Forge Founding pt 1

Necthan was looking to expand his building, something to be more than just a mobile-home planted as he went. Deciding he wanted to find a cave to build a forge into outside of the city, he called for allies to help him find one, and clear it from there. Arriving to help was Alik, taking a break from the ongoing politics of Fjordhaven, and Prim who was likely just bored. Asking around for a cave, they were pointed northeast of the city, but was warned that kobolds had gone missing in that area. Readying themselves, the party moved onward to the marked location on the map.

Finding the location, they party immediately found the bodies of kobolds lining the entrance to the cave. As Alik's wax dragon approached, it was ambushed by a Catoblepas, but the party quickly dispatched it. Using a magical sensor spying on them, a voice echoed in the cave. He asked their names, and ensured they were not someone that he was hired to kill. The voice mentioned that he was hired to kill a few adventurers that had angered someone by the moniker "The Crimson Noble", and then Prim and Covak, because they stole the noble's servant. He mentioned he was not done setting his trap up, and asked the party to come back later. Alik then challenged him to a duel, but the voice laughed at the offer. The party refused to leave, heading into the caves to deal with the would-be assassin.

They first stumbled into a negative energy trap. and as the trap was about to reset, they skipped over the gorge, Alik using magic, and Prim just sliding through. Unfortunately for the party, they did not realize they walked directly into the path of a demon, a Nalfeshnee, who summoned a second and immediately engaged the party. The fight was long, they managed to incapacitate the summoned demon but Alik using most of his spells, and Prim and Necthan needing to be healed multiple times to stay in the fight. When the fight seemed to drag on, Alik grouped Necthan and Prim together, under the protection of a wall of force, before they started to heal. The demon, realizing he wasnt going to be able to punch through the wall or dispel it, left, bored that they were no longer going to challenge it.

The party, drained, decided to retreat, leaving so that they can come back better prepared for a future fight with the mysterious assassin and his death cave.