Cullen De Filch (Npc; Human Rogue)
Mace Blackstar (Mike D.; Human Fighter)
Wilbered The Silent (Bob S., Human Cleric)
Castor Bean (Steve B; Human Bard)
Trygvie (Steve G.; Elven Wizard)
Kane (Al G.; Human Monk)
Geia (NPC; Human Fighter)

players map from the session

The last session ended with the players having defeated Cirdis and his minions.  Geia, one of Cirdis' followers, had been subdued and bound.  One goblin female remained, pleading for her life.  The goblin female stated that without a key, which had been taken by someone named "one ear," it was impossible to leave... but promised that if they spared her life she would lead them to great treasure.  The players questioned her about who led the goblins and she replied that "Snitch" and "Blix" led them, but that she hadn't seen Snitch nor Blix since one of the guards fetched them, telling them that humans had invaded the fortress.  Blix, it seemed, was some sort of a goblin spellcaster and Snitch was a goblin warrior.  A key, it seemed, had been taken by Snitch's servant "One Ear."   Asked for a description of this "One Ear," she replied that he was a goblin with only one ear.

Cullen expressed interest in the treasure, so the goblin female lifted a moldy bearskin that hung on the wall, revealing a stone trap door in the wall.  After a moment's hesitation. Trygvie opened the door, revealing a small chamber.  It contained two bags of gold coins (310 in total), a pile of dented and tarnished copper plates and cups, several small clay idols of various savage looking goblin deities and an onyx pendant hanging from a peg.  A pile of human bones lay in one corner.  Trygvie took the pendant and the coins were divided up amongst the group.  A few party members took a tarnished copper plate.  Wilbered the Cleric used his mace to smash the idols in the name of Cuthbert.  He used a flask of holy water  to bless the human remains and said a brief prayer for the unfortunate that had died there.

Suddenly the ghostly form of a human woman arose from the pile of bones and greeted them in the name of Muir.  The players were initially frightened, but the ghost did not appear hostile.  She said her name was Tayleen and she had been a Paladin of Muir many years ago.  She had apparently been an enemy of the shrine and said her spirit remained because she was worried about a creature known as "The Malfeaseant."  The Malfeaseant, she explained, was a spirit of ancient evil who caused discord and attacked people's sanity.  It was invisible but was attracted to pain, fear, hate and anger... which fed the malfeaseant.  The Malfeseant would usually be found in close proximity to fear, hate, pain and suffering.  The players surmised that if they found the biggest, meanest creature in the dungeon, they would probably find the malfeaseant as well.  Tayleen told them that if any of them proved worthy and became a worshipper of Muir, they could use her sword, providing they could find it.  Mace had a sudden epiphany in which he realized that what he really wanted to do with his life is become a paladin of this ancient goddess Muir... and thus, hopefully become worthy to bear Tayleen's sword.  Wilbered recalled that Muir was a Goddess of war, paladinhood and law and the sister of Thyr.  Thyr was a god of justice, kings and rulership.  In former times the followers of Thyr and Muir had their stronghold on an island south of Blackmoor now known as "Asthar Rho" but previously called "The Valley of the Shrines."  Asthar Rho and the Valley of the Shrines had been mentioned in the maps and notes they had captured from Cirdis last session.  Mace swore that if he could he would destroy the malfeaseant.  Wilbered gathered up Tayleen's bones and tied them up into a sack, promising to bury them in ground sacred to Muir sometime in the future.

After considering their options, the players decided to rest the night in this chamber.  During the night a few creatures came and tried to open the door, but the players had fastened it tight.  In the morning, they awoke to discover that Kane, Castor and Cullen were covered in scabs and sores.  The sores seemed most prevalent on their legs.  After a lot of whining by Cullen, Wilbered cast Cure Disease on Kane and Cullen and Restoration on Castor.  The Cure Diesease cleared up the problem for two of the players and the Restoration minimized the inconvenience for Castor (although the scabs and sores remained).  When they undid Geia's bonds so she could eat and drink something, she swore that she would help them, explaining that Cirdis had charmed her.  They returned most of her weapons to her.  Castor explained that when she had "proven herself" he would return her bow as well.  After healing up, they gathered their weapons and went off to explore the tunnels further, using the goblin female (whom they had nicknamed "Trixie,") as a guide.

A door through which they had previously heard the loud sounds of hammering now stood open.  Inside was a small metalworking forge with tools, iron bars, anvils and a firepit.  They searched the room and found nothing other than tools and a half finished metal grating that the blacksmiths had apparently been making.

Some further twisty halls led them past another large stone sculpture of a toad.  They found a locked wooden door; inside they heard hushed voices.   Cullen picked the lock and Geia ripped open the door while Mace brandished his sword.  Inside a group of goblins, including females and children,  cowered, begging to be spared.  The goblins revealed that they were leaderless and terrified (it turns out the players had killed their leader, Snitch, and his  right hand, the adept Blix, in their big fight the day before).  The goblins were unable to leave the dungeon complex because Snitch's goblin servant, called "One-ear," had taken the key to the big iron door and then run off into the tunnels.  The goblins were afraid of "big worms" that lurked in the tunnels and the key was the only means to leave the complex  --- a large earthquake the day before had frightened One Ear and he had run off into the tunnels in a panic.  When the players suggested that the goblins leave via the amphitheatre, the goblins revealed that they had already tried this but the earthquake had apparently sealed the exit with tons of rock.  The goblins begged the players to return with the key, if they found it, and let the goblins escape the temple.  The players agreed to do this, but only if the goblins gave them treasure in exchange.   They allowed the goblin female to join the rest of the goblins and asked the goblins to show them which way that One Ear might have run.  The goblins led them up to the gate through which they had originally entered the complex and asked them once again to return with the key if they found it.

The players retraced their steps back up one of the twisting hallways, turning down a previously unexplored tunnel.  This led a short distance to an ancient looking door decorated with a human skull and some words written in an unknown language.  The room and door felt noticeably colder than the other tunnels.  None of the players could read the words on the door so they sent the thief forward to check the lock and look for traps.  The thief tried to disarm some sort of trap on the door and suddenly a loud gong sounded twice from beyond the door.  Mace cursed Cullen's butterfingers and opened the door, revealing a ruined and half collapsed room filled with rubble.  There were more toad and frog paintings on the wall and the air felt cold.  They moved through the room and into the passage beyond.

The short passage led to a room filled with scattered bones and preserved corpses.  As they entered, skeletons and zombies arose from the floor and attacked.  The majority of skeletons were blown to smithereens by a turning by the cleric, Wilbered, and the zombies were destroyed at little cost top the group.  The only thing other than human remains in the room were shrouds and vestments marked with embroidered toads as well as coffin fragments, dust and rubble.  Eager for treasure, they pressed on through a long, curving tunnel that skirted the outside of the complex. 

After exploring some side passages and only finding some small grottoes filled with bones, the players came to a branch in the tunnel.  The right hand branch led past some watter and the left hand branch curved north so they went north.  They came to a small cave filled with a pool of dark, dirty water.  Mace borrowed a quarterstaff to probe the dirty water and discovered that the water was only two to three feet deep near the shore. Suddenly some rotted, undead looking creatures sprang forth from the water and attacked.  The players attacked and Kane climbed up the wall, hoping to flank the undead in the pool.  He jumped behind the undead just as his companions cut down the front rank of undead and a third undead creature dived back beneath the water.  Kane decided to dive after the creature and discovered that the water was too dark for himn to see in and the pool was a lot deeper in this end than he had initially thought.  Just as he decided to surface, an icy hand grabbed him and he felt his muscles turn cold and stiff --- he was paralyzed.

His companions saw the monk surface, cry out and fall back into the dirty water that was now littered with the floating corspses of undead creatures.  Since they feared for the worst, they began reaching into the water, searching for the monk with their hands.  Mace grabbed something that felt like a human foot and pulled, hoping to save his companion the monk.  Imagine his suprise when he hauled a snarling, struggling undead creature out of the water that tried to claw and bite him!  Trygvie killed the creature with a blow from his quarterstaff as Castor pulled the paralyzed monk from the water.

The monk was unable to move or spealk but still alive and breathing, although some of the nasty looking water from the pool ran out of his nose and mouth.  The players elected to carry him along.  By probing with a quarterstaff, they discovered that the water was only two feet deep on the left hand side of the cave.  They waded through the water and took the unexplored tunnel east.  It led them past an ancient and crumbled masonry wall and sloped down into a passage that was evidentally filled with water.  Since the players did not want another battle in the water, they retraced their steps back to the branch where they had originally elected to go east and took the unexplored north branch which led them past another pool of dirty water.

Just as they passed the water, a corpselike creature sprang from the water and sank it's fangs into Geia.  She was immeadiately paralyzed.  The other players quickly cut down the ghoul just as Kane was regaining movement in his limbs.  Since Kane's paralysis had worn off, the players resumed their exploration, now carrying the paralyzed Geia.

A passage led to a large, rough cave.  Several broken coffins and bones could be seen in there.  Spoiling for a fight, Wilbered rushed in to investigate.   Almost immeadiately, skeletions and more of the corpselike creatures arose from the floor and climbed out of the coffins and attacked.  Cullen dragged the paralyzed Geia back out of the way as the players attacked.  A quick turn undead by Wilbered, a flaming sphere spell from Trygvie and attacks by the rest of the party soon cut down all of the undead.  There was a set of ancient looking double doors in the west end of the room.

Wilbered cast detect magic on the variousrusted weapons used by the skeletons.  A spear and a shield detected as magical.

The adventure ended here for the night.