Setup

When last we left our heroes, the party was standing in the darkness, a few hundred feet from a grisly sight. Two hobgoblin guards with bows were standing before a wooden bridge that spanned an underground river. Positioned around the guards were two huge torches and a dozen or so pikes set in the ground, each pike topped with a severed head that looked as if it had been impaled there for a few weeks.

As the party debated their next move, Ser Shadow emerged from the darkness next to the party as if he had been waiting there all along.

Rush the Bridge

Ser Shadow suggested that the party take advantage of the cart rail running through the mine and across the bridge in order to gain an advantage over the guards. The party stealthed back, retrieved one, and positioned it for action. The plan was to hide both of the rogues in the cart and propel it toward the the guards. Protected from the arrows, Ser Shadow and Rhagel would combat roll out of the mine cart before entering the circle of light emitted by the torches. In addition, Corliss cast light upon the cart so that it would illuminate the area beyond the bridge as it rolled past.

The plan went off without a hitch. Each rogue established a position just outside the visible area as the hobgoblins harmlessly fired arrow after arrow into the sides of the cart as it rolled past. The glowing cart revealed that the tunnel began an upward climb on the other side of the bridge, and the cart slowed to a halt at the foot of the incline. Unbeknownst to the party, a crossbow trap awaiting them was triggered and fired its payload into the darkness.

At this point, the party emerged from the darkness and attacked, forcing the hobgoblins to sound an alarm and retreat across the bridge. The party swarmed over the initial guards and a third one that emerged from a small offshoot of the main mine tunnel. A thrown rock, a Blindness spell, and a few well-placed blows had the hobgoblins about to break when a mine cart came barreling out of the darkness from further up the tunnel. It scattered the hobgoblins that knew better than to wait on the rails, but plowed into the adventurers and derailed when it hit the cart rolled in by the party.

In the chaos, Rhagal leapt to the forefront of the action, dealing vicious blows left and right but ultimately being knocked unconscious by the hobgoblins. The party finally killed off two of the guards while the third fled up the tunnel. Once again, Yornan revived Rhagal with a healing spell and a "pro tip" about avoiding combat.

A Detour and a Swim

Sounds of the river could be heard in the open chamber off to the right and Ser Shadow - after his traditional harangue about the dangers of adventuring - forged ahead, looking for treasure. Startled by two Carrion Crawlers hanging from the ceiling, Ser Shadow reached his limit and jumped into the river, hoping to doggy paddle away and find gold, alcohol or nubile women waiting anywhere but his current location or with his band of fellow adventurers.

Gronth stormed into the cavern room and began attacking the Crawlers with mighty swings of his two-handed axe. A series of guttural clicks and slurps emerged from the mouth of Corliss as he repeatedly cast Vicious Mockery. Rhagal finally exercised some caution and darted in and out, thrusting his rapier into the soft sacks that were the bodies of the Crawlers. Surprising, Yornan cavalierly ignored the proceedings.

One vicious tentacle blow from the Crawlers finally penetrated the defenses of Gronth and opened the floodgates. Suddenly, a second blow, then a third blow, and finally a bite landed, and Gronth was paralyzed. The first crawler fell from the ceiling and was killed, but the second knocked Gronth unconscious. Yornan finally stepped in and healed Gronth.

In the meantime, it turned out that the river unexpectedly ran in a circle and the wet and battered body of Ser Shadow washed up again at the foot of the cavern. Ser Shadow momentarily regained his composure and heroically climbed back into the cavern to fight. The second crawler was quickly dispatched.

Aftermath

The party stood in the mine tunnel, peering up into the darkness, proud that they had driven the hobgoblin guards deep into the mines, but aware that their presence was known and that further progress would undoubtedly be contested at every turn.