Summary
The rest of the party returned to find Ruhsbaar meditating in the middle of a circle on the floor and Fizzwig still chatting with Splug under the watchful eye of Vaunea. A quick council and the party decided to try and find the goblin leader who had escaped. The party returned to the last place the leader was seen and Vaunea studied the floor, eventually finding some goblin footprints under the tramplings of the party. The tracks led down into the rough caves to the south of the secret passage, and over the wooden palisade at the base of the earthen ramp leading to the cavern floor. Rolen hops over the palisade and boldly walks forward, having put the bat attack solidly in his past.

Unfortunately he was instantly beset on by the giant rats the palisade had been erected to contain, and the shadowhunter bats roosting in the stalactites quickly followed. The rest of the party flowed over the palisade to help, although Fizzwig found himself a bit distracted as he realized the rats were large enough for him to ride. Offering some rations from his pack he then leapt onto the distracted rat which promptly began running away from the fire that Galstaff was slinging around hitting friends and a few foes. The individual rats were no contest for the party, but the sheer numbers held them at bay as Fizzwig was carried further away from them.

The contest between Daelius and Rolen continued, with Rolen taunting Daelius to ignore the rat standing next to him and rush forward to help the vanguard of the party. This maneuver resulted in a fairly nasty bite in Daelius' ankle that hobbled him for the next minute. The bats continued to harass the party from the shadows, but a strange call echoed through the caves and suddenly the bats disappeared. Pressing forward the party killed the remaining rats and then edged into a side cavern that was remarkably devoid of the debris in the rest of the creeps. Vaunea lifted her torch high above her head and the ring of light reflected off of a dangerous yellow blob that surged forward.

Striking the ochre jelly with fist and javelin, the party despaired with its ability to defeat this new foe. Vaunea searched for a vulnerability, first throwing her torch into the back of Ruhsbaar before it bounced into the jelly and was extinguished. Then Vaunea recalled the fight in the kobold caves and shouted to aim at the stalactites and try to bring them down upon the jelly. A few well placed javelins and an acrobatic leap from Ruhsbaar to grab a hold of one stalactite while kicking out at nearby ones soon brought a cascade of stone missiles down upon the jelly, severely injuring it and causing it to split in two. Encouragement from Rolen and continued attacks from Daelius, Ruhsbaar, Pale Noon and Vaunea eventually brought the jelly down.

Meanwhile Baelfius and Galstaff had rushed after the strange sound that had drawn the bats off, which had ben followed with muffled cursing from Fizzwig. They rounded a corner just in time to see Fizzwig hanging from the underside of a shadowhunter bat as it carried him over a small underground lake towards an island. Fizzwig pushed away from the bat and landed with a loud splash in the lake. The ripples spread out and then the water parted in the southern portion of the lake to reveal a massive blue slime that began moving towards Fizzwig. Fizzwig sensed the grave danger and after gaining purchase on the island he turned towards the shore with his companions and made a running leap, but was struck in the back by the slime and fell short.

The shadowhunter bat that had claimed Fizzwig for whatever purpose then swooped from the darkness to attack the blue slime giving Baelfius and Galstaff time to recover the injured Fizzwig from the lake. Tossing spell, bolt and molotov rocks at the slime they began to slowly whittle pieces of it off, but it was not until the rest of the party caught up that the slime began to be pushed back. Fizzwig and Ruhsbaar both nearly succumbed to the brute force and residual poison from the slime, and the bat did fall limp upon the island as Fizzwig shouted out a dismayed "Brünhilde!" The desperate battle exhausted the party's remaining healing powers and potions, but finally the slime shuddered and lost its form.

Adorned by a new set of scars, and a knick in Daelius' ear from a stray arrow from Rolen, the party slowly checked the cave and the island in its center. Galstaff, Vaunea and Fizzwig tended to the fallen bat for reasons that the other party members could only guess at. The island had some loose coins, a small wooden cylinder containing several messages and a large steel shield with a red hued dragon adorning its face. Rolen unrolled the messages and read out loud to the party:

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OOC
Just a reminder to try and play your character and not use too much meta-knowledge. Yes Fizzwig is interesting and his forbidden romance with Brunhilde may make a fine ballad that brings Rolen fame, but running full tilt from one side of the caves to rescue him from the trouble he managed to get himself into seemed a bit odd in the heat of the moment. Same goes for telling people OOC what the best action may be. Try to keep it in character!

Experience

• 225xp (1800/8) for the rats, slime, ooze and bats

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Ruthsbaar, Daelius

Loot

• 40g

• Large Shield, adorned with a platinum-hued dragon

Fizzwig: Ah yes... the strange sound that drew the bats away. See... I was trying to think of a noise that might carry with the essence of "Come here and let me ride you little guy!" I uh... I think I might have inadvertently squeaked something a little more like "Hey pretty lady, let uncle Fizzwig show you a good time!" instead though. Easy mistake to make though, right? I mean Riding and Mating can be kind of similar right?

I'm not sure bats have a very good grasp of homophones...

Oh, and that shield doesn't match my eyes, so someone else can have it.

Daelius walks around the portions of the cave they have so far explored, avoiding rat and bat carcasses, as well as whats left of the oozes that have been dealt with. Daelius returns to the cavern with the lake in it and examines the door, beginning to barricade it a bit. Daelius sits near the rest of the party, and carefully touches where part of his right ear used to be and winces in pain.

Daelius: "This room seems secure, aside from stray arrows from Rolen. We should set up a small camp in this cave to regain our strength, there are few entrances and it sounds as if we will need to rest before encountering more traps Kalarel has waiting for us in this dungeon.

Mind if I have a look at that shield, it appears to have a crest of Bahamut adorned upon it. After our battle in the dig site I heard whispers and had a divine vision of a sword within this keep, I believe that Torm, and possibly Bahamut, are guiding me towards a path of tempered justice, honor, and that of protecting the innocent. Perhaps a lesson to not so brashly strike those I believe to be evil. This shield could be of some use in that area.

What are you guys doing with that bat? Ugh, it would be best if we concern ourselves with the task at hand."

*Daelius turning to face Ruhsbaar: "Ruhsbaar, that ooze almost got the better of you. Rest and do not forget in the heat of battle that Torm will protect not only myself, but my allies as well. I will take the first watch."

Fizzwig: She's not just any bat! I'm calling her Brunhilde and she saved my life!... kind of. I mean... sure... she carried me to her love nest on that ooze's island in the first place and that's what disturbed the creature... but maybe she was showing me to the treasure!?

Anyway... She attacked the ooze when she could have flown away or attacked us, and she bore the brunt of more of the ooze's aggression than any of the rest of us, so in my eyes that makes her more ally than adversary, if after she wakes up she can be persuaded to go on her way without trying to eat us, I say live and let live. If she insists on attacking us then I guess it's bat-burgers for dinner.

Of course I'd much rather keep her as a companion... I've always wanted to fly... But if she keeps trying to mate with my face I'm not sure we'd be compatible...

Daelius: Fizzwig, I have no interest in slaying a bat that wishes to live in its cave in peace, do not misunderstand me, she is by no means an adversary of mine. Ruhsbaar may disagree with you about who took the brunt of that oozes aggression, it nearly consumed him. Also, I believe some divine intervention from Torm was able to save your life before the poison set in. It would be best to fight with the party in the future, I cannot promise Torm's protection if you do not concern yourself with us.

How do we know it is a she, have you studied cave bats before? It may be under the impression you are the she. Alas, I only meant we should get our rest and prepare for the task at hand, defeating this cult before they complete their ritual.

Fizzwig: Me a she!? Inconceivable! Of course she's a girl, her fur is so soft and downy! And just look at how clean her teeth are! And she's got six nipples... or do all bats have that?

And yes... I will try to fight with the party. Well... near the party. I'm a rogue, we fight best from the shadows... I was just hoping I could scout out the way a little that's all... I just got a little uh... sidetracked when Brunhilde took me on that joyride.

Still it all worked out. Ruhsbaar didn't get melted too much, right? Looks like Tymora wants us around for a little longer.

Daelius: It does not seem that you are a she, so maybe you are right. I do not know much about bats either. I understand that you prefer to fight from the shadows as rogues typically do, but you would do well to stay with the group and not cause more trouble for all of us.

Although you are correct, it seems that both Torm and Tymora are looking down on us. May they both continue to watch over us.

*Daelius leaves Fizzwig near the bat and goes to sit watch with little but his own thoughts while the rest of the party rests.

Satisfied that the creature would live, Vaunea headed off the tiny island, walking up the other bank in only a few of her large strides. Glancing around the other party members to assess the extent of the damage, she remembers the piercing sound her javelin made down the pit on the other side of the cave.

"There are more on the other side of the caves. The one I have marked is mine. I resume my hunt."

She heads for the long tunnel she was exploring, her spirit catcher rustling from her belt.

Slightly exhausted from the full day of battles, Pale Noon weighs his options of setting up camp.

"Do we want to fall back to the chieftain room, lock a few of the doors, and get some much needed rest before moving on? I believe there's also some food there as well. We can move the corpses into the torture chamber. Fizzwig, if you'd like to give Splug a meal to thank him for the valuable information, but leave him locked up.

Do we want to clear the room to the south before we rest? We don't want any surprises to wake Rolen out of his beauty sleep!"

Fizzwig has the good grace to only look *slightly* shifty as he agrees to feed Splug.

Fizzwig: Sure... feed him. Got it...

Riot OOC: Has anyone got a detect alignment spell? Like as a Goblin, *is* Splug purely evil or is a bit more neutrally. I'm just not sure what Fizz has planned...

Fizzwig OOC (and apparently developing trans-dimensional psychic powers): Planned? Plans are for people who can't think on their feet!

Riot OOC: Yeahhhh... ok Fizz.

Daelius is sitting, looking at the emblem on this shield and ponders what Torm might have in store for him in the future. Upon overhearing Pale Noon and Fizzwig talking about doubling back, he snaps back to and offers some input.

Daelius: Fizz, I think it would be best if we rest here and continue on shortly. We will be able to check on Splug once we are done with the cult. It seems that we left him with enough food to be comfortable.

Pale Noon, there is no need to double back. We can barricade the door in this cavern and I am sure we will be well guarded.

Penguin OOC: Daelius has high insight which can help to discern motive, and I would like to refrain from using any sort of "detect evil" type spell. Makes it far less interesting, let the NPCs prove what they are.