Many explosions ripped through the silence of the Dale. Those near, soon found the source!

Coming from the opening of a cave, that used to lead to the underground lake, were many burning undead. They swarmed up, much like the night that the old government building was burnt to the ground. Many heroes united to push the foul creatures back into the earth!

As the group pushed deeper and deeper into the inky blackness, foul beasts continued to harry their progress...many undead, Beholders and even a few Liches.

The most harrowing of all were the frightened young girls...they would skip up to the party asking for their sisters..then lunge and rip throats and rend limbs from the heroes!!! More than one fell to these vile creatures. These inhuman prodgeny.

A second group of heroes responded to the Dales call!...they met stiff resistance as they entered the caves.

All the while both groups were battling through the maze of tunnels, the ceiling would rumble..then fall! Many a tunnel was closed off to the heroes...and yet they pressed on.

Soon the second group made it to a strange laboritory..where they found a most gruesome sight. A dozen enchanted crystal containers..all with an identical little girl in it.

Soon the two groups met up and battled the fell creatures as they came. A small female Kobald studied the room and finally puzzled out that one of the Crystal containers had a real child in it..one that was being used to power the clones. The kobald guessed that the little girls soul was being shredded to empower these hidiouse husks of life.

Soon the group puzzled a "safe" way to open the containers and got the real child free. Even as the group of heroes rejoiced, they heard a most horendouse sound! The Earth was rending itself apart. The Group ran for the tunnel exit..with the ceiling collapsing right on their heels!

As they burst from the cavern and back into the Dale, the earth gave one last mighty heave and grew still. As if, it too were playing a part in destroyng this most vile of wombs!

//please forgive spelling...writing at 3am

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How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single
moment before starting to improve the world.

~Anne Frank

After a sincere apology for an overreaction to the news of Jenni's pregnancy Grin and the residents of Bendir hear a loud explosion from the cave benhind Bendir Dale, when they get there they come upon flaming undead creatures and Grin takes out his trusty Undead-Slaying Axe and dispatches the undead with the other hin. They go down into the cave looking to see why the undead have come out from the ground and Grin gets a strange feeling that these were the caves where the Undead who destroyed the old Government Building came from. Well after casting some spells to protect Jenni and her baby they set out to determine what is going on here. As Grin hears that there are beholders in the cave as well as the undead he changes into the drow form to be better suited to fight them.

The caves were winding in many directions and they were faced with many undead and beholders until they saw one scared little girl. As Grin saw this he backed up not wanting to hurt this and was shocked to see Lyle ruthlessly destroying the girl and calling her a little monster. He explained that it was just a trick but Grin had problems bringing himself to kill this girl. As they continued through the caves they kept getting lost and confused and ran into another one of these girl "monsters." Grin still couldn't bring himself to attack her but he watched and saw how vicious it was and then believed Lyle that she was no little innocent girl.

As they continued exploring the cave the cave started to collaspe on itself and they felt like they were being driven in one direction. Eventually as all choices were taken from them they came upon Biddle, Snobbles and some others. By this time Grin changed in to the shape of a minotaur so that he would be able to carry some of the treasure that was found down here. When they met up with the other party they compared notes and found out that there was a note and some manuscripts found. The now combined party went back to check this and found a room filled with tubes with these little girls in them. Snobbles broke one of the tubes and the girl inside attacked and killed Snobbles. The rest of the party dispatched of the girl and Lyle raised and healed Snobbles up but they learn one valuable lesson (don't break the tubes).

Rocks continued to fall from the roof and some of them broke a few of the tubes and more girls came out. Grin and most of the rest of the party left because they wanted to be as far from these girls as possible, however apparently the kobold was left behind. Grin was waiting for them to come back but when it took them longer than expected he started to walk back at which point Snobbles came looking for them. Since somehow most of the party went invisible Grin changed into a blue wrymling to better see everyone. Back in the chamber Grin found out, by overhearing the conversations, that apparently one of the girls in the tubes was still alive and the kobold was trying to open the tube she was in. As the kobold tried this rocks kept falling and breaking more tubes and releasing the girls which were mostly easily defeated.

Grin was beginning to get uneasy, as he did not like the idea of being trapped down here as more and more rocks kept falling, and it was obvious that Lyle was having similar problems. Lyle kept pushing for the kobold to do something or he would just kick open the tube and see what happens. Luckily the kobold figured out how to open the tube and also how to destroy the girls in each of the other tubes. All this happened just in time because just then Grin knew that a serious cave-in was imminent and urged everyone to get out. After almost getting lost everyone finally made it out and as the last person got out rocks fell over the cave entrance.

The girl was still unconsious and so they all brought her to Jayek asking him for help. His divine powers were not enough to save the girl and as he brought his hands away they were smoking. He told Jenni to put the girl into the pool at which point the girl started to make noises. Jayek then brought the girl into the Inn and everyone went back to the Inn for a well deserved drink.

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Jehran- Elven Enchantment Wizard
Prink- Jehran's Familar
Joe Bloggs-Just your average guy
Madock-Vassal of the Black Hound.
Vanassidur-Druid/Ranger of Mielikki

//this is the quick, summary version (a more detailed version to come...when I'm not half-falling asleep)

A large explosion from the other side of the river sent those in Bendir Dale's square running to see what had happened. After fighting through several groups of flaming undead, they reached a new entrance to the caverns below the Dale. Winding through the tight tunnels, they encountered not only more undead, but giant beholders and liches and, several times, little girls crying for their parents or wanting to play--all slaughtered without a second thought, even though many in the party hesitated at the children.

As the walls started caving in and paths were blocked, the defenders lost their way and after many more fights, stumbled upon another group who had apparently followed the explosion to the cave, too. After a brief exchange of information, names, and, in the case of one elf, insults, most of the group (minus the elf) continued on into a room line with glass tubes containing small girls.

After one disasterous attempt to free a girl let one loose (who then tried to rip throats out), the group searched the room and most decided to leave. The kobold in the party, however, had noticed something strange about one of the girls. One of the hin had, too, but at the ominous rumbling, had thought to escape the cavern before more rocks fell and, crashing into the tubes, freed the ravenous "children." Returning for the kobold, however, it was noticed that this one girl was still alive--not like the others.

While the kobold figured out how to free the girl, Swift stood by the girl's tube and became entranced by the tiny, frail figure inside. When the tube released the child, Swift jumped forward and caught the girl. After the kobold deactivated all of the other "children," the party finally decided to leave the cave, the tiny girl cradled in Swift's arms.

While the others were urging each other on and trying to get people out of the caverns, Swift took the tiny girl out and began washing a sticky, acidic goo off of her. As the last party member exited the caverns, the hole in the hill crashed down on itself and sealed the entrance. After a quick discussion, Swift carried the still-unconscious child into Bendir square and, when Jayek's blessing was repelled from her, placed the tiny girl in the blessed fountain--where the girl was cleansed and awoke for a few moments before falling into a healing sleep.

The child was then taken (by Jayek) to the room Lyle and Swift shared and the heroes (as termed by Jayek) retired to the Hinn Inn for a refreshing drink.

She hadn't intended to get involved and in fact, if it hadn't been for random chance she might have never even known what the explosion and quaking was about. The elf she was walking with on a mission to cull back Malar's feral followers was taking them on the road that rounded Bendir Dale when the explosion rocked the ground. Confusion washed over Kosj'oth; they didn't have any attacks scheduled on the Dale! As her and the elf Nai'arha pressed into the town proper, they asked their questions and searched about for clues.

Maybe, Kosj'oth thought, there would be a way to turn whatever was happening to my advantage. A flash of light on the other side of the river alerted them and the group that had gravitated together hastily made their way to the cave where the old, underground lake used to be. That was Johanna's favorite spot, she remembered.

Now, however, it was spewing heat and animated corpses crawled forth, their body wreathed in a hellish conflagration as they shambled toward the group. A brief brawl ensued which she had only vague recollection of after taking a too-hard hit to the head and sprawling unconscious in the grass, everything was black for a time. When she finally came to, the mammals of various heights were discussing what was to be done, what the plan for scouting into this fiery cave was to be. In truth, Kosj'oth was paying little attention to them as her head still pounded from the beating, and the chatting went on for some time.

Who or what ever was responsible must have had interesting resources at their disposal, and she was keen on finding out just what those were. While the mammals plotted out their logistics, another halfling had come running up, informing them of another group that was already inside. It didn't take much more incentive after that to encourage the group topside to go delving into the cave, looking for the others. Nai'arha separated from the group after the scout returned with word of beholders, and while Kosj'oth was inclined to say back as well, she snuck ahead under the cover of invisibility to watch what might happen should the hin not be able to fell the floating mass of eyes.

To her partial dismay, the they survived and continued to cut their way through the beholders; Kosj'oth following in their bloody wake at a safe distance. When they came upon the rounded chamber filled with the eighteen tubes, nine to a side, she gaped. Each tube was filled with a little girl suspended in the gel... all save for the ones that were empty. One such girl was out, standing by a gore-covered table. The other remaining elf, a man who's name she didn't bother to remember, walked toward the girl that up until she tore out his throat seemed perfectly innocent. Mammals. Could never trust them.

While the others that were still on their feet, two of the hin, fought with the horrid little creature appearing as a child, Kosj'oth took the opportunity to begin scouring and searching over the room, flipping open crates and boxes. Nothing substantial was found within, and after the little girl had been dispatched, a hin beat her to grabbing the note that laid on the bloodied table. Grumbling inwardly to herself, she went back to her investigation of the room until a noise from down the hall drew them out. It was the other group, thankfully, rather than a horde of beholders like she had been expecting.

They spoke for a time, but Kosj'oth wasn't listening. There was an odd feel in that room and she returned to it under the pretense of guarding their flank. Perhaps one of these girls could be brought back and studied, the method of how they were created duplicated. As she studied the tubes, one in particular drew her attention, and as she compared it to the others, she realised that only this one girl was truly alive, truly the real one. All of the others were but shards of her soul, wrenched out to form these dangerous duplicates. If I can get her out... Kosj'oth thought, looking over the tube for a means to open it, Maybe we can figure out how this is done.

Her scheming was interrupted when the others began to file back into the tube-filled chamber. It seemed she wouldn't be able to just grab the body and run. So instead, she tucked herself away where she could safely continue to inspect the containers - a wise move indeed, as several more of the vicious duplicates of the original girl would exit their capsules over the course of this time, and each time Kosj'oth was nimble on her feet to avoid a painful fate. Naturally, all of the short-sighted mammals wanted to evacuate, and Kosj'oth wasn't yet volunteering information on the nature of these little girls until it was necessary, but after some urging and outright ignoring of orders to leave, she managed to begin piecing the mystery together. There was an odd ball in front of the girl's tube that Kosj'oth collected to puzzle over, and took it over to one of the odd panels that was stationed at the head of one of the rows of tubes.

Through the awakening of another clone, Kosj'oth worked to decipher the controls to the containment tubes, eventually releasing the little, unconscious girl within after a single, decisive click of her talon to the panel and the pattern was easy enough for her reptilian brain to make sense of that she operated it correctly on the first try. As the little girl tumbled out into the arms of a female hin, Kosj'oth mused silently to herself. If I can't have the knowledge, then at least I can use this as "public relations" ... Not a total loss.

That didn't stop the cyclic awakening of the others however, and putting to use what she had figured out from the opening of the tube, Kosj'oth requested the notes from Lyle with the pretense of using them to help her shut the mechanisms down. Without it, however, she managed to achieve the desired result for the remaining evil little clones. She wasn't sure if she had told the device to simply lock them up, to deactivate, or to self-destruct but it was really beside the point as she had saved all of their worthless, soft-skinned mammalian lives. She sighed over the panel at that depressing thought before hurrying out to evacuate the tunnels; carrying away with her the ball-like device grabbed earlier.

Kosj'oth had run ahead of the fleeing group, taking the time to squint over the nots that Lyle had handed her. Hastily, she began to make notes when no one was watching, which continued after they had all filed out of the cave and taken cover from the explosion and upheaval of earth that was to follow. The copy was shoved away before she had given Lyle the original back at his request. She attended the aftermath, even sharing a bit pleasant conversation with the gathered hin before she finally took her leave to relax from the odd day back at the Quagmires.

Reclining in the heat of the nest chamber, tending to the eggs, Kosj'oth read over her copy of the notes, idly clicking her talons atop the strange little ball...

Tale from Sindoralas the wood elf regarding the explosion in the Dale:

Having been in Cordor and experiencing the excesses of the city for much to long I had decided make my way back to Winya. I also wanted to visit the Grove on my way back and join their ranks in protecting the forest. I had nearly made it to Bendir Dale when I was set upon by goblins. I fought off as many as I could but was badly wounded and made a run for the Dale. With more than 6 goblins trailing behind me I burst into Bendir Dale collapsing in front of the Gate. I half expected to be beaten to a pulp by the pursuing goblins, but there was no sign of them.

As I lay on the ground panting in exhaustion a large explosion issued from behind the Dale. I quickly got up to inspect the sound that came from the cave behind the Dale. There was great damage and fiery dead began to pour forth from the mysterious rift in front of the cave entrance. The undead began attacking the other witnesses and I went in to help with the fight but was quickly overcome and lost consciousness.

When I was revived, the undead were gone. More residents of the Dale were now inspecting the mysterious rift near the cave entrance. The decision was made to enter the rift and investigate. I tagged along out of curiosity. When I entered the rift I found myself in a dank, cave clearing. The air was stifling and dampness overwhelming. We decided as a group to stick together, a scout was sent out to investigate. Many paths were blocked by rubble and only one way was passable. Most of the party decided to take this path. To be on the safe side I decided to listen to the elven girl in the party and stay behind with her near the cave entrance.

When calls of a Beholder rang out, curiosity got the better of me and I went to help. The members of the Dale quickly dispatched the foul beast before I reached them. As the group traveled on we came upon what appeared to be a small child. The child called for it’s “mommy”, and complained it was hungry. It then proceeded to attack the nearest party member. It became clear this was no child. With superhuman power it clawed at us, the stronger members of the party struck the aberration down.

The winding path lead to a dark lab. Old tomes and scrolls were scattered about. The room was surrounded by crystal containers, each holding clones of the child that attacked the party earlier. They appeared to be in some form of suspended animation. I decided to look in the pile of rubble near the center of the room for clues to what this place might hold. I reached for a dusty scroll, all of a sudden, there was a quick movement to the side of me and I fell into darkness. I was revived again by the group. They told me another of the children had ripped into my throat, I rubbed my neck and gazed at the pods with some fear.

The group continued to check for clues in the room, several quakes issued in the lab breaking open several of the pods letting loose the murderous children. I kept my distance and let the stronger members of the group dispatch the unnatural things. One of the members of our group discovered a pod contained a real child and was able to open it. The child was alive but unconscious. With the tremors growing more frequent we decided to flee the cave as quickly as possible. Taking the child we reached the surface just as the main entrance to the cave fell in.

We all made it back to the Dale with all members in one piece and the child in tow. I was rewarded greatly by the kind members of the Dale for my involvement in this event. I thanked everyone and made a vow to help protect Bendir Dale in anyway I can and that I would be honored to be considered in any future endeavors with the brave members of the Fist of the Dale. Without incident, I made my way to the Grove near Amia Forest to inquire about joining their ranks but could find no members at that time.

*as Kyran is being told of the skirmish he shakes his head*

When will those heretics understand? *he mutters*

*he summons a wraith and orders it*
Go to the library, and find me that book!

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We are of the Vaunted, and bow to none! --Kyran Bloodeye--
Ignite my anger, and I'll have you set ablaze! --Ignus Inferno--
Serve me in life or unlife, your choice. --Karlath--
Even Gods can burn. But for now, I wait patiently... --Siras--