8 Frostkill 1115
First order of business: The last Minotaur. The party downed the last Minotaur rapidly. Afterwards, when regrouping and taking stock of injuries and statuses of the group, it was noticed that Mizuaen and Raspin had gone missing. The party discussed what might have happened to them and they concluded that the duo simply left them. Mizuaen, in particular, adamantly opposed engaging the Minotaurs and given that the party chose to engage them, it seemed reasonable to conclude that they, or at least Mizuaen and Raspin would follow him, simply decided that the party posed a greater risk than the Ostenhorte.
Gemonie created a Tiny Hut in the Mushroom forest for the party to rest while Saykin and Slyback examined the bodies of the Minotaurs.
It was then that Sweet Pops and Saykin get engaged in an impassioned debate about what it means to be partners. This debate between a gnome and a deep-gnome went as one would expect. Saykin required several definitions to be established and leveraged those definitions to claim they weren’t in any of the established contracts, which of course if asked he wouldn’t be able to produce. Sweet Pops argued, to his failing, ideals. Which Saykin struggled to grasp as “ideal” wasn’t defined in the contracts, which didn’t actually exist, either. They struggled to close the gap between a bond and a contract.
They slept that night in the Tiny Hut.
9 Frostkill 1115
They travelled one day deeper into the Ostenhorte. On occassion, they heard the sound of drums and chants, but they further they went the fainter it sounded. When the Purps dimmed (the mushrooms common to this region of the DeepDark that shed a purple illumination for twelve hours every twelve hours and are used to mark night from day), the party stopped for the day. In middle of the trail Gemonie conjured another Tiny Hut. A brief debate about taking watch occurred, Saykin admitted he would sleep during his watch regardless.
During Saykin’s watch the party’s Tiny Hut was discovered by more Minotaurs. They found the magical oddity and closed in slowly. They tentatively probed the dark dome before attempting to smash it with their axes. Unable to penetrate this mysterious object, they hid in the mushrooms, watched and waited.
The party woke and detected the Minotaurs. Gemonie explained the spells duration was set to expire shortly; they needed to get out one way or another. A plan formed. Gemonie cast Invisibility on Sweet Pops, Saykin and himself. Slyback, visible, would rely upon his sneakiness. They planned to move northward, away from the Minotaurs.
The plan seemed to work despite some ad libbing by Sweet Pops. He moved southward but stayed a tentative distance. Then he made the slightest sound and the Minotaurs emerged from the mushroom forest. Slyback made the next noise, and he drew the attention of the Minotaurs who rushed towards him. They quickly swarmed his location. Gemonie reacted quickly and spawned a Mirror Image which drew the Minotaurs away. Then two more Minotaurs were spotted coming from the east. Things were getting tricky quickly.
Gemonie and Saykin were squeezed against a cave wall with little cover. Gemonie’s ruse worked for only a moment. The Invisibility remained their only edge. Saykin found himself face to face with a Minotaur, only the Minotaur couldn’t see him.
Then Sweet Pops made the smallest noise and it gave away his location a second time. The Minotaurs, much closer to his location, were able to close in on him swung blindly, hitting him several times. They gored him with their horns, and surprisingly swung with the flat of their axes. Sweet Pops took several mighty blows but opted to stay put and not return the blows.
Gemonie’s diversion had worked once, but did not work again. Sweet Pops took more blows and went down.