In the meantime, Mirel and Kayla worked hard to organize the militia back at the outpost. Mirel tried to sneak out of becoming a supervisor by working at mucking the stables herself; the worst job she could think of. Her plan did not quite work. After the caravan had left Kayla asked some of the militia to organize a watch around the well to make sure nothing came out of it and no one went in either. Mirel could see how nervous the men were when stationed there. Having been put in charge of the tower watch by Kayla she made sure to change the well guard often. In the evening hours Mirel listened in on the soldier's stories around the campfire. Scooting about underfoot she was rarely noticed and always made sure to have a broom or shovel in hand in case anyone got too suspicious about her presence. Kayla, on the other hand, worked hard directing a top to bottom cleaning of the tower. Mirel had noticed her talking with Darius and Elion before the others left with Dalin to the Keep. She also observed Kayla sneaking in and out of Elion the Elf's tent late at night. Sadly the guards around the large tent were too attentive for her to get near enough to hear inside. Mirel set her mind on devising ways to get close enough in future nights to listen in without being caught.
Darius, Dram, Dalin, Brother Ben, Igor, and their new militia recruits left Keep Margrave shortly after midday. On the road back, Igor, Dram, and Darius were having difficulty riding as they were still injured from the underground combat the day before. Then Darius remembered the dozen berries the dryad had given him for saving her tree. He handed one out to each of the injured and took one himself. Igor asked for a second and that was when the dwarf noticed most of the berries looked to have gone bad. Igor ate the second berry anyways. The three felt healed from the meal, but their minds began to reel. For the rest of the trip they needed to trip in the back of the trip, as they could not stop tripping loudly as they tripped along the road. After the trip they arrived at the outpost just after dark. It was fortunate for all they were not attacked on the road. The supplies were unloaded and three sick men sent to the infirmary. Dram and Darius seemed better later in the evening and were reissued their weapons. Igor on the other hand still sang bawdy songs as loud as possible, muffled though he was. "For an unlearned man his vocabulary was quite extensive," Ben thought. It was a long night for Ben and the Gresslam Brothers.
[DAY 11 - Holyday, Mao 28th, CY 81]
At sunrise the next morning Darius woke everyone for their next excursion down the well. He and Ben prayed while Kayla studied from her book. Ben also made plans with the Gresslam Brothers to prepare for a Holyday ceremony with both militia and army regulars when Brother Ben returned. Igor had stopped singing and pointing at invisible snails, but the sleep he had was poor and it showed. Still, Ben was happy he was coming along with the group again to explore Quesquaton. He saw Igor putting quite a bit of food in his pack for a possible group meal later in the day. Darius pulled out the seeds he had saved from the dryad's berries eaten the day before. He had been talking with Kayla the evening before and it was planned that wine might be made from their fruit. With the help of a spade he dug a trough around the back of the tower along its edge. Planting each seed carefully in a line he packed them with dirt afterwards and watered them. After everyone's preparations were complete, the seven traveled back down the well.
Darius and Dalin stood in front with weapons out while the others held bow or sling when "Quesquaton" was spoken. Oddly, no kobold skeletons attacked. The group kept their eyes peeled for the remaining kobolds and began another room-to-room search. The poolroom was checked first and a rather depressing discovery was made. The pools looked to have lowered over the last few days. Ben tried to think back on how high the liquid levels had been when they originally discovered the room. It was hard to tell, but he believed they might have been full to their lip edges. It was decided the loss was due to the kobolds as they had made it through the archway.
Recent footprint activity led downstairs to the second level and the caves below. Igor took the lead with Darius beside him. Igor was their best scout and noticed more point like tracks as well. "Spiders again" he said. Sure enough two large spiders barreled down the long cavern jumping into the torchlight. Darius moved forward and swung at the lead spider. Both look dried and desiccated. The dwarf could see deep cuts in the first spider’s sides with which the band had originally killed it. The second spider looked just as dead, but without the cuts. Igor moved into the shadows and sliced at a spider's legs with his large sword. Ben gave him credit for not running or screaming upon seeing the undead. Mirel and Kayla pelted slingstones on the carapaces of the spiders as Dram's arrows punctured their sides. Brother Ben used his flail to try and break their legs. He was saving his divinely aided strength for turning back the kobold undead when they finally decided to show themselves.
All and all the combat went quickly. The spiders were easy targets after cutting their legs out from under them. And when the kobolds were met, Ben channeled his divine power driving off most in fear so each combat was against small numbers giving the party the best odds. On reflection only a handful of kobold skeletons ended up attacking, but Ben thought they might have learned their lesson. Also, the group might have just destroyed the majority of them during their first fight two days ago. Both possibilities seemed likely to Ben. As they entered the bat cave the group was attacked immediately by thousands of undead bats. Most of the seven backed out of the boulder hole while those with swords or hammers swung at the undead bone-like bats around them. Ben did not want to think about what unearthly power gave them flight, so he channeled his power to drive them off. To his surprise all the bats in the divine light burst into pieces. It was only a matter of time to destroy the tens of thousands still in the bat cave. It took a few hours, but the cleaning was highly successful.
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