Travel Log: Day 7-8

Day 7:
 
We packed up camp and set off early in the morning. While traveling along the road, a young man in bloody clothes ran up to us, with fear in his eyes. He wheezed, "Help," and ran off the side of the road. Shortly after he ran off, a group of orcs came up, carrying fine weapons and adorned with well-tanned furs and jewelry. They asked where the boy had gone, and Ibrahim directed them the wrong way. As they went, we noticed their fine weapons and jewelry, and realized their gear would probably sell for a high price. Knowing this, Talia snuck up behind them and stabbed their leader, killing her. The other orcs moved to engage, and we fought back. We easily dealt with the orcs, and looted their corpses. We found about 7 silver worth of usable jewelry on them, as well as a shortsword that would be worth a decent amount. As we looted the orcs, the boy came back up to the road warily, looking around for the orcs. Seeing that there were none left alive, he thanked us profusely, saying he owed us a life debt, and to come find him in Felra, which was about a quarter day's travel from here. We accompanied him to town, and sold our treasure. We visited the boy's family, and they thanked us as well. We left their home with a full stomach. We were also able to find a man who had a cottage for sale. We bought it for 10 gold, and moved in the next day. We hired some people to maintain our home while we were away. We also purchased some riding horses, and other amenities. Finally, before we left, we asked one of the people we hired (a handyman by the name of Torgo) to build a garden to harvest food and sell it. After this, we set back out on our trail.
 
Day 7 Results:
+7 Silver (14 total)
+3 Exp (11 total)
+4 Riding Horses
Brambolg's Touch of Death (Ibrahim)
 
Day 8 (continued):
 
Ibrahim learned Rank 2 of the Path of Death! (5 exp. left)
Darus learned Rank 3 of Defender! (2 exp. left)
 
We departed from the town, continuing westward. Around noon, we noticed a rock wall to our left that looked odd. We investigated, and found a door that we were able to open. We decided to investigate, leaving our horses outside. As soon as we entered, a wave of humid air and a rotten stench greeted us. The structure we were in seemed to be very old, coated in dust and some kind of mucous fluid. Despite the dust and damage to the walls, we were able to read a mural on the wall. It told the tale of an army of demons attacking a group of nomads. They prayed for help, and when they did, a large serpent came and saved them by consuming the demons. Grateful, they began to worship the snake and give it human offerings. This structure was apparently a temple to this snake, used for worship. We investigated the temple, and found most wooden objects there to be melted by some kind of acidic substance, similar to the mucus that covered the walls. While pondering on this, we were attacked by three undead ghouls. We fought them off, Ibrahim being greatly injured in the process. After the fight, Ibrahim raised them from their recent release from undeath to serve him. By speaking to one of them, we were able to discover what had happened here to cause all of the destruction and corpses we had found. He said that one of the offerings they gave the snake was deemed unworthy, and the snake flew into a violent rage, killing most of it's worshippers. He said that one of the surviving members had left the key to the sacrificial chamber, along with a weapon to combat the snake, in a hidden compartment somewhere in the temple. We searched the temple, fighting more undead along the way, and were able to find the compartment. The weapon that had been left there was two bottles of highly flammable oil. Through clues from the murals, what the undead had told us, and the oil, we were able to deduce that the serpent was most likely a hydra. We entered the sacrificial chamber, prepared to fight a hydra, only to find it dead in the center of the room. Just then, the ground began to rumble, and a large abyss worm came out of the ground and swallowed the hydra whole. We fought the worm, using the oil to melt its protective plates away to attack it directly. We were able to fell the worm, but Talia's leg was broken during the conflict. We harvested some parts we could sell or use from the worm, and left the dungeon.
 
Day 8 Results:
 
Abyss Worm felled!
New Info: Hydra Temple, Abyss Worm, Sentient Undead, Ancient Religions
+5 exp. each
+2 Vials of Acid
+6 Unknown Crystal Shards