Ptolus: Midwood - "The Dark Waters of Moss Pond"

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"And that, gentlemen," Renraw says, looking pointedly at the group, "is how we do that."

"Now, then, I believe I heard some water around here somewhere." Using his magical flame for light, he begins searching for the water so he can wash the spider goo off of his staff.

"I'll never ... live this down," Ragglus mutters, spitting harshly on the dead spider. He examines the various wounds over his own body, wondering if he looks as bad as he feels.

"Well," Kat shrugs as he looks at the crushed spider's carapace "At least you lived."

He takes out the healer's kit and begins bandaging of the seeping wound in Ragglus' shoulder. Katadid only does that for a moment before Kat's hands drift away from his task, leaving the fighter holding a bloody bandage halfway draped over his wound. Kat is already distracted by the dagger and the debris that covered it. He examines it and also tries his best to search the rest of the area. "Maybe we can get the priest to heal you?"

Renraw, at his knees near the source of the water, scrubs the end of his staff. He talks over his shoulder to whomever will listen.

"Yes, someone will need to heal that sack, Katadid. If we're to continue, we'll want to have our blind, spastic meat shield at full strength, won't we? We really could've planned this whole foray a little better. Or at all. Don't fret about fumbling the sleep spell. It's not an easy one. Happens to a lot of beginners."

As Renraw scrubs the phallic object with so much importance to him in the water at the lowest edge of the cave, the others look around the cave. There are coins scattered here and there, totaling up to 52 silver pieces and 11 gold pieces when gathered up. The shiny silver object was a beautifully made dagger with a blue gem on its pommel, bereft of its scabbard, but just needing a bit of care with a whetstone and some oil to return it to good repair.

Seen only by Renraw is a gourd with one end sealed shut by wax bobbing at the edge of the small pool of water. He shoves it under his clothes and then turns, gasping with naked avarice when he sees the pile of coins.

"We'll need to divvy this equally, of course," he says, sagely. "Except for this dagger. I think it only fair I claim it as my prize for finally killing the thing. What do you say? I could use a bit more of an offensive edge, at any rate."

"Well, I imagine the townsfolk above will be happy to help us break it down a bit more evenly," Renraw says before his eyes fall on Ragglus, who leans against a wall, writhing gently and trying to finish bandaging himself. He quickly jogs over to his comrade, concern showing on his face, leaning in and whispering to him. "I was just giving you a hard time before, Chaplin. I didn't mean anything by it. I only wish you'd tried a little harder not to get bitten like that."

"Rags, take the coins up and leave the dagger here," Tock snaps, not wanting to let Renraw launch into whatever scheme he's currently brewing up. "The Gentlemen Delvers are adventurers trying to help people out. They are not a group of folks that resemble wanted men that steal things. We are too close to get greedy."

Renraw, clearly conflicted about something, throws up his hands.

"Wait, wait! Come here, Chaplin." The wizard rifles through his bag and produces the wax-sealed gourd, still damp from the cave pond he fished it out of moments before. "I picked this up in Goblin Falls in case we had an emergency. I didn't want to admit it, but this qualifies. We just can't afford to lose valuable time. Come here, I said. It's a healing elixir."

"That spider isn't a thief. A thief-eater, maybe," Tock says. "We need to get to a corner we can defend just in case, stay quiet, and let the big man take the loot up."

Ragglus attempts to snatch the item out of Renraw's hand, but it comes off as a clumsy, drunken gesture. He eyes the wizard with some skepticism, but raises the gourd.

"To your health," he mutters, opening the seal to take a precautionary look and sniff at the contents.

"OOO!" Kat's eyes sparkle and he gets up from the bones he had been playing with. "May I?"

"Katadid, what do you think I am, crazy? You think I'm going to poison the brute that's attempting to keep us alive?" Renraw snaps. "The chemist told me it was a healing potion."

"No, no," Kat waves off Renraw's accusation. "I'm simply curious as to the method of distillation, or if it's a suspension, or steeped, or ..."

Shaking it in his hand, Ragglus guesses there's enough of the sweet-smelling potion for more than one gulp. He brings the gourd to his lips and takes a swig. As the drink runs down Ragglus' throat, the rest of the party can see his cuts begin to close and bruises begin to fade.

"FAS-cinating," Kat gasps. He pokes his finger into what is left of Ragulus's shoulder wound, eliciting a warning hiss from the larger man before he pushes the wizard away. Kat coughs for a moment and looks up, hardly noticing the warrior's glare.

"Thanks," Ragglus says, resealing the gourd and pocketing it, cutting off Renraw's impending protest. "I'll just keep it, since I seem to be doing all the up-close fighting."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Feeling too restless to sit still, Katadid gathers up the spoils of the spider's cave, ties them into an empty pouch, tucks the dagger into his belt and heads for the well entrance.

"That dagger is rightfully mine to keep or sell as I please. I'll have it returned when this is over," Renraw whispers, jogging after Katadid as far as the cave mouth. "It follows logically. I killed the spider."

"But ... the townsfolk," he trails off under the weight of Renraw's glare, shrugs and hands over the dagger as he leaves the cave.

He has done no more than grasp the rope dangling down the shaft of the well when a head at the top of the well partially obscures the light.

"Oi! Done so soon?" The guard looks baffled, but also smiles hopefully. "Got the thief, did ya?"

There's a banging noise and soon a bucket on a rope starts to rapidly descend, forcing Katadid to jump back into the secret passageway to prevent being struck on the head.

"Use this for the swag!"

"Not ... " Kat unties the pouch and pours the coin into the bucket. The guard may have been looking down expectantly, but Kat couldn't help but to count the coins again as they lay in the muck at the bottom of the bucket. Tugging on the rope, Kat watches the bucket ascend and he takes a few deep breaths, working up the courage to shout. "More soon! Still much to ..."

He trails off and turns around, not listening to any response of the guard. Having become suddenly overcome with vertigo from looking into the circle of light above, Kat find himself tapping the ground every six steps to calm himself.

He meets the rest of the party waiting for him at the split in the caves: Renraw preening over his new dagger, Ragglus fuming over the wounds still burning, and Tock simply relieved Kat made it back without getting overly distracted. They begin their walk down the cavern in the same marching order as before.

The passage curves to the left, and after about 40 feet, it comes up short against a rusted portcullis, which prevents further passage.

"Odd well," Katadid says. He carefully examines the portcullis, murmuring to himself as he does, then sticks his face up to the bars, squinting between them to look on the far side of the barrier. "There's a lever just inside. Perhaps ... a rope? We could tie a loop, or maybe a hook would be. ... Just throw it on and pull ..."

"Chaplin, it's your rope," Renraw says, snapping his fingers. "Hop to, man."

"Grappling hook might be noisy if I miss," Ragglus offers, taking out his rope. "Hook or loop?"

"Loop," Katadid says authoritatively. "And a step or two back."

Ragglus makes a loop with the rope, and attempts to catch the lever.

Leaning against the rusty bars, Ragglus tosses the rope and misses.

Again and again and again.

The water dripping in the spider's cave seems to grow louder and louder as the Gentlemen Delvers wait.

Finally, on the thirteenth try, the rope catches the lever and Ragglus pulls it taut before it can slip down off the end. Carefully pulling upwards, he tugs at the lever. At first, it doesn't want to move, and then it flips upward with a loud noise and hidden mechanisms clank and spin as the portcullis slides up into the tunnel roof with a thud.

The tunnel is now open to the group.

The cavern vibrates from the boom of the gate.

"Well, that wasn't quiet..." Kat muses.

Kat briefly examines the mechanism that raised the portcullis, then follows the group as they continue ahead. He touches the lever once as they pass by.

"Fourteen," he mutters.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The corridor straightens out past the portcullis and remains that way as far as the group can see via torchlight.

The Gentlemen Delvers continue down the tunnel.

Ragglus feels a slight resistance against his foot, and the same moment that the word "tripwire" comes to mind, he hears the sound of a bowstring twanging. Fortunately, it's enough time for him to get his shield up, and the arrow thunks into it, the tip staining the wood with some sort of poison.

He growls something practically inaudible, something about sneaky bastards and how he'll be forcing their heads up their own asses.

"Gods save me, what's happening?" Renraw squawks as the arrow shoots past. "Defend me, Chaplin!"

Seeing the arrow was the only immediate danger, Renraw clears his throat and straightens out from where he'd crouched behind Ragglus.

"I thought I saw skeletons for a moment. Must've been some sort of illusion. Let's hurry up and finish this, shall we?"

Katadid pulls the arrow out of Ragglus' shield and sniffs the tip, trying to identify the toxin.

"Slow and cautious, yes?" Katadid murmurs distractedly. "There may be more."

The Gentlemen Delvers continue down the tunnel.

Once again, Ragglus finds a trap by setting it off. This time, it's a double-sided axe pendulum that swings down from the ceiling, but he leaps past it just in time. The axe swings past and back, and then a mechanical winching noise can be clearly heard, ratcheting it up into a concealed stone slot in the ceiling, ready to slice down again.

Kat bends down and peers at the near invisible tripwire running across the bottom of the cavern. He peers up to the hidden gap where the axe swung.

"Well," he says calmly, "I think the most effective method is to perhaps get the axe stuck so that it can not raise anymore. We could use the grappling hook to trip the wire from a distance. Ragglus can throw the spider's body onto the axe as it come down, perhaps during the backswing. The thorax and legs should be enough resistance for the axe to keep from resetting."

"Why don't we just cut the wire?" Renraw asks. "Have Chaplin lower his sword on it from a distance and then back out of the way. Even if the hidden mechanics raise the axe again, the trap's trigger is no more."

"But that still places him well within the path of the axe. A hook to trigger the wire from a distance would be safer," Kat's lips purse. "Although, granted, he still has to throw an arachnid onto a moving target ..."

"Stand back," Renraw says, squinting at the trapped passageway. He lays down flat on the ground, on his belly, and positions himself several feet away from the tripwire. "Just seeing what will happen ..."

He takes the unlit end of his staff and rests it on the tripwire. The axe swings down and back and down and back and down and back as long as the staff remains on the tripwire.

"OK, so much for that," Renraw says, standing back up. "Back to Plan: Wirecutting."

Ragglus presses against the wall, turning his head around to make sure no one is in his way for his eventual retreat. Satisfied, he extends his sword, keeping an eye on where the axe will start to swing. He brings the blade down to sever the tripwire and quickly steps back.

The axe swings down and back and back up into the wall. And doesn't come back down again.

"Ah," Kat says. "Well, that works, too. ... I still wanted to see the spider bisected ... "

The Gentlemen Delvers continue down the tunnel.

As the spring-loaded trapdoor hinge begins to squeak warningly, Ragglus almost stumbles back in time, but finds his feet hanging over empty air. His elbows slam down on the pit's edge, and then he's tumbling down, landing hard in the dark and damp as the trapdoor snaps shut above him, leaving him in darkness.

"Oh, crap," Renraw says.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Renraw taps the end of his staff hard on the trap door Ragglus just fell into, testing to see if it will open again, even for a moment.

"Chaplin! Chaplin, do you hear us up here?"

With sufficient pressure, the concealed trap door groans open, letting in light and slightly fresher air.

"Are you hurt, old boy?" Renraw calls down. "Answer! Throw up your grappling hook if you can! If we're attacked, we'll need you up here to swing wildly at things!"

"Ooh!" Katadid drops to his knees and attempts to peek down into the pit until Tock grabs him and hauls him back out of the way. "What's down there anyway?"

"Give your hook, Rags," Tock says. "The ass who built this crap better not be dead yet. I say Rags gets his neck."

Down in the pit, Ragglus bites back an angered, frustrated scream. He remembers the calming exercises Bufer taught him, and begins counting silently. By the time he reaches six, his breathing has slowed, and has reduced his full-on maddening rage to a mere maddening rage.

He gives a single wave to the faces peering down on him, letting them know he's OK. Hurt, but OK. He takes out the healing potion, thankful that it is undamaged and takes another swig. It suddenly hits him: I might have been dead if not for this.

Since he's down there, he makes a quick search of the pit, hoping some unfortunate rich person fell down it at some point, but finds nothing but wet earth and a few curious earthworms.

Ragglus takes out his rope and grappling hook.

"Here she comes!" he calls up.

Katadid barely manages to get out of the way of the hook before Tock manages to catch it deftly in the air. He looks at Kat, who holds his chest painfully, and Renraw, who has also suddenly come down with a bad chest cough.

"Great," Tock sighs. He lays back and jams his feet against the side of the passageway, clutching the hook with both hands.

With a bit of grunting and swearing, both from above and below, Ragglus climbs back up to the main passageway of the tunnel.

"Thanks," he mumbles, motioning for the others to stand aside, backing up to prepare for a run and leap over the trap door. He easily clears the pit, landing on the far side, although it occurs to him that he's now on the alone with whatever waits in the dark tunnel beyond.

"Any of y'all think you can't make it?" Ragglus whispers, just loudly enough to be heard, equipping his sword and shield once again, and keeping one eye on the tunnel beyond. "Ain't too hard."

Katadid leaps, but coughs just as his feet leave the ground, and the others look on in horror as it's clear he won't make the distance, the hacking cough pulling the air from his lungs just when he needed it most.

His chest slams into the wall of the pit, his chin cracking down hard on the stone floor. His hands and one foot clamber frantically at the edge and, as Ragglus races to pull him up, Kat grips the pit edge with all four limbs, determined not to fall.

Ragglus pulls him up by the scruff of his neck and sets him down well away from the edge of the pit. Other than a coating of wet rock and grit and a bloody gash on his chin, Katadid has made it across, safe and sound.

"Oh, honestly." Tock steps back and, with a wink at Renraw, lightly leaps across the chasm, landing exactly on the far edge. He wobbles a second, his expression betraying that this wasn't exactly how he had it planned, but then Rags reaches out, steadying the bard, who steps across. "See? Easy."

Renraw grumpily walks to the edge of the pit, taps the trap door with his staff three times, and purses his lips in an unhappy grimace. With a dramatic sigh, he walks away far enough for a running start.

Just as he's finished preparing himself for the sprint, he stops, relaxed again. He makes sure all the annoyed faces are looking back at him.

"I just want to make one thing very clear before I do this: The rest of you WILL hoist me out of this pit."

Then he runs all out for the jump, knees popping.

Renraw flies through the air, clothes flapping in the breeze, and crashes into Ragglus, Katadid and Tock on the far side. In the end, he made the most impressive jump of them all.

"Perhaps I should learn to embrace my new identity," Renraw crows as the party begins moving again. "Perhaps this moustache and this new name are all a part of a new beginning for me. I'm a spider-slayer and a natural jumper. I find myself positively brimming with confidence now, my fellow Delvers.'"

"Brim a little quieter, Kem." Ragglus admonishes.

Renraw smiles, but does as he's told and lowers his voice.

"It's Cmelak now, Chaplin. Rodger Cmelak."

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

After about 20 feet, the tunnel splits in two, going north and south.

Katadid considers both routes. After a moment, he points to the north passage and shrugs looking at the others with a questioning gaze. Renraw smiles and nods sagely, pointing his staff north. Ragglus shrugs, and heads that way, with the rest of the party following.

The corridor widens and splits again. Kat taps Renraw on the shoulder and points toward the northeast. Renraw condescendingly shakes his head "no" and marches northwest. Kat shrugs and follows him. Ragglus mutters under his breath as he takes his rightful spot in the lead.

The tunnel curves slightly to the west before opening on a cave.

The natural chamber is perhaps 35 feet long but only about 20 feet wide. A pair of stalagmites has fused with stalactites to create natural columns. The south wall is a milky white flowstone formation that resembles a stone waterfall. At its base is a clear pool of water trickling into a small stream that flows to the north. The north wall glints from numerous minerals infused in the stone.

The entire effect by the light of the magical fire burning atop Renraw's staff is beautiful and a little unearthly for the Maidensbridge residents, who have never spent time in caves before this year.

"Oh my," Kat says, his eyes gleaming. He walks forward a bit and takes in the scene. Hands trailing across the columns, he walks toward the pond and stares into its crystal surface. "This ... this was a good choice."

Kat proceeds to run one hand across the stone while using the other to dip his hand into the water and bring it to his mouth. Afterwards, his eyes scan the cavern peering into every cranny.

"Never let it be said that 'Glinty' Rod Cmelak didn't take you places, Gentlemen," Renraw beams, admiring the north wall and inspecting it for anything possibly precious, although he is careful not to stray too far from Ragglus.

Satisfied and seemingly rejuvenated after taking in the scenery, Katadid stands up and walks over to the stream by Renraw. Kat uses the end of his staff to trail across the bottom to watch the patterns in the water reflect across it. Dipping down, he cups water in one hand and winces as he washes the blood off his chin. Afterward, he fishes for a rock that he could take as a souvenir.

"A tributary of the Moss?" he asks, elbow-deep in icy water.

"Undoubtedly, Leach, undoubtedly," Renraw says confidently, even though he clearly has no idea.

Taking one last survey of the sparkling north wall on the way out, Renraw marches with the group back out and into the northeast passage.

Peering down into the water, Katadid realizes what he first thought was a dark rock formation at the bottom of the pond is actually a leather sack. Before following Renraw or the others, he plunges into the icy water, returning, dripping and shivering with his prize in a matter of seconds.

Opening the sack, he reveals a handful of silver sling stones. Hi eyes gleam for a moment looking at what he has found. And then concern crosses his face.

"Wait, this makes no sense ... bags of ammunition don't just float down into ponds with the current against them. Someone hid this here for a reason. But why here?"

Shivering, he almost tips forward as Tock testily nudges him to get moving. Kat gets up and follows Renraw to the northeast.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The corridor ends at a very large chamber about 40 feet wide and up to 50 feet long. The cavern is dimly lit from flickering embers in a fire pit situated in the room's center. Five large stalagmites are scattered around the room, two flanking the entrance, another along the east wall, and a final pair in the northeast corner.

Along the east wall is a large wooden chest with a massive padlock as well as several wooden pegs hammered to the wall, with small items hanging from them. Along the northwest wall is a pile of furs. To the north are several exits, but they appear to be two feet in diameter, rough-hewn corridors too small for humans to traverse.

Katadid glances at the glowing embers and immediately tenses up, realizing someone was here not too long ago. He begins scanning the area for any movement behind the rock formations and quietly loads his sling.

"Nobody touch anything until we check everything for traps," Tock says quietly.

"It's not the traps I'm worried about," Kat whispers back.

"Pay dirt," Renraw says, eyes fixed on the chest and gleaming like he'd just been reunited with his lover. He slowly creeps closer, trying to stay as hidden and silent as he can, tiptoeing and keeping a close eye out for any movement, sounds, tripwires or other traps.

Katadid frantically grabs at Renraw and attempts to haul him behind a nearby stalagmite. Renraw turns and follows Kat, annoyed.

"What is it, Leach? We've a limited time before this thief realizes we're here as it is. For all we know, he's already flown the coop. We need to search this room and find him before he escapes, preferably without setting off any more traps. Now, I suggest we all begin searching right away.

"I'll head in this direction," he whispers, motioning to the chest. "The rest of you fan out and stay sharp. I may require your aid following my audacious penetration of the heart of danger."

"SPIDER," Katadid hisses back, then puts a finger to his lips and points toward the glimmering fire. He points at Ragglus and then the center of the room.

Ragglus shrugs.

"If he wants to go first, let him."

Kat boggles. Shaking his head and holding his hands to his temples, he steps out of Renraw's way.

"Do you want to die?" he asks Renraw quietly.

"All right, all right," Renraw whispers. "Look, we'll go around the long way over to that stalagmite over there. Rags, you first. Hug the wall, now."

Renraw tugs the leather hood over the top of his staff to help prevent detection.

Sighing, Ragglus finally moves forward, taking the lead and keeping close the wall as the Delvers circle east toward the area with the chest.

"I see you bastards!" a thick dwarven accent roars, and an arrow shoots out of the darkness, thunking Ragglus in the chest.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Get to cover!" Renraw, with head ducked, runs to the eastern stalagmite and puts himself between it and the wall. "Come on, Chaplin, suck it up!"

"Giving up, then?" the dwarf calls. "Good! Get your asses on home before I cut you all some new holes!"

"Rest assured, we mean you no harm," Tock responds. "We are vampire hunters by trade, and we chased one into this cave. Have you seen it? Very dangerous."

There's a pause at the far end of the room.

"You're what?"

"Vampire hunters. You haven't heard about the bloodsucker plague in this area? Dozens slaughtered. We lost half our party just chasing him here. Wait ... you're not one of them, are you?"

"Naw, I'm not a vampire ..."

From where the Gentlemen Delvers are hiding, they can hear a quiet woodwind instrument begin to be played.

"Just the same, let me check for traces of vampirism."

Huddling between the stalagmite and Ragglus, whose rage was palpable even in the dark, Katadid feels the wall with one hand and turns north toward the stalagmite.

"Logically, he has to be behind the stalagmites," he whispers. "Ragglus, charge as I cast the spell. If he isn't there, we'll see him soon enough. I get the feeling we need to stop this music shortly ..."

Renraw thinks the dwarf is playing the musical instrument, but before he can be sure of it, everything seems to happen at once. Tock begins to sing, Katadid says a word, there's a flash of light, and then Ragglus is roaring forward, squinting into its glare.

Spots are still dancing before Renraw's eyes when the new noises come: There's a snarling sound, like that of a large animal.

"Son of a --" He hears Ragglus yell, and there's another voice, too large and bassy to be the dwarf, but it's saying something extremely nasty about Ragglus' mother in Dwarvish.

The music is a faint memory at this point.

"You're DEAD!" Ragglus rages, clearly attacking something out of view from the rest of the party with his sword.

Hearing the screams and battle, Kat pulls out a piece of wool. Tearing it once quickly, he starts an incantation.

Renraw pulls the hood off his staff, and magical flames illuminate the room once more. Ragglus is fighting with what appears to be a badger the size and proportions of a dwarf, standing on its hind legs, attacking him with massive claws and fangs.

The werebadger shakes his head, confused by Katadid's enchantment for a moment. A second later, magical dart of energy leaps from Renraw's fingertip, striking the creature in the side.

Ragglus presses the attack, but it's no good: The creature's hide is too thick for such a glancing blow to penetrate.

Watching Ragglus' sword seemingly bounce off the monster, Katadid blanches as he loads his sling with the silver bullets he found. As Tock's inspiring lyrics echo through the cavern, Kat purses his lips and begins whirling his sling over his head.

"Use the silver, hit him hard
Give them to me, you useless 'tard!
Dargus Carter will throw with might
He's not contagious, so Chap can fight!"

It takes a moment, but Katadid realizes what Tock is saying. With his other hand he reaches into the wet pouch of silver bullets and tosses them behind him to Tock.

As the pouch of silver sling bullets sails into Tock's hand, Renraw fires an icy ray from his fingers, hitting the badger creature, which shrugs off the blow.

A moment later, a rounded disc of silver cracks the badger creature in the temple, and he howls with rage.

Ragglus presses the attack, his finely made long sword stabbing the creature in the gut, but it takes more force than he expected, and the blow consequently isn't as damaging as it should be.

The creature snarls and attacks Ragglus angrily. A slash from his claws knocks Rags off balance, and the creature seizes the opportunity, biting down hard, causing the fighter's blood to spurt vividly.

Renraw, marching in a straight line towards the melee, flanks the creature and tries to thwack it on the head with his staff.

Kat hears Rags cry and sees the blood run down his arm in thick rivulets. He grabs a small piece of butcher's paper containing a small dab of butter inside and tries not to grip it TOO tightly.

Tock continues to sing as he lets loose another bullet.

"Die, you freak, die you ,
Burn in some infernal pit,
We will take all your gains.
Die soon and please end our pains."

As the badger creature and Ragglus fight, Katadid and Renraw begin to move, edging around behind the creature, albeit along different paths.

As Tock tries to think of a word that rhymes with "concussion," he lets another silver sling bullet fly, again striking the beast.

Renraw, now almost on the opposite side of the creature from Ragglus, swings his quarterstaff over his head and tries to bring it down on the wide skull of their opponent, but he succeeds in only striking the floor.

"DIE, DAMN YOU!"

Ragglus shoves the sword home again, again meeting the uncanny resistance to the sharp blade, even as it penetrates flesh, releasing blood and gore as he withdraws the blade.

The creature breaks off, its eyes staring in fear. It turns towards the tiny corridors and as it breaks and runs, its form shrinks, its clothes dropping away, until an ordinary-seeming badger crawls from the open neck of the suit of studded leather armor and disappears into one of the small caves.

"Got it!" Katadid stands up with an air of triumph, the creature's fallen panpipe in his hand, before looking around and realizing what has happened.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Tough critter," Ragglus pants, the adrenaline leaving him in a rush. He drops down to one knee, finally using the opportunity to rest and look over the various hits he'd taken, most notably the broken shaft of the arrow still sticking out of his chest.

Kat blows on the panpipe experimentally. A few off-key notes later, he walks past the stalagmites and hands the instrument to Tock.

"Are you OK?" he asks his cousin. Before Tock can answer, Kat's eyes go wide. "NO!"

Renraw looks up, annoyed, poised over the chest. Kat races over, pulling Renraw away from the chest begins muttering divination spells and tracing symbols in the air.

The heavy lock on the chest appears complex, but Katadid's spell reveals no well of poison.

Given the chance to look around, it's clear the dwarf led a filthy existence down here, sleeping on stinking and almost certainly flea-ridden furs. Tiny harnesses for small animals hang from the pegs on the east wall. In the fire pit is a cast iron pot with a stew that's more muck than meat or vegetables, although a few mealy potatoes bob forlornly in the orange-red gunk.

The studded leather armor and equipment the dwarf left behind -- other than smelling like unwashed dwarf -- are nice. His short bow is clearly masterwork and he has 29 arrows left in the leather quiver. A masterwork short sword hangs from the belt scabbard and a small liquid flask is tethered to the belt as well.

Tock looks over the panpipes. Although he's no expert on the instrument, these are clearly expensive and sturdily built. Closing his eyes, he tries to recapture the tune the dwarf was playing, and after a moment, he has it: "Mice of Tarsis." He gives an experimental puff on the panpipes, but nothing happens. It'll be a while before he can master the panpipes at all, much less play that nimble tune.

Katadid gets up and leaves the lock to those stronger than him. Instead he walks over to the wall, eyes the harnesses curiously.

Tock walks over to Rags and puts his hand on the big man's shoulder.

"You OK? You saved our necks back there. Again."

With an exasperated grunt, Ragglus pulls out the remaining portion of the arrow still buried in his chest, letting it fall to the stone floor drenched in blood. Breathing heavily, he reaches for the healing potion, removes the seal, and drinks the remainder.

"Yes, Ragglus, great job! You're so mighty. Everyone loves Ragglus," Renraw mutters quietly to himself while examining the lock. "No one seemed to notice how I risked my own skin back there."

"We need rest," Tock says, ignoring Renraw. "You boys need to get new spells. Rags needs to heal up. The question is, do we camp out here or do we go back to the surface and risk that freak setting up shop here again or even moving his stuff? Well, obvious, right? Still, it'd be nice to somehow get word to the surface of what's going on. Maybe get some help with this chest."

Katadid shakes the leather flask from the dwarf's belt. He opens it and smells it. It's not water, it's not alcohol, but beyond that, he's stumped.

"Hmm." Kat walks over to Renraw and hands him the flask. "Ideas?"

While Renraw investigates the liquid himself, Kat inspects the harnesses. His eyes narrow as he removes one tries to envision what creature it could possibly wear them. After a moment, he shrugs and turns back toward the group.

"Did you see the initial transformation, Ragglus?" Kat asks. "I wonder if the half-form was a necessary state between the two.

"In addition," he says as he kneels down and picks up a bloody silver bullet, deformed by the force with which it hit the lycanthrope's skull. "Why would a creature who is obviously, well, sensitive to silver have a bag of silver ammunition in their home?"

Shaking his head and shrugging, Ragglus gets up and looms over the chest, considering it.

It takes several tries, but the lock on the chest finally shatters under Ragglus' attacks. It takes fast reflexes to keep Tock, Katadid and Renraw from diving in as he opens it.

There are a number of items inside that the group paws over and snatches from one another during their investigation:

There is what appears to be a map of the small tunnels at the north end of the cave. A central path leads to a cave marked with a smiling face. Beyond that is a cave marked with water. A northwest path beyond that leads to a cave with a picture of an ear on it. A northeast path leads from there to a cave with what looks like a crude drawing of a ravine (or, as Tock points out, "it could also be a bad drawing of lady parts"). The only tunnel leading from there goes to a cave marked with a skinny black triangle and then, beyond that cave, a cave marked with a rectangle flanked by what look like a pair of forks. A final blank cave exists east of that one.

An ivory scroll tube with an elaborate sliding lock system is handed back and forth between the Gentlemen Delvers. It will take real work to sort out the puzzle, which a defeated Renraw finally admits after 10 minutes of work and proclamations that he's almost got it.

There is a small wooden rack of six labeled potions, which are said to be potions of some spell called "improved reduce person."

And finally, there's a sack of presumably stolen treasure, including 27 platinum pieces, 212 gold pieces, 6 gems of various worth, a gold necklace and a jade statuette of a tiger from the Distant South.

There is no immediately obvious way of determining which items were stolen from Blackberry Ridge, and which are just the dwarf's own belongings.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Kat holds one of the potions in his hands for a moment, then looks to the holes into which the creature escaped.

"T-this is disturbing," he says.

An odd smirk crosses Ragglus' face, and he turns away from his companions. After half a minute, and a small shake, he turns back around, holding the once empty healing potion container now resealed and filled with his own urine.

"A little present for the runt," he grins, putting it down near the chest.

"I imagine most of this belongs to the townsfolk," Kat says. "Each of these could be easily carried by a small animal of some sort. Training that many, however ... His first instinct was to play the instrument. Tock, could you figure anything out about it?"

"Just a second," Renraw insists, snatching the panpipes from Katadid's outstretched hand. Renraw takes all the items recovered, mutters a spell and stares until his eyes burn.

"Dear gods, that's enough," he says finally, rubbing his eyes. He stands and begins pacing, as though delivering a lecture. "OK, young Leach, it is more or less as we'd surmised. The panpipes are used to summon small creatures, probably to help with the hauling. The potions emit faint auras of transmutation magic, which would be expected, given their labels. We can assume he hasn't pulled a switcheroo as old Chaplin here has.

"The potion the dwarf had on him is transmutation magic as well, but it's got a different aura than the others, leading me to believe it had something to do with his transformation into the badger creature.

"Also, perhaps interesting, the bow is imbued with some sort of transformative aspect. Chaplin, I don't suppose you feel at all transmuted, after having been shot with it?"

Ragglus gives himself the once over, even turning around in place to see if he's grown a tail.

"Er, no?"

"But why have the reducing potions in the first place when you can turn into a badger that can easily fit into those tunnels?" Katadid interjects. "We see the map is obviously in relation to that, so a great deal more exists. Something doesn't quite fit here: We have potions that he doesn't need, and silver bullets that are tailor made to injure him. Why would he possess these things?"

Stumped, the group prepares to return the recovered treasures to the surface.

As Katadid, Tock and Ragglus load up the coins, gems, necklace and statuette into the bucket in the well -- which follows a careful rediscovery of the trapdoor and circumventing it, one by one -- Renraw casts a divination spell so as to catch all the small tunnels at the north of the dwarf's lair in its radius.

A Blackberry deputy hauls the loot up and yells for lumber to be brought. In the interim, Renraw, satisfied with his contribution to the group, decamps himself to the cave with the fresh water supply with a triumphant flourish.

There's a bit of excitement as some enormous fish or eel at the bottom of the well takes a test bite of the lumber that splashes down into it, but it gives up after realizing it's wood, not flesh, that has entered its domain. Carefully, Ragglus fishes out the lumber and the group forms a bridge over the pit.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Now finally able to fully explore the previously visited portions of the cavern, Katadid squeaks with inarticulate emotion when he discovers, just before the portcullis, a carefully concealed hole about an inch and a half in diameter. Nothing is visible through the hole, but putting his ear to it, he can hear the slight echoing of a chamber beyond.

"Light needed!" Katadid chirps, trying to shove his eye into the small hole. "Quickly!"

His emotions build to a near-frenzy as the others depart to find Renraw. Katadid runs his fingers along the walls and murmurs to himself. He blinks in surprise when he discovers, on the far side of the portcullis, still on the north side of the passageway, evidence of a secret door.

Kat can barely contain himself as he reaches toward the hidden mechanism to open the door when he realizes something: Tock explicitly told him not to explore anything outside of what they had already explored.

But Kat simply HAS TO OPEN THE DOOR.

But Tock said NOT TO EXPLORE.

But Kat HAS TO OPEN THE DOOR.

But Tock ...

Kat leans up against the passage wall and moans to himself softly, banging his head back against the stone and counting even prime numbers.

Meanwhile, Tock and Ragglus find Renraw with his back turned, arms and hands moving at a furious pace at something at his midsection. Ragglus thinks he can feel what little bratwurst he ate this morning preparing for a return trip.

"Ah, Rod?" Tock carefully interjects. "Ah, oh. Sorry, fella, but you're needed up front. Katadid's found something, and we could use some ... er ... light. If you want to be left alone, perhaps we could just take your staff?"

"What?" Renraw blurts, looking over his shoulder in surprise and frustration. He slowly realizes what the others are thinking. "Oh, oh, dear. Well, this is embarrassing. Just, ah, just give me a moment to tidy up here ... Do you think you could turn your backs for just a moment? Terribly sorry."

Tock and Rags gladly turn around for a moment. It isn't long before Renraw quickly walks past, magic light in hand.

"Let us never speak of this again."

The trio rejoins Katadid just as he is about to lay his hand on the door.

"Bird, no!" Tock yells.

"What's this about a hole, then?" Renraw asks, attempting to take command. "Should we try the hole or open this queer door? I think maybe we should all rest and tackle it after that. Should we put it to a vote? Both Rodger and Renraw vote 'rest.'"

"Well," Katadid says, simultaneously relieved the others are back, but worried Renraw's desire to wait will carry the day. "W-we can LOOK through it a-at least."

In the end, the Gentlemen Delvers outvote Kat and decide to bed down for the evening to rest and regain spells. They retire to the cavern where they faced the dwarf. Some of them hold an internal debate with themselves as to whether or not to risk the flea-infested furs in order to have a comfortable rest.

Surprisingly, Renraw volunteers to take the first watch. He assures the others that his spell is still in effect for the escape tunnels to the north, and if the alarm sounds, he will come running. Meanwhile, he will take his magic staff and plant himself at the nearest unexplored fork in the cavern.

The group spends a quiet few hours in the caverns. The guard on duty sometimes thinks he can hear a badger snuffling in one of the corridors leading off the dwarf's den, but the alarm spell never triggers and the sleepers are never disturbed.

The group awakes several hours later, with Renraw and Katadid both irritable and uninterested in discussing why.

Kat slams his spellbook shut after having prepared his final spell. He stands up and starts walking back toward the secret door and its attendant hole, twitching the entire way.

Renraw, irritated that Kat finished preparation before him, gathers his things and follows.

"Come on, you two," he says to Tock and Rags. "He's going to have a seizure if we don't hurry up and explore this place."

"Had me a dream a badger tried to skewer me yesterday," Ragglus yawns, equipping his sword and shield. "Hope today goes better."

The quartet makes their way to the concealed hole before the raised portcullis.

Sniffing at the hole, Katadid detects the smell of decay and rot. Kneeling, he finds some pale cave moss and wraps it wetly around a sling stone. Katadid murmurs a magical word and the stone begins to glow with light. He pokes it into the hole, using a dagger to get it all the way through the wall. It drops on the far side with an audible thunk.

Peering through the hole, he sees some short figures in rusty armor begin to shuffle toward the secret door, and the whole party hears a low groaning.

"Uh, run," he says.

"Grease the spot in front of the door, Leach!" Renraw bellows. "Do it!"

Tock races past the secret door just as it begins to creak open, back across the pit, and beckons the others to follow.

"Never mind, Kat!" Renraw yells, following on Tock's heels. "The pit! Grease the pit! We'll slide them right into it!"

"And hope to hell they don't have bows," Tock snaps.

"In that event, we'll just keep the lid shut!" Renraw says brightly, colliding with Tock on the far side.

The group pulls the boards bridging the pit across with them just as the first figure emerges from the secret door.

It's a dwarf or, rather, it was a dwarf. A blunt object has caved in his head from behind and the moist caves have caused his skin to bloat and begin to slough off his bones. Sightless milky eyes stare straight ahead as the figure shambles forward after the Gentlemen Delvers. Beyond them, by the flickering light of Renraw's staff, more dead dwarves begin to come into view.

"Little folk," Tock says. "Destroy them all."

Four undead dwarves shamble into the light towards the pit, spears held low from listless arms. Their chain mail and metal caps all bear the marks of the fatal blows that murdered them.

Renraw leans in and whispers to Ragglus, making sure the zombies can't hear.

"If they fall into the pit, perhaps one of us could go and get Tock's old bow from the other room. If they're in the pit, we can try to hinder them climbing out by sinking arrows into them."

An arrow thunks into the first dead dwarf's chest, who groans in vague protest, but still keeps coming.

Katadid's sling stone goes wide, ricocheting off into the darkness.

When the dwarves reach the pit, they fall in, one after another, groaning in confusion, vaguely poking upwards at the Gentlemen Delvers above (who keep the trap door open with a spare foot or two) with their spears, but taking no other actions.

"This is awesome!" Tock lets another arrow fly as he begins to sing a song of dwarf-killing.


Kat blanches a bit as the dead dwarves moan uselessly and he backs up a step.

"The d-dead shouldn't move. It's just not ..." Kat looks nervously around and is a little surprised that the others aren't nearly as shocked as he is. He takes another bullet and lets it fly at the dwarf with the arrow sticking out of it.

Renraw runs to get Tock's old bow and arrows and returns as quickly as he can to join in the fun.

And so the Gentlemen Delvers, unable to find flies to pluck the wings from, settle in for a rousing game of "shoot the zombie," betting on who can hit one in the eye or through the mouth or in the crotch.

Eventually, though, the zombies are no longer amusing, and instead are just smelly immobile corpses.