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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatterlight" data-source="post: 3092772" data-attributes="member: 42734">Session 10September 15, 2006The 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.</blockquote>

Verification