Ambush

12 November , 595

After a few day's break, the party ventures back into the depths under the bathhouse. They discover a fountain of water, which seems drinkable but for the walls and floor around it. At the end of a hallway, they discover the head of the statue of Moradin, which had been removed from the temple. Salla wants to replace it but the task would consume a lot of time, and Salla reluctantly consents to leave it be.

Another room is found to store the bodies of the goblins that had been killed a few days ago. The smell is intense and the group only stays long enough to retrieve a set of bells that had been rigged up to serve as an alarm.

Approaching a ledge overlooking a cavern, they sneak up on a group of the small goblins. They try to lure the creatures into an ambush, but end up locking themselves in a room and fighting their way out, while more of the sneaky ones and skirmishers are called in to attack. Alastriel wisely stays out of harm's way this time, and she remains awake throughout the entire conflict. The goblins are defeated and the group continues into the dark descending cave.

A side passage is taken and the party is assaulted by strange tentacled creatures resembling stalactites. The creatures tend to project a magical darkness that envelops its victims, then drops on their heads, wrapping around their necks to suffocate them. Both Salla and Baxtor are taken by surprise, but once the group figures out how to deal with them, the relatively weak creatures are killed.

Continuing down the main passage the party is ambushed by a trio of goblins firing crossbows. More skirmishers join the fight while a goblin wizard duels with Alastriel. The elf maiden gets the best of him, and he retreats back into the darkness. But the group also has to contend with a goblin wolf rider and its mount who represent formidable opponents. After a long battle in which several in the group are badly wounded, the valiant sextet emerges victorious.

As the heroes lick their wounds, they contemplate their next move...