Campaign Journal Day #9

Kodiak's Journal:  The day started out horribly.  We were forced to surrender to the Orcs.  Sedriss and I did not want to, but we had to in order to make sure our companions lived.  If it was just me, I would have gone out in glorious battle and taken that Orc chief with me.  Near the end of the battle, that ghoul from the Emerald Claw told the orcs to take us captive.  They took our weapons and magic items.  Edvald forced us to agree to explore the mountain and help him find something.  Our prized magic items were given to the orc king as tribute.  Both Edvald and the orc king will die.  That is my promise. We also found out that Gnippity has a death warrant from some changeling criminal organization.  I'm going to have to keep an eye on that little guy.  I no longer trust him like I do the others. We were taken to a cave that led into the mountain.  We found a dwarf corpse and then a bunch of stone coffins of famous dwarves.  Nobody, not even Gnippity. wanted to open the coffins.  We descended into a chamber filled with fungi and such.  While Thornduk and Tari were exploring a side cavern we were attacked by squidworms. That was a glorious battle. I waded into the middle ot the three, drawing them away from my friends and enduring all of their attacks. While they were focused on me, the others were able to help take them down.  I think our tactics as a team are improving.  I was pretty beat up after the fight so we took a short rest.  Before we explored the iron door that Gnippity found, we looked into a side chamber.  We were attacked by these fire lizards.  We took them out without too much trouble and we are now working to unblock a side passageway.  

It did not take us long into the battle to realize we were simply outmatched. By surprising us in the night, we were surrounded with limited options. As hard as we fought, the Orc war and was just too strong.   Edvald was with the Orc war and, remaining hidden from the battle, observing us, watching how we fight. He clearly had a purpose. He was testing us.   With an option to surrender, we opted to do so rather than die. We were bound and stripped of our gear, imprisoned with an uncertain future. Edvald offered to release us, returning our equipment to the exclusion of some items that were particularly appealing to him. He claims it was a tithe for our release, but I think he kept them to himself.   We were charged with entering Noldrunhold, the long lost dwarven city, for the sole purpose of destroying the current inhabitants, with the reward being anything we can salvage. Though this was not dissimilar than what we initially intended, this method somehow feels wrong. Time will tell how this turns out, should we survive.   Upon entering the cave, we soon found an old burial site with respected dwarves inside. Though I knew not whom they were, both Sonn and I thought it best to leave them at rest.   While exploring near a river, I slipped and fell in. The rapids quickly took me away. If it wasn’t for Tari’s quick assistance, I would have been thrown over the waterfall.    There were some inhabitants in the area, which were quickly disposed of. We continue to explore the hold, not know what dangers lie ahead