Chapter Two - The First Howl

Radamyr led the group through the darkness of night around the rocky mountainside to the small back entrance the goblin had shown him.  It was a small entryway just big enough to climb through.  Upon peering inside they were able to determine that the room was a makeshift kitchen and their back door was used as a chimney of sorts.  They also noticed a lone goblin sitting in a chair facing away from them, Arradel saw this as an opportunity. 

Arradel climbed through first, careful this time not to stir the goblin in any way.  She got close enough to the creature that she was able to drive her dagger through him before any warning could be given.  After she had cleared the room of any other potential threats, she motioned for the rest of the party to climb through.  

After searching the room for anything that could be of some use to them they silently made their way around a winding corridor that led them to what appeared to be a large mess hall, with another corridor on the other side.  Taking a quick look around from where they stood they saw six sleeping goblins.  Some were asleep on makeshift beds, others on benches, and one was actually asleep on top of a table. All of them, however were wearing full armour with weapons by their side.  Aside from being asleep, they looked fully prepared for a fight.  Clearly they'd been on the alert since that brief encounter in the mid afternoon. After some quick deliberation, the group decided they would sneak into the room, stand above the sleeping goblins and attempt to take them out all at once. 

A sound plan, had Radamyr not tripped and knocked over a weapon rack.  This created a terribly loud crash, and immediately woke up all the goblins in the room.  

A quick battle ensued, but the group rallied and managed to clear the room of all enemies.  However, the noise from the weapon rack, combined with the sounds of battle had alerted the goblins in the next room.  Realizing they were in for another big fight, Bogor and Liaathvain blocked the threshold of the next room, seeing the strategic opportunity to prevent the fiends from overwhelming them with their numbers. There was only enough room to fit two people side by side in the hallway at a time.

The goblins in the next room didn't realize this at first, and the first small was dealt with easily.  Upon seeing they were at a disadvantage, the leaders called their fighters back.  These much larger Hobgoblins possessed a sounder knowledge of battle than their smaller brethren.

From inside they could hear the muffled cries of someone, and seeing a chance to perhaps negotiate with the creatures, Arradel asked if they would release their prisoner.  The goblins bantered back forth a bit, but responded with only "We cannot release the prisoner."

At this point, Radamyr and Bogor thought intimidating them might work, and having developed an affinity for throwing goblins, Radamyr passed the bodies of the fallen to Bogor, who proceeded to throw them at the feet of their comrades.  While this action certainly had an effect on their foes in the next room, they still refused to comply, saying only that they "cannot release the prisoner."  It was quite odd, and there didn't seem to be any clear reason for the goblins not to co-operate, or at the very least entertain the thought.  They continued to refuse, and after hearing what sounded like one of them striking their prisoner, they knew that time was of the essence, their hand was forced and they stormed the room.

As the battled raged Liaathvain made her way over to the prisoner who was chained to the wall, and began to try to and break his chain.  Bogor entered a powerful Rage state, increasing his power significantly, and goblins began to fall one by one.

It was at this point a terrible darkness came over the room, and from the shadows stepped a snarling, large jet black wolf.  This did not seem like any normal kind of wolf, and it jumped in to the fray with a terrible ferocity.  It was a powerful Worg, a magical beast that was evil in nature.

The chain on the wall gave way to the combined efforts of the prisoner and the paladin, and as soon as he was free, he grabbed his mace and used divine magic to heal Liaathvain of all damage she had endured.  They were now five heroes strong and the tides of battle quickly turned.

As terrible as this new enemy was, it could not withstand the combined efforts of the group, and it fell under Bogor's warmhammer. They turned their attention to the remaining goblins, but to their shock, the wolf's fur began to shimmer, it's once lifeless eyes began to glow red and it released a terrible howl that shook the group to their bones, and once again threatened them.

The final few goblins were killed, and once again the group turned their attention to the wolf.  Liaathvain drove her sword through the Worg, and it fell down silent once again, and it would not recover.

With the battle won, they turned to their new ally who introduced himself as Eric. Eric the Cleric, son of the blind man Boro.  While very capable, Eric was quite simple of mind, and was unable to provide them with very much information.

Upon searching the room, they found many items of interest including two Feather Tokens(Trees) which could be used to sprout a giant magical tree when planted in soil.  The chamber also housed other dark secrets.

An ominous black altar made of stone stood across the room against the wall.  Upon close inspection the group saw strange runes carved into it, and when spying a pile of charred corpses nearby, the group assumed it was used for some kind of ritual involving a sacrifice. All the bodies shared what appeared to be similar wounds. It looked as if their livers were torn from them by an animal. None of the bodies were identifiable though, for they were burned afterwards to hide any trace of who they might be.  The only telling feature was their size. One of them in particular matched the size of a dwarf.  Eric confirmed that there had been a female dwarf trapped in there with him, but she was killed before they could ever speak.  There was no way to determine if this was the body of Bogor's beloved fiancée Giltia. 

Feeling a sense of dread, Arradel pleaded with the group to leave the altar, and get out of the cave.  As if on cue, a familiar cackling laughter of Kobolds could be heard echoing down the cave from outside, followed by a terrible crashing sound.  The Kobolds had caused a small landslide, trapping the adventurers inside.

Fearing there could be something far worse lurking inside the cave Liaathvain closed her eyes and used Detect Evil to see if any other danger could be nearby, but the power from the altar overwhelmed her, and she was knocked unconscious.  Taking matters into their own hands, Radamyr and Bogor threw the altar down to the hard floor, causing it crack, and break right down the centre.  A giant wave of magic seemed to seep from the room, and Liaathvain was awoken.

Finding no way to escape their rocky prison, the adventurers were left to wonder how they were going to get out.  

Suddenly, a small green light seemed to glow from a corner of the main chamber.  It didn't seem evil, but it certainly was magical in nature.  As the group approached the light, they realized the source was a small, perfectly carved wooden orb, and as Radamyr reached out for it, the glow enveloped them, and the group blacked out.

To Be Continued...