D&D 5E [IC] Uller's Out of the Abyss

"Well, Ez takes a deep breath, "I guess we're going around."

Surana looks in disgust at the murky passage and recalls the violent slop in the pool below Velkynvelve. "Agreed. There may be more than mud in there."

Ezraen groans at Surana's comment, "Let's hope not..."

You all turn around and start looking for another way, leaving Shuushar laying in the mud. He watches you, shrugs and resigns himself to the notion that you'd rather go around. He sloshes about one last time, rejoicing in the soothing moisture on his skin then rises back to his feet and joins you. Indicating a rising side passage, "The way around is this way."

The path rises and rises, winding up, up, often becoming vertical. You spend what seems like hours and hours climbing. It is grueling. You're not sure if you've climbed miles or if it is just your weakened state making you feel as if you have.

"You didn't say we were going over!" Eldeth complains.

"We're not. But we're having to get above The Chasm," Shuushar explains.

"The Chasm? You didn't say anyting about a Chasm!"

"You didn't ask. Here we are. That is The Chasm...half a mile wide. Five hundred feet deep. FIVE miles long..." Shuushar motions for Surana to direct her light stone toward a gaping darkness in front of you. The light seems to be swallowed as it meekly illuminates a great void filled with the blackness of eternal night. There is a path at the ledge leading down into the empty space but as you approach it, what you expect to be more darkness further below, you instead see what seems to be a hint of silvery reflections. Sparkles of light glinting off faint lines of...something. Shuushar's unblinking eyes stares at this and ponders. You can see he is hesitating...he didn't expect the chasm to be filled with what appears to be filled with a sea of you-don't-know-what.

Sarith kneels down near a rock and smiles wickedly. "Spider web" he says as he rises while pulling at a silken strand attached to the rock. "A hole, half a mile wide, five miles long and FILLED with spider webs. This should be good..."

But at that moment a voice comes from below you. "It's not that hard to cross, drow. We do it all the time!" Then another voice, higher pitched and raspier "Yeeeeahh. W-w-w-eee does it al-al-all the time! hahahahaha! For the right price, we'll show you the ways across."

You realize that there are too goblins resting on the ledge below you near the webs.

Jimjar helpfully points out in a whisper to Erevan "If we go back now and the drow are still following us, we're bound to run straight into them. We must cross!"

Ezraen stares down into the abyss that Erevan fell into. Shaken, he begins a prayer to the Dawnlord, Lathander, Please watch over 'Van, and usher him to his great rewards...

With a soft chuckle, tears stinging his eyes he continues, Help Yukyuk find Spiderbait too, they don't deserve that kind of betrayal.

Taking a deep breath, the half-drow paladin gets to his feet and snatches up the jar of grease. "Eldeth, light please. We have to get across without the goblins' help, and Surana's going to need the light to see."

"'Ana, you ready to go? The drow is right, we have to keep ahead of the hunting party."

Shuushar looks about, his fish eyes peering at different angles. He makes a gurgling-moaning sound...

Navigation check (DC 10): [roll0]

"Ah...yes...this way, I think." He points to a strand as thick as a dwarf's thumb sagging off into the blackness. "There is some grease on it. Like the goblins have used it before."



Turvy finally gets the hang of it and easily makes this second climb. Derendil on the other hand is still struggling, becomes stuck and is lagging behind (but at least he doesn't fall).

You manage to make it another 500 feet or so. You are now about a third of the way across the chasm by Shuushar's estimate. Nothing has accosted you on this leg of the trek, although as you worked to free Derendil, you'd swear you saw several sets of eyes flashing in the dark.

The web you are traversing comes to a great knot of webs attached to a greater web hanging from the ceiling unseen above you.

What do you do now? Continue on as you are?

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"Hey, Eldeth. The stout folk can divine the direction below ground, right? Could you lend any aid to Shuushar, to get us out of here?" Ezraen asks hopefully.