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Dreams of Erthe
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8787219" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 34: UNDERDARK TRAILS</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 3/paladin 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 5/rogue 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 7</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Streggin Cavedelver, dwarf ranger 3</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 24 September 2022</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>"Hey kupo!" Mogo greeted the group of five dreamwalkers as they entered the Hallway of Dreams. "There's another set of dreamstones the Queen of Dreams would like you to fetch, kupo! Only one problem – it's deeper in the Underdark than you've ever been before, kupo!"</p><p></p><p>Mogo further explained the readings on these particular dreamstones were faint, possibly due to the deepness of the Underdark and possibly because none of the beings around the dreamstones were dreaming about them very often. As a result of the faint trace with this batch of dreamstones, there was no specific path to follow to get to them; the best the moogles could do was provide the correct entrance to the Underdark – and then after that it would be up to the adventurers. One thing Mogo was able to tell them was the pair of dreamstones had been carved into eyes and placed into the statue of a kobold, so it was probably a kobold warren they'd be looking for.</p><p></p><p>"Every once in a while we can make out an image near the location of the dreamstones, and it's always rows of kobolds lined up and facing the statue, kupo! It's almost like they worship it or something, kupo!"</p><p></p><p>The Underdark entrance was in the dwarven mining town of Agatesgate, so named because of the gem mines in the nearby mountains, where agates were recovered from beneath the earth. The dwarves were a friendly lot, although they were very focused on riches; not surprisingly, the city's primary deity wasn't Aerik but rather Farthingale, here depicted with dwarven features. The group decided to stock up on the items they envisioned needing on a journey deep underground, whereupon Thurloe, opting to pick up some pitons and a grappling hook, discovered the prices in Agatesgate were considerably higher than in other towns and cities they'd visited since they started wandering the continent coming to the rescue of trapped dreamers. He grumbled at the price increases, but he still made his purchases - to include 10 sunrods, three flasks of oil, and two vials of antitoxin. Like it or not, they weren't going to have the opportunity to make such purchases once they were wandering around in Underdark tunnels, for who knew how long they'd be down there?</p><p></p><p>"We ought to ask around, see if anybody knows anything about a kobold warren with a statue with eyes carved out of dreamstone," suggested Xandro. As this meant hitting the local watering holes, Thurloe was all for it - although he soon discovered dwarven ale was much stronger than the alcoholic beverages with which he was more familiar. Still, Xandro's good nature and way with people - not to mention Alewyth's presence, which got a lot of the local men talking with her, if not the others - soon led to confirmation that at least one dwarf had seen a kobold statue of the type they described. Sadly, he was dead, but a friend of his had heard the tale enough times before he was able to scratch out a map of the rough location. "Coupla days of travel there," he advised. "As much time as ye need dealin' with th' kobolds, an' then coupla days back. A week, tops."</p><p></p><p>Another dwarf suggested if they were going to spend a week in the Underdark, they'd be foolish not to hire a guide - and as it happened, his cousin was one of the best. The group agreed to meet with him, and soon enough they had <strong>Streggin Cavedelver</strong> on the payroll for 25 pieces of gold a day. Streggin had never been to the kobold warren they were looking for, but he looked over the hand-drawn map and suggested everyone pack for a week's journey. When he asked about their willingness to rough it in the wild, he was amazed when they showed him their magic lamp - they wouldn't need to "rough it" quite so much after all!</p><p></p><p>Naturally, they'd be leaving their animals and wagon behind them, so they got them settled into a stable and Scarlie Besker settled into an inn, with promises they should be back in a week or less. He in turn promised to check on the animals daily and ensure they were being well tended to. Then, deciding it would be best to get a fresh start in the morning, they adjourned to the interior of the magic lamp for a good night's rest.</p><p></p><p>Meeting up with Streggin in the morning, they entered the agate mine and were escorted to a vertical shaft in the back, which was under constant guard by a quartet of dwarven fighters. "No tellin' what might try t' find its way up here," one of them told Alewyth. "But we're ready fer anythin' might think about poppin' its head up an' botherin' our miners."</p><p></p><p>Even entering the Underdark led to the group's first decision. The entry hole was about 90 feet down a nearly vertical shaft, in some places narrow enough there wouldn't be room enough for two people side by side. Streggin was all for heading down one at a time - he even volunteered to go down first, in case there were any dangers waiting down there for them - but Wakuren came up with a much simpler solution. "Why don't you all go into the lamp, I'll pick it up, cast a <em>gaseous form</em> spell, and fly on down to the bottom. Then I can dismiss the spell and you can all come on out again."</p><p></p><p>"Save your spell - we might want it later," Thurloe advised. "I'm a decent climber; you all get into the lamp and I'll carry it down."</p><p></p><p>"Yeah, but if you fall you could get seriously hurt - and possibly damage the lamp," Wakuren countered.</p><p></p><p>"Are you doubting my abilities?" Thurloe demanded. "Anyway, I'm already hammering in a piton, see? We can tie our two lengths of rope together and it'll be no problem." And as far as he was concerned, that was the end of it. Wakuren just shrugged and led everyone else into the lamp. Thurloe climbed down without incident, then popped back inside to let everyone know they were at the bottom of the shaft and the way was clear. The dwarven guards above warned him they were pulling the rope back up, but to give them a holler when they were ready to climb back up. "Dinnae wanna make it easy fer any others what might wanna climb on up here!" he advised.</p><p></p><p>There were two passages from this starting point beneath the agate mines. In the light of Zander Quilson's <em>everburning torch</em>, Wakuren pulled out the hand-drawn map and examined the notes the elderly dwarf had written for them. "It looks like we want the left tunnel," he said, folding the map back up. Streggin nodded and led the way.</p><p></p><p>The tunnel meandered a bit, veering off one way before darting back the other, and the passageway's width and height varied wildly as well, on occasion opening up into a cavern with a ceiling height beyond the illumination of Zander's <em>everburning torch</em>, while in other places it called for walking single file and hunched over because that was the only way to make any forward progress. But after about 40 minutes, the "sameness" of the Underdark trail was broken by the discovery of a skeleton lying face-down just ahead, in an area where the tunnel made one of its random right-angle turns.</p><p></p><p>Streggin, as usual, was in the lead and he stopped suddenly when he spotted the skeleton, raising his hand to warn the others to hold up. There were no other creatures visible in the vicinity, but the skeleton had obviously been used as a food source, given the torn pieces of leather scattered about, likely where it had been ripped from the corpse's armor so whatever predator or scavenger had been making a meal of the dead dwarf - even at this range, Streggin could tell the remains were about the size and shape of a dwarf, probably a duergar - could get to the meat beneath. There was a light crossbow lying on the stone floor by the skeleton's side, and a quiver with a dozen or so bolts scattered nearby.</p><p></p><p>The others, stopping in place as directed by their dwarven scout, took the opportunity for some spellcasting; after all, if the predator was still about there was a good chance they'd be fighting it off soon. Zander cast a <em>mage armor</em> spell upon himself; Thurloe did likewise and then fired off a <em>shield</em> spell from his wand. Streggin had been looking this way and that, and eventually, he pointed up to the ceiling directly above the skeleton. "See that?" he asked his charges.</p><p></p><p>"What?" asked Thurloe, looking up where the dwarf was pointing. "That bald spot?" The ceiling, which held dripping stalactites of various sizes, had an area directly above the skeletal remains devoid of such hangings - and the ceiling was slightly lower than the surrounding area as well.</p><p></p><p>"Yep. That 'bald spot' is what we call a lurker above - a fairly large one, too." In the light from Zander Quilson's <em>everburning torch</em>, Thurloe could make out the creature's basic shape - it was rather like a levitating manta ray or something hovering up at the top of the cavern's ceiling.</p><p></p><p>"We could easily bypass it," pointed out Wakuren. "Everyone could jump into the lamp, and I'll pick it up and cast <em>gaseous form</em> on myself."</p><p></p><p>"But it'll still be alive when we need to come back this way, after we fetch the dreamstones," argued Alewyth. "And if it killed that dwarf, we know it attacks sentient creatures - it's a menace we should deal with."</p><p></p><p>Zander cast a <em>mage hand</em> spell and used it to drag the light crossbow from the dead dwarf's side, over to him. He watched the lurker above to see if the movement would trigger an attack, but apparently its senses knew the difference between an inanimate object being pulled away and an actual, living creature directly below it waiting to be attacked and devoured. Perhaps due to the constricting passageways jutting out in two directions from the larger cavern in which it hung about, it was apparently content to wait for prey to pass by beneath it; while it could probably constrict itself somehow and squeeze through the narrower tunnels (and in fact would have had to to have gotten to its present position), that didn't seem to be its first choice in the matter.</p><p></p><p>Slowly, the heroes all inched forward, weapons drawn and ready to attack if the lurker above made a move for them. Finally, Alewyth cast a <em>spiritual weapon</em> and sent a magical warhammer flying up to smash into the creature's underside. Zander almost immediately followed up with a <em>scorching ray</em> spell, likewise hitting it on the bottom part of its hovering body. Streggin fired his light crossbow at it, while Wakuren activated his <em>gauntlet of Cal</em> and sent a <em>javelin of lightning</em> crashing up against it as well.</p><p></p><p>Under the combined onslaught, the lurker above finally deemed to act. Flapping its two "wings" and spinning in place to face these attackers, it shot forward - but Thurloe blasted it with his <em>wand of magic missiles</em> and it died on its way down, its body hitting short of any of its intended targets. Its corpse did land upon the skeletal dwarf, forcing the group to lift one wing high enough for Zander to scramble beneath it to fetch the quiver, which held a total of eleven bolts. A quick <em>detect magic</em> spell confirmed the dead dwarf's light crossbow had a minor enchantment guiding the bolts fired from it, and as a result both it and the quiver of bolts were given to Xandro, who was fairly lacking in the ranged attack department. The threat handily dealt with, the group trekked on, Streggin Cavedelver leading the way.</p><p></p><p>After another hour or more of travel, the narrow passageway led into a much wider tunnel leading from side to side. There was another dwarven body lying upon the ground, with dwarven runes carved into the wall above him and off to the left a bit. Alewyth moved forward to examine the runes while Wakuren went over to look at the corpse. It was a duergar, no doubt about it, and unlike the one the lurker above had been eating this one had been slain fairly recently - within the past hour, by the half-orc's estimation. Streggin examined the corpse, noting something the others hadn't noticed: he was wearing chain mail armor and had a heavy steel shield at his side and a light crossbow strapped to his back, but no melee weapon. "Looks to be a typical duergar guard," the dwarven scout explained, "but any duergar in his right mind would have some sort of weapon at hand for hand-to-hand fighting."</p><p></p><p>"How'd he die?" Thurloe asked.</p><p></p><p>"Blow to the head," Streggin answered, rolling the body over so the spellsword could see the caved-in part of the gray dwarf's skull. "Simple bludgeoning weapon, likely: a hammer or club'd be my guess."</p><p></p><p>Alewyth returned to the others. "Dwarven runes," she said. "It's a warning that there's a duergar slave city that way." She pointed off to the left.</p><p></p><p>"That's not the way we need to go, is it?" Zander asked. Wakuren got out the map and they examined it in the elf's magic torchlight. "Nope, we go the other way," Streggin answered.</p><p></p><p>"Let's go, then," suggested Thurloe.</p><p></p><p>They headed off to the right, the wider passageway allowing them to spread out a bit instead of the single file they'd been forced to follow for a large section of the trip thus far. The passageway led into an enormous cavern ahead, from which the sounds of dripping water could be heard. But the closer they got to the cavern, the worse the air started to smell. It wasn't the odor of bad gas, or toxic fumes - more in the line of an animal stench, similar to that produced by the troglodytes they'd faced the last time they went delving into the Underdark, although this stench wasn't quite like that: it was less reptilian and more insectile. The reason for this became abundantly clear once they actually entered the cavern proper, and saw a few giant cockroaches in the light of the <em>everburning torch</em>. Alewyth, Wakuren, and Streggin could see much farther than the light's illumination and they saw a full nine of the giant insects - plus the fact that three of them were being ridden by large, shaggy-furred individuals, humanoid in build but with features slightly reminiscent of bears.</p><p></p><p>"Quaggoths!" swore Streggin under his breath, apparently much more familiar with the creatures than was Alewyth, who'd never seen such beings before. Fortunately, the quaggoths all had their backs turned, examining the various smaller exits from the tunnel, as if deciding which one to take. This gave Wakuren enough time to discern their auras and confirm that while the cockroaches bore no stain of evil, the shaggy-furred quaggoths certainly did.</p><p></p><p>Not liking the prospects of having to fight giant bugs, Thurloe unstoppered a vial of antitoxin and swigged down its contents, certain there was likely some sort of toxin or poison involved in the stomach-churning stanch the cockroaches put off. Before any of them got too far away from each other - and knowing that happened all too often once combat began - Zander cast a <em>haste</em> spell on the assembled group. Streggin already had a bolt loaded into his crossbow and was cautiously moving up, Xandro mirroring the dwarf ranger's actions with his own new light crossbow. Alewyth cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell upon herself as she advanced, <em>Sjondra</em> in hand.</p><p></p><p>But before any of them could attack, one of the quaggoths turned around and noticed the light and called out a warning to the others. All three mounted quaggoths spun their insectile mounts about, and they no doubt warned the other six using some subtle pheromones or antennae movements, for the other cockroaches spun about in place to face the heroes as well. The quaggoths nudged their mounts forward into a charge, and Wakuren and the dwarves couldn't help but notice that while two of the white-furred creatures wielded what looked like broken-off stalagmites as clubs, the third had a warhammer of likely duergar make; it seemed as if the heroes had found the ones responsible for the dead duergar guard whose remains they'd discovered in the wide tunnel behind them.</p><p></p><p>Before the charging giant cockroaches could reach them, Wakuren cast a summoning spell and a celestial bison appeared in the middle of the cavern. Without waiting for instructions from its summoner, the shaggy bovine slammed its great, horned head into the side of one of the mounted quaggoths. But then the cockroaches reached their targets, one biting at Thurloe, three going for Alewyth, and four ganging up on the celestial bison. The stench only increased as a result of their actions, and Xandro, Zander, and Streggin found their stomachs churning in turmoil as a result of the horrific stench. They could only guess the quaggoths either had some natural immunity, had built up a tolerance, or just had iron stomachs, for none of them seemed discomfited in the least.</p><p></p><p>Thurloe brought his magical bastard sword slashing down into the hardened carapace of the giant cockroach before him, one of the six not currently being ridden. Alewyth, seeing the logic behind Wakuren's summoning, took a step back from the cockroach attacking her and summoned a celestial bison of her own. But by then two of the quaggoths advanced upon her, striking at her with stone greatclub and duergar-forged warhammer, and it was all she could do to block the blows with <em>Sjondra</em>. The other quaggoth was fighting back against the bison Wakuren had summoned, but it retaliated with a smiting attack with holy energy channeled through its horns.</p><p></p><p>The half-orc leapt into battle, swinging his shield onto the side of one of the quaggoths attacking Alewyth and almost knocking him from the giant cockroach's back, for Wakuren could see these shaggy riders used no saddles. Thurloe kept swinging his bastard sword against the cockroach trying to make a meal of him, looking back in disdain at Streggin and the two members of his own team who were currently nauseated by the cockroach stench to the point they couldn't contribute to the battle at hand. "Shake it off!" he yelled at the vomiting trio, not understanding why everyone wasn't as tough as he was. Obviously, they just weren't trying hard enough, that was the problem!</p><p></p><p>Alewyth's <em>Sjondra</em> took out one of the quaggoths with a well-targeted blow to the side of its shaggy head; it slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap while its insectoid mount tried biting at the dwarven priestess. But the other quaggoth - the probable leader, given he was the one wielding the duregar warhammer - got in a good blow of his own, nearly dropping Alewyth to her knees. Wakuren wasn't close enough to reach the other quaggoth, so he used the full amount of strength coursing through his half-orc body to bring the bottom point of his shield crashing down upon the mount of the quaggoth Alewyth had just slain. It gashed the side of the insect's head, slicing through a shiny, domed eye.</p><p></p><p>The other quaggoth was still focused upon fighting off a celestial bison, and the shaggy beast in turn seemed intent to slay that particular quaggoth. The other bison, in the meantime, satisfied itself with goring any and all giant cockroaches within reach. The insects, for their part, snapped their horrible mouthparts at any foe they could reach. But Thurloe's sword sliced deep into the carapace of the one he'd been fighting, nearly killing it, just as the nauseous trio started coming around. Zander hobbled forward and lined up a <em>lightning bolt</em> spell that not only slew the cockroach Thurloe had been fighting but also dealt some heavy damage to two others further back in the cavern. Streggin's crossbow twanged and a bolt stuck out from another cockroach's eye as its twin antennae whipped about in pain and fury. Alewyth almost knocked down her remaining quaggoth foe from his insectoid mount's carapaced back with a hearty blow from <em>Sjondra</em>. And then from the back of the cavern, the inspiring sounds of Xandro's favorite courage-inducing song could be heard, buoying the spirits of the heroes who were being wordlessly reminded of all of the various other foes they'd overcome in the past. Xandro had come to the conclusion his magic song would aid the group's battle overall much better than could another light crossbow being brought to bear; while the song wasn't creating any direct damage on its own, it was allowing his friends to each do better in their own fights: striking faster, with more power behind each strike.</p><p></p><p>The two quaggoths, perhaps fearing the eventual end result of this skirmish, started an all-out attack on their foes, one raining blows down upon Alewyth and the other finally slaying the first celestial bison that had been summoned to the fight. But by then Wakuren had made it to his fellow cleric's side and, fury blazing in his eyes, the powerful blow from his shield slew the offending quaggoth outright.</p><p></p><p>That seemed to be the turning point in the battle. Thurloe waded up and killed another wounded giant cockroach with his bastard sword, while the remaining bison crushed another beneath its stomping hooves. Streggin and Alewyth started attacking giant cockroaches as well once another <em>scorching ray</em> cast by Zander took out the last remaining quaggoth. Even Xandro decided he'd done enough support work with his music and, sliding the strap of his <em>Dardolian lute</em> back over his shoulder, drew his <em>frost short sword</em> and charged to the attack.</p><p></p><p>But that's when four more foes entered the combat. These were a pair of enormous spiders, much like tarantulas in build, but ridden by a pair of gray dwarves: a pair of duergar kavalrachni, or steeder-mounted cavalry, having been appointed to hunt down the escaped quaggoth slaves responsible for the death of the duergar guard the heroes had discovered. And while the kavalrachni could already see the quaggoth slaves had been slain, there looked to be a handful of various humanoids - a couple of surface dwarves, a pair of humans, a skinny elf, and some sort of mongrel orc - that could easily be gathered up to take their places.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren could see by the evil grins on the gray dwarves' faces - to say nothing of the evil suffusing their auras - their intentions toward him and decided to toss another <em>javelin of lightning</em> their way. As the spider-riders were lined up single file as they entered the cavern from a side tunnel, he managed to get all four with his blast of electricity. By this point, the giant cockroaches had all decided to flee the scene, although one passed close enough to both Thurloe and Wakuren that their reflexive attacks on it as it passed slew the giant bug outright.</p><p></p><p>As the steeders advanced, their hairy, banded legs moving like pistons, Thurloe shot at one of the duergar kavalrachni with his <em>wand of magic missile</em>. Zander cast a <em>scorching ray</em> spell, splitting the bolts between the two duergar, killing one of them (although the special saddles each steeder wore into battle kept the corpse in place). Alewyth centered an <em>order's wrath</em> spell to hit both steeders, both duergar, and one fleeing giant cockroach, causing no small amount of damage to each. The sole remaining celestial bison, farther away from the approaching kavalrachni than the scurrying cockroaches, stabbed at the nearest insect and slew it with its horns before its time on the Material Plane expired and it returned to its home in the Heavens.</p><p></p><p>One steeder climbed up the side of the cavern wall, temporarily out of melee combat range, while the other one, its rider dead and no longer giving it battle-prompts, scrambled over to the nearest dead cockroach and started dripping digestive acids upon its carapaced corpse. Then the one on the wall leaped forward and landed beside Alewyth, the duergar swinging at her leg with a battleaxe, hoping to lame her so she could more easily be taken as a slave. But Alewyth managed to step away from the axe in time for it to go swishing harmlessly before her. But he hadn't counted on Wakuren's battle-lust; the half-orc, as bloodthirsty as any of the orc raiders they'd fought in the desert weeks before, sent the edge of his shield slamming into the kavalrach's neck with every ounce of strength he possessed and the duergar's spine snapped under the onslaught. That left only the two steeders (for the giant cockroaches still alive had managed to scramble out of side-passageways from the cavern by that time), and Zander and Thurloe took them down with a few spells.</p><p></p><p>Wakuren felt his heartrate slow down now that combat was over and, his mind once again better able to focus on the priorities at hand, helped Alewyth cast healing spells upon those who needed them. Then, once a quick <em>detect magic</em> spell determined none of the equipment wielded by the duergar or quaggoths had been magical, the group pressed on, exiting through one of the passageways a few of the fleeing cockroaches had taken. But the panicked insects must have taken a few side branches after that, for the group never did see any of them again as they followed the path prescribed on their hand-drawn map.</p><p></p><p>Their next encounter wasn't until hours later, after they'd opted to take a quick break inside the magic lamp to take a meal. With Streggin once again taking the lead (for the passageway had narrowed a bit again), they came upon a junction with a wider tunnel and there before them stood a gray-skinned stone giant and a cave bear - a bruin easily twice or even three times larger than any bear the heroes had seen on the surface world. The stone giant carried a massive greatclub made of solid rock and wore an expression of weariness upon his craggy brow as he turned toward the sudden source of illumination.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, Thurloe - often one of the first to leap into battle - picked up on the giant's expression and saw in it a willingness not to fight, if that were at all possible. "Greetings," he called to the giant before him. "Do you speak this language?"</p><p></p><p>"Some. Enough," replied the giant, shifting his grip on his weapon in case it became necessary to use it.</p><p></p><p>"Are you okay?" Thurloe asked.</p><p></p><p>"Hungry," admitted the giant, which did nothing to convince the others that battle wasn't on the table after all. But then he continued, "All day, hunting cavern lizard, track him to lair. But hole too small. Can't reach him."</p><p></p><p>Thurloe saw the obvious solution and voiced it on behalf of the group. "We don't want to have to fight you, we just want to pass by and be on our way. But what if we help you get that lizard you're after?"</p><p></p><p>"I have a <em>soften earth and stone</em> spell at hand," Alewyth proffered up. "I could widen the hole for you." The stone giant, <strong>Lorgar Borgusson</strong>, agreed at once and held back his cave bear, <strong>Brienda</strong>, who seemed perfectly willing to dine upon one of these strangers instead of the cavern lizard they'd been tracking all day. But after Alewyth cast her spell, widening the hole to the lizard's den, the group decided to slay the lizard on the giant's behalf and get even further on his good side. This worked wonders, and once they'd told Lorgar where they were headed, he had even better news for them: not only were they going to be allowed to pass by unharmed, he could even give them pointers on where to find the kobold warren they were searching for, for he'd been that way and seen the statue for himself, some time ago. Looking over their map, he agreed the path as drawn would get them there, but he added a few details on what type of landmarks to look for before each of the required turns into a new tunnel. "Got another six, maybe seven hours of travel ahead of you," Lorgar advised, not exactly sure how fast these little people could travel.</p><p></p><p>Thanking the stone giant and allowing him to enjoy the cavern lizard repast with his cave bear pet, the group moved on. And it was several hours later that they met with the last of that day's encounters. It wasn't a particularly dangerous encounter, but it was definitely the most puzzling and one that would cause them a considerable amount of worry. The passageway narrowed again and started twisting back and forth like a snake, so it wasn't possible to see very far ahead of where they were going. With Streggin once more in the lead and Zander - and his <em>everburning torch</em> - safely in the middle of the formation, the group moved on and almost bumped into a svirfneblin woman who had been moving down the tunnel toward them, apparently lost in her own thoughts.</p><p></p><p>"Eep!" she said upon turning the corner and seeing Streggin Cavedelver standing immediately before her. Behind the dwarf stood Thurloe and Wakuren, then Zander, and finally Alewyth and Xandro bringing up the rear. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the assembled group and a shudder raced down her body. A strange word, likely of Gnomish origin, spilled from her lips - followed almost immediately by a flow of blood. More blood dripped from each of her nostrils and from her ears, as she began leaking tears of blood as well. She immediately staggered to one knee, then fell onto her side, her hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically.</p><p></p><p>"What's happening?" demanded Alewyth from the back of the group, unable to see past the press of bodies before her. But Thurloe was at the little svirfneblin's side in a moment, pulling the cork stopper to a healing potion as he knelt beside the young woman's body, ready to pour its contents down her throat. Wakuren knelt by her side, the words to his most powerful healing spell coming to his tongue. But the deep gnome's body gave a final shudder and Wakuren could see it was too late for any healing spells - the svirfneblin woman was dead. He told Thurloe not to bother with his potion.</p><p></p><p>"What just happened?" Thurloe demanded, looking all about him for an unseen attacker. "How'd she die, that quick?" With a sudden horrific thought, he pulled his cloak forward to cover his own face and demanded, "Is it poison gas? Are we under attack?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't think so," Alewyth replied, casting a <em>detect poison</em> spell and looking around the group, knowing full well some gases couldn't be seen by the naked eye. But while the air around them was clear, the svirfneblin's body was definitely full of poison.</p><p></p><p>"What was that word she said?" Wakuren asked. "Did anybody catch it?"</p><p></p><p>"It were Gnomish, all right," Streggin replied. Thinking of how best to translate it into the Common tongue, he finally settled on "deathborn."</p><p></p><p>"Deathborn?" repeated Thurloe. "What's that - the name of the poison that killed her?"</p><p></p><p>"That, I couldn't say," Streggin admitted.</p><p></p><p>"I don't like this," Zander admitted.</p><p></p><p>"Me neither," added Xandro.</p><p></p><p>"We'd best press on," suggested Streggin. Alewyth felt sorry for the svirfneblin and wanted to bury her, but the ranger advised against it - especially since her body was riddled with whatever virulent poison caused her to spill out her life's blood from each of her facial orifices. The dwarven priestess finally bowed to the inevitable and pressed on.</p><p></p><p>The group put another hour or two of travel behind them before deciding to camp out in the lamp overnight. "At this rate, we'll be at the kobold warren before mid-day meal," advised Streggin. It didn't cheer up any of the heroes much; they were still worried about what had caused the svirfbneblin to die like that right in front of them with no apparent cause.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>I had warned the group that this adventure was just a "travel" adventure: a series of Underdark encounters with a few creatures they hadn't met up with before. (Well, with the possible exception of Dan, who had played AD&D first edition as a kid and likely had met up with a lurker above and/or quaggoths in past campaigns.) And Harry came through: as a result of his excellent Gather Information rolls in Agatesgate, he not only got word of Streggin Cavedelver as a potential guide but also got them a map to follow. (Without the map, they'd have had to decide which way to go on several occasions, which would have resulted in other encounters they were able to bypass. So they avoided combats with darkmantles, piercers, a phantom fungus, and a choker.) And because those avoided encounters lessened the length of time it took for us to go through this adventure, we had time to go through the next one as well, in which the PCs met up with the kobold warren and found the statue with the dreamstone eyes they'd been sent to fetch.</p><p></p><p>By the way, this was the first time we played since Joe went off to college, so his dad, Dan, ran Zander Quilson as well as his own PC, Thurloe. I did up stats for Streggin as well, and Logan opted to run him. But apparently the next time we play - on 8 October - Joe will be joining us, so he'll be back to running his own PC for at least that one session. In the meantime, I'll write up the second adventure we played this session, "Dreamstone Vision," hopefully posting it before we play one week from today.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>T-shirt worn: My USA shirt, with fireworks on the top and a symbol somewhat reminiscent of Captain America's original (non-round) shield below. I chose it because the T-shirt itself is gray - a good representation of the stone passageways in the Underdark the PCs would be traversing - and also because I mentally gave the acronym a different meaning: "Underdark Survival Adventure."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8787219, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 34: UNDERDARK TRAILS[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 3/paladin 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 5/rogue 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 7[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Streggin Cavedelver, dwarf ranger 3[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 24 September 2022 - - - "Hey kupo!" Mogo greeted the group of five dreamwalkers as they entered the Hallway of Dreams. "There's another set of dreamstones the Queen of Dreams would like you to fetch, kupo! Only one problem – it's deeper in the Underdark than you've ever been before, kupo!" Mogo further explained the readings on these particular dreamstones were faint, possibly due to the deepness of the Underdark and possibly because none of the beings around the dreamstones were dreaming about them very often. As a result of the faint trace with this batch of dreamstones, there was no specific path to follow to get to them; the best the moogles could do was provide the correct entrance to the Underdark – and then after that it would be up to the adventurers. One thing Mogo was able to tell them was the pair of dreamstones had been carved into eyes and placed into the statue of a kobold, so it was probably a kobold warren they'd be looking for. "Every once in a while we can make out an image near the location of the dreamstones, and it's always rows of kobolds lined up and facing the statue, kupo! It's almost like they worship it or something, kupo!" The Underdark entrance was in the dwarven mining town of Agatesgate, so named because of the gem mines in the nearby mountains, where agates were recovered from beneath the earth. The dwarves were a friendly lot, although they were very focused on riches; not surprisingly, the city's primary deity wasn't Aerik but rather Farthingale, here depicted with dwarven features. The group decided to stock up on the items they envisioned needing on a journey deep underground, whereupon Thurloe, opting to pick up some pitons and a grappling hook, discovered the prices in Agatesgate were considerably higher than in other towns and cities they'd visited since they started wandering the continent coming to the rescue of trapped dreamers. He grumbled at the price increases, but he still made his purchases - to include 10 sunrods, three flasks of oil, and two vials of antitoxin. Like it or not, they weren't going to have the opportunity to make such purchases once they were wandering around in Underdark tunnels, for who knew how long they'd be down there? "We ought to ask around, see if anybody knows anything about a kobold warren with a statue with eyes carved out of dreamstone," suggested Xandro. As this meant hitting the local watering holes, Thurloe was all for it - although he soon discovered dwarven ale was much stronger than the alcoholic beverages with which he was more familiar. Still, Xandro's good nature and way with people - not to mention Alewyth's presence, which got a lot of the local men talking with her, if not the others - soon led to confirmation that at least one dwarf had seen a kobold statue of the type they described. Sadly, he was dead, but a friend of his had heard the tale enough times before he was able to scratch out a map of the rough location. "Coupla days of travel there," he advised. "As much time as ye need dealin' with th' kobolds, an' then coupla days back. A week, tops." Another dwarf suggested if they were going to spend a week in the Underdark, they'd be foolish not to hire a guide - and as it happened, his cousin was one of the best. The group agreed to meet with him, and soon enough they had [B]Streggin Cavedelver[/B] on the payroll for 25 pieces of gold a day. Streggin had never been to the kobold warren they were looking for, but he looked over the hand-drawn map and suggested everyone pack for a week's journey. When he asked about their willingness to rough it in the wild, he was amazed when they showed him their magic lamp - they wouldn't need to "rough it" quite so much after all! Naturally, they'd be leaving their animals and wagon behind them, so they got them settled into a stable and Scarlie Besker settled into an inn, with promises they should be back in a week or less. He in turn promised to check on the animals daily and ensure they were being well tended to. Then, deciding it would be best to get a fresh start in the morning, they adjourned to the interior of the magic lamp for a good night's rest. Meeting up with Streggin in the morning, they entered the agate mine and were escorted to a vertical shaft in the back, which was under constant guard by a quartet of dwarven fighters. "No tellin' what might try t' find its way up here," one of them told Alewyth. "But we're ready fer anythin' might think about poppin' its head up an' botherin' our miners." Even entering the Underdark led to the group's first decision. The entry hole was about 90 feet down a nearly vertical shaft, in some places narrow enough there wouldn't be room enough for two people side by side. Streggin was all for heading down one at a time - he even volunteered to go down first, in case there were any dangers waiting down there for them - but Wakuren came up with a much simpler solution. "Why don't you all go into the lamp, I'll pick it up, cast a [I]gaseous form[/I] spell, and fly on down to the bottom. Then I can dismiss the spell and you can all come on out again." "Save your spell - we might want it later," Thurloe advised. "I'm a decent climber; you all get into the lamp and I'll carry it down." "Yeah, but if you fall you could get seriously hurt - and possibly damage the lamp," Wakuren countered. "Are you doubting my abilities?" Thurloe demanded. "Anyway, I'm already hammering in a piton, see? We can tie our two lengths of rope together and it'll be no problem." And as far as he was concerned, that was the end of it. Wakuren just shrugged and led everyone else into the lamp. Thurloe climbed down without incident, then popped back inside to let everyone know they were at the bottom of the shaft and the way was clear. The dwarven guards above warned him they were pulling the rope back up, but to give them a holler when they were ready to climb back up. "Dinnae wanna make it easy fer any others what might wanna climb on up here!" he advised. There were two passages from this starting point beneath the agate mines. In the light of Zander Quilson's [I]everburning torch[/I], Wakuren pulled out the hand-drawn map and examined the notes the elderly dwarf had written for them. "It looks like we want the left tunnel," he said, folding the map back up. Streggin nodded and led the way. The tunnel meandered a bit, veering off one way before darting back the other, and the passageway's width and height varied wildly as well, on occasion opening up into a cavern with a ceiling height beyond the illumination of Zander's [I]everburning torch[/I], while in other places it called for walking single file and hunched over because that was the only way to make any forward progress. But after about 40 minutes, the "sameness" of the Underdark trail was broken by the discovery of a skeleton lying face-down just ahead, in an area where the tunnel made one of its random right-angle turns. Streggin, as usual, was in the lead and he stopped suddenly when he spotted the skeleton, raising his hand to warn the others to hold up. There were no other creatures visible in the vicinity, but the skeleton had obviously been used as a food source, given the torn pieces of leather scattered about, likely where it had been ripped from the corpse's armor so whatever predator or scavenger had been making a meal of the dead dwarf - even at this range, Streggin could tell the remains were about the size and shape of a dwarf, probably a duergar - could get to the meat beneath. There was a light crossbow lying on the stone floor by the skeleton's side, and a quiver with a dozen or so bolts scattered nearby. The others, stopping in place as directed by their dwarven scout, took the opportunity for some spellcasting; after all, if the predator was still about there was a good chance they'd be fighting it off soon. Zander cast a [I]mage armor[/I] spell upon himself; Thurloe did likewise and then fired off a [I]shield[/I] spell from his wand. Streggin had been looking this way and that, and eventually, he pointed up to the ceiling directly above the skeleton. "See that?" he asked his charges. "What?" asked Thurloe, looking up where the dwarf was pointing. "That bald spot?" The ceiling, which held dripping stalactites of various sizes, had an area directly above the skeletal remains devoid of such hangings - and the ceiling was slightly lower than the surrounding area as well. "Yep. That 'bald spot' is what we call a lurker above - a fairly large one, too." In the light from Zander Quilson's [I]everburning torch[/I], Thurloe could make out the creature's basic shape - it was rather like a levitating manta ray or something hovering up at the top of the cavern's ceiling. "We could easily bypass it," pointed out Wakuren. "Everyone could jump into the lamp, and I'll pick it up and cast [I]gaseous form[/I] on myself." "But it'll still be alive when we need to come back this way, after we fetch the dreamstones," argued Alewyth. "And if it killed that dwarf, we know it attacks sentient creatures - it's a menace we should deal with." Zander cast a [I]mage hand[/I] spell and used it to drag the light crossbow from the dead dwarf's side, over to him. He watched the lurker above to see if the movement would trigger an attack, but apparently its senses knew the difference between an inanimate object being pulled away and an actual, living creature directly below it waiting to be attacked and devoured. Perhaps due to the constricting passageways jutting out in two directions from the larger cavern in which it hung about, it was apparently content to wait for prey to pass by beneath it; while it could probably constrict itself somehow and squeeze through the narrower tunnels (and in fact would have had to to have gotten to its present position), that didn't seem to be its first choice in the matter. Slowly, the heroes all inched forward, weapons drawn and ready to attack if the lurker above made a move for them. Finally, Alewyth cast a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] and sent a magical warhammer flying up to smash into the creature's underside. Zander almost immediately followed up with a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell, likewise hitting it on the bottom part of its hovering body. Streggin fired his light crossbow at it, while Wakuren activated his [I]gauntlet of Cal[/I] and sent a [I]javelin of lightning[/I] crashing up against it as well. Under the combined onslaught, the lurker above finally deemed to act. Flapping its two "wings" and spinning in place to face these attackers, it shot forward - but Thurloe blasted it with his [I]wand of magic missiles[/I] and it died on its way down, its body hitting short of any of its intended targets. Its corpse did land upon the skeletal dwarf, forcing the group to lift one wing high enough for Zander to scramble beneath it to fetch the quiver, which held a total of eleven bolts. A quick [I]detect magic[/I] spell confirmed the dead dwarf's light crossbow had a minor enchantment guiding the bolts fired from it, and as a result both it and the quiver of bolts were given to Xandro, who was fairly lacking in the ranged attack department. The threat handily dealt with, the group trekked on, Streggin Cavedelver leading the way. After another hour or more of travel, the narrow passageway led into a much wider tunnel leading from side to side. There was another dwarven body lying upon the ground, with dwarven runes carved into the wall above him and off to the left a bit. Alewyth moved forward to examine the runes while Wakuren went over to look at the corpse. It was a duergar, no doubt about it, and unlike the one the lurker above had been eating this one had been slain fairly recently - within the past hour, by the half-orc's estimation. Streggin examined the corpse, noting something the others hadn't noticed: he was wearing chain mail armor and had a heavy steel shield at his side and a light crossbow strapped to his back, but no melee weapon. "Looks to be a typical duergar guard," the dwarven scout explained, "but any duergar in his right mind would have some sort of weapon at hand for hand-to-hand fighting." "How'd he die?" Thurloe asked. "Blow to the head," Streggin answered, rolling the body over so the spellsword could see the caved-in part of the gray dwarf's skull. "Simple bludgeoning weapon, likely: a hammer or club'd be my guess." Alewyth returned to the others. "Dwarven runes," she said. "It's a warning that there's a duergar slave city that way." She pointed off to the left. "That's not the way we need to go, is it?" Zander asked. Wakuren got out the map and they examined it in the elf's magic torchlight. "Nope, we go the other way," Streggin answered. "Let's go, then," suggested Thurloe. They headed off to the right, the wider passageway allowing them to spread out a bit instead of the single file they'd been forced to follow for a large section of the trip thus far. The passageway led into an enormous cavern ahead, from which the sounds of dripping water could be heard. But the closer they got to the cavern, the worse the air started to smell. It wasn't the odor of bad gas, or toxic fumes - more in the line of an animal stench, similar to that produced by the troglodytes they'd faced the last time they went delving into the Underdark, although this stench wasn't quite like that: it was less reptilian and more insectile. The reason for this became abundantly clear once they actually entered the cavern proper, and saw a few giant cockroaches in the light of the [I]everburning torch[/I]. Alewyth, Wakuren, and Streggin could see much farther than the light's illumination and they saw a full nine of the giant insects - plus the fact that three of them were being ridden by large, shaggy-furred individuals, humanoid in build but with features slightly reminiscent of bears. "Quaggoths!" swore Streggin under his breath, apparently much more familiar with the creatures than was Alewyth, who'd never seen such beings before. Fortunately, the quaggoths all had their backs turned, examining the various smaller exits from the tunnel, as if deciding which one to take. This gave Wakuren enough time to discern their auras and confirm that while the cockroaches bore no stain of evil, the shaggy-furred quaggoths certainly did. Not liking the prospects of having to fight giant bugs, Thurloe unstoppered a vial of antitoxin and swigged down its contents, certain there was likely some sort of toxin or poison involved in the stomach-churning stanch the cockroaches put off. Before any of them got too far away from each other - and knowing that happened all too often once combat began - Zander cast a [I]haste[/I] spell on the assembled group. Streggin already had a bolt loaded into his crossbow and was cautiously moving up, Xandro mirroring the dwarf ranger's actions with his own new light crossbow. Alewyth cast a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell upon herself as she advanced, [I]Sjondra[/I] in hand. But before any of them could attack, one of the quaggoths turned around and noticed the light and called out a warning to the others. All three mounted quaggoths spun their insectile mounts about, and they no doubt warned the other six using some subtle pheromones or antennae movements, for the other cockroaches spun about in place to face the heroes as well. The quaggoths nudged their mounts forward into a charge, and Wakuren and the dwarves couldn't help but notice that while two of the white-furred creatures wielded what looked like broken-off stalagmites as clubs, the third had a warhammer of likely duergar make; it seemed as if the heroes had found the ones responsible for the dead duergar guard whose remains they'd discovered in the wide tunnel behind them. Before the charging giant cockroaches could reach them, Wakuren cast a summoning spell and a celestial bison appeared in the middle of the cavern. Without waiting for instructions from its summoner, the shaggy bovine slammed its great, horned head into the side of one of the mounted quaggoths. But then the cockroaches reached their targets, one biting at Thurloe, three going for Alewyth, and four ganging up on the celestial bison. The stench only increased as a result of their actions, and Xandro, Zander, and Streggin found their stomachs churning in turmoil as a result of the horrific stench. They could only guess the quaggoths either had some natural immunity, had built up a tolerance, or just had iron stomachs, for none of them seemed discomfited in the least. Thurloe brought his magical bastard sword slashing down into the hardened carapace of the giant cockroach before him, one of the six not currently being ridden. Alewyth, seeing the logic behind Wakuren's summoning, took a step back from the cockroach attacking her and summoned a celestial bison of her own. But by then two of the quaggoths advanced upon her, striking at her with stone greatclub and duergar-forged warhammer, and it was all she could do to block the blows with [I]Sjondra[/I]. The other quaggoth was fighting back against the bison Wakuren had summoned, but it retaliated with a smiting attack with holy energy channeled through its horns. The half-orc leapt into battle, swinging his shield onto the side of one of the quaggoths attacking Alewyth and almost knocking him from the giant cockroach's back, for Wakuren could see these shaggy riders used no saddles. Thurloe kept swinging his bastard sword against the cockroach trying to make a meal of him, looking back in disdain at Streggin and the two members of his own team who were currently nauseated by the cockroach stench to the point they couldn't contribute to the battle at hand. "Shake it off!" he yelled at the vomiting trio, not understanding why everyone wasn't as tough as he was. Obviously, they just weren't trying hard enough, that was the problem! Alewyth's [I]Sjondra[/I] took out one of the quaggoths with a well-targeted blow to the side of its shaggy head; it slumped to the ground in a lifeless heap while its insectoid mount tried biting at the dwarven priestess. But the other quaggoth - the probable leader, given he was the one wielding the duregar warhammer - got in a good blow of his own, nearly dropping Alewyth to her knees. Wakuren wasn't close enough to reach the other quaggoth, so he used the full amount of strength coursing through his half-orc body to bring the bottom point of his shield crashing down upon the mount of the quaggoth Alewyth had just slain. It gashed the side of the insect's head, slicing through a shiny, domed eye. The other quaggoth was still focused upon fighting off a celestial bison, and the shaggy beast in turn seemed intent to slay that particular quaggoth. The other bison, in the meantime, satisfied itself with goring any and all giant cockroaches within reach. The insects, for their part, snapped their horrible mouthparts at any foe they could reach. But Thurloe's sword sliced deep into the carapace of the one he'd been fighting, nearly killing it, just as the nauseous trio started coming around. Zander hobbled forward and lined up a [I]lightning bolt[/I] spell that not only slew the cockroach Thurloe had been fighting but also dealt some heavy damage to two others further back in the cavern. Streggin's crossbow twanged and a bolt stuck out from another cockroach's eye as its twin antennae whipped about in pain and fury. Alewyth almost knocked down her remaining quaggoth foe from his insectoid mount's carapaced back with a hearty blow from [I]Sjondra[/I]. And then from the back of the cavern, the inspiring sounds of Xandro's favorite courage-inducing song could be heard, buoying the spirits of the heroes who were being wordlessly reminded of all of the various other foes they'd overcome in the past. Xandro had come to the conclusion his magic song would aid the group's battle overall much better than could another light crossbow being brought to bear; while the song wasn't creating any direct damage on its own, it was allowing his friends to each do better in their own fights: striking faster, with more power behind each strike. The two quaggoths, perhaps fearing the eventual end result of this skirmish, started an all-out attack on their foes, one raining blows down upon Alewyth and the other finally slaying the first celestial bison that had been summoned to the fight. But by then Wakuren had made it to his fellow cleric's side and, fury blazing in his eyes, the powerful blow from his shield slew the offending quaggoth outright. That seemed to be the turning point in the battle. Thurloe waded up and killed another wounded giant cockroach with his bastard sword, while the remaining bison crushed another beneath its stomping hooves. Streggin and Alewyth started attacking giant cockroaches as well once another [I]scorching ray[/I] cast by Zander took out the last remaining quaggoth. Even Xandro decided he'd done enough support work with his music and, sliding the strap of his [I]Dardolian lute[/I] back over his shoulder, drew his [I]frost short sword[/I] and charged to the attack. But that's when four more foes entered the combat. These were a pair of enormous spiders, much like tarantulas in build, but ridden by a pair of gray dwarves: a pair of duergar kavalrachni, or steeder-mounted cavalry, having been appointed to hunt down the escaped quaggoth slaves responsible for the death of the duergar guard the heroes had discovered. And while the kavalrachni could already see the quaggoth slaves had been slain, there looked to be a handful of various humanoids - a couple of surface dwarves, a pair of humans, a skinny elf, and some sort of mongrel orc - that could easily be gathered up to take their places. Wakuren could see by the evil grins on the gray dwarves' faces - to say nothing of the evil suffusing their auras - their intentions toward him and decided to toss another [I]javelin of lightning[/I] their way. As the spider-riders were lined up single file as they entered the cavern from a side tunnel, he managed to get all four with his blast of electricity. By this point, the giant cockroaches had all decided to flee the scene, although one passed close enough to both Thurloe and Wakuren that their reflexive attacks on it as it passed slew the giant bug outright. As the steeders advanced, their hairy, banded legs moving like pistons, Thurloe shot at one of the duergar kavalrachni with his [I]wand of magic missile[/I]. Zander cast a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell, splitting the bolts between the two duergar, killing one of them (although the special saddles each steeder wore into battle kept the corpse in place). Alewyth centered an [I]order's wrath[/I] spell to hit both steeders, both duergar, and one fleeing giant cockroach, causing no small amount of damage to each. The sole remaining celestial bison, farther away from the approaching kavalrachni than the scurrying cockroaches, stabbed at the nearest insect and slew it with its horns before its time on the Material Plane expired and it returned to its home in the Heavens. One steeder climbed up the side of the cavern wall, temporarily out of melee combat range, while the other one, its rider dead and no longer giving it battle-prompts, scrambled over to the nearest dead cockroach and started dripping digestive acids upon its carapaced corpse. Then the one on the wall leaped forward and landed beside Alewyth, the duergar swinging at her leg with a battleaxe, hoping to lame her so she could more easily be taken as a slave. But Alewyth managed to step away from the axe in time for it to go swishing harmlessly before her. But he hadn't counted on Wakuren's battle-lust; the half-orc, as bloodthirsty as any of the orc raiders they'd fought in the desert weeks before, sent the edge of his shield slamming into the kavalrach's neck with every ounce of strength he possessed and the duergar's spine snapped under the onslaught. That left only the two steeders (for the giant cockroaches still alive had managed to scramble out of side-passageways from the cavern by that time), and Zander and Thurloe took them down with a few spells. Wakuren felt his heartrate slow down now that combat was over and, his mind once again better able to focus on the priorities at hand, helped Alewyth cast healing spells upon those who needed them. Then, once a quick [I]detect magic[/I] spell determined none of the equipment wielded by the duergar or quaggoths had been magical, the group pressed on, exiting through one of the passageways a few of the fleeing cockroaches had taken. But the panicked insects must have taken a few side branches after that, for the group never did see any of them again as they followed the path prescribed on their hand-drawn map. Their next encounter wasn't until hours later, after they'd opted to take a quick break inside the magic lamp to take a meal. With Streggin once again taking the lead (for the passageway had narrowed a bit again), they came upon a junction with a wider tunnel and there before them stood a gray-skinned stone giant and a cave bear - a bruin easily twice or even three times larger than any bear the heroes had seen on the surface world. The stone giant carried a massive greatclub made of solid rock and wore an expression of weariness upon his craggy brow as he turned toward the sudden source of illumination. Fortunately, Thurloe - often one of the first to leap into battle - picked up on the giant's expression and saw in it a willingness not to fight, if that were at all possible. "Greetings," he called to the giant before him. "Do you speak this language?" "Some. Enough," replied the giant, shifting his grip on his weapon in case it became necessary to use it. "Are you okay?" Thurloe asked. "Hungry," admitted the giant, which did nothing to convince the others that battle wasn't on the table after all. But then he continued, "All day, hunting cavern lizard, track him to lair. But hole too small. Can't reach him." Thurloe saw the obvious solution and voiced it on behalf of the group. "We don't want to have to fight you, we just want to pass by and be on our way. But what if we help you get that lizard you're after?" "I have a [I]soften earth and stone[/I] spell at hand," Alewyth proffered up. "I could widen the hole for you." The stone giant, [B]Lorgar Borgusson[/B], agreed at once and held back his cave bear, [B]Brienda[/B], who seemed perfectly willing to dine upon one of these strangers instead of the cavern lizard they'd been tracking all day. But after Alewyth cast her spell, widening the hole to the lizard's den, the group decided to slay the lizard on the giant's behalf and get even further on his good side. This worked wonders, and once they'd told Lorgar where they were headed, he had even better news for them: not only were they going to be allowed to pass by unharmed, he could even give them pointers on where to find the kobold warren they were searching for, for he'd been that way and seen the statue for himself, some time ago. Looking over their map, he agreed the path as drawn would get them there, but he added a few details on what type of landmarks to look for before each of the required turns into a new tunnel. "Got another six, maybe seven hours of travel ahead of you," Lorgar advised, not exactly sure how fast these little people could travel. Thanking the stone giant and allowing him to enjoy the cavern lizard repast with his cave bear pet, the group moved on. And it was several hours later that they met with the last of that day's encounters. It wasn't a particularly dangerous encounter, but it was definitely the most puzzling and one that would cause them a considerable amount of worry. The passageway narrowed again and started twisting back and forth like a snake, so it wasn't possible to see very far ahead of where they were going. With Streggin once more in the lead and Zander - and his [I]everburning torch[/I] - safely in the middle of the formation, the group moved on and almost bumped into a svirfneblin woman who had been moving down the tunnel toward them, apparently lost in her own thoughts. "Eep!" she said upon turning the corner and seeing Streggin Cavedelver standing immediately before her. Behind the dwarf stood Thurloe and Wakuren, then Zander, and finally Alewyth and Xandro bringing up the rear. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of the assembled group and a shudder raced down her body. A strange word, likely of Gnomish origin, spilled from her lips - followed almost immediately by a flow of blood. More blood dripped from each of her nostrils and from her ears, as she began leaking tears of blood as well. She immediately staggered to one knee, then fell onto her side, her hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically. "What's happening?" demanded Alewyth from the back of the group, unable to see past the press of bodies before her. But Thurloe was at the little svirfneblin's side in a moment, pulling the cork stopper to a healing potion as he knelt beside the young woman's body, ready to pour its contents down her throat. Wakuren knelt by her side, the words to his most powerful healing spell coming to his tongue. But the deep gnome's body gave a final shudder and Wakuren could see it was too late for any healing spells - the svirfneblin woman was dead. He told Thurloe not to bother with his potion. "What just happened?" Thurloe demanded, looking all about him for an unseen attacker. "How'd she die, that quick?" With a sudden horrific thought, he pulled his cloak forward to cover his own face and demanded, "Is it poison gas? Are we under attack?" "I don't think so," Alewyth replied, casting a [I]detect poison[/I] spell and looking around the group, knowing full well some gases couldn't be seen by the naked eye. But while the air around them was clear, the svirfneblin's body was definitely full of poison. "What was that word she said?" Wakuren asked. "Did anybody catch it?" "It were Gnomish, all right," Streggin replied. Thinking of how best to translate it into the Common tongue, he finally settled on "deathborn." "Deathborn?" repeated Thurloe. "What's that - the name of the poison that killed her?" "That, I couldn't say," Streggin admitted. "I don't like this," Zander admitted. "Me neither," added Xandro. "We'd best press on," suggested Streggin. Alewyth felt sorry for the svirfneblin and wanted to bury her, but the ranger advised against it - especially since her body was riddled with whatever virulent poison caused her to spill out her life's blood from each of her facial orifices. The dwarven priestess finally bowed to the inevitable and pressed on. The group put another hour or two of travel behind them before deciding to camp out in the lamp overnight. "At this rate, we'll be at the kobold warren before mid-day meal," advised Streggin. It didn't cheer up any of the heroes much; they were still worried about what had caused the svirfbneblin to die like that right in front of them with no apparent cause. - - - I had warned the group that this adventure was just a "travel" adventure: a series of Underdark encounters with a few creatures they hadn't met up with before. (Well, with the possible exception of Dan, who had played AD&D first edition as a kid and likely had met up with a lurker above and/or quaggoths in past campaigns.) And Harry came through: as a result of his excellent Gather Information rolls in Agatesgate, he not only got word of Streggin Cavedelver as a potential guide but also got them a map to follow. (Without the map, they'd have had to decide which way to go on several occasions, which would have resulted in other encounters they were able to bypass. So they avoided combats with darkmantles, piercers, a phantom fungus, and a choker.) And because those avoided encounters lessened the length of time it took for us to go through this adventure, we had time to go through the next one as well, in which the PCs met up with the kobold warren and found the statue with the dreamstone eyes they'd been sent to fetch. By the way, this was the first time we played since Joe went off to college, so his dad, Dan, ran Zander Quilson as well as his own PC, Thurloe. I did up stats for Streggin as well, and Logan opted to run him. But apparently the next time we play - on 8 October - Joe will be joining us, so he'll be back to running his own PC for at least that one session. In the meantime, I'll write up the second adventure we played this session, "Dreamstone Vision," hopefully posting it before we play one week from today. - - - T-shirt worn: My USA shirt, with fireworks on the top and a symbol somewhat reminiscent of Captain America's original (non-round) shield below. I chose it because the T-shirt itself is gray - a good representation of the stone passageways in the Underdark the PCs would be traversing - and also because I mentally gave the acronym a different meaning: "Underdark Survival Adventure." [/QUOTE]
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