Having just fought off those floating squid like things in the cave, the party decides to investigate a few loose ends in the initial complex. Finding mostly dead ends, the party begins their decent down the sloping cave towards the section where they encountered the big, bad, tough as hell bugbear.
Reaching that section of the cave the party is surprised by a small volley of arrows streaming towards Church key. The plinking sound of the arrows off his armor is more like the clinking of wind chimes than anything else. The shocking piece is that the ledge where the goblins shot the arrows is also a human who finishes some spell and a murky, gooey figure coalesces infront of churchkey tainting his armor with a black ikor that smells.
All hands spring into action. Donner quickly makes a jump up to the ledge while Barret lashes out with the chain shattering a goblins knee and causing it to fall off the ledge and die with a sickening thunk.
A group of goblins rushes from another tunnel with a short female wielding a halberd. She is immediately different, for her head supports a small pair of horns. Accompanying her is a goblin riding a worg.
Churchkey and Barrett clean out a few more of the goblins and fell the gooey mess. Connell is having a bad day. His swings are powerful but clumsy. Bolgrim is bolstering the party with spells. Bless being his first operation and then moving into heal mode.
With quick blows Donner is able to stun the magician and quickly send him to his maker. Where in he reels to remove the other two goblins on the ledge. At this time the battle takes a turn for the worse for our party.
With a battle fury the halberd woman whacks Churckey and does a fierce 22 hp blow. Churchkey staggers but is able to atleast give back a bit of what he received. Connell is frustrated for every swing he makes seems to slide off their armor or they are able to dodge the blow with little effort. The worg has Barretts name and begins tearing through his armor. Although doing considerable amounts of damage, the Worg can not seem to trip Barrett. The worg rider is also drawing a good deal of blood from Connell.
Bolgrim is furiously casting heal spells. Pepper is "peppering" the group with flame strikes and casting mild cure spells. The party is barely holding on.
At this a small glow is detected from down the cavern where two lizards with a mild blue electric current coursing between them is being herded by some sort of shaman.
Barrett is able to land a good blow on the worg but it just wont stop its incessant attacks. Connel is able to take a second breath, refocus and finally he lands a blow on the worg.
Fire streaks from the shaman at Churchkey but to little affect. Donner leaps down the 15' ledge and attacks the shaman. The shaman counters with a spell that Donner is barely able to resist and then proceeds to beet the shaman to death.
The lizards attack and Barrett falls unconscious from the electrical damage. Connell is staggering. He is able to give a killing blow to the wolf before he too falls to the ground. Bolgrim grabs Barrett and drags him back into the cave and calls down all the healing he can. Churchkey finally fells the woman with the halberd. The worg rider is dropped and things are looking up for the party again. In a few more rounds one lizard is dropped and the remaining lizard runs into the cave.
The party begins to heal and then realizes that resources are pretty much maxed out. Peoples hit points are extremely low and spell are pretty much depleated with the exception of a few non combat spells and cantrips.
Searching the bodies has brought up some magic items including a coveted set of studded leather. While searching the bodies Barrett and Donner follow a corridor a short ways that link to the ledge the archers and magician were fighting from. Here they find a small room housing some beds and a rope bridge over a chasm at the end of the corridor. The two return to the rest of the party.
After some discussion it is determined that what they fought must have been the bulk of anything left down in the caves. It is noted that there seems to be some kind of carved out tunnels on either side of this main cave "corridor". So the thought is to kill the lizard that ran and do a little exploring. The party heads off into the southern cave entrance in search of wounded lizard.
This large chamber opens up and they see a crude stairwell leading up to a chamber. The room contains three moldy straw pallets a door and the injured lizard. The party makes quick work of the lizard. From here the party exits the room only to find themselves in a room that has been cut nearly in two with a 45 foot precipice overlooking a rough-hewn tunnel.
Creeping forward the group finds themselves in a disturbing room that has literally been painted in blood. The walls are a rust red. The back corner of the room look like it has been chopped off and exits into the blackness of the cave. The only thing in this room is chair made of bone, and the skin of heads stretched taught and stitched together.
As Barrett begins to search the chair, it shockingly animates and swipes at Barrett drawing blood. Bolgrim again calls upon the gods and turns the undead chair. Within a few seconds the chair no longer resembles anything but the remains of the forgotten dead.
looking into the inky blackness beyond this chamber there is a ladder descending 30 feet. Donner takes the lead and easily makes it to the bottom of the ladder in record time. As the rest of the party is slowly making their way down the ladder. A massive bat swoops by and gashes Donner. Moments later it makes a second pass coming to rest to devour its now badly wounded pray. At that moment a Barrett and Connell also make it to the bottom of the ladder and begin their assault on this massive creature. Churchkey, who has remained up top do to his limited ability to climb in full armor shoots with Barretts bow and impales the creature in the back of the neck. It crumples to the ground to much rejoicing.
After a bit of searching another latter is discovered on the opposing side of the chasm. Reaching the top, a room filled with money and items of worth. Items of magic are revealed in places. After an hour of picking up items and stowing them the group decides to make their way back up to Cauldron and rest.
The group moves slowly and resolutely back to the large tunnel they were ambushed in. They are about to make their way back to Cauldron when deeper in the tunnel they can not make out what is being said, but obviously some people are talking and moving toward the party.
It is here that we leave off....
August 19 we resume in the caves.
