured robed and wearing the now familiar symbol of the black iron triangle with an inverted yellow Y, fell under the party's onslaught.
When Damoth discovered what Gareth had done to Arjunan while the fighter had been unable to defend himself, the paladin took his pupil aside and lectured him on inappropriate behaviour. He said there was a proper way for paladins to behave, and Gareth had not shown said behaviour.
"Heironeous has shown him humility," Gareth said.
The room at the bottom of the stairs was roughly squre. In the very centre of the room, there was a round platform leading down. It was driven by a pulley-and-rope system. However, in the corner of the room was a small statue with four very distinct figured carved on each of its four sides, which Kuruk investigated. The first side was jet black in colour, and the carved figure was a muscular man in full plate armour. The armour's flanges and fluting was unfamiliar. The second side was dark green, and its figure was a man swathed in a flowing robe and wearing a mask. The third side was deep blood red, and it showed a man dressed in high boots, a doublet and gauntlets. A hood was drawn tight around his face. The fourth side was deep indigo, and the figure was a man in a many-pleated robe and a sash covered in strange sigils. His head was cowled, and he carried a scepter in his folded arms.
Deciding it was best to investigate the hallway in which the ghast had come from before using the platform to go down to whatever awaited them, the adventurers headed back up the stairs. A crypt was at the end of the hall, and several ghouls crawled out of the sarcophi. The ghouls were destroyed seconds later. However, dug into the far corners were very narrow tunnels. With the idea that they might find something interesting in those tunnels, the adventurers entered.
It took a couple of hours of searching the tunnels before the party finally came to a small room. Within that room was a much larger version of the statue they had found before. It seemed to be part of the stone beneath it, and all attempts to damage or desecrate the statue failed. Something about the room and the statue triggered a distant memory in Damoth's head. It was said that millennia ago, there had a been a mad god named Tharizdun. The rest of the gods in the Greyhawk pantheon had allied against Tharizdun and imprisoned him.
Realizing there was nothing they could do to the statue, the party returned to the room with the platform and prepared to go down. They decided to leave Anastrianna, Gareth and Spugnoir up above in case something happened. Damoth, Kuruk, Vallan and Arjunan stepped onto the platform and began lowering themselves down. As they descended down the shaft, they found indications of a stone plug that sealed off what was now a small waterfall leading in the direction the adventurers were headed. The shaft suddenly opened up into a huge cavern. Within moments after entering the cavern, a flying creature attacked from. It looked like a giant, amorphous brain with a sharp beak and nearly a dozen tentacles. It attacked, trying to grab onto the adventurers with its tentacles. The four warriors killed it, though, and it dropped onto the platform, nearly knocking Arjunan off.
Looking down at the hideous form, Vallan kicked its carcass off into the darkness.
Concerned for his comrades in arms, Anastrianna caught hold of the rope holding up the platform and climbed down. With the half-elf ranger in tow, the adventurers continued down until the platform stopped on top of a cold, flat surface. A chill ran up Damoth's spine. Something evil was in the cavern. He was sure of it.
Finding another rope-and-pulley-based platform at the edge of the circular surface, the adventurers got on the second platform and moved downward. As they descended, they got a better idea of what they had been standing on. It seemed to be a very, very tall structure -- a perfectly smooth pillar.. It was black in colour with veins of deep violet running throughout it. A hundred or more feet below, the pillar ended in a point on top of a stone pillar. It was an obelisk. Not too much further below, the ride ended on the cavern floor.
Deciding to see if they could damage the obelisk, Arjunan climbed up the stone pillar and tried to push the obelisk over. It was no use. He climbed down and helped his allies explore the cavern. The water that fell from above had pooled on the floor, but it was seeping through a crack in the rock. Along the wall of the cavern was a stone archway. The archway itself was carved to look like curved and writhing mass of tentacles and serpents. Within the archway, where there perhaps should've been a doorway was nothing but a smooth, black wall.
A shout interrupted their thoughts and a robed figure like the ones they had already encountered above came out from hiding behind a rock outcropping and attacked the party. Unfortunately, his attack was foolhardy, and he was lying dead at the adventurers' feet moments later.
Still curious about the archway, Kuruk picked up a rock and pitched it at the black surface. Immediately, tentacles came out of the blackness and attacked. An amorphous brain with a beak followed, and the heroes fought and killed the monster. After it was dead, the adventurers quickly searched the mad caster and found a note. The note read: "The Water Temple will soon make its move against the forces of Fire. Return quickly, Festrath, for we need your aid. Together, we shall win the favour of the doomdreamers and the Triad itself."
By this time, the adventurers had grown weary, and they ached to be back in Hommlet. They had uncovered evidence of evil forces in the town and, they decided, it was time to leave. Using the platforms to return to the dungeon proper, the party returned to the corridor in which they had come. Kuruk used a Stone Shape spell to go around the portcullis, and soon the party was on its way back to Hommlet.
3rd Freeday of Wealsun
As Damoth, Vallan, Kuruk, Anastrianna, Arjunan and Gareth were returning to Hommlet, two shadowy figures arrived at the moathouse. Picking up the tracks of the adventurers, they soon figured out what had happened -- a dragon had trapped their associates below, and when adventurers had shown up, they had driven off the dragon and then slaughtered the majority of the people and gnolls below. Sealing up the obelisk, they returned to Hommlet, revenge on their minds.The adventurers that had vanquished the denizens of the moathouse were happy to finally be back in the Town of Hommlet, but they knew their work was from over. A note they had found within the moathouse suggested a cell of the ochre-robed priests were operating out of the town's flourmill. All but Vallan, who once again chose to sleep by the riverside, returned to the inn to get some sleep.
4th Starday of Wealsun
In the morning, Damoth and Gareth had work do in the name of Heironeous. They set out, leaving their comrades to deal with other matters. The rest gathered up what magical items they had found in the moathouse. Believing they could be useful, they wanted to get them identified. They paid a visit to the potion-maker, Spugnoir, and asked him to identify the items. He agreed, and quoted a cost, and the adventurers left the items in his possession while they went off to investigate the flourmill.Workers were busy at the flourmill when Vallan, Kuruk, Anastrianna and Arjunan arrived. Two men were inside, and after a quick chat, the party learned that their employer had not been around recently, but that he lived on the other side of the river in a small house. Kuruk showed them the symbols they had found on the ochre-robed clerics, and asked about Geynor Ton, the author of the diary entry that had led the adventurers to the mill, but the workers knew nothing about them. Arjunan struck up a conversation with the men, and Kuruk used the distraction to do a cursory search of the mill. The cellar door, which appeared to have been opened recently, caught the half-orc's eye.
Once outside of the mill, the foursome discussed the cellar, and they decided to return after dark and check it out. But first, they would check out the employer's house on the other side of the river. Anastrianna refused to go looking in the house's windows, so Vallan volunteered. He believed it was quiet, and then he opened the door and walked in. All but Anastrianna, who was put off by her friends' behaviour, entered and searched. Neither the miller, nor his wife, were there. Leaving without stealing anything, the adventurers headed to the riverside to watch the mill.
By dusk, Damoth and Gareth had completed their business and sought out the rest of their party. The others had left a message at the inn as to their whereabouts. On his way out of the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Damoth was stopped by Lia Spellsong. She was looking for Kuruk. Damoth headed to the flourmill and, after a quick look around, discovered the other adventurers sitting on the side of the river on the opposite side to the mill. He gave Kuruk Lia's message, and the cleric returned to the inn. Damoth soon followed. With some planned sneaking in the evening, it would be best to change into lighter armour -- and leave his squire behind.
After nightfall, Anastrianna was sent across the nearby bridge to scout out the flourmill. The two mill workers were gone, and it was time to get to work. Sneaking over to the mill, Anastrianna checked the door and found it unlocked. She slipped inside and listened. There were voices coming from below the cellar door, and they were getting closer. She got outside just before the door opened. She watched as five people left the mill -- two of them dressed in the now-all-too-familiar ochre robes. She followed them.
Meanwhile, Damoth had definitely sensed evil from the mill residents. He, Vallan and Arjunan waited for Anastrianna and her prey to get out of sight, and then they crossed the bridge. Damoth and Vallan entered the mill, looked around and then went downstairs into the cellar while Arjunan wandered off in the hopes of following Anastrianna. Arjunan quickly lost sight of her and the people she was following, so he waited for her to return.
Underneath the mill, Damoth and Vallan found that the cellar had been turned into a small dwelling of sorts. There were five bedrolls, as well as several personal and potentially-valuable items.
Anastrianna followed the five individuals to a grove. All five of them entered. She watched and waited for an hour, and then the ranger decided it would be best to get the rest of her party. Heading back toward the flourmill, she found Arjunan waiting for her. Sending him back to find Vallan and Damoth, she waited not far from the grove. Soon, the other three caught up with her. They approached the grove. Within it, there was a small house -- almost more of a large hut. They could hear voices inside.
Vallan, always impatient, walked to the door and kicked it in. Inside, the five people who were hiding in the mill were crowded around a sixth body. Whoever it was was obviously dead. Vallan attacked. A human warrior standing near the door fell immediately under his brutal attack. Inside, the other four enemies prepared for battle. Both parties clashed, and within minutes, four of the heroes' enemies were dead. Damoth beat the fifth -- an ochre-robed priest -- unconscious. Not only had they emerged victorious, they had a captive.
Back at the Inn of the Welcome Wench, Kuruk had tracked down and spoken to Lia. The bard had been interested in what the adventurers had discovered at the moathouse, and Kuruk filled her in about the moathouse and the note suggesting the existence of a group of the evil clerics operating out of the flourmill in Hommlet.
Meanwhile, the adventurers at the grove secured the unconscious cleric they had captured. Damoth sent Arjunan out to find the head of the guards, Elmo, and he sent Vallan back toward the inn to look for Kuruk. Anastrianna headed off to the Temple of Ehlonna, as instructed by Damoth, who believed the priests' victim had not deserved his death -- and should therefore be resurrected. . Vallan arrived at the inn just as Lia and Kuruk were finishing their discussion and, not seeing any reason to make haste back to the grove, ordered some beer before he and Kuruk returned to the grove. Arjunan headed to the keep and contacted Elmo, who accompanied the fighter back to the grove.
Arjunan returned to the grove with Elmo, but unfortunately, their timing was bad. Just as they were approaching the grove, Kuruk and Vallan arrived in a cart loaded up with three kegs of beer purchased from the Inn of the Welcome Wench. Elmo threatened to have them all thrown into jail, but Damoth calmed the furious captain of the guards down.
At the Temple of Ehlonna, the cleric known as Jennithar told Anastrianna that the only cleric powerful enough to raise the dead in Hommlet was Canoness Y'dey at the Church of St. Cuthbert. Going to the church, Anastrianna soon met Y'dey, who was not eager at all to help resurrect the priests' victim. However, the priestess did tell Anastrianna that the victim sounded a lot like a druid named Yundi. With luck not on her side, Anastrianna returned to the grove, where Damoth and several guards under Elmo's command were digging graves for the enemies that had killed Yundi.
Taking the captured cleric into custody, Elmo and his guards returned to the keep. Vallan headed back toward the river to sleep on the riverbank. The rest of the party returned to the Inn of the Welcome Wench, hoping for a good night's sleep. That was not to happen, however.
As they approached the inn, they noticed several town guards, as well as several townspeople, in and around the inn. When they stepped into the inn, the innkeeper, Ostler, told them that there had been a murder. Both Lia Spellsong and Tory the Composer had been murdered. Upon investigation, it was clear someone had slipped into their room, cut Lia's throat and stabbed Tory repeatedly. The only thing, according to Ostler, that had alerted him was a yell. Nobody had been seen in the room, nor coming out of it.
When Elmo arrived at the inn, he was in an even more foul mood than he had been earlier at the druid's grove. The adventurers that had been in the fight at the grove had now been connected to three murders in the same night -- Yundi, Lia and Tory. He demanded they come to the keep for questioning the next morning. The adventurers agreed. While Damoth, Kuruk, Arjunan and Gareth decided to sleep in the inn, Anastrianna retreated to the Temple of Ehlonna.
4th Sunday of Wealsun
The next morning, the adventurers gathered, explained everything to Vallan and then headed over to the keep. The guards took their weapons, but allowed them to keep everything else, and then escorted them to a room to await Captain Elmo. When Elmo arrived, it was clear his mood hadn't improved all that much. However, he had been convinced -- through the interrogation of the captured cleric -- that the adventurers had nothing to do with the murders of Yundi, Lia or Tory.He listened to Damoth explain what they were all doing in Hommlet and what they had been doing while there. The paladin described their trip to the moathouse, as well as the staking out of the flourmill. The party's next goal, Damoth said, was to find Lia's and Tory's killer (or killers) and "go all St. Cuthbert" on them."
Elmo told them he had information that might help the adventurers track down their friends' killers. During the interrogation, the cleric told him that the entire cell was about to leave Hommlet. A wagon was due this very morning, and from there, they would go on to a town called Rastor that lied on the edge of the Lortmil Mountains. Elmo told the adventurers that Rastor was probably their best bet in finding Lia's and Tory's killers.
Over the next three days, the entire party made plans to travel to Rastor. They completed their dealings with Spugnoir, who had identified their magical items. They sold off what loot they had found in the moathouse and divided the gold up amongst themselves. And then finally, on the fourth Waterday of Wealsun, they were ready to leave Hommlet.
4th Waterday of Wealsun
Ready for Rastor, the party set off to the west, following the vague directions toward this town or village they had never heard of. They rode through the Kron Hills and even skirted the Lortmil Mountains, and it was then they started to wonder where exactly they were going. They complained about not having a map or better directions, but spending months on the road at a time had given them a good understanding of the wild. Soon they discovered a slightly worn trail. They followed it.Sunday of Richfest
After four days of travelling, the adventurers came upon a muddy, rough-looking village of humans and dwarves. As they approached, they caught a glimpse of a half-orc not too far off the main road."Oh, those halfies," Arjunan said. Anastrianna and Kuruk let it pass, but when Arjunan made two or three more derogatory remarks about half-breeds, Anastrianna reached over and shoved the fighter off his horse. Arjunan landed in the mud. He looked up at Anastrianna and quickly said, "I didn't mean to say anything about halfies."
The half-elf let the matter rest, but in the back of her mind, she considered sending a couple of arrows into the human's backside to let him know that "halfies" were not to trifled with.
The village looked fairly primitive and filthy, and after speaking to a local man, the party discovered that this dung heap was in fact Rastor. The man immediately took them for a bunch of bandits, but Damoth and Kuruk tried to assure him they were definitely not bandits. Maybe he believed them. Maybe he didn't. They didn't find out for sure, because they were stopped a moment later by a half-orc. After the half-orc questioned them and discovered they were seeking a place to stay for the night. The half-orc suggested they try The Grey Lodge, a tavern that also provided a place to stay for people passing through.
The adventurers took the half-orc's advice and sought out The Grey Lodge. Sending Vallan off to sleep off a drunk that had lasted the entire trip, Damoth, Kuruk, Arjunan, Anastrianna and Gareth entered The Grey Lodge. The tavern seemed almost as dirty on the inside as it did on the out, but the party ignored the lack of cleanliness. They were after lodging, and they were after information. While eavesdropping conversations, they soon overheard a couple of locals talking about a group that lived up in the mountains and occasionally came down for supplies.
Damoth's ears perked up and he and his companions walked over to the table. Realizing right away that it would be best to bribe these men into telling them everything they knew, Damoth ordered the locals a round of beers to begin with and then started pumping them for information. As they locals drank on Damoth's tab, they told him what little they knew -- that there was a group that lived in the mountains and that they came down to Rastor for supplies. It wasn't a lot of information, but it was a start. Kuruk showed them the symbols he had pulled off the ochre-robed priests, and the locals identified it immediately as belonging to the people in the mountains.
Moonday of Richfest
After sleeping in The Grey Lodge, the adventurers awoke early the next morning to seek out the group in the mountains. Heading out, they spent hours searching, and eventually they found a path leading up into the Lortmil Mountains. As they followed it, the path began to ascend a specific mountain, and about halfway up, the party began to realize that the mountain was actually a volcano -- hopefully dormant.
Moonday of Richfest
As the adventurers rounded one last bend, they finally saw the end of the path. They were headed right up into a huge cave set into the side of a cliff. As they neared the cave's entrance, they saw that within the cave, the entrance was blocked by two huge, iron-bound wooden doors. They approached, and as they neared the doors, both Damoth and Vallan understood the strategic element of placing the doors where they were. On either side, above their heads, were several slits -- probably for firing arrows down at intruders.Dressed in the damaged and bloody ochre robes of the many clerics they had slaughtered in the moathouse and at the druid's grove, the entire party hoped the disguises would fool the guards. The dog-like sounds of chitter-chatter coming from somewhere beyond those arrow slits touched the ears of Vallan (who was hiding in an empty barrel on the cart) and Arjunan as the party made their way to the doors. A big iron knocker was affixed to the left door, and the skull of a humanoid of some sort was spiked to the right door, probably as a warning to enemies.
The adventurers struck up a discussion to decide what to do, but Kuruk took the initiative. He reached out, grabbed hold of the doorknocker and used it to bang on the door. The chatting somewhere within the cave stopped and a voice from the left challenged the party.
"Since when do you guys knock?" the person asked. It sounded human. Kuruk explained that they had come from the moathouse. The half-orc chuckled a bit at his joke. Well, they really had come from the moathouse. The guard said that the moathouse had been wiped out.
Deciding that maybe they were going about this all wrong, Damoth pushed on the door. It opened. As he did so, arrows and bolts rained down on the party, striking Arjunan and Kuruk. Quickly, the party members, with the exception of Anastrianna and Gareth (who were on the cart behind the horses), rushed inside to do battle with the archers. As the pushed his way in, Arjunan fired back at the enemy, but the effort was useless, as only a truly skilled archer could fire up through those arrow slits.
The doors were pushed open by the party, and Damoth, Kuruk and Arjunan rushed inside to do battle with the archers. Above, the archers yelled orders at each other, and they fired on the horses driving the cart. Arrows and bolts sank into their necks and haunches, and the horses bolted forward in terror. Anastrianna quickly reigned them in, and then she, Vallan and Gareth abandoned the cart to help out in the battle.
It was clear the sounds of battle had alerted nearby guards, and during the battle that followed, Damoth, Kuruk and Arjunan suffered heavy wounds. After all was said and done, though, sixteen corpses lay spread out on the floors of the halls and nearby rooms. Half of them were human, while the other half were gnolls.
With the humans and gnolls lying dead at their feet and who knows how many more guards and monsters inside this fortress of rock, the horses and the cart were going to become a burden very quickly. They decided to send Vallan, Anastrianna and Gareth back to Rastor with the horses, the cart and Damoth's wolf mount, Giz. As the trio began their descent down the mountain toward Rastor, Damoth, Arjunan and Kuruk (the cleric made sure to keep the full beer keg in his possession) turned their attentions to the various passages and hallways that led deeper into the mountain.
They discovered a storage room full of crates and barrels. They swiped some perishable food and found a card game that had been abandoned. Noticing a handful or two of copper coins amongst the cards, Kuruk put everything into his backpack.
Soon after they began to search rooms, they came across a room with two heavy core carts made out of iron. One of the carts was turned over, and it looked like it might be too heavy to haul it upright. The other cart was sitting on one of two tracks leading even further into the mountain. Checking the nearby rooms before venturing down the path, the party find a machine of sorts. However, something seemed to be hiding underneath the machine, and they soon did battle with a monstrous spider as big as a human torso. They killed it as quickly as they could and then returned to the room with the carts.
Refusing to leave the beer behind, Kuruk put the beer in the one upright cart. Putting Damoth in the lead, Kuruk and Arjunan got behind the cart and started to push it along the track. After some time pushing the heavy cart along the track, the group stopped. To their left, they spotted an an opening, and within that opening was a statue of a gnoll, its face showing a look of surprise. Kuruk set the brake on the cart, and the three adventurers investigated. The opening actually led into a narrow passageway, in which they discovered a second gnoll statue -- this one lying broken in several pieces on the ground. When the passage opened up into a cave, the group found themselves under attack by a dull brown reptile as big as a pony (a basilisk). The party attacked the creature, and after a short struggle, it lay dead.
Kuruk decided the reptilian creature might be edible, so he carved off some pieces of its hide and brought them along for a snack. They returned to the cart and started pushing again. Not far after the passage leading to the basilisk cave, they found a passage on their right. They set the cart's brake again and investigated. The passage led to the parallel track. Next to the track was a good-sized rough platform. Two worm-like creatures were on the rock, and as the adventurers approached, they attacked. They were thoqquas, and they fought with the party. Whenever they struck, their victims were burned by the immense heat radiating from them. However, the casualties were moderate, and the thoqquas were no match for the trio.
With the thoqquas dead, the party used some of their healing magic to close wounds inflicted by the two thoqquas and the basilisk before returning to the cart on the opposite track. Once again, Kuruk and Arjunan pushed the cart along, occasionally dipping into the beer. They searched several empty caves and passages before coming to another passage on their right. Some rough stairs were carved out of the rock, and Damoth led them up the stairs. His reflexes caught site of the falling green slime just in time, and he backed out of the way.
The three adventurers backed off. As Damoth and Arjunan fired arrows into the slime, which didn't move, Kuruk returned to the location in which they had killed the thoqquas. Picking of the dead thoqquas up, he hurried along the tracks and found his way to the opposite side of the stairs. He tossed the thoqqua corpse on the slime, and it burned until there was nothing left of it.
Kuruk reported that the track they weren't using was beginning to ascend, and not too far after the staircase on the track they had chosen to use, they found that it began to descend. Hopping into the cart, Damoth, Arjunan and Kuruk led gravity do its work. They used the brake to steady their speed, but it didn't descend for very long. It evened out and then opened up into a large cave.
Arjunan caught sight of the ambush first, but he was unable to do anything but duck into the cart, pulling Damoth down with him. An ettin stepped out from hidding and threw a thunderstone at the cart. The deafening noise of the stone didn't affect the party, and in another few seconds, the ettin and a rust monster were wailing away at the party. The rust monster quickly destroyed the front of the cart, and the ettin pounded on Arjunan and Kuruk with its two greatclubs. Arjunan jumped out of the cart and ran away to fire arrows at the rust monster. Damoth ran off to another area of the cave to do the same, and the ettin attacked Kuruk until it accidentally tossed one of its greatclubs. The club landed near Arjunan, and the ettin hurried over to retrieve it.
As Kuruk and Damoth focused on killing the rust monster, the ettin beat Arjunan until the fighter was unconscious and nearly dead. It was then that Damoth stopped firing arrows at the rust monster and rushed over to do battle with the ettin. The ettin had not been injured very much when Damoth began to fight it, but soon both it and the rust monster were dead. Damoth used up the last of his healing abilities, and Kuruk used one of his last healing spells.
Meanwhile, Gareth, Anastrianna and Vallan had returned to Rastor. Gareth went around back to the stable to get the horses, Giz and the cart cleaned up, while Anastrianna and Vallan headed into the Grey Lodge, and Vallan asked the bartender to refill the empty beer keg he brought down with him. As the bartender began filling the keg, the half-elf and dwarf listened in on conversations. All the while, Vallan muttered about how he would really like to get into a bar fight.
Damoth, Arjunan and Kuruk were running low on healing magic, and they were getting tired. They decided they would first search the ettin's lair, and then they would return to the basilisk lair to rest. However, as Damoth began to search the ettin's corpse, Arjunan walked up behind him, grabbed the paladin, spun him around and shoved him up against the rock wall.
"What the hell were you doing leaving me to die?" he demanded, his face flushed red.
"You look alive to me," Damoth said.
"Because you brought me back," Arjunan said.
"Well, if you were a half-decent fighter, you wouldn't need saving."
Anger got the better of Arjunan. He dropped his gauntlets and punched Damoth in the face. Combat reflexes kicked in, and Damoth headbutted Arjunan in the nose and then kicked the fighter hard between the legs. He cursed Arjunan out for his incompetence and his shoddy behaviour. Pointing out the dwarf's behaviour, as well, Damoth said he had had enough of the lot of them.
"I'm out of here," he yelled down at the pained fighter.
Getting back to his feet and rubbing his manhood, Arjunan yelled back at Damoth as the paladin stormed off the way they had come. Damoth yelled back, but he continued to walk until he was out of sight.
Kuruk had looked on in confusion, but with things settling down, he headed over to the ettin to complete Damoth's search of the corpse. Arjunan was still trying to calm his temper, and he walked into the next cave, which he noticed had a bed of straw. It appeared to be the the ettin's bedroom. Once he got a handle on his temper, he began to thoroughly search the bed. Kuruk, however, found nothing but the two greatclubs in the ettin's possession. Joining Arjunan, he checked the bed and found a sack of gold.
Deciding to get some rest, Arjunan and Kuruk returned to partially-demolished ore cart. They realized they weren't going to have to push the cart back up the hill, as the cart actually had a mechanism for propelling it along. They got into the cart and started on their way back to the basilisk's cave. Once during the trip, Kuruk stopped the cart after he noticed a rock placed on the track (actually, placed there by an angry Damoth). He moved the rock, and they continued on until they reached the basilisk's cave. They believed nobody would enter the cave if they knew the basilisk was there, so it would be a perfect spot to set up camp.
Meanwhile, Damoth had cooled off a bit. He still intended on leaving the party of adventurers. He had spent more than a year with adventurers that had tried his patience, and he finally made a decision to leave and find more suitable adventurers to call his comrades. When he found them, he would return to destroy the evil in the mountain. Eventually, Damoth arrived at the beginning of the track. He carefully made his way to the gates and then started the long walk back down the mountain to Rastor.
In the Grey Lodge, Anastrianna and Vallan hadn't overheard anything really all that interesting. A couple of locals in the tavern were talking about some kind of flower they took for "medicinal purposes." Vallan was getting kind of edgy, though. For what was probably the twelfth time since they entered the tavern, he suggested to Anastrianna that they pick a bar fight.
"Did you say you wanted to get into a bar fight?" a rough male voice asked. Vallan looked up into the face of a half-orc. The guy was probably a farmer, but he would do. Vallan rose from his seat at the table and smashed his beer stein into the half-orc's face.
His face now bloodied, the half-orc stumbled back.
"Alright!" he yelled. "That's what I had in mind!" He laid into Vallan with his fists but only struck armour. "Hey, that's not fair!"
Anastrianna jumped up from her seat and put her back to a wall, trying to stay out of the fight. Vallan punched the half-orc in the face, knocking him unconscious. In another moment, two more locals were on Vallan, swinging their fists wildly and only hitting armour. Vallan picked up the chair he had been sitting on and beat one of them to death. The dwarf dropped the stool and started punching the other guy who had dared jump into the fight.
Out of the corner of his eye, Vallan spotted a dark figure in one of the corners of the bar stand and throw a knife. The knife hit Vallan's armour and clattered to the floor. The dwarf ignored him and set his mind on punching out the local in front of him. Anastrianna, however, drew her bow, nocked an arrow and approached the knife-throwing stranger.
"Let my friend have his fun," she ordered.
The stranger smiled. As Vallan beat on the unarmed local, the knife-thrower quickly drew a rapier and attacked Anastrianna. The ranger put two arrows into him, but although he was hurt, he was far from dead. Vallan finished with his opponent and came over to join in on the fun. Wounded, the stranger quaffed a healing potion and then hopped around to the far side of the table. Drawing a stick in his off-hand, he waved it and promptly vanished from sight.
Anastrianna and Vallan looked around, not sure what to do. The other patrons in the bar looked at them in shock. Vallan quickly picked up his beer keg (now full) and he and the half-elf exited promptly. Everyone else in the Grey Lodge went back to their own business.
Meanwhile, Damoth had finally made it back to Rastor. He immediately went to the Grey Lodge and headed around back to the stables. He found Gareth tending to the horses and Giz.
"Pack up, Gareth. We're leaving," he said.
"You mean leaving without the others?" the squire asked.
"Yes."
The smile on Gareth's face was enough for Damoth to know he had made the right decision. Gareth quickly packed up and saddles the horses. Inside, Damoth heard a commotion, and in another minute, Anastrianna and Vallan came out of the tavern and rounded the building to the stables.
"Hey, I thought there was only supposed to be one of you down here," Vallan said.
"We're leaving," Damoth told him. The paladin gave the dwarf and half-elf a quick run-down on what had gone on up at the mountain, and Damoth said he was leaving to find more appropriate comrades in arms. Vallan argued with him, telling him he should stay, but Damoth would have none of it. Wishing Anastrianna well, Damoth and Gareth pulled themselves up into their saddles and rode out of Rastor.
Vallan and Anastrianna realized they would probably no longer be welcome in the Grey Lodge, so they returned to the side of the mountain where the trail started and chose a suitable place to sleep. Vallan used the ground, and Anastrianna climbed into a nearby tree to meditate.
Godsday of Richfest
Vallan woke up. Something was tapping him."Go away. I'm trying to sleep," he mumbled.
The tapping continued. In fact, the tapping was getting harder. Finally, the dwarf opened his eyes and looked up. An elderly man in robes was looking down at him. He had been nudging Vallan with a walking stick.
"What are you doing in my spot?" the robed man asked.
"What do you mean your spot?" Vallan asked as he stood up.
"You're sleeping in my spot. See, it even has my name on it, right over there on that rock," the stranger said.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Anastrianna asked.
The old man introduced himself as Arkelos the Sane, and when Anastrianna suggested he was insane, Arkelos told her that he had been called Arkelos the Mad in the past, but those that used to call him that had suddenly stopped doing so -- and not unexpectedly so. Arkelos once again questioned Vallan on why the dwarf was in his spot. Vallan told the old man he should've been in his spot if he wanted it so bad. Arkelos said he had been at the tavern having a few drinks -- and then everything else after that was a blur. However, he did recall seeing the bar fight.
"He attacked me the other night," Vallan said.
"Rightly so," Arkelos said.
Anastrianna looked at the old man and asked him if the knew anything about the "people in the mountain." Arkelos seemed to ponder the question for a moment. There were people in the mountain, he asked? The half-elf answered in the affirmative.
"Long have I suspected that there was something special about that particular formation," Arkelos said. "In speaking with the people of this town they tell me that stories from generations past report that some time ago this very peak once spewed forth great clouds of black smoke that would obscure the very sun itself."
Anastrianna and Vallan said that yes, the mountain was a volcano. Arkelos continued to think out loud, coming to the conclusion that the "people in the mountain" had been people who had fallen or were thrown into the volcano's magma. When the magma had cooled, they must have been encased for future generations to find.
"Will you take me to see the people in the mountain?" Arkelos asked.
Vallan and Anastrianna didn't think much of the idea of toting the old lunatic around. Vallan told him he couldn't come, as he would probably get killed. Arkelos insisted that he could take care of himself.
"What are you going to fight with?" Vallan asked.
Arkelos answered by giving the dwarf a thwack with his walking stick.
"Ow!" Vallan said, rubbing his head.
Arkelos continued to ask about the "people in the mountain" and if he could join Vallan and Anastrianna on their trip. Vallan finally agreed, but only if the old man would shut up. And so they began the long trek back up the mountain, with Vallan carrying the beer keg on his back. They weren't very far when Arkelos suggested he could carry the keg if the dwarf would share some of the beer. Vallan laughed. The dwarf once again made fun of the old man's frailty. Without a second's hesitation, Arkelos produced a bag from his robes and said Vallan could put the beer in it. Vallan laughed. The bag was far too small.
"Oh, you'd be surprised at just how much it can hold," Arkelos said. He opened the sack and a halfling poked his head out.
"He's right, you know. There's tons of space in here," the halfling said.
Arkelos cursed at the halfling, yelling at him to stay out of his things. The halfling hopped out and ran back down toward Rastor laughing. Arkelos pitched a rock at the halfling and gave him a bruise that would definitely take a day or two to heal. Vallan agreed to put the beer keg in the sack, but he threatened to kill Arkelos if he didn't get it back. With the keg tucked away in the magic sack, they continued their journey back up to the entrance to the mines.
Meanwhile, in the basilisk's cave, Arjunan and Kuruk had finished getting a night's sleep. Once awake, Kuruk prayed to Kord for his daily spells, and then the two of them headed back up toward the entrance to the mines. Cutting through the room with the machine and the corpse of the monstrous spider they had killed, the entered the supply room. They intended to cut through, look for any guards and then get to the arrow slits that looked down on the entrance. However, as they stepped out of the supply room, something in the main hall saw them and lumbered towards them.
The beast walked on all-fours. It had long, sharp quills sticking out various parts of its body, and its mouth was lined with sharp teeth. When it emitted a piercing scream, they realized they were about to fight a howler. For good or for bad, though, Arjunan and Kuruk could not stand side by side to fight the beast. Arjunan stepped forward. The howler bit into his arm, and Arjunan struck the howler with his sword. The blows continued, but the howler was clearly too strong. Kuruk was forced to cast spells to keep Arjunan alive.
Just when it seemed the howler might actually be beaten, Arjunan and Kuruk heard footsteps in the main hall. A half-elf and an ogre appeared at the intersection.
"Howler, return!" the ogre called. Immediately, the beast turned and ran, but not before Arjunan could cut it into its backside with his sword.
Realizing they were outnumbered, Arjunan and Kuruk hurried back into the supply room, closed the door and pushed a barrel of supplies in front of it. They barricaded the door as best they could and waited.
Meanwhile, Vallan, Anastrianna and Arkelos made their way up the mountain, stopping once at Vallan's insistence of a beer break. When they finally arrived at the entrance, they found the doors closed and several guards watching them from behind the arrow slits.
"Hold! Turn back!" one of the guards shouted.
Arkelos tried to argue with them to open the doors, and as he did so, Vallan tried to open one of the doors himself. Without any hesitation, the guards rained arrows down on the poor dwarf. Arkelos and Anastrianna quickly retreated as Vallan was slowly becoming a pincushion. Finally, the dwarf retreated. He pulled arrows out of his bleeding body while Arkelos prepared several spells. His spells affected himself, Anastrianna and Vallan, and when he was done, the three of them approached the doors once again. Arkelos let loose another spell, and the trio heard someone from behind the doors yell, "By the gods, the bar is lifting."
Vallan threw himself at the door, and the three adventurers ran in to do battle with the horde of humans and gnolls, all of which were being led by a half-elf and an ogre. Arkelos proved his worth by throwing a fireball into the midst of the crowd, killing more than half the enemies with one spell.
Back in the supply room, Arjunan and Kuruk had settled in for a long wait when they heard the sounds of combat coming from the main entryway. Quickly, they rushed out to join the battle. Before long, the humans, the gnolls, the howler, the half-elf and the ogre were dead. Two of the humans had even tried to surrender, but Arkelos blasted them with a lightning bolt spell to seal their doom.
With the entrance's new guards dead, Arkelos was introduced to the group and Damoth's leaving was discussed and explained. The group looted the bodies and stood a leaned a few of the dead humans up near the arrow slits so it looked like there were still guards. When they were finished, they headed back into the mines to the basilisk cave. Upon seeing the stone gnolls, Arkelos guessed they were the "people in the mountain." He was disappointed, but he was sure there must be other "people in the mountain" to see.
The party rested in the cave for the rest of the day, healing their wounds and preparing for the next day, when they would venture deeper into the mines. However, they merged the two half-full kegs into one and sent Vallan back to the village to get the empty one filled.
Waterday of Richfest
Rested and rejuvenated, the party (with the exception of Anastrianna, who stayed behind to guard their camp) used the damaged ore cart to continue along the tracks passed the ettin cave. They stopped in a cavern with large pool of water. Arjunan decided to investigate, and he swam down to find two decayed corpses, both of which were wearing symbols and one of which had a black thurible around his neck. Once he surfaced, the symbols were identified as belonging to the Cult of the Elder Elemental Eye and Tharizdun, respectfully. The party kept the symbols and the thurible and moved on.As they continued on, Kuruk surmised that the followers of the mad god Tharizdun must be trying to free their imprisoned god.
Finally the track ended at a stagnant river. As the party began to look around, an ochre jelly came up out of the river and attacked, but it was destroyed through the use of Arkelos' magic. Following the river in a southernly direction, the party discovered a kuo-toa in the water watching them. They attacked him, and before the kuo-toa could really inflict any harm upon them, he was dead. They looted the body.
As Kuruk, Arkelos and Arjunan finished checking the kuo-toa for valuables, Anastrianna entered the area. She had grown bored staring at a rotting basilisk corpse, and so she had tracked the group through the mines until she found them. Together, the four adventurers continued to search the nearby rooms. One of the rooms they entered turned out to be structurally unstable, and the characters ran out just before the entire ceiling collapsed. They could have been seriously injured, or even killed, but they escaped with nothing more than a few scratches.
In other caves and rooms, they encountered a digester, who managed to severely hurt Anastrianna before it was destroyed, a violet fungus in a cave full of plants and flowers, and then an umber hulk. Worn out and coming up short on spells, the party decided to rest in the cave in which they had killed the violet fungus before continuing to explore the following day.
Earthday of Richfest
After sleeping in the humid cave brimming with plant life, the four adventurers were ready to continue. They returned to the cave in which they had encountered the umber hulk and explored it. They discovered another cave, and as Arjunan entered, the ground gave way and he tumbled down into a pit. Above him, an umber hulk attacked the rest of the party. Aside from a few scratches, they were mostly uninjured. Pulling Arjunan up out of the pit, they explored the cave and swiped the umber hulk's treasure.As they continued to explore the various caves and rooms within the mining complex, they came across a set of stone stairs leading up. At the top of the stairs, in yet another room, they found two trolls waiting for them. The battle was long and arduous, and Arjunan nearly died in the struggle, but once the trolls were defeated, Arkelos explained to the group how to make sure the trolls would not come back to life. They quickly searched the trolls for valuables and then burned the bodies.