D&D 5E Escape the Underdark, Fear the Madness, and get Out of the Abyss - IC

[FitzTheRuke]

Grudach looked sharply at Thia. He loved her dearly, and admired her strength, but he'd always felt that she was going to get him killed one day. Still, he accepted that she was probably right. She usually was.

"Then we hunt the hook-beasts before we move on. Either way, we should hurry."

He finished sharpening his new glaive with the rune-covered stone, packed the stone away and stood up.

 

[EarlyBird]

While the party searches the gnolls the rest of the former prisoners make their way into the strangely lit cavern. Everyone but Ront is glad to have missed the "excitement". Finding a bit of treasure on the pack lord once regrouped the large party heads out together knowing that in a few hours they will need to start looking for a place to bed down.

OOC: Faster forward to dinner in a cold damp cave.

Finding the time to go over everything they found the group now has a chance to decide who should get/hold onto what.

OOC: Sorry we are past the hook horrors after people were saying they should move quickly on. I am ready to advance the thread to the next morning, just needed to divide up the gear you all are carrying first. Will make it morning of Day 5 this WED, if everyone is ready to continue on.

 

[EarlyBird]

OOC: Day 5 Drow Pursuit: 2 (0 = you lost them, 5 = they caught up to you) Food/Water Reserves: Need 10lbs/10gallons per day - food 12lbs - water 12 gallons Starvation: been on 1/2 rations 1 day

Putting the drow patrol and the hooked horrors behind them the group wakes to another day of darkness and walking. The caverns seem to change very little to most of you as you travel, but Kildrak and Buppido reassure everyone that the group is not walking in circles. The day has an bit more climbing to it than the ones before, and you take courage that up is the way you wish to go.

OOC: Day 6 Drow Pursuit: 2 (0 = you lost them, 5 = they caught up to you) Food/Water Reserves: Need 10lbs/10gallons per day - food 7lbs - water 7 gallons Starvation: been on 1/2 rations 2 days

The day is met with just as much walking, climbing, and darkness, but a bit of luck finally drops into your lap. The group finds an area of worked stone, where the tunnel was widened. Buppido excitedly searches the area, until he finds the rune marks left by duregar traders. He sighs as he notices the old carved out stone.

"This route hasn't been used in a long time. You can tell by the way the runes have faded. Traders would re-crave them as they used the passage. It is hard to see, but I believe it says two days from Darklake." He frowns and rubs at the carving. "But what side of Darklake I can not make out."

[sblock=OOC]
So back to foraging, guiding, and all those other rolls. Just add them into your post as we RP a bit.
Grudach: needs two navigation rolls w/advantage as he and Derendil scout the path. Wisdom(Survival)
Atallia: needs two perception rolls - as she is rear guard with Ront

Finn is aiding Stool
finds 7 lbs in two days
Thia is aiding Eldeth
finds 4lbs in two days
Kildrak: auto finds 12 lbs of food/water in two days
[/sblock]

OOC: Need everyone to roll INT checks for what they know about Darklake. And then you can decide as a group to go there or try and go around. Kildrak will have advantage on this check.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Grudach checked each side-passage as the group passed, conferring with Derendil to see if the hairy elf-creature could smell or sense anything, before continuing to lead the group on.

[roll0] or [roll1]

and [roll2] or [roll3]

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Attalia spends her time awkwardly trying to start conversations, perhaps not spending enough time looking for danger.

OOC: Perception: 1D20+2 = [5]+2 = 7 1D20+2 = [11]+2 = 13 Intelligence: 1D20-1 = [14]-1 = 13

 

[hero4hire]

Kildrak busied himself with finding provisions for the large group. Collecting condensation and finding edible mushrooms were second nature to the dwarf, but feeding so many was taxing to even his skills.

Upon reaching the junction and others speaking of Darklake, the dwarf stroked his beard thoughtfully.

OOC:
[roll0]
[roll1]

 

[EarlyBird]

[sblock=What Kildrak knows]
Kildrak first came to know about Darklake when he escorted a surface carvan through the Underdark to Mantol-Derith. The trade station (not really a city or town), in what is known as the Middle-Dark, is the only known place where duergar, svirfneblin, drow, and surface merchants trade with little conflict.

Manthol-Derith is located near the north-eastern edge of Darklake, and is less than a tenday south of Blingdenstone or Menzoberranzan.

Though its name might evoke images of a single subterranean body of water, the Darklake is a network of underground rivers, natural tunnels, and canals that connect innumerable water-filled caverns and chambers. This vast waterway stretches over a hundred miles across, with ceilings that are miles high in some places and depths that are unfathomable.

Long ago, duergar engineers extended and widened many of the interconnecting passages of the Darklake. They also constructed locks for raising and lowering watercraft to different levels within it, opening up large portions of the network for travel. Many Underdark creatures are experienced in navigating the Darklake, including the kuo-toa; flishlike humanoids known for their insane obsession with unraveling the secret patterns of the Underdark. Still, better to trust a kuo-toa guide than attempt to traverse the Darklake alone and become lost within it forever.

Fun Facts:
-Darklake is located beneath almost the entirety of the Evermoors.
-Fungal Forest sprout near the stale waters and grow to enormous sizes.
-Fish and other game are plentiful.
-Their are dwarven tunnels carved over the Darklake that connect Ammarindar to Menzoberranzan, a distance of some 250 miles.
-It takes two days to get from Mantol-Derith to Grachklstugh, by boat (and with a good guide).
-The surface of the Darklake is broken up by enormous stalagnites, stalactites, and columns.
-The duergar patrol the western area of the Darklake.
-Monsters abound especially freshwater trolls and a type of evil intelligent freshwater manta ray creature.
[/sblock]

 

[TallIan]

OOC: INT check: 1D20+1 = [7]+1 = 8 so not so much, though if the history skill is any help that will bump the roll up to a whopping 11

 

[hero4hire]

"I've been ta Darklake." Kildrak announces gruffly. "Tis not a lake but a maze of underground canals, rivers and such. Thar be an unspoken pact between the races thar, so everybody can trade..Iffin we don't get a guide while thar, no tellin where we'll end up !"

 

[FitzTheRuke]

"So where are we going? The grey dwarves will most probably enslave us no better than the Drow." warned Grudach, "But perhaps we can trade our way across the lakes."