With the truth potion still in effect Braylec asks if Radu is the owner of the house. A reluctant affirmative is followed by "…but the deeds are no good to you even if you did get them. This house will be torched as soon as you leave."
Thanodel asks about Sir Lance but even with a description from Cronen, Radu doesn’t seem to know anything. Looking at the half elf he offers "There is something that will interest you though. I have my people raiding an elf village in the mountains." He even gives directions and though he doesn’t know the name of the village it is fed by an ice cold mountain stream. "You will be too late to do anything about it though, they left days ago." He seems quite happy about this and even with the potion wearing off he continues to bait them "You good doers have a choice, raid my base or save the village."
During this exchange Jutiapa has flown to the mage and finished him off while helplessly entangled. Now with only Radu remaining Cronen offers to take him back to Galentry for justice to be serverd while the rest of us ride to the village. He takes the arrest papers form Braylec and Quillethe goes with the paladin, as he cannot lie about Radu being arrested outside of the city. We agree to meet back up at the house later.
On the way into the mountains it starts to get cold. Rather than use the smelly skins of animals Thanodel buys an overpriced sheepskin coat from a farmer. He tells them that Vildar came through the day before and we will be catching up with him soon as we seem in a hurry to get to the stormy mountains.
True enough, further up the slopes Gargouth notices a campfire ahead and motions for us to approach in five minutes while he circles round. Thanodel creaps ahead and stops at an adventagous position while Jutiapa approaches with Braylec clunking close behind. The indistinked humanoid form resolves to be Vildar and he offers us his campfire and venison. Thanodel and Sheylea join them but Gargouth stays out of the circle of light with this crossbow ready just in case. Jutiapa produces a hut with an unseen servant for us all to sleep in. Gargouth and Vilden choose to remain outside and while we are all asleep a pair of wolves visits the camp though Vilden chooses to let them leave without molestation.
In the morning Gargouth and Thanodel notice the tracks but nothing further so the party moves on up the mountain with Vilden amongst the ranks. Scouting along a windy pass Gargouth comes across a cave entrance. Not wanting to be attacked from behind further along the path Thanodel investigates the entrance. It smells of a large creature so on his return Sheylea casts permanent flame on a torch and he goes back in with Gargouth close behind to take a better look. Further along the passage opens to a cavern some 80’ high and there are obvious bones littering the floor among the fungus. A humanoid aracnid shoots it’s web from one of the holes in the ceiling. Thanodel manages to jump out of the way but Gargouth is covered in sticky drider web. An arrow quickly follows and Gargouth yelps at the pain. Thanodel exchanges fire using two paralysis arrows that don’t have the desired effect. The rest hearing the frakar run to help but Gargouth is blocking until he manages to break the bonds. Jutiapa stikes the drider with a lightning bolt and bolts from Gargouth follow with more arrows from Thanodel. The dead drider falls on Gargouth and he takes the spikes on it’s head as a trophy. As Vildar doesn’t have one he takes it’s short bow. Thanodel can’t use its exotic short swords so Gargouth picks them up who better apreciates their drider style. Going further into the cavern Jutiapa casts detect magic and it reveals something under the slime on the floor. Gargouth hastily digs into the muck uncovering the mixed skeletons of various creatures. Finding an orc skull he cracks it in the fasion of his tribe and sets it apart. He uncovers various trinkets and several coins, one of which is still glows from Jutiapa spell. Not knowing what to do with it he throws it away and Jutiapa scabbles through the muck to retrieve it. With this is going on the rest have been wondering about the four holes on the ceiling and Thanodel notices that the pool at the back of the cavern has a stream of bubbles coming from it’s depths. The party decides to check the ceiling first when Jutiapa reveals that she can make them all fly. Floating up to the ceiling the group is about to enter the east tunnel that the drider came from when another attacks from the west. Gargouth now being rear guard is the first to catch an arrow in his back. Jutiapa reacts quicky and starts to choke it with a spell. Thanodel peppers it with arrows while Gargoth swipes at it with his mighty weapon. Vildar glides beside him and hacks at the drider with this sword. The female drider tries to use her charm on Gargouth but slowly being choked she is unable to suggest to him that he wants to take a swim in the pool below. More arrows from Thanodel take wing into the melee and Gargouth splits her in half with his axe. The driders corpse is looted in a similar way as the last and the party proceeds along the original passage. It winds unevenly to a globular room where a geletinous sack is suspended from the ceiling containing large tadpole like creatures. These are put to the torch and they die feebly writhing on the floor. A couple of pouches of gemstones are retrieved from the corner and the party backtracks and goes down the corridor where the female drider attacked. Gargouth taking point enters a room with a decomposing corpse on an alter. Even his constitution cannot stand the sight and his breakfast platters the floor. Enphased, Jutiapa recognises this as an sacrifise to Lothi the spider god. Valdir takes one of the black candles as a keepsake but Thanodel is relectant to enter and read the elvish script adorning the altar. Braylec who Thanodel is surprised to find speaks elvish is unable to descifer this as it is a strange derivetive of the elf language. Gargouth the proceeds to deface the alter scrawling the mark of the orc god oogywatsit and smashing the palce up in general. Again they backtrack and find that the last two holes lead to a dead end and a way out higher up the mountains. Not wanting to leave the horses we flew back to the pool where Jutiapa zapped it with a lightning bolt. Gargouth dipped his finger in to find that it is acid so he decided not to wash the drider blood off with it.
Leaving the mountain behind they decend the slopes on the other side and see thick black smoke blotting the sky some miles south of where they expected to find the village. They decide to investigate and nearer the fire Jutiapa send forth he arcane eyes and finds many orcs cutting and burning trees, spoiling the pristine ponds and generally laying waste to the area. Those that aren’t enjoying the destruction are keeping watch and there are four hiding nearby that have obviously seen our approach. She calls back Braylec and Thanodel who have gone ahead a little further and an orc arrow lands 50’ away form them. He remotley views the orc captain beat the hapless subordinate for firing too soon. Forewarned, Braylec and Valdin charge forward on their horses with Thanodel and the rest following behind on foot. The four are quickly subdued…
