Forum

[howandwhy99]

The room had a writing desk and a couple of bunk beds stripped of their sheets. Mirel and some of the others quickly swept away any trace of the party’s tracks below in case the ogre or goblins came searching. Then they shut tight the secret door and moved to the upper room. Ormand the Redd had been pulled back from the cave mouth and told to listen at the secret door instead. Igor and Darius examined the far door on the other side of the room. It was locked. Mirel searched through the beat up writing desk and found a mound of pelts. Checking its drawers she discovered two scrolls under a secret panel in the bottom of one. “That one is a muskrat. That’s a squirrel and a moun…” Dram’s thoughts were cut short when the door in front of Igor swung open hitting the chef in the face. A strange armored creature stuck a sword into the opening and tried pushing itself in. Several more were behind it. Darius pushed back, “They were just sitting and waiting for us!”

Darius, Dram and Dalin helped push while Igor crawled away holding his face. Mirel handed the scrolls to Kayla. Glancing at the parchments, she passed them on to Brother Ben instead. “Prayers of powerful healing” he flipped to the next. “And another for eliminating traps. Very nice.” Ormand the Redd appeared at the top of the stairs. “The ogre’s back. I can smell him. And plenty of the little guys too. …What the heck is going on in here?” Darius looked back at Igor, while pushing on the door. “Can you jam the lock on this, if we manage to get it shut?”

STOMP…STOMP…STOMP…STOMP…STOMP. Everyone heard the massive ogre coming into the caverns. The furry creatures stopped pushing and the alcove door slammed shut. From the other side, footsteps could be heard running away. Darius pulled the group to the middle of the room and saw the fear in his allies’ faces. He needed to come up with a plan and quick. Brother Ben questioned whether the ogre could even fit into the narrow stairwell, but Dalin pointed out it was not quite as large as a normal Giant. Igor shuffled in closer and began telling the others of a plan he had thought of. “…And when it comes up the stairs, we let ‘im have it!” he finished. The others nodded in agreement. It was actually a pretty good idea. Preparations were made and Darius took watch at the upstairs door. Dalin held a torch, while the others moved into their positions around the room. Silently they waited for the ogre below.

Darius edged open the door slightly and saw the ogre’s form in the darkness below. It was squeezing and twisting its way into the stairwell and dragging its club behind. The dwarven paladin waited, carefully judging the right moment to strike. “Now!” he whispered back to Dalin. His torch dropped down and lit the alcohol-soaked pelt. Dram and Igor rolled the keg of brandy with its now lit fuse forward, while Darius opened the door. Down the stairwell the wooden cask bounced and the door above was slammed shut. BOOM!! “AAAUUuurrgghh!!” the ogre screamed. They could hear its skin tearing on the tunnel walls as it contorted itself trying to escape from the flames.

Darius quickly used the key to lock the stair door and Igor blocked it with the desk. “Behind the door there” Dram pointed. “Those were hobgoblins. What kind of place is this to have so many kinds of monsters?” The tall man walked over to the other door and swung it open. Seeing only an empty corridor he ran down it with his torch in one hand and sword in the other. Resigning themselves to their fate the others pulled out their own weapons and chased after him. Darius hung back and closed the second door behind them in case the ogre decided to attack again. As luck would have it, the key was in the backside of the second door’s lock too. “Thanks be to Thor,” Darius said as he turned the bolt into place. Feeling a little safer he ran to catch up with his fellows.