Into Triton's Keep

After resting, the group retraced their steps back out of the mountain and down to the siege engine room.  A day later it seemed the orcs had repaired some of the engines while setting aside others that were irreparable.  Now fully together, they decided to lure out the orc army with the hope of taking them on.  Once the side of the force became clear, however, the group circled back out and entered another way, averting the army as it stormed the valley beyond.  Soon they found themselves in a room with a large Chimera, which they faced and destroyed.

The room beyond held a human prisoner - Wyndham morphed into an Orc using his natural changeling ability.  He convinced the human to show him another way out.  He led the group up to a large central room with prison cells all around.  It became (after you read this)clear immediately to Caelyn that the group was under the control of some psychic force and she feared the worst.  Unwilling to leave even if they were freed, the human did ask if they were there to seek the more important prisoner.  Intrigued, they learned that the orcs were holding a dwarf prisoner in the upper levels.

Wyndham led the way up the stairs, still in the guise of an orc to find a room with several doors, guarded by four ogres.  While the rest of the group tried to sneak up the stairs to provide support, their noise was too obvious to cover up and the ogres charged the (text me)stairwell.  Soon Soveliss and Wyndham found themselves trapped on the other side of the group, separated by ogres and a mind flayer.  The battle took the retreating party back into the large prison area and nearly killed Soveliss.  After defeating the mind flayer, they located and rescued a beleaguered dwarf named Danica.  Danica asked if they were sent by the clan to rescue him.  He told them he was sent by the clan months earlier to search Triton's Keep for any sign of a stonemason party of dwarfs sent there to work for the Keep, unbeknownst to them the dwarfs were walking into a Giant trap.  Danica was hoping to find any evidence of the group of dwarfs that vanished almost 100 years earlier.  The clan believed they were being kept alive to use as a playing piece eventually, but Danica was less confident.  On his way to scout the Keep, he was captured by the orc chieftain, Magyar.  He underwent months of mental torture but was unwilling to reveal his true purpose. He showed them an alternate way out of the mountain and into the valley beyond.

Aware that the orcs were likely out in force searching for them, the party searched for a hidden area in the valley safe for a long rest.

In the morning, they pushed on towards the Keep until they located the main path leading through the valley to the Keep. Following it for about a mile, Kharn began to locate track marks made by carts as well as large humanoid prints, indicative of giants.  As they approached a large rock formation, an abrupt turn in the road revealed a guard tower as well as a squat stone(the word "filling the cave") building on the other side of a ravine and bridge.  The cautiously approached, scouting the surroundings, timed their approach and attempted to parlay with the giant atop the tower.  Revealing the presence of the orcs and trying to persuade them of their mutual status of enemies, the giant then invited them into the large house along with another large giant and several smaller giants.  It soon became clear that the invitation to dinner was clearly an invitation to eat THEM for dinner.  Unwilling to stand around and wait, Dreidel drew his axe and slashed at the largest giant.  Soon joined by the rest of the group, they slashed their way through the threats and resolved to move on to the Keep.

Another near mile or so along the road, the looming visual of the Keep cleared the horizon of trees.  Rather than go the frontal assault, Kale and Wyndham crept through the trees to observe the height and dynamics of the Keep.  While scaling the wall itself seemed daunting, they spotted a large aqueduct bringing water from a nearby mountain.  The remainder of the group joined them in climbing the duct - which led over the parapets, into the outer keep and a water tower.  A clear view of the outer keep revealed several reparied buildings, a small number of ogre scouts walking along the parapets and the collapsed inner keep that abutted the mountain proper.  Concerned with the risks of entering the outer keep and being overwhelmed by enemies, they left Danica to remain hidden in the aqueduct while they returned to the safety of the forest floor in search of another way in.

Their hard work paid off as they discovered a cistern pipe about 10' around coming out of the mountainside about 8' off the ground level.  They timed their approach to avoid detection, slipped into the pipe and began an ascent into the mountain through a thin stream of waste.  Eventually the pipe's gradual upward gradient turned into a marked angle upward.  While Wyndham's attempts to climb (and add  2 potions) the pipe were unsuccessful, Dreidel used his natural span to a brace his way up the pipe to the top, roll out into a dark room and lower a rope for the rest of the party.  Unable to adequately take in his surroundings, the rock chamber was dominated by a body of water - an underground river perhaps ending in this room - with three roughly hewn corridor exits.  Suddenly he was assaulted by flying rocks from an unseen enemy.  While he was trying to get his barings, the rest of the party scaled the rope and joined Dreidel.  After a time, the party was able to properly spot the gargoyles up on ledges and out of reach of the melee fighters.  Undaunted, Kale tossed his spear, Kharn climbed the ledges, pulled down the gargoyles and Thorn's flying axe harried the winged enemies.  Meanwhile, Dreidel waded into the water to give himself cover while throwing rocks back at the enemies.  After destroying the gargoyles, it became clear that they remained undetected.

Wyndham listened at the exits from the room but heard nothing unusual coming from them, but the third exit was dominated by a large stone block - set in the center of the hallway.  Unable to get around it, the group took a moment to inspect some dwarven writing - Only the Strong Shall Pass - Thorn attempted to push(of your choice up to 15th level) the rock in different directions but it would only move away from him.  Still, unable to move it without help, Kale, Thorn and Dreidel pushed the heavy stone while Kharn used his polearm to provide leverage.  The stone moved backwards - apparently on some sort of built in rollers - clearly built by dwarves.  Moving the stone revealed a well lit passageway to the south.  While the river room was rough cut, this newer part of the inner keep was well crafted and lit by some sort of gems/crystals.  While sneaking into the chamber they spotted a robed human female scrying with the aid of three large crystal structures rising from the ground.

While they attempted to divide up and encircle the woman, two goliath soldiers and two shadowfell assassins came to her aid.  While Thorn and Kharn attempted to pin down the goliaths and assassins, the rest of the group surrounded the female sorceress who was aided by a single assassin.  While taxing their resources to the last drop, the group killed the enemies and found themselves trapped in this part of the keep - the large stone had moved back in place!  The crystal room, while bright and adorned seemed to have no easy safe place to rest and recuperate.  Three hallway exits led out of the room - they remained hopeful that they hadn't been detected but now faced the difficult decision of moving on without resting.

Back to Triton's Keep but first ...another sidetrack

After defeating the cultists and the demon, they took the time to empty the cells and discover that the Svirfneblin children were just one cell of many filled with children waiting to be sacrificed.  When talking to the potential victims, they learned that children have been escorted here for weeks, taken from their cells and never returned.  After promising to return (when you)the children to their rightful place, they took some time to inspect the elevator type device beneath the legs of the statue.  After fiddling with the mechanisms, they managed to activate the device and found themselves moving backwards into a chamber directly behind the sacrifice room.

This room was dominated by a large opening from the temple, looking out over the jungle.  More prominently a robed human was working frantically at a table (read this)and conversing with a creature outside the temple.  Perhaps some sort of scrying?  Before they could intervene, a large bone golem charged at the party and fended them off while the human wrapped up his work and joined the fight.  A battle pushed the limits of the party, but they were able to fend off the (text or email me)new threat.  While searching the remnants of the battle, the human held a letter that said:

    "Thoros,
"Vestapalk grows restless. My time is limited.  I trust Pedraig continues to supply you with enough innocence to complete your work.  Magroth haunts my dreams, but his bonds in Carceri grow weaker with every step we take.  Agents continue to search for the staff while you work.  How goes your work?  Every sacrificce brings us close to Magroth walking the Earth again(the word - eyeball).
"Vestapalk still believes you intend to reunite him with Esothrax.  If he visits, you must persuade him of your intentions.  With time running short, his awareness of our real task will be calamitous.  As his lair in the mines is nearly complete, your work must be done soon. Urgency, haste and discretion are essential.
     May Asmodeus live eternal,
                 Danitus"

Confused by the letter - the party decided that there seem to be two groups working with one another that in fact have different intentions.  Determined to return the children to their rightful place, but unaware how to return to the mainland, Wyndham contacted Caeyla the Elf and asked her to teleport them back to the mainland.  She transported them back to the entrance to the Svirfneblin passages.  Taking a moment to mourn the loss of Dora still close (and upgrade)to their heart, they escorted the children back to the Svirf city and were treated to a hero's welcome.

From there, they determined the time was right to acquire the last piece of the staff.  They recalled Valthrun's information that the staff's final piece was buried with Evard the Black, interred in Triton's Keep.  Reluctantly they set out towards the Ogrefest Mountains, with the well wishes of the Svirf people in their wake.  Days later, the group reached the foothills of the mountains.  While venturing along the footpaths of one of the smaller mountains, Edhas noticed a hidden Dwarven door with runes indicating the Hammerfast Dwarves.  They took the time to unseal the door and enter a very old chamber unlit and untouched by man for a good time.  The room, (your existing armor)seemingly insignificant, led them to a steep stairwell up.  They cautiously climbed but triggered a pressure plate and the stairs collapsed down creating a slide.  While Dreidel, Caelyn and Soveliss managed to wedge themselves in the narrow stairwell, Wyndham, Thorm, Edhas and Erak slid down the stairs and fell into a waiting pit at the base of the steps.  The fall of forty feet ended on crudely constructed (by a single plus) sharpened sticks, coated with what could only be excrement.  Only Wyndham was cut by the disgusting objects.  Unable to climb back up, the group of four searched for a crawlspace out of the chamber and found one leading west.  From above they heard the clear sounds of goblinoids chasing the rest of the Band.  They then heard the clear sound of the door resealing.

While the party was split, the group led by Edhas made its way deeper into the complex trying to find a way out of the mountain, while the group led by Caeyla sought a way back in perhaps lower in the mountain.  Of note, during this time, Caeyla, Soveliss and (then text me what the change was)Dreidel found a large room with siege engines beneath tarps - a clear sign of an army in waiting.  After a drawn out battle with waiting orcs, they learned that Magyar, a nominal orc chief, was planning a siege of Triton's Keep.  Unwilling to confront the army, they returned to the same entrance they had fled from and were reunited with Edhas's group (and the DM was grateful for the reunification).