Our heroes decided to return and investigate the passages beyond the goblin lair which reeked of death.  They were unprepared to encounter the horrors within.

   On the walls of the first room they encountered hung the bodies of several large humanoids.  It was hard to tell exactly what race they belonged to, since they were stripped of their skin and flesh, exposing the bone beneath.  They could tell that the bones had been broken and carefully splinted.  Their entire bodies had been daubed with some brownish coating which was taken from the bubbling vat in the corner of the room.  The thick boiling liquid gave off a noxious organic smell.

   Having destroyed the first room, they continued on to the upper portions of this unexplored complex and discovered what looked to be a wizard’s workshop.  Mortars and pestles, flasks filled with strange liquids, alembics and retorts for distillation, and a plethora of strange devices the purpose of which they could not even begin to guess at shared space on the tables with scalpels, bone saws, other tools of dissection, and a bizarre orb of light.  A partially disassembled skeleton lied on one table, its pieces neatly laid out like the parts of some intricate puzzle.  Wylaer and Thaer pilfered the books in the room while Makaus investigated the orb of light, but was unable to decipher its purpose, if any.  All decided to return and take the valuable equipment when they had the time and when moving equipment to do so carefully.

     The adjacent chamber was a strange mixture of living area and tomb.  The front part of the large chamber was furnished with table, comfortable chairs, and bed; the back section held mortuary slabs and coffins—some of them obviously occupied.  The room was lit by candlelight from candelabras set in all four walls and a single tall candle on the table.  Two skeletons dressed like maids and two others dressed like footmen stand on either side, their backs against the wall.  A skeleton dressed in a slinky black gown with elbow-length gloves and a corpse in a rich red-velvet dressing gown are toasting each other with empty goblets when our heroes entered.  They turned their dead faces and stared at the intruders.  Then they turned to face each other again, lowering the goblets.  “Guests?” said the skeleton in very feminine voice.  “So it would appear,” replied the other in a deep, rich voice.  In awe of this fantastic spectacle, none of our heroes could barely stand to move, let alone speak: it would take quite a few moments for them to fully appreciate the evils of the room.  When they did, the undead’s attempts to parley were met with all of their fury.

    The battle that ensued would prove to be the most challenging our heroes have met so far.  The richly dressed corpse used a ring to engulf both Makaus and Wylaer in flame, charring their bodies so badly that they fell in shock.  The skeleton casted a web on the entrance of the chamber, trapping Eddis, the little girl, M’Whan, and Blorys.  With sounds of steps approaching from behind, the battle seemed all but lost until M’Baddah charged the skeleton and felled him with a single swing through his ribcage.  Negotiations ensued to reach a truce, but not before Thaer was able to exact tribute. 

   Everybody left the cave frustrated.  Eddis was the most vocal, “This is not what I expected, and I’m losing hope that we can accomplish what we set out to do.”

    Ahead and scouting, Wylaer stopped and addressed the group, “You know we have to return.”  The truth of Wylaer’s hung stale in the air like an impending doom.

    After a few moments, and not quite addressing Wylaer’s words, Eddis broke the uneasy silence, “I won’t go back until I see a plan that I can work with.  Our fascination and hesitation nearly got us killed.  We had no idea what we were doing in there.”

     “Come on everybody,” Jerdren rallied, “We knew there would be setbacks.  Did we expect that every battle was going to go our way?  Okay, okay, we have had a few set backs lately [Eddis rolling her eyes at the understatement].  But we have the capability of doing this.  I have seen our skill and our young lads have proven to be surprisingly tough.  Look [glancing over to Makaus], who could match the heart of a young stripling who would see the eyes of a fireball, get up, and come back for more?  Come on, we can do it, all we need to do is figure out how to work as a team.”

    All agreed to give Skeltar another run, though Eddis and Blorys were obvious in their hesitation.  In the meantime, before their return, they practiced their teamwork by exterminating the tribe of kobolds, females, cubs and all that dwelt at the base of the ravine.