"Who are you and why are you disturbing the peace of my grove?" he asked in a deep voice.
"We were exploring the Castle of the Mad Archmage and a our friend fell under the attack of a foul beast, a large spider. Can you help us?" they pleaded.
He approached and with the staff opened one of the coffers beside Larry's corpse.
"Hmmm... you ask for a big favor and this is of no use to me..." he said closing the coffer. "But... you may be useful..." he added pondering and pacing around.
"What can we do for you, oh, most powerful..." Cesar started to say. "Silence apprentice!" roared the druid, annoyed by the insolent interruption of his thoughts.
"That place of twisted magic is like a deep callus that ruins the natural beauty of the land. I will help you, but I need your word that you will bring me the Horns of Sonn from the Catacombs. Do so and your debt will be satisfied." he sentenced.
"How do we reach the Catacombs?" asked Ragnar the Elf. "Find the lizardmen tribe in the Dungeons and then go down from there." he answered. "I don't where in the Catacombs are the Horns, but I know who has them. A foul creature known as draugar, once human now a non-living thing that bring blights to fields and stock alike, is in possession of it." added the druid.
Some in the group recognized the name Sonn as a legendary druid-ranger of times long past.
"And remember, I will know if you don't keep your word. I can give life, but also take it, just like Mother Nature does, unemotionally." he warned the group. "Now, rest here and tomorrow I will send for you." he adds as he takes Larry's corpse away.
The night passed uneventfully and the growls of the brown bear woke up the group. They followed the bear to another clearing where they found Larry's corpse laying atop a flat stone raised from the forest floor by small stones. All around were small fires of scented woods, their smokes gathered on a cloud above the body. The druid intoned a chant and went around the stone putting out the fires. He then tapped Larry's forehead with the staff and his body turned into wisps of smoke that ascended towards the cloud. Then the cloud fell heavily on the flat stone and dissipated with a flash of light. A body appeared where Larry once lay, but it was not him. He awoke as if from a dream and hailed his companions as if nothing had happened.
"Only return here with the Horns of Sonn." said the druid. The growling brown bear ushered them away.
With that, the group went back to the ruins of the castle, but not before they buried the five coffers of treasure. After entering the upper ruins they decided to follow a different route down and took a spiraling staircase in one of the towers. In the room where the stairs ended they found some large centipedes that were swiftly dispatched.
They continued exploring down a corridor that led to a door and the corridor continued into the darkness. Ragnar the Elf heard some gruffy voices and laughs behind it but couldn't understand what they were saying. He kicked the door and found four dwarves that quickly went for their axes and crossbows. Before any blows were thrown they recognized them as part of the Blood Axe clan and apologized. They asked the dwarves about the Dungeons and the dwarves offered to reach that level through their domain on this level (Storage Rooms) for a 25% of the treasure found, or take their chances down the central shaft. The group bought a couple of shields from the dwarves and one guided them to the central stairs.
From there the party descended until they reached the end of the spiraling stairs that led to a pair of double doors. It opened to a dark and silent corridor that ran to left and right. They took it to the right and after about 60 paces there was a side corridor but they kept going. After another 60 paces a room with 3 exits and they kept going hugging the right wall. They found three rooms with giant beetles tending mushrooms that grew on the soil and dung covered floors. On the last room they found a door and when they tried to open it, the floor under their feet gave way throwing them down a sliding chute. They ended up sprawled on the floor of an empty room except for a couple of dwarven skeletons and an exit door.
