SESSION 3 - CRACKENMORE

[I cant do this everytime, but since we were having a bit of mapping transition, here ya go]

The star is where ya'll are @.  ANYWAY, somewhat here's what happened previously:

The party, now w/ Djinnger, made a beeline for the cemetery in search of the statue of Dagwood Talbot where in a tangled convo @ the bar Magus had heard Crackenmore could be located, if lucky...  The party moved in, still early day, glancing around, they notice some fog has moved in, they pass Sloppy Jims' grave & move across to where Leif randomly scans D. Mineral's grave...  As there is nothing odd the party moves on, noticing a statue in the distance in front a grove of trees.  However, on their way, they notice a random grave that appears much like Sloppy Jims', a newish pile of dirt w/ older dates...  Magus takes a whiff of the dirt & concludes that it is not dirt normally found in these parts, like the other dirt, the amount of minerals is only reasonable in the southern part of Furthermoor...  B/c of this the party decides to dig below the pile where they locate a wooden crate holding another midget freak, this one wearing a habit & donning a necklace w/ a spiral/tempest charm around its neck.  Amadi grabs the necklace as the others decide to toss the box back & move on their way.  The statue is indeed Dagwood Talbot's & there is an inscription that reads, "My eyes are closed only for a little while" - he seems to have once held a lantern w/ his left hand but the lantern has long been broken off & w/ his right, he is gesturing outward, as if orating, as his mouth & face match, a leader in his best moments perhaps...  The party looks around but notices nothing & heads to the grove of trees...  On the way they pass the mausoleum of Gabriel Solar which they search only to inspect the interesting engravings on two sides, one of Gabriel doing carpentry w/ large finished constructions behind him, the other, him performing on a stringed instrument of some kind, a crowd appreciative & a circle dancing behind him...  The party spends some time searching the mausoleum but find nothing peculiar.  Next, they move into the woods to find dead trees & nothing particular, stepping back on the path, a lychgate around the plot across the way to the NW...  After some discussion, the party decides to return to the statue b/c of Magus' hazy lead recollection.

On returning to the statue of Dagwood Talbot, Amadi goes to lengths of resecuring the eyeball from his pouch after cutting it out, climbing a bit on the statue to poke the eyeball @ the statue.  Nothing happens.  Amadi retreats, nods, then returns the eyeball to his pouch where it slides back into the stitching.  In the meantime, Djinnger has been studying the left hand of Talbot's statue, where it appears a lantern may have once hung.  Djinnger notices a nice gap that goes through the hand & decides to place Kumiss, his Great, Great, Grandfather's War Hammer into the hole to see what happens.  The hand of the statue grips the war hammer & the party hears a scraping noise in back.  They walk to find a passage now open @ back of the statue leading down a stone staircase.

As they move from the staircase into the passage, the first thing they notice is a splash of healthy vegetation, abnormal since the cemetery, outside of that plant monster & a strain of particular vine throughout, seems to be dead...  Secondly, they notice the black rock that the corridor is cut into...  it smooths out into something quite impressive, something none of them have ever seen...  The party moves down the corridor & coming to a heavy, wooden door, move through it, as Magus realizes it has been hacked open previously, chips falling away where a lock used to be...  Passing another alcove station, the party comes to another & suddenly from the sides come magic mouths from the walls:  "Who dares enter this place & intrude upon the sanctuary of its inhabitants?" says the east mouth, then the west mouth, "Only a group of  foolhardy explorers doomed to certain death!", then both mouths together, "Woe to any who pass  this place - the wrath of Zimbo & Kinchen will be upon them!"  The mouth then erupt in mocking laughter & then fade from view w/ no trace as suddenly as they appeared.  A short set of stairs is before them, & a number of dead bodies are sprawled about:  4 humans & a dwarf - a little coinage is had searching the bodies (7 gp & a pouch of garlic buds), & Djinnger - after catching a Detect Evil spell & sensing something off - feels tghe pull of evil to the NW...  Also, Djinnger equips himself w/ a war hammer from the dead dwarf & returns Amadi's staff.  The party moves up the stairs & looks around...  Noticing paths north, east, west, doors to the NW & NE, direct east & west passages...

They go west & follow the passage south for some time, eventually landing on a thick, wooden door.  Again, Djinnger sensing evil, this time directly to the west of the party.  Once the door is knocked in, the party moves through & Djinnger decides to wedge it w/ a spike.  The party moves south a bit then turns west until coming upon another door they enter to north, rattling it, they then move east & north until they come to the door of a Meeting, or Situation Room, it would seem.  The party busts through the door & 4 Gnolls are waiting, crouching behind tables.  Somehow, either b/c of Djinnger, or Knolls confused, the gnolls stand w/o attacking...  Djinnger begins a conversation w/ them, speaking in orc, but while @ first it seems they understand, it becomes obvious they dont.  They spread a bit examining the party.  That's when Amadi starts humming & casting off his Charm spell toward the larger of the gnolls, to the far left.  The other three gnolls then attack in a frenzy, the party moves to the south part of the room to defend.  Battle ensues, & though Leif & Magus take considerable hits/damage, no one dies.  The charmed gnoll does not join in the battle, but looks on w/ confusion.  Afterward, the party searches the dead gnolls & first off, Amadi locates a map of some kind, rolled behind the belt of one... It is crumpled a bit, but the image intact...  The others, after a deep search locate a few items & some lose gold: a bone pendant in shape of cloisonne elongated dog for 9 cp + 2 sp, an armband of silver for 6 gp & a medal ring of substantial electrum for 18 gp, also, among the pockets 23 gp is collected & finally, a potion vial of some sort is found containing a brown liquid...The charmed gnoll still seems confused, seeing the others dead, but stays nearby Amadi.