D&D 5E [IC] Uller's Out of the Abyss

Evandur Raulson is having a bad couple of days.

He hasn't lost faith in his deity as much as he has lost faith in himself. How could he have interpreted the signs so incorrectly? What was the Dawnbringer trying to tell him. Evandur knew not. Despair and feelings of failure were his constant companion, depiste not being alone.

A fellow Brother of the Lightblessed, Ezrean, had also been captured by the twisted subterranean elves. Mockeries of the surface elves, the drow were cruel, to say the least. In many circumstances, Evandur thought to himself, his paladin training and gifts from his deity would be more than enough to bear the pain. But with his recent ordeal, he wasn't so sure. He was unsure how Ezrean was faring, he hadn't yet talked to the dusky skinned half elf yet. He feared to. He didn't want his brother to see his own light so dim.

Buppido was vaguely interesting. The claim that he is a God at first brought thoughts of disbelief to the Paladin's mind, but after a few days, he was humbled by the fact that the Gods have done all manner of strange things to assist in the affairs on the surface. He had considered speaking with the self styled "derro", but once Buppido mentioned the dreams and his plan, Evandur recoiled back to his now dormant self. The others were having dreams? Were they too chosen? Are these dreams even the work of Lathander, like he had believed for so long? What does this mean for me? Day by day, recall after recall, dream by dream, Evandur lost another piece of himself.

Piercing through the fog in his mind and heart, he remembered vaguely the beatings he had recieved, the jeers from his captors at being "broken", the triumph in their voices from having bested a warrior of good. He knew he was breaking, but these drow were not a part of that. Happenstance, really. Thier pride was too much to see that.

The murder of the mage by Sarith was a surprise. Had Evandur been in the right state of mind, he probably would have made a valiant stand in the confusion to escape and free the rest. He probably would have failed. He wasn't sure what would have happened, he doubted his own abilities so much lately. Was he being punished? Is this the cost of of hubris? No, during the confusion, Evandur just sat there, staring at the body of the mage, bloodied and beaten, his own light (however dark) extinguished. As Sarith was put in chains, Evandur said nothing. He made no judgements on the drow's actions. He knew not what could cause the drow to betray his own men, whether he sought power and saw an opportunity, or just merely did not take kindly to being bullied. In the end, their situation was unchanged despite the drow joining them. They were prisoners of the drow, a prison of shackles, drugs, and despair, the light of the sun further than ever.

"All a part of the plan." Evandur heard the Derro/"God" say at the sight of the drow in chains. If there was a plan, Evandur wasn't privy to it. He didn't know if he would be ready for one if there was. The derro had laughed, nearly maniacally. Evandur remembered aksing himself if perhaps the Gods were mad. Maybe Evandur hadn't been chosen by Lathander at all for any greater purpose. Maybe Evandur was just a stray ray of sunlight that was never meant to illuminate anything more than the small shadow of forgotten moment. At this thought, Evandur had spoken a single word of defiance, offending himself at the thought of the Dawnbringer being mad.

Either mistaking his words as intended for them, or perhaps just drawing their attention in general by speaking for the first time, Evandur had been beaten particularly hard. He was pretty sure there would be scars from the lashes. These were nothing compared to the wounds he felt inside.

He had always wanted to be a hero, like the knights he had seen in Cormyr.

Instead, Evandur was here.

Orsik stand up with the spider in his hands, looks at the human, and says, "Moradin wills it. I be with ye."

(ooc: Sorry for the late response, this is the first chance I have gotten to post in the last few days)

Ezraen sat quietly, arms on his knees as he leaned on a rock. This was a test of his faith, he figured, what else could it be? The half-drow spent all his life gaining scars on his soul... The children at the orphanage... Villagers in his own hometown... That blasted noble... Ezraen thought he would never be accepted, but the salve for his scars was the faith. The Dawnlord had blessed him with one of His Chosen, a beacon to look up to. The half-drow looked to Evandur, mistaking his silence for meditation, He seems so calm... I will draw my strength from him.

When he awoke to find Sarith chained beside them, Ezraen tried to look into the eyes of the inscrutable drow. What makes you tick? Why did you snap and kill your friend? the young half-drow wondered.

A chuckle from Buppido pulled Ezraen from his reverie. "What is so funny, my friend?"

Erevan Aenovindë

Bruised and battered, pain flares in his head and makes Erevan wish he could go back to sleep. His head hurts, and now that the initial headache is starting to diminish, the rest of his body cries out in pain as well. With a moan he opens his eyes.

Darkness. How long has it been darkness, whether his eyes are open or closed? The elf does not know. All he knows is pain; pain and being humiliated. Captured by drow; most elves live their entire lives without ever seeing their evil subterranean kin, and Erevan is unlucky enough to be captured by them for gods know what scheme. Slavery or sacrifice, most likely. Neither appeals to him, but at least as a slave he would live.

As his eyes gradually adjust, Erevan notices that one of the drow is now among the ranks of the prisoners. Not feeling sorry for him, Erevan ignores Sarith and focuses on silently following the instructions of his captors. After all, he does not want to give them any excuse for beating him again; everything still hurts. If he obeys, perhaps his treatment would improve. Perhaps.

Learning that they are headed towards a drow outpost, Erevan hopes to find some refuge there; perhaps even some time to talk to his fellow prisoners and see if they can find a way to escape...

DMAesh said:

Ezraen sat quietly, arms on his knees as he leaned on a rock. This was a test of his faith, he figured, what else could it be? The half-drow spent all his life gaining scars on his soul... The children at the orphanage... Villagers in his own hometown... That blasted noble... Ezraen thought he would never be accepted, but the salve for his scars was the faith. The Dawnlord had blessed him with one of His Chosen, a beacon to look up to. The half-drow looked to Evandur, mistaking his silence for meditation, He seems so calm... I will draw my strength from him.

When he awoke to find Sarith chained beside them, Ezraen tried to look into the eyes of the inscrutable drow.

OOC: [roll0]

What makes you tick? Why did you snap and kill your friend? the young half-drow wondered.

A chuckle from Buppido pulled Ezraen from his reverie. "What is so funny, my friend?"

OOC: Answers to questions: 1) I try to read Sarith, to see if he is remorseful for what was done, full of hatred, etc. 2) If the drow start beating Evandur, Ezraen stands up to try to intervene. When the inevitable beatings begin, if one of the drow have a cloak pin or something, (something that could conceivably be used to pick a lock with) Ezraen attempts to "lift it" and snap off the pin part so that it looks like he just broke it in the act of defending himself. If possible, he will try to slip it into his clothing so that they don't see. [roll1] 3) After every beating, Ezraen mumbles, "Dawnlord be with you..."

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You hear Sarith say several times that he didn't do it. You can't get a read on whether he is being truthful or not. Remorse doesn't seem like a drow trait...regret for being caught, maybe....but not remorse.

The drow are generally too preoccupied with Sarith and what happened to entertain themselves much with beating anyone. But at one point Evandur seems so distracted or despondent that when told to get up and get moving he hardly seemed to notice. The drow knocked him to the ground and began kicking him. You are able to intervene and during the struggle you lift a small piece of jewelry made from wire that could be used for picking locks (it has little actual value...maybe 1gp). But you also manage something better...as one of the guards tosses you to the ground you feel something under your leg...a small shaft, like a thick quill. You pick it up and pocket it to inspect later and when you finally get a chance to look at it, you realize it's a hand crossbow bolt. It's tip stained dark with some unknown substance...likely the sleep poison you've already felt the effects of so many time.

JustinCase said:

Bruised and battered, pain flares in his head and makes Erevan wish he could go back to sleep. His head hurts, and now that the initial headache is starting to diminish, the rest of his body cries out in pain as well. With a moan he opens his eyes.

Darkness. How long has it been darkness, whether his eyes are open or closed? The elf does not know. All he knows is pain; pain and being humiliated. Captured by drow; most elves live their entire lives without ever seeing their evil subterranean kin, and Erevan is unlucky enough to be captured by them for gods know what scheme. Slavery or sacrifice, most likely. Neither appeals to him, but at least as a slave he would live.

As his eyes gradually adjust, Erevan notices that one of the drow is now among the ranks of the prisoners. Not feeling sorry for him, Erevan ignores Sarith and focuses on silently following the instructions of his captors. After all, he does not want to give them any excuse for beating him again; everything still hurts. If he obeys, perhaps his treatment would improve. Perhaps.

Learning that they are headed towards a drow outpost, Erevan hopes to find some refuge there; perhaps even some time to talk to his fellow prisoners and see if they can find a way to escape...

OOC: 1) Erevan minimizes his interaction with the NPCs until they reach the outpost, to avoid the "attention" of their captors. If at all possible, Erevan remains silent and follows instructions, appearing to be fully cooperating. 2) Erevan tries to fathom the relationships between the drow, such as their respective hierarchy or personal bonds, through observations. If the opportunity presents itself without too big a risk of being caught, Erevan tries to pocket small items from the drow, such as rope, shards, daggers, improvised thieves' tools; hiding them in his clothes to be stored away later. (Sleight of Hand check, if necessary: [roll0] 3) When unobserved, Erevan will place any potentially useful stolen item in the hands or clothes of Evandar or Ezraen, with a look that says, don't tell anyone.

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You're able to learn that Sarith is affiliated with a disgraced drow leader named Jorlan. Jorlan is believed to have lost Lolth's favor (the evidence is his supposedly horrific scar on his face) and was the consort of the priestess that commands the outpost (Velkenvelve) you are going to but has been replaced by Shoor, a younger drow from a more prominent family. Shoor is here leading the patrol back to Velkenvelve. Sarith had been charged with leading this patrol to prove he had not also lost Lolth's favor but you get the feeling Nildus was sent as much to ensure Sarith's disgrace as anything.

Sarith continually claims innocence. He says one moment Nildus was studying his spell books and the next he was lying dead. Sarith was meditating and hadn't noticed anyone.

You are unable to secure anything of use, but as the grogginess of the sleep poison wears off, you feel a lump in your boot, under your stocking...then you remember the gem. During your exploits right before capture you had "found" a small sapphire and hid it there...(ooc: add a 10gp sapphire to your inventory).

DMAesh said:

A chuckle from Buppido pulled Ezraen from his reverie. "What is so funny, my friend?"

Click to expand...

"Eh? Just marveling at the elegance of my plan. It seems so complex but it always comes together in ways that are beautiful and amusing."

Ezraen shakes his head in disbelief... "You'll have to tell me about this plan sometime... Especially if it gets us out of here..."

A small grin is visible on Erevan's face for a brief moment, as he remembers the sapphire in his boot. Ah yes; the gem he coveted. Unfortunately it was useless here, because there was no way to spend it or showcase it properly. Although... a plan occured to Erevan then; not a plan for escape, because that seemed impossible, but a way to upset the drow hierarchy. While having a short rest, Erevan removed the gem from his boot and holds it his hand, carefully hiding it from everyone.

During the long walk to Velkenvelve, Erevan pointedly looks down to his feet. When the caravan slows down, the elf pretends not to notice and stumbles into one of the drow guards. With a quick move of his hand, he slips the sapphire in the drow's pocket.

The moment Bertram tumbles out of the sack, he hisses like a cat and scampers to the farthest and darkest corner of the cell. There, he sits and quietly observes the group. When food is delivered, he scampers forward, grabs a handful, then retreats back to his corner. He eats very light, hoarding the food in a small hole he has made.

Every so often, Bertram will lock 'eyes' with the young Myconid. He has heard of such creatures below the surface but was unsure if they were friend or foe. He also watches the Deep Gnomes thoughtfully, trying to judge their worth.

When Surana mentions her plan to escape, he slowly smiles a wicked smile. This was the best place he could be in the whole compound.

"Human," he says after a long while, "Find me a blade... and I will carve you an exit slathered with drow blood."