CONTENT: We recruit two canoes with three lizardfolk paddlers each. After our recent victory, the recruiting is not difficult. Calton pauses to mutter some drying words over his spellbooks. Then we wade through the reeds and the rank black muck at the edge of the lake and grab hold of the coarse canoes. They are little more than a lashed bundle of reeds, with a slight depression down the center.

The lizardfolk set to work paddling. Weeds drag at our dangling feet, and every now and then we get a sharp tap from the slimy branches of drowned trees. We keep low in the water on the side away from the ruins.

The day is overcast. We feel the occasional drop of rain. Small black bugs form little clouds over our heads.

It's interesting to be so close to the lizardfolk. They are broad in the chest, with thick solid limbs and tail. Their tan-and-olive skin is so thick it is nearly that of a crocodile. Each warrior is laced with scars, evidence of a hard and brutal life. They have strange unreadable eyes, wide mouths of tangled triangular teeth, and chipped claw-like nails. We can see their muscles ripple with each pull of their paddles. In the stillness of the lake, watching them paddle feels like standing next to a sleeping predator as it flexes and twitches in a dream.

Then we can see the ruins of buildings on our side of the canoe. Most of the roofs have fallen in, so that we pass only the hollow rims of rooms. The stones are all worn and green with moss and algae. Still, we catch sight of engravings and reliefs here and there over doorways and on the corners of buildings. It seems that the old Rhest culture was quite enamored of lions.

One of the lizardfolks hisses to Calton in Draconic.

Calton (whispering): "He says we should drop off at this next building. The hobgoblins in the bell tower are getting restless."

As we pass behind a taller building that extends up into a second story, we push away from the canoes and grab a hold of little crevices in the crumbling stone of the wall. The lizardfolk paddle on, angling away to the east, giving the bell tower a wider berth.

Gwulf peers around the corner and reports what he sees: The two hobgoblin guards at the top are watching the canoe closely, bows in hand, though they have not drawn arrows. There is another dock-like raft around this building, with a couple skiffs tied to it. If we get onto the dock, we could crawl in through the open windows that appear to be of each side of the tower at each story. The tower is about 100 feet away from the building we are currently behind, with only open water between us.

We pull back behind the wall to fine-tune the plan.

J: "Okay, I can cast Silence on a couple of these pebbles I brought. That will mask any sounds of battle out to about 20'."

C: "I can be Invisible and Fly up to the bell with one of those. That'll keep the bell silent. I should be able to take out those two guards without any flash, too."

J: "The rest of us could then go in through the window and come up the tower from the inside."

L: "How do we get across to the tower without being seen? Wait until Calton takes out the guards at the top?"

C: "That would work... But maybe we should coordinate our attacks, just in case something goes wrong. I can provide you with an Invisibility Sphere that'll cover all 3 of you..."

J: "We might need that later for the main hall. How about we just go under the lake? It's murky enough. I prayed for Water Breathing this morning. Gwulf, you think you can lead us through the muck to the tower? We don't want to miss the tower and walk right past it down there."

Gwulf peeks around the corner again and considers it.

J: "Now, be aware that once we're cloaked in Silence, we won't be able to cast any spells." He glances at Lacane. "But, if things turn bad, we can always toss the stone out the window."

C: "Okay, that sounds good to me so far. I'll take out the bell and guards at the top, and then meet you in the middle. No one should hear us across the water, and, as long as we don't cast anything flashy, no one should see anything either. What about coordination? I guess I'll just wait until I see you break the surface. Then I'll move in to silence the guards and take them out."

J: "Okay. Cast any protections you need, and then we'll go...";

CONTENT: We quickly cast our spells. Lacane casts Shield [-1 x slvl 1 => 6]. Johnathan casts Shield of Faith on himself and Water Breathing on all of us. Calton casts Mage Armor, Shield, Fly, and Invisibility. He disappears from view, but, looking closely, the rest of us can still see a small Calton-shaped bubble in the murky water.

Then Johnathan draws a pebble from a belt pouch and casts Silence upon it. The silence falls like a weight. Johnathan holds out his open hand. We see the pebble rise and then disappear into the Calton-shaped bubble. The bubble shrinks as Calton rises out of the water, leaving only a series of drip-inspired ripples behind. Then suddenly the silence is lifted gain.

J (whispering): "Okay, we'd better hurry. We only have a few minutes for most of these spells."

He draws out a second pebble and, after a few words, the muffling weight of Silence descends again.

We release our grip on the crumbling stone wall and sink into the lake. Our armor and gear drags us down to the bottom, though it still still tricky to walk forward without a leaping, bouncing gait. Gwulf finds that he is instinctively holding his breath. He forces himself to take in a mouthful of the stale, silty water. It tastes like swamp mud. And it's still water in his mouth. He nearly gasps in surprised indignation--and notices that the water disappears when it hits the back of this throat! He takes in another mouthful. It is a strange experience indeed, sucking in water through his mouth but feeling his lungs fill with air. It still tastes like swamp mud, though.

We have stirred up a fair amount of silt, and so we grasp hands to keep track of each other. Gwulf leads us around the foundation of the crumbled ruins and foward into the weeds. We travel slowly, but Gwulf's sense of direction is keen. Lacane can see the surface of the water only a couple feet above his head--so close he feels the urge to crouch down. He glances back and sees that Johnathan is doing just that. Johnathan's armor is rather bright in the gloom, though it does not glint thanks to the overcast sky above.

Gwulf leads us around a few submerged deadfalls and through a couple more weed patches. At one point we feel cobble stones under our feet; at another, we pass a toppled, life-size statue of a warrior with an upraised sword and a lion-decorated shield. Then a wall looms up in front of us. Gwulf leads us around to the side of the tower away from the main hall. We leap up and kick, grabbing hold of the edge of the docking above us.

Pulling ourselves up, we discover that the floating dock surrounding the bell tower is of rather shoddy construction--little more than a series of logs lashed together, with a couple smaller branches nailed cross-wise here and there to lend some stability. As we drag ourselves up, parts of the dock sink slightly under the surface.

Lacane's clothes are sodden and clinging to his limbs. He shakes his head to try to get the water out of his ears. Then he remembers it's the silence at work. He glances up. The wall is too steep to see the guards on patrol up there; luckily they are not currently leaning over and looking down. Calton is nowhere in sight--which is as it should be.

Gwulf is already drawing his axes and slogging the couple steps across the crappy dock towards a window on this southern side of the tower. He kneels at the sill, and Lacane and Johnathan peer around the edges:

:::::::::
:###&###:
:#{3.^+#:
:#(.12.#:
:&.[...&:
:# .(. #:
:#  .  #:
:###&###:
:::LGJ:::

Inside, we see a fairly large stone room--about 25' square. There are 4 windows that are narrow enough to require some squeezing (&, which takes 4 squares of movement) to get through. We know from our underwater journey that the tower is surrounded by docking, but the dock is so uneven and shifting that it takes double movement (:) to traverse.

Inside, we can't see into the nearest two corners. The room holds 3 beds (() and a pile of junk ({). Two armored hobgoblins (1 and 2) are currently scrambling on the ground on the other side of a wooden table ([). It looks like they are chasing... a frog? A third hobgoblin is lounging on a bed, either snarling or laughing at the other two. (It's hard to tell with no sound.) In the NE corner, a flight of railing-less stone stairs (^+) lead up through a hole in the ceiling to another level above.

CONTENT: Lacane reaches into the bag of tricks until he feels fur. He pulls out a dark brown ball and tosses it into the window ahead of Gwulf. The ball rolls across the stone floor, growing larger and lumpier, before disappearing under a bed.

Gwulf hefts himself through the window, glances to either side, and drops on the far side. He raises his short sword briefly at Lacane and Johnathan, holding the handle between thumb and palm as he holds out four fingers. Then he steps to the left, teeth and waraxe flashing.

The hobgoblin to the left of the window is already sitting up on the edge of his dirty bed, looking alert yet puzzled, one finger digging away in his ear. When he see Gwulf drop to the floor, the hobgoblin's eyes go wide. He gropes at his side for the hilt of his sword... but it's lying unbuckled on the bed behind him. He throws a glance at his companions, who are only now looking up in dumbfounded surprise.

Gwulf sinks his waraxe into the left side of the hobgoblin's chest [22 dmg], sparking upon and then rending through its banded mail.

The other hobgoblins begin to rise to their feet.

Johnathan scrambles after Gwulf through the window, casually flicking his wrist to send the silenced pebble skittering across the floor to under the table, closer to the hobgoblins and the far window. His dark-bladed greatsword gleams frostily in the dim light as he steps past a flooded staircase that leads down into the submerged level below. A large frog hops across his path, disappearing into the stagnant water with a splash of ripples.

The hobgoblins are on their feet now, pulling their longswords free. The one on the bed [#3], grabs a large shield from the pile of junk next to him as he rolls off the bed. #1 is apparently yelling, wide-mouthed and toothy, but Lacane, watching through the window, can still only feel his own heartbeat in his ears. #2 steps towards Johnathan, longsword swinging. The longsword wavers as it passes through J's Shield of Faith, and then slips through a gap in his banded mail, drawing blood and a wince from J.

The yelling hobgoblin suddenly twists his face into more of a yelp of surprise as a snarling wolverine drags itself out from under the bed, lashing one clawed paw towards him [miss].

 
:::::::::
:###&###:
:#{(3^+#:
:#(.1..#:
:&.[w.2&:
:#..(J-#:
:#4G..~#:
:###&###:
::::L::::

CONTENT: With a derisive sneer, Gwulf whirls past him. The hobgoblin takes a swing. Gwulf feels the sheathed sword smack heavily against his armored back, but it does no damage.

Cutting between the unkempt bed, the filthy table (are those dead frogs?), and the snarling wolverine, Gwulf swings his waraxe at the hobgoblin in front of the side window. The hobgoblin's eyes flick from Johnathan in time to see the blade swinging towards him, and he evades easily [G. rolled a 1]. Gwulf struggles to regain his balance without stepping on the wolverine.

Meanwhile, Lacane scrambles through the south window. Seeing the attack on Gwulf, he takes 2 quick steps and swings at the back-stabbing hobgoblin. He slashes through the hobgoblin's sword arm to the bone, and the hobgoblin slumps to the ground.

Taking advantage of Gwulf's provided distraction, Johnathan attacks #2 as well with two sweeps of his greatsword in a figure-eight-like attack. The hobgoblin falls from the second blow.

The wolverine-worried hobgoblin #1 steps sideways and stabs his longsword into Gwulf's side... but it turns harmlessly on Gwulf's breastplate. The wolverine follows him, snapping and slashing ineffectively at the hobgoblin's armored legs.

The shield-bearing hobgoblin #3 slips past behind his companion... and then dashes up the stairs to the level above!

:::::::::
:###&###:
:#{(.^+#:
:#(.w1.#:
:&.[.Gh&:
:#hL(J-#:
:#(...~#:
:###&###:
:::::::::
 
h = dead/inactive hobgoblin

CONTENT: Gwulf slips past hobgoblin #1, whose longsword bounces harmlessly off Gwulf's armored shoulder as he passes. Taking the stairs two at a time, Gwulf reaches the second story.

The second level of the bell tower is much more sparsely furnished: a single bed and a desk on the E side of the room, and a partially destroyed combat dummy in the center of the room to the W. The hobgoblin #3 is gesturing to a figure in the far corner... a figure currently part way up the stairs in the far SW corner of the room. The stairs are so steep as to nearly form a stone ladder.

Gwulf doesn't hesitate. Moving faster than the heavily armored hobgoblin, Gwulf catches up with him halfway across the room. The hobgoblin stumbles forward when Gwulf's waraxe dents his armor-plated back [14 dmg].

Meanwhile, down below...

Lacane steps towards hobgoblin #1 and his bastard sword flashes in two quick slashes. The hobgoblin's face distorts in agony [13 dmg + 9 dmg], but, in the oppressive silence, Lacane hears nothing. He feels almost detached, except for the beat of his own blood pounding in his temples.

Stepping up besides Cane, Johnathan decapitates the staggering hobgoblin with a single mighty sweep of his frosty black greatsword [23 dmg]. The body sways, then crumples backwards, blood gushing onto the stone stairs behind. The wolverine leaps forwards and worries the corpse, shaking a booted foot savagely its teeth.

Meanwhile, back upstairs...

The figure on the SW stairs leaps down from the trapdoor open to the roof. As he strides forward, Gwulf gets a better look at him: He is a hobgoblin, garbed in black leather armor and bearing two curved short swords that seem to glow in the dimness of the room. But this hobgoblin looks feral somehow--a wider toothier mouth, short-cropped fur, and its face is nearly bald, revealing a scaly dark skin underneath. There is something black and reptilian about this hobgoblin. The hobgoblin is barefoot and its clawed feet look like they could grasp or rend.

His thin lips are moving in some sort of snarling insult, and then his blades lash out at Gwulf. Gwulf parries the first with his own short sword, but the second cuts in under his Gwulf's guard and gashes his thigh [7 dmg => 77 hp]. The creature's snarling face is inches from Gwulf's own.

Suddenly hobgoblin #3 falls to the ground with the feathered end of a short arrow protruding from his eye socket! Another arrow sinks into a soft spot behind the reptilian hobgoblin's jaw, and a third glances off its shoulder. The arrows appear to be coming from the window to the S.

MAP:
Level 1:
 
:::::::::
:###&###:
:#{(.^+#:
:#(.wh.#:
:&.[LJh&:
:#h.(.-#:
:#(...~#:
:###&###:
:::::::::
 
Level 2:
 
  ###&###
  #...-=#
  #.....#
  &.{G.[&
  #.Rh..#
  #^...(#
  ###&###
 
R = reptilian hobgoblin

CONTENT: Downstairs...

:::::::::
:###&###:
:#{(.^+#:
:#(.wh.#:
:&.[LJh&:
:#h.(.-#:
:#(...~#:
:###&###:
:::::::::

Lacane whirls, ready for another attack... but there are no more hobgoblins left. The three bloody bodies lay at twisted angles on the damp flagstones. The summoned wolverine is still worrying the boot of the nearest one. Lacane can still feel the blood pounding in his ears and his heavy breaths drying the back of his throat. But in the magically silence room, he hears nothing.

Gwulf! A glance at Johnathan receives an answering nod. Lacane bounds for the stairs, with Johnathan close behind.

Upstairs...

  ###&###
  #..LJ=#
  #.....#
  &.{G.[&
  #.Rh..#
  #^...(#
  ###&###

Gwulf gives a savage grin. With a wide casual swing, he sinks his waraxe into the hobgoblin's leather-clad shoulder from the right, while at the same time he leans to the left and slides his short sword up under the hobgoblin's guard and between its ribs. The hobgoblin's reptilian eyes widen in surprise, then its face slackens as its knees begin to sag. Stepping back, Gwulf whips his axe back up over the creature's head and brings it down in an arc from the left that neatly severs the hobgoblin's head before the body can hit the floor. [14dmg + 14dmg + 13dmg] Gwulf's grin fades, though his eyes still smolder. He glances down at the slash in his thigh from the hobgoblin's short sword.

And then the battle is over. Lacane hurries over to stairs. Partway up, he can see over the lip of the opening and onto the bell tower roof. Peering under the hanging bell, he can see two armored and arrow-studded hobgoblins crumpled on the walkway.

Returning down the stairs, there is a sudden shimmer at the window as Calton turns visible. He gives an "all clear" wave. Then he holds up a pebble in one hand and drops it out the window behind him. The Silence does not end, though. So we troop down the stairs again to find the other Silenced pebble too and toss that out the window. The breaking of the silence is a relief, like a deep breath after passing a graveyard with fingers crossed.

Stepping past the sniffing wolverine, Gwulf peers out the north window towards the sunken Town Hall. Calton joins him. Lacane kneels with his open Bag of Tricks and coaxes the wolverine back into it. Johnathan digs in his pack among the party gear. All of us are still sodden with swamp water.

C: "Good. It looks like we didn't alert the main force yet. What now? Should we look for any clues or valuables here first, or press on immediately? How are we getting there? Swim again?" He glances back out the window. "It's a long ways this time."

J (downing a potion of CLW [=> 52 of 55hp] from his pack): "I think I can help. I can cast Air Walk, which will allow us all to walk across the intervening distance. Calton, can you conceal us?"

J. hands a CLW to Gwulf [+6hp => 83 of 84hp].

C: "Yeah, I've got a couple Invisibility Spheres in mind. But what's the plan when we get there? Just drop down onto the roof and start hacking on the ogres there? Should we try to infiltrate the building first?"

J: "I can raise or lower the water level within the building by about a story, if that helps. Will that slow that black dragon down at all?"

C: "No, black dragons swim. Right, Cane?"

L: "Yeah. Breathe acid too, like that damn green dragon we faced at the bridge." [Know:Arcana]

J: "I should be able to help with that a bit this time."

C: "If it's old enough, it might know some magic too. I wish we knew a bit more going in. We still don't know much about this 'secret weapon' they're building here. I don't know if I want to try sneaking into a dragon's lair, though, even invisible. They tend to be very canny, and those are some tight quarters. It might be better to be out in the open. It'd be an easier retreat too, if things turn nasty. It might give that flying dragon an advantage, but it will also give us some room to hurl some serious magic." Calton gives a nod towards Lacane.

J: "A Silence spell won't cover that whole roof. Once the alarm goes up, we'll be facing the whole building... whatever's in there."

C: "Yeah, but they'll have to come out to us."

J: (shrugs). "Our Water Breathing will last at least a couple hours yet. That means, if things go bad, we could dive in and go as deep as we can. That should offer us some safety from things like ogres... but not from that dragon. I could raise the water level to try to drown whatever else is in that hall..."

C: "I say hold off on that until things look bad. We don't know what's in there, and water might damage something important."

CONTENT: Calton: "Okay, if I go quick, I can make it while this Fly spell lasts. Cane, keep a look out. If it looks like something's gone wrong, try a distraction, and I'll do my best to book back here."

Calton crooks his fingers, mutters a couple words, and disappears from view.

Johnathan casts Detect Magic, and he and Gwulf begin their quick search of the tower for any clues or loot.

The bottom level contains a table with a dagger hammered up through the middle of the table. Two large frogs are skewered point of the dagger. Odd. The hobgoblins themselves were well-armored, but not magically so. Gwulf crawls up onto the upper bell deck to check the bodies up there, staying low to avoid being seen. Across the 6 bodies, we find 8 apparently identical potion vials. There are a couple nice bows on those on the upper level, but they are not magical either.

On the middle level, the reptilian-hobgoblin bears two magical slightly-curved wicked-looking short swords. He wears some custom black studded leather, though it is not magical and now tacky with blood. He does have a potion vial and a brass key tucked into a belt pouch, though.

The key turns out to be the small but solid chest under his bed in the corner of the room. The chest also contains a couple more potion vials and four small sacks of coin. Gwulf quickly estimates that each contains about 25gp--small pickings for heroes, but good wages for mercenaries.

Finding nothing else of interest, Johnathan and Gwulf join Cane at the window. A moment later, they hear Calton's voice again.

Calton: "Whew, that was close... the Fly spell is just giving out. I didn't have time to go into the building, but I was able to fly around it and peer in a couple windows. There are 6 ogres on the roof and on a floating dock on the front of the building like they have here at the belltower. The dock extends to some sort of pen. They've lashed a wall of sticks around a submerged building to make it. The pen is filled with water, but I didn't see anything in it, though the water was pretty murky.

"The roof of the main building has two covered staircases leading down into the building from the roof. We could also squeeze into a couple of the windows at the dock level. There's a very large hole in the roof that leads down through two stories to the water. I'm assuming the dragon could use that, though I didn't see it either.

"The windows on the nearest side of the building were well-shuttered. In the center of the building, I saw a barracks room with a couple lounging hobgoblins. There could be a couple more. On the far side of the building, I saw another hobgoblin, well-armored, with a room of his own. He gave me a creepy vibe. And, in the far back room, there was a goblin. But he was well-armored and looked fairly competent... not your normal goblin. He was working on some sort of taxidermy, and he had a large eagle sitting on a perch.

"So that's 6 ogres outside, 2 to 4 hobgoblin soldiers inside, plus the hobgoblin and the goblin. I didn't see the dragon or any obvious "weapon", but there's still about 1/3 of the building unaccounted for.

"I say that if we hit the ogres hard from invisibility, we should have a moment or two before the others rally. Seems pretty do-able. We can clarify the plan as we Air Walk in, though. Certainly protect yourself against that dragon though. Is everyone up for it?"

Johnathan: "I can provide all of us with Air Walk and some protection from acid."

Calton: "And I'll can Invisibility Sphere us until we get there. Cast whatever other protections you want before we go."

CONTENT: Before we go, Rorik casts Protection from Energy(Acid) on himself. Lacane casts Shield. Johnathan casts Resist Energy(Acid) and...

[OOPS] Johnathan: "Huh, now that I reflect on the words of my god Kord, I realized my error. I thought this AirWalk spell could be applied to all of us. Hmm... Come on, quick: I'll have to carry you."

Calton: "I've got a scroll of Fly here somewhere for me..."

Everyone hurries up to the second story of the bell tower, where Calton casts Invisibility Sphere on us all, centered on Johnathan. We all begin to glimmer a bit. We climb, invisible, out onto the bell tower roof where there is room for Johnathan to cast Enlarge Person, Bull Strength, Shield of Faith, and AirWalk on himself.

Gwulf: "You're sure we're invisible then? I can still see you guys."

Calton: "Yes, it's working!"

Calton voice mutters some more spells of his own.

Then the 12' Johnathan slips an arm each under Lacane and Gwulf and they grab his shoulders, and suddenly we are lifting up off the bell tower, striding over the sunken ruins below.

The air is still thick and humid, and the cloud cover has not lifted.

Johnathan begins to sink lower as we near the main hall. Lacane casts Resistance on himself as quietly as he can. He can hear Calton quietly casting something behind him, too.

Below, we can see the dock around the main hall, extending to the pen described by Calton. Gwulf catches sight of a strange but subtle ripple on the water, of something large shifting beneath the surface. But, as we pass over, it does not occur again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
::::::::::::::~~
~##/########:::~~~~~
~#          #..Oo .~
~#           /.o1..~
~#            # +..~
~#            ##^..~
~#             #^..~
~#             ##..~
~#              /..~
~#             ##..~
~#             #^..~
~#            ##^..~
~#            #.+..~
~#           /Oo...~
~#          #.o2...~
~##-########.......~
::::::::::::::[~[::~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::~
                ~~::~~
                ~#--#~
          ~~~~~~#~::#~
          ~#####~~~:#~
          ~#;.~~~~~:#~
          ~#;~~~;~~:#~
          ~##########~
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are still two large ogres down on the dock, lounging with their backs against the hall. A pair of steep wooden stairs lead up to the roof on either side of the front of the building.

Up on the roof, we see four more ogres, and a hobgoblin that is peering towards the bell tower. The huge hole down into the building itself is obvious (@s). Two small structures that look like stone outhouses must cover the stairs down.

  ###########
  #;;;)..;;;)#
  #;;Oo..;;...#
  #..oo........# =
  #......####..##=
  #.@@@../-=#Oo..-
  #.@@@@.####oo.##
  #.@@@@........)#
  #..@@..####...##
  #.@.@..\-=#...h-
  #......####..##=
  #Oo .........# =
  #oo..;0o....#
  #;;);;oo..)#
  ###########

Johnathan pauses, then whispers "Okay, let's do this quick. I'll land on the SE of the roof. Lacane, you blast the two ogres to the left; Gwulf, you go for the ogre in the center. I'll take out the hobgoblin. Calton, you can start on the ogres on the dock. Cane, keep one eye on that hole and blast any dragon that comes out. Gwulf... hell, just go where you're needed. Let's do this."

Johnathan lands with the grace of a cat, lowering Lacane and Gwulf to their feet with little more than a creak of armor. We draw our weapons with a quiet "srick" of steel-on-steel. The hobgoblin glances over in faint puzzlement...

Gwulf hollers his battle cry and leaps for the ogre picking his nose behind the hobgoblin! The ogre looks up, stunned, great blubbery finger still jammed into his warty nostril. Gwulf's axe slashes the ogre's arm, and then lands in the ogre's crotch, severing the femoral artery with a spray of blood [critical].

The words of magic are sharp in Lacane's throat, and the rush of fire into the tiny orb that forms between his fingers is heady and just a touch frightening. He whips the tiny orb towards the two lounging ogres near him, nudging the orb with his mind. It blossoms into an inferno with a quiet whoof. The ogres scream in agony, and the stench of cooked ogre wafts back towards Cane.

Johnathan brings his massive greatsword down on the hobgoblin, the first blow driving the hobgoblin to its knees and the second blow cleaving its skull without a sound.

A roaring ogre moan comes from down on the dock to the east; it ends in a gurgle. Then there is another roar, slightly farther to the north. It repeats, dripping with both panic and rage.

The two burned ogre roll to their feet, snatching up crude greatclubs from beside their gravel-pile nests. These greatclubs are small stipped pine trees, with extra thick iron spikes pounded into the rootball end. The nearest ogre swings his at Lacane. There is little chance of dodging such a blow, and it impacts with a wham against Cane's nearly-invisible Shield spell.

The other ogre peers over his companion's shoulder at the fire-hurling half-elf suddenly standing on his roof. He turns and leaps into the massive hole with a yell, which Cane recognizes as the Goblin word meaning "sneaky-deadly-ambush-attack"! There is a large echoing splash.

On the north end of the building, Gwulf sees another ogre hurrying around the corner in front of him.

MAP:
Roof:
  ###########
  #;;;)..;;;)#
  #;;....;;.Oo#
  #.........o3.# =
  #......####..##=
  #.@@@../-=#Oo..-
  #.@@@@.####ox.##
  #.@@@@.....G..)#
  #..@@..####Jj.##
  #.@.@..\-=#jj.x-
  #......####..##=
  #.......Oo.L.# =
  #;;.....o6..#
  #;;);;....)#
  ###########

CONTENT: Lacane forks his fingers, leans left around the awkward thrust of a giant club, and blasts both Scorching Rays up into the chest of the charred ogre wielding the club. The heat billows back on Lacane. The first ray instantly engulfs the ogre, sucking the air from its lungs before it can scream. The second ray punches into the rising flames, spinning them into a spiraling inferno. A long second later, the flames collapse and wink out. Flakes of black ash swirl above a pile of blackened broken bones and a sooty smear on the flagstones beneath. [The ogre is at -28hp!]

Lacane leaps through the lingering heat wave towards the large hole behind it, calling out: "Johnathan, a little help here! One of the ogres just dove into the hole!"

The ogre in front of Gwulf is now sitting in a spreading pool of its own blood. It stares stupidly at Gwulf, their eyes level with each other. The ogre glances down, either at the huge booger still on its finger or the gaping wound now in its crotch. The pumping flow of blood is already beginning to slacken. The ogre's head tilts back, its eyes roll up, and the body topples backwards. As it does, Gwulf leaps up, leaves a bloody footprint on the thing's chest, and hurtles over the body. He lands in a crouch, then launches himself into a two-step charge at the next ogre in line that is peering around the corner. Its eyes widen, and it raises its club.

As Gwulf swings, his blood-slicked left foot suddenly slips out from under him on the white flagstones of the roof. He staggers to the right, nearly going down... but catches himself just in time. [Sorry, rolled a 1.]

From over his left shoulder, an errant blast of light sears the stone of the outhouse structure a couple feet from the ogre. Behind him, Gwulf hears Johnathan curse soundly. [Damn, he rolled a 1 too!] Glancing back, he sees Johnathan Airwalking up and over the other outhouse structure towards the hole in the roof. "Coming, Cane!", he hollers.

Then Gwulf hears Calton yell from his right: "Dock clear!". A second later two small flaming arrows embed themselves with a dying sizzle in the left arm of the ogre in front of him. Gwulf ducks his head a little lower. If that halfling's arrows aren't hitting vitals, he must be making long shots from over 30' away. He better know what he's doing!

The ogre glances around wildly, hesitates, but then settles his gaze back onto the off-balance dwarf in front of him. Here's something the ogre can understand. Here's something that he can hurt! He raises his club a little higher and brings it down with both hands.

But Gwulf's giant-dodging training already has him moving out of the way... just enough that he can successfully deflect the club by a necessary couple of inches with a swipe of his short sword. The thick rootball of the tree-club slams into the stone near Gwulf's left foot. [Yay for dwarven abilities and Two-Weapon Defense!]

From down in the hole to the west comes the sound of an ogre hollering. Cane picks out the Goblin words for "roof" and "magic." Other voices answer from within the hall below, but they are too echoy and distant to make out clearly.

The roof now looks like this:

  ###########
  #;;;)..;;;)#
  #;;....;;.Oo#
  #.........oo.# =
  #......####.G##=
  #.@@@../-=#Oo..-
  #.@@@@.####o&.##
  #.@@@@..Jj....)#
  #..@@..#jj#...##
  #.@.@..\-=#...&-
  #......####..##=
  #......L.Oo..# =
  #;;......o&.#
  #;;);;....)#
  ###########

CONTENT: Lacane steps up to the hole and peeks in. Below is a large room--about 30 feet across--which also has a massive ragged hole in its floor. A couple feet down through that second hole is the water level. The blackened ogre is splashing its way over to the side of the hole and reaching up to grab hold of the ledge formed by the broken flagstones of the floor. As he does, an armored goblin wearing a dark leather cloak and carrying a bow steps confidently through a wide crack in the wall above him. A black horned head breaks the surface of the water nearby and the ogre cringes back. The goblin gestures to the skull-faced dragon, and both look up towards the sky... and the peering Cane.

Already dipping into the ebb and flow of magic, Lacane pulls forth a a Defenestrating Sphere and hurls it down towards the trio. Forced to choose a target, he settles on the dragon.

The swirling Sphere whips the water to a foaming mist as it hits. The dragon's head is snapped to one side and then its body is driven down into the murky water again. The Sphere continues to spin on the surface.

Johnathan appears over the top of the outhouse behind Lacane and strides through the air to the edge of the hole, peeking down over the edge and drawing his greatsword back to a ready position.

Meanwhile, Gwulf growls as he slashes his axe across the ogre's belly and drives his short sword between a couple rips into a lung. The ogre makes a gagging "Oomph" noise and drops sideways to the floor.

Jerking the short sword clear again, Gwulf scans the water around the hall. There is no sign of coming reinforcements or of any waves or ripples like he saw in the penned area to the south. However, just as he turns back to the battle, he sees a large bird soars up from below and to the left. It looks like an eagle coming from the NW face of the hall below. It suddenly dips as a small arrow clips its wing.

Just beyond Johnathan's hovering right foot, a well-armored hobgoblin bursts through the doorway of the northern outhouse. His breastplate, shield, and longsword are of the same issue as those hobgoblins in the belltower. He whips around, getting his bearings. He glowers over at Lacane, but then his face falls as he glances up at the towering, Airwalking Johnathan between them.

Below, in the hole, the goblin whips an arrow from a quiver on his back and fires it up at Lacane... and even before it hits, he's drawing another... and then another... 3 arrows like a blur. The first punches through Lacane's Shield spell but bounces off of his mithril chain shirt. But the next two find their marks. The arrow tips bring with them an oddly deep and mighty ache in Cane's flesh. [-16 = 42/58hp] The goblin takes a quick step back into the gap in the wall, gaining some cover.

Then the dragon bursts forth from the water again, beating its wet wings hard to get clear of the water. It checks its flight for a moment in surprise at the new sight of Johnathan, but still rises, grabbing the edge of roof and scrambling out on the far edge, just out of reach of Johnathan's readied sword.

This black dragon is not as large as the green one we faced at the bridge. It is maybe 15ft long, with a wingspan to match, though it seems to be mostly tail and neck. Still, it feels huge and dangerous when it's so close! The dragon twists it skeletal toothy face with its forward-curving horns towards Johnathan and opens its mouth. A jet of green mist blasts forward, engulfing him. Johnathan throws an arm up--too late--but when the acid mist clears, he is unharmed! [Yay for Resist Energy: Acid!]

The dragon roars and mewls... and Lacane recognizes Draconic words beneath the frustration: "Saarvith, get to the dock!"

The ogre below is still in the water, staring up at this action in open-mouthed awe.

The roof now looks like this:

  ###########
  #;;;)..;;;)#
  #;;....;;.Oo#
  #.........o&.# =
  #.D....####.G##=
  #.@@@.h/-=#Oo..-
  #.@@@@.####o&.##
  #.@@@@Jj......)#
  #..@@.jj###...##
  #.@.@..\-=#...&-
  #....L.####..##=
  #........Oo..# =
  #;;......o&.#
  #;;);;....)#
  ###########