#ganbataar

The party had just defeated a minotaur, who had been in the middle of setting up a labyrinth which his buddies were allegedly out finding victims for.  Pearl’s last volley arrows pierced the monster’s skull and it toppled over in Ganbataar’s summoned puddle of Grease, but before they could celebrate their victory the group heard a voice softly say ‘Now’ and a spell of magical darkness fell over them.  Strangely, not even Ganbataar’s magically glowing marble could pierce the spell.  As they considered what to do, Kyann heard another spell being cast - this one which she was able to identify as Wind Wall.

Kyann cast Dispel Magic on the Darkness, revealing two elves, who were two of the House of Ianeak elves that the party had ambushed in an alleyway back in Ivyshire.  (The third elf from that group, the one that the party had captured and interrogated, was nowhere to be seen).  One of the elves present was the elderly magic-user who had fled under darkness in the previous fight.  He was now surrounded by a Wind Wall, standing well away from the party, and gloating.  The other elf, Ilena the female Witch who had last been seen screaming in agony after being shot in the back by a poisoned arrow by Pearl, was looking even worse now.  Hunched and lurching, her skin shrunken and pale, her hair unkempt, her clothes fraying and torn.  She had in fact died from the poison, only to be raised as a zombie by her master.

There were also four animated dwarven skeletons, dressed in expensive-looking fancy full plate armor, between the elves and the group.  Later investigation would reveal that these were the honored dead from the fortress’s crypt, in ceremonial burial armor, raised as cannon fodder by the elvish master.  Said master stood in the back gloating as his undead minions pressed the attack.  He said that he had raised Ilena as a very special kind of zombie, so that she could have revenge on the one who murdered her.  Indeed, the zombie elf witch, screaming “YOU KILLED ME!  I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” still had all her spellcasting abilities, and focused them exclusively on Pearl, pursuing her heedless of the danger from the other party members.  Pearl took hits from multiple spells, burned by fire and dazed by sonic blasts, and was reduced to hiding behind Eba as there was very little she could do against the undead.

Fortunately, Kyann was very effective against the undead, blasting them all with channeled positive energy.  That along with the melee attacks from Eba, Ganbataar, and Cedrik cut down the undead attackers.  Unfortunately the Elf, still protected in his shell of Wind Wall, had merely sent them out as a distraction.  While they attacked he pulled a little metal stick out of a pocket.  Saying something about the wonderful toys that the dwarves had left behind, he snapped the stick in half.  A series of sharp explosions erupted from the tunnel which lead into the area from the surface, and rock crashed down and caved it in permanently.

The Elf gloated that the party would be trapped forever even if they survived the undead.  He himself would not be trapped, because Legba had granted him access to teleport spells.  He then ducked around a corner and vanished.

After defeating all the undead, the party took stock of their situation.  The entrance tunnel was collapsed beyond their ability to clear it, but the diary that led them to the fortress said there was a hidden exit through the lower levels.  The Elf who had trapped them and teleported away believed them to be dead or unable to escape, and would probably not bother coming after them until he learned otherwise.  Kyann could summon clean water and food forever if need be, and there were several weeks left on their contract to map the fortress, so they could take their time exploring it.

Pearl examined the body of the Elf zombie witch who had attacked her, and realized that the corset she was wearing was a protective magical item.  She took it off the corpse and put it on herself.  Fortunately, this experiment in wearing unidentified magical items did not have horrible results.

After a bit of magical healing, the group began exploring the rest of the fortress.  They poked through the dusty administrative offices and living quarters before reaching the tombs.  Kyann detected a horrible aura here, and realized that before raising the skeletons of the honored dead to serve as mindless cannon fodder the elven necromancer has first cast a spell to desecrate the site.  Skeletons were still crawling out of their coffins, and immediately attacking the party.  Fortunately, they were coming one at a time, with no orders or organization, and were easy for Pearl and Eba to defeat at range with arrows.  Finally the party reached the center of the tombs, where the desecration was worst.  Eba, Ganbataar, and Cedric held the remaining coffins shut as skeletons tried to claw their way out, while Pearl and Kyann used the group’s two vials of holy water to perform an impromptu blessing in the name of Epona to re-consecrate the site.  It worked, and the restless undead became restful dead again.

The party then decided that the right thing to do was to gather up all the dwarven skeletons and return them to their coffins, doing their best to restore and seal the tombs.  This took most of the rest of the day.  After their labors, the tired party members made their way to the fortress’s main dining hall.  There Pearl found and safely opened a trapped and locked door.  Behind it they found a room full of barrels, bottles, and flasks - a collection of alcohol left behind when the fortress was abandoned.