Adventurers
- Elthebard (Magic User 1)
- Knuckles (Thief 2)
- Koko (Cleric 4)
- Lynal (Elf 1)
- Mandras (Dwarf 2)
- Rarder (Fighter 5)
Determined to make a more decisive incursion into the hairy ones' lair, the party had a quick night's rest - enough for Koko to get his prayer groove on again - and returned to the ruined monastery. Hired guards stationed by the entrance, they descended along with Hats, Greth and the combined retainers of Rarder and Koko, the whole group sizing up as a hefty contingent of 14.
The wooden door had been replaced but not fixed to the wall, so Rarder gave it a shove and the party quickly swarmed into the corridor. This time they took the fork to the right, anticipating a possible alternative entrance through the burned overgrowth up above, and found themselves in a corridor ending with a door. Its barred window alerted them to the fact that there were a few inhabitants, so Knuckles crept closer to investigate while others silently examined the corridor walls for hidden doors.
Spying eleven occupants, a mixture of hairy ones and familiarly maroon-hooded humans, the party once more made use of Knuckles' magical firebreath-enabling armour. They handed the thief a pair of oil flasks, and immediately after throwing them through the bars he heaved a gout of flame into the room, instantly eliminating half the occupants. As more continued to fall, Rarder burst through the room and, ignoring the flames licking at his legs, flung himself across the room's other door to prevent any escape. Lynal blinded a hairy one with great beams of arcane light pouring from its eyes, and the last few of its comrades flung down their weapons in surrender.
They were more than willing to cough up intel, declaring the hooded ones to be part of a group of reinforcements sent from the cultist headquarters on the other side of the river, and this was the guard room before coming to the prison cells. The party also learned that indeed there were holes in a cave further on which led to the surface.
Dragging the blind, beam-emitting hairy one before them to light their way, they proceeded on towards the cells. One of them had an occupant - Cullen, an unfortunate adventurer recently captured while searching the smouldering ruins of the monastery. He didn't know the whereabouts of the rest of his group, but offered his assistance in exploring the rest of the underground complex.
The party equipped him with his belongings found nearby and, taking him and the bound hairy ones with them, returned to the surface to assess the best course of action going forward.