When last we left our intrepid adventurers they had stumbled upon a room of multiple ancient and intricately carved sarcophagi, where the grinding of musty stone and rattle of vengeful bones could be heard within as the lids crash to the floor with a jarring boom like thunder! Stale air and dust settles and reveals a cadre of armed and armored ghastly guardians vibrating with the anger of the restless dead, and a single-minded desire to punish those who had disturbed them. A life and death struggle ensued in which blood was spilled, bones were crushed, feats of martial and magical prowess were achieved and after the last shattered remnants clattered to the floor there upon the alter lay the spoils of war ripe for the taking. A lone candle burns in a sconce on the alter, flanked by two small items; a crystal whistle in the shape of a curled up dragon inscribed with the Dwarven runes for "Nightcaller", made by the cunning and occult practicing Duergar, or "grey dwarves", able to raise one humanoid from the dead every seven days, and a flask of fire resistance. After patching their wounds the group managed to convince a dragon cultist to follow, guide, and obey the newly ascendant dragonborn and his attendants as they scoured the ruined citadel for its secrets. At the end of a long hallway Borgen noticed the strange haunting light from before, seeming to beckon to them. This time it appeared to partially illuminate a large ornate statue resembling a dragon, and remembering the first time they dabbled with such, the party wisely left it for after they rescued the stolen white wyrmling. Nikael's newly acquired retainer followed Borgen through an alarmed door into a thin funnel of a corridor lined with caltrops and barricaded at the far end by two gnolls. After dispatching these two threats through the combined efforts of skillful arcane brilliance, tactical use of environment, and pure unadulterated physical violence our heroes are known for, a new challenge appears. Short words were exchanged before Viktor cast invisibility upon himself, slipping from sight and attempting to lull a warehouse stocking bugbear to sleep with clever magic. Unfortunately this didn't go to plan so Viktor levelled his crossbow hoping to "persuade" the large creature to stand down. The large goblinoid is not one to scare easily however, and perhaps predictably another brawl breaks out as communication breaks down; it's a fight! Steel and sorcery win the day as the startled and angered bugbear can't contend with the onslaught from all angles and finally falls to the ground with a thud, rattling goods and tools. The room resembles at first a toolshed, warehouse, storage room, and kitchen combined. Only at first though, for soon Aelara makes a rather grim and stomach turning discovery. The barrels sitting in the corners and against the walls, grimy like the whole place is, are filled with a sloshing, viscous fluid. Thick drips have dried in runnels down the barrels and partly obscured the label but, with her elven eyes, Aelara makes out "Elf Pudding" and says so aloud. The party is horrified and disturbed, and Borgen, who is peering into the barrels with confusion, immediately pales and descends into minor catatonia over the revelation. It is in this moment, from beyond the opposite portal through which they entered, our heroes hear a loud and angry howl, a cry for blood and battle...
