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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhael" data-source="post: 250459" data-attributes="member: 5269">Death awaits with big, nasty, pointy teeth!After leaving the large cave, deciding that the water could be explored more thoroughly when we were next really bored, we took a left and headed further into the cave complex.We had taken an offshoot from a larger tunnel, when Reikon, who was leading the way, called a halt.  He pointed at the ceiling of the cave and held his torch up so we could see.  I looked, amazed that he had spotted anything in this gloom and was surprised to see the lower three or four inches of a portcullis sticking out the rock.  Closer inspection of the floor revealed the grooves in which the portcullis sat when lowered.  Beyond the ‘doorway’ we could see a room, which appeared to have another exit in the left wall.Reikon checked the area to ensure that the portcullis was not trapped, and we cautiously stepped through the area into the room.  It was a thirty foot square, with us on the left hand side with the opening directly behind us and the other doorway in the left hand wall in the far corner. Note: The following section, up to the mark saying ‘end of modified section’, has been modified from the original post based on some fairly major corrections from the GM of this campaign relating to the encounter, which I obviously didn’t remember as well as I thought I did.  I really should have taken more notes on those early sessions.  I have borrowed heavily from his post as far as the text of this next section goes, because he captured it very well.  Thanks, Sable.  - Rhael We were halted, mid-step by a language we did not understand.  The voice then spoke again, apparently in another language, before finally saying, in what can be loosely called common: “Halt. What is your business here?”As we contemplated a response, Chade decided he wanted to know who was speaking to the group.  His favourite trick of casting Light on a coin and into the darknesss seemed like a good idea, so he set about this task.  Unfortunately, certain dwarves apparently did not appreciate him beginning to chant the strange and mystical language of spellcasting because the portcullis behind us was closed suddenly, separating Entarsis and Reikon from the rest of the party.  From out of the darkness we were pelted with crossbow bolts before being charged by a wave of four scalemail-clad dwarves followed by a larger dwarf covered in full plate mail, obviously the leader.  (Rhael’s first rule of adventuring is starting to take shape:  “Stay well away from the guys wearing full plate.”)  They seemed shorter than the dwarves I had seen and they had grey skin.“Duergar”  I commented, loud enough for my companions to hear.“This isn’t good.”  Mareth remarked dryly, as we all raised our weapons to meet the charge.Reikon started taking shots with his bow from behind the portcullis and I could hear Entarsis chanting, and when the first of them went down from a stroke of my blade, the leader yelled with rage and advanced on me.  I found myself in a pitched battle with him, while the others fought off his lackeys.  By the time we had taken them all down, Mareth was unconscious, Chade had a gash on his upper arm and Terjon was looking a little worse for wear.Moments after the leader went down, more duergar appeared from a side passage.  Watching us, almost warily but with fury in their eyes.Reikon then said something hasty and ill-advised (as he did fairly regularly), the dwarves shouted in rage and attacked.  In killing the second group, no further of our number were knocked out, but we had taken more damage.  Warramayl was now limping badly and I had a gash on my side.“We can’t take another group on!”  Terjon whispered, tersely.  “Rhael, Warra.  Help me open the portcullis.”In the breathing space we thought we had, we turned and attempted to lift the portcullis.  Chade cast a spell on Mareth to get him to his feet, though still weak Mareth waved off any support and leaned against the wall instead.  Unfortunately, before we could make any headway with the portcullis, we could hear another group of dwarves approaching from the shadows.  One stepped forward into our torchlight.“What are ye doin’ ‘ere!?”  Asked the spokesman.“We are adventurers.”  Chade retorted.  “We were exploring this cave complex and ended up here.”“Do you have any idea where ye are, adventurers?”  The last word was said with a caustic sarcasm I didn’t think he could possibly get across with that accent.“We do not know exactly where we are, except that we are in a cave system.”  I replied. “Ye near the entrance to the Underdark.”  The dwarf stated. “By the gods!” Entarsis exclaimed in a whisper.  He had obviously heard all the same stories regarding that place as I had.“That’s right, Human.  And ye be trapped.  While ye obviously be strong, we are legion.  Hundreds of my kin wait to join this fight.  However, for a mere fifty gold ye can be reunited with ye’re comrades and no more blood need be shed.”I looked around.  I was pretty happy with that offer, considering our circumstances.  Unfortunately I wasn’t close enough to Chade to stop him opening his mouth…“You should give us fifty gold to stop us from killing you!”  He said.The dwarf was obviously, and not surprisingly unimpressed with this statement.“One hundred gold.”  Said the dwarf.  As we started to reach for our money pouches, I heard Chade inhale again.He laughed. “There aren't hundreds of them,” he whispered, obviously intending only we hear him  “There can't be.”The dwarf’s face betrayed his anger. “Two hundred gold, and one more word from that one and ye all die!”As we physically had to restrain and silence Chade, we emptied the counted out the required funds and gave the coins to the dwarf in Chade’s money pouch.The duergar hefted the pouch, and inspected the contents.  True to his word, as soon as he had his money, the portcullis was raised and we were allowed to leave, unmolested.  Once Chade was no longer restrained, he began to curse, complain and generally voice his disapproval.  “We could've taken them.”  He commented loudly and bitterly.None of us were particularly enamoured of the cleric at that point.“Regardless, there was still an iron portcullis between us and freedom.”  Noted Mareth.“And it hardly matters now, does it?”  It was obviously a rhetorical question, but I had to say it.Chade grumbled.Terjon spoke next.  “I say we get the hell out of here.”End modified section. We didn’t mind that idea of that and we headed for the cave entrance.“We should use the healing pond.”  Chade said as we left the large clearing.“I agree.”  Reikon and Terjon both said at once.“Hmmm.  Not a bad idea.  We’ll do that.”  It was a good idea, how could I disagree with that.We got to the clearing with the glowing pond and sat down on the soft, green grass (itself unusual in the middle of a conifer forest).  Mareth went first, his numerous wounds closing over in a matter of moments.  Chade drank, followed by me.  It was when Terjon took a drink that we realised that the pool had limitations.  Nothing happened.“What’s going on?!”  Terjon sounded worried as he drank some more of the water, thinking that he hadn’t drank enough.“It only works once.”  Terjon looked at the cleric in confusion.  “It only works once per person and you drank the water from the waterskin back in the cave, remember?”  Chade repeated, with more detail for the paladin’s benefit.Terjon sank back on his haunches, disappointed.“Oh, well.  There goes your healing water shop, eh, Chade.”  I joked.“I guess so.”  He replied.“Back to good, old fashioned, divine healing spells, huh?”  Entarsis was in a strangely jovial mood.“I guess so.”  Chade repeated his previous answer as he knelt next to Terjon and cast some curative spells on him.Since we were all feeling fine and it was still early, we decided to head back to the cave.  We found our way back to the path leading to the duergar, but instead of taking the offshoot we continued on.  The path sloped down on a greater angle, and the footing was a little more unsure, but it was slow going, but not difficult travel.We stopped for a brief rest at a point where the cave opened up, creating a doorway into a small room.  Reikon was leaning against the cave wall when I heard a brief woosh-like sound then heard three noises, two were like arrows thudding into armour and the last had the distinctive noise of striking flesh.  I heard Reikon gurgle slightly as the torch slipped from his grip and he fell to the floor, three black spines about five or six inches long protruding from his torso and upper arm.Before we could react, we were bombarded again.  This time, Terjon and Mareth were struck and one spine glanced off the cave wall.   From the darkness out of the reach of our torchlight we heard some low, gutteral growling, then two huge, human-like faces, surrounded by a mane of fur emerged at a run and attacked!“Manticores!”  I yelled, in horror.Terjon, Mareth, Warramayl and I only had time to form a line across the opening before the first one was upon us.  The other hung back, but flung some more spines at Terjon, two of which missed and one thudded into his shield.The closer of the two jumped at Mareth and took him down with it’s huge paws, the elf bleeding from four parallel slashes across his chest where the attack tore through his leather armour.I struck the first one in the shoulder with my sword, the gash looking puny and almost pathetic.  This enraged the beast further and it next struck out at me.  It struck me in the left thigh, the claws raking across my scale armour, but bruising the flesh beneath.  Terjon and Warramayl also managed to land blows to the creature before the paladin fell to another powerful attack from the creature in front and the monk went down under a hail of spines from the one in the back.Chade rushed forward to apply some first aid to Warramayl, but was knocked against the cave wall by a massively strong swipe from the Manticore.“I should get the hell out of here!” I thought to myself.  I could see the bodies of my comrades lying around my feet out of my periphery.  Strangely, this didn’t scare me, it steeled my resolve to either defend them or die trying, if that was what I had to do.I heard Entarsis chanting behind me and I felt some sudden, sharp pains in my stomach.  I looked down, briefly to see two of those horrid black spines lodged in my gut.  It was a stupid thing to do, in my moment of distraction, the manticore in front of me smashed me in the side and sent me reeling backwards.  “What a way to die.”  I thought as the deep blackness of unconsciousness closed over me.</blockquote>

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