7. Return to the Halls

Zach grumbles as he fishes around in his pack, never taking his eyes of the 2.5 foot bundle of murder named Roskelly. Calling out to Jacky, he says "Here, Josephus. Take some of the silk rope if you need, but I'm not climbing into that pit full of spikes. There may be BULLYWUGS down there. Zach shudders at the thought of the hideous frog-beasts. "Anyway, Juniper, don't you have fancy, special, magicky boots now?"

Grim waddles close to edge of the pit. With dwarven wariness, he examines the area for any evidence of hidden trappings.

From his current vantage point, atop the chamber, Grim's dwarven eyes spot nothing unusual or untoward. However, he'd have to descend if he wanted to give the cave a proper inspection.

Jacky loops his coil of twine into a makeshift lasso and begins his climb down the steep slope. The halfling makes sure to keep his back pressed to wall when his boots touch ground. He gauges the distance then throws out the looped twine, aiming to snag some part of the larger body and drag it closer.

Thrudmarr watches nervously as Jacky climbs down the steep slope. He stays near the edge, ready to help pull the halfling up if he needs to beat a hasty retreat.

Zach keeps a keen eye on Roskelly. Too keen, perhaps, for he does not pay any attention to Jacky's descent.

Not liking this situation one bit, Ellagel sets an arrow to her bow-string and prepares to cover Jacky, in case anything disagreeable should happen to, or around him.

Jacky scrambles down the steep slope easily. Once at the bottom, without advancing into the chamber, he tosses his lasso out towards the larger of the two bodies. It takes him a couple of attempts, but eventually he successfully lands the lasso around the corpse’s head/neck. It proves to be quite a struggle for the little halfling to drag the body across the rocky floor of the cave, but he’s able to bring it to where he is standing.

Turning the body over, Jacky can see that it is a human male. Judging by his robes, it looks like he was a magic-user or an illusionist. In several places, the body has large open wounds, as if something has feasted on the corpse.

---
10:30 am, Mitrasday 26th Lucrios (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 2: 13/13, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 2: 7/7, 60’
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 2: 14/14, 60’
---
Eric, Labourer, 90’
Hector, Linkboy, 90’ (Hooded Lantern)

Link to Jacky’s maps …

Jacky frowns at the damaged corpse before peering upward. He makes a signal to his fellow adventurers to drop another rope down. This new rope is tied to the deceased caster so that those above can drag it up the steep slope while Jacky tries to lasso the smaller body as well.

Jacky repeats the process with the second, smaller body. This time, he eventually manages to reel in a goblin. Again, there are signs that something has been gnawing on the corpse.

---
10:40 am, Mitrasday 26th Lucrios (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 2: 13/13, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 2: 7/7, 60’
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 2: 14/14, 60’
---
Eric, Labourer, 90’
Hector, Linkboy, 90’ (Hooded Lantern)

Link to Jacky’s maps …

Thurd hauls the dead caster up the slope. He dumps the body on the floor and stares at the wounds with a frown.

"Something eat, " he says pointing at the wounds. "Rats?"

He begins to pat down the robes, looking for anything the man might have been carrying.

Jacky climbs back up the steep slope, the tail end of his lasso in his mouth with the loop still wrapped around the apparent goblin. Once he's up, the halfling drags the second corpse up too with help from the others.

Seeing they do not seem to be in immediate peril, Ella moves to assist Thrud in his searching of the presumed spell-caster’s corpse, the goblin’s body eliciting no interest in the elf.

Zach continues to watch Roskelly, damping down the, admittedly evil, urge to toss Roskelly into the fanged pit.

It’s not a particularly pleasant task, searching the corpse of the half-eaten wizard, but this is what Thrud and Ella find amongst the folds of his robes:

- 2 small crystals (negligible encumbrance).

- 2 small pearls (negligible encumbrance).

- A solid silver facsimile of a human eye, complete with engraved lashes, pupil and iris (negligible encumbrance).

- A scroll entitled the "Litany of Light" (0.5 lb). It describes three canticles as follows:

1. The Invocation of Light: "Let the Faithful Acknowledge the Darkness and Invoke the Light of Truth", followed by "Let Thoth Illuminate My Ignorance".

2. The Reception of Light: "The Light of Truth is Received by the Faithful," followed by "Thoth’s Light Reveals all Secrets".

3. The Glorification of Light: "Let the Faithful Render Honour and Glory to the Light Which Reveals All", followed by "All Glory to the Light of Knowledge".

If you wish to take any of the above, someone please add them to their inventory. Remember, if it's no on your character sheet, you're not carrying it.

---
10:40 am, Mitrasday 26th Lucrios (April) 2993 AEP
Ellagel, Elven Fighter/Magic User 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Grimidek, Dwarven Cleric 2: 13/13, 60’
Jacky, Halfling Fighter/Thief 1/1: 6/6, 60’
Thrudmarr, Wiskin Fighter 2: 7/7, 60’
Zacharias, Archontean Fighter 2: 14/14, 60’
---
Eric, Labourer, 90’
Hector, Linkboy, 90’ (Hooded Lantern)
---
Roskelly Winterleaf, Halfling: 120’

Link to Jacky’s maps …

"Find anything interesting?" Jacky says while rifling through the belongings of the smaller body he retrieved.

Ellagel examined the deceased wizard’s belongings carefully. The scroll focused her attention for a few moments, and she read the words out loud so the others have an idea of its contents. The pearls and crystals were worth conserving and examining later. The silver eye, however, must not only be worth a considerable sum, but might also be a part of a sculpture or other contraption; most definitely worth examining in greater detail later.