The Temple of Death: Part One

The Party:
Excrutia, an 8th level Fighter. Favourite attack: double handed battle axe.
Argorn, a 7th level Fighter. Favourite attack: double handed sword.
Habenath, a 7th level Elf. Favourite attack: Elven mojo.
Thaddeus, a 9th level Thief. Favourite attack: running away.
Alrick, a 7th level Cleric. Favourite attack: clericy goodness.
Lotus, a 7th level Cleric. Favourite attack: Mace of Missing.
Kogurn, a 6th level Magic User. Favourite attack: invisibility and other majic.
Morf, a 7th level Gnome (Engineer variant of Dwarf). Favourite attack: War hammer.
The Bard, a 7th level Skald (mash-up of Bard systems). Favourite attack: Singing.

Call to Adventure:
Hawkspur, leader of the remaining forces of Mondas, gathers together a group of adventurers for a non-suicide mission. He has heard that the Master is amassing another army force, but plans to send the adventurers into the territory of Hule to find the Master and deal with him (using "expeditious force") before the army can be organised. As it happens, Hule is on the other side of the Black Range mountains, and to get to it the party will need to get through the Great Pass, aka the Gauntlet. After that, they are to make contact with someone who can equip them with horses for their adventure and update them on the situation. Oh, and a spy (Marialena, sister to Princess Rahasia of the Elven nation) has gone missing, so if you could find her too, that would be good.

Before taking off that night, the party readies themselves and the Bard takes the opportunity to wander around the camp, talking to people, hearing information, and earning himself a page of exposition on Hule later.