Day 6 (a long, long time ago...)

Some shenanigans in the cave with the balls of absolute evil….

Stib scouts ahead, and finds a bunch crates, with Elvish writing from Imperial Ward, and other odds and sods.

While we are clustered in a room with a big cooking pot, Stib finds a chamber, where w join him - therein a sacrificial altar, with incredibly huge beautifully done tapestry no orc could have devised, but with truly nasty gory orc images.

I investigate the altar - find a lever that perhaps triggers a guillotine type mechanism. After we debate wisdom of triggering the mechanism (I with a rope at a distance, Boink using a steelpost), we abandon this idea and head down the corridor.

We are attacked - a two prong attack. Stib & Krog stay in the corridor, rest of us go get barrels of oil to light up. I accidentally fling my dagger at Trax (who needs enemies with friends like me? - next throw, and ye olde magic missile works a bit better.

To make a long story short: we all progress through a round of exhausting melees which ultimately leaves the wretched orcs dead.

Damn but it took a LOT to kill just a few orcs!

But then - the attack is not over! More orcs show up, including a HUGE chieftain.

Tide of battle turns - at any rate, we chase the big orc, Stib gets him with a sleep spell.

We bind and gag the orc - one of us searches the orc, finding a fine non-orcish key, and a peace of paper showing a map of the Eastern mountains.

Boink returns to the caves - finds himself in a bedchamber repleate with chests, rolls of parchment (seem to be accounting numbers), has an unfortunate accident with some 'devil's parchment'… while the rest of us interrogate the orc chief.

Boink returns with a chest, Trax opens it with the key we'd taken off the chief. It's full of silks, top hats, rings, leathers fine. Is the poor pathetic orc trying to dress himself up to fit in with human society?

False bottom in chest contains 4 magic potions, inscribed with a happy skull face…

Using a read magic spell, I read the inscription on a silk-wrapped chalice encircled with runes - doesn't have much to say, alas.

We return to the room in which Boink had been attacked by the parchment - find other document was from Frash Multor, Imperial Ward and 'home base'.

And then we proceed to argue as we so often do about the fate of the orc chief - to take him to Imperial Ward or not? Fortunately the decision is taken out of our hands when Bingle drives his sword through the orc's heart. He got sick of the argument, apparently.

After an abortive adventure tracking more orcs - we return to Imperial Ward at last.