Merriment with Mandrake and Motine

The party explored the rest of the cave system, and found evidence of a large battle between dwarves and goblins. If anything else had been involved, it left no trace. Mudd searched through a massive pile of goblin skeletons and discovered what was clearly a large magical hammer. He chose to give it to Bamur, who clearly appreciated receiving a piece of what was certainly a piece of dwarven history.

There was no way out, and only one thing left to investigate. Carafindriel was not happy. Mudd lead the way down the sinkhole, and to the the large dragon head he had spotted. He could see what appeared to be a passageway behind the dragon head, but no way to get there.

Mudd found the weakest point of the head and started bashing it in. It gave way easily. Liliput had joined him, and she clambered through the halfling-sized hole Mudd had created. She discovered a passageway that had been well-carved, unlike any others they had seen in the cave. Unsurprisingly, Bamur wanted nothing to do with a room full of geysers and pools-especially one in which somebody had nearly died only hours ago. Mudd returned to tell him they had found the way out.

Mudhat seemed to be rapidly improving. He had calculated the precise pattern the geysers followed, and demonstrated for Bamur he could easily move through the area without touching a drop of water. Whether it was the confidence of the gnome, the accuracy of his predicitions, or something else entirely, Bamur followed the others through the field of geysers. Mudd had created such a large hole that everyone got through it with ease.

As they advanced, they found more dwarf skeletons, as well as piles of dragon bones strewn about their path. They discovered three large dragon eggs. Bamur warned the others that nothing good would come out of taking them. Liliput could not resist a rare treasure that was half as big as she was. Carafindriel had nearly feverish thoughts of treasure on her mind, and took an egg as well. Mudd may have taken the third, but his ability to move around unseen kept improving, and nobody could remember if he had.

Cara found a small iron box, very well made and heavily reinforced. She desperately wanted to know what it contained. Nobody could find Keiko, so picking the lock was out of the question. Liliput told Cara she wanted to try opening the box, so Cara set it down. Before she knew what was happening, a massive greataxe whooshed through the air and obliterated the lock. Liliput bore a look of absolute satisfaction. The two of them found a fantastic load of treasure, which they agreed to share with the others later.

Cara discovered two swords.
One, was broken, rusted, and pitted, with a ruby in the hilt.
The other, felt warm to the touch. It was as light as a feather, and when she swung it, wild arcing bluish-white light leapt from the blade. She liked the ruby in the first sword, and threw the other one away.

After following the path for a while, they emerged into another tall cylindrical chamber. The path wound along the outer edge, all the way to a door at the top. A ladder close at hand offered a direct route to the door. Mudd sprang up the ladder, Cara and Lili followed him. Bamur took the stairs. Mudhat’s memory was still hazy, and he couldn’t recall which way he’d gone. When they reached the top, Mudhat quietly observed as Lili and Bamur used all of their strength to try to push the door open. Cara reached for the door handle and pulled it towards her, opening the door with ease. Mudhat was happy to point out this task seemed far too challenging for them. They entered a broken cellar, which was open to the air. Mudd climbed up and relished the feel of grass against his bare feet once again.

They noticed a sizable structure about 100 yards away. It appeared to be an estate of some sort surrounded by stone walls. As they approached, a group of 15 armored men appeared on horses. After demanding answers from the party, they explained this was Mandrake’s estate.

Motine was there, and appeared no less suspicious. Between his account, and Mandrake’s story, the party learned the compound had been attacked by wolves and werewolves only 2 days earlier. The barbarians were pleased to have as much food and drink as they could handle, and were soon in the best of moods.

Motine looked at Cara with suspicion and asked whether they “had found a way to navigate”. She still did not trust the man, and admitted to nothing. After only one night of contemplation, Mudhat had figured out how the archways work. He shared his guess with Cara, who now felt certain the gnome was trustworthy. He had finally remembered the Sverfneblin are a type of deep gnome. They are shrouded in mystery, and nobody has seen them in a long time. As he seemed to share every piece of important information, she chose to share with him. She confirmed his suspicions about the function of the archways, and promised a full explanation very soon.