After defeating the kobolds on the road the brave adventurers ventured into the Keep down a dark staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was Mikal Hanre, a warlock venturing into the keep of his own accord for unknown reasons. After realising that we would be best served as a team Merry, Gloria and Joreb joined Mikal and ventured forth to find the cultists and stop the ritual.

Merry and Gloria were the first into the keep and noticed a goblin warrior unaware of their presence. When Merry tried to sneak forward and launch a surprise attack he was surprised himself by a trap that opened to a pit containing a pack of rats. Then the fighting began. Gloria was able to lay out some damage to the warrior and Merry managed to climb out of the pit and finish off the first of the goblins. However, it became clear immediately there were more to deal with. In total 4 more warriors and 2 bowmen emerged to begin shooting at Merry Merric as Joreb and Mikal began handing out some damage themselves. The goblins struggled in their attempt to bullrush the adventurers into the pit containing the rats and finally managed it when there were only 2 bowmen left, sending Joreb into the pit. Luckily he managed to just climb out before the rats could do too much damage. Meanwhile, the other adventurers dispatched of the final two goblin archers.

The adventurers then explored the northwest of the dungeon discovering a corridoor that lead to three seperate rooms. After hearing noises coming from the northernmost room, the adventurers opened the door and attempted to barge in (with little success thanks to Joreb’s lack of stealth). Inside it was obvious that the room was intended as a torture chamber with a Goblin Torturer, 3 bowmen, 1 warrior, a prisoner inside a cell and various devices. Joreb and Merry managed to quickly dispatch the goblin torturer after he had a few unsuccessful swings with a burning rod. After opening a hole, Mikal and Glorien burst into the room and dealt significant damage to the goblins. Then it was just a matter of finishing them off as they took the odd shot at the adventurers.

After dispatching of the goblin scum, the adventurers were called over to the prisoners cell where they met Splug a goblin who had been captured because apparently the others did not like him. Splug offered to help the adventurers with his knowledge of the keep in return for freedom from the cell. After some debate the adventurers cautiously set Splug free and armed him with a spear. Whether or not he can be trusted will surely be seen in the next adventure. The heroes must be careful to dispatch of the goblins at a steady rate without taking too much damage in order to conserve their surges for the innevitable confrontation with the goblin’s leader.

Party members present: Glorien Ethlaron, Jonn Redgar, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Faulcon

One could be forgiven having the feeling that Winterhaven has a small kobold bandit problem. Setting out on their usual mission to smite evil and bring goodness and light to all the world, our intrepid trio was joined by a greenhorn would be war leader. He had been so taken with Merry’s tales of derring do, Joreb’s dedication and purity, and Glorien’s… uh Glorien’s… fluttering eyelashes maybe? that he leapt at the chance to accompany them on their day’s venture.

The freshly formed fearsome foursome however was interrupted short of their destination with destiny at the keep of shadowfell by kobold bandits! Of all things to meet on a winterhaven road, kobold bandits were certainly, well number 1 on the list actually. A winterhaven road without its kobold bandit group just wasn’t deserving of the title ‘Road’.

Rushing out from cover the kobolds managed to catch Joreb and Jonn Redgar off guard but Merry and Glorien were awake to the danger. Skirmishers and Dragonshields raced in to harry the hardy adventurers who were pressed back before suddenly a wyrmpriest ducked out of cover to bless all of his pitspawn comrades.

It was apparent that this was no ordinary group of mere bandits. A wyrmpriest where minions usually appeared? Surely there had to be a reason for such a well equipped squad of the scaled vermin to be defending the road to Shadowfell Keep when even their own lair was not so well covered. A future concern that. In more immediate matters Glorien darted out of the general melee to start feathering the wyrmpriest while Jonn swung his warhammer wildly, as often as not nearly connecting with Joreb as a kobold. First combat jitters hopefully and not an indication of some long term deficiency. Still his shouting remained inspiring to the others even if his attacking prowess was somewhat lacking on the day.

Assistance from Merry dropped the wyrmpriest with a dagger through the belly followed by a crippling slash to his legs, a skirmisher who had tried to rescue the kobold cleric quickly following as he was cut off from his other scaled kin. Joreb and Jonn were still holding strong against the remaining kobolds trading blow for blow (or in Jonn’s case, blow for wild airswing) allowing the other two the freedom to choose their targets.

Eventually all the evil creatures had been delivered back to their vile creator and the group took the chance for a closer look at their departed foes before setting up camp to recuperate. Suspicions were somewhat confirmed by the amulet the wyrmpriest carried. A thing of evil, it linked him quite closely with the dastardly forces at work ahead in the keep.

Rested and recovered, journey was resumed towards the keep with the adventurers arriving just as dusk was falling.

A truly ominous appearing structure of crumbling ruins and some recent repairs, the stairway down into the bowels of this ancient fort beckoned…

danielcollins: 950XP
danielcollins: 238 each
faulcon: 5 gp, 23 sp (hardly seems worth recording…)

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Barre

---

Glorien and Joreb were enjoying the benefits of their decision to spend the night in town by sleeping soundly in their cots when they were awoken by Merry, he had news of evil doings at the Grand Shoppe and presented the letter he’d discovered to the pair. All thoughts of Merry’s transgressions were forgotten, this was a red hot lead on the cultists.

Quickly the group gathered their gear and proceeded to shop for a polite discussion with Bairwin, or so that what Joreb thought. Allowing Merry and Glorien to sneak into the shop while he stood watch out front served more purposes than he knew. Merry and Glorien moved silently into the shop and skillfully bound Barwain without him so much as stirring. After waking him, the pair “urged” him to speak silently as he answered their questions, after failing to cooperate the captors applied some persuasion but with little effect.

To their surprise Barwain let off a fell attack blinding both, a melee ensued, with Glorien quick to recover firing blindly yet unerringly, Jorreb hearing the attack quickly joined the fray and with Barwain still restrained the scuffle was quickly resolved with a blow to head head knocking him unconscious.

The group restrained him further before reviving him. This time Barwain was more forthcoming having been bested so easily, he informed the party that the ruined keep mentioned by Valthuran, was an fact the fort which he was supplying and the fort was built above a rift to the Shadowfell.

The cultists are in fact followers of Orcus, and are led by a man or creature named Karellel. They have been working on a ritual of an unknown purpose which is due to complete in the next few days.

We have also found out that Irontooth is in fact a Goblin who also follows Orcus and is based in the Lair we ventured to the previous day, another visit is in order.

Having found out as much as they could the group sent for Lord Padraig to inform him of the threat in his town. Joreb sped away to fetch him, after a considerable delay he returned mumbling something about wolves and a slain boy. Lord Padraig followed and seemed oblivious to the accusations until it was eventually spelt out for him, Barwain was a cultist of Orcus! After showing him the proof below the shoppe he had no choice but to hold Barwain for a suitable punishment.

Having ensured the cultist arrived to the keep the party set about making plans for the road ahead, things seem to be moving faster than they’d like and they are seemingly forced to deal with the threat at the keep.

The first port of call was to visit Valthrun with the information they’d recieved on the keep and the visit turned out most beneficial.

Valthrun when questioned further revealed the following information:
“The Keep was built as an outpost of the Empire of Nerath, most likely to guard against the giant tribes living in the northern reaches of the Stonemarch. Many such outpost survived the fall of the empire, but not the Keep: Only two short decades after the empire withdrew its influence from this part of the world, the commander of the garrison – a man by the name of Sir Keegan – began to systematically slaughter every resident of the keep, starting with his own wife and daughter. Some versions of the tale say that Sir Keegan succeeded – that everyone in the keep was slaughtered. Many such tales claim that this was a sacrifice to a dark god, and that Sir Keegan now lives in a sickly paradise within another world – a reward for his bloody gift of tribute.
But since there is, in fact, a story to be told, I suspect the other version of the tale is probably true: Sir Keegan was too skilled for any single soldier to defeat, but eventually the remaining garrison rallied an organized defense. Although many brave soldiers died, Sir Keegan was slain before his dark work could be completed. Following Sir Keegan’s death, the keep became notorious and the tales grew in the telling. The surviving guards scattered, and with the empire gone there was no one to put the keep back into service. So it was abandoned, feared for a time, and – eventually – more or less forgotten. At some point during the last century, an earthquake reportedly collapsed the upper towers and walls.
Rumors persist of great treasures buried beneath the keep, yet there are few tales of anyone daring to explore the ruins. A popular tale in the area was that old Sir Keegan’s ghost still roamed the corridors beneath the keep, wailing his grief and rage. But even this tale has faded with time, and the story of the wailing ghost is used to frighten children. Although the keep is still considered bad luck by most people in these parts, it has largely been forgotten.”

---

150 GP
200 SP

Potions: Clear, Reddish, Urine
2 Diamonds
+1 Leather Armour

XP = 300/3 = 100XP each

PCs present: Merry Merric
Writeup: Tomay

Merry Merric decided that he would be pro-active and do some late night investigating of the Grande Shoppe to see what was going on. After waiting for a quiet time during the evening he scouted out the shop to find the back entrance and ensure no one was watching.

Merry managed to pick the lock to the shop with ease. Inside it became clear that the shop had been mostly packed up compared to the other day when the adventurers had visited. The owner of the shop (forgot his name and theres no links from this page) was asleep in his bed, which meant Merric had to be especially quiet.

After finding nothing, Merry stumbled upon a trapdoor and picked the lock to enter down a staircase, shutting the door behind him quietly.

Downstairs it didn’t take long for the real hero of the group to discover a dungeon of horrors. Within the basement were many torturing devices and cages. Most shockingly was a large number of human skeletal remains piled up in two different rooms. Unlike the more morally correct (and therefore stupid) members of the group, Merry realised that this was certainly linked to the rumours of the cultists. Trying to find some suitable evidence to convince his useless team members, Merry grabbed a letter that highlighted a business deal between the shop owner and a local cultist dealing in the dead and wares.

Upon sneaking upstairs Merry was faced with three choices: to kill the shopkeeper in his sleep, to hogtie him and capture him as prisoner or to consult his weakling team members for help should they run into trouble.

It just goes to show that fortune favors the brave, and no one should listen to faulcon.

XP = 200XP

PCs present: Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric
Writeup: Faulcon

After a night spent in Winterhaven, Joreb, Gloria, and Merry decided to make their way towards the kobold lair marked by Lord Padraig. A brisk morning stroll and a little light exercise dispatching justice to some vile minor dragon kin sounded like just the treat and possibly a picnic for lunch afterwards.

Reaching the edge of their destination the adventurers started moving more stealthily, at least the halfling and elf did. Joreb didn’t bother trying and just stood waiting for the action to start. Glorien flitted through some trees and then backed out carefully to report nearly a dozen kobolds in sight and probably more besides.

Having scouted the terrain, the group decided that a flanking maneouver might be on and swung up above the vermin, intending to drive in on them and hammer them only to surprise two slyblades.

Merry and Glorien swiftly dispatched the first of the two slyblades but reinforcements arrived to assist the second and the 3 brave warriors were forced back by sheer weight of numbers. Kobolds dropped like… kobolds… yet there was seemingly always another 2 running forwards with javelin or shortsword poised to stab. Matters were looking somewhat dire when Merry finally dropped the second slyblade with support from Joreb. Glorien was keeping the eastern flank as clear as he could manage but matters were still touch and go.

Minions however numerous were in the end no match for the trio and after Joreb finished the Dragonshield with a radiant blast Merry closed in on the slinger and drove his dagger into the final kobold over and over until it dropped. A near run matter but not enough to bring an end to the gallant adventurers.

Still, this was just the welcoming committee, who could say what danger lurked beyond the waterfall? Joreb at least was not keen to find out so soon after barely surviving the ragged group waiting outside and after the others started suggesting a quick look inside was heard to exclaim in disbelief, “It’s a freaking lair!”. After which he murmured a quick repentance for approaching vulgarity like that.

Convincing the others it was not wise and that if they took the rest they needed they wouldn’t be entering the caves until dark they made their way back towards Winterhaven, one victory enough for the day.

Ensconced once again in the barroom Merry began regaling the patrons with tales of his personal prowess until Thair Coalstriker was impressed enough to pull him aside and see if he was interested in a minor commission. With all three gathered he told a tail of woe about how Bairwin was making a fortune without buying any of his produce to sell, without having any custom at all really. The dwarf believed there had to be something suspicious happening here and despite his obvious bias the adventurers were inclined to agree. Especially with the disappearance of old Sara added to the mix.

Some discreet enquiries to Bairwin who had closed his shop early to come for a drink left them with the opportunity to visit the shop first thing the next morning. He was doing well enough that not even the possibility of a sizeable sale could tempt him to reopen the store.

Valruthrun the Prescient wandered over to speak as well, the gregarious old fellow happy to chat about all manner of happenings, also talking about a nearby keep that had shown recent signs of reoccupation. This was of a lot of interest to the group as it finally looked like a lead towards the cultists they had come to Winterhaven seeking.

Valthrun the Prescient: “The keep was built during the height of the old empire. Some sort of watchtower. I can’t recall what for. Some think it was to guard against gnoll marauders, but I don’t think that’s right. Whatever, the keep outlived its usefulness. It’s been a ruin since before I was born. Probably a goblin lair by this time. But you’ve whetted my curiosity. When I return to my tower, I’ll look through my library. The next time you see me here, I will know more.”

XP = 800/3 = 267 each
4 gold, 17 silver.

PCs present: Balasar Torrin, Glorien Ethlaron, Joreb Innitu
Write up: almi85

After the action in the local tavern and their talk with “the one” our adventurers decided to make the long trip to Winterhaven to investigate mysterious cult that had begun abducting people in the area.

Leaving the hapless dwarf and halfling to take their time on the rode Balasar, Glorien and Joreb forged ahead on the road to Winterhaven eager to take a look around and try to put an end to the abduction of innocent villagers.

Unfortunately their haste on the road walked them directly into an ambush set by some kobold raiders.

However the trio made short work of the kobold raiders with Glorien even managing to hit a few of the scaly blighters with some arrows (not bad for an elf) after running back behind the statuesque fighter and paladin, who were beset on all sides by minions and dragonshields.

After dealing with the kobolds and investigating the local area the graves of three other travellers were found on the roadside. After reading the names all three adventurers agreed that they were of no importance and were likely just fellow travellers that had failed to repel the kobold ambush and without Merry there to suggest some gravedigging the holy influence of the paladin left the trio with no option but to continue onto Winterhaven.

Upoon arriving at Winterhaven the adventurers visited the local tavern to try and find the Lord of Winterhaven but were informed he would arrive shortly so set about talking to some of the locals. However after talking to them all it seemed as if something was amiss as none of them knew anything about abductions or cults but were instead all focussed on those dastardly kobolds.

Upon arrival the Lord of Winterhaven also seemed to know nothing of the abduction of various villagers but was instead completely focussed on the perceived kobold threat. After listening to his obnoxious yammering long enough the adventurers finally relented and agreed to look into the “kobold threat” while investigating the disappearance of the local villagers.

After speaking to the lord the adventurers decided to have a quick chat with an elf ranger who was skulking in the corner and looked out of place with the rest of the townfolk. The discussion here was quite a bit more interesting with the elf advising that the entire town seemed to be either in on the abductions or completely oblivious to them. so with a bit more caution the adventurers bid the elf farewell and began mingling with the locals until the rest of the merry band would turn up.

GM EDIT:

Salvana Wrafton: A man by the name of Douven Staul arrived here from Fallcrest months ago. He had a room here for a time. He had some business with Eilian. Funny thing is he disappeared one day and never returned. I never did find out what happened to him.
Kobolds! Those buggers are getting braver all the time! They aren’t talking about it, but people are worried that things are about to get a lot worse. Farmers from the southern farms haven’t been coming to market. She denies that there are any real problems… but there’s a worried look in her eye and a nervous glance towards her pantry. Lord Padraig would probably be interested in hearing your story. He’s been trying to get the militia to clear out those vermin for the last few months with no success.

Eilian the Old: You knew Douven? I always wondered what happened to him! He had questions about the old burial site southwest of the village. Thought a dragon might be buried there! I told him it was probably just an old trash heap, but he wouldn’t hear of it, no sir! Well, of course I gave him directions to the place. I am something of a historian of the area, you know! Oh yes, Douven! Well, he took my directions, and we haven’t seen him since. I do hope the poor man is all right!” Eilian pens a small map showing the way to the burial site. He knows nothing else of Douven’s fate, or the nature of the site itself – Eilian never visited the location, he just knows of it from old hunters’ tales. The map Eilian provides is sufficient to find the burial site.
Little red and brown bandits on the road? The old King’s Road? Really? I hadn’t heard. Could be redcaps. They slip out of the Feywild every so often to cause mischief, but I haven’t heard about any . . . well, I’ve never heard about them around here. Are you sure it was redcaps?

Thair Coalstriker: So, you had a run in with the kobold brigands? Yeah, kobolds. Annoying little dragon droppings! We’ve always had a few in the area, but they’ve really been growing more bold in recent months. Some of the traders who visited us on a regular basis have stopped making the trip, and I’m afraid more will follow if something isn’t done to drive off the foul creatures.

Lord Padraig: You’ve encountered the kobolds that have turned the old King’s Road and our outlying farms into their personal hunting grounds? Those beasts vex me sorely. Yet the villagers refuse to recognize the seriousness of the problem. Attacks along the road have grown more frequent over the last few months. Something’s stirring the kobolds up. I don’t suppose you would be interested in taking a commission from me? I promise you, I can pay well for your services.
He pulls out a map that indicates the location of the kobold lair to the east and south of the village. He says that a group of stalwart adventurers who confront the kobolds has a reasonable chance of dispatching the creatures. Padraig indicates they are free to keep whatever loot they find in the kobold lair, even if it is the former property of Winterhaven’s villagers. He also agrees to pay them 100 gp.

Skill Challenge (The Mystery of Old Sara) will run across several sessions. Requires 6 successes before 3 failures:
1st success: PCs learn that an old woman called Old Sara has disappeared from her small home in Winterhaven. No one seems to know what has happened to her.
2nd success: PCs learn from Delphina Moongem at the market that she saw old Sara entering Bairwin’s shop that fatal day she disappeared, as she usually did on her morning walk. “Like to see that Bairwin took care of her old store”, as she used to say, but then she never came over to the market.

PCs present: Banford Coltrane, Glorien Ethlaron, Hazkal, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric.
Write up: Faulcon

Having cleared matters with Lord Markelhay the group set about taking stock of their current situation and the first order of business was turning random assets into hard cash. Disposing of the various gems that had been collected during their travels to date netted an extra 260 gold coins which Joreb as keeper of the purse added to their funds. Merry was agitating about a new dagger and given the risk of him sourcing one through ‘alternate avenues’, House Azaer was the next stop, Merry shortly the owner of a chilly new Frost Dagger with 600 gold pieces remaining in the kitty.

The halfling satisfied and the rest of the party ready to relax they hit up one of the local pubs recommended by Merry, the Blue Moon Alehouse. Business was extremely slow, in fact their seemed to be only one other customer, though he was shortly joined by 3, well call them acquaintances perhaps? Never one to miss out on a social event, Hazkal drunkenly stumbled over to join the conversation in fulsome manner. Perhaps being short is somewhat of a disadvantage when trying to disuade people from violence though because the man who led the others to the stranger’s table declared him to be ‘the one’ and went for his sword.

As is the way with Barroom Brawls, things quickly descended into a variation of chaos. Hazkal barged the stranger into the corner taking a couple of lumps intended originally for the other while Joreb, Merry, Glorien, and the recently arrived Banford raced in. Adding another layer of confusion, 4 brutish looking henchmen charged in from where they’d been loitering round the doors.

Glorien was in fine form (there’s a first time for everything after all), his arrows driving deep into the brigand leader while Joreb ran past to assist Hazkal who was beset by the two chief underlings. Combat swirled around the two areas of the Alehouse, the petty thugs dropping fast while Merry finished off their leader. With matters looking desperate the last surviving underling tried to run for the door but was cut down well short (though not permanently) by Merry’s sharp new dagger.

The band of ruffians dispatched our intrepid Fortune seekers recovered their drinks then set about learning why such a pitiable looking wretch had drawn the attention of a large and well equipped group of crooks. As it happened – and they were fairly certain he was honest in his gushing gratitude – the man was an acolyte from some distant land following a God of Goodness and Stuff (it may have lost a little in the translation) beset by foes most vile along with many others. He alone had managed to escape the fiends and was attempting to find assistance for those left behind somewhere around Winterhaven. The surviving bandit seemed ill inclined to add any meaningful information to Gervais’ tale but neither did he dispute it, so they hauled his worthless self off to the local militia and set a course for Winterhaven.

~
Current wealth, 615gp
+1 battleforged armour (dorf size, left with teldorthan)
Thunderstone
2 healing pots
crossbow, 20 bolts, longsword, chainmail, 2 daggers (with bluemoon alehouse barkeep)

XP = 500/5 members = 100 XP each

(Teldorthan offers you 700 GP for the armour…he says it will make an excellent birthday present for his eldest son)

After defeating the evil intruders you search their bodies and find the following:

Boots of Stealth
The soft leather soles and down lining of these supple boots quiet your footsteps.
Item Slot: Feet
Property: Gain a +2 item bonus to Stealth checks.

260 gp + 2 turqoise gems

You then move back up to the Audience Chamber where you use the communication node to tell Coppernight that it is now safe to emerge from his hiding place. Soon enough he joins you, accompanied by his rag-tag band of survivors. He relates the tale of the attack on the hold, the dwarves fighting retreat, the arrival of the Fallcrest militia during the melee, the decision to lay traps within the mines and the eventual decision that all they could do was hide and hope that help arrived. He thanks you for rescuing and offers you some “small reward” for your troubles though he says with damage to the mine he can spare no coin:

Battleforged Armor +1
The dwarves and the dragonborn argue over which race invented this enchanted armor.
Armor: Plate (Dwarven Size)
Enhancement: AC
Property: If you use your second wind when you are bloodied, regain an extra 1d10 hit points.

Thunderstone
A thunderstone splits when it is strikes a hard surface, mixing the powerful reagents to create a deafening boom. On impact, this clay sphere unleashes a clap of thunder that can deafen creatures and knock them back.
Power (Consumable ✦ Thunder): Standard Action. Make an attack: Area burst 1 within 10; +8 vs. Fortitude; on a hit, the target takes 1d4 thunder damage, is pushed 1 square from the center of the burst, and deafened (save ends).

2 x Potion of Healing
This simple potion draws on the body’s natural healing ability to cure your wounds.
Power (Consumable ✦ Healing): Minor Action. Drink this potion and spend a healing surge. Instead of the hit points you would normally regain, you regain 10 hit points.

Copperstone says they will remain here and continue to mine the area. He seems unfazed by the whole incident as if it is routine for such an incident to occur. This dwarf is obviously made of hearty stuff! He talks with Hazkal at some length about the situation of the kobold activity in the region. He says that the Hold (once finished) will hopefully provide security in this area and if the PCs ever find themselves in trouble in the future, he will be glad to help them out or offer them a safe-haven.

They bid you farewell and you head back to Fallcrest where you report back to Faren Markelhay. He is shocked to hear of the death of his militia men and seems worried at the mention of Duergar, “These scaly reptiles are one thing, but Duergar are another story all together. Perhaps this recent kobold activity is driven by some other faction. I have heard news from the town of Winterhaven that they are also having trouble with kobolds raiding caravans. If this situation goes on too long it could seriously impede trade.”

The Lord Warden gives you the 200GP you had agreed upon for investigating the missing militia men and thanks you for resolving the mystery.

Quest XP = 1000/6 party members = 166 XP each

PCs present: Banford Coltrane, Glorien Ethlaron, Hazkal, Merry Merric.
Writeup: Tomay

So after listening to the dude we headed back into the previously cleared area and stumbled upon a host of enemies including 2 ants, 2 kobold pikers, 3 duergars and a dusk devil. Gloria Estefan knew the dusk devil was an etheral creature prone to slowing attacks.

The team decided to sit back and hit a few shots off with Gloria to create a bottleneck next to the barrel transports and focus our attacks. The enemies all charged in and failed to hit Merry Merric on mutilple attempts, Hazkal and Banford weren’t so lucky. The combat then become cluttered as axes and mauls swang around like crazy, mostly missing everyone, except for Hazkal and Banford. Meanwhile Gloria sat behind the crates shooting arrows into the air missing everyone in the combat.

Gradually the team wore down the opponents. As Banford and Hazkal absorbed the damage, Merry Merric managed to flank the opponents and deal some sneak attack killing blows. Gloria struggled to hit anything, except dealing considerable damage to a Duergar. Hazkal and Banford dealt with the mighty Dust Devil and then the team finished off what was left.

Having checked the bodies and the barrels of water the crew headed further in the cave to discover the dead human guards. Upon further inspection we discovered four armoured devil thingysand upon yelling “Now” the explosion killed one and severely damaged the other. In three quick striked the rest of the team finished of the remainder.

Slowly the team continued on down river in the dark to be confronted by a new bunch of foes including; an ant, two duergar scouts and a duergar wizard. The scouts used their abilites to hide in the shadows and deal considerable damage as the ant clogged the way, leaving the team volnuerable to the magic of the duergar. Glorian finally saved the day with four magnificent shots to kill the scout and the ant in the way. This allowed Hazkal and Merry access to the Theurge where they dealt enough damage to have it nearly dead.

Then from nowhere the Theurge let out a howl and damaged most of the party, including Hazkal who was knocked unconscious. The battle was continuing to ebb and flow as the tide turned continuously. With Hazkal on his deathbed and the rest of the team rather damaged, it was time to end the encounter as soon as possible.

Luckily with the use of Banford’s Paladin powers, Hazkal came back to life to finish off the Theurge. Merry then dealt the final blow to the Scout and ended the encounter.

XP = 1635/4 party members = 408 XP each

PCs present: Balasar Torrin, Banford Coltrane, Glorien Ethlaron, Hazkal, Joreb Innitu, Merry Merric.
Write up: Barre

After the frantic battle the Blue Moon crew took a rest, they would need their strength for the coming descent through the, no doubt, infested mines. Before too long the crew were alarmed to hear noises coming from the entrance of the mines, quickly arming themselves they were ready to face what ever hideous force was to greet them. As they came into view a gasp of repulsion escaped Merric’s lips, it was worse than thought, Balasar and Banford had arrived.

After a quick run through the crew gathered to venture through the double doors which indicated the start of the mines. It was not long before Glorien picked up the voices of a foe ahead, then out of nowhere a Giant Ant Warrior appeared taking a long gash out of Glorien’s thigh, Glorien withdrew and the fight started in earnest, Merric, Glorien, and Joreb lay into the warrior who was in bad shape in short time.

Becoming more aware of their surrounds the crew noticed 3 Duergar guarding what appeared to be a pit covered with a grate, alarmingly a female voice could be heard, struggling to stay above water from the sounds of it. Reacting to the noise a guard grabbed a cup, from which he’d been pouring liquid into the hole, and joined the fray, throwing the contents at Jorreb, much to his distress it was an acid and started to burn away at his skin. The Duergar then flicked his head propelling a spin from beneath his beard towards Jorreb, after slapping the spine from his skin where it struck he quickly turned pale and looked unsteady on his feet.

Following up from the guard was another Giant Ant Warrior who, noticing the acid burning away on Jorreb’s arm pressed in for the kill, adding some of his own bodily fluid to react violently with the acid, leaving Jorreb in quite bad shape, without help, he’d not last long. As the rest of the crew rushed in the lines were drawn and the arm wrestle began. The wounded Giant Ant soon fell, followed by his kin, but the Duergar proved hard to put aside, their armour proving more than a match for the crews’ wayward blows. As the fight appeared to be bogging down Glorien decided to try and buy the captive some time by rushing over and lowering a rope for her to help keep afloat, she took the hint and appeared to be able to hold steady.

A loud blast and some very colourful language from Hazkal signaled that Balasar had used his breath weapon at close range, it hurt the group, but it also wore down the guards who started to see they would not get out of this one. Merric was also looking in bad shape but that did not stop him from dodging between the bigger folk for the chance and sticking an exposed hind. A second guard fell and the battle was drawing to a close, Balasar and Hazkal moved to assist with the rescue whilst the others dispatched the final guard.

The grate was pulled open and a Dwarven woman was pulled to safety, Hazkal applied some salves to help with her acid burns, after she had recovered a little she revealed that Coppernight was holed up further into the mines when she was captured. It seems the Duergar have been searching the waterways of the mines for something unknown. She had also felt tremours which have been destabilising the mines. Her name was Herquin and she was being interrogated to reveal the location of traps and barricades which have been frustrating the Duergar in their searches.

Finally she brought to our attention the recent efforts of Coppernight to construct a magical communication device, in fact Coopernight is positioned at the receiver for the device which would allow us to talk with him if we managed to get it working. After a squabble between Merric and Hazkal the group agreed to follow Harquin to the device for the attempt.

After a serious of tweaks and tinkering the crew were able to get the machine working and spoke to Coppernight directly. Like Harquin he mentioned there are a considerable amount of defensive devices set in the mines, he instructed the group on how to trigger a blast near any barricade we might find, simply yell and they will detonate.

Alarmingly though he informed the group that the Dwarves were out of food and water, adding to this there has been a cave in which has trapped them in the cavern leaving them only a few hours of air. Merric pressed Coppernight for a reward for the rescue effort, much to the chagrin of the remaining crew, Coppernight however assured him that one would be forthcoming. With the final member convinced the effort is underway.

XP = 1150/6 party memebers = 191 XP each