Mission Accomplished!

After some deliberation, the band bravely decided to press on rather than risk the lives of the remaining hostages. Further exploration of the complex revealed a chamber containing a fountain. Ben was able to decipher various runes inscribed on the fountain and identified it as a "Fountain of Renewal". Everyone imbibed the invigorating water of the fountain which magically replenished their energy reserves.

With renewed determination the group pressed on in a search for the two missing captives. The next room they entered was a foreboding Chapel. A dark obelisk dominated the room which seemed to absorb the any light sources within. Before the band had chance to examine the room further they were set upon by a pair of wererats and a gnomish mage. The party quickly set about the wererats, and soon turned their attention to the troublesome mage. Quickly realizing he was overmatched the evil gnome tried to make good his escape but a well struck sword thrust by Grogar was sufficient to put an end to his plans. A search of the area revealed a sack containing several relics from a famous battle - "The Battle of Brindol". Furthermore, the party was able to take the gnome's ritual book from him.




Continuing the search for the remaining hostages, they cautiously advanced down a passageway into a room containing several strange menhirs. Their examination of these strange objects was interrupted when a huge hobgoblin donned in plate armour and wielding a heavy spiked chain burst in to the room. There could be no mistake - the party had found Sinruth leader of the Bloodreavers. Having some "unfinished business" with the Bloodreavers Garig was quick to challenge the ferocious monster. The two warriors stood toe to toe in a fight to the death. Twice Sinruth was able to trip Garig with the chain, however Garig was able to roll away at the last second from the fierce stomping Sinruth followed up with. Grogar also joined the battle, but Garig was clearly the focus of the Hobgoblin's rage. Nalklyr used the creature's fixation on Garig to launch a number of devastatingly precise strikes and Quick Ben managed to distract the beast with a series of mental assaults. Unable to withstand the barrage of attacks from all sides Sinruth was cut down and fell to the stone floor with a mighty crash. A search of his corpse revealed a letter from a mysterious party referring to themselves as the "Emissary". Perhaps there was some higher power directing Sinruth and the Bloodreavers. The group then went on to search Sinruth's quarters. Within they found a sarcophagus, inside of which was a magical crossbow and staff, which Nalklyr and Ben quickly seized.

Having explored all of the lower floor of the catacombs the party headed back to the entrance chamber as there were two passageways leading off from here which they had not yet explored. The first lead to a large, foul smelling chamber dotted with several patches of strange mushrooms. Ben and Garig went off to make a closer examination of this strange flora, however at that moment two massive rage drakes appeared from behind a group of boulders on the far side of the room. One engaged Grogar, the other charged for Garig and Ben. Garig reacted quickly bashing the monster squarely with his shield dazing it for just long enough for the pair to regroup with the rest of the party. Ben followed up with a spell which covered the floor with treacherous ice, causing the huge beast to crash on the floor. Whilst the drake flayed on the floor the party was able to focus it's efforts on the other Drake. Nalklyr engulfed the flailing drake in Darkfire and shot a bolt the the humongous lizards eye, which seemed to enrage the Drake further. Grogar had been badly injured by a vicious bite and had to retreat to the stairs, this left Garig to face both beasts on his own. Positioning himself to ensure he made best use of his shield he set himself for the charge of the second drake at his rear whilst the second snapped wildly at his front. The beast charged, but Garig was ready. Dodging the drakes attacks he wheeled around felling the first drake with a mighty blow and reversed his sword in one fluid action skewering the second beast behind him. The rest of the party stood speechless in awe of the warriors martial prowess.

The group went on to investigate the adjoining chamber which contained Lord Padraig. Unfortunately he was trapped with some kind of magical forcefield. After, unsuccessfully trying to fathom the working of the field, Valthurn the Sage noticed a subtle pattern that the field would blink out of existence after a set period. Anticipating the blink Valthurn swiftly pulled Lord Pedraig out of the magic circle, before it reactivated. Now there was but one prisoner to locate - Thair Coalstriker, Winterhaven's Dwarven smithy.

They headed back to the entrance chamber and descended the last remaining stairs. This brought them to a room which they ascertained to be the Von Jallach Crypt. A strange matrix of symbols glowed eerily on the floor. Valthurn explained the runes where in an ancient phonetic alphabet and spelled out the words "Von Jallach". Garig edged around the room carefully avoiding the glowing glyphs. However, he didn't notice skulking in the shadows behind him was a gnome. The gnome swung it's war pick peircing Garigs plate and inflicting a grievous wound. Before he had time to react, the situation became even more dire when two swarms of needlefang drakes began pouring into the room. Garig was overcome by the ravenous creatures which pulled him down tearing at his flesh. The second swarm headed for Ben, who attempted to avoid them by stepping on to the glowing runes. Unfortunately, this triggered a bolt of electricity which engulfed the Thayan mage. Nalklyr gained retribution on the gnomish backstabber, firing a deadly bolt which hit the gnome straight between the eyes killing it instantly. Lord Padraig, entered the fray helping keep one of the swarms at bay whilst Grogar desperately attempted to revive Garig. Quick Ben singlehandly blasting the other swarm back conjuring wave after wave of deafening thunder. With practically all their resources used and Garig hovering on the brink of consciousness the battle was finally at an end.

Wasting no time the party headed to the room adjoining the crypt and were relieved to find Thair Coalstriker the last of the captives. Although he had been singled out for some particularly brutal treatment from his captors the dwarf was able to walk and a swig on Garigs waterskin was sufficient to lift his spirits considerably.

With all of the captives free the party decided their next course should be to return the historical relics which the Bloodreavers had stolen from Brindol, back to the village. But first a long overdue rest was due, the party practically collapsed physically exhausted but spiritually elated that they had completed such a brave and dangerous rescue mission.

The Lords of Rivenroar

After some deliberation the party headed north to a crossroads then east to a chamber holding a number of alcoves and the young boy Thurann Kelfem who had been trussed up to a fountain. Searching the alcoves they discovered some enchanted platemail armour which Garig laid claim to. No sooner had he donned the armour, the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. The party turned to face a group of ghouls and zombies shamble in to the room. The fight was fierce, however the tide turned when Garig and Ben loosed expert attacks felling the zombies instantly. With the zombies annihilated the ghouls soon followed.

The next room was dominated by a stange black sun mosaic on the floor. Ben felt that this mosaic was connected to the Shadowfell in some way and advised caution. Indeed, when entering the room the bright light from the party's sunroad became a mere flicker. Carefilly skirting the room the band headed out of a passageway. A series of cracks spanned the length of the corridor indicating the floor here may be weak. Crossing one at a time the group opened the door in to the next chamber.

They were greeted by an unnerving sight. Bound within some kind of arcane force field was what Ben identified as a Evistro (commonly referred to as a carnage demon). Warily, the group moved through the chamber, whilst the foul beast slammed it's body against the magical barrier in a bloodthirsty rage. Just when it seemed they would be able to cross without fighting the unholy monster, a pair of wererats appeared from a passageway to the north. Uttering the required phrase to release the demon, the force field was dispelled. Nalklyr reacted first, using his innate Drow ability to limb the demon in darkfire and following up with a vicious attack before retreating back down the cracked passageway. Enraged the carnage demon pursued him clawing him. The combined weight of the drow and the demon was too much for the fragile floor of the passageway triggering a collapse taking both Nalklyr and the Drow with it.

Melech rushed to aid the Drow whilst Garig, Grogar and Ben fought off the wererats. Taking advantage of the demon being half buried in rubble Melech and Nalklyr tore in to the beast as it rose to its feet. Sensing the desperation of the situation Ben moved to join the battle taking a nasty bite from a wererat in the process. He let loose with a psychic blast which downed the monster in a fit of agony. They quickly rejoined Grogar and Garig to finish the wererats off. Ben noticed that the wound inflicted by the wererat was oozing puss and would need medical attention.

After taking a short rest, the party headed down a long corridor flanked with stone pillars which opened in to a grand audience chamber. Seated at the two thrones in the centre of the north wall sat a emaciated figure dressed in robes beside which was a bleached bone skeleton. The robed figure lisped "Intrudersssssssss. Conssssume them!". Withe that several piles of bones scattered troughout the room began to magically animate and form into perhaps half a dozen decrepit skeletons.

Grogar belched forth a bolt of electricity which splintered several of the newly formed skeletons, and Garig charged in to the room convinced the best option would be to engage the undead mage and disrupt his efforts. However, as he closed to attack the creature unveiled it's horrific face causing Garig to stagger backwards several paces. Melech, Grogar and Nalklyr surrounded the large skeleton in an attempt to bring it down quickly, however as their blows connected there was an explosion of bones which tore in to the companions. The undead wizard flung a bolt of dark energy at Garig and whilst his magical armour absorbed the worst of the damage the unholy bolt magically held the warrior in place. Ben then summoned a sphere of magical fire which he mentally moved across the room toward the undead spellcaster, blasting several decrepit skeletons in the process.

During this time the rest of the band had been engaged in furious battle with the Boneshard and decrepit skeletons. The warriors pummelled the Boneshard skeleton with attack after attack until it once more exploded flaying all in the vicinity. Perhaps the battle had turned.

Although clearly pained by Ben's adjacent flaming sphere the undead mage uttered a series of arcane words and the Boneshard rose from the ground to once more wreak havoc. The Boneshard hit Melech with a claw dripping in necrotic energy. The wight then fixed Ben with a malevolent stare and charged him tearing in to him with it's vicious claws. Nalyklr reacted quickly dodging several sword thrusts from the ever increasing number of skeletons being summoned forth by the wizard he took deadly aim with his hand crossbow and hit the wizard squarely in the chest putting a swift end to his foul existence.

Meanwhile the newly risen Boneshard tore in to Garig, Grogar and Melech. Eventually Melech was overcome by the foul necrotic energy which had begun to decay his body and fell to the floor. The dragonborn paladin rushed to help whilst Garig held off the attacks to the Boneshard. Although Grogar could bind his wounds, there was little he could do to stave off the evil energy which was necrotising the warlords body.

Finally the battle was ended when Nalklyr's precise crossbow bolt struck the Boneshard, bringing forth the now anticipated explosion of bone. Garig dodged, however Grogar took the full impact.

Although there was nothing which could be done for Melech, Ben advised that if they were to take a small piece of his body, there existed a ritual which may be able to restore life to the tiefling and proceeded to sever the fallen warlords finger. A search of the area revealed a magical Fullblade mounted on the wall and gold and a much needed potion of healing under one of the thrones.

With Melech dead and the parties resources stretched they contemplated their next course of action. They knew their were potentially two captives left to rescue, however the latest raid on the dungeon would surely provoke some kind of reaction from the remaining denizens of the tombs should the party retreat to rest. Was it better to press on and risk all their skins or perhaps regrouping and taking any consequences might be the wisest course............

Rivenroar Part 2

After breaking camp the band descended the steps back in to the entrance chambers. Whilst they had been resting the Bloodreavers had prepared an ambush for their return. An ambush party led by a Hobgoblin Warcaster lay in wait supported by Goblin Sharpshooter hidden behind a makeshift barricade. The battle was furious and bloody and turned on the moment Garig ran his sword through the Warcaster just as he was about to release a deadly electrical barrage on several of the party member. Anxious not to draw further unwelcome attention the group pressed on.

After carefully navigating a series of pits they entered a crypt which held a number of stone sarcophagi recessed into the stone floor. It carried an inscription on the walls reading "Here lie the Rivenroars until the day of the Black Sun. If you seek their monument look to the lands around you." The room was also guarded by a squad of hobgoblin grunts and an archer. Quick Ben assailed the creatures with a series of psychic blasts whilst Grogar consumed several within a blast of electricity. Just when it seemed the battle was at an end steps could be heard from a spiral staircase to he north from which emerged a Hobgoblin soldier and his guard drake. The heroes were ready for him. Before he could threaten the party Grogar and Garig let loose with a series of deadly attacks. The drake followed quickly after Ben's mental barrage had reduced it to a whimpering wreck. After several minutes spent heaving the heaving stone lids from the sarcophagi the party found several potions and some gold coin. Examining the exits Nalklyr's acute sense heard sobbing from the southern doors. Stealthily creeping down the corridor revealed a room with four statues of displacer beasts complete with glowing amber eyes. Tied up by an alter was the pitiful sight of a Elven woman covered in rat bites and near catatonic. The source of the elf's misery - 3 dire rats skulked in the shadows of the room. Nalklyr returned to the other to report what he had observed. Wasting no time the band charged in to the room to exterminate the overgrown rodents. However the fight was not as straightforward as first anticipated hiding within the shadows of the room were 2 evil gnomes who wielded hand crossbows with deadly accuracy, inflicting grievous wounds on Garig as he was preoccupied dispatching the dire rats. Fortunately Nalklyr was able to quickly engage one of the gnomes blinding him within a globe of magical darkness and finishing with a series of deadly strikes. Melech charged the second and and the rout was complete.

Vathurn explained the captive was Silvanna Wrafton the former owner of Winterhaven's Inn. After a combination of comforting and stern words the group managed to coax Silvanna out of her disturbed mental state. When asked about the other captives she mumbled that Thair Coalstriker - Winterhaven's dwarvan smithy was being held upstairs in a family crypt whose name began with a J.

Anxious to press on the ever expanding group headed back to the Spiderweb landing and descended stairs to to lower level. The stairs held the inscription "Von Adrez-Kauthen Crypt". More Bloodreavers awaited them, as well a 2 spitting drakes. Without hesitation the party charged in to the room quickly laying waste to the grunts, and shortly after the drakes Battle was quickly joined by a Goblin Hexer. However before he could loose any of his powerful ranged attacks Garig had engaged him smacking him in the face with his shield, dazing him. Seeing the battle was lost the hexer surrendered. Garig interrogated the foul creature and after some cross examination was able to elicit that the Bloodreavers were led by a creature called "Sinruth". When the creature became uncooperative Quick Ben gave the creature a mercifully swift end. Upon investigating the adjoining chamber the group found Sister Linora - Winterhaven's resident preistess and an adept of Chauntea. Nalklyr picked the lock on her shackles and she leaped up thanking him hysterically and clinging on to him which came as some surprise to the Drow. She went on to reveal that she knows Thurann (Rond's son) is being held somewhere close by, until recently she was being held with him and the boy proved adept at stealing food for the pair of them. The room also held more sarcophagi in which they found more gold and a small opal. Gathering their thoughts the group contemplated their next course of action..........

Rivenroar

Quick Ben recalled that Rivenroar castle was reputed to lie to the south, the former home of a powerful family, however it had fallen in to ruins centuries ago. What was not widely known was that the family had built a series of catacombs beneath the castle in which it interred it's dead and that of other powerful families in the area.

Garig bristled as the mention of the Bloodreavers as he had encountered them in the past when he unwittingly participated in the trading of slaves to them and was keen to settle a score.

After a short journey south the party located the entrance to the catacombs.

The entrance chamber was guarded by hobgoblin soldiers and goblin sharpshooters, there were also two fire braziers which slid up and down tracks on the floor.

After defeating the creatures the party headed west where they discovered the hobgoblin's sleeping quarters and had another fight with a group of angry hobgoblins supported by goblin sharpshooters. When the battle turned against the humanoids the goblins tried to flee down a corridor jumping over a series of pits. However, Nalklyr's well aimed crossbow bold eliminated any chance of escape.

The next room central feature was a projected image of a nefarious Castle surrounded by swamp. As the group investigated an Ochre Jelly slithered out of the portal and proceeded to attack the group, the situation was made worse when a pair of spectres materialised within he room and joined the fray. After a tough fight the group took a short rest and pressed on.

In the following chamber they were attacked by two evil gnomes and some strange fiery crablike creatures flinging flame an magma. Although the gnome invisibility presented some problems the party emerged victorious. One of the passages from the room lead to some cells where Nalklyr found a prisoner - a sage name Valthurn. Valturn explained that all the Winterhaven prisoners had been split up and moved in to separate areas. He thinks Silvanna Wrafton, the towns former innkeeper is being held downstairs in a chamber near a spiral staircase and suspects that Rond Kelfem, the captain of the guard maybe dead as he told Valturn a couple of days ago he planned to overpower his ettercap guards. Thuran Kelfem (Rond's son is also a prisoner). A search of the room revealed a magical longsword and 260 gold in one of the alcoves.

With Valthurn in tow the party headed up some stairs to a chamber covered in spiderwebs which was home to a group of ettercaps. This lead to a particularly tough fight, compounded by the ettercaps liberal use of webbing and poison. A search of the room revealed the corpse of Rond Kelfam webbed to the wall and a pouch of residuum and 100 gold and 200 silver. The group then decided they would have to recuperate before pressing on any further. It was decided the safest place to do this would be outside of the catacombs where they rested up and contemplated their next foray.

Winterhaven

Heeding the Captain's words the group took the arduous route through the mountains. The journey was slow and difficult made worse by the cold mountain weather, however the band finally arrived in Winterhaven, or more correctly what was left of Winterhaven. The town lay in ruins, most of the buildings had been destroyed and plumes of dark smoke trailed in to the sky. As the group headed toward the gates they noticed a sickly purple glow emanating from the graveyard adjacent to the town. Upon investigating they were attacked by an Elven archer, perhaps a dozen skeletons and some kind of zombiefied dog. After a furious battle the party found a note on the elf which may give some clue to Wintehaven's fate.

Bodrin's Watch

The band headed west towards Winterhaven. On the journey they were ambushed by a Orcish scouting party from which the party barely escaped with their lives. Although the lands to the west beyonds Bodrin's Watch were infested with all variety of Goblinkin, it was highly unusual to encounter such creatures so far East. With this in mind the group continued west where they arrived at Bodrin's Watch. The structure was primarily massive crenulated wall spanning the valley floor. At the base of the wall were rows of barracks. Dozen's of dwarvan fighters were busy making preparations for battle. The group met with a the Captain Forgeheart who advised them not to travel beyond the Watch as there had been reports of an army of Orcs assembling in the Stonelands and it was thought they were headed this way. However, the party insisted they were needed in Winterhaven. Reluctantly, Forgeheart allowed the adventurers to pass, but bid them to avoid the road as it would almost certainly be watched by orcish scouting parties,furthermore there had been distubing reports a Dracolich had been prowling the area and taking the road would leave the party as sitting ducks.

Overlook

The party set off west from Highmoon and after 3 days travel arrived at the Dwarven citadel of Overlook. They decided to find lodgings for the night before resuming their journey toward Winterhaven. After a brief tour of the city, and unsuccessfully attempting to gain an audience with the council, they walked through the door of Mountain's Hearth an Inn run by a Dwarf matron by the name of Reggan. They found Reggan being harrassed by several thugs purporting to be from a the local Thieve's Guild known as the Lost Ones. The adventureres decided to intercede and a fight broke out during which the thugs were slain. It seemed that the Lost Ones must have a strong reputation within Overlook as rather than being filled with gratitude Reggan was nervous that they may be reprisals for the party's actions. After spending an anxious night in Overlook, the party decided to leave a first light and continue west.

Return to Winterhaven

The adventurers are hired in Highmoon by Thane Brimdoll to travel to the town of Winterhaven and find out what had become of the place. Captain Brindall was anxious as there had been no word from there for several weeks. They were informed the town was governed by a retired Purple Dragon by the name of Lord Padraig. Rumours of war are widespread and there are tales that a massive army of orcs, trolls and worse are massing to the west intent on storming Bodrin's watch.