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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sir Kendrik" data-source="post: 153460" data-attributes="member: 123">The heroes decided that they would head for the barrow entrance to the caves around the other side of the hill, not the multiple cave entrances in the gorge. The area surrounding the creek had overgrown in the time since the heroes were here last some nine months earlier. The heroes fought their way though the brambles receiving many cuts and scratches for their trouble regardless of their heavy armour. After about an hour of fighting through the terrain the heroes made it to the barrow entrance that Fr Arton had sealed by using his clerical gift of melding stone. The huge stone boulder that Fr Arton had sealed up now had an opening in the middle as if someone had parted curtains. Fr Arton and Sir Kendrik discussed the party’s next course of action and it was decided that Callin would investigate, using the helm of darkvision that Fr Arton carried and protected by an invisibility to undead spell cast by the priest. Callin would sneak in and see what was new in the caves before reporting back to the rest of the party. Friar Leo cast a silence spell on a small stone to make Callin impossible to detect. If he needed he could throw the stone away to communicate. For security, Friar Leo got his trusty familiar to climb in Callin’s backpack, the friar then being able to be kept informed by the weasel. That seen to Friar Leo started to concentrate, quietly uttering arcane words focusing on whether there were any gnolls nearby. Callin crept into the small opening that was just large enough to allow a human to enter. Once in the cave, Callin noticed that the area next to the opening had not changed at all. Moving in further he noticed that where the passage met up with a t-junction, the passage to the left with the sign pointing to Quesqueton, once collapsed and impassable, had been worked in a similar way to the opening, with the rock peeled back as if made liquid and then solidified once more. Again there seemed to be only room for one to pass. Callin placing the stone on a barrel near the barrow entrance and walked over to his friends to report. It was decided that they would all travel behind Callin into the short passageway. Callin would continue to investigate the newly reopened passage. Callin passed through the opening in the passageway, stone in hand. To his alarm he saw a shocking sight. The chimera, which the heroes had dispatched when they had last visited the caves, had been reanimated and was crouched low, blocking the passageway. It was a bloody mess with rotting strips of flesh hanging off its bones. Maggots writhed in the holes where its eyes were on each head and flies buzzed continuously around its putrid body. Its three heads, which Sir Kendrik had sliced off in a mighty blow of his longsword had been crudely reattached. The chimera appeared to be guarding the entrance as it crouched in wait. Retreating hastily, Callin returned to the companions with this new development. Quickly, the heroes devised a plan in which they would attack the undead chimera. Fr Arton asked Pelor to bless the heroes with a veil of cover from undead, and Callin returned to the passageway. Remaining some distance from the entranceway, Callin attacked the chimera with a volley of arrows. The undead beast, now able to see the rogue, charged towards the gap, intent on killing the rogue lodging itself in the small gap. Fr Arton seized the opportunity and raised his holy symbol and cried out in the name of Pelor for the beast to be gone. In an instant a bright light emitted from it burning off some of the rotting flesh that loosely hung from the beasts frame. The priest had hoped to send the beast back to the abyss but it stood it’s ground, its dragon head opening its mouth and exhaling as if to breathe flame upon the heroes, but nothing ensued. With the attempt to release the undead creature failing Fr Arton raised his symbol once more and called forth Pelor’s searing light which dowsed the beast, inflicting yet more damage. Callin in the meantime had moved to guard the other passageway, still wearing the darkvision helm. Sir Kendrik moved in to fight the beast up close slashing at it in a flurry of telling blows. Marban, wielding his longspear, drove it into the chest of the beast from behind Kendrik. Again Sir Kendrik attacked the beast with his longsword, pieces of rotting chimera flying in every direction. As Sir Kendrik attacked he called out for the others to step back, Sir Kendrik wished to bullrush the chimera giving himself a better chance of dispatching the beast in the wider part of the cave behind it. After the other heroes had cleared a path for the young lord he crouched and charged at the huge beast, unfortunately for Sir Kendrik the chimera was too heavy for even he to budge and found himself up against the chimera’s chest. The chimera, sensing its opportunity, grabbed at the knight’s head with its dragonhead jaws. Sir Kendrik, knowing he had to act quickly dropped his longsword and with an uppercut slammed his gauntleted fist into the lower jaw of the chimera. Like a sack of bones, the undead beast dropped to the floor, the force that animated it fleeing back to the abyss from whence it came. Sir Kendrik did what he had to and sliced the beast’s heads off once again. Once past the slain chimera the heroes discussed what further action they were to take. Both Fr Arton and Friar Leo expressed their concerns over the reanimated chimera, stating that they were unaware that beasts could be reanimated. The teachings of Pelor indicated that only those that had souls could be re-animated. The heroes finally decided to follow the newly uncovered passageway, deciding that the chimera must have been placed there to guard something. The passageway was crudely hewn but wide enough to walk with ease. They walked for quite some distance beginning to wonder if they had unknowingly walked past a hidden doorway. Sir Kendrik drove the party to travel some more and soon they started to feel a breeze coming from ahead. They continued on their path and came across a strong breeze, the walls disappearing into darkness. After a little while the heroes had worked out they were at the end of the tunnel and were in another cave, this one open to the night air outside. They could hear the faint sounds of insects and frogs, and Callin was sent out to scout ahead. After a short while, Callin returned with the news that the cave was at the summit of a hill, and the seemed to be surrounded by marshes. During the time that Callin was away, the party had prepared to set up camp, the whole time being eaten alive by midges that were coming into the cave from the entrance. Not wanting to travel during the night, the heroes remained in the cave and set watches, with nothing untoward disturbing the companions except for the incessant midges, and a short rain shower outside. 22 Storing 1353 The rain had stopped during the night, long before the heroes rose. After breaking their fast the heroes left the cave entrance to see if they could locate where they were. Indeed they were on top of a hill looking over a vast marsh. Sir Kendrik, suggested that this would most likely be the Coronach Marsh which were some distance from the caves. The Coronach Marsh has a fearsome reputation for foul beasts and Sir Kendrik warned the others to be on the lookout for such trouble. As the sound of frogs and other wet land creatures filled the air Callin spied in the marsh valley a structure in the distance. Marban handed Callin his spyglass to get a better look, "What kind of magic is this you use?" quizzed the young knight The others laughed as they explained to Sir Kendrik that the spy glass was a useful piece of technology. They passed the spyglass around, so all could get a good look at the ruins. The structure appeared to be a ruined fortress or keep of some sort that none of the character's knew existed. The party decided that their only course of action was to investigate the ruin and proceeded to march through the marsh. End Session What do you think everyone? Any comments on what happened or what the party did or didn’t do? As always your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated</blockquote>

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