It has been a strange couple of weeks. On one hand you've had a great deal of fun, on the other you've been very frustrated.

The fun has come in the setting of snares and traps around the tunnels used by the humanoids. While you never see a humanoid caught in one of your traps, most of them get sprung at one point. Several have blood on the ground near them. Two of the better ones you built shows signs of being ripped apart in the attempt to free the victim. The fact that you don't see any humanoids is rather frustrating. You see plenty of tracks and other evidence of their presence, but you never get the chance to confront them face to face.

Then, two days ago, something strange happened. A fresh snow had fallen only a few days before, so tracking was easy. However, you began to find fewer and fewer signs of the humanoids. Soon the signs disappeared all together. The past day you have spent moving quickly from cave mouth to cave mouth looking for signs.

It is early in the morning, shortly before sunrise. You are standing near one of the last caves Castinar wanted to check. "I wonder what this all means?" Castinar asks. "Why the sudden drop in activity? Have they been engaged from below? Or is this the calm before the storm?" Finally the ranger shakes his head. "Well, one way or the other those in town need to know about this."

Castinar starts looking around for signs of animals. He plans on casting his Messenger spell to let the party know what is going on. A snapping sound causes him to look up at Shadow. The young elf holds up her hands and tilts her head, listening intently. Castinar pauses as well.

<I can hear it> Hunter sends from the tree above the cave where he is hanging out. <Drums>

The sound gradually grows in intensity. Castinar nods. They are the sounds of drums - war drums.

The humanoids are coming.

With renewed vigor Castinar searches for and finally finds a suitable messenger. It is a large sparrow. He gives the bird it's instruction and message and sends it into town, praying to Meilikki that the bird will find its way. While this takes only a few minutes, the sound of the drums grows louder. "Shall we go see who is coming to pay us a visit?" Castinar asks Shadow.

You help each other with your winter camouflage, making sure the dark parkas underneath are covered by the white fabric Castinar purchased from the Neworion Trading Post a few weeks back. Satisfied that they are ready, you slowly makes their way towards the sound.

The sun is just peeking over the horizon when you sight the horde below. Getting down you belly crawl up to a small ridge line. Keeping behind some bare bushes you look at the forces arrayed before you.

Castinar suddenly goes dizzy and reaches out to steady himself; looking around abruptly, he tries to figure out where he is. The drums... the sounds of war... I should be smelling smoke right now... where is the smoke? Something isn't right.... is... is the village safe? Mother? Father??? Get away.... get out of town... please hurry....

Castinar's eyes are blurred as he looks upon the hordes gathered below.... he's lived this before... he know that there is no chance to get warning to his family... to his friends.... to his village. He knows that there are none left to turn to but his friend; the friend he found on this very mountain not long ago.

Hunter's mental voice suddenly wakes him to reality; this isn't the same event which happened 23 years ago... but it could well end up the same; silently he counts the numbers; each new group sending tremors of fear; fear for his friends in the village; fear for the poor villagers themselves.

The humanoids seem to be mostly made up of orcs and goblins - good news for the town's defenders. However, there are scattered companies of hobgoblins and even a few bugbears as well. As you watch a group of ogres comes by, carrying something long made out of wood. You also sight what appear to be leaders of some kind. They are heavily cloaked human-sized figures which move up and down the line, keeping everybody in order.

"Oh no, not undead!" Castinar moans when he sees a new company round the corner. Several score of zombies and skeletons shuffle through the mud churned up by the boots of the humanoids ahead of them. At the rear of this company walks a figure wearing a black cloak lined in red.

As you watch Castinar's pocket starts vibrating. Reaching in he pulls out the coin given him by Tessalynne. "Good, the alarm has been sounded" he whispers. You return to your count. You have counted almost 500 troops so far, and there appear to be more still coming.

Just as you are about to pull back from the hill you notice something down the small valley you are looking in to. A sizeable group (around 100) of humanoids has broken off from the main line and are heading up the mountain side. Castinar looks around to make sure of his bearings. "That group is heading for one of the mine cave entrances - the one between those two tall fir trees near that patch of shale" Castinar tells Shadow. Shadow nods in agreement.

Castinar makes a couple quick calculations and realizes two things; it's possible to make it back to the city, but one more sword (sorry, two more, Cast adds to himself, glancing at Shadow) would do little good. He also realizes that if there are any men at the cave entrance, they might not understand what is happening. (That, and there might be some of those who went into the UD to combat the Dark Elves in the vicinity... another 20 or 30 men, coming upon the horde from behind, might make a difference in the battle).

Thus, Castinar motions to Shadow, and points up the hill. Together, they make their way toward the mine, Castinar prays to Meilikki that they are/were not to late in raising the warning.

You both creep back from the edge of the ridge and then, keeping in the trees, you head toward the cave.

You are about 300 yards away when Shadow stops and makes a soft clicking sound - the sign that she wants Castinar's attention. Castinar stops and looks. Shadow points above and ahead of them. At first Castinar doesn't understand what she is pointing to. It takes a bit of work, but eventually Shadow gets her message across. The snow above their path is unstable, and might slip loose as they pass below it, causing an avalanche. This would both endanger their lives and give away their location.

Castinar fumes about the situation for a moment. But it is too late to turn back now. You have to press on.

<Hunter, fly ahead and see if you can find those humanoids. I want to know if they are going to beat us to the cave, and if so, by how much.>

The bat sends his acknowledgement and flies off. The two of you then backtrack for a distance until you find another path which will take you above the unstable snow pack.

About ten minutes later Hunter returns. <They entered the cave a few minutes ago. It is mostly bugbears, with a few orcs and ogres along for the ride> he tells Castinar. The ranger curses and redoubles his efforts, hoping to get into the tunnels before there is fighting. If he and Shadow can attack from the rear they might be able to disrupt the attack.

It seems as if it takes forever to get to the cave. You finally enter, all three of you relieved to be out of the cold and sun. Moving forward cautiously you see that the humanoids have moved deeper into the mine. You follow.

It doesn't take long before you hear the sounds of battle ahead. You speed up a little. Just as suddenly, the sounds stop. Unsure of what may have happened you slow down and begin to move cautiously.

You enter a small cavern, perhaps 50' wide. Scattered all over the cavern are bodies. Most are bugbears, but several are dwarves, gnomes, and humans, all wearing the uniform of the JMC guards. As you move into the room you can tell that several of the guards still live, if just barely. One dwarf is missing his lower leg, but he is trying to drag himself across the room towards one of his fallen comrades.

Just then the sounds of battle start up again, this time from not too far ahead. It is difficult to gauge distance from sound in the Underdark, but Castinar estimates the fighting is less than 200 yards away.

Knowing that her own healing skills aren't as good as the druid's, Shadow will move towards where the fighting is, she will switch from bow to short sword and signal to Castinar that she'll be right back. Slipping into the shadows she cautiously makes her way toward the fighting.

You make your way down the tunnel, moving as silently as you can. The distance proves to be about 250 yards before you see faint light ahead of you.

The battle has been joined in a large cavern lit by glowing fungi on the walls. On the far side you see arrayed about a score of warriors, clerics, and mages in the uniform of the mine guards. Attacking them are what looks like a somewhat under a hundred or so bugbears plus a handful of ogres.

As you take in the chaos of the battle you notice something else. A rather large bugbear is standing by himself just outside of the tunnel you are in - hardly 40' away from you. He seems to be alone and is watching the fight intently. As you observe him he points to one side of the battle and shouts something in an unnaturally loud voice. The fighting bugbears respond to whatever it was he said.

For the next round I will observe the progress of the mine defenders. If it appears they are holding their own, I will return and try to inform Castinar what's going on. If it appears the defenders are in dire straits and I won't get back in time to help them, then I'll sneak up behind the leader and attempt a backstab on him with my short sword. I've never tackled anything quite this nasty before, so naturally I'm quite nervous about it.

(The story-line is a little warped here, but since I knew Shadow was going to get in trouble I had Hunter warn Castinar in the next turn.)

You find somewhat to your relief that most of the guards are badly wounded, but not dead. As you move through the cavern the dwarf with one leg cries out to you. "Elf! Come aid me!"

A thought flashes through your head - he is injured, close to death, shouldn't you help the others? But as you look up something about him catches your attention. He has a strange symbol around his neck... one that looks somehow familiar. With a jolt you realize where you've seen the symbol before - it is the same symbol that Dorim wore - the dwarf killed in the party's first encounter. This dwarf must be a cleric!

You hurry over to him and cast your Cure Moderate Wounds spell on him. He sighs in relief. "Me donna know 'ow much longer me could'a 'ung on dere. Me t'anks. Now, drag me over to da others, if'n ye would. Me's gotta get ta 'ealin' dem so dey can return to da battle."

You and the dwarf (who you find is named Umgul) tend to those guards who can still use your help. You get seven of them on their feet, more or less in condition to fight again. You don't have the magic or potions to pull another half-dozen up, and four others are beyond your power to care for. As you treat them you make a rough count of the bugbears in the room. There are about a score or so.

You ask Umgul if there are any other Jurgenville guards close by, or if he knows who is fighting nearby. The dwarf shakes his head. "We were just a rovin' patrol. Da cursed monsters ambushed us 'ere. We got a warnin' off, but were still wiped out. Dere was just too many o' 'em. Da fightin' ye 'ear is probably our reinforcements."

You aren't quite finished yet when Hunter comes flying back into the room. <Castinar! Shadow has gotten herself in trouble. You had better come quick!>

"How many men would be in your reinforcing group?" Castinar asks. If the answer numbers the same as we have out here (or more), Castinar will look at Umgul -- may I use these men? Assuming he gets approval, and assuming the men are willing to help him on a plan, Castinar will quickly explain what he wants.

Contrary to normal procedures in/around the UD, I want to make an assault on the humanoids from behind; and I want to convince them that we have a patrol in force with us. That is, I want each of the men accompanying me to play "Squad Leader", bellowing out orders and generally making as much noise as possible.

Those who are walking-wounded but not combat-worthy, I would like to act as noise makers as well; and to start preparing torches... (Cast leaves his equipment frame behind...... tear up the blanket/sleeping bag as required to make material for torches....) If the wounded can place torches around the mine entrance to enforce a belief that we have numbers behind us, great).

My intent is to scare the humanoids into submission; or retreat. Castinar will, regardless of what the other men do, go see how he can be of assistance.

From behind a large and comfortingly-sturdy rock you watch what you can see of the battle in the cavern ahead. The humanoids have numbers on their side, while the mine defenders have magic to help even out the odds. After watching the fighting for a few breaths you determine that the mine defenders are slowly loosing ground, but you suspect that Castinar will arrive to help out before the situation becomes too grim.

Things unexpectedly take a turn for the worse when a lightning bolt flashes from somewhere outside your line of sight and knocks one of the mine defenders back into a wall. A few moments later the cave is again illuminated by a stroke of lightning and another defender falls to the ground. You can tell that the attacks are coming from behind the bugbear lines. It looks like the defenders aren't the only ones with magical support.

You sigh deeply as you realize what this means. You have to take action now to influence the fight. For a moment you wonder why you didn't take up spell casting or some other profession safer than hand-to-hand fighting. Shaking your head you check your gear to make sure nothing is going to clink or jingle to give you away. After a few deep breaths to try and slow down your pounding heart you slip out from behind the rock and make your way forward, moving as silently as any church-mouse.

You cross the forty feet between you and your target - the apparent bugbear leader. The fool is standing just inside the cave, giving you a perfect shot at him. Now that you are this close he seems even larger and more dangerous before. But, no turning back now. Mustering up all of the courage in your soul you take the last few silent steps and drive your short sword between his shirt of chain mail and the hard leather armor around his waist.

The bugbear bellows out in pain and whips around so fast he jerks the sword out of your hand. You instinctively duck and the blow which would have taken off your head whistles by harmlessly. You somersault backwards and look up to see if he is after you. You see the monster wrench your blade out of his back and throw it to the ground. He glares at you with his beady eyes and then lunges forward. You scramble backwards, wondering if this is how it is going to all end when another flash of bright light temporarily blinds you. The bugbear bellows once again and stumbles backwards.

<OK, I think you've managed to get him angry. Now what are you going to do?>

It takes you a moment to figure out where the voice came from, then you realize it is in your head. It must be Hunter, Castinar's azmyth bat. He has never spoken to you until now. The flash of light now makes sense as well - Hunter striking the bugbear with his electrified tail.

You are wondering exactly how one communicates back to a telepathic bat when Hunter contacts you again. <About 35 yards back in the tunnel there is a large crack up along the left hand side near a bend in the tunnel. You should be able to hide in it long enough for Castinar to get here. I'll go get him.>

You pause. You didn't see any crack in the wall. <RUN you fool!> Hunter screams in your head. This, along with another angry howl brings you back to the danger at hand. The large bugbear is pointing at you as he rubs his eyes. You see two other large bugbears look in from each side of the tunnel and start moving towards you. You suppress a small moan of fear as you scramble to your feet and sprint down the tunnel, praying silently that you won't stumble on any unseen rocks.

Apparently Meilikki hears your prayers, for you make it to the bend. A feeling of panic begins to well up inside of you when you can't see the crack. Your eyes search franticly as the bugbears rapidly close the distance.

Finally you spot it, up about eight feet off the ground. Jumping for all you are worth you manage to catch the bottom of the crack. You badly scrape your hands as you pull yourself forward into the crack. It is very narrow, but you hid in less after your escape from the drow. You are very pleased when you find that it goes back for several feet before narrowing.

The bugbears growl and bark outside of the crack. Once again fortune smiles on you as they are both armed with swords rather than pole arms. They try to reach you, but fail repeatedly.

Unexpectedly the sounds outside the crack stop. You wonder if the bugbears have left, or if they are just trying to make you think they have. Where is Castinar anyway? You close your eyes and concentrate on your hearing. Sure enough, you hear the sound of two large creatures breathing a short distance away. Well, two can play at the patience game.

About a minute later you hear movement again. This time you realize you could be in trouble when the head of one of the bugbears rises up to look into the crack. He wobbles a bit and looks down, growling. He must be standing on the other's back or something. The beast bares his long fangs in a gruesome smile when he spots you huddled only a few feet away.

His expression changes from triumph to concern and he looks down the hallway, back towards the cave entrance. He says something in the guttural language of his kind and then abruptly disappears from view. From the sound of things he apparently fell rather than simply stepping down. You wonder what pulled his attention away from you, and then you hear it for yourself. Voices - human voices - calling out down the tunnel. You hear several calls for "Squad form up now!" or "Company three ready for battle sir!". Good, reinforcements must have arrived from the surface!

With no little relief you hear the bugbears retreat back towards the cavern where the battle is going on. You painfully make your way out. Your entire body feels like one huge scrape from being jammed in so tightly between the rough rock walls of the fissure. After making sure the bugbears have, in fact, left, you jump down into the tunnel. Looking towards the tunnel entrance you see light moving towards you. This strengthens your conclusion that it is relief from the surface dwellers which is coming, not more mine defenders. You are somewhat surprised that they were able to react so quickly. Castinar only sounded the alarm about half an hour ago.

Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor you hide behind a nearby rock and wait for your rescuers to approach. For some reason they are moving slowly and are making a lot of noise. Suspicions begin to form just as the first figure comes into sight. You see him stop and yell "Third platoon, hold here." A second figure joins him and shouts "Fourth platoon - move up to take the point." The two figures then cautiously move forward. You wait for either third or fourth platoon to show up. They don't. A few moments later another figure comes into view, also carrying what appears to be a stick with a light spell on the end. "Second squad, prepare your crossbows!" He then moves forward. Soon about half a dozen figures are in the tunnel, all moving forward as they yell out commands to apparently imaginary troops. As they get closer you see that all of them are wounded to one degree or another. You realize these must be the wounded that Castinar stayed back to help. So where is Castinar then?

When the figures are about 20' away you step out into the light, your empty hands before you. The wounded men and dwarves jump, but one of them recognizes you and tells the others to stand down. You try to sign to them, to ask them where Castinar is, but they just look at you blankly.

<Oh, there you are.>

Hunter flies up to where you stand and lands on the ceiling, looking down at you.

<Where is Castinar> you try to ask him, concentrating on your thoughts.

<Coming> he replies.

You are rather pleased with yourself that you were able to talk to him. A few breaths later Castinar appears from behind you. He had somehow moved past you without you noticing him. No doubt in large part due to his magical cloak.

"Hunter said you were in trouble" the ranger says.

[Trouble leave, hear talk, see light] you sign back.

Castinar nods. "Good, then my little deception is working. Now to see if it will keep working long enough to get us out of this mess.

(Back to Castinar with a little overlap)

You shake your head when Hunter reports to you that Shadow is in trouble. You knew you shouldn't have let the young woman go off on her own. Even down here in these well explored tunnels there are still dangers, to say nothing of the bugbears you already know are roaming around the place.

You quickly take command of the situation, organizing the survivors of the initial attack into those who can still fight, those who can walk, and those who will have to stay here. Much to your surprise the dwarf with the amputated leg refuses to be left behind. He breaks a spear shaft in half, jams the two pieces into a boot, and then lashes them to the stump of his leg. "Me wonna be able ta run, but me's more dan able ta walk!" the cleric says as he straps the makeshift artificial limb on.

In all you get six defenders in some semblance of fighting condition and two that can walk. You have to leave another six behind. When you mention torches the cleric rummages through a bag and pulls out an assortment of light stones at varying intensities. You explain your plan as you hand these out to those that will accompany you. As the warriors listen their doubt is evident on their faces, but they reluctantly agree to your plan. After giving out quick "platoon" assignments you lead your tiny command down the tunnel after Shadow. Pulling your cloak up you move on ahead, hoping to be able to surprise anything that the noisy "army" behind you flushes out.

Hunter flies above you as you silently move forward. After several minutes he sends to you <I told the girl to hide in the crack above you, but she isn't there.> Sniffing the air you smell an unpleasant musky scent - bugbears. Fearing the worst you move forward. From your current location you can hear the sounds of fighting up ahead. Twice during your approach you hear the sound of thunder.

<Castinar, she's back here.>

Hunter's call catches you off guard. You passed her somehow? Hurrying back you find Shadow standing next to the defenders you have brought with you, very near to the place Hunter said he had left her. She looks a mess, her skin and clothing badly scraped in her attempt to hide within the narrow crack. But other than the abrasions she looks unharmed. After insuring that she is all right you inform the others that you are approaching the battle.

"Ye still want's us ta keep up with da racket?" one of the dwarves asks. You tell him yes, right up until the last possible moment. Again the seasoned fighters look skeptical, but they still have enough heart to exchange a few jokes, each bragging that their "platoon" is the strongest or largest.

From Shadow you learn a little about the fight ahead. The bugbears badly outnumber the defenders, and the thunder you hear is lightning bolts being cast by somebody within the bugbear ranks. Shadow fears the battle will be going poorly for the defenders. Well, there is no use in turning back now, so you lead your group forward.

When you make the final turn and look down into the cavern you see that Shadow's assessment was correct. Two large bugbears are crouching on either side of the tunnel entrance. Several feet further into the cavern and to one side you see a large bugbear who seems to be directing the battle. He has a large, blood-soaked bandage around his back. You put this together with the fact that Shadow was missing her sword and now understand why Shadow was in trouble. Backstabbing a bugbear chieftain. Brave. Stupid, but brave. You make a mental note to have a little talk about biting off more than one can chew if you both make it through this.

You hold your position as your fake army approaches. You see the two bugbears guarding the entrance grow nervous as the noise increases. They say something to the injured chieftain, who signals some of the monsters from the line to pull back to guard the tunnel. Well, you may not be driving them off, but at least you're giving those fighting on the other side a break. About a third of those fighting pull back and move towards the tunnel.

Behind you the defenders are fast approaching. Now it is your turn to become nervous, wondering what is going to happen when the bugbears figure out what is going on. You inch closer to the opening, now only 20 feet away. As you do so you see a new figure, a smaller bugbear, step right into the mouth of the tunnel. One of the larger ones reaches out and yanks him out of sight, growling at him as he does so.

All too soon your little army steps from behind the last bend. Their voices are now raised in a battle song which is amplified by the narrow tunnel walls. You are rather impressed at the volume they are achieving. Then your attention is drawn back to the tunnel mouth as the smaller bugbear once again steps into view. He raises his arm and you notice that he is holding something.

Your world suddenly turns white as a bolt of lightning streaks past your head and down the hall. You are blinded by the light and deafened by the noise. Before you fully recover another bolt lances down the narrow tunnel. This time you faintly hear the screams of those at the other end as the electricity strikes them.

<Castinar!> you hear Hunter send from back with the others <the tunnel back here is caving in! We're going to be trapped!>

Time seems to slow as your agile brain skips through your options. If you get up and try to run back towards the others you might be seen or accidentally hit by one of the bolts. If you just stay here you'll be stuck between a group of ready bugbears and tons of rock. If you move forward you'll be right in the middle of said bugbears and the one with the wand.

Your mind seizes on that last point. Later on when you think about this you don't recall making a conscious decision about your next actions. You simply acted. Drawing your scimitar you lunge forward, intent on striking down the bugbear with the wand. But the repeated blasts have upset your senses and your first swing falls very short. The bugbear cries out in alarm and you sense the two large ones on the sides moving in towards with. Desperately you bring your scimitar up over your head and slice down for all you are worth. As you do so the small bugbear raises the arm holding the wand up to shield off your blow. It's the last thing you remember doing for several minutes.

(From Shadow's perspective)

From the back of Castinar's fake army you nervously finger the arrow you have set in your bowstring. Unknowingly you echo your mentor's thoughts when you worry what is going to happen when all those bugbears figure out there are only a handful of you down here, not platoons. But you trust Castinar enough to figure that he has some kind of plan in mind.

You give warning to the mine defenders as you approach the last turn before the cavern. Much to your surprise they break out in song. They sound like they are choking on sour ale. It must be something in dwarvish, you decide. You shake your head and return to your position at the rear.

The fact that you aren't in front saves your life. Soon after the first ranks round the corner a lightning bolt slams into them, killing one outright and knocking most everybody else including yourself to the ground. Before you are able to recover another bolt comes snaking down, badly burning another of the fighters.

"'ware!" you hear one of the dwarves cry out "da roof 'ere tain't secure! Tis gonna fall in on us!"

For the first time you notice that you are covered in dust now, and there is a steady rain of small rocks falling around you. The roof falling in? A cave in! Buried alive! Once again you have to fight down the panic that wells up within you. You think about Castinar up there all alone. He'll be cut off if this tunnel caves in! Shaking the dust from your hair and eyes you crawl forward and peek around the corner.

With your eyes still trying to recover from the bright flash of the bolt you can't see any detail, but you see some kind of struggle at the tunnel mouth. Catching the silhouette of a scimitar you know that Castinar is up there. But before you can react the entire tunnel is suddenly filled with an incredibly bright blue light. You cry out as the light shoots into your brain. A split second later the concussion hits you. Even from your low position you are still lifted off the ground and thrown back against the wall. The sound is so loud you feel it more than hear it.

<Shadow. Shadow! Wake UP! I swear I'll shock you where it hurts the most if you don't get up right now!>

Through the haze you try to focus your thoughts on these "sounds", understanding somehow that they are important. But you can't recall why they are important.

<Shadow. I mean it! Castinar needs our help!>

Castinar. There is something else that is important for some reason. But why...

Your eyes snap open as your senses fully return. Hunter is standing on your chest. You notice for the first time how strange his eyes look, completely white with no pupil.

<About time! Now get up! We have to go help Castinar!>

<What happened?> you ask.

<I don't know for sure, but I'm afraid our intrepid leader managed to slice through a Wand of Lightning. It exploded. They tend to do that when you slice them in half.>

Shakily you get to your feet as Hunter takes to the air. You rub your eyes, trying to clear a huge flash-spot, but it refuses to go away. Stumbling forward you follow the bat down the hallway.

You arrive at a scene of carnage unlike any you have ever seen before. There are bits and pieces of bugbear everywhere. You spot what looks like a human in red robes which is missing both arms about 20' away. Then, much to your joy and amazement you find Castinar - with all of his pieces still attached. Bending over him you search for signs of life.

<Hunter... HUNTER! HE'S NOT BREATHING! WHAT DO I DO!>

<How should I know> you hear the bat reply, panic evident in his voice, <do I look like a cleric? Ooh, where is that drow when we need her!!>

You look around franticly, wondering what you can do. Several feet away you spy the bugbear leader attempting to stand. What interests you about him are the steel flasks you see around his waist. Drawing your dagger you walk over and calmly slit the beast's throat and then remove the three potions.

<One of these might be a healing potion> you tell the bat. You feel a mental shrug from the bat, who hovers over Castinar's still form. You look at them and see that all three have a symbol engraved on them. <Do you know what these mean?> you ask, turning the flasks so that the bat can see them.

<NO! Just give him one of the damn potions before it's too late!>

You break the wax seal on the one you are holding and start to dribble it into Castinar's throat. You are a little encouraged when the elf reflexively swallows. You keep pouring until the entire draught is gone. Sitting back you exchange an anxious look with Hunter and watch.

Nothing happens.

<Use another! Quickly!>

You fumble for another of the potions and repeat the process.

Again, nothing happens.

With fading hope you unscrew the third flask and start pouring it. This time something does happen - Castinar starts coughing. Not knowing whether this is good or bad you keep pouring, and Castinar finally recovers enough to swallow on his own. Pushing your hand away he sits straight up (almost knocking Hunter out of the air) and takes several deep and ragged breaths.

(Back to Castinar's viewpoint)

You look around, confused. The last thing you remember was being outside with Shadow watching a line of monsters moving below you. Now you find yourself in a cave with Shadow next to you and Hunter hovering nearby.
"What happened?" you ask. Something seems strange about your voice, but you can't put your finger on it.

[You big boom!] Shadow signs.

<I think you managed to cut a Wand of Lightning in half> Hunter replies. <Might I recommend not trying that again in the future, hum?>

At the mention of the wand it all comes back to you. Looking around you see that everybody within thirty feet of where you fought with the wand-wielding bugbear is badly hurt or dead - mostly dead. You also spot a human you didn't notice before, one missing both his arms and most of his chest. Looking across the cavern you see that the defenders have gained the upper hand, and that the surviving bugbears, without the leadership of their chieftain or magical support, have retreated into several knots. As you watch one of the knots is obliterated by a pair of fireballs.

It is as you are watching the battle that something dawns on your. You can't hear the battle. There is a loud ringing in your ears, but nothing else. You snap your fingers and then clap your hands, but you can't hear either. Hoping that it is only a temporary thing you slowly get to your feet. Looking down at yourself you are amazed to see that most of your leather armor on your chest is gone, blown away by the force of the explosion. You can see right through to your burned flesh. You shake your head. It looks like that is really going to hurt once the battle rush is over.

You want to get up and join the fighting but discover that your body has other ideas. So you sit back down as Shadow explains to you what happened. You thank Meilikki that one of those potions turned out to be a potion of healing. As you sit there Hunter brings the surviving defenders down the tunnel and they set about finishing off or securing the wounded bugbears around your position.

Another five minutes pass and it is all over. The leader of the force you were trying to relieve, a tall elven mage named Cardian, walks over to meet you. You see that he also bears the marks of several close encounters with the wand of lightning.

Once he learns what you have done (Hunter provides the communication since you still can't hear) he bows to you in respect. "You may have saved my detachment" he tells you, "for that I owe you a great deal." Hunter has to pass his message along telepathically since you’re not quite that good at lip reading. Cardian has one of his healers tend to your wounds. You soon feel ready to fight again, but much to your disappointment your hearing has yet to return.

As the soldiers are policing the battlefield one of the lesser mages runs over to Cardian and tells him something. The elf frowns and looks grim. "There is another attack further down in the mine" he tells you. "You can go with the other wounded to one of our outposts if you wish" he offers. "Perhaps there one of the clerics can help you with your hearing."

You watch as Shadow silently snaps her fingers in front of your face.

[You hear that?] she signs.

You shake your head. She then claps several times.

[That?]

[Faintly] you sign back, somewhat encouraged that you can now hear at least loud sounds.

Shadow shakes her head and smiles. [We a sorry pair, yes? I no talk, you no hear.]

<Sorry. Yes, that would work> Hunter can’t resist saying. <But then again, Castinar can still talk and you can still hear. That is all that is really needed in a good master-servant relationship.>

<She is not my servant> you send back angrily, signing at the same time to make sure Shadow understands. <She’s more like an… apprentice.>

<Like you and Jasovani?>

<Oh no, not like that. I’m not even near to the level Jasovani was when I studied under him. He was… is a true master. I’m still learning. It’s just that I have learned a little more than Shadow.>

Shadow shrugs and signs [I no know Jasovani, but you master to me. I no find half things you point out in Underdark – even after you point things out!]

You smile, remembering feeling the same way your first few weeks under Jasovani’s tutelage. [It will all come in time. But for now, we have more pressing problems.]

You look around and see that the JMC guards are almost ready to set out. They were a little surprised at your insistence to accompany them down into the lower levels. A few argued about "security considerations", but others pointed out that not only were you a Gray Ranger, but you were a personal friend of Jonathan’s as well. In the end Cardian agreed to let you come.

<Castinar, Cardian is calling for everybody to fall in. Ah, he says he would like you up near the front. They have another scout up ahead, so you’ll act as a secondary scout.>

<Thanks, Hunter> you send back. <You’re going to have to be my ears down here. Please relay to me anything you think is important that I hear.>

The azmyth bat nods and you faintly pick up a feeling of satisfaction. You smile to yourself. Even a few weeks ago you weren’t able to pick up on Hunter’s feelings. But as you’ve grown more comfortable with each other the link between you has grown stronger. You’re not sure if that’s because you are more familiar with each other or if Hunter is allowing it to be stronger.

You and Shadow fall into place. Watching your student out of the corner of your eye you see she is a little nervous. Nervousness is good – if one is nervous for the right reasons.

[Why are you nervous?] you ask her.

[I… young, no experience. These man all much experience, like you. I out of place here.]

You nod, pleased to see that she has the wisdom to recognize her own weaknesses. Another teaching moment.

[The Underdark is full of dangers] you sign back, [but even the weakest can survive if they are smart. That is one of the first lessons Jasovani taught me – The most important survival tool you have is your brain. In the Underdark that is doubly true.]

Shadow nods gravely, as she always does when you go into "teaching mode". Sometimes you think she’s taking this whole thing too seriously. But you have to smile when you remember a young, serious, and bitter elven lad who also took everything too seriously. Thinking about those first few weeks with Jasovani brings back memories of what started your relationship with the human ranger – the destruction of your village and the disappearance of your family. You realize this is selfish, but you hope that Valdaeron survives the war, if for no other reason that to check on your family back in Evermeet. Another memory then pops into your head, that strange reference Valdaeron made about a "prophesy" last time you met with him. You make a mental note to send something off to Jasovani about that before you leave town.

<Better write it down> Hunter sends. <You’ve been making mental notes about that for the past three months.>

<Are you eavesdropping again?> you respond, trying to put a little bite into your thoughts. But Hunter seems unaffected. <If you are in a room with somebody who is yelling at the top of their lungs, is it eavesdropping when you hear what they say?> the bat replies.

<But you told me you couldn’t hear everybody’s thoughts.>

<Well, yes, but… I can hear yours now.>

You ponder this, not sure if it is a good or bad thing.

<What would be bad about it?>

<Grrr! OK, so how do I stop "shouting"?>

You feel a mental shrug. <I don’t know. We azmyth don’t have that problem. It seems to be an elven thing – although I don’t hear Shadow the way I hear you. She has to concentrate on me for me to hear her.>

The column starts moving out and you have to put the conversation aside. You are supposed to be on watch for any dangers, not carrying on a conversation. You frown, realizing for the first time how much you relied on your sense of hearing while scouting. But, no worrying about it now. Time enough to do that when there aren’t hostiles running through the same tunnels you are moving through.

Although you can’t be totally sure, it feels like you are moving towards the center of the mountain. The tunnel seems to be natural, but the pathway has been worn smooth by countless feet. Your keen eye detects several different types of architecture. The oldest appears to be dwarven. Then there are areas where the stone is very rough, as if mined by creatures like orcs. Finally you pass through areas carved out using magic. A great deal of time and energy has been invested in the network of tunnels under this mountain.

After marching for about half an hour you come up on a large shaft. <Cardian says the lift will hold twenty of us at once. We are to go down with the first group.>

As you wait for the lift you examine the shaft. At first you think it to be made by magic, but when you look closely you see small grooves curling down the sides, much like a screw. You search your memory for anything that might make that kind of grooves. Then you remember Jasovani showing you a shaft much like this. What did he say it had been made by. Oh yes, a purple worm. Now this is rather surprising, since the shaft seem to run perfectly vertical. What could or would make a purple worm dig a perfectly straight shaft?

Your musings are interrupted when the lift arrives. It is a wooden platform which fills half of the circular shaft. A frightened looking gnome operates the mechanism. Cardian walks over to him and begins to talk to the gnome as the little man activates the lift. As you begin to sink deep into the bowels of the mountain you notice Shadow slowly inching over towards Cardian. You are trying to decide whether or not to call her back when you faintly hear Hunter’s mental voice in your mind.

<I can hear them just as well as you! Castinar told me to pass on any information, not you!>

(a pause)

<And what makes you think what they are saying is so important? Huh? What makes you think I wouldn’t recognize important things just as well as you would? If you think it is so important then you tell him!>

<Hunter?> you send.

<Ah, what?> the bat responds, his voice much louder in your head.

<Stop shouting.>

You can’t help but grin at the puzzled expression on Hunter’s face. <You… you can hear it when I talk to Shadow? Well, I guess I do have to yell loudly to penetrate that thick skull of hers.>

<Enough. Now, what are they saying that Shadow thinks is so important.>

<Something about true silver.>

<True silver? What’s that?>

Another mental shrug. <I dunno.>

<Does Shadow know?>

Hunter shakes his head. <No, I guess it must be her female intuition telling her that whatever the stuff is it must be important. Wait… they are talking about something else now.>

Hunter’s large ears swivel to face Cardian and the gnome. <The gnome is rather frightened. He says that "they" are moving directly for Shaft 14, so they must know about the true silver. He is also very worried about the… the… I don’t know that word. Something like "dagrass nakrassbon".>

<Dragnaz Nakrathbom?> you send back.

<Yeah, that’s it. You know what it means?>

<It is dwarven for "Holy Chanters" or maybe "Prayer Singers", although I have no idea what a holy chanter is. What is he saying about them?>

<He’s worried about them too. Wait… Cardian is telling him that the dwarves will take care of their priests… I think he’s talking about these chanters… and that the Dark Stalkers will be covering the entrances to Shaft 14. Your group is going down to intercept the main thrust of the enemy before they reach the… the active area.>

<Dark Stalkers? That sounds interesting. Does he say anything more about them?>

<No, but did you see the gnome’s eyes when he mentioned them? Whatever they are, the gnome is frightened of them. Ah, Shadow wants me to point out to you that several of the guards behind you looked at little nervous at the mention of the Dark Stalkers as well.>

You nod, trying to sort this all out in your mind. Dark Stalkers? True Silver? Holy Chanters? You thought you were fairly familiar with dwarves, but none of these terms seems familiar.

As you ponder these developments the lift slows and comes to a stop. Trying to get a rough feel for distance you decide that you are at least a mile underground, probably below the level of the valley.

Your group files off and the lift rises back up into the mine. Cardian leads you through a vaulted archway into a large chamber. Again you recognize dwarven workmanship in the pillars.

<Cardian says we’ll wait here while the others are shuttled down. He recommends we eat and take care of any other duties we have to. We probably won’t get the chance to do so again after leaving here. Speaking of food, do you have any more of those dried apricots left?>

You give Hunter a few of the apricots and he flies up to the ceiling to eat them. While you are waiting for the others to arrive you decide to give Shadow a little lesson in dwarven architecture. You take the young girl over to one of the pillars and begin to point out some of the runes and illustrations that dwarves tend to use in their construction. You are pointing out the name of the dwarven king who commissioned this hall when the hairs on the back of your neck go up.

<Hunter, do you sense anything strange?>

<Well, one of these apricots was picked a little to early, but other than that, no. Why?>

<I’m not sure.>

[Shadow, do you sense anything strange?]

Shadow frowns and looks around. [Not sure. Something…. far side of room?]

You nod. There is something over there bugging you as well. You crouch down behind the pillar, naturally assuming a position that you can maintain for hours on end. [Patience is another survival tool in the Underdark] you sign to Shadow. [Learn the lesson of the cave fisher. Good things come to those who wait.]

Shadow isn’t quite sure what you’re getting at, but she crouches down beside you as well. Her position is a little different, since it is designed to be used while balancing on tree branches – but she can hold it just as long as you can hold yours.

Five minutes pass. Then ten. Fifteen. Most of the guards are now sitting behind you, eating, drinking, and triple checking their weapons and armor. Finally your patience pays off.

<There!>

<What?> Hunter sends back.

<Movement! Three pillars to the right of the archway with the hammer above it.>

[Did you see that?] you sign to Shadow.

Shadow shakes her head, obviously frustrated.

[Uses your infravision. Watch for the color to change by the third pillar right from the archway with the hammer.]

You watch patiently.

[Saw it!] Shadow signs. You nod. The figure has moved again. But what worries you more is that you saw two other figures move at the same time – ahead and behind it. Whatever is over there, they are over there in numbers, and they are very good at sneaking around.

<Hunter! Warn Cardian! There are unidentifieds on the far side of the cavern. At least three, suspect more.>

You faintly hear Hunter contacting the Jurgenville commander. Much to your relief a general alarm is not raised. But, looking back around, you see the guards’ sergeants moving quickly among the men, whispering something to them.

<I’ve told Cardian what they are doing. He wants to know the next time they move.>

Although the guards seem to be continuing with their preparations you feel the tension level in the room rise. You watch the pillars closely.

<NOW!> you send to Hunter.

A heartbeat later half a dozen streaks of light fly past you towards the far end of the room – crossbow bolts with continual light cast on the tips. The light catches a pair of figures moving between pillars. Slender forms dressed in dark chain mail with black skin and white hair. Drow! As quickly as you identify them they dart into the shadows.

"Drow!" you call out loudly, relieved that you can faintly hear your own call.

Then the unexpected happens. From several archways down from where you were watching a glowing figure appears. It is another male drow, outlined in purple faerie fire. He holds up both hands and appears to be shouting something.

<What is he saying?>

<He’s speaking in Undercommon…. something about fools and to cease-fire. Wait – Cardian is telling his men to stand down.>

As Hunter is passing this on to you the lights at the far end of the room suddenly go dark.

<Lovitar’s whip! What is going on?> you ask.

<I don’t know!> Hunter replies, sounding a little frustrated himself.

You feel Shadow tugging on your arm. [Head man wave for you.]

Looking around you see Cardian motioning for you to join him. You and Shadow leave the pillar and walk towards him. Glancing back you see no sign of the drow at the far end of the room. Hunter flies down to sit on your shoulder and relays Cardian’s words for you.

"I must say, I’m rather impressed" the commander says. "It’s not often we catch them in the open, let alone even detect their presence."

"And who might ‘they’ be?" you ask.

"They, ah, are another force working for the JMC." Cardian looks down and grins. "They consider themselves an elite force. I’m sure it’s not going to sit well with them that they were caught out in the open by simple surface-dwellers like us. I'm glad we brought you along, Castinar."

"Drow? The mine has drow working for them? Especially now, with a war going on?"

"I know, it may sound strange on the surface, but there are… extenuating circumstances. Our leadership has no doubts about their loyalty, so neither do I. Now, if you’ll excuse me we need to get moving."

You want to ask him more, but he walks off, shouting orders. You frown and shake your head.

[Castinar] Shadow signs, stepping in front of you, [I listen others when you talk head man. They say "dark stalkers", like what head man say to gnome.]

[Good job, Shadow] you sign back. So, the Jurgenville Mining Company has a band of drow called the Dark Stalkers working for them. How interesting.

Within moments the JMC guards have formed back up and you are on the move again. This time you are moving at a slow jog. "We’ve got about three miles to cover" Cardian tells you via Hunter. "We’ll set up an ambush which the forces already engaged will draw the enemy into."

With all the ups and downs it takes you about twenty minutes to arrive in the large hall which Cardian wants to fight in. You can tell right away that this room was set up for precisely this reason. Dozens of arrow slits, cleverly hidden in shadows, line both of the long walls of the hall. Looking up you are not surprised to see murder holes, but Cardian tells you that there isn’t enough time to get people up there.

You and Shadow end up on the right hand side, positioned near the front. You find a small eye slot right above the arrow slit which gives you a good view of your field of fire. You squat down slightly (the arrow slit and the peephole were both designed for a dwarf) and wait.

Within a few minutes JMC forces start moving into the room from the direction of the attack. Those squads which have obviously seen heavy action are shepherded through the hall and out the other side. Another feature of the hall is revealed when those squads still in condition to fight are hidden in large pits under the floor. Now you begin to understand the plan. You and the group you came with will engage the attackers in a murderous crossfire from behind your arrow slits. When the attackers move towards the slits those hidden in the floor will pop up and engage them from behind, while your group goes through secret doors in your barriers and attacks from the front. Leave it to dwarves to design a room this lethal.

Soon you hear the faint sounds of combat. Those entering the room now do so at a run, many bearing fresh wounds. The relief on their faces is obvious when they are greeted by scouts from your force and taken to safety.

Then the signal comes. The enemy is just outside the door. You are surprised when the last group of Jurgenville defenders through the door are a squad of firbolg. They push the large doors to the hall closed and then drop into hidden pits.

The door turns out to be rather sturdy, and it holds the enemy off longer than Cardian expected. But eventually they get through it. As they enter you look at them curiously. These are not bands of humanoids or monsters. These are humans and dwarves, dressed in uniforms.

<I just asked Cardian about them> Hunter tells you. <He says they are mercenaries.>

<I wondered why the guards were so concerned> you reply after relaying the information to Shadow, who is crouched in front of the arrow slit just down from you.

As more and more of the mercenaries enter the room you begin to grow nervous. Cardian told you that when the sign to attack came it would be unmistakable. But so far you haven’t seen anything. But Cardian was correct. When the sign comes it is unmistakable. A deep gong rings out and in an instant every mercenary standing in the hall is outlined in something akin to faerie fire. The higher pitches of your light crossbow and Shadow’s short bow join in with the deeper thrums of the guards heavy crossbows as the walls of the room spit death at the startled mercenaries. Over a dozen go down from the first volley. Within moments a wall of fog goes up between you and your targets. But this was expected, and you were told you could fire freely and blindly into the room until the second signal.

Bright flashes and loud booms tell you that the mercenaries are not taking the attack passively. A fireball licks at the wall in front of you, but the thin arrow slit prevents most of the flame from entering your alcove. You blow on your singed fingers, check on Shadow, and resume firing.

The slaughter lasts for almost a full minute before the second signal is given. Again the signal is unmistakable. Another gong sounds and a blast of cold air rushes through the room clearing the fog and smoke. You see at least two score mercenaries lying on the floor, but perhaps twice that many are still alive, crouched behind any cover they can find – including their fallen comrades. Most of them have been carefully making their way towards the walls. You see several barely ten feet from your position.

As you are considering whether or not to try and shoot these figures a loud grating sound fills the room and the hidden pits are opened. Several mercenaries are caught by the tilting covers, and they disappear into the floor, falling to an unknown fate. The others are caught by surprise when scores of Jurgenville defenders suddenly charge up the ramps of the pits and attack.

Dropping your crossbow you draw your scimitar and move towards the secret door in this area of the wall. Shadow follows you but you stop her. "No, not this time" you tell her, anticipating the scowl on her face. "The melee out there is going to be bloody and chaotic. This time I have to agree with you. Out there you are going to be out of your league."

Shadow doesn’t accept your decision gracefully, but she does accept it. She returns to her alcove from where she can keep an eye on you as you fight.

Looking up and down the walkway behind the arrow slits you see that most of the guards have already exited. Pushing on your secret door you pop out as well. Before you take two steps you raise your shield to block an ax whistling down on you from the left and slash to your right, opening up a long gash on a human mercenary’s forearm. Hunter swoops down and keeps the opponent on your left occupied long enough for you to finish off the one on your right. The bat even manages to get the mercenary to turn his back on you just as you attack.

Your prediction to Shadow is true. It is a bloody and chaotic fight, but a short one as well. Caught between two strong forces the mercenaries are slowly ground up like so much meat. The only thing you distinctly remember about the fight is your shock at seeing Sane flying out of the chamber. No, it wasn’t Sane, you realized a moment later, but it was a kenku.

Within a few minutes it is over. The remaining pockets of mercenaries surrender. As the prisoners are being secured you find Cardian. "If things are secure here I would like to return to the surface" you tell him. "My friends are fighting up there."

Cardian frowns slightly. "I understand your desire to be with your friends, but I’m afraid I can’t get you to the surface right away. This level has been sealed. And we’ve got to sweep this whole area to make sure we didn’t miss any stragglers. I’m short on men as it is and I can’t spare any to escort you to the surface."

You nod your head. "I understand. I realized that might happen when I volunteered to accompany you down here. Can I help with the patrols?"

"I’m afraid not. Not down here. We are in a… a sensitive area of the mine. I’ve already been questioned on why I brought you down here in the first place. If you are willing I would like you to stay here and help guard these prisoners. I’ll get you to the surface as soon as I can. Oh, and Castinar, thank you once again."

You smile and bow slightly in acceptance of his thanks. He tells you who to report to for guard duty. You turn to go get Shadow but find her right behind you. She has a sloppy bandage around her forehead where she took a glancing blow from an ax.

[Guard was in trouble. Would die if I not help. I help.]

You nod, knowing that you would have done the same thing. [Come, we must guard these prisoners, then we can return to the surface.]

The next few hours pass uneventfully. You try to engage some of the prisoners in conversation, curious as to where they came from. But they ignore you. A little later you do get some good news. Apparently the city defenders were able to stop the main force of invaders outside of town. When you are relieved the new guards bring even better news – the defenders were successful in driving the attackers off.

After an almost four hour wait you are finally taken to the surface, exiting the mine through the main entrance on the west side of the mountain. From this vantage point you can see Jurgenville laid out below you. There seems to be little damage. A few of the summer villas on the south-west side of town are smoking, and you can see that one of the buildings near the center of town has been badly burned. But all in all it looks like the city came through the attack fairly well.

"So, Shadow" you say to your companion, "shall we go down and see how our friends fared?"

The wild elf nods and the two of you begin to make you way down the mountain.