Age of Worms Storyhour [Updated December 26, 2006]

[Spatterlight]

Session 7
August 18, 2006

The next morning dawned clear and calm. One by one, the group awoke, stiff from sleeping on the hard floors of Jalek's Flophouse. Doctor Voo was the first to notice that Cypress and Square Root were no where to be found. Natasha only shrugged, saying her friend came and went as he pleased and would return when needed. As the rest of the group prepared themselves for the day, Aiyda and Max quietly stepped out. The songstress and halfling walked to the Emporium, where Aiyda spoke to several of the denizens in hushed tones. Soon they were introduced to a rather shady halfling named Hal. In the darkened booth, Max exchanged a small pouch of gold for an exquisite set of thieves' tools. Hal took the gold, hefted it in one hand and slid it beneath his cloak, and left without another word.

The two rejoined the group in the flophouse and Max's announced that everyone but Doctor Voo would have to attend mass at the Church of St. Cuthbert. Everyone groaned, but the halfling reminded them he had signed a contact to bring five people to a gathering of the faithful. Leaving the cleric of Wee Jas behind to brew up some potions and keep an eye on the prisoner, Max, Sergi, Aiyda, Natasha, and Scorch set out for the center of town. At the Church of St. Cuthbert, the faithful were just beginning to gather. An acolyte named Hameneezer, the same man who had sold Max healing potions before, guided them into the hall of the church. Here they met the pastor, Jierian Wierus. Greeting the newcomers heartily and staring at each with penetrating gaze that is the domain of zealots and madmen, Jierian called for them to stand at the front of the hall. The group reluctantly did so, each silently wishing to get the ordeal over with as quickly as possible.

The pastor began his sermon, extolling the values of self-sacrifice and avoidance of all that would cause one to stray from the path of righteousness. The oratory continued and soon the priest was pounding the pulpit to emphasize each of the words he spat out. He worked his flock into a frenzy and soon they were whipping themselves, each lash driving out sin. As the faithful reached a crescendo of cries of pain and calls for redemption, Jierian's eyes flared with divine fire and he turned toward the group. With a voice not quite his own, he thundered, "I have seen a vision! A dark time is coming! A writhing time! An Age of Worms!"

Not sure what to make of this, the group said nothing, and the cleric continued his bombastic oratory over the ecstatic cries of his flock. The service ended shortly after and the group was left to speak with the pastor. He confirmed that St. Cuthbert had sent him several visions of a nearing time of strife and woe. When the time came, he hoped his parishioners would be ready to meet their god. Excusing themselves, the group quickly left the church, but not before they were offered bloody rags from the service, which were considered holy items by the faithful. Only Scorch bought some.

Their contractual obligation fulfilled, the group returned to the flophouse to interrogate the gang member they had taken alive the previous evening. Max talked to the man, explaining that they were only really interested in finding out where the bones of the Lands family were being taken. The thug, whose name was Todrik, explained that his gang had been employed by Balabar Smenk, a wealthy and ruthless mine owner, to dig up some bones for a weirdo living in the old observatory on the outskirts of town. This had not been their first run and Todrik explained that the guy at the observatory only took deliveries at night. He also confirmed that they were the ones who had exhumed the remains of the Lands.

"Trouble at the observatory!?" Scorch grinned, "I've been reading about this. Classic heroic stuff ..." Scorch was cut off in mid-sentence as Aiyda smacked him in the back of the head. Turning quickly on the girl, he darkly glowered at her, "You had better have a good reason for ..." The bard stared levelly at the gladiator, "It is where my mother was found dead five years ago." Scorch stared at the girl for a few more moments and then said, "Good enough." Aiyda questioned Todrik about this and he seemed to know something about it. The group cut a deal with the thug: They would let him go the next morning and would have to leave town, but he would tell Aiyda everything he knew about the events surrounding her mother's death.

Todrik told Aiyda that her mother, who had been a prostitute at the Emporium, had once been a favorite of Balabar Smenk. He was not clear on all the details of what happened later, but she had apparently attempted to extort money from the mine owner immediately before her death. As was often the case with Balabar, when he cleared up one of his problems, someone ended up dead. Aiyda was taken a back, as this revelation only raised more questions. The one foremost on her mind was why her mother had attempted the blackmail, but Todrik could not provide any information about that.

The rest of the day was spent quietly at the flophouse. However, as night fell, the group was incessantly bothered by townsfolk. First, the owner of the flophouse came by to collect his due. Shortly thereafter, Jierian Wierus, the fiery pastor of the church of St. Cuthbert, visited. Apparently, this was a normal occurrence, as the priest would attempt to convert the downtrodden into the faithful. Natasha got into a heated argument with the man over his ways and it was obvious that he and Doctor Voo had crossed paths before. In addition, the cleric noted the prisoner Todrik and after telling him his story, the thug was taken into the care of priest. No sooner had he left, than there was another knock at the door. This time it was the sheriff, looking for the group who had a fight the night before behind the Feral Dog. Aiyda knew the sheriff was susceptible to bribes and with a sack of coin, a pretty smile, and a few choice words was able to send him on his way before the group was hauled in for questioning.

Frustrated by the constant interruptions, the group decided to sleep out in the forest. Moving out into the woods surrounding the old observatory, the group made camp and plans for the next day. After much discussion, the group decided to investigate the observatory in the morning in the hope that the strange man who collected bones there would be asleep. With no further interruptions, the group slept soundly.

The next morning, the group scouted out the observatory. The structure was in disrepair, as it had been reportedly abandoned many years ago. After moving about the structure, the group could see no windows on the first floor and the only way in appeared to be a door set in the side of the building. They climbed up the stairs that led to the sole door and Max examined it, finding it locked. After several attempts with his new kit, he finally managed to jimmy the lock.

With a nod from Max, Scorch kicked the door open. The door thudded into the wall and revealed a room filled with skeletons, whose empty eye sockets burned with pinpricks of malignant crimson light. Three brutish looking skeletons brandished scimitars, while three more lurked behind a makeshift barricade, each holding a crossbow in their fleshless hands. The gladiator drew his cold iron morningstar and charged into the room, smashing into one of the skeletons. Natasha and Doctor Voo followed, the ranger hammering the skeletons back. The crossbow bolts of the undead proved to be coated with poison, as Sergi was hit and immediately felt ill. The priest called upon his goddess and several of the skeletons attempted to flee, only to be cut down by Scorch and Natasha. While the situation in the room was easily in hand, a new menace crept from its unseen lair beneath the outside stairs.

Tiny vaguely humanoid things, seemingly made of discarded bits of bone, teeth and hair, crept up and assaulted Max, Sergi, and Aiyda, who were still outside on the stairs. With the attention of the warriors and cleric on the skeletons, the trio fought a desperate battle to keep the things at bay. However, their screams for help were heard and once again, Doctor Voo called out to the Stern Lady. He held his holy symbol high and upon hearing the name of the goddess and seeing her symbol, the undead retreated. Max followed them and looked over the stairs, calling out that they had retreated to a hole beneath the outside stairs. Scorch pushed a table that had been part of the barricade out of the room and down the stairs. He shoved it in front of the hole and kicked a few heavy stones into place to seal the undead in their den.

The undead destroyed or routed, the group took a moment to mend their wounds before moving on. The entry chamber contained only a single door besides the entrance and Max inspected it for traps and locks, finding neither. Opening the door slowly, the group could see that it opened into a long hallway, along which were four doors on one side and another hall on the other. The main hall terminated in a large door. Quickly inspecting the four doors, it was found that each led into a small and simple bedchamber. The halfling quickly rooted through each, turning up some coins and baubles in one, but nothing of interest in the others. The hall on the other side of the hallway led to another room, where nothing of interest was found. Their options exhausted, the group opened the final door in the main hallway.

The chamber beyond was a vast formal dining room dominated by a huge table. A feast was laid out and all the seats but one were occupied. Each of the fine chairs had an exquisitely dressed corpse in them, some rigid with recent death and other slumped over in advanced states of decay. Prepared for battle, the group entered the chamber, but the corpses did not stir. However, as the group edged closer, they could see that an enchantment was upon the dead, as sometimes they twitched or gave a faint groan. Now close enough to almost be overwhelmed by the stench of death, they could see that each of the bodies had an untouched meal put out before it. The unoccupied place at the head of the table, however, had an empty dish before it and a half finished glass of wine.

Being something of a gastronome, Sergi sampled the food and wine and declared both delicious. He grabbed a bottle of wine that had been put out and took a seat at the head of the table. As he did so, one of the corpses slowly turned toward Sergi, thanking him for the tremendous feast before them. Another declared that Filge was a fine man and that it was only that myopia of old men that lead to his expulsion from the wizard's academy. The accolades continued until almost all of the corpses had spoken and then once again, silence reigned in the room. Everyone in the group looked at each other and shrugged, unsure of what was going on here or who Filge was. Natasha pulled her brother from the head chair and sat down. The corpses once again sang the praises of Filge and their words and gestures were exactly the same as before.

Quite disturbed by the gruesome dinner party, the group decided to keep moving, but not before Max had absconded with the silverware from the table. The dining chamber had two doors and a large staircase that lead to the second floor of the observatory tower. The rooms behind the two doors were quickly searched and they were found to be a small kitchen and storeroom. Moving up the stairs, the group found themselves in a large bedroom chamber.

This chamber was dominated by a large bed on a dais in one corner. Beside the bed was a night table with a sizable tome with a cover made of black leather. In addition, there was a halfling-sized form wrapped in gauze and dressed in fine clothes and a top hat. This strange figure held a platter, upon which rested a human head. There was also a work table with four odd cylinders, each filled with a peculiar chromatic fluid. There was also a large statue of an angel holding a sword. Lastly, there was another staircase that led to the top floor of the observatory.

Seeing no immediate dangers, the group moved in. Max eyed the fine top hat as Scorch nodded toward the bed and whispered something in Natasha's ear. She giggled like a schoolgirl as Aiyda rolled her eyes and walked over to the work table. Here, Sergi was already contemplating drinking one of the cylinders of weird liquid, but seeing his sister was watching him, decided to restrain himself. Max had a look under the bed for any lurking horrors, but finding none, inspected the book upon the night table. The halfling was unable to read the cryptic notes it contained, but having seen spell books before, slipped it into his sack for possible sale later.

Having grown bored with the contents of the desk, Sergi walked over to the swathed figure and closely examined the decapitated head. Unable to restrain his curiosity any further, he poked at the thing with a gloved finger. Immediately, the head began to howl in alarm. All eyes were suddenly on Sergi, who shrugged innocently. Glancing to the stairwell that lead to the upper floor, the group surged upwards, hoping to catch the wizard they suspected to be there off guard as possible.

Cresting the stairs, the group was greeted with a strange sight. In the center of this vaulted chamber was a large blue figure splayed out on a stone slab. Its abdomen had been cut open and was held that way with various surgical clamps. Looming over the corpse was a gaunt man with ashen skin. The thin black robed man was accompanied by a skeleton. Around the dissection table were four large glass cylinders, each filled with a murky yellowish fluid. The fluid was not opaque enough to hide the silhouette of the man-shaped things that floated within it. The chamber itself was lit with sunlight that filtered though slats in the dome of the observatory and was focused on the dissection table through four great mirrors that hung in each of the corners.

The gaunt man, seeing the intruders, gave a word of command. With a great cracking sound, the four glass tubes exploded, sending gouts of vile smelling liquid running in all directions, and the creatures within lurched forward. Two of them were humanoid and clearly dead, but each was traced with strange runes that had been carved into their unfeeling hide. The other two were in an advanced state of decay, but were vaguely reptilian in nature, although they stood in the manner of man.

Scorch charged forward and confronted one of the rune-carved zombies, quickly finding that the creature was far more resilient than the lesser undead they had so far encountered. Natasha entered the chamber as well, but the black robed man cast a spell of terror on her, sending her screaming back down the stairs. Meanwhile, Doctor Voo entered in the center of the chamber, calling upon the favor of Wee Jas once more. The skeleton simply collapsed and he sent the two reptilian zombies scurrying before him. Aiyda sang a song of hope in the face of death and lifted the morale of the group. Sergi evoked sheets of flame to incinerate the other rune-carved zombie and Max fired several arrows at the gaunt man. The wizard launched spell after spell at the group, but only his first seemed to have any effect. Doctor Voo turned to the gaunt man and whispered a prayer to the Green Lady. The wizard's eyes suddenly grew wide with fear and he cowered before the might of the Witch Goddess' servant. By this time, the dweomer on Natasha's heart faded and she charged back to the battle at full speed. Enraged at being caused to flee in panic, she drew her shortsword and charged across the observatory's floor. Dodging one of the zombies still fighting, for the other had been hacked down by Scorch, she soon loomed above the wizard, her blade at his throat.

The black robed wizard threw up his hands, "Spare me and I will tell you everything!"

 

[Sergi Alix Smenk]

Session 6
August 4, 2006

Note: I was unable to attend this session, so this will be a short update. Special thanks to Sergi's player, who helped write this summary.

The gladiator pulled himself to his feet, water running down his armor, and wearily leaned against the wall, "So, no more fighting in water. Agreed?" Everyone nodded. After a few moments to catch their collective breath, Natasha and Scorch dove back into the murky water to retrieve several items that been lost in the battle. Looking about, the two found several other items of note. One of the ghouls, as well as the tattered remains of another corpse found in the depths, had some coins and each bore the signet ring of the Seekers. Furthermore, one of the corpses had an enchanted short sword and a ruby lantern. Bringing the red lantern into the light, the group could see it was made of a strange crimson metal and red crystal panes. It quickly became apparent that it was nearly identical to the other lanterns hanging in the chamber of seven lanterns. Although they had paid it no mind earlier, they had noted that both the red and violet lanterns were missing in the main chamber above.

Climbing back up the shaft to the chamber of seven lanterns, the group hung the ruby lantern in one of the empty slots, so that it matched the painting found earlier in the cairn. Seeing that now only one lantern was missing, the group began to discuss their options. Suddenly, Sergi gave a flourish and produced the indigo lantern, claiming that he had been keeping it safe in his possession. He had discovered it in the lair of the wolves in an earlier expedition of the Whispering Cairn. The sorcerer was berated at length, but Sergi asserted that his actions were true and heroic. Natasha venomously disagreed, calling her brother a jerk. After everyone calmed down, they hung the indigo lantern and waited patiently for something to happen. When nothing happened, Max suggested that the lanterns may need to be lit. Many a backpack and traveling bag were overturned in search for the correct number of torches and sunrods to complete the task. The lanterns now glowing and the chamber filled with a rainbow of colors, the group decided to challenge the great stone face once more.

Ascending to the tunnel high above, the group cautiously advanced down the hall, waiting to be blown back once more. However, this time, the mouth was wide open and revealed the chamber Natasha had glimpsed before. Clambering through the open mouth, the group strode into a large chamber that appeared to be half filled with grapefruit sized iron balls. A slender stone bridge spanned the length of the room to a door on the other side of the chamber. There were also were many holes in the walls and ceiling, each about the size of the iron balls. Sensing a trap, the group elected Max to go forth and investigate this strange room, with Max being the only descending vote. Grumbling about how a man of his obvious importance should not be undertaking such hazardous tasks, the halfling made his way across the bridge. When he reached the halfway point, numerous iron projectiles shot forth from the openings in the walls. With catlike reflexes, Max darted back towards the entrance of the room. However, even his quick reaction was not enough, for he was pelted by the metallic projectiles.

The group began to deliberate their next move, when Natasha became frustrated and attempted to cross the bridge. Carefully stalking across the bridge, she trigged the trap and the iron balls began to fly across the room. One of them caught her square in the stomach, sending her into the pile of iron balls. A strange creature with many tentacles squirmed out of the pile and attempted to devour her, but the thing was quickly dispatched. However, as the group battled they heard a strange voice begin to fill the room. The voice was that of a child and it provided a running commentary on the brief melee.

Rising from the floor, a ghostly spirit appeared and before the group could act, possessed Aiyda. Claiming to be of the Land family, he told the group he would open the door on the other end of the bridge if his bones were laid to rest with his family on their plot on the outskirts of Diamond Lake. Seeing no other way to proceed, the group returned to town.

Once back in town, the group traveled to the Lands farmstead. The group found a decrepit house surrounded by the remains of several fields, which were now being reclaimed by the forest. After searching around for a bit, they found the burial plot of the family. Much to their surprise, they found that the graves had been recently dug up. Unsure of how to proceed, the group decided to investigate the farmstead, only to stumble upon several bears who had taken it as their home. A brief battle broke out and several of the more knowledgeable in the group were surprised to see such aggression in the bears. Once the fight was over, the reason became apparent as a small bear cub came mewing out of a darkened room. Natasha immediately adopted the orphaned creature as her pet. Max quickly searched the house for any trinkets but found none. However, he did make a gruesome discovery: a human arm with a single tattoo. The tattoo was familiar to both Natasha and Sergi, as it was the sign of a gang of thugs that worked for their father and often hung out at the Feral Dog.

Returning to town, the group entered the Feral Dog and scanned the crowd for any faces that the Smenk siblings knew. Almost immediately, the two spotted a large half-orc named Kullen that they recognized as the leader of the gang. Aiyda was chosen to go over and talk to him. However, the half-orc had other ideas and forced the bard outside the tavern. The group followed and Doctor Voo was unable to contain himself any further. He pointed a finger at the brute and demanded that he release his sister. He also then accused the bandits of grave robbery. At these accusations, a fierce melee broke out. Sergi attempted to invoke his father's name to stop the battle, but this only seemed to enrage the half-orc. After a prolonged and bloody battle, the group was victorious. While three of the men were killed, the fourth was taken alive for questioning. Severely wounded by the vicious battle and depleted of spells, the group retreated to Jalek’s Flophouse. They spent the night at the seedy establishment, hoping to avoid drawing attention as best they could.

I am disappointed in you spatterlight. Where is it that I single handedly solved the mysteries of the whispering cairn. Where is it that I was the one who defeated Kullen and his gang and the rest of our merry band then showered me with praise and admiration? Where does it say that Aiyda, after I defeated Kullen, decided to thank me by reviling for the first time to a man, the secrets to carnal pleasure she learned from her years attending her mother at the emporium. I gave you a transcript that was true word for word and you only print half of the story. For shame.

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 8
September 1, 2006

The wizard rose slowly to his feet, Natasha's blade unwaveringly at his throat.

The pale skinned man looked at the group and introduced himself as Filge. In the background, Scorch took out the enchanted greataxe that had once belonged to the thug Kullen and proceeded to hack down the remaining zombies. Filge explained that he was a necromancer and had just recently moved into town, saying that had been called by Balabar Smenk. He went onto say that Balabar had helped the necromancer gain entrance into the prestigious Wizard Academy in the city of Greyhawk in the past and the mine owner had called in the favor.

Natasha glared at Filge, "Why has my father called you." The necromancer seemed startled at this, peering at the girl then to the group, focusing on Sergi, "You are his children. I did not recognize you. I suppose you were too young to remember me." He fell silent for a moment then continued, "Your father wanted me to take a look at something. A strange worm that been that had been found in one of the mines. I will show you it and tell you what else I know." The group descended to the makeshift bedroom below the wizard's laboratory.

As he entered his chamber, he revealed a secret chamber and took out a small sealed jar. The jar was half-filled with a viscous yellow-brown fluid in which floated a fat gangrenous green worm. Filge explained, "Your father found this in the mines. I got the impression that this was not the only one." The necromancer held the jar in front of him and the worm gave a tepid twitch, "The worm has a connection to the undead, which was why he asked for me to come to Diamond Lake. He has provided me with this former observatory as a secret laboratory to conduct my research. For I believe ..." Scorch interrupted, "Another classic! A secret laboratory in the old observatory! So, when are we going to see this laboratory?" The necromancer glanced at the gladiator, "You were just in it, you fool!" The gladiator glanced back up the open stairs, "I guess that counts, but traditionally they are underground or you know ... secret."

Filge continued, "As I was saying, I believe Balabar would have had more need for my services, as there appears to be a cult known as the Ebon Triad operating in the mines." Seeing the confused looks among the group, Aiyda clarified, "I have heard of these people. They worship three dark gods: Erythnul, Hextor, and Vecna." The necromancer nodded and the group continued questioning him for some time. The group found out that Filge had not personally desecrated the burial plot of the Lands, although he had commissioned the thugs who had done so, for he needed bones for the creation of undead servants. In addition, he also explained that several of the colorful cylinders that were found earlier were his creation; a unique variant of the familiar potion that upon injection were reported to be of greater strength than if imbibed. Lastly, at Scorch's insistence, Filge gave the group the command word for the undead thing that was wrapped in bandages in the necromancer's room, although the gladiator was told the creature no longer functioned properly.

After discussing several issues at length, the necromancer asked what was to become of him. Briefly discussing it amongst themselves, the group agreed to let Filge go, with only Sergi dissenting. The sorcerer retreated to the dining chamber in a pout, sitting in the master chair at the table. The group stripped the necromancer of most of his possessions, but did allow him to keep a spellbook the group had found earlier. Scorch offered to see Filge out of the observatory and as they passed the dining chamber, Sergi struck the necromancer with a small jolt of electricity. Sitting smugly at the head of the table, the sorcerer silently dared the necromancer to launch a retaliatory spell.

Filge turned to Scorch, "Would you mind if I struck back?" Scorch glared at Sergi, saying to Filge, "Yeah, don't do it. I am sleeping with his sister and if he turns up dead, I will have hell to pay." The necromancer glanced at Scorch, "Your not with the bard?" The gladiator sighed, already starting to like the man, "Nah, she's all tease. No follow through." He hitched a thumb toward the door, "Come on, let's get you out of here before Fancy Pants gets any other bright ideas." Once out on the stairs of the observatory, the gladiator slipped the wizard several gold and platinum coins, "Listen, go back to Greyhawk and lay low for a while. Don't talk to Balabar or his cronies." The necromancer nodded and Scorch continued, "No hard feelings on breaking up your gig here, right?" The necromancer shook his head, "No. And thank you for the coins." The two shook hands and the necromancer made his way to the road, turning the wrong way first, then reversing and heading off to the great city of Greyhawk.

Closing the door behind him, Scorch returned to the others. The group quickly set about cleaning up the place a bit and spent the night in the observatory. For the most part, the night was quiet, but Natasha claimed to have seen someone lurking outside after dark. Also, the next morning Doctor Voo looked particularly haggard and explained that Wee Jas Herself had visited him in his dreams. The Witch Goddess told the priest that the Ebon Triad was to be crushed and that he was to be Her hand in this matter.

Later that morning, the group received a mysterious message that they were to meet up with a person known only as "C.G.". This rendezvous was to be held the next day, after dark. Following this, the group split into two to accomplish several tasks. Scorch, Max, and Sergi went into town to gather needed supplies. The first stop for the three was the wizard Allustan's house. Sergi purchased the peculiar incenses and other implements that would allow him to summon a familiar. Scorch also brought the broken servant undead to see if Allustan could fix it, but the wizard was unable to divine what was wrong with it. Following this, the gladiator, who had been given a list by Natasha, went out into town to buy some healing scrolls from the Church of St. Cuthbert and some other miscellaneous supplies. Catching up with Max in front of the Emporium, the gladiator declined to visit the brothel with his manager. Max shook his head and made a whipping gesture as he entered the establishment, calling out to the girls beckoning him inside.

Meanwhile, Aiyda, Doctor Voo, and Natasha took the bones that had been animated by Filge and returned to the burial plot of the Lands. Doctor Voo, who had carefully sorted all the bones the night before, laid the remains of the Land Family to rest once more. As he did so, he realized that the ghost of Alastor Land would soon disappear from the world, now that its bones were at rest. If the group was to gain passage to the last of the chambers of the Whispering Cairn, they would have to hurry to the tomb.

Meeting up at the observatory, the group quickly rented some horses and set off at a gallop to the Whisper Cairn. Finding the tomb as they left it, they used torches to light the seven rainbow lanterns in the main chamber. Climbing back up to the chamber above the blue lantern, the group made their way to the room behind the great stone face. After a few moments, the spirit of Alastor rose from the floor once more and gave a smile. From across the thin stone bridge that rose over a sea of iron balls, the door gave an audible click.

Waving to the group, Alastor's ghost once more vanished from sight. The way now cleared, the group started to make their way over the stone bridge. The Smenk siblings and Aiyda darted across the narrow bridge and once more the deadly iron spheres began to fly. Scorch attempted to follow them, but was slowed by his heavy armor and was caught by one of the balls. The thing struck him hard and knocked him off the bridge into the piles of balls below. Meanwhile, Max and Doctor Voo picked their way over the iron balls, choosing a slower but safer path.

As the Smenks cleared the bridge, one of them hit the previously locked door and it swung open. Beyond the door was a grand chamber dominated by a huge pit. Rising from the center of the pit was a platform upon which rested a pillar of wind, which gusted to the ceiling. The central platform had once had four narrow bridges to it from a stone ledge that ran the parameter of the room, but two of them had broken off. In each of the corners of the room a great bas-relief could be seen. From the darkness of the pit, three humanoid creatures glided forth. Each of these creatures had thick armor as white as snow and strange wrapping covered in alien runes fluttered about them on unseen winds. In each of their hands was a pale longsword and behind the visors of their helms flickered eyes the color of a clear autumn sky.

The creatures silently advanced on the trio at the door and they sprung into action. Aiyda moved into the room, singing a song of hope and light. Natasha dashed in as well; her hammer and shortsword already out. Sergi fired a crossbow bolt and prepared to blast he creatures with magic. Meanwhile, Scorch picked up Max in one hand and held him to the top of the bridge. Both Scorch and Doctor Voo attempted to scale the wall, but their armor held them down.

Natasha and one of the guardians meet in melee, with both getting in several telling blows. Aiyda and Sergi, in the mean time, where blasted by lightening as another of the guardians brought its two blades together with a thunderous cacophony. Sergi retreated into the main hallway, blasting the creatures with bolts of magic as he went. Here he dropped to the ground, holding his spear out to help Scorch and Doctor Voo climb up. Aiyda retreated from one of the creatures after unsuccessfully trying to cause the creature to slip on a patch of grease she had conjured with a bawdy cant. She went to help her friend Natasha, who had already been hit several times.

Doctor Voo climbed up the wall with Sergi's assistance and hammered at one of the guardians who had made its way into the room of iron spheres. Scorch followed, repaying the sorcerer's kindness by deeply cutting Sergi with his armor spikes as he madly scrambled over him. Grabbing his enchanted greataxe, the gladiator swiped at another guardian who had glided into the trapped chamber, but was unable to connect, the thing deftly avoiding each blow. Max had better luck, his rapier striking one of the creatures several times.

The battle grew increasingly desperate as one by one, the group succumbed to their wounds. Two of the guardians were defeated, but by the time these two had fallen, only Scorch still stood. Blood seeping from multiple wounds and his vision wavering, the gladiator was locked in melee with the last of the guardians. Fingering his grip on the blood-slick handle of the greataxe, he knew he would have to finish this now. Exerting the last of his great strength, he brought the greataxe in a vicious overhand arc. The guardian swung back at the last moment and the brutal chop missed by inches, careening into the floor. He staggered back in disbelief, his hands going numb and letting the greataxe clatter to the floor. He whispered, "Not again...", and crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud.

The tomb once again fell silent and the sole remaining guardian of air returned to its chamber. For a long time, the quiet was only disturbed by the occasional groan of pain from one of the defeated group. Then from the floor, a ghostly head protruded and slowly took in the gruesome sight before him. Alastor, far too curious to pass into the afterlife without seeing what was on the other side of the door he had lost his life attempting to open, floated beside Doctor Voo. Exerting all his will, he forced his hand into the land of the living and carefully took a potion from the priest's pouch. He poured it into the cleric's mouth, who suddenly came to life sputtering and cursing. The dead boy dropped the empty vial and fled into the floor once more. Doctor Voo quietly tended to those out on the bridge first. Then he shed his armor and quietly crept into the larger chamber to retrieve Aiyda and Natasha without rousing the guardian.

The group, some still unconscious but all alive, retreated to the mine office and spent several days recovering before daring to venture back into the Whispering Cairn. During this period, Sergi summoned his familiar, which when he awoke from the heavy trance induced by the ceremony, was found to be the bear cub Natasha had saved. For her own obscure reasons, ranger had named the bear Audit and the sorcerer kept the name. Several days later and once again feeling hale and whole, the group retraced their steps back to the room where they had fought the guardians before. This time, the creature was quickly dispatched as only one guardian remained and the group knew what to expect.

The room now cleared of dangers, the group examined each of the great bas-reliefs that where in each of the four corners of the room. Each depicted the great primordial war of Law and Chaos and each moved, retelling the ancient story. In some, the Wind Dukes could be seen warring with the great Miska, the Wolf Spider. The group carefully looked at each, often turning to Aiyda or Sergi to fill them in on what was happening. After the group had investigated these, they turned their attention to the column of wind that whooshed in the center of the chamber. Following the wind, the group could see there appeared to be circular hole in the ceiling. Scorch took out one of the bloodstained rags that he had bought in the Church of St. Cuthbert and dropped it into the column. The rag fluttered for a moment and then shot up the column through the hole.

One by one, the group stepped into the column of air, which lofted them into a small chamber. At the far end of the chamber lay another sarcophagus, this one upon a stone platform with a short set of stairs that lead to the sarcophagus. Over the great sarcophagus was another bas-relief, this one showing a noble Wind Duke being struck down by an orb of utter darkness. Max checked the stairs for any of the Wind Dukes' treachery, but found none and continued upwards. As he reached the top of the stairwell, a proud voice spoke out, asking in tongue of the halflings to speak its name. Max looked back at the group uneasily and shrugged, carefully retreating back down to the floor. Aiyda thought hard for several moments, an ancient name dancing on the tip of her tongue. Finally it came to her and a smile spread across her pretty face. Stepping boldly up the stairs, the voice once more intoned, this time in Common, and Aiyda answered.

The name spoken, the seam between the lid and base of the sarcophagus shined with azure light. Max crept back up the stairs and carefully examined the seam for any traps but found none. He called up Scorch, Natasha and Doctor Voo to help him open the heavy lid. Before they got there, he decided to give the lid a shove, and it slowly and silently slid off on its own, revealing the remains and treasure of the Wind Dukes.

 

[Spatterlight]

I am disappointed in you spatterlight. Where is it that I single handedly solved the mysteries of the whispering cairn. Where is it that I was the one who defeated Kullen and his gang and the rest of our merry band then showered me with praise and admiration? Where does it say that Aiyda, after I defeated Kullen, decided to thank me by reviling for the first time to a man, the secrets to carnal pleasure she learned from her years attending her mother at the emporium. I gave you a transcript that was true word for word and you only print half of the story. For shame.

Scorch does what Scorch wants!

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 9
September 8, 2006

The last of the secrets of the Whispering Cairn uncovered, the group made their way out of the tomb. Nearing the entry of the cairn, several forms emerged from the shadows on either side of the hallway. Stepping forth from the darkness, a motley crew of armed townsfolk commanded the group to drop their weapons and hand over the loot they had found. Scorch was pretty sure that he had seen a couple of these people from the Emporium, but his memory was always hazy when he left that place. However, Aiyda clearly knew them, asking "What are you doing here?" It was a bouncer from the Emporium named Rory that answered, "We heard what you have found here. The walls of the Emporium have ears. And we want it, so drop your weapons and hand over the goods, before you get yourselves killed." For emphasis, he jabbed his sword toward Scorch, who sneered at the bouncer.

For terse seconds, no one said anything, looks of concern flickering between the members of the group. Then, without a word, a decision was made and Sergi conjured a beam of fire. The flaming ray struck a bald, older man who was brandishing a club and immolated him. The howls of pain from the man broke the shock of the sudden attack and the townsfolk struck. Rory attempted to stab Scorch, but his blade skittered over the gladiator's armor harmlessly. A shrew-faced woman attempted to club Natasha, but she was obviously unfamiliar with the weapon and missed by a large margin. From the rear of the party, four more townsfolk, hidden until now, came screaming and converged on the sorcerer. Stabbing and beating Sergi to the ground, he quickly fell to the brutal assault.

Without emotion, Scorch gutted the burning bald man and glanced to Rory, saying, "Still time to run, man." The man's face screwed tightly, rage burning bright in his eyes, and the gladiator knew the fools would stand and fight. Natasha hacked at the woman with the club, but found that she was actually quite wiry and failed to connect. In the rear, Aiyda sang a song of hope, even as a woman, who Scorch was pretty sure was a dancer from the Emporium, tried to drown her out with her own shill calls. "We would have let you go Aiyda! We just wanted these outsiders. But I see how it is." The dancer then tried to run the bard through with a wicked looking long knife, but the songstress dodged out of the way. Meanwhile, Doctor Voo called out to the Green Lady and healed some of the wounds of Sergi, who awoke in a haze of pain. Max drew his rapier and swung in behind a half-orc who was brandishing two shortswords and was moving in behind Scorch. He stabbed upwards, catching the man off guard and nearly killed him with one surgical strike.

The gang from the Emporium pressed their attack, but fell one by one. Scorch cut down the half-orc, with help from Max, and then turned on Rory. In the rear, Sergi threw bolt after bolt of magic and Aiyda and Max cut down the wounded with ease. Soon, the only would-be thief that was still standing was the woman who had been attacking Natasha. The woman, who Aiyda called Nurelle and told everyone was a card dealer at the Emporium, dropped her club and Scorch kicked out her knees, forcing her to the ground. Staring up with eyes filled with anger and humiliation, the gladiator then kicked the club out of reach and said, "Looks like there is going to be some openings at the Emporium." No one laughed.

Max quickly stripped the bodies as Doctor Voo prepared them for burial, as the group was unwilling to carry the corpses back to town and the doctrine of the Witch Goddess would not let the bodies be left behind. Scorch and Doctor Voo carried the remains of the Emporium Gang out of the cairn to a spot in the nearby woods Natasha had chosen. The morning and afternoon were spent digging the grave for the would-be thieves. As the light of the afternoon sun slanted through the still trees of the forest, Doctor Voo commenced a brief ceremony in honor of the dead. At its conclusion, Scorch filled back the graves and the group secured their loot and saddled up.

Pushing their horses to a full gallop, the group quickly rode back to Diamond Lake and returned to the observatory. There they found several more notes from C.G. imploring them to meet up with him. Although Scorch had not yet put this together, both the Smenk siblings and Aiyda knew that C.G. was most likely Chaum Gansworth, a mine owner and the proprietor of the "The Rusty Bucket", a local restaurant. They quickly hatched a plan to meet up with the man later that night, as they had already missed several rendezvous.

Before they could connect with Chaum, several tasks needed to be done. Scorch offered to take Nurelle to the Church of St. Cuthbert. Speaking briefly to the acolytes there, he explained what had happened and glared at the woman until she told her story as well. The acolytes gladly took her, explaining that she would be turned over to the sheriff. Scorch groaned inwardly, as he feared the woman would be free in no time given the corruption in the guard, but there was little that could be done now. With a half-hearted blessing to St. Cuthbert, the gladiator left the Church and returned to the observatory.

Meanwhile, Aiyda returned to the Emporium. After speaking to several of its denizens, the songstress purchased enough supplies to make a decent, if makeshift, disguise kit. Returning to the observatory, the bard prepared a disguise for Natasha, and after convincing Sergi that she found men in makeup attractive, Sergi as well. At Natasha's request, Aiyda made the ranger appear as Nurelle, a clever plan already unfolding in her mind. Long after dark, the group now cleaned up and disguised, made their way over to The Rusty Bucket.

The restaurant was crowded and one by one the group filtered in. The disguised Natasha entered last and asked the maitre d' to inform Chaum Gansworth that Nurelle, a card dealer from the Emporium, was here to work a special shift. After an unsuccessful attempt to catch the owner's attention, Natasha told the maitre d' to tell him that she had been sent to the observatory the other night and something must have been confused, as she missed him. This time, the message was received and Chaum waved the disguised ranger over to a secluded table in the rear of the restaurant. Natasha flashed a signal to her brother and he joined her at the table, with the others in the group slowly filtering over.

Overflowing platters of food were put out for the group, as Chaum introduced himself and the group did the same, although he seemed to know what they had been up to. Buttering a roll, he quickly got to why he had called them here. "I have no love for Balabar Smenk, a man so detestable, that even his own children have turned against him." He gestured across the table with a dull knife to the Smenks and they nodded. He continued, "I believe that he will be the death of this town, if he is allowed to continue. As you all know, Balabar has consolidated quite a bit of the mines under him. But there have always been a few mine owners who rather die than let Smenk buy them out and would never even talk to him. Until recently, I counted Ragnolin Dourstone, the dwarf, as one of them." He took a bite of his roll and then continued, "But it seems even that has changed. Recently, Ragnolin has been seen associating with Balabar and Smenk has even been into Dourstone's mines. Also, there have been a number of outsiders seen going in and out of Dourstone's mines. And these are not miners ... they wear robes and hoods that hide their faces."

Chaum waited for a moment, allowing a waitress to pass, and continued, "I am most curious to know what is going on down there. And I need some dependable and discreet people to investigate this. But, of course, I can not have this connected to me. However, if your group was to investigate this aberration, for your own personal reasons, well ... " Suddenly, the door of the Rusty Bucket swung open, and six men with a shortsword in each hand darted in. They ran crouched low, their blades down, and charged toward the table where the group sat. Someone in the crowd screamed, "Assassins!" and all the guests of the restaurant made a mad rush for the exit.

The assassins seemed to have specific targets as they singled out Natasha, Sergi, and Chaum. Aiyda sprang to her feet and immediately sang a song devoted to the power of the common man. One of the murderers was cut down by Scorch as he drew a dagger from his belt and buried it in the back of one of the men. Another was felled by Max as he stabbed with unerring accuracy with his thin rapier. One of the assassins attempted to jump on the table in a gambit to kill Chaum, but was clobbered by a vicious blow from Doctor Voo's staff. Natasha ran another through as Sergi launched an arrow of flame at one, catching him square in the abdomen and setting him aflame. The man took several steps and then collapsed to the ground. The last assassin strayed too close to Doctor Voo, who called out to the Green Lady and put his outstretched hand over the assassin's heart. A corona of black energy flared briefly around the priest's hand and the eyes of the murderer grew wide in sheer terror as his heart convulsed and then fell silent. The corpse hit the ground with a thud, acrid tendrils of smoke wisping from his chest.

Quickly locking the doors to the restaurant, Max gave a cursory search of the bodies and quickly looted them. The halfling found no identifying marks on the bodies, but Aiyda noted that their fighting style was indicative of one of the lesser assassin guilds of Greyhawk City. Chaum, who looked a little shaken by the assault, quickly offered fifty gold coins to each of the group to investigate the Dourstone Mines. Chaum also agreed to supply any miscellaneous mining supplies that were needed.

Natasha queried Chaum at length and both Aiyda and Natasha seemed to think he was being truthful. As part of questioning, the group found out that while the mines where an around the clock operation, there was a day of rest in two days when the mine would not be as busy. Deciding that they would attempt an infiltration of the mines at that point, the group also found out some details about the employees of the mine. The group did a bit more planning and most of the group returned to the observatory. Finding a wheelbarrow in back of the restaurant, Scorch loaded up the corpses and walked with the Doctor Voo and Aiyda to the graveyard outside of Diamond Lake.

Two days passed as the group gathered supplies and prepared to infiltrate the Dourstone Mines.

 

[AnAverageDM]

great story hour. keep it up.

 

[Sergi Alix Smenk]

Great update. So do you think were finally done with the WC? Since the mine office is like a day and a half away, I like the idea of moving to the old observatory. I still think we could have gotten a little bit more money from Gansworth. Oh well. When we sneak in to the mines I think we need to be very careful. I’m all for getting rid of evil cult followers, but I don’t want to be killing off any guards just doing there job, especially when it’s us that’s doing the breaking and entering. I never gave much recognition to the law though, so I’m not going to loose any sleep over trespassing. Well, you keep the updates coming and I’ll keep reading them. You just have to work a little bit harder to capture my true likeness. Braver, stronger, more powerful. Get to it.

S.A.S

 

[Sergi Alix Smenk]

so where is the next update of my heroic deeds. your slipping splatterlight

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 10
September 15, 2006

The two of them swept through the crowd at the Feral Dog, taking in the scene and seeking their quarry.

Aiyda locked eyes with a group of four dirty miners sitting in the back of the dive and gestured to Max to follow. Weaving through the mangy crowd, the duo threaded their way to the table. The men moved aside to give room for the girl, not noticing the halfling till he jumped into a seat and tipped his hat. A dark expression soured each of their faces at this, but the halfling was quick and glib.

Calling for a round and trying to keep their attention from the winsome bard, the halfling quickly laid out an offer. The group needed information about the mines and would be willing to pay for it. The promise of easy gold sharpened the attention of the men, who told the two quite a bit about the mines and their general workings. After earning the miners' trust, Aiyda and Max made another offer: They needed to infiltrate the mines unseen, but would need a distraction. The miners whispered among themselves, a sly smile dawning on each of their faces in turn. A deal was set: At sundown the following day, a day of rest at the mines, the duo would get their distraction. Small sacks of gold were covertly passed and a plan was set in motion.

The next day, the group gathered the final supplies for the adventure ahead and ran various errands. As dusk approached, the group crouched behind a small hill that overlooked the Dourstone Mines. The sun turned red and began to sink beneath hills, the purple twilight giving way to true dark. Doubt grew that the miners would not hold to their side of the bargain, but Max kept faith and peered down on the working men. Suddenly, a great cry came from the mine and there was a tremendous scrambling of men. Judging from the shouts, it seemed that a canary had turned up dead and the mine was now unsafe.

Seeing the signal, the group stealthy ran into the mine, garnering no attention in the mass confusion. Moving along the shadowy passage, the group followed a crude map the miner's had described to Aiyda and Max the night before. Their destination was a section of the mines that had been forbidden and they found it readily enough. A makeshift barrier of worn wooden planking barred the way. Scorch carefully pried several of the boards back, shooed all through, and then carefully put the boards back as best he could.

Once this was done, the group found themselves in a long tunnel. This passage terminated in a large room with a platform which was tethered to a thick chain. The lift swayed over a pit of darkness and no one could see the bottom. All quickly leaped aboard and Scorch, with assistance of several others, slowly lowered the lift. The group descended two hundred feet into the earth, with only the jingle of chains and grunts of those working the lift disturbing the silence of the underworld.

The lift shaft opened into a sprawling chamber. Three doors could be seen, two marked and one unmarked. The sign of the eye and hand of Vecna was upon one and the clasped arrows of Hextor were on the other. In the distance, a marbled floored room with a pool of dark liquid could be seen. Suddenly, several figures and all went dark. With a tremendous thud, Scorch dropped the platform to the ground and the group prepared for battle.

The gladiator sprung over the side of the platform, his greataxe already in his hands, and charged out of the darkness toward where he had last seen the figures. His rash decision turned out to be nearly his last, as when he emerged from the sorcerous blackness, the figures were waiting for him. The figures, each of which was darkly skinned and had small horns jutting from their foreheads, hacked down Scorch with greataxes. Hearing the war cry of the gladiator cut short, the group quickly moved forward and out of the inky darkness.

Aiyda sang a song of light and hope as the group sprung forth and set upon the strange humanoids. Blades flashed and arrows flew as several of the figures were cut down in short order, but one managed to retreat to the door bearing the symbol of Hextor. Bleeding profusely, he used the last of his strength to fling the door open and call for help. From beyond the door, a din of metal could be heard and a swarm of armor clad skeletons poured out. Doctor Voo called out to Wee Jas several times. Each time, the undead were put to rest and soon the area was cluttered with crumbling bones and battered armor.

Scorch was revived and the group pushed their assault, entering the room from whence the skeletons had sprung. They were immediately assaulted by a regimen of foot soldiers wielding battle axes. This force proved fairly weak and were quickly dispatched, but they held the line for long enough. From further in the complex, a thundering of hooves was heard and from a side passage, a massive boar roared into the room. Its eyes maddened with rage, the creature tore into the ranks of the group, nearly killing Aiyda. Working together, Natasha, Max, and Scorch managed to butcher the crazed thing and Doctor Voo administered a potion of healing to save his dying sister.

A moment of calm descended on the complex and the group healed themselves as best they could. Then the keen ears of Natasha heard a distant chanting from the passage the boar had emerged from and she dashed down it. Scorch was right behind her, followed by the others in the group. The passage split into three ways, but the ranger was sure the chanting was coming from behind an impressive door immediately in front of the group. Sharing a look, Scorch and Natasha kicked in the door.

The duo was immediately confronted by a gigantic ape, its fur black and eyes blazing with infernal light. The two reacted and began to strike it and Sergi drained its strength with an ebon beam. With several devastating strikes, the enfeebled ape was dispatched and vanished in a cloud of stinking vapors. The ape now gone, the group could see the room beyond. In this vast chamber, they could see a huge six armed statue, as well as several undead and more of the strange horned men. The undead lumbered forward as one of the horned men caused darkness to envelope the passage. Doctor Voo attempted to lay the living dead to rest with a command from the Green Lady, but found these zombies resisted the call of his goddess. As Natasha and Scorch battled the undead in inky blackness, a new threat appeared.

From one of the side passages, a group of horned men, a mighty warrior, and what could only be the head priest came charging down the hall. Now outflanked by the enemy, the group grew desperate. Sergi, who had been conserving his arcane might, began to release bursts of flame, which caught all of the tightly packed soldiers. Several of them fell, even as Max danced between the minions of Hextor, laying them low his rapier.

Hacking and slashing, some of the zombies were cut down and several of the party entered the main temple of Hextor. Here, the horned men had pulled back and sent arrows at the group as they emerged from the darkness. Aiyda used a wand that had been found in the Whispering Cairn to shatter many of the horned men's greataxes. However, one of the horned men who still had his weapon charged Doctor Voo, who had just exited the darkness and caught him by surprise. Unable to react in time, the greataxe struck true and cleaved the head of the priest from his shoulders, sending it rolling across the blood slick floor. Screaming in fury, Aiyda cut down the man-thing that had killed her brother.

The battle raged and soon almost all of each of the parties now lay dead or dying on the floor. Of the group, only Max and Aiyda still stood as the head priest called out for their surrender. Max responded by driving his rapier through the last remaining horned man's heart. Now out numbered and wounded, the head priest fled.

 

[Spatterlight]

Session 11
September 22, 2006

Scorch carefully wrapped the slain Doctor Voo in sheets he had found, trying not to hear the muffled sobs coming from the next room. The temple was quiet except for the weeping Aiyda and murmured words of comfort from the Smenk siblings. Max silently padded around the temple, taking stock of the riches of the fane and looting the fallen. Occasionally, the halfling gestured to the gladiator to help move some heavy item. In short order, the halfling had everything of worth in the temple in neat piles.

Max called the group together once Aiyda had steeled herself and wiped the tears from her eyes. The intrepid halfling gathered all the glittering trinkets and coin of the temple and Scorch put this in a sack. It was quickly agreed that this loot would be used to revivify the slain Doctor Voo. The group hoped that the followers of Wee Jas near town would be able to perform the ceremony. All the other items would be stored in a side room for retrieval later.

Seeing that was done, Max turned to the group, combing back his hair. "Well, it seems that the high priest of this temple kept a journal." He held up a large, crimson book with the sign of Hextor upon it. "That armored fellow who ambulated post-haste after I skewered his man was mostly likely Theldrick, the author of this volume. I have taken the liberty of scanning it for interesting bits." In a clear and surprisingly carrying voice, the halfling read out loud to the assembled:

The Faceless One grows increasingly concerned. That addled beast Grallak Kur has yet to provide new insights into the Overgod's nature. The crude missives he sends speak of the worms, of a slumbering power that must be awoken, but nothing more. I wish he would go back to the black pit that spawned him if he has nothing more to offer.​

The Faceless One tells me this ties into an ancient figure, a being of great power. Of course, he tells me little else. He enjoys keeping his secrets, but he forgets that they flourish only behind the protection of Hextor. His latest taunt is a scroll that he tells me contains all the answers I seek. Of course, the fool wrote it in a cipher. Were it not for the dictates of the Ebon Triad, I would lead my troops into their damnable labyrinth and kill every last bird and wizard within it.​

Grallak is the key. Thank the Scourge that he trusts me and not the Faceless One. Otherwise, I doubt the Faceless One would bother imparting anything to us. We cannot trust these mages. When the Overgod arises, I think it will be time to settle some old scores.​

The halfling flipped though many pages to one he had dog-eared, scanned the page, and continued:

Grallak Kur has finally yielded a useful clue. I personally delivered it to the labyrinth, and the Faceless one giggled like a blood addled berserker when he saw the message. Grallak spoke of the worms again, of course. He says that even now they stir and writhe. The world is like an apple infested with them. All seems well for now, but soon they burst through the skin and swarm across the land. Still, part of this vision troubles me. Grallak spoke of a great power behind them, but the Ebon Triad teaches that these worms will awaken the Overgod. Is there some other power at hand here that we cannot see? Is it friend or foe?​

The Faceless One knows more, but he of course has little to say. Perhaps Grallak has invented everything. His monstrous kin are few in number and battered after their pilgrimage through the Underdark. If he is an imposter or trickster, we may need to root him out of this place. In that case, our agents must make another supply run. Six coils of rope, and perhaps bows and more arrows, should do the trick. With the petitioners leading the way we can uncover any ambushes they have within the cliffs.​

The halfling closed the book with a thump, "There is more, but mostly it is prayers to his bloody god." The group discussed the contents of the journal at length, but much of it was confusing and they could make little sense of it. After further discussion, the group decided to leave the temple and head for the surface.

The group crept out of the Temple of Hextor into the central chamber. As before, this area was silent and still. Looking over to the area where the lift landed, they could see that it was no longer present. Given that there was no mechanism to lower the lift from the current area, the group decided to take a look at the area behind the unmarked door. Max carefully examined the door for traps and finding none, let Natasha open it.

The door opened into a rough hewn cave which twisted into darkness. Seeing the caves had no source of light, Aiyda summoned an invisible servant and had it grasp a sunrod. Cloaking the force in a black robe from the temple of Hextor, she sent it out in front of the group, hoping it would draw any ambushes. In addition, Scorch activated a sunrod and stuck into his belt. The group picked their way down the narrow cavern, often stopping to allow Scorch, who was carrying the body of Doctor Voo, to catch up. As the group was about to turn a corner, the sunrod the unseen servant was holding suddenly shattered. Natasha peered ahead and spied several humanoids skulking behind several stalagmites. Whispering back to the others, the group quickly prepared for combat and charged around the corner.

The narrow cavern opened into a larger chamber whose floor was studded with stalagmites. As the group ran into the cavern, arrows flew from the darkness and shattered the sunrod that was in Scorch's belt. The room would have been plunged into utter darkness if Aiyda had not cast a light spell earlier. With all the sunrods extinguished, three humanoids charged forward. They were gray skinned, had ragged long black hair, and most disturbingly, had no eyes. Despite this lack of sight, they tracked the group and swung widely with rusty battleaxes. The battle was brief and two of them were cut down in short order. The third attempted to flee, but was slain before he could reach another cavern on the far side of the chamber. The skirmish over, Natasha told the group the things were grimlocks, a subterranean race of blind humanoids whose sense of smell and hearing were second to none.

Activating more sunrods, the group ventured down the cavern the grimlock had attempted to escape to. The cavern was narrow but soon opened up into a vast chamber. As the group entered into this chamber room, they were assaulted by two large wolf things who sprung from behind a thick cluster of stalagmites. In addition, arrows flew from the darkness, shattering sunrods and extinguishing their light. A pitched battle was fought, but the wolf-things were put down quickly and two more grimlocks were slain.

The battle over, the group lit the last of the sunrods and moved further into the room. They soon found that the far side of the vast chamber dropped off suddenly, plummeting sixty feet to a rocky cavern floor. At the base of this cliff a cavern entrance could be seen. Iron spikes had been driven into the side of the cliff, forming a perilous route to the floor far below. Suddenly, arrows shot up from somewhere in the chasm and drove the group back.

A hasty plan was formulated. A rope would be dropped over the side of the chasm and Natasha would climb down quickly. To draw fire off the climbing ranger, Scorch would use Natasha's ring of feather falling and drop in first. The others in the group would join next, with whomever not climbing providing covering fire. In addition, before anything thing happened, Aiyda cast a spell of light on a javelin and this was tossed over the cliff face to provide illumination to the warriors.

The gladiator leapt off the cliff face, his bastard sword and shield at the ready, and fell slowly to the cavern floor. Natasha scrambled down the knotted rope, deftly leaping off the rope near the base of the cliff and drawing her weapons. The two of them shared a glance as their noses wrinkled. An almost unbearable stench wafted from the cavern entrance that had been seen from above. As they looked into the gloom of the cavern, a gurgling, thick groan-roar issued forth and two bizarre creatures lumbered toward the duo.

They were both monstrous ovoid things with three stumpy tentacles that served as legs. A huge mouth, filled with jagged and shattered teeth, gnashed wildly, hungry for the prey that had stumbled into its layer. Three more tentacles, once brisling with a cluster of eyes, wavered in the air. Grasping with two of the tentacles, they grabbed Scorch and Natasha and drew them in. Scorch dropped his bastard sword, shoved his shield into the abomination's mouth, and bloodied the thing with his spiked gauntlet. Meanwhile, Natasha stabbed at the creature with her shortsword, driving it deep as she realized these things were hated aberrations. Seeing the two were in trouble, deadly magic rained down on the creatures from Sergi as well.

The one grappling with the ranger was the first to die and once Natasha was free, she rolled over and ran the one assaulting Scorch through. Kicking the corpse off him, the gladiator let it take his shield and jumped to his feet. Natasha, meanwhile, ran to one side and spotted the hidden archers. From a barely seen overhang in the chasm wall, she saw three grimlocks with bows. Aiming the glowing javelin at the creatures, she threw it. Her aim was true and the javelin stuck out of the side of the blind humanoid. Now with a valid target, the group at the top and bottom of the chasm shot arrows, bolts, and magics at the creatures.

However, while hits were scored by both sides, neither seemed able to strike a killing blow. Soon the grimlocks, low on arrows, retreated down a cave that opened beneath their overhang.