On the 13th day of Snake, the squad lead by the paladin Stoyk felt well rested and ready to delve into the caves once more. Urgesh the barbarian returned with his hound. Raffi the dwarf was not. Orris, a thin and sickly-looking elf arrived from the homestead with news about Aderian returning to fetch a wagon. Tienarth’s Raiders had killed a white dragon in the mountain pass to Tosasth, and the wagon was meant to haul its body back to St. Orlan.
Just as Orris finished relating his news, a rider approached. He wore the scarlet garb of the inquisitors. Introducing himself as Steng, he told of the birth of a three-headed calf on the farm, an ill omen. He feared witches hiding the cave, coming out to steal babies at night. The party professed seeing no such witches. Despite intense interest from Orris, Stoyk argues for finding and destroying whatever source of evil lay hidden in the caves. Satisfied, Steng bid them farewell.
Scorpion Arena
Travelling down through the caves and into the tomb complex, they found the remaining sarcophagi opened and empty except for mummified worms. They wondered about the goblin that escaped, and they found their way back to the arena with the imposing statue of Malok. Sprawled in an archway leading out of the arena, they spied a goblin corpse.
They descended to the floor of the arena and were surprised as the mouth of the statue hinged open and expelled four scorpions the size of dogs. Orris fled back up the stairs, followed by Stoyk. Tenren dashed to a wall, scaling it easily. Urgesh remained on the area floor, quickly dispatching scorpions. Two of the monsters pursued those fleeing. One grabbed hold of Stoyk’s left arm, snapping the bone. “Arg!” he bellowed as he fell to one knee. The next moment, as the scorpion made to strike with its tail, Urgesh sent it back to the pits of hell. Moments after the last scorpion fell, all four vanished.
Judging the statue to be pure evil, Urgesh and Orris braced against the wall and pushed it towards the edge of the ledge. With much struggle, they eventually toppled it over into the arena floor where with landed face-first with a dull thud.
Injured and now tending to a comrade who barely avoided death, they retreated once more to the surface. They sent Stoyk back to the homestead to recuperate. The rest of them remained camping at the farm until the 20th day of Snake, when a scoundrel named Yetu appeared. He heard of the cave exploits and offered to help.
Dark Elf
Back in the arena, the goblin corpse was gone. With some caution, they proceeded through arch and down a hallway. Briefly, they examined a macabre room featuring a basin meant for human sacrifice. Presently, they arrived in a large room where goblins loitered nearly a hundred feet away at the far end. Urgesh attempted a parlay with little success until an elf, two goblins and two bugbears burst through a side door.
The elf bore skin as black as night. She scolded them for disturbing the holy shrines and for opening the tomb. She commanded them to surrender, an idea not at all acceptable to the barbarian who immediately hurled his spear at her, cutting a nastly gash on her arm. Following urge to battle, Yetu sprinted at the elf, but the two goblins interceded, both stabbing him with spears. He slumped to the floor, dying in a pool of his own blood. The anguished cries of his ghost as it fled the scene sent a wave of chills over the rest of the party.
The fire of rage lit in the eyes of Urgesh who charged into battle. Tenren hurled flaming oil at the bugbears who tried to step up but burned instead. The elf waved her hand and thick darkness clamped down on all of them. They heard a door slam.
Tenren and Orris rushed into the darkness, emerging at the now-closed door. Orris opened the door to confront the elf, her back against the far wall. They pinned her with arrows and she died gasping a curse. Outside the room, Urgesh jogged down the long room to attack the only remaining foes, the goblins who had declined to engage in battle. He slew them without mercy and without a spoken word. Then he reversed course, hearing battle sounds. By the time Urgesh got back, Orris and Tenren had slain two goblins that attempted an ambush.
Exhausted, Urgesh slumped into a sitting position. Orris riffled through the pockets of the corpses, also removing the armor from the dark elf. Aside from her armor, he recovered a sword and a hand crossbow. They carried these things and Yetu’s corpse out of the caves. They buried him near an oak and didn’t bother to mark the grave.
Over a week of rest, they found the arms and armor taken from the dark elf to decay and eventually turn to dust. Other items she carried and not destroyed were a scroll in a leather case and potion. From her they also took gold coins and three gems. The goblins and bugbears also held a few coins.
Endnotes
- Treasure
- 75 gp
- Black opal 900gp
- Azurite 30gp
- Citrine 5p
- Mage scroll in leather case
- Unidentified potion of bluish tint
- Kills
- 5 Goblins 125xp
- 2 Bugbears 290xp
- Dark Elf 205xp
- Characters
- Urgesh 209xp
- Tenren 228
- Orris 207xp