The trail

Indeed, they did leave in the morning, and were blessed by a cool breeze. The blessing did not last, however. Arnor was merciless this day.
The party, having their own mounts, were positioned as outriders, They were to be used as scouts and herders for the massive flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle.
The wagon train stretched for a league at least. And with it, the massive dust clouds. Besides clouds of dust, were clouds of biting flies.
They were, safe to say, miserable.
"I don't like the the attention this massive dust cloud is going to attract," Nemon said through cloth he wrapped around his mouth. "We're used to traveling light. Moving quickly."
Gruffydd, who rode beside him on a pony, grunted agreement. "Yes, but who'd attack a caravan this large. You'd need an army."
Nemon, shaded his eyes and looked up in the cloudless sky. "Or a dragon. Or a giant..."
Hours passed.
Arnor still punished them.
Then, the caravan stopped.
Gruffydd, and the others rode to the front. A group of riders had dismounted along with Von Aldensburg and his bodyguards, sweating in their heavy armor.
They all were staring at the ground.
In the middle of the road was a body.

New Companions

It took most of the afternoon to round everyone up. Gruffydd criss-crossed most of Wall, digging his companions out of their various haunts.
The sun was setting when they reached the crowded courtyard of the Dragon and the Maid. If Wall could be said to have a swanky establishment, the Dragon and the Maid would be it. It wasn't quite as run down as most inns in Wall. The paint was somewhat fresh. The sheets were changed at least once a week, and the food was as fresh as fresh can be when you're leagues from anywhere.
The courtyard was packed was high sided wagons stuffed with bags, boxes and trunks. It was a little like a maze for the smaller, non human members of the party.
All about people bustled, packing and rearranging gear. The smell of sweat and animal dung filled the air. At the center of the chaos sat a very calm, slim man dressed in leathers, cleaning his fingernails.
Beside him stood a giant of a man. His clothes were slightly better than a beggars. He was filthy with a dull, far off stare.

As the party approached, the slim man spoke while never taking his eyes from his work, "You must be looking for work."
Gruffydd grunted.
Still not looking up, "Have any experience Beyond the Wall?"
Nemon let out a burst of laughter, while Miss Adventure sniggered.
The slim man finally looked up, wiping his nails on his leather jerkin.
"Well..." he sighed," I'm Lars. This is Lud"he said as he pointed with his knife. Lud was too busy swatting at flies to notice his introduction.
Shaking his head, Lars said, "His Majesty, Von Aldensburg has final say, but I'm the head of this circus. So as far as I'm concerned, welcome to Glorious Company of Klaus Von Aldensburg." He finished this with a bow.
"Come this way, to meet our brave leader..."

The Job

At some point during the afternoon, it had rained. This only added to miserable heat outside. The weather was only one strange aspect of life in Wall. Despite being a very northernly place, it experienced some of the largest swings in temperate in all the crumbling Empire. Winters were frigid to the point of being painful, fall and spring were wet, and summers, like this one were bristeringly hot.
Now, thanks to the rain, it was also chokingly muggy.
Gruffydd headed towards the market square. When one was searching for work, one needed not to look any further than the Market Tree.
Like city name itself, names in Wall tended to be simple and to the point.
The Market Tree stood at the center of the bustling market square. It was large and of indeterminate age. It had always been here. It's base was covered in fliers, posters and notices of all sizes and shapes. It had cracked and tossed aside the surrounding paving cobbles over the years. All the rusty nails, holes and scratches left the Tree in a sickly looking state. Devoid of foliage, it refused to die.
Gruffyd made his way through the crowd and looked over the Tree. Amid the notices for lost dogs, laborer jobs, proclamations of faith and wanted posters was a simple job listing:
"Calling All Stout Hearted Adventurers! The Merchant Company of Klaus Von Aldensburg seeks Courageous Types to escort a Caravan North, Beyond the Wall. Please make Inquiries at the Inn of the Dragon and the Maid."
Gruffydd stroked his beard once, twice .... and snatched the paper from the Tree.

Here again

Gruffydd found himself, as he often did these days, at the sign of Skull and Crown. It had not been his usual haunt, but had become it as of late, being off the beaten path and away from the others.
Inside the tavern the air was stale and stifling. The dwarf stared deep into to his barely passable mug of ale .
I

t seemed everyone in his little party had found other things to do. Other places to go.
Gustav to his studies, Nemon to his places of leisure, Gildrid on side adventures that frequently left him in the hands of the Healers at the Temple of Shealla. And Miss Aventure? Gods only know where she goes.
But they all had one thing in common. Their once vast wealth was dwindling.
They would need another job, and soon. If not for the money, then to keep their sanity.
Gruffydd finished the ale in one big gulp, tossed a copper on the bar, and stepped out into the heat of the day.

Dead End

Every step was taken with care. Every stone making up the floor could be a potential trigger. A trigger ready to drop an avalanche of rocks from above, or storm of poison darts from hidden crevices.
They approached single file with Gruffydd in the lead. He toed each stone before putting his weight on it. The others behind were careful only to step where he stepped.
After what seemed like an enormous amount of time they reached the door unscathed. Miss Adventure hurried to the front to put an ear to the door and check the lock. The lock wasn't trapped, and she put stuck her tongue in and out rapidly, miming a snake, to show she heard lizardmen on the other side.
She ducked just in time to have Nemon smash the door in.
He crashed inside, crushing one lizardman under the door. The rest hissed and charged the door.
One fell to a crossbow bolt from Mellion, another to Gruffydd's hammer.
It was a cramped, chaotic melee in the dark room. No one escaped without some sort of cut or scrape. When it was over, eight lizardmen littered the filthy floor.
In a corner, Miss Adventure found a chest and too large bags. The bags were full of jewels, the chest stuffed with coins.

"This is great", said Nemon, "but we still have to find a way out of here."
After a quick a search for hidden doors by Miss Adventure and Gruffydd, the dwarf spoke. "Hmmm, no doors, but there are fewer lizards here than we faced in the passage. We didn't pass any on the way here, so they had to go somewhere."
Gear was gathered. Wounds were bound and the last crumbs of rations eaten.
And somewhere in the dark, the manticore roared.....

The Door

There was a loud CRACK as Gruffydd's great hammer struck home. The skull helmet of the Lizardman shattered and the great scaled creature dropped like a puppet with its string cut, lifeless to the ground.
Several of the lizardmen, now leaderless, sprinted down a dark hallway. The rest were trapped and fought like demons against the party.
Nemon skewered a few on his blade while the rest died from elven arrows.
There was no sound now except the heavy breathing of the group, and the constant drip of moisture on the stone walls.
Gruffydd searched the lizardman leader. Under his bone breastplate was an enormous ruby necklace. It was of ancient design. The gold necklace that held the ruby was woven like a great rope, and the ruby itself positioned to look like a great eye.
The party was exhausted. It was time to leave the Well of Souls once again, but how? The way back was blocked by the enraged Manticore. The only way left was down the passage the Lizardmen had taken.
They were down to their last few torches, whose light revealed a passage made from interlocked river stones. The sides were slick with moss, while the floor had been worn with use.
After a hard right turn, which the Dwarf Gruffydd guessed was north, they found a door at the end of a long hallway.
Miss Adventure whispered, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I smell a trap".

Scales

Lizardmen seemed to pour from every dark crevice. Them approached slowly in a low crouch, all the while emitting a low hiss. They came from both ends of the tunnel, a least a dozen.
Then, suddenly, the hissing stopped as well as the advancing reptiles. For a moment, no one moved.
"Well," Gruffydd shouted, "come on then!"
Beyond the edge of the light of their torches, something big moved. Some of the lizrdmen shuffled aside. Into the light stepped a giant Lizardman.
He was brighter in color than the rest. He had great spines protruding from his head and back. His helmet was made from a great serpent, fangs and all. Bones made his breast plate. He carried a great axe made of sharpened stone.
The great beast flicked a bright blue tongue to taste the air.
Then, with a great war cry, Gruffyd attacked.

Desperation

With an enraged Manticore behind them, and a horde of goblins in front, the battle became a desperate affair. Fueled by fear, fear of losing what they had gained, and most of all, fear of death in a dark place, the party fought with reckless courage. Goblins were killed in batches and groups. The party was cut and jabbed, but always they pressed forward. One room, then another, until battered and bruised the last goblin dropped to the floor. But now, they were trapped again. This room ended in no exits. They could already hear the manticore tearing at the door two rooms away.
It wouldn't hold long.
Wounds were bandaged. Weapons were ready. A last stand it would be.
They heard scraping behind them. Gruffydd turned and saw Miss Adventure on the floor, behind a chest scraping at a stone with her short sword. Suddenly, the stone moved! A secret passage.
Nemon was the last to squeeze through the hole in his bulky plate armor.
They lay scattered down a damp, narrow hallway. A small trickle of water gathered in the tunnel's lowest points.
The passage had been dug by hand. It had a strange, unpleasant stink about it. In the distant they heard a "thunk" as the manticore broke into the distant room beyond their secret door. Everyone held their breath. In the silent they heard a low hiss.
Turning, their torches showed a low scaled form....

No way out

Before the roar had even faded, they were stuffing every bag, sack and empty container full of coins. Even the bag with their provisions was emptied on the floor and filled to the brim with coins.
When they could carry no more, they ran for the door on the opposite wall. It lead to room that could only be the Manticore's lair. What furnishings that existed before were now smashed to bits. The room was full of bones of various humanoids and remnants of clothes. Another loud bellow from the darkness and they quickly moved to the next room.
The smell hit the party first. This room was covered in dried blood and festering corpses. Piles of offal filled every corner. Retching, they moved to a closed door.
They emerged in the long hallway they had been to before. When another roar came, it was close enough to fee reverberating from the walls. They ran. Coins clanked and clinked on the floor behind them  leaving a glittering trail.
When they came to an intersection they turned left an ended up facing a barred door. It was iron bound and sturdy.
Another roar. This one filled with pain and hate. The monster had found it's mate. No where to run. No time to listen at the door. Nemon and Gruffydd hacked and smashed at the door. It gave in with a crash.
They poured into the room fearing the other manticore was right behind.
This room was full of Goblins. Lots of goblins....

Rewards

Gruffydd could smell the rank breath of the Manticore. It was that close. He awaited the stroke that would send him to his ancestors.
Then the beast howled in pain. Peering over his shield, he could see Miss Adeventure. The halfling had sped down the hallway and came from behind the manticore through another door. She had drove her short sword deep into the creatures flank. It swung to smash her but she ducked. It t launched poisoned tail spikes, but they missed.
Gruffydd saw his opportunity, and charged. His hammer smashed the manticore's turned head. When it turned sluggishly to face him, a bolt from Mellion's crossbow punctured it's eye. It took a few steps, sliding on the coins that filled the floor, then slumped down dead.
Looking about, most of the party was down.
"We have no more Tears of Shealla," Gruffydd said. "Their wounds are to grievous for me to mend".
"Maybe not completely out," Miss Adventure spoke. She pulled two small vials from her pack, meekly. "Had to keep something for me"
The gave the first vial to Gustav. Once her was awake he was able to call upon heavenly help to heal Gildrid. Nemon got the other vial.
Now, they took stock of the room. Beside the huge bulk of the manticore, the room was filled ankle deep with thousands of coins of every type. Coinage with visages of kings and empires long dead.
"Almost too much to carry", said Nemon.
"Almost", smiled Gildrid.

Their smiles quickly faded when a distant roar was heard. A roar very similar to the angry bellows of their recently defeated foe.

A New Face

The room was quickly filing with noxious fumes. Gruffydd turned to nearest door and began smashing it with his hammer. Meanwhile, Miss Adventure sprinted to the far door and began to work its lock. The others were crashing to the floor, unconscious.
With a "sprang" the halfling's door opened. The gas stopped pouring out. Miss Adventure and Gruffydd began dragging the others out of the room. Most coughed up a green, slimey flem, but were otherwise unharmed.
They were in a hallway that ran south, but had a branch to the left not too far away. While the others recovered, Miss Adventure checked it out.
Beyond the hall was a room with a three branches. The far branch had a reinforced door. The north was hall headed back the way they came. To the south was a large double door. It showed terrible damage. Something large had clawed at the doors, trying to open them. More importantly, outside the doors were two columns. The bodies of two goblins were impaled on the pillars by long, black stakes.
"What's up?" Miss Adveture nearly fainted.
While her attention had been on the corpses, Gildrid and the others had walked up behind her. She pointed.
After a few moments, Gustav said, "I think we should head back that way," he pointed down the hall. "Maybe it links to where we came from. I'm exhausted and we are short on Healing vials."
There were nods of agreement.
Not far down the corridor a door appeared on the right hand wall. Unlike the rest they had seen, it was not reinforced, boarded, or even damaged. Miss Adventure started to pick the lock, but found it open. A quick listen reveal nothing.
After they readied themselves, Nemon pushed the door open. It got stuck but he shoved harder. It seems the door got stuck on all the silver coins covering the floor.
The light of their torches reflected off the the thousands of coins jewels filling the room. No one breathed.
Before they could set foot int the room, a dark shape moved from the doorway opposite. In a blur of motion a huge beast lunged at them!

Angel of Death

No one seemed particularly excited in finding out what was behind the door.
Gruffydd was the first to speak, "We either go down those steps, deeper into the dark, or we see what's behind this door."
There were more nods of agreement than nos. The dwarf began the smash at the boards and lock with his mighty hammer. The halls echoed with the banging.
A few minutes later the door swung open. Beyond was a long hallway. Nemon lead the way, torch in one hand, sword in the other.
The hall was finished stone, ten feet wide. A dozen yards into the hall and they came upon another door on the south side of the wall. It too was locked.The hallway still went on farther into the dark.
"I don't know if we should go forward, with an unexplored door behind us," Gildrid spoke. The rest of the group responded with raised eyebrows. Gildrid urging caution?
Miss Adventure was already at work on the lock. The door swung open to a large room.
It too was of finished stone. Another door was on the wall opposite. It was empty except for six large statues carved in relief from the walls. They were or robed, winged skeletons, each bearing a carved stone sword. Morr's Angell's were not an unusual sight for a crypt, but still, Gruffydd urged haste.
They were all busy searching the room when the door slammed shut! Immediately a foul smelling green gas pouring from the statue's mouths...

Locked Away

The little halfling prepared herself. With her magic boots she could easily run past them, but what lay beyond? There were four undead that she could see, but could there be more?
The zombies shambled ever closer. There was a noise behind from the rock slide, but she dare not look. Just as the lead zombie was almost upon her, ..."Thunk"!
An arrow was now sticking out of the eye socket of the closest zombie. It dropped to the ground. A quick look behind her revealed Gildrid had squeezed himself halfway through the a hole between the top of the rockslide and the ceiling.
"Thanks, Skinny", Miss Adventure said before she sprinted behind the furthest undead. Slash! Her short sword dug into the creature. It swung around to face her as the rest took interest in Gildrid.
The elf was trying to squeeze himself through as the zombies moved closer.
He had let loose another arrow, but it went wide. Suddenly he slid forward and smashed into the floor. Nemon, the old mercenary, had shoved Gildrid the rest of the way through.
Gildrd, crumpled at the bottom of the pile of rocks, was set upon by the zombies.
He slashed furiously as they pummeled him with rusted cudgels.
One of the zombies dropped when a large chunk of rock crushed his head. Nemon was halfway through the hole using rocks as missiles. Meanwhile, Miss Adventure had finished her undead foe, and was working on another.
On the other side of the collapsed tunnel, Gustav and Mellon were digging out the remains of Gruffydd. Finally an ankle appeared. Mellion began to tug. Gustav grabbed the other leg. With one last effort they pulled the dwarf free. He groaned.
"Still alive!" Gustav yelled. He grabbed his holy talisman and began to pray.
Nemon, Miss Adventure and Gildrid dispatched the last zombie in time to see a strange glow come form the other side of the rockslide. "What's going on back there?" Nemon shouted.
The weak voice of Gustav responded, "He's alive, but he's going to have a headache".
The rock pile was cleared. Everyone rested. All but 2 vials of the Tears of Shehalla were drank. The zombies had yielded little in treasure. But they had guarded a stairway down.
At the bottom of said stairway was a chamber. It showed damage from a massive brawl. There was dried blood, broken weapons, gouges in the masonry, and strangest of all, long spikes embedded in the walls.
The was another stairway down, but the party's attention was drawn to door. It was boarded shut.

Between some rocks, and a hard place

MIss Adventure jumped when she heard the rocks fall behind her. Dust filled the small passage. She took a few steps back, coughing, into the chamber behind her. She was about to run to Gruffydd's aid when she heard a low moan, and sensed movement behind her in the chamber.
When she turned, she saw 4 shapes rise from the floor of the room. There was the clanking of armor, and the low moans again.
"Ahhh, not zombies....."
She was trapped.

Rocks

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" Gruffydd gave a shout as he charged the ghoul. His hammer smashed the creature in the arm. But the ghoul slashed with his claws. The dwarf was scraped, but the ghouls paralyzing toxins had no effect on the sturdy Gruffydd.
Nemon attacked with his mighty blade. The ghoul moved with an unearthly speed. He dodged the blow and wounded Nemon. The warrior soon felt the icy cold overtake him. Gildrid took his place in the fray and was also paralyzed.
While the ghoul was bust with his attackers, Miss Adventure had snuck behind him. She drove her short sword into the thing's back. With a howl it stood straight and flailed at his unseen attacker.
It was then the other finished him with quick hammer blows and arrows.
Gustav quickly went to the aid of his frozen fellows. Calling upon his god, he healed them, but he was exhausted by the feat.
In the ghouls den they found piles of gold. The creature had been waylaying adventurers that entered the cave. He must have been one himself long ago. The party found silver bracers and a heavy key around his neck. Much searching found no lock to match it.
Resyed a bit they moved further down the passage. The way became smaller. Miss Adventure and Gruffydd, being the smallest went first.
The halfling moved through easily enough, but as Gruffydd entered the passage, the ceiling above gave way with a crack. It was if the whole mountain came down on him...

Things shiny and shambling

Gruffydd took the brunt of the rat swarm, but soon others jumped in. It involved more smashing, squashing and flailing than real fighting.
Gustav was able to call upon his god to heal the minor scrapes and bites. What he couldn't fix, a few healing potions did.
That room yielding only a few coins amongst the refuse, they moved to the next room. There, in the dark, something shuffled and moved. The torchlight revealed and figure clad in once rich robes, now turned to rags. Shining through the filth something glittered. The creature wore a heavy chain of gold and brilliant silver gauntlets.
The thing itself hissed. It was the color of a deathly ill man. Its hands ended in razor sharp claws. It's eyes, burning red coals of hate.
Gustav pushed his way to the front. "Back! Back spawn of hell!" He thrust forth talisman and prayed to Arnor for strength.
A hideous cackling that sounded came from the ghoul. "Not strong enough....for me..."

Poking in Holes

"There are three ways we can do this," Gruffydd said. "We fight him. And we'll lose by the way. We can negotiate. Giants are stupid, but they're greedy and always hungry. We'' probably lose some gold and a couple horses.
Or, we can find a way around."
Just then, Miss Adventure returned from a quick sneak around the tower. "He looks like he's here to stay", she said.
Quietly, they all mounted up and rode into the unknown area down the river. The ground leveled out, and slowly became swampy. The river became a marsh, and fordable at a wide, flat lake. There they crossed.
It was afternoon by the time they made it to the cliffs overlooking the river again. A cool, fireless night was spent there on the cliffs.
Early the next morning they found the side entrance to the Well of Souls they had found weeks before. The cave mouth was overgrown with foliage, and it took some negotiating to get the horses inside.
The cavern inside was wide and tall enough to fit the horses in. It was agreed, this was for the best, rather than leave them to the elements. There were three small tunnels in the cave.
"Left to right?" Gruffydd asked, "or right to left?"
Torches lit, they went single file down the right most tunnel, the dwarf leading the way.
The tunnel was rough and sloped down into a small cavern. It stank of rot and animal dung. It stunk of RATS!
A horde of giants rats made their home here. On seeing the torchlight, they swarmed the closest adventurer.

Return to the Well of Souls

The unrelenting heat finally broke over Wall. Citizens and adventurers alike crept outside to enjoy the cool weather. After their humiliating last effort, Miss Adventure and Gildrid wanted another go at the lands Beyond the Wall. They gathered the rest of their adventuring crew, and set out early one morning.
Again, following the advise of the Lord Marshal to avoid their familiar routes, they left the Old Trade Road and headed cross country. The one place they knew to cross the river that bisected their route east-west, was the ford at the broken towers. It would take two days to reach it, and once there, they would have to be careful of the hornet like creatures that dwelled in the far tower.
Their two days past uneventful. The only other living soul they saw was a hawk circling high in the cloudless sky. By midday they had reached the ford. Crested the hill that led down the river, Gildrid spotted movement.
The rest dismounted while The elf and his cousin Mellion watched from the safety of the trees. The near tower definitely had activity. They waited, and just as they were sure their eyes were playing tricks large shape emerged form the ruined tower.
It was a hill giant. And it seemed he had made their only crossing point his home. The grouped watched as the massive humanoid slumped outside the ruined tower and settled in for an afternoon nap.

My Little Pony

And off they ran. It was over. Zombie plant creatures, bugbears, land sharks, and talking corpses. It was all too much.
They ran and ran. After a day and night they stopped. Exhausted, they entered the glen where their friend the Dryad, Newly, once lived. The grove of full on small trees. Despite the blistering heat a pitiful rain, these trees seemed to flourishing.
Then, they spotted movement. They tensed and waited for the ambush the Lord Marshal had warned them of.
Instead of monsters or bandit they saw a small pony.

"Amazon!" Miss Adventure screamed and ran to the horse. It must have escaped the Land Shark attack. Indeed, it was scratched here and there but otherwise unharmed.
It was only a short distance back to Wall. But the ribbing they would get from their fellow adventurers over this misadventure, would be long and brutal.

Next: A new adventure starring all your favorites. "Return to the Well of Souls"

Running Around

"Sounds like good advice", Miss Adventure said.
They turned and left the tree quickly. So quick that they almost ran into the bugbear they lost earlier.
The big creature turned and faced them. "Lunch!"
Gildrid drove his remaining spear into the belly of the bugbear. He grunted and snapped the shaft in two, leaving half still in his belly.
Miss Adventure took the opportunity to stab with her small sword, but missed.
The bugbear slapped her aside and bashed Gildrid with the haft of his halberd. The elf fell on his backside.
As the bugbear finally removed Gildrid's spear from his gut, Miss Adventure used the distraction to sneak behind him. She jumped and drove her sword deep into the creature's back. As he howled in pain, Gildrid stood and drawing his sword finished the Bugbear.
After they had stripped the corpse of it's few useful items, they decided to head back to the Deepen Wood. The two had a half-baked plan to burn the plant controlling the dead with oil and fire.
Once inside the woods again and out of the intense heat, pulled all their remaining oil from their packs. Gildrid lit a torch.
Once again, they entered the clearing. This time five walking corpses emerged from the undergrowth. They had the same sickly yellow flesh. They shambled forward, guided by the plant at the center of the clearing.
Miss Adventure's throw was off. Her oil landed just short of the plant. But it was too late. Gildrid had already thrown the torch. Instead of catching the master on fire, they had caught the slaves. Now, fiery zombies were attacking them...