Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (week 3)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on October 17, 1985.

Green Lantern #196: Nice Chaykin cover here. I think this issue is the real beginning of the jerk version of Guy Gardner as Englehart and Staton/Patterson have his first official act as Green Lantern be returning to his hometown of Baltimore and telling the people there how much he hates the city and how all it ever did was keep him down. Then, he goes to resurrect the Shark as commanded by the Guardians and winds up being beaten by the villain. Meanwhile, Hal returns to Earth and goes to offer his help to John Stewart should his replacement ever need it (his magnanimous characterization here is particularly notable after his portrayal in HBO's Lanterns). 

While Stewart and Jordan are talking, with Stewart telling Jordan the Crisis is ended, the Shark attacks. Stewart defeats him owing to the experience he has gained.  Guy Gardner shows up and reveals that his mission is to assemble a supervillain assault on the Anti-Monitor's base on Qward. The two Lanterns don't see eye to eye and appear ready to fight.

Batman and the Outsiders #29: Barr and Davis continue the story with a rather pulpy turn, as the team finds an entrance to an underground world. They are attacked by the mind-controlled Metamorpho, and Halo and Geo-Force wind up captured by a Princess Tamira, while Batman, Katana, and taken by her rival Prince Mardo of Abyssia. Davis gives us some very fanciful costume designs for the Abyssians, in some ways reminiscent of work he'll do later on Excalibur. They also meet Emily Briggs again and we see now that Looker's costume is a variant on the standard Abyssian outfit.

Blue Devil #20: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Collins present what is apparently in-continuity Blue Devil's first post-Crisis appearance. Dan is looking at houses to rent when, checking out a closet, he accidentally opens a portal to the House of Weirdness and lets out a powerful demon that looks like pinkish Cousin It. Cain of House of Mystery and Blue Devil have to work together to track the creature who (after trick or treating with Kid Devil) is drawn to a concert where an undead rock star plans to stage a ritual and make his comeback in more ways than one. With the bad guy defeated and the demon banished, Cain offers Blue Devil the room in the House of Weirdness.

Infinity, Inc. #22: The Thomases and McFarlane/Montano/DeZuniga serve up another Crisis crossover. In South Carolina, Hourman II and the new Dr. Midnight battle Union deserters/renegades from the Civil War and a dinosaur. Meanwhile, we get an expanded view of events on the Monitor's satellite as the other Infinitors join the heroes there. 

It's interesting comparing these crossovers with those for events that will follow. In the future, it feels like writers of various books try to dispense with the crossover as quickly as possible. Here, there is a variety of approaches. Some writers have expanded the lead up, others detailed and elaborated events that got only a few panels or part of an issue in the event, while others have told stories adjacent to it. It really seems like all hands are on deck in a way we won't see later.

New Teen Titans #15: Wolfman and Patton/Tanghal pick up right after last week's Omega Men with the two teams manipulated by Auron into fighting each other. Jericho senses something amiss, and he's able to give Kalista a chance to use her power on Auron. Once he's distracted, both groups are able to cool down and quickly discover how they have been fooled. Auron gets away, but they learn he has a hidden confederate in whatever is going on. As prep continues for the wedding, Nightwing is pushing Starfire away, refusing to see the position that she's in. Out in the forest with Jericho and Ryand'r the three happen upon Blackfire and her advancing army and are captured.

Saga of Swamp Thing #44: Moore and Bissette/Randal bring Crisis to the book as Constantine meets with Steve "Mento" Dayton in a Gotham under red skies. Constantine is recruiting Dayton for something which will come after the Crisis. We get a brief Batman cameo with him acting oddly like a police officer. 

Meanwhile, in Louisiana, a serial killer who calls himself the Bogeyman makes the mistake of killing his last victim in the swamp and getting the justice coming to him courtesy of the Swamp Thing. At her home, Abby gets a call from Constantine telling her to send Swamp Thing to San Miguel, California, for the "last stop before the finale."

Warlord #101: Another Grell cover on this issue. I reviewed it here.

Who's Who #11: I's and J's are covered this issue. Immortal Man and Infinite Man are covered, just in time for their appearances this month. Both of the Legion's Invisible Kids are here, the latest courtesy of Arthur Adams. "I...Vampire" who with last saw in May 1983 rises again courtesy of Tom Sutton. Ironwolf is presented by creator Howard Chaykin. Jennifer Morgan from Warlord is here with art by Dan Jurgens. Jemm appears, and it turns out he's also in this weeks Infinity, Inc. Jonah Hex appears in his new Hex duds with art by Texeira/DeZuniga. Jonni Thunder also shows up and she's also in this week's Infinity, Inc. The biggest character this issue is likely the Joker who is rendered by Marshall Rogers.

Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (week 2)

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on October 10, 1985.

Elvira's House of Mystery #1: The horror anthology returns to the DC lineup with this tie-in with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Elvira (played by Cassandra Peterson) debuted as a horror host in 1981 on a Los Angeles TV station but had begun to reach national popularity with an MTV Halloween special in 1984 and some Rhino record releases. In 1986, she'd be in a beer commercial and in 1988, she'd star in a feature film. This comic is, I suppose, another step in that rise.

Outside of the framing sequence by Cavalieri and Wagner/Oksner that has Elvira (running from an angry mob) arriving at the House of Mystery, the stories feel like they were likely left in inventory after the demise of the anthology books rather than newly written for this. Some have narrators (including Cain) that aren't Elvira, suggesting she was a later addition. 

In the first, by Clarke, Grindberg, and Hasen, a sort of fantasy LARPing family of witches faces real dangers when a pouting youngster tries to get even for his early elimination. In the next story by Kanigher/Geroche, a kidnapper who tries to make good his escape by burying his victim alive is haunted to death by the children's lullaby she kept singing to self-soothe. Yee's and Fern's fantasy story set (I guess) in ancient China about a young man and his wizardly sage advisor saving his girl from a sorcerer seems like it might have once been destined for Talent Showcase. Finally, Harris/Spiegle present a tale of young amateur filmmakers where the mistreated boy forced to play the monster somehow makes the monster real, getting revenge on his tormentors and winning a prize.

'Mazing Man #1: As darker superheroics are beginning their rise in comics, and certainly very serious works are garnering the most attention, this book by Rozakis and DeStefano (graduate of New Talent Showcase) is an odd one. It's a mildly humorous, charming enough, I suppose, story about a guy in Queens who dresses in a homemade superhero costume and does good deeds and his friends and neighbors. I don't know who they thought the market was for this, and the only thing I can figure is that they didn't know, they just knew mainstream comic sales were declining. This was just as much an experimental shot in the dark as a lot of others in the DC graveyard: Thriller, Night Force, Captain Carrot, etc. It definitely shows DC's willingness to try new stuff, as it seems to me like something one might have seen as a comic from Eclipse or another small publisher. It likely wouldn't have lasted long or garnered much attention there either, but the sort of creative freedom that gets you books like this is much more common in at those publishers than at the Big Two.

Batman #391: Moench and Mandrake bring this arc to a conclusion. A frantic Robin calls Batman to tell him that Night Slayer has got past him and is planning to kill Nocturna. Batman leaves off trying to convince Catwoman he loves her and not Nocturna (because Nocturna is "a thief") to try and recuse her. He arrives just in time to take Night Slayer's second knife stab himself. Robin helps the already wounded Nocturna escape into the red skies in her balloon. The injured Batman seems likely to lose to Night Slayer, but then Catwoman shows up. Another earthquake puts an end to this conflict. Night Slayer falls, but he grabs Catwoman's cap and drags her down, too. Batman and Robin later locate those two, unconscious on the riverbank. They also sight wreckage of Nocturna's balloon still being tossed by the storm. She is presumed dead, and for all practical purposes, she is, as this is her last pre-(technically intra-)Crisis appearance. There have been other versions of the character, though, but the next won't appear until 2002. 

G.I. Combat #281: The Mercenaries ought to change their name to "The Philanthropists" because they do a lot of good deeds for free, it seems like. After overhearing an old man lamenting that he can't get his son's body back from a covert operation in Cambodia, the trio agree to go and retrieve it. Posing as filmmakers they get help from a Khmer Rouge general (who of course tries to betray them). They fail to find the body they are looking for, but do find a G.I.'s remains, so they bring it back figuring the parents won't know the difference. The father does know but keeps it from the mother, rationalizing it as some soldier son.

The main Haunted Tank story puts Stuart's Raiders up against kids trained as ruthless Nazi assassins. By poisoning Jeb, they force the crew to get them close enough to kill Eisenhower. The U.S. forces open fire on the tank, spoiling their plans, that's to the substitute of a Nazi flag for the Confederate one they typically sport. In the "Bravos of Vietnam" feature, Bravo 7-8 tries to make a landing to save a Green Beret staked out by the VC, but it's a trap. The pilot and gunners are killed, but the Marines make it to another LZ and get out, making a detour to rescue the Green Beret.

Legion of Super-Heroes #18: Levitz and LaRocque/Mahlstedt address why the Legion's 30th Century hasn't been in more turmoil due to the Crisis, and perhaps why they have little history of the event occurring in earlier historic eras. Turns out, it's "the Infinite Man did it," though I'm not entirely clear on how. Somehow, his presence has been stifling, if not entirely removing, their everyone's memories regarding the Crisis and their participation in it. In dealing with the aftermath of the anti-matter wave's disruption of Takron-Galtos the Legionnaires also have to defeat and depower the Infinite Man. Validus escapes recapture here, which is likely going to pay off in the future.

Omega Men #34: Crossover with the Teen Titans by Klein and Buckler/Marcos. The Omegans are attacked by Auron who reveals he is helping his mother with her plan to destroy Vega. When the freedom fighters get to Tamaran, they are unaware that Auron has gotten their beforehand and convinced the Titans and the royal family that the Omegans have had their minds altered by the Psions and are not to be believed. Unbeknowst to either group, Auron is also working with Blackfire.

Parkhouse concludes his Tales of Vega story, where the android is revealed to be the very torturer he supposedly escaped from, though he had originally been a healing android reprogrammed by the Citadel. His identity revealed, he goes out in a blaze of glory taking out badguys.

 

Star Trek #22: Isabella and Sutton/Villagran start with Excelsior receiving a message from Starfleet detailing a first contact mission to Enoch IV that discovered an evil-worshipping civilization where Kirk is the mythological antagonist. The Admiral threatens Kirk with charges for violating the Prime Directive if he doesn't sort this out. The "god" of the Enochians is named Redjac (from the TOS episode "Wolf in the Fold" by Robert Bloch). This weird message turns out to have been faked by Redjac, but Excelsior heads to Enoch IV anyway. Some mysterious murders occur on the ship in route the killer stays one step ahead, but the survivor of the first attack, Konom, should be able to help when he recovers consciousness. Arriving at Enoch IV, Kirk discovers (naturally, just as Konom wakes up on the ship) that Bryce is inhabited by Redjac as she raises her knife to strike.

Super Powers #5: The art is kind of rough in places in this issue, on par with a few spots in the Fourth World series of the 70s when I think Kirby was rushed. Anyway, the Super Friends continue to fall for Darkseid's Seeds of Doom trap (which Darkseid soliloquies to the reader about at the start), as Batman and Robin travel to the future dominated by Apokolips. Luckily, the Flash is there too, and when the heroes reunite, they are able to return to their own time. But Darkseid has enough seeds in place to bring about Apokolips on Earth,

Superman #415: Bates and Swan/Williamson bring us another story dealing with the aftermath of Supergirl's death. An alien, Salkor, arrives on Earth and takes a strange object from Supergirl's quarters. Ultimately, Superman discovers that Supergirl had met Salkor when she was dying an amnesiac thanks to exposure to Kryptonite. Salkor nursed her back to health and the two had a whirlwind romance, even marrying. Then, a powerful invader, Naxx, attacked. After he was defeated, Supergirl left without explanation. Naxx, in fact, has traced Salkor to Earth out for a rematch, but with Superman's help it is defeated. In the hokku, the device she took from Salkor's homeworld, Supergirl left a message for Superman and Salkor. She reveals Naxx's blast restored her memory but wiped out her recent memories of life with Salkor. Her encounter with Blackstarr restored those, so she had rigged the hokku to signal Salkor and well as Superman if she died.

[Greyhawk] Four Oeridian Deities

This post presents the deities as if they existed in a (pseudo-)historical context where people's understanding of them might have changed and evolved with time. Obviously, Greyhawk presents a world where gods are demonstrably real. I don't think that precludes the approach I take here, but it may not fit every readers' conception of how the gods interact with the world.

Pholtus

Pholtus seems to have originally been a solar god or dawn god. Likely coincident with the development of Aerdian Nomism, Pholtus came to be seen as primeval deity who "brought forth the light" of Law, separating Order from Chaos and giving birth to the universe. 

Despite this important mythological role, Pholtus is seldom directly worshipped in the current era, with Pale as an exception.

Hieroneous and Hextor

Two of the best-attested tribal Oeridian deities, the two are an example of the Divine Twin motif. Many folk tales are legends are told about them. They are as popular among the common people as the hero gods.  Hextor represents the brutal side of war: destruction, bloodlust, and brutality. These traits might suggest he is more Chaotic than Lawful, but in the Oeridian mind, his actions are traits are a contingent and circumscribed chaos, only unleashed in service of Law. In fact, some Oeridian theologians argue that his actions are Lawful at their core, representing expression of the primal Law of Battle. In the modern era, Hextor has come to represent Law at its most obdurate and brutal, and so tyranny has been added to his portfolio.

Hieroneous represents the more positive aspects of conflict: justice such justice, valor, and skill at arms. He has also been associated with the knightly class and the cult of chivalry.

Zilchus

Zilchus seems to have been a minor, chthonic deity of the tribal Oeridians. He was associated with wealth and primarily riches drawn from the earth. While he developed as role as judge and ruler the dead (perhaps by extension from his existing role of ruling things in the ground) he has never been a god of death directly. Instead, he came to be viewed as the ultimate worldly power and his purview over wealth came to extend to markets and business.

In modern times, Zilchus is a commonly worshipped deity as he is believed to bring material prosperity to this faithful.

The D&Dness of Nifft the Lean

Michael Whelan

Michael Shea's Nifft the Lean (1982) and its sequels are too recent to be in Appendix N, of course, but rereading the novel (really a collection of short stories) after 30 years, I'm struck by how much homology to a D&D game the stories have.

First, an introduction for those who may never have heard of it. The titular Nifft the Lean is a master thief whose fantastical exploits are related to us after his presumed demise by a friendly scholar. The stories recall Jack Vance and Clark Ashton Smith, but also, they remind me a bit of Wagner's Kane stories in what I see as Shea's attempt to weld Sword & Sorcery and the Gothic. Of several of them, one might could say they are Vance by way of Hieronymus Bosch.

Now, as to the D&D-like action of the stories, here's a warning: this will contain spoilers. Here's the list:

Competent Professionals

Like higher level D&D characters, Nifft and is companions (typically Barnar) are highly skilled. This is noted in world and demonstrated in comparison to others. While they likely possess inborn aptitude or talent, the learned skill aspect is more emphasized. They also complete their "exploits" (as they call them) not so much by badassery or trusting to luck (though there is some of that) but by planning and experienced execution--where they are the masters of their own destinies--and skill and improvisation when they are not.

In "Pearls of the Vampire Queen," for instance, they well plan first their illicit pearl diving and then their robbery of the queen's palace.

Improvisation

The point bears further emphasis. When faced with a challenge like say, descending from a mountain into a Subworld (Hell, essentially) in "The Fishing of the Demon-Sea," Nifft and Barnar make use of what they have around them to jury-rig a means of getting down (sort of) safely. In Pearls of the Vampire Queen," when diving for the swamp pearls proves too laborious and dangerous, they switch to another plan inspired by recent intelligence they got regarding the Vampire Queen.

Travel to Other Planes

Like high level D&D characters, Nifft and friends at least twice have to accomplish a mission on another plane of existence. In "Come Then, Mortal – We Will Seek Her Soul" Nifft and his companion Haldar go to the land of the dead to carry a wayward former suitor to a priestess for her vengeance. In "The Fishing of the Demon-Sea" they are forced to retrieve a young noble from what in D&D terms you might call the Abyss. Like in D&D, these are so much mystical places but dangerous adventure sites.

Lasting Injuries

Nifft and friends are mortal, not superhumans. They get injured a lot and retain scars. Nifft and Barnar both lose their left ears in different stories, for instance.

There are of course ways where the stories aren't much like D&D. There aren't really parties of characters nor are there explicit dungeons, though there isn't any reason there couldn't be. Also, they tend to center around specific heists or missions not general looting or treasure hunting. Still, if one was looking for fiction that mimicked the sort of things one gets up to in old school still games, I think these novels are closer than even a lot of explicitly D&D tie-in fiction.

Wednesday Comics: DC, January 1986 (week 1)

My mission: to read DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis. This week, I'm looking at the comics that were on stands in the week of October 3, 1985. 

Crisis on Infinite Earths #10: It turns out Brainiac is not so dead as Psimon thought. As the Titan foe prepares to kill a startled Luthor, Brainiac blasts away Psimon's brain-in-a-glass from behind. On various Earths, the tide begins to turn against their villain army, though, as the heroes start fighting back, sometimes brutally. The Spectre appears, though, and puts an end to this conflict. He tells both sides that the Anti-Monitor still lives and is at the dawn of time preparing to wipe out the matter universes entirely. The Spectre and the toughest heroes of all the Earths (including Superboy of the now-destroyed Earth-Prime) journey back in time thanks to the running powers of Kid Flash and Jay Garrick to battle him directly, while the villains are tasked with traveling in time to the past of Oa and stopping Krona from opening up a conduit. The villains fail, and the heroes can't seem to hurt the Anti-Monitor, but the Spectre, channeling the power several of Earth's mystic masters, closes the conduit and engages the Anti-Monitor in combat. An explosion is unleashed and it looks as if everything might have been destroyed!

Running in every page of this issue, we have Harbinger's narration of the Monitor's records, which is sort of a proto-History of the DC Universe. Here we get some updates on places beyond Earth and other eras. We find out Starman (Prince Gavyn) and Immortal Man were both Crisis casualties. 

DC Comics Presents #89: ARozakis/Klein and Saviuk/Villagrain have Tigorr, Harpis, and the Changralynian bard, Oho-Besh, of the Omega Men vacationing on the planet Kuraq, only to discover a city of stone in duplicating Metropolis on Earth is being built there by a being who appears to be a brain-addled Superman. It turns out it isn't Superman but a deep-cut creature from a 1954 story, who sacrifices himself to save the Omega Men, acting like Superman, at least. Superman only shows up at the end to give some exposition.

Fury of Firestorm #43: Conway and Kayanan/Machlan have Typhoon awaken from the coma he's been in since last time he fought Firestorm, then confront his ex-wife and abduct his children, apparently with the intention of heading to Pittsburgh for a confrontation with Firestorm. Meanwhile, Ronnie tries out form college football since he thinks he's too short to play college basketball and makes the team. Also, Smoak's lawsuit against Firestorm moves forward.

Hex #5: Texeira/Garzon is back on art as we pick up where last issue left off. Hex and Stiletta manage get the better of the Conglomerate goons and steal their flier. Meanwhile, Borsten is still making trips to the past to try to harvest technological secrets to give him the upper hand over his rivals, but the process is taking its toll on his health. While he's recovering from his latest trip, a bit of industrial espionage by a Conglomerate agents inform them that Hex is loose in 21st Century. Given Hex's anti-Conglomerate actions, the group wrongly assumes he's working for Borsten. They send an armored hitman with a chainsaw weapon named Chain Gowan after him.

Gowan catches up with Hex soon enough, and his armor and weapons make him impossible to shake, until their fight takes them to an old junkyard where Stiletta shows Hex how to use the giant magnet and compactor to take care of the assassin. Unfortunately, the two find themselves surrounded by a gang. 

Justice League of America #246: Conway and McDonnell/Wray take the JLA out of Detroit, as old man Heywood evicts them. It makes sense in a story context, but I feel like it happened because the Detroit location just wasn't being a source of stories (or at least not stories that provided what JLA readers were looking for) in the way Conway had hoped when he put them there to begin with. The team winds up in New York City, and we follow various members as they look for work or places to live. J'onn tries for a job on the police force but seems to land himself a PI job. Steel becomes a personal trainer but perhaps has a shot at the movies. Zatanna returns to her apartment she was subletting to a friend. The friend's absence seems a bit ominous. We'll see if that pays off later. 

MASK #2: My brother or I had this issue when we were kids. Chen's art remains pleasing, while Fleisher's script is, well, up to the task of a kid's cartoon tie in. Following last issue, Matt Trakker and friends are still looking for Scott and T-Bob who have been kidnapped with only some Egyptian symbols left behind as a clue. When some Egyptologists have disappeared exploring a newly discovered tomb, Trakker goes to investigate. Soon, they are battling mummies and jackal headed Anubis who shave magical powers and are trying to get ahold of antiquities. Of course, it's Mayhem and the VENOM guys in disguise. There's an all-out battle at the pyramids with new vehicles called in and the powers of the masks employed in all their toyetic glory. I would say VENOM's plan makes no sense and is overly elaborate but that's beside the point.

In passing, we see a TV broadcast about how nuclear weapons are obsolete thanks to the new orbital missile defense system.

Outsiders #3: Gorbachev's American comic portrayal, like I think, the view of him in the American consciousness, is mostly positive, but in '85 when he had just come to power, we get stories like this where he is just the "leader of the enemy nation." The shadowy Bad Samaritan offers to help Gorbachev with his country's economic woes, and Gorbachev accepts. In disguise, the Bad Samaritan steals the printing plates for Markovian money, which the U.S. has helpfully been handling for Markovia. The Force of July is on the case for the U.S. government, but Brion feels like the Outsiders should be too, which of course, leads to the two groups fighting each other, allowing the Bad Samaritan to escape. 

In between these events, Black Lightning visits his ex, Lynn, who is involved with the recent F.A.M.I.N.E. record for humanitarian relief when she gets a visit from Edward Bentama, head of the EurAfrican Nations Council. The import of this subplot, I'm sure will become clear.

We also get the finale of the Looker solo outing by Barr and Lightle. Looker easily defeats the Untouchable gang once she figures out other intangible objects can touch them.

Vigilante #25: Kupperberg and Smith/Maygar have the Vigilante going after cops who are revealed to have tortured an innocent man to get him to confess. From the moment the event hits the news, Chase is angry about the cops' behavior, but the Vigilante is essentially supportive of them until he finds out the victim was innocent. Then, he hunts the cops down and kills them, though he appears to be severely wounded himself. Meanwhile, Marcia's psychiatrist has figured out Chase was the Vigilante. Trinidad Santiago is still in hiding, but both the Electrocutioner and the Vigilante are still after him.

Wetland Maps

 I tend to pick up maps when I visit places that seem good candidates with the idea of using them in rpgs. I seldom get around to actually doing it, though I did base a faerie garden on a map of Keukenhof in a game, and I used a historic map I found online of the World's Columbian Exposition (1893) to represent, well, the World's Columbian Exposition. 

Here are a couple of maps I happened to come across online of wetland locations that I've visited.

Some of my middle school classmates and I once got chased to the refugee of the top of a picnic table in Okefenookee, here. True story.

Congaree is one of the least visited national parks in the lower 48, which is a same. It doesn't have the majesty of a Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, sure, but it's worth a visit.

Trapped In a Gray Town

I haven't posted about it in a while, but our campaign in Nimble continues.  

Since that last post, the party tracked the faerie kidnappers to the place where they had their ramshackle warmachine. The party defeated it (with fire, naturally) but then was confronted by the buff goblin leader who dressed like a masked wrestler, Grimbor the Battle-Brawler. He was willing to trade words instead of blows and told them that he had sold the faerie on.

They head back up the road to pick up the trail. When they travel into an area where the color appears leeched out of everything, they meet a halfling youth beside the road who is supposed to summon passing adventurers (if any) for help.

The go to the town of Baron Hill and spend the night in the less-than-quaint Dead Crow Inn. Still trying to pick up the faerie's trail, they here about a Necromancer (supposedly deceased), and go to have words with his last henchman who is now a hermit on the edge of town.

That guy, Grygor Dilvesh, lives in a cave by the river. A cave, as the party discovers, that he has filled with booby traps. Grygor isn't there, but Frea twice gets acid gas in the face trying to disarm a trap, and she and g'Mbalisto have a close escape form a spike-filled pit. Pan investigates the creepy scarecrow of a child, which turns out to be part of a fire trap.

They do get a bit of treasure out of it, but don't find a faerie or a Necromancer and the town is still gray.

Leaving, they awkwardly run into Grygor, the caves' owner.

This adventure is an adaptation of one written for 4e. I'm a bit unsure of the Nimble approach to traps in regard to mechanics, but I was able to wing it well enough.