Holy Pillars

Despite sunrise, the adventurers awake to a cloudy and drizzly morning. The rain has already begun to hide evidence of the previous days’ altercation.

“It doesn’t look like there’s much else here for us to do,” Soulstar comments.

“Does this mean we have to go back and get McSmash?” Uta asks while stretching her dwarven body.

“We should probably make sure he’s doing okay…and still there,” Cael replies. It doesn’t take long for the trio to pack up their belongings and head back to town. The Nentir Inn looks suspiciously empty for being lunchtime, and it isn’t until Erandil frantically approaches them that they understand why.

“Yer friend has been screaming bloody murder about dark magic and evil skulls. He’s scaring off me customers! I hate ter do this te ye, but until ye figger dis out he needs te go.”

One look at the customers who remain only attest to her claim. They seem fidgety and nervously look away when any one of them tries to meet their eyes.

“I knew he should have let me hung on to that skull,” Soulstar mutters under his breath.

“Alright, let’s go get him,” Cael sighs. Before being successfully escorted out by his companions, McSmash manages to smuggle away a shower curtain, some soap and towels all the while spewing out phrases like ‘murder skull’ and ‘hell’s crypt’.

“Alright Tourette’s Boy, what’s been going on since we left?” Soulstar asks plainly.

“I’ve been having dreams…nightmares about the skull. The one we found and…and one that looks very similar to it, but isn’t it. Then I’ve been having flashes between a battle between some kind of Necromancer and a person of Pelor; a specific man who has a scar over his right eye and a black crystal talisman; then there’s this hill sparsely surrounded by trees and these giant stone pillars; and lastly some sort of a hero’s tomb. Everything mostly is jumbled together and dark,” McSmash manages to sensibly describe the visions.

“This battle you speak of, I’m sure I know of it. Legends tell us that there were once three heroes who defeated Vecna and separated his mystical blade into three parts and took a piece of it with them. I’m positive that the tomb in your dream belongs to one of these heroes,” Soulstar authoritatively states.

Without warning, McSmash turns towards the townspeople milling about and screams “Anybody know where some giant ass stone pillars are erected? Anybody? Hey, you over there…”

“Gentle townspeople, please ignore our comrade here. Someone’s slipped him a bit of a hallucinogenic and what you are seeing are the effects of that. Please do not be alarmed, no need to call the guards, we have it under control. Yes, thank you for your understanding, so very sorry for his outburst,” Soulstar’s soothing words have an immediate effect on the people who simply turn away from the group and continue about their business. As the crowd disperses, Cael notices someone in the crowd.

“Excuse me, sorry for the abruptness, but you seem as if you know the answer to my friend’s question,” Cael says.

The halfling jumps back, startled and narrows his eyes. “That’s a rather random question to begin a conversation with.”

“Which is why I apologized for the abruptness. Do you happen to know anything of value?”

“…I probably shouldn’t tell you, but yes, I do know something. A few miles north of Fallcrest there is a hero who was buried in a great tomb. There’s nothing much of note there; little vegetation; but the stone pillars, they are there. They seem to encircle something. Nobody knows what, not many dare approach the area; it’s rumored to be haunted. It’s also rumored that part of….” here the halfling lowers his voice and his eyes to almost a whisper “…Vecna’s sword can be found there.”

“Thank you for the information,” Soulstar says, dropping 4 gold pieces into the halfling’s hand. “Is there anything else we should know before taking our leave?”

“Like I said, not many dare to go there. Maybe a goblin or two you will find, but most likely nothing human…ish.”

“ARE YOU LYING?!” McSmash rails in the halfling’s face.

Pursing his lips, Sousltar smiles at the halfling and says “Medication, still wearing off. Next time we’ll have to watch how much he takes. Nasty side effects he’s having.”

The halfling glowers at McSmash and sneers “Who the hell do you think you are? You should shut your big mouth and leave the talking to your friends.”

“Oh…oh…sorry. Here, have some soap. You look kind of dirty,” McSmash apologizes, handing over some of the contraband from the inn. Upon leaving, Uta and Soulstar notice the halfling roll his eyes and immediately chuck the ‘presents’ into the nearest canister.

“On to the captain then? I’m sure he will have some more information for us,” Soulstar suggests. The captain has been quietly snoozing at his desk; the past few days have been uninteresting…except for that call about the dragon at the Nentir Inn. At the sound of footsteps approaching the captain winks open an eye and his whole countenance brightens at the sight of the adventurers.

“Ah, friends! So happy to see you again! Congratulations on your successful raid against the bandits and their leader. I must pass on to you that the local merchants are extremely happy to hear that the roads are clear again for them to travel without fear. They hold you all in the highest regard. May I ask what your next enterprise might be?”

“We need some information on the Gray Downs.”

“Hrm. Rumors is mostly all I know, nothing else. Tales of it being haunted and whatnot. I doubt though that a few ghost stories would scare you four off though!” the captain chuckles to himself and then leans forward with his hands folded together. “Seriously though, it’s probably about a day, day and a half journey alongside the Winter River. Once it starts to look a little barren, you’ll want to head northeast. Bring plenty of water and food, there isn’t much, if anything, to hunt up that way.”

“Thank you, you’re always a big help.”

“My pleasure! Can’t wait to hear how things go when you return!” Before leaving the group takes the captain’s advice and stock up on at least a week’s worth of food and water. It is mid-afternoon by the time they start their trek and by dusk they have reached the fork in the river.

“Do we want to make camp or try and find our way in the dark?” Cael asks.

“I vote for camp, me legs are killing me!” Uta exclaims.

“I think I need a bath,” Soulstar replies.

“DEVIL HEAD SKULL…gentle…gentle…MURDEROUS BASTARDS!” McSmash mumbles.

“I think that’s a vote for make camp.” With the exception of McSmash’s whimperings and slight outbursts, the night passes without worry. At dawn the group once again packs up their gear and get ready to head out. McSmash and Cael share a confused look at their surroundings as Uta and Soulstar determine the subtle differences in the landscape.

“It looks like the vegetation begins to wear thing about here,” Uta points out.

“I agree. Is anyone else feeling thirstier? I’m just parched,” Soulstar pants.

“Good thing you got some extra water, looks like you need it.”

As the wooded area becomes more and more sparse, the landscape opens up into a large field. There are a handful of large trees to the east and west and smaller boulders; the first thing they note though is the presence of rusted weapons and shields jutting out of the ground. If one let their imagination go, they could probably envision the fallen bodies spread across, their arms reaching out towards the survivors, hoping to pull them down to Hell with them. Along with the ancient weaponry, there’s some sort of an aura about the field that both compels and repels the group. They find themselves drawn closer to the center of the field but at the same time their movements seem sluggish and slow, as if whatever is waiting for them wants them to take their time getting there.

“Does any of this look familiar to you?” Soulstar asks.

“…a little bit. I’m not sure where exactly the tomb is, that part is pretty fuzzy. DARK..DARK MAGIC…DARKNESS! Possibly a crypt in a cave?” McSmash replies.

The magical aura appears to be emanating strongest from the stone pillars on the southeast side of the field. Close by the pillars is a small pond, but the rest of the field is dead grass and bodies.

“Those are new, right?” Uta asks, pointing at a rising figure by the pillars.

“I’d say so,” Cael replies. Four Wraiths materialize around the pillars, a mix of zombies and skeletons stand several feet in front of the pillars while a Famine Hound stands alone at the southwest edge.

“Alrighty then. Pelor Almighty, bless our fight and guide our weapons into sure victory for you,” Soulstar prays. A translucent light beams from Soulstar and hovers over the companions.

“Dey haven’t seen us yet. Te keep it dat way, I’ll throw me hammer at dat one,” Uta declares, pointing at the closest zombie. Uta digs out a small throwing hammer and plants herself firmly before heaving it overhead. The group watches the hammer come into contact with the zombie who simply shakes its head and garbles unintelligibly. Cael and Soulstar inch their way forward as McSmash aims his crossbow at the same zombie. The zombie doesn’t even flinch as the bow whizzes by his rotting ear.

Now that they got his attention, Uta feels comfortable in getting a little closer. She stands a few feet apart from Cael and Soulstar and once again hits the zombie with her hammer. If they hadn’t have heard the crack of stone on bones nobody would have known the zombie was hit; his rotting corpse refused to fall apart under Uta’s assault. “What exactly is holding ye tegether? Yer barely skin and bones!”

From the other corner of the field another zombie rushes up to Cael and Uta and issues forth a putrid fume.

“Oh sick! Get away!” Cael yells; her dagger manages to loosen some of the intact organs, but the zombie doesn’t notice. The original zombie teeters its way to behind Cael and raises its arms. Screaming “HUG!” in a garbled throaty voice, it tries to hug Cael but fails when its left arm dislocates itself. “Have I ever mentioned how much I hate zombies?”

Over by the pillars, the skeletons have caught wind of the intruders. In sync they back up a little closer to the pillars and shoot their crossbows; two of them give high-fives for hits and immediately point and shake their bony fingers at the two who missed. Meanwhile the Famine Hound decides to join in the fray and hones in on Uta. His skeletal jaw oozes some weird slobber on her and his decalcified teeth sink into her armor. The Famine Hound is disappointed to find that his bite is indeed less fierce than his bark.

“Pelor, I invoke thee with light!” Soulstar raises his arms and closes his eyes. A piercing white light bursts from the sky and sears the small cluster of undead. The zombie who previously tried to hug Cael staggers for a moment and is hit with the effects of ignoring Uta’s taunting words earlier. More of his body quickly rots and slides off his frame leaving him weaker. McSmash has taken a decidedly different route than his fellow combatants. While they have made the battle come to them, he has snuck up closer to the stone pillars. From one of the few trees McSmash finds himself a nice cover and sets up his crossbow. There is no warning for Cael and Uta as one of the zombies’ heads inexplicably explodes.

“Ye should really have a set of fightin’ clothes when ye go out with McSmash. Ye have a way of attractin’ zombie guts on ye,” Uta jokes as Cael pulls an ‘ew gross’ face.

“That would probably save on cleaning bills.”

“What’sssssaniccccegirrrrllikeyouuuuudoooooingheeeeere?” a Wraith whispers into Cael’s ear while manifesting its arms, ready to touch. The three other Wraiths follow their sister’s suit and become a hovering black mass around Uta, Cael and Soulstar.

“Why is it always me?!” Cael exclaims.

“Because ye wear nice tings dat don’t smell like sweat and dirt,” Uta replies. “Plus, besides McSmash, yer probably the only ting dey can see, wearin’ white an’ all.”

It stuns Uta when, after smashing down her hammer, the Wraith doesn’t explode bloody goo like normal enemies, but instead dissipates. “Dat was weird. Alright ye little doggy, bet ye want a piece of me flesh, eh? Must be temptin’ seein’ a right ripe meal in front of yer eyes and ye can’t even taste me.”

At the end of Uta’s long taunt, Cael has managed to thrust her lit dagger into the Famine Hound leaving him with singed fur and less innards then before. Seeing that it couldn’t hug Cael, the zombie looks to Uta and bends over to wrap its decrepit arms around her stout body. Once again the endeavor leaves its arm limper and looser than before. Uta finds herself nicked by a couple of arrows and knocked over as the enemies renew their assault against the group. In retaliation, McSmash creeps closer to the skeletons and takes a deep breath. When he breathes an electrical current flows from his mouth and shoots up into the sky; it takes only a few seconds before the energy focuses itself and crackles directly onto two of the skeletons causing bone shrapnel to decorate the landscape. The two remaining skeletons’ bones clatter together in fright.

“Well if I didn’t get you with my lightning…let’s try this instead!” McSmash yells once again picking up his crossbow. In his excitement he forgets to accurately aim and dizzily watches his arrow fly through one of the skeleton’s sternums. “Always aim for the head because sometimes, they don’t have a heart. EVIL SKULL EVIL SKULL!”

“Pretttygirrrrl…” whispers the same Wraith who can’t seem to get a grip on Cael. At the same time Cael and Uta turn to their respective Wraiths and cause them to dissipate. The zombie takes one last stab at grabbing Uta and is elated when it picks up the heavy dwarf and its arms don’t fall off.

“How is this even possible? I’m like…five times yer size!” Uta yells in astonishment. The Famine Hound sees this as its chance to do some damage and lunges towards Uta’s legs, growling fiercely. Once again his jaws taste only the metal of her armor and manage to knock her out of the zombie’s arms, taking one of his arms off in the process. “Guess that solves one problem,” Uta remarks from the ground.

Seeing that its arms are no longer viable, the zombie thrusts itself into Uta instead. Uta heartily laughs as the zombie bounces back a few feet. “Belly full of ale one, rotting nasty zombie zero.”

On the other side of the field McSmash takes delight in destroying the remaining skeleton by him and starts skipping towards the group all the while intermittently yelling things like “MAGICAL DEATH WARD” and “IT’S IN THE TOMB…TOMB!”

Finding herself in combat advantage, Uta raises her might Maul and crushes the Famine Hound beneath it. Cael once again lights her dagger and destroys the skeleton while Soulstar’s last invocation of Pelor causes the zombie to explode in holy light.

“Aw, did I miss all the fun stuff?” McSmash jokes as he watches the last enemy die.

“It doesn’t look like der’s much here to be plunderin’,” Uta notes.

“Let’s head on over to the pillars, maybe we’ll find something more interesting over there,” Soulstar says.

There are eight stone pillars erected in a ring supporting four stone slabs to form a series of arches. In the middle of the sculptures is a stone tablet with ancient runes on it. It’s obvious from the size and setup that it is a tomb marker, but there is no tomb to be found nor any entrances.

“The aura seems to be strongest here, and yet I don’t see anything of note,” Cael says.

“Wasn’t der some sort of a cave entrance back dat way?” Uta asks, pointing to the northwest.

“These markins are very old…all I can tell for sure is that they are definitely markings of Pelor,” Soulstar remarks. He lingers for a few minutes intently studying the runes hoping that he will be able to make sense of them in the future.

“All ‘dis fightin’ makes me tired. I vote fer campin overnight again before movin’ on.”

“DARKNESS!!!!!”

“Sounds like a plan. I think McSmash here could use a break too.”

Bandit HQ

“Looks like other bandits have come up through here and cleaned up,” Cael notes.

“Hopefully some animals too because I don’t really want to deal with cannibals too,” Uta jokes. The bodies have been stripped of flesh and meat while any thing of value has been scavenged away.

“Thanks for the ride,” Soulstar nods to Henso who wishes them luck before disappearing in a trail of dust.

“So, anybody got a map?” Despite being called a mountain, Thunderspire is more of a large plateau and rises a few miles north from the road.

“Look here, there seems to be some sort of a manmade path…” Soulstar comments, pointing to some flattened bushes. “It looks like equipment or something heavy has been pulled through here.”

“Perfect! Let’s track it and see where it goes,” Cael suggests. A mile into their trek the trio notices wisps of campfire smoke and a low murmuring of voices. While the others are quiet and deferential, one sounds off with annoyance and consternation. Soulstar, Cael and Uta stick as close to the shadows as possible, but the combination of not much cover and Uta’s clanking armor makes it difficult. Finding a safe hiding spot behind a well-sized rock, the trio are able to focus and they find a Wolf, a Beserker Human and three human minions around the campfire.

“My last raiding party has been mercilessly slaughtered! You three better pray that you do better and survive! And if you happen to come across the cowards who did this you better pay them the appropriate respects,” the leader explodes angrily.

“Let’s edge against this ledge here and try to sneak up behind the tree there,” Uta says. “But obviously you guys go first. I’m not much for sneaking…clanging armor and all.”

Soulstar and Caelynna clumsily make their way towards the tree. The wolf perks its ears, but does nothing. Seeing that her comrades somehow made it unseen Uta begins to shuffle closer. Halfway there her movement catches the attention of the entire group.

“DWARF WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“I’M TRYING TO SNEAK CLOSER!”

“DIDN’T WORK!”

“Are you sure? Because I thought I was being pretty sneaky…” Uta smarts off hoping that either these guys are all really bad shots or that her comrades come out of hiding and soon.

While Uta spouts random taunts and puffs herself up for the inevitable battle, Cael and Soulstar ready themselves for a sneak attack. As Soulstar’s Guardian of Faith materializes in the middle of the camp, Cael sneaks her way behind one of the minions and decapitates him. The surprise attack has thrown the small party into confusion but not complete stupor. While Cael begins to take the brunt of initial attacks, the Guardian sits as a deadly beacon of light in the midst of the fighting.

“Back up? Anytime now…” Cael half-jokes.

The Beserker has only been hit by shrapnel from the explosion of his minions but is surprised and skidded backwards by a powerful strike from Cael. Severely wounded he sics the Wolf on Cael who is able to knock it down before any considerable damage is done.

“Down dog!” she yells as her palm comes into contact with the Wolf’s jaws. The Beserker unsteadily regains his stance and seethes at the intruders. His minions are gone, he’s hurt and the Wolf hasn’t performed as well as expected.

“Mark my words, you will not survive this night!” he yells in fury.

“Oh yeah? ‘Cause it’s looking pretty bad right now. I mean, even the goblins we beat down yesterday lasted longer than this,” Uta taunts. Growling into the night air the Beserker unleashes his fury upon the dwarf and knocks her down. “Oh sure, pick on the small kid, I see how it is…”

The Wolf and Cael have found themselves in a face-off. Cael lunges towards the Wolf and sinks her blade deep into its gut taking pleasure in hearing its painful whine. Snarling the Wolf clamps its jaws around Cael’s closest hand drawing blood. Before she can strike back, Uta plants herself firmly behind the Wolf and crushes its head with her Maul.

“You owe me,” Uta jokes to Cael. Then to the Beserker “Looks like I’ve got myself a lucky paw.”

Filled with absolute rage the Beserker takes one last shot at Uta and clubs her, but doesn’t hit hard enough to do any real damage. It is Cael who expertly wields her blade into the Beserker and renders him lifeless.

“My debt is paid little dwarf,” Cael replies with a grin.

“You’d think they’d have more things of value at their base camp,” Uta sulks after the estimated value is priced at 100 gold.

“Here’s a box with a dagger in it…”Soulstar says. “Want it Cael?”

“Looks better than this rusty one I’ve got,” she replies.

“You better remember that that rusty blade has saved our asses a lot,” Uta teases.

“Yeah yeah.”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat. Let’s make camp here and figure out what to do in the morning,” Soulstar suggests.

“Sounds good to me!” Cael and Uta reply.

Bandits on the Road

Bright and early the next morning everyone except for McSmash congregate downstairs for some breakfast. No one seems to know what exactly is going on with him, but leave him be so they don’t miss the caravan. At the eastern edge of town Soulstar, Uta and Caelynna meet up with their designated caravan. A halfing named Golrud thanks them profusely for their offer to help and briefly introduces them to the rest of his team. With help from the adventurers it doesn’t take too long to load up the caravan with goods.

“It’ll take us about a full day to get to Hammerfast,” Golrud informs the trio.

“Glad we aren’t walking today! Don’t think me feet could take it,” Uta replies.

“So, do you offer protection to caravans often? Or perhaps you do other…more dangerous jobs?”

“Lately we’ve been dealing with goblins,” Caelynna offers.

“The odd dragon here or there,” Soulstar jokes.

“Ah, ye be pullin’ me leg now!” Golrud laughs. “But if ye are dragon slayers then I’m sure glad ter be havin’ ye guardin’ me caravan!”

In the distance they can see Thunderspire Mountain rising. The closer they get, the more visibly agitated the caravan driver and companions become. As the adventurers peer out into the surrounding area, Uta notices some rustling in a group of bushes off to the side.

“Ye’ll be wantin’ ter pull over. Looks like we’ve get some business ter take care of fer ye,” Uta advises. Golrud pulls out a crossbow from underneath his seat to show that he is ready to defend his caravan while slowing the caravan to a halt on the edge of the road. Without warning an arrow speeds over the caravan. From the bushes materialize a small group of Humans, a burly looking Human and a crossbow wielding Elf. The Elf stands partially behind the taller of the bushes while the group of Humans group together in the middle of the road.

“Halt your progress and give us your loot! If you do as we say we will spare your lives,” the burly Guard shouts.

“Why don’t you leave and we’ll spare your lives?” Caelynna nips back.

“You speak bravely for a simple Eladrin.”

Uta uses their shouting match as a short distraction to her movement. She plants herself in front of the caravan and slightly in front of Caelynna while Soulstar keeps himself a slightly more safer distance behind. Golrud keeps himself armed but carefully hidden behind the caravan. Uta doesn’t waste any time in pushing forward and cracking her Maul against one of the minions heads scattering brain matter and blood everywhere.

“Weren’t ye leaving? I’ll only give ye this one warning shot,” Uta taunts the rest of the group. Growling the Guard expertly catches the edge of Uta’s armor with the hook end of his halberd and brings her down to the ground while also slicing her side open. The Elf tweaks his bow and shoots an arrow directly into Caelynna’s chest.

“Good thing you’re a crapshot and missed my heart you dumb elf!” Caelynna snaps bravely. Soulstar quickly plants down a Guardian of Faith in the midst of Humans and uses Healing Ward on Uta. Putting on a brave face, Golrud shoots off his bow back at the Elf and ducks down either out of embarrassment or fear of retribution as the arrow drops into the bushes. Despite being wounded, Caelynna handles her longsword precisely and easily cleaves the Human minion. The roadway is quickly being sullied by the blood of the small group of bandits and none of the remaining survivors look thrilled. Two Human minions swipe at Uta in reciprocation but their attacks pale in comparison to the deadly blows Caelynna and Uta delivered moments earlier.

“Pfft, ye two barely even scratched me!” Uta jabs. Before she’s even done with her sentence, the Guardian rises up and crushes one of the minions with holy light. “That’s what I like ter see!” Uta hops back onto her feet and swings with all her might…only to find herself spinning around in a circle.

“Do you like to see that too?” Soulstar quips.

“That was a warning miss. Next time I’ll get ye and I’ll hit ye hard,” Uta sneers at the Guard.

Growling at the taunt, the Guard catches the chink he made in Uta’s armor and stabs her deeply. As she staggers back he simply points his finger at her. The Elf steps back a few paces to get a longer range for his bow and targets Uta. With a swift release the arrow sails through the air and catches Uta unawares, knocking her out. Quickly Soulstar uses his Sacred Flame to revive Uta but she remains flat on her back. Golrud peeks out from behind the caravan once more and pings the Guard in the side with a bolt and promptly ducks back down. As the Guard slightly turns his head, Caelynna uses this moment to sneak behind him and catches him off guard with a double-quick stab. Her short sword plunges into his shoulder and punctures his muscles.

“Should have run away when you had the chance,” she smirks. Once again Uta pulls herself up from the ground and takes a moment to patch up some of her wounds. After that she narrows her eyes and, using all of her dwarven strength and annoyance at the bandits, mightily crushes the Guard, allowing Caelynna those few moments to heal herself as well. The combination of Soulstar’s emanating holy light and an accurate blow from Golrud’s bow, the Elf crumples in defeat leaving the unconscious Guard the only testament to the Bandit Group.

“It’s strange that you would bother to bandage up a fallen enemy,” the guard remarks as Soulstar tends to his wounds. “Why would you do this?”

“No reason to kill someone who is no longer a threat,” Soulstar replies.

“You don’t need to insult me after killing off my crew. What can I do in repayment of this act of kindness?”

“Why do you attack these caravans?”

“They be easy pickings. …’til now anyhow. My boss demanded it of us and gave us a good pick of loot.”

“Who is your boss?”

“You don’t want to be meeting him; especially not after this stunt. Nasty piece of work he is. His hideout is deep in the forest.”

“Well…where is his hideout?” Caelynna presses.

“I don’t really want to be telling you,” the Guard says. Sighing, Caelynna uses her wide vocabulary to convince the Guard to reveal his Boss’ location. It doesn’t take too long before he reveals that the camp can be found at the north edge of Thunderspire.

“What are ye doin’ helpin’ dis bandit out?!” Golrud exclaims.

“I think we should take him to the proper authorities in Hammerfast,” Souslstar explains.

“Well, we want to kill ‘im,” grumbles Uta and Caelynna.

“Are there more bandits to be found on this stretch?” Golrud nervously asks.

“We don’t think so; his Boss isn’t too close to the actual roads.”

“Is it safe at least to continue traveling?”

“Is it?” they prompt the Guard.

“From us you have nothing to fear.”

“So are there other organized bandit groups hanging about?” Uta pipes in.

“You won’t be finding any other human bandits roaming about. There are some goblins and kobolds who go raiding, but they aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box if you know what I mean. They make tasty dinners though.”

Once the Guard has been securely strapped in the caravan, everyone seats themselves and Golrud hurries the caravan along. The encounter with the bandits has caused the caravan to be late in reaching its destination, so Golrud decides that they will spend the night at the Five League Inn and finish the journey in the morning. The Inn is well fortified and is a well-known stop for both travelers and merchants.

“Should we just drop this guy off with the authorities here? Or are we going to escort him all the way to Hammerfast?” Uta asks.

“I don’t think these guys are really equipped to handle him. They’d probably just take him to Hammerfast anyway,” Caelynna replies.

“He ain’t sleeping in my room. Ye can have him since ye do yer little trance thing.”

“So tomorrow once we get to Hammerfast we should plan on figuring out where his boss is,” Soulstar pipes in.

Early the next morning they congregate at the caravan feeling refreshed and ready to get to Hammerfast. From the Inn it is a little less than a half day’s journey and passes without incident. As they approach, the entirety of Hammerfast rises up before them in all of its splendor. People of all classes/races are running to and fro making stops at the various shops and caravans. Golrud’s caravan makes itself at home in a grassy area alongside other caravans. Most of the other caravans appear to have been open for business for quite some time and are busy bargaining with their customers.

“Thank ye much for yer services on this journey. If ye’re interested, I’d be pleased ter have ye back on the return in a few days’ time,” Golrud offers.

“Quite possibly. We will see where this next adventure takes us,” Soulstar replies. “May I pick up a few items from your store?”

“Of course! Of course! And ye’ll get a good price too, especially seeing as how ye helped me out today!” Soulstar fingers through some general traveling items and picks out a few torches plus oil. As the trio make their leave, Golrud slips each 50 gold pieces and once again thanks them for their help. Adjacent to the caravan grounds is the Headless Hammer Inn plus a small marketplace. The majority of business appears to be conducted solely within the realm of the caravans. They don’t waste any time in bringing the Guard promptly to Hammerfast’s Warden’s Office.

“What do you want?” Fobur demands gruffly. “And more importantly, why is he bound up like that?”

“He’s one of the bandits who’s been terrorizing the road from Fallcrest to here. We defeated his group yesterday.”

“Is he the leader?”

“No. We have the location of the leader though and have plans to travel to his camp.”

“Have you verified the story?”

“No, but we have some more inside information to help us.”

“Okay, but what am I supposed to do with him?”

“Well, we wanted to kill him, but this ol’ softie wouldn’t let us,” Caelynna points out.

“Ironically…I like the way you two think. But if you didn’t want to kill him off we can throw him back in our jails for the time being.” Fobur motions for one of his other guards to come forward and take hold of the prisoner. He is escorted to one of the cramped cells in back. “You know, the merchants here will pay big bucks if you were to be successful in ridding us of the bandits once and for all.”

“We do know that he resides in Thunderspire.”

“There’s all sorts of stories about Thunderspire. Mostly myths about minotaurs and magical mystical creatures hanging abouts. It’s ancient history and more recent history says that goblin miscreants make their home there.”

“Well, we will swing by the other merchants and see if we can find out anything more,”Soulstar says.

“Sounds good to us.” The group make their way back to the caravan grounds and question the merchants. Each group tells a similar story of being attacked with the only remarkable piece of information being that a wolf’s howl can be heard just before an attack is made.

“Did you buy any silver bullets?” Uta asks the group.

“My dagger is gold…” Caelynna offers.

“Gold don’t kill werewolves.”

“I think it’s too late to be starting off for Thunderspire now. Shall we rest up and head out tomorrow?” Soulstar asks.

“We aren’t walking, are we? I don’t think me feet could take it,” Uta exclaims. “Anyone here heading out tomorrow in the direction of Fallcrest?”

“We be planning ter leave soon. I’m willing ter bring ye te de Five League Inn and then wherever ye need ter be after dat. I’ll also be willing to give ye 25 gold fer protection services” a dwarf named Henso offers.

“Perfect!” Once again the group helps pack up a caravan and hop on board. It’s an easy 25 gold as nothing of interest happens along the trek to the Inn.

…to be continued

The Adventurers Come Back to Town

Several hours later the adventurers wake feeling refreshed and ready to take on any more goblins that dare keep them from leaving. The Symbol of Life amulet hangs around Soulstar’s neck and Uta giddily hops into her new armor. “Still a bit big but it’s much better ‘dan what I had on!”

“Hey, check out this killer tattoo,” MCSmash exclaims. The other three join him at the corpse of Ms. Barton and look at the exposed tattoo on her shoulder. “Anyone have a pad of-” Stopped mid-sentence McSmash stares as Soulstar carefully cuts away the piece of flesh on which the tattoo was inked.

“Oh gross,” Cael comments. “I am not holding on to that.”

“Well I’ve got the skull; I bet it’d make an awesome candle holder,” MCSmash says. While McSmash is handling the skull, he feels a faint pulsing energy coming from it but shakes off the feeling. Soulstar and Uta rack their brains for a few minutes trying to divine any meaning of the symbols on the skull tattoo. It’s pure black and one eye has been slashed.

“Looks like a Vecna tattoo. I don’t know much about them except that they’re like a cult,” Soulstar explains. “So I suggest we head back to town and seek out one of the holy men at the Temple.”

“Sounds good ta me,” Uta agrees. Everyone else shakes their head in compliance and the group packs up their stuff and head out the way they came in the day before. Along the way they meet no more goblins and are relieved to find that their rope is still hanging where they left it. Above the opening they see rays of sunlight coming in and hear shuffling.

“Alright, which one of ye is gonna give me a lift? It’s much easier getting’ down ‘den getting back up,” Uta quips. Cael easily picks up the dwarf and hoists her closer to the end of the rope. Uta grabs onto the rope and scrambles to the top. A minute later McSmash, Cael and Soulstar hop up onto the main floor. The mausoleum door has been left slightly ajar from when the group originally entered. Through the small crack they can see a small horde of skeletons and zombies meandering the empty cemetery. One zombie and skeleton in particular seem to be quite a bit bigger than the rest.

“Ain’t yer holiness like, super poison against dese guys?” Uta asks Soulstar.

“Let’s find out,” he remarks. Soulstar calls upon Pelor and he does not disappoint. While the skeleton’s ribcage explodes and the bones turn to dust, the zombie’s stitches tear off his face as he is shoved into the back corner of the cemetery. Close by the entrance of the mausoleum a zombie unearths himself but he is ignored as Cael swoops into place next to the Head Skeleton. Nimbly Cael attacks with her short sword and makes an even bigger dust pile of the skeleton’s arms. While the Head Skeleton and Zombie glare angrily at the adventurers, unable to move, Uta and McSmash rush forward and wildly attack to no avail.

“How do ye miss a big pile o’ bones?” Uta exclaims. “He can’t even move! Yer lucky ye ain’t made of flesh ’cause I woulda hit ye fer sure.”

The previously ignored zombie has managed to stagger next to McSmash and lets out a flurry of punches. McSmash laughs heartily as the uncoordinated arms simply tap-tap against his armor. “Dumb zombie. Maybe you should have some motor control.”

Targeting the Head Zombie again, Soulstar invokes Pelor and casts a golden glow around him. Which rewards McSmash with a combat boost. Kitty corner of Soulstar and Cael yet another zombie unearths himself from the ground. “Why can’t you people stay dead?” Cael mumbles. Using her long Eladrin legs, Cael kicks open the cemetery gate and angles herself into flanking position behind the Head Skeleton. Her short sword expertly disassembles the rest of the skeleton who disappears in a cloud of dust. From his corner the Head Zombie stumbles forward and attempts to wrap his arms around MCSmash but finds that his arms don’t quite reach around the large Dragonborn. More zombies pop up from the graves and stagger towards the group but are quickly decapitated by Soulstar. It doesn’t take much longer for Cael’s short sword and Uta’s hammer to decimate the undead crowd.

“Why are you even bothering to look, it isn’t like the undead have any place to store cash,” Cael says sarcastically as McSmash prods at what’s left of the bodies.

“You never know! Maybe they’re like the Egyptians who are buried with all the things they’ll need for the afterlife,” he defends.

It is mid-afternoon by the time the group find themselves in the Warden’s Office. Each person is rewarded with a small purse of gold as the Warden commends their good work in the cemetery. He suggests that the group check out the shops in town and come back once and if they are ready for more jobs.

“Let’s head to the Temple first and get some answers about this dark magic stuff,” Soulstar proposes.

“Sounds good to me,” Cael replies. The foursome make their way to the House of the Sun which is the place of worship for both Soulstar and Uta. Cael nips by the Nentir Inn for an Appletini to celebrate a hard day’s work and meets up with the group a few minutes later at the House of the Sun. Grundelmar is finishing his daily prayers as the foursome enter.

“Good afternoon my brothers and sisters,” he greets.

“Good afternoon,” they chorus in response.

“What can I do for you great adventurers?”

“I was wondering what knowledge you might have of the dark arts,” Soulstar asks while slipping him 30 gold pieces.

“Dark magic hm? Being a beloved follower of the gods of good I cannot say I have studied much dark magic.”

“I would surely hope not! What would your brother monks say?!” exclaims Uta sarcastically.

Giving Uta a stern look Grundelmar continues, “I did not make it my business to study dark magic to use it, but rather to fight against it. My knowledge is greater and deeper than of any other monk you should come across.”

“Heathen!” gasps Uta.

“We found this by a tomb,” McSmash interrupts, presenting the skull. The candle he had placed in the hole earlier had either fallen out or been smartly removed prior to their entrance.

“Ah this, I know this piece well. It is part of the legendary Vecna’s sword. Neither this nor any of the two other parts can be destroyed. They were separated some time ago to prevent any further mayhem. If any followers of Vecna know that this piece has been recovered, trust me they will be looking for it and desperately searching for the other pieces. Be on your guard,” Grundelmar advises.

“And about this?” Soulstar asks presenting the cauterized flesh.

Grundelmar has the decency to be taken aback but smoothly replies “Tattoo of the cult of Vecna. I definitely wouldn’t be showing that around to just anybody. Your best bet would be to speak to the guards and discover any cultists hiding underground or those moonlighting as gentile citizens. Be warned how far you are willing to go to seek the truth of this matter; it is a slippery slope.”

“Even with the guards pointing out the cultists, are there any other ways to spot a follower of Vecna?” Uta asks seriously.

“Attack in the name of Pelor and Kord and it shall be easy to discern those who do not believe,” he states matter-of-factly. “Go on, go speak with the people about town. Your best bet is to swing by Half Moon Imports, Teldorthanus Arms and Naerumar’s Imports. At Naerumar’s you will discover he runs a rather….shady operation. Go in peace my children!”

With his blessing the foursome leave the temple. “Hm, maybe I shouldn’t have been slurping down an Appletini in a holy place,” jokes Cael.

“Better than smart-ass mouth here,” Soulstar quips.

“Well, what’s he doing knowing about dark magic?” Uta defends herself.

“He was helpful wasn’t he? Hey, McSmash, maybe I better hang on to the skull. Keep the artifacts together?”

“How about I stick a candle in your-” McSmash’s response is lost as they enter the hustle and bustle of Hammerfast. Half Moon Imports is the first stop on their list. The building looks ordinary enough; the inside is heavily decorated with his finest items of which he is anxious to sell to the newcomers.

“Welcome Welcome to Half Moon Imports!” exclaims a human.

“Hello,” the travelers reply in unison. “How are things?”

“Good…would be much better if it weren’t for those darn bandits,” he mutters under his breath.

“Bandits?” Uta questions.

“Ah yes, bandits. Or alleged bandits. Traders on the river keep getting attacked and our shipments to Hammerfast have been few and far between. The funny thing is that Winterhaven does not seem to have been bothered in the least by this. Of course no one would want the crap that they’re peddling. We offer a much higher quality of goods if you know what I mean. Like this elegantly handcrafted long sword. Just look at the workmanship on this beauty,” he showcases.

“Speaking of goods…do you have an idea of how one would bring illegal artifacts into town?” Cael asks while admiring the long sword.

“I suppose one could smuggle it onto a boat. It isn’t unheard of. How about this dagger? It’s magic!”

“How about this dagger? It’s magic! Or why don’t you put down 1000 gold for this stupid sword?” Uta mocks in the back of the group.

“Are you interested in anything in particular sir?”

“I’m a chick stupid,” Uta retorts and storms out the front. She contemplates knocking over one of his glass cases, but is quickly dissuaded by the glint of one of the price tags.

The remaining three begin to inquire about various weapons and items of interest. As before he pulls out his best and most expensive items first before being asked to show something a little less flashy. And expensive. Cael buys a fancy gold-inlaid dagger while McSmash scores a sweet deal on a crossbow.

“Thank you for your patronage, please come by again. And,” the owner leans in confidentially for the last bit, “be wary of the cultist culture and all that you find there.”

Soulstar cocks his head a bit and tries to discern of the shop owner is divulging everything he knows. The owner definitely knows something more, but nothing definitive. They bid their goodbyes and find Uta looking at some trinkets in a stall.

“On to Teldorthanus Arms? I could use a new weapon,” Uta says brightly.

“If you had been nicer I’m sure you could have bought something at Half Moon Imports,” jokes Cael.

“He called me sir! And I didn’t like him.” A few stalls down they find Teldorthanus. An older dwarf is sitting on a worn chair with his feet propped up and an ale at home in his grip. At work around him are humans steadily pounding out weapons and shields.

“Hello, welcome ter Teldorthanus,” the owner welcomes from his chair.

“Hello! Are you Teldorthanus?” Uta asks.

“Dat be my name. What can I help ye out with?”

“I have dis Maul here dat’s a bit older. What can ye do fer an upgrade?”

“De kind of enhancements ye are looking fer should come from a wizard. I can show ye some other fine weapons.”

“I am in de market for some throwing hammers.” Teldorthanus escorts her over to a wall filled with weapons of all sizes and variations. It doesn’t take Uta long to pick out something to her liking. Using their dwarven kinship to her advantage Teldorthanus offers her a small discount. Everyone else declines to buy any weapons and they make their way to the next stop, Naerumar’s. Along the way Soulstar decides that it would be in their best interest if he simply buried the tattoo somewhere; no point in having some dead lady’s skin along with the skull.

Inside Naerumar’s Imports there are trinkets of every kind and value adorning the walls. A Tiefling rushes up to the group and in an overenthusiastic voice welcomes them.

“Welcome welcome welcome to Naerumar’s Imports! How may I be of service to you fine travelers today?” he gushes, spreading his arms open as if he would hug them simply for walking in the door. “Would you be interested in buying this lovely necklace? It has unique magical properties…all for the low low low price of 10,000 gold!”

“That necklace isn’t very magical,” Soulstar deadpans. Before he can say much else, McSmash interrupts. “I’m interested in some candles…magically scented ones?”

“Well, there has been a shortage of candles you know, but I think I’ve got just the thing for you!” The Tiefling rummages through an odd assortment of candles and plucks a lavendar scented pillar candle.

“I’ll take it!” As McSmash is paying for his candle, Soulstar, Uta and Caelynna wander towards a small section of the store that bears a sign “Goods of the Gods”. They find a small collection of amulets and artifacts bearing witness to Pelor, Kord and others, but nothing specific to their search.

“Excuse me, I notice that there are no trinkets for Vecna,” Uta comments.

“Oh-well, you know, I simply buy whatever is offered to me. If it’s of decent value of course,” the Tiefling replies a bit nervously.

“We’ve heard some rumors of bandits attacking caravans. Have you had any problems with this?” Caelynna asks. They receive the same response as the previous places.

“How about the rumors of dark cultists running around?” Uta dives in.

“I don’t dabble in dark magic ma’am,” he stiffly replies. She can tell that he isn’t being 100% honest with them, but can’t put her finger on what exactly he could be hiding. McSmash, tired of waiting around, takes the opportunity to bum rush the Tiefling.

“We need some answers and you’re going to tell us,” he roars. Small explosions of lightning escape from the Dragonborn’s mouth as the Tiefling cowers.

“I’ve…I’ve only heard rumors. Nothing more than what you’ve asked. A few artifacts of the dark gods have come through, but nothing extreme like Vecna,” he stutters.

“Alright, thanks for the candle, see ya!” McSmash exclaims as he cheerily walks out the door as if nothing happened.

“Let’s go rest up and figure this stuff out tomorrow,” Sousltar suggests. Everyone nods and they find their way back to the Nentir Inn. The bartender makes small talk with the group and buys them a round in appreciation for their recent undertaking.

“Hey, what have you heard about that guy Naerumar?” Uta asks.

“He’s always got shady folks hanging about. The kinds of goods he sells are…questionable. He don’t give off that vibe of trustworthiness if you know what I mean. His clientèle seems to be mostly rich wives looking for gaudy jewelry or a bright faced wizard. Mostly I don’t poke my nose into his business but I wouldn’t be surprised if he steals the best of the goods that come his way,” she replies. “Can I get ye anything else before retiring for the night?”

“I’d sure love some extra pillows. My back’s all out of whack from killin’ so many bad guys,” he jokes.

The evening passes without much incident. McSmash has strange dreams related to the skull, but keeps them to himself rather than sharing them with the group. Over breakfast Soulstar, Uta and Caelynna decide to find the guards and ask them about cult activity and then speak with the Warden. McSmash is still sleeping and doesn’t respond to any of their knocks.

“Fine, be that way! But ye’re not getting any loot ye lazy bastard!” Uta finally yells in frustration.

Back in the Warden’s Office the group are offered several different jobs. First being taking a look at the alleged bandits attacking the caravans. There’s a caravan leaving the next morning that is willing to pay for some protection. In Gray’s Down there are reports of corpses reanimating and more goblins raiding the area; it is supposed that they are from the same band as before.

“I think we should look into the bandits, I’m sick of the undead,” Uta says.

“Plus it’ll be interesting to see what kind of goods these bandits are interested in,” Sousltar agrees. They get the details on when the caravan is leaving the next morning and take their leave. On their way back to the Nentir Inn Uta sees a fortune teller.

“Ooh, this will be fun! What can ye tell me of me future?”

“Ahhh….mmmm,” she murmurs at first. Her arthritic fingers sink into a mixture of animal blood and leaves and bones. “Beware of the full moon, there is evil to be found in it.”

“Ooh, werewolves? Sounds exciting.”

“Maybe you should buy a solid silver hammer,” Cael jokes. Her interest having been piqued also, she tosses five gold pieces on the ground and asks for her fortune as well.

“Good things are in your future Eladrin. A stranger along the way will tell you what you need to know.”

After this Sousltar decides to go to the temple to pray while Caelynna and Uta make their way to the pub. “That was about as insightful as saying ‘Someone along the way will say hello to you’. Pfft,” Uta mocks.

Down the Hall

The small group approaches the locked door and debate on how best to open it. McSmash of course is eager to crash the door down with his brute strength but teasing reminders of his failure with the main mausoleum door keep anyone from agreeing with him. Cael rummages through some of her belongings and produces lock picking gear. She then begins to poke and prod at the lock. “You don’t break into many places do you?” Uta jokes as Cael struggles with the stubborn lock. On her third attempt the lock springs free and the doors sway open a bit. “Enough to be able to do this,” Cael replies motioning to the open doors. Through the doors the group heads into a long hallway; from their position they can see that there are large steps that lead down into a spacious room; within the spacious room are two independent wide walls and just past them is a dais with a tomb on top. There are several goblins standing guard in various places but the most prominent are a tall red-haired woman and a nasty looking goblin by the dais. “You guys stay here, I’ll try and stealth my way closer,” Cael whispers. The group stay put and watch Cael sneak along the inside of the wall. With only a few feet left to go Cael is seen by two goblins who instantly yelp “Ms. Barton! Ms. Barton!” The entire room buzzes into combat mode with the news of intruders. As everyone swoops into action, Uta and Soulstar are able to distinguish that several of the symbols in the room and on the tomb are dedicated to the god Avandra. Not wasting a moment, Cael deftly throws a shuriken and takes out one of the trumpeting goblins while at the same time dodging a flying dagger that came within a hair’s breath of her arm. Soulstar and McSmash make their way closer to Cael to help and before Uta can catch up, the Master Goblin whips up a magical cloud on the area surrounding the Dragonborn and Halfling. “What the hell is this?” McSmash yells as the dense fog encompasses them. “I can barely see a darn thing!” Uta carefully maneuvers her way past the fog and times her swing of the hammer perfectly to crush the taller human’s head. “Got’cha ye dirty human.” Not wanting to be outdone by a dwarf, McSmash rushes the crowd at the dais and exhales a powerful electrical storm. The light begins to flicker as dark clouds rumble overhead and bright lightning dances down. When the smoke clears and the clouds dissipate, only Ms. Barton and the Master Goblin remain standing. “Not too shabby,” McSmash comments, patting himself on the back. Even with the assault on his hiding place, the Master goblin is able to maintain the dense fog hanging over Soulstar’s head but he is unable to effectively strike at Uta. Finally getting a chance to join in battle, a zealous goblin cuts Cael deeply in the gut leaving her weakened. Avenging the hit, Uta makes a confident swing at the goblin and hits nothing but the floor. “Stupid cloud is throwing me off.” Offering up a prayer to Pelor, Soulstar focuses his attentions on the same goblin. A single cloud materializes and the brightest light spears down upon the goblin and leaves him barely clinging onto life. Soulstar wills Cael’s body to heal just enough to close the gaping wound. Over by the dais McSmash is being assaulted by the Master Goblin and Ms. Barton. Luckily neither of them is having much luck making contact with the Dragonborn. “Maybe if you quit hiding behind the tomb you could hit me!” he quips. Soulstar leaves Cael and Uta to join McSmalsh by the tomb. “I trust you two can finish up here.” “Yeah, just go up der and help out de Dragon. He hasn’t quite finished off de tomb raiders,” Uta replies. This time when the Master Goblin performs his magic he blinds McSmash and leaving him pretty much defenseless. “First the smoky cloud and now blindness? Can a Dragon catch a break here?” At the tail end of his sentence Ms. Barton catches him on the side of his head and dazes him. Before McSmash can fully recover he his hit again with a hex that leaves him rooted to his current position. “I don’t think dey liked ye teasing dem for hiding,” Uta yells towards McSmash. “They should come out here and face me instead of casting all this magic shit on me!” McSmash swears. Once the goblins have been taken care of by the original entrance to the room, Uta and Cael join Soulstar and McSmash by the dais. Seeing that they are surrounded by all four adventurers, the Master Goblin shifts his dense fog onto himself for concealment while Ms. Barton stands out in the open to attack. “Maybe ye should get a better weapon than yer silly dagger,” Uta taunts as Ms. Barton misses both Uta and Cael. Ms. Barton falls with a combined offensive from Cael and Uta. “My dagger seems to work just fine,” cael mocks as the bandit slumps over. The Master Goblin maintains the fog around him and shoots out another blinding spell on the Dragonborn. “Are you kidding me? Seriously! There are 3 other people here you could blind!” McSmash bellows. After several blows from each adventurer the Master Goblin finally dies with the death blow coming from Cael. “That was one tough cookie to crumble,” McSmash notes. “Annoying as hell too.” “That’s for sure. Let’s see what they were digging around for in here,” Cael suggests. The decoration and layout of the tomb suggests that the inhabitant was a wizard of high regard. It’s obvious that something has been removed from the coffin but as to what exactly no one is sure. Soulstar retrieves a Symbol of Life icon from the Master Goblin’s body and McSmash takes a small black skull from Ms. Barton’s bag. The skull is the size of a fist and has a small hole directly on top. “Let’s rest up before heading back up, I’m sure we’ll meet some more goblins on our way out,” Soulstar suggests. “Sounds good to me,” Cael agrees. Uta lays out her sleeping bag and promptly passes out while McSmash continues to wander around the room smashing random rubble.

….and continuing on

(apparently there is a word limit to posts which would have been good to know last update; anyhow, carrying on; and another addendum, please don’t mind the random tense shifts, didn’t notice them ’til I published this and too lazy to change it)

Uta feels the sting of the blade and retaliates with a heavy swing of her Maul.  Unfortunately her aim is put off from her wounds beneath the armor and she misses the goblin.  Wanting to get more sure on her feet, Uta takes a moment to heal a small portion of herself.  “Just in case one of ya decides ter take a bigger bite outta me,” she says glibly.  As she says this, one of the rats nips at her ankles but is met with the stern fabric of her leather shoes.  Soulstar sends a vibe of invigoration to Uta to help make her close to full health.  Slipping into a more advantageous spot, Caelynna finds balance between her limbs and the sharpness of her shortsword.  Easily the blade makes a deep slash across the goblin’s torso which immediately gushes blood.  He staggers for a moment but grins a terrible smile to show that while hurt, he’s got enough juice for some more.  McSmash eases his way in between the bloody goblin and the indefatigable rat.  For his size the rat should have been an easy target, but McSmash is learning that this is not so; “You’ll get ‘em McSmashy ol’ boy, you are after all the rat killa,” he comforts himself, reviving his health a notch.

The second shooter carefully aims his gun and pops a bolt off at Uta.  Her short stature easily ducks beneath the projectile; feeling eager to hop back into things Uta once again swings her Maul down on the closer goblin.  “Must be ter angle I’m at…maybe if I stand here,” Uta muses while moving directly behind the goblin.  The goblin, cornered by the Dwarf, Eladrin and Dragonborn, sees the oncoming slash and is amazed when he opens his eyes to find that he’s none the worse for wear.  In doing so, Caelynna makes her move again and this time finishes the job spilling his entrails onto the ground.  As if seeking retribution, the smaller rat sinks its teeth into Caelynna and leaves its mark on her ankle.  Soulstar calls upon Pelor’s light and attempts to sear the smaller rat but can’t seem to make the rays strong enough to reach the floor.  From the corner the second shooter is still aiming into the group of travelers but his bolts are only making contact with the walls or slamming down into the floors.    McSmash, feeling a new sense of vengeance towards the rats that refuse to die, brings his hammer down heartily and crushes the back half of the fat rat.  Having a taste of hero in its mouth, the smaller rat turns its attentions toward McSmash and grazes its teeth along his tail.

Finding herself trapped behind the taller Eladrin and large Dragonborn, Uta decides to wait ’til she can manage to squeeze by them and be useful.  “I’m short but I’m not slender to fit between the two of ye!”

“No need for snide comments, you could have just asked me to move,” the Eladrin replies shifting her form to confront the smaller rat.  Caelynna then points her pointy weapon towards the smaller rat and stakes it to the ground.  “For a small animal you need a small weapon.  And skill.”

“I’ll show ye some skill,” Uta mutters.  Uta raises her hammer high up to the sky in reverance to Kord and brings it down on the fat rat.  Or so she thought.  The squirmy little devil hisses at Uta but is cut short by the sudden rays of light coming down from the ceiling.  Instantly the small hallway is infused with the smell of singed fur and a burning tail.  McSmash feels a breath of fresh life enter his veins and his veins tingle with endurance.  A bolt careens through the air and finally it hits Caelynna in the side.  “If ye were wearin’ thicker armor it’da bounced right off,” Uta teases.  The area beneath Caelynna’s leather tunic is already turning a deep black and blue and swelling into quite the bruise while her ribs feel like tenderized meat.  “Thanks, I’ll remember that for next time I go sneaking around in the dark to save you.  CLANK CLANK CLANK.”  McSmash uses his sudden vitality and combines it with his battle tactics to strike at the fat rat.  These particular tactics however fail to land him a hurtful blow.

Caelynna lightly steps opposite of the fat rat and slices her blade straight through him.  “Guess we know who the rat killa is now!” quips the rogue.  Smirking, Uta marches forward to confront the unharmed goblin.  She silently invoked Kord to help guide her Maul as she approached the goblin.  At her weapon’s miss the goblin retorted “You might want to try another god, yours isn’t listening.”  Incensed, Uta digs her heels in and snipes back “If ye were a real warrior ye wouldn’t be hiding in the dark shooting at people.  Ye’d meet them head on; even this silly Eladrin has more guts than ye.”  Instead of blushing a traditional red, the goblin’s skin grows an intense shiny green and its eyes narrow in disgust.  “Pelor, help thy humble servant,” Soulstar murmurs, raising his arms.  The divine light begins faintly and slowly extends closer to the goblin; for a split second the light completely disappears yet within another second comes back stronger than before and causes boils on the goblin’s exposed arm.  This time Caelynna feels the endurance rejuvenation from the holy rays.

The goblin unveils a short blade and takes a stab at Uta.  He barely reaches even her bulky plate mail with the attack and becomes all the more annoyed.  Not wanting to be out of the action, McSmash positions himself closer to the goblin hiding in an alcove and swings his hammer.  “Stupid wall,” he mumbles as a few crumbling pieces come falling down on him.  Caelynna slips her hand into a pocket and reveals a shruiken; eyeing her target carefully and measuring the distance, she throws it at the goblin.  It also clinks against the side of the alcove.  “Alright, this is de last time I’m gonna do this,” Uta said pointedly.  Her Maul swiftly caught his hurt arm and slammed him against the side of the alcove.  “Hurts, don’t it when somethin’ heavy catches ye off-guard?  Bet ye were wishin ye had the same sneaky abilities as an elf and not the clumsy stature of a goblin.”  Soulstar once again calls upon Pelor to help sear this last foe with radiant light; she does not disappoint; the goblin’s body fills with the golden light and inexplicably exploded.

“Okay, could ye have done somethin’ else?  I got nasty goblin bits all over me armor,” Uta complained.

“Yes, next time I’ll just let him eat you,” Soulstar replied.

“Doesn’t look like those little varmints gave me anything.  Everything feels okay…at least not pussy,” McSmash exclaims with glee.

It takes a few minutes for everyone to feel fully (or at least mostly) revived and ready to move on.  As Uta, Soulstar and Caelynna wander off and divvy up the goods they found, McSmash’s ear tunes in to something curious.  “Do you guys hear that?”  When met with blank stares he waves them over to the closest doorway.  “These voices…they echo between this door and the other one on the left.  Sounds like a real pissed off lady and some more goblin minions.  What do you reckon we do?”

“Check out the non-threatening door number 3,” Uta suggets.

“Can do!” and without batting an eye McSmash charges the door and splinters it.  He walks past the remnants of a lock and notices some shiny armor in the alcove.  “Anyone got a use for this armor?  It’s black…kinda looks like what you’re wearing Uta…except better!”

“Looks alright to me…maybe a bit big.  I’ll hang onto it ’til we get back into town; someone can refit it to me small frame,” Uta replied.  “Thank ye.”

The small group now turns its attentions to the 2 doors and the mysterious voices behind them.

Part 2: Inside the Mausoleum

At the end of our last encounter, McSmash hurt his ankle from attempting to kick the mausoleum doors in with brute force.  The adventurer’s had defeated a small group of goblins and humans in the surrounding cemetary and their interests have been piqued by the low sound of murmuring voices beyond the door.

As the group quiets down from McSmash’s misfortune, Caelynna suggests “Why don’t we just push the door?”  In slight disbelief the group watch as the slim Eladrin effortlessly pushes open the door bit by bit and slips inside.  “De elf is stronger than she looks,” Uta comments.  Once the group has squeezed themselves inside they immediately notice that the air is not as dank and musty as you’d expect the inside of a mausoleum to be.  It seems fresher, if you can imagine that, as if people have been coming and going from the door; the other suspect, is the large gaping hole in the middle of the floor.

“I don’t think we should be jumpin’ down dere all willy-nilly, I’ve seen it come to no good,” Uta cautions.  For a moment she thinks back to a fellow dwarf who went all commando down a hole and ended up dead.  Ferocious for battle but there’s no shame in being cautious she ruminated.  “Hey McSmash, why don’t ye light one o’ yer numerous candles and throw it down de hole?”

“I think I have one to spare,” he jokes as he rummages through his bag for one and a match.  He tosses it down the hole and as it sails toward the floor it illuminates a larger room below and lands in the middle of 4 coffins.

“Floor calcuates to be about 20 feet down and I see a few goblins down there, they aren’t very good at hiding.  I don’t think they’ll be much of a problem for us,” Caelynna notes.

“Alright, let’s go down!”  The group ties their rope to something sturdy and carefully the Dwarf, then the Dragonborn and finally the Eladrin slip down.  Soulstar decides that for the time being he’ll hang out on top and simply blast down into the hole if need be and ensure his comrades’ safety.  Taking a quick look around their surroundings now that they were down there, Uta notices that the ceiling above the coffin to their back right isn’t looking too structurally sound.  She taps McSmash on the shoulder and points to the ceiling and he seems to understand that it could be a weapon if need be.  “Ah, me candle!” McSmash exclaims quietly and quickly picks it off the ground.

Without warning a Brute Goblin swings and hits Uta in the side causing her to lose her breath.  In rapid succession three more goblins wildly take shots at Uta but to no avail; it isn’t until the last goblin precisely throws his javelin and critically wounds Uta.  “That one had a little more kick to it,” Uta jokes as she clutches her side where the javelin impaled her.  Caelynna Fey steps to the javelin thrower and attempts to convincingly faint; the speargoblin wrinkles his face in wonder at what she’s doing but widens his eyes as she readies her shortsword.  “Ah, I was waiting for just such an opportunity as this!” McSmash giddily yells and breathes lightning onto the small goblin crowd.  “Sorry about this,” he adds as Uta feels the prickle of lightning through her plate mail.  Three of the goblins drop dead immediately from the impromptu lightning storm and Uta is able to shrug off the shock although it stung.  The last goblin grins at his luck and swiftly dodges McSmash’s Viper Strike.  From above, Soulstar calls upon Pelor and faintly light begins to shine down growing stronger and stronger; at the height of its luminosity it suddenly goes dark and fails to reach its target.  Seeing that Uta’s hurting from the goblins’ beating he uses a healing ward and she replenishes health.  He hops down from the ceiling and joins the little troupe.  It is finally Uta’s chance for vengeance.  She turns her bloodthirsty eyes upon the Brute Goblin closest to her and sneers “Yer mother was a dainty elf who frolicked among de flowers!”  The maul feels a little heavier than normal in Uta’s well versed arms and slams on the floor next to the goblin.  He heartily laughs at Uta’s miss while she grumbles “Must be de HOLE IN ME SIDE that caused me ter miss!”

Hopping up and down excitedly, the Brute Goblin swings his battleaxe and makes contact with Uta’s side again.  Despite the hard hit, Uta grits her teeth against the pain and imagines all the cruel pains she’ll make him feel.  On the far side of the room the speargoblin manages to sneak away a few paces and lightly throws his trusty javelin at Caelynna.  Her dodging isn’t quite quick enough and the javelin takes her down a few notches.    She ignores the speargoblin and moves into combat advantage position against the unhurt Brute Goblin.  Dancingly she positions her shortsword and swipes and misses by a few inches.  The Brute Goblin erupts with crude laughter at the party’s inability to touch him which infuriates them.  McSmash attempts to trick the Brute Goblin into misstepping but his hammer proves faulty against this vexing enemy.  Soulstar slips behind McSmash and closes his eyes as if in prayer; looking refreshed he invokes Pelor and white light erupts from him slightly damaging the Brute Goblin.  The entire party feels encouraged by the cleric’s prayer and Caelynna receives a jolt of healing.  Uta petitions Kord, the lord of battle, to give her extra strength as she seeks retribution against the agitating Brute Goblin.  With Kord on her side her Maul is illuminated with his grace and she energetically smashes it down.  The Brute Goblin staggers backward a bit from the intensity of the blow and notices that he is severely hurt; to add insult to injury Uta snaps “Not so strong now are ye?  I thought goblins were made of sturdier stock dan dat….like an elf!”

The Brute Goblin is beyond infuriated at this point and swings his axe at Uta; his wounds cripple its efficiency and he misses her which greatly pleases the dwarf.  Still a ways from the fray the speargoblin directs his javelin at Caelynna and once again hits her.  “How many javelins can this guy possibly have?  Where do you keep them, your pocket?!”  Once again Caelynna positions herself into flanking the Brute Goblin and maneuvers her blade deep into him.  As he sinks to the floor the dwarf erupts with a mighty “YEAH!” and grins at the Eladrin.  This success rallies McSmash; he moves closer to the speargoblin and with precision forces a heavy blow that knocks him down.  The goblin is seriously wounded but stands up again to face his enemies.  Soulstar once again calls upon Pelor and with her guidance the goblin is scorched with the holy light.  The last goblin finally slumps over, his javelins clanging to the floor.

While Uta, Caelynna and Soulstar search the room for any clues about the goblins, McSmash takes delight in desecrating the coffins and picking through the bones.  These goblins didn’t have anything noteworthy on them except a handful of gold.  Uta lays her hands on Caelynna to help her regain health and then takes a moment to heal herself up a bit.  Seeing another adjacent hallway the group suggests that McSmash toss another lighted candle down the hallway.  As he does so it shows that the hallway opens up into a T section and is seemingly empty.  Distracted by the thrill of smashing the coffins even more, Soulstar, Caelynna and Uta pick up the voices of a female human and other goblins; the female sounds extremely vexated.

Uta and McSmash take the lead while Caelynna and Soulstar hang back a bit.  Before barely entering the room bolts of death come flashing at the group.  Uta is caught off guard and is badly wounded from the first shot; the second shot she manages to duck from as she peers into the darkness to see where the shots are coming from.  As Uta searches for the attacker, three rats scurry to the right of them.  Another shot bursts through the air and misses Uta.  Adjusting their eyes to the darkness, the adventurers notice that the doors ahead of them and to their right are firmly shut.  The rats approach Uta but their teeth are not strong enough to chew through her plate mail.

“I want ter know who be shootin’ dem bolts at us!” Uta demands into the darkness.  She squints her eyes deeper into the darkness but still fails to see anyone else besides the first goblin shooter.  As she moves towards the shooter she can see, a rat takes the chance to bite her and takes a small chunk of her ankle.  Uta raises herself to her full 4′4″ height and sneers “Too scared ter come outta de darkness and face us like a true warrior?  I eat scaredy cats like you fer breakfast.”  Caelynna utilizes her Fey step to the visible goblin and attempts to use her Eladrin charm and grace upon him, but he is unmoved by her wiles.  Giving up on her womanly charms Caelynna gracefully slices into the goblin and only scratches him.  Soulstar concentrates his religious energy onto one of the rats and is unable to produce enough light to do more than spark and sputter.  The still unseen second shooter aims for McSmash but his bolt lands a foot in front of him; while annoyed that he can’t seem to hit anyone, he is also relieved that he’s been able to remain unseen and therefore out of harm’s way.  McSmash isn’t bothered by the dirty rats at his feet; “I’m the ultimate pest control!” he quips and inhales deeply before letting loose an electrical storm over the three rats.  Two of the rats manage to squeeze in between the lightning bolts and avoid death, the third rat is not so lucky and loses his tail.  “Hrm, that shoulda worked.  Well then…” McSmash muses to himself; he takes his weapon and plunks it down upon the third rat who never had a chance.  “AHA I am the rat killa!“

The bigger of the two rats waddles towards McSmash and nibbles at his armor unable to get to any fleshy bits.  To the left of the room the goblin shooter shifts a little closer to Uta and thrusts his dagger at her but is rejected by the thick armor and feels the reverbration of the denial tingle through his arm.  Still feeling high and mighty from the last fight, Uta arrogantly brings her hammer down upon the goblin but misses.  Twice.  “Well that’s embarrassin’.”  She inspects her hammer to make sure nothing has changed from the last time she used it; as if mocking her, the hammer appears to be in the same shape it was when she cracked open the last goblin.  Slyly Caelynna maneuvers herself into perfect position to attack the goblin.  In perfect synchronization she drives her blade into him and thrusts him kitty corner to his original position.  He is bleeding profusely and is glaring menancingly at the Eladrin and Dwarf who have him cornered.  The rats with only their teeth for tools furiously feast on nothing but chain mail as Soulstar produces a ray of light which momentarily warms the rats but does not hurt them.  Even though the rats were unharmed, McSmash feels enlivened for his next attack; the smaller of the two rats manages to penetrate through the leather armor and taste his holy blood.  Soulstar manages to use another healing ward on Uta who’s feeling the pinch of this battle.  The unseen shooter focuses on Soulstar and shoots a bolt at his leg; Soulstar’s leg falters under the blow but is no worse for wear.  Because of the successful hit, the shooter’s location is revealed as straight ahead from the entrance they originally came in through.  Determined to live up to his exclamation of rat killa, McSmash uses his tactical knowledge to one-up the fat rat.  A loud crack echoes around the hallway as the rat is mightily squished; but, as with all pests, he adamantly clings on to life.  “Don’t need ya hurtin’ too bad on us; hang in there,” McSmash encourages Soulstar, who is slightly revived from his wounds.  Bearing his big teeth and hissing, the fat rat vehemently bites McSmash and causes a gushing wound in his calf.  “…sure hope these nasty vermits don’t have any weird diseases…like filth fever.”  Unaffected by Caelynna’s scratch, the original shooter once again moves to stab Uta for her taunting.  His dagger cuts into her arm; while by no means a serious wound, it adds to her diminishing strength.

Fallcrest Township Day 1

Uta, McSmash, Caelynna and Soulstar find themselves at their homebase, the Nentir Inn when they receive a message from Faren Markelhay.  The area of Kalton Manor has recently seen some abnormal goblin activity in an unkempt cemetery.  The few travelers that have come that way have commented upon the presence of goblins.  While the goblins have not appeared to be hostile, it is odd that they would be seen there at all.    Deciding it would make for a good day trip, the quartet make their way to Kalton Manor which is a half days’ journey south of Fallcrest.

The day is cool and overcast but with a hint of oncoming spring in the air.  Uta comments early on that she’s glad the group received a 25 gold stipend because she was beginning to run low on money.  As they come within a half mile or so of the cemetary they clearly see the remnants of a small campfire and hear muffled talking.  Caelynna takes a closer look and is able to discern a handful of goblins and a couple of humans conversing together.  It is not yet clear if the humans are in cahoots with the goblins, but the group agree that they should come closer.  The cemetary is enclosed by a slightly decrepit fence which stands about 6 feet high and in the back right corner is a marble mausoleum.  After some deliberation the group decides that Caelynna should sneak to the right side of the cemetary where the most solitary goblin is standing while McSmash and Uta come straight in through the front gate.  Soulstar agrees to come up behind with Caelynna.

Caelynna successfully sneaks up to the gate behind the goblin while Uta and McSmash are instantly noticed coming in through the gate.  Uta makes her way towards the goblin in front of Caelynna and swings her heavy Maul crushing in his head instantly and destroying the unsuspecting goblin.  As one can imagine this makes the humans a little more hostile to the adventurers.  Caelynna deftly hops over the fence and strikes using her short sword on the human standing next to the mausoleum.  Her sword splatters his blood all over as he falls to the ground.  Soulstar conjures up a Guardian of Faith to help his comrades.  The Guardian is placed in the thick of three goblins and emits a glow with the sign of Pelor.

In the front left corner of the graveyard stands a goblin with the only other human.  Not bothering to move, the goblin directs the point of his javelin towards Caelynna who is still standing by the mausoleum.  Despite her normally quick reflexes, the javelin makes contact with Caelynna’s thigh striking her for 6.  She hunches over to clutch at the wound and narrows her eyes at the offending goblin.  The human also decides that Caelynna is their biggest threat and rushes over with a club raised over his head.  He takes a crack at Caelynn’as arm and strikes it for 4 damage.  Seeing that Caelynna is quickly losing health, the other goblins converge upon the corner where Uta and Caelynna are.  They take no notice of the tiny dwarf and instead make swipes and jabs at Caelynna, bringing her down to 5 HP.  One goblin finds himself standing next to the Guardian who bursts with radiance but fails to affect the goblin.  The last goblin to make a move darts his short sword at Uta but is shut down by her armor.  Uta chuckles at the goblins failure and comments “It’ll take more than that for ye to hit a mighty dwarf.”

McSmash sees the perfect oppurtunity to breath destruction upon their enemies.  He focuses on the group of 3 surrounding Caelynna and Uta.  Careful to avoid hitting his allies he directs the lightning onto the human and two goblins.  In the air the lightning crackles and booms with fierce intensity; as it comes down it successfully hits the human lighting him up and frying his body.  He limply crumbles to the ground dead.  The two goblins, trembling a little in the face of killer lightning, are relieved when the lightning parts around them simply putting on an electrical show. Thinking they are safe from any more lightning breath, they are caught off guard when McSmash once again opens his mouth and lets out a second roar of lightning.  The closest goblin is struck full on and his body becomes a living sparkler.  His goblin comrade stares agape at the two victims and firmly plants his feet ready to the second burst of lightning.  Once again the lightning quickly descends yet curls around him.

Caelynna is leaning against the mausoleum nursing her wounds.  Her several bruises have left her weak and near passing out.  Uta uses a minor heal to help Caelynna get back on her feet and turns towards the remaining goblin close by and critically cracks him on the head with her hammer.  While not dead he has suddenly found himself at half health and facing the wrath of Caelynna.  Seeking revenge Caelynna expertly directs her blade into the goblin’s face killing him.  There are two goblins left in the cemetary; the javelin thrower is still hanging out in the front left corner while the second is close by the mausoleum.  Soulstar directs Sacred Flame at the goblin by the mausoleum so that he can also heal an ally in the process, but the sacred light doesn’t shine bright enough to hit.  He then directs his Guardian closer to the cornered goblin.  The javelin thrower gets into position and propels it forward.  All four adventurers watch the javelin fly high into the air and then make a loud thump as it falls into the ground a few feet away.  Now it is the other goblin’s turn; he makes a pass at Uta but his weapon dings off of Uta’s heavy plate mail.  Uta rolls her eyes at him and sets her mouth into a smirk.

McSmash moves closer to the cornered goblin and breathes lightning upon him.  The lightning hits all around the goblin but never touches him.  Annoyed, McSmash coughs a few times, does a couple of practices huffs and tries again.  The lightning is no less impressive yet sprinkles all around the goblin again.  Uta grins evilly at the goblin cloest to her and annhilates him with her swift hammer.

The last goblin knows he needs to get the heck out of dodge.  All of his comrades are dead and the quartet is very able.  Caelynna slips her way towards the last goblin and attempts to jab at him with her short sword; near death makes the goblin a bit quicker and he avoids confronting the blade.  Soulstar hops over the fence and moves towards Caelynna.  He quickly heals her for another 10 HP and sears the goblin with holy light.  The goblin, critically wounded, is unable to adequately handle his weapon and misses McSmash by a longshot.  Concentrating very hard, McSmash takes a deep breath and once again delivers a rain of lightning upon the goblin; and once again the lightning maneuvers its way around him.  Lusty with battle Uta storms her way over to the terrified goblin and whirls her hammer into him.  He staggers under the weight of the blow and finds himself critically wounded.  Caelynna, seeking total vindication, uses sly flourish and decimates the remianing health of the goblin.

“Grandma, that’s a helluva hammer you gave me,” Uta ponders to herself.  Cael sings a little victory song which brings giggles from the adventurers.  Upon their defeated enemies the group find a total of 120 gold pieces plus some random pieces of equipment which are only good for selling.  They notice that the mausoleum seems to have been disturbed recently and they wander over to its entrance.

“I know what to do,” McSmash announces.  He stares at the door and then gives it a hearty kick.  The doors, seeming to mock him, barely budge under his dragon’s weight and remain firmly shut.  “Ow my toe!” he grumbles.  Then, as if in response to the door’s disturbance, the adventurers hear the murmuring of more goblins inside.