Forges of the Mountain King, Session 5: The Underking's Crown

After their short rest, Jym, Mike, Rael, Vismund, Dawn, and Lethe searched the area and turned up some minor treasures. Mike stalked silently up the stairs to scout ahead. He found a barrier of large rum barrels blocking access to the next landing. He also heard a pair of orcs speaking in a strange tongue on the other side of the barricade. The group suspected that the barrels would be used as flammable weapons against them and decided to ignite the barrels preemptively to catch the orcs off-guard. Dawn blasted the barrels and immediately ignited three of them which exploded and caught the surprised orcs on fire. The last barrel burned for a moment before it finally exploded. This caught Lethe and Rael in it's blast who had forgotten it was still a danger as they attempted to move past it. Mike used his powers to drag one of the orcs through a campfire which finished burning it to death. The remaining orc tossed an axe at the party before it was killed.

As the group reached the next landing they could hear more orcs charging down the stairs from above. Two orc raiders were followed by an orc shaman of Gruumsh, the orcish god of destruction. The shaman gave a battle cry and then struck the group with "hammer of chaos", a disorienting blow of invisible force. Mike recovered and then replied with his own blast of forceful wind, attempting to knock one of the orcs over the railing and into the deep chasm below. Unfortunately the raider in question was able to grab and hold on tightly to the railing to save himself from a surely fatal fall. The raiders threw their hand axes before charging down the stairs with their greataxes raised. The shaman continued to support them with eye of wrath, weakening his opponents' defenses, while encouraging the raiders to take extra swings at his targets. Rael courageously retreated from the front line to recover from the effects of the eye of wrath, while Jym moved the rest of the party into myrmidon formation allowing them to recover from their wounds while presenting a strong frontal assault. Once the raiders were dealt with the party closed in around the shaman and finished him off.

The party found more treasure on the orcs and at the top of the last landing they found an old battered battle standard that had some minor magical healing properties. Because of its ratty appearance the party decided to have Vismund carry it. There was also a pair of large metal doors at the top of the stair which led into the upper halls of Tannhiem. They cautiously opened the doors and continued on their way.

They went in search of the throne room rumored to have been the last place the Underking saw his ancient crown. When they got there they came upon a large group of dwarves in the middle of some religious rite. The roof of the grand chamber was held up by crystal pillars, pulsing internally with bluish light, one of which had collapsed and lay in pieces on the ground. A short dais with a stone throne was on the far side of the room, where an important looking dwarf sat and watched over the rite, a battered golden crown resting on his bald head. A pair of tough looking dwarves with crossbows stood idly by, apparently acting as bodyguards to their leader. The rest of the dwarves were dressed in plate-mail emblazoned with a symbol of a black hammer and were armed with greatswords. They were gathered about a massive stone statue in the center of the chamber standing on a metal grating from which steam continuously rose, slightly obscuring the statues features. The statue appeared to be cobbled together from the bits and pieces of other statues and depicted a massive demonic dwarf with bat wings and a beard of writhing tentacles.

Vismund recalled seeing many statues of the Septych, the seven deadly dwarven vices represented in demonic form, that the party had discovered in the underground lake and remembered that they appeared to have had pieces scavenged from them. He determined that some of the schematics in the trapmaster's journal matched this construct, so warned the party that the colossus might have more to it than meets the eye. Luckily the party had approached silently and the dwarves had not noticed them yet. A closed door to the party's left promised a circuitous route around the main chamber. Lethe, as instructed by Jym, decided to try to sneak in closer to the statue to get a better look. Unfortunately he kicked a broken piece of masonry which skittered noisily across the floor and alerted the dwarves to his presence. Quickly the party sprang into action to recover what advantage they might still have.

Lethe engaged one of the crossbow wielding bodyguards to neutralize him. Mike and Dawn coordinated their blast attacks on the black hammer dwarves and annihilated a small group of them. Rael opened the side door and encountered another group of black hammer dwarves guarding the next room, charged in and took a pair of them out with a sword burst. Jym and Vismund moved in to the main chamber to get a better view of the action. Then the dwarves recovered from their surprise and fought back.

The statue came to life and turned to face the party. Mike attempted to move past it in order to support Lethe, but was struck by a heavy stone fist and dropped prone to the ground. He had to crawl away from it as it tried to smash him to the ground with its foot, only to be struck by bolts from the other crossbow bodyguard. Rael finished off the other black hammer dwarf he faced and then continued to sneak around the side chambers. Lethe traded blows with the other bodyguard. Their spiritual leader, Master Gimbolge, came down off the dais and got into the fray, focusing his attacks on Lethe and Mike while calling on more support troops from another adjoining room. As new black hammer dwarves entered the battle Dawn picked them off. Rael eventually found his way back into the main chamber and fey-charged the crowned dwarf and his minions. Meanwhile Jym and Vismund surrounded the statue, bolstering each others strikes, as they pounded away at it while dodging its massive fists.

It was a brief but violent battle. The black hammer dwarves were defeated first, then Master Gimbolge was overwhelmed. One of the bodyguards was killed before the statue was destroyed. The final bodyguard attempted to flee but he did not get far before being dropped. The party recovered the battered crown from the corpse of the bald dwarf and then searched the bodies. Jym found a power jewel on the leader, while the rest of the group looted beard rings, coins, and ingots.

They decided it was time to take an extended rest before heading in search of the temple-forge. Mike set up a "wizard's curtain" in order to hide the party from view while they rested.

Scions of Punjar, Session 1: The Dev'shirs' Dead

After saving the known world from the evil schemes of Malikai the Mad and Skolous the Undying in their last adventure, Corvus, Chiana, Aletha and Regnor were looking for new stimulating work. There was still no word from the members of GoHAC who disappeared investigating a disturbance in the Smoke district. There seemed to be nothing to do for several days until suddenly they received an urgent summons to a meeting with Lady Dev'shir, the matriarch of an influential noble family within the high council of Punjar.

At the Dev'shir estate the party was told that GoHAC was recommended as a capable group by the Vagimmors, who had hired GoHAC to rescue their daughter who had been kidnapped and almost sacrificed by the Skolous cultists. The Dev'shirs were in need of a discrete organization who could investigate a suspected break-in at the Dev'shir family crypt located in the City of the Dead ward of Punjar. Elam Dev'shir, the youngest and last remaining heir to the Dev'shir fortune, had found a necklace that was known to have been buried in the crypt for sale at a pawnshop the previous evening. The Dev'shirs wanted those responsible for looting their crypt dealt with in exchange for a handsome reward. The party was given a key and directions to the crypt and the name and location of the pawnshop and then sent on their way.

When the party looked into the background of the Dev'shirs to determine if they might have any chief suspects among their rivals or enemies, they learned that there were two older daughters, Dugesia and Lakasia, who had both died suddenly in a tragic stable fire 10 years ago. Their suspicions of an unsolved double-murder were immediately raised and Elam as the remaining heir became their first suspect. Yet Elam would have had to have been a very precocious 6 year old at the time if he had planned the deaths of his older sisters. Elam was known to be a bit of a drinker and gambler now, but there would be no reason for him to bring some gruesome trophy out from a hidden past to stir up new suspicions now. Without further clues the party had to go investigate one of the leads. They chose to talk with the pawnshop owner first.

Oskar's pawnshop was on Cuttlefish Way, a twisted alley in the Souk ward known as the center of trade and business of Punjar. A quartet of ruffians were dicing outside the front of the shop. Regnor decided to join in on the game and see if the men had seen anyone suspicious about the area in the last few nights. As Regnor gambled away most of his silver, he gained the group's trust and they told him about how they'd tricked an unlucky noble's whelp out of his coin the evening previous. At one point they to forced the boy into Oskar's shop to sell off some of his finery to pay his debts. The boy matched Elam's description. After they were paid the ruffians had let the boy run home. Regnor also learned that these men were hired by Oskar to keep an eye on the place in case of trouble. Regnor thanked the gang for their time and the game and left with a slightly lightened purse to rejoin the party.

The party entered the shop and began casually browsing the merchandise. Chiana used her feminine wiles and some gold coins to get on the good side of the grouchy shop-keeper. When she'd loosened his tongue sufficiently he told her about how Elam had indeed found and purchased the necklace from him and that'd he'd been able to charge double its value since the boy seem so keen to have it. Oskar seemed more reluctant to tell Chiana who had sold the heirloom to him in the first place, but more gold seemed to ease his mind. He spoke of a half-orc by the name of Latimer who often came in to his shop and sold "acquired" items. Oskar didn't think Latimer lived in Punjar, but he could often be found down at the "Famished Froghemoth" in the Devil's Thumb district outside the city walls. Latimer had brought the necklace in the week before and had seemed somewhat nervous about being there, but also desperate to make some quick cash. The necklace had been rather dirty and smelly at the time, but Oskar had cleaned it up nicely after making a profitable bargain with Latimer. Latimer had not been back since nor had he sold any similar items to Oskar before the necklace.

Meanwhile, Aletha had spied a bargain in among the junk of the shop. A stained cloak was marked 50 gold, but Aletha could detect an aura of magic emanating from the soiled item. Closer inspection revealed its true nature as being a cloak of the walking wounded +1, and that it was worth at least 10 times what was being asked for it. She attempted to convince Oskar that it would barely serve as a horse-blanket in order to reduce the price even further, but the shrewd shop-keeper would not budge on his price. Flummoxed, Aletha reluctantly handed over the full price and left the shop. The cloak's power would allow the wearer to gain additional advantage from using their second wind during combat. Aletha decided to "lend" it to the fighter. Regnor promptly wore it as a bib and drew a crude dire lobster on it as his crest. Everyone was very impressed.

Now the party was starting to suspect that this case was a random smash-n-grab and that they would have the culprit, Latimer, in hand relatively soon. They decide to seek out the "Famished Froghemoth" and wait for him there. They found the place as described in the center of the Devil's Thumb, known as a rowdy entertainment district outside of Punjar proper. The 'Froghemoth was not busy at this early hour and the owner, a man unfortunately named Pinus, was tending bar. The party bought a round of drinks and asked if Latimer was around. Pinus told them that he wasn't but he wouldn't be surprised if he came in later tonight. The group reserved a pair of rooms above the tavern and decided to check out their other lead before it got too late.

Along the way to the City of the Dead they party had to pass through the Black Gate bazaar, a crowded beggars' market situated in front of the Black Gates which divided the Souk ward from the Commons ward. It was an open-secret that this bazaar was really a training ground for young pickpockets who practiced their art fleecing the unwary traveling about the city. The party was careful and kept a tight fist on their purses while hurrying through the area. After that they passed along the Soot March which got its name from the many fires that had started there, due to the hundreds of melted candles lining the street. This was the main promenade running alongside one wall of the City of the Dead, and people often left offerings and paid their respects to the dead here. A sleepy guard at the gates to the necropolis queried the party as to their purpose, but seemed uninterested in their response and waved them through. The City of the Dead was a tumbled mess of elaborate tombs and gravestones, many covered by choking vines and others slowly being swallowed by the rising salt marsh. Winding paths spider-webbed between the tombs and statues in a tangled labyrinth. Luckily the group had directions which although complex, unerringly led them to the Dev'shir family crypt. The crypt was set into the side of a hillock distinguished by a tall portico and stairs of marble. An inscription declaring the final resting place of the Dev'shirs sat above a pair of stone doors. Aletha took a few moments to walk the base of the hillock and search for other openings. She found the entrances to other family tombs sharing the same hillock, but no other entrances to the Dev'shirs'. They found a lock and chain laying cast off on the stairs apparently broken off from the doors. Chiana examined the doors and found that someone had placed an Arcane Lock on the doors, barring them with magical energy. She was not able to break the charm with her thievery skills so the party decided to use brute force, in the form of Regnor. Regnor threw his significant bulk against the barrier several times until it finally gave under his onslaught, but not before he bruised his shoulder.

The stone doors opened with a groan and revealed a chamber dimly lit by suspended globes of light hanging from the high ceiling above. The center of the room was occupied by a ever-flowing fountain in the shape of of a serene scholarly looking fellow. Farther back was a ceremonial altar where bodies were prepared for entombment. Beyond that was a pair of stone doors carved in the shape of a massive tree trunk. The branches of the tree extended beyond the surface of the doors and spread out along the back wall. Opposite each other were a pair of smaller stone doors on the sides of the chamber. The party cautiously entered the crypt and began to look for clues. The first clue was a trail of reddish clay tracked across the floor leading to both of the side doors. This clay was not common to the area, in fact Aletha thought she had heard of this kind of clay only being common to a specific area outside of the city that was riddled with abandoned iron mines and brick pits. The chains and locks on the side doors were also broken and cast aside. Chiana attempted to listen for noise behind the doors, but the thick stone effectively muffled any sound. Next they focused their attention on the altar. They spied a keyhole at the base of the altar and attempted to fit their key in it, and that's when the two side doors burst open and disgorged a horde of undead.

The first wave of creatures were several skeleton warriors armed with swords, led by a wicked looking skeleton with spiky shards of bone protruding from it and arm-bones carved into wicked looking scimitars. Following them were a pack of decrepit skeletons dressed in rags and throwing rocks and stones at the party. Last out of the side tombs were half a dozen zombies slowly shambling toward them. The party was severely outnumbered. The skeletons attempted to surround the party and cut off their escape, while the bone-shard skeleton launched necrotic bone darts from its body at them. Regnor stood his ground by the fountain and held back the tide on one side where only two skeletons at a time could reach him. Corvus stood in the center of the chamber and called forth waves of radiant wrath to wash over the undead, destroying most of the weaker creatures outright and softening up the rest of them, yet the remaining horrors fought on and backed the invoker into a far corner of the room. Chiana was quickly overwhelmed. The skeletons' blades and zombies' claw-like hands cut her deeply, forcing her to give ground and heal herself as she was driven away from Corvus and back toward the entrance. Aletha was surrounded at first, but easily fey-stepped away to the entrance and shot bolts eldritch magic at her foes from a safe distance.

Chiana and Aletha decided to retreat and take the monsters one at a time from outside, this tactic worked for awhile until Chiana ran out of steam and was struck down. Aletha cursed everything in sight and blasted anything in range. Regnor planted his feet and repeatedly cleaved into skeletons and zombies as they tried to push past him. The bone-shard skeleton continued to launch deadly darts at him from behind a wall of troops. Regnor was forced to use every last exploit and power he had to stay standing while defeated foes piled up at his feet. Corvus took many wounds and made a break for one of the side doors that was still ajar. He barely got through one and slammed it shut behind him, while zombies pounded and scratched at the stone door trying to get to him.

Corvus decided it was time to pull out the big guns and summoned his faithful fire-angel to guard the door, while he crept away to a dark corner and tried to hide behind a shattered sarcophagus and catch his breath. The zombies forced open the door only to be burned by blasts of fiery righteousness. The angel destroyed several of the zombies before it too was torn apart. The last two zombies entered the now dark room and began seeking their escaped quarry. Corvus assaulted them with blasts of divine magic as they shambled inevitably closer. When we was finally cornered he made a last mad dash for the door again, only to be grabbed at the last instant and dragged unconscious to the cold stone floor.

Aletha knew that if the skeletons got past Chiana she would be their next target. She found Chiana's potion of healing and forced it down her throat bringing her back to consciousness but not by much. Chiana needed more energy and there was only one way she was going to get it. Aletha gave her consent and Chiana let her vampiric heritage take over as she bit down on Aletha's arm and drank deeply of eladrin blood. With an effort Chiana tore herself away from her hasty meal and leaped back into the fight with renewed vigor just as the skeletons were beginning to emerge from the doorway. Together Chiana and Aletha dispatch the remaining guards before diving back into the crypt to try and rescue their companions from a fate worse than death.

Regnor, meanwhile, had managed to cleave his way through the rest of the skeletons in the crypt and went toe-to-toe with the bone-shard skeleton. They traded blows until finally Regnor was the last one still standing, and then pulled several bone shards out of his tough hide. Chiana and Aletha came into the room in time to see the last pair of zombies emerge from a side room, covered in blood and gore. The party called for Corvus but got no answer. Regnor and Chiana charged the walking corpses and finished them off. A quick search turned up Corvus, crumpled onto the floor, badly bloodied and beaten but still alive. The party rested for awhile as Chiana's song of health brought them all back to fighting strength. The undead they had fought did not seem like they came from here, but were more likely created and left here at a later date. Things were starting to look a bit more complicated than a simple grave-robbery.

Later the group returned to the altar to investigate the locked compartment. Inside were a pile of narrow stone bricks and a set of masterwork engraving tools. The side tombs were both obviously looted, all the sarcophagi lining the walls had their tops removed and contents emptied. The tree mosaic on the wall showed the names of Dev'shir family members each carved on one of those narrow stone bricks set into the wall. They located the names of Elam and his parents but where his sisters names should be there were only blank bricks. The door at the trunk of the tree was still chained and locked.

Chiana, suspicious of more traps, checked the door and found a glyph of warding on it. She took notes on the specific glyph, in case she ran into it again, before carefully disabling it. The key unlocked the chain and they opened the door. Beyond was a low ceiling and a narrow hall lined by short sealed stone portals, apparently individual tombs for important family members. Near the back of the hall was one stone portal which had been smashed open and defiled. The chunks of stone when reassembled showed that this tomb belonged to Dugesia. A cataloging of the names of the other tombs showed that her sister Lakasia was either not buried here or was buried in an unmarked tomb. Inside the tomb was a stone pedestal, on which a body would be laid out, but the body was thrown like a doll into the far corner of the room. As Aletha entered the tomb to investigate further she was suddenly pelted by stones which seemed to be thrown by some unseen force. Then a ghostly figure appeared and hovered in front of the party. She was in her early 20's and very beautiful, but her gown and hair were a wreath of fire, and her arms and legs showed signs of horrible burn scars. She howled in agony at the party and approached them menacingly demanding they leave her tomb alone.

Aletha was very insulted from being pelted by stones and demanded an explanation from the apparition. Chiana attempted to apologize for her friend's rudeness and asked what they could do to end the spirit's suffering. The ghost pointed at the stones at their feet and said "I have been removed from the wall". Piecing the stones together revealed that it was once one of the narrow stone bricks engraved with "Dugesia". The ghost asked them to fix it and reinstall it on the family tree. The party asked how they could do it the ghost replied that when she was alive she had a spell that could remake the brick, but she did not know where her spell-book was anymore. She mentioned that they may have to carve a new brick.

Before the party fulfilled her wish however they asked her how she died. She told of how she was burned to death in a horse stable. Corvus used the Last Sight ritual on the corpse in the corner of the room to see her last moments and confirmed that she had been locked in the stable with many horses, but otherwise was alone when she succumbed to the smoke and flames. They asked her about her sister and she told of how Lakasia was a cruel girl and always jealous of her older sisters position in the family. Dugesia stood to inherit the Dev'shir fortune when her parents died. She did not know if her sister killed her however, or where she was now.

Chiana and Corvus challenged each other to a carving contest and each took turns attempting to carve new bricks with Dugesia's name. Corvus won by default, because Chiana accidentally misspelled "Dugesia". When they went to replace the brick in the wall they found a folded piece of paper in the gap behind the blank brick. Aletha took the paper and felt its oily texture a moment before she was struck blind. The paper had been covered in poison. She reeled in agony for a few minutes until her body fought off the effects and her eyesight was restored. On the paper was scribbled a ranting message about how "They will all pay! You who have found this note will die the way Dugesia did!". It was signed by someone calling themself "Cadavra".

The quick thinking party took the note to the ghost before replacing the brick and asked if she recognized the hand-writing. Dugesia's ghost admitted that it did look like her sister's hand-writing. When they replaced the brick in the wall the ghost gave a sigh of relief and faded away.

At the base of the pedestal, the party found a cleverly concealed drawer. Inside was a silver comb, a platinum tiara, a slim volume of bedtime stories, and a thick ritual book containing many rituals. In the back corner of the drawer, almost overlooked, was a brilliant red gem. Aletha detected strong magic from it and determined it was a jewel of power which would allow someone to recall and reuse one of their own powers that they had already recently used. The group decided that Chiana should have it so she could heal more effectively.

After fully exploring the crypt the party decided to head back to their rooms at the "Famished Froghemoth" and rest there and wait for Latimer to show up.

Forges of the Mountain King, Session 4: Interview with the Underking

The adventurers currently lost in the halls of Tannhiem (Jym, Mike, Lethe, Dawn, Rael, and Vismund), spent an uncomfortable evening in the crypts after dealing with the undead guardians only hours ago. After the extended rest they carefully examined the large stone doors carved in the shape of a glowering dwarf's face and found a hidden latch. Taking precautions against any traps, they safely triggered the latch from a distance using rope. The doors came open with a groan, but otherwise without incident.

Beyond was a dark hallway. At the edge of the threshold Rael and Dawn noticed arcane symbols inscribed in the dust covered floor. The purpose of which seemed to be to keep something inside rather than keep interlopers out. Lethe and Mike attempted to stealthily proceed down the tunnel, but sconces set at even intervals along the walls lit themselves with magical energy as they passed, confounding their efforts. Still the deepest part of the tomb remained in deep darkness. Dawn called down bursts of magic at the extremity of her range, which briefly lit up the chamber at the far end of the hall. In those brief glimpses the party caught sight of a single figure sitting on a stone throne at the back of an octagonal chamber.

When Mike crept into the octagonal chamber two large braziers set in the center of the room sprung to life with magical flame. Now the party was able to get a good look at the figure on the throne. It appeared to be a dwarf dressed in ceremonial armor with dry leathery skin drawn tightly over its bones and with a sickly greenish glow emanating from the sockets of its eyes. Lethe identified the creature as a wight, an undead creature of considerable power. A battleaxe and a shield lay nearby. As the rest of the party entered the room the wight slowly raised its head as if first becoming aware of them and called out in a gravelly voice "Have you come to torment me more, Naurorc?".

The party was on high alert and ready to attack, but when the wight did nothing more than wait for a response they decided to parley. Dawn took the lead and attempted to diplomatically engage the creature. The wight identified itself as "The Underking" and when it was convinced that the "High priest of the Septych, Naurorc" was not among them he choose to test their mettle with carefully targeted questions. He queried Lethe on his faith, Rael on his experience with the arcane, Vismund on his knowledge of the halls of Tannhiem, Jym on his ferocity, and Mike on his awareness of his surroundings. When the Underking was not impressed with some of the answers Dawn had to cover her companions' missteps with glib lies and diplomatic apologies. Eventually the Underking either tired of the exchange or became convinced of the groups worthiness and answered their questions.

He told a tale of how long ago he was betrayed and slain along with some of his remaining loyal guards by Naurorc and his fanatical followers. Naurorc was the one who summoned the demon Azan-Zog and bound it in a chamber hidden beneath the Temple-Forge. Naurorc had forged special chains made of meteoric iron which kept the demon captive and forced it to perform magic item creation rituals. Unfortunately the rituals required blood sacrifices in greater and greater quantities. Eventually the Underking became aware of the nefarious practices and planned to destroy the evil heirarch, but it was too late, Naurorc had become too powerful. The Underking's last memory was as he lay dying in the throne room with Naurorc standing over him laughing and clutching the Underking's crown in one triumphant hand. When he became aware again it was as a wight, bound in undeath to guard this chamber against interlopers, but more importantly to suffer eternal torment and shame of his failure to protect his people.

The party asked what they could do to rid the halls of Tannhiem of its curse, and potentially relieve Vismund from his plague of dreams. The Underking said that the only way to cleanse the halls would be to destroy and banish the demon Azan-Zog, but that would be impossible without a way to break the chains. Breaking the chains would require a weapon forged with the same meteoric iron that the chains were forged of, and the Underking did not think any of those remained. The party asked if the strange metal filings they had found earlier could be forged into such a weapon. The Underking felt that if they went to the Temple-Forge and coated one of their weapons with the filings they may be able to fuse them together, imbuing it with the ability to break the chains. Once the demon was unbound it could be killed and banished and then the spirits of the sacrificed dwarves would be at rest. As a special favor the Underking asked that his missing crown be returned to him. He then awarded the party with the paltry offerings which were entombed with him: a magical shield, a single gem, and a bag of gold.

The members of GoHAC took their new treasures, promised to return the crown and destroy the demon and headed out of the crypts area. They had asked directions to the Temple-Forge and determined that the Great Stairs would be their best option. They navigated the labyrinthine halls for a couple hours before stumbling upon an ancient abandoned brewery. The old kegs, brewing equipment, and parts of the floor were covered in fungus and a foul looking greenish slime. From around a corner a single fire beetle trundled out and began feasting on some of the slime. The beetle became aware of the group and gave a chittering alarm before charging. At the sound of the insect's warning, two of its companions came out from hiding to join the battle. Rael and Lethe moved into the room, carefully avoiding slippery slimy spots on the floor to engage with the beetle pack. When Mike moved past a particularly slimy keg, a patch of mobile slime detached itself from the keg and engulfed him, burning him with acidic juices. Attempts to cut the slime off hurt Mike as well. Mike was able to extricate himself eventually while the others beat the slime to death. The beetles took turns blasting their fiery breath on the party, but the adventurers avoided serious burns. The beetles were systematically smashed and the party took a short rest before continuing their search for the great stairs.

A couple hours later they came upon the great stairs. The stairs climbed upward to a dizzying height in a series of landings and sharp turns crossing and recrossing a great crevasse. The party was at the base of the stairs on a narrow ledge of rock overlooking the crevasse. On the first landing far above them they could see the shadows of hunched figures gathered around a campfire, apparently guarding this part of the stairs. The sentries had not yet noticed the party. Lethe and Mike attempted to creep closer to the group while avoiding detection. They could make out at least seven distinct humanoids in the group. Most of them seemed to be hobgoblins, tall goblinoids with reddish skin and triangular ears, who were armed and armored. Two of them appeared to be larger and hairier and one was dressed in robes and carried a staff mounted with humanoid skulls. One of the larger goblinoids facing the stairs picked up the party's scent and hollered an alarm to its companions who began to hastily grab up their weapons. The two groups met in furious battle on the stairs spanning the crevasse far below. Dawn and Mike unleashed magical fire into the goblinoids, killing many minions and leaving only the two large hairy hobgoblins and the be-robed one. The large hobgoblins revealed themselves as barghests, a magical blend of goblin and worg, as they shifted into worg form and leaped into combat. The robed hobgoblin was a warcaster, a master of lightning and force powers. He blasted the party with waves of force knocking them back down the stairs. The barghests attempted to savage the prone and helpless party members, but Rael successfully defended his companions. Jym called down a few commander's strikes on the barghests and Lethe gleefully brought his fullblade vengefully down on their heads while Rael assaulted them with magical sword blasts. With the barghests slain the warcaster did not last much longer. The party attained the first of the main landings leading up to the upper halls of Tannhiem and took a short rest.