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Awaking refreshed in the storeroom we decided to investigate the secret room in the chest. Cronnen lowered Jutiapa down on a rope but she couldn’t unlock the door. We pulled her back out from the veil of darkness and with our lock picker blinded we decided that I should shatter the hinges again to get past this inconvenience. I went down with Jutiapa and after destroying the frame around the hinges I pulled on the door and when I awoke I was back in the storeroom with everyone looking at me. It seems I set off a trap that caved the roof in on Jutiapa and me and we were both crushed. Twice in two days! I’ve now got a broken leg to deal with and with all this travelling to do too. Oh well, I cast a spell to temporarily remove broken leg and replace it with a new one for an hour help me keep up.
Dragging the blind Halfling with us we make our way through the left door to find a ladder leading upwards. The right one leads to a river and a boat big enough for a couple of people. The group has come across this situation before so opts for the ladder, I can only take their advice as they have more experience with this sort of thing than I. The ladder leads to another boat so we get them both together and ride the current down stream until we are nearer the fort.
Disembarking on the near bank we make our way towards Sablestone to meet up with Gargouth and Bubastis. Bralec and Shaylea had met up with the orc and cat shortly before us. Together we skirted around Sablestone to avoid a confrontation and headed west in search of Thanodel’s gaol once more.
Fifty miles later we set about searching for an underground hold. I attempt to scry but as I don’t know the ranger myself he is too difficult for me to pinpoint. I alter my form once more to resemble a large bird and fly in search of a cave entrance but alas find nothing. Regrouping Braylec says that he saw a wisp of smoke up the mountainside so I fly off in the direction he indicates and sure enough there is a mesh-covered chimney there. I report back and we make our way together to a cliff side directly under where I found the chimney. Jutiapa casts detect magic and there is a receptacle ring revealed in the rock face. We discuss our options and decide to rest and recharge ourselves before breaking our way in. We sleep spread quite near the entrance in a loose formation.
I awake to the noise of Bralec moving across camp and he is suddenly aglow with fairy lights. We see two figures on horseback. One retreats to the cliff wall while the other advances on us. Cronnen strides forward and opens the small chest in front of the bold horseman and the light that cruelly took Rosco’s vision blinds him. A magical weapon appears before Shaylea and streaks towards the blind horseman Jutiapa gets of an acid arrow at the other retreating figure as he opens the secret door in the cliff face with a medallion. I am too far away to fight so I change myself into a leopard ready to race into the fray. The blinded mage casts a darkness around himself that blocks even the sight of Bralec’s fairy fire armour. Jutiapa incinerates the other rider with a fireball and covers poor Bubastis in his hot ashes. Bralec throws a rock into the darkness and strikes the horse, it’s whiney lets us know that the rider has backed up a little to the cliff face.
Cronnen shouts “Surrender or be destroyed” to which he screams back “If you could destroy me you would have done so already. Now it is I that shall destroy you.”
I pounce into the darkness as a fire hound appears out of it in front of Braylec.
Jutiapa dispels the darkness as I try to get the horse rear with roar and a swipe of my paw and I am suddenly myself again any my roar doesn’t seem quite as impressive anymore. Shaylea’s magic weapon also disappears with the rest and she draws her sword ready to attack. Cronnen now seeing the mage lifts him from his horse with a mighty sweep of his great sword and the bloodied body falls to the ground unconscious. Bralec bravely confronts the fire hound and just as he is about to deal the death blow Cronnen finishes it off for him. With one amulet FUBAR Jutiapa and I search the unconscious body and as I’m suggesting we tie and gag him she deftly slits his thought. I exclaimed in shock. She has obviously done that before with the keenness she showed and the ease of taking a defenceless life.
Inside we gag (well I do) on the smell of unkempt horses. Moving quickly on Braylec and Cronnen dispatch a couple of guards with ease before they can activate their magical alarm bells. Taking a the left of three doors Braylec doesn’t even give the next man time to stand up from his desk before his blood sprays across it. I cast a spell to clean away some of the blood so we can read the duty roster. We have 30 guards and 5 officers to deal with; minus the 5 we have already slayed.
Checking the left hand door from this office Rosco finds what must be the barracks from listening at the door and the right hand door leads to a dinning area and two more doors. Near the left door in here Sidney flicks out his forked tongue and images cooking fill my mind, so that’s the kitchen. Jutiapa casts Hold Portal on the door to the office so those in the barracks cannot follow after us and we make our way back to the horses and take the right hand door. Here Braylec and Cronnen paint the door red with the blood of another two guards. These men are a wonder to behold as they silently skewer their foes with practiced thrusts of their weapon.
This room is a library of the resident mages and I was tempted to stay but the men move on and we seem to be at a dead end corridor. Sensing that this is not what it seems I cast detect magic and after concentrating for a while I expose three magically hidden doors…