Everything is still trying to kill us...

The old ashik stood up and pointed at the Mekillot wagon, the cloaked figures had removed all of the bodies and started a funeral pyre. Eventually the freed slaves and former residents of the small village beside the muddy waterhole stood and moved back towards the wagon, believing that they had swapped one slave master for another. And so they were surprised when the old ashik led them towards the guards rooms and told them to arm themselves and the catapults. The old man then stood on deck and in a deep voice continued his tale.

Knowing that it will be impossible for Balboa and Kank to rest within the Weeping Valley, the Company retreat back into the large cavern to clear out any remnants of the Beastmen before taking time to recover. As they head into the first of the tunnels, with Kank moving quickly towards the only other exit, Arthur kicks a bone on the floor and when it stops moving he realises that it is a hoofed leg bone. He looks up and says;

The bloody things are cannibals as well!

The Company press on into the darkness and find that the passageway leads to a t-junction, with the assistance of Graneggadon, Kank can sense chaos in both directions and he is just about to stomp off to the right when he is surprised to find Scar’s hand on his shoulder stopping him. The tall warrior woman suggests that the Company exit this cave and head back in through the other tunnel as she has a hunch that she wishes to check out. Relieved that one of his colleagues has taken the lead, Kank is very happy to follow. Scar hunch proves right when the Company discover that the second tunnel connects to the first, all be it via a large cave with several exits. They can also detect guttural grunts from deep in the darkness, and so Kank asks Ferulah to creep forwards and she what lays ahead.

A couple of minutes later the feline in human form reappears out of the black and tells everyone that there are four Beastmen sitting around talking, one of them looked very strong and she is quite sure that one of them had gems for eyes. The rest of the Company are almost crushed as Arthur stomps to the fore and suggests that they rush them. Once again, Kank is pleased that the decision is out of his hands and so the Company prepare themselves by calling upon various powers to protect them, and then with Kank at the front they rush headlong into the cave. As soon as Kank is at the mouth of the cave he hurls Earthshaker at the two Beastmen standing together in the middle of the cave, the greathammer of Gnoriath sails wide of it’s mark and vanishes into the gloom leavening Kank stood rooted to the spot like a stunned Rhynox.

Arthur, Ferulah, and Scar rush beyond the flummoxed Kank and engage the other two Beastmen. Ferulah punches one of them in the leg and the sound of breaking bone echoes through the cave, while Arthur smashes his Troll maul into the other ones guts and it drops to the floor like a stone. Kank is still stood in the cave mouth with his arm outstretched waiting for Earthshaker to return to him. Scar stabs down with the Sword of Kemalok at the Beastman that Arthur had felled and the blade passes through it’s chest killing it. Ferulah swings a wild hat maker with her left fist and catches the injured Beastman in it’s ribs, the blow is so powerful that it drives the creatures ribs into it’s heart, the beast drops dead to the floor. The two Beastmen that Kank had missed rush into the melee and one of them catches Ferulah with a head butt, but most of it glances off of her tough skin.

The other Beastman attacks Arthur but misses, Scar steps into the side and slices the Sword of Kemalok across it’s left arm causing it to drop it’s weapon. Arthur then follows up with his Troll maul and cracks the Beastman’s head wide open. Kank finally catches his greathammer and rushes in to assist Ferulah but misses with a wild swing, the Beastman then hits Ferulah in the head with it’s obsidian heavy mace, Ferulah is staggered but keeps her feet. That is until the creature follows up with a powerful head butt that also catches Ferulah in the head and the she cat drops unconscious to the floor of the cave. Scar leaps in and slashes the Sword of Kemalok across the face of the Beastman and Kank finally finds his range and smacks the creature in the guts forcing it to it’s knees. Scar then dances in again and puts the chaos beast out of it’s misery. There is a heartbeat of silence and then Arthur says that he hears more coming from the other tunnels.

The Company form a defensive line in front of the downed Ferulah while Balboa dashes forwards to aid the feline in Human form. As soon as he sees the Beastmen emerging from the tunnels Kank again hurls Earthshaker, but this time the champion of Gnoriath does not miss and the greathammer flies true and drops a two headed Beastman in it’s tracks. The rest of the Beastmen charge the Company’s line in an attempt to overwhelm them, but the warriors of the Company of the Cloaked Inix hold firm and Scar counterattacks with a stab of her iron shortsword crippling one of her opponents legs. It is then that she realises that the creature has three legs.

Arthur slams his lead Troll maul into his opponents left leg, forcing it to drop to one knee. Kank, who’s opponent is covered in huge mirrored scales, is then hit in the arm with a bone club, and his arm falls limp to his side forcing him to clutch Earthshaker in just one hand. The creature quickly follows up with a head butt and Kank is forced back a step. However, Scar is hit with a far more powerful head butt and flies backwards six feet to land in a heap on the floor. The kneeling beast in front of Arthur hawks up a glob of phlegm and spits it straight at the solid Dwarf, Arthur is hit in the chest and is shocked when the acidic spit starts to eat through his armour.

Ferulah, having been fully healed by the trusty Balboa, steps into Scar’s place in the defensive line as the Mul earth priest rushes to Scar’s side to assist her. It is then that another group of Beastmen rush from another one of the tunnels and join the melee. Arthur hits again with his massive Troll maul but the creature continues to fight. Kank calls upon the spirit of his cloak to heal his arm as Ferulah smashes her fist into Scar’s previous opponent and drops it dead. Kank is head butted again, and again is forced backwards slightly, as the new Beastmen reach the light it is obvious that one of them is a massive Minotaur. Realising that it is unlikely that they are now going to be rushed from behind, Miloch stops guarding the rear and steps into the line and into the fight.

Having just regained the use of his arm Kank is hit again by the mirrored Beastman and yet again his arm is incapacitated and drops to his side. Arthur is spat at again and this time is hit in the head with acid, just as the beast fighting Scar dis tends it’s jaw and a tentacle like tongue lashes out of it’s open mouth and whip cracks against the freshly healed Scar’s arm, and the warrior woman staggers as the creatures poison enters her system. But the fury in Scar’s heart keeps her on her feet and she slashes the Sword of Kemalok through the meat of it’s arm and as the blade cleaves the beasts blood starts to pump down it’s arm. Ferulah floors another one of the Beastmen but for everyone killed another steps into the fight. Arthur slams his Troll maul into his opponents chest and floors it, and to his horror he sees the Minotaur step into the breach.

Miloch cuts one of the Beatman’s legs out from under it with a swing of his iron battleaxe, but Scar is hit again by her attacker and that, and the poison racing through her system force the warrior of the wastes to collapse unconscious. The massive Minotaur slams it’s horned head into Arthur’s arm and there is the sound of breaking bones. Ferulah, trying to assist Arthur, slams her cestus covered fist into the Minotaur’s guts and her strength is such that the huge creature drops to the ground, allowing Arthur to disengage and step back from the fight. Miloch hits once more but his opponent is resilient and remains in the fight. Kank smashes Earthshaker into the mirror scaled Beastman’s side, but to the powerful Mul’s surprise the attack just bounces off of the scales without causing any damage. The creature then head buts Kank and he is forced backwards again. The Minotaur flails out at Ferulah from the floor and lands a powerful blow against her left arm, which drops limp to her side.

Ferulah punches back with her one good arm, but is blinded by sweat and misses wildly. Scar, having once again been healed by the attentive Balboa, launches herself back into the melee and hacks one of the Beastmen attacking Kank in two with a powerful swipe of the Sword of Kemalok. As the chaos beast falls in two different directions it explodes showering the area with lumps of flesh and bone shrapnel. A large piece of it lodges in Scar left arm, almost severing it, and both Ferulah and Kank collapse with their bodies riddled with bone fragments. Miloch takes advantage of the distraction of the explosion and cleaves his opponents head from it’s shoulders with a sweep of his iron battleaxe.

The one armed Scar slashes at one of the beastmen and manages to cut one of it’s legs out from under it. Miloch then steps in and slamming his iron battleaxe down kills the Beastman at Scar’s feet. Arthur steps over the Minotaur and repeatedly smashes his fist into the creature until it stops moving. There is a moments quiet that is only broken by the injured bleats of the downed two headed Beastman at one of the exits to the cave. Miloch unslings his bow and draws an arrow, with a single shot he kills the last of the Beastman. But the fight has taken it’s toll on the Company of the Cloaked Inix.

While Miloch and the one armed Arthur stand guard over the entrances, Balboa moves around the prone forms of his friends and calls upon the Gnomes of the earth to heal Kank. Scar uses one of the Troll stones to heal Ferulah, and then Balboa gives the feline in Human form a Weezer honey as well as using another of the Troll stones on Scar. When all is done, it is obvious that both Scar and Arthur have arms that are crippled and only Ferulah’s magic will be strong enough to heal them but Ferulah herself is to weak to help. It is then that Kank hears something moving within the tunnels, so he heads off to discover what it is. He is closely followed by Scar, in spite of her injured arm, and they head as quietly as they can up the left hand passageway. Ahead of them they can hear a rumbling sound as if someone were moving a barrel in a cellar.

Ahead of them the passageway opens up into yet another cave, this one with two exits one of which clearly leads back to the cave where the rest of the Company are resting. Scar spots two Beastmen rolling a barrel into position at the top of the central passageway, and then kicking the barrel down the slope. The two Beastmen then spot Kank and Scar and run for the other exit. Kank throws Earthshaker, but again his aim is off and the greathammer misses it’s target. Kank and Scar start to give chase, but Scar drags the big Mul towards the central tunnel in an attempt to cut them off. When they reach the cavern that the rest of the Company are in they discover that it is a flame. The barrel having rolled down the tunnel and smashed into Ferulah and burst into flames. Kank stops in shock with Ferulah unconscious again, while Scar rushes to the t-junction but can find no sign of the running Beastmen.

With the help of Balboa and Miloch, Arthur bandages Ferulah’s wounds and move the she cat in Human form out of the centre of the cavern to the edge of the passageway. They rest there for four hours, with Arthur occasionally patrolling the cavern. On one of these patrols, and out of sight of the others, the big Dwarf digs the jewelled eyes out of the Beastman and pockets them. At the end of the four hours, Balboa has regained enough energy to heal Ferulah’s wounds. Kank, Miloch and Scar search the rest of the tunnels but can find no sign of the missing Beastmen, but they do discover a cave deep in the complex that is very defensible for the Company to rest up in.

As soon as she is able to, Ferulah lick both Arthur’s and Scar’s limp arms and they start to regenerate. The Company agree that they need to rest up before heading into the Weeping Valley and so they hunker down in the deep dark and ignore any sounds from the main cavern. After more than a day the Company sneak back out into the main cavern and head back to the Weeping Valley.

They hug one of the valley walls and push onwards for a short distance, it is then that Arthur spots a couple of Mekillot, as well as their wagons, and a ruined tower with what looks like the top of tents appearing just over the ruined wall. Arthur scans the ruined tower with his telescope and can see that there is at least one guard on look out, he also spies another guard with the Mekillot wagons. And importantly, both guards are human. Above the ruined building there are three caves in the valley wall and there is another cave on the same side that the Company are hugging. Balboa offers to climb up the valley wall to the same level as the cave on their side and once he up up he lowers a rope. Ferulah who has switched to mountain lion form, follows him up. The others follow using the rope and then Scar and Arthur scan the area with their telescopes. They can see people moving around, and all of them are people and not Beastmen. With Kank taking the lead they edge carefully towards the cave. Just as Kank reaches the first of the trees, about eighty foot from the cave mouth, Kank is attacked by a tree.