DISCLAIMER: We play D&D for fun. If you are looking for something that follows the lore and rules 100%, then this is not for you. If you missed last week, check out Episode One here

I was absolutely exhausted after our adventure at Lance Rock. I barely made it back up to my room at The Swinging Sword before slipping into my trance. Drow, and all elves for that matter, never slept like humans or other races. Instead, we tranced. It was deep and very effective. Four hours of trance was equivalent to a full night of typical, uninterrupted sleep.

We didn’t need beds to trance, comfort wasn’t a requirement, but many of us used them anyway. As a formality mostly. But that night, I barely stepped into my room before slipping away.

When I awoke four hours later, I was lying on the floor only inches away from the door. I felt great. All my wounds had been healed and my head was clear. So of course I had to fill it back up again. I spent the rest of the night analyzing what had happened the day before and what was to come.

We were crappy adventurers. That much was clear. Not just because of the opening fight where we got our asses kicked by a single zombie. But we lacked focus. If the stories were true, my mother was an amazing adventurer. She was powerful, yes, but she was also thorough. She picked up on every detail and never missed a beat.

We went into the cave at Lance Rock and came out without any real information. We found Orath and we got him to let his puppets go. But when it was all over, we didn’t have any answers. Why was he banished from Red Larch? What was with the warning on Lance Rock about the disfiguring disease?

Once I’d realized I wasn’t going to find Balix there, I gave up. I had a lot to learn.

Those thoughts plagued my head for the first hour after my trance. Then I got bored with that and pulled out a few books that I’d taken with me. One thing was for certain, I needed to get better at fighting. It was time to learn a new spell.

I pulled out the driftglobe I’d stolen from Orath’s desk and let it hover behind me. I commanded it to dim its light so that it was only slightly brighter than a candle and plopped down on my bed. I laid my books out in front of me and started digging through.

I needed to find one that wouldn’t just be useful, but one that was within my capabilities. The cave made me stronger, more confident, but I was still a beginner. I wasn’t quite ready for apocalyptic spells that could wipe out a continent in minutes. Especially with these surges out of control.

I combed through my books, ruling out anything that had the words “fire” or “infernal.” By morning I had found the perfect one: Crown of Madness. I committed the logistics to memory and found some rats in the tavern cellar. Twenty minutes later I had a smile on my face and blood all over my shoes.

The following morning, I approached Kaliste about the man who had found the shallow graves. Unfortunately, investigating that was going to take a little more work than I thought. She told me that the man who had told her about it was gone. He was only there long enough for a hot meal and a bit of gossip. Unfortunately, the gossip didn’t include the actual location of the graves.

“Maybe someone else will know,” she said. “A lot of caravans come through here. I’m sure someone is bound to come across it.”

I was tempted to go out and find it myself but those storms were still happening and I couldn’t find any of my crew. Jeffrodo left without warning one morning and didn’t come back and Daftmonk was off for a four day meditation. He said he needed answers and this was how he was going to get them.

I was left alone in the swinging sword. But I did have one thing to keep me preoccupied: the wand I had stolen from Oreth’s desk at Lance Rock. It had magic properties, I knew that, but I didn’t know what it could do.

My books didn’t help me. The only information I had regarding the wand was its physical appearance. Which didn’t really mean jack squat. The only thing I found in a book was glowing gem on the handle. If my research was right, that indicated how much charge the wand had. That meant that if I used whatever spell it had too much without letting it recharge, there was a chance it would shatter.

But what did it do?

As is my way of doing things, I found out completely by accident. I was sitting at a table in the tavern. Kaliste had just dropped off my food before returning to the bar. I had been there all morning trying out different spells with the wand, waiting for it to react. The entire time I was there, I was being watched by a drunken dwarf with a copper beard full of crumblecakes and ale.

Growing tired of feeling like someone was looking at me all morning, I looked up to confront him. My eyes met his and he licked his lips, covering them in thick, yellow mucus. I picked up the wand and pointed it at him. He laughed maniacally before raising his hands in mock-terror. I flicked my wrist and three, dart-shaped blasts of energy shot from the tip and focused in on him. They avoided everyone in the room, zigging and zagging through the air until coming in direct contact with the dwarf’s chest. He was launched from his chair and onto the floor.

I hooted with laughter while people rushed to help him. He was a tough guy so he survived the hit. I guess all I really needed was to use it with the intent to actually harm someone and the wand would do the rest. I checked the gem on the handle. I was right, the light had dimmed a little.

The best thing about the wand? I wasn’t casting the spell, it was. Which meant no chance of my wild magic going off.

—

Four days after our adventure in Lance Rock, Daftmonk finally returned. He approached my table one morning and sat down in the chair across from me. I was sitting there with a half-eaten crumblecake, twirling the wand in my fingers.

He was a mess and definitely hadn’t showered since he left. His skin was as pale as snow and it was obvious something had shaken him up. He tried to speak but his throat was so dry, he couldn’t get anything out. He turned to Kaliste but she was already filling a glass with Yak milk for him.

After we had returned from Lance Rock, she gave us the VIP treatment. Each morning, she combed the travelling caravans that had stopped over, looking for yak’s to milk so that Daftmonk would always have some to drink. She wasn’t the only one who had taken notice of us. Rumours of our adventure travelled quickly and it was obvious most people didn’t know how to react to us. Some paid us no mind, others whispered about us, and some actually thanked us.

Daftmonk swallowed the milk in a single gulp, the thick, white liquid trickling down his chin. He didn’t bother wiping it away.

“I had a vision,” he said. His voice cracked a little and I could hear the mucus from the milk bubbling in his throat. “I can’t describe it as more than a dark force. And in there, was an eye. It was evil.”

I leaned in close to him with a smile. “Daftmonk,” I said. “I figured out the wand.”

“What?”

“It’s a wand of Magic Missile.” I leaned in close and showed him the gem on the handle. “It has limited uses. Every time I use it, this dims a little. But the next morning, it’s bright again.”

He gave me a look of shock and frustration.

“I don’t care about your damn wand,” he said. “There’s something evil out there and it’s coming. It needs to be stopped.”

I leaned back into my chair and sighed before reminding myself that I needed to be better at this. What would my mother do?

“What did it look like?” I asked. “Did it look like the sigil in Orath’s orb?”

“I didn’t see the orb very well,” he said. “But judging by the way you had described it to me, I think it’s possible that they could be the same.”

I nodded. “Okay. If you want, we could check out the cave again. Maybe there’s something there that we missed.

“Okay,” he said, standing. “Let’s go.”

“Now? You just got back.”

“I’ve been meditating for days. I’m well rested.”

I heard a familiar noise outside of the tavern. It was the sound of people shouting, laughing, and bartering. It meant the caravans had just rolled in for the day and were looking to trade, eat, and rest.

“Okay, fine,” I said. “But first, I need to handle something outside. You are welcome to join me or you can have another milk. We can leave after.”

“I will join you,” he said.

As we moved outside, I told him about how I’d been trying to find the location of the graves. I explained to him that I’ve been looking for leads by checking with the new caravans each morning. I hadn’t found anything yet but it was all I had right now.

We went outside and I took a deep breath of the clean, crisp air. Fresh air was something I was still getting used to. There wasn’t much of it in The Underdark. Everything there was damp and acidic. I felt like my lungs were healthier with each breath above the surface.

“Just let me do the talking,” I said. “You just hang back.”

Daftmonk gave me a nod as I left him by the door of the inn. I approached an older human male who had just stepped down from his horse.

“Hi, handsome,” I said.

He smiled at me but before he could speak, we were interrupted by a loud crashing noise followed by a violent tremor.

Daftmonk rushed to my side immediately looking confused and ready for action. We looked around for its source and found it nearly eighty feet away from us. A cart with four children was sinking in what appeared to be a hole in the ground. The children screamed as the cart sunk deeper and deeper until the ground opened up completely and swallowed it. The cart and children disappeared into darkness.

“What the…” I turned to speak to Daftmonk but in an instant he was gone, a blur whizzing through the crowd to the hole. He appeared again at the hole’s edge looking down.

People rushed out of there homes and gathered around the hole.

“A rope! A rope!” they screamed. “Get a ladder!”

The hole continued to grow and Daftmonk was forced to back away.

A blue, humanoid figure burst from the crowed. He was tall, above the height of an average human. He was wearing common clothes but what stood out most wasn’t his blue skin, it was his hair. If you could even call it that. The top of his head blurred and flowed like a gust of wind.

A man slipped while trying to run from the hole and nearly fell into it. The blue man grabbed him and pulled him out again. He shouted for everyone to stay back.

I had never seen anything like him before. My gaze was fixed on him, analyzing every inch of him.

“Malice!” Daftmonk screamed, snapping me out of it.

I searched for him in the crowd and found him, lowering himself into the hole by a rope he’d tied to a nearby cart.

“Come on!” he screamed!

Was he serious? Did he honestly plan on going down that hole?

“What?” I yelled back. “Sorry, you’re too far away. I can’t hear you.”

“Help me! There are children down there.”

I rolled my eyes and started walking towards the commotion.

“Oh no, not the children,” I muttered to myself. “Heaven forbid was have four less noisy little snots in the world.”

A few older humans rushed out and surrounded the hole. “Stay back,” they said to the crowd. “We will handle this. Do not worry about the children, they will be fine down there a little longer. We will see to their safety.”

The crowd seemed to respect these men and many of the backed away. I made it to the hole and bent over, closer to Daftmonk who had already started descending the hole.

“Need something?” I asked.

“Aren’t you going to…”

He was interrupted by a shrill scream. A child must have gotten too close to the edge and lost his footing because when I turned towards the scream, I saw his flailing body falling into the hole. I followed him with my eyes as he fell. He tried to grab the edge but the dirt gave away as he did. He fell into darkness and then stopped, hovering in place. He floated out of the hole and and towards the tall, blue man. The man guided the child away from the hole and placed him gently out of harm’s way.

Now that was interesting.

“Malice,” Daftmonk’s pleas pulled my attention back to him. “Help me. I can hear the children screaming in the hole.”

“What do you want me to do?” I asked. “You want me to shoot a magic missile down there? Because I totally could.”

Across the hole, I heard the blue man shout: “I’m going down there! I will save those children! Mark my words I will not let them die.” The crowd cheered and he flashed them a smile.

“Guy’s a bit of a showoff,” I said to Daftmonk.

Hushed voices caught my interest and I ignored his reply. Something about saving something.

“This shouldn’t be discussed around strangers,” a woman said. “The delvers will not be pleased.”

Delver? What the hell was a delver?

I follow the voice into the crowd and I approach the speaking woman. I hear Daftmonk behind me as I leave. “Could you at least let me borrow the driftglobe?”

“What did you just say?” I asked the woman.

She gave me a sour look. “This doesn’t concern you, outsider.”

“Oh, please,” I said. “I will throw you down that hole.”

Her eyes widened and she slowly backed away from me. “You’re Malice, aren’t you? I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. You can do what you want but don’t go down that hole. The delvers are down there.”

That’s all I got from her before she shoved her way through the crowd and ran away from me.

Delvers…

I pulled out a notebook from my bag and thumbed through it as I walked back to the hole. I skimmed the pages trying to find any note I had made about a delver.

A woman ran up to me, crying, and begged me to help her. “You’re one of those heroes,” she said. “You have to help my…”

“Blah, blah, blah.”

I got to the end of my notes without finding anything written about the delvers. Had I really never heard of them? It looked like I had a reason to go into the hole afterall.

I could no longer see the blue guy or Daftmonk. They had descended into darkness. So I tugged on the elf’s rope, testing to make sure it was secure, and hopped into the hole myself. I’d like to tell you I floated down gracefully like a pedal in the breeze. The truth is, the second I tried to lower myself, my hand cramped up. I lost my grip on the rope and slid down the slope past Daftmonk, past wind hair, and landed hard against the bottom.

Luckily, the walls of the hole were sloped the entire way down so I was able to slide instead of freefall. Still, the landing knocked the wind out of me and I was stunned a moment before getting up and dusting myself off.

I took in my surroundings. It wasn’t just a hole. I was in a large room nearly thirty feet underground. The floor was smooth stone with tree roots protruding from the dirt walls. I saw a tunnel to the north and a stone door to the east. In the middle of the room was a mound of dirt that had fallen from the surface. The children sat on top, crying and screaming.

“Help!” they screamed. “Please help us.”

Ignoring them, I reached into my bag and pulled out my driftglobe. I whispered the command and the orb glowed brightly and floated behind my shoulder. There were a few items on the floor, including a leatherskin half-filled with water. I picked it up, took a mouthful, and dropped it into my bag. The water was still cool. Fresh.

I walked around the mound of dirt, and screaming children, and headed for the door. As I did, Daftmonk and the blue man, dropped from the entrance and landed near the kids.

“Get on my back,” the blue man said. One of the children jumped onto his back, wrapping his arm around the blue man’s neck, his eyes squinting from the gusts of air shooting from his rescuer’s head. The blue man reached down and scooped up a second child in his arms before crawling back up the rope.

Daftmonk looked at the two remaining kids. He paused a moment before shouting up the hole. “How many did you take?”

“Two,” the blue man shouted back.

Monk nodded, sighed, and hoisted the two kids onto his back with a groan. He struggled back up the rope.

I chuckled to myself. Looked like Daftmonk was a little more competitive than I thought.

I investigated the area around the door. There were tracks on the floor that led past the stone. The tracks were fresh and it was obvious someone had recently been there. I tried the door and it swung open with ease. I decided it would be a good idea to wait for Daftmonk before I investigated the rest of the cave, though.

I could hear cheers coming from the crowd above. The heroes had returned with the children.

It wasn’t long before Daftmonk returned with his blue friend. I walked over to me, trying to hide the proud smile on his face.

“You got that out of your system, Mr. Hero?” I asked. “Feel pretty good about yourself after saving those kids? Come on, I found a door.”

The blue man thumped his hand onto Daftmonk’s shoulder. “Good job,” he said. “Not as graceful as me but you saved those children. You’re a hero.”

“Two questions,” I said to the stranger. “Who are you? And can I touch your hair.”

He let his eyes drop in dramatic solidarity. “I don’t know who I am,” he said.

“Great. More memory issues.”

“Oh no,” he said. “I was just born an orphan. I’ve never met my family nor have I ever met anyone who looks like me. I don’t know what I am or where I’m from and I’ve been wandering around looking for answers.”

“And…?”

“You may not touch my hair.”

“Aw, man.” I said. “I’ll remember that.”

“What are your names?”

“I am Daftmonk,” the elf said, clearing his throat. “I come from the high forest but I’ve been in solidarity for many years. I was called here by a calling.”

“What sort of calling?”

“A dark force. Something I’ve never felt before.”

The blue man turned to me. “And you?”

“I’m Malice,” I said. “And I don’t like you anymore.”

“What? Why not? Because of the hair thing?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t let just anyone touch my hair,” he said. “I don’t know you. I don’t know where your hands have been.”

“Well how does it work? Can you make things float on it?”

“I’ve never tried.”

“Does it blow out candles or torches?”

“Sometimes.”

“What about smell?” I asked. “Does it smell like anything?”

“You can smell it but don’t touch it.”

I thought about that for a moment. “Deal.”

He leaned over and I smelled the wispy area above his head. It smelled like a cool spring breeze.

“I’m Eldak,” he said. “And you are very beautiful. I look forward to getting to know…”

I pulled away from his head abruptly and walked away from him and towards Daftmonk who had discovered the door.

“Check this out,” I said, pointing to the floor. “Fresh tracks.” I held up the leatherskin I’d found. “Fresh water. We aren’t alone.”

He took my waterskin and took a drink. “Yes,” he said. “This is glacial water.”

I snatched back the skin and wiped the tip off.

“Really?” I said. “Glacial water? Is that common around here?”

I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not but I believed him. I was no water expert.

I pulled open the stone door and smiled at Daftmonk. “Shall we?”

“Do you mind if I come with you?” Eldak said. “The more the merrier, right?”

“That’s the opposite of my motto,” I said.

Daftmonk stepped forward. “Listen, Alback.”

“It’s Eldak, actually,” he said.

“Eldak, things have been a little crazy here lately. Storms, undead, necromancers. Are you sure you’re up for that?”

“I don’t know,” Eldak said. “But I want to see what’s happening down here. There may be others who need our help. Also, it’ll give Malice and I a chance to get to know each other.”

I sighed and swung open the stone door and stepped through. On the other side of the door was a long, level tunnel. On opposite sides midway down the tunnel are two doors with stern-looking dwarves carved into them.

As I step into the tunnel, my driftglobe fills it with light, revealing everything.

“Two doors,” I said. “Maybe we should split up?”

“I agree,” Eldak said. “I don’t have darkvision so I will rely on the orb for light. Malice, we will have to go together.”

“Actually,” I said. “Splitting up is a horrible idea. Let’s just look through the bottom door.”

Before walking through, I took a good look at the carving in the door. From what I’d read of dwarven craft, it wasn’t uncommon for them to make these types of carvings on their work. The carving appeared to be quite old and it was obvious that this place was built many years ago.

I pulled the door open and it revealed another hallway. This one was very short and ended in a small room with a hole in the middle of the floor. There was a strong smell of feces.

“Go check that out, Daftmonk,” I said, keeping my distance.

The elf dropped to his knees and really focused on smelling what was in the hole.

“Definitely feces,” he said. He took another sniff. “Very fresh. I can smell…crumblecakes.”

“Crumblecakes?” I asked.

“Yes. Whoever is down here has spent time in The Swinging Sword.”

“Maybe you should taste it,” I said, seeing how far I could push this.

He reached his hand in and his fingers came back with a brown smear. I gagged violently as he put it into his mouth.

“Dear lord,” Eldak yelled.

“Yes,” Daftmonk said. “Definitely local. Whoever is down here visits the surface frequently.”

He began to reach back into the hole again but I stopped him. My stomach couldn’t take any more of it.

“Ok, man,” I said. “I don’t know how you could get so much info from shit, but you’ve impressed me. In all honesty, I’m starting to wonder whether this is for research or pleasure. Maybe we should move on.”

“You wouldn’t believe what we have done in the monkhood,” he said, getting to his feet.

“Oh I bet,” I said. “But whatever happened in the monkhood, stays in the moonkhood.”

We quickly retreated from the hallway and entered the opposite door. It opened to another tunnel but the smell of feces was quickly replaced with the smell of death.

“Smells like Lance Rock,” I said.

“Speaking of Lance Rock,” Daftmonk said. “Where is Jeffrodo?”

“No idea,” I said. “I saw him leave the tavern days ago and he hasn’t returned.”

“Who’s Jeffrodo?” Eldak asked.

“None of your business,” I said. I turned to Daftmonk. “This guy. He’s been hanging with us for ten minutes and thinks he’s part of the gang.”

“Well I was just wondering. He’s a friend?”

“Alvack,” Daftmonk said.

“Eldak!”

“Whoever! Have you ever dealt with undead before? This smell leads me to believe we may encounter more zombies down here.”

“I’ve seen a few things,” Eldak said.

“Well, we’re pretty much experts,” I said.

“Ready your bow,” Daftmonk said.

“Do you have a bow?” I asked. He showed me the longbow on his shoulder. “Ready it. Get it ready.”

Eldak nodded and pulled his bow off of his shoulder.

The tunnel curved in front of us and we followed it slowly, our weapons ready. The stench of decay grew stronger and we came across a small opening. Three decaying bodies sprawled in the middle of the room while two giant rats chewed on their flesh. As we entered the opening, we could hear scratching inside the walls indicating that there were more rats than these two.

I pulled the wand of magic missile from my bag and aimed it at one of the rats.

“Wait,” Daftmonk said. “They aren’t harming us.”

“You want to talk to them?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

He moved close to the rats but as he neared the, they reared up and squealed at him. They bared their teeth and readied themselves to attack. As they did, two more rats scurried in from a hole in the northwest wall and one more came from the south.

“Smooth,” I said. I raised my right hand and traced a sigil of warding into the air. As I did, I could feel my skin hardening providing an extra level of resistance against attacks. Blade ward was a cantrip Balix had taught me at an early age.

I raised the wand once again and aimed it at the single rat coming from the south.”Check this thing out,” I said. I flicked my wrist and three glowing, purple darts shot from the tip, striking the rat: two in its back and one in its head. The rat fell over to its side and twitched a little before going limp. I blew on the tip of the wand and winked.

The rat closest to Daftmonk lunged for him, sinking its teeth in to elf’s leg. It wiggled its head wildly before pulling away with a chunk of flesh in its mouth. The pain must’ve been substantial but Daftmonk showed no sign of it. Another rat leapt at him but Daftmonk easily avoided its jaws.

Two rats charged Eldak. They lunged at him but their teeth couldn’t break through the scale mail he was wearing. He raised his longbow and sent an arrow at one of the rats in the middle of the room. The arrow sunk into the rat’s side and exploded out the other end, skidding along the row.

I pulled my crossbow out and fired a bolt at one of the other rats. It dug into its midsection and the rat let out a wild screech before turning and running towards one of the holes in the wall.

“Grab it!” I screamed. “It’s stealing my bolt.”

Daftmonk swung his bo staff at the retreating rat. His swing missed but he managed to grab the bolt with his hand right after. He yanked on the bolt, tearing it from the rat’s body along with its leg. The rat spun through the air, squirting blood all over us.

Eldak quickly finished off the final rat with a slice of his sword.

Daftmonk pulled the rat’s leg off of my bolt and dropped it into his bag before handing the bolt to me. I wiped it off on his sleeve before dropping it back into my quiver. I could feel my skin softening and returning to normal.

I leaned in close to the bodies on the floor. They had been reduced to mostly bone and sinew but one of them still had flesh on most of his head. His forehead had a symbol carved into it. It appeared to be a triangle with a line starting at the centre of its base and extending to half the height. I had never seen the symbol before and did not know what it represented.

We left the corpses behind and continued along the hallway. The smell of death dissipated but once we turned another corner it was back again. Not as strong this time but it was still obvious.

We passed through an entrance into another room. As we entered the room, we found another decaying body. This one was floating ten feet into the air.

I nudged Eldak. “Are you doing this?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he said. “Well, I mean, no. But I could if I wanted to.” He flashed me a smile and I could have sworn I saw him flex a little.

I rolled my eyes at him. I had only known him for an hour and I had already rolled my eyes more times than I had in my entire life. I left the two and the entrance and investigated the body. The moment I got within a couple of feet, I felt the ground slip away from me and the floating body floated to eye level.

I looked to Daftmonk and realized he was ten feet below me. The floor hadn’t slipped away from me, I was floating. I began to panic and even let out a tiny scream. I tried desperately to swim through the air and towards the ground but my body just flailed around in mid air.

“Little help!” I said frantically.

Eldak immediately rushed over and raised his bow to me. I grabbed the end and he pulled me into his arms and placed me onto the floor. His hands lingered on the smell of my back and he held me close to him. I shoved him back.

“Alright, I’m saved,” I said. “Enough touching.”

“That’s strange,” Daftmonk said. He scooped up a handful of rocks and tossed them below the body. As expected, they floated up and hovered next to the corpse.

The elf dove towards the body and floated up to it. Once he got close, he wrapped his arms around it. “Pull me down,” he said.

We used Eldak’s bow to get him down. The body was decorated in large, black feathers and its skin was covered in tattoos. I recognized the tattoos right away as the ancient symbol of the air plane. Many years back it was used to cast air spells but it was not commonly used today.

“I wonder who he was,” Eldak said.

“Probably a bird,” I chuckled. “Explains why it could fly.”

“How did he die?”

I pulled the dead man’s shirt away from his deck and revealed a long slit across his throat.

“That answer your question?”

We exited the room, avoiding the area with the floating rocks as we did. The hallway continued for a while and ended at a door not unlike the ones we’d gone through earlier. It opened up into a fifty-foot chamber. The floor was rough but flat and the walls showed the chisel marks of its original builders. In the center of the room stood a life-sized statue of a dwarven warrior. It stood with a shield on its left and a battleaxe on its right. It was clear the statue had been broken. Pieces of it had been reassembled upright with a wooden frame. At its feet were piles of coins, gems, and a dagger. Surrounding the statue, and its treasures, was a thin ring of gravel.

I’d seen this type of thing before. It was common to put a ring of gravel around a religious figure.

“This is not uncommon,” Daftmonk said. “It is used as a sign of respect. You never cross the line least disrespect the god. Those coins are offerings.”

“Those coins are abundant,” I said. I stepped over the line of gravel, scuffing it a little with my foot.

“I would not do that,” Eldak said.

“You have no respect,” Daftmonk pleaded. “This is unwise.”

I scooped up the coins and gems and added them to my purse. The amount of wealth there was shocking. There’s no way it belonged to only a few people. The value of all the offerings was well over 200 gold.

I picked up the dagger and analyzed it. It was fine craftsmanship and I could tell right away that it was magical but I couldn’t pick up on what magical properties it contained. The handle was decorated with star motifs and dark blue leather. Dried blood still coated the blade. Underneath the blood, engraved in the blade, was a name. I read the name out loud: “Reszur.” As I said it, the blade began to glow and I smiled excitedly.

I slid the dagger into my bag and heard the others gasp. “Fine,” I said. I plucked one of the daggers I’d been carrying around with me and dropped it. “An offering from me.”

I gave the statue a quick look on my way out and noticed an inscription.

“Petrified Iron Star Dwarf. Found in 1459 DR, Red Larch West Quarry in broken condition.”

“Could there be a secret society down here,” Daftmonk asked. “The town’s elite? Malice, what were you doing when we were trying to get down the hole? Who were you talking to?”

“Oh, right!” I said. “Delvers. I have no idea what they are but the people of Red Larch definitely seem to fear them. They seemed worried that the hole would upset them.”

“Maybe there’s a connect here,” Daftmonk said.

There was a stone door on the west wall of the room and Daftmonk opened it slowly before peering inside. I stepped beside him and followed his gaze.

It opened to another large, square chamber. An eight-foot tall rectangular stone stood upright in the centre of the room. At the foot of the stone, a small human was pinned to the ground, rocks rested on his arms, legs, and back. He was barefoot and wearing ragged clothes.

On the west wall was a stone door with iron bars bolted to the wall next to it. A lever and ten oiled chains were secured to the bars The chains led up to a hole in the ceiling. Guarding the door was a half-orc with his back to us. He had his hand resting on the lever.

I knew right away that one of the two heroes with me was about to run to the child’s rescue. As as as they did, the half-orc would have been alerted and we would have one hell of a fight on our hands. I knew the only way we were going to get the upper hand here was to catch him by surprise.

I whispered a small incantation Balix taught me: Minor Illusion. The spell had its limitations, mostly regarding the size of the illusion I casted. It could be no larger than a five-foot cube but I could work with that. A five-foot tall female half-orc appeared behind the orc guarding the door.

After a few moments, the guard turned his head and saw the illusion. The sudden appearance of someone else in the room caught him completely off-guard and he let you a surprised yelp and stumbled backwards. As he did, his hand slipped and he pulled the lever. A crash erupted from behind the door next to him.

I pointed at the stunned half-orc and shoved Daftmonk into the room. “Go get him,” I whispered.

The woodelf ran across the room and threw his body at the half-orc, tackling him to the ground.

Both Eldak and I ran in after him. We got there the moment the half-orc broke free of Daftmonk’s grasp. I raised my cross bow and pointed it at his face. “Don’t move,” I said.

He stared back at me with a look of utter confusion. He had no clue what was happening to him.

“What’s going on here?” I asked.

“What are you doing to this kid?” Daftmonk asked.

“Why are people flying?” Eldak asked.

The half-orc looked at each of us, struggling to comprehend what was going on.

“I, uh, er,” he stammered. “It’s not my job to tell you what’s going on.”

Eldak turned his attention to the boy and began lifting the rocks from his body. The child let out a moan that drew my attention long enough to give the half-orc the opportunity to take a swing at Daftmonk.

The elf was ready for the attack and brought his bostaff up, jamming him in the face – using the half-orc’s momentum against him. The half-orc was stunned and Daftmonk took full advantage of it. He headbutted him twice in the face, fracturing the guard’s nose and sending blood squirting through the air.

Eldak acted right away. He pulled out his shortsword and lunged and the half-orc. The blade pierced the leather armour above his hip and sunk in deeply. The half-orc shrieked in pain but still managed to push himself to his feet. He hobbled towards the door we originally came through as quickly as he could. Daftmonk tried to grab him but missed.

“Stop him,” Daftmonk shouted.

I pulled out my crossbow and shot a bolt at him but I missed and the bolt hit the stone in the centre of the room. Eldak quickly followed my shot up with one of his own. His arrow hit him directly in the back between his shoulderblades. The half-orc fell forward and bashed his face into the stone wall. He coughed up blood for a moment before giving up to death.

Eldak pulled the remaining rocks off of the boy and scooped him up into his arms.

“Water,” the boy whispered. “Food…please.”

Daftmonk pulled his waterskin from his pack and put it to the kid’s mouth. He drank greedily, sucking the skin dry. His body shakes and he drinks. I pull my waterskin out and take a deep gulp of my own. Staring at his dried lips had made me very thirsty.

“What is your name, boy?” Eldak asked.

“I’m Braylene, sir,” he said.

While they attended to the child, I opened the door next to the lever. On the other side was the hallway we had travelled earlier. Only now, there was a large, iron cage filling the entire width of the hallway.

“Well,” I said. “I’m glad we took the long way around.”

I turned back to see Daftmonk pulling rations from his bag and feeding it to the battered boy.

“Why are you here,” Daftmonk asked. “What did they do to you?”

“I’m being punished,” Braylene said. “I failed to deliver a message from my father to Elmeth and this was my punishment.”

“Who is your father?” Eldak asked.

“His name is Rothar.”

I joined the other two around the boy and I lean down.

“What’s a delvar?” I asked.

“They are the protectors,” he said. “They protect Red Larch but they have a wrath. If you displease them, it means death.”

“Where is your father?” Daftmonk asked.

“He works as a farmhand in Red Larch. He sent me down here to deliver a message. That was two days ago.”

“What was the message?” I asked.

He sighed. “I never read it. But it doesn’t matter, they have it now. They took it from me.”

“Well who is Elmeth?” I asked.

Braylene gave me a look of surprise. “He is a believer, of course. The believers are very important. They guard the moving rocks and keep the delvers happy.”

“Are you a believer?” Daftmonk asked.

“I hope to be someday,” he said. “But I have not yet learned to read the stones.”

“Where could we find Elmeth?” I asked.

“She isn’t down here,” he said. “She’s above ground, somewhere in town.”

“Are you able to stand?” Daftmonk asked.

“I will be,” Braylene said. “I will finish my food first.”

“Do you need us to escort you back up?” Eldak asked.

“Oh no,” he replied. “I can’t leave yet. I must see out my punishment. This is normal for me. I don’t need help.”

“You need to find yourself some new friends, kid,” I said.

“Would you mind placing the rocks back on me?” He rolls over onto his stomach and positions himself as he was before. “I don’t want my father to be upset.”

“Sure, kid,” I said. “I don’t want to leave you hanging.”

I picked up one of the larger rocks and placed it onto the kids back.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Eldak said.

Braylene turned his head to Eldak. “This is for the best,” he said. “If I don’t see this through, the delvers will get me.”

I finished covering the kid in rocks and we left. He shouted a “thank you” as we exited the way we came.

“Well that was weird,” I said.

We returned to the room with the dwarven statue and continued through it to the door on the opposite side. Opening it revealed another hallway with a door at the end. A small lantern hung from a hook on the wall near the door. Sat on a stool next to it was balding, beardless old man with patched and faded trousers and a matching tunic. He was idly whittling a stick. He was nodding off and didn’t notice us.

“Hello,” I said.

He shook himself awake and looked up at us. Our appearance frightened him and he fell to the floor.

“No! No, please,” he said. “Don’t hurt me.”

“Just passing through,” I said.

“No please, don’t go past me. The delvers will destroy you.”

Finally!

“The delvers?” I asked. “Are they in that room?”

“Yes, of course!” he said. “How did you get here! Why didn’t the guard stop you?”

“He’s busy,” I said. “Being dead.”

The man begins to weep. “You wouldn’t hurt an old man, would you?”

“How much money do you have?” I joked.

“None! But I could whittle you something!”

Daftmonk moved closer to him with a look of concern. “Why are you here?”

“I’m here to protect the chamber of the moving stones.”

“What are the moving stones?” Eldak asked.

“It’s a marvel, sir. You must see it for yourself.” He quickly realized what he’d said and tried to recover. “But please don’t! Only the believers can enter this room safely.”

I moved down the hall and crouched over so I was face to face with the terrified man.

“Old man,” I said. “I’m going into that room. I would appreciate it very much if you could give me a heads up regarding what to expect when I enter. Should I duck?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve only been told that you will face the delver’s wrath.”

And that was it. I tried very hard to be patient but I was completely over the cave and my pursuit of the delvers. They were on the other side of that door and I was going in.

I grabbed the old man by his arm and dragged him to the door. He pleaded for me to stop. To let him go. But I yanked the door open and shoved him through.

The old man stumbled before falling to the ground. He trembled in fear but didn’t explode and nothing ate him.

“You see anything in there?” I asked.

I peered inside to see for myself. It was an enourmous chamber with a twenty foot ceiling. Lighted lanterns rested on the floor near the centre, filling the room with light. Around them was an odd array of monoliths. Six stone slabs line the walls of the room, each acting as a sarcophagus for an unknown corpse.

“Move in a little more,” I said to the old man.

“No,” he begged. “No closer. The delvers…”

I raised my crossbow and screamed “Move!”

The man wet himself before crawling into the room, weeping the entire time.

“That’s enough,” Daftmonk said. “Leave him alone.”

“No,” I said. “We can use him to test the room…”

As the old man moved further into the room, the monoliths rumbled and shifted along the floor. They seemed to shift in straight lines along invisible, geometric paths.

“What are they doing?” I shouted to the man.

“It’s foretelling,” he shouted back. “I don’t know what it’s saying. I have not been trained to read the stones.”

I watched them in amazement as they moved. They seemed to hover barely off the floor. Whatever was making them move, maybe the same thing that made the body in the other room float. Eventually, they stopped – resting in new positions.

“Is there anyone in here who has been trained?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Recently the earth priests have been helping us. They have been teaching us to read their movements.”

“Where can we find them?” I asked. “Are they down here in the caves?”

“They could be,” he said. “I don’t know how to find them.”

Daftmonk pushed past me and into the room. He rushed to the old man’s side and helped him to his feet. The old man watched him with caution, it was obvious he was unsure of what to think of the elf with his headdress and facial markings.

I cautiously stepped into the room. As I stepped inside, the stones moved once again.

“They aren’t happy you’re here,” the old man said. “We must leave.”

Eldak entered behind me and the stones abruptly changed directions, still following a very obvious path. He waited for the stones to settle before approaching one of the stones. He took out his bow and gave it a poke. The stones moved again.

I moved into the room towards the southeast corner toward one of the coffins. Out of the darkness, behind one of the larger stones, a man appeared and approached me.

“That’s one of them,” shouted the old man. “He’s one of the priests.”

“Shut up, old man,” the priest shouted. He looked into my eyes and raised his hand, pointing at the sarcophagi in the room. “Leave here or I will awaken the wrath of the delvers.”

“You are one of the earth priests?” I asked.

He nodded. “We are the ones who read the stones. We are here to help the believers of Red Larch. I’m telling you to leave. Or else.”

“Are you making these stones float?” I asked.

He shook his head. “The magic is ancient. We only read it. You have one last chance to leave.”

What was I doing? Whatever the delvers were, we were no match for them. We should have just left. I knew enough to do my own research. Why stick around?

I raised my crossbow and pointed it at him. “No,” I said. “You will answer my questions.” I tried my best to sound intimidating but I could hear the obvious fear in my voice.

I stared at him. He stared at me.

I was suddenly aware of the fact that Eldak was talking to someone in the distance.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I was following that drow!” the voice said. “And the elf!”

“Are you Jeffrodo…?” Eldak asked.

The voice was familiar and it definitely wasn’t Jeffrodo.

“Hold that thought,” I said to the priest.

I turned around and looked across the room. Standing next to Eldak was The Lord of Lance Rock himself, Orath.

“Orath!” I scream.

“You!” he stormed towards me. “You told me Marlandro was dead! You said they were dead! You lied to me!”

Oh shit. This was not the time.

I acted surprised. “What?!” I said. “I thought they were dead. I was told they were dead.”

“No,” he said. “Why did you make it up? Why would you do that? I believed you”

The old man stared at Orath in amazement. “Orath,” he said. “What are you doing here? I thought you died with the rest.”

“How do you know him?” Daftmonk asked the old man.

“He used to be the mayor of Red Larch,” he said. “But we had to force him out. It was what the earth priests wanted.”

“What did you just say, Baragustus?” Orath asked.

“I’m sorry,” Baragustus said ”It was the priests. They…” He pointed towards the priest I had just gone toe-to-toe with but stared in confusion.

We followed his gaze but instead of the priest, we found six figures. They wore leather garb reinforced with stone. The symbol that I’d seen carved into the forehead of the rat-eaten corpse was engraved into their chest. One of them stepped forward, a scimitar in his hand and a crossbow on his back.

“We are The Bringers of Woe,” he said. “and we have come to reward your curiosity.”

“That sounds nice,” Eldak said.

“I don’t think it’s the good kind of reward,” Daftmonk whispered.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my arcane focus. I pressed the doll against my lips and closed my eyes, trying my best to slow my heartbeat. It helped but I could still feel the nervousness. But I had to do it. I focused on the one who had stepped towards me and cast Crown of Madness.

A crown of jagged iron appeared on the bandit’s head and his eyes turned to madness. He was under my control.

He stared at me in horror and I nodded my head towards the bandit at his side. He immediately turned and slashed him with his sword. The cut sliced along his friend’s side and up the back of his arm. He howled and took a step back.

“What are you doing?” he screamed.

I instructed my puppet to attack again and he pushed his sword through his partner’s neck. Blood bubbled in his throat and he fell to his knees for a brief moment before going limp.

I had been so distracted by controlling the bandit, that I didn’t see the other two move in on me. One lunged at me from the side with his scimitar. I stepped back but knew I had no way to dodge it.

Before the blade touched me, a bright blast crackling energy came from behind me and struck the bandit in the chest, knocking him away from me. The other bandit aimed her crossbow and fired a bolt in my direction. The bolt was heading right for my throat but instead it went over my shoulder and past me. I heard a cry of pain behind me.

I turned and saw Orath with the bolt protruding from his shoulder.

“Orath,” I shouted. “I don’t know what you just did, but if we get out of here, you and I are paying a certain barber a visit.”

The others joined into the fight. Daftmonk sprinted in, attacking the bandits with his bo staff and following each hit up with a crack of his elbow or knee. One of Eldak’s arrows whizzed by me a few feet away, striking the bandit that was under my control. The bolt flew into his chest and came out the other side. The crown on his head faded as he fell to the floor.

As we fought them, the monoliths slid across the floor furiously, changing their directions every time one of us moved.

A frustrated scream erupted from Eldak. I turned to see him staring down at his bow, the string was broken and dangled in two pieces. He tossed it aside and drew his shortsword before charging one of the other bandits and stabbing him in the stomach.

It wasn’t long before we all stood in a blood-covered room, staring at the bodies of The Bringers of Woe.

I turned to Orath who was clutching his shoulder. He stormed across the room and grabbed the old man by his tunic and pulled him in close.

“Tell me everything,” he said. “You’ve cost me it all. I need to know.”
“I’m sorry,” Baragustus said. “We didn’t want to do it. When the earth priests showed up, they taught us how to read the messages of the stones. They said we needed to take control over Red Larch. Whatever it took. You tried to stop us and they told us to get rid of you. We needed to scare you off so they ordered us to sacrifice those you loved. To make you see.”

Orath began to shake violently. He dropped the old man to the floor and backed off.

“Did you kill anyone?” he asked.

Bargustus shook his head. “I was here, guarding the room. That was my only job.” He hung his head. “I’m sorry. We thought the delvers would come. We thought this was what they wanted.”

Orath turned his back on him. He’d heard enough.

I walked around the room, analyzing each of the sarcophagi. The earth priest said these were the delvers. But all I saw were the bodies of dwarves. Each one showed signs of bludgeoning: a crushed skull or limb.

“Don’t get too close,” Bargustus said. “Give the delvers room.”

But they didn’t stur. They weren’t anything special, not from what I could tell. They were corpses. A myth. I left them and moved to Orath.

“I owe you, Orath,” I said. “I will take you to Malandro. We will settle this.”

“It isn’t safe for me to be in town,” he said.

“Then I will settle it for you. I will bring you his head.”

He nodded. “I want my revenge. They deserve that. But it was not his decision. I need to know more about these priests.”

Daftmonk joined us. “We want to know more too. We will help you.”

“Then I will join you,” Orath said. He turns to me with a half-smile. “I know you took my things.”

The driftglobe lowered itself behind my back.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.

“It’s ok. Keep them,” he said. “You were right. What I did was wrong. But I’m willing to make things right.”