We hike down to the gnome encampment, attempting to project a friendly, non-threatening demeanour.
They walk out to meet us, with little bows drawn and their apparent leader approaches with what looks like a letter opener casually held in one small hand.
I attempt to make light conversation but they don’t seem to be in a chatty mood, and claim that they don’t have any food to trade. All in all they are quite stand-offish, and they don’t seem to realise quite who they are dealing with.
The shadows are lengthening, so we retreat from their miniature village and, as we are seeking a suitable camping spot, hear a faint cry on the wind. It seems to be calling ‘Mooordaaaanaaaaa’. It’s hard to tell where the call is coming from, but we veer towards the valley that it seems to come from. The cry is heard several more times and the search for a camping spot eventually finds somewhere. But not before we find the remains of  a mammoth that looks as if it was dropped from a great height. These are strange lands indeed….
We all quietly thank Leomund for his tiny hut and rest for the night. A mighty wind gets up and we consider the fate of the camels. Mordana muses on the fact that Leomund needs to work on a stable extension to his tiny hut.

The morning we must spent time gathering the camels. They have survived the night but look somewhat windswept!

We explore the various side valleys, and eventually find our way to a cave entrance which looks like it may lead us further through the mountains.

The tunnels wind through the mountain and eventually, after many turns, we find ourselves in a large cavern. To Vivec and Elune it seems to be beautiful, lit by glowing moss on the walls, there are pretty toadstools and frolicking woodland creatures. Several pale humanoids seems to be approaching in a friendly manner….

ZONK! Mordana removes the curse and barbarian and druid see the cavern the same way as the rest – a foul, ominous place. And the ‘friendly humanoids’ are zombies looking for a meal! They don’t find much to eat, and won’t be looking again.

We exit the cavern and continue. After many hours we camp out and wonder how bloody long these passages are.

The next morning, more trudging. Eventually we see light and emerge….
Into the SAME BLOODY VALLEY we left two days ago.!!!

There was a miniature spear at the bottom of the illusion chest. Mordana proposes to perform an identifying ritual to discern it’s magical properties.
Knowing that this will take some time, Tel Vos decides to sneak up the corridor exiting the room. He’s heard the faint sound of tinkling bells coming from somewhere.

Just around the corner, he spies 2 Bhutts with their backs to him, standing by a cauldron. 4 other Bhutts seem to have also heard the tinkling of bells as they are animatedly exiting the room to the north.

He returns to report his findings and Alya reaches out with her mind to warn Stephan and Vivex that they may soon have company.

Stephan and Vivec shortly hear the sound of someone or something trying to open one of the doors they spiked shut…
‘Oh!’, they slowly think, ‘That means they might go back to fight the others……’
‘Maybe…. we should….errrr….unspike the doors so we can help.’
Despite being tired out by this formidable exercise in critical thinking, they still manage to make a start on un-spiking the doors.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party are making a valiant effort against the Bhutts. When the four extra Bhutts return, Alya drops a Fireball in their midst, and Elune summons 8 wolves to add to the mayhem. With two wolves per Bhutt, we take little damage and the battle is soon wrapped up.

However, when Stephan and Vivec return, they seem to look blank and gormless. More so than usual.
It’s as if some sort of curse or spell effect has hit them.