016: Treachery in the Gloom

At Artur's appearance, confusion reigned among the men menacing Laina. However, one man–a tall, burly balding red-bearded warrior–called upon his companions to calm down.

After some initial shouting and confusion, the men lowered their weapons. Artur learnt the men were guards for an adventuring company--the Grey Cloaks–who had engaged the band to guard their camp while they explored deeper into Gloamhold. The company had never returned and the men had been trapped here ever since. They begged to be rescued, and carried back to Languard.

Unfortunately, this was a problem. Laina's fishing boat could only hold 10 people, and the rowboats weren't suitable for a prolonged voyage. The ensuing discussions were long and torturous. Colzo and Horsa strongly believed the warriors could not be trusted. Their hunch proved right when Grand Silvertongue cast a charm person on the leader. It turned out the group were smugglers, and the story about the Grey Cloaks was nothing but a tissue of lies. The smugglers offered to buy the party's rowboats, but Colzo and Horsa were having none of it. While Artur and Grand Silvertongue thought a deal could be done their hopes proved fruitless. Violence ensued, and quickly the band were wiped out.

Picking over the bodies, the party recovered some minor loot–including four bottles of expensive dwarven whiskey and a small amount of coin.

Now discussion turned to their next course of action. It seemed pointless to search the passageways in the immediate vicinity as the smugglers had reported them mainly empty. Instead, the party decided to penetrate deeper into Gloamhold and to investigate the huge statues standing to the north.

Setting sail with Laina at the helm, the party quickly drew up next to the first statue, which depicted a 30-foot tall troglodyte warrior. Several of the heroes thought there was something odd about the statue. It depicted a troglodyte, but had no tail. Thoughts of hidden treasure and secret doors filled the heroes' minds.

As Wave Dancer nudged up against the statue's plinth, something horrible happened. The mass of seaweed covering the base began to move. With a horrible kind of slopping, juddering lurch it rose up and struck...