[https://tabletopliterature.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Dice.png]

Admittedly, Selene had tried to avoid drinking so much that she would have to venture out in the early morning, but she had failed. Using a chamber pot with Cire and Durg sleeping nearby was something that she would rather avoid, if she had the choice. Which she did.

This was how Selene found herself on the side of the cabin at daybreak, regretting her excess. If her Luck score had been lower, perhaps she would not have noticed. If her elven eyes were not so keen in the din of dawn, perhaps she would not have noticed. If the crisp morning had not brought her to an uncomfortable state of awakening, perhaps she would not have noticed. But she did.

About a quarter of the way across the bowl of the valley from her vantage, she made out movement. Upon standing she could make out a small mass of bodies working their way down the last sections of the southern ridge.

Even with her sharp eyes, Selene could not make out the number in their party, but she did get a sense of their direction. Without torches and showing the telltale glint of armor and weapons, the band moved with purpose towards the ruins at the center of the valley. With haste, she drew her small clothes back into place and darted into the cabin.

“Get up! Durg. Cire. Intruders!!”

She was already donning her leather armor and buckling it into place. “No idea who or what they are, but they don’t look peaceful and they aren’t giving any warning. Maybe the gnolls are back? They are headed to the center of the valley from the south.”

Cire had been sleeping in the loft, and at her sudden shout had rolled over the ledge. Floorboards rudely greeted his face.

Stringing her bow and tying her quiver to her back, she followed up. “Sorry Cire. No time for niceties. Get your gear, we can plan on the way.”

Following her lead, Durg was already half-armored by the time he was finally on his feet. Cire could not tell if it was because the stocky dwarf had slept in his plate again or if he was just better at sudden rousing from sleep. Cire was quickly trying to make up for lost time. In only a few minutes, all three headed towards the ruins.

Cire had only seen the structures from a distance. Stacy had simply warned him to keep away. Having always taken the advice given to him by his previous hosts, this left him at a deficit regarding information on their destination.

“So, the ruins. What are they? Why is this group headed there? Why do we think they are a threat?”

Selene had been correct in her estimation. The strangers were now about halfway to the ruins and pacing ahead of the trio. Sunlight was streaming over the eastern lip of the valley, they hoped that it would be enough to cover their approach. While keeping up a quick jog, Selene gave a rushed response.

“I cannot rightly say. I always kept away from them, most folks here do. Stace poked around a couple of times and said it was too dangerous. I think intruders are a threat because...” Selene took a breath a skirted around a rock before completing her answer. “They didn’t come through the pass and they approached under the cover of darkness. They are heavily armed and armored, but they aren’t presenting any League colors. I think we can assume that they aren’t here to throw a party.”

Durg's heavy breathing punctuated the silence that followed. Cire and the other elf moved swiftly over the flat terrain, but were forced to keep pace with their friend. As they neared what Cire had thought of as dilapidated buildings, it was not easy for him to hold back.

“They are burnt and broken Twin Pines! Two to three times the size of the ones near Sunset. These are not re-growing though. Selene, do you know why?”

Selene shook her head a bit and then gave the back of Cire's cowl a slap. “We can look at them when we find out who our guests are. Do not get distracted. Keep your guard up.”

Nearing the charred husks, Cire started to scan for dangers between the large gaps. Beating the other group to the center was a lost cause, but if their group had been noticed, an ambush could be waiting for them. Their party had no chance against a numerically superior force without the element of surprise, let alone if the situation was reversed. They had to move with care. Finally pulling up to a stop against one of the trunks, they inched around the circumference until they could see into the gigantic grove of stumps.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Roughly-hewn granite blocks lay in scattered formations. The remnants of long-abandoned foundations, there was a rough order to their placement. Familiar, flat, rocky mountain terrain covered the inner area of the grove. However, there were clumps of odd-looking, reddish-brown mushrooms. Interspersed in the mushroom patches was an occasional over-sized variant. Moving back behind the trunk, the party began to prepare themselves.

“So, giant mushrooms. Ever seen those before?” Cire queried.

It was Durg who spoke up. “I be seein' the smaller ones back home. Poisonous and deadly if ya eat em. Sum o' the alchemists use em for healin’ potions. The big boys I never seen, they look the same though.”

Looking to Selene for confirmation, Cire saw a rather quizzical look on her face.

“Not familiar with them, I take it?” One nod was all the confirmation needed. “Well, let's keep our distance from the larger ones if we can. Who knows if they have toxic spores or something like that. We head to the center. Let’s see if we can find our visitors.”

With a surety that had been absent from his previous behavior, he moved around the tree swiftly. Selene and Durg would follow his lead. They could rely upon each other.

It turned out that Cire was right about the giant mushrooms, he was just woefully incorrect about what type of danger they presented. Once the three got close to the fungus’, one of the brownish-red caps split down the center. Growing a wicked barbed spike and tilting toward Cire, it fired before he had time to notice the metamorphosis. Catching him in the shoulder, the thorn wedged into his hide armor. Thankfully, it caught on a dire boar bone before penetrating too deeply.

The spike forced him to the side and it was actually a spark of luck, for once. Two projectiles fired by partnered 'shrooms glanced off his arm and leg, respectively. Gathering his bearings, he flung himself forward in a roll. Popping up next to the closest fungal beast, Cire drew his blade and struck in a single motion. Splitting the aggressor down the middle leaving two sodden chunks, Cire’s sword sliced through the leathery flesh with ease.

Responding to Cire, both of his companions engaged the other opponents. Loosing two arrows into the stalk of the furthest ranged attacker, Selene provided enough cover fire to force its next shot errant.

Moving in close to the next monster, Durg opted for his tried-and-true tactic of wantonly throwing himself at whatever stood in his way. Armor spikes shredded the soft body of the plant. With a few hatchet blows tossed in for good measure, there was a veritable salad left at the dwarf's feet.

Dashing to the target that had sprouted several arrow accouterments, Cire sliced it at a diagonal, severing the last connected strands of spongy tissue. Jumping back, he narrowly avoided the open maw of another large mushroom. It had ripped along the stalk to reveal razor sharp teeth. A hatchet and arrow slammed into each side of the new fiend. It slumped from the dual impact, withering and deflating.

Looking over the skirmish site, Cire was relieved to see that there were only small, normal-sized fungus in their midst. Gritting his teeth, he yanked out the spike in his shoulder.

“See anything else? You know, besides giant killer mushrooms that is.”

Raising an eyebrow, Selene made a sharp hand motion. “Keep it down. Did you leave your brains out for the boars? Who knows where that other group is.”

Moving as quietly as Durg's plate would allow them, the three kept to the shadows. They headed towards the center of the ruins with a sense of inevitability. Nothing jumped out at them... again.

Once they arrived at the middle of the grove, they were not disappointed. Dead center was an almost perfectly-circular hole about thirty feet across. Tied off to a worn piece of stone, several ropes disappeared into the depths below them.

Following the lines, Cire looked over the edge and could only make out blackness. It obviously exceeded the range of his Darkvision, one hundred feet was not all that far. Cire had the sneaking suspicion that the bore went much further beneath the valley than that. Standing up from a kneeling position and walking back to his friends, he looked between them.

“The way I see it, we have a couple of options, but only one that is really viable. Did either of you pick up on anything I might not have noticed? All I can tell is that the hole goes down for a long ways, far past anything I can make out.”

Cire’s attention settled on Durg when the dwarf twisted his lips in a snarl.

“It be duergar, dark dwarves. Ya can tell by the knots and rope. Its made of material only found in the deep dark.” Hacking up a thick lougie and spitting it onto the rocks, Durg uttered a half grunting round of curses. “Oath breakers. Honor blighters. By my mother’s lower braided beard!”

Selene provided supplemental details.

“Four ropes. Probably four to twelve down there. Do we cut the ropes and pray they cannot find a way back up?” Straight to the point as always, the female elf looked from the rock to the hole as if the answer would divine itself.

“Duergar be full o' tricks an' nastier than gnolls. We cannae let ‘em anywhere near the hamlet. With our wounded and reduced amount of defenders, we would be hopin' ta be killed. Dyin' 'n their mines not be 'n my list o’ things ta be tryin'.” Durg explained. That was all of the information Cire needed to make his decision.

“So, we are going down there. Here's what I'm thinking...”