A Dinosaur, Some Zombies, a Water Elemental, and a Dead Dwarf

27 November, 595

The next morning the party finds an entrance to some caves in the Northeastern part of the complex. Kyladrian gets hit by a sonic blast and it knocks him out. After some healing, Salla moves forward and spots a couple of large figures swaying to and fro in the next cavern. The party moves forward but is hit by another sonic blast. The creatures in the next room are zombified ogres, who attack them on sight. The party messily disposes of the undead creatures and moves on.

The next room has a large rectangular slab made out of black stone. Salla approaches and is met with a pair of hideous humanoid creatures with worms coming out of their eyes. Sonja rushes in to attack but is horrified and runs away screaming. Baxtor calls upon his god and turns the creatures, who begin cowering in the back of the room. This gives the rest of the group time to destroy the miserable monsters. After this, the stone slab is investigated, but nothing can be made of it.

The next room houses an animated tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Baxtor again turns the undead dinosaur, and it moves to the back of the room, allowing brave Serro to run in and hack at it with his magical wooden sword. Eventually, the skeleton is dismantled, but the bones fall down on Serro, causing a large lump on his head.

The heroes stumble over a large pile of rocks and can seee that the next roomis filled with human zombies. They decide to go a different way.

Back to the rooms that were locked before. Now, with Triel's keys, they discover the two armories. Salla forces open another door to reveal a small study with several books and writings. Approaching the shelf, Serro's path is blocked by a creature made of water, which arises from a puddle on the ground. Alastriel moves toward an open suitcase but is stopped by a loud shout which shatters her eardrums and leaves her deaf. The water elemental slams into her and she careens to the floor. Materializing by the desk is a mean-looking wizard halfling. Sonja moves in to attack, but is smacked by the water elemental, knocking her to the ground as well. Salla attacks but is hit with a volley of magic missiles from the halfling, slaying the poor dwarf. All that are left are Baxtor and Kyladrian. The assassin engages the wizard, while the cleric fights the planar entity. The halfling, unable to cast spells in melee, walks up the wall like a spider, and gulps down a potion which turns him into a cloud of vapor. The gaseous form leaves the room and eventually the underground ruins. Baxtor is able to defeat the water creature.

Serro is revived and another wand of water control is found in the suitcase. Baxtor forces open another door, which is trapped with an electrical jolt. The next room is a bed room, and the bookshelves are searched in detail. Baxtor gets shocked again, but this time a hidden compartment is revealed with another wand and a wizard's spellbook.

The wounded are dragged back up to the surface, and brought to the Temple of St. Cuthbert. Jenya agrees to resurrect Salla and deducts a portion of their future reward in exchange for the service. Salla is up but needs to rest until the next day. The rest of the group gets healed as well before heading back to the ruins to recover the remainder of the wands. In the meantime, the clerics of St. Cuthbert get to work on lowering the flood waters with the wands that have already been recovered.

The Battle with Triel

26 November, 595
Part III

After the fire burns down, the party investigates the spider-webbed room a bit and finds that the webs in the back tunnel did not burn so easily. The webs there are newer and moister, and very soft underfoot. They decide against going into a possible spider lair, thinking that the wands likely will not be found there.

They instead head back to the other side of the complex, but are ambushed by several bowmen crouched behind overturned tables. These men meet their deaths before two long. Exploring further, the group encounters a set of six hillfolk, who seem ready for action. 2 of them run off in the opposite direction, while the other two fight viciously against the front of the party. Not much later, a door in the hallway opens and 4 more Alleybashers begin attacking the middle of the party, including Triel, who seems to be casting defensive spells. Alastriel tosses a fireball bead into the room, but misjudges her throw and catches Baxtor in the area of effect. Sonja rushes in to engage the rogues, while Baxtor cleverly casts a Silence spell on Triel. The battle is a long one, with both Serro and Kyladrian severely wounded before it ends. Alastriel and Sonja finally finish off Triel, while the other guards are defeated by Salla and Baxtor. On the body of Triel and in her room are recovered some keys, magical equipement, and 3 of the wands of water control.

After this, the party decides to rest in one of the abandoned rooms, setting watches. It's not long before they are attacked from two sides by guardsmen. The men are defeated and the party finishes its rest through the night in peace.