The Last Kiss

The two dwarfen bodies fall to the ground; the electricity of the lighting that struck them down still in the air. Wer smiles satisfied and flies along the corridor to look for the last two dwarfs that ran this way a minute ago. The only thing she can hear is the distant noise of 4 feet running somewhere in the mine. Impossible to tell the direction. She turns round to tell the others about the girl in the sarcophagus. The battle seems over.
Chen still hangs from the ceiling looking at the slain bodies when Telfis and Mendez enter the room. Apart from the locusts that still attack every person in the room, all opponents seem dead. He turns to see Thesis and Durin enter the room through the fog. The look of relief can be seen on the fighter's faces when they realise there is no opponent left. Finally they can treat their wounds.
Telfis looks around the room. Seven beds, seven chairs and seven cupboards. Seven possibilities to hide gold. As he tries to open the first cupboard, the bird next to him changes into Wer.
"I've found the girl! She is in a chamber not far away."
Mendez looks up from the body he is examining "Is she ok?"
"Can't really tell, she is locked up in a kind of sarcophagus and is either dead or in a deep sleep!"

After a final look around for more dangers, the group follows Wer to the chamber. Entering the room, Telfis is immediately struck by the unearthly beauty of the slender figure laying motionless before him, enshrined in her crystalline prison. Looking at her it is hard to tell whether she is dead or simply unconscious, held by some evil spell.
He takes a dreamy step forward, overwhelmed; his mind engulfed in a silent contest of awe and sympathy alternately trying to sweep him away. Telfis' hand gingerly traces the surface of the young woman's pristine prison when, suddenly, a sharp tingling feeling, extending from his neck and creeping all the way down his spine, shakes him out of his reverie. His hand remains extended on the crystal surface, frozen, as he once again becomes aware of the room around him. Behind him, he knows his friends are crowding up, with varying degrees of impatience trying to get a look at the sarcophagus. Trap.
Telfis sharply raises his other arm to signal his friends to remain where they are.
"Its trapped. I don't know how but its big."
His friends can see the the adrenaline rush in Telfis' boyish grin. They can also see that he is terrified.
"I think this is a tricky one, it's probably better if I am the only one in the room while I have a look at it."
Telfis can see the objections working themselves through minds and facial expressions in all of his friends. Nearly simultaneously. The train of thought, as usual, travels a bit slower in Thesis and the dwarf. He knows they will be concerned. All but Wer, she will just be annoyed not to see what's happening.
Before anyone can voice their objections, Telfis says:
"Please. Trust me, it's the safest way. Just give me ten minutes to study it. If I can't find anything we think of something else."
Something in his voice, a rare kind of determination for the young rogue, gives his friends pause. Grudgingly, they grant his wish, and close the door from the outside.

The room once again silent, empty but for the dormant lady and himself, Telfis expertly takes stock of the situation. He cannot see any obvious traps. Stone and crystal are both completely featureless, cut and polished to smooth perfection. Telfis approaches the young lady. Once again, the feeling of danger makes the hair on his neck stand. He is sure there must be a trap; quite probably a terrible one.
His eyes closed, he lets his fingers glide over the contraption while his mind probes for any clues he might get from subtle irregularities, mechanical or other. Then he feels something. It is nothing but a vague threat, a lingering sense of dread. He knows he has found something. He probes on, but learns little. Telfis feels both terrified and exhilarated; he knows nothing about the trap but one thing: he is hopelessly outclassed.

Just as he considers to give up and tell his friends that he failed, something, in a vague yet final way, goes the mental equivalent of 'click' and instantly, with a sudden insight he is not sure is entirely his own, Telfis knows he has made a terrible mistake. He has triggered something which cannot be undone. Without moving, he slowly opens his eyes. His numb mind has no capacity to feel surprised that what he sees is no longer the room he knows to be in. Instead, he finds himself on a clearing in the oldest forrest he has ever seen. He looks around, amazed by the intensity of the colours surrounding him. Everything looks somehow more alive than life itself.
Lying in the shade of a tree he can see the familiar figure of the sleeping girl. Telfis approaches her slowly and cautiously when he notices the owl watching him intently from a branch above the girl. The eyes of the owl are of an incredibly deep green. And even though Telfis doesn't know much about forest creatures he can tell that this is no ordinary owl. Its, no, her eyes are too intense, too wise. For a moment he thinks he can see sadness in her unblinking eyes, but only for an instant. Telfis holds the gaze of the owl, and finally he understands. Suddenly he knows exactly where he is and he understands the mistake he made trying to disarm the trap. And somehow he also knows the enormity of the decision he must make under the serene gaze of the watchful owl.
This is his gift from the green Lady. To know the nature of his decision, and to make it in full knowledge of its consequences. He understands that this is all she can do. The rest is up to him.
Telfis hesitates for an instant, but he knows his decision has been made the second he understood. Slowly he walks over the soft and mossy grass, over to the sleeping figure. Gingerly, he kneels beside the girl and brushes aside a lock of her hair. He bends over, his face nearly touching the girl's. Telfis closes his eyes, he can feel the steady warmth of her breath on his face. He brings his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

The girl slowly opens her eyes. She finds herself lying in an unadorned room, her clouded mind slowly gathering itself. She half-remembers the strangest of dreams. Slowly, uncertainly she looks around. Beside her, slumped backwards on his knees she finds a boy. He looks vaguely familiar. His face is very pale and his lips creased in a sad little smile.
The girl sends a probing thought, but there is no response. Whoever he was, the boy is clearly dead.

Fal-con-men

Soaring through the chilly air, the handsome falcon searches for its master.
It can feel the mystical connection and seeks to close the gap between them.
Finally, within the confines of an oddly constructed valley, it finds the object of its affection.
Handsome, athletic and proud.
Looking into Mendez’s face is almost like looking into a mirror.
Other humans are just like pigeons.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to War we go.

That was scary. Thesis and Durin very nearly died.
Fortunately, they had Chen, Mendez and Telfis to hide behind.
And where did Wer go again?

The War Begins

"Master, the scout is back! He says that he found the bodies of the missing group in front of the bridge. They are all dead!!"
The minion cringed as the master jumped up. "Who was it? The guards? The green witch?"
"We do not know, master! But the scout reports that he saw arrow and sword wounds as well as evidence for magic"
"Arrows and swords? Neither the guards nor the witch use them. Goark's group could have easily managed villagers! There must be some other fighters involved! Take one of the clerics and try to ask the dead. But be careful, take Orgol with you to get you there unseen. If the witch got reinforcements, we might have to change our plans! "

Later that same day.....

The black wooden door opened and three humanoids entered the room, two humans and a goblin. The tall shape at the other end of the large hall turned around. After getting closer, the three newcomers could see the wolf-like features of the large humanoid form in front of them.
"My lord, we have the information you've asked for!"
The lord looked at the two humans and shouted at them "Didn't I tell you not to use this form in front of me? Be proud of what you are!!"
Both human shapes immediately changed into their hybrid forms showing the same wolf-like features like their master.
"Good! Now cleric, continue!"
"I've asked the body of Goark who attacked them. It said it was a group of adventurers consisting of fighters, druids and sorcerers."
"Hmm, any information if the guards or the witch were involved?"
"Yes, mylord! The guards and the witch defended the bridge and kept them from coming in, but most of your servants were killed by the adventurers in front of the bridge!"
"So the old witch managed to get help from outside? Interesting! We have to assume that the group entered the valley afterwards. Orgol, send out your scouts! Try to find them, but don't attack without my order. And tell your hunters that they can hunt in the valley from now on to get stronger. I don't think we have to keep it secret any more!"

After the cleric and the goblin left, the lord turned to the last remaining minion. "What is the state of the white witch? Any new information?"
"No, mylord! She hasn't been seen since your ingenious move although the tower is surrounded by thorns ever since. Some scouts tried to get through but were badly injured and turned round."
"Did you ask the people in the villages?"
"Yes, mylord! Nobody has seen her or heard from her. They are all worried. Some of them have seeked protection and help from the green witch, but their petitions remain unanswered!"
"Good, it seems we can move soon! Without the white witch the green witch can't withstand our growing forces. Soon we have enough power to take her tower. Then the valley will be ours!"

The Best a Man Can Get

The beautiful falcon races through the darkening sky.
Every fibre of it’s being yearns to be with his master.
Nothing will stop him…
Wait.
What’s that?
Oooooh, shiny!

Treasure

Ok, here is what you got from the barghest battle and the mercenary camp (I don't list bedrolls, blankets and stuff. If you need one, you've found one):

Barghest battle:
125 pp
1 potion
Dwarfen waraxe (m)
Leather bag (m)
Green cloak (m)
3x leather armour

Mercenary camp:
1x Half-plate armour (m)
2x Breast plate armour
1x Chain shirt
2x MwK Chain shirt
1x Leather armour (m)
2x Shield, heavy steel
2x Sword, bastard (m)
1x Crossbow, light
1x Dagger
2x MwK Quarterstaff
2x MwK Longsword
2x Longsword
2x Longbow (Composite/+2)
50 Bolts
138 Arrows
735 gp
5 gems:
- 1 orange spinel (525.4gp)
- 1 demantoid (118.3gp)
- 3 chrystolite (50.9)

That is what you've found after the battles. After using a detect magic spell the items with a (m) start to glow.

And somebody has to sort out how you split the stuff! Eolar is not there ;-)

Experience

Ok, sorry for the delay! I decided to post XP as two characters go up a level. Unfortunately the barghests didn't give much XP as their challenge rating is rather low and the mercenaries (who gave more XP) were too easy to defeat. I'll adjust the monsters for tomorrow accordingly to make it more interesting and rewarding.
Here are the new XP levels:

Mendez: Level 11, 55191 xp (UP!)
Telfis: Level 10, 48069 xp
Wer: Level 10, 46426 xp (UP!)
Durin: Level 9, 41,723 xp
Thesis: Level 9, 40890 xp
Bodush: Level 9, 40,431 xp
Chen Yong: Level 7, 25,812 xp
Ned: Level 5, 13,604 xp

Mendez and Wer made it to the next level. Extra points were awarded for playing in character or using special abilities of the class/race in the right moments.