Expedition 37

Adventurers

• Alfredward (Dwarf 4) and Humphrey (Elf 1)
• Asher (Fighter 4)
• Garol Ken (Fighter 1)
• Koko (Cleric 4)
• Rarder (Fighter 5)

Giving themselves only a night to recover from the last painful expedition, the adventurers enlisted some replacement party members and returned to the ominous cave entrance.

This time they decided to bring down the corpses from the pikes and commit some energy and time to burying them. It took them about half an hour to do so, but they were uninterrupted, thoough Rarder did spy some figures in the distance creeping into one of the cave entrances. Suspecting them to be another adventuring party, the group decided to leave them be and focus upon their own objective.

Creeping inside, they made their way back to where they had nearly come unstuck against the hellish hounds. The great corridor stretched into the darkness, lined with overarching pillars. Warily, the party advanced, and Alf spotted one of the ‘pillars’ moving. Weapons drawn, the group immediately hacked down the oozing creatiure as it lost its form, and they dispatched it before it could do any harm. 

Advancing further down the corridor, several flickering torch sconces revealed a door leading off to the side, with unintellible chatter an a distinctly scorched smell coming from the other side. Weapons at the ready, the party kicked down the door and fell upon the astonished cowled occupants as they knelt, wrapping up several charred corpses. The figures started contorting and shifting, but they were all cut down before they could land a blow. The great magical battleaxe swung by Garol Ken roared out his name as he sliced several down.

Pocketing their foes’ loose change, the party continued on and stepped into a large chamber with strangely flickering shadows on the wall and a large bell hanging from the ceiling. As everyone spread out to explore the room, especially the nicely bejewelled altars along one wall, Koko watched the shadows with interest. Suddenly he found himself walking to the middle of the room and chanting some chaotic hymn. Terrified at what the noise alone might bring, let alone what he might chaotically summon, his retainers tried to restrain and gag him.

The rest of the party, meanwhile, moved into another room, cutting down the trio of cadavler-like guards within. Seeing a further, rather nice-looking door inside, Alfredward and Rarder put their shoulders to it. It took them a few tries to knock this one down, and they entered the room in time to see a secret compartment shutting in the corner. Alfredward and Asher each pulled out a vial of potion and took quick swigs. Their forms dissolved into wispy shadows, and they gave chase though the solid wall while Rarder led everyone else to bashing their own way through the door.

Finding themselves back in the main corridor, they followed the cowled figure into the darkness, Alfredward’s eyes guiding him in the pitch black while Asher orientated himself with the torches flanking the door to the first room they’d entered. The dwarf was the first to catch up and, reforming back to into a solid mass, he bowled the would-be escapee. They rolled about the floor while Asher failed to watch in the darkness.

Finally the others turned up, torches in hand, and the torchlight showed the fear in the enemy’s eyes. He turned to flee, but Asher careened into him with his Shield of the Charging Rhino, one of the first ones the group had picked up in Redwood Castle. The embossed face and horn on its face almost seemed to glow as it crushed the figure against the stone wall with a sickening crunch. The cowled man slumped down, dead.

With great cheer in their hearts, but mindful of all the noise they’d been making, the party quickly returned to the room with the bell and the late escapee’s chamber, before emerging into the daylight laden down with gems, coins and magical goodies.

And not one scratch upon them.