We left the PCs in a room with an unconscious half-orc and a young human. Since Duane was out of town and unable to make that session, Skomba decided to escort the half-orc and the boy to the surface. The party then followed the last path they hadn't taken yet: a door in the room with the petrified dwarf.
The door opened into a corridor. The only occupant was an old human: one of the Believers, the cult running Red Larch, named Baragustas. This was a role-playing encounter with a cowardly old man. The PCs learned more about the Believer's faith, and the fear that Larrakh, the "Earth Priest" waiting in the next room engendered in them. Without further ado, they kicked open the next door.
This was the main chamber of the Tomb of Moving Stones. It was filled with megaliths (big rocks), with damaged skeletons arranged on stone biers along the walls. These stones have a tendency to move, and the Believer's think it is the work of the spirits of the dead bodies in the room, whom the Believers referred to as the Delvers. Also waiting in the chamber was the Earth Priest Larrakh.
Running spellcasters is always a bit of a chore. Larrakh was no different. Larrakh is part of the Earth cult of the Elemental Evil group, and there are a few things that show it. First, he is very tanky, wearing armor made of magically shaped rock that is the equivalent of Splint (an AC of 17). Most of his spells are geared toward de-buffs. His most potent one being slow, which managed to hit Ander at one point. He also had an effective one called earth tremor, which is a new spell added for Elemental Evil. It does a small amount of bludgeoning damage, knocks targets prone, and creates a small area of difficult terrain. It saw the most use in the battle, helping him retreat. In reality, Larrakh would have benefited from having compatriots to keep the players away from him and to take advantage of the de-buffs he inflicted. As it was, his AC made the battle a little long, but ultimately the PCs overwhelmed him.
In the aftermath, they were able to located a secret passage leading to the quarry and figure out how the stones moved--by firmly stamping the floor the stones float above the floor and can be moved easily. They used a sort-of trap the cultists had set up to block the passage back to the quarry. Having cracked the Believers and ended the influence of the Earth Cult on Red Larch, the heroes earned a well deserved two weeks (or Tendays, as they use in the Realms) of downtime, plus sufficient quest Xp for Derek, Ander, and Darwin to reach level 3.
However, after the two Tendays passed, the heroes found themselves pressed into service again, this time to locate the missing delegation sent from Mirabar. Brother Eardon mentioned that the last place they had been seen was the town of Beliard. Further, Endrith Vallivoe showed Derek a dwarven book he had recently been sold, tracing its origins to Womford, south and east of Red Larch. Lastly, a shepherd named Larmon Greenboot mentioned some strange graves that had recently appeared near the Sumber Hills.
The PCs resolved to follow Derek's curiosity and set out for Womford. Next time we'll learn what happened on the journey, and what they found in Womford.
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