15th day of the Thaw, 519 AE. (28-Mar-2026)
Much has happened in the last week! The day after returning to town the group was approached by the town Reeve, Hadrick Fariborne, enquiring about their progress in clearing the chambers beneath the tannery of dangerous inhabitants. The group boasted that their work had gone well and the chambers were nearly clear. They mentioned dog-like reptilian creatures, orcs and a hobgoblin, who did not seem evilly inclined but desired to be left alone. They were thanked and Hadrick took his leave. A couple of days later two full lances of armed and heavily armoured fighters, more than 100 strong, left the town and stormed the chambers. These overwhelming numbers quickly cleansed the chambers without loss of men, with only a handful suffering minor injuries. The following day the triumphant force returned with the bodies of orcs, reptilian dog-like humanoids and one living but shackled hobgoblin. The hobgoblin was marched within the castle walls and the bodies of the other humanoids hung from the town walls. Two days later a pair of guards, led by a squire, came to ask Jewel if she would meet with the hobgoblin Grulnor. The squire asked her to simply engage Grulnor in conversation and talk over his state of affairs with the aging hobgoblin. She agreed and the creature asked why she had not championed it to the town, as they had previously discussed. The discussion was short but seemed to go well. Meeting up with Hadrick again Jewel asked if anything could be done to free Grulnor, but he indicated that this was in the hands of the young baron Aldric and his brother Darion.
The remainder of the week passed uneventfully. Most of the group rested up, however Kratos spent his time learning the basics of running the local forge, Ironwright’s Smithy, and Lyra connected with the party in the Map’s End Inn. She had been spending the last fortnight in the company of her new friend Althirion Quell, mage, sage, scribe and proprietor of the Scriptorium. Having recovered sufficiently from their battles the group decided to return to the chambers below the tannery to search out the secret room Grulnor had previously mentioned.
At the cave entrance they discovered a pair of masons operating under the supervision of two guards to seal the cave entrance with a sturdy steel door. They were bidden to be about their business quickly as within a couple of days the place would be sealed off.
Within the chambers the group identified a stretch of tunnels they believed might hold the hidden chamber, thanks to Dimrock’s map, and quickly located it. The secret doorway swung open to reveal a room containing an ancient sarcophagus and four skeletal guards, standing unmoving in the corners. Dorcus entered boldly and poked at one of the creatures, causing all four to immediately attack. Seeing events unfold Lyra immediately cast her Sleep spell, only to watch agog as Dorcus dropped into magical sleep… and the four skeletons continued unaffected! During the ensuing chaos Kratos also collapsed due to his wounds and things looked dire indeed for our heroes. However, Dorcus awoke after being attacked by a skeleton and the tide of the battle turned. In the nick of time the group was able to stem Kratos’ bleeding and drag him out of the place. Jewel located two magical rings in the stone coffin and checked Grulnor’s abode, which had been stripped bare of all but an old cookbook. She took the cookbook with her in hopes of returning it to the aging hobgoblin.
Back at Thorneford the group brought Kratos to Alira and Dimrock, realising that it would have been wise to ask one of them to join them in their endeavours. Alira is able to revive Kratos and perform healing prayers over the injured. Resting overnight, Jewel visits Grulnor in the morning… to discover that he is temporarily out of the dungeon and talking in the great hall with an unknown person! He indicates to Jewel that all is going well and thanks her for bringing him his cookbook. Visiting Alira and Dimrock for more healing the group then finds the herdsman Lewel Cowlan, who claims to have discovered a previously unknown dungeon several hours walk from town. They negotiate for him to show it to them, bargaining down to the price of one crown each. With Dimrock unavailable they invite Alira to join them and she accepts. The group sets out and shortly out of town realise… They cannot keep up Lewel’s pace. It is likely to take until dark for them to reach the location. They agree to set out first thing in the morning. Back in town the adventurers purchase some supplies for spending the night in the wilds, should it come to that.
Setting out again shortly after sunrise the group made good time along the road. Shortly before departing the road a group of a dozen heavy riders halted their travel. Led by a black-robed priest named Velric the warriors demanded to know our heroes’ business before continuing on their way to Thorneford. Departing the road the group made their way up some rough and broken cliffs to a plateau. Being led south of a small wood where local giant eagles nest, Lewel led the group to a rockslide where he had been pasturing cattle. The rockslide had revealed a rough tunnel entering the rock face.
After entering the tunnel the group discovered that it gave way to a seamlessly carved stone tunnel with side passages. The side passages (four in all) end in rooms containing coffins and clay statues of snake-men. Navigating several poison gas traps the group recovered a small amount of jewellery and stones.
Reaching the end of the main passageway the company found the way blocked by a stout door barred with a large piece of stone set in a pair of steel hooks. Several of the group combined their strength to lift the bar… which triggers a great stone hammer! Most of the group jumps clear but Kratos and Dorcus are injured, with Dorcus losing consciousness and requiring urgent medical care. Stabilising the barbarian, they drag her to safety in one of the chambers they previously cleared.
Pressing forward the heroes investigated the large chamber lying beyond the door. Within they discovered three coffins painted with snake people along the northern wall, while an opening in the southern wall provides an exit from the area. The centre coffin was clearly larger than its neighbours and, after briefly studying the coffins, Jewel tries to slide the lid off one using a pole… only to have three animated skeletons emerge from the coffins and attack. The group briefly defends against their advances until Alira calls upon the power of her faith to drive them back. The creatures return to their resting places and pull the coffin lids on behind them.
Through the southern opening the group found another chamber, containing a large idol that looks like a cross between a toad, a snake and a heap of intestines. They saw that water had eroded the floor, revealing a hidden passageway beneath the idol.
Realising that their time was now short, they retreated to where they left Dorcus and rested overnight, taking turns on guard. During Jewel’s watch a large cobra approached, stared her in the eyes for several long moments, then left. All other watches passed uneventfully.
In the morning Dorcus recovered consciousness and the group returned to Thorneford. Finding Lewel at the Drunken Goose, Jewel learns he has drunk away much of what they paid him to guide them. Jewel extracts a promise from him to keep quiet about the dungeon he led them to, in exchange for one of the amulets they recovered from the place.
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