Shake, Rattle and Kill

The next few days pass in a bit of a blur. Every waking hour is a variant on the following script:

• Investigate corridor.
• Look for secret doors.
• Check visible doors for traps.
• No traps detected.
• Fingers opens the door.
• Save against lightning!

Between opening trapped doors, there are plenty of regular doors and a huge supply of stirges and hellish looking rats. There are rooms with sigils carved into bronze plates and rooms with interesting pillars. Barracks, guard posts, workshops and smithies are discovered. There is a brief foray into an area that seems to be staffed by trap-making bugbears, but the group reverses direction. The halls are well constructed, surpassing even the abilities of the dwarves, though Digin is loath to admit as much. The passages wander back and forth without a discernible reason, and the uniformity of the doors is a bit alarming. The sheer size of the complex is staggering and the group travels many miles in their back and forth excursions.

There are areas that have obviously been hit by earthquakes, and other regions that seem largely untouched. As the party explores further, it becomes clear that there were pitched battles in certain areas, with corpses piled high. Everywhere, there are orc bodies, occasional troglodytes, more of the bearded dragon folk and some form of winged octopus. The bodies look to have been dead for about a month, which would line up timewise with the earthquake that opened up the area. What triggered the war? Who were the combatants? Why were they fighting? Shreds of a journal revela some sort of event took place, but what and why is still unclear. Also unclear is exactly how the party will exit the area, given that they haven’t fully investigated a single section so far. Perhaps this will lead to the extended absence they were hoping would take them off the lips of the town’s gossips.