BEING A RECORD
of CERTAIN EVENTS AND PERSONS in the
ELVEN BORDERLANDS
west of the
HORN RIVER CITIES
in the Year of Almorad
1281
The following accounts have been pieced together from a variety of sources; discretion and a certain regard for my own continuing survival prevent me from revealing their identities.
16 October 1997
27 Savandis 1281
Having located at last (they thought) the valley of Senkalagazhd, the
companions began making their way up, skirting around to the left of
the waterfall. Once they had gained enough height, they noticed what
appeared to be a structure in the cliffside on the opposite side of
the waterfall, and a detour to investigate this was in order. This
proved to be an elegant but rather bare set of rooms carved into the
cliffside, with a staircase leading down and an upper room. Aside
from a very pleasant view of the waterfall, pool, and the valley below
with its overgrown ruins, it seemed to hold nothing of interest, and
the adventurers continued on up to the valley above.
What they found was a long, U-shaped valley with a small lake (or large pond) in the center; the stream issuing from this body of water lead to the waterfall they had just climbed past. At the top of the waterfall was a rather disturbing sight: a skeletal corpse strapped to a T-shaped wooden cross, with a spear driven into its torso. Dressed in the remains of burgundy robes, torn leather armor, and a black sash, the only item of note was a necklace with a medallion of silver and onyx. Wirik speculated that the skull looked Orcish. This suggested that they were near the ancient Dwarven outpost, since the bandit Eleukias' journal indicated Orcs -- but who was displaying a dead Orc so prominently?
A certain amount of confusion ensued as the valley was explored (leading to a search for a suspicious goat), before it was realized that this was still the ``lower'' valley: there was, in fact, a stream trickling down the west side of this valley, with cunningly hidden steps running up the cliffside beside it. The companions headed upwards.
At the top of the cliff was a much smaller valley, not visible from below, with numerous trees. The presence of an old landslide at the far end suggested that this might finally be the valley of Senkalagazhd. Carefully working his way around through the trees, Cosimo was able to spot an Orc standing guard at an entrance into the mountainside, where the landslide had been partly cleared away. Volunteering to handle this guard by himself, Cosimo made himself invisible and crept up to the entrance. The guard was rather easily disposed of with the application of a knife and a spell, but a muttered comment from the rocks above made Cosimo look up. To his alarm, he noticed several narrow windows above and to the left of the entrance: was there another Orc inside, looking out? Throwing caution to the winds, Cosimo rushed inside, up a steep set of stairs, and then up another set of stairs to the right into a corridor. To his left, he found a long room with narrow windows opening to the outside ... and an Orc standing watch with a crossbow. Still invisible, Cosimo snuck up on this second Orc and attempted to quietly do him in as well. Unfortunately, this second Orc was quite tough, and took a surprisingly long time to die. A worried Wirik, attempting to contact Cosimo with a form of mind magic, could only sense frustration and the thoughts: ``Die, dammit, die!'' Eventually, the Orc did.
With the way (apparently) clear, the rest of the companions entered Senkalagazhd. A quick search revealed nothing of interest in the guard room to the left of the entrance, or in the the long corridor leading away from it (though a room near the end with mysterious small holes in the wall occupied Elyan's suspicions for some time). Just past the point where that corridor joined with another, Elyan fortuitously uncovered a devious trap in the corridor (perhaps the one referred to in Eleukias' journal?).
Proceeding cautiously forward, they came upon a curious round room. From outside, they could hear a soft sighing or rushing noise, which came and went in time with a dimming and brightening of the light within the room. The sound proved to come from a great crack in the floor leading who knew how far down, matched by a similar crack in the ceiling. But more immediately disturbing were the severed heads mounted on iron poles: two male Dwarves (one old, one young), a male Goblin, and two humans (one male, one female). Several bore signs of injury (apart from missing torsos, that is!) -- a slightly burnt face, a caved-in skull.
As the adventurers passed cautiously through the room, something very disturbing happened: the eyes of all the severed heads opened simultaneously.... A breathless moment passed, then the heads opened their mouths and let out blood-curdling screams! Panicking, the companions began ripping the heads off the poles and throwing them on the floor, or in some cases into the crack. This shut the heads up, but the alarm had already been given....
Down the corridor ahead came several figures, which proved to be the animate bodies of dead Dwarves and humans. A fight ensued, with the adventurers eventually returning the risen dead to their proper, inanimate state. But just as they began assessing their victory and trying to figure out just what was going on (were some of these bodies -- and the heads as well -- those of Eleukias's lost companions?), Wirik was struck in the back by a crossbow bolt fired from further up the corridor. A new enemy appeared: three Orcs!
Yet to be filled in:
Desperate battle with the Orcs -- Elyan wounded and
collapses, Jindo annoyed at Orcs' apparent ability to see through
invisibility, Cosimo and Orcish wizard (shaman?) hash it out --
mysterious and entertaining disappearance of Cosimo and the Orcish
wizard.
Accounts of Jindo