Recap #9 - Kartenix' Fate Discovered...

• Sertanian is an old man but he seemed ready to take the fight to his captures. In his weakened state he would be more of a liability than anything. The party convinced him that the best place for him was back with Adronsius in case the dwarf needed assistance with anything.
• After a quick escort back the party moved back up to the previous crypt and then east up the stairs. The room is dark but Ethan can see enough to take note of the multitude of spider webs in the room. Surely this is where the ettercaps that Sertanian mentioned stayed.
• Correctly expecting an ambush the party moved up the stairs and were greeted by 3 ettercaps. Two were guards wielding halberds and the other was a webspinner. While the guards kept the group busy the webspinner covered the area in web nets making in nearly impossible for the group to move about the room.
• Eventually the party bested the guards and were nearly done with the webspinner when it decided to flee north through a double set of doors.
• In a momentary fit of bravery (maybe) Nenia decided to pursue their quarry into the hall and to the east – right into a waiting hobgoblin soldier.
• The soldier retreated and sounded the alarm. Nenia came to her senses and quickly retreated back into the webbed room and slammed the doors closed behind her. At this point Nenia and Sterling wisely used their fire magics to clear the path of webs. While doing so they came upon a fresh corpse in the corner hidden under the webs. The insignia of the Clifftop Adventurer’s Guild upon the cloak of the fellow made known the victim’s identity – none other than Kartenix. It seems he had followed through with his intent on fighting the ettercaps and had met his fate.
• Quickly gathering his corpse and some magic items near him, the party made a hasty retreat back through the crypts to where Adronsius and Sertanian were holed up. They sealed the door and healed their wounds over a long rest.
• After 6 hours the group decided they had best find out what was going on outside. They perceived voices on the far side of the door. Stealthy preparation and a quick surprise easily gave the group the upper hand on the foes that awaited them. It seemed that the hobgoblin who sounded the alarm had been ordered to guard the group simply to contain them. At least his death meant he wouldn’t have to face the wrath of his superiors!
• Carefully moving back through the dungeon and into the webbed room, the group met no resistance. Proceeding into the area previously occupied by the hobgoblins proved to be an easy task – they had killed them all in the ambush.
• Moving down a circular stairs they found a room with some sarcophagi . The room had been transformed into a living quarters of sort – complete with a stinking hole that could only be a latrine. In the south of the room was a set of double doors.
• After check the doors for traps, Ethan scouted forward. Around a corner to the east he discovered a room dimly lit by candles. Four statues of displacer beasts lined the path to an altar upon which was strapped a woman frightened to the point of catatonia. This had to be Mirtala if Adronsius directions had been true.
• No sooner did the party step into the room when they were beset by dire rats and gnome skulks waiting in ambush. Excellent use of tactics made this a relative walk-in-the-park for the group.
• After untying the woman, the party was unable to get her to assist them with information on the missing prisoners and artifacts. (*cough* failed skill challenge *cough*) They opted to return her to the other rescued folk and take a well deserved rest in order to rid themselves of the gift of the dire rats – filth fever!