The Saucy Crater

Present: Myrtle [Andrew], Bear [Ian], Debbie [Steven], Dexter [Jamie], Oliver [Jeff], Ouzo [Darryl], Scuttle [Chris], Tu [Shane].

Marmalading: Gillard [Kevin].

To Saucy hills they came,

The witches' deaths, their aim.

But Tu said "No!

You can not go.

Missed the witch from Skulk, again."

Myrtle cures Bear

The next morning, after the bugbear fight, we followed the bugbear tracks backwards to a cave - their home. Vingt et un had decided that all traces of them must be eradicated. Like their light-sensitive ilk (kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins), bugbears fall into the same immutably evil category; evil by definition. One can not get good bugbears. Hence killing them in cold blood, even children and babies, is morally sound.

Inside the small system of tunnels were three bugbears: one female bugbear and two children, and two guard wolves.

Our brave fellows brought the wolves down with arrow fire, and then engaged the three. They were slaughtered. We got some minor injuries.

We didn't find any magic within, but we did recover two human corpses: hapless bugbear victims I suspect. There was one set of chain mail and leather armour. We put these in the new

Bag of Holding

Bag of Holding.

Oliver, who carried it, was concerned about overloading the Bag - it still needed to be Identified to show its capacity. Note that if a Bag of Holding is overfilled, it violently explodes. Oliver dumped all the non-useful stuff that the previous owner (Patrick) had stored, and he checked that the removed weight and volume was similar to the added weight of the two sets of armour.

We stayed in the bugbear cave that night before setting off the next morning.

The next day passed quietly, and then the next night, Second watch (with the telescope's infravision) spotted 16 orcs and one wolf-rider and three dire wolves. We wisely stayed quiet and still, and they passed. Without the telescope, we would have been toast. Dark-spawn infravision has twice the range of our infravision, and it was an overcast night - and thus utterly dark.

Two days later, we got to the Saucy Crater, surrounding Nitro Lake.

The entrance to the crater was through a cleft guarded by a manned tower - located on the interior (with no view to the outside). There was also a magical field detected at the entrance to the cleft. I suspect an Alarm spell. 

So, we took another path up to the edge of the crater, without using the cleft. Entering the crater this route would require lowering down cliffs, but that wouldn't be too difficult with the help of our thieves.

Circling the crater were two wyverns. They were not very observant, because they didn't spot us; I suspect it was their one and only job. Losers.

Saucy Crater and Nitro Lake (Ian design)

After Ranger Dexter cleared away any tracks, we set up the telescope on the crater rim and surveilled the whole place. The wyverns turned out to be skeletal. Lucky for them it was overcast! (Like dark-spawn, undead are destroyed by REAL's light)

Skeletal wyvern

Nitro Lake, itself, was in the centre of the crater, and it had a single island. Down the funken end of the island was a large pinnacle rock structure. 

On the far side (anti) of the crater, there was a large forest.

Down in the funken-battle corner of the crater, there was a palisaded compound with a fancy mansion and some buildings, surrounded by an immaculately maintained stately garden. This was the location that we had (stolen) ownership papers and title deeds for.

So ... We watched the whole place for a few days and nights. Groups of orcs (like the 16 we encountered earlier) would leave a large building in the compound for a night patrol outside the crater right on night-fall, and they would return just on day-break. It was overcast the whole time, so they had no risk of REAL's light.

There were guard dogs about too that wandered around the compound. We soon ascertained two shifts. But they did not enter the immaculate garden, nor the forest.

Four guards walked around the top of the palisade, at all times. And the guards in the cleft tower had three shift changes, morning, midday, and eve.

At different times during each day. we spotted at least five different women who would go for walks in the stately garden. Always with a guard or dog or two.

On the third day, about noon, there was a bright pulse of green light on the island. Oliver's dagger pulsed, and then started to vibrate, and continued to vibrate. Oh dear.

We decided to move. Skilled climbers Ouzo and Scuttle lead the way, so we climbed and belayed down the cliff to the crater floor. Then we snuck to the edge of the manicured garden. Detect Magic revealed the gardens were aglow with a diffused magical aura. More Alarm spells?

We also checked in the forest. It was mostly still and quiet with little life, and we got good views of the skeletal wyverns as they swooped overhead.

The crater that housed the five,

Bad witches who still were alive.

Blessed of Malechai

They'd all have to die,

And then we would have to survive

Myrtle Rust