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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spacehulkster" data-source="post: 2975370" data-attributes="member: 13070">Slowly and catiously, both Rudgar and Qwergain move forward.  Not knowing what is being said behind them.  Both have infravision, but Qwergain can see quite a bit further.  The Hallway stretches for 120 feet and ends in with a table and crude benches.  Nasty smelling food still sits in plates on the table.  Two other exits lead from the room.“Their still here,” Qwergain whispers while looking around.“Yep, not too long ago from the looks of it,” responds Rudgar.  “This Orc is astute for his race!  Not anything that I’ve read about,” he thinks to himself, admiring the giant.“Looks like we’ll have to postpone our game a bit Priestess,” Zafnir signals to Annalia.“As long as I get to punish something tonight, I’m in a mood!” The let down was apparent on her face.“This way,” Qwergain again whispered, pointing through an open entrance on the opposite side of the room.“How do you know they didn’t head down this passage?” Rudgar points to the only other exit in the room.“I saw one peek around the corner,” Qwergain comments without a flinch.  “Come on, their waiting for us!” Annalia normally didn’t like anything that wasn’t Crinti or Drow, but she was beginning to admire this Orog.  Not only his strength, but his uncaring attitude for his own safety struck her warmly.  She looked to Zafnir and he motioned her to stay behind the Orog.  Nodding she followed.  As they neared the end of the passage, they could make out a stone slab and a figure lying upon it.  A large and motionless figure.  Qwergain stepped in to the right of the entrance and blocked a sword coming down upon him.  Knocking the sword away, he came down hard with his greatsword upon the skull of the hobgoblin.  It slumped to the floor slowly as another hobgoblin stood appalled.   It hesitated to long as Qwergain’s blade found its mid-section.Meanwhile, Rudgar ran to the left and the other side of the stone table. Rounding the corner, he ducks a blade swing and lunges at the hobgoblin, knocking it back 5 feet and startled. Zafnir leaps upon the stone table half expecting the large figure to rise.  Seeing it lies motionless he shoots a bolt into a fourth hobgoblin standing behind the one Rudgar is fighting.  It slumps to the floor.  Zafnir’s pet spider scampers in and waits at the base of the table for anything rounding Rudgar’s corner.Rudgar takes a double shot with his axe upon the lone hobgoblin.  Hitting once in it’s arm, the second blow,an up slice through it’s chest, douses Rudgar with blood.Zafnir jumps off the table, watching the others loot, he motions to the priestess, “Saved one for you!”Her eyes light up with excitement.  She rounds the table to take notice of the creature sleeping on the floor.“Excellent!” she draws her scourge and begins to bite her lip in anticipation.  Her delight is cut short by Rudgar’s cry, “Watch out me lady!”  He rushes from behind her and pushes her aside as an arm sweeps wide from the figure on the table.  The creature rises to a sitting position and flails with its arms.Zafnir raises his sword in defense as the creature focuses it’s attention on him.  Qwergain flanks it and hacks it from behind.  For it’s size and apparent strength, the raised dead creature is cut down by the foursome before it can deliver a telling blow.“Bugbear!  A large one at that,” Zafnir looks around and notices what seems to be a holy symbol on the sleeping hobgoblin.  “That one must have been raising it.” “Aye, and this one ‘ere’s got a pertty nice belt!”  Rudgar pulls and tugs the belt from around the waist of a hobgoblin.  Annalia gets up and brushes dirt and cobwebs off, “To be dragged down by a dwarf!  The best Crinti warriors wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me.”  Her disgust was all too evident.“I was destined to become one of Loviatar’s greatest servants.  Now look where I am.  Over a thousand miles from home, guided by a druidic drow and being tackled down by the shortest dwarf I’ve ever seen!”Annalia knew her ravings about Lolth’s silence were causing discontent, but she actually thought that hiding the truth from her people kept them away from serving a god more deserving of their attention.  She had the blessing of her temple mother!  Surely she would have intervened for her when the Lolth’s priestesses came!  There was nothing her superior could do.  Or was she merely playing Annalia and feeding her to the wolves to secure her own ambitions?  The bitterness was feeding, blinding and controlling her anger.  She knew that fear and anger were mind killers, and she had better get control of her senses before they took control.  After all, fear was her business.  She knew it better than anything else.  She should be the one feared!  Something better was ahead, and she need only find it and take it!Rudgar was standing in front of her.  She lowered her gaze.“Priestess, I meant no disrespect.  I only saw that you did not notice the creature rise and swing at you.”  His manner was humbling and respectful.  She let her anger fade and focused her attention on the live shaman, still slumbering.“This one,” she said pointing to the hobgoblin, “I want awakened.”  She stepped towards Zafnir and held out her hand.  Taking it that he was forgiven, Rudgar pounced on the hobgoblin, shakking it furiously.  Zafnir knew exactly what Annalia wanted, “We could use more information!” and handed her his sword.   Just as the hobgoblin shaman’s eyes opened, Annalia was there staring back, coldly.Through her clinched teeth, she commended his spirit as she drove the sword through his heart, “Loviatar awaits you, goblin!”  His eyes conveyed all the fear that she needed to refresh her own spirit.  “Awe, that was,” she stood and looked at the three faces watching her, “Nice!”Zafnir looked on with dismay, "or not, I guess!"Ignoring Annalia, Qwergain asks, “What other goodies goblins have?”“Nothing more of value, but this bugbear has a well made sword.”  Rudgar held it aloft for Qwergain to see.“Not interested.”  Qwergain upholds his own, “Mine bigger!”Rudgar shruggs and tucks it firmly around his back.  Zafnir finishes collecting the gold that was strewn around the chamber and counts 250 pieces.“Let’s check out that side passage we passed before entering this one,” offers Zafnir.Qwergain took the lead with Rudgar close behind.  They traversed 55 feet when Qwergain suddenly starts motioning erratically with his arms and body.  Then Rudgar starts waving his arm in a similar fashion.  Zafnir immediately recognizes that they had walked into webbing and quickly moves forward, motioning for his pet to follow.Annalia helps the entangled warriors as Zafnir and his pet engage the spider coming towards them.  After a few tense moments where Zafnir narrowly escapes getting entangled himself, the other two warriors enter the battle and squish the bug.  “I thought you deep Orcs had good dark vision?” Rudgar complains.Not feeling apologetic, Qwergain responds, “Web strands nearly invisible, even in Underdark.”Zafnir searches some mummified corpses of a few humanoids, only to find rusted weapons and tattered clothing.  Rudgar senses something shiny on the floor and wanders over to pick up a small gum-ball sized pearl and a pouch lying next to it with 75 gold.“It be the biggest pearl I’ve ever seen!” he says bedazzled.“As soon as we finish checking all the rooms in this burial mound, I will cast “Detect Magic” and see if there is anything magical,” Zafnir offers.“Don’t see any more doors, must be done!’ shrugs Qwergain.“There are still two doors out of the main entrance we came in,” reminds Annalia. As the group approaches the doors to the entrance, they hear two voices.  Their speaking very low, but still can be heard.</blockquote>

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