Gerald presents himself to Roscoe and requests a uniform. Roscoe inquires as to why his brother would like a Hellknight uniform. Gerald presents his commission, and Roscoe can only shake his head. After some back and forth, he agrees to provide Gerald with a Signifier uniform. The sorceror looks fabulous wearing the Hellknight colors.
Abadius 17, 4712
Captain Rémi arrives in town and meets the Coopers to collect their 50 crowns per person for their safe passage a year ago. He introduces the Millers, a new family coming from Razmiran that has just arrived on his ship. First there is Rexhall, about 25 years old and rippling with muscles. Second is Card, about 19, a spellcaster of some kind. Then there are the female twins, Ace and Spades, both fighter types. Finally, the youngest member of the Miller family is Rose, a girl quick on her feet. The Coopers have an uneasy feeling at the arrival of these strange Millers.
Abadius 18, 4712
Now that matters are back in order, the Coopers are edging to a fight and are ready to head back to the Emerald Spire. As commander, Roscoe leaves Maralictor Wirt in charge of Fort Inevitable, and he and the four siblings, along with five Hellknight soldiers, depart the town in the Spire's direction. The trek takes most of the morning and enter the underground through the third level tunnel. Nothing much has changed since the last time the Coopers were here.
Using a spire transport, they move from the third to the 7th level, then descend the stairs to the 8th level where Darelle acquires the runes that will allow them to directly transport to this level. They then descend the stairs for about 250 feet before reaching the landing for the 9th level. It is pitch black, so the Coopers light up torches and lanterns.
In the first room, they encounter collapsed walls. One direction looks like it has been there for a long time. The second, however, looks like it was recently built. A small hole in the rubble provides access to the room beyond. Thorne throws a torch in the small hole, sees nothing but another set of decayed walls.
Roscoe examines both walls, and makes a decision. The Hellknight soldiers will dig the western tunnel. The soldiers obey immediately. Gerald, meanwhile, begins digging the southern wall. During the digging, Thorne removes the lock from the door to the 8th level and studies it to figure out how he failed. The sisters just stand around, telling each other stories and exchanging beauty tips. After five hours the soldiers manage to make a hole big enough to crawl through the three and a half feet of dirt and loose stones to the continuing hallway behind, while Gerald has successfully move seven stones and has progressed a hand's width.
Thorne crawls through the tunnel, and throws another torch beyond the rubble. Taking a quick peek, he notices four morlocks clinging to the wall, ready to pounce on the first person through the tunnel. Deciding that the situation would be too difficult to fight in, he returns and discusses the dilemma with the rest of the group. It is quickly agreed that Gerald should deal with this situation. The sorcerer kneels by the tunnel's entrance, and casts a fireball, killing the morlocks but collapsing the tunnel. The Coopers won't be heading that way.
The soldiers begin digging again, this time in the southern wall. After two hours they are through. Thorne steps through, but sees nothing. Darelle steps into the room, then turns a corner. She is attacked by four morlocks, but Roscoe manages to kill them off. Unfortunately, one of them has escaped, no doubt to warn the others.
Thorne sets up a trip wire in the hallway leading south and rejoins the group. After a short discussion the party begins moving south. Thorne remains behind and convinces a soldier to push Gerald in the tripwire. Meanwhile, he will search this room and see if there are any secret passages or doors.
The hallway in which the Coopers find themselves has several branches, and stinks to high heaven. Clearly, they have stumbled into the morlocks' latrine. Roscoe is in the lead, and he triggers a trap that inflicts significant damage on the party. Three soldiers die. There is no time to mourn them, however, as Gerald steps near the tripwire, and is immediately pushed by one of the soldiers. He falls face first into the four inch muck.
Thorne discovers a secret door. He opens it, and finds a room that, unlike the rest of the dungeon so far, shows no sign of having been looted or defaced. The walls still feature ancient Azlan pictures. And in the middle of the room is a pile of treasure, including coins, gems, and items. Thorne greedily walks towards the treasure, but falls in a pit trap along with the treasure, hurting himself. He takes some of the jewelry and the sword. He attempts to climb the ten feet distance back tot he floor, but is unable to do so. He yells for help, and the only person who hears him is Gerald. Reluctantly, the sorcerer backtracks and helps Thorne climb out of the pit.
Abadius 19, 4712
Proceeding down the tunnel, the Coopers and their two remaining soldiers enter another room. A large berm of rubble separates the room into two different parts, and a wooden door is set against the south wall. Roscoe cautiously steps over the berm, then heads for the door. Several pieces of wood wedge the door from this side. Roscoe removes the wedges and steps through the door into the passageway beyond. Everyone else follows. The passageway twists and turns but terminates in a dead end. Roscoe and the rest of the party search for secret doors, but find none.
Gerald, being the last one in, notices that the door closed behind them. He opens it and steps back into the room, only to be attacked by more morlocks armed with repeating crossbows. Gerald is cribbed with bolts. He steps back in the passageway, then emerges again to unleash a fireball, killing all of them. Unfortunately, three of them were hiding in the rubble and escape the terrible fate suffered by the others, and they step out once the fire dies down. Gerald is surprised and finds himself clubbed. Hearing the sounds of battle, Daryle tells the soldier in front of her to open the door. He does so, and she readies an arrow. However, she can't tell which of the four darkened figures is Gerald, so she yells at him. Gerald responds, but gets attacked again, and he is once again wounded, this time falling unconscious.
Daryle lets an arrow fly, and one of the three morlocks dies. A second one jumps back into the rubble and escapes, while the third strikes Gerald again. He is brought down by Daryle, but not before the sorcerer is brought to the very edge of death. With a wounded party and three soldiers dead, what will the Coopers do? The story continues in Hunting Morlocks.
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