Age of Worms - A Realms based D&D/AE campaign (updated 05/08)

Posting my campaign summaries. Feel free to ask for clarifications or more details.

Bear with me as this is my first attempt at a story hour posting.


12 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Diamond Lake. The trail Windsdale, a male human greenbond of Illuskan decent, had been following ended here. About a tenday ago, Windsdale found an area of the Misty Forrest that had been eradicated. The trees were either missing or broken. Was this the work of an agent of the Dark? Windsdale was not going to let those who had wounded the land get away. The loggers had left an easy trail to follow. Along the trail he met Ash, a male strongheart halfling wolf totem Warrior, who had seen a caravan carrying a large load of logs pass by not a day or two ahead of the greenbond. The two journeyed together and found themselves in Diamond Lake at the Able Carter Coaching Inn.

Located on the Delimbyir Route mid way between Daggerford and Secomber, Diamond Lake was exactly how Windsdale remembered human settlements; dirty, smelly and containing no respect for the Green. The pair discovered that the wood was for local mine manager, Balabar Smenk, so that he may add-on to his residence. Ash and Windsdale decided to ask about the inn to see what else they could learn about Smenk and his men. It was while they were enjoying a drink after their evening meal that Barrik, a male shield dwarf mage, approached Ash and Windsdale. Barrik was a local resident of Diamond Lake. The dwarf had worked the various mines for years and was tired of it. He wanted to leave the town. The death of his cousin, Thalor Axebeard in the Tilgast mines was the last straw. He had heard that some children in the Forlorn Hills had discovered a new cairn a few hours north of the town. The cairns and the riches that were usually to be found within was the main reason Diamond Lake was established. Barrik had heard that a group of adventurers have come from Waterdeep to explore the Stirgenest Cairn. He figured it would only be a matter of time before they heard or stumbled upon this new cairn, dubbed the Whispering Cairn by the children who discovered it. Barrik had been waiting for someone trustworthy to help him enter the cairn and take its riches. He knows why Windsdale and Ash are in town and that they are outsiders, which make them more attractive as partners. Barrik buys the pair a drink and tells them his story. At first, the pair would not be swayed from their quest but the desperation in the dwarf's eyes and the idea that agents of the Dark or people like Smenk could use the riches from the tomb work against the resolve of the halfling and human.

The three are toasting their new alliance and the adventure ahead of them when, from four tables away, Mason Vheold, a male human warmain who appears to be of Damaran blood, shouts "Adventure! I believe I'm an adventurer. Perhaps I can help you?" as he approaches the trio. The strongheart replies, "Excuse me? I don't believe we were talking to you. Is it the custom where you come from to barge your way into other people's conversations?" "I'm not sure, but I do know that I'm a soldier for hire,” replies Mason. “Don't remember much else before that battle in Mithril Hall a few years back. I went to Silverymoon to find my past, but didn't have much luck. I was thinking of heading to Candlekeep next, so I started heading that way and ended up here. I've been here for a day. I was thinking of looking for some work here since my traveling funds are running low. Now, it sounds like you might have an opportunity that's right up my alley." Ash whispers something to Windsdale and gets a chuckle in reply. "It's your quest, friend," Ash tells the dwarf. Barrik address Mason, "Well, at least you're not from this pimple on a dragon's arse. You do look like you'd be useful in a fight, so…you can come."


13 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

The foursome leave early in the morning and arrive at an abandoned mine office several hours later. Barrik tells the others that the cairn's entrance is close. Proceeding on, Barrik exclaims, "This is it" when the group reaches an area of heavy undergrowth. After a few moments of search, the band of four discovers the entrance to the Whispering Cairn. Once they cross the threshold, the dwarf, halfling and two humans are greeting by a whispering that comes from all around. Upon closer inspection, they find that the walls are riddled with little holes and the whispers originate from them. Passing a pair of alcoves directly across from one another they find that the western one is blocked by rubble, possibly from a cave in. The other contains what appears to be the remains of a mirror frame and the ground is littered with a strange black glass. Whispers echoing around them, the group moves further down to the corridor. Greeted by a strong musky odor, they come to another set of alcoves. Ash remarks, "This is familiar." The left is blocked by rubble and the left seems to have a dais with whatever is on it just beyond the reach of their light. Ahead think cobwebs block the path. Beyond the cobwebs comes a sickly green glow.

As Mason approaches the passage to burn the webs, the sound of low growls comes from the western alcove and three wolves attack the party. Windsdale is brought low before he realizes that the beasts where there. "Wolves! Of course, it's wolves," murmurs Ash as he prepares his weapon. The group manages to defeat the animals without much damage. The party then discovered that the western alcove is not as blocked as they believed. There is a small passage leading to the wolves' den beyond the rubble. The halfling decides this would be a safe place to put Windsdale, who is stable but unconscious, while the group continues to investigate the cairn. While moving the body, the wolf totem warrior finds a lantern made of indigo colored glass. "Do you hear running water?" Mason asks Barrik. Ash exits the wolf den with a smile on his face and proceeds to find a mural in the alcove with the dais. The mural is of a large area with passages evenly spaced around the main area. At the end of each passage is a lit lantern reflecting a different color of the rainbow. Beyond the cobwebs are stairs leading down.

As they reach the bottom of the landing, the group (minus one) finds the chamber depicted in the mural. The chamber has a sarcophagus in the middle. A bas-relief figure of a djinni decorates its cover. As the group approaches the center of the room and the object there, they hear noises coming from the stairs they've just descended. Weapons drawn, the explorers turn to face this challenge. Ready to fight more wolves they are somewhat surprised to find a dwarf stumbling down the steps. "Barrik! There you are. How could you leave me out of this? What kind of cousin are you?" Bellows the newcomer. "Just how many cousins do you have?" asks an exasperated halfling. Barrik rolls his eyes, "I didn't invite you because you were too busy pissing away your wages in the Veiled Corridor." "I'd still be there but me money ran out and then I remember what you told me about this place so here I am." Ash perks up, "Veiled Corridor?" "Make yourself useful and help me open the lid of this thing," Barrik tells his cousin. "By the way this is John, he fancies himself a fighter" he introduces the other shield dwarf. As this conversation concludes, Mason moves down one of the passages. This one seems to be the source of the eerie green light. He finds an everburning torch stuck in a lantern similar to the one Ash found earlier, except this one is made of green glass. He and Ash begin looking down the other passages and find the same thing except for the passage that should hold the red lantern is empty. As the human and halfling and making their way around the chamber, they hear a WHOOSH and see a bright light coming from the center of the room. They turn to see the sarcophagus lid open and the two dwarves rolling on the ground trying to smoother flames. "What in the nine hells is going on," shouts Mason as he runs back and pushes the lid closed. As he slams the lid shut he notices that the sarcophagus is empty. The warmain also notices that the dais the coffin sits upon is shaped like an arrow and points at the chamber with the orange lantern. "Maybe this thing moves." He asks John the still smoldering dwarf if he could try and shift the coffin. John is able to push the sarcophagus until it points to the yellow lantern chamber. A great rumbling of the sound of stone grinding against stone emanates from the yellow chamber. At the back, a small cylinder rises from the floor and a door in the front opens to reveal a hollow space inside. Mason and Ash approach the cylinder. The find it empty and just large enough for the human to fit in. Mason climbs in and immediately the doors close and the cylinder returns to the floor. The others wait for a few moments and the cylinder again rises from the floor. When the doors open the cylinder is empty. "He must be trapped down there, see if you can move the thing back," Ash tells the dwarves. "No good, it only moves in one direction," replies John. "Push it forward then, " is the totem warrior's retort as he rolls his eyes. John and Barrik push the sarcophagus until it points to the chamber with the green lantern.

Again comes the sound of rumbling and stone grinding against stone from the green passage. Another cylinder rises from the floor. Before the three can move toward it, there comes a loud crash and the floor gives way under the cylinder. As Ash joins the shield dwarves by the sarcophagus the sound of hundreds of insects echoes from the hole in the back of the green passage. A horrible creature that appears to be an eye with six sharp legs climbs out of the opening and is quickly followed by a swarm of beetles. "Windsdale! I've got to get him out of the wolves' den or these creatures could finish him." Exclaims the halfling as he runs up the stairs. "Give me time." "Take all the time ye need," says John as he draws his axe. Barrik loads a crossbow and fires a bolt into the aberration on six legs that is rapidly moving toward them. Several more bolts take down the creature before it can reach the pair of dwarves. John steps up confidently to the beetle swarm and swings his axe at the creatures only to find that the axe does little to slow the swarm. He tells Barrik to run and does so himself. Unfortunately, it is too late for Barrik as the swarm reaches him and begins to crawl over his body. The mage quickly drops. Barrik lights a torch and tries to burn the swarm off his cousin. He finds that the torch is doing more harm to Barrik than the swarm. Ash has pulled Windsdale to the outside of the cairn and returned to the bottom of the stairs to find that Barrik is slowly being eaten alive by the swarm. He launches a flask of oil at the body that connects and covers the beetles and Barrik. "Burn it", yells Ash, "hopefully we can find him a healer before he expires." John lights the oil. Flames consume the beetles and shield dwarf body for some moments. As the fire dies down, the pair find, much to their dismay, that these beetles were acid beetles and released their acid as they died. Destroying Barrik's body.

Ash says, "Let's go, there may be more beetles about." John refuses to leave without Mason. He won't leave another to suffer the same fate as Ash. Urgently, the pair push the sarcophagus along. Nothing happens until they reach the passage where the indigo lantern should be. Another cylinder springs from the ground. They notice it is filled with crushed bones and decide to place a lantern in it to see what happens. They continue to push the sarcophagus around. At the yellow passage the cylinder raises from the floor, it is empty. Determined to see what happened in the cylinder in the indigo passage, the halfling and dwarf push on. With the arrow once again pointing at the indigo passage, the cylinder rises from the floor. The duo is dismayed to find the lantern crushed. They decide to perform the same test in the yellow passage.

Mason, somewhat cramped inside the cylinder feels the sensation of motion and finds the doors opening after a moment or so. As he steps out, the doors close and the cylinder lifts into the ceiling. The warmain finds himself in a small room with the only passage blocked by a large stone. Searching the room, Mason finds a button on the wall near where the cylinder rested when it was in the room. He pushes the button and the cylinder comes down and the doors open. The human steps inside only to find that nothing happens. The doors stay open and the cylinder remains in place. Mason steps out of the cylinder. The doors quickly shut and the cylinder rises into the ceiling. Fearing that he may have to find another way out, Mason tries to move the block that is blocking the passage. Unable to do so, the warmain removes his armor and tries to fit in the small opening between the block and the ceiling of the opening. He finds that he is too big to fit. In frustration, he slams the button on the wall. To his surprise the cylinder doors open and a lantern is sitting in the middle of the floor. Mason decides to write a message on the inside of the cylinder with the only thing he has, soap. This is Mason, come down. Warily watching the hole in the green lantern passage, Ash and John push the sarcophagus until it comes to rest on the yellow lantern passage. Luckily, the totem warrior notices that there is something a little shiny reflecting off the back of the wall inside the cylinder. Reading the message, he shakes his head. Ash pulls out a piece of chalk and writes, `Get up here or we're leaving your arse here." For the fourth, or is it fifth, time they push the sarcophagus around. Mason having noticed that sometimes there is a difference in how high up the cylinder raises, waits until the cylinder lowers itself somewhat and then pushes the button. Reading the message on the inside wall, he then steps in and waits. Eventually, the exhausted halfling and dwarf push the sarcophagus. The cylinder rises from the back of the yellow lantern passage with Mason inside. The three decided to head back to town to recover. The adventures spend the night just inside the cairn and leave for Diamond Lake at first light.


14 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Bearing Windsdale on a litter, the group makes it back to Diamond Lake without further incident. They bring the greenbond to the Bronze Lodge of Silvanus where the priests take him in and care for him. The remaining three decide to explore the town. Ash discovers the pleasures of the Veiled Corridor while Mason and John discover the meaning of proper dress requited, quickly followed by drinking at the Feral Dog.

Session 2

14 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms (con't)

After an afternoon of drinking Mason and John stumble back from the Feral Dog to the Able Carter Coaching inn. Both proceed back to their rooms and pass out. Since the greenbond he came to town with is in a coma at the Bronzewood Lodge and the dwarf he was helping died, Ash tries to find work by visiting Sheriff Cubbin. The sheriff has no interest in trackers and tells him he may have luck finding work with a new group of adventurers in town.

Ash returns to the Able Carter Coaching Inn and arranges a late night food delivery for Mason and then heads to the Fetal Dog. Ash wins the nightly dagger-throwing contest and meets Tirra, a female sun elf who, along with her companions from Waterdeep, is exploring the Stirgenest Cairn. An unfettered Chondathan female, Shayar Venton, happens into the Dog as Ash wins the contest and overhears the conversation between the halfling and sun elf. The halfling has heard that several people have gone missing in the area and something in the cairns may be the cause. Shayar introduces herself to the totem warrior and agrees to join him as he explores the area near the cairns. Realizing that they had problems with traps, the two asked Tirra if she know any trap finders. Tirra points out an Illuskan male at the end of the bar. Shayar approaches and through subtle questioning, determines that Vhade, the person Tirra pointed out, does have the skills they need. After a few moments of negotiations, Vhade agrees to join the party.


15 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Mason is awaked in the wee hours between midnight and dawn but a polite knocking at his door. He opens it to discover that one of the kitchen staff standing there with his food order, a dozen eggs. The warmain quickly grabs the basket from the boy and slams the door. Are those retching sounds, the kitchen boy wonders as he goes down the stairs.

The party leaves at first light for the Whispering Cairn. After a few hours journey, the group arrives at the overgrowth that surrounds the cairn. Returning to the chamber with the seven passages and the colored lanterns, they examine the collapsed floor in the green lantern passage. Mason lowers a rope and Vhade "volunteers" to climb down first. Realizing that the hole is deeper than their light sources can penetrate; the trap finder manages to light a torch while climbing down the rope. He drops the torch to see what's at the bottom. "It's not much further down," Vhade yells to the party. "But it seems that there's something flammable down there. The torch caused it to catch." A pause. "Damn, it's the rope." Hurrying to put out the fire, Vhade discovers that Mason is not very good at tying knots. At the edge of the hole above, the others hear a small curse followed by "Aahhh, zzzsss, aaahhh, zzzsss." Mason, followed by Shayar and Ash, climb down to make sure the trap finder is okay. Aside from a minor sprain and burn, Vhade can continue one. The party leaves and quickly comes to a four-way intersection. Down the right hand passage they come to a large chamber filled with beetles feeding on some strange orange paste-like substance. Quickly backing out of the room, they decide to check what's down the straight-ahead passage. That corridor leads to a flight of stairs down.

Retracing their steps, the group heads down the left hand passage. This corridor empties into a large chamber with two rows of stone blocks and a statue at the opposite wall. A body rests on one of the blocks. Mason has barely entered the room when a large beetle comes out from between two of the stone blocks and attacks the party. A mighty battle ensues with the party emerging victorious. Exploring the room the party finds that the body is wearing red masterwork leather jack with a pointed star logo on the chest as well as a silver ring.

Session 3

16 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

The party returns to the four-way intersection and proceed down the corridor leading to the stairs. They quickly discover that the stairs lead to water. The party’s light source penetrates the murky depth enough to see that water covers about half the length of the stairs that lead to an opening into another area. After several minutes Mason removes his armor and ties a rope to himself while telling the others to pull him back if he gives it 2 quick tugs. As the warmain disappears under the water with an everburning torch, with an impish grin Ash asks “Did he say 64 tugs means he’s okay and 63 means he’s in trouble?” Almost as soon as the totem warrior finishes his remarks, there is a great splashing and Mason tumbles out of the water. “Elemental!” he splutters while quickly climbing out of the water. The groups waits for several minutes but the elemental does not appear. “Are you sure it was elemental,” Ash asks and get a nod in reply from the warmain. “Well, it doesn’t seem to be chasing you. I think it’s safe to go back down. “ The Damaran male refuses to go back into the water. Eying the warmain with contempt, Ash ties the rope to himself, takes the everburning torch and dives under the water. The three on the stairs watch as the light slowly fades into the room beyond.

In the water-filled room below, Ash find a large pillar in the center of the room that has water spigots on each side about ten feet above the floor. The pillar is surrounded by benches as well a small retaining wall the rises about six inches off the floor. The totem warrior follows the wall and finds a side room. He has to untie the rope in order to explore it. Inside are lockers and benches plus the grisly sight of a body in red leather jack floating in the middle of the room. The armor has the same pointed star logo as the suit found on the body in the room with the statue. While searching the body, Ash finds a lantern made out of red glass. An exact duplicate, except for the color, as the one he found in the wolves’ lair. As he leaves this room and prepares to move along the wall opposite the stairs, the halfling believes he sees a swirling shape heading toward the staircase.

The warmain, unfettered and “trap finder” are arguing whether or not they should see if the halfling is okay. The rope they are holding has gone slack. Shayar wants to follow while Mason says that the halfling can take care of himself. Muttering, “Where’s the bloody loot?” Vhade is absent-mindedly splashing the water when a dark shape comes out of the archway below and slams into him. With minor injuries, the three are able to destroy the creature.

Meanwhile, Ash finds the long abandoned jakes in the wall opposite the stairs as well as another “locker room” opposite the one with the body and red lantern. This room also contains a body wearing red leather jack with the pointed star logo on it. As he approaches the body to search it, he’s surprised with the corpse’s eyes open and it grins evilly at him. The creature swipes at the halfling with its claws but Ash manages to evade the attacks. Quickly swimming for the stairs, Ash manages to avoid the deadly strikes the ghoul takes at him. Bursting to the surface, Ash yells “ghoul!” to his fellow party members. The four make short work of this undead. In addition to his armor this ghoul wears a gold ring that is shaped like the pointed star found on the red armor. The group decides to take the lantern upstairs and light them all to see what happens.

On their return trip to the room with the hole that leads back upstairs, the small band of adventurers once again stand at the edge of the room with the orange paste and acid beetle colony. “Do you think there’s treasure in there?” asks Vhade. “Maybe” replies Ash, “but I’m not willing to take on a colony of acid beetles to find out.” Mason and Shayar nod vigorously in agreement. As the party is leaving, Vhade “trips” and falls into the room. Before he can lift himself off the ground his body is overrun with thousands of the insects. As the remaining three try to figure out how to save him, a large beetle, obviously the queen of the colony, comes out of the nest and heads for Vhade’s body while releasing a deadly acidic cloud. The survivors run to the room with the hole. Mason boosts the others to the rope hanging ten feet of the ground and, after several attempts, manages to jump up and grab the rope himself.

In the chamber with the sarcophagus, Ash and Shayar stay near the coffin while Mason goes around and lights the lanterns. While in the passage with the blue lantern he notices that it’s ceiling seems higher here than in the other passages. The warmain thinks he sees an opening some 40 feet above the floor in this passage. The halfling and Chondathan female join Mason in the passage. Ash confirms that there is indeed an opening up there. The three climb up and find that the opening is a corridor leading to a huge face with a gaping mouth that blocks the corridor 70 feet away. Mason steps on a block that sinks into the floor. Luckily for the three nothing immediately happens. Shayar examines the trap and decides that the best course of action is to spike the sunken piece of floor down. Ash quickly follows this advice and the three press on. Beyond the gaping mouth they see a large chamber that has a three-foot wide plank leading from the mouth to a door on the far side of the chamber. Strange hieroglyphics cover the walls. This plank is over a sunken floor that is covered with iron spheres. Shayar begins to cross the plank and is about a third of the way across when she is struck in the side by an iron sphere. The force of the blow knocks her of the walkway. Mason throws her a rope but before he can pull her up a large snake-like creature with four tentacles surrounding a beak-like mouth rises out of the spheres and attacks. The aberration’s attacks take the unfettered down. Mason hauls on the rope while Ash peppers the creature with arrows. Ash attacks seems to have no affect on the creature. The warmain is able to get Shayar out of the pit but the monster follows her out of the pit. Mason and Ash attack the creature but only Ash’s newly discovered magical sword seems to really affect it. Several moments later the duo are victorious.

During the battle, the two kept hearing a disembodied voice disparaging their efforts. The source of that voice, a ghostly figure of a young boy with a broken neck, appears before the totem warrior and warmain. The apparition blocks them from retreating to the room with the sarcophagus. The ghost enters Mason’s body and after a brief moment the Damaran speaks with a different voice. To prove that he is in control of the warmain’s body, the ghost runs it into a nearby wall, several times. The ghost tells Ash that his name is Alastor Land and that he died in the Whispering Cairn many years ago. Few adventurers reach this area and none have defeated the creature that lived amongst the iron spheres. He tells the halfling that there are great riches and secrets beyond the door but the only way to open the door is a switch on the inside of the chamber. Alastor will hit the switch if the party will take his bones to his family’s homestead and bury them next to his family’s bones. If the adventurers are not willing to do this for him, he will kill them all. The ghost raises Mason’s sword arm as he says this. Ash agrees to the ghost’s terms. The ghost uses Mason’s body to retrieve his bones from among the iron spheres. He then leaves the human’s body and disappears. The two carry Shayar back the entrance of the Whispering Cairn where they await the dawn to return to Diamond Lake.

Session 4

17 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

In the morning, Ash and Mason make a litter and carry Shayar back to the Bronzewood Lodge. There they exchange the gold ring for healing. They find the Land farmstead, ten minutes outside of town, as the ghost has directed them. There the party finds that the family graves have been dug up. Ash finds the tracks of five humanoids around the graves. Five went to the house; four came back quickly and went to the road leading to Diamond Lake. Ash, Shayar and Mason approach the dilapidated farmhouse where a badly wounded owlbear attacks them. They manage to kill the creature. Inside the farmhouse they find a baby owlbear as well as an arm with a tattoo. The tattoo looks like a stylized seven with several lines next to it. Ash remembers seeing tattoo at Feral Dog. The three follow tracks to Diamond Lake where they get lost amongst the general traffic.

Ash goes to the general store and talks to Taggin. The proprietor of the store is very talkative and extremely polite, especially to Shayar. He gives them some information about the state of affairs in the town; going out of his way to be extremely neutral in is description of the various people and factions in the town. Taggin mentions that Fester Trollump may be interested in the baby owlbear. Trollump is a local hunter and trapper who goes to Waterdeep monthly to sell pelts and such. The trapper also has a patron that has been known to buy the more exotic creatures, such as manticores Ash and Shayar then visit Tidwoad’s where they sell the silver ring. The three return to the Able Carter Coaching Inn where Mason pays for a stall to keep the owlbear cub. The totem warrior and unfettered locate Fester Trollump in the inn’s lounge. They make a bargain to sell him the baby owlbear.

Mason remains behind to watch the owlbear cub as the human female and male halfling head to Feral Dog to see if they can find anyone with the tattoo. There they spot Kullen, an albino half-orc with the tattoo on his forehead. They observe him as he sits with three humans. Ash also sees the sun elf, Tirra who he competed against in the dagger-tossing contest a few nights ago. He tries to sell her some of the red leather jack they’ve found. Tirra isn’t interested but does tell Ash that the pointed star symbol represents the Seekers. The Seekers are a minor sect of Oghma who seek to “liberate knowledge” by any means necessary and if its for their own personal benefit, so much the better. Altix, a cleric of Tyr, soon joins the pair. Altix first met Ash and later Shayar at the Able Carter Coaching Inn. Altix is in town to visit Valkus Dun, the high priest at the local chapel to Tyr located in the garrison buildings. Dun, while quite serious, was very friendly and likeable. Dun wants to improve the town and the lot of the people who live there. He preaches to Altix that he should be doing all he can to help people. Altix has spent the last few days with the old priest and seems to be in disagreement with the senior priest about how important helping people is in the eyes of Tyr. The junior cleric is looking to find out whether this is the path Tyr has set upon him and figures that joining the adventures will help enlighten him. As the drinks come, many supplied by Ash, Kullen and his crew get louder and louder. Ash manages to overhear parts of their conversation. The four seem to be upset that “the boss” has sent them on an errand for “that nutter” in the old observatory. That “the boss” may be in for a rude awakening if he keeps sending them on jobs like this.


18 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

The party makes the exchange with Fester around mid morning at the Able Carter Coaching Inn. For the most part they run various errands. Ash goes to see Allustan, “the smartest man in town” to see if the mage will identify his sword. Taggin had shared with the totem warrior the local stories about the mage. It’s rumored that Allustan was once a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors in Waterdeep. It’s been said that he was forced to leave the order and move to Diamond Lake. Others say that he was sent here to keep an eye on his brother, governor-mayor Lanod Neff. Still others say he came here to help keep his brother in power. He is well respected (and even feared) by the people of Diamond Lake. Allustan answers the door at his tower. He is a bit abrupt at first but when Ash tells him he found his sword in one of the cairns, the mage perks up and lets it slip that one of the reasons he came to Diamond Lake was to explore the cairns. He will identify the sword for 100 gold and Ash can pick it up in the morning. Altix asks around and finds that the Monks of the Old Order once ran the observatory but they abandoned it years ago.


19 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Party gathers their newly purchased goods. Ash collects his magical sword from Allustan. The group now heads for the old observatory on the edge of town. Shayar picks the lock to the observatory’s entrance. Inside they are greeted by a room filled with detritus and three skeletons, two adult sized and one child sized, armed with crossbows. Fortunately, the group has brought Altix, cleric of Tyr. The Chondathan male calls upon the power of his god and turns the skeletons. Unable to flee, the skeletons are hacked apart by the others. Moving on the party finds a small empty bedchambers and an abandoned office. The last area they explore on the first floor contains a macabre seen. Around a dinner table plied with fresh food sit nine bodies, all in various states of decay. It appears that the dead are at a dinner party. Only one chair is empty and the setting in front of it is bereft of food. Ash discovers that the wine is fresh and quite good. Moving to the second floor, the party finds the whole floor occupied by only the bedroom and two closets. Aside from the furniture is a statue of a man with wings. “Filge” is inscribed at the base of the statue. The room also contains a small figure entirely wrapped in cloth wearing a fine suit, a top hat and dark glasses. The small figure holds a silver tray. Atop the tray is a human female head that has a platinum coin on its extended purple tongue. Ash grabs the coin and the heads starts yelling, “intruders! Intruders! Intruders!” Quickly checking the closets, the party rushes up the stair to the third and final floor. It appears that the observatory has been changed into a laboratory. A depressed area in the middle of the room contains a table with a corpse on it. The corpse’s insides have been exposed. On the four corners of the depressed area are four columns containing murky liquid and human shapes. Across the room, opposite the stairs stands a pale human male, staff in hand. Next to him stands a humanoid skeleton holding a scimitar. Seeing the adventurers reach the top of the stairs, the mage laughs and yells “Arise, my pretties!” The sound of shattered glass echoes around the room as four monsters emerge from the columns surrounding the depressed area. The zombie monsters form a rough line between Ash, Mason, Shayar, Altix and the mage. A mighty battle ensues. Shayar and Altix are down when the mage, seeing that his minions have been defeated, throws down his staff and drops to his knees. He begs that his life be spared. In exchange, he’ll tell them all he knows.

The mage tells those party members who are still standing that his name is Filge, a mage expelled from the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors. He came to Diamond Lake at the request of Balabar Smenk, an old friend from Waterdeep. Smenk needed someone to look into some weirdness in town. Smenk was brought to a hidden part of the Dourstone mine about a month back to make a provisioning deal. There he found the place was crawling with awful beasts in brown robes. They called themselves the Cult of the Ebon Triad. He found out that the Cult worships Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul with the hope of bringing the dead gods back. They also told him about an Age of Worms and strange undead in the southern hills and swamp. He explains that the Age of Worms is a waiting age, an era of catastrophe that lurks in every shadow. An era when the cosmic scales tip toward evil and the light fades from the land. When asked about the specific weirdness that made Smenk call him from Waterdeep, Filge points to a glass jar containing some liquid and a green, segmented worm. “It’s very rare. Of course, it’s dead now but once it and hundreds of its brothers must have been inside a powerful undead called a spawn of Kyuss. I think these may be the ‘unkillable zombies’ that the cultists told Smenk about. These worms get inside you, they’ll turn you undead in less than a day.” The pale human offers to join the party if they plan on exploring the areas hidden in the Dourstone mine.

Realizing that the local law is of no use and the garrison won’t do anything about what they consider “local” affairs, the party agrees to allow Filge to return to Waterdeep if he leaves right now and without his staff. Filge readily agrees. Ash watches from the observatory as the human fades from view on the road toward Waterdeep.

Session 5

19 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms (con't)

Completing their search of Filch’s hideout, the party finds a message from Balabar Smenk to the necromancer asking Filch to come to Diamond Lake and help him find insurance against what is happening under the Dourstone mine. The four then gather up the skeletons of the Land family so they can return them to their graves. They finish burying the bones of Alastor and his family at the Land farmstead as dusk falls. Ash, Shayar, Mason and Altix return to the Able Carter Coaching Inn and spend the night.


20 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

In the morning Altix uses his last ounce of strength to heal the remaining members of the party. “I finally understand what Valkus was trying to teach me about Tyr’s mission for us,” he whispers as he collapses. Leaving the favored of Tyr with the high cleric in Tyr’s chapel, Ash, Shayar and Mason decide to spend the day in town so they can fully recover from the wounds they suffered in the battle with the necromancer and his minions.

After spending several hours bargaining and discovering more about the town with the various shopkeepers, the trio head to Allustan’s tower. Despite all the rumors about the mage, the party decides that “the smartest man in town” may have some thoughts about the segmented green worm and the doings transpiring under the Dourstone mine. “Besides,” Ash chimes in, “we have magical items to be identified and he did good by me when it came to identifying what my sword could do.” The mage is cold and formal as he greets the halfling and humans. Looking bored, Allustan is in the middle of telling them he is too busy to help them when Mason pulls out the jar with the worm in it. The red-robed human quickly ushers the party inside and takes them to his study. He listens patiently and seldom interrupts as Ash relates the story of how they found the worm and the Cult of the Ebon triad that has taken up residence under the Dourstone mine. The spell caster spends several moments in quiet contemplation. Breaking the silence he speaks, “that’s quite a tale, good adventurers. It seems that my brother and his people are lax in their duties, no surprise there. I have much to think about. Return in an hour and I will have identified your potions. It’s the least I can do.”

Later that day, the three adventurers return to the tower. The greeting they receive this time is much warmer. Returning the potions and explaining what the contents of each does, the mage tells them he plans on sending to Waterdeep for some books that may help him learn more about the Cult and the worm. He asks that they return in several days so they can speak further and mentions “that it might be a good idea for someone or a group of some ones who actually seem to care to investigate what is happening under the Dourstone mine.” The rest of the day passes quietly for the three.


21 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Over breakfast Mason mentions that it might be worth the time to return to the Whispering Cairn to see the riches that the ghost claimed was beyond the door. Before leaving town, the party load themselves down with flasks of oil and alchemist’s fire. “Well show those beetles,” says Ash. In the Cairn, the totem warrior, unfettered and warmain climb down the hole in the colored lantern chamber to the floor below. The three stand at the edge of the room containing the acid beetle nest and lob in several flasks of oil. The beetles, led by their queen, begin to head toward the source of the disturbance, before they can move beyond the edge of the next; three flasks of alchemist’s fire make contact with the nest and ignite the oil. A large fireball ensues wiping out the colony. Amongst the orange sludge the nest had been feeding on lie three humans in armor decorated with the Seeker’s insignia.

Having vanquished the mighty beetle army, the three return to the colored lantern chamber and climb to the opening in the passage with the blue lantern. They find that the door on the other side of the iron sphere chamber beyond the mouth opening is open. Mason’s calls to Alastor go unanswered. Entering the chamber beyond the door they find that it contains a massive pit surrounded by a walkway. In the middle of the room is a pillar of air that disappears into a hole in the ceiling. Once four walkways connected the central area to the outer walkway but only two remain. On the walls on the outer edge of the chamber are pictures of various scenes. As Shayar approaches one, steams plays over it and the scenes come to life. A group of djinni relaxing in a field. Dozens of perfect circles dot the sky above them. These circles burst one by one as efreeti appear from the edges of the mural. The second mural depicts a proud djinni warrior standing over a legion of lesser warriors. Each figure bears a glyph. As the steam passes over this image, the warrior raise their swords in salute to the central figure. The third shows seven proud noble djinni presenting a staff-like rod to a council. Motion shows the central figure of the council raising the rod where it splits into seven irregular parts. Finally, a djinni warrior using the staff-like rod strikes down some sort of demonic creature that looks like a drider with the human head flanked by two wolf-like heads. The warrior and wolf-spider are disappearing into a planar rift, the proud djinni warrior depicted in the second mural is struck by a beam from the demon creatures eyes and slumps dead to the ground.

Guessing that the treasure must be above the three adventures move out on one of the walkways leading to the pillar of air. As they approach, two suits of armor rise from the bottom of the pillar. Pinions flapping and carrying two long swords each, it’s obvious that these suits are empty of any flesh and blood. Mason yells, “withdraw!” but before the group can act on that suggestion, the warriors made of wind fly over to the outer walkway cutting off their escape. Both wind warriors clang their swords together; the sonic blast hurting both Mason and Ash. Most of the action takes place on the outer walkway as the totem warrior, unfettered and warmain try and coordinate their attacks against the gliding suits of armor. Blows are exchanged. “Move to flank,” Shayar tells Mason. “It’ll help keep it distracted.” Mason acknowledges the Chondathan female’s request by moving onto on of the walkways leading to the air pillar on the other side of the floating armor. Unfortunately, this was not the tactically sound move that Shayar thought it was. With Mason perched on the edge of the walkway, the wind warrior takes advantage and pushes the warmain over the edge. With a loud clang, Mason finds the bottom of the pit. Gasping in pain, the Damaran barely stands before his is pressed by an attack from the wind warrior who followed him over the edge. Ash calls upon the rituals he knows and Shayar swings her spikestick with all her might. It seems that the pair are just getting the better of the wind warrior when a longsword takes Shayar out of the battle. Down below, things are not going much better. Mason is tiring as he tries to keep out of the reach of the flying menace. Exhaustion overcomes the warmain and allows the wind warrior to sneak in a blow that fells the large human. Ash, calling upon his totem spirit and running out of rituals to use, manages to slay the wind warrior. He turns toward Shayar’s body in the hopes of stabilizing her wounds when the second warrior of air flies out of the pit. “Oh, come on!” says the halfling. Again, the battle is joined. Each manages to score hits on the other until Ash manages to prevail over the wind warrior.

Ash runs to Shayar and manages to staunch her bleeding. The halfling pours a healing potion down her throat and the unfettered awakens. Together they climb into the pit and recover Mason’s body. The halfling and human step into the pillar of air and are raised to a room above the chamber. Inside is a sarcophagus on a small dais. The lid has a djinni figure sculpted into it. A duplicate of the one in the colored lantern chamber far below. Beyond the coffin a bas-relief sculpture shows the mighty warrior in simple garb, bearing a longsword and wearing a diadem upon his brow that bears the symbol on the amulet on the figure carved into the sarcophagus. Next to him stands a cloaked demonic figure with red tipped black horns. The cloaked figure holds a device comprised of a small handle and loop which seem to guide a sphere of absolute blackness, a sphere of annihilation. Steam covers the picture and the globe touches the bald warrior who slowly fades from sight. As Ash moves onto the steps leading to the sarcophagus, the warrior in the mural speaks, “Say my name!” it commands. Totem warrior and unfettered exchange dumbfounded looks. “Can you give us a hint?” asks Ash. The mural remains silent. “Guess we need to visit ‘the smartest man in town’ to help figure this one out,” states Shayar. The two take Mason’s body and bury it next to the Land family. “Since he couldn’t remember his own family, we might as well bury him with one that knew of him,” says Ash.

Allustan is somewhat surprised to see the duo at his door but quickly brings them to his study. He knows what the glyph says but refuses to share its meaning until Ash and Shayar tell him where they found it. Satisfied, for now, to be told about the Whispering Cairn but not its location, Allustan tells them the glyph represents the name Zosiel. He then tells the human and halfling what else he knows about the history behind the glyphs. The Wind Dukes of Calim were djinni generals of the Calim Empire, what is now Calimshan. Their enemies were the armies of Memnonnar led by the great efreeti general Memnon is service to Kossuth, elemental lord of fire. Memnon and his armies laid siege and were snuffing out the culture of Calim slowly buy surely. When all seemed lost, seven wind dukes left the battles and went on an epic quest to find some way to defeat Memnon. Drawing upon the lore of hundreds of cultures, they crafted the Scepter of Calim, one of the most powerful artifacts in history. They brought the artifact to battle and what followed was the Era of Skyfire. A tremendous battle that destroyed both genie-led empires and created the Calim Desert. It seems that the djinni decided to bury their honored dead far to the north, out of the reach of Memnon’s tomb raiding legions. He tells the adventurers that they seem to have stumbled upon a tomb that has gone relatively untouched over the centuries.

Unfettered and totem warrior return to the Cairn and speak the name before the sarcophagus in the room above the air pillar. Inside they find several items.

For the second time that day the pair approach Allustan’s tower. Inside his study, the mage explains that he has found some information about the Cult of the Ebon Triad and the segmented green worms. He essentially confirms what the two adventurers were already told by Filch. “This is quite serious, we need to know what’s happening under that mine,” Allustan tells the two. “If you agree to investigate Dourstone’s mine, I will identify your items plus maybe I can help you in other ways.” “Can you enhancify a spikestike?” Shayar asks hopefully. Allustan replies that he can but that Shayar will have to supply the weapon. After a pleasant dinner with the mage, the two return to the Able Carter Coaching Inn to plan their next moves.

Session 6

22 - 27 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

The next morning Ash and Shayar decide to handle some personal business over the next few days. Shayar accompanies several members of the Bronzewood Lodge of Silvanus into the woods to perform a ceremony that will make her more “fleet of foot.” Plus, by the time she returns, her spikestick should have arrived from Waterdeep and Allustan should have had enough time to enhance it. While Shayar is gone, Ash enjoys what meager entertainment the town offers and also picks up some equipment that the two will need if they are to explore the hidden caverns occupied by the Ebon Triad below the Dourstone mine.


28 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Shayar returns from her ceremony and over breakfast the unfettered and totem warrior make plans. “A cult dedicated to bringing back three dead gods; Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul. Since Bane is back, I’m guessing they’re onto something. It also appears that they are experimenting with those green worms that are supposedly linked to a mad wizard of Netheril, Kyuss, who created armies of unkillable undead. We’re going to probably need more people,” Shayar mentions. “Preferably people who can take a hit,” responds Ash. “Based on what happened to most of our last group, we need some way to screen out the wannabes from the real thing.” Halfling and human begin devising a series of tests for those who want to join them in their endeavor. Later that day, a sign appears on the board in the Able Carter Coaching Inn:



29 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

Ash and Shayar spend the day gathering the items needed for the Contest and also prepare the Observatory for the tests they have in mind.


30 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms

At noon, seven people join Ash and Shayar outside the old observatory. The group contains two humans, a male and a female, obviously from one of the mines; a human male who is part of the local militia; a shield dwarf and a moon elf that came in on the same caravan, the moon elf wears a chain shirt and carries a long sword while the dwarf wears chain and plates and carries a battleaxe; another shield dwarf wearing chain and plates and carrying a dwarven waraxe; and finally, what appears to be a halfling female, but is obviously not one of the Hin.

A fight almost breaks out between the two dwarves as the one carrying the waraxe seems to insult the other’s mother for no apparent reason. Only the intervention of the moon elf and the militiaman prevent bloodshed.

“All right people listen up!” shouts the totem warrior. “Kindly give your two gold to Shayar here and then I’ll tell you about the challenges we’ve lined up for you!” After the coin is handed over, Ash continues, “These challenges are designed to test your abilities in various areas that you’ll most likely run into while adventuring. First up, the run.” “Forget this,” says the male miner. “We’re just here for the punch and pie.” Both he and his female companion sit on the grass. ‘O-kay,” Ash continues, “for the rest of you, there is a group of initialed handkerchiefs tied to a pier on the lake on the other side of town. Run down and bring one back.” While the rest set off at a brisk pace, the small female speaks in a sing-song language, her staff glows brightly and then the glows envelops her. Once the glow fades she then proceeds to run at an incredible pace. “I do believe she is one of the faen,” states Shayar. “I’ve heard that they’ve been coming out of the deep woods lately in response to some prophecy.” “Prophecy or not, she can run,” responds the halfling. Several minutes pass and the faen returns with one of the initialed handkerchiefs. A few minutes later the moon elf returns followed by the militiaman. Finally, the dwarf with the waraxe, who is none too pleasant to look at, just edges out the other dwarf. “Nicely done everyone,” says Ash. “Shayar will be keeping track of the results.”

After a couple of minutes to allow the participants a chance to catch their breath, the halfling then explains that he and Shayar have created an obstacle course inside the observatory. They will be timed. First up is the dwarf with the waraxe. He enters the building and finds himself stumbling over some debris in the first room, he then speeds down the hallway toward another room which contains a bunch of ceramic jars scattered about. Before he can reach that room he trips a wire that rings some bells. Reaching the room with the jars, it seems that one would have to move extremely slowly to get pass this maze of jars. Not wanting to waste any time, the dwarf barrels through the room and knocks over several of the jars. The jars dump their contents all over the floor, each is filled with caltrops. Unfortunately, the dwarf steps on one, forcing him to halve his pace. Pulling out his shield, the dwarf brushes aside the remaining caltrops and moves on to the next room. There he finds a bucket suspended from the ceiling with a circle of candles below it. The dwarf pulls out his trusty grappling hook and rope and attempts to hook the bucket. He misses but does notice that there is a net suspended from the ceiling over the bucket. The would-be adventurer opts for the bigger target and manages to latch onto the net. He then pulls on the rope and proceeds to pull down the net and bucket. The dwarf is unable to catch the bucket which spills it contents. It’s filled with oil which is then lit by the candles on the floor. With a mighty leap backward, the waraxe wielder manages to leap aside before the flames engulf him. Grumbling angrily, he then climbs the stairs to the top of the observatory and then rappels down a rope attached to the window. Shayar then enters the building and comes out a short while later writing some notes. Next up is the faen who, with the help of magic, seems to successfully complete the course, except for the bell trip wire, in an extremely short amount of time. The moon elf seems to have no problems with any of the obstacles and completes the tasks in a fairly short amount of time. The human from the local militia has problems with both the bell and the bucket as can be seen by his singed clothes when he finishes rappelling down the side of the observatory. The moon elf’s mercenary friend, the other dwarf, essentially runs into the same problems as the first dwarf but is able to get the bucket down without spilling or lighting the oil.

Next, Ash leads the group to a circle drawn in the ground next to the observatory. Spread around the circle are various blunted weapons. “Excuse me,” pipes up the faen, “but this isn’t really my thing.” Ash responds, “OK, but there will be times where you may have no choice but to meet the enemy in hand to hand combat.” The faen reluctantly agrees to participate and Ash quickly pairs them up. First up are the dwarf and his moon elf friend. The moon elf wins easily. The waraxe dwarf then battles the human and defeats him with little problem. Ash allows the Faen to pick one of the losers from the previous combats to face. She will not be a part of the championship round. The Faen picks the human male. She struggles mightily but eventually, the faen manages to hit the militiaman three times before he can do the same to her. Now the moon elf and the dwarf who is not his friend square off. The moon elf manages to get in the first hit but is knocked unconscious by a powerful blow from the dwarf. Cyrus, the waraxe wielding dwarf, is the winner of this contest.

The last two tests involve puzzle solving and a spelling contest both of which the faen female wins easily. Some do better than others and some fail miserably. Ash thanks everyone for their time, tells them to enjoy the punch and pie and tells them he and Shayar will announce the winner or winners shortly.

Session 7

30 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms (con't)

Ash and Shayar pick the “winners” of the contest. They invite Raeva Moonmeadow, a loresong faen magister and Cyrus, a shield dwarf warmain to join the two of them. Halfling and human tell the newcomers of the events that have led them to seek assistance on their mission. The two take turns telling Raeva and Cyrus about exploring the Whispering Cairn and, in order to complete their exploration of the old tomb, making a deal with a ghost
inhabiting one of the chambers within. In exchange for burying his remains with his family, he would open a door in the tomb that only be opened from the inside. Unfortunately, the family’s graves had been recently dug up. This led them to the Old Observatory just on the edges of Diamond Lake. There they met and defeated the necromancer, Filge. Filge was asked to come to Diamond Lake by his old friend Balabar Smenk, largest mine operator in town. Smenk had made a deal with a cult secretly living under the Dourstone Mine. There he was shown segmented green worms which he was told was used in a process to make ‘unkillable undead’. Smenk managed to smuggle one out and asked Filge to find a way of destroying or controlling the worms. Ash and Shayar took the worm to Allustan, “the smartest man in town.” He explained that the worm was tied to Kyuss, a wizard in the time of Netheril who tried to make himself a god and raised a huge army of undead to conquer. These undead were supposed to be difficult if not impossible to kill. Allustan needed more time to further research Kyuss and his “unkillable” undead, especially what led to his downfall. He suggested someone should investigate what’s happening under the Dourstone mine as the cult below is known to be part of the Cult of the Ebon triad, a group dedicated to raising the dead gods Bane, Bhaal and Myrkul. Since Bane has recently returned, they seem to be onto something.

The party decided that since the next day is Greengrass. Tonight would be the best time to infiltrate the mine. They first go to the Feral Dog tavern to see if they can dig up any information about the mine’s operations. Luck is with them as Shayar attracts the attention of an inebriated miner, a former adventurer down on his luck who cannot make enough to get himself out of town. Supplied with more drinks and encouraged with a promising smile. The miner tells Shayar much about the Dourstone operation before passing out in his cups. Armed with this information, the group grabs some last minute supplies and then proceeds to the hill overlooking the mine a few hours after sunset. A few hours of observation reveals the guard’s patrol schedule and tendencies. The judicious use of a few spells helps the party enter the mine unobserved.

Creeping past the miner’s sleeping quarters, the small band of adventurers continue down the neglected main tunnel until they come to a boarded up side passage with a “Keep Out! This means you!” sign across the boards. Cyrus cannot see any structural reasons why the passage beyond is blocked off. Shayar finds that the horse blocking the lower half of the passage is on a hinge that allows it to swivel in creating a three-foot high opening. Beyond the blockage, the party travels downward for several hundred feet until they come to an elevator. Lowering the elevator, the four find themselves in a large chamber with dark marble columns and floors. Three passages, one to the north, one to the east and one to the west leave this chamber and end in marble doors. The eastern passage is marked with the symbol of Bane while to the north the passage is marked with Bhaal’s symbol. The western one bears no markings. To the rear of the chamber is a large pool filled with a dark liquid. A set of stairs leads to a landing 30 feet above the pool. When the elevator touches the floor of the chamber, two tieflings in the livery of Bane approach the group. The two are quickly overpowered. A search of the chamber reveals nothing but a wicker basket on the landing at the top of the stairs. The basket contains a leather pouch containing gold and a silver statue of Beshaba, goddess of ill fortune.

The four head down the west passage and find a roughly cut staircase heading down beyond the door. The group follows the stairs until they open into a small stalactite and stalagmite filled cavern. Moving with difficulty through the rough terrain, the party is surprised when three javelins are launched in their direction. Two striking Cyrus. Three stone colored creatures with no eyes reveal themselves and attack the group. The group manages to take out two while the other flees down a rough stair on the opposite side of the chamber from where they entered. The small group of adventures takes up pursuit of the fleeing creature down the stairs and into another stalactite and stalagmite filled cavern. As they move in to kill the refugee from the previous cavern, two hideous large cat-like creatures attack the party. The skin pulls back from the face of one of the creatures as it lets loose a terrifying shriek. This chills the blood of the dwarf and sends him running back the way he came. Another stone colored eyeless creature appears out of the darkness and joins the fight against the remaining three adventurers. It’s a tough battle but the human, halfling and faen manage to take out the four creatures just as Cyrus returns after steeling himself against the creature’s fearsome attack. They party finds that the chamber ends in a cliff. Built into the cliff are iron rungs leading down.

AE rocks

Very good. AE rocks. I'm looking forward to reading more of this. I like how the AE classes intermix with D&D. **Grabs popcorn and soda**

bump

No page 2 for you. Get up there.

Session 8

30 Tarsakh, Year of Lightning Storms (con't)

The group decides to see where the rungs lead. Cyrus is goaded into going down first. Ash ties a rope around the stout dwarf’s waist and the other end around a nearby stalagmite. As Cyrus heads down the crude ladder, he notices he can see the bottom with his darkvision; it is about 40 feet from cliff edge to bottom. As the warmain reaches the halfway point, two more of the stone-colored eyeless creatures rise from a small ledge on the opposite wall; the ledge is somewhat lower and than the cliff’s edge. One of the creatures hurls a bag at Cyrus while the other looses an arrow at the rest of the party. The bag hits just above the dwarf’s head and a sticky mass quickly expands from the point of impact. Cyrus quickly moves away from the gooey mass and heads for the bottom. In the meantime, Ash, Shayar and Raeva all draw their ranged weapons and take aim at the humanoids on the ledge. After several volleys of ineffectual missile fire from both sides, Ash decides on a rash course of action. The halfling grabs the rope tied to Cyrus and cuts it. The totem warrior then grabs the end and jumps off the edge. He manages to swing into one of the stone-colored humanoids, knocking him down. The creature comes close to falling off the ledge, but manages to hang on and pull himself up. As Ash was in mid-leap, the other monster throws another bag at the dwarf below. Again, Cyrus manages to avoid the sticky mass. He also notices that the contents of the bag quickly dry out. Realizing that the stairs are not blocked by the sticky substance, Cyrus begins to climb. Ash and the creature he used as a landing pad exchange blows. Shayar and Raeva manage to keep the other humanoid occupied with a barrage of missiles. Ash realizes that he cannot continue battling the creature in a straight hand-to-hand combat. Still holding the rope, he slides down, grabs the creature by the leg and slips over the side of the ledge. The creature seems like it will be able to resist going over the side, but the halfling’s momentum is too strong. The eyeless humanoid falls to the cavern floor roughly 30 feet below. At the same time, the missile barrage from the faen and human manage to fell the other creature. With the rope Ash had been hanging onto all this time caught on something on the ledge, the halfling is now dangling high above the cavern floor. Luckily, Cyrus is standing on the rungs close by and manages to pull in Ash.

The dwarf mentions he saw two passages leading out of the cavern below, one on the same level as the cavern floor and one about ten feet above the floor. With the rest of the party joining them on the cavern floor, warmain and totem warrior decide to scout the lower tunnel. The natural corridor is narrow and had a very low ceiling. Fortunately, it is high enough that the pair does not have to duck. They only have to walk a short distance before the corridor opens into a larger cavern with a very high ceiling. A pile of rubble occupies the space closed to the opposite wall. Ash notices a pair of eyes watching his movements. Pretending not to notice, the totem warrior leads Cyrus back to the others. “Did you notice the creature amongst the rubble?” Ash asks the dwarf. “Can’t say that I did.” He replies. “Hmm,” says the halfling, “I though I saw more than one and I got the distinct impression that it wanted to harm me.” Raeva quickly interjects, “In our weakened condition, I don’t think we are a match for one unknown monster, let along two. Perhaps we should find shelter and rest.” The group confers for a few minutes and it is decided that the small ledge where the two stone-colored humanoids launched their ambush was the best place to rest.