Participants: Star/John A; Mauve/Rachel B; Ansley/Fred B; Ref/Jay; Butter/Norm; Dankug/Rich; Plural/Kevin; Anuradhapura/Amanda; others(?) that I should have written down Several newcomers to town joined an adventuring group that was attempting to investigate an Obelisk located approximately 2 days South of the Last Outpost of Sparn. Attempts were made to hire several unemployed mercenaries in the tavern but only 1 archer was hired on the condition that his equipment be upgraded. After provisioning, the journey to the Obelisk was uneventful. The group went in to a large chamber with the strange revolving staircases. Star, Mauve, and Ansley had previously investigated this room and summoned a group of hostile elves by stepping on a metal disk. A secret door was detected on the raised platform in the NE corner, but we were unable to open it. Investigation of the Western corridor found a double door leading to stairs going up to a locked door we were unable to open. There was also a large disk which Ansley and Mauve determined to be magical. They successfully copied the glyphs circling the disk to create a scroll of Monster Summoning I giant (equivalent to a 4th level spell!). We stepped on the disk and it summoned 7 giant giant centipedes. 5 were incapacitated by a sleep spell and the remaining 2 were quickly slain, after which the remainder were killed. Past the disk the corridor turned North and led up some stairs. There was also a door leading to a passage which also quickly led to stairs going up. It was decided to finish exploring the entry level before heading up the stairs. The Eastern corridor had a similar disk after which the corridor turned South and also went up a set of stairs. The was a door on the North wall of this corridor which Mauve heard sounds behind. Opening the door we surprised a large group of kobalds, which were quickly dealt with by a combination of another sleep spell and the groups fighters. One kobald was tied up as a captive and the remainder were killed. We attempted to communicate with the kobald but were unable. The room had a short stair leading up to a door, which we listened to without detecting noise, but did not attempt to open. Crude geometry leads us to believe this door leads to the same place as the secret door in the large central chamber. This room contained a large chest which Mauve determined to be trapped with explosive runes. One of the clerics (Dankug?) bravely shielded Mauve while she attempted to disarm the trap. The rest of the party waited just outside the door. The runes were set off while attempting to be disarmed knocking both Mauve and the cleric down to 1 hp. Both were healed by divine magics from the clerics. The destruction of the chest scattered the treasure it held through the room. There were 2 valuable pieces of jewelry (worth 4k and 5k gp), 200 gold pieces, and a great deal of silver pieces (6,000). Since nearly all of the groups spells had been expended and there was more silver than we could carry, the group decided to head back to the Last Outpost. 2,100 SP were left in the debris from the explosion while the rest were carried off. After leaving the Obelisk we stopped at a large farm nearby where we were able to get water, sleep in a barn, and get a large breakfast. The journey back to the Outpost was uneventful. At the Outpost the jewelry was sold and the proceeds divided. Several apartments have been rented for semi-permanent accommodations, and the party members generally celebrated their good fortune and new found relative wealth. Most party members bought upgraded equipment and several horses were purchased to make the return trip to the obelisk easier. Almost everyone has deposited over 1,000 gp with the bank. The kobald is still being held as a captive and is being (poorly) fed, but no one has yet been able to communicate with him or her.
