Jak leaves the tower at 6 the next morning only to find Migi waiting for him in the courtyard. Jak states he’s going to the guild to check the job board. The job board mentions more scouting parties are needed at the keep. Large amounts of tracks have been found crossing the northern pass. The watch suspect a growing number of orcs in the area.
The party takes Migi down to the river to meet Squishy. Squishy feels like tormenting the gnome a bit. He tries to convince Migi that he is not really a gnome. Squishy keeps insisting that he is a fish. Migi insists that he is NOT a fish. Then Squishy insinuates that he will feed Migi to a green dragon. Migi confuses this with the Green Dragon guild, until he sees the dragon.
Mary eventually tires of Squishy’s rude behavior. She gets upset and claws Squishy for taunting Migi. They discuss terms for Migi’s entering the company. Migi agrees that he must earn his worth in the party. He won’t be getting paid up front like the other group of sell-swords.
The guards request that the party travel back to Midel’s house. Elf still thinks it was wolves since he didn’t see the carnage. The party buys a few torches and sets out. They go underneath the house again to explore the labyrinth of tunnels to the North, which go nowhere. The passage to the South runs into a rock face with a small crawl space. An old mine lies on the other side. The party ventures down the right passage. The passage gradually slopes up. After a few hundred feet or so, they spot the elevator.
Grasping the ropes, Jak pulls the platform into a dark ascent. Squishy picks up the dragon and levitates. They reach the 1st floor. Above they can hear draconic voices whispering “they’re coming up.” Squishy casts inertial armor on himself. They slowly pull up to the 2nd floor to see 8 kobolds waiting for them. Squishy uses his mind blast. Migi manages to safely tumble all the way to the other side. He turns to see Jak cleaving through the majority of the kobolds.
The party explores the rest of the level plowing through another 6 kobolds. Migi stands by feeling rather out-matched by the party. Clutching the wall, Migi spots a hole in the roof leading to the next level. [This hole is how the kobolds managed to escape the orcs from the level above. The orcs sometimes just piss down the hole to upset them. The act sometimes results in painful injury from awaiting snipers below.] The hole is only large enough for Small characters to fit through.
Mary and Migi volunteer to climb up through the hole. The rest of the party uses the elevator to get to the next floor.
Jak, Squishy, Solaera, Elf, and the dragon go up the elevator to the 3rd floor and see 4 orcs, 2 with bows drawn. That’s right. The four guards did notice the elevator slowly rising the last two times the party used it. Squishy causes 1 orc to cower in fear. One of the orcs runs away, terrified. After the archers are dealt with, Jak frantically tries to kill the cowering orc. However, Jack is accustomed to swinging his huge sword in the open and keeps striking the surrounding walls. The rest of the group pursues the fleeing orc down the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Mary & Migi scout around to see a group of 5 orcs in the main chamber. They quickly duck away before they are discovered. An orc comes running around the corner (from the elevator battle) and Mary charges at him. Orcs in the room hear the commotion. She waits by the door to spring at the others as they emerge. The 5 orcs come out of the room and attack Mary. Migi trips trying to attack one from behind, but nobody notices. Mary is killed outright by the onslaught. It’s not long before Migi is also spotted and taken down.
The rest of the party comes across the four remaining orcs looting their comrades’ bodies. Squishy telepathically calls for Jak. Jak bolts down the hallway. He charges in slaying the orcs. Solaera & Elf rush after to treat Mary & Migi. (Migi is at -8 hit points. What would happen if one of the guild’s top spies didn’t return on his first venture on a new assignment? I didn’t have to worry about that. J)
Jak, Squishy, and the dragon explore the rest of the level. They see daylight, and 4 orcs in a nearby chamber. Jak brashly charges in, missteps, and sprains his ankle. The dragon follows in viciously clawing and biting. It growls as it rends the last orc to the ground.
The party pulls out with their booty. They journey back to Forge Valley above ground to raise Mary. Solaera casts cure light wounds on Migi, but he remains unconscious. Migi is put in Elf’s room until he can be healed again. Jak sells the equipment and goes with Squishy to barter a true resurrection for Mary. He decides that this will cost too much and settles for a raise dead spell. They still don’t have the funds for the spell. They manage to barter the cleric down to 4500 gold. Solaera gives her word as a cleric that they will pay back the remaining 1100 gp within one year.
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