Undead in the Dwarf Fortress. Also, mostly losing a fight.

After the spider fight, we set to exploring the fortress. The first interesting thing we found was tunnels clawed out of the mountain. This came with an old stench. Tuath attempted to make sense of what little tracks he could find but there did not seem to be much to be learned (other than the tracks were odd: not boots or hooves). The second time we ran into these clawed out tunnels, we met their creators. We did not figure it out particularly fast but the inhabitants of this dwarf fortress (other than the spiders of unusual size) are dwarven ghouls. They fight with claws and bites and they are capable of doing a lot of damage in short order. This fight was against a handful of the ghouls. It was tough but we were never at significant risk.
 
Post-fight, we started talking about taking a rest. To do so, we had to bring in the pack animals. To do that, we had to figure out how to raise the portcullis. Before we got that done, we ran into three more ghouls. Luckily the terrain favored us and we took them out without issue. We did figure out how to raise the portcullis, brought in the beasts, and took a long rest in the most secure room we knew of. This just happened to be the room we first entered via the chimney.
 
After recovering, we set back to exploring. As a defensive structure, this place is amazing. Only a couple rooms in, we found ourselves in a temple. The smell of this room should have been a better clue but we did not pick up on it before the fight started. It seemed empty but a ghoul sprung out from behind a throne to attack Tuath. Then a few dropped out of a chimney and rushed Dash. And then more of them dropped out of the chimney and we were all engaged. In fact, we were well outnumbered. In short order, Dash was in bad shape. Then a series of attacks took me down. I do not think I had a chance to act from the first hit until I was unconscious. I was active in this fight for only two rounds. I really do need to find the cash to get better armor. Maybe I will stop making fun of Dash for all the damage he takes.
 
When I awoke (and you knew I was going to because I am writing a journal entry), I was told that Dash also went down but Ozzie and Tuath held the line. Given that they were both very torn up, it is clear that this was a very close fight. It is once again time to retreat back to the most defensible spot we can find and spend however long we need to get back to full health. The plus side of going down at the start of a fight is that I have most of my spell slots. The advantage of exploring an abandoned, ancient dwarf fortress is that there are few wandering monsters. We should be able to take as much time as we need before we continue.
 
While I was unconscious and dreaming, it came to me that I might be using the wrong attack cantrip against Ghouls. Toll the dead does great damage but the Ghouls seem to be very good at making their saves. Besides, it does necrotic damage. Against Undead. I am going to switch to Sacred Flame and burn them with Mitra’s radiance.
 
(Out of character: Dash needs to learn to use those Superiority dice. Check out this class guide: https://www.gameoutonline.com/dnd-5e-fighter-class-guide/)