nobody here but us rats

naked mole rats
Originally uploaded by I, Puzzled

Pavel and his companions returned to the Keep, sold some jewelry and recruited some new hirelings. And then they returned to the Caves.

We’ve re-entered the hobgoblins lair, but so far it seems to have been abandoned. Hoping to evade any sentries, we entered through the chimney and found a small flock of blood-sucking birds nesting there. The ashes in the fireplace were cold. The dining hall tables had been broken up to barricade and booby-trap the front entrance. We returned to a secret room we’d located in our last expedition, and found nothing inside but half-starved rats. In what we guess was the former sleeping chamber of the hobgoblin chief, we met and destroyed a ghoulish, undead monster. By its features, this may have once been the chief himself.