Everyone present.

Dangerous Ravine

They all join together to explore the dangerous ravine half a day's march west of town. Goblins have posted warnings to anyone who would trespass in their territory, someone has camped here and tried to hide it, but they left a sturdy rope leading down into the ravine.

Winnefred is the first to climb down. Not trusting the rope, she climbs halfway down before slipping, and falls 25 feet from the crumbling handholds to a ledge and is set upon by hungry, vicious dire rats. Casartes slides down the rope, and Magistar saves her with a sleep spell on the rats. Fletcher heals Winnefred and the party descends.

A Sunless Citadel

They indeed find a huge castle sunken deep in the oerth. They gain entrance and find the ruins are infested by the pit-bull-sized rats, and guarded by several still-lethal traps, as Brs. Fletcher and Andrinor find out the hard way.
After penetrating several chambers they are stymied by a locked stone door hiding mystical musicians, and magic well guarded by a water mephit.

The Deal

Then they discover Meepo, kobold keeper of the dragons, currently recovering from a raid by the rival goblin clan who have kidnapped his hatchling dragon. Winnefred brokers a deal with him and they gain an audience with Yusdrayl, queen of this kobold clan.

In a scene lit by eerie purple light from glowing fungus, elite kobold warriors guard Yusdrayl while she tells the party that the she is fighting a turf war within the sunless citadel against goblins ruled by "The Outcast." The party agrees to retrieve the dragon, Calcryx, in exchange for the giant key adorning her throne, which they hope will open the stone door.

Guided by Meepo, they head north into goblin territory only to be attacked by more dire rats. Taliesan picks up the trail of the lost party.

Riddles

Taliesan picks up the trail of the lost party. They follow it north to a room with a fountain and two ornate doors on the east and west walls. They are identical to a door and a fountain in a room to the south. The lost adventurers apparently found two traps in this room, spiked them open, then explored the room behind the west door. That's when Taliesan realizes that four sets of tracks went in, but only three came out. Winnefred smells rot coming through the open west door, and Griffon feels an unnatural cold coming through the sealed east door. The dragon?

Meepo confirms that, yes, their dragon is a White, and would freeze any room he controlled. How to get in? The inscription above the doors reads Tana Aman Heka Nem, Draconic for "Channel the good to open the way." An inscription on the fountain reads Nainarya, "let there be fire." They decide to save the riddles for later because the west door is open.

Lost Adventurer Found

Winnefred discovers that the room is some kind of giant nest, and that something large is trying to hide under the layer of matted hair, bones, rat carcasses and filth. As she enters, a dire rat hiding under the nest ambushes her! Then everyone but Fletcher and Meepo join the fray as all the rats in the nest spring from their hiding places, including the thing Winnefred saw, a boated, 6-foot-long female dire rat, Guthash, Rat Queen. Magistar sleeps the rats, but accidentally catches Andrinor. As he falls, Guthash nearly slays him. Casartes bounds in and pulls him to safety and Fletcher heals Andrinor enough that he is able to rejoin the melee.

Meanwhile, Guthash, unaffected by the spell, continues to wreak havoc on the party. Griffon is able to flank her and the party finally defeats the rats.

A search of the nest turns up several gems, hundreds of coins, and one grisly find: the half-eaten remains of one of the lost party members. His ring, not a signet ring, identifies him as one Karakass, a ranger. The party collects his ring and most of his equipment and returns to the riddles of the doors and fountains.

Ancient Crypt

They are able to call forth the power of the fountains by uttering the command word, Nainarya, and thick red liquid pours forth. Alchemist's fire? Blood? Magistar realizes is must be a potion. Winnefred quaffs a draught and breathes fire on one of the doors. The party claims two potions of fire breath, but no entrance to the room beyond the scorched door.

Andrinor and Fletcher cast spells at the door to no effect. Finally, the party prays for guidance from Pelor out of desperation after hours of guessing. The answer comes back that only the priests can open the door. Then Winnefred realizes that the only thing they haven't tried is turning the doors. Andrinor does turn the door and it finally opens.

The room is a crypt containing 7 sarcophagi and an altar with a burning candle. Griffon and Taliesan explore the nearly freezing crypt. Sensing danger, the rest of the party stays clear. Finally, the rogue and ranger decide to open the largest sarcophagus in the center of the room. They find a skeleton wearing chain mail and a helm, holding a beautiful long sword. In response to their tomb being defiled, all seven skeletal warriors emerge from their sarcophagi and attack. Andrinor turns them, and Casartes joins Taliesan and Griffon in destroying the armored skeleton. Taliesan claims the sword, Andrinor claims the armor.

Goblin Territory

Griffon leads the party west through and empty room to a locked stone door. He picks it and Winnefred kicks it open. A gong sounds. The alarm summons four goblin guards who fire crossbows. They are protected by a crude barricade at the end of a short hallway, which carpeted by caltrops. Andrinor breathes fire at the goblins and kills two. One flees for help and Casartes clears the caltrops and slays the remaining goblin.

They penetrate a second room filled with target dummies and the sound of many goblins waiting around the corner. Magistar orders the goblins to surrender, but they mock him. Winnefred climbs to Andrinor's shoulders, drinks the last potion and leans around the corner. They pelt her with javelins, but she eliminates four with one breath. Then she advances on them with a spectacular leap boosted by Andrinor. The party defeats the rest with their bows and Winnefred and Casartes slay the last goblin in melee after he surrenders.

The party quickly salvages javelins and silver pieces, their rest cut brief by the sound of another gong in the distance.

The group fights off two waves of goblin defenders, discovers some prisoners and stops to rest.They free Father Elgrin Timbers, gnome cleric of Yondolla. He tells them about what's going on in the Sunless Citadel.

Then they finally capture Calcryx the dragon.

On the way out they are confronted by a third wave of hobgoblin defenders. The party wins, but Meepo and the dragon disappear.The goblins taunt the party thru a barred door: "We have your dragon. Leave now and you can leave with your lives."

Everyone present

Exploration

The party rests in the dank and fetid goblin barracks. Through the night they hear the sounds of goblin crews retrieving their dead from the battleground.

The next morning, fully recovered, the party emerges from their room to explore the castle. A search of Calcryx's lair turns up his little hoard: a jade dragon figurine, a crystal goblet, 24 pieces of silverware, and something interesting, a scroll case made of carved bone with the dwarvish inscription "Khundrukar."

Sneaking through the fungus-lit, pillared hall, the party comes to a round chamber with a throne, trapped treasure chest, seats, torches and two odd trees in large pots. Most striking, though, are the sickly white vines growing through a round hole in the center of the floor, backlit by purple glowing fungus.

The sounds of movement can be heard outside the walls of the round chamber, but the party searches the room further. Br. Fletcher finds arrow slits on either side of a door, looks through, and sees a goblin's eye looking back at him. Andrinor fires his crossbow through the arrow slit, and then all Hell breaks loose.

Ambush

Several goblin warriors and hobgoblin shock troops burst through the other door, surrounding the players, backed up by four javeliners in the doorway. One warrior jumps up on the throne to direct the battle. The potted trees actually spring to life now and also attack the party.

The goblins attack the party with large leather clubs, apparently intending to capture, not kill them. The party fights hard, but the goblins use better tactics than before and fell several PC's.

The clerics keep anyone from dying and the adventurers are able to slay most the goblins. Griffon uses his new found magic abilities and actually turns one of the javeliners against his comrades. But when archers come through the other door and Chief Durnn and his evil priestess Grenl show up, the party is forced to retreat down the hole.

Casartes is the first to make the climb down out of the battle, followed by Winnefred. Magistar's owl familiar, Smokey, kills the last goblin in the room as Andrinor follows the rest of the party down the vines. He slips and knocks Fletcher loose. They both fall to the soft floor below.

Grove Level

80 feet below the throne room, the party finds itself in a huge room, the lower half worked stone, the upper half natural cavern. The massive vines are rooted in a thick layer of compost on the floor. No goblins follow the party and they begin to explore this room lit by glowing purple fungus. Shortly a crew of skeletons and tree-monsters appears. The party quickly destroys them, turns around and discovers a goblin runner heading toward a door. They slay him too, then hear a voice from above.

They see all the goblins gathered around the hole watching the action, and Chief Durnn speaks: "Hold! Enough Durburluk blood has been shed over these intruders. We will again gather and burn our dead. Let the Outcast deal with them as he will."

When You Smell Sulfur, Run.

The Grove level has a distinctly different feel from the upper levels. These chambers are many times larger than those in the Citadel. There is a sense of life and energy down here, and the caverns seem to breathe in rhythm with the Oerth itself.

The party quickly takes stock of their surroundings. They stand at the base of the vines, rooted in a huge room filled with compost, there is a cavern to the north, a laboratory to the east, and a corridor to the south that intersects a fissure in the oerth.

Griffon's elvish curiosity leads him, Taliesan, and the clerics down the hall, through the fissure, to a cave filled with holes and the smell of brimstone. While the rest of the party waits in the compost room, the four explore the cave. Suddenly, a six-foot-long, red-hot, stone-skinned snake leaps from one of the holes and attacks. They make a fighting retreat from the monster, which Talesian recognizes as a thoqqua, as its mate also attacks. Casartes comes to their aid as the thoqquas pursue the men down the fissure and into the hallway. Suddenly, the monsters stop, then retreat.

Badly injured, the party takes advantage of their good luck and sleeps until the next evening in the apparent safety of the hallway.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Meanwhile, Winnefred keeps her watch hidden up in the vines in the compost room. Early in the day, she hears a commotion coming from the cavern. Guessing that a creature has arrived, butchered its kill and gone to sleep, she sneaks in to investigate. She discovers the lair of a bugbear, but he wakes up. Winnefred drops her torch and runs up the vines to hide. Out come two large dire rats, sniffing for her. The bugbear emerges and searches the compost room, then the laboratory, yelling to unseen allies. Unable to find Winnefred, he and his rats go back to bed.

Winnefred explores the laboratory. It's used for plant experiments, and she can hear many sleeping creatures sleeping in rooms off the main hall. Finally, she goes back to sleep herself.

Surprise Visit

Fully recovered and briefed on the day's events, the party decides to ambush the bugbear when it comes home the next morning.

They slay him and his trained dire rats after a vicious battle. The bugbear sics his rats on the party, taunts them and uses the narrow confines of a tunnel to his advantage. He shakes off the effects of daze spells, but can't dodge Magistar's magic missiles. The bugbear actually slays both Casartes and Winnefred with his powerful magic morningstar. Finally, Talesian lands the final killing blow and so ends the career of Balsag the Hunter.

The clerics revive the monk and barbarian and the party claims Balsag's morningstar, gold and a magic potion.

Goblin Druids?

Pressing on, the party explores the laboratory. They sense that someone or something is hiding behind one of the six doors off the hall, but push through to a large cross-shaped hall.

Formerly a grand gallery filled with paintings of the dragon cult's conquests, this huge room is now an underground farm where tall, wan grass grows, fed by the light of more glowing fungus. The party finds two doors off the gallery leading to large, humid arboretums filled with every kind of underground plant. One smells of sulfur and is quickly abandoned.

The other holds four surprised goblins wearing white robes who stop tilling the soil and prepare to fight. The party slams the door closed and waits. Talesian breaks the stalemate by kicking open the door. He is hit by flare spells and the party moves in to attack. The goblins cause the plants to entangle the adventurers, but they are able to defeat the goblins.

During the combat, Winnefred stays back, preferring not to battle druids on their home turf. Feeling she should have assisted the party, Griffon hypnotizes her and convinces her that she will fly into a rage and attack anyone using evil magic.

Just then two bugbears armed with scythes burst through

the north door.

The Brothers Balsag

The adventurers initially don't know how to handle the two bugbears who shout threats when they see their brother's morningstar in the hands of a human. They attack with their scythes but the party defeats them.

Camp

Sensing a big battle ahead, the adventurers camp again to heal and regain spells. They secure the room and post guards. About seven hours later there is a knock at the north door. It is a goblin who wants to know where the food is and why the door is stuck shut. Fletcher does his best impression of Balsag and tells the goblin to come in and help him with slaughtering the kill. As the goblin comes through the door, Fletcher grabs him. Talesian tries to knock out the goblin, but accidentally kills him. They identify the goblin as a druid, and take his equipment, including keys, and Winnefred disguises herself in his robes.

Two hours later a second goblin comes to the door. Fletcher tricks him into the room the same way, and this time Griffon subdues him with his sap. Winnefred and Fletcher interrogate the goblin and get many details about the grove level. Belak is planning a ceremony to draw out the summer fruit and will be suspicious if his druids don't come back in time for the spell. They bind and gag their prisoner and go back to sleep.

During Magistar's watch something interesting happens. The west door opens, a goblin druid runs into the room and unlocks the north door. Then another runs through the north door dragging a large bag. The first goblin sees Winnefred sleeping, disguised as one of his brothers. He hesitates a moment, then follows his friend out.

Third Level!

On the morning of day four the party's captive offers a deal: if they supply him with the means to escape his forced servitude to the Outcast he will tell the adventurers how safely proceed through the grove level to get to Belak. They agree and send him on his way. Armed with this new intelligence, they set out to kill the evil druid. They avoid an undead shadow in the dragon temple, and many traps in the library. Then they infiltrate the first room in the Twilight Grove using Winnefred's disguise and Magistar's sleep spells, slaying four goblin druids.

That's enough to raise the party to third level.

The Twilight Grove

The adventurers penetrate the Twilight Grove, the largest cavern they have seen yet. It is yards deep with a ceiling rising almost 80 feet. It is lit by the same purple glowing fungus seen before, but there is much more of it here. The Grove is filled with every kind of plant, bush and tree. Far to the south end, a particularly huge and pale tree can be seen over the crumbled walls of some long fallen keep.

As they make their way south, they are attacked by two of the animated bush monsters. Unhurt they make their way to the walls of the keep where they spot a small group of goblin druids gathered around a campfire. The adventurers take up defensive positions on and behind the walls. Then, out of the tree itself, Belak the Outcast emerges.

The Protector of the Twilight Grove appears as a young, pale, hairless man with large, sad brown eyes. "Hold your actions for you know not what you do. Durnn was supposed to deliver you to me… but he underestimated you didn’t he?" The Outcast had what was evidently a very long and fascinating speech planned for the intruders, but that’s all he is able to get out as the party begins their assault. Enraged by the effects of Griffon’s hypnotism, Winnefred flips off a wall and charges with her daggers calling "feel the wrath of the Wyuldfulk!"

Arrows and spells fly as the adventurers advance.The goblin druids cast entangle spells on, and melee with, the party’s front line. Then two more figures emerge from the great white tree. Talesian charges one of them, then holds when he realizes it’s Sir Bradford, the missing paladin. The other figure is Sharwyn Hucrele, the lost wizardess. Both appear glassy-eyed and under the control of Belak or the tree.

Then Belak casts another entangle on Griffon and Magistar who are hiding behind a ruined wall. Griffon turns the tide when he successfully hypnotizes two druids into attacking Belak.

Craig absent, Tom plays Casartes

Defenders of the Grove

Belak's side consists of Sharwyn and Sir Bradford, both "tree zombies," six goblin druids and eight twig blights. They use entangle and heat metal to good effect, and really make the party sweat the first few rounds.

The Adventurers Strike Back

Griffon hypnotizes some goblins to attack Belak and to dispel the entangle. Magistar hits Belak with magic missiles that Sharwyn can't counterspell. Andrinor, Fletcher and Winnefred wear down Belak despite Sir Bradford's defense, and when he tries to use his bow on Magistar, Andrinor grabs Sir Bradford's magic sword, Shatterspike. Taliesan and Casartes combat the goblins.

Then, after Belak's cure light wounds is disrupted, Andrinor and Winnefred deal him the killing blow, exploding him back into the Gulthias Tree. There is a moment of confusion, then the remaining goblins flee. Sharwyn, Bradford and the twig blights run to defend the Gulthias tree.

Andrinor commands Bradford to "atone," but responds that he is a slave to the Tree. Sharwyn is felled, and thanks Magistar for putting her out of her misery.

Finally, the twig blights and Sir Bradford are slain.To celebrate their victory, Winnefred cuts off Belak's head and makes it into a hideous lantern. Griffon pries the apple from its bole, and the victorious adventurers withdraw from the Twilight Grove.

Looting On The Way Out.

The party loots Belak's treasure room, finding books, gold and gems.

Up in the Sunless Citadel, they find that the goblins and kobolds have fought a vicious battle, and almost every monster is dead or has abandoned the Citadel. They loot a tomb, then seek out Queen Yusdrayl to claim their key. They find her dead, but meet Meepo who has the stone key. He berates the adventurers for unleashing such violence, but offers to trade the key for a cut of the treasure. After some tense moments when Calcryx almost ate Smokey, the adventurers agree to split whatever loot they find with Meepo 90/10, and promise to return in a day.

The Sunny Side of the Street

The party is met on the surface by guards who tell them that goblins have been pouring out of the ravine for the last two days but are all now slain or captured. The guards escort the adventurers back to Oakhurst and they bask in the glory of their heroes' welcome.

Various characters talk with the party at a raucous street fest outside the Old Boar Inn, where a band of minstrels plays The Pogues' Sunny Side of the Street.

Mayor Vurnor Leng welcomes them, but sends his Constable, pretty half-elf Captain Felosial, to tell them they owe 14% tax on any treasure they have found.

Several strangers want to know if there will still be an auction. Sergeant Grendar Kuln, a half-orc from the Blasingdell Guard, wants to buy the apple to cure several victims of a well poisoning in his town.

Elgrin Timbers wants to see the apple, and also the scroll they found. Seeing that the scroll is almost all ruined by water, he gives it back.

Finally, there is a very uncomfortable moment when Sharwyn and Telgren's uncle Unwin Blackthorne-Hucrele hears the bad news. He flies into a rage and insults the party, accusing them of murder. He and Winnefred almost come to blows.

Fletcher notices that Bronwyn MacKirkwell is not there.

Street Party

Captain Felosial takes a liking to the handsome Taliesan and asks him for a drink. She tires to convince him that paying their taxes is a good idea for the party.

Trouble at Bronwyn’s

I forgot why, but some of the adventurers go over to Bronwyn MacKirkwell’s. Griffon hears a muffled scream and they break in. They find none other than Goblin Chief Durnn at the top of the stairs firing arrows at them. After a short battle they slay him to find his mate, Grenl, dying in a bed upstairs, and Bronwyn bound and gagged.

She explains that they got in disguised as humans after the town repelled the Citadel goblins. He demanded she heal Grenl, but she couldn’t do anything about the kobold poison in her green veins.

Griffon discovers Telgren Hucrele’s signet ring on Durnn’s finger.

Back to the Citadel

The next morning, Magistar, Griffon and Taliesan have tea with Kerowyn Hucrele. She calmly takes the rings and pays the party for their hard work. She advises them that if they put their money in her bank, their taxes will go down from 14% to 8%, minus anything they tithe.

Magistar gets some help from Andrinor and blacksmith Rurik Lethgar in deciphering his scroll. Sgt. Grendar Kuln still wants to buy the apple.

Then the party returns to the Sunless Citadel, meets Meepo and penetrates the last chamber behind the stone door.It is guarded my magic and a crossbow trap, but they manage to find a sarcophagus.

"Here lies a Dragonpriest, entombed alive forever for transgressions against the Law." His transgressions apparently were to transform himself into a troll. After killing Magistar, he is finally slain by with Meepo and Calcryx’s help. The party sets the corpse afire and heals Magistar. The treasure is meager, just a good dagger, some jewelry and six scrolls.

Then the party bids goodbye to Meepo and his dragon.

Last Night in Oakhurst

When the party returns the second time, they are greeted by a contingent from the Church of Pelor who take the apple.

Then they prepare for their next adventure.