Krum:
Me jaunt back to Wave Echo Cave proved informative and right profitable. Gundren Rockseeker be tradin’ with a clan of dwarves down in Silverton, who be usin’ the mine’s raw product to enchant items and sellin’ them throughout the area. Rockseeker sent me on me way with a bagful of gold to be sharin’ with those who aided him in clearin’ that mine of Drow and other nasties. I’ll be makin’ sure they be gettin’ their fair share…
I decided to make me way back to Leilon, thinkin’ that with a halfling’s luck me fellow Lions might stop there before makin’ their way to Waterdeep. Gettin’ there I seen it wasn’t to be – the people be right skittish, and the town’s defenses be bolstered since last we been there. The Growler then be tellin’ me that the undead attacks be comin’ more frequent, and while they be gettin’ some help from others, the city be worried the worse be yet to come.
Seein’ how desperate it be, I ask Dumathoin to send a message to Torinn, knowin’ if any of the Lions would come runnin’ to stomp some undead he’d be the one.
Two days passed before the Lions arrived – they be takin’ care of some errands in the city but came as soon as Torinn told ‘em about the situation. It be good to see me friends once more – yes, even the orc, damn me bones for bein’ a softie – seemed like months since we last spoke, but it had only been a tenday.
The Growler be tellin’ us the undead largely be comin’ from the south, from the Mere of Dead Men, an area we be havin’ some familiarity with. Also told us of a paladin of Helm who be aidin’ the town, Sir Justin, who had taken off into the Mere to investigate along with some other hireswords. We decided to see about it ourselves and headed back to the swamp.
The elf not bein’ much help in such things, me and the orc tracked Sir Justin’s group to a keep on the outskirts of the Mere proper, where we be findin’ Sir Justin. Belomash went and spoke with the rough lookin’ half-orc who seemed in charge of the keep’s activity, Rastan – judgin’ by Belomash’s demeanor, it weren’t bein’ a pleasant conversation for the keep’s warden. Belomash come back to the group lookin’ even more irritated than normal. Worked up over somethin’ Rastan be doin’, or maybe not doin’, I be guessin’.
The paladin telled of one of his priests, Varak, who went deeper into the Mere but hadn’t returned yet. Justin be worried as he feels the problem with the undead go beyond the Myrkulites we been encountering before, and then the paladin be gettin’ even more grim when he spoke of a black dragon bein’ rumored to have its tail in the doings. Probably Gnaw Bones, the same damn wyrm that convinced us to take on the Myrkul cult so long ago. But then it be hittin’ me: what if the Myrkul worshippers found a way to bring back Ebondeath? I be keepin’ that thought to myself, though.
Justin be offerin’ us a tidy sum to find his friend and any artifacts of Eldath, and pointed us in the direction of somethin’ called the Holk House, a sanctuary of Eldath (Eldath being a water goddess, fer those who ain’t be knowin’). Before we head there, we make our way to another spot that was said to have some kind of magic about it – may of been Raith or Zoltan who knew about it, though I be a bit foggy on who be suggestin’ it.
We be greeted by glowin’ pools of water surrounded by some damn curious carved rock. I be notin’ that the rock be glowin’ with what looked like precious stones even through the heavy mist rollin’ across the water. Dumathoin protect the beauty of this spot! I’d say the Keeper of Secrets had a hand in its creation, but it be above ground.
Then a curious thing: I see Belomash look down into the water and stay still as a stone, his mouth agape. We all end up starin’ into the pools, each of us seein’ somethin’ different appear in the water. Belomash sees half naked women (of course), while I be seein’ a beautiful ruby like stone being worshipped by rows of robed men. The elf be seein’ somethin’ which could of been a dragon, though he didn’t speak much of it. Not knowin’ what to make of these visions, we moved on back in the direction of the Holk House, feelin’ drawn that way.
Soon enough the swamp be getting’ deep, and I be spottin’ movement beneath the water ahead. That never be a good sign in a swamp. Zoltan, taking a cue from Henrik’s “shoot arrows first, ask questions later” creed, throws a fireball at the beasties and the fight is on. Lizard heads emerge from the water – we be thinkin’ dragons at first (Henrik be hopin’, to be sure, blasted fool with his trouble-rousin’ sword!) but then we got a good look and Raith and Zoltan be tellin’ us they be behir. Tough brutes, they could twist ye up with their bodies and looked to be able to swallow any one of us whole. One showed what it could do with its lightnin’ breath – left me beard singed, it did!
And then Henrik hit Belomash with another arrow. I be thinkin’ the orc would stop fightin’ the lizard and strangle the idgit!
Torinn, takin’ advantage from the air ridin’ his griffon, took out one and I managed to get a killin’ blow with me hammer on the other, even while bein’ grappled by the scaly thing.
That bein’ done, we moved ahead to where the Mere’s canopy cleared. There we spotted the remains of a walled compound, most of the buildings sunk into the mire (human engineerin’ at its finest!).
That be when the arrows start whizzin’ over our heads.
