Episode 5

Kobolds skittered around the heroes, and fell beneath their blows. Cries of alarm echoed throughout the chambers. The light from the sconces wavered, casting uncertain shadows over all.

Suddenly a hash bleating horn sounded over the roar of the waterfall, and a second wave of enemies surged forward from deeper in the cave system. Two of the tough dragonshields scrambled into the central chamber where Aravin and Flinch fought, one landing a blow on Aravin, who blasted his attackers with a thunderwave that threw one of the dragonshields back against the wall. Flinch spied a sinister-looking kobold wyrmpriest hurrying to join the fight, but failed to land an arrow on the creature. She easily dodged the wyrmpriest's retaliatory energy orb, which spent its flames in the curtain of water behind her.

In the southern entrance Dexter battled his surprisingly tough opponent, finally dispatching the kobold and emerging into the central cavern in time to see a burly goblin burst into view from the deepest caves, snarling and swinging a massive battleaxe. The goblin's face was tattooed with a skeletal ram's head, and one of his fangs has grown to a huge size, protruding from his lower jaw up to shadow his face. Clearly this was the "Irontooth" they had been expecting. The goblin charged toward Flinch.

In the northern cavern Artin and Walf were pounding on the remnants of the first wave of reptilians, dispatching a kobold soldier and wounding a skirmisher. Pinned down by their enemies, they couldn't defend their comrades from Irontooth's attack.

Sorely wounded by a dragonshield, Aravin unleashed another thunderwave that caught both the dragonshield and the enraged goblin, pushing them across the rough stone floor. Irontooth recovered quickly and charged back to the affray, his attack landing on Flinch a second after the wyrmpriest's fire orb. Leaving the last of their opponents to Walf, Artin ran through to the main cavern and summoned her god's power to restore Aravin, before turning her attentions on the goblin.

Despite significant damage dealt by Dexter's sly attacks and Artin's massive warhammer, Irontooth's battleaxe knocked Aravin to the ground, leaving him unconscious and bleeding, and separated from the dwarf who might have helped him.

Walf, oblivious to his own danger, cast aside all concerns of enemies and defenses and ran as hard as he could, past several kobolds and deep into the cavern system so that he might challenge the great goblin which he could hear causing great harm to his friends. He drew the wrath of Irontooth and a nearby dragonshieldwhen he contemptuously disregarded their attacks and knelt to stabilise Aravin. That done, he stood and faced the goblin, with a strange glint in his eye.

Dexter and Walf flanked Irontooth in an attempt to split his defences, and soon the group surrounded the goblin, focusing their attacks on this greatest threat. The unregarded wyrmpriest circled the group, summoning a massive flare of dragonbreath that scorched Walf and Aravin, but also nearly killing a dragonshield caught in the flames.

Flinch circled the group looking for a shot at Irontooth, occasionally picking off stray kobolds, and failed to notice that a kobold that had previously fled from the battle had gathered his courage enough to fling a javelin at her. The wicked point tore through the elf's flesh and she sunk to her knees with a groan, then fell forward to the ground.

With two heroes close to death and the remainder sorely wounded, the situation was dire. The many wounds Irontooth carried seemed only to make him stronger, and his battleaxe bit deep into Walf's torso, bringing bubbles of blood to the hero's lips. Walf gathered all of his great strength to beat upon his enemy, but to no avail — the goblin easily dodged the blow; and with that the group's fate appeared sealed.

Will our heroes die here, their bodies robbed of valuables and rolled into the river? And where are the cultists? Stay tuned for Episode 6.