¶ Cavern of Lost Souls
Amid The Grand Festival, there is a call for brave travelers to attend a rescue operation for one of their own.
¶ Doran is Taken
The Newcomer's Inn makes notice that one of their visitors, a traveler named Doran, stopped for rest on route to Stalwart Fortress but has since gone missing. The Bald Savior revealed that he'd found tracks leading from his last known location to a cavern north of The Church of Her.
Still too wounded from his battle with The Bald Burner, he requested the aid of 8 travelers willing to go forth and rescue Doran, offering potential reward to any who sought fit for the task. They would each pay their way for supplies and a stay at The Newcomer's Inn, and quickly assemble a rescue team.
- Julian Tryhard
- Canto
- Nameless Traveler
- Klaus Keen
- Cousin of Chosen Bald
- Faceless
- Soldar
- Mathurie la Folle
They set out at first chance to complete their mission, and face the perils ahead while King Offling and many others held a congress to discuss and cheer their fate from afar.
¶ Into the Cavern
Leading the charge, Julian Tryhard charts the group into the cavern.
Deciding upon the middle of three roads, finds the party being swarmed by bats that peck and bite at them once startled from their slumber. Each of them are hurt, but only slightly.
¶ Spider's Nest
Feeling brave, Canto then suggests the party venture to the north, into a chamber of unsettling noises — there is hope that Doran is possibly there.
As they enter the chamber, they come upon a massive spider's nest and find a fellow traveler wrapped in its web. In the corner, they spot a huge Queen Spider and momentarily debate whether to sneak past it or fight the creature and rescue the companion.
It is not long before Canto runs at the beast, slashing at it with his sword and the others follow suit. The battle rages on for some time with significant blows trading back and forth until eventually the Spider Queen is slain.
Having taken considerable damage, Julian, Nameless Traveler, Klaus Keen, and Cousin of Chosen Bald lament the rescue operation. Though, all are glad to see a new companion freed from the webs and able to return to the Newcomer's Inn.
¶ Choice of Treasures
With the spider slain, Soldar takes the lead.
With three paths available, Soldar guides the party into a safe chamber. Their map suggesting it has a treasure, and offers a path of least resistence to the end of the cavern.
Upon entering the chamber, Soldar steps on a skeleton's leg and realizes it is clutching a purse of coins. He snatches it before any realize and pockets 0.1 ETH and does not make any announcement or effort to share with the others.
¶ Two Wolves
As their journey begins nearing its end, many are wounded caution among them grows.
Finding a split in the tunnels, Canto leads the group down a lower path into a seemingly calm area.
However, despite appearances, a pair of wolves approach from the darkness and begin to attack the party. If they are going to find Doran, then they must get past these animals and deeper into the caves.
Their battle rages for a short while, all of the party except Soldar suffering substantial damage from the fight. They take no real joy in defeating these defensive animals, but do what must be done and slay the wolves to continue their progress and rescue their ally. There are no treasures found in this chamber.
¶ Healing Winds
The group follows Cousin of Chosen Bald to another crossroads, and hearing obvious sounds of danger down the southern path, opt for the northern route. They are getting close to their goal.
Suddenly, Cousin begins hearing strange voices, taunting him from beyond the physical realm. They urge him left and right, and offer rewards for his decision. Between the option of rescuing another unknown traveler, and healing his damaged comrades, he chooses to remedy his party's wounds.
Julian, Canto, and Faceless each find their wounds miraculously remedied.
¶ Beast of the Cavern
Entering the final chamber of the cavern, the party encounters a giant beast.
The battle is fierce and the beast's aparent advantage takes a toll on the party. It clobbers them, dealing substantial damage and taking blows in return. The fight rages for quite some time, as the beast is quite fortuitous and in its weakened state grows enraged.
Still, despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, the party manages to slay the creature and find their charge, Doran.
Gathering what treasures they can find, the party returns to the Newcomer's Inn and divides the loot amongst themselves. Some gather new companions, others find Tokens of Concord, and all of them earn additional Ether for their efforts. For their courage, Julian Tryhard and Canto are invited to join The Grand Tournament in the Desecrated Valley.
As all are made aware of their efforts, they are applauded and many more await the next opportunity to showcase their heroics.