The PCs enter the cavern complex beneath Slaughtertree Hold, moving cautiously since they expect the place to be heavily defended. Before long they have already attracted the attention of a group of orc guards at a nearby guard post, set up behind a low barrier, and battle commences...but unlike the humanoid tribes of Floivin Province, the orc mercenaries, including several of the 'Gray' sorcerers, prove incredibly difficult to kill, employing deadly magics and savage attacks. After Mudgol flings an evard's black tentacles to block off the back exit to the orcs' post, in which the PCs can hear more guards mustering, one of the sorcerers flings the same spell at the main body of the party, grappling everyone other than Rumpridge and Gruulsh! The battle becomes very nasty then, with the pair trying to fight through the warriors while the sorcerers continue to unleash nasty magics, like an acid arrow that burns Rumpridge.
Eventually, Mudgol gets his senses and is able to teleport himself, Ballyhoo and Ymurf to a free zone and enter the fray, but not before one of the sorcerers dispels his own tentacles and allows a pair of massive, fiendish scorpions and more orc mercenaries to join the melee. Rumpridge soon falls unconscious to the acid damage, while Baro remains strung up in tentacles, so the fight is still rather lopsided until Ginkwrench and Ymurf begin cutting enemies down, and Mudgol metes out several fireball attacks to wound the enemies. Ballyhoo manages a successful lesser geas on one of the orc warriors, who turns around to attack his own companions, but the battle gets edgy as Ginkwrench is beaten to a point at which he might die when his barbarian rage diminishes! After a second evard's black tentacles from an orc sorcerer, the outcome does not look good, but the group eventually pulls through after Ymurf Gnarlbottom deals massive damage to one of the giant scorpions, and the PCs are able to surround and take down the other.
After rifling the bodies and grabbing some of their masterwork gear, the PCs move on further to explore the cavern complex, though anyone else inside is likely to have heard the scuffle. Rumpridge moves silently ahead, searching for traps as he traverses the sharp, hewn walls of the orc complex. He sneaks up on a pitiful orc cook in a kitchen area, slays him almost instantly, and dumps him into the meat and root vegetable stew he was preparing. Ginkwrench disgustingly then CONSUMES the stew, and the PCs swipe a handful of finer cutlery, bowls and plates that are present. Then they move off to a curtained off area where they find some hastily abandoned beds, chests, dressers and a wardrobe. Baro claims some of the sheets off one bed in his magical haversack, so that they may be later used to potentially scry one of the Score (assuming it belonged to them). The PCs then backtrack to a previously unexplored corridor, where they find a horrific torture device (somewhere between an iron maiden and a straight up fleshpress), and a bag of masterwork torture implements which Sgt. Baro also loots.
Beyond the torture room, they come across an electrified grated door which damages both Ginkwrench and Rumpridge before the rogue is able to disable and unlock it. Inside, there are six cramped little cells, which Mudgol recognized from his daring teleport rescue of Lt. Banghorn, and three are full of charred remains. One is a human male they can't identify, another a woman with good cheekbones who has been basically incinerated, and lastly they find a stocky, gnarled and muscular man who is still breathing! After picking the lock and casting some restorative magic, they are only able to get some grunts out of the survivor, so Mudgol uses his pneumonic enhancer to drill the man mentally for information, while of course insulting him in the process. He claims to be called Demeskos, an engineer who was brought in to work on something for the Score, but refused, and was thus imprisoned until he would presumably relent. He didn't. The PCs then travel back south through the corridors to a three-way split, and choose a route that takes them to what seems like a war room or staging area...
...where a bare-chested, scarred, rigid and incredibly muscular man with gray hair awaits them. At the sight of the lone antagonist, Demeskos warns the characters to flee. "Syriux! Run for your lives!" However, as they have the numbers and don't want to walk away without taking a crack at the Score, Rumpridge and Ginkwrench close in to test the man's 'mettle'. "Go no further", growls the man in a metallic tone, and then he proceeds to instantly squash the skull of Pvt. Rumpridge, killing him! Ballyhoo howls for revenge, and the gnome barbarian begins to rage! Seeing that Rumpridge's magic rapier had no effect, and that a vortex of teeth cast by Baro was entirely useless against the brute, the PCs decide to cut and run, tending to their wounds and losses. Ballyhoo's haste spell helps even the most infirm escape the slow-moving Syriux, but not before he breathes a cloud of gas on the fleeting party, affecting Ymurf only. The party races for the entrance of the prison hideout...but is this over?!
PCs: Ballyhoo, Baro, Ginkwrench, Gruulsh, Mudgol, Rumpridge
NPCs
Demeskos (human male): A muscular, gnarled, stocky man discovered in the Score's prison hideout in Badash, beneath Slaughtertree Hold. He can barely speak and has been nearly incinerated by one of the 'purge' traps that had been set off. Has only a few greasy strands of long hair remaining on his head, and still covered in a lot of burn damage, though the PCs have used magic to restore his health as much as possible. Claims he is an 'engineer' who was recruited by the Score to work on one of their number...but he refused, and was thrown into prison. Knows nothing about Aslak or the other prisoners that were burnt alive.
Syriux (human male?): A tall man of incredible physique, he stands roughly 6'4" with long graying hair and a number of scars chiseled into a serious expression beneath gray eyes. He wears shoddy chain mail pants and a pair of weapons across his back (a broadsword and axe), but seems to ignore them when he fights using his bare hands. Speaks with a metallic twang to his voice, and thus far seems impervious to every harm sent against him by the PCs...Syriux is known to be one of the Score's latest recruits.
