On the surface, Alec grew impatient. Captain Kraklos had paused his aggressive Order of the Gauntlet recruitment pitch to berate the knights under his authority, complaining at their loafing. The Harper agents smirked as Captain Kraklos gave his men a dressing down. Alec shook his head, checked to see that the party’s horses were still secured, and then climbed down into the rift in search of his friends. He was easily able to follow the trail of destruction left behind by the other party members, and carefully rappelled down the edge of the pit on Radegast’s rope to search the winding cave tunnels. He gingerly put on Clockdrive’s goggles and carefully searched the caverns until he found his companions. “Brother!” Bob shouted with a smile as Alec strode into the torchlight. Alec nodded at his brother and pointed at the shapeshifted Erwen’s fey companions. “Why are there three bears in this cave?” Erwen-Bear chortled. Bob grinned. “We were just about to-“ Erwen-Bear loped off into the north tunnel. Bob sighed. “Yeah, that.” Radegast took the blue mantle she and Theryn had discovered and donned it. “Maybe let me identify whether those are magic before you do anything with them,” Xylon said, pointing at the mantles and amulet. The party gathered its strength and followed the druid into the tunnels, those with darkvision moving ahead while those relying on other sources of light clustered around Theryn’s torch. “What are we looking for?” Alec whispered to his brother. Something shrieked in the dark just outside Radegast and Xylon’s field of darkvision. “You’re not going to like this,” Bob hissed to Alec. Alec could see the faint outline of something humanoid hunched over in the dim light. It turned to face him, reaching out with rotted arms that were covered in green worms. “Right then!” Alec said, striding forward confidently. Dropping his torch, he unsheathed the Sword of Trevelyan and swung at the zombie, slashing it with two solid strikes. More shrieks joined the first. Something shambled into the circle of light cast by Alec’s torch – an overmuscled worm zombie, this one hurling itself at the fighter while crab-walking on all fours, bursting from all orifices with a wriggling orgy of worms. Behind it lunged a frail-looking undead, also crawling with worms. “Oh, I see what you-” Alec had time to say before the zombie he had slashed raked him with its claws and spat a worm onto the fighter. “Ugh!” Alec said in disgust as the green worm began to bore into his flesh. Xylon stepped up and cast burning hands on the trio of undead creatures. Tongues of fire lapped at the creatures, sizzling their rotting flesh. “Alec, look out!” Bob shouted, casting a firebolt that impacted squarely on one of the zombies. Radegast loosed an arrow, which missed its target and clattered off the rock wall in the darkness. Varien cast eldritch blast on the worm spawn menacing Alec. Theryn leaped forward to support Alec and struck one of the zombies with his bo staff. Erwen unleashed his two bear companions, Ernie and Bert, on the toughest of the three wormspawn zombies. The first snapped its jaws and clawed ineffectually, while the second missed with its bite but managed to claw a hunk of worm-ridden flesh from the zombie. Alec, horrified at the worm eating its way into his forearm, scraped it off and crushed it under his bootheel. The tough wormspawn zombie swung a ragged claw but missed Alec, then pivoted with a perverse grace and struck Erwen-Bear, spitting a worm at the druid-bear that went wide and splattered against the tunnel wall. Erwen-Bear bit down on the zombie that had attacked him, spitting out a mouthful of worms, but missed with his claw attack. One of the worm zombies opened its mouth, letting the worms inside scream with inarticulate rage. It pounded its fist again Bert the bear, and then wound up for a second strike, reaching back over its head with its claw, and accidentally hooked a finger beneath the lower jaw of his companion. As it swung its claw overhand, it tore its companion’s jaw off, which sailed through the air trailing gore and worms. Bert roared and dodged the blow. The zombie spat a worm, which missed. Alec tried to parry a flurry of blows from one of the worm zombies, and groaned with pain as the creature opened up long slashing wounds along his neck and jawline. His eyes rolled back in his head and he sank to his knees under the onslaught. Xylon cast burning hands again, scorching two of the three zombies. “No!” Bob shouted as he saw his brother stumble and fall. He lunged into the fray, reaching for Alec, and cast spare the dying . Bob struggled to try and drag Alec clear of the fight, but he found himself hopelessly jostled between bears and his brothers-in-arms. Radegast followed after Bob and cast heroism on the prone fighter, shouting “Heroes never die!” Varien cast a heal on Alec with his celestial light, and then fired eldritch blasts at the two zombies looming over his companion. Not to be outdone, Theryn whirled his bo staff overhead and brought it down decisively on the skull of the toughest of the three zombies. The wormspawn’s head caved in under Theryn’s attack, sending a spray of brain matter and writhing worm segments every which way. Pivoting, he sent the butt end of his staff crashing through the sternum of a second zombie, shattering ribs and organs. Bert the Bear roared and bit another one of the zombies, taking its left arm off in one savage snap, and then dug its claws into the creature's midsection, ripping it in twain with a sickening crunch. So busy was the monk in dealing death to his enemies that he failed to take notice of a single green worm on his arm. It began to gnaw its way inside his flesh. Ernie the Bear caught up the last zombie in his jaws and bit down savagely. Alec’s eyelids fluttered open and he jumped back to his feet. “I feel…heroic!” he shouted, waving his sword. Hearing his voice, the nearest wormspawn turned and threw itself at Alec, clawing him fiercely. “Never mind,” Alec groaned as he was knocked back to the ground. Erwen-Bear roared in rage and clawed at the last zombie, tearing strips of flesh from its body, and got his jaws around the creature, biting it nearly in half. He felt a stabbing pain in the roof of his mouth as a worm found purchase and began to dig in. He snorted, shook his head, and coughed. Theryn stood over the corpse of the zombie, not noticing a pseudopod drip down from the shadowed cave ceiling. The pseudopod reared back and bashed the monk. “Ouch!” Theryn had time to say as he was knocked back. Bob’s eyes widened as he recognized the creature that had stealthily slithered its way overhead. “A jelly!” he shouted. “Nobody hit it with lightning. Or blades for that matter!” He sent two firebolts into the ooze. Radegast rushed over to Erwen-Bear and pulled out the worm from his mouth. Erwen-Bear nuzzled the bard in thanks. Varien cast an eldritch blast on the ochre jelly. Theryn struck the superior zombie, knocking it face-first into the tunnel wall and killing it, and then swung overhead at the ochre jelly, splattering ichor everywhere. He then felt a pinch in his forearm and realized that a worm had eaten its way beneath his skin. “Uh, guys?” Theryn said. “Do we know what these worms do once they get inside you?” At Theryn’s feet, Alec groaned. Radegast quickly rattled off what she knew of the ochre jelly’s strengths and weaknesses. Xylon looked at Theryn’s wound. “No problem, I got this.” He raised a finger, which began to glow. “Xylon!” Bob shouted “What in the actual fu-“ Xylon cast firebolt at Theryn’s arm. There was a scorching blast, but when the smoke cleared, a wriggling shape could still be seen making its way up the monk’s limb. Theryn clenched his teeth, singing, “If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together.” Bob opens up his Healer's Kit, and started preparing his tools. “Let a professional handle this,” he spat at Xylon. He handed off a kit for Radegast to use on Alec. Radegast stabilized Alec as Varien used some of his healing ability on the stricken fighter. “Twice in one fight…” Alec groaned. “Not my best day ever…” He used his second wind ability and got painfully back to his feet. Unable to reach the ochre jelly, Ernie and Bert both sniffed the air and rushed into the dark tunnel beyond where the melee had occurred. Their roars echoed through the cave. Xylon cast a chromatic orb at the ochre jelly it, turning it inside out and sending its globlike guts raining down onto the cave floor. “Hold still,” Bob told Theryn. “No worries there,” Theryn said. Bob carefully made an incision into Theryn’s arm, reaching in with a pair of forceps to grasp the hungry green worm and extract it. The worm did not go willingly, digging in with its conical jaws, shredding more of Theryn’s flesh as it did so. “There!” Bob shouted, pulling the worm free. He bashed it against the wall. “Thanks,” Theryn gasped. He caught up the cleric in a manly embrace. Bob smiled and gently pushed the injured Theryn back, clapping hands on the monk’s shoulders. “Remember what a wise woman once said-” He nodded at Radegast, “–heroes never die.” Radegast beamed. Theryn looked away from his savaged arm as Bob bound it in a bandage. “But they sure come close,” he said. “Hey there,” Xylon said. “You need that wound cauterized?” Theryn glared at the wizard. Bob shook his head in disbelief. Erwen-Bear loped into the darkness after his two companions and heard them gnashing their teeth and stomping on the ground. He could hear a slithering sound and realized that there were worms underfoot – dozens of them. He began to trample them as best he could. Varien moved into range and illuminated the area. Erwen-Bear could see a swarm of worms beneath his clawed feet, quickly being turned into jam by the fancy footwork his companions. The party moved forward past the gore-streaked walls of the tunnel to find that it came to an abrupt halt at a dead end after turning sharply south. Varien tested the walls and found them rock-hard. “All this way for a dead end?” he grumbled. Radegast noticed that another campsite of sorts had been set up, ages ago judging by the grey charcoal in the cold campfire and the brittle boards of the boxes heaped up against the wall. “Looks like someone tried to hide here,” she said, almost to herself. “Like a last stand.” The boxes were full of sundry items long past their sell-by date. Rations had rotted away nearly to dust, and the wineskins, which Xylon grabbed eagerly, fell apart in his hands, leaving only a musty smell in their wake. “Not the alcohol,” Xylon repeated, shaking his head in grief. “What’s an elf gotta do to get a decent vintage around here?” There were some treasures to be found amid the jumble of useless goods – four gems, a scroll written in Ancient Netherese, and a pouch with 15 strange coins jingling inside. Varien looked about. “Well, we cleared this tunnel and have a strong wall to our backs. Let’s rest up here.” Theryn and Alec were already finding a place to sleep off their injuries. Radegast looked at her handscrawled lexicon. “If I just study this a bit more, I’ll be reading Netherese in no time!” Xylon nodded. “Speaking of which,” he pulled out the scroll he had been given in the library and cast an identify ritual. He was in possession of an ancient Netherese spell known as toothed tentacles . “Hmm,” he said, making himself comfortable on the ground while the rest of his companions broke out the last of their rations, or tried to get some shut-eye. “Guess I’ve got some time to go through all the documents I’ve been handed these last few days. He opened his book bag and pawed through it, coming up with one of the volumes from the wraith Mormesk’s lair. He blew dust from the book’s cover, which was inlaid with eerie-looking symbols. He read the title. “ The Malediction of Mormesk ,” he said to himself. “Sounds like a real page-turner.” He flipped open the tome’s hasp lock, opened the book and began to read. Herein is recorded the Malediction of Mormesk, Chief Wizard of Phandelver and Sole Witness to the Savage Fall of Wave Echo Cave. Xylon’s eyes widened. “This could be good,” he said to himself, enjoying Mormesk’s vivid prose style. You, Dear Reader, will read my story and lament as I have lamented lo these many centuries. As fools betrayed me, so shall you be betrayed by your own foolishness. As I suffered wounds from the torrid orcs, so shall you suffer. As I endured my fate, so shall you endure yours. What follows is a tale of fear, pain and death, and it will be your story forevermore. Xylon’s eyes glazed over as he continued reading, unable to stop himself from being drawn into the narrative. He opened his eyes and discovered that he was no longer inside the tunnels beneath Old Owl Well. He was standing inside what looked like a large workshop consisting of plaster-covered masonry walls and a sturdy-looking roof, into which a rectangular flue had been expertly installed. Worktables took up two corners of the room, upon which were spread out various metalworking tools. The building’s construction spoke of quality dwarven craftsmanship. In the middle of the room was a stone pedestal holding a small brazier that blazed with a magical green flame that danced and crackled. “By the gods,” Xylon breathed. “I’m back in the Forge of Spells!” This was indeed the Forge – there were the sturdy iron doors half-sealed behind him – but it was not the Forge as he remembered it. The workshop was in pristine condition, bearing none of the scars and battle damage that he had seen when he and his companions had first stepped inside. The room was also occupied. Standing before the forge, sweeping their hands in arcane traces through the air, were three figures, one taller than the other two by half. Xylon saw a gnome and wide-statured dwarf, both in priestly garb, but the third occupant was a human – a wizard, by the look of him – handsome, with wavy dark hair. The human wizard looked eerily familiar, as though Xylon had met him somewhere before. Xylon opened his mouth and was about to speak when suddenly, from somewhere far outside the Forge of Spells, he heard a sound of a ringing gong. There was a hubbub of activity outside the workshop, and then a panic-stricken voice, frantically shouting: "Orcs! Orcs in the forecourt!"