Ullen Vale

When they arrive at the vale the next morning it is quite clear no people have lived here for a long time. There once was a road next to the stream but now it is all but gone. Nature has had a free reign and trees and bushes grow haphazardly. Animals are quite abundant and hardly afraid of the party on their horses. During the short trip down the vale, they spot jackals, wolves, even boars, which are quite rare in the rest of the country.

After a short time, they reach the village of Adleren, or what’s left of it. Time has destroyed most buildings to their foundations, only some of the larger and more important buildings like the inn, the school, and the church are still around, if in ruined form. From the village a path leads to the rock wall that makes up the western edge of the valley. Fresh horse dung shows that someone used the path recently so our friends decide to check it out.

The path ends at the entrance of what was probably a mine of some sort. From what they can tell, a long time ago a large number of large rocks were dropped down to close of the entrance. The recent earthquake shook these rocks loose and someone used their horse to pull the last few rocks away.

Speaking of said horse; it is laying on the ground, huge chunks of it have been taken out by something with a large mouth, many claw marks are also visible on the poor creature. It was, and still is, tied to a rock, leaving it with nowhere to go when attacked, the rope is quite frayed but did not break. The saddle and saddlebags are on the ground, they were taken off before the attack.

Inside the saddlebags are some mundane items like a bedroll, clothes, etc. But also in there is an ornate and very interesting looking lantern. And finally there's is a small ledger that Sarnan is more than happy to see; it’s what he has been searching for for years now.

A large, heavy metal door once closed the mine but it is all twisted now and easy to bypass. Inside are some signs that this used to be a coal mine at some point; there are a few minecarts, a few tracks still in the floor, and a number of mining picks and coal dust.

But clearly the place was adapted to serve a different purpose; new, straight floors were laid, continual flames attached to the ceiling light everything up. Signs were placed, the first one reads, in archaic common: “Restricted Area, no admittance. Ott Special Research Division.” This is preceded by a symbol of a red hand and followed by a symbol of a lightning bolt in front of a pentagram. Things seems to be in a reasonable state even after the recent earthquake, though the place looks ancient.

Beyond is another sign: “Visitors report to the duty sergeant.” The desk beyond is unmanned but a very old security log lays on it, time has nearly destroyed but maybe a page could still be rescued. Alas, no one manages this feat.

A door with a sign saying “Level 1” leads to a large space where a wagon stands, laden with barrels, two lay on the floor. They are filled with mead that has definitely gone off. A note must once have lain there as leaking mead has transferred some words to the wood: “Any tampering with the content will have you reassigned to the western border.”

A corridor leads on with a door to a break-room halfway down; everything is covered in dust and the little food that was there has turned to mold and the mold has then turned into something unidentifiable. Around the corner of the corridor there is a whole lot of blood and two dead bodies; they look like soldiers but their grey-yellow uniforms don’t look familiar, the Ott these days wears something completely different. Just like the horse there are claw marks all over them and huge chunks taken out of them.

More stairs and a new sign: “Level 2”. This leads to a huge cavern where mining has created a pit tens of meters across and almost as many meters deep. A ramp runs along the inner edge to the bottom but a set of switch backing stairs have been built for quicker access.

Down on the floor our friends see two soldiers in the same uniform as before being attacked by a strange creature. It is a tall and thin humanoid creature with elongated limbs and a slimy skin. It seems to be able to walk on both two and four feet, claws on all of them. Its head appears to lack facial features until it unfurls the flesh like a flower to reveal "petals" lined with many sharp teeth, and a large open mouth. The soldiers stand no chance and then the creature looks up before it lopes off down the only corridor.

In front of the corridor downstairs is another sign: “Level 3”. There is a door to the left that leads to a security station. Inside are some desks, lockers, chests, and a row of crystal balls, all broken.

Drei

Suddenly a voice of what sounds to be an old female gnome talks in Marnab’s head. “You, why are you here? No matter, you are here, you can help. We need to close the gate to the Shadow Place before it takes over this world.” Her common is quite archaic.

When asked she gives her name as Drei. “There is a gate deeper inside this complex to another dimension, at level 6, I can guide you there and show you how to close it.” She explains that she is also inside the complex but the earthquake caused a cave-in that has trapped her on the other side of where the party is. She tried to remove the rocks but they are too large and too many.

When the soldiers are mentioned she tells them that since the earthquake some soldiers have woken up and are now roaming the complex looking for enemies. She has tried to talk to them but it seems the long sleep has not been good for their minds. She isn’t sure if the soldiers were left behind on purpose. Interestingly the party don’t ask her about Rudi, at all.

Our friends search the room and find that the lockers and chests are mostly empty, a few ancient leather armors and short swords remain, none in good condition. There’s a letter inside one of the desks that miraculously survived the onslaught of time. Someone named Nella wrote to Euger that she has been here only a month but is already so sick of this assignment, having to spend day and night underground. She misses Euger and the kids and hopes that she will be able to visit soon.

A painted sign next to the door holds instructions:

HOSTILE PRESENCE PROTOCOL

• Sound alarm
• Lock down all exits
• Lock down gate room
• Ensure you are armed
• Observe fellow soldiers
• Kill any hostiles on sight
• Ensure hostiles are fully deceased
• Collect remains for examination
• Reconvene in war room
• Await further instructions

Following the corridor there are more stairs down and a sign: “Level 4”. Sounds of talking, in archaic common, can be heard, “we need to find the intruders”. Marnab tries a stealthy approach but fails quite badly. Combat breaks out and the three enemy soldiers prove to be quite tough. But in the end the party prevails.

They find a kitchen and beyond it a mess hall. There is not much of interest here, whatever was left has fallen to the ravages of time. From there they go to another room and find a map on the wall. It is of the immediate area, showing Adleren and the valley, certain places have been marked. When asked, Drei explains they were marking the Shadow Place.

The next corridor has an open doorway to a nicely appointed office with a large desk and some cabinets. On a side table sits a silvered tray with crystal glasses and decanter containing an amber liquid. The papers in the cabinets have all turned to almost dust. The desk drawers hold a box of what was once tobacco and a piece of vellum that can still be read:

TOP SECRET

From: Ott Special Research Division, High Command

To: Colonel Brenner

Order: Assume command of Project Keyhole, immediate relocation to test site designated RB7.

Period: Indefinite

Mandate: Resume suspended research previously assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Teulieb. Utilize any subject to continue cross-planar communication tests, mapping, and study of exposed organisms. Use any equipment and methods to reactivate the Shadow Gate.

At the end of the corridor is a door and then more stairs and at the bottom a sign: “Level 5”. There is only one way to go from here, to a small room with lead lined walls. The closest door stands open, slid into the wall but the further door is closed. A transparent yellow-green chrysoberyl gem is set into the side wall. Drei tells them that she has seen people cast a spell into it to activate the room.

When done so the open door slides shut and the room fills up with a yellowish gas that slowly fades away. Fart jokes are made. Then the door leading on slides open. Beyond it is a small lab area but it is almost completely empty, just a few pieces of equipment remain.

The next lab holds some soldiers as they can be heard talking. Sarnan sneaks inside and manages to kill one but this act is seen by two other soldiers. They attack and Farley and Marnab rush out to meet them. One of the soldiers uses a burning hands like attack but in the end the party is victorious.

Considering the damage they took the party wants to rest for an hour but first they check out what’s in the lab; there’s quite a few things there. On a table there is a large metal tray with on it some kind of black-brownish biological matter that hasn’t completely rotted away, it looks quite nasty. A report lays next to it and Sarnan manages to save part of a page. This is all that can be read:

Type: Tendril. Category: A – infectious. Suggested follow up: inject into test subject, test resistance to all elements.

There are a number of beds in the middle of the lab, all covered with a transparent concave cover. In the beds lay the remains of human adults, still recognizable as such, so much better preserved than most things here. At the far wall there are two large tanks filled with a dirty yellow-brownish liquid, suspended inside are two strange organisms. One looks like a large tendril, the other like a large brain or shriveled potato.

Our friends retreat to the office and rest for an hour before going further, coming to another lab. This one has seen much more destruction. There are hoses lying around, a large metal construction with broken glass stands at the end of the room. Inside one of the cabinets there are many destroyed vials but also a single large vial filled with a glowing green liquid. Drei tells them it is fuel for the device that opens the gate.

A doorway leads to a short corridor and it looks like this part of the complex was really damaged by the earthquake. A large metal door and the stone frame around it have come down, opening a path into the room beyond. Inside are a large number of wooden ‘pods’. They are all damaged and open, Drei explains that this is where the soldiers were sleeping. At the end of the room is another metal door but this one is intact and there doesn’t seem to be a way to open it.

The other end of the short corridor leads to a small room with stairs down. Unfortunately the party wasn’t particularly silent so the two soldiers at the bottom of the stairs heard them, turning around to see Sarnan walking up. But the gnome quickly grabs his bag of ball bearings and rips it open; almost a thousand of the small metal orbs bounce down the stairs and fill the room.

One of the soldiers still tries to go up the stairs and immediately slips and cracks his head. A short-ranged combat ensues, it is handily won by our friends. Now they have to deal with all the ball bearings though. Remarkably they manage to go down the stairs without any real trouble. At the lower lever of the room is another sign: “Level 6”. There is a doorway straight ahead but next to the stairs is another doorway with a sign next to it:

PROJECT KEYHOLE

SUBJECT 3 – EMERGENCY PROTOCOL

If Subject 3 escapes confinement/operates outside of orders:

• Do not approach unless authorized.
• Do not release the Subject from confinement.
• Sound the alarm if the Subject is missing.
• If you must engage with Subject 3, maintain distance and remember your mantra for mental defense.
• Report any objects missing or moved without explanation.

Cells

Beyond the doorway is an area with a number of cells on either side and a dead soldier on the floor. At the end is a desk and a cabinet. The party is quite trepidatious, wondering if this Subject 3 might still be in one of the cells. But Farley decides to just go in and see. All the cells are empty, just some debris and dirt left in them. He searches the cabinet and finds many files; most have decayed but two are still legible:

PROJECT KEYHOLE

PROFILE: SUBJECT 3

Abilities:

• Telekinesis – moves object up to about 110 kg, short range.
• Teleportation – transports inanimate objects up to 2 km. Failure to teleport living organisms successfully.
• Telepathy – communication range: 25 km.

Behavior:

History of defying authority, theft, manipulation, failure to comply with instruction. Attempted escape. Injured handlers via telekinesis. Threatened to kill officer via teleportation. Repeated demands to shut down project.

PROJECT KEYHOLE

TRANSCRIPT 274-4-11-1

Teleportation test 7098 – life specimen.

“Are you ready, Three?”

“Uncle, please, I do not want to do this. You saw what happened the last time.”

“You were so very close. It almost survived the transfer. But we need to try again. The more we explore the Shadow Place, the more we need you and your abilities.”

“I do not like that world. We should not be there. It does not like us.”

“What does not like us? This Kalkazehrer? That is just a story to frighten children.”

“It frightens me. It even frightens you. I can feel it.”

“Three, stay out of my mind. I will not warn you again.”

“I cannot help it. Your fear, it is so strong. We must stop, people are destroyed.”

“Get over there, if you’re no good you’ll get no food, no water, no nothing. You are a tool, Three. And a tool cannot speak back.”

Test aborted.

Having read these, the party now has different ideas about Subject 3. Their first thoughts of it being a creature from the Shadow Place now seem unlikely. They ask Drei if she knows anything about this Subject 3 and she replies that she is Subject 3, to the surprise of the party.

They continue on, and come to a heavy, metal door, opened via a pulley system. Beyond is a room with a view of a lower-level cavern, the far rock wall of it is covered with all kinds of weird red/brown growths coming from a central, glowing white point.

Inside the room are broken crystal balls and all kinds of lenses and other items on benches against either wall. A large, metal device sits mostly under this room and sticks out into the cavern but the control surface for it is in here. At the end of the room there is a door and beyond it are stairs that go down to the cavern.

“This is the Gate, we should destroy it quickly,” Drei tells them. At this point someone finally remembers Rudi, they haven’t seen hide nor hair of him on their entire trek through the complex. As they are discussing this fact, Drei interrupts: “the boy? He was taken by the creatures; they took him to the Shadow Place.” This causes more than a little consternation. Drei can sense him and it turns out he is still alive, weak, but alive.

So now instead of destroying the Gate they first have to open it further and go through to get Rudi. Good thing Sarnan took the fuel. Drei explains how to load the vial of fuel and then use the key to unlock the device. When all is ready, they pull a lever.

Metal fingers rotate along the shaft of the device and bundles of white energy shoot out at the wall with the growths. Red and orange energy emanates from them and slowly the white center starts to widen. When the device runs out of fuel there is a 1.5 meter high and 0.5 meter wide membrane in the wall, diffuse red light showing through.

Our friends now go down the stairs into the cavern. There is a painted sign there:

EXPEDITION PROTOCOL

• No unauthorized entry into the Shadow Place is permitted.
• Protective spells must be kept up at all times.
• All expedition members must be armed.
• Do not engage with the Puppe.
• Report all Kalkazehrer activity.
• Complete medical assessment and decontamination upon return from the Shadow Place.

NOTE: IF YOU HEAR VOICES, FEEL ILL OR OVERHEATED, CONFUSED, LOSE CONTROL OF YOUR BODY, HAVE SUDDEN VIOLENT THOUGHTS, HAVE A STRONG DESIRE TO RETURN TO THE SHADOW PLACE – INFORM YOUR SUPERIOR AND REPORT TO THE MED BAY IMMEDIATELY.

A velvet lined box next to the sign is mostly empty but holds one ring made of a dark, rubbery, slightly sticky material, it looks like the same stuff that was in the lab. Drei tells them that the rings were given to the soldiers with the weakest mental resolve, she suggests Marnab might want to wear the ring.

Two strange looking backpacks are set against the wall; they can’t really be opened. Drei tells them that they contain specially prepared canvas that can be unfolded to create a dome that will keep out the effects of the Shadow Place for a short time. When asked she thinks they work for about an hour. The party decides to leave their own backpacks here and take these two.

Before they go through the Gate, Drei tells them that there are some things in the armory that will be useful to them. The air shimmers as she teleports in a large, green Ott crate and a small box. The latter holds three greater healing potions. She explains that the large crate contains vials of an experimental compound called WaffFlamm. A weapon can be coated with this and it will then do fire damage to anyone hit. It can even be used to coat the hands of spellcasters for the same effect but with spells. There is a slight drawback; there’s a small chance of doing fire damage to the wielder.

The Shadow Place

Our friends decide to use the WaffFlamm and then step through the membrane. It’s not a pleasant experience, slimy things stick to everyone but eventually they are through. And… back in the cavern they just left. However, everything is a little off; it looks a lot like where they came from but not quite. The growths cover a lot more of the room, for starters.

“The Shadow Place. It is a dark reflection of our world; I often call it the Inside Out.” Drei speaks inside their heads, “I don’t feel the boy nearby, they have taken him outside of the complex, hurry.” It all feels quite Unheimisch and our friends have to really fight the oppressive feeling of this place.

Now they have to go six levels back up to the surface, groans all around. It turns out though that the complex isn’t empty. In the room next to the cells there is an Ott soldier and he attacks immediately with a burning hands spell. Farley decides to check the cabinet in the cell area to see if there are other things here and he finds a note in cramped handwriting:

Please Uncle,

Stop this research or we will all die needlessly.

You think it acts on instinct along but I see a darker purpose.

You claim it is contained but I know it is not.

No one in the world is safe.

If you will not end this project, then I will end it myself.

– 3

The complex walls are almost all covered in growths here and another is found, and dispatched, in the lab. When they near the lead lined room they here sounds of sobbing. The lead door is closed but through the small window in the door they can see a human man from the back, head bent, sobbing. He is not wearing a soldier’s uniform. He doesn’t respond in any way to the party’s calls or their banging on the door.

They cast a cantrip on the gem set next to the door and it opens, the far door closing at the same time. Now the man turns around and lifts his head. Bright blue energy shines from his eyes as he comes at them and attacks, slamming them with great strength.

“They aren’t human, they are Puppe. Puppets, controlled by invisible strings. Lost forever to the Shadow Place. Sages found they are hard to kill, but react badly to fire,” Drei tells them after it has been taken care of. The party encounter a few more of them before they reach the entrance.

The earthquake didn’t happen in the Shadow Place so the very large and heavy door is intact and closed. With some difficulty the party manages to open it and use some timber to keep it open. In their world it’s still daytime but here it is quite dark outside. There are no stars visible but there is a reddish glow in the sky and occasional lightning bolts in different colors.

Much more concerning is the enormous creature in the sky, if that’s what it is. It is the size of a castle and numerous massive legs hold it in place. The only good news is that it seems to be quite a long way away. “We call it Kalkazehrer. It is what makes the Puppe and controls them. But ignore it, you must find the boy. Look in the school, across the stream,” Drei tells them.

Just outside the entrance the Ott seem to have built some defensive positions. There are walls of sandbags and a small platform has been built with on it a device with a long barrel on a tripod. Another of those is standing a little further to the front behind another sandbag wall.

Right next to the entrance are a number of Ott crates, some stacked on top of each other. A quick check of one of them shows they hold more vials of WaffFlamm. Drei tells them that the two devices can shoot flames when filled with the substance.

There is one crate that looks different from the others, smaller and of better construction. When opened there’s a large maul laying on a velvet lining. The oaken shaft of this weapon is covered in tendril-like growths that once in a while seem to pulse under your hands as you hold it. The massive stone head is covered in runes that make your head hurt when you look at them for more than a second. Marnab wastes no time and takes it.

On the path back to the village two Puppe are found digging into the ground with a pickaxe and a shovel, they are soon taken care of. Arriving at the village it turns out that it is in ruins in the Shadow Place just as it is in the ‘real’ world. The school’s stone outer walls are still mostly intact. Drei speaks: “careful, there are many Puppe nearby. Too many and you will be in big trouble.”

Our friends manage to sneak inside without being noticed. The inside walls of the building have mostly collapsed but a few still stand, at least partially, giving some cover. There are definitely Puppe around, sounds of coughing and digging can be heard. And not only that, very faintly there’s the sound of a child calling for help.

Our friends manage to kill two enemies stealthily and then another three or four in quick succession. They now have a clear path to the sound of the voice, coming from an area where two walls form a small L-shape. When they get there, they see a mouth on the wall; it’s the source of the voice.

Unfortunately this is also when the Puppe come rushing in; there’s the sound of many feet running towards them. Sarnan and Farley have a plan though; they throw a bunch of the extra WaffFlamm vials they took in a pile. Then the rogue uses a mage hand spell to open one and empty the contents over the other vials as the enemies approach. Then Farley casts a fire bolt spell at the vial, it sure looks like he missed the target but then it ignites and there’s a large explosion, so large, in fact, that they are now missing their eyebrows.

But the Puppe took the brunt of it, about half a dozen have been turned into chunky salsa and a few more are running around like human torches. The few remaining enemies are now easily dealt with. With the school cleared they can do a proper search of the place.

The first thing they find is a small lean-to in one of the corners. Inside is the corpse of an Ott soldier still in a recognizable state. He carries a wand; a dark, rubbery, slightly sticky tendril of about twenty centimeters but stiffer than most, and a piece of vellum:

PROJECT KEYHOLE

Research Station III Report:

• All 14 members of Unit 9 killed in action
• Kalkazehrer resistant to low level necrotic and psychic damage
• Puppe activity becoming more aggressive

Field Notes:

We are not winning this battle. I saw troopers disemboweled, torn to shreds. This is not a fair fight – it is a slaughter. Especially in their world. I am, once again, recommending we abandon this project. Only more will die, 3 was right.

Elsewhere in the building they come across a backpack that looks very new. Inside are some personal belongings, most likely belonging to Rudi. Drei tells them that this must have been the source of the echo. She checks again now and finds another echo, at the inn.

Going there they find that the building is quite big, especially for a town of this size. It is a square building with an inner garden, visible because the western walls have completely collapsed, and full of Puppe. The other outer and inner walls are still in reasonable condition but the roof and first floor are just about completely gone.

The few enemies outside are taken out with only a little trouble. Sarnan then tries to climb the inner wall to have a firing platform, banking on the Puppe not being great climbers. His first two attempts to get up the wall are quite poor but his third is just perfect. The other two move to the opposite side of the building and then Sarnan gets the enemy’s attention.

They all swarm towards him but only the nearest makes it to the wall and the climbing isn’t great. Farley moves into the garden and uses his new wand to catch quite a few of them in an area of tentacles. This works quite well, hurting them over the next few rounds. Combat then continues with fire bolts and maul attacks; Marnab’s weapon even grows stronger.

The Puppe finally realize climbing the wall is not their best option, even more so after Sarnan made pieces of it fall onto the nearest of them. They now start to just bash the wall, quickly destroying it. They didn’t think it through though and three of them are hit by the debris, killing one. Combat continues but the outcome goes the party’s way.

They search the place and come across a piece of vellum:

PROJECT KEYHOLE

Report: Development of Cross Planar Communications System

Goal: Reduce reliance on Subject 3 for cross-planar communication.

Process: Manipulation of auditory vestibular nerve in team member 062 (healthy control) through bio-magical means using prototype ADW-084-1, “Wandril”. Device was used cross-planar.

Result: Failure to manipulate nerve and send communication; no messages received.

They also find a diary that belongs to Rudi Garsunkel. Drei tells them; “I don’t understand, I can still feel him. But it is faint. In a deep, dark, cold place. There is a cave not too far from here.” She leads them to it and they enter. The cave isn’t very large but it runs deep. And soon the walls are covered with many growths like they have seen before.

After a few minutes they come to an area where the cave widens. Growths and tendrils encapsulate many bodies, most long since dead. But towards the front they see a young man, only his face still visible, who looks to be still alive, if barely. It’s Rudi!

The sight of it is too much for Marnab and she faints, falling to the floor. After bringing her back, Sarnan cuts Rudi free, not without nicking him though. The boy is far from ok, his skin very pale and his heartbeat slow, he is quite near death. Drei offers to teleport him back to the complex and keep him safe so the party won’t need to carry him and get slowed down. But the barbarian takes her potion of greater healing and heals Rudi.

He comes to and immediately panics, what happened to him recently clearly still affecting him. They try to calm him down and mostly succeed. The boy asks where they are and gets a not very clear reply. Then he asks about this big monster with the mouth. Marnab tells him not to worry, the Verschlinger is nowhere near.

She hasn’t finished the sentence or the creature appears, coming from deeper in the cavern. It bellows loudly, its fetid breath on their skins. Something breaks in Farley and Sarnan’s minds; the wizard starts to scream uncontrollably and the rogue starts to babble.

Marnab slings Rudi over her shoulder and everyone runs away as best they can. Puppe are outside the cavern but there are not enough to block them, though in trying to bypass them the barbarian almost loses control of Rudi, his head smashing into a tree trunk with some force.

There are more enemies to avoid and in the village a number of the ancient Ott soldiers have appeared, using burning hands spells as they do combat with the Puppe. The Verschlinger can be heard bellowing behind them. The party ignores all this and makes their way to the mine entrance at best possible speed. Slowly they leave the combat behind them and as they reach the complex things go very quiet, the sounds of combat and the bellowing dying away, though the glow of fire can still be seen in the sky.

As they come to the entrance, they see the last thing they wanted to see; the massive metal door has closed in front of the entrance! There doesn’t seem to be a way to open it from the outside but Drei tells them; “I can open it from inside, it will take time though. And I sense more Puppe coming”.

Waves

Fortunately the Ott built defenses here in the past and the party has some time to prepare. They move some of the sandbags creating a true wall and put WaffFlamm vials nearer the two long barreled devices on their tripods. Farley is quite the tinkerer and manages to create eleven landmines from 55 vials. Just as they place the last defenses, the sound of approaching creatures can be heard.

A first wave of Puppe arrives and it seems our friends aren’t quite skilled at firing the flamethrowers yet. But eventually they manage to take out the enemies. The next attackers are more of a surprise; Puppe versions of jackals, wolves, and other animals come from the sides. They get inside the defensive wall and so have to be taken out without the aid of the two devices. They do quite a bit of damage but in the end the party wins out.

The door still isn’t open and more Puppe arrive, so many that quite a few make it inside the perimeter. Sarnan succumbs to the many wounds inflicted upon him and collapses to the floor. Fortunately Farley’s use of the wand of Long Tengels manages to hold most of the remaining enemies which are then easily defeated one by one. Marnab leaves the last one to Farley and goes over to Sarnan, stabilizing him just in time.

However, there are no more healing potions left, leaving the rogue unconscious with more Puppe on the way. Rudi has been sitting in a corner in the fetus position this whole time, whimpering. But he sees the gnome laying on the ground and goes over. His hands wander Sarnan’s body until suddenly tendrils shoot across the gnome’s body and he is healed quite a bit. When the rogue is back on his feet and the others explain that Rudi healed him some way, he looks at the human; “I guess you’re not as useless as your dad said you were,” he tells him, sending the human back to his corner, crying.

Then a rather large Puppe bear shows up and combat is on again; it takes a large number of attacks to bring it down. Another even larger wave shows up soon after but finally the mines that Farley put together get triggered en masse, taking out quite a few. Not enough though, a large throng comes for them. Then there is a grating sound and the door starts to slowly rise. Moments later the Verschlinger makes its way through the Puppe towards the party.