JollyDoc
Explorer
WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE…PART 2
Before the League had a chance to begin their investigation of Ironeater’s mine, a message was received by Gideon from none-other-than Balabar Smenk. The missive requested a meeting with the League, and implied subtle threats against both Valkus Dun, and Melinde, a paladin of Tyr whom Gideon had been raised with, and who was like a sister to him. Reluctantly, the meeting with Smenk was arranged. The mine manager was quite forthcoming with the young adventurers, relating to them that he was terrified of the cultists, and that he had been pressured and blackmailed into aiding them. He told of finding the severed head of one of his trusted assistants in his bed recently, a clear message of what would befall him if he betrayed the cult. Smenk argued that, though his businesses practices might be somewhat suspect, he was, after all, just that…a business man, while the cultists were mad men who posed a far greater threat to Daggerford.
The members of the League agreed to Smenk’s proposal, even though they had planned all along to investigate the mine any way. Grim knew that Derwin Ironeater’s mine was well guarded by hired henchmen, and that the group would not be able to just waltz in. Shay and Vladius took it upon themselves to begin visiting some of the dives frequented by the Ironeater miners. It wasn’t long before they found a couple of disgruntled souls. After a few drinks, and promises that Derwin Ironeater would get his, the miners agreed to create a diversion so that the members of the League could sneak into the mine.
This distraction came in the form of setting fire to several store houses in the main compound in the middle of the night. While the guards responded to the disaster, the adventurers made their way into the main mine shaft. It wasn’t long before they found a boarded-up, apparently unused passageway, which led to an elevator descending even deeper into the earth.
At the bottom of the shaft, they found themselves in a vast, domed hall. One end was filled with a dark pool, while the other end bore three locked doors. The northern door bore banners with the symbol of Myrkul, and the eastern door bore the symbol of Bane. The western door was unmarked. Immediately, the band was set upon by a pair of tieflings, abyssal-blooded creatures who wore tabards bearing the symbol of Bane. Easily defeating the guards, the League decided to investigate the door bearing that dark god’s symbol first. Beyond, they found a complex populated by undead skeletons, crazed fanatics (some of them recognizable as locals from Daggerford), and more tieflings. Ultimately, they faced, and killed a powerful priest of Bane named Theldrick and several of his minions. Among Theldrick’s belongings, they discovered two pieces of parchment. The first was addressed to Theldrick by an unknown writer. It spoke of Kyuss, and told of him being a herald for some sort of Overgod. It made mention that “the three sundered faiths shall be made whole,” and stated that the worm-ridden undead in the Forlorn Hills needed to be captured to provide answers for shepherding in the Age of Worms so that the Overgod might live. There was also an odd description of something called the Ebon Aspect, which “stirs within the pool, but still is not ready to emerge.” Lastly, it made clear the fact that Smenk had become a liability and had to be eliminated, and that agents should be sent to the Lizard Marsh to find some secret that could be found among the lizardfolk there. The second missive was even more cryptic, obviously written by Theldrick, but referring to someone called the Faceless One, and another called Grallak Kur. This second individual was identified as being some sort of seer from the Underdark, who was having visions of worms, and some greater power behind them.
Finding no further information among the Banites, the League returned to the dark cathedral, and this time entered the unmarked door. Beyond, they found themselves in a series of natural caves infested with grimlocks, strange humanoids from the Underdark who lacked eyes. A running battle with these savages eventually brought the adventurers to their chieftain. During the fierce battle, the League members were stunned to see first a naked human man, and then a nude drow woman emerge, battered and beaten, from the caves of the grimlocks. The two newcomers aided the struggling adventurers, the human using a gleaming sword, and the drow using magic. After the chieftain and his warriors were dispatched, the former prisoners told their tales. The human was Hawk Veritas, a civilar of the Waterdavian Guard, dispatched to the garrison at Daggerford. He had been waylaid by what he assumed were bandits on the road, and though he fought well, he had been overwhelmed. When he had awoken, he found himself in the clutches of the grimlocks. The drow woman said her name was simply Storm (“Drow?” Giovanni interrupted at this point, staring at the elven woman across from him. “Yes,” Storm replied, removing a comb from her hair and instantly transforming into a black-skinned, white-haired drow elf.) She claimed to be a renegade from Menzoberranzan, who had been fleeing her kinsmen with two companions when they were ambushed by grimlocks. Her companions had been killed outright, but she had been kept alive as entertainment for the chief. It was she that had delivered the killing blow to the brute. Hawk and Storm decided to journey on with their saviors further into the grimlock caves, and they soon came upon one last band of them. These all bore tattoos of the dead god Bhaal carved into their chests. Their leader was a priest, Grallak Kur as it turned out, who had a pair of beholder eyes sewn into his eye sockets. Kur and his barbarians were killed in a largely one-sided fight, and the party removed another scroll from the priest’s corpse. The words it contained were rambling and disjointed, but basically stated that a great power was growing in the pool in the Dark Cathedral, and that this power would serve the Ebon Triad as a champion. It went on to say that with the return of Kyuss, the Age of Worms was finally at hand.
Guessing at what lay behind door number three, the League returned to the Dark Cathedral, more wary than ever now of the black pool at its center, and proceeded through the portal marked with the symbol of Myrkul, Lord of the Dead. A literal labyrinth greeted them as they entered the lair of the Deathbringers. The twists, dead-ends and switch-backs were a perfect set-up for an ambush, and it wasn’t long before several groups of bird-headed kenku assassins and sorcerers began hit-and-run strikes against the League and their new allies. Eventually, the adventurers killed their assailants to the last man, and found their way through the maze to the inner sanctum of Myrkulites. Here they faced several arcane acolytes of the Death Lord, and were further hindered by bizarre energies which put some of them in a hypnotic trance, and also by animate pillars with grasping hands that would grapple and hold them as they tried to pass. Finally, they met the Faceless One himself, a man dressed in green robes and a leather mask set with iron studs, leaving only his eyes visible. His hands were covered with mystical tattoos. He proved to be a fearsome opponent, with a superior knowledge of the Weave, but in the end it was a matter of numbers versus power, and the League was victorious once again.
Having defeated all three arms of the Ebon Triad, they beleaguered group returned one last time to the Dark Cathedral, only to find the elevator had been smashed beyond repair, and the black pool stirring. From it emerged a creature that appeared to be a bizarre amalgamation of aspects of all three dark gods represented by the Triad. It attacked immediately, fighting with a savage fury that nearly overwhelmed the already taxed League members. However, teamwork and expert tactics kept them alive, and the Ebon Aspect was destroyed.
With Gideon’s flight capability, the group was able to reach the top of the elevator shaft, only to find the mine abandoned. They had spent two days in the depths of the mineshaft, and in that time it seemed that Ironeater had departed. The gates were locked and a sign there proclaimed the mine closed until further notice. When they arrived back in town (having left Storm at an abandoned mine office they had converted to a headquarters near the Whispering Cairn), they heard rumors that there had been a tragic accident at the mine, a fire which killed most of the employees. Derwin Ironeater had left town shortly after, offering no word, even to his brother, of his destination. While most of the members of the League went to report what they had found to Delfen Ondabar, Grim felt he had to go to his friend Derval and tell him the truth about his brother. Derval, however, would hear none of it. In anger, he dismissed Grim from his service. Grim mourned the loss of his friend, but realized now that fate had set him upon a different path.
Delfen was again very interested in the news his young pupil brought him, and even more dismayed to hear of both Smenk’s and Derwin Ironeater’s involvement. He felt that Daggerford might no longer be a safe haven for the League, since obviously the influence of the Ebon Triad might spread even further. He recommended that the band leave town for awhile, and he suggested a destination. An acquaintance of his, a magister of Waterdeep named Marzena, who was currently assigned to Cromm’s Hold, a small barony on the edge of the Lizardmarsh, had recently reported her own findings of strange green worms in her vicinity. Delfen wanted the group to go to Marzena and tell her their own discoveries, hoping that she might be able to shed more light on the situation. Before they departed however, the League paid a last visit to Balabar Smenk. Gideon informed him that his troubles had been dealt with, and that as far as he was concerned, they were done with each other. He warned Smenk of dire consequences should the man ever threaten his loved ones again.
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The League set out for Cromm’s Hold the next day. Civilar Veritas had reported in to the Daggerford garrison, and notified the commander, Sherlen Spearslayer, of all that had befallen him and what he had discovered beneath the Ironeater mine. He told Spearslayer that he intended to continue the investigation by journeying to Cromm’s Hold. Spearslayer agreed that this would be the wise choice, and granted him leave. Storm, on the other hand, simply had no other allies or alternatives, and so she agreed to throw in her lot with the League.
The journey along the verge of the Lizardmarsh took several days, and was marred by a middle of the night attack by none other than Kullen and his gang. Smenk had apparently sent them to ‘tie up any loose ends.’ The League showed them no mercy, and once they had been dealt with, the reluctant heroes vowed to pay Smenk back in full when they returned to Daggerford.
Upon arrival at Cromm’s Hold, they found it under siege by a small army of several dozen lizardfolk, all of them wearing baldrics of red-brown pelts, and sporting a red, eye-like tattoo circling their left eyes. Several of them were trying to scale the upper battlements, while another contingent hammered at the main door. A handful of the keep’s defenders were trying to repel both sets of invaders, but their efforts seemed to be futile, as more lizardfolk surrounded the hold, waiting to move up if any of their fellows should fall. The adventurers wasted no time in their intervention, with Vladius hurling fireballs with great effect, while Shay stepped between shadows to arrive on the battlements to aid the soldiers. The others provided support where needed, and it wasn’t long before the lizardfolk were in full retreat.
When the League entered the keep, they found only Baroness Piann Cromm and thirteen soldiers still lived. The baroness told her saviors that the lizardfolk first attacked two days ago without warning. They were able to breach the main door with their first assault, but were beaten back. However, when they left they took three soldiers with them into the Marsh, as well as the hold’s magister, Marzena. Piann had no idea why the lizardfolk attacked, or their reasons for taking prisoners. By their tattoos and baldrics, she identified them as members of the Redeye tribe, once one of the more peaceful tribes in the area. However, according to reports, their leader, a shaman named Redeye, was slain a decade or so ago by a party of adventurers, only to return as a lich. Since then, Redeye had supposedly transformed his followers into a brutal band of raiders.
Gideon told the baroness of their purpose for coming to Cromm’s Hold, and offered the services of the League in retrieving Marzena and the missing soldiers if possible. Once they had offered what aid they could to the wounded, the company set off on the trail of the lizardfolk into the Lizardmarsh. Shay was able to track the raiders with relative ease, and after a day’s hard march through the swamp, they arrived at an incredibly ancient grove of mangaroo trees. Within was the lair of the Redeye tribe. No sooner had the band entered the cave-like lair beneath the trees, than they were set upon by hordes of lizardfolk, aided by harpies and one particularly brutal lizardfolk male, with black scales and acidic breath.
At one point, the party entered a chamber in which stood a lone, stooped lizardman wearing necklaces and bracelets of animal’s teeth. A large snake coiled near his feet. Instead of attacking, however, he spoke of a truce in broken common. He called himself Hishka, and said that he was the tribe’s shaman. He begged the members of the League to hear him out, and told them that he disagreed with the aggressive direction in which Redeye was leading the tribe. He said that Redeye was once a divine champion of Semuanya, and was generally tolerant of other races and willing to negotiate with humans. Then, ten years ago, he was gravely wounded while leading a hunting party through the Marsh. When he returned to the tribe, he was changed. He appeared more draconic, and was certainly more violent. He claimed that Talos, the god of destruction, had spared him, and he carried a shield bearing the standard of the Destroyer. Under his leadership, the tribe began an aggressive series of raids against human settlements. Two years ago, a strange blight of ravenous green worms ate through entire clutches of lizardfolk hatchlings in tribes throughout the Lizardmarsh. With an entire generation wiped out, many tribes fell to desperation and depravity. Others were forced to take shelter and wait for new warriors to come of age. During this time, the Redeye tribe received a visitor…a black dragon female named Ilthane. She told Redeye that the magisters of Waterdeep were responsible for the plague of worms, and urged him to lead his tribe to war. In return, she offered to guard the tribe’s latest egg clutch, and even left one her own eggs as a sign of good faith. Hishka was suspicious of Ilthane and her motives, and felt that Redeye’s war would lead only to the tribe’s ruin. The offer he now made to the League was for them to slay Redeye, allowing him to take control of the tribe and convince them to cease their reign of terror.
Gideon and his band cautiously agreed, and Hishka told them where to find Redeye and the prisoners he’d taken. When they reached Redeye’s throne room, they found the king surrounded by two dozen of his finest warriors. Battle was joined again, with Redeye claiming first blood by mortally wounding Shay with a hurled trident, followed by a gout of corrosive acid from his mouth. The tide soon turned, however, and ultimately Redeye was defeated. Hishka was true to his word, and ordered his people to stop all hostilities against the League. Still, he required one more service of the heroes. Since his tribe was already crippled by the loss of their hatchlings, and now further so by the death toll accumulated by the League, the shaman intended to take his remaining warriors and travel to other tribes to recruit new fighters and females of breeding age. This would mean leaving the current clutch of eggs unguarded, however. Once more, Gideon acquiesced, and Hishka showed him to the egg chamber. Its water-covered floor was filled with hundreds of tiny, pale leathery eggs. In the midst of them stood a halfling-sized black egg. Also in the room were a squad of eight kobolds, black of skin, with a long fin running like a crest from their heads down their backs. Hishka first informed the adventurers that these creatures were left by Ilthane as guardians, but that he did not trust them. Then he told the kobolds that the League had been hired by him to assist in guarding the eggs, after which he took his leave.
Hawk’s first action was to subtly scan the room for the presence of evil. He found it immediately in the kobolds, but was surprised to find the black egg not only radiating evil, but radiating hundreds of individual auras. Hawk relayed this message to Gideon, who flew out over the water to investigate the egg. Immediately, the kobolds attacked, and almost as quickly were dispatched. Gideon then dragged the egg from the water and onto dry land, but careful inspection gave no further information. The group decided to wait for Hishka’s return before taking any more actions. In the meantime, they were able to speak with Marzena and tell her of their reasons for seeking her out. She was interested in hearing the full story, and was grateful for her rescue.
When Hishka returned, Gideon told him of what had occurred with the kobolds, and what they had discovered about the egg. The shaman gave his permission to open the egg, and when Grim did so, hundreds of writhing green worms spilled out onto the sandy floor, only to shrivel up and die moments later. If the egg had hatched within the pool, the horrible parasites would surely have attacked the hatchlings. Hishka thanked the League profusely, and promised his tribe would engage in no further hostilities against the humans.
The League and their charges made their way back to Cromm’s Hold, only to find the soldiers and the baroness in a panic. Guilt ridden, they told the group how, over a year ago, their former magister had gone on an exploration mission into the swamp, but had returned changed. He seemed to have contracted some sort of wasting disease, which soon claimed his life. However, he rose again minutes later, with writhing, green worms pouring from his mouth, eyes and nose. Horrified, but unable to bring themselves to slay their former comrade, the soldiers had locked the creature in a cellar storeroom. Even Marzena was not aware of this. When the lizardfolk attacked, they had apparently weakened the lock on the door to the room, and soon after the League had departed, the thing had broken free. It had since dragged two other soldiers downstairs with it, and somehow transformed them as well. The party wasted no time in descending to the sublevel of the hold, and there they came face-to-face with their first spawns of Kyuss. The creatures were truly horrific, causing even Grim’s stout heart to quail. When they attacked, they did so by plucking bloated worms from their own flesh and flinging them at the adventurers. One fireball later, the undead were destroyed (along with most of the basement of the hold). The worms had begun burrowing into the flesh of their victims as soon as they made contact, but Grubber was quickly able to kill the vermin with a magical removal of disease.
Now that Cromm’s Hold was truly secure, the company prepared to take their leave. Marzena agreed to accompany them, but to Waterdeep rather than back to Daggerford. She said that she had no more information about the worms and their hosts than Delfen had already provided. However, she knew of a man in Waterdeep that was a friend to both she and Delfen. He was a sage and scholar of some note by the name of Dagsumn. If anyone could properly investigate all of these occurrences and make sense of them, he could.
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The journey to Waterdeep was blissfully uneventful. Upon arrival there, Marzena and Hawk separated from the rest of the group to report in at the barracks of the guard. Marzena gave directions to Dagsumn's home, and so the others made their way across the vast metropolis. There were many celebrations and parades going on throughout the City of Splendors, as it seemed that some event called the Champion’s Games was due to occur in the next couple of weeks.
Dagsumn and his wife Karyss greeted the adventurers cordially, and Dagsumn in particular was intrigued when he learned that Delfen had referred them to him. He listened with interest as they told their tale and showed him the artifacts they had recovered so far, including the pickled green worm from Filge’s, Zosiel’s diadem, the pair of demon horns and the talisman of the sphere. He told them that it would take him some time to fully research the information and asked them to leave the objects with him for the next ten-day. In the meantime, he recommended an inn to them known as the Crooked Stair, located in a section of the City Ward known as the Midnight Muddle, and run by a gnome friend of his named Tarquin Shortstone XXVI.
There was still the matter of Shay. The group had brought their friend’s body with them under the effects of a Gentle Repose spell, hoping to lay him to rest with honor and respect in Waterdeep. However, when Hawk found them again, he told them that the garrison commander was eager to meet them, and was very grateful for their assistance, not only in saving Cromm’s Hold, but also in rescuing Marzena. The company had also brought along a dispatch from Hishka suing for peace between his people and Waterdeep, and this too earned the League members high praise from the commander. He rewarded them by calling upon his contacts within the church of Tyr to restore Shay to life. Grumpy, but none the worse for ware, the rogue/scout gratefully greeted his companions.
The young adventurers allowed themselves to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the city over the next several days. Shay took to frequenting some of the more ‘colorful’ areas of town in the late evening. On one such evening, as the group gathered in the common room of the Crooked Stair, Shay took his leave as usual, only to return a few minutes later, walk up to Tarquin, and stab him in the chest. The room immediately became a mob scene. Shay tried to slip out the door in the chaos, but his friends pursued him and were forced to subdue him into unconsciousness. Grubber, in the mean time, ministered to Tarquin, keeping him from death. When the city watch arrived, they demanded that the party turn Shay over to their custody, despite the group’s vehement protest that their friend was not acting at all normally, and they suspected he was ensorcelled. Nevertheless, he was arrested and hauled away.
Later that night, Shay walked back into the common room. Needless to say, this created another uproar, but Gideon assured Tarquin that he was safe, and Shay himself seemed to have no idea what was going on, and certainly had no recollection of having stabbed anyone. The following day, the entire group trooped down to the city jail and presented Shay to the watch as irrefutable proof that if they indeed had him in custody, how could he now be standing before them? The watch commander informed them that, as it so happened, their had been a prisoner transfer request during the night to transport Shay to the dungeons beneath Castle Waterdeep, and during the transfer, Shay had escaped. He thanked the civic-minded heroes for recapturing him, and Shay was promptly arrested once again.
Furious, the adventurers protested, only to be told that a magister would hear the case the following day. Hawk insisted on being allowed to stay at the jail overnight with Shay to ensure he didn’t ‘escape’ again. That night, a detail from Castle Waterdeep arrived, once more requesting a prisoner transfer. Hawk wanted to accompany them, but was ordered not to. He returned to the inn and informed his companions what had transpired. The next morning, the group went to the castle dungeons, only to be told that no such transfer had been ordered nor had taken place. When Hawk examined the log, he found no evidence of Shay having been brought to the complex.
At this point, Hawk left to find Marzena and tell her what about the strange events. Meanwhile, Gideon and Grubber hit upon an idea to cast a spell allowing them to locate specifically Shay’s distinctive rapier. The spell pointed them towards Dock Ward, and once there, specifically to an abandoned warehouse called Sodden Hold. They had left word for Hawk where to find them, and it was at this point that he rejoined them, bringing with him another civilar that he introduced as Dwilt Riddick. Marzena had been very concerned about what had happened to Shay, and she suspected the watch might be compromised. She knew Dwilt personally, and knew that he had an impeccable reputation, and so had sent him to investigate.
Inside the warehouse, the company was attacked almost immediately by what appeared to be living crates, but which actually turned out to be shape-shifting creatures called mimics. After defeating these creatures, Grubber determined that the trail led still deeper into the hold. They soon came upon a cell block, in which they found an unconscious Shay as well as a young noble named Tryssia Lanngolyn, a magister named Gattel Watam, who seemed to have lost his mind, and two members of the watch named Martal and Regim. Shay was revived, and had little memory of his captivity. Tryssia was released and escorted to the street by Dwilt. Watam seemed beyond help, and so was left temporarily locked in his cell for safekeeping. As for Martal and Regim, while the group was assisting the other prisoners, the two watchmen produced swords from beneath the straw in their cell, opened the door effortlessly, and attacked! The party managed to kill them, but not before they almost slew Shay a second time. To the amazement of all, upon their deaths, the two watchmen transformed into gray-skinned, white eyed creatures. Vladius had heard of these types of beings before, but had never personally encountered doppelgangers until now. This explained much. If doppelgangers were in the city, they could have infiltrated all levels of government.
Dwilt and Hawk now insisted that they press on into the hold to see if there were more of the creatures hidden there. They came upon a, water-filled shaft that seemed to go deep underground. With Grubber conferring the ability to breath water upon all of the group, they set off into the under level. They found themselves in a vast underwater chamber, occupied by a gigantic octopus. They defeated the monster, and then swam to the top of the chamber, where they found a mechanism to drain it of water. Exiting the room, they were assailed by more doppelgangers, this time in their natural form. After dispatching this group, they began exploring the warren of underground chambers.
At one point, they found a room with documents detailing numerous noble families and government institutions that had been corrupted. Later, they entered a chamber and beheld and astounding sight! Seated and bound were likenesses of each one of them, excluding Dwilt! Immediately suspecting a trap, the League members attacked their doubles, and their twins responded by bursting their bonds and retaliating…all except Hawk’s double. Oddly enough, Hawk attacked his own double mercilessly, even after the others had been slain and revealed as doppelgangers. The other party members tried to stop him, suspicious of his actions, only to have him turn on them. Forced to kill him, they were stunned to find that Hawk was a doppelganger! The real Hawk was the one tied to the chair! He said that he had been captured almost a week ago, and had been held here ever since, all along thinking those around him were truly his friends and had been captured as well. How deep did this corruption go?
Proceeding on, the companions made their way through a maze of mirrors, attacked hit-and-run by doppelgangers all along. Finally, they came to a sort of throne room, which contained a stranger apparatus comprised of a table with straps, tubes and pipes coming out of it. The throne was occupied by Delfen Ondabar! He greeted the heroes as friends, but by this time they were unwilling to listen to more lies. They attacked, and the wizard retaliated. His magical skill certainly matched that of Ondabar, but it was only a matter of time before he was defeated. Not surprisingly, upon his death, he too reverted to doppelganger form, but did not appear the same as the others. Vladius knew him to be a greater doppelganger, one who was capable of actually absorbing the identities of those he mimicked, although his guise as Delfen seemed to be just that, a cosmetic façade, for when he had begun hurling spells, his appearance had changed to that of an older human.
A search of the doppelgangers chambers turned a host of forged and original documents detailing Waterdeep treaties, merchant dealings, and religious papers. In addition, there was a missive bearing the message: “I have a task for you, thrall. Meet me at the sewer junction beneath Brian’s forge and I will give you the details. There are some troublesome small minds that must be removed.” It was signed with some sort of symbol made to look like a spiraling tentacle (identical to one tattooed on the greater doppelganger’s forehead). So, it seemed someone else had ordered the doppelgangers to assassinate the members of the League, but whom and why? It seemed that the answers might be found at the forge of Brian the Swordmaster, a well-known craftsman in the city.
On the return trip to the surface, however, the League found that the water chamber was occupied again. A previously hidden door was now open on the opposite side of the room, and standing in the passage beyond it were a pair of drow males armed with crossbows, and a horrible looking creature dressed in robes, with a bulbous head and four tentacles where its mouth should be. An illithid! Immediately, a blast of mental power surged from the mind-flayer, stunning several members of the group. The illithid then withdrew, but the drow took up the assault. After a short, but hectic battle, the drow were killed but no sign of the illithid remained, nevertheless it seemed the mastermind behind the mystery had been revealed.
The group immediately sought out Marzena, and turned over to her all of the information they had discovered, telling her of their intent to now follow the trail into the sewers beneath the city streets. They made their way to Brian’s forge, and there, Hawk and Dwilt had several watchmen cordon off the block while the League descended into the sewers. Over a period of two to three hours, the company searched the sewer tunnels, and eventually found an older, disused section which led into a series of natural caves. Here they encountered more drow thralls, including a priestess of the Spider Queen (much to Storm’s horror). Deeper and deeper they journeyed, fighting many horrific aberrations along the way, including a naga and a pair of octopoid creatures which were capable of scaling walls and whose gaze dulled the reflexes of any who met it. Beyond one massive pair of double doors they encountered a marble statue of a brain, which had the power to dominate the minds of those in its vicinity. This they destroyed, and found a laboratory beyond it, with a short corridor leading to a balcony overlooking a cavernous cathedral. Here they found the mind-flayer once more, hovering over a large pool filled with swimming, tadpole like creatures. The illithid had another pair of the octopoid creatures with him, and the battle was joined in earnest.
Grubber detailed the struggle in full for Giovanni, telling of how the illithid was by far the most puissant opponent they had thus far encountered. He was a sorcerer, and used his spells and mental abilities to devastating effect. It was here that Gideon fell. He made a suicidal charge at the mind-flayer, attempting to draw its attention away from Dwilt and Grimm. The illithid electrocuted the aasimar with a point-blank lightning bolt fired into his chest. His death was not in vain, as his companions did indeed capitalize on the opportunity, and eventually brought the vile sorcerer, and his octopins down.
A search of the illithid’s chambers turned up a ledger. It detailed the creature’s recent business transactions in rare and dangerous items with patrons throughout Waterdeep. The most recent transaction listed a payment for the sale of an ancient relic listed as the Apostolic Scrolls. It took place between the illithid and one Prendergast Brokengulf! In addition, there was a notation that Brokengulf had also paid the mind-flayer to assassinate the members of the League!
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Within a few days of their return from the illithid’s abode, the party was contacted by Dagsumn. He invited them to dinner, saying that he had the information they had requested. Of the relics from the Wind Dukes, he could only say that they were not directly related to the Age of Worms, but all of the other clues pointed to the involvement of a minor deity of the creation and mastery of undead called Kyuss. The worm-infested undead were the most notorious (and, he noted, least powerful) of Kyuss’ spawn, and their increasing presence in the region indicated that the cult was becoming more powerful. The cult had traditionally been small, but the evidence provided suggested that the Ebon Triad was now involving itself with the cult. Tales of the Age of Worms were ancient, Dagsumn said, and it was often known by other names such as the End Times, the Dark Age and the Eternal Ruin. It was an ancient set of prophecies that spoke of a transformation of the world, of a time when life would give way to something else. These prophecies were recorded in certain rare texts such as the Book of Vile Darkness, the Libris Mortis, the Necronomicon and the Apostolic Scrolls. At this point, Dwilt interrupted, telling Dagsumn of what they had discovered in the sewers, and especially the illithid’s reference to the Apostolic Scrolls and Brokengulf. Dagsumn’s face darkened at this news. He told them that the scrolls were reputed to have been penned by Kyuss himself and detailed the creation of a horrible undead creature known as the ulgurstasta, which was in turn capable of consuming the living and regurgitating them as undead.
Dagsumn suggested that the League investigate Brokengulf further, but cautioned that he was a very powerful man in the city, with powerful allies, and they could not simply confront him without hard evidence (the word of a mind-flayer notwithstanding). It was at this point that the idea to infiltrate the Champion’s Games was born. Dagsumn arranged a meeting between the adventurers and Celeste, who in turn introduced them to Ekaym Smallcask…
Before the League had a chance to begin their investigation of Ironeater’s mine, a message was received by Gideon from none-other-than Balabar Smenk. The missive requested a meeting with the League, and implied subtle threats against both Valkus Dun, and Melinde, a paladin of Tyr whom Gideon had been raised with, and who was like a sister to him. Reluctantly, the meeting with Smenk was arranged. The mine manager was quite forthcoming with the young adventurers, relating to them that he was terrified of the cultists, and that he had been pressured and blackmailed into aiding them. He told of finding the severed head of one of his trusted assistants in his bed recently, a clear message of what would befall him if he betrayed the cult. Smenk argued that, though his businesses practices might be somewhat suspect, he was, after all, just that…a business man, while the cultists were mad men who posed a far greater threat to Daggerford.
The members of the League agreed to Smenk’s proposal, even though they had planned all along to investigate the mine any way. Grim knew that Derwin Ironeater’s mine was well guarded by hired henchmen, and that the group would not be able to just waltz in. Shay and Vladius took it upon themselves to begin visiting some of the dives frequented by the Ironeater miners. It wasn’t long before they found a couple of disgruntled souls. After a few drinks, and promises that Derwin Ironeater would get his, the miners agreed to create a diversion so that the members of the League could sneak into the mine.
This distraction came in the form of setting fire to several store houses in the main compound in the middle of the night. While the guards responded to the disaster, the adventurers made their way into the main mine shaft. It wasn’t long before they found a boarded-up, apparently unused passageway, which led to an elevator descending even deeper into the earth.
At the bottom of the shaft, they found themselves in a vast, domed hall. One end was filled with a dark pool, while the other end bore three locked doors. The northern door bore banners with the symbol of Myrkul, and the eastern door bore the symbol of Bane. The western door was unmarked. Immediately, the band was set upon by a pair of tieflings, abyssal-blooded creatures who wore tabards bearing the symbol of Bane. Easily defeating the guards, the League decided to investigate the door bearing that dark god’s symbol first. Beyond, they found a complex populated by undead skeletons, crazed fanatics (some of them recognizable as locals from Daggerford), and more tieflings. Ultimately, they faced, and killed a powerful priest of Bane named Theldrick and several of his minions. Among Theldrick’s belongings, they discovered two pieces of parchment. The first was addressed to Theldrick by an unknown writer. It spoke of Kyuss, and told of him being a herald for some sort of Overgod. It made mention that “the three sundered faiths shall be made whole,” and stated that the worm-ridden undead in the Forlorn Hills needed to be captured to provide answers for shepherding in the Age of Worms so that the Overgod might live. There was also an odd description of something called the Ebon Aspect, which “stirs within the pool, but still is not ready to emerge.” Lastly, it made clear the fact that Smenk had become a liability and had to be eliminated, and that agents should be sent to the Lizard Marsh to find some secret that could be found among the lizardfolk there. The second missive was even more cryptic, obviously written by Theldrick, but referring to someone called the Faceless One, and another called Grallak Kur. This second individual was identified as being some sort of seer from the Underdark, who was having visions of worms, and some greater power behind them.
Finding no further information among the Banites, the League returned to the dark cathedral, and this time entered the unmarked door. Beyond, they found themselves in a series of natural caves infested with grimlocks, strange humanoids from the Underdark who lacked eyes. A running battle with these savages eventually brought the adventurers to their chieftain. During the fierce battle, the League members were stunned to see first a naked human man, and then a nude drow woman emerge, battered and beaten, from the caves of the grimlocks. The two newcomers aided the struggling adventurers, the human using a gleaming sword, and the drow using magic. After the chieftain and his warriors were dispatched, the former prisoners told their tales. The human was Hawk Veritas, a civilar of the Waterdavian Guard, dispatched to the garrison at Daggerford. He had been waylaid by what he assumed were bandits on the road, and though he fought well, he had been overwhelmed. When he had awoken, he found himself in the clutches of the grimlocks. The drow woman said her name was simply Storm (“Drow?” Giovanni interrupted at this point, staring at the elven woman across from him. “Yes,” Storm replied, removing a comb from her hair and instantly transforming into a black-skinned, white-haired drow elf.) She claimed to be a renegade from Menzoberranzan, who had been fleeing her kinsmen with two companions when they were ambushed by grimlocks. Her companions had been killed outright, but she had been kept alive as entertainment for the chief. It was she that had delivered the killing blow to the brute. Hawk and Storm decided to journey on with their saviors further into the grimlock caves, and they soon came upon one last band of them. These all bore tattoos of the dead god Bhaal carved into their chests. Their leader was a priest, Grallak Kur as it turned out, who had a pair of beholder eyes sewn into his eye sockets. Kur and his barbarians were killed in a largely one-sided fight, and the party removed another scroll from the priest’s corpse. The words it contained were rambling and disjointed, but basically stated that a great power was growing in the pool in the Dark Cathedral, and that this power would serve the Ebon Triad as a champion. It went on to say that with the return of Kyuss, the Age of Worms was finally at hand.
Guessing at what lay behind door number three, the League returned to the Dark Cathedral, more wary than ever now of the black pool at its center, and proceeded through the portal marked with the symbol of Myrkul, Lord of the Dead. A literal labyrinth greeted them as they entered the lair of the Deathbringers. The twists, dead-ends and switch-backs were a perfect set-up for an ambush, and it wasn’t long before several groups of bird-headed kenku assassins and sorcerers began hit-and-run strikes against the League and their new allies. Eventually, the adventurers killed their assailants to the last man, and found their way through the maze to the inner sanctum of Myrkulites. Here they faced several arcane acolytes of the Death Lord, and were further hindered by bizarre energies which put some of them in a hypnotic trance, and also by animate pillars with grasping hands that would grapple and hold them as they tried to pass. Finally, they met the Faceless One himself, a man dressed in green robes and a leather mask set with iron studs, leaving only his eyes visible. His hands were covered with mystical tattoos. He proved to be a fearsome opponent, with a superior knowledge of the Weave, but in the end it was a matter of numbers versus power, and the League was victorious once again.
Having defeated all three arms of the Ebon Triad, they beleaguered group returned one last time to the Dark Cathedral, only to find the elevator had been smashed beyond repair, and the black pool stirring. From it emerged a creature that appeared to be a bizarre amalgamation of aspects of all three dark gods represented by the Triad. It attacked immediately, fighting with a savage fury that nearly overwhelmed the already taxed League members. However, teamwork and expert tactics kept them alive, and the Ebon Aspect was destroyed.
With Gideon’s flight capability, the group was able to reach the top of the elevator shaft, only to find the mine abandoned. They had spent two days in the depths of the mineshaft, and in that time it seemed that Ironeater had departed. The gates were locked and a sign there proclaimed the mine closed until further notice. When they arrived back in town (having left Storm at an abandoned mine office they had converted to a headquarters near the Whispering Cairn), they heard rumors that there had been a tragic accident at the mine, a fire which killed most of the employees. Derwin Ironeater had left town shortly after, offering no word, even to his brother, of his destination. While most of the members of the League went to report what they had found to Delfen Ondabar, Grim felt he had to go to his friend Derval and tell him the truth about his brother. Derval, however, would hear none of it. In anger, he dismissed Grim from his service. Grim mourned the loss of his friend, but realized now that fate had set him upon a different path.
Delfen was again very interested in the news his young pupil brought him, and even more dismayed to hear of both Smenk’s and Derwin Ironeater’s involvement. He felt that Daggerford might no longer be a safe haven for the League, since obviously the influence of the Ebon Triad might spread even further. He recommended that the band leave town for awhile, and he suggested a destination. An acquaintance of his, a magister of Waterdeep named Marzena, who was currently assigned to Cromm’s Hold, a small barony on the edge of the Lizardmarsh, had recently reported her own findings of strange green worms in her vicinity. Delfen wanted the group to go to Marzena and tell her their own discoveries, hoping that she might be able to shed more light on the situation. Before they departed however, the League paid a last visit to Balabar Smenk. Gideon informed him that his troubles had been dealt with, and that as far as he was concerned, they were done with each other. He warned Smenk of dire consequences should the man ever threaten his loved ones again.
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The League set out for Cromm’s Hold the next day. Civilar Veritas had reported in to the Daggerford garrison, and notified the commander, Sherlen Spearslayer, of all that had befallen him and what he had discovered beneath the Ironeater mine. He told Spearslayer that he intended to continue the investigation by journeying to Cromm’s Hold. Spearslayer agreed that this would be the wise choice, and granted him leave. Storm, on the other hand, simply had no other allies or alternatives, and so she agreed to throw in her lot with the League.
The journey along the verge of the Lizardmarsh took several days, and was marred by a middle of the night attack by none other than Kullen and his gang. Smenk had apparently sent them to ‘tie up any loose ends.’ The League showed them no mercy, and once they had been dealt with, the reluctant heroes vowed to pay Smenk back in full when they returned to Daggerford.
Upon arrival at Cromm’s Hold, they found it under siege by a small army of several dozen lizardfolk, all of them wearing baldrics of red-brown pelts, and sporting a red, eye-like tattoo circling their left eyes. Several of them were trying to scale the upper battlements, while another contingent hammered at the main door. A handful of the keep’s defenders were trying to repel both sets of invaders, but their efforts seemed to be futile, as more lizardfolk surrounded the hold, waiting to move up if any of their fellows should fall. The adventurers wasted no time in their intervention, with Vladius hurling fireballs with great effect, while Shay stepped between shadows to arrive on the battlements to aid the soldiers. The others provided support where needed, and it wasn’t long before the lizardfolk were in full retreat.
When the League entered the keep, they found only Baroness Piann Cromm and thirteen soldiers still lived. The baroness told her saviors that the lizardfolk first attacked two days ago without warning. They were able to breach the main door with their first assault, but were beaten back. However, when they left they took three soldiers with them into the Marsh, as well as the hold’s magister, Marzena. Piann had no idea why the lizardfolk attacked, or their reasons for taking prisoners. By their tattoos and baldrics, she identified them as members of the Redeye tribe, once one of the more peaceful tribes in the area. However, according to reports, their leader, a shaman named Redeye, was slain a decade or so ago by a party of adventurers, only to return as a lich. Since then, Redeye had supposedly transformed his followers into a brutal band of raiders.
Gideon told the baroness of their purpose for coming to Cromm’s Hold, and offered the services of the League in retrieving Marzena and the missing soldiers if possible. Once they had offered what aid they could to the wounded, the company set off on the trail of the lizardfolk into the Lizardmarsh. Shay was able to track the raiders with relative ease, and after a day’s hard march through the swamp, they arrived at an incredibly ancient grove of mangaroo trees. Within was the lair of the Redeye tribe. No sooner had the band entered the cave-like lair beneath the trees, than they were set upon by hordes of lizardfolk, aided by harpies and one particularly brutal lizardfolk male, with black scales and acidic breath.
At one point, the party entered a chamber in which stood a lone, stooped lizardman wearing necklaces and bracelets of animal’s teeth. A large snake coiled near his feet. Instead of attacking, however, he spoke of a truce in broken common. He called himself Hishka, and said that he was the tribe’s shaman. He begged the members of the League to hear him out, and told them that he disagreed with the aggressive direction in which Redeye was leading the tribe. He said that Redeye was once a divine champion of Semuanya, and was generally tolerant of other races and willing to negotiate with humans. Then, ten years ago, he was gravely wounded while leading a hunting party through the Marsh. When he returned to the tribe, he was changed. He appeared more draconic, and was certainly more violent. He claimed that Talos, the god of destruction, had spared him, and he carried a shield bearing the standard of the Destroyer. Under his leadership, the tribe began an aggressive series of raids against human settlements. Two years ago, a strange blight of ravenous green worms ate through entire clutches of lizardfolk hatchlings in tribes throughout the Lizardmarsh. With an entire generation wiped out, many tribes fell to desperation and depravity. Others were forced to take shelter and wait for new warriors to come of age. During this time, the Redeye tribe received a visitor…a black dragon female named Ilthane. She told Redeye that the magisters of Waterdeep were responsible for the plague of worms, and urged him to lead his tribe to war. In return, she offered to guard the tribe’s latest egg clutch, and even left one her own eggs as a sign of good faith. Hishka was suspicious of Ilthane and her motives, and felt that Redeye’s war would lead only to the tribe’s ruin. The offer he now made to the League was for them to slay Redeye, allowing him to take control of the tribe and convince them to cease their reign of terror.
Gideon and his band cautiously agreed, and Hishka told them where to find Redeye and the prisoners he’d taken. When they reached Redeye’s throne room, they found the king surrounded by two dozen of his finest warriors. Battle was joined again, with Redeye claiming first blood by mortally wounding Shay with a hurled trident, followed by a gout of corrosive acid from his mouth. The tide soon turned, however, and ultimately Redeye was defeated. Hishka was true to his word, and ordered his people to stop all hostilities against the League. Still, he required one more service of the heroes. Since his tribe was already crippled by the loss of their hatchlings, and now further so by the death toll accumulated by the League, the shaman intended to take his remaining warriors and travel to other tribes to recruit new fighters and females of breeding age. This would mean leaving the current clutch of eggs unguarded, however. Once more, Gideon acquiesced, and Hishka showed him to the egg chamber. Its water-covered floor was filled with hundreds of tiny, pale leathery eggs. In the midst of them stood a halfling-sized black egg. Also in the room were a squad of eight kobolds, black of skin, with a long fin running like a crest from their heads down their backs. Hishka first informed the adventurers that these creatures were left by Ilthane as guardians, but that he did not trust them. Then he told the kobolds that the League had been hired by him to assist in guarding the eggs, after which he took his leave.
Hawk’s first action was to subtly scan the room for the presence of evil. He found it immediately in the kobolds, but was surprised to find the black egg not only radiating evil, but radiating hundreds of individual auras. Hawk relayed this message to Gideon, who flew out over the water to investigate the egg. Immediately, the kobolds attacked, and almost as quickly were dispatched. Gideon then dragged the egg from the water and onto dry land, but careful inspection gave no further information. The group decided to wait for Hishka’s return before taking any more actions. In the meantime, they were able to speak with Marzena and tell her of their reasons for seeking her out. She was interested in hearing the full story, and was grateful for her rescue.
When Hishka returned, Gideon told him of what had occurred with the kobolds, and what they had discovered about the egg. The shaman gave his permission to open the egg, and when Grim did so, hundreds of writhing green worms spilled out onto the sandy floor, only to shrivel up and die moments later. If the egg had hatched within the pool, the horrible parasites would surely have attacked the hatchlings. Hishka thanked the League profusely, and promised his tribe would engage in no further hostilities against the humans.
The League and their charges made their way back to Cromm’s Hold, only to find the soldiers and the baroness in a panic. Guilt ridden, they told the group how, over a year ago, their former magister had gone on an exploration mission into the swamp, but had returned changed. He seemed to have contracted some sort of wasting disease, which soon claimed his life. However, he rose again minutes later, with writhing, green worms pouring from his mouth, eyes and nose. Horrified, but unable to bring themselves to slay their former comrade, the soldiers had locked the creature in a cellar storeroom. Even Marzena was not aware of this. When the lizardfolk attacked, they had apparently weakened the lock on the door to the room, and soon after the League had departed, the thing had broken free. It had since dragged two other soldiers downstairs with it, and somehow transformed them as well. The party wasted no time in descending to the sublevel of the hold, and there they came face-to-face with their first spawns of Kyuss. The creatures were truly horrific, causing even Grim’s stout heart to quail. When they attacked, they did so by plucking bloated worms from their own flesh and flinging them at the adventurers. One fireball later, the undead were destroyed (along with most of the basement of the hold). The worms had begun burrowing into the flesh of their victims as soon as they made contact, but Grubber was quickly able to kill the vermin with a magical removal of disease.
Now that Cromm’s Hold was truly secure, the company prepared to take their leave. Marzena agreed to accompany them, but to Waterdeep rather than back to Daggerford. She said that she had no more information about the worms and their hosts than Delfen had already provided. However, she knew of a man in Waterdeep that was a friend to both she and Delfen. He was a sage and scholar of some note by the name of Dagsumn. If anyone could properly investigate all of these occurrences and make sense of them, he could.
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The journey to Waterdeep was blissfully uneventful. Upon arrival there, Marzena and Hawk separated from the rest of the group to report in at the barracks of the guard. Marzena gave directions to Dagsumn's home, and so the others made their way across the vast metropolis. There were many celebrations and parades going on throughout the City of Splendors, as it seemed that some event called the Champion’s Games was due to occur in the next couple of weeks.
Dagsumn and his wife Karyss greeted the adventurers cordially, and Dagsumn in particular was intrigued when he learned that Delfen had referred them to him. He listened with interest as they told their tale and showed him the artifacts they had recovered so far, including the pickled green worm from Filge’s, Zosiel’s diadem, the pair of demon horns and the talisman of the sphere. He told them that it would take him some time to fully research the information and asked them to leave the objects with him for the next ten-day. In the meantime, he recommended an inn to them known as the Crooked Stair, located in a section of the City Ward known as the Midnight Muddle, and run by a gnome friend of his named Tarquin Shortstone XXVI.
There was still the matter of Shay. The group had brought their friend’s body with them under the effects of a Gentle Repose spell, hoping to lay him to rest with honor and respect in Waterdeep. However, when Hawk found them again, he told them that the garrison commander was eager to meet them, and was very grateful for their assistance, not only in saving Cromm’s Hold, but also in rescuing Marzena. The company had also brought along a dispatch from Hishka suing for peace between his people and Waterdeep, and this too earned the League members high praise from the commander. He rewarded them by calling upon his contacts within the church of Tyr to restore Shay to life. Grumpy, but none the worse for ware, the rogue/scout gratefully greeted his companions.
The young adventurers allowed themselves to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the city over the next several days. Shay took to frequenting some of the more ‘colorful’ areas of town in the late evening. On one such evening, as the group gathered in the common room of the Crooked Stair, Shay took his leave as usual, only to return a few minutes later, walk up to Tarquin, and stab him in the chest. The room immediately became a mob scene. Shay tried to slip out the door in the chaos, but his friends pursued him and were forced to subdue him into unconsciousness. Grubber, in the mean time, ministered to Tarquin, keeping him from death. When the city watch arrived, they demanded that the party turn Shay over to their custody, despite the group’s vehement protest that their friend was not acting at all normally, and they suspected he was ensorcelled. Nevertheless, he was arrested and hauled away.
Later that night, Shay walked back into the common room. Needless to say, this created another uproar, but Gideon assured Tarquin that he was safe, and Shay himself seemed to have no idea what was going on, and certainly had no recollection of having stabbed anyone. The following day, the entire group trooped down to the city jail and presented Shay to the watch as irrefutable proof that if they indeed had him in custody, how could he now be standing before them? The watch commander informed them that, as it so happened, their had been a prisoner transfer request during the night to transport Shay to the dungeons beneath Castle Waterdeep, and during the transfer, Shay had escaped. He thanked the civic-minded heroes for recapturing him, and Shay was promptly arrested once again.
Furious, the adventurers protested, only to be told that a magister would hear the case the following day. Hawk insisted on being allowed to stay at the jail overnight with Shay to ensure he didn’t ‘escape’ again. That night, a detail from Castle Waterdeep arrived, once more requesting a prisoner transfer. Hawk wanted to accompany them, but was ordered not to. He returned to the inn and informed his companions what had transpired. The next morning, the group went to the castle dungeons, only to be told that no such transfer had been ordered nor had taken place. When Hawk examined the log, he found no evidence of Shay having been brought to the complex.
At this point, Hawk left to find Marzena and tell her what about the strange events. Meanwhile, Gideon and Grubber hit upon an idea to cast a spell allowing them to locate specifically Shay’s distinctive rapier. The spell pointed them towards Dock Ward, and once there, specifically to an abandoned warehouse called Sodden Hold. They had left word for Hawk where to find them, and it was at this point that he rejoined them, bringing with him another civilar that he introduced as Dwilt Riddick. Marzena had been very concerned about what had happened to Shay, and she suspected the watch might be compromised. She knew Dwilt personally, and knew that he had an impeccable reputation, and so had sent him to investigate.
Inside the warehouse, the company was attacked almost immediately by what appeared to be living crates, but which actually turned out to be shape-shifting creatures called mimics. After defeating these creatures, Grubber determined that the trail led still deeper into the hold. They soon came upon a cell block, in which they found an unconscious Shay as well as a young noble named Tryssia Lanngolyn, a magister named Gattel Watam, who seemed to have lost his mind, and two members of the watch named Martal and Regim. Shay was revived, and had little memory of his captivity. Tryssia was released and escorted to the street by Dwilt. Watam seemed beyond help, and so was left temporarily locked in his cell for safekeeping. As for Martal and Regim, while the group was assisting the other prisoners, the two watchmen produced swords from beneath the straw in their cell, opened the door effortlessly, and attacked! The party managed to kill them, but not before they almost slew Shay a second time. To the amazement of all, upon their deaths, the two watchmen transformed into gray-skinned, white eyed creatures. Vladius had heard of these types of beings before, but had never personally encountered doppelgangers until now. This explained much. If doppelgangers were in the city, they could have infiltrated all levels of government.
Dwilt and Hawk now insisted that they press on into the hold to see if there were more of the creatures hidden there. They came upon a, water-filled shaft that seemed to go deep underground. With Grubber conferring the ability to breath water upon all of the group, they set off into the under level. They found themselves in a vast underwater chamber, occupied by a gigantic octopus. They defeated the monster, and then swam to the top of the chamber, where they found a mechanism to drain it of water. Exiting the room, they were assailed by more doppelgangers, this time in their natural form. After dispatching this group, they began exploring the warren of underground chambers.
At one point, they found a room with documents detailing numerous noble families and government institutions that had been corrupted. Later, they entered a chamber and beheld and astounding sight! Seated and bound were likenesses of each one of them, excluding Dwilt! Immediately suspecting a trap, the League members attacked their doubles, and their twins responded by bursting their bonds and retaliating…all except Hawk’s double. Oddly enough, Hawk attacked his own double mercilessly, even after the others had been slain and revealed as doppelgangers. The other party members tried to stop him, suspicious of his actions, only to have him turn on them. Forced to kill him, they were stunned to find that Hawk was a doppelganger! The real Hawk was the one tied to the chair! He said that he had been captured almost a week ago, and had been held here ever since, all along thinking those around him were truly his friends and had been captured as well. How deep did this corruption go?
Proceeding on, the companions made their way through a maze of mirrors, attacked hit-and-run by doppelgangers all along. Finally, they came to a sort of throne room, which contained a stranger apparatus comprised of a table with straps, tubes and pipes coming out of it. The throne was occupied by Delfen Ondabar! He greeted the heroes as friends, but by this time they were unwilling to listen to more lies. They attacked, and the wizard retaliated. His magical skill certainly matched that of Ondabar, but it was only a matter of time before he was defeated. Not surprisingly, upon his death, he too reverted to doppelganger form, but did not appear the same as the others. Vladius knew him to be a greater doppelganger, one who was capable of actually absorbing the identities of those he mimicked, although his guise as Delfen seemed to be just that, a cosmetic façade, for when he had begun hurling spells, his appearance had changed to that of an older human.
A search of the doppelgangers chambers turned a host of forged and original documents detailing Waterdeep treaties, merchant dealings, and religious papers. In addition, there was a missive bearing the message: “I have a task for you, thrall. Meet me at the sewer junction beneath Brian’s forge and I will give you the details. There are some troublesome small minds that must be removed.” It was signed with some sort of symbol made to look like a spiraling tentacle (identical to one tattooed on the greater doppelganger’s forehead). So, it seemed someone else had ordered the doppelgangers to assassinate the members of the League, but whom and why? It seemed that the answers might be found at the forge of Brian the Swordmaster, a well-known craftsman in the city.
On the return trip to the surface, however, the League found that the water chamber was occupied again. A previously hidden door was now open on the opposite side of the room, and standing in the passage beyond it were a pair of drow males armed with crossbows, and a horrible looking creature dressed in robes, with a bulbous head and four tentacles where its mouth should be. An illithid! Immediately, a blast of mental power surged from the mind-flayer, stunning several members of the group. The illithid then withdrew, but the drow took up the assault. After a short, but hectic battle, the drow were killed but no sign of the illithid remained, nevertheless it seemed the mastermind behind the mystery had been revealed.
The group immediately sought out Marzena, and turned over to her all of the information they had discovered, telling her of their intent to now follow the trail into the sewers beneath the city streets. They made their way to Brian’s forge, and there, Hawk and Dwilt had several watchmen cordon off the block while the League descended into the sewers. Over a period of two to three hours, the company searched the sewer tunnels, and eventually found an older, disused section which led into a series of natural caves. Here they encountered more drow thralls, including a priestess of the Spider Queen (much to Storm’s horror). Deeper and deeper they journeyed, fighting many horrific aberrations along the way, including a naga and a pair of octopoid creatures which were capable of scaling walls and whose gaze dulled the reflexes of any who met it. Beyond one massive pair of double doors they encountered a marble statue of a brain, which had the power to dominate the minds of those in its vicinity. This they destroyed, and found a laboratory beyond it, with a short corridor leading to a balcony overlooking a cavernous cathedral. Here they found the mind-flayer once more, hovering over a large pool filled with swimming, tadpole like creatures. The illithid had another pair of the octopoid creatures with him, and the battle was joined in earnest.
Grubber detailed the struggle in full for Giovanni, telling of how the illithid was by far the most puissant opponent they had thus far encountered. He was a sorcerer, and used his spells and mental abilities to devastating effect. It was here that Gideon fell. He made a suicidal charge at the mind-flayer, attempting to draw its attention away from Dwilt and Grimm. The illithid electrocuted the aasimar with a point-blank lightning bolt fired into his chest. His death was not in vain, as his companions did indeed capitalize on the opportunity, and eventually brought the vile sorcerer, and his octopins down.
A search of the illithid’s chambers turned up a ledger. It detailed the creature’s recent business transactions in rare and dangerous items with patrons throughout Waterdeep. The most recent transaction listed a payment for the sale of an ancient relic listed as the Apostolic Scrolls. It took place between the illithid and one Prendergast Brokengulf! In addition, there was a notation that Brokengulf had also paid the mind-flayer to assassinate the members of the League!
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Within a few days of their return from the illithid’s abode, the party was contacted by Dagsumn. He invited them to dinner, saying that he had the information they had requested. Of the relics from the Wind Dukes, he could only say that they were not directly related to the Age of Worms, but all of the other clues pointed to the involvement of a minor deity of the creation and mastery of undead called Kyuss. The worm-infested undead were the most notorious (and, he noted, least powerful) of Kyuss’ spawn, and their increasing presence in the region indicated that the cult was becoming more powerful. The cult had traditionally been small, but the evidence provided suggested that the Ebon Triad was now involving itself with the cult. Tales of the Age of Worms were ancient, Dagsumn said, and it was often known by other names such as the End Times, the Dark Age and the Eternal Ruin. It was an ancient set of prophecies that spoke of a transformation of the world, of a time when life would give way to something else. These prophecies were recorded in certain rare texts such as the Book of Vile Darkness, the Libris Mortis, the Necronomicon and the Apostolic Scrolls. At this point, Dwilt interrupted, telling Dagsumn of what they had discovered in the sewers, and especially the illithid’s reference to the Apostolic Scrolls and Brokengulf. Dagsumn’s face darkened at this news. He told them that the scrolls were reputed to have been penned by Kyuss himself and detailed the creation of a horrible undead creature known as the ulgurstasta, which was in turn capable of consuming the living and regurgitating them as undead.
Dagsumn suggested that the League investigate Brokengulf further, but cautioned that he was a very powerful man in the city, with powerful allies, and they could not simply confront him without hard evidence (the word of a mind-flayer notwithstanding). It was at this point that the idea to infiltrate the Champion’s Games was born. Dagsumn arranged a meeting between the adventurers and Celeste, who in turn introduced them to Ekaym Smallcask…
That's . . . THREE MODULES in one post!! The mother of all updates -- great job!![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
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