The Winterhaven Graveyard

Sul, Lharvion 22, 998 YK (Day 8). Morning.

In the morning, Zil'dejin, Tam'elanath, Morgue, Lythanis and Mikhal quickly break camp - Winterhaven has remained safe for the night. Their duty in protecting the town for the immediate future has been fulfilled, and so they set out for the graveyard.

The path to the graveyard creates something like a fork on the Old King's Road, going directly east from Winterhaven and turning north into the shallow foothills of the Icetop Mountains. It is a short trip from the town; they arrive after about twenty minutes of walking. Wrought iron fences enclose the cemetery. They push open the iron gates and proceed inside, seeing nothing as yet.

Inside the graveyard, the tombstones are very densely packed. Three mausoleums are present besides the gravestones, and some of the soil surrounding the tombstones seems disturbed. A sickly bluish glow pulses from somewhere near one of the mausoleums.

Seeing nothing, the party chooses to investigate one of the mausoleums, and they progress into the cemetery, walking slowly. Morgue moves quickly ahead, and as he proceeds about halfway into the graveyard, the ground breaks open all around them and the dead emerge, poised to attack. Morgue seeks shelter from the inevitable onslaught of the first wave - an army of skeletons with bows and swords and four undead hounds - by pushing open the door to the mausolem. However, inside he does not find the sanctuary he sought; instead, the mausoleum plays host to a green-skinned woman with warped flesh, carrying a strangely curved bow that is designed to accommodate her unusual build. Morgue has just enough time to see her emerge before she lays her left hand on him, and is not able to dodge in time. He falls backwards, his mind a storm of nightmarish  and horrible visions.

With Morgue thus occupied, the hag turns to Tam'elanath and takes careful aim with the bow, muttering something to herself and firing it with great speed. The arrow slams into Tam'elanath, piercing his armor and injuring him severely - the party notices the hag's focus appears to have been sharpened on Tam'elanath.

Meanwhile, the skeletons advance. Mikhal prepares a sacred circle to help protect the party from the advancing horde. The graveyard becomes a battlefield. Zil'dejin whirls his Lifedrinker around, charging into skeletons and smashing them to bits. Tam'elanath is able to recover from his injuries and steps back to fire arrows on the hordes. Morgue continues to battle with the nightmarish visions and now, his overwhelming injuries. Mikhal struggles to keep the brunt of the attacks off his allies while simultaneously fending off skeletons, and Lythanis takes advantage of a newly-acquired ability he refers to as Burning Flux, which twists and warps empty air into a burning mass that burns anyone caught within.

The skeletons fall one by one, but their presence and the pressing attacks of the gravehounds lead the party to forget about the hag for the time being. They find themselves surpressed by the hounds and their hag leader, though all the skeletons have fallen...

Shadowfell Keep, 1st Floor (III)

Sar, Lharvion 21, 998 YK (Day 7). Late afternoon.

The party chooses to investigate the last remaining door in the unadorned cavern section of the Keep, which is adjacent to the room that was formerly filled with rats. Mikhal restores the majority of Morgue's injuries with lay on hands and they continue towards the old bronze double doors. They're covered with a layer of fungus; scratched into this fungus is the message, "Stay out. Really." They proceed anyway.

The doors open to a set of descending stairs, leading down into a natural cavern. The cavern is carpeted entirely with the same fungus found on the door, and the room is filled with a stagnant pool of almost entirely opaque, dark water. In the middle of the water is a small island, covered with bones, coins and small objects. Lythanis notes the water appears to be rippling; he suspects something might be moving beneath the surface.

The party cautiously approaches the edge of the water, and are met with a blast of an incredibly offensive odor which clouds their senses. At this, the origin of the movement Lythanis observed becomes apparent; a blue amorphous blob, not entirely unlike the ochre jelly they defeated earlier, rises to the surface of the water, moving by means of large pseudopods.

They combat the slime here, battling its surprising mobility and corrosive touch, and are eventually able to "kill" it (if it could ever have been said to be alive in the first place). After they are certain it is no longer a threat, they decide to investigate the island in the middle of the water. They are hesitant to swim in the horribly unpleasant water; Zil'dejin offers to attempt to leap the roughly ten foot span to the small island, and takes a running start and jumps to it.

On the island, they find another potion of healing, a magic shield of protection (taken by Mikhal), and a wooden message cylinder, as well as some coins. The message cylinder contains three sheets of vellum. One details a map to the Shadowfell Keep in relation to the local area, apparently extending down from Irontown to the south. The other two contain messages. The first holds the following:

"Remember, don't wet the nodule unless Kalarel is not receptive to the offer. Then, wet it only from a distance, and then turn and run. Water will bring the creature out of its dormancy, and it will consume anything it can reach."


The second one reads as follows, in the same writing as the first:

"Greetings, Kalarel. I have recently learned of your activity in the area and I have an offer for you. During your time in this region, if you should capture any humanoids, we are eager to buy them. We have duergar allies in the Thunderspire in need of slave stock. If you are interested, please send an envoy back to me. My messengers will show the way.
 - Chief Krand, of the Bloodreavers."


The party dwells on this for a moment, and then takes stock of their situation. Morgue is still quite injured, and the others are starting to feel the effects of prolonged combat as well. Eventually, they choose to return to Winterhaven. They set out from the Keep.

* * *

It is night when they arrive back at Winterhaven, and the party finds the gate to be closed. Many of the townspeople stand atop the parapet, armed and nervous. Lord Padraig waves to the party as they approach. He tells them that Winterhaven is in danger; many of the villagers have disappeared, and more pressingly, the dead in the cemetery have apparently come to life. Padraig is worried they will move to attack the town soon.

The party discusses the situation. Winterhaven is shut off and its gates are locked; they cannot gain access until the threat is over. They decide to go to the graveyard and investigate, but believe it is more important to ensure the town stays safe for the night. They set up camp, sleeping in shifts and keeping watch over Winterhaven until morning.

Lord Padraig

Shadowfell Keep, 1st Floor (II)

Sar, Lharvion 21, 998 YK (Day 7).

Zil'dejin, Tam'elanath, Morgue and Lythanis awake in Balgron's chambers. Not wanting to stay any longer than they absolutely must, they leave, headed back towards the entrance of the Keep. They decide to remain still, needing to press further to discover what is happening to Winterhaven. They head into the eastern hallway, and find themselves in some sort of excavation site.

Here, they hear a multitude of goblins arguing angrily about something in their native tongue. Thus made aware of the goblins' presence, the party advances carefully. Morgue moves forward first, sneaking cautiously at first but then walking into a wide open, well-lit space, and in a last-ditch effort to hide after this mistake, throws his cloak around himself and dives to the ground. The goblins are not fooled by this display, and begin their attack.

The room is composed of the same flagstone that makes up the rest of the Keep, but here it is in certain intervals dug out about ten feet into the earth below. The goblins clamber up ladders to put themselves on the same level as the party, and launches a volley of crossbow bolts while their nearby guard drakes attempt to attack as well.

Zil'dejin charges forward to meet the guard drakes as they advance, stopping them and subduing them while Morgue supports his retaliation. Tam'elanath hangs further back to fire arrows at the offending goblins, and Lythanis ventures to use his psionic abilities to push them back off the platforms and into the pits once again. These tactics slightly injure Lythanis but are ultimately very successful, and the party makes quick work of the excavation crew. From here, they plan to move into a gap the excavators have made in the wall, leading into a natural cave formation slightly beneath their current location.

Before they go down the "stairs" leading into the cave, however, they take a moment to catch their breath. At this time, Mikhal Thanesman returns from his trip to Winterhaven, and descends the stairs of the Keep to find the party nearby. They catch up - the party are at once pleased and irritated to see him again, frustrated that he left them when his defensive abilities were needed most (against the goblins) but glad to see him back to protect them in the immediate future. With Mikhal travelling with the party once again, they descend into the caverns attached to the Keep.

Unlike the ruins, there are no torches here - the party is in total darkness. Tam'elanath and Zil'dejin light sunrods, and they can hear rats moving about in the darkness, but cannot see them.

As Tam'elanath moves forward into the caverns, rats drop from the ceiling to attack them. The party fends off these first few giant rats, but more appear, drawn by the sound of battle, and are accompanied by a massive brown amorphous blob, which they recognize as an ochre jelly. Surrounded by rats and besieged by the jelly, the party faces a bit of difficulty, but Mikhal is able to soak up much of the damage directed at the party. Zil'dejin cleaves the jelly with a mighty strike, thinking it defeated, but it merely splits in two and continues attacking from two fronts. Eventually, they are able to bring it down, though somewhat injured by its corrosive form - Morgue, who fell in battle against the goblins earlier, is particularly damaged. They proceed into the caves.

In the next area, they find a series of small tunnels, and a pit extending ten feet into the ground with a crushed, unrecognizable form within. As they move further into the room, their movement and the light from their sunrods attract this areas inhabitants: a horde of kruthiks. They scatter out from the tunnels to attack the party, and the one adult accompanying them launches a series of toxic spikes at them. They are eventually able to take down the kruthiks, with Mikhal keeping the less durable members of the party from taking damage (including the battered Morgue, who lingers as far back as possible) and Zil'dejin fighting hard at the forefront, even using his rarely-seen dragon breath ability to fire lightning upon the lizard-like creatures. At last, they are triumphant, and proceeding with caution against the possibility of pitfalls, raid the treasure the kruthiks have collected. Here, they find more gold and a potion of healing, taken by Mikhal.

The party takes a brief rest to consider their next move; do they proceed, injured as they are (particularly Morgue)? Or do they return to Winterhaven?

Shadowfell Keep, 1st Floor (I)

Far, Lharvion 20, 998 YK (Day 6). Night.

The rest lasts for about a half hour. During this time, Typhus leaves the room, Splug in tow, without a word. The party initially considers pursuing him or trying to discover where he is going, but their attempts to question him are met with nothing. The remaining five members decide it best not to try and pry further, as if travelling with Typhus for the past three days has taught them anything, it is that he is perhaps better off left to his own inscrutable purposes.

After Typhus has left, Mikhal announces that he, too, must depart. Having learned that the keep is in fact occupied (and recently so), and become aware of the presence of dark magic and rituals in this place, he must meet with Theoban Flamerule in Winterhaven to give the report he promised on Lharvion 21. He, however, declares that he will return as soon as possible, and leaves, bound for the surface and ultimately to the town of
Winterhaven.

The four left in the Keep - Zil'dejin, Tam'elanath, Morgue and Lythanis - decide to press onwards, as they have discovered very little of the happenings in the area, which was their original purpose for venturing within. They decide to investigate the goblin chieftain's room, described by Splug before he left with Typhus. They leave the torture chamber and open the door to the adjoining room.

Here, they are met with a relatively large space sectioned off with curtains. All they are able to see (other than the curtains) is a table with two goblins playing a raucous but incomprehensible game of cards, with an old and ornate bronze bell in front of them, likely left over from the Keep's active era. The party is outside of the distracted goblin's awareness, huddled in the hallway leading to the room, and here, they ponder their next move. Deciding that the bell is likely going to alert other goblins of their presence, Morgue opts to try and take the bell from the table.

He sneaks forward, and is initially undetected by the goblins. He reaches to grab the bell, and successfully lifts it off the table, but as he does so, it clangs, alerting the goblins at the table as well as goblins further within the room, in the areas behind the curtain. A fight ensues. Goblins rush out of adjacent rooms, coming in huge numbers from sub-rooms behind doors and the curtains, and the goblin chieftain (identifying himself as Balgron the Fat) joins the fray as well.

The four are faced with immense difficulty, due in part to their diminished numbers and in part to the overwhelming odds. Though they are able to thin the numbers of the goblins, they are slowly worn down. Their wounds begin to get the better of them, but the goblins continue to fall as Zil'dejin takes the lead, hacking away at enemies, while the others provide varying forms of support. The most powerful goblins are taken down, including Balgron the Fat, but the fight continues thereafter until Morgue, Zil'dejin, and Lythanis have all fallen, and a wounded Tam'elanath retreats further into the chamber to hide from the remaining threats: three goblins, wounded, but alive and furious.

A heavily injured Morgue, seeing the threat the advancing goblins pose to Tam'elanath and, indeed, all of them, is able to lift himself to his feet just inches from death, staggering upright, and taking some of the stress off Tam'elanath by killing the nearest goblin with a well-placed shortsword thrust. Tam'elanath is able to remove the others, and the party takes some time to recover.

In the short term, the injured are treated, and the four search the room to ensure no goblins remain. Once they have done this, they take the goblins' treasure: a respectable sum of gold, and a slightly enchanted magic wand. They set up camp in his fortified chamber, taking advantage of the somewhat-soiled beds and well-lit safety of the room. Here, they sleep off their most serious wounds and injuries.

Entering the Keep

Far, Lharvion 20, 998 YK (Day 6). Morning.

The party awakens again in Wrafton's Inn. The day is overcast and cool, but relatively pleasant. Typhus is the first to wake, and goes to Bairwin's Grande Shoppe with Morgue and Zil'dejin, where he attempts to sell the humanoid skulls he retrieved from the kobold lair. Bairwin explains that he is interested in curiosities, like the dragon skull - not the remains of people. He sends the party on their way. Outside the shop, the party discusses their next move, and the nature of Valthrun the Prescient.

"I don't trust Valthrun," Morgue says flatly. "I think he's suspicious."
"You think everybody's suspicious," replies Tam'elanath, reminding him of the woman they met in Lakeside who first prompted them to come to Winterhaven.
"She was suspicious."
"I agree about the wizard," Typhus adds. "I think that guy is up to something."
"Me too," states Lythanis. "We should be careful about trusting him."

The party comes to agreement: they believe Valthrun is not what he seems to be, seeming suspicious and aloof. They decide he may be a threat, and so forms a bizarre and elaborate plan to contact him about the rib again.

The approach his tower once more, and Typhus lays down the clothes he took from Sil, the changeling who posed as Delphina Moongem. Typhus uses his Mage Hand cantrip to knock on the door, and then uses the same spell in combination with Lythanis' Far Hand power to lift the clothes off the ground in an attempt to make the uninhabited garments look like a human being, assuming that Valthrun will only open the door a crack. The party stands off to the side, behind the door.

Unfortunately, Valthrun opens the door in its entirety, sees the floating clothing and then the party attempting to hide out of his sight. "What... are you doing?" he asks.

"Recognize these?" Typhus asks, gesturing towards the clothing. Valthrun shakes his head.

"They belong to the changeling posing as Delphina Moongem."

"What are you talking about?" he asks in response.

"...nothing."

Finally, Zil'dejin enters as the voice of reason yet again. "We're here to ask about the rib. Have you finished studying it yet?"

"Oh. Well, er. No, not yet, exactly, but I'm certain I'm close. In the meantime, perhaps you'd be willing to help out the people of Winterhaven once more?"

"What is it this time?" asks Mikhal.

Valthrun describes the keep just north of the town, along the ascension to the Icetop Mountains. He explains that his historical records indicate that it was built by Karrn the Conqueror (the founder of Karrnath), and that it was built to protect a rift to the Shadowfell, also known as Mabar. He says Orcus, a demon lord, was sealed in Khyber, but about a thousand years ago an exarch known as Doresain tried to breach the rift here and summon an army of the undead from the keep. Paladins of Dol Dorn then sealed him away in the rift, and the keep's original purpose was forgotten, the structure abandoned. But the rift is still there, and Valthrun believes someone may be trying to open it. He mentions that the Winterhaunt is nearing, a time when Mabar comes close to Eberron, which will then weaken the seals on the rift. He believes the Winterhaunt is why the townspeople have been acting so strange, and the attempt to breach the seal is responsible for the hostile activity lately. Finally, he asks the party to investigate.

They are skeptical at first, initially not wanting to hear him out but eventually deciding that this may be the best course of action for the time being. They agree, and Valthrun tells them where to go and indicates he will continue to study the rib in their absence. The party again leaves Winterhaven, this time headed north along a barely-defined path overgrown with vegetation to the old keep.

Before long, they arrive at the ruins of the keep. The structure still stands, though barely. However, the party detects some hints of recent use; a path through the rubble has been cleared, and a staircase has been revealed. Typhus uses a Light cantrip to illuminate the staircase, and seeing no immediate danger, the party descends into the depths.

In the entry room, Mikhal falls pray to a trap and falls into a pit in the ground, but is lifted out by Morgue. After this, they are attacked by goblins, alerted to their presence by the sound of the trap going off. They fight off the first few goblins, and then the party then splits into two; Zil'dejin, Morgue, and Mikhal head forward down towards the south corridor, and Tam'elanath, Typhus and Lythanis head to the east corridor. They are met by different challenges; the former group encounters waiting goblins, and the latter, a very resilient curtain. Eventually, they clear the last of the goblins, and decide to proceed along the west corridor from the first room, and arrive in the torture chamber.

Here, they encounter more goblins and a hobgoblin torturer, apparently in charge of the goblins in the room. They fight these off, and Typhus speaks with an imprisoned goblin in the cells here, who identifies himself as Splug. He offers Splug freedom in exchange for translating the note found on Ironteeth, and though he is not satisfied with Splug's interpretation, sets him free anyway on the condition of unswerving servitude. Splug is glad to be out, and offers what little information he can; he tells the party that the chieftain's room branches off from this one. The party considers going here next, and takes a brief rest.

The Coalstriker Incident

Zor, Lharvion 19, 998 YK (Day 5). Night time.

Returning from the kobold lair, Tam'elanath, Zil'dejin, Morgue, Typhus, Mikhal and Lythanis find the town is strangely still. The townspeople all seem nervous and pensive, going about their last-minute business darkly with their heads lowered. When questioned by Morgue, they can offer no reason; the impatient Zil'dejin attempts to threaten a town resident for answers ("I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE BEFORE I SHOVE MY FIST DOWN YOUR THROAT!") but this, too, is unsuccesful. The party goes to question Valthrun on the matter, but he does not respond. They move back to Lord Padraig, who rewards them with 100 gold, thanks them for their help, and sends them on their way.

On their way back to Wrafton's Inn, Typhus stops at Thair Coalstriker's smithy once again, this time to sell all the iron braziers as a source of scrap metal. He is joined by Zil'dejin, Morgue, and Lythanis, but Tam'elanath and Mikhal return to the inn to rest their battered bodies. Reluctant to do business with the one who has caused him so much anguish in the past two days, Thair is still able to see the value of the metal and so buys it, albeit at a drastically reduced price. Typhus drops the braziers on the ground, and Thair begins lifting them into a pile of materials in the back end of his small shop.

In an effort to smooth the strained relationship with the dwarf blacksmith (or so he would later claim), Typhus clears his throat, and Thair turns around to see what else he has to say, unwilling to hear but listening regardless (as on the day he arrived, Typhus had an unpleasant exchange with the dwarf in the Dwarven tongue). Typhus looks at him and says, "Allow me to make your forge even hotter." With this, he casts a spell on the unsuspecting dwarf's hearth, which literally backfires and causes it to detonate, ruining his current work, surrounding finished works, the forge itself, and a chunk of the wall that held it.

Thair immediately drops the brazier he is lifting and grabs his warhammer off the wall, completely enraged. Typhus attempts to convince Thair his intentions were nothing but good, but Thair does not listen. He then attempts to intimidate the dwarf, but this, too, fails. Morgue uses his superior powers of persuasion on the dwarf, but it is too late; Thair is blind with rage at the Tiefling who has caused him so much frustration and has now ruined his livelihood. He leaps over the stone counter, hammer raised. Typhus fires an Acid Arrow at him - among his most powerful spells - but it just grazes Thair, who proceeds as though nothing has happened. He cracks Typhus in the skull with the hammer, who staggers under the impact, but fires off a Scorching Burst. Thair appears to be only minimally affected, and smashes Typhus with his shield, sending him unconscious. He then moves to the ruins of his forge to grab a still-glowing coal.

Meanwhile, Zil'dejin - preferring not to get involved - leaves the smithy. Morgue attempts to lift Typhus off the ground, but finds himself unable. Lythanis tries to persuade the dwarf to stop his assault, but again, he does not listen. He returns to Typhus with a hot coal in tongs, and places the coal in his mouth, then stomps on his chest. Typhus, highly resistant to heat and fire, is not particularly affected by the coal, but is nearing death from Thair's savage beating.

Morgue offers a kind of settlement to the situation, perhaps with monetary compensation, and Thair finally slows to consider. He agrees to let Typhus live on the grounds that he may have all the money Typhus is carrying. Morgue takes Typhus' gold and hands it to Thair, who relents. Hearing the commotion calm within, Zil'dejin returns to the interior to see the conclusion. It is at this time that two city guards arrive, drawn by the ruckus.

They ask what is going on, and administer a potion to Typhus, who is on the verge of death. He gets up to his knees, and the four try to explain their side while Thair gives his take, explaining how Typhus destroyed his forge. The guards extract a pair of metal shackles to bind Typhus and take him for questioning, but Typhus casts a spell to make the cuffs invisible (though the guard is still holding them). Lythanis attempts to steal Typhus' money back from Thair by lifting his bag telekinetically, but his satchel is firmly held to his body and he fails. Thair reacts harshly to this attempt at theft, and the guards try to calm him down as he begins swinging his hammer blindly again. While this occurs, Morgue attempts to steal the invisible shackles, but fails because he cannot see them.

Finally, the guards are led to believe that Thair has gone insane, sends the party on their way and are eventually able to put the invisible shackles on the enraged dwarf. The party sees him being dragged out of the forge in the invisible shackles, screaming madly and incoherently in the Dwarven tongue. They go back to Wrafton's Inn to join Tam'elanath and Mikhal and get some sleep.

Behind the Waterfall

Zor, Lharvion 19, 998 YK (Day 5)

The party awakes the next morning in Wrafton's Inn to a gentle rain. They go downstairs and head outside, going to visit "Bairwin's Grand Shoppe," Winterhaven's general store for supplies. When they arrive, they purchase some basic supplies, Typhus again attempts to sell the dragon skull he retrieved from the burial site the day before. Unlike Valthrun and Thair Coalstriker, however, Bairwin seems interested. He is not inclined to purchase it, but will offer it in trade for an item he's been trying to get rid of. Typhus indicates that he prefers monetary payment, but agrees, and Bairwin moves slowly into the back room of his shop, where he spends an incredible amount of time rummaging.

When he emerges, he is carrying a bedroll. Almost immediately, Typhus asks if he has anything else to offer, and the aging, slightly senile Bairwin sets the bedroll down on the counter again and departs once more for an unnecessarily long trip to the back room. While he is gone, Morgue seizes the opportunity and takes the bedroll, stuffing it hastily in his bag. Bairwin returns with what he claims is a "bag of wondrous powder;" Typhus accepts this in trade, and hands him the hefty dragon skull in exchange. He also purchases some rudimentary components for magical rituals - precisely 25 gold pieces worth, though he initially attempts to sell the same amount for 50 gold. The streetwise Morgue and the ever-suspicious Zil'dejin catch on to this quickly, and insist he purchases the goods at their real value. He does so, and the three leave the shop to meet the rest of the party, waiting outside.

They pay a quick visit to the smithy, apparently looking for magical items, where an exasperated Thair Coalstriker shoos them away again. After this, they decide to visit Valthrun the Prescient to see if he has finished analyzing the rib yet. They arrive at his tower, and knock on his door again. After some time, he comes down, opens the door, and the party asks him if he has finished. He tells them somewhat evasively that he hasn't had time yet, and tells them that he hears Lord Padraig, the lord of Winterhaven, has been looking for a group to help him with a security issue. He tells the party to look into this and closes his door again. They attempt to knock on his door once more, but to no avail: he does not answer. They eventually decide to visit Padraig. At the closed gate to the inner court of Winterhaven, Morgue uses an elaborate explanation of his purpose to give himself an air of intrigue and mystery, and the fascinated guards let him in. They ask a guard which of the three buildings to visit, and go to see Padraig (after first dealing with the servant Samson), who tells them of the kobold problem that Winterhaven has been experiencing. He informs them that he has located their lair, and asks them if they will help for a small reward. The party agrees, and departs for the nearby waterfall, where Padraig indicates the kobold lair is hidden.

Outside the waterfall, they encounter a large group of kobolds gathered around an old magic circle. The party decides they must be in the midst of some ritual, and attempts to attack. Morgue moves first, but a failed attempt at an assault leads the party to be identified, and the kobolds are alerted. The six then engage them in battle, and eventually cuts them all down, but one is able to escape behind the waterfall. They pursue.

When they arrive inside, they find the kobolds within already alerted to their presence by the one that had fled from outside. Bottlenecked in the small entrance, they attempt to engage the kobolds in combat. As they near the end of the first wave, a waiting group of ambushers on the ground above the cave drops down, and an imposing presence enters from further within the cave. The kobolds are apparently obedient to the creature, who the party believes is the same Ironteeth mentioned in the note they discovered in Szartharrax's lair. They do not recognize the creature, who has a large head with two mouths, no neck, and four arms - each of which is helping to hold one of two battle axes. They are then assailed by this new group.

The six are at first surpressed. The self-sacrificing Mikhal is the first to fall, who attempts to heal and defend his companions but collapses in the far end of the cave to the onslaught. Morgue attempts to buy the party some time and hold Ironteeth back, and moves to attack him, but is struck down by his axes and bit by his crushing metal teeth and falls unconscious on the ground. Typhus, pushed back into a corner by a group of minions in the first wave, is the next to fall after taking out some kobolds with his magic, though he is able to recover after some time. Ironteeth continues advancing, and Tam'elanath steps in, first firing arrows at the attacking kobolds to kill some, and then finally attacking Ironteeth himself, first with his bow, and then by kicking over a brazier in hopes of igniting him. This attempt is successful, and Ironteeth is severely burned, but he proceeds to take out his anger on Tam'elanath. Lythanis, who to this point had been on the edges of combat assisting with psionic abilities, now finds himself up close to Ironteeth, and attacks, but is soon struck down as well. Typhus stabilizes Mikhal with the magic powder he traded from Bairwin earlier (identified as Woundstitch Powder) and moves to do the same to Tam'elanath and Lythanis, expending the powder completely. Zil'dejin, who had been around a corner, arrives to assist, and is able to get Morgue back on his feet. Ironteeth is able to fall the weakened Tam'elanath again and Typhus as well, but by this time the five standing have done enough damage. The finishing blow is dealt, and Ironteeth collapses. The party takes a moment to rest and help Mikhal recover, and then they search the cave for loot.

They find a note on Ironteeth, written in Goblin, and further within the cave they find some slightly magic gloves (Burglar's gloves, taken by Morgue, who else?), a set of magic armor (+1 Dwarven chainmail, taken by Zil'dejin) and a dark-colored flask scribed with runes, which Typhus identifies as the darkly arcane Prison of Salzacas, though he can't quite recall where he knows this information from. Tam'elanath cautiously takes the item, and the greedy but slightly misguided Typhus first steals all the iron braziers in the cavern, using a Tenser's Floating Disk ritual to lift them, then takes an armful of humanoid skulls from remains in the cave. Their task complete, the six return to Winterhaven.