Thirteenth Adventure:  "Dwarves with bad feet!" by guest author Tom Forlenza

The common room is not very large.  Then again, most patrons just leave or go about their business first thing in the morning.  Not this group of novice adventurers, they require a belly full of whatever crap their current hosts will put in front of them.  As usual he is the first to show for the morning festivities.

It is not long before the priest arrives joining the whimsical mage. Mordagin’s stomach usually turns about this time.  The conversation between the two exists in single word answers from Mordagin.  He still has not been able to like the guy for the way the good priest screwed the party in the past.  Mordigan’s torment is not long lived, however, for Torak always joins his master for breakfast.  It just takes him a bit longer to get ready in the morning.  It must be that because Bran comes down to secure a table after the half-orc helps him with is armor and lube job.  Torak must then get ready himself.

Before the three are done with their meal the dwarven priest shows his face for the mini feast.  Grumle has been in rare form since meeting Kordac.  A bad influence that one is.  All Kordac wants to do is drink and fight.  Now, they are not bad qualities for a dwarf, but Grumle really needs to get some prayer time in, maybe even stop to enjoy the beautiful day for a change.  Grumle’s voice is often heard to say “How original Kordacc, you want to go for a drink and maybe get a tattoo. Okay, count me in.”

Of course everyone is done with thier meal by the time Kordacc drags his ass down for breakfast.  But that doesn’t stop the hungry wolf from dwarfing down three servings of breakfast.  The only other party member that could compete with that was Fessick, and he has already left for Rel-Mord with T’Rojan and Refnij.

The party, together were discussing their next course of action when Y’Ranwelun comes in through the doors.  The only party member not staying at the Inn-A-Rush.  Some say it is because of his hatred for Bran and that if he stays at this inn he may sneak into Bran’s room at night and slay him in his sleep.

“Good morning” The bright and cheery Y’ranwelun announces loudly.
“You are quite blissful this morning.” Mordigan remarks.  It was true. Y’Ranwelun was never one for being gay, particularly in the morning.
“Yes, <ahem> well, that may be, but there is good cause for it.  I have located Cuhltron.”
“We heard he was back in town”
“Well, what you may not have heard is that he will be meeting us here this morning.”
As if on queue, the door to the commons room opens and in walks a half elf. Up until now the only people enjoying the fine cuisine in this establishment were the party members.  So when someone shows up and starts talking to the innkeeper, they know something is afoot.

The man was asking for Ralafor (a known alias for Y’Ranwelun).  It turns out that the impure elf is Cuhltron’s hireling.  He was just casing the place out before bringing his boss in.  Soon the party is in deep conversation with Cuhltron and his hireling.

Cuhltron is an older man with white gray hair and a long beard. A smart man but seems to be a bit obsessed about this gate stuff.  Cuhltron had just return from a trip where he met with a witch.  He was seeking some new information on the Moon Gate.  This is why he was not in town when the party arrived.  The fact that his place looked ransacked was just his normal mess.  Anyway the witch told him that he needs to retrieve a scroll from some caves in the Lopa Hills.  These hills are two days south of Jalpa.  The two groups decide that it would be best if they all go together to get this scroll tube.

The group decided to leave the next morning.  Giving them time to get some needed supplies.

All together the party and an additional hireling of Cultron’s left the next morning heading south for the Lopa Hills.  This addition is a pure bread elf, named Woden, and he is damn proud of it. The first night out during first watch the party is attacked by orcs.  The first watch, consisting of Bran & Torak, heard them coming and woke most of the party up in time to defend them selves.  The party fought off the orcs and everyone survived.  Including Cuhltron, who slept through the entire battle.  Sadly someone recognized the orcs as the same group the party had met on their way over to Jalpa.

With the battle of the orcs and the night behind them, the party continued on their way through the brisk cold planes.   Towards the end of the traveling day, the party noticed a group of men south of them. They were headed right towards them.  The group decides to give these men wide girth.  Wider even than that of Kordacc’s ass when he is bending over to pick up his axe.  The men were carrying several sacks and paid no other head to the party other then watching them go by. After the men were out of site the party made camp.  The night was uneventful and all rose on time to start the next day’s journey.  About an hour into their travels the party came across a turned over wagon.  A woman and three men lay dead.  By the looks of things the men were defending themselves from a larger group before they were killed. Y’Ranwelun was wondering if the woman’s body was still warm.  Torak was appalled!  He likes them cold … and male.

By the contents of the wagon the foursome must have been traveling from one home to another.  One could surmise that the bandits from the previous night had hit this wagon, but there is no solid evidence of this fact.  Bran never the less wanted to head back after the bandits. It took the cool thinking Mordigan to smooth the priest’s angers and move the party back on their journey.

The next day the party makes it to the cave in the Lopa Hills.  The landmarks that the witch gave Cuhltron were right on and he was able to find it quite easily.  According to the witch, the small cave will lead to a series of tunneling that will take the party to a small underground town of deurgar.  After searching the cave for about an hour the elf had noticed that the cave walls consisted of two different types of stone. The dwarves both looked at it and then at each other. In sync “Well, I’ll be dammed!”  Evidently they both had missed it.  No wonder though, the sent of strong ale could be smelt on both their breaths, and Bran’s privates on Torak’s.

After some intense investigation it seems that a boulder from a different part of the hills filled in a whole in the cave wall.  This boulder must have been shrunken to get it here and then allowed to grow once in place.  Everyone was then looking at Mordigan for some sorcery. Seeing that he is on the spot all blood drains from his face. “I-I-I can’t do anything today. I must rest so I could study the appropriate spells.”

“If it’s not one useless mage it another, step aside Mordi.  You can’t have a mage do priests job.” With that Grumle chants a prayer to Helena Brightaxe and the stone on the wall begins to change shape. Between that spell and some brute force the party was able to make a big enough whole to get everyone through.

On the other side of the stone is a tunnel that is both long and steep. It is quiet as well.  The party follows it and the instructions given by the witch.  “Always be sure to take the right path.”  The memory echoes in Cuhltron’s mind.  Having dealt with witches before he knew to take her literally.  So whenever there was a choice of direction the party would go right.

Almost a quarter of the day goes by before the party reaches the proverbial front door of the deugar town.  A staircase descends about 70 feet into darkness.  Leading the way was Y’Ranwelun followed by the elf and then the party.  At the bottom, the stairs open up into a small room about twenty square.  In the center is a pile of cloth strips. Y’Ranwelun enters the room and investigates the strips.  After a short time the rest of the party enters as well.  Once the bulk of the party is in the room they are attacked by invisible deugar.  First a volley of crossbow bolt then hammers.  The party defends and eliminates the six dwarves, but not before taking some damage.

Still keeping to the witches words the party heads down the right passage.  Sixty feet up it ends in a door.  Opening the door exposes a cavern that is filled with water.  Woden learns that the pool is shallow enough to enter at the edge and does just that.  He starts to move for the only other exit from the pool area, but before he could reach his destination Woden feels a tangling around his legs. He looks down and sees some appendage attempting to coil around his ankles.

About the some time a serpentine like head with teeth of a dragon pops up in the center of the pool.  It looks straight at the party and spits forth a powerful stream of water.  Not fast enough to react, the party is hit in full force.  Mordigan whimpers and runs with his tail between his legs for the back of the party.  “Oh dear!  I’ve been damaged!  The agony! The pain!  Please someone make it stop!”

Woden call for help was not unanswered as the bold, the daring and the drunk Kordacc rushed headfirst toward the elf’s aid.  Kordacc and Woden battle the one while the rest of the party beat on the other.  Soon the creatures are defeated and they sink to their watery graves forever.

Feeling confident that the water holds no greater threat then the infested mud hole back from Y’Ranwelun’s childhood memories.  He decides to swim down and see if these creatures left any treasures behind. Indeed there was, a silver key, but to what no one could surmise.

The party mutters around a small portion of the complex for another 20 minutes before they come to a door where they can hear what sounds like Grumle and Kordacc trying to be silent.  So they put together a small plan of assault.  Cuhltron, Y’Ranwelun & Torak wait in the back to cover the rear while the rest of them do the forward assault.  They open the door and see nine deurgar eating and carrying on.  The dwarves jump at the intrusion and head into battle, but not before the party gets some spells & missiles off.  At the same time the back of the party is attack by four more dwarves. At this surprise Y’Ranwelun’s survival instinct kicks in and flees from the danger.  Leaving Cuhltron to fend off two of the dwarves by himself.  Torak and Grumle, who were at the back of the attacking party, engage the other two dwarves in the back.  After dispatching these two they look around the corner expecting to see the old man run through, but instead they see the two dwarves lying in a dead burned heap.  Seeing the dropped jaws on their face Cuhltron offers an explaination.  “Some of these magic items work well, don’t they.”   He turns and apparently begins to dust himself off.

Meanwhile the front group was having a tough time with their nine dwarves.  The battle was hard fought, took some time, but the party came out victorious.

Cuhltron, seeing a need to be rid of this place as quickly as possible, offers up a potential solution. “I have a magic item that will tell me if I am near the object.  This room looks like a good central area.” Upon using the item Cuhltron suggests that the scroll is in the direction of the pool area.  So the party moves back in that direction. Once in the pool area Cuhltron points the party to the back wall.  A closer investigation reveals a secret door.  With the silver key the party opens the door.

The door opens into a small cavern, which holds three chests. Y’Ranwelun’s inspection shows the chests to be trapped with poison needles.  He laughs at the dwarves feeble attempts to trap the chests and proceeds to remove them.  He does not screw up and safely removes all three.  Inside is some treasure and of course, the scroll tube that Cuhlton is looking for.  With that a sigh of relief can be heard from the party and they all anxiously begin to depart this underground home of the deurgar.  But not without their newly found treasures of course.

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