One by one the Minions fell to Pretis and Demin's attacks and through strategic use of Magic Missiles Lythandar finally downed the Cyclops Rambler. Alhellara and Pretis then helped the party recover from this short but deadly battle.
As the party looked around they saw a large ridge in front of them with the pathway leading to a cave mouth. The ridge top seemed to be around 90' above their level with a steep climb being the only way to the top from where they stood. The party move toward the cave entrance and saw that there was some writing chiseled into the stone, beside the cave entrance, along with several broken bits of rock lying beside the path. Lythandar moved forward to read the writing but could only make out that it was some form of Elven, probably and old dialect. Gofin, Alhellara and Demin also moved up and Demin could translate the following:
Count you the shadows, watch the sun,
The wise know where they stand;
While knowing not the time to shun,
The fools must find themselves undone.
Like lustful swain or panicked child
Who beg another's gentle hand,
The fool delves heedless through the wild.
The wise are not so soon beguiled.
When darkness falls and dreams portend
The rising of a fearsome foe,
The fool, swift-striking, meets his end,
The wise know foe from friend.
Let art and image point the way,
Abandon all you think you know,
For common sense leads fool astray.
The key is simply this: Obey.
The wise must ever strategize;
They never play, unless to win.
They see the harm in comfort;s lies,
And seek to open weary eyes.
You've fought your way, you've risked demise,
To view the ivy heart within.
Now as the soul within you dies,
This knowledge is your only prize:
You'd never have come, were you truly wise.
The hearty adventurers began to debate the meaning of the verse, Lythandar thought that they should stay outside the cave and watch for shadows or sunlight or some magical secret doorway while Melisana wanted to enter the cave and see what it held. Finally Melisana, Demin and Pretis went into the cave, which was a simple rock cavern that looked like it had been unused for some time. Not all the stone was natural as there was a trio of statues forming a portion of the far wall. Each statue depicted a humanoid female clad in rags and tatters with her right hand out, palm up, as though expecting to receive some gift. The figure on the left was a young female, her beauty apparent even given the poor condition of the stone; the center figure was older, her face kind and matronly; and the third figure on the right was stooped with age, her face a maze of lines and wrinkles. There seemed to be a passageway behind the Beggars, but there was no way to reach it.
Demin determined that there was powerful magic in the cavern, coming both from beyond the figures and from the statues themselves. The statues radiated arcane energy related to polymorphing. The three then returned to describe to the party what they had seen. Lythandar was trying to determine if the sun could shine in on the statues while Pretis read more about the lustful swain and panicked child. Melisana decided that the party should drop coins into the hands of the young child and the matron, but Pretis wanted to drop one into the hag's hand also. Finally the party decided to give a coin to all three.
As the coins were dropped the hag suddenly came to life, and attacked Pretis with a Whirlwind of Claws and then moved out into the middle of the cave. The party attacked with Alhellara initially reluctant but joining in after seeing several party members take damage. Mara was soon weakened and slowed but recovered while other members faced raking claws. Gofin used Shadow Jack to move into the Hag's space while the other party members tried to flank the Hag. As Gofin moved out of the Hag Lythandar moved forward and Demin, Mara and Pretis also surrounded her. Just as they did the Hag attacked again with a whirlwind of Claws and all five party members found themselves bloodied and prone. Melisana and Alhellara continued to attack from range while the rest of the party picked themselves up and finished off the Hag.
As she fell the Hag statue again appeared in its place, which had been blocked by a stone wall as the Hag attacked. The party moved outside as the decided to take Lythandar's advice and look for secret entrances during sunset. Gofin meanwhile searched the inside of the cave for secret doors and found nothing.
In the morning more discussion ensued about how to move passed the statues. Reading the poem again didn't seem to move any of the party members with a new idea. So Pretis suggested giving the young child a coin. Mara and Pretis pinned in the Hag statue as Demin dropped a coin into the palm of the child. Again the Hag came to life and attacked the party. This time the party was prepared and quickly downed her, but the statue reappeared and still blocked their way. Decisions, Decisions.
Scorecard: The party received 493 XP for the encounter with the Cyclops' and they now have 19855 XP needing 645 more to reach 10th level. The group found a Cingulum of Combat Rushing on the Cyclops Rambler (that is how he moved through their area.) Mara claimed the Cingulum and gave her Belt of Lucky Strikes to Pretis. Pretis has Goliath's Belt which is available to anyone in the party.
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