August 17, Year 3488 (SE 118)
Backing off from the giant toads, the party decide to investigate the final, unexplored ledge. However, getting to this ledge requires the entire party to cross the sinkhole - a dangerous undertaking for the less dexterous party members. Considering their options, they decide the best way to handle this is to steal the plank of wood that's lying across the ravine full of bees, and use that to cross.
Starting from the north end of the chamber containing the ravine, Adokas sneaks forward with a rope. Moving silently, he avoids disturbing the bees below, and ties the rope to the end of the wooden plank before retreating back to the rest of the group. Everyone takes hold of the rope, and with one solid tug, they pull the plank past the ravine and halfway across the room.
The commotion rouses the bees, but the party immediately retreat around the corner after their single pull. They hear the agitated bees buzzing around, but the sound doesn't get any closer, and after a few minutes it subsides. Venturing back into the room, the see that the room is clear and the bees have apparently returned to the ravine, allowing them to pull the wooden plank the rest of the way out of the room.
Placing the plank across the sinkhole allows the entire party to cross without too much difficulty, and after they cross they make their way to the ledge and look down it. This ledge is much larger than the previous ones; their lantern illuminates thirty feet down without reaching the floor. Tying the lantern to a rope, then lower it down, discovering that the ledge goes down about fifty feet.
As they lower the lantern towards the floor, a hideous, tentacled centipede-like greater emerges from the darkness (later identified by Tamat as a Carrion Crawler). Attracted by the light, it flails at the lantern with its tentacles, but it is just out of reach. While Sharla holds the lantern's rope, the rest of the party pelt the creature with ranged weapons and two flasks of flaming oil. The first of oil goes wide, but the second strikes it directly. The creature shrieks in pain and retreats into the darkness, but the flaming oil makes it a clearly visible target and the party finish it off with a second valley of missile attacks. The creature explodes in a shower of goo and pus, causing the party to recoil in disgust, despite being over fifty feet away.
With the Carrion Crawler taken care of, Adokas climbs down to investigate the area below. He finds himself in a wide hallway running east-west. To the east is an area full of rubble, which it first glance appears to be a dead end. On closer inspection, the passage does continue past the rubble, although the rubble would need to be cleared out first. The half-eaten corpse of a recently deceased lizardfolk lies near the rubble. Adokas pockets a pouch that it was carrying, which contains several hundred gold pieces and a pair of gemstones. To the west, the passage emerges halfway up the wall of a large chamber. Twenty feet below the opening there is water, and the passageway turns into a narrow and winding ledge that runs along the north end of the chamber.
Adokas climbs back up to report his findings, and the group begin descending from the ledge. Rather than having everyone climb, which could be disastrous for the less skilled climbers, they tie ropes to each individual and lower them down one-by-one. Flossaria, Iriellis, P'hla and Sharla are all lowered, while Tamat, Zedlyn, and Adokas, the three remaining individuals at the top, climb down normally. Everyone reaches the bottom of the ledge safely.
Sharla goes to investigate the rubble, and Flossaria goes as well to keep an eye on her. The rest of the group head to the west, and watch as Adokas heads out onto the ledge, making his way across the room. When he's about thirty feet out, he suddenly hears the sound of something moving rapidly towards him. He turns and starts running back, as two harpies emerge from the darkness and fly towards him!
In his haste, Adokas stumbles and falls, and although he manages to stay on the ledge, the harpies catch up to him and begin tearing into him with their claws. Flossaria and Sharla start running back as the rest of the party pelt the creatures with ranged attack. One of the creatures tears open Adokas's stomach with its claws, dealing him a mortal wound and knocking him unconscious.
The creatures advance on the rest of the party, and Zedlyn steps forward to engage them. One of the harpies is killed by missile weapon fire, but Zedlyn is badly wounded and is forced to retreat. Flossaria, who has just arrived from the other end of the hallway, steps to the front and attacks the creature, badly wounding it and forcing it to flee.
With the immediate danger taken care of, the party approach Adokas to see how bad his wound is. It's bad - the halfling is barely alive, and will most likely bleed out in a matter of minutes without medical attention. None of the spellcasters in the party are skilled enough with healing magic to cure such a serious wound, but casting all of their remaining healing magic at least slows the bleeding process and affords Adokas a few more hours to live. Bandaging him up as best as they can, they take Zedlyn's bedroll to use as a stretcher and, following a suggestion from Tamat, decide to retreat from the dungeon and return to Barar, hoping that the Priests of Kib there will be able to help.
Tamat and Zedlyn climb up the fifty foot ledge first, then use a pair of ropes to pull up Adokas, with the rest of the party following. When they reach the sinkhole, they carry Adokas across. Sharla, in her haste, nearly falls in, but catches herself on a rope that the rest of the party were holding. There are no further obstacles between the party and the exit, so they leave the cave and head back to Barar.
The trip takes several hours, and Adokas's condition remains stable. They arrive at the Temple of Kib and speak with Jalessa, the highest-ranked priestess. Unfortunately, the injury is beyond her skill as well. She advises them to go to Viskha, a three-day journey away. Sharla and Iriellis convince Jalessa to come with them by pointing out that Adokas's injuries were sustained while doing Kib's work, destroying unnatural creatures.
It is already past nightfall at this point, so Jalessa heals Adokas as well as she can, allowing him to survive through the night. Everyone rests and prepares to head for Viskha.
August 20, Year 3488 (SE 118)
After three days of travel, the party arrive at Viskha. The trip was uneventful, and the combined attention of three clerics (Iriellis, Flossaria and Jalessa) and a druid (Tamat) was enough to keep Adokas alive throughout the duration. It is nearly nightfall when they arrive, and, considering their options, they decide to go to the Temple of Kib and speak with the High Priest of Kib.
They present Adokas before the High Priest, and he tells them that he is indeed capable of healing the halfling. However, such an expenditure of time and power will require a substantial donation to the Temple of Kib - nearly 500 gold pieces. The party consider attempting to haggle, but decide to pay the price without complaint. The High Priest casts his spell, and Adokas is healed.
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