This continued for I know not how long, we would open doors, face whatever was inside, investigate the room, and move on. Of note was a large room with 20 pools, most of them containing liquid of various sorts. Each was about five feat around. Mirel headed straight for one that appeared to be filled with gold coins. We were all wary, so she tossed a pebble onto the coins and they all disappeared, as if they were never there. Kayla explained that this was some sort of magic meant to trick our minds, and she found arcane writings on the container after the coins were gone.
One pool had a liquid that actually healed wounds. Everyone who had been injured drank some, and was healed. Several of us rushed to fill our waterskins with this wonderful elixir. My cautious nature led me to avoid testing the pools, as most of the others did. As you know, I prefer not to enter into risks unless I know the odds, and this seemed completely random to me.
Darius found a container in the back that held what appeared to be a human body, wrapped in linens and very old. When he touched it only slightly the creature awakened and began to attack him, grabbing for the dwarf. I was close by and moved in to help him. I was still holding a torch, and figured that the old linens would be flammable, so I hit the thing with my torch. My instincts were right, and it burst into flame. This development was not all for the best, as it then grabbed and held Darius, burning him as well. Kayla doused the flames, but it was otherwise difficult for us to attack the creature while it held Darius. Finally, the dwarf broke free, and I was able to set it on fire again. We all continued to engage the thing, noticing that the dwarf's hammer seemed more effective than our swords. In fact, it was a blow from the hammer that eventually felled the creature.
Igor was hysterical at this point, screaming that the dead were coming to life, and that the end of times was upon us. Darius and Kayla managed to calm him, explaining that it was only more magic to fool the mind, that the body was never actually returned to life. Searching the body we found a ruby necklace that had been glowing but was now dark. We also found a hollowed out bone that contained a scroll. Attempting to read it made Darius uneasy, and he returned it to the container.
Ben and Mirel took skins filled with the healing fluid to the bedridden men up in the Outpost, while the rest of us forged ahead. We found a room with a bed, desk, chair, and numerous papers. Under the bed was a cast chest, with an old lock we could not open. We managed to break the lock, finding inside parchment, a broken bottle, one elven made boot, an ornate ceremonial dagger and 40 gold coins. Darius established that we would divide this evenly, keeping a separate share as a group treasury.
Moving on, we found an armory, where I acquired a flail which I began using as my main weapon. Ben and Mirel returned, reporting that the elixir had greatly improved the wounded men. We were glad to have Ben with us when we opened another door to find six humanoids, nearly skeletal, with rotting flesh hanging from their bones. He called upon his religious fortitude and shouted “The Gods command you get thee back, evil.” They responded by cowering against the far wall, and we managed to end their sad existence with little effort.
We found three well-made dwarven longswords, each with a symbol of and anvil with two hammers crossed. Darius, Dram and I each took one of these. Another room of interest had a large circle drawn in silver and chalk on the floor.
Ready for a break, we headed up for a meal and to collect ourselves. We found that without Igor to cook one of the men, Smitty, had taken it upon himself to prepare a meal, using some of the day-old stew as a base. Our archers had seen no orcs or other foes, but had managed to bring down a stag. The soup turned out to be bad, and fourteen men ended up in the infirmary. This was enough of a surprise, but the men passed away over night. It was agreed that Smitty would no longer be allowed to handle the food.
In the morning, we resumed our plan of reporting to Outpost Yung. Igor, Mirel and myself agreed to go. The journey was short, only about an hour, although we did almost lose our way at one point. We were pleased to find a pristine, well-kept tower, where we were greeted by Cpl. Seth, who took us to Sgt. Reginald.