The Waning Confidence of Warlord Azrok - Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Chapter 19

 

The besieged and leaderless forces of Xanathar's Guild held out for a week against the return of the Thirteen. The one restored flameskull found and restored another, and those two restored still others. Soon all thirteen flameskulls were returned to power and directed their magics against the humans, bugbears, duergar, and gargoyles hiding within the fortress on Skull Island.

Once Xanathar's Guild had been routed and the fortress liberated, the people of Skullport celebrated, though the stern appearance of the Thirteen served as an ominous reminder who was in charge. 

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor took their leave of Skullport. They returned to their quest to seek the depths of Undermountain - to find and defeat the Mad Mage and earn their wishes. 

They followed a path back to the ruins of the dwarven city once known as Stromkulduhr. The city was bisected by a collapsed ceiling. One half the city had been occupied by the Legion of Azrok - goblins, bugbears, and hobgoblins ruled by a military warlord. The other half of the city had in recent months been taken by forces of drow. Recently, however, the drow had been driven from the city by the Mystics of Trollksull Manor.

The Mystics arrived at the checkpoint - their approach heralded by the screams of sentry mushrooms known as shriekers. The Mystics were welcomed as heroes - their actions against the drow had become famous! They were to be taken to an audience with Warlord Azrok immediately.

The Mystics were taken into what appeared to be an armed camp - hobgoblins practiced combat drills, bugbears wrestled, goblins scurried about like unruly cats under the frustrated leadership of their hobgoblin commanders. They were taken to a building and given passports. A goblin clerk bit the thick leather sheets of the passport - the impression of his teeth serving as a kind of stamp or signature. 

The characters were brought to a large house wherein sat Warlord Azrok and his retinue. Hogoblins milled about discussing strategy. Bugbear guards loomed at the doorway. An elderly hogoblin woman wearing long robes stood near Azrok, studying the room. 

Azrok himself sat hunched in his throne. He gazed at his feet. He occasionally stared at something a thousand feet away and sighed. 

CHAPTER 19

"THE WANING CONFIDENCE

OF WARLORD AZROK"

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor:

• Winterfrost of House Silverspear - Chaotic Good Moon Elf Noble and Fighter. The daughter of elven diplomats, raised among dwarves.
  
• Etlenda, aka "Exile" - Neutral Good Eladrin Outlander and Paladin. Exiled from the Feywild and raised by wolves. While exploring the Feydark he crossed over into the Underdark and emerged into the Mortal World.
• Tempus Vegvisir - Lawful Good Human Trade Sheriff and Cleric of Helm. Husband and Father.
• Push-ta "Bearbite" Tok - Neutral Half-Orc Former Smuggler and Rogue, secret member of the Zhentarim.
• Kem Hearthfire - Chaotic Good Half-Orc Former Gladiator Priestess of Gond. 
• Randall - Chaotic Good Human Scout and Smuggler. The child of minor nobles slain by Manshoon - or one of his duplicates, he now leads smugglers down the River Sargauth to Skullport.
• Glom the Wretched, aka "Hu-Man Patty Johnson" - Chaotic Neutral Goblin NPC, former thief and guide to the Arcane Chambers.

DM - The group FINALLY descends to level 4. I also discover this week that my hardcover book is missing pages 65-96, which is most of Level 4 and 5. I have already submitted a ticket to WotC.

Azrok

The Mystics of Trollskull Manor were introduced to Warlord Azrok. They received hearty cheers and a round of applause from the other hobgoblin officers. The woman behind Azrok smiled and nodded. Azrok simply waved his hand dismissively, "Fine, what do they want?"

The Mystics explained that they were the season's newest contestants in Halaster's challenge and requested simply to be directed towards the nearest passage leading down into Undermountain.

Azrok paid them little attention. He showed little interest and eventually admitted he did not care. 

Lurkana 

The elderly woman interrupted, thanking the Mystics for their recent work against the drow. She asked if they would be willing to speak with her privately about a sensitive matter.

They agreed and were led to a nearby building. The woman introduced herself as Lurkana, mother of Azrok. She explained that her son had been out of sorts lately. A dagger, a very special dagger that she had made for him, had been stolen by a duergar named Skella Ironeye who then fled deeper into Undermountain. Since then, her son has been bereft of confidence. He has lost interest in the fight against the drow. Even now that the drow had been pushed back, he shows no interest in retaking the rest of Stromkulduhr. This lack of motivation is frustrating his officers and she worries that insurrection is brewing among the troops. 

She asked them for their assistance in finding and returning this dagger. They agreed. With that, she assigned two hobgoblin guards to lead the party to the edge of the city and give them directions to the checkpoint guarding the passage leading deeper into Undermountain.

The Warlord's Secret

As they exited the city of Stromkulduhr, the party found themselves alone. Tempus summoned the others, "it's remarkable that Warlord Azrok could achieve such status in hobgoblin society despite being blind. "

"Wait, he's blind?" asked Winterfrost.

"Yes. I could tell when we first met him. Though he is apparently keeping it a secret from the others. I didn't want to say anything in front of the other hobgoblins."

A collective gasp of realization spread through the group.

"That makes sense!" declared Winterfrost. "I bet the knife is magic and allows him to see."

"I'm sure the mother knows." said Etlenda, "She said she crafted the knife for him. I think you're right, Winterfrost. And that is why he has lost his confidence."

DM - I had sent a whisper to Tempus' player when they first met Azrok with the above information but I sent it to his character in Roll20 and not the player, so the player never saw it. Nobody said anything or acted on this information so as they were leaving I asked Tempus' player, "Did you see the whisper I sent?" and he was all "What whisper?" I slapped my forehead. Once I shared that info, there was a collective, "OH! Oh yeah, it all makes sense!" that passed around the group. 

Keepers of the Purple Worm

On their way to the checkpoint, the party overheard two goblins whispering and arguing in a side cavern. They had obviously found something and didn't want to be caught. 

Winterfrost became curious and led the party into the side cavern. Etlenda and Randall both voiced their objections to this distraction.

Within they found two goblins obviously hiding something behind each of their backs. The goblins, named Dribblespit and Zob, denied having found anything and refused to show their hands. The party, not wishing to harm the goblins, who as far as they knew were completely innocent, were at an impasse. 

The goblins tried to make a break for it, running past Bearbite. Bearbite knocked Zob over and Kem threw her net over him. A half a statue of a purple worm tumbled out of his hand. Dribblespit picked up the other half and ran for the exit. 

Tempus held out his hands and shouted, "Wait! Your statue is broken! I can fix it! Allow me to repair it and I will buy it from you."

Dribblespit hesitated but Zob was sold. Bearbite helped Zob out of the net. Dribblespit agreed but demanded fifty gold pieces for the statue. Tempus agreed. He said a prayer of mending and the two halves miraculously became one statue! He paid the goblins 50 gold pieces and they ran away. 

Tempus had a purple jade statue of a worm.

Checkpoint

The party soon found a checkpoint occupied by bugbears and hobgoblins. They showed their passports and were once again welcomed as heroes. The officer in charge, a hobgoblin named Kliyuse the Skull Cleaver, bit their passports. 

As the party moved through the checkpoint, Winterfrost overheard a hobgoblin complain to another about manning a checkpoint when they should be retaking Stromkulduhr. Kliyuse commiserated and suggested that it was time for a new leader - a leader with ambition and motivation.

Winterfrost ran up to Captain Kliyuse and punched him in the face. The hobgoblin captain was knocked to the ground, surprised.

"Don't EVER speak that way about your commander! I will come back and personally kill anyone who breathes another word of such insolence!"

The goblinoids were taken aback by the display of strength from this moon elf woman wearing dwarven armor. Captain Kliyuse rubbed his chin, "I apologize. It will not happen again."

The party left the checkpoint and descended a spiraling passage.

DM -The biting the leather as a goblin signature or official stamp was something one of the players suggested. I thought it was genius and rolled with it!

The Fungal Forest

They entered into a large chamber filled with giant tree-sized mushrooms with woody stalks that rivaled any forest tree trunk, massive lichens the size of ferns, and dozens of types of other fungi. Some mushrooms glowed strange unearthly colors.

Well-trod paths snaked through the fungal growth. 

The air was filled with a dimly luminescent blue haze - an emission from the glowing mushrooms.

Tempus decided send his familiar, Edward the Bat, to fly around to get a sense of the surrounding caves.

He flew into an adjoining cave and caught sight of a man moving in the blue mist. He investigated and sawn an elderly human man wearing tattered rags living in the cave. The cave was filled with makeshift equipment for alchemy - gourds made from hollowed-out woody mushroom caps, utensils fashioned from the wood of the mushroom-trees, a flat-topped stone table in the center of the room, etc. 

The old man saw the bat and tried to catch it. Edward retreated and explored another room. 

Edward flew into a cave filled with hanging stalactites. Suddenly everything went dark - the psychic link had been broken. 

The Alchemist

The party decided to introduce themselves to the old man. He greeted them cautiously. He had the wary antisocial curtness of someone unused to polite interactions. The party learned that they could obtain a handful of potions in exchange for supplies - he did not accept "human money" as payment. 

When asked about what lay ahead in the caverns, the old man said only that he did not venture beyond the mushroom forest. To explore beyond would expose him to the nightmares. 

Tangled Ropes

The party bade farewell to the old man and continued their exploration. They entered a strange rift that cut perpendicular to their well-trod route . They chose to turn from their route and explore the rift. The rift was filled with large stalagmites.

To their surprise, two of the stalagmites came to life - each growing four long ropy tentacles and each revealing a single large central eye and a gaping mouth filled with cutting triangular teeth - Ropers!

Winterfrost and Bearbite were grabbed by one while Kem and Randall were grabbed by the other.

Winterfrost was drawn in to be devoured by the beast. Bearbite managed to free himself. So, too, did Randall managed to escape.

After a bloody battle, the Mystics of Trollskull Alley were eventually able to slay the ropers. 

Short Rest

The battle against the ropers was taxing so the party decided to take a break. Bearbite turned the ropers over onto their sides to expose their soft bellies. He cut the beasts open in search of their gizzard. He managed to remove a handful of gemstones from each roper. 

The River

The party continued their exploration of the rift until it became a small passage. The passage led to the bank of an underground river. The sluggish river was covered in a thin sheen of translucent slime. Across the river, out of sight in the far darkness, they could hear the hooting and boobling sounds similar to those made by Hlool the fish-man. 

Mad Wizard’s Retreat

The party left the river and explored the other side of the rift. They found a side-cavern filled with more glowing mushrooms. In the back of the cavern crouched a desperate-looking human woman talking to a large frog. 

"Teeha, guests! Are they real or are they illusions? Did Urgala send them?"

They introduced themselves as friends but the woman appeared to be deranged. She could no longer tell what was real and what was illusion. She pulled at her hair in frustration and cowered against the wall if anyone came to close. She dismissed the newcomers as phantoms, more nightmares come to taunt her!

The frog croaked dully.

Etlenda approached carefully. He explained that he could tell she was unwell and wished to help her. He was a paladin and could cure her of any natural illness. 

Etlenda's calm and friendly demeanor persuaded her. She agreed. Etlenda touched her head and shoulder and channeled the ancient forces of nature. 

The woman closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she was healed. She greeted her saviors with clarity and friendliness.

Her name was Darribeth Meltimer. She was a wizard in one of the parties undertaking Halaster's Challenge. She was the sole survivor. 

The party offered to take her back to Skullport. She agreed and said that she would reward them for doing so.

Return to Skullport

The party accompanied Darribeth past the hobgoblin checkpoint and back to Skullport - a two hour journey. There they gave her fifty gold coins so that she could teleport back to Waterdeep.

She thanked them and gave them a magic rope. 

Back to the Fungal Forest

It had been six hours, give or take, since the party had left Skullport, and now they were leaving again. They retraced their steps to the Fungal Forest, arriving roughly four hours since they left. 

This time they found a number of dead bodies littering the grotto. The bodies belonged to dead elves, all drow, all clutching at their bellies or drowned in a soup of bile and blood. Those that did not succumb to - whatever this was - had glossy translucent skin, slick with snot-like slime and mottled with burn marks. 

Winterfrost sneered, "Drow. They deserved to die." 

She found one barely alive, its dying gurgling breaths making thick bubbled from its bloated greasy mouth - it said, "It whispers! It whispers from the dark!" before it expired.

To be Continued...

"The Spawning Pool" - Out of the Abyss, Chapter 34

Willow thought the deep gnomes were making progress. The wizard had stayed behind the Chasm Bridge to help rehabilitate the two former slaves. When she found them, they were hooded and chained to a wall. They were meek, cowed, and afraid. They were the unfortunate play-things of a human named Mistle, an evil wizard that had hired ogres to collect an exorbitant toll to cross the Chasm Bridge. Willow and her companions had defeated Mistle and sent him fleeing into the Underdark. Since then she had learned that the former slaves were traveling to Blingdenstone when they were captured by the nearby gargoyles and given to Mistle as tribute.

Willow had learned their names: Derilogit and Toroukil. The two deep gnomes were typically dour and circumspect. She had spent days working to rebuild their independence and confidence after their months of forced servitude and indoctrination.

One day, she was sipping tea and having a conversation with the deep gnomes when there was a voice at the entrance to the cavern that Mistle once called home.

"Those belong to me!"

"Excuse me?" said Willow as she carefully put down the cup and stood to face the intruder. The human intruder hobbled into the light of the room.  He wore the robes of a wizard. He was missing his left leg and used a staff as a crutch.

"I am Mistle the Mage and I've come back to reclaim what is mine. Those two there are my slaves. They are mine. This whole place is mine and I have come back to reclaim it."

Willow's eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip around her flying stick, "Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged. Accourding to the rules and traditions of the wizarding guild of Waterdeep, I challenge you to a wizard duel."

"You're on."

OUT OF THE ABYSS, CHAPTER 34

"THE SPAWNING POOL"

Five heroes scour the Underdark

in order to find the ingredients 
of an arcane ritual
that will banish the Demon-Lords
back to the Abyss
from which they escaped.

En route to the Wormwrithings to 
procure the egg of a gigantic Purple Worm
they heroes come across
a large force of Troglodytes
arguing over a sword...

THE LEADERS OF THE EXPEDITION

• Sir Valerius Adeques - (PC, human paladin 10) Defender and champion of the old gods of nature.
• Virtue - (PC, human paladin 7/warlock 3) A mysterious wild card of unknown allegiance.
• Santaka - (NPC) a baby red dragon, loyal to Virtue.
• Willow - (PC, human wizard 8) "the solution is always fireball!" 
• Phwee-toop - (NPC) Salix/Willow's owl familiar.
• Ront - (PC, half-orc barbarian 10) Savage orc of the Iron-Thews tribe seeking redemption for his failures.
• Pain Grille' - (PC, halfling rogue 10) Wily street urchin from Waterdeep, was turned to stone in Blingdenstone but got better.

THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION

• Thora Nabal - (NPC)  human warrior of the Order of the Gauntlet
• Sylrien Havennor - (NPC)  human warrior of the Order of the Gauntlet
• Elias Drako - (NPC)  human warrior of the Order of the Gauntlet
• Tamryn Tharke - (NPC)  human warrior of the Order of the Gauntlet
• Feral Killmander - (NPC)  human spy of the Lord's Alliance
• Pok-Pok - (NPC) winged kobold.
• Sparky - (NPC) trained fire-beetle. 
• The Shield Guardian - (NPC) a contribution from Lord Zelraun Roaringhorn of the Harpers.

WIZARD DUEL ON THE CHASM BRIDGE
Willow and Mistle stood at opposite ends of the Chasm Bridge. Willow was flanked by her owl familiar Phwee-toop and her the ten foot tall automaton that served as her shield guardian. Mistle supported himself on his crutch behind two duergar fighters wearing brass chain mail.

Willow, Phwee-Toop, and the Shield Guardian

The two wizards stared at each other. A strong wind blew threw the cavern whipping their cloaks and hair. Minutes passed in silence. The duergar became restless.

Suddenly, as if in response to some silent signal, the wizards sprang into action!

Mistle and his Duergar Warriors

Mistle cast an ice storm spell. Willow immediately dismissed the attack with a counterspell and became invisible. She mounted her magic tree branch and took flight. The winds made it difficult to control.

The shield guardian cast a confusion spell that Willow had prepared for it earlier. One of the two duergar stood dumbfounded but the other charged forward across the bridge. Phwee-toop fled the scene and hid behind some rocks.

The first duergar became a giant and engaged the shield guardian in melee combat. The second duergar finally overcame his confusion and joined his companion in charging the other side of the bridge.

Mistle became frustrated at his inability to target Willow. He tried to become invisible himself but suffered another counterspell!

Willow cast a fireball at the charging duergar but was, in turn, foiled by Mistle's counterspell.

The two wizards traded spells in this way. Mistle was eventually wounded by a few of Willow's chromatic orb spells and was forced to order his duergar to retreat. The wizard then disappeared in a puff of silvery mist. The two duergar became invisible and disappeared.

Willow flew down to the passage at the far end of the bridge. She shouted into the darkness, "Eat shit, asshole! Never come back!"

A SENDING
Willow was convinced that she had lost her companions forever. She had no way of knowing where they were or how to find them.

One day her shield guardian shuddered. Its movements became suddenly fluid and natural. It looked at its mechanical hands, turning them over in front of its "face".

The shield guardian ran its hands up and down its body as if feeling its hips and chest and face.

A voice magically emanated from where its mouth would normally be, "Well, hello there! I simply MUST get me one of these!"

The voice emanating from the shield guardian was refined, elegant, and decadent. The words poured languidly over the strange accent in a way that made the listener feel dirty and uncomfortable, like you needed to take a shower afterward. Its movements were serpentine and lithe.

Willow was confused, "Um, hello?"

The shield guardian seemed to be suddenly reminded of why it was here, "Oh, right. You are Willow, correct? I am Vizerian, former Archmage of Menzoberranzan. I have a message for you."

"Go ahead, I guess?"

"Your companions have been to Gravenhollow. There they met me. We are working together to resolve this.. incursion. I have sent them on a quest to gather some necessary ritual components. If you wish to rejoin them, I will instill into this shield guardian the knowledge of how to find them. Simply follow the guardian and you will be reunited with them. Is that understood?"

Willow nodded.

"Good. Now if you will excuse me. I think I will pop off to the Infinity Market to see about acquiring a shield guardian for myself."

The shield guardian shuddered again and was once more its stolid laconic self.

Soon thereafter, Willow packed her equipment and enough supplies for a long journey through the endless caves and passages of the Underdark. She bade farewell to the deep gnomes and strode across the bridge in search of the rest of the expedition.

She followed the shield guardian for dozens of days, if travelling as far as she could before resting as long as was necessary could be called a "day". She eventually reached a region of smooth tube-like passages. A few days later she encountered Valerius Adeques and the warriors of the Gauntlet clearing the rubble of a cave-in. Valerius reported that he had been separated from the expedition by the cave-in which was caused by the passing of a gargantuan purple worm.

After clearing the passage the expedition encountered a group of seventeen dwarves coming from the opposite direction. The dwarves reported that they had escaped from troglodyte captivity and that they encountered the expedition a ways back. DM Note- At this point, I retconned the story of the dwarves they met last week to being escaped prisoners. This revised story ties in better with the upcoming troglodtye encounter. The players liked it much better.

Willow and Valerius, along with their entourage, continued on. They eventually found the remains of Thargus Forkbeard who had been slain by a drow's poisoned arrow. Thargus' bare bones had been picked clean of even the smallest bit of meat and gristle.

They finally caught up to the expedition on the following day. Virtue, Pain, Ront, and Feryl were crouched among some loose rocks and boulders observing the events in a large cavern ahead. Pain noticed the brilliant daylight of Valerius' sun-sword Dawnbringer and quickly motioned the paladin to dim the radiance of the blade. Valerius complied and rolled his eyes at Dawnbringer's subsequent protestation.

At the entrance to the Cavern

Valerius and Willow joined the others in the surreptitious reconnaissance of the events within.

DIVISION IN THE TROGLODYTE CAMP

The cavern beyond was as large, at least two hundred feet deep and four hundred feet wide with a two hundred foot ceiling covered in stalactites. On the right wall of the cavern was a low crater filled with warm water. Steam wafted from the water's surface. The water overflowed the banks of the crater and formed a small river, fifteen feet wide, that bisected the cavern. The stream disappeared into a passage on the left wall. The ground rose to a plateau on the far side of the creek while a small steep hill rose on the near side close to the entrance.

One had to struggle to keep from wretching at the horrible stench that emanated from the room.

Albino reptile-men, so-called troglodytes, were the source of the stench. They were arranged into two factions, each numbering around two-dozen, facing off on either side of the creek. They were shouting at each other in the strange growling hissing language of the subterranean brutes. The group on the far side held the high ground atop the plateau. Their leader was old and fat but held aloft a curved short sword of drow manufacture.

The group on the near side were led by a tall strong warrior that did all the talking. He kept pointing to a large bloated troglodyte lashed to two stone pillars atop the steep hill. He pointed back to the old troglodyte with the sword, then clutched his fist.

Brood Mother

The old troglodtye waved the sword around haphazardly and shouted back defiantly.

The disagreement seemed to stem from the sword. The tall warrior wanted the sword and was holding the female hostage until he got it. The older one refused to five up the sword and demanded the release of the hostage who was apparently a troglodyte of some importance.

THE PRISONERS
Meanwhile, Pain had noticed a small tunnel to the right. The tunnel was barely large enough for a dwarf of halfling to fit through and appared to have been recently excavated. Pain told the others and Willow sent Phwee-toop the owl hopping through the winding tunnel to see where it led.

After about a hundred feet, the owl saw a room filled with crates and captured loot, as well as supplies, carrying litters, and a ten-foot wide hole in the ground. About a half-a-dozen small chains were draped over the edge of the pit and were connected to a nearby wall. A troglodyte walked up to the pit and hauled the chain up hand-over-hand. At the end of the chain was a naked dwarf with bound hands and feet. The troglodyte disconnected the dwarf from the chain and carried the dwarf into another chamber. Willow reported what she saw through the owl's eyes and recalled her familiar.

Troglodyte Cavern

Valerius asked Pain to check the tablet of Garmin. The path to the worm nursery led through the cavern. They could bypass the cavern at the expense of over a dozen more days of travel. Valerius scowled and said, "To hell with that. We're going through."

He stood, held Dawnbringer aloft, and entered the cavern. The magic sword flared and filled the area with the light of day. The two troglodytes immediately ceased shouting at each other as everyone turned to face the interloper. A few nearest the entrance used their arms to shield their eyes from the shining sword.

Valerius addressed the troglodytes in Common, "We want no trouble. There is no need for violence. We will rescue the prisoners held in the pit and leave through that exit over there. If you interfere with us you will die. Do you understand me?"

The large warrior stepped forward and replied in broken Common, "You do not belong here Overworlder. This cave belongs to trogs. You will not pass!"

Valerius pointed his sword at the warrior, "Yeah, no. That's not going to happen."

Virtue intervened, "Look, look. We don't know what's going on here with all," the tiefling indicated the bound hostage, "...this. It's none of our business. But how about we make a deal? How about you let us pass and we kill those guys for you? Would you like to become the new chieftain?"

The Champion of Laogzed

The warrior stood as erect as he could, "NO! This is trog matter! Chieftain is chieftain and we mean chieftain no harm. I am Chosen One of Laogzed! I defeat the drow and take sword! Sword belong to me by right! We have brood mother ripe with eggs. The chieftain will give me sword and we will give brood mother back. We don't want chieftain killed. But we ARE hungry, so we will kill you and EAT you!"

THE MASSACRE 
The warrior shouted the order to attack and two dozen troglodtyes, some nearly as big as ogres, charged. Valerius, astride his celestial lion mount, rode into their midst while Ront charged the right flank. Pain nimbly moved amongst the troglodytes, never staying in one place, stabbing and moving on. Troglodytes quickly swarmed Ront and Valerius, clawing at the celestial lion and trying to take the paladin from his mount.

DM Note - I spiced up the troglodytes with a few "troglodyte brutes" - using stats for an Orog to make a tougher troglodyte. It didn't help much since they were mowed down by the second fireball, leaving one or two to mop up.

The Troglodyte Forces

Feryl and the Gauntlet warriors formed a rear guard and fired crossbows at any troglodytes that approached Willow.

Willow remained behind the rear guard and cast a fireball spell into the mass of troglodytes. Over half of them died outright. Willow's precision shielded Valerius, Ront, and Pain from injury.

Virtue remained just forward of the rear and directed the baby dragon Santaka to kill the brood mother. Santaka leaped onto the rise and engulfed everyone in fiery breath. She then cast her own fireball over the troglodytes eliminating all but the toughest even though her relative imprecision meant injuring her companions.

The battle was over as Valerius, Ront, and Pain mopped up the remaining opponents.

The two dozen troglodytes allied with the chieftain atop the plateau tried to retreat into the safety of an escape passage behind them. Willow took flight on her magic branch and cast a fireball spell into their midst. Another subsequent fireball destroyed any survivors.

THE LARVAE
Ront said to the others, "Ront getting sword." and began wading through the shallow creek that divided the cavern.

Suddenly Ront was beset by hundreds of tiny aquatic reptilian-fish - the larval form of troglodyte young. The creatures looked like a pale white reptilian head and a long fish-like tail. Each was as big as a man's hand. Its mouth was lined with dozens of tiny razor-sharp teeth. The creatures were attracted to the blood seeping from the wounds Ront sustained in the preceding battle.

Ront expressed surprise but the bits were little more than an nuisance. After Ront's initial shock, Pain asked the orc, "Are you okay?"

To which Ront let out a long sigh and replied, "No. Little fish are cleaning Ront. Ooh! That tickled!"

Ront left the stream and climbed the plateau to retrieve the drow short sword while the others explored the side caves in search of the captives.

Ront

CAPTIVES
Valerius, Pain, Virtue, and Willow and the others explored a passage to the right and found the chamber with the pit and supplies.

A troglodyte butcher came walking into the room to investigate the commotion and was quickly cut down. DM Note - I didn't even bother.

Valerius pulled the chained captives out of the pit, finding four dwarves and two drow. All were emaciated and weak. The two drow backed away from the Overworlders and escaped to the main passage. There they encountered Ront carrying his great sword in one hand and the short sword in the other.

They froze. Ront intercepted them and backed them up against a wall, growling. They retreated into the side chamber and were interrogated.

They were members of an expedition hunting for purple worm eggs. Their expedition had been attacked and separated and they were eventually captured by the troglodytes.

The dwarves, for their part, said they were a part of a larger expedition searching for purple worm tailings. The expedition had been captured but seventeen of them managed to escape through a tunnel they dug in the wall.

They gave the captives food and water. The drow refused their help and demanded to be set free. They were allowed to leave.

Ront examined the short sword. It had words engraved on it. He gave it to Valerius. The word were in a dialect of elvish used by the drow. They said, Oloth thu malla, "Darkness be praised". Ront wrinkled his snub nose at the idea of a short sword and gave it to Pain.

The next chamber contained fissures that emmitted scalding steam. A slab of stone nearby was used to butcher the dwarven and drow captives. A vein of precious gems could be seen surrounding the vents. Ront took the pick he acquired from Thargus Forkbear and chipped away a few gems. The fissue suddenly shot him with hot steam, burning the orc. Ront recoiled and said, "Screw that!"

DM Note- Chipping away gets a die roll. There's a 1-in-10 chance of getting scalding steam in the face. Every round you chip away some stones, you get 1d10x10gp worth of gems. On the first round I rolled a steam result. I then told Ront's player the odds. The player weighed the cost benefit and decided to walk away.

THE ROPERS

A dark passage led out of the prisoner cavern. They followed the passage until it opened into another chamber. Water dripped from hundreds of stalactitles hanging from the ceiling. The floor was likewise covered in stalagmites formed by the dripping water. There appeared to be no well-used path through the chamber. They carefully wound their way through many spires. Halfway through the passage Pain spotted what appeared to be the partially eaten remains of a humanoid figure. Before he could check it out he was grabbed by a tentacle and hosted into the air. Ront and Virtue were likewise hoisted aloft by strange tentacles.

They were drawn toward a large stalactitle on the ceiling. A single red eye glared at them as the tentacles moved them towards the large slavering maw of a roper!

Ambushed by Ropers

Valerius blinked and began rummaging through his backpack for a crossbow. Willow took flight on her magic branch and cast a fireball spell on the roper while shielding her companions from the blast. The inferno incinerated the roper's tentacles and everyone fell fifty feet to the ground.

Pain got up and activated his magic boots. He quickly climbed up the side of the wall and held onto a stalactite. He moved from stalactite to stalactite like a gibbon until he was close enough to attack the roper.

DM NOTE- 6d6 sneak attack damage. All ones! It was an epic Yahtzee! 

Epic Ones!

Other stalactites dropped from the ceiling revealing themselves to be piercers! DM NOTE- Piercers are essentially useless at this level.

Suddenly, a second roper extruded its tentacles and began to grab the party off the floor!

Virtue launched a fireball of her own, incinerating the tentacles. Everyone held aloft was dropped.

The first Roper extruded new tentacles and picked up some more victims. Willow cast anouther fireball with by-now predictable results.

Pain finally got another good attack on the first roper. DM NOTE- Natural twenty! Critical hit!

His sword pierced the rocky shell and the roper slid out of its casing. The meaty inside fell to the ground with a wet slap.

A final fireball from Virtue seared the second roper.

Ront stood up and began cutting off chunks of cooked roper, "Mmm, cave oyster!"

Pain investigated the humanoid body. It was a drow escapee. A nearby sack contained two spells crolls and a handfull of coins.

Ront choked on some roper meat and spat out a ring.

DM NOTE-  Gravity did more damage to the party than any encounter so far this entire campaign.

The passage eventually linked with the main cavern behind the plateau. The ground was littered with two dozen badly burned dead troglodytes. The smell was incredibly unpleasant.

Looking down to the left they could see the water-filled crater. It was swarming with tiny troglodyte larvae and water-orb mushrooms.

The party found six giant lizard mounts tied in a nearby grotto. At the rear of the grotto was a small concealed passage, barely large enough for a human to squeeze through.

A SCOUTING MISSION

Pain Grille'

Pain decided to investigate the concealed passage alone. The passage connected to an empty cave with two other exits. The passage to the left led into a room with a warm pool of water fed by a small waterfall  which Pain deduced was fed by the stream in the large cavern. The pool was filled with troglodyte larva like those found in the stream above. He left the pool and returned to the passage on the right.

The other passage crossed several fissures, some as wide as two feet. Glowing lava could be seen at the bottom of the cracks. Pain easily navigated the cracks in the floor but was surprised when a strange serpentine creature made of magma emerged from the nearest crack. The creature was little bigger than Pain himself.

Pain paused, uncertain how to react. The magma creature gave Pain a mischievous grin before spitting fire at Pain. Pain escaped and fled down the passage.

Pain encounters a Maga Mephit

Further down the passage Pain encountered another outlet for the pool in the adjacent passage. Some old zurkhwood planks were laid across the stream to make a makeshift bridge. He crossed the bridge and entered a room filled with old zurkhwood planks - the ruins of some kind of outpost that had long ago been scavenged. The passage ultimately reconnected with the main cavern and Pain rejoined the expedition.

The expedition rested in one of the side caves, away from the stench of the troglodytes, before continuing towards the Worm Nursery.

HANNE HALLEN

The expedition continues towards the Worm Nursery for several more rest cycles. Within a "day" of the nursery, they encounter a cave-in. The cave-in created a void and a huge pile of rubble. As they neared the cavern created by the void, a loud voice declared in Undercommon, "TURN BACK OR SUFFER A DEATH SO HORRIBLE YOU CANNOT IMAGINE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"

Pain spotted a young female drow hiding behind a large rock. He told her it was alright and that she could approach.

She stood tall and haughty, "Be warned, Overworlders! I am Hanne Hallen, daughter of Zhora Hallen, who is leader of the famed Dark Hunters! I am a powerful witch and I can spell your doom!"

Valerius waved her off, "Whatever. Let's go."

Ront gripped his greatsword, "Ront will KILL HER!"

Pain stayed the orc's blade, "Who are the Dark Hunters? What happened here?"

She defiantly replied, "The Dark Hunters scour the Wormwrithings for the eggs of the Purple Worm and return them to Menzoberranzan for use in powerful magical rituals! There was a cave-in. I survived with several of my warriors. Then we were attacked by troglodytes and my warriors were killed and captured. I alone managed to escape thanks to my powerful wizard spells!"

"Yeah, we saw some of your warriors. We rescued them after we killed all the troglodytes. They ran like frightened bitches," said Pain, bluntly, "Look, we're headed towards the Worm Nursery. You're free to stay here but you're also welcome to join us if you want."

The defiant performance of the teenaged drow gave way for a moment, revealing a glimmer of hope. She immediately regained the affectation of superiority, "I will allow you to serve as my entourage so that I may complete my mission! So be it!"

Pain rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Come on. You travel with her." The halfling indicated Willow.

Ront growled at the newcomer. Virtue mumbled something about killing at the first sign of... then trailed off.

Several miles later, the tablet of Garmin indicated that they were nearing their destination. There were no side passages. No entrances. Nothing to indicate the presence of the Worm Nursery. Suddenly, there was a massive tremor and the tunnel floor gave way beneath their feet! The expedition slid down a curving chute ten feet wide!

TO BE CONTINUED...