Baltur: 9, Orcus: 1

Summary
The party returned to town to recover from their previous excursion, but after resting up and outfitting Splug, they returned to the keep. Passages from the hobgoblin lair lead east and south; the PCs headed south.

They shortly came upon a large room with a number of statues: a large sword-wielding knight in the middle of the room, two dragon statues in the corners, and four jar-bearing cherubs in a wide, short hallway on the southern side of the chamber. After entering, the door sealed shut behind them, and shortly after Torinn and Saeras were laid low by the giant knight statue. However, it didn't take long for the party to dispatch the towering colossus. The PCs then approached one of the dragon statues, and much to their utter surprise, it too attacked them with jets of force. After dispatching that statue, the party stood their distance from the rest while Veshanna systematically used her spells to destroy them. The heroes wondering afterwards who would build such a place since it was in no way a threat to anyone with an ounce of sense. They concluded that the chamber must have been intended as a death trap only to those of astounding stupidity.

Exiting the trap room, they came to an oddly-shaped chamber but were unable to properly explore it as they were immediately set upon by a zombie horde, a ghoul, and a small clay homunculus known as a "clay scout". Despite some vicious attacks by the ghoul, the party was able to hold their ground easily at the doorway and dispatch the undead with little trouble. The clay scout, seeing the battle going against his "side", fled down a flight of stairs to a set of double doors.

Saeras and the rest gave chase, as the construct went through the doors into a temple-like area. It was dispatched before it could get very far, but not before it alerted the temple's inhabitants to the PCs' presence.

The temple was occupied by an underpriest of Orcus, two fanatical warriors of the demon lord, a handful of vampire spawn, and an odd, pale-skinned creature known as a "dark creeper". The warriors rushed forward, bolstered by the priest, in an attempt to slay the invading infidels. As they did so, the creeper and the vampire spawn moved through side passages in an attempt to flank the party.

Though their resources had been diminished in the battle with the undead in the previous room, the heroes fought on. Clever use of the command prayer allowed Delfar to push one of the warriors into a pit in the temple's floor while Torinn and Saeras made short work of the vampire spawn. The PCs, plus Splug (who displayed some interesting new abilities during the melee) then focused on the warrior and the priest (and the other warrior, after he climbed back out of the pit).

The creeper slipped into the back ranks, then, sneakily stabbing Veshanna numerous times, as well as darting in amongst the others and delivering more stealthy jabs. As the battle wore on, Splug, Delfar, and Veshanna fell. Splug recovered and pressed on despite his wounds and Veshanna miraculously, inconceivably, and perhaps slightly suspiciously came to on her own.

The party eventually defeated all their foes, but Mordalis finally had his due, for Delfar had fallen and did not rise again.

Memorable Events

• Trap-laden room
• Epic battle against Orcus followers
• Death of Delfar Foss

Creatures Encountered

• Berserkers
• Clay Scout
• Dark Creeper
• Ghoul
• Underpriest of Orcus
• Vampire Spawn
• Zombies

Treasures Discovered

• n/a

Locations Visited

• Shadowfell Keep

NPCs Encountered

• n/a