Now that the dog man (Ariston and Chae identified it as a Gnoll) had been dispatched, the group carefully looked around the cavern. Kyri attempted to see if there were other warm bodies in the cave but the lanterns and torches of the party interfered with her infravision.

"What have we here?" questioned Syndylys. A little pile of rocks covered up a small belt pouch and a dagger. "Mine!" he said as he picked up the dagger. He drew it and gasped delightedly. The blade was made of silver reinforced with steel. A very beautiful weapon.

"Doh!" shouted Chae as he realized that Syndylys would never give up the dagger.

Ariston picked up the pouch and peered inside, finding some Karameikan coins and a silver flask. It did not look like alcohol so he handed it to Chae who opened it. An odorless, colorless liquid with a weird property: it was dry to the touch, as if it was not there. It unnerved the rogue.

"Here Orin. What do you make of it?"

The Halfling removed the stopper that the Rogue had replaced. He sniffed it. "A slight hint of cedar, I think." He dipped a finger in it. To him it was also dry to the touch. "It is familiar but I do not think I have seen something exactly like this is my tobaccanist shop." Orin passed it to the mage. Syndylys said nothing and hid the flask under his cloak.

The cavern showed the signs of having been used as a den for the creature but nothing else of value was found. The group resumed their marching order and headed towards the exit opposite the room's entrance. They proceeded slowly in the lantern light and the Halfling stayed ahead of the rest of the group.

The narrow passageway (approximately five feet wide) was very roughly hewn and the intermittent stalactites and stalagmites made it somewhat difficult to maneuver. As the group walked, their feet made wet splattering noises which echoed throughout the caverns. Fortunately, the constant dripping and splashing throughout the caves made their own noise indistinguishable. At least they hoped it did.

Orin motioned for the group to stop. He could hear little scurrying sounds up ahead and the passageway appeared to open up into a room. Slowly, the group resumed movement but they were wary.

The cavern quickly expanded and Orin could not see the limits of it in the lantern light. He thought he saw a set of eyes reflect in the flicker. A shudder shook him but he kept going. Skittering sounds were all around except behind. His fellow adventurers were there, back about twenty feet.

Something moved quickly behind a stalagmite ahead and Orin paused. Instantly, four rats of unusual size were surrounding him. Each was about the size of a medium sized dog but thinner and with a much longer tail. Orin noted that he was surrounded but his fellow adventurers were quickly catching up. He dodge one of the rats as another sank its teeth into his knee. The Halfling jerked away and cried out in pain.

Two arrows whizzed by the Hin. The first struck one of the rats and spun it around. The second clattered against a stalagmite. Ariston stepped aside and reached for another arrow.

Orin was back in the fight and swung his short sword at one of the rats. It connected but the vermin kept charging. By now, Kyri and Chae were there. They swung with their swords and Kyri nearly split one in two, its dead carcass flying into the distance. Chae missed.

One of the rats had made its way in front of Syndylys and bit his ankle. The fleeting thought of disease went through the mage's mind but he stepped back and stabbed the creature with his dagger. It stopped moving.

Ariston let fly another pair of arrows. The first again found its mark and the second flew off into the darkness. The rat tried to escape but Alexei stepped up and ended its wretched life with his sword.

The adventurers again regrouped and searched the cavern. Other than the obvious signs of rats having made this a home, they found nothing. They resumed their march into the depths, going through the passageway opposite where they had entered.

Winding through the wet tunnel, the group again emerged into a much wider cavern. This was the largest so far, with the walls beyond the reach of Orin's lantern light. The group fanned out, weaving around the many stalactites and stalagmites. Syndylys stood in the doorway, wary of any more rats or other beasts that should be lurking in the darkness.

As Orin was walking ahead of the group, Ariston noticed a stalagmite that did not look right. It appeared to breath and began to crumble before his eyes. Just as he was about to cry out alarm, the stalagmite stuck out an incredibly long, pink tongue. It flicked at Orin and just barely missed.

Chae rushed forward to stand beside Orin, his sword flashing in the lantern light. Ariston and Kyri switched to their bows and sent arrows towards what they could now see was a giant cave lizard. The creature was gray, like the rock of the cave. It was also more than five feet long.

With all eyes on the cave gecko, no one noticed that Alexei, who had been last in line, was not present.

Ariston's first arrow found its mark but the second clattered on the stone floor. Kyri's arrow found it way into the lizard's side. The two piercings had made the lizard mad and it lunged forward, towards Chae and Orin. Both were quicker and dodged the gecko's vicious bite.

Syndylys, turned to see why Alexei was not joining the fight and was met with two claws, one on each shoulder, which sliced into him. The cold tug of death spread through his body and he collapsed. The man creature held him and quickly dragged the mage into a pile with Alexei then turned to see who would be next.

Ariston and Kyri let loose more arrows. Ariston cursed as his first hit but second missed. Kyri's missed. However, Chae and Orin struck the lizard with swords. The creature was obviously wounded but kept fighting, not smart enough to sense that doom was coming. It struck again at the Halfling but missed.

The Hin leapt at the lizard. With a combination of luck and skill, he drove his short sword into the creature's back, severing its spinal column. The gecko spasmed and convulsed then was still. Black ichor spurted up and onto the short sword. Looking back with a grin, he wondered who it was that stood beside Kyri. Whoever it was, swung both its arms at her.

"Aaaaahhhh!!!" She twisted away with a scream. The smell of death came from her attacker. In the torchlight, the group could see it was roughly a man dressed only in rags. His fingernails were exceedingly long and large bites appeared in his chest. His hair was wild and the color of his skin was slightly green. His tongue was not human; it was forked and long. He seemed to try to speak but only a loud hiss came from his throat.

Ariston sent two arrows at the beast. The first one struck it in the throat but the second missed. It was undaunted and sprung forward, trying to get to Kyri. She sent an arrow into its side then dropped her bow in favor of her sword. Chae and Orin rushed forward.

The creature clawed at Kyri, catching her arm and spinning her around. She barely held on to her sword but recovered quickly and slashed at the monster. It recoiled from her strike as both Chae and Orin walloped it with their swords. It was still up and fighting.

Ariston sent another pair of arrows flying towards the creature. Once again, the first hit (just missing Chae) and the other went wild. The creature turned away from Kyri and reached for Chae but the rogue nimbly avoided its blows. The Elf took the opportunity to stick her sword between the ribs of the beast. The tip came out the other side and the light fled from the monster's eyes. It crumbled to the floor and she kicked it off her blade.

Orin saw that Alexei and Syndylys were lying awkwardly in the entrance to the passageway from which they had come. The group checked to make sure they were alive (they were) but they were stiff and staring. Ariston and Chae dragged the two into the center of the cavern.

"Hey. Didn't Syndylys mention something similar back on the island," the rogue recalled. "He said that a few of the group was paralyzed by a creature in the abandoned temple back on the island. They had assumed it was something undead like a zombie or ghoul."

"Yes," said Kyri. "The only cure was to wait for the paralysis to wear off."

Orin set his lantern on a broken stalagmite. "Given the need to wait for those two, why don't we stop and rest here?"

The rest of the group agreed. While they set up camp, they noticed that there was a bundle of cloth near the other entrance to this cavern. Examining it, they made an unpleasant discovery. It was the remains of a Halfling. In its hand was a torn purse, Karameikan gold spilling from it. It also had a golden neckchain. Picking up the purse, Orin said that he found nothing other than the gold.

The group returned to setting up camp, fixing dinner and preparing for sleep. Before most had drifted off to sleep, both the mage and the warrior were moving again. They all ate silently in the glow of the torch candle then went to sleep. One member stayed up as a guard. Near the end of their resting period, the wakening members heard voices. Orin quickly awakened the sleeping members of the group and they listened.

"What is that light?" asked a gruff voice. Most of the group did not understand it but Kyri, Ariston and Chae recognized the Orc language.

The voice spoke again, "Stay here. Don't move." It then switched to Thyatian. "I said stay here! I am going to run up ahead and check out that light."

There was shuffling then someone broke into a run. Whoever it was was coming down the passageway. Ariston let fly two arrows into the darkness.

A muffled cry but the footsteps did not stop. Into the cavern stumbled a man sized creature with an arrow in the shoulder.

"Wait!" yelled Chae and Syndylys. "It's the Chronos!"

Indeed it was. The cleric had stumbled and fell near the lantern. The group heard laughter and running footsteps from up the passageway. Ariston let go two more arrows and the cleric stood and moved his hands, casting a spell. The passageway was suddenly lit up and a moving figure appeared briefly before escaping back into the gloom.

"Let him go," said Kyri. She turned instead and looked at the cleric. Ariston did as well but he had a strange smile on his face as he inspected the arrow.

"What are you doing here?" asked the Forestor.

"I had to find all of you. Plus I thought it safer if we were together." The cleric gently removed the arrow from his shoulder. It had not been deep since his newly purchased armor had deflected most of its power.

"It was not hard to find you. That may make it worse. It's the Iron Ring. They know we escaped from the ship and we are now wanted for hijacking a trader ship. That's how they have spun the tale, anyway."

"I was at the church in Specularum when one of the priests asked if I knew anything about a man with red hair. It appears that he had been asking questions about us, wanting to know where we were and who we were spending time with. I did not know what to make of it. The next day, while in the City Market, I was struck from behind and someone yelled at me, 'Beware the Iron Ring. We know who you are.'"

"I spoke with Melisana's father and found out where you were headed. I traveled with a group of clergy to Radlebb Keep and found out you had had trouble there. I kept going towards Luln and found Carlen, Melisana's father's man. He said you had gotten caught up in something with someone named Alexei." He turned to the warrior. "I am guessing that is you."

Alexei nodded then motioned for Chronos to continue.

"Well, I finally tracked you down by that mule cart. The stable boy said he had overheard you were going to try to get to Fort Doom. I shuddered at the prospect but decided I had better try to get in and warn you. I used my church contacts to get inside the fortress but then got captured by those Orcs when I was poking around. As luck would have it, they led me right to you."

Ariston was suspicious. What coincidences would have to align to make this happen? "So, you expect us to believe that you came just to warn us about the Iron Ring?"

The cleric stammered, "Yes. And to let you know that there is a wanted posted for us. It claims that we were responsible for the hijacking of merchant vessel (which I can only assume was our slave ship) and the murder of its captain, one Desmond Karanstan. I don't know if that was the captain of the ship we were on but we are being sought for his murder regardless."

Syndylys thought for a moment. "This is most unfortunate. I see nothing which causes me to stay in this wretched region. At my first chance, I am going to find a ship and sail back to Alphatia."

Kyri stared at the lantern and Chae stared at her, waiting for her to say something wise. She did not.

Finally, Orin spoke. "Well, let me tell you what we are doing here. There is no way back so we must press forward." The Halfling brought the cleric up to speed on the group's mission: to rescue the Eye of Traldar. As he spoke, the group made preparations to break camp.

*****

The group has resumed their movement through the caves. The floors were still wet and the sound of dripping echoed throughout the complex. Small rocks sometimes made the path just that more slippery. Luckily, their noses had grown accustomed to the musty, death smell that permeated the caverns.

It had been some time since they had reached an expanded cavern but Orin could tell in the lantern light that they had reached another. Each time previously they had found themselves in a fight so Orin approached very cautiously. He kept close to the walls and strained his eyes to peer ahead. He thought he could just barely make out the figure of a man, standing and unmoving. He stopped.

"Now what," the Hin thought to himself. He motioned the group closer to him and pointed at the silent figure.

"Surely, if he is alive, he can see us," said Orin.

"But he has not moved yet?" asked Chae.

"Not in the slightest. He may just be a statue." Orin looked nervously at the figure again. "I am going to get a little closer."

The light from the lantern shone on the man. Orin could see that the man was dead. His face was gaunt and dry, part of the bone of his skull exposed under his scalp. Orin shuddered. "How can he be standing?" thought the Halfling.

Just then, the corpse jerked to life and let out a horrific scream, "AAAEEEAARRRGGHHH!!!"

This scream was joined in by something unseen, behind the man. It sounded the same: mournful, alarming, half dead. Then another joined in as well. The sound reverberated around the cavern and through all the passageways. If anything was alive down here, it knew something was going on.

Orin jumped back and almost bumped into the cleric. He was proceeding forward. "Stand back my little friend. I sense the presence of the undead."

Chronos revealed his holy symbol and stood firm. "I banish you, the ones who should have taken eternity's rest but have refused. May evil have no further sway over your mortal bodies!"

The undead man turned and fled in the direction opposite of the cleric. However, they did not stop wailing.

"Hey!" yelled Ariston. "Why did you do that? I was ready to crush their unnatural bodies. Now they just ran away to group with something else bad."

Chronos stared at Ariston but said nothing. The others waited.

"Let's not stand here. Let's find out where they are going." Syndylys was leading the way.

Ariston and Kyri caught up to the mage and stepped in front. "Careful, hot blooded wizard." Kyri just noticed that where Syndylys' clothes had been ripped, they were now mended and freshly cleaned. "How do you keep doing that?"

"What?" asked Syndylys.

"Never mind," said the Elf as she pressed forward.

They went ahead slowly, still hearing the man creatures wailing. Now however, they had been joined by a whining, growling sound. Like the sound of dogs being restrained from dinner.

In following the creatures, the group found themselves once again in a narrow passageway. However, they kept up their speed and eventually reached an expansive cavern. In its center there was a tall ladder surrounded by the undead creatures. Also, two very large dogs (pit bulls) sat at the ladder's base, not paying any attention to the man creatures but definitely agitated by the presence of the adventurers. They did not come forward and they were not tied. They looked as if they had been told to sit and wait for something.

Not wanting to wait, Ariston sent two arrows towards one of the dogs. At the same time, Syndylys raised his hands and cast a spell. Both dogs collapsed into slumber but the one on the right took an arrow to the chest and no longer moved. Ariston's second arrow missed and fled into the darkness.

The adventurers were perplexed but all but Kyri moved forward towards the ladder. The cleric unlimbered his sling and sent a stone flying into one of the creatures. It seemed to become more persistent in wanting to climb the ladder.

Orin, Chae, Chronos and Alexei moved forward and dispatched the creatures and dogs around the ladder. In their haste, they did not look back to see what was coming up behind the group.

From out of nowhere, something large and metallic struck Kyri. She turned and saw something furry and well over seven feet tall. Instinctively, she ran towards the rest of the group. Blood streamed down her face and matted her hair. She let out a scream as she ran, "What in the gods' names is that?!!"

The rest of the group turned at the Elf's yell. They could see two more of the men who looked to be undead and another dog. But it was the seven foot tall furry creature that impressed them most. It wore the largest, most ragged chain mail shirt they had ever seen and orangish-brown fur stuck out everywhere. The creature had long horizontally pointed ears and fangs. Around its neck was a large silver change on which hung a large bloodstone. But perhaps most impressive was the huge mace, dented and rusty except for the spots which were covered with Elf blood.

The creature grunted and moved towards the group, looking to finish off the Elf first.

Again, Ariston sent two arrows its way but both missed. The cleric meanwhile stepped up and bared his holy symbol, seeking to turn away the undead, "I banish thee of undeath. Go away from here and do no more evil." This time, however, the creatures did not run.

The dog and Alexei ran at each other but the blade of the warrior was too quick for it. He sliced off its front paws and sent it reeling to die in the corner. While the dog was dispatched, Orin sent a sling stone at seven foot tall creature. He missed him but a stone struck one of the undead. It seemed to wobble but kept advancing.

Kyri had switched to her bow and was sending an arrow downrange. It struck the creature that Orin had just hit and knocked him back. He did not get up.

Syndylys threw a dagger and it sank deep into the furry beast. He yelped and swung at Ariston who was closest. The Forestor thought he heard the sound of waves as the armor kept him safe. However, he was now too close for his bow so he dropped it and drew his sword. Kyri and Orin could not get a good shot as the crowd was jumbled; swords, maces and daggers all looking for vengeance. The Elf did get a good shot on the other undead creature and sent it to the final resting place.

The remaining creature laughed deeply and kept swinging his mace, finding all of the group to be targets. Luckily for the adventurers, its blows were glancing and little damage was done. On the other hand, it was being cut up by the blades of Alexei, Ariston, Chae and Syndylys. By the time it knew it was in danger, it was too late. its eyes grew large with fear but the group struck as one and felled the beast.

All of the adventurers were out of breath as they began to bind their wounds. They collected the necklace from the creature and found a few coins as well and some very ornate ivory dice. However, their attention eventually turned elsewhere.