Tal-Higek and Tall Tales

We awoke in the morning in our temporary respite of a rundown fortress inside Tal-Higek. The stones were cold, warmed by the hearth and our short camp, thoughts looking ahead to the destination nearby and our hands slightly warmed up from battling the Gnolls we encountered.
 
We knew there are dwarves ahead, their intent yet not discovered. We only must seek the path ahead and press on, ready for confrontation or more possible puzzles. We continued east along the path to the sister city, and discovered some cart tracks in the muddy road decending into the shaft entrance of Mol'Higek. It was dark, and rain water had found its way into the track grooves as the path descended into the earth. The air became stagnant and the path less and less well-worn into carved earth and crude excavation around the minecart tracks.
 
Cobwebs covered the adjacent walls and the scent of death became noticeable, as we found a larger chamber in the mineshaft. A rotating platform that allows carts to change tracks was in the center, but not aligned to any track specifically. We also found some bodies around a small campfire that had been slaughtered and the bodies recently killed within a few days.
 
After some investigation we discovered some items rummaging through the bodies. A finger-shaped miniature statue, a pendant nailed to a belt, with markings 'Worlds Best' on the buckle, a small gem that was quaint but seemed subtlety important that I gave to Neoon to investigate longer, and a ball of multicolored thread that I gave to our fae-friend since she seems to appreciate pretty objects, and she immediately began to bat it around the room like a cat would play. Neoon found the gem to actually be a bead of hardened resin made from dried or jellied strawberry, perhaps edible but interesting nonetheless.
 
With our discoveries concluded, we continued into the southern exit into more cavernous paths, our progress east through doors was blocked by reinforced bars that we had yet been able to open. Randuras' knowledge of machinery told us we would have to find a way to rotate the platform in order to open the gate. Kico slipped through the bars to investigate the room we couldn't access, while the rest of us tried to brute-force the rotating platform into submission, but to no avail.
 
While Kico looked through the next room, we couldn't follow but we found another poor soul in a smaller chamber off the path in the caves. Bound and bloodied, Randuras began to help this new fellow who had apparently been taken as a prisoner but left alive among the massacred goblins in the previous room.
 
Magnus wandered off while Randuras and I attempted to help this new acquaintance, when we suddenly heard a swoop from his general direction and were confronted by a bat-like creature with an ugly visage and supernatural abilities. Neoon fell asleep when squaring off with the creature, either suddenly afflicted by narcolepsy or an enchantment by the enemy, while the rest of us prepared ourselves to fight this monstrous foe. Neoon clattered to the floor and her torch soon became our only light source to defend ourselves.
 
After a brief scuffle, we dispatched our dusty detractors, and we collected ourselves to find a small misty cave waterfall, spritzing our faces and giving us a chance to wash the dust off of us from the previous battle. Randuras had a brief chance to get to know the prisoner, named Eikellan Von Cuthbert, who had been bound for days alone in the dark and sediment. He thanked us for freeing and told us his fate that led him to being held captive. He warned us of a creature that was reminiscent of a kobold creeping around the caverns, while being caught off guard by Blue's shape as a spider he had used during battle.
 
We later discovered the body of Eikellan's steward, Dimma Cloudfang, in the stream where we had washed our faces. He told us of their travels together until their kidnapping, torture, and unfortunate demise. As if the Mephits were not enough, he began to describe another creature resembling a lizard abomination hybrid kobold called Ikeltek, which reminded me of the draconic human that performed the ritual that accosted Mirabelle before he escaped and teleported away during our first encounter with the primary Aether Shard.
 
We gave Eikellan an opportunity to bury his friend as we continued to explore the caverns. A lever-looking outcropping caught my attention, but must have been too loose and debris began to tumble onto me wounding me greatly. Randuras came to my rescue and began to help me up, and spotted a similar lever in the rock wall, which turned out to be an actual useful mechanism, which we used to unlock the mechanism in the track chamber. The eastern tunnel now unlocked, we began to press onward into the newly unobstructed cavern path.
 
We travelled past a putrid pool in the caves, with random objects and flotsam floating in an highly offensive smelling source of water. We continued past into a chamber full of glowing mushrooms, only to be greeted by a huge rock golem. Fighting it rare form, we eventually shattered the massive creature into bits and found ourselves in need of fresh air from the disturbed spores. By chance I took a specimen, and while it only worsened my symptoms, I threw it out of spite into the putrid pools, only to reveal a tunnel passage.
 
I informed Magnus and Blue to investigate and they found a water-sealed chest full of trinkets. A robe, a journal, a potion and a collection of arrows were inside, and I took the robe for myself. Randuras read the entries in the journal to reveal information regarding a previous expedition:
 
'The dwarf expedition searched the cave and found a green shard that changed color. They searched further down to the east but found nothing. They went back to Utancia with the shard.'
 
We began to escort Eikellan to Valsaard as promised, and he promised to shower us with rewards for our efforts. Upon exiting the mineshaft and caverns, worn and dusty, we found a single pike with Kobold heads and younger mans head impaled, with a note in his mouth. Randuras retrieved the note, read it, and recited to us all:
 
'Mirabelle's soul was only the first.'
 
The Aether Shards quest leads us to Utancia perhaps, but Ikeltek will meet his doom if we cross him and have any influence on his fate, for Mirabelles honor and memory. A long rest is needed indeed, for we have a hunt for a familiar foe ahead of us.