Signs of human habitation
Leaving the guard post behind, the adventurers pushed forward, ever deeper into the cave. The corridor winded on with just a couple of dead ends on the sides. The thief, sneaking forward, soon noticed torchlight and sounds.
The party hid behind rocky outcrops and prepared for an ambush. The enemies they encountered did not put up much of a fight. Two badly dressed wretches carried food and drinks, and the armed guard escorting them soon died at the hands of the barbarian.
The adventurers managed to capture on the servants, but did not succeed in questioning him. The man did come out of shock after a while, but did not speak any tongue known to them. They decided on killing him on the spot, with Shamil having no qualms about doing the deed.
The party pushed forward, soon encountering the first sign of a larger human settlement. One of the cave chambers was being used as a latrine! In the dim torchlight, the thief and the assassin sneaked up on the two men chatting inside, literally catching them with their pants down. One managed to pull a blade, but both died in short term.
The knight, used to life in the army, estimated that the room might as well serve a garrison of up to 50-60 men. The party sounded the retreat, deciding to go back to the cave entrance and explore the remaining chambers from there.
Underground lifeforms
The first chamber had a dead body in its middle. The knight stepped close and turned it on its back, quickly pulling away at the sight of worms jumping out of the corpse. Fortunately, they could not penetrate his steel gauntlet, and were quickly squished. His armor also defended him from the spikes shooting out of the large plant-like mass on the far wall. The assassin was not so fortunate, and fell to the ground, spasming. The adventurers hacked at the plant with hammer and sword, until it was ground to a mush. The barbarian then managed to wake up the assassin.
The door in the wall was grimy, with the lock itself barely discernible amidst the muck. The thief had no issue in going at it with a picklock, and the door soon opened to a musty old chamber. Amid the rotten food and clothing, they barely managed to scrounge up a silver brooch.
The next chamber had a huge mushroom growing on its wall. The knight managed to avoid its spores thanks to quick reflexes. His step, however, carried him too close to a nearby mound of rubble. A giant centipede slithered out, catching him unaware and almost slicing through his leg with strong mandibles. Swords, daggers and arrows clinked off the chitinous carapace, but the barbarian solved this problem the way he solved everything else - with a hammer.
Lastly, the adventurers walked into an empty chamber, after kicking in the door. They did not noticed anything, but the thief had a bad feeling about it. The knight finally looked up, seeing for the first time the jelly spread over the ceiling. He poked at it with his spear, at which tentacles dropped down, searching around after the attacker. The barbarian charged in, but soon regretted the fact. His armor protected him from the tentacles, but a couple of them wrapped around him and started pulling him up.
The thief shot burning arrows into the jelly, while the barbarian, enticed by getting closer, hacked at it with his hammer. The knight then had a brilliant (?) idea. He jumped up, grabbing the barbarian. The jelly did not stand to the increased weight, and fell down on top of them. They suffered grievous wounds while trying to crawl out of the acidy mass. The knight fell unconscious while being pulled out, but the barbarian only got angrier and started whacking the now harmless gelatinous mass on the floor. The assassin, who stood back to increase his strength using psionics, but was too late to get in on the action, also took a turn with the hammer.
Getting out
Wounded and exhausted, the adventurers decided on leaving the cave with all its dangers (especially the many, many soldiers deep down) and started for the shrine in the dead of night. They did not reach far when alerted by a huge rumble. The thief sneaked back, and discovered that the entrance had caved in.
Ending the adventure
The adventurers returned to the shrine. The high priestess, angry at being awakened, healed them up and blessed their weapons, but refused any material compensation. Despite his, the party returned to Daerim laden with gold and loot, ready to rest and recuperate before facing the following mission.
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