Merdi, day 19 of Spring, 553

30 Exiles gathered in the Meadow just after Dawn today. We had a very slow start, since folks kept filtering into the Meadow for some time after the appointed start time. We actually ended up leaving 1 exile behind, who simply didn't catch up to us as we finally passed through Hatred Hollow.

Once we got going, we breezed right along without significant incident right to the Foothills, although I managed to fall to the lone Dredlock in the Dred Pass South Pit after I opened the path in (in my defense I note that it was at the far West end, and many regular Warlocks targeted me too!).

One odd occurance was that we found a lone Large Midnight Wendecka in the Foothills. First time I've ever seen one, and I was a bit surprised that it was pretty easy to hit and was only a kill.

We took the time in advancing through the Malachite Caves to have some new blood try their hands at planting Zu walls, so hopefully more folks are getting comfortable with this job.

After a short break above the Pitch cavern, we headed onward. The initial foray into Cave 1 was immediately successful, and we were all advancing through Cave 1 in almost no time.

That initial momentum carried right over into Cave 2. We advanced rapidly into Cave 2 after only a couple of Fighter runs. Quite a few Fighters fell in the final big rush, but the cave was quickly secured and we forted up at the East side to heal everyone. We then walked right through Cave 3, with only brief pauses for the 3 Bloodbladers to crush a couple of Pitch Arachnoids, smooth as butter.

Things slowed down substantially once we reached the end of Cave 3 and started to clear Cave 4. Hopes were running high, but we have been stopped cold here before. We alternated luring with fighter runs, and that seemed to be going well. However, a zu wall had been planted at the first constriction inside Cave 4, and we ran into trouble when no one could get close to it to cut a luring hole due to webs from the other side. the upshot is that we spent a lot of time waiting in Cave 3, all the time knowing that a backspawn was certainly coming "soon".

Suddenly, 2 Pitch and a Crimson spawned in our midst. One Pitch and the Crimson were pretty handily dealth with, but at the cost of several fallen fighters, including all 3 Bloodbladers. The second Pitch started rampaging through our ranks felling fighters and healers alike, and things were rapidly looking grim. We kept it trapped and occupied as much as possible while the Bloodbladers were raised, and finally they moved in to finish it off. It was a close moment!

With that backspawn dealt with, we were able to recover and then finally move into Cave 4 to clear it of the last few Crimsons and several Malachite Arachnoids collected at the Zu wall. After some more luring from the bridge area, the cave was under control.

We triumphantly entered the 5th room once again.

The happy team posed for this postcard in celebration.

Mystic and Pathfinder scanning all over this room turned up nothing unusual, neither illusions nor paths.

Neither Rincewind nor Sutai had a Strange Stone nor a Spriggin Stick, so neither could mark this spot for teleporting, unfortunately.

Valtrim in town was asked to locate someone in the group, and he announced that we were 26 snells from town center, North and East, and below ground. Quite a long way!

Viola dropped one of her Champion minerals to compare to that odd stone set in the floor, and although they match pretty well in color and pattern, they are distinctly different shapes (round versus oval). This stone is a curious thing to find, and surely is some important clue.

Inside the 5th room, we saw Bats, Wurms and Arachne spawn, but nothing larger. It does seem semi-safe, anyway.

We took the time to go back into Cave 4 to scan it carefully as well, and found neither mystical illusions nor paths.

The one unusual thing was noticed by Sutai. He found a "sticky spot" along the wall in the Northwest corner of the Cave 4 Northeast pit.

Paths are often sticky like this, but not every sticky spot is a path by any means! But try as we might, none of us could see anything here. We stayed, staring, as long as were could. It is a spot which bears repeated examination, but if it is a path, it is an awfully difficult one.

Finally, we returned to the 5th room, and stepped into an Ethereal Portal for a quick trip home.

So, a successful trip, but no further progress in finding a way to advance further.

Somewhere we are missing something, either in Cave 5, or perhaps behind us in a secluded spot (like in a pit) we usually bypass.

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