As the party made its way into the foothills of the Black Barrow mountains, the party noticed strange black holes opening in the ground amongst the outcrops of boulders and scrub brush. Suddenly, large reptilian bugs, their bodies covered by hard, black shells leapt from the holes and attacked the party. For each creature the party killed, fresh holes opened literally beneath the party's feet, spewing forth more of the beasts. When it appeared the growing tide might prove overwhelming, the party fought its way to the huge beast controlling the horde, squashing the bug flat and sending its minions skittering back into their dark nests beneath the ground.
Barely refreshed from one battle, the party heard the screams of some tortured soul echoing from deeper into the hills. Racing toward the clamor, the party found themselves at the Crossroads Trading Post. Locked within a metal cage suspended from a grotesque metal tree, a pitiful human railed at a group of hobgoblins taunting him. Charging forward, the party slammed into the soft rear rank of the hobgoblins. Unfortunately, Mirri let the excitement of battle carry her to close to the three hobbie brutes and their massive pikes. Felled by three swings of the razor sharp blades, the druid breathed her last as the hobgoblin war caster shocked the entire party with an explosion of blue electricity.
After finishing off the hobgoblins and wrapping up the dead druid as respectfully as possible, the party freed the prisoner. In trade for some morsels, the famished human explained that he had been a worker at a excavation site further west in the hills. It was not long before workers began disappearing which oddly enough only made the work deep in the hole go faster. And the robed figures overseeing the dig brooked no question nor doubt to their authority. The man waited for the first night without a moon and made his escape. However, without provisions and unsure of his surroundings, he soon resorted to stealing food from a hobgoblin camp. He barely made half a league before the hobgoblins caught up with him, found him guilty of thievery and brought him to the Humor Tree for punishment.
His story ended, the man scooped up the meager provisions you shared and headed off east as fast as his weak legs could carry him.
The party entered the Trading Post, wary of the group of gray dwarves and orcs negotiating a trade within the Post. In trade for items, Tillen, the proprietor of the Post, revealed the rumor of an old hag living high up in the mountains and said to be very powerful in life magicks. Tillen also remembered a female dwarf fitting the description of the dwarf you sought. The tiefling claimed the dwarf followed the trail of a group of adventurers searching for treasure supposedly buried within the ruins of an ancient watchtower.
The hag found the party climbing the rugged trail into the mountains. Initially, the meeting threatened to turn ugly until the hag realized the dead body the party lugged along happened to be one of the 'Risen'. Blessing the elf with her mysterious power, the hag resurrected Mirri. When a passing bird captivated the insane woman's attention, the party quickly retreated back into the woods, heading in the direction of the watchtower ruins.
After a long, hazardous climb, the party discovered that whoever had reached the ruins before them had fallen within the grasp of the undead now overrunning the tower.
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