A/N: And here's the next chapter! Our heroes continue to wind their way deeper into the caverns beneath the Stone Tooth. What will they find down there?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.

Chapter 24: The Glitterhame

We continued our explorations by checking the passage to the southwest, arriving in another chamber. A trickle of water was seeping down from somewhere above, nourishing a variety of different fungi— weird puffballs, tall caps, and patches of mold in a variety of colors. We noticed a golden-brown carpet of mold covering an old skeleton of rusted armor in the southern part of the room. However, it the skeletons grasp was a strangely pristine sword. As the rest of us started to move further into the room, Krisyra stopped us.

"We should use caution," said Krisyra, "the mold around that skeleton… its extremely poisonous".

"Anything we can do about it?" asked Narcrath.

"Yes, stand back," said Krisyra.

We did as she asked, and watched as she summoned up as small flame and carefully burned away the mold. Once she'd cleared enough away, she retrieved the sword and handed it over to Charles. He looked it over and nodded.

"This sword's got the same forge marks as the broken blade Pelthik showed us," said Charles, "We must be getting closer to our goal".

We continued down the main passage, and emerged into a massive cavern. The great cavern glimmered with a faint phosphorescence. The ceiling looked to be nearly 50 feet overhead, and bright flecks and gleaming stone formations were visible in the distance. Patches of strange fungi dotted the floor, including capped stalks standing as tall as a human and glowing puffballs nearly a yard wide. High ledges rose between fifteen and twenty feet above the floor on the north, south, and western walls, A pair of narrow passages led out of the cavern, one behind us where we came in and the other to the south. To the west, I could see a flight of stone steps carved into the western ledge, and connecting to a path worn into the center of the cavern. We moved down the path before us, moving into the main cavern. I heard the sound of something sliding against stone. Suddenly a pair of strange creatures shot out from the gloom, straight towards Lydratir and Charles. Lydratir managed to dodge the creature's attack, but Charles was hit by the creature's tentacles. It then tried to follow up with a bite with its beak-like mouth, but he managed to evade this strike.

I got a better look at our attackers: they were Gricks, they resembled oversized worms, with barbed tentacles surrounding a beaked mouth. Lydratir focused on the Grick before him for a moment, before drawing his shortsword and attacking the creature, striking a decent blow. Krisyra stepped over to Charles, and poured healing magic into him. The Grick attacking Lydratir attempted to strike him again, but failed. The Grick attacking Charles did the same, but couldn't find purchase on his armor. I stepped over to the Grick attacking Charles, and tore into it with my claws. Narcrath summoned a chromatic orb, and fired it at the Grick near Lydratir as a ball of lightning. Charles attempted to attack the Grick which had struck him before, but he was still off balance and missed.

Lydratir swing again, finishing off the Grick before him, and then shifted position to aim his bow at the other Grick. Krisyra began summoning a flame, and then tossed it at the Grick. Suddenly the fire redoubled, badly damaging the Grick. The Grick recovered from the attack, and slashed at Krisyra with its tentacles, but she dodged its follow up strike. I brought my teeth to bear against the Grick, finishing it off… and then spitting it out because it tasted terrible.

With the area clear, we continued to search the chamber, starting at the west end. We moved up the stairs, and came upon a new sight. An array of sepulchers cut into the wall, guarded by ancient runes, glimmering crystals, and deposits of flowstone. It seemed this area was untouched, compared to the 'lived in' quality of some other areas of these ruins. I noticed Charles looking around, examining the tombs more carefully.

"What have you found?" I asked.

"Well, most of these have standard warnings of doom for those who disturb the honored dead, but these three have the names and deeds of the occupants, Their names are Borgol the Old, Gharin Orc-Doom, and Numik the Unlucky".

"Best just leave them to rest," said Lyrdatir, "we've enough to deal with here to also have to contend with the unquiet dead".

There was nothing more than more tombs in this area, so we headed back the way we'd come, soon arriving back at the area the Gricks had been guarding. There was a slope of slick, smooth rock leading up to another passage. It wasn't a difficult climb, requiring nothing more than some sure footing. We soon arrived at a passage littering with remains of various creature the Gricks had attacked. As we searched through the grisly remains, we found a decent pile of coins, as well as a suit of scale mail.

We once again returned to the main cavern, and this time checked the southern passage. We made our way up some slick stone steps to arrive in a long cavern split by a fast-flowing stream. At the east end of this cavern, the water thundered down into a lower chamber. To the west, the river was partially dammed by a crude barrier of rock and mud. We made our way to the east, careful to avoid slipping and falling into the rapids. At the end of the cavern, we found a spiral staircase leading down to a deeper level. We made our way down the stairs, and arrived at the cavern at the base of the waterfall.

The waterfall spilled down the northwest wall into the deep pool at its base. The rocky wall glistened with spray, and an array of colorful minerals and strange lichens lent the area an otherworldly quality. The stream continued from the plunge pool, heading south towards another chamber, and a separate passage led the same way. To the east, a pair of wooden doors stood silently, waiting.

A/N: and there we go! Next time, the adventure continues as the party explores the partially flooded section of these ruins, known as the Sinkhole. see you then!