Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 6	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Heran Marod	Human	Cleric level 3	Bearded, aging man with shaved head. Follower of Umannah, the Sun God, The Radiant Death.
Ludd Nuck	Human	Fighter level 1	A lad from the farm, still wet behind the ears and smelling of dung whom became an adventurer to impress a village lass who jilted him.
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 3	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 2	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 3	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.
Somniel	Elf	fighter level 1 / Magic-User level 1	An elf of ambivalent age suffering from mild amnesia.

Meadowlark 14th, Fireday

“The Queen demands you and your men return to Hara. Today.”

Decarili, a large, barrel chested Altanian of blood red complexion said to Ambros. Cleric knew the man, for he was the Captain of Queen's Guard. Decarili arrived just before first rays of sun broke and marched straight into the cleric's tent.

“What is going on in Hara that requires the return?” Ambros inquired.

“Tsamar is missing. Aseti has been killed. Zenon has been killed. Tangay has been killed. Queen wants you and your men back. As far as I know, Dalkanarion's orders remain unchanged.” Decarili answered, straight to the point.

“I haven't a clue who any of these people are, but it sounds serious.” Ludd Nuck whispered.

“Tsamar is the castellan of Hara who gave me the thugs troops and was setting us up to fail. Zenon, I think, was the head of the Assassin’s guild. Did Tsamar pull a hit and run? Is there a new Assassin Guild Master in town cleaning up shop? Is the wizard we are after pulling strings in town? All of it serious and bad. This will also leave the Keep unguarded, along with all our treasure.” Dalkanarion explained to wondering Ludd.

Ambros discretely asked Dalkanarion to speak to Decarili as well. Grecian warrior had recently came in the possession of a necklace that allows him to hear thoughts of persons he focuses on. He did not hear anything that would indicate that Decarili was lying or presenting falsehoods. In fact, the Queen's Captain was genuinely surprised at the news that one of Hara's patrols was vanquished by beastmen.

“The Queen wants her Justice Supreme return to Hara today.”

Without any delay, Ambros commanded Marlon and Jace to disassemble camp and prepare to march to Hara. Dalkanarion and six chosen adventurers would remain at the Cedarwade Keep.

Thus, Heran Marod, Ludd Nuck, Kho Rimbo, Tobias Lindflags, Somniel, and Dalkanarion packed up their belongings, and selected a least filthy and devastated room in the keep as their new base of operations. Tikatu opted to remain in his tree hole several hundred yards away.

Dalkanarion spent rest of the day meditating with the Oathkeeper. He wished to learn how to purge the nexus of evil at Racoba's Redoubt. Three paladin spirits advised him of Three Steps of Total Purification: (i) destroy all evil objects, (ii) destroy all evil creatures, and (iii) consecrate the divine areas. If (iii) doesn't work, then destroy the whole building.

Meadowlark 15th, Spiritday

The chosen seven, plus Dalkanarion's linkboy Hue, rode northwest, forded the river, and reached the plateau around noon. They tied the horses nearby, assigning Ludd Nuck once more to guard duty. Then they descended into the underground complex once more.

Dalkanarion led at the front of the marching order, while others followed side-by-side behind him. The party elected to explore the eastern portion of the dungeon. Thus they descended into the antechamber, turned south into the improvised sleeping quarters, then east into the corpse and statue chamber. Pit trap connecting the chambers was closed shut.

Turning south, adventurers descended into a dust caked chamber reeking of death and rot. Three decayed corpses at the south side of the chamber were the source of stench. They had little in terms of usable equipment, but their coin pouches were not empty. Dalkanarion counted a total of four hundred and fifty electrum pieces, and ninety platinum pieces. Others spread out and searched the walls, seeking secret doors and passageways.

Finding nothing, the party backtracked to sleeping quarters, then headed west past the obelisk and into the kidney shaped chamber. Now they turned south-west, circumvented the teleportation trap, and revisited locked birch-tree doors. Tobias successfully picked the lock that defeated him weeks ago.

Stale air mixed with smell of dry soil assailed their nostrils. A dry fountain filled with dirt and rocks dominated the chamber. Besides doors to the southeast and southwest, there was nothing else of notice. Dalkanarion, Tikatu, Heran, and Somniel cleaned up the fountain. They dug nearly five feet deep before the water began gushing proper.

Tikatu, Druid of Second Mysteries, could smell that water was pure. Dalkanarion took a deep gulp. It was the best tasting water he ever had. Truly refreshing. He filled his waterskin with it.

Southeast doors led into a dead end chamber filled with destroyed furniture, and rotted rolled tapestries. There was also a chest with one thousand and two hundred copper pieces. Adventurers used it as a doorstopper. Southwest chamber was completely empty.

The party returned back to the kidney room. Now they went further west, down the stairs that pass by the X shaped chamber that leads to ghoul pool. They continued straight down until they reached an archway that was unlike any other they have encountered in this complex so far.

Illustration by MLord.

The archway had ornamental, twisting serpentine features running from top to bottom. Adventurers marched in. Before them was an elongated chamber, some twenty feet wide, and nearly hundred feet long. There were alcoves to left and right every ten feet or so. Dalkanarion led into the darkness. Tikatu and Kho Rimbo loitered by archway. Tobias followed right behind Dalkanarion. Heran investigated first west alcove while Somniel checked the east alcove.

“Run!” Heran yelled as he noticed a sickening green fog leaking from a tiny hole in the alcove. Everyone made a dash for the archway, and up the stairs. The fog quickly filled the chamber, but it did not go beyond the archway itself.

Dalkanarion heard sounds of stone hitting stone. Heavy thuds. He turned around and faced the direction of stairs leading up. Secret doors swung open and a marble statue wielding stone spear and shield stepped out. Combat that followed was brutal. Somniel used the opportunity to fire crossbow at the statue. Bolt shattered upon impact. Dalkanarion stepped forth to duel the statue. Kho Rimbo cast his Magic Missiles. Tikatu repeatedly missed with his spear. Marble was flying all around, but statue did not stop.

Tobias, with his Ring of Invisibility on, snuck around the statue, and then lunged at its knees from behind. Hitting with shortsword, he broke the statue's leg, sending it crumbling into thousand marble pieces. There was little time to celebrate, for Dalkanarion was nicked by stone spears twice. On the second hit he felt bone-chilling coldness spreading from his wound. He began shivering and chattering from the coldness.

Somniel joined the melee with second statue since there was now enough space for both Dalkanarion to wield his greatsword, and elf to attack with mace. It was much for naught, given that Somniel either missed or failed to do damage with his attacks.

Dalkanarion slowly worked the second statue, breaking it piece by piece. Tobias snuck once more, and once more delivered a great blow. Alas, this time it did have the same great outcome as before. This time the statue remained intact. In return, the hobbit was smacked by the stone spear. He learned his lesson and retreated from melee.

In the final exchange, the statue drove stone spear straight into Dalkanarion, hitting him with great might. The flesh made warrior retaliated by a powerful swing, finally bringing the statue down. Adventurers fled the dungeon complex, and rejoined Ludd “The Horse Whisperer” Nuck. He had a jolly good time with the horses.

It was evening. Heran and Tikatu healed those wounded. Adventurers discussed returning to Cedarwade Keep to rest and recover. But it was no longer a safe haven. But what now? They returned here to cleanse great evil sensed by the Oathkeeper. They did not achieve their mission. As night set the adventurers pondered their next move.

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 5	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Heran Marod	Human	Cleric level 2	Bearded, aging man with shaved head. Follower of Umannah, the Sun God, The Radiant Death.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 2	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.
Somniel	Elf	fighter level 1 / Magic-User level 1	An elf of ambivalent age suffering from mild amnesia.
Ludd Nuck	Human	Fighter level 1	A lad from the farm, still wet behind the ears and smelling of dung whom became an adventurer to impress a village lass who jilted him.
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 2	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.

Meadowlark 4th–9th

While most adventurers were resting and planning their next move, Ignaeus was busy study the scrolls they have recovered for the fugitive wizard's bed chambers. In total he identified eleven scrolls. One was cursed, one was a simple protection scroll, three were of clerical nature, and the remaining six were for magic-users. There were some potent spells written on them, like Dispel Evil and Wall of Iron.

Ambros sought divine guidance from Forseti. He retreated to his tent and prepared a ritual to commune with the god. He prepared three questions. By the time Ambros said the right words and did the right moves, he found himself transported to a grand gilded hall. Pillars of gold held the ceiling covered in solid silver. Forseti sat on a glimmering throne. He hears you out before speaking.

Ambros asked his first question “Lord Forseti, I have cleansed you temple and re-ordered its business, it is now time I continued my personal journey and I would know who I should pass the Gavel of Justice to?”

And to that Forseti answered calmly “You have not cleansed the temple, nor brought its business in order. Corruption runs amok, and there is little justice in Hara. You should pass the Gavel of Justice to someone who will care for it more than you.”

Ambros asked his second question “Your followers under Marlon have done fine work and a number have died in your service. I would like to suggest Marnon as my replacement at the Temple.”

And to that Forseti answered calmly “Marlon val Brookwood and his men did well. But Marlon is not a priest. Fate has different plans for him. He is not a fit replacement for you.”

Ambros asked his third question “I would seek your blessing to continue to spread the justice of Forseti in other lands.”

And to that Forseti answered calmly “You have my blessing to bring Justice to your world. I advise you begin immediately, for you have done great injustice to young Lord whom had put his trust in you.

Ambros, you have shown yourself to be a poor champion of Justice. But I am not a cruel, nor vindictive god. Perhaps the pain you endured twisted your mind and soul. Perhaps all the betrayal you suffered made you cynical.

Bring Justice to your world, Ambros. To die doing so would make for a life worth living. Should you wish to abandon that path all you have to do is smash the gavel against a ball of lead.”

With that Forseti waved Ambros away. The cleric was back in his tent once more. He felt great, completely invigorated. All his injuries were completely gone—no more burn marks, his hair had regrown, and his body just felt younger.

Cleric decided to meditate on Forseti's words. Dalkanarion on the other hand decided to lead a part of adventurers back to the dungeon. This was driven by the latest intelligence provided by daring Kho Rimbo. Insane edgy wizard snuck into the dungeon on his own, snuck past the ghoul pool, went down a level, and found the treasure chamber.

A party of seven were to ride there, get the treasure, and get out.

Meadowlark 10th, Spiritday

Adventurers reached the plateau an hour or so before the evening. Ludd Nuck volunteered for horse duty. Party of six descended into the underground complex, following Kho Rimbo's instructions.

They moved swiftly, without delay. Down into the antechamber, south into the former brigand barracks, then west past the black obelisk, and then north through the secret doors. They paused in the X-shaped room with two statues so Kho Rimbo could cast Read Magic.

With scroll in hand he went down and face the pool chamber. Dalkanarion and Somniel took the front, ready for undead horrors. Tikatu threw a coin with continual light. Kho Rimbo cast Wall of Iron from the scroll. Metal shavings materialised out of thin air, first slowly, then rapidly expanding into iron rods, scrapping against each other violently. The pool chamber had been completely cut off from the octagonal chamber, allowing free passage.

Party hurried down the long corridor with grates, and then south down the steep stairs. There they collect three thousand coins Kho Rimbo has spilled on the floor. Heran Marod put it all in one large sack, which eh then gingerly placed in the corridor. They planned to pick it on their way out.

Down the spiral staircase they went, one by one. It was a deep, lengthy descent. Adventurers eventually faced what Kho Rimbo had described—a twenty feet wide corridor with most vile frescoes on the wall. There were arched buttresses every ten feet.

“Beware. This is a place of pure evil!” paladins imbued in the Oathkeeper warned Dalkanarion.

“Stick to the south wall! Don't look at frescoes! Second turn to the right!” Kho Rimbo instructed. Everyone followed his words down to a T. Dalkanarion led the way, Oathkeeper at the ready. Moving south they quickly reached heavily dented iron doors that Kho Rimbo struggled for hours with. Dalkanarion pushed them open on his first try.

Adventurers poured into a long chamber adorned with tapestries on all sides. Six tapestries along the south wall were of different individuals, each engaged in some cruel endeavor. Two tapestries on the east wall had different motifs. The central one was of a wicked tower, surely out of proportion since it dwarfed the mountains surrounding it. Adventurers recognised the vista—those were the mountains to the west of the plateau above them. Tapestry right next to it was a mass of creatures paying tribute to the tower.

Tapestries on the east wall were perhaps most diverse. Westernmost tapestry depicted a crying man pierced by hundreds of daggers, knives, and needles. Central tapestry was of an inverted image of the one across, on the east wall, a massive inverted tower hanging from the cavern ceiling. Northernmost western tapestry was completely black, akin to framed darkness.

Five tapestries on the north wall were all of the same robed man with wicked expression. Two were of particular interest. First was of the robed man with a winged figure behind it. Second was of the same robed man locked in a wizard duel with a man dressed in a Chromatic robe. The latter was depicted as in great pain. Any magic.user would recognised the insignia and symbols of the latter—Chromatic Wizards are the most powerful spellcasters in all of Wilderlands.

“Destroy this den of evil at once!” Oathkeeper paladins demanded of Dalkanarion.

“I shall return here at a later time. Now we must recover the treasure and leave.” young swashbuckler replied.

“RETURN?!” paladins boomed “Return? You were set on abandoning your post mere days ago and now you tell us you will return!”

Dalkanarion quickly placated the Oathkeeper by giving an oath he will return to this place and purge it of all evil.

“There, through the black tapestry. Definitely not behind the one with crying man!” Kho Rimbo instructed. Once again everyone followed the instructions.

Kho Rimbo nearly cried tears of joy after he passed the black tapestry and was able to see inside the chamber! The coins with Continual Light cast of them were still providing light, albeit greatly diminished. Heran Marod cast Light spell but it did nothing.

Hidden treasure chamber contained six large wooden chests, two small iron strongboxes, and two wooden mannequins. One mannequin was dressed in plate mail, with sword and shield one the wall behind it. Other mannequin was knocked on the ground, dressed in chain mail. Seven bolts laid next to it, as well as a heavy crossbow.

Detect Magic confirmed that armours, sword, and whatever was in the strongboxes, was magical. Adventures organised themselves. Some took heavy chests—weighing over hundred pounds each—while others packed armours, weapons, and lighter objects.

“Wait, how do we get out?” Tobias asked, alarmed. Indeed, there were no doors nor tapestries.

“You have to push the wall or something. I don't know, I got out in total darkness.” Kho Rimbo replied.

Once again Dalkanarion opened the doors with a single shove. Unlike Kho Rimbo, who spent countless hours to get out. Treasure laden adventurers hurried through the tapestry chamber, north, then west through the frescoed corridor, up the spiral stairs, picked up the sack with coins, and continued west, avoiding grates with foul water beneath them.

They reached the octagonal chamber just as Wall of Iron began screaming once more. Howling metal echoed throughout the complex. Dalkanarion put down the chest and ordered everyone to keep moving. Nothing came charging from the pool. Once everyone went by him, he picked up the chest and caught up with them. Just in time to force another doors open.

From this point on it was a free for all, everyone running as fast as they could while hauling a ton of treasure. Heran Marod fell behind others. He heard a child screaming in terror just as he passed the black obelisk. Chilling scream was soon followed by most sinister deep laugh. Heran did not even stop to think about it—he kept moving as if his life depended on it.

Ludd was delighted to see his friends return alive. They loaded the treasure on the horses and rode to the nearby river. There they camped, eager for first rays of sun.

Meadowlark 11th, Airday

Adventurers rode straight for Cedarwade Keep. En route they ran into the Altanian ranger twins. The duo informed them about a great number of beastmen some fifteen to twenty leagues west of Hara. They've seen them obliterate one of patrols.

“Nasty. But then again they put up a pathetic fight. City folk can't fight even when their life depends on it!”

Party reached Cedarwade Keep by evening of the same day. There they eagerly counted their spoils: five thousands eight hundred and forty two gold pieces, twenty seven thousand silver pieces, one gem, two potions, one pouch of dust, one chime, seven magical heavy bolts, one magical plate mail, one magical chain mail, and one magical broadsword.

Adventurers convened in Dalkanarion's tent to discuss their next move. Yesterday's plans were swept aside, and new, bolder course of action was discussed. But what will they do? What will they commit to? And what will come out of it?

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

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This report covers a solo adventure undertaken by Kho Rimbo, who split from the party on the evening of Meadowlark 1st, and returned to explore the dungeon. Report was written by Brulligrum, Kho's player, with minor edits by me.

Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

Although he had been gone for days no one had noticed that Kho Rimbo had gone missing. That's what happens when you are the torchbearer. People only acknowledge your existence when it is dark. In the the light they do not notice your presence at all. Well at least everyone is noticing me now! thought the wayward and previously unmissed mage.

He was still unsure why he had done it. Why he had remained behind when the others left. Something had taken hold of him. Something whispered promises of gold. Something whispered he could be more than a mere torchbearer. Thinking back he now thought that although the gold was real it was really just a ruse. The something had wanted him.

Ill prepared, with naught but a single flask of oil and but a day or two of food and water he slipped back down into Racoba's retreat. Alone.

Back he trod, along the same path he had recently travelled with many. On reaching the stairs to the ghouls lair he did the unthinkable and snuffed out his lantern. In the smothering ebon dark the only reality was the wall at his side, the ground beneath his feet and the booming thump of his heart. With every shuffling footstep he dreaded hearing the splash of water followed by the sound of wet slapping feet rushing towards him in the dark, but luck seemed to favour his foolish endeavour. When he believed he had travelled far enough he relit his lantern, the light hurt his eyes but he welcomed it none the less. Ahead were the stairs where the whispers had first assailed him, and like a fool he once again heeded their intoxicating call.

Down a spiral stair case he corkscrewed his way and at their base discovered a grand buttressed gallery. On the walls abstract paintings seem to ebb and flow in chaotic formations and Kho dared not gaze upon them scared of what they might reveal. With prickling neck and teeth aching from being gritted he slowly traversed the hall of horror.

As he crept forward he ignored various side passages especially a great arch from which evil emanated like demonic breath. At the hallways end he found stairs leading up, surely not the way to the whispered treasure. Perhaps it was through the archway he thought. A thought he could not be sure was his own but for some reason acted on it anyway. All this while he had failed to notice his lantern slowly dimming and the walls beginning to take on a deep red hue.

He passed beneath the arch and down a flight of stairs to a passage like unto the one he had just left, but here he could not fail to notice the deep red glow of the walls. As he moved on the feeling of evil became a palpable syrupy thing he had to force his way through. Somehow quelling his instinct to run he eventually came upon an overbearing set of double doors, doors that his frantic instincts begged him not to open, still he tried. They were locked. Finally allowing common sense to prevail Kho fled back up the stairs and through the great arch to the gloomy red gallery above.

Despite his obvious peril Kho was not ready to give up his search. Meanwhile twisted humanoid silhouettes had began to to form in the ruddy paintings but Kho tried to pay them no heed thinking surely they were only a trick of the eye.

He elected to explore some of the side passages he had passed earlier. The first led to a chamber of humanoid skeletons who's bones showed signs of violent deaths. It was here he realised his lantern was casting barely half the light that it had before. Further on he opened a door that opened to a blank wall and he was forced to return the way he had come.

Back in the gallery the walls pulsed with deep red light and the abominable humanoid outlines were unmistakable. A feeling of dread washed over Kho Rimbo but instead of fleeing for the stairs he bolted down one of the side passages. Looking back his blood ran cold as he saw the red glow and its accompanying shapes were now following him.

He fled down the corridor to find his way barred by a battered and dented iron door with an obvious heavy lock. He glanced behind him. Beyond his lanterns feeble light he saw the red glow bathing the corridor as it followed him and from it coalesced a creature, a form of no natural origin. With a force driven by terror Kho turned back to the door and hammered at the lock and against all odds it gave way. He battered his way into the room beyond without care for who or what may lie within and slammed the the door, he then set to jamming it shut with a handful of iron spikes. Barely had his frantic labours ceased before the the sound of scratching and thumping emanated from the other side of the door. He scrambled back and quickly tried to take stock of his surrounding, praying he hadn't just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. He hadn't, not yet anyway. The diminished light of his lantern revealed a room hung with tapestries of evil aspect but there was no obvious way out. Meanwhile the pursuing horror pounded at the door relentlessly. Hurriedly Kho began to check behind the hangings. They mostly depicted an evil wizard and a black tower looming over its surrounding mountains, behind these he found nothing but wall. Two stood out amongst the others. One depicted a a man being eviscerated by a hundred blades, the other was featureless and black. Behind the former was a dark passage and the latter he dared not touch.

Whist the door creaked and groaned from the tattoo of doom being beaten by the horror beyond Kho desperately tried to form a plan of action. He barely considered the passage hidden behind the eviscerated man as he was sure that route would lead to a bloody death. Boom, Boom, went the door.

A plan came to him to use a tapestry to envelope the monster so he could rush by, but when he considered the tapestries great size and his own fatigue he realised this was an illusion of grandeur that would lead to his death.

The door squealed and groaned.

He then considered turning out his lantern and waiting in the dark, hoping beyond hope that the creature would just go away. This seemed like little more than postponing an inevitable death. Boom, boom, groan. What about the black tapestry, what if...

The assault on the door stopped.

Kho stood stock still, the booming of his heart replaced that from the battered door.

Had it gone?

After a short wait in the eerie silence Kho tippy-toed to the door. It was bent and buckled, bulging in its frame. He tried to snatch a glance through a gap near the frame and barely leapt back in time as long taloned fingers slashed at his face. The pounding of the door and of Kho's heart renewed with fierce vigour.

Kho finally made his decision. He hurried to the black tapestry and whilst wincing he placed his hand on its ebon surface. It felt like the surface of a cold lake and his hand passed through. With a last glance at the warped door he clambered through the black surface.

Beyond he found himself enveloped in utter darkness and stilled silence, only the feeling of the floor beneath his feet told him he was not dead. From this point on touch became his only reliable sense. He found a wall and gingerly followed it with his fingers. Time was now fluid and had no meaning so he didn't know how long had passed before he collided with something in the dark. There followed a great crashing of metal, chain and wood. Overcome by terror and sheer exhaustion Kho passed out into a darkness of his bodies own creation.

Meadowlark 2nd, Waterday

From darkness he woke to more darkness, but resolute he got up and blundered on. He tripped over something heavy, righted himself, and took to examining his assailant. A wooden box with a lid. Was this it? carefully he opened the lid and then thrust his hand inside. It sank to the wrist in jingling coins. He pulled out his hand and coins fell between his fingers. He had found the promised treasure, but the irony was he could not even see it.

“Nooooooo” he howled “this is hell!”

From then on Kho's memories were jumbled. He didn't doubt he was at the edge of his sanity. He remembered fumbling around in the darkness and stumbling over countless more chests, all filled with coins. He might of slept but could not be sure in a darkness deeper than slumber.

How and when he found himself back in the tapestry room he did not know. Respite from the dark was short lived. He lit his lantern only to have it sputter out, the oil finally used up. The dark welcomed him back but he did not welcome it.

His blind flight back through the redoubt was literal. Looking back Kho got the feeling he had not escaped, but instead had been allowed to leave.

Meadowlark 4th, Fireday

About a day later Kho shambled into the camp around Cedarwade keep. “I found the treasure” he called out to the surprised faces that greeted him.

“Now if someone fills me a tub of hot water and Dalkanarion scrubs my back I will tell you how to get it.”

Kho's legs gave way beneath him and as he passed out he heard Dalkanarion's gruff voice “Not bloody likely!”

Now recovered the former torch bearer was ready to lead the band back to the treasure, but a sinister thought kept dogging him.

What if he had been led to the treasure and then allowed to leave? What if the evil below was using him to bring it tastier souls like those of Dalkanarion and Ambros?

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 1	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Ambros	Human	Cleric level 6	Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus	Elf	fighter level 5 / Magic-User level 4	A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 5	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

“We must eliminate the ghouls. They are huge pain in the ass.”

Thus adventurers concocted a plan. First they abandoned Racoba's chamber, reasoning that there will be time to ransack the room once the threats have been eliminated. Next, they returned to the octagonal chamber next to the rank pool of foetid water where they assumed the ghouls are hiding. Lastly, they took a defensive position on top of stairs leading into the chamber.

And then they waited for the ghouls to come out of the water and charge straight into this carefully laid ambush. And waited. And waited. And waited. Hours went on and on. Tiredness set it. Attention wavered. The monsters did not come.

“Perhaps they can sense the presence of Father Ambros?”

A valid guess. The more obvious guess of “perhaps they can see us given there is a straight line from the pool to our position and we are bathed in light” was skipped. Ambros retreated further up, close to the chamber with two armed statues.

Alas, no monsters. After nearly two watches of waiting in “ambush” adventurers decided to call off the plan, retreat to the surface, and rest. They stepped back, two by two, with Dalkanarion leaving last, for he was the strongest and boldest of this crew.

Not even the keen elven ears of Ignaeus picked up on the sounds of water splashing. Dalkanarion's fighting instincts kicked in and he was not taken by surprise. Gripping the massive Oathkeeper and tensing his massive biceps, the warrior turned around to face the incoming ravenous ghoul horde. He ran forth, cutting them off before they could scale the stairs.

The mighty warrior swung his greatsword, dominating the corridor. He cut right through the first beast, obliterating it straight into the unlife. “Fall back and regroup! We fight them at the junction!” he commanded. Now fighting on the defensive, Dalkanarion parried and dodged attacks of three fearless ghouls that pressed on.

He barely felt the claws on his thigh. The nails did not hurt at all. But stiffness that set in was nearly instantaneous. The paladins spirits imbued in the Oathkeeper roared, denied. Other adventurers looked in horror as the mightiest of them fell down to the ground.

Ignaeus jumped forward, swinging and kicking at the ghoul horde. His ancient bloodline would protect him where human bloodline failed. The elf endured the claws and jaws of the undead, suffering in the process. Kho Rimbo ran in from the backline, vying to drag Dalkanarion out of melee before the beasts drag him into the abyss.

“Begone!” Ambros thundered, his golden gavel sending ghouls fleeing once more. The party picked up paralysed Dalkanarion and left the dungeon at once.

Meadowlark 2nd, Waterday

Having rested and recovered, Ambros healed those wounded, and then they returned to the underground complex. This time they ordered Marlon to keep all the squads above ground. There would be no more losses.

The party of five went straight for the wizard's chamber. Ambros was ready to blast any undead that would dare appear before them. Once in the chamber they cast Detect Magic and Find Traps. The scrolls still detected as magical. The north door frame still detected as trapped.

Adventurers collected the scrolls and left the dungeon. Then they disbanded the camp and returned to the Cedarwade Keep. Nobody noticed—or if they did, they did not care enough to share it—that Kho Rimbo was nowhere to be seen.

Dalkanarion was handed a letter from the queen. She gave him blanket permission to recruit up to twenty able bodied men from the lands south of Hara. Should anyone refuse to answer the call he can decide their fate as he pleases.

“Too little, too late. Yet another set-up.” The young swashbuckler shook his head, disillusioned with the whole affair.

Ambros was informed that Lord Kyle had sent a messenger twice, asking for his immediate counsel as soon as possible. “We rest and head out first thing in the morning.” the High Priest commanded. And so it was.

Meadowlark 3rd, Earthday

“Ambros! Dalkanarion! Ignaeus! Great to see you again! Pleased to see you again...” young Lord Kyle welcomed the men whom he has been paying to great sums of money to secure his lands. This, he was convinced, was the right thing to do give their promises to him. Having been updated on the latest developments, Kyle went straight for the matter he summoned Ambros for.

“Briaron of Ahyf visited me the other day. Skandik raiders have been pillaging, raping, and burning freely through his domain for several weeks now. He heard that I have capable men in my employ and thus came here to ask for help. I said I will speak to you!”

Dalkanarion was first to speak, rebuffing young Lord's request for help. “They should seek help from Hara. After all, it is to them whom they pay protection money.”

“And so do I, and yet I have come to hire you for they don't do anything but collect money. You know that yourself.”

But Dalkanarion was unmoved. He will not risk being spread out too thin for some villages and peasants. Ahyf and their lands are outside of his mandate. If people are happy with uncaring rulership who is he to fight for them? They should rise against their oppressor then and not expect others to save them. He also reminded Lord Kyle that he does not command them, but simply pay them.

Ambros, the actual leader of the holy army that Lord Kyle has been paying for, was equally unmoved by the plight. His frustration with the queen, temple, and merchants' nonsense was at a peak.

Adventurers returned to the Cedarwade Keep by the evening. Ambros organised a sermon for the fallen soldiers. Then he prepared to commune with Forseti, for he was eager to find the path forward.

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 1	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 2	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.
Somniel	Elf	Fighter level 1 / Magic-User level 1	An elf of ambivalent age suffering from mild amnesia.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

Tobias milled about the wizard's chamber. He had just found a Ring of Invisibility. Emboldened, he reached for one of the scroll cases resting lazily on the shelf along the north wall. He carefully opened one, took out the scroll, and unfurled it. Tikatu and Kho Rimbo approached the hobbit.

Scroll looked like a scribbled map of some sort of complex. The lines were quite straight, and all chambers were rectangular. No angled corridors! Tobias felt his insides churn as he was sucked into the map. Tikatu and Kho Rimbo did not fare any better.

⁂

The trio found themselves in the presence of awesome tree of fire. Despite being confined in a chamber some twenty by twenty feet, they felt no great heat. Each had a vision in their head, showing them walk through the fire and being spat out back in the wizard's quarters.

An unfamiliar elf sat in the corner of the chamber. He was in deep slumber. Tobias woke him up. Elf introduced himself as Somniel, had no idea where he was or why, and immediately accepted the offer to join this adventuring trio in discovering more about this fascinating locale.

Following the only exit out of this chamber led to doors wreathed in fire. Like with the tree, these flames did not hurt the adventures. They pushed the doors open, finding a rectangular chamber some twenty by forty feet.

A giant, human-sized, gold scorpion, rested on a pile of golden coins. Observing it confirmed it was not a statue, but living arachnid. There were two doors leading out of the scorpion chamber—one to the north and one to the west. Both were behind the oversized gilded arachnid. Tikatu figured out that tossing a gold coin to the scorpion made it chitter a happy tune. So each one threw a coin and moved north. Tobias became intimate with his ring, refusing to take it off.

North doors led them down a corridor twisting east, until they reached another doors. Adventurers returned to the scorpion chamber, and went through the west doors, which led them to a four way junction. While discussing where to go next they were assaulted by three raging men.

Men were naked, with crazy, spittle-caked beards, and mad darting eyes. Their manhood swung wilder than their battle-axes. Tikatu was knocked unconscious by a might whack to the side of his head. Somniel was put to sleep through beheading. Kho Rimbo and Tobias sprinted back into the scorpion room, slamming the door shut behind them.

They fled through the flaming doors, and observed from there. There was loud banging on the doors, but that soon stopped. Once they summed up enough courage, the duo returned. They carefully opened the doors. Headless Somniel was prostrated in the corridor. Tikatu was dismembered, blood and gore all over. Invisible Tobias snuck up to the corpses, intended on picking up “the good stuff.” Sound of naked feet slapping the cold stone sent him packing.

The duo decided to go back north. Listening at the doors at the end of twisting corridor revealed deep croaking. Tobias prepared his web nuts, while Kho Rimbo opened the doors. Hobbit aimed at the two dog-sized fiery red toads, slipped, and threw the web nut right next to him. Vial hit the door frame, smashed open, releasing its sticky content. Thick, stringy webs engulfed both Tobias and Kho Rimbo.

Without anyone to get them out—and both being too weak to break the webs—they suffocated to death.

⁂

The trio found themselves in the presence of awesome tree of fire. Despite being confined in a chamber some twenty by twenty feet, they felt no great heat. Each had a vision in their head, showing them walk through the fire and being spat out back in the wizard's quarters.

An unfamiliar elf sat in the corner of the chamber. He was in deep slumber. Tobias woke him up. Elf introduced himself as Somniel, had no idea where he was or why, and immediately accepted the offer to join this adventuring trio in discovering more about this fascinating locale.

Following the only exit out of this chamber led to doors wreathed in fire. Like with the tree, these flames did not hurt the adventures. They pushed the doors open, finding a rectangular chamber some twenty by forty feet.

There a giant golden scorpion rested on a pile of gold coins. Tobias counted the coins—the pile included their “tribute” as well. Adventurers pondered what this might mean. Then they decided to take it out on giant toads.

They broke through the doors, took the toads by surprise, and assaulted them head on. Somniel struck one of the toads, injuring it. Tobias backstabbed the wounded toad, in a very dramatic manner. He snuck up on it, whilst invisible, and then jumped up, delivering a downwards blow, driving his shortsword deep into the creature's flesh. It dropped dead.

Second toad bit off a sizable chunk of Tikatu, which isn't to say much due to his diminutive size. Somniel, now fully awake, pommeled the toad on top of its head mercilessly, turning it into nothing but mush.

Meme by MLord.

The chamber was bathed in orange-red colour, seemingly emanating from the flagstones. Party listened at the north doors. After hearing nothing they followed the south corridor, which led them to another doors. They could hear several voices speaking behind it.

Once more they broke through, intent to dish out some violence. This was a sizable chamber, some forty by fifty feet. Three men squatted on the floor, sitting in a semi-circle around improvised camp-fire. Bows were next to them.

Kho Rimbo materialised a magical dagger. Then he sent it flying straight through the head of the man who reached for the bow. Surviving duo shot but missed. This was punished by Somniel who charged forth and busted the head of one. Last one was backstabbed to death by the invisible thief.

Men had a total of one thousand five hundred and thirty copper pieces, as well as six hundred thirty-six silver pieces. Adventurers left them here for now.

Archway to the north led down a long corridor. Doors to the south led to another long corridor. Quartet opted to go south. This led them to an empty chamber and another long corridor, heading west, ultimately taking them to a T-shaped junction. They could see doors to the west, doors on the east side of the north corridor, and a chamber even further north.

North they went. Doors lead them to a dead end. Chamber has open-top glass urns with giant centipedes inside them. They went back to the T-shaped junction and listened at the west doors. They heard a sound of flesh smacking flesh.

Forcing the doors open revealed a chamber some twenty by thirty feet. Two men dressed in soiled plate armour stood in the center. Both had red cheeks. One finished slapping the other just as the party had broken in. They both turned their had to the adventurers and grinned.

Adventurers decided to wait a moment to see what this two fine gentlemen will do. They did the following: grinned widely, took out their broadswords, and hacked Somniel to death. Tikatu was next. Once again, Kho Rimbo and Tobias sprinted for their life.

They ran down the long corridor eastwards, the north through the empty chamber, and then back into the chamber where they killed three men, then west and north into the orange-red stoned chamber, then west, then south past the scorpion, past the flaming doors, all the way to the tree of fire.

They waited and waited, but neither Somniel, nor Tikatu reappeared in the chamber.

“Perhaps we all need to die?”

“Maybe it is time to cut our losses, get the coins, and get out?”

Maybe, but that wasn't what the surviving duo did. They backtracked to the chamber where they left two thousand coins. And then they explored the long corridor to the north. Kho Rimbo held a torch, while Tobias sneaked behind him, invisible.

Tobias witnessed three arrows piercing Kho Rimbo—one through the eye, one through the shoulder, and one into the chest. The magic-user fell down to the ground with a loud thud. His torch extinguished.

Tobias held his breath, hugged the wall, and calmed his heart. Two figures became visible at the end of the corridor as they lit up a torch of their own. Tobias walked softly to the south end of the corridor. Then he nocked his bow, and aimed. This time he struck true—twice!

Two figures fell to the ground. Their torch did not go out. The hobbit investigated the room of two assailants, finding several jars full of gold coins. He took them all out—four hundred seventy-six to be precise—and filled a large sack. The he hauled it back south, added copper and silver pieces, and then got lost, made a few circles and wrong turns, but eventually found his way back to the scorpion chamber.

There the giant golden scorpion gazed at him, expectantly. Tobias took out a handful of golden pieces and added them to the arachnid's pile. The beast chittered and clacked a happy tune. Tobias went through the flaming doors, took a deep breath, and stepped into the tree of fire.

He found himself back in the wizard's chamber. A sack of coins weighted his hand. The scroll in his hands turned into ash. Tikatu and Kho Rimbo stood behind him. A familiar elf slept on the ground besides him.

What else will they find in the fugitive wizard's quarters?

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Ambros	Human	Cleric level 6	Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus	Elf	fighter level 5 / Magic-User level 4	A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 1	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 5	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 1	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.
Helmuth Mithaft	Human	Fighter level 1	A bold mercenary with glorious red beard and pearly facial hair.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

Spreading out in the X shaped chamber, the adventurers split between investigating the marble statues and guarding the stairs leading further down. Following the blood trail led them to this chamber. It continued down the stair.

The statues of naked men armed with spear and shield. They had nothing of value on them, although the did find remnants of a long deceased adventurers with two rotten sacks of coins. Judging them to be too heavy to carry now, the party left them where they are.

Dalkanarion burst into the chamber, ready to dish out some pain. He rode hard from the Cedarwade Keep, having left it in capable hands of Jace. He was joined by another massive specimen, the notorious mercenary Helmuth Mithaft.

Emboldened by fresh meat slabs for the front line, the adventurers descended into the darkens. Blood trail split to the right and left. Left trail led them to several dead ends, most filled with grisly remains of ghastly ghouls.

Ambros recognised two of his fanatic followers. So he ordered his living followers to drag out the remains of his deceased followers.

Moving north, following the right hand path, led the party into an octagonal chamber filled with gnawed bones, an defiled scraps. The air was humid. To the north was a round chamber, in essence a pool with circular gangway running around. Iron rungs were spaced nearly a hand apart, making it a real risk that small, elegant foot—like the ones of a hobbit or elf—could easily slip through and sink into foetid water beneath.

To east was a most curious long corridor. Every ten feet was a ten by ten iron grate, flanked by an alcove to the sides. Beneath each grate was dark water within arms' reach. While most of the adventurers discussed how to traverse the weird corridor, Tobias listened attentively.

He heard sounds as if something was breaking the water surface, but it was at irregular intervals and he could not see anything in the darkness. He informed the party.

Having throughouly discussed their course of action, the adventurers decided to avoid stepping over the grates in case they break under the weight of heftier members. They would go two by two, each stepping into the alcove on the side, and then stepping on the solid ground beyond the grate.

Ambros commanded a squad of heavy footmen to guard the octagonal room while they move down the corridor. In other words, they were to protect the rear so adventurers are not caught in a difficult position in the corridor.

Party crossed a total of five grates before reaching the end of the corridor. And what a sight it was! Wood doors, covered with painted and carved symbols, runes, and pictograms! These were obviously of more recent make, and not how the doors were made.

As Ignaeus and Ambros approached the doors to investigate them closer, junior adventurers, who shall be left unnamed, hid in the alcoves by the grates, “just in case.” Dalkanarion and Helmuth stepped to the side, into the corridor leading south, down to the steep staircase.

The inscriptions were magical, no doubt about it. They were also entirely unreadable. Ignaeus was unwilling to doff his armour in order to cast Read Magic. Ambros did spot an overly-elaborate cursive script. It was very similar to the script on the scroll he had read before. The one that rendered himself and Dalkanarion hairless. The one that turned two of his colleagues into charcoal. Naturally, he read it.

The script read:

“Klekless Racoba”

Silent gasps could be heard.

Have they finally found the fugitive wizard?

Paranoia set in.

What's with the grates?

What's with the runes?

The doors must obviously be trapped!

What to do? How to open them?

Alarmed yelling disrupted adventurers' contemplation.

Tikatu the pygmy was first to see the horror that befell Ambros's squadron.

Desperate screams supplanted yelling as a pack of feral ghouls tore through the heavy footmen. The latter were completely surprised.

“Begone in the name of Aniu! Begone in the name of Forseti!” Ambros bellowed, holding the golden gavel up high.

Undead cannibals fled in presence of such awesome divinity. They left a gory scene behind them. Not a single footman was left standing. Tikatu and Tobias could hear sounds of splashing water as the monsters fled.

“Let's just pour all the oil we have on the doors. Then we burn them down.”

Everyone agreed. Once the doors were well oiled, the adventurers returned to the octagonal chamber. They avoided the grates on their way back. Looking at the pool to the north did not reveal any floating ghouls. Quiet splashing could be heard from time to time.

Illustration by Brulligrum.

Ambros found that four of the footmen were still alive, albeit paralysed. They were dragged into the corner and left there to recover.

Dalkanarion, Helmuth, and Ignaeus decide to lift the grate closest to them, to form a sort of barrier in case something comes at them down the long corridor. Elf was tasked with looping a rope through the rungs. As soon as he pushed the rope down one of the rungs, three pairs of rotted arms emerged from the water and clawed at him. Being an elf he was not susceptible to the perils of ghoulish caress, so he just shrugged them off. The plan was abandoned.

Tobias was trusted with the task of hitting a large, immovable plank at hundred feet. He wrapped an oil soaked rug around his arrow tip. Then he lit it. Finally, he shot it straight down the corridor, hitting his target true.

The doors caught fire. By the time they burnt down, the surviving heavy footmen have regained their facilities. Whole party moved onward, sidestepping grates as before. Ignaeus took the rearguard. Four heavy footmen were assigned to watch the south corridor leading down the steep staircase. Others investigated the chamber up ahead.

The room was finely furnished. Large, plush carpet dominated the center. A solid bed was to the south. Heavy oak writing desk was to the east. Tall closet was next to it. North wall was lined with wooden shelves. There were another doors to the north too, and they too were covered with symbols and arcane lettering.

Besides the furniture, room was almost empty. There was no mattress nor lining, nor pillows, on the bed. Shelves were bare, besides three leather bound tomes and a dozen of scroll cases. Writing desk was completely bereft of anything. Wardrobe was empty too.

Three ghouls dared to exit the foul water. They crawled and started chewing on their victims ankles. Ignaeus had spotted them—courtesy of coin enchanted with continual light that was left behind in the octagonal chamber—and forced them to retreat by peppering them with arrows.

Tikatu bobbed through the wizard's chamber, uttering the words of power. Several objects were wreathed in soft, purplish light, detecting as magical. A dozen scrolls lit up. The door frame and hinges on the northern doors. Something inside the second drawer of the writing desk.

Seeing how violently mundane the carpet is, Helmuth gingerly rolled it with his polearm. Confirming no traps beneath it, he rolled it completely and then secured it with rope. It was a heavy carpet, even for absolute unit like himself.

Tobias opened the drawer. Then he pried open the false bottom. And there he had seen the source of pale purple light. A gold ring with a polished emerald gem. The hobbit took the ring, slid it on his finger, and vanished.

“Oh no, not again.”

What else will the adventurers find—or lose—in the chamber of the fugitive wizard?

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Ambros	Human	Cleric level 6	Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus	Elf	fighter level 5 / Magic-User level 4	A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 1	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo	Human	Magic-User level 1	A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Rogar	Human	Fighter level 1	A simple down to earth mercenary. After a few well paid odd jobs from adventurers he decided to take up the traveler's mantle himself to cut out the middle man.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 1	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.

Sweetrain 9th–19th

Adventurers rested and plotted their further course of action in a camp next to the Cedarwade Keep. Dalkanarion, the freshly appointed castellan of the ruined keep, was hard at work to survey the fort and take stock of what is necessary for repairs and stocking. His reputation took a blow when he took fireball to the face and lost all his hairs. His ornamental plate melted, as did all his other equipment, sans the massive two-handed sword imbued with spirits of three paladins.

Dalk's Devils, as he came to call them, halved in number due to desertion. Captured brigands fled, as did several of forced recruits from Hara. Those that remained spent their time stealing, hustling, pickpocketing, and swindling from the soldiers, keep, anyone they meet and see. Further they demanded their share of loot and booty. By their humble estimates, each should receive several hundred coins at least.

Marlon, the leader of Ambros's holy army, was unhappy with such lack of discipline and that he had to increase guards and patrols inside the camp. He would much rather have these men patrolling the surroundings instead. He suggest to Dalkanarion to hang them all, ideally from the parapets.

“Time to hang the bastards. I’ve been very lenient, forgiving, and generous thus far, but these guys refuse to turn the corner and redeem themselves. No more mister nice guy.” the mighty hairless warrior agreed.

Ludd Nuck and Drokh were escorted to Midway by two lances of mounted crossbowmen. They were accommodated in guest chambers of Lord Kyle. His manor is a three-story estate surrounded by several hundred acres of farmland, private hunting grounds, and an orange grove. Lord Kyle, being a young and curious man, held a dinner in their honour every evening, asking many questions about their adventures, how are Ambros and Dalkanarion doing, how is securing his lands progressing, so on and so forth. Ludd and Drokh were on their road to recovery, and in a months time both should be well enough to adventure again.

Ambros sent a messenger to Hara, with instructions which supplies to bring to the camp. He cast Continual Light on half a dozen copper coins during down time and healed everyone bestowing Cure Light Wounds and Cure Serious Wounds liberally. He also spent an hour every day meditating, praying and communing with nature.

His commands were executed down to a T. Marlon val Brookwood manages the troops efficiently, taking care of everything. A letter from Vicar Arlon indicated that Temple affairs are improving as well. He has imprisoned three older clerics that have conspired with merchant families for their own benefit. One of them tried to escape so they broke his legs and chained him in one of the underground chambers. His fate will be determined by Ambros upon his return.

Altanian twins showed up, as per agreed signal—splayed game carcass near the keep. They “subtly” complained and wailed about how thirsty they were. So thirsty one would think they haven't had a sip of water for weeks. Of course, it was not water they were thirsting for. They reported seeing no “pointy hat” loitering around the redoubt, and witnessing three dozen armed and armoured beastmen climbing out of the well, crossing the river and heading off north.

Everything adventurers ordered has arrived, neatly packed and sorted. Moreover, Ambros's soldier reported of latest rumours they had heard in Hara. A few days ago, approximately Sweetrain 16th, two large patrols were sent westwards. Nobody knows why or what for. The rumour on the street is that Tsamar sent them on a mission of her own. She hasn't been seen for some days.

Caravan from Hara was joined by two new adventurers, eager to find their glory. One was edgy, scar-covered, knife juggling magic-user Kho Rimbo. Another was Rogar, a promising mercenary. Both were welcomed.

Foxglove and Ignaeus nosed around Cedarwade and its various denizens in case there were spies in the camp, seeking to root them out. They found none.

All equipped and rested, adventurers assembled a new expeditionary force to head off to Racoba's Redoubt. These were Ambros, Ignaeus, Tikatu, Kho Rimbo, Rogar, and Tobias Lindflags, backed by Marlon val Brookwood, six squads of heavy footmen, and two lances of heavy horsemen. Dalkanarion and others were left in charge of Cedarwade Keep.

The expeditionary force set out from the Keep in the morning of Sweetrain 20th, Spiritday. They arrived by evening of the same day, finding no opposition. They camped for the night. They descended into the dungeon with first ray of light.

Meadowlark 1st, Airday

Ambros and Ignaeus took the front; Rogar was right behind them, spear in hand; Kho Rimbo, Tikatu and Tobias took the rear; a squad of heavy footmen followed from behind.

The party observed that most of the corpses are gone. What little remained of them was gnawed and chewed upon. Dried blood led southward, through the large chambers the brigands used as improvised sleeping quarters.

The oil doused barricade adventurers had made was dismantled. Stairs leading to the faceless black obelisk were open to passage. Commanding the squad to watch their back, adventurers went up the stairs. Obelisk stood at the center of junction, with stairs leading down in all four directions.

To the north was a steep descent terminating with a pair of doors. To the south was long descent terminating with barricaded doors. Short stairs to the west terminated with an archway opening up in a large chamber.

Lower half of a human rested by the stairs. Boots and pants were covered with a thin layer of something shimmering. Blood trail led down the west stairs, past the shimmering corpse, into the dark chamber. Throwing a coin confirmed that the chamber was indeed spacious.

Inspecting the archway revealed a hunk of green slime in the northwest corner. Adventurers melted it with fire. Then they descended.

The chamber was sixty feet wide, shaped like a fat letter C. Right side had two egresses, namely doors to northwest and stairs leading down to the west. Left side of the chamber was adjoined by an octagonally shaped chamber, roughly thirty feet in diameter.

Blood trail split threeway, one leading through the doors, one down the stairs, and one in the octagonal chamber. Investigating the room revealed little but an alcove on the south side. Rogar inspected the alcove more closely and found an inset at about eye level height. He dared to look down it, and his bravery was rewarded by four vials filled with liquid. Two were clear, one was milky and teal, and one was brown and chunky. He took all four.

Ignaeus led the investigation of the octagonal chamber. As he stepped towards the western exit he vanished in thin air.

“Oh no, not again.”

After some contemplation, others followed, and were soon in the diamond shaped chamber. Luckily for them, a deceased dwarf named Nandos, now nothing but charred remains, jammed the secret doors open by ingenious use of corpses. He also left chalk marks—and instructions!—beneath two sconces that operate the secret passageways.

Adventurers surprised the heavy footmen as they approached them from a different direction. Once they returned to the octagonal chamber they set out to determine which part of the floor is safe to walk on. Ignaeus managed to take a wrong step again so he had another long walk of shame. They eventually discovered they could pass into the corridor by hugging the south wall.

Alas, their reward was nothing but sturdy, locked, white doors. Tikatu could confirm they were made of birch tree. There was certain divinity to them. His attempt at defiling them with lockpicking failed miserably. Tobias did no better. Ambros knocked with his holy gavel several times. The doors remained locked. Reasoning that locked doors mean safety from behind, the party moved on.

Exploring the doors to the northwest led them down a twenty feet wide corridor. There they found remains of four brigands, mostly chewed, broken bones. The corridor itself was unfinished, terminating with rubble and naked rock and soil. A skeleton rested next to the rubble, leaning on a rotted leather backpack. Touching him turned the skeleton into dust, and backpack tore open, spilling hundreds of silver pieces.

The party backtracked to the obelisk, intent on checking the north and south stairs. They went north first.

Steeps stairs led to a small landing, with doors to north and east. Both opened with ease, revealing a dusty chamber filled to the brim with dust covered broken furniture, tables, closets, boxes, and barrels. The walls were adorned with murals depicting torture, murder, and sadistic acts best left unspoken of. Just as Ignaeus was about to step in, Ambros heard a voice in the back of his mind. It said, without a question of doubt, “death of a dozen cuts.”

This was enough for the party to close the doors and head south. There they judged that brigands must have barricaded and nailed the doors shut for a good reason. Probably because there is something beyond that is dangerous. So better leave it just like that.

Satisfied with their findings, the adventurers returned to the oddly shaped chamber. This time they followed the blood trail heading down the stairs to the west. The trail went on for some thirty feet and the suddenly stopped just before a T-shaped junction.

Adventurers carefully descended, watching out for traps and an sign of trouble. Ignaeus the Elf sensed there was something amiss—and then he found secret doors just next to where the trail ended. There were no sconces to pull on. Just a heavy slab of stone to push forward. Beyond it the trail continued, leading down yet another stairs.

Ahead was an X shaped chamber, with raised alcoves on four sides. In each alcove was a plinth, and upon the northwestern and southeastern were statues. Archway to the west led out of the chamber.

Northwest statue stood with legs shoulder width apart, spear standing upright in its right hand and a shield in its left. It looked straight, with stern look on its marble face. Southeast statue had a similar pose, but it held its spear across the chest. Both statues were naked but without exposed genitalia.

Adventurers entered the chamber to investigate it further.

Where will the trail lead them to?

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 5	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Nandos	Dwarf	Fighter level 1	Grew weary of clan politics and doing low level hired muscle work, so decided to become an adventurer instead.
Ambros	Human	Cleric level 6	Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Sted Jalen	Human	Assassin level 1	A mass of burnt scar tissue hidden by layers and layers of actors' slap. Rather taciturn.
Tikatu	Human	Druid level 1	A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Tobias Lindflags	Hobbit	Thief level 1	A sixth-born son standing to gain nothing from inheritance, so he set out to make his own fortune in the world.

Sweetrain 6th, Airday

“Lay down your weapons, and you shall be spared!” Dalkanarion thundered as he barreled into the chamber. Awe-struck brigands threw down their weapons. They spent two days barricaded in the improvised sleeping chambers. They reeked of vinegar and urine.

Quick interrogation revealed these four brigands fled during the initial onslaught and then locked themselves into the chamber just south of the sleeping quarters. This room was used by two brigand leaders, as well as the fugitive wizard himself. Three of them were escorted upstairs.

Sted took aside the remaining prisoner, knife to his ribs, and forced him to open the footlocker by one of the bedrolls. He acted upon previous intelligence suggesting that one of the lockers is trapped. Lady Fortune smiled upon the bandit, and he opened the untrapped one. Dalkanarion smashed the other locker with the pommel of his sword. Both contained a fine assortment of coins.

Ambros was fascinated by the desk on the south-east side of the room. It was large wooden desk, very out of place and obviously dragged in. Shelves next to it were empty. There was but a single rectangular wooden box resting on the desk.

Nandos investigated the construction of the chamber. He played with sconces, since that brought him great fame just a day or so ago. Alas, nothing now. No secret doors, no secret passageways. Just plain old sconces.

Dalkanarion and Ambros took turns inspecting the wooden box. Nothing. Finally, they picked it up. Lightweight. Clanking sound, like something is inside. Once Ambros had the box in hand he could clearly see a thin groove running around the circumference of the box, just by it's right end. He popped it open. A scroll was inside.

“That's a trap.” Sted warned.

Ambros took out the scroll. Sted Jalen fell back to the doors, keeping the prisoner in front of him. He waved Nandos to come closer too, just in case. Dalkanarion stood right next to Ambros, ready for any danger that might arise.

High Priest slowly unfurled the scroll. Text on it was written in overly elaborate cursive script, with very flowery and ornamental details. Ambros concentrated. It was Common, albeit in a difficult to read script.

“Can you” he struggled with the first line, “greedy bastards” second was even more difficult to read, “even read” but third was much easier.

The last thing Sted Jalen saw in his life were Ambros and Dalkanarion engulfed in a ball of flame. He crouched behind the brigand prisoner, but man in front of him melted, and so did Sted. Blast wave broke his charred bones, reducing him to nothing but a pile of ashes. Only the shield remained.

Nandos did not fare much better. Dwarves might be sturdy, but this dwarf was not sturdy enough to take fire ball to his face. His beard singed, his armour melted and fused with his flesh and bones, and his remains were strewn about by the blast wave. Crooked great helm was all that was left.

Ambros and Dalkanarion on the other hand did manage to survive fire ball to their face. Both were left completely hairless, and butt naked. Golden Gavel resisted the impact and remained intact. Oathkeeper too. All the treasure and other valuables in the chamber were gone.

Illustration by Brulligrum.

Cleric and Fighter coughed, apologised to the corpses of dead adventurers, squared their shoulders, corrected their posture, and walked out. It was important not to lose face in front of their holy army. Marlon looked upon them in horror.

The duo was escorted outside. Dalkanarion donned his old plate mail, while Ambros was given chain mail, and mace by one of his followers. Five captured brigands accepted the offer to join Dalk's Devils “or else.” Adventurers rested overnight, preparing to descend into Racoba's Redoubt next morning.

Sweetrain 7th, Waterday

Four adventurers—Ambros, Dalkanarion, Tikatu, and Tobias Lindflags—backed by Marlon and two squads of heavy footmen, descended into the underground complex. Tikatu was a dirty, little man, whom was attracted by the campfire. He was happy to join for an adventure. Tobias Lindflags on the other hand was a well dressed and well spoken hobbit, interested in wealth creating exercises. Little did he know what fate had suffered adventurers associating with the might Dalkanarion and pious Ambros.

Judging the antechamber to be cleared, they commanded Marlon to guard the chamber just south of it. Flies buzzed in numbers as nearly two dozen corpses rotted away. Marlon and ten heavy footmen dispersed through the chamber, taking key positions, ensuring that whatever comes from beyond the Black Obelisk gets obliterated.

Adventurers and a squad of heavy footmen proceeded into the chamber with four statues. From there they investigated the north exit. They passed a dead-end corridor and a small empty chamber. The corridor eventually turned left, into a web-infested chamber. Approaching it resulted with three ugly, giant spiders charging out of the web. They assaulted Ambros and Dalkanarion with fury.

The duo took many bites and scratches. Ambros slumped after every bite, but somehow managed to resist the poison injected into his bloodstream. Must be the Divine Intervention itself. Tikatu, a wise man of the nature, backed off. Tobias crawled back, whistled for reinforcements, and then waved them in the right direction.

The fight was brutal. Spiders bit and bit and bit. They were not so hard to hit, but their carapace was tough and thick. Ambros hit here and there, but his mace did not do much damage. Dalkanarion missed several times, but whenever he hit, he did do much damage. Tobias, eager to prove himself to these new folk, cooked up a plan. He would climb the wall, hang from the ceiling, and then drop down on one of the spiders. That would surely surprise it, and he would deliver a might backstab that would instantly kill it.

Hobbit turned to the wall, but immediately fell down. “Ugh, slippery hands” he laughed nervously. He did succeed on his next attempt. He went up, then sideways, and then on top the spider. He dropped on the monster, failed to penetrate its carapace, and then rolled right off it. The spider rewarded his courage with a string bite. Tobias survived the bite. He crawled away, protected by the feet of heavy footmen.

Dalkanarion took out two giant spiders, while heavy footmen took out one. The party investigated the webbed chamber closely. They had no interest in being surprised from behind by more spiders. They found little more than several desiccated corpses wrapped in webs. Several hundred coins and a gems were rewards for their effort.

Judging they had enough, the party returned to the surface. Ambros and Dalkanarion ordered retreat back to the Cedarwade Keep. The force was mobilised and they reached it by the end of Sweetrain 8th.

Will they have time to rest?

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Ludd Nuck	Human	Fighter level 1	A lad from the farm, still wet behind the ears and smelling of dung whom became an adventurer to impress a village lass who jilted him.
Sted Jalen	Human	Assassin level 1	A mass of burnt scar tissue hidden by layers and layers of actors' slap. Rather taciturn.
Arete	Human	Cleric level 1	Young cleric of Athena, seeking to establish himself and gain more knowledge.
Nandos	Dwarf	Fighter level 1	Grew weary of clan politics and doing low level hired muscle work, so decided to become an adventurer instead.
Ambros	Human	Cleric level 6	Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.

Sweetrain 5th, Spiritday

“In the name of Aniu and Forseti, Rise!”

Ambros performed the holy ritual on Arete's stiff corpse. Deceased cleric of Athena twitched and jerked, skin drawing over his bones, eyes popping open, now nothing but black pearls of hatred. An unearthly scream escaped his open mouth, and then he disintegrated. The ritual succeeded, just not in the way Ambros had expected it to.

Arete was slain by an undead creature most foul, whom had drained him of life. From then on, the cleric was cursed to a wretched existence of misery and hatred. But good Ambros had relieved him of fate worse than death. Ambros exhaled and turned his attention to captured brigand leader and his lackey.

Answers he got were unsatisfactory to him.

“Marlon, make him speak.”

“Gladly.”

Knight grabbed the brigand by the back of his neck with his left hand. Then he drove his mailed fist straight into the brigand's face. Teeth, blood, and facial tissue splattered the wall. Marlon slid his left hand up the neck, grabbed the man's greasy hair, and smashed his head into the wall. Then he jerked him back, threw him to the ground, and stomped his belly. Brigand leader vomited blood.

“I-I 'm r'dy t'” the man struggled to speak articulately “s-s-s-sp'k.”

Having learned nothing, Ambros stood pensively. He knew what he had to do, but was reluctant nonetheless. A year or so a group of adventurers vanished after stepping into a teleporter. Will the history repeat itself?

⁂

Nandos found the secret doors leading out of the diamond shaped chamber. But it had no visible mechanism. It was just a thin groove forming a tall rectangle on the wall. The dwarf tried to wedge his crowbar into the gap, but the tool was way too thick for it.

“Behold.” Sted flexed his muscles and pushed the wall portion open. Straight, dust covered, corridor revealed itself. Nandos and Sted, backed by Talik and Dalkanarion, investigated it further. It was seventy feet long, ending with a wall. Half-way in was a junction. South bend went on for twenty feet, ending with a wall, will north bend turned left twice before hitting a wall. Straight corridor had empty torch sconces every ten feet or so.

The diamond-shaped chamber filled with light and chatter as Ambros and ten heavy footmen suddenly appeared in it. He quickly caught up with four adventurers. Nandos continued his winning streak. First he found that secret doors can be opened from inside the corridor by pulling down on the sconce on the south wall. Then he found another secret door, just down the corridor. This too opened by pulling on a sconce next to it.

But this time it was different. There was no dusty corridor with stale air. No. This time it was a large chamber, with wet, disgusting smell. A stone bath, some eighteen feet long, seven feet wide, and four feet deep dominated the chamber. It was filled to the brim with rank, foul smelling water. Open archway on the east wall led down the dark corridor, while weak light shone underneath the doors on the south wall.

Ambros approached the doors and swung them open. He was surprised to see Marlon with perplexed look on his face. Adventurers had found their way back to the antechamber, arriving from the north side. Since they spent the day marching and adventuring, the party had decided to retreat back to the surface in order to rest and recuperate.

In order to maintain their foothold in the dungeon, they planned the following rotations. First, Ambros and a squad of heavy footmen would take the midnight watch. Then Marlon and a fresh squad of heavy footmen would take the pre-dawn watch. Finally, Dalkanarion backed by another fresh squad of heavy footmen would take the morning watch. This would give everyone enough time to rest.

Sweetrain 6th, Airday

“Make way! Make way!”

“High Priest has been taken down!”

“Men! To arms!”

Marlon jumped up, alarmed. There was great commotion in the camp. He slept sitting on a small stool, still dressed in his armour. There was yelling and running about.

“What is going on?!”

Men dragged paralysed Ambros out of the underground complex. He had bloodied scratch marks on unarmoured part of his arm. Marlon learned that Ambros went to investigate screaming sounds just south of the antechamber. There he ran into a group of undead feasting on the brigands' corpses. He was surprised and taken out by them. Soldiers fought bravely, pushing on into certain death. They managed to grab Ambros and pull him out. Two men were lost in the process, taken alive by the ghouls. Forseti bless them.

⁂

Ambros played with his holy symbols—gold gavel and silver hourglass—as he marched into the dungeon once more. It took him almost two hours to regain his facilities.

“Begone! I banish thee!”

Foul creatures screeched and wailed and fled into darkness. They fled in panic, leaving behind half eaten corpses of two loyal followers of Forseti.

There were no further disturbances. Marlon took over. There were no disturbance during his watch either. Dalkanarion took the final watch, backed by a fresh contingent of heavy footmen. Ghouls returned, but were slain by the might warrior wielding The Oathkeeper.

⁂

Adventurers descended into the dungeon once more. Marlon and a squad of heavy footmen were assigned to guard duty—they were to hold the antechamber and ensure it remains a safe rendezvous point.

Ambros, Nandos, and Sted Jalen, backed by a squad of heavy footmen, decided to explore the northern chamber with foul bath. Sted found out that bath was filled with floating turds on the top, and goldish coins on the bottom. They forced the non-beaten up brigand prisoner to dive and fish out all the coins. The man barfed and retched, but did what he was commanded to do.

Soon they had a very smelly pile of treasure counting five hundred electrum pieces, one hundred and ninety five gold pieces, a silver dagger, and a small jewel encrusted bull idol. Soldiers refused the carry this foul loot.

Exploring the corridor behind the archway led to an abandoned study, filled with nothing but rubble and dust, another corridor terminating with two dead ends, and doors leading into a corridor with statue in the middle of the square chamber.

Approaching the statue from behind, the adventurers could see it was of a tall, feminine shape. It held a bow in its right hand, and cradled something in its left. Coming closer revealed there was a groove in the ground, indicating that the statue could possibly be rotated. After much hewing and hawing, Nandos and Ambros gently grabbed the statue and turned it counter-clockwise.

Originally the statue faced south. Once it faced east, adventures got blinded by bright yellow glow of their armour and weapons. The glow slowly abated into soft glimmer. It disappeared with an audible popping sound.

“What was that?!”

“I don't know, but I don't want to turn it again!”

The statue was indeed that of a tall human female dress in a toga. She carried a bow in its right hand, and a lyre in its left hand. Her mouth was open, as if she was singing. The party left the statue behind and returned to the antechamber.

“Where to next?”

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Adventurers

Character	Race	Class	Description
Ludd Nuck	Human	Fighter level 1	A lad from the farm, still wet behind the ears and smelling of dung whom became an adventurer to impress a village lass who jilted him.
Drokh	Human	Monk level 1	A tall, lean human monk with piercing eyes, weathered skin, and a warrior’s poise—calm and charismatic, he speaks with purpose and strikes with precision, wielding spear, bow, and blade.
Arete	Human	Cleric level 1	Young cleric of Athena, seeking to establish himself and gain more knowledge.
Talik	Half-elf	Fighter level 1 / Magic-user level 1	Young, impoverished and inexperienced fellow who took up adventuring for the money.
Dalkanarion	Human	Fighter level 5	A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself.
Sted Jalen	Human	Assassin level 1	A mass of burnt scar tissue hidden by layers and layers of actors' slap. Rather taciturn.
Nandos	Dwarf	Fighter level 1	Grew weary of clan politics and doing low level hired muscle work, so decided to become an adventurer instead.

Sweetrain 5th, Spiritday

Smell of fresh blood permeated the air. Screams of fleeing enemies echoed down the dark corridors. Nuck, Drokh, Arete, and Talik scanned the chamber for any immediate threats.

One of the brigands had surrendered. He stood, utterly defeated, and thoroughly soiled. Five of the brigands slept like babies, courtesy of Talik's arcane prowess. Four were sent to eternal slumber, while the best armoured one was dragged to the large chamber up north.

Dalkanarion remained in the bloody sleeping quarters, while Drokh took the guard duty at the eastern corridor. There was an open pit trap with a fresh corpse inside. The trap was jammed open with several polearms and ten foot poles. There were one foot ledges on both sides. A vast, dark chamber waited ahead. Smell of old death was palpable.

Nuck, Arete, and Talik reconvened with Ambros, and Marlon. Heavy footmen were clearing the chamber and fortifying the complex entrance. Arete slapped the sleeping prisoner awake. Interrogation was about to proceed.

This was a middle-aged man in his thirties, possibly Thabrian or Ghinarian if one was to judge by his complexion. His teeth were yellow, his hair greasy and lice ridden. Puffy black rings adorned his eyes. He slumped in defeat, perfectly aware of what awaits him in presence of Hara's Justice Supreme. And yet, he couldn't control his tongue even if it meant quick death.

“My men? They are all right here!”

“To north? That's where our supplies are. I hope you chock on them!”

“West? Oh man, death, just death. I hope you go there!”

“East? Yes, you guessed right, more death!”

“Down the well? Flesheaters. You should give them a visit!”

“Nothing you can do to me is worse than what Klekless Racoba will do to me for this failure!”

“What do you want me to say? This is a fucked up place. It wasn't my choice to lair here.”

Adventurers learned that the fugitive Wizard they came here for has left several days ago. A small contingent of brigands were left behind to guard their “lair” in this abandoned underground complex. Apparently, rest of it was trapped and inhabited by creatures most inhospitable.

While the interrogation took place, Drokh heard loud booming sounds coming from beyond the dark chamber ahead. It was a deep, reverberating sound, and yet muffled, like it came from far, far away. First time he heard it there was a boom. Then three. Then five. Then none.

Nuck, Arete, and Talik reconvened with Drokh. They decided to explore the room up ahead. They carefully crossed the open pit trap, and approached the chamber mouth. They threw a torch up ahead. It did not extinguish.

It was a vast chamber, torchlight barely illuminating three walls, with more pressing darkness to the east. Skeletal remains littered the floor. Two seven foot tall stone statues were visible to the north. Each was in the alcove. Both were of a man, standing shoulder width apart, dressed in something similar to a bath robe, with exposed privates, arms upwards with elbows pointed forward and palms up.

Sharpshooter Talik shoot off the left statue's manhood. It did not animate to exact revenge. Arete picked up the torch and threw it forward. More of the chamber was illuminated, revealing an archway to the south and an open corridor to the north. Also, two female statues to the south-east.

Rotted cloak on which the torch fell caught fire. A pale arm rose from beneath, with skin so taut bones almost protruded from it. The undead with hateful beady eyes stood up, and patted the fire out. Adventurers charged it without delay.

Arrows sunk into the cloaked figure.

It did not flinch.

Spear and sword cut into its emaciated body.

It did not flinch.

“Uh oh.”

Arete called on Athena.

But Athena did not hear him.

Arete parried and blocked, dodged and evaded. And then his face was caught by the undead. Those beady hateful eyes gazed into his own. The cleric could feel his very own life energy being drained out of him. He grew weaker by the second, until he too was nothing but a taut skin over bones.

Remaining adventurers watched in horror as Arete drop down to the ground, nothing but a lifeless husk. Dalkanarion barreled in, just in time to witness a fellow worshiper of Athena fall. Oathkeeper hummed as the Grecian warrior drove it straight through the creature.

The monster wailed and screamed. Realising he cannot contribute much, Nuck had disengaged and approached the southern archway. His intent was to watch guard in case anything might come from that direction. He was immediately dive bombed by three obese bat-mosquitoes with long. They brought him to the ground and sucked him dry.

Dalkanarion chopped the undead down just in time to be assaulted by five flying bloodsuckers. Now it was a wild melee, with Talik and Drokh involved too. Unarmoured monk dodged, until he hadn't. He too was sucked dry. Talik and Dalkanarion successfully slayed all the stirges.

Talik checked on three fallen adventurers. Arete was most certainly, chillingly, lifeless. Nuck and Drokh were properly messed up, but had some life left in them. Still, Talik and Dalkanarion dragged their three fallen allies back to the chamber with Ambros and the crew.

Ambros inspected the injuries. He confirmed that Arete is dead dead, while Drokh and Nuck are just nearly dead. The latter two will need several weeks of strict bed rest, but they should heal up fine.

Talik and Dalkanarion were eager to continue exploring the complex—they were still healthy and strong. They were joined by an assassin Sted Jalen, and a dwarf fighter Nandos. They returned to the statue chamber without delay.

The room was some fifty by ninety feet. Two male statues were in the north west corner, while two female statues were in the south east corner. An archway to the south led to stairs leading down, while a corridor to the north led to a four way junction.

Sted searched all the remains in the room. He recovered a total of five hundred and fifty electrum pieces and one hundred platinum pieces. Dalkanarion and Nandos investigated the female statues. These ones had their arms pointing downwards. Warrior noticed that one of them had a seam on its left arm, just beneath the elbow. It looked like the arm might turn or twist somehow.

Talik approached the statue he emasculated. He vanished.

“Uh, I better write that down!”

Nandos took out his chalk and wrote notes on the wall next to the statue. Then he returned to Dalkanarion, just in time to watch the warrior play with the statue's arm. It released a painful scream that echoed throughout.

“Better write that down too!”

The trio now approached the statue where Talik had vanished. They stepped forth, one by one.

⁂

Talik stepped forward. It all went black. The air changed. Now it was stale. Dusty. Moldy. He tapped around in the darkness. Floor was littered with something. Some things clanked. Some crunched.

He walked forward, slowly, until he reached a wall. The he turned right, placed his left palm on the wall, and extended his right arm to the side. He walked slowly. A turn! But at an angle. He followed. Another turn! Also at an angle.

His fingers came upon a groove. It was narrow and thin, but so were his fingers. Then he was blinded by the light.

Dalkanarion showed up first, followed by Sted and Nandos. The trio brought light with them, illuminating this curiously shaped chamber. It had seven walls in total, forming a rough diamond shape.

The chamber hosted a number of skeletal remains, some still in their rotting garments. There was some random trash too. Nandos joined Talik in investigating the groove—which was of a rectangular shape, like a door frame—while Dalkanarion checked other walls. Sted on the other hand, focused on the remains again.

He counted three broad swords, some sixty feet of rope that was still intact, two empty wineskins, a great helm, a suit of chain mail armour, two shields, one of them with pristine steel rim, a medallion, and a wand.

Nandos knocked on the groove-framed wall portion.

It sounded hollow.

⁂

Ambros, Marlon, and a squad of heavy footmen finished reinforcing the antechambers. They pooled valuables in the east end of the chamber. So far they collected a hundred copper pieces, eight hundred and twenty silver pieces, five hundred electrum pieces, twenty-three gold pieces, fifty platinum pieces, and a wrought gold necklace.

For how long will Ambros wait before Dalkanarion returns?

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