BEDAugust 7

So...I've been failing at this, but I HAVE been writing my Dungeons and Dragons journal. I've been debating about going back and writing my old Tuesday's to make sure I'm caught up with the journal or to just write the next journal entry here and maybe write two or three a week to catch up. The first choice means making a back log that you won't read, but I'll have on the correct date. The second option makes sure I have things to write, but results in me being weeks behind...actually, a third option has just occurred to me. I could always just write the next one today and dedicated this entire next week to Dungeons and Dragons journals, which should get me caught up by next week. In fact, that's what I'm going to do, decision made. Prepare for a week of Riley's adventures!

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When the morning finally dawns I'm ready and waiting for the rest of the party. I left the inn early, couldn't sleep anyway, and gathered the promised horses. Zog even laid a spell allowing the horses to move much faster and easier over the terrain we must travel. Eventually everyone else stumbles from their beds and we are able to set a course for the mountains.

Eight eerily uneventful hours later we arrive at the foothills of the mountains. Set in the mountainside is a huge set of oaken doors, sturdy and spelled shut. The first thing that crosses my mind is no dwarf would ever need a door that big, they're just show offs. Of course standing in front of the door is a twelve foot tall stone statue of a dwarf who would absolutely need a door that size. Flanking him are regular sized dwarf statues. Each of the statues sports a line of dwarven runes, and knowing dwarves it's some sort of riddle or spell we have to solve. Garr, Foxface, and the Dread Pirate Roberts start investigating the large statue and determine that the runes say "Speak My Name and Enter." Then they begin looking at the runes on the smaller statues for clues. I get bored and start sharpening my axe, I don't speak dwarven, they can sort it out.

As I work I think about arena fighting and the possible monsters we might encounter inside the dwarven city. I'm excited to wield my axe against some solid enemies, to do some good, to get my mind off the fact that my father is a chaos born Demon Prince. I'm so lost in my own thoughts I don't even notice the group has decided to speak a name, until the giant statue stirs.

"A dwarf must speak for you." The stone figure rumbles moving to fully block the door and looking down on the party. I wait for someone to say "oh well, we tried" but everyone seems intent on finishing the quest. Ariella is the one who comes up with a plan. She casts the illusion of a dwarf around Milk's body, allowing him to speak for us. The statue apparently doesn't have enough intelligence to discern and illusion because it simply pushes aside the door and bids us to enter. I notice Rouge and Foxface hang back, but as they catch up shortly after we walk through the door I don't think twice about it. I glance back as the doors shut and see the statue return to it's normal posistion.

The hall we walk in is vast, obviously an entryway of some sort. The stone is worked smooth and the vaulted ceiling is held up by row after row of columns. The place is beautiful, but it gives me the creeps. This is supposed to be a dwarven city, yet there are no signs of life or death. The place is silent, deserted, and just a bit dusty. I go with my gut and begin watching for signs of death or a struggle. That's how I notice the claw marks. Caked with dust they line the floor and some of the columns, like the creature was dragging itself along. I study them and come to the decision that this creature has two three toed feet, making it most likely a dragon. I'd been carrying my axe casually, like I always do, but after I identify the marks I switch to attack mode. I voice my concerns to the rest of the party and Shallahai determines the claw marks are from a male red dragon and are likely about a month old. My senses are on high alert, but I don't bother trying to be sneaky, if there is a dragon it will already know we are here.

Eventually the hallway ends and I see that it was simply and entryway. It opens up to a huge cavern, which appears to be an entire hollowed out mountain. Around the sides of the cavern are other entryways and carved doorways and terraces. A series of stone bridges connects the sides of the cavern to a gigantic stalactite that is hanging from the cavern's roof. The stalactite is vast and covered in doors and windows. It seems likely it was the town center, the temple or city hall. The view of it takes my breath away, but what really makes my heart beat isn't the cavern, it's the flames I can seee flickering from the stalactites doors and windows.
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Until tomorrow.