Born in Silverymoon, Deitricha’s parents are scholars. Her father is a tutor, her mother, a librarian. Of nine children, she is lucky number seven, and therefore encouraged to think of the church. She has been a cleric of Tymora for a few years, and helped defend the Silver Marches, but now Deitricha is growing curious about other parts of the world. She is book-learned, but only just beginning much practical experience.

Character sheet: Deitricha Gerhardt [Human Cleric]

..you just might get it!

I’ve worked with the knights and rangers of Silverymoon before, travelling with parties of fighters to clear the surrounding regions of dangerous folk, and I dearly love the city. I have a good life, friends, family (I’d be dumb not to understand how many people wish to be here; I’m lucky to have been born and raised in the place!), but I’d grown curious about the rest of the world. Reading about it, no matter how clever the author, was not the same as seeing new places, myself.

Tymora encourages folk to do more than read and dream - you have to go out and DO! Yet, I’d been wasting time, hanging out with friends, and going to the taverns to hear others talk about their adventurous lives. I knew I had to change, and one morning at the Bright Blade Brandished, I got my chance. Lucky for me, several of my aquaintance from about town were bored at the same time, and someone decided to quiz the barkeeper about what “jobs” might be out there for a party of five. (Perhaps we’d had a bit too much to drink, all things considered, but it got things started!).

He took us seriously enough to point the way to Lord Greycastle’s, a minor noble of Silverymoon. The Lord offered us 100gp each to clear a small copper mine he’d inherited, which his surveyors had reported was overrun with some kind of critter. This sounded like a challenge we could handle, although I think the mage needs to stop buying our fighter ale. And who bought a full-sized mug for a halfling? No wonder he forgot his manners!

Of course, Tassar had a full day of hard travel to sober up. It didn’t put him in a good mood, for which I can’t blame him, but he lost his sense of humor, too! Areon, the ranger, found a hollow in the side of the mountain that made a great place to rest until dawn, so long as we didn’t make a fire to light a beacon in the wilderness. This was barbaric to poor Tassar, I fear, who wanted to cook his trail rations and didn’t think sitting on them to warm them up was at all funny. Thank heavens Antonio was willing to use some fire magic on them instead!

The morning found us rested and prepared for anything, we hoped! Areon ranged the area, deciding that there were a ton of kobold tracks in and out of the mine, so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Theona, our artifact hunter, used her sharp eyes to check for traps, instead. Once inside, we found a mystery. Statues of people, so good they appeared to be frozen in stone! And then battered, I fear, but kobolds couldn’t do such a thing.. could they? We debated whether to follow the most-used trails, or to clear the less-used ones first. Despite Tassar’s encouragement to head into unused spaces (imaginary and undescribable elven artifacts), we decided that following the main path might not be the best idea, and headed down a slightly-used passage.

Being a mine, of course, there are few straight roads. The whole place is tunnels and ladders, leading up, down, and around. Theona was hard-put to watch for traps! One of the first rooms with anything in it, unfortunately, was infested with giant spiders who’ve been enjoying a ready source of food. Daring the fire mage to light the webbing was bad, but chucking rocks into it was worse. Theona and Tassar are good shots with their bows, although poor Antonio got in the way of a few. I healed him up and reminded him that, while he IS the tallest in the party by a long shot, he need not be first into battle. Theona found kobold bodies in the cocoons, giving Tassar his first glimpse of what we were here to fight.

A little more travel and we found some living specimens, as well. The odd levels and corners came in handy for both sides as everyone found a niche and began shooting arrows or slinging rocks. I cast a most useful spell to make myself harder to be hit by such things, which did double duty when I found Theona dashing behind me! We were able to see where the kobolds were; up on a ledge above us, and Tassar hollering at the top of his lungs about dragons while clambering up the ladder and wading into a hand-to-hand fight. Several of the kobolds were killed, and the last ran away. I took a sling and bullets from one body, and we set off in pursuit!

Theona was a little embarrassed - right after she said out loud that the way should be clear if a panicky kobold hadn’t set off any traps, Tassar fell right into one! Guess it pays to know the area, even if you’re in full flight from an angry halfing and crew. We followed its footsteps, a little more carefully, but not carefully enough. We were attacked by many kobolds in the next open space, and although I killed one myself, I saw Theona was down, but decided I’d better keep fighting. I usually fight well enough, but my shots went wild - poor Tymora probably trying to remind me that I’m a healer, first! Even Antonio had figured out to stay out of the way by then!

Areon has a very big sword, and was mowing through the kobolds with glee. Tassar can’t seem to fight without a lot of screaming and swearing and talk of dragons. Antonio, I presume, was the cause of several firey spells flying into the battle, but I was hit by one too many sling bullets, and found myself slumping to the floor next to Theona...

I woke to the sight of a rather worried party; apparently, I’d been knocked out for the better part of a day. They were starting to wonder if I’d ever wake up at all! I was quickly able to heal myself and the worst-looking wounds of the others, at least.

It turned out that Areon and Tassar had managed to drag the rest of us into a dead-end tunnel, and ably defended us from the attacking kobolds until “smoked out”, whatever that meant. They had then dragged us all to a ledge that was defensible, and fought off any attackers that came near. Now they were tired, so we gave them a rest. I found myself wondering what the kobolds were thinking of our behavior!

Tassar decided to sneak off into the darkness in the direction we wished to go, and see how many kobolds were lying in wait. I offered him my everburning torch just in case he needed light, and sure enough, Areon soon heard an “oof”. Light appeared at the end of the tunnel as the halfling pulled my torch out from under his shirt, and kobolds attacked from both directions!

As we moved into position to either defend or attack, poor Antonio collapsed next to me. He hadn’t been healed enough from the last battle, I fear! I dragged him into what I hoped was an out-of-the-way corner, and, out of healing spells, decided to try the sling again. Tassar wasn’t shouting about dragons so much this time (still need to ask him about that), but he had decided to keep count of his kills. At least, I think that’s what he was counting.

We began to get the upper hand in both directions as Tassar’s count reached nine; the few remaining creatures broke and fled. Because we’d all been wounded, and Antonio was unconscious again, we decided to yet again rest in our defensible spot! The kobolds must have thought we’d decided to take up residence.

Finally, our fourth day out of Silverymoon began. I got to pray properly, and healed us all as best I could. We set off for the second time, dragging a ladder that the halfling thought might come in handy. Theona listened as best she could, and soon turned us down a corridor from which yipping could be discerned. Of course, we tripped a trap. *BANG* went a thunderstone, leaving me, at least, totally deaf, and letting the world know we were on the way!

With little to lose, we ran into a room full of kobolds. Antonio then set off a thunderstone of his own, to judge from the creatures’ reactions. Areon was getting hit pretty hard, so I ran into the room (mostly trying to find space to fight in), and healed him as I went by. This may have been a mistake; I suddenly found myself face-to-face with a big kobold, wearing chain mail and heaving a big axe. He had a scar over one eye, but my healing had gotten his attention - with one hard swing he knocked me out, once again.

I woke up back in Silverymoon, in my own blessed Temple. Theona says there’s quite a party down at the bar. Apparently, we did quite well after all. The kobolds were defeated, and their women and children offered a chest full of treasure in return for leaving the place safely. I’m glad that my friends let them go.

I think, overall, that was fun! I’d like to try again; I hope the rest of the group wants me to come along again. I can’t always be getting knocked out, can I?

I still blame Antonio. Just kidding!

Then again, I have flowers pressed into my journal.

Guess I have to elaborate; maybe it’ll help me figure out what to do!

We started the day by going over the treasure from the kobolds’ lair. Among the coins and other things, there was a beautiful alexandrite pendant. I loved it! And, to my joy, everyone agreed that I could have it. The rest of the treasure was divided, and folk left to shop. Tassar came back with a new dog – to ride! Of course, he was soon drinking again, even before we left for Lord Greycastle’s to get paid.

Theona mentioned the strange statues to the lord, and offered our “services” to make sure the mine stayed free of vermin. He wasn’t interested in that, but did mention a caravan in need of guards – a quick trip, to Everlund and back. It seemed like a good deal to us, especially as he was willing to pay half up front this time. Nice to know others find us trustworthy! There’s always the possibility of orc attack, or worse, but that’s the chance you take in this part of the world!

We headed back to the tavern to talk over what we’d need for the trip, and found out that Antonio LOVES to shop. We all donated towards a horse and wagon, and then he began to think of other things we could carry IN the wagon besides our gear! He was soon off all over town, buying stuff. And then Tassar arrived with a barrel of ale for the trip.

Seriously, this worried me. We need to be on our toes at all times when we’re not safe in Silverymoon! Drinking and fun have their place, I’ll be the last to say otherwise, but I decided to try to explain to the halfling that drinking had no place on a journey in which one could be attacked at any time.

It didn’t turn out quite like I expected! Tassar was insulted, of course, and it occurred to me that he IS a fighter, he must know these things already. I’ll have to trust that he does know better than to drink enough to be incapacitated in the wild. So, when he offered to listen to me talk about Tymora, IF I would drink with him, I decided to take him up on it. (The look on his face was worth it, right there!)

I was glad we had another day before the caravan left. I drank a lot. I spoke of Tymora. I think I worried Theona a little; she sat down ON our table and tried to tell us about some rumors she’d heard about a ruined tower and the town docks. At least, I think that’s what she said – it was so obvious she was trying to get me away from Tassar and the bottomless mug of ale that we got the giggles. When she left for a minute to “talk to the town guard”, we thought it would be funny to take off before she got back!

Well, my train of thought about Tymora was lost for the day, but we had a lot of fun hitting a bunch of bars, “hiding from Theona”, and talking about whatever came into our heads. Tassar is a lot of fun to be around. So much fun, apparently, that I ended up going home with him.

Well, I woke up a bit confused about the room I was in.. and why I was naked. About the time I remembered that it was Tassar’s place, he arrived with a big grin and a bigger bunch of flowers! I was rather embarrassed, although not entirely for the reasons he may think. Still, I got dressed and we headed downstairs quietly, only to discover that his landlady had made us breakfast! Here I was hoping my family wouldn’t tease me too much about letting loose outside of Midsummer, and instead had to respond to the good manners of the lady of the house. She is a sweetheart, but I’d rather have been introduced under different circumstances.

We headed off to the bar, late enough that everyone else was already there. I wondered what they’d say but everyone seems to think it’s a joke or no big deal. Theona gave me a look – it turns out they could have used our help last night! They checked out the rumors of people disappearing from the docks, and ran into a ghoul and slavers down in the sewers! I felt like a hypocrite; worrying about the halfling drinking on the trail and not being ready for a fight, we’d ended up doing exactly that when our friends needed us. Theona told Tassar that a halfling named Portia had been asking about him before we got there, and I’m not sure she was joking.

I realized that I really needed to sit down and think about my actions. Despite Tassar’s invitation, I decided to spend the night in my room at the Temple, sorting myself out. I’ve been acting without thinking things through beforehand, that’s not what blessed Tymora expects from her worshipers.

Mostly, however, I need to explain myself to Tassar before he thinks worse of me. I think I’ll write him a note and give it to him before we start out with the caravan tomorrow.

Dear Tassar,

Blessed Be,
Deitricha

Well, I gave Tassar my note. He took it and rode off on his dog, Otto, and hasn’t said a word about it since. I guess that means things are OK.

We met with the caravan and its master, Mr. Drake. There are two wagons (ours makes it three), and each wagon has a driver and a crossbow-wielding passenger, so we’re not the only defenders. I think Mr. Drake was relieved by that fact - some of my friends don’t think before they speak, at all! There are even extra horses for us to ride; I’m glad I have had some practice. We set off into the fog, with Theona watching the mountains, me watching the river, Tassar pacing the length of the caravan, Antonio driving, and Areon ranging ahead. It seemed to work out well.

A couple of hours into our journey, we met a patrol heading back into town and were pleased to hear that the road was clear ahead. The rest of the day passed quietly, although unusually foggy, cold, and windy. Toward evening, as we set up camp, it turned to snow. Antonio lit a fire but the blizzardlike conditions made it a poor one! The wagons were rocking in the wind, so Areon and Tassar went searching for better shelter and soon returned with word of a cave that we could get the wagons to. It wasn’t easy, but we had incentive!

When we got to the cave, Areon and I waited with the caravan while the others searched for signs of life. Antonio soon called out that the place was clear, so we led everyone in and settled down. It was a tight fit, but once some old ogre bones were piled into a corner and a fire lit (again) it wasn’t uncomfortable. There was a side cave to tether the horses in, and it didn’t take long for us to set watches and relax for the night.

I had a nap, and then second watch. Theona was up with me, and pretty nosy, too! I told her that it wasn’t polite to tell tales, but her curiosity about Tassar is kind of funny. I wonder just how curious she’ll get? I wonder what he would think? In the middle of asking me something quite rude, however, she suddenly cocked her head and whispered, “What’s that?”, while looking off to the horses’ cave. I got up to look, and so did Areon, but the horses’ agitation quickly turned to panic, and suddenly several bolted as one of their mates screamed in pain!

I could see an orc in the far corner, seemingly come from out of nowhere, attacking the horse closest to it. Areon charged in and killed the orc, which showed us that there was a secret door in the wall and several figures moving within. I hollered to the others (no doubt they were awake by now), telling them what was in the cave, and the next orc that shambled through the opening was rapidly met by Tassar and shot by Theona. Even as the other orcs tried to get through the doorway, we realized they were all undead; I raised my holy symbol and shouted, and they all retreated! Tassar killed the closest as it fled, and we were left with an open door.

I wondered out loud whether it would be better to simply block the door. The mountains are riddled with such foul creations, and we have a responsibility to stay with and protect the caravan. I don’t think anyone listened; Antonio flung something down the tunnel and set them all on fire, and he, Areon, and Tassar dashed through the doorway while Theona and I turned to check on the caravan. Poor Theona was terribly upset with herself for missing that secret door and gave the rest of the place another search, while I peered into the snowstorm in hopes that the caravaners would return with the escaped horses.

Even as the guards came back with the horses, including one poor beast that I had to heal, Tassar and Antonio arrived from the other direction (with Areon over his shoulder) and tales of live orcs as well as undead to fight. Areon used a wand of healing on himself while I healed Tassar, and we all walked down to make sure that nothing else would disturb us. I waited at a T junction of two tunnels to make sure nothing snuck up as the others searched in one direction, and then we set off together in the other. We found smoldering bodies from Antonio’s fires, which pleased him to no end. We also found a temple to an evil god, full of undead orcs!

We were rapidly engaged in battle - Tassar and Areon fightng hand-to-hand, Theona shooting arrows, Antonio flinging flaming flasks of oil into the crowd, and I, turning every one possible. It wasn’t enough. Both Tassar and Areon went down, so we pulled them out of danger and went running back up the tunnel. Tassar was only stunned; I was praying I’d be able to heal him, but next thing I knew, he was very much alive and kicking, wanting to be set down so he could go back and fight! We stopped to argue over this, letting the orcs catch up, which I found out when Antonio stopped next to us and suddenly cast some firey spell fifteen feet down the hallway into the ranks of our pursuers!

I saw Theona use Areon’s wand on him, but he still wasn’t moving, so I let Tassar go and began to drag the unconscious elf up the hallway instead. I didn’t get far before I saw Tassar go down again - whatever he took must not have healed him much. Leaving Areon to Theona, I dashed back down to grab him, earning myself a blow from one of the orcs even as Antonio got ahold of his friend and headed up the tunnel. I quickly turned and ran, and we all finally got away from our pursuers. We ran, in fact, all the way back to the cave, where I begged Theona to block the secret doorway so that we could rest in some sort of peace! Theona did so, and despite a muffled thumping from the other side, we left the elves watching, and napped the rest of the night away.

I woke the next morning to the sight of Mr. Drake scowling at the cave entrance; the weather had not let up all night. We talked it over, and decided to stay another day. Everyone was glad to rest up, pray, and memorize spells. Unfortunately, it also made for time to get bored. Areon and Tassar, especially, wanted to go fight undead! I tried my best to talk them out of it. I pointed out that we were being paid to guard the caravan, and not be distracted. If they go running off after every undead we find in the frozen North, we’ll never get anywhere! They were too busy making firebombs out of oil flasks and rags to listen. Soon, they cracked open the door, and the orc that had been thumping all night hacked its way into the room.

I swear, Tymora was trying to tell them something! My turning failed. Areon shot Antonio by mistake. Antonio set the thing on fire, but also got shot by Theona, and slumped to the floor. Areon finally killed the thing, only to find an empty tunnel behind. I made the mistake of waking Antonio up - the whole crazy lot of them immediately ran off down the tunnel! We made it to the temple without incident; it, too, was now empty. Disappointed, Antonio set a tapestry on fire, while Tassar wandered up yet another passage, and came dashing back to tell us he could hear live voices ahead. Itching for a fight we don’t need, I watched my cohorts disappear into the darkness. I’ll have to follow; I don’t want anyone to get killed. I just pray that the caravan is still safe when we return!

The party dashed merrily into the unknown ahead of me, which left me free to glare at them all. We made no effort at stealth; I soon heard orcs’ voices - getting ready to meet us! The party turned a corner and found four one-eyed creatures and a campfire in the middle of the cave. They all had only one eye. It really does seem silly to worship a god who requires such senseless mutilation!

As everyone ran forward (Antonio nearly fried Tassar with a spell, I fear), the orcs shouted for reinforcements. Not good! Then, Tassar dashed ahead - and fell into a pit trap! Two of the orcs flung javelins at us, which downed Antonio right away, so I dragged him from the fray and healed him while Theona killed an orc, and arrows shot from the pit with a fair amount of accuracy. I was glad to know Tassar was OK. Areon killed a second orc, and the last two raced up and attacked - Antonio, again. More orcs, both live and undead, ran into the room as I pulled Antonio out of the fray a second time. I saw an orc stabbing a long spear into the pit, but he was rapidly shot to death from below. I healed Antonio and got him on his feet just as Areon killed two more orcs and succumbed to his wounds.

I prayed that Areon could hold on and turned the undead before I went to him - turned them right to dust, an amazing feeling! Antonio got into a battle of spellcasting with an orc, but neither really did much damage before Theona’s deadly aim removed the orc from competition. At least Antonio stayed on his feet.. and the rest of the orcs were killed, except for one which escaped us as I healed Areon. I called to Tassar and found out that he was fine, and fairly pleased with his orc tally, all things considered. The others took their time searching the bodies, but I got worried about the last survivor - would he be running for more help?

Theona and Antonio were bickering over that very thought - enough that I gave him a pinch to hush a moment! Finally, at least, he was willing to go back to the caravan, but Tassar was off searching the last tunnel already. We followed; climbed, found ourselves outside in the storm! Footprints led to a trail up into the mountains, and we could see the caravan trail below. Tassar and Areon were ready to head up the trail, but - finally - the rest of us convinced them that the orcs would still be there after we got done guarding the caravan to Everlund and back. Thank Tymora! We all left the lookout post, and searched the last couple of tunnels before returning to the caravan.

The first tunnel, shockingly, contained an orc in a cell, who told Theona that she was a sight for sore eyes! Our lady elf proved quite susceptible to flattery, letting him out simply because he spoke common, spoke it well, still had both eyes, and told quite a story! Then again, I don’t know how many orcs would try to say they were a human bard from Waterdeep, under a spell due to a “misunderstanding”. Assuming that Dante is telling the truth, it’s good to know what we’re dealing with up that mountain; an orc necromancer named Grom who is amassing undead armies and taking over the other orc tribes. He managed to hit on Theona outrageously at the same time; a bardish accomplishment?

Areon, naturally, is watching Dante like a hawk. Tassar isn’t too comfortable with him, either. Antonio left the question of bringing the orc bard back to the caravan to us, and made a bonfire of the orc bodies. At least the stench got us moving; we found some wine and trade goods in the last tunnel, and made our way back to the caravan. Thankfully, they were still there, and safe. They told us that Dante was our problem, and he made better friends with Areon and Tassar by proving to have some healing ability. Tassar and I have agreed that he really shouldn’t be armed, for now. He took over Antonio’s role as driver of our wagon, instead.

Antonio and I, again, had the same thought; if one orc had escaped up the mountain, perhaps the hordes were already on their way to avenge their comrades? Even though it was night, the weather had improved. We talked the party into setting forth in the darkness - as soon as they heard the drums begin to pound, it was no trouble at all! We traveled all night, listening to the drums and waiting for an attack, but made it to sunrise with no change except a sudden silence. We decided to keep going as long as possible, but that wasn’t long; two horses went down. I could hear the howl of wolves approaching, so we circled the wagons against the river and did our best to ready ourselves for a defense. We had time to eat a little and feed the horses (Tassar even gave Dante some rations), when I caught sight of the pack approaching. Even Dante got a crossbow at that point!

He quickly proved his usefulness as a bard, cracking jokes to relieve the tension as the wolves charged in. At least they appeared to be normal wolves; I’d feared the orcs had sent their terrible beasts after us. We did our best to do damage from a distance; Antonio was flinging fire, of course, but even my little sling was in use! We did some damage, but the first wolves leapt into our circle and attacked. This made for confusion - Antonio tried to set Areon on fire, and Tassar shot both Dante and the wolf attacking him. Antonio then managed to fire on Tassar. We did defeat the wolves, but not before I lost my temper and accused poor Antonio of trying to kill us all!

At least it made for better relations; I prayed over our one casualty, a dead guard, and Tassar offered Dante some of his precious ale in apology for shooting him. We decided to spend the rest of the day there to give the horses (and us!) a proper rest. Tassar finally got to cook something; he cooked a wolf! It wasn’t too bad, although not my first choice in meat! The next morning, we all felt much improved. The sun was out, the wagonmaster thought we might make the city by nightfall, and even Antonio’s strange addiction, coffee, was a warm drink to start on. I started a snowball fight but quickly got knocked right off my horse - halflings have deadly aim!

We slowly made our way to Everlund, without further trouble. Once at the city, Mr. Drake decided to postpone our return for a few days to let the snow melt. I wonder if we can pick a different route? I wonder if those orcs will be lying in wait! Still, we settled at the Stone Griffin tavern and tried to think of things to do. Firstly, of course, we needed rooms; we left it to Antonio and he promptly rented one for himself, one for Areon, one for Tassar and me, and one for Theona and Dante! Theona looked a little embarrassed, but Tassar and I merrily took advantage of some privacy. Theona, in fact, had to bang on the wall a few times at four in the morning. Oops! Of course, we had to get Antonio back, so Tassar gave ten gold pieces for a fine young lady to sneak in and share Antonio’s bedroom. He has quite a glow, now!

We also looked up a friend of Dante’s, who couldn’t help him out, but at least was able to reassure us that this person was usually a human. Theona was awful curious about what he looks like when not an orc! We decided to bring him back to Silverymoon; with all the magical colleges, there must be someone who can help him! We sold the orcs’ weapons, the wine, and the wolf pelts, and then went shopping! We needed arrows and ale and food, and Tassar got me a wand of healing, since Areon’s has proven so useful when I run low on holy magic. He’s really very thoughtful!

Yet again, Antonio and I were thinking the same thought - that we should do everything possible to keep from stopping near the orcs’ cave on the way home! Even better, Mr. Drake felt the same. We decided to travel straight through, and hope for the best. The day began well, with sunshine and warmer temperatures. Night fell, still clear, and a quarter moon to drive by. We were in the same arrangement as before, watching for trouble, when the animals became nervous; soon we all smelled smoke.

Tassar and Areon rode ahead as soon as a glow became visible; as I watched them approach two burning wagons, I saw several bodies rise up from the snow and stagger at our friends. Tassar was soon hollering that he had them surrounded, which is never a good sign, and next thing I knew he was knocked off his dog and into the snow at the feet of the undead! That was enough for me - I rode up and turned the zombies, probably the poor former caravaners. The rest of the party attacked the fleeing creatures while I checked the wagons for any sign of life. No luck - stripped of valuables and set ablaze, obviously a trap.

We talked briefly about whether to turn back or push onwards, and moving on seemed the better idea. The undead began to stagger back into the firelight as we worked out how to move the wagons. Tassar began giggling even before Dante started telling jokes, which earned him an odd look or two. I’d just decided it wasn’t worth it to turn them again - they’d be back long before we got the wagons moved - when Tassar told us all to just light them on fire instead. He’s been learning from Antonio! We shot at them before they came into burning range (I even killed one very damaged one with my sling), and all were destroyed except for one which went for Tassar again. I tried to ride over and swat it with my staff, but only succeeded in falling off my horse and getting called a copycat by Tassar. Theona went after my horse while the last zombie chased Tassar and me around and eventually burned to death.

Unfortunately, we then heard a horn sounding in the mountains above. Moving those wagons became a real priority! I created water over one of the wagons, puttng out one end so we could push the thing out of the way of our own caravan. Theona returned with my horse, and news of movement on the mountainside - we didn’t have much time! Thank Tymora, the way was soon clear, and the horses needed little prodding to race for their lives as a band of one-eyed orcs arrived on the scene. One of them was riding a dire wolf and wearing armor - the feared Grom himself? We may find out; Tassar shot him with a well-placed arrow even as we raced away, while shouting his name and where to find him. We got a hail of javelins embedded in the backs of the wagons in return. Luckily, they didn’t follow, and we made it to the gates of Silverymoon by the next day.

The guards didn’t much like Dante - we should have known! Luckily, he was well able to speak for himself, we all vouched for him, and, of course, we had a very interesting story to tell of Grom and his hordes, which was a lot more important. We left them talking over the news, stabled the horses, and were pleasantly surprised when Antonio ran off and returned with a set of silver mugs engraved with our names! Tassar handed Dante his “old” mug so he didn’t feel left out, and we headed for Lord Greycastle’s for the rest of our payment (I hope Antonio has something left over for himself after such a gift!). The butler still refused to fill Tassar’s mug, and said the Lord was out of town, but he did have authority to pay us. We decided to split up and rest, then meet the next morning to talk over Dante’s situation and Theona’s rumor about the tower outside of town. The Temple was a welcome sight!

Meeting for breakfast the next day, we realized just how many awful looks the locals were giving poor Dante, and decided that he had to get “fixed” before anything else. Luckily, Antonio knew some people (if not, I was going to ask Mother or Father for help), and Dante got to be the subject of a class lecture on removing such spells. It cost us plenty, but it worked! He’s a human, again, and very relieved. Theona looked faintly disappointed, so I gave him clothes money so he could make a better impression. She still didn’t seem happy when he met us back at the tavern in his new gear, so we decided to get them both drunk and leave them at her place to let nature take its course. Unfortunately, they both passed out, so we left them at her place and headed back to the tavern to party. It didn’t take long before I was under the table, too.

I woke up at the Temple, with an aching head. And my oldest brother sitting at the end of the bed, glaring at me. I guess I know how I got home - he’s a member of the Guard, and very good at what he does. I’m always hearing of another promotion! Unfortunately, he’s also rather suspicious of my calling, or, at least, some of Tymora’s tenets. He thinks we’re all getting a bit wild, and that it’s all MY fault. Don’t I wish he could have been along with us on these little adventures when no one would listen! Before I got a chance to defend myself, though, he sobered me right up by accusing me of getting Antonio kicked out of his house. “I work with his father, Deitricha, and what could I say to him? You’re making quite a scene! Getting drunk and disorderly and dragging folk through the streets” ( I guess that was Theona and Dante), “not to mention running around with an orc yesterday, I don’t care if he’s really a human, you could have handled that a bit better! And as for your ‘fling’ with that halfling, now you’re dragging Lady Brenin’s name into this!” Well, I gave up trying to defend myself and ordered him out of my room. I was so mad that I went and threw sling bullets at the target post in the Temple practice area to let off some steam. One of my brethren came by and was surprised at how much my aim has improved, and told me I ought to try Tymora’s shuriken again. All the practice I’ve gotten recently has really improved my throwing skills!

I guess I’ll have to think about my brother’s words some more. He has some points; I just wish he didn’t think he had to fill in for Mother and Father with all us kids, just because he’s the oldest. We’re all adults, thank you!

Well, I finally left the practice grounds and headed for the tavern. Everyone else was there already, looking grim. Antonio immediately said he wanted to leave, and so did Tassar, who looked awful! When I asked what happened, he just shook his head darkly and muttered that “the guard is evil”. What? Somehow, it came out that Antonio’s father and some other guards had beaten him up. Suddenly, Tassar wanted to know all about this brother of mine in the Guards, too. Impossible!

We did all agree to head out of town and let things settle down. Theona and I set off for her place to tell Dante to go (I guess things didn’t work out, I was too distracted looking for my brother to ask), but he had left already. Tassar and Antonio soon arrived with the pack horses and we headed out of town (with no trouble at the gates, thank Tymora, but no sign of our family members, either. Antonio must have been in quite an argument with his Dad!). We traveled all day, set up camp, and I finally got to quiz Theona about Tassar. It wasn’t good. I could just cry - and I’m definitely telling my parents!

The night was quiet. The morning was bright and clear, and Antonio gave us all some coffee. I tried to apologize to Tassar about my family, but he just seems to want to forget it all. We hadn’t traveled far before finding a dead cow by the side of the road. Curious, we checked closer, and found that it had been drained of blood, yet there were no prints to show what had done the killing! We gave up looking and went on, but it was a quiet walk - I was pondering just what may be in this tower, after all. When we saw some farmsteads, we decided to tell them about the cow and ask for any news of the area.

As we walked up to some farmers by the barn, the smell of fresh-baked pie wafted from the house. We told the farmers about the cow, and they were unsurprised. We started to ask why not, but Tassar was so distracted by the smell of baking, I left the others to the task and headed for the house. I asked the housewife politely for a slice or two, and she was glad to oblige. Tassar soon had a big glass of milk and plate of pie in front of him, and I think she was pleased with the compliment to her cooking - she wouldn’t let us pay her for the treat! Full for the moment, we headed back to our friends, to hear that we were still heading for the ruined tower. At least there was a small town and tavern before the place. Tassar was already looking for some ale. Halflings and their famous appetites!

I found that the farmers must have mentioned something vampiric, as Antonio was racking his brain for ways to keep the things off. I fear his advice will be taken with a large grain of salt, since Tassar decided to mimic him behind his back. I did my best to restrain my giggles, and finally, we were back on the road. We reached White Haven by the end of the day - a small hamlet, but the Frosty Mug tavern was ample for our needs - food and drink! Theona went into information-gathering mode, but didn’t find out much. The tower’s a hundred years old, the wizard who built it disappeared when the tower blew up but may also be haunting the place. Strange lights are seen there, and the last party of adventurers to visit haven’t returned.

I wonder if the last party even made it to the tower; we certainly did not! The horses became nervous as we walked, and then all of us could see the large tracks crossing the road. Troll! We quickly talked over whether to follow it, and Tassar made up our minds again - already almost out of sight before we knew he was going. The troll was not far away, with the river at his back. Hoping to slow it down, Theona began shooting at it from a distance; it charged, and was met in battle by our Tassar! The others kept shooting at it as I ran to the horses for one of Antonio’s flasks of oil. I turned back in time to see the troll doing an incredible amount of damage to Tassar, who kept right on stabbing, even as its wounds healed up.

Well, it was my turn for crazy heroics, I guess. I raced up to the troll, getting shot from behind by one of my cohorts (was that Areon yelling, “sorry!”?), and splashed it with the contents of the flask. Tassar was staggering badly, so I grabbed him and ran for our lives. Of course, he was shouting at me, but this time it was different - I turned in time to see Antonio run up to the troll to set it on fire. I guess he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss, but it cost him his life. The troll, enraged by the flames engulfing it, immediately tore him to pieces! It was a terrible sight. Areon and Theona shot the thing, Tassar threw his dagger, and the troll quickly burned to death, but there was no joy in the victory. Antonio was beyond my help.

I healed Tassar and prayed over our friend. I realized the others weren’t entirely sure what to do next - but I had no doubts. The tower must wait; we must take our fallen friend home. The longer we waited, the harder it would be to face his family. It was a very sad trip. I told the guards at the gates to send Antonio’s father home, and brought him to his mother. I told her how he had died, saving our lives, and bore with their grief as best I could. We weren’t there long, which turned out to be a blessing, since Theona blames his father’s behavior for causing this, somehow. Lady Tymora, I hope they didn’t hear her in the street! We then separated for a little while; I wanted to pray at my Temple, and then I went and told my parents about my brother. They agreed that he’d overstepped his bounds, but since he’s out on patrol, I’ll have to have words with him later.

Meanwhile, Areon’s watching over Tassar, who’s holed up somewhere in town in hiding. He’s probably right that the guards will find a way to blame him for this, no matter what’s the truth. I’m hoping to see Theona soon; until then, I’m just going to wait in the tavern to see what turns up. Poor Antonio! He was a really good guy.

I spent half the morning hanging out at the tavern. At least I didn’t hear of anything bad happening to anyone I knew! After a while, I was distracted by a funny sight out of the window; Theona, walking over from her treehouse ahead of a humanoid creature. She was also sneaking around him, and hiding from him, while he stood out in the street and cast odd looks after her! Finally they entered the tavern and I was introduced to “William, a nonhuman mage” (think silver eyes), who was looking for work and offered to join us after our loss. I had no objections, nor did Areon from his quiet corner of the bar, so he and Theona headed out to get Tassar. William and I headed out of town with the party’s mounts. I met Comet the Warhorse, who probably outweighs our packhorses and Otto altogether!

We all met outside the West Gate in the rain. Tassar was looking a lot better, and in a better mood, which made me so glad I hugged him. He lit right into William, showing him his back and pointing out that it’s not a good idea to stab party members there. He also demanded that William buy him ale, and pretended to be miffed that he hadn’t the means to do so right there! William, thankfully, took it in good part. He mentioned there were quite some rumors going around about our crew; I imagine we’d be hard-put to top whatever stories the gossip mill has invented for us! Since two of the party were already riding, and it was still raining, Theona, Areon, and I decided to try riding the packhorses for the day. It wasn’t terribly comfortable, but the trip did go faster!

We re-reached the Frosty Mug by nightfall, and had a short debate about whether to press on to the tower right then. We agreed that the animals could use a rest, but I admit, I didn’t act very heroic; I announced that I was cold, wet, and tired, and I wanted to go to bed! I then paid over a gold piece and got a room to myself and turned in. I must have been quite a sight; Tassar elected to stay down in the common room with everyone else. In truth, if the bad things around here all happen at night, it would be wiser to check things out in the daylight. This night, at least, passed quietly at the inn; we ate breakfast, paid to stable the horses for a few days while we checked the tower, and headed out on foot (and one Otto). Oh, yes, and two extra waterskins full of ale; one for Tassar, and one for Theona of all folk!

It was still raining, but the way was clear. We made it past the former troll’s tracks without another incident, and soon could see the low remains of the tower on top of a hill. We all heard a howl, and saw a wolf at the crest, watching us. William was not at all comfortable with the sight, telling us there would be more, but we didn’t have many options, and decided to walk on up. Sure enough, by the time we reached the tower, there were quite a few wolves coming out of the brush! Tassar shouted for us to get our backs to the tower, but the wolves took that opportunity to charge into battle. Theona and Areon made it to the tower, and began shooting arrows into our attackers, but the rest of us were not so light on our feet. Poor William was soon knocked right off of his feet and dragged away. Tassar was dragged off of Otto but the two of them kept right on fighting beside each other, and I was at their backs, cracking wolves over the head with my quarterstaff. It was mass confusion for a while, but I saw Areon go charging by to help William, and then come back to us - next thing I knew, the remaining wolves were running away and Tassar was informing me that I looked like hell. Sheesh!

We killed quite a few wolves; I hope it keeps the others away for a while. Tassar, of course, had to cook one, and William was happy to help him dispose of it. I was able to heal him up but his one boot is now well-chewed! While we sat just inside the doorway, and I healed myself and the others, Theona noted that the wolves had never followed her into the enclosure during the fight. Interesting! Despite this sign of unusual things, William wandered off to check the place out, earning himself a scolding from Theona. She’s a little protective of our mage, now, methinks! He did find a spiral staircase into the ground below the tower, and there wasn’t really anything left aboveground, so we carefully headed inside. Of course, it was still raining and slippery, so several of the party took the fast trip down! Luckily, it wasn’t too deep; we all found ourselves in a hallway, and set to exploring the rooms.

I was standing in the hallway and watching the others when I heard Theona’s strangled cry for help. Running to her, I found a strange buglike creature attached to the back of her neck and smashed it off with my staff. Several more flew out of the room and attacked us all! Unfortunately, Theona and I were closest, and took the most damage. The things were sucking our blood, and our health with it! We managed to kill them all, eventually (in fact, I saw Tassar kill two at once - one attached to Otto, and one to me!), and I’m covered with blood from the last - magic missiles make them explode! I guess we’ll soon be moving on from here to see what else may by lurking. If we’re lucky, those awful creatures were the cause of the animal deaths on the district. But how much luck have we had, so far?

Covered with blood (mostly mine), we all stopped a moment to catch our breath. Soon, Tassar was riding about again and Theona was burning cobwebs off the rest of the walls. Finding nothing, we headed down the hallway and descended another staircase. We could smell a terrible stench, but it didn’t stop us - in fact, Tassar went charging off ahead of us as Theona tried to check for traps. I tried to ask him to be more careful; it is a wizard’s tower, after all! But he rode off and was soon in the middle of a roomful of bones and rusty metal. Theona followed carefully, the rest of us watching from the hall, but we couldn’t find out anything about the place. The bones were smashed up badly, and no clue as to why!

The new hall ended at a door. Theona and Tassar tried to open it, but they were getting in each other’s way and arguing, so I finally reached between them and gave it a yank. The door opened to a long chamber, eight statues of mages ranged down the sides, and two bodies! Tassar, of course, wished to charge right in. I was getting a little exasperated; for Tymora’s sake, we had no idea what killed these two new bodies, or left the bones, or caused the tower to be abandoned in the first place! Of course, when I get mad I do silly things; I decided I’d be the first into the room instead. Poor Theona tried to check for traps further in, which gave Tassar ample time to snap at her for being slow and me for taking point. I made a rude gesture in his direction and headed over to check the bodies. When he followed me, I told him he looked like hell and went back to my work (next thing I know, I hear Theona trying to give him advice on human women. What does she know about human women?).

The elf on the floor had been dead for about a month. He had a very nice bow, which was quickly appropriated. The other body was pinned to the wall by a sword; he looked like a mage, also dead for several weeks. William, however, was the first to notice that the sword matched a scabbard on the elf’s body. I wonder what caused this trouble, and where the rest of their party is? Tassar was disappointed to find no money pouch, but he did pick up the elf’s shield, which makes for lots of protection for him! We were getting ready to search the rest of the room, when we heard a shout from the hallway out of the room - Tassar had already mounted Otto and dashed on ahead of us! I swear, he acts like trouble might wander off if we don’t run into it full-tilt! Areon yanked the sword out of the wall (and mage), and we ran after our fighter.

Tassar had only rounded a corner; we caught up with him in time to see another room at the end, more mage statues, and statues of something else, when he spurred Otto ahead, and they both dropped right through the floor! We were close enough to see the twenty feet down. Tassar was injured and cursing, Otto was impaled on the spiked pit floor, and so was yet another body. The trap door swung closed, and I didn’t stop to think. Before our expert in traps could get a look at things, I tried to push the trap door open with one foot, and fell right in myself! By Tymora’s grace, Tassar saw me fall and actually caught me! I gave him a well-earned kiss and let him tease me about following him around. I couldn’t even be mad at him for rushing into things; poor Otto was beyond my help. Tassar’s faithful companion was dead. I pulled out the wand he’d bought me and healed him up a little while we waited for our friends above to rescue us; we also checked out the body nearby. She must have been the party’s rogue; a very nice set of thieves’ tools (I think that’s what they are!) and also a well-made bow, arrows, rapier, some gold, and some vials that turned out to be useful potions. I felt a little bad to be making use of another party’s equipment without even knowing who they were, but I said a prayer of thanks over her as Theona opened the trap and dropped us a rope.

We climbed out and tried to figure out a safe way across the pit trap. Theona tied a rope around her waist and tried jumping, but didn’t have much space to run, and fell in. The wall knocked her breathless but at least she didn’t hit the spikes! Tassar then jumped back into the pit, for reasons only he can fathom, and, although re-injured, walked across. There, he waited for Theona to make a successful jump; as soon as she did, she dropped him a rope and he climbed up the other side. Before anyone else could make it over, we saw two of the statues come to life and attack our friends! Figures in banded plate mail, red eyes glowing, approached the two of them and ignored my turning completely. They smashed into Theona and Tassar even as he shouted his name at them; it was too much for Areon, who used the rope still tied about Theona’s waist to drag her back across the pit to safety. Tassar called to us that he had the situation under control, which is always a bad thing. The statues pinned him into a corner away from the doorway, and our sling, shuriken, arrows and spells did little or no damage; Tassar soon fell, and they returned to their places and became still once again.

I was desperately hoping that Tassar was unconscious but alive; I hope Theona didn’t take it personally that I was screaming at her to fix the door so I could get across. She wedged the trap shut (and closed this time) and I flew across it, around the corner, and laid a healing spell on him without even checking to see if he were alive. Thank the goddess, I was there in time, this time! He sat up, looked over my shoulder, and immediately shoved me behind him, telling me to stay put. I should have known the statues would respond to more folk entering the room! I crouched behind him and his shield, trying in vain to convince him to back off as the statues’ blows rained down. Next time, I think I’ll move his body away from the battle and then I’ll heal him! I stepped out and hit one of the statues with my quarterstaff, provoking a stream of invective from my protector. I didn’t have time to apologize for trying to take some of the heat off him before the statue hit me hard. I saw arrows and magic missiles flying by as things got fuzzy, but was rejuvenated by a sudden heal from behind. Areon had arrived on the scene! He had good timing, too, for he healed me enough to not be killed by the next blow. I had just enough strength to crawl out of the way of the battle, after drinking one of the unknown rogue’s potions. Areon stepped into my place as I became aware of William’s chanting.. in fact, he’d been chanting a lot but I hadn’t noticed any effects until now, when he somehow hit Tassar, dropping him. Tassar wasn’t cursing at me anymore after that; William was his new focus! At least I was in a position to heal him as I reached a safe place and stood up away from the fight.

Tassar charged into the fray, too fast for Theona, who hit him with an arrow as he ran in front. My heal hadn’t been for much, and he fell again. I stepped over his prone body and attacked the statue myself, and learned a few new curses from the prone-but-awake fighter. Theona tumbled past us and attacked the thing from behind, I swung at it and missed, and both Areon and I almost stepped on poor Tassar! I took another hit from the statue, and things went black to the tune of our fighter’s opinions of the whole mess. I woke to the welcome sight of Areon - and the crumbled remains of the statues. Tassar was now unconscious, and William was trying to bind his wounds. Areon soon used his wand to fix him up enough to crawl over and yell at me while Theona searched the room. I decided to try tickling him into a better humor but it took his favorite waterskin (full of ale) to restore his mood (and his throat, which must be sore by now!). I healed him some more myself, noting that the wand was getting low, and we all decided to rest for a day and recover.

Our rest was uneventful, and I was glad for the chance to pray and heal us all, especially Theona’s residual weakness from the bloodsuckers’ attacks. We headed for the end of the room, where Theona had found a pit, labeled the Vault of Sorrow by some unknown hand. Tassar dropped a torch into it, which disappeared about twenty feet down. Next, they lowered one on a rope, with the same result. We figured we couldn’t see but maybe still could find the depth; I don’t know why they had to use a dead body to do it, but we did figure out that the pit was sixty feet deep. Tassar then decided to go “fishing”, which meant dragging a grappling hook around the bottom of the shaft! He certainly woke up anything still aware down there, and pulled up nothing. I guess this means we’ll be climbing down ourselves, next!

The party, instead of heading down the well, decided to scatter. William went all the way outside for some “fresh air”, and returned to tell us that the wolves were still there. I was trying to listen at the pit, but having no success (Tassar was chucking things into it). Tassar suddenly decided that hunting more wolves with William would be fun. As they headed out the door I realized Theona and I were having the same thought - would both Tassar and William come back alive from this trip? She and I followed, and Areon followed Theona. So much for the pit!

As we walked back through the hall of mage statues, both Theona and I noticed a crack in the wall. Leaving Areon to chaperone Tassar and William, we decided to figure out the door. Theona soon had it open, and the two of us looked down a narrow secret hallway, wondering out loud what it could lead to. As I started to make out a hole in the floor about twenty feet away, our voices woke something up; a loud roar filled the hall, startling me so much that I ran right out of the catacombs, shouting for help! By the time I got back with the others, we could hear words in the roaring - “My head hurts! Get me out of here!” - and learned that somehow, there was a survivor from the other parties.

The end of the hall led down a shaft, with a broken-off ladder, and a dwarf at the bottom. He seemed to be pinned under some rubble, and very irritated. I can’t blame him! We sent Tassar down to help, being the strongest, but that was a mistake. The two of them quickly began to argue and the rest of us ended up climbing down, both to help the dwarf and get Tassar to stop badgering him. There was another tunnel, here; hopefully a safer passage than the pit to whatever was to be found. We finally got Rosorc to tell us his name and a little history; no more than we’d already guessed, his party had died in an adventure, and he’d fallen into the shaft, luckily within reach of food and water! William made introductions around the party, while Theona tried to dissuade Tassar from playing with the door at the end of the new passage. She also made herself a friend for life by giving Rosorc her aleskin!

Unfortunately, this gave Tassar the chance to open the doors for Theona. Statues on each side of the doors began to crackle with energy, and lightning bolts shot between them! Theona made it out of the way, but Tassar got zapped. Much as I thought he deserved it, I still got mad at the dwarf, who was laughing his butt off at “little people”. With the doors now open, Tassar walked off down the hallway, and I decided to walk with him instead. Naturally, as I caught up to him, we both heard a “click” under his foot, and metal bars slammed down at both ends of the hallway, trapping us inside a cage! Tassar kept telling me to stay behind him, as he got ready to fight whatever showed up, but I doubted things would work out that way.

Soon, a door opened at each end of the cage, and more of the banded mail statues with glowing red eyes appeared! Tassar really wanted me to stay safely behind him, but there wasn’t a safe place, so we were stuck back-to-back. He jokingly cursed at me, which made me start laughing, especially when Theona chimed in from the end of the hall that we “looked like hell”! I guess we all took lessons from Dante the bard about relieving tension in battle! Rosorc, however, must have thought us all insane. The statues closed in, William cast magic missiles at them, Areon and Rosorc were shooting arrows, and, of course, many skeletons with scimitars began to follow the statues into the hall! Rosorc and William, hoping the things were weak, started setting them on fire by flinging oil through the bars and lighting it. I, on the other hand, decided to try dealing with things my way, and turned them all to dust!

Unfortunately, the big statues were still there, and Tassar pretended to be disappointed that the skeletons were gone until the two statues smashed into us, and another mass of skeletons came through the doors! This led to Tassar shouting, “I thought you got rid of them?!”, so I turned them all to dust, too, and earned myself a good hit from a statue. Those things hurt a lot! Tassar then went back to complaining that I wasn’t staying “safely” behind him. I was just glad that our friends were still firing arrows and spells down the hall to help us. Rosorc and William seem to be a match made in heaven - their end of the hall was a smoking mess from Rosorc’s oil and William’s fire! About that time, I took a swing at a statue, missed, bashed my arm numb against the wall, and was knocked out by my foe.

I woke to someone pouring something down my throat; Theona had found the healing potion I was carrying and put it to good use. I quickly cured Tassar, who was also down, and then looked around to see the cage was open and the statues destroyed. Did I mention that the dwarf has spiked armor? I was amused to see that the last statue was full of holes! Finally, we turned to the door at the end of the hallway, beyond the cage trap. The door opened to reveal a large vaulted room, in shambles. There was a body on a table, but the rest of the place had been smashed and shattered and burned. The body seemed to have been dissected, poor gnome! He, too, looked to have been dead only about a month. Rosorc, to our surprise, was very respectful of the gnome, asking for a cloak to cover the body and a moment of silence. This may have been a mistake, although well-intentioned; as William stood by the gnome, it turned to him, and said, “Leave!” .. which sent William right out the door even as Rosorc cleaved its head with his axe.

This seemed the signal for all hell to break loose; something swooped down from the rafters and stung Theona as she inspected a secret door in the wall, and then disappeared! We were ready to retreat forward through the new door, except that William was still running the other way. I took it upon myself to go get him, and left the others to deal with the flying things. I found William trying to climb out of the shaft, and dragged him off the rope. I couldn’t snap him out of whatever fugue the gnome’s body had set on him, and I fear I was reduced to sitting on him and smacking him around until he lost consciousness. I dragged his body back to the room, only to find everyone still fighting an invisible flying thing and looking strangely clumsy. Apparently it had poison, too. I stood in the doorway, throwing sling bullets and shuriken whenever I caught a glimpse of the creature (and I had to apologize to Areon, who took a shuriken from me and a lassoing from Tassar). Rosorc whipped out a ten-foot length of chain, and tried to catch it that way.

Theona was looking pretty bad by then, which worried me enough to suggest quitting the field of battle until I could heal everyone up. Theona took my advice but the menfolk were determined to kill the thing outright. We waited in the hall until Rosorc finally managed to entangle the creature, bringing it out of the air, and making it an easy target for Tassar and Areon. The one chopped off its poisonous tail, and the other chopped it in half, outright! At this point I had to explain why William was unconscious, which was a little embarrassing! I asked if we could wait a day, so I could heal everyone, and this time they all agreed. They searched the broken-up room, and we wedged the door closed. Theona found a secret panel in the wall, and came out with a box and vials. The vials helped us heal, and the box, when finally broken open, spilled platinum coins across the floor!

William finally woke up to accept my apologies (thank Tymora!), and I healed everyone as much as I could before we dropped off to sleep. In the morning, I healed everyone again as much as possible, and to my surprise, the party agreed to wait one more day so we could all be at full strength for our next adventure. The dwarf, to be sure, was sad that he had to water down his aleskin, but overall, I think it was a good idea. We also got a chance to talk and learn a little more about each other. Finally, the next day dawned, and we opened Theona’s secret door.

Well, another room was revealed, with a ritual circle in the center, surrounded by glowing runes. William was unable to decipher them, but noticed a chest in the corner, which drew Tassar and Rosorc right over to try their own brand of “lock-picking” upon. This sent Theona, at least, running from the room just in case! Luckily, the chest wasn’t trapped (that we could tell), and she was soon back, identifying the things inside and passing them out for us to carry. At this point, disaster struck. William, still pondering the runes, decided that the ritual circle was actually a teleportation device; the trouble began when he also mentioned that he thought it was a two-way portal. Without further ado, Tassar walked right in!

Well, I couldn’t let him face the unknown alone. Hearing someone mutter something about just leaving the halfling to his ill-fated decision really spurred me on! I quickly stepped onto the circle, and the others soon followed. What a sight met our eyes! A flat, dusty, red plain, random jets of flame, and the faint sound of screaming easily identified this new place as Hell. Of course, there was no circle to return home by! We could see a fortress in the distance and mountains in the other direction. There were groups of awful creatures wandering the plains, and William was doing his best to hide inside his own cloak. Whatever is not-human about him, apparently, is the exact opposite of creatures here. I can’t be angry at his mistake when he’s obviously terrified that he’ll pay for it with his life!

Tassar is now leading the way to the mountains. I hope we make it out of here alive! Tymora, guide my footsteps!

Travel across the plain was hot and dry. Rosorc tried taking off his armor in order to travel lighter, but between the random gouts of flame and the noise of dragging it behind him, he soon decided to just wear it and be hot. We all learned a little about helping him into it! I was glad we had, however, as we finally ran out of luck (we thought); rounding a boulder in time to come face-to-face with a little spiky figure and no time to hide!

Tassar immediately introduced himself, at which the figure dropped flat to the ground! We all came over to see it, although I was watching the sky in case something else was coming over to see us. The thing was already trying to back away, even as Tassar “bartered” for its weapon, a war fork. It spoke an odd language until William spoke to it in Common; luckily, Hixtali spoke a little. The poor thing was immmediately overwhelmed by questions from us all.

Slowly, it became clear that the castle belonged to Lord Bel, and this area was known to have a portal in it - therefore, Hixtali was the guard. I wonder why the Lord sent out such a guard? Once we told it we weren’t trying to invade, and in fact wanted OUT, it relaxed slightly. It seemed to like Theona best, which was a riot, as she was making some pretty outrageous statements that weren’t quite lies and yet.. and yet! By the time she finished both threatening and pretending to be friends, Hixtali described someone called Hexla who hurt the locals, by which we hoped and prayed it meant a good person who could help us out.

The only other option, apparently, was to go back to the Lord’s citadel and use a portal there, or go to the front lines of some Hellish battle, or to some rift into a worse place! Instead, Hixtali led us across the plains, to a river of blood. The ford was “only” about three feet deep, which was over both Hixtali’s and Tassar’s heads. Hixtali waded right in, but Tassar asked nicely for a ride. I was glad to help; none of us liked the idea of walking through the awful stuff! I headed across with Tassar on my shoulder, and it didn’t take long for some thing to latch onto my leg! I started running for the far shore, even as it drained my strength away. Before I reached the bank, another one did the same.

I made it to the far side, thank Tymora, and my friends quickly got two disgusting worms off me. Tassar killed one while the other made it back to the blood. I agreed with him that I looked like hell - I felt like it! Luckily, I was able to heal myself of the worst of the damage, and we continued on. Poor William was really bothered by Hixtali’s method of cleaning itself - it licked off the river’s blood as he walked. The rest of us simply suffered.

A couple of hours later, we reached the foothills of the mountains. Soon, we wound up at the bottom of a slope, the mouth of a cave above. Hixtali flat-out refused to climb up with us and Theona’s bribes had no effect. William and Tassar started climbing, Rosorc tossed a hunk of meat to Hixtali, and Theona tried to talk it into waiting for us. I think it promised just to get us moving; as soon as the last of us reached the cave we turned to see a black dot racing away. We had little time to worry about that, however, as William decided to holler into the cave an announce our presence!

The rest of us held our weapons at the ready, peering into a cave strewn with bones and skulls, and also a small wooden hut. Willliam was already knocking on the door. A female voice shouted at him, “Who’s there?”, so Tassar introduced himself, but she hadn’t heard of him. We told the voice that we were looking for directions out of Hell, and got yelled at some more. At least she was asking if we had anything to offer for her services, and not trying to add us to her collection of dead things outside. The door cracked open slightly when we promised we were not demons, and we caught sight of an eye. The voice asked for a bat skull, which we were unable to provide, but apparently we didn’t look too dangerous, as the door finally opened all the way and a female half-elf came out.

Tassar, naturally, asked right away if she had any ale! She gave him a sweet smile and poured a red liquid into his mug, which he sipped at and found quite strong! She chuckled and agreed with him that “blood ale” is very strong, indeed. Hexla, too, ended up here by accident, and with her cabin! Tassar by now was having conversations with the skulls in the cave instead of us, and singing. Hexla had been in Hell for a while, but thought it too dangerous a place to explore for a way out. I pointed out that the locals were terrified of her, but Tassar gave her a distraction by asking if he could keep one of the horned skulls (the “cute” one) for his helmet.

Hexla said she could send us home, but she needed one of William’s silver eyes to use in the spell. And, she wanted his other eye so that she could send herself home, too! Apparently, she isn’t from the same realm as we are, but I was surprised to find William desperate enough to get out, that he was really thinking about it! I mean, we didn’t even have proof that her spell would work, and he would be blinded! Meanwhile, Tassar staggered into the hut and passed out on her cot. I turned back to see Hexla cutting William’s hair off, and telling him about the Pillar of Skulls to the south in return. She said the Pillar would ask for something, too, but we prayed it wouldn’t be William’s eyes! He then picked up Tassar, who puked on him. I really began to feel sorry for William at this point!

Before we left, Theona traded another skin of ale with Rosorc for an amber gem, which she traded with Hexla for two potions (the inside of the hut was full of potion-making equipment), and then asked Hexla to drink one to show it was safe. She then drank the second, and pulled out a couple of spell scrolls to read. We finally understood that she hoped the scrolls from the chest next to the portal would have some clue to return us there, but after perusing the scrolls, shook her head sadly. We said goodbye to Hexla and headed for the Pillar of Skulls.

We didn’t get far before we saw a formation of creatures coming our way. We scattered into a field of boulders, trying to hide from the big blue-skinned dwarf-like beings. Some were better at it than others, and Areon was a big help! Rosorc, unfortunately, found his spiked armor a real disadvantage until Theona tossed him a vial and told him to drink. He disappeared just before the war band passed us by! As soon as they were out of sight we headed south again, walking for three hours and more before a tall pillar came into sight. We stepped off the path, briefly discussing what to say to whatever we found, and Tassar finally woke up from his drunken stupor.

Tassar’s headache was exacerbated by the Pillar; it turned out to be a column of heads, all talking, and shouting, and arguing with each other and then with us! Each head claimed it knew the way out, and each one wanted a boon - one wanted a party member, another a fiend, etc. It was very loud and confusing! I wondered how we’d tell any one’s story from another; they were all in Hell, why tell the truth? Finally, Theona found an elf that she thought might be worth listening to, and Rosorc and Tassar busied themselves attacking an ogre’s head nearby that the elf happened to especially hate. I thought it was useless, but they soon chopped it out and pitched it into the river of blood (swearing at us the whole way), and the elf told Theona about a portal further south.

Although another head swore the way to go was west, we decided to follow Theona’s hunch and learned about a horseshoe-shaped formation, and that we needed a brick from the highway leading from the Lord Bel’s citadel to the Blood Rift in order to open it. None of us looked forward to wading the river again, but the elf explained that the one bridge was heavily guarded. I guess Hixtali didn’t do too badly by us after all! Tassar, meanwhile, decided to head south to check out the bridge first, just in case, and we followed. The bridge of bones was there, all right - and guarded by a varied multitude! We turned around without a word, followed by an irate halfling.

We made it to the ford without trouble, at least. I picked up Tassar again, and we all ran across! Theona shouted, but it was William who got drained this time. He came out of the blood with a worm on him, yanked it off, and held it up only to be bitten again. As soon as he dropped it Theona dealt with it. I quickly healed him up, glad that we made it with so little trouble. We then headed toward the castle, swinging around to where the road was, and finding, to our dismay, that the road was choked with a massive army! We tried to settle down and wait them out, getting singed in the process when a fireball exploded nearby, but finally hid near the road and waited for the army to march. It took hours - we even got some naps!

Finally, quiet seemed to descend. Tassar bolted for the road, picked a brick out of it, and raced back to us. As he did so, a flight of winged beasts swept out of the fortress and headed our way! Rosorc somehow ended up with the brick as the fiends came screaming out of the sky. Tassar, naturally, wanted to stop and fight. I feared it was pointless, but at that moment one of the fireballs hit the center of the formation, knocking many to the ground. We knew we couldn’t outrun them, so we tried to ready ourselves for battle with the remainder (and Tassar wanted me behind him again), when another flight of creatures flew overhead and attacked the first group! Praying they were sufficiently distracted, we bolted for the river. Our third crossing was quiet - but as soon as we reached the shore, shouts told us that the detachment of blue-skinned creatures had finally caught sight of their prey.

Tassar wanted to fight, the others to run. I told him that it was probably a moot point, we’d be fighting eventually, and he agreed to run with us until then. He and Rosorc were pretty slow, I fear - but so were the things chasing us! We managed to keep ahead of them, barely. We made it past the Pillar (what an exciting day for those poor souls!), and gave the bridge a wide berth. It wasn’t enough, we soon found out - the whole guard was soon on our trail. We didn’t have time to worry - the horseshoe shaped formation came into view, and a big guardian in front of it! It shouted at us to hold and a wall of flames burst ahead of us.. but our pursuers turned back!

We didn’t have time to think what that meant, as the thing told us we could pass through the portal to the “City of Doors” if we brought a black orb along. It also said we’d die if we didn’t take it, and Tassar grabbed the orb with one hand, me with the other, and we all dashed into the portal! Rosorc pulled out the brick, William gave the guardian a funny look, and next thing, we found ourselves on a cobblestone street. The orb crumbled to dust.

The street curved faintly upward in both directions, and the houses looked a little rundown. There was a haze overhead, and lights twinkling faintly through it. They didn’t look like any stars I’ve ever seen! The street itself was full of the strangest creatures I’ve ever seen before - although we must be quite a sight ourselves; dusty, hot, and covered with three layers of blood. I’m glad we’re out of Hell, but what is this City of Doors, and how will we get home?

I hope our money is good, here. Rosorc is practically weeping with joy as he heads down the street to find an inn and ale. A bath would be nice, too...

Well, we were soon following Rosorc up the street toward a sign with a bed on it. One look inside and we changed our minds, however - it was only a flophouse, no food or drink or privacy! The houses and alleys were looking more rundown than ever when we caught sight of another building ahead; huge and black and rather spider-like, it gave us all a bad feeling. We turned back, hoping to retrace our steps and maybe find a better part of town. Not before a gnome tried to talk us into following him down a dark alley to an “inn” he knew of - we must have looked like real strangers to town, I fear!

We managed to extract ourselves from that conversation, and walked on up what passed for a main street. Finally, we reached a crossroads - with a zombie standing smack in the middle of it! It was not only not attacking anything, it was covered with notes! I was horrified, and I think Areon was, too; we stayed as far from it as we could, while Rosorc and Theona walked right up to check it out. The papers, apparently, were job notices and other messages, and the zombie itself would even give directions by pointing when asked. I was very glad when we moved on.

The town was still pretty rundown, and someone asked if it was worth trying to find a “better” area - maybe this was all there was! I said that it only made sense for a portal from Hell to land in the worst part of a place, so I had faith that we could find a safer spot to rest. Even as we spoke, we had to dodge a flapping imp-shaped ooze overhead, carrying a scroll. Sights like that helped keep us moving! Unfortunately, looking up at it caused me to finally register that I could see rooftops directly overhead in the sky. Whatever shape this city is, it was too much for my sense of up and down - I learned the true meaning of the word vertigo!

Of course, this meant the rest of the party realized the strangeness of the city as well, and Theona pulled out an aleskin which we happily shared right there in the street! Tossing the empty to a voice in an alley, we began walking again. Areon, bless him, suggested that I hold someone’s shoulder and look at the ground rather than keep staring into the sky until I felt like I was falling upward. This also helped me keep out of trouble when strange creatures passed us, including a gigantic, red, winged demon that gave us the eye as we passed. I wonder if we’ve met him recently?

The area finally began to improve; we passed through an industrial area full of foundries and sulfrous smells, and when we noticed that the locals were well-dressed enough to give us looks, we figured it was time to find an inn. The Alabaster Mermaid was the first we saw, and to my amusement, Rosorc insisted on holding the door open for Theona. The innkeeper was glad to offer us access to his bath rooms, sending a very nervous serving girl to lead the way. At least our money is good here! There were three big rooms, so Tassar and I made a merry dash for the first one. We weren’t planning on a private room but no one followed us! Leaving my backpack and bags and weapons on the verge, I jumped into the bath and proceeded to clean my armor, my clothes, and myself!

Finally, we all met in the common room, feeling much more presentable. William’s hair, I fear, looked really bad now that what was left of it was clean. Areon generously paid for all our rooms for the night, and we settled into one to divide up the treasure and gear that we’d collected. Everyone then headed back downstairs for food! The menu was rather eye-opening, so we ordered one of everything and sampled. I think I’ll stick with the goat, myself. At least I know what that is! Realizing that it was nightfall, we headed back up to sleep. We found that Areon had paid for three rooms. While the rest eyed each other in some embarrassment (except for Rosorc), Tassar and I gleefully dashed into the first again. I have no idea how the others divided up in the end.

The night passed quietly - what a blessing! Meeting for breakfast in the morning, we found a note saying that the elves “went shopping”. They soon came back from selling the leftover treasure, carrying a lot of gold and a winged cat for Areon. I like the cat! We all then “went shopping”! I changed my gold into six amethysts, leaving almost seventy in gold pieces and some silver, plenty of walking money! Still, it’s just fun to be adventuring with friends. The bazaar was lots of fun to just walk around and window-shop in. What an amazing place this City of Doors is! William got his hair trimmed a little better, and as for Rosorc - he returned with an intricately braided beard, decorated with mithril chain and gemstones! It was a work of art. Theona got a “gift” from a small boy - two roses and a mithril chain. How she did blush! Rosorc then braided it into her hair. It’s very pretty - but Theona’s not sure what to make of that dwarf!

I thought that perhaps we could get ideas for a way home from the local temples, but the merchant I spoke to said that there weren’t many in town. The lady who runs this city doesn’t approve of a lot of magics, which I decided to keep in mind. Thank Tymora we hadn’t had much reason to cast anything, yet! William found out that the best way to find a portal home would be in the Clerks’ Ward, which was back where we’d spent the night. Theona handed me a bunch of healing type potions, and we left the market.

Back at the Clerks’ Ward, we found a large marble building titled the Hall of Records. The first clerk we found, however, told us that we were in the wrong place. The goatlike centaur directed us down the street a couple of buildings to Information. That clerk sent us further down the hallway to the Portal Registry. This clerk seemed to know what we wanted, but insisted that we fill out about twenty pages’ worth of forms, applying for information on a portal to Faerun. Areon, to my surprise, turned out to have the patience to sit down and do the job, although I read over his shoulder. Five gold pieces and a filled-out application later, the clerk told us it was closing time and to come back tomorrow. I feared we’d have a minor explosion from the party at that point!

Back at the inn, we got a sample of how smitten Rosorc truly is. He ordered a fine private dinner for two, himself and Theona, who instead slipped out the door “for a moment”! Rosorc gave her a little while, then began to eat. I tried to tell him that she might not return his favor, but he wouldn’t talk to me. Finally, Theona returned, covered with cuts! Rosorc didn’t even blink, just cleaned her up and gave her an ale. Theona started drinking like I’ve never seen before. She finally managed to tell him that dwarves and elves don’t mix - as she passed out under the table. Poor Rosorc! He wasn’t bothered at all, though, which made me wonder how dwarven women are normally wooed? He just bought her a room, carried her up to it, and locked her in alone!

The next morning, Tassar and I cracked our door open to see a kid bringing a tray to Theona’s door. On it was breakfast and a note. She looked confused, so we, giggling, told her all about her fine dinner of the night before. She disappeared for the baths as we headed downstairs to find breakfast. Rosorc was still not listening to me about Theona, and I was finally sent to get her out of the baths, as she seemed inclined to spend the whole day there instead of going to the Hall of Information! I talked to her through the door, finally giving up and walking in only to find her hiding underwater! Pulling her out, I finally got her dressed and ready to face us all when we figured out that she was still confused about the night before. She thought her cuts were from Rosorc’s armor! That elf should not drink so much! I convinced her that she only had dinner with him and we finally headed out.

There was a different clerk, of course. We feared we’d have to start all over, but he managed to find our file and, even better, a lot of details about how to get home! There’s one portal back to Faerun, right under the worst part of town, and in its catacombs (no, I’m not going to think too hard about that, I’ll just get vertigo again!). It’s only open once every thirty-two days, and it’s open today! We needed a black rose to open the portal, and we could hire a guide to get us to the right area. Off we went! First stop was the market, where Rosorc’s shopping came in handy; he knew right where to find a flower shop selling black roses. And two more for Theona! We also hired “Bob” to get us there.

Bob led us to an alley in the Hive district, and an archway in a wall, with steps leading downward. There were white-haired workmen across the way but they didn’t bother us as we headed inside, leaving Bob behind. Rosorc led the way, carrying the rose, and we wandered the corridors for some time. It was all we could do - there was no sign of a portal. We did find more zombies, however, and these acted like the real thing! I worried that I couldn’t or shouldn’t turn them, but the others did just fine without my help. Rosorc and Tassar waded right into battle, Theona and Areon shot arrows, and William and I tossed shurikan and spells. We all managed not to hit a party member this time!

Zombies killed, we’re off to wander the tunnels again. I pray we find this portal, soon!

Finished with killing the zombies, we took a deep breath and looked about. Tassar walked down one of several hallways and immediately called out to us that he had things under control. This caused us to abandon our other searches and chase after him. Bless him, he’s figured out how to get our attention - no monsters to fight, but he had found the real catacombs! Theona set to checking the closed stone coffins, Rosorc paced the perimeter, holding the black rose, and I stood in the middle, watching the multiple exits; it didn’t take long for me to see movement in four!

Several zombies and at least one ghoul met our attacks. Arrows, lightning bolts, and my staff struck the creatures. Theona and I soon decided that I ought to ignore the prohibition against magic (which from the lightning bolts, William had been ignoring for some time), and I turned several to dust. Thank Tymora it was successful! Perhaps defending yourself from attack is tolerated. Unfortunately, several of the things remained, and we fought on. I noticed Tassar in trouble, even as William walked up next to me and cast magic missiles into Tassar’s foe. Go, William! Still, as Tassar was wildly missing, I decided to turn the mass again. More crumbled, leaving Tassar and William with just one zombie to argue over killing. We left it to Tassar, who decided to make us another torch. I was just glad he was all right!

Rosorc headed off into the darkness, soon telling us he’d found sarcophagi; William headed another way and found broken-open crypts, which Theona went to check, and soon, everyone was agan spread out, walking down hallways while I stayed in the main room, listening for trouble. Soon enough, Tassar shouted, “Tempus!!”; I told the others and started to run after him. I could hear an awful shrieking! Theona shouted that it sounded as if Rosorc had found trouble, too, even as Areon dashed by me toward Tassar. I thought we would split the party evenly, when I heard cries for a cleric in Rosorc’s hall. Praying Tassar and Areon would be OK, I turned back, soon finding Rosorc surrounded by two shadowy figures. Theona, clutching a scroll and surrounded by dancing lights, dashed past me to get help from the others, William cast a cone of flame down the hallway at the shadows, and I tried turning the things, but only one left. William kept casting spells to no avail, Rosorc’s axe passed right through, and the creature touched me, draining my strength. In desperation, I raced towards Rosorc, casting magic weapon on his axe and praying it would work!

Rosorc’s next blow seemed to make contact, thank Tymora! Staying behind the fighter for once (wouldn’t Tassar be mad?), I realized that Rosorc had lost strength to the thing as well. I restored him a little, and then realized I could hear sounds of battle from ahead of us, Tassar’s voice especially! What a maze we must be in! Of course, he had something surrounded, again. Knowing we had to finish this battle to get to our friends, I kept healing Rosorc as he attacked the creature, until he destroyed it outright! Knowing our friends were in trouble, the three of us raced down the hallway. We’re lucky there weren’t any traps! Tassar was being attacked by four undead and looking pretty bad, as William’s spells flew overhead and Rosorc barrelled into the middle of the crowd. I couldn’t see the elves, or hear the shrieking anymore, but I turned three of the four undead to dust. Tassar was disgusted, as usual, but I pointed out that I wouldn’t be able to turn anything else until I had prayed for spells, so he was in luck.

Tassar set about dispatching the last undead, as I finally heard sounds of fighting and the elves’ voices. I turned up another passage in time to see Areon cleave the last undead right in front of Theona. Suddenly, shouts from behind let us know that the portal had finally been found! And, at the same time, screams told us that the other shadowy firgure had finally returned. It hit William even as he dashed into the portal. Rosorc stepped up to fight it, shouting at us to enter the portal, but of course, Tassar stepped up beside him, attacking the thing with his torch. Rosorc’s axe was still magical, thank Tymora! And he was able to disperse the evil thing. I healed Tassar a little, and we stepped into the portal with our friends.

We found ourselves standing in a great stone hall. By the carvings, anyone could guess this was dwarven stonework. Thick dust on the floor, quiet, and Rosorc said the style was ancient. Tassar and Areon immediately headed in opposite directions, looking for a way out! I healed everyone as much as I could, earning myself a smooch from the halfling, and Theona passed out a handful of gold to each of us - all the treasure she’d had a chance to find in the catacombs, she told us sadly. Areon found a set of huge double doors at the end of the hall, and Tassar began finding smaller doors set into the walls of the hallway. We waited at the big doors for him to get bored, but he opened a door, whistled, and walked right in! Rosorc, muttering about not disturbing dwarven keeps, headed after him, and the rest of us followed. I told Tassar, “You win!”, which got me a grin, and I think it was a good thing after all, at least for Rosorc! The room was full of carvings, writings, and a stone garden that he said was a shrine to the god Moradin’s wife. Most interestingly, the writing (over the course of several rooms), told the tale of the hold, part of a lost dwarven kingdom some three millenia old.

This was a relief - at least we are back in our own world! We also found faint, old, orc prints in the dust as we walked around, which put Areon on edge (Rosorc was distracted by the story or he’d have been more angry, too, I think). Rosorc made a good suggestion - that we stop and rest here, where it was obviously quiet, and leave by the large doors afterwards. Tassar was trying to find a chink in the big doors to see through, when Rosorc walked up and tried saying various dwarven gods’ names while touching the doors. He didn’t get a response but found the doors moved easily. We then settled down in a side room and slept. I was finally able to heal everyone up!

After some discussion about which set of doors to try (there turned out to be another at the other end of the hall), Rosorc pushed them gently open and we found ourselves in a much greater hallway, indeed! What craftsmen these dwarves must have been! There were balconies above us, and tapestries of dwarven families - and more recent orc tracks in the dust on the floor. Carefully, we began checking the doors in the walls, hoping to find a way to the surface. One of the first doors checked, however, opened into a hallway full of doors which led to sleeping chambers. I’d have expeted them all to be the same and moved on, but Tassar decided to run down the hall and open every door. Suddenly, he shouted, threw his torch behind him into the hall, and went running through the door he’d just opened! Rosorc was next - turning to look into the doorway, then suddenly dashing inside. The rest of us ran up, found a small hallway instead of a room, and chased the first two into a roomful of about twenty orcs.

With no other choice, we attacked.

Luckily for us, the room full of orcs were actually sitting down to dinner. We had a chance to charge in and take them by surprise. Tassar and Rosorc traded claims over orc kills; one would get a shot in, the other would finish the job. Rosorc has developed the knack of continuing a swing when he knocks an enemy down; a few times, he really mowed through the crowd!

Theona shot one dead right in front of us, and William killed one with a spell! He’s really gaining confidence in his spellcasting, and this day, it showed. Areon, of course, was simply in a battle rage. Even as the rest of the orcs grabbed their weapons and headed our way, he was up on a table, swinging wildly. Unfortunately, an orc in the corner grabbed a horn and began to blow; Theona’s arrow-shot surprised but didn’t stop him.

As the battle raged, I saw Theona looking pretty bad; orcs with bows were targeting her. I raced over and healed her up, then turned to see the reinforcements arrive! Two huge ogres and a mage-like, one-eyed orc. Uh, oh! William cast something at the ogres, causing them to charge through the melee after him. Poor William! Huge javelins barely missed him as he ducked back into the hallway!

Both Areon and Rosorc were looking worse for wear (which didn’t stop Rosorc from mowing down three orcs in a row, or Areon fighting like mad); Theona pointed me at Areon and waved a healing potion as she ran towards Rosorc, so I tried to make my way to Areon. An ogre reached right over me to smash at William, but Tassar killed the other one with a well-placed stab. I was amazed! Finally, I got Areon healed, and he ran to attack the archers at the other end of the room. I then healed Rosorc, and suddenly, every enemy was dead and I could heal the rest of the party!

Of course, we knew that several (including the mage) had escaped, and we could hear horns calling in the distance, so our time was limited. That didn’t stop us from searching the bodies, or me from giving a kiss and congratulations to a very proud Tassar! I asked the others if it would be wiser to follow the escapees through the kitchen, or to move back into uninhabited regions. Exploring the room, we found one other door. Theona found blood and scratches on the floor of the passage, and Rosorc went ahead of her. He got spiked by a trap, showing us where the blood and scratches came from! Stoically, he walked on, followed by the rest of us, except for Tassar, who said he was keeping watch. In the kitchen. It sounded like his mouth was full.

The hallway ended in a wooden door, barred, and marked with a symbol for the dark elves. For once, we all agreed that we were not interested in adding trouble with the drow to our situation! We turned back just in time to hear Tassar snap, “No! It’s my stew!!”, which warned us that more reinforcements must have arrived. Rosorc led the charge into the kitchen, killing two orcs right away, but taking a lot of damage, too. While I healed him up, Areon charged after the rest. So much for getting back into unoccupied territory! We ended up in another room, with columns down the sides, and a cave-in at one end. The other end held more orcs, another ogre, and the mage, again.

Shooting arrows and spells, we dashed in and hid behind the columns. Except for Rosorc, who charged right down the middle of the room into battle. He killed some orcs, but the mage pulled a lever, and Rosorc fell into a pit, several inches deep in oil! Two of the orcs lit a torch and dropped it in, Rosorc managed to catch it, but still set himself on fire! I raced forward, uncoiling my rope, and praying the others would cover me. William cast more spells, very effectively! Again, this got him more attention than he liked.

The ogre grabbed a dead orc body and flung it at Rosorc, luckily missing so badly that it knocked another orc to its death as well. It then took another body, and flung it at William, knocking him to the floor! Rosorc was climbing slowly, but I was worrying about William, and when Tassar fell into the pit full of oil, the goddess gave me strength! I hauled Rosorc the last few feet out of the pit and headed over to stabilize William. The ogre was still throwing bodies, but that ended fast when Tassar flung his war fork from Hell at the ogre and killed it outright!

Finally, I got Tassar out of the pit, and set to using up all but one of the charges from the healing wand he’d given me. With everyone healed as much as possible, we checked out the doors at the end of the room. Unfortunately, the orcs had had enough time to lock them thoroughly. Theona tried using her mystery wand, and we found out it shot a ray of enfeeblement, but that didn’t get us anywhere. I pointed out that the orcs might be using other passages to close in from behind, and we turned back. Tassar was far ahead of us, already. We did stop to penny the kitchen door shut, then caught up with Tassar, who was opening random doors in the Great Hall. He quickly found something of interest!

Four green-lit torches in the corners, an altar at the end surrounded by charred orc bodies, and fifteen-foot tall statues of dwarves in wall alcoves. One held a waraxe, the other, a warhammer. There was a mithril axe on the altar, and Tassar shouting for Rosorc! We decided to leave the dwarf alone in that room, since he wanted the mithril axe and we didn’t want to mess things up with non-dwarf presences (except for Tassar, who decided to open all the other doors while we waited). The door soon opened, and Rosorc came out, axe in hand. Theona snagged the torches, passing them out so we all had permanent light.

While Tassar explored a new passageway, I decided to check the other doors quickly before following. A roomful of statues got Rosorc’s attention, but as I headed for the next, Tassar reappeared, red-faced and choking! He slammed the door behind him and told us there were bad things were that way. I healed him up, and told everyone that I was out of spells for the day. The guys, of course, decided to check the “bad thing” out with Rosorc’s new axe. The rest of us waited at the end of the hall while the fighters walked down to where a hole in the ceiling was barely visible. When nothing came out to fight them, they got impatient and began shooting arrows into it!

I got impatient with the waste of ammunition and time and chucked a couple of sling bullets at them, which got their attention (thank heavens no one shot an arrow at me, come to think of it!). Tassar is now pretending to be cowed by my mighty sling, but spoils the effect by giggling. He won’t let us forget those two ogres any time soon! The party has reassembled in the room, and chocked the doors shut to settle down for a bit. So far, we’ve heard no sound of pursuit, and I pray we can get some rest after this eventful day!

We had a quiet rest. Praying to Tymora, I was able to heal Tassar some more. While doing so, I heard Rosorc suggesting that we try to track down the orc mage! He told Theona that there would probably be lots of loot involved; he’s certainly learned how to get her attention!

With no idea where the orc mage was, however, we simply began opening doors and checking out the hallways. Randomly picking one, we headed down a sloping ramp. The first thing our searchers found was a hole - in the ceiling! Rosorc was certain it was a dwarven trap - lucky for us, already tripped. Sure enough, we passed the crushed remnants of a body on our way to the bottom of the slope.

A large stone cylinder explained the rest of the trap to the non-dwarves, and then movement down one of the hallways at the bottom caught our attention! Rosorc knew what the new creatures were right away; rust monsters, which quickly picked up the scent of our metal gear and rushed down the hall for a snack! Arrows were soon winging their way, and William began to cast spells. I used my sling, but didn’t do much at all to slow the things.

Theona managed to shoot one to death even as Rosorc stepped behind us and reloaded his crossbow - although Tassar insisted the move was simply to protect his spiked armor. I tried smacking the remaining thing with my wooden staff, also to no effect, but William finished it off for me. Poor William, however, had taken the brunt of the attack - losing his armor and shield in the process!

Guessing that there would be no more rust monsters from that direction, Tassar made off down the hall they’d come from. Before we got too far, both Theona and Areon noticed a secret door in the wall! They quickly had it open, and we turned down the new passage, ending in another door - also soon open. To our surprise, as we entered the new room, we heard a ‘click’ as William closed the secret door behind us! He heard about that, I fear, but it hadn’t occurred to any of us that he would take such a chance of locking us in!

We were quickly distracted by new trouble; the floor of the secret room began to move, and a huge earth elemental formed! Rosorc attacked, Theona stood screaming, Tassar charged. He was immediately kicked across the room! The thing then attacked so fast that it hit every fighter, hard, including Tassar, who didn’t get up. I don’t know what posessed me, but I dashed into the thick of battle, grabbed him, and ran for the dubious safety of the passage before the elemental could strike me, too. Tymora’s blessings were upon me! Meanwhile, Areon managed to push Theona into the hallway, too, and ran into the fight to get hammered by the thing.

Theona, seeing our friends in real trouble, leaned out of the doorway and shot the wand of enfeeblement at the elemental. It actually seemed to work! I healed Tassar back onto his feet even as the others attacked with renewed hope. The dwarf broke into song, the halfling flung his war fork through the battle (narrowly missing the elf), and the mage cast magic missiles into the crumbling mass. Theona gave it another shot, and Areon was able to hack big chunks out with his sword, as I healed Tassar enough to see him head back into the fray. Rosorc, unfortunately, took one blow too many; next thing I knew, I was dashing by the monster for the second time, relying on Tymora’s grace to do my duty. I dragged him to safety as Areon smashed the elemental to bits.

Tassar’s healing wand came in handy for the last time, as I did all I could to get my party back in decent shape. Tassar had a snack while I worked. Theona found a new hall, another trap (unsprung), marked it with chalk, then checked the door William had closed (thankfully, it opened after all), while the rest of us settled down for another rest. She searched the room while we slept, and Tassar graffitied the place with her chalk. I woke up with the power to heal Rosorc much more, and turned to Tassar, only to see him walk beyond the marked trap and set off another! He reached for a door handle and promptly fell through the floor!

I flipped out, insisting that someone trip the door again so we knew what had happened to him! It seemed a very long time before Theona had the door open and I could lie down and holler down what turned out to be a long chute in the floor - only to hear the sounds of fighting, then silence. I lowered my rope only to find that it didn’t reach far enough. Rosorc then carefully climbed down, bless him! He soon called for someone to drop another rope, which William did, and apparently that was just long enough; they both climbed back up the chute. Tassar had some new toys from his battle with three drow! He told me all about the battle, showed me his new black dagger and sword that’s taller than he is, and suddenly fell asleep from their poisoned arrows even as I healed his wounds. Knowing he’d be out for a while, and unable to help for that day, I picked him up and followed the others down the hall.

Theona had found yet another door, untrapped, through which we discovered the old armory (there were arrow slits across the way; we ducked below them as best we could, fearing more traps). A few weapons had survived the ages, and we collected them while she opened yet another secret door. This one led to the other side of the wall and the arrow slits, another hallway, and another secret door! That one opened to a room full of cobwebs, which Rosorc set to burning away, when we were, naturally, attacked by the inhabitants. The giant spiders were soon killed, despite the fact that Tassar wouldn’t wake up, and Rosorc was bitten several times and considerably weakened (not to mention accidentally shot by Theona, while William’s spells flew overhead!).

We have to rest, yet again. Rosorc is awake, but can hardly move, though he seems happy to just gaze lovingly on Theona. Theona, on the other hand, is looking a little claustrophobic from being underground so long. She hasn’t been the same since that earth elemental! I hate to let her down, but until Tassar wakes up and I can pray to restore Rosorc’s strength, we’re stuck. May the time pass quickly!

I was very relieved to see Tassar wake up with the rest of us. The drow poison seems to have had no lasting effects. I prayed, and restored Rosorc’s strength and the others’ health.

Opening the only other door in the room, the party found several tunnels - and immmediately split up to follow several at once! Eventually, most of us were headed in one direction, while Rosorc tapped his way down a hall behind us. This made for both good news and bad news.

I was following Tassar when he stopped at two doors opposite each other, and opened the one to the left. He found a library of sorts; stone shelves, and stone tablets on the shelves. Unfortunately, he also found a tattoed, red-robed wizard poring over them with an assistant, and several gnolls standing guard! Tassar screamed out Tempus’ name and charged into the room.

I shouted behind me what I’d seen, heard Rosorc come charging, and saw him round the corner even as a ray of light hit the wall over his head! Areon had walked to the turning, suddenly, he pulled his bow and began shooting down the hallway behind Rosorc. At least we weren’t surprised by attackers from behind, but it didn’t make things easier!

William pushed by me, into the room, and began casting spells at the gnolls attacking Tassar. He was quickly set upon, so I ran in and tried to help. I managed to distract the gnolls long enough for William, remembering that he had no armor, to squeeze back outside. The red-robed wizard cast some kind of spell, summoning a wolf-like thing that joined the attack on Tassar. He was getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers, when Rosorc charged into the room. I couldn’t get out of the way in time and took a hit, but I was very glad to see another fighter come to Tassar’s aid! Especially as I seem to have gotten out of fighting practice; I couldn’t land a blow to save my life!

Shouts from the hall let me know what the ray had come from - a beholder and several drow were attacking from behind! They’d cast a magical darkness, and the others came piling into the room, except for William. I was shocked to see them pushing the door shut, but apparently he’d gone down to a poisoned arrow and they simply were unable to get to him. Poor William! I didn’t have much time to worry about him, though, for the fighting continued, and the wizard was shooting spells, too. Theona got hit by something acidic, but managed to shoot my attacker dead with an arrow before it killed me.

The wizard, seeing Tassar and Rosorc mowing down his guards, suddenly disappeared with his assistant. But even as Tassar finished the last one, the drow and beholder began to win the battle of the door! Rays shot into the room, hitting some party members. Luckily for us, it also accidentally incincerated one of the drow in the doorway, which gave Theona a chance to slam the door a second time. Areon held it shut while I healed myself a little, and moved away from the door for some cover while the others prepared to do battle, yet again.

The drow gave the door another shove while Theona and I took a quick look around the room, hoping to find another exit. We had no luck. Tassar even climbed the shelves. We had just agreed that we’d have to fight our way out, when Areon said that the hallway had gone quiet. We walked up, he cracked the door open, and there was an empty hall. Poor William! Who knows what the drow would think of his strange ancestry? Quietly, I healed the others (giving Rosorc a flask of healing potion in case he needed it fast), and the elves listened for any movement. We agreed that we had to try to follow the drow and recover our friend, and Tassar had already started down the hall, when Rosorc decided to check the door across from us before moving out.

It was just as well that he did! He and the elves caught sight of the beholder, floating in another library! He slammed the door quickly, and we gathered around it. I punched it open with my staff so that no one was directly in the path of any rays, and those with bows shot the thing! Then we all ducked as it responded with a barrage of attacks from its eyes. Rosorc was hit and immediately fell asleep; thankfully, I was able to shake him awake right away! Tassar was hit hard enough to shatter his shield into pieces, plus falling asleep, and Areon suddenly looked absolutely exhausted. Rosorc charged into the room as I shook Tassar awake; he quickly shot another arrow into the beholder, and ran after the dwarf.

He didn’t get far; the drow suddenly appeared from near the walls! Rosorc was hit by a poison arrow and collapsed in a heap, right in front of the beholder! I tried to break the spell on Areon and failed, but he was still more than able to step up and kill one of the drow attacking Tassar. Areon was hit by the beholder again - luckily, damage that I could heal. He then shot the beholder - to death! Running low on healing spells, I gave him my last potion, then stepped into the room to help Tassar against the three drow still fighting him. I finally landed a hit, killing one, and with a flurry of blows, he finished off the others! The last drow left disappeared again.

While Areon held the door shut against the presumably invisible drow, I managed to wake Rosorc; the others searched the room - and found William! Blessed Tymora, what luck! He was in a deep sleep, of course, and Tassar suddenly fell asleep again, too. I’m out of spells, we will soon be on the run again, but I still feel hopeful. After surviving multiple threats like that, someone must be watching out for us!

Knowing the drow would soon return, we did not search the entire library. We did check out the tablets that the Red Wizard had been perusing, however! His assistant had been making a rubbing of an ancient stone map of the North. The Anauroch Desert, even, was shown as a fertile land! The map also showed where to find the burial tombs of ancient mages of the Netheril Empire. I asked if we had the materials to make a rubbing of our own, which got my belt rubbed by Tassar. While I was laughing, Rosorc pulled out some parchment and he and Theona set about copying the map.

While they worked, we read some of the tablets nearby. Apparently, the map is especially for finding the burial tomb of the Archmage Trelzun. I tried to explain what I remembered of Netheril’s history, and its powerful magic. I think it may be worthwhile to find out more about these burial tombs, especially if the Red Wizards are interested, too! I was a little distracted by Tassar gutting the beholder in the background, I’m afraid. Or maybe it was the sight of him waving eyestalks around and making them “talk”.

As soon as the map was done, we began to argue about which way to go! We knew we wanted away from both the drow and the orcs, and, of course, the elves just wanted outside already, but no one knew which way that was. Both Theona and Areon wanted to see what lay beyond the doors at the other end of the hallway we’d entered by the portal. The ones that Tassar had led us away from by his curiosity. Growing a little exasperated, I pointed out to Tassar that they wouldn’t be happy until we knew what was on the other side of those doors - and he was off! Thankfully, everyone else decided to follow. At least we were on the move before anything else showed up!

We made it back to the original hallway, and readied ourselves for trouble around the unopened doors. Theona checked for traps, and gently pushed the doors open to reveal an empty chamber beyond. We could see ominous-looking slits in the ceiling, and another set of doors across the way. Tassar poked an eyestalk into the room and got no reaction (from the room, at least). He then snuck inside, keeping by the walls, and heading for the doors on the opposite side. We watched quietly as he reached them and flung them wide - to blinding sunlight! Thank Tymora! We followed him around the edge of the room and saw our first open sky in what seemed like ages.

We found ourselves on a rocky ledge, with an ancient roadbed winding off to the right. I studied the mountain ranges and forests below, and made an educated guess - I think this road will take us to the Moonwood! At least we’ll be closer to home, but we’ll have to be extra careful, as the Wood is full of evil lycanthropes. Still, we’ll worry about that when we get there. Areon quickly scouted ahead as we moved out - glad to be doing his own thing again, I’m sure! He wasn’t looking very healthy, I fear; as I looked at my friends in the bright light, I realized that Tassar didn’t look much better, and William was barely on his feet. I felt badly that I couldn’t heal them, but at that point it seemed more important to keep moving. In the Spine of the World, resting for a day on an open road isn’t a good idea!

Unfortunately, fate took any options out of our hands. Areon came rushing back up the road to tell us that there was a good-sized party of orcs coming toward us! We scattered, hoping to hide behind boulders as we’d done in Hell. Unfortunately, Rosorc had the same trouble as before, and no potion of invisibility. William, too, was unable to hide well. A crowd of orcs and two dire boars marched up the road, took one look around, and headed right for us! Rosorc was first into battle - I was glad that he was the healthiest of us all! William cast a spell over our heads and killed one of the orcs outright; the other nineteen kept coming. Rosorc charged into the midst of them as elves’ arrows flew overhead and I used my sling. Soon, everyone was surrounded.

I managed to kill an orc, myself, and saw William kill several with a burst of fire before turning to run. He didn’t make it far - out of nowhere, one of the dire boars loomed large. It smashed him to death! It didn’t have a chance to sink in before two more orcs attacked me. I saw Theona’s ray of enfeeblement going off, swung my staff, then caught sight of Tassar going down under the other dire boar! Forgetting my own attackers, I ran for him! The orcs hit me a couple of times before I remembered Tymora’s blessings and cast fly upon myself. I snatched Tassar’s motionless body from the boar, getting hit as I flew past, and managed to stabilize him while hiding him away from the battle.

Flying above the battle, I saw that we were actually starting to come out ahead, except for William. The elves were down to two attackers, and Rosorc to one, but the boars and two more orcs were heading into the fight. Theona backed up to nock an arrow, and I flew overhead with my sling and managed to kill the two orcs that Areon had been hacking into. Rosorc charged one of the boars, ending up in battle with both an orc and the beast. He killed it and turned to the orc as Areon killed an orc for himself, and went down to the last boar. Theona went berserk, screaming and shooting arrows into the thing. I wondered what effect a little arrow would have on a creature that size, when it collapsed! She’d found a good use for the drow poison! She ran up to cut its throat and I turned to see how Rosorc was doing.

He and the last orc were staggering around each other, both looking haggard. I shot sling bullets at the orc but missed badly, even hitting Rosorc once. Thankfully, he was able to kill it despite my help. He then found the healing potion I’d given him, and used it on Tassar! Bless him! We piled the bodies, and the others searched out what loot they could find. I made my way to William’s body and sadly buried him under a cairn. I’ve prayed to Tymora to guide his spirit! With my last healing, we’re all on our feet, but barely. Areon is going to have to find us a good hiding place away from here. We simply can’t go any further.

May Tymora watch over us!