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<blockquote data-quote="htetickrt" data-source="post: 1497315" data-attributes="member: 16534"><p style="text-align: center">Upper Outpost</p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p>As the party unpacks bedrolls and prepares its camp, Quid sidles up to Calla. Her mild suspicions drive her to activate her domain power, and she begins trying to detect the rogue’s surface thoughts as she talks with her. Questions about whence she came, how she came to be captured by the drow, and what she's doing in Daggerdale elicit minor bits of information—Calla’s from all over, her party was overwhelmed by the bebiliths and maurezhi in the crypts and all but her killed, her previous party was in Daggerdale looking into rumors of drow—but Calla’s mind proves too strong for the magic, and her speech is too smooth to reveal much more than she wants. Quid leaves her feeling neither better nor worse about the situation.</p><p> </p><p>Watches are set and the party settles into sleep, getting ready for the long day ahead. Luckily, nothing intrudes upon anyone’s slumber during the night, and the day dawns clear and clean and luminous. Only the drow do not have their spirits buoyed by this; they cringe at the brightness and wait impatiently as their reluctant partners partake of a meal and replenish their assorted magics. When all are ready—Trella makes a great show of leisurely repacking her bag after stretching languorously—the drow lead the party back into the crypts.</p><p> </p><p>Though all are watchful for the slightest threat, none emerges as the group backtracks to the bebilith nest. Calla noticeably cringes as she stares in at the tattered webbing in the cavern. Trella, noting this, urges the drow scouts onward, toward the lair of the maurezhi. Reaching this they slow, and call for a halt.</p><p> </p><p>Trella growls, “Why are you stopping? Got cold feet?”</p><p> </p><p>One of the drow whispers back, “Quiet you fool. The racket you made in combat echoed throughout the caverns. The servants of the White Banshee are undoubtedly ready, and hungering for your death. They can see in the dark further than your lantern-light reaches, and they can hear your sharp tongue, half-breed. I’d wager much there is a trap ahead.”</p><p> </p><p>Calla says coldly, “They will neither see nor hear me,” and fades into the darkness without a sound before anyone can stop her. One drow mutters something about the “slave races,” but is silenced by Trella’s glare. Fifteen minutes later, Calla returns, none the worse for wear. She is all business as she makes her report, golden curls tucked behind a dark hood.</p><p> </p><p>“The drow scum was right; it is a trap. Remnants of masonry rim the passage ahead, but whatever wall was there appears to have been broken through. Beyond it the tunnel passes over some rubble before widening into a large natural cavern. The only exit from this is a hole in the floor that travels down a narrow tunnel into another cavern.</p><p> </p><p>“There are five drow sentries there, all armed with some sort of distance weapon. All poisoned, no doubt. They didn’t see me, but a hideous undead spider crawled up from the hole soon after I arrived and let them know someone was around. I know it’s a trap because no one came looking for me; they just kept guarding the hole. I couldn’t see what was down there before I left, other than a glimpse of something even more disgusting than the spider, all guts and blood.”</p><p> </p><p>Trella cracks her knuckles loudly. “I’m thinking shock and awe. Anyone with me?” Andy nervously gulps a potion of heroism in response.</p><p> </p><p>Dobi puts up his hands. “I believe we can find a peaceable solution.” Quid seems amenable, imbuing a stone with daylight as insurance in case the discussion goes awry.</p><p> </p><p>Trella’s eyebrows arch. "Your desire for peace is, uh," she struggles to find a diplomatic word to express her thoughts, "interesting, but from what we've seen and learned from our dark skinned 'friends' here, these drow we face worship chaos. Brokering a deal with them is probably not going to end well."</p><p> </p><p>The drow are less polite. "You are all fools if you think they will even allow you to parley. Their poisoned bolts and arrows will be flying the moment they see you, and all your 'clever' plan will get you is a quick death."</p><p> </p><p>Trella introduces the drow to ‘the bird.’ “I’ve had enough of these guys; let’s make all further plans out of earshot,” she grumbles. Further planning occurs in this manner, ending in numerous preparations for a surprise charge. Trella, in the form of a frog resting in Rhien’s pockets, croaks the signal when all are ready.</p><p> </p><p>Mere moments later Rhien bursts into the cavern, holding Quid’s glowing stone aloft. The sentries reflexively raise their hands to shield delicate eyes from the sudden brightness, and thus miss Trella’s leap out of Rhien’s pocket, reforming into a black puma before she hits the ground. The big cat lands next to the undead spider, growling deep in her throat; nearby Rhien assails a stunned sentry, and Steve’s heavy footsteps announce the coming of Khail to foes near and far.</p><p> </p><p>The drow are not cowed by the display and retaliate, but the impact of their efforts is minimal. Of more concern is the rhythmic chanting audible from the bottom of the gap in the floor. Kai sends a mass of acrid gas in after the sound. Trella conveys her approval by brutally savaging the undead spider; Kyree adds his via a barrage of deadly arrows.</p><p> </p><p>As the rest of the party finally engages, four more undead spiders pass unharmed through the poison cloud and assail the group. Two continue on to Trella, biting at her puma form with darkly glowing chelicerae. The power of these natural weapons becomes apparent as the minimal damage one inflicts is accompanied not by the expected poison, but by a surge of negative energy that saps the druid’s strength.</p><p> </p><p>Though the undead spiders are odious, behind them lies a much more fearsome sight. Pushing ten common drow warriors to their deaths in the poison cloud, ten revolting creatures begin marching up the passage. Lacking skin and fat, the drow-shaped undead continually ooze caustic blood from their exposed musculature. Rather than close to melee, the two leading undead choose instead to stand behind the spiders and spit acidic blood at Quid and Khail. Both globs strike only stone, but the splashes nevertheless injure both Khail and Quid.</p><p> </p><p>Seeing undead, Danek charges forward and shouts, “Go away!” Much to her surprise, one of the arachnids does back away from Rhien. Buttercup mimics the actions, leaving only one wraith spider in active combat.</p><p> </p><p>Lenara targets this undead spider with two magic missiles as she advances further. The wizard then gasps awestruck as Khail charges the flayed drow, calling upon Torm’s power to turn them away while his celestial warhorse beats at the closest one with his mighty hooves. Acid sizzles against the horse’s flesh, but his celestial nature makes him resistant to such concerns. The now injured undead finds the combination too potent for it, and makes its way urgently away from the battle, taking the last of the wraith spiders with it.</p><p> </p><p>The drow sentries look to their rear, hoping perhaps to retreat from their own near-certain demise, but seeing the horrifying remains of their kin approach they turn and face their doom. For all they manage in the way of retaliation, though, they may as well have left. Their lot worsens further as Calla, silent as a ghost, takes the head of one of their number with a flick of her wrist.</p><p> </p><p>From beyond the ranks of the undead, a green beam flies to impact Khail without fail. Powerful death magic threatens to fell him, but the doughty paladin overcomes the worst of it. However, new wounds opened on his skin bespeak the magnitude of the assault from below. Kai answers with a pair of fireballs that end the sentries’ resistance and blacken the flesh of the marching undead.</p><p> </p><p>Not wanting to stain her fur with acid, Trella leaves the flayed drow to her companions, instead rending an arachnid with tooth and claw. Arrows from the bows of Kyree and Dobi fly past her feline form as they plunk into the flayed drow.</p><p> </p><p>If the undead feel pain, they make no signal of this as they advance despite their numerous burns, spitting blood as they come. Khail is made the target for most of this on some silent signal, and he is coated in frothy acid by the barrage. The paladin clears the viscous substance off his face with the back of his hand, enabling him to see Rhien’s charge past the undead and down the hole. Though he spies only one foe, the monk’s sharp senses pick up three more invisible ones, all waiting for their opportunity to strike. Ignoring them, he assails the round-faced visible priest with a jump kick, but cannot penetrate her layers of steel and magic. She cackles at him after recovering from her shock, motioning for her invisible escorts to join in the fun.</p><p> </p><p>Back above, Quid wades into the mass of undead, laying about herself with scimitar and nunchaku. She drops one to the stone floor; Andy’s crossbow bolt finishes off a second. Danek and Buttercup mimic this pairing, though with less success.</p><p> </p><p>Khail does not have the attention to spare on this, needing to focus entirely on the undead surrounding him. Giving free rein to Steve, the paladin leaps off his steed and swings his holy weapon in wide arcs, cutting deep into exposed muscle with every blow. Two of the injured creatures fall to his blade, and a third is injured by Steve’s hooves.</p><p> </p><p>Below them, the drow priestess reaches into her robes and gulps down the potion she finds there. With the extra speed this grants her, she wreathes herself in cold flames, upping the ante for any who would strike her.</p><p> </p><p>Her invisible minions take a more direct approach. Two reveal themselves just outside the main fray, illuminated in the sudden light of a pair of lightning bolts that scorch those nearest them. Barrages of missiles targeting Khail and Rhien follow soon after.</p><p> </p><p>Unlike her injured comrades, Calla smiles at the appearance of the flying drow, as she was beginning to despair of finding an adequate home for her dagger. One toss later and an acid-filled wound appears in a drow’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Stung by the lightning, Kai retaliates with magic of her own. Her first spell brings one drow caster firmly under her control; her next injures the other one. Trella smiles toothily before destroying yet another arachnid with extreme prejudice. Kyree continues firing at the undead drow, eliminating one with four arrows to the chest. Dobi adds his darts to a flying drow’s rear.</p><p> </p><p>Below, Rhien ignores the flaming shield, focusing on what he believes is the greatest threat. Eschewing damage entirely, the monk summons his ki in an attempt to freeze the priest’s very lifeblood. As the flesh on Rhien’s hand burns, the cleric’s body freezes in paralysis.</p><p> </p><p>Quid, Andy, Danek, Lenara, Buttercup, Khail, and Steve gang up on the undead, leaving naught that has not been turned away standing. Calla’s dagger cleanly enters the chest of a flying drow, exiting with his heart attached. The wizard dies instantly, and the heart is dissolved by the blade’s acid before returning to the rogue’s outstretched hand. Dobi, who was about to throw his own darts, barely stifles a groan at Calla’s style.</p><p> </p><p>In a display of apparent loyalty quite odd for the normally opportunistic drow, the flying wizard below ignores the monk, choosing instead to snatch up the priestess despite the intense burns he suffers in doing so. Rhien contemplates following them, but thinks better of this when they quickly pass out of his visual range.</p><p> </p><p>Seeing the fight above over for the time being, Kai directs the dominated drow to eliminate the cowering undead. Between them and Kyree, those remaining are felled in only a few seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Rhien returns to his companions, his swift movement surprising all but the most watchful. “There was a priestess of the White Banshee below. High ranking, I believe. She got away with the third of her guards. He’s flying and they know the region, so we have little chance of catching them. Everyone okay up here?” Typically, the monk ignores the third degree burns on his hand and forearm.</p><p> </p><p>Khail brushes off his question, the acid burns on his skin proving unable to dampen his good mood after riding his mighty steed into combat. “We’re all fine, or close enough so.”</p><p> </p><p>Kai advances with a smile of her own. “And we have a new friend to question.” She points to the flying drow, calmly waiting for instructions from his new master. “This time I’m not wasting my time with pointless banter.” The last is directed toward the drow with whom she made the earlier deal, who sat out the fight entirely when no one directly ordered them to engage.</p><p> </p><p>The sorceress calls down the guard, and spends the next five minutes probing his mind telepathically as the rest of the party waits for her report. When she finally gives it, her face is grim. “His name is Raphael F’eran, and he is, or was, an arcane guard in the service of one Velina T’sarran, whom I take to be the priestess Rhien fought. She, in turn, is a foul-tempered niece—one of a pair of twins, actually, though they hate each other—of someone known as Irae T’sarran. He knows virtually nothing about her, other than he’d rather die horribly than cross her. That puts some limit on his usefulness, as he could try to break free of the domination if he thinks I’m trying to make him do that.”</p><p> </p><p>Kai runs her hands through her shoulder-length brown hair. “I tried to work around this, and discovered a few things. Those disgusting undead things are known as quth-maren. They’re created by priests of Kiaransalee from the corpses of drow clerics that have been flayed to death. Besides dripping and spitting acid, their gaze can cause fear, they are difficult to turn, they heal fast, and they can command other undead. There is no telling how many of them are in the Underdark, but I get the feeling the number is not insubstantial.</p><p> </p><p>“The sentries and the spiders are always here, guarding the passage to Szith Morcane. The guards, Velina, and the quth-maren, along with those drow commoners, were a raiding party gathered to slay the ‘surface scum’ that had poked their noses where they didn’t belong. When the powers that be here discover that the raiding party failed, they’ll most likely wait until we are weakened or sleeping and then send in what they call a hunter-killer team. I get the feeling this won’t be pleasant.</p><p> </p><p>“By this point I could sense significant mental resistance, so I didn’t push too hard. I did find out that there are definite protocols to follow in the event that the city’s security has been breached. Raphael wouldn’t go into details, however. I also discovered that the stone wall into which this hallway apparently dead-ends is a recent addition, and that behind it lies a few huge spiders and driders. They’re enemies of the drow, and were sealed off to prevent any disruptions. A hole on our side of the wall leads to the drow city, which will know we’re coming.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="htetickrt, post: 1497315, member: 16534"] [center]Upper Outpost [/center] As the party unpacks bedrolls and prepares its camp, Quid sidles up to Calla. Her mild suspicions drive her to activate her domain power, and she begins trying to detect the rogue’s surface thoughts as she talks with her. Questions about whence she came, how she came to be captured by the drow, and what she's doing in Daggerdale elicit minor bits of information—Calla’s from all over, her party was overwhelmed by the bebiliths and maurezhi in the crypts and all but her killed, her previous party was in Daggerdale looking into rumors of drow—but Calla’s mind proves too strong for the magic, and her speech is too smooth to reveal much more than she wants. Quid leaves her feeling neither better nor worse about the situation. Watches are set and the party settles into sleep, getting ready for the long day ahead. Luckily, nothing intrudes upon anyone’s slumber during the night, and the day dawns clear and clean and luminous. Only the drow do not have their spirits buoyed by this; they cringe at the brightness and wait impatiently as their reluctant partners partake of a meal and replenish their assorted magics. When all are ready—Trella makes a great show of leisurely repacking her bag after stretching languorously—the drow lead the party back into the crypts. Though all are watchful for the slightest threat, none emerges as the group backtracks to the bebilith nest. Calla noticeably cringes as she stares in at the tattered webbing in the cavern. Trella, noting this, urges the drow scouts onward, toward the lair of the maurezhi. Reaching this they slow, and call for a halt. Trella growls, “Why are you stopping? Got cold feet?” One of the drow whispers back, “Quiet you fool. The racket you made in combat echoed throughout the caverns. The servants of the White Banshee are undoubtedly ready, and hungering for your death. They can see in the dark further than your lantern-light reaches, and they can hear your sharp tongue, half-breed. I’d wager much there is a trap ahead.” Calla says coldly, “They will neither see nor hear me,” and fades into the darkness without a sound before anyone can stop her. One drow mutters something about the “slave races,” but is silenced by Trella’s glare. Fifteen minutes later, Calla returns, none the worse for wear. She is all business as she makes her report, golden curls tucked behind a dark hood. “The drow scum was right; it is a trap. Remnants of masonry rim the passage ahead, but whatever wall was there appears to have been broken through. Beyond it the tunnel passes over some rubble before widening into a large natural cavern. The only exit from this is a hole in the floor that travels down a narrow tunnel into another cavern. “There are five drow sentries there, all armed with some sort of distance weapon. All poisoned, no doubt. They didn’t see me, but a hideous undead spider crawled up from the hole soon after I arrived and let them know someone was around. I know it’s a trap because no one came looking for me; they just kept guarding the hole. I couldn’t see what was down there before I left, other than a glimpse of something even more disgusting than the spider, all guts and blood.” Trella cracks her knuckles loudly. “I’m thinking shock and awe. Anyone with me?” Andy nervously gulps a potion of heroism in response. Dobi puts up his hands. “I believe we can find a peaceable solution.” Quid seems amenable, imbuing a stone with daylight as insurance in case the discussion goes awry. Trella’s eyebrows arch. "Your desire for peace is, uh," she struggles to find a diplomatic word to express her thoughts, "interesting, but from what we've seen and learned from our dark skinned 'friends' here, these drow we face worship chaos. Brokering a deal with them is probably not going to end well." The drow are less polite. "You are all fools if you think they will even allow you to parley. Their poisoned bolts and arrows will be flying the moment they see you, and all your 'clever' plan will get you is a quick death." Trella introduces the drow to ‘the bird.’ “I’ve had enough of these guys; let’s make all further plans out of earshot,” she grumbles. Further planning occurs in this manner, ending in numerous preparations for a surprise charge. Trella, in the form of a frog resting in Rhien’s pockets, croaks the signal when all are ready. Mere moments later Rhien bursts into the cavern, holding Quid’s glowing stone aloft. The sentries reflexively raise their hands to shield delicate eyes from the sudden brightness, and thus miss Trella’s leap out of Rhien’s pocket, reforming into a black puma before she hits the ground. The big cat lands next to the undead spider, growling deep in her throat; nearby Rhien assails a stunned sentry, and Steve’s heavy footsteps announce the coming of Khail to foes near and far. The drow are not cowed by the display and retaliate, but the impact of their efforts is minimal. Of more concern is the rhythmic chanting audible from the bottom of the gap in the floor. Kai sends a mass of acrid gas in after the sound. Trella conveys her approval by brutally savaging the undead spider; Kyree adds his via a barrage of deadly arrows. As the rest of the party finally engages, four more undead spiders pass unharmed through the poison cloud and assail the group. Two continue on to Trella, biting at her puma form with darkly glowing chelicerae. The power of these natural weapons becomes apparent as the minimal damage one inflicts is accompanied not by the expected poison, but by a surge of negative energy that saps the druid’s strength. Though the undead spiders are odious, behind them lies a much more fearsome sight. Pushing ten common drow warriors to their deaths in the poison cloud, ten revolting creatures begin marching up the passage. Lacking skin and fat, the drow-shaped undead continually ooze caustic blood from their exposed musculature. Rather than close to melee, the two leading undead choose instead to stand behind the spiders and spit acidic blood at Quid and Khail. Both globs strike only stone, but the splashes nevertheless injure both Khail and Quid. Seeing undead, Danek charges forward and shouts, “Go away!” Much to her surprise, one of the arachnids does back away from Rhien. Buttercup mimics the actions, leaving only one wraith spider in active combat. Lenara targets this undead spider with two magic missiles as she advances further. The wizard then gasps awestruck as Khail charges the flayed drow, calling upon Torm’s power to turn them away while his celestial warhorse beats at the closest one with his mighty hooves. Acid sizzles against the horse’s flesh, but his celestial nature makes him resistant to such concerns. The now injured undead finds the combination too potent for it, and makes its way urgently away from the battle, taking the last of the wraith spiders with it. The drow sentries look to their rear, hoping perhaps to retreat from their own near-certain demise, but seeing the horrifying remains of their kin approach they turn and face their doom. For all they manage in the way of retaliation, though, they may as well have left. Their lot worsens further as Calla, silent as a ghost, takes the head of one of their number with a flick of her wrist. From beyond the ranks of the undead, a green beam flies to impact Khail without fail. Powerful death magic threatens to fell him, but the doughty paladin overcomes the worst of it. However, new wounds opened on his skin bespeak the magnitude of the assault from below. Kai answers with a pair of fireballs that end the sentries’ resistance and blacken the flesh of the marching undead. Not wanting to stain her fur with acid, Trella leaves the flayed drow to her companions, instead rending an arachnid with tooth and claw. Arrows from the bows of Kyree and Dobi fly past her feline form as they plunk into the flayed drow. If the undead feel pain, they make no signal of this as they advance despite their numerous burns, spitting blood as they come. Khail is made the target for most of this on some silent signal, and he is coated in frothy acid by the barrage. The paladin clears the viscous substance off his face with the back of his hand, enabling him to see Rhien’s charge past the undead and down the hole. Though he spies only one foe, the monk’s sharp senses pick up three more invisible ones, all waiting for their opportunity to strike. Ignoring them, he assails the round-faced visible priest with a jump kick, but cannot penetrate her layers of steel and magic. She cackles at him after recovering from her shock, motioning for her invisible escorts to join in the fun. Back above, Quid wades into the mass of undead, laying about herself with scimitar and nunchaku. She drops one to the stone floor; Andy’s crossbow bolt finishes off a second. Danek and Buttercup mimic this pairing, though with less success. Khail does not have the attention to spare on this, needing to focus entirely on the undead surrounding him. Giving free rein to Steve, the paladin leaps off his steed and swings his holy weapon in wide arcs, cutting deep into exposed muscle with every blow. Two of the injured creatures fall to his blade, and a third is injured by Steve’s hooves. Below them, the drow priestess reaches into her robes and gulps down the potion she finds there. With the extra speed this grants her, she wreathes herself in cold flames, upping the ante for any who would strike her. Her invisible minions take a more direct approach. Two reveal themselves just outside the main fray, illuminated in the sudden light of a pair of lightning bolts that scorch those nearest them. Barrages of missiles targeting Khail and Rhien follow soon after. Unlike her injured comrades, Calla smiles at the appearance of the flying drow, as she was beginning to despair of finding an adequate home for her dagger. One toss later and an acid-filled wound appears in a drow’s shoulder. Stung by the lightning, Kai retaliates with magic of her own. Her first spell brings one drow caster firmly under her control; her next injures the other one. Trella smiles toothily before destroying yet another arachnid with extreme prejudice. Kyree continues firing at the undead drow, eliminating one with four arrows to the chest. Dobi adds his darts to a flying drow’s rear. Below, Rhien ignores the flaming shield, focusing on what he believes is the greatest threat. Eschewing damage entirely, the monk summons his ki in an attempt to freeze the priest’s very lifeblood. As the flesh on Rhien’s hand burns, the cleric’s body freezes in paralysis. Quid, Andy, Danek, Lenara, Buttercup, Khail, and Steve gang up on the undead, leaving naught that has not been turned away standing. Calla’s dagger cleanly enters the chest of a flying drow, exiting with his heart attached. The wizard dies instantly, and the heart is dissolved by the blade’s acid before returning to the rogue’s outstretched hand. Dobi, who was about to throw his own darts, barely stifles a groan at Calla’s style. In a display of apparent loyalty quite odd for the normally opportunistic drow, the flying wizard below ignores the monk, choosing instead to snatch up the priestess despite the intense burns he suffers in doing so. Rhien contemplates following them, but thinks better of this when they quickly pass out of his visual range. Seeing the fight above over for the time being, Kai directs the dominated drow to eliminate the cowering undead. Between them and Kyree, those remaining are felled in only a few seconds. Rhien returns to his companions, his swift movement surprising all but the most watchful. “There was a priestess of the White Banshee below. High ranking, I believe. She got away with the third of her guards. He’s flying and they know the region, so we have little chance of catching them. Everyone okay up here?” Typically, the monk ignores the third degree burns on his hand and forearm. Khail brushes off his question, the acid burns on his skin proving unable to dampen his good mood after riding his mighty steed into combat. “We’re all fine, or close enough so.” Kai advances with a smile of her own. “And we have a new friend to question.” She points to the flying drow, calmly waiting for instructions from his new master. “This time I’m not wasting my time with pointless banter.” The last is directed toward the drow with whom she made the earlier deal, who sat out the fight entirely when no one directly ordered them to engage. The sorceress calls down the guard, and spends the next five minutes probing his mind telepathically as the rest of the party waits for her report. When she finally gives it, her face is grim. “His name is Raphael F’eran, and he is, or was, an arcane guard in the service of one Velina T’sarran, whom I take to be the priestess Rhien fought. She, in turn, is a foul-tempered niece—one of a pair of twins, actually, though they hate each other—of someone known as Irae T’sarran. He knows virtually nothing about her, other than he’d rather die horribly than cross her. That puts some limit on his usefulness, as he could try to break free of the domination if he thinks I’m trying to make him do that.” Kai runs her hands through her shoulder-length brown hair. “I tried to work around this, and discovered a few things. Those disgusting undead things are known as quth-maren. They’re created by priests of Kiaransalee from the corpses of drow clerics that have been flayed to death. Besides dripping and spitting acid, their gaze can cause fear, they are difficult to turn, they heal fast, and they can command other undead. There is no telling how many of them are in the Underdark, but I get the feeling the number is not insubstantial. “The sentries and the spiders are always here, guarding the passage to Szith Morcane. The guards, Velina, and the quth-maren, along with those drow commoners, were a raiding party gathered to slay the ‘surface scum’ that had poked their noses where they didn’t belong. When the powers that be here discover that the raiding party failed, they’ll most likely wait until we are weakened or sleeping and then send in what they call a hunter-killer team. I get the feeling this won’t be pleasant. “By this point I could sense significant mental resistance, so I didn’t push too hard. I did find out that there are definite protocols to follow in the event that the city’s security has been breached. Raphael wouldn’t go into details, however. I also discovered that the stone wall into which this hallway apparently dead-ends is a recent addition, and that behind it lies a few huge spiders and driders. They’re enemies of the drow, and were sealed off to prevent any disruptions. A hole on our side of the wall leads to the drow city, which will know we’re coming.” [/QUOTE]
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