Zed nodded and shrugged, getting ready to move when the party moved.

Alysande shrugged and gestured for the others to lead on.

Bea pulled ahead and walked to the large passage, her guisarme ready as she stalked forward to what lay at the other end

The passage leads into a vast cavern. The ceiling is lost in darkness above and, after a short walk, so is the floor far down below. There is a walkway, a section of solid floor about 15 feet across, which stretches out into the darkness, but on either side, nothing but black. None of you can see where this blackness ends.

Shorm whispers unintentionally:"The gods have mercy, looks like a death trap.
Either there comes something from the darkness or we fall into it.
Besides, I am afraid of heights, very much."

Zed shrugs and begins to walk very slowly forward testing every step carefully.

"Zed and I can test it for a bit, see if it's safe. Keep an eye open for dangers if you two could?"

Bea followed Zed, offering up using the butt of her guisarme to test the walk ahead

Despite the precipitous drop on either side, you are able to make it across safely. The natural bridge spans a chasm at least 70 feet in breadth. At the opposite end you find yourselves in a cave much smaller than the one with the throne. The floor is littered with debris; old, mouldy pieces of fabric, a few heavily rusted pieces of armour, and a pile of animal droppings of some kind. The whole cave stinks of damp fur and urine.

There's only one exit other than the one you entered though, a narrow fissure only about 3 ft across.

Shorm's torch is more than half burned through.

Alysande wrinkled her nose at the smell "Wow, awful is too weak a word for that smell, it's like you found the latrine of these creatures." the sorceress complained in a whisper, worried they may be heard.

Zed looks on helplessly at the tiny exit and whispers, " "Maybe we should have gone some other way."

In reply to The GM (msg # 81):

"Damp animal and pee? I don't think we want to be here even if it smelled alright, this is a den . . . or kennel. Circle back?"

"Agreed, not a place to linger."

The half-elf nodded with a shiver, not wishing to face whatever monster would likely come back soon...

You make your way back across the large open cavern with the natural bridge to find yourselves once more in the throne room. It's still empty and quiet. Other than the way you came from, there are two exits, the small fissure leading off from the south wall, and a larger passage heading eastwards.

As you take a moment to contemplate, you hear the distant sound of dogs howling, apparently echoing from the direction to leads towards the entrance. A voice barks out in an inhuman tongue. With the way the sound echoes in these caves, it's impossible to make out any words.

Bea held up a hand as the group heard the howling and the barks

"That second voice, that's no simple dog. That's a gnoll. No other creature speaks their tongue quite like they do. I'd recognize it anywhere."

She looked at the party

"We need to either get moving and hope they don't find us, or get ready for a fight."

"They have dogs, we cannot hide from them. - It seems we need to get ready for another fight." Alysande replied with a shrug." All we can do is choose the battleground. Find an elevated, easy to defend place." the half-elf suggested.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:57, Fri 31 Jan.

"Okay then let's try to funnel them to us. How much magic you got left in this fingers Alysande?"

Bea looked around for a good spot to block the gnoll approach with her guisarme.

"Let us use one of the tunnels to stop their approach. And light some fire, I'd say, wild animals are always afraid of an open fire."

The half-elf grimaced "I can only cast one more spell to put some of them to sleep, perhaps this time I get the chance to target more than just two of them." she said with an apologetic expression. "Then I'm down to my spear and if necessary my fists." the sorceress added, trying to sound courageous.

It takes a few minutes to gather some of the rubble strewn around the cave and to pile it up around the entrance to the cavern. As you are doing so, you see the signs of torchlight approaching from the distance, and hastily retreat over to the bridge, crouching back hopefully out of sight of anyone entering and concealing your lantern light as best as possible.

You do so just in time, as you soon hear the unmistakable tramp of feet, and high-pitched, barked conversation interspersed with occasional squealing yips. concealed as you are, you also cannot see who had entered, but you can clearly hear them.


A second, higher-pitched voice:


A third, tremulous voice:


There is a sudden yelp of pain, before the second voice speaks again.

The half-elf concentrated on what was happening in the darkness, well at least on what she could hear, while wondering where that torchbearer had gone.

The ridiculously tall human crouched into the deepest shadows he could find, loaded his sling and waited.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:45, Yesterday.

Bea listened to the yips and woops and whispered to her companions so they'd understand

"They saw something. They're checking the exits, making their field secure. We should be ready, seems to be a mother and child."

She took up a position near one of the entrances, hoping to catch the gnolls unaware

"A mother and a child, that is uncomforting." Shorm is as silent as Bea but their position, the surrounding darkness and the immenent fight is hard to endure for him.

You all remain crouched on the bridge as the torchlight flickers around the cavern ahead of you. A figure comes into view on the far side of the cavern, a tall, hunched figure shrouded in shadow as it moves carefully along the opposite wall. It wears a long, mailed coat and grasps a bow in two hands. Much  closer to you, and second appears, the furred face of a gnoll turning in your direction and opening it's mouth in shock for a moment as the torch it holds illuminates all four of you.


This message was last edited by the GM at 18:21, Yesterday.