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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7855109" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 4: JOURNEY TO THE WRITHING GATE</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardfolk 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 2</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 2</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 13 November 2019</p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>"Well," said Calish Jalamir to the five slaves assembled before him, "that was certainly a surprise! When I sent you off to the slave market, I didn't expect you to end up getting House Ky'hulcressen to owe our own Noble House a favor! Well done, everyone - I am truly pleased!" He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out five silk bags, passing one to each of the slaves. "Here are 20 slave tokens each - I suggest you head back to the market and buy provisions for two weeks, for your next mission will send you to the surface. Make your purchases and return to me at once."</p><p></p><p>Thus dismissed, the slaves headed back to the market, buzzing with questions and anticipation. "I wonder what we're going to be doing back on the surface?" asked Marlo.</p><p></p><p>"Who knows, but there's likely a way we can take advantage of the situation," suggested Cramer, his mind already spinning with possibilities.</p><p></p><p>"What's the big deal about the surface?" asked Khari. "It's so...open up there." As a dwarf, he greatly preferred the confining walls of the Underdark to the wide-open spaces of the surface world.</p><p></p><p>"It would probably be more exciting for you if that's where you were from," pointed out Marlo. "I for one will be glad to see the sun once again."</p><p></p><p>"What's the sun?" asked Jhasspok. It wasn't a stupid question (although the lizardfolk had more than his share of those); having spent his entire life as a slave to the drow in their Underdark city, he'd never seen the sun before or even heard of such a thing. But before anyone could give him an answer the group arrived at the slave market and got ready to make their purchases.</p><p></p><p>"We'll want dried food for the trip," advised Cramer. "And water, since there are no guarantees we'll find sources of fresh water along the way."</p><p></p><p>"Screw the water: found me some ale for sale!" cried Utred, spotting a vendor with gallon jugs of ale and beer. He and Khari stocked up on beverages first, then gave some passing thought about solid food to go with it.</p><p></p><p>"Did you get enough food for the trip?" Marlo asked Jhasspok after they gathered back together after splitting up to make their individual purchases. The lizardfolk towered above the short human woman but she was well aware in many ways he had the mind of a child. It certainly wouldn't hurt to look after him.</p><p></p><p>"Fish!" cried Jhasspok in reply, holding up a fat fish he'd purchased.</p><p></p><p>"...That's not going to last two weeks," pointed out Marlo. "You'll need food that will last for a while."</p><p></p><p>"That's just a snack for now," replied Jhasspok, biting into his beloved fish. "I have dried fish for the trip." He patted a leather satchel at his hip. "And some dried beetles." Marlo suddenly lost interest in the rest of his provisions; it seemed he was as ready as the rest of them.</p><p></p><p>Returning to Calish with their goods packed up, the drow slavemaster had more items to pass out to the group. "Take these," he commanded, giving all but Jhasspok a necklace with an iron ring welded into place. "These will allow <strong>N'zorthal</strong> to keep in contact with you and guide you to the Writhing Gate, which lies two days away. Once there, N'zorthal will explain the details of your mission to you." The four slaves each put the necklace around their necks, allowing the iron ring to hang free.</p><p></p><p>"You won't need one," explained Calish to Jhasspok. "There are only the four, and you've been an exemplary slave." Jhasspok had no idea what 'exemplary' meant, but he was willing to bet it had something to do with not wearing jewelry.</p><p></p><p>"Go ahead, stick a finger through the rings," Calish said, and by now the slaves knew this was a command, not a suggestion.</p><p></p><p>"Does it matter which finger?" asked Cramer, wondering what was up with these rings and trying to stall for time.</p><p></p><p>"Not in the least - I just want to demonstrate their abilities," replied Calish. Hesitantly, the four slaves each poked a finger into the ring, only to see them disappear - they did not protrude from the other end as expected.</p><p></p><p>"AH!" gasped Khari, pulling his finger back out and examining it. It was perfectly fine. He held the ring up to his eye and looked through it, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "What does this do, turn our fingers invisible?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>"Nothing of the sort. These are miniature <em>ring gates</em>. Your fingers each passed through your ring and came out of your ring's 'partner' ring, as it were. And that allows this to occur."</p><p></p><p>As if waiting for the announcement, a tentacle emerged from the other sides of each of the four rings. Cramer dropped his ring immediately, but it just hung there from the necklace around his neck. The tentacles wrapped their way up the necklaces to touch the warm skin of the wearers' necks - and the little gnome had immediately recognized the tentacles as belonging to a mind flayer.</p><p></p><p><I will be your guide through the Underdark passageways,> announced N'zorthal - the Administer of Discipline - directly into the heads of the four slaves wearing the necklaces. They all flinched, leaving Jhasspok to wonder exactly what was going on, for he had heard nothing of the mind flayer's telepathic speech.</p><p></p><p>"By extending a part of himself through the <em>ring gates</em>, N'zorthal can extend his telepathic powers to anyone with which he is in physical contact. Off we go, then!"</p><p></p><p><This way,> commanded the mind flayer, mentally indicating a direction for the slaves to go. Marlo looked back at the confused lizardfolk and called, "We're heading this way, Jhasspok." With a shrug, Jhasspok followed the others. Calish walked beside them for a short while.</p><p></p><p>N'zorthal led the group to the North Gate of the city, a place the group had never been to before - although it was near the area where the fisher slaves bunked, so it was somewhat familiar to Jhasspok. "You'll be going to the Writhing Gate," said Calish with a slight shudder that Cramer noticed; whatever this gate was, it creeped out the drow slavemaster - not a good sign! "It's an ancient illithid structure used as a redirectable <em>teleportation circle</em>,"continued Calish. "It requires an illithid to activate and use it, hence N'zorthal's participation in this venture. And...some people who have been through it swear that it...talked to them." The drow slavemaster stifled another shudder then came to a stop - this was as far as he was going. "Good luck, and I will see you upon your return!" With that, he turned on his heels and went back the way he had come.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not liking this tentacle by my neck," whispered Marlo as the group walked down a narrow tunnel.</p><p></p><p><It is required to make mental contact at this distance,> replied N'zorthal. <And whispering will not prevent me from hearing you - I can pick up your very thoughts.> Marlo made a face of disgust but said nothing.</p><p></p><p><em>Oh yeah?</em> thought Cramer to himself. <em>Then what am I thinking about now?</em></p><p></p><p><You are thinking about hammering a nail into each of my tentacles, thus attaching the four necklaces permanently to the stone of this tunnel floor. However, while this will cause me some amount of pain, prevent me from retracting my tentacles through the <em>ring gates</em>, and break off my mental contact with you, it will do nothing to prevent my mobility - I will still be able to walk around - and the drow will punish such actions through the tattoos you each wear.></p><p></p><p><em>Crap!</em> thought Cramer. As much as it galled him, he'd have to put off any thoughts of escaping from the yoke of the drow for a bit longer.</p><p></p><p>The tunnel the slaves traversed stayed to a relatively straight course for three hours of trudging before they arrived at their first junction. Up ahead, in the light of their <em>slave-light cloaks</em>, they could see side passages veering off to the left and right.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok was in the lead, not because he knew the way but because the group thought putting their biggest and burliest combatant up front might dissuade anyone from attacking them. Plus, even though the lizardfolk had no mental contact with their mind flayer guide, the others could give him directions as needed. Seeing the side-branches up ahead, he turned and asked, "Which way from here?"</p><p></p><p>"Continue straight ahead," relayed Marlo. Then she frowned, for carved into the sides of the tunnel walls they were passing were warnings of "Danger" and "Death" in several different languages. There were arrows pointing back the way the group had come. Apparently other nearby races were aware that this passageway led to a drow city. Jhasspok had walked blithely past the warnings, not recognizing them as written messages, for the lizardfolk slave had no knowledge of writing.</p><p></p><p>"Hold up!" called Cramer from behind the lizardfolk leading this ragged expedition. "There's movement up ahead!" Cramer had seen what looked to him like a tentacle curling back, ready to strike. Forewarned of potential danger, Khari approached cautiously with his warhammer raised. There, hiding in a crevice along the side of the tunnel wall just past the side-passageways curled an odd creature with four sharp-tipped tentacles growing out from a parrotlike beak. Its rubbery-looking torso was that of a particularly thick snake. Swinging his hammer down at the beast, Khari was surprised at how quick it was, for it darted to the side of its crevice and the dwarf's weapon did nothing but shatter bits of stone from the side of the crevice.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok leaped forward to assist his fellow slave, swinging down with his masterwork short sword in an overhand strike as the creature crawled from the crevice and fully into the tunnel. But Jhasspok's swing also failed to hit the nimble creature. Utred followed suit, using his greataxe to no effect - although he had the excuse of two other combatants crowding the limited space around the target.</p><p></p><p>Marlo, however, only needed a quick glimpse of the creature to fire off a <em>magic missile</em> spell that unerringly struck its intended target. The grick hissed in pain as the spell did what three weapons could not (at least not yet). For his part, Cramer cast a <em>magic stone</em> spell on the handful of pebbles he'd gathered on the trip thus far for just this very purpose.</p><p></p><p>With two dwarves close up, the grick opted to swing two tentacles at each of them and despite having the better armor of the two, it was Khari who was carved up by the slicing organic blades at the tips of the grick's facial appendages. Growling under his breath, Khari maneuvered over to the side so he was flanking the grick with Jhasspok, allowing the grick to get in another hit as he repositioned himself. Then Jhasspok hit the grick's rubbery flesh with his blade, following it up with a snap of his reptilian teeth - and was surprised that although both attacks struck true, neither penetrated the grick's thick hide.</p><p></p><p>Utred swung at the grick again and missed, causing his rage to boil up into full steam. Marlo hit it with another <em>magic missile</em> but seemed to be doing minimal damage. Cramer, seeing the cuts on Khari's face and hands, opted to forego his intended <em>magic stone</em> assault and moved up to cast a healing spell upon the hammer-wielding dwarven fighter.</p><p></p><p>The grick, confused by the wounds suddenly closing up on the dwarf's flesh, switched targets to Jhasspok and Utred - maybe their wounds would actually <em>stay</em> once they'd been inflicted. A whirlwind assault of four flying tentacles followed, getting past the defenses of both the dwarven barbarian and the lizardfolk fisher. They, as well as Khari, continued their assault but didn't seem to have much lucky in even hitting the creature, let alone dealing it much damage on the rare occasions when they did manage to hit it. Marlo struck it with another low-damage <em>magic missile</em>, trying to figure out what she was doing wrong in casting the spell to make its effects so minimal.</p><p></p><p>Cramer took careful aim and sent his first <em>magic stone</em> flying at the creature; it didn't hit anywhere near the grick, instead shattering against the tunnel wall a good foot and half above its eyeless head. But finally the string of failed attacks affected the grick as well, as its follow-on tentacle strikes were easily avoided by the three front-line attackers among the combat slaves. Finally, Utred's first successful hit upon the grick's rubbery body with his greataxe nearly cut it in twain, slaying it instantly. He backed off with a grunt and a nod, then opened his first gallon flask of ale and had himself a celebratory swig. Cramer used a few of the <em>cure light wounds</em> scrolls he'd purchased to heal Jhasspok and Utred back to full fighting trim.</p><p></p><p>And then, the momentary excitement having been finished up, N'zorthal urged the slaves onward. Jhasspok took only a moment to cut a slab of flesh from the grick's body, figuring it to be a source of ready food he didn't want to let go to waste. Utred also quickly cut away the grick's beak, thinking it would look nice mounted on the shoulder of his armor - something he could work on during their down time.</p><p></p><p>Another four hours of walking through narrow Underdark tunnels led the group into a small cavern, the back half covered in bioluminescent fungal growths allowing the group to see far past the normal range of their glowing <em>slave-light cloaks</em>. There was a pool of water at the back of the cavern, trickling off to a narrow stream flowing down a side tunnel from the large cavern. The group could see a few tall-capped mushroom growths - and then the glowing fungus suddenly provided the only illumination in the shadowy cave as the light from their cloaks all went out at once.</p><p></p><p>"Wha--?" sputtered Marlo before what seemed like a dark, leathery bag was dropped over her head. She could feel it being tightened around her neck, making it hard to breathe. Jhasspok was in a similar position, although his life in the Underdark had at least provided him with a likely explanation of what was happening to him: they were under attack by darkmantles.</p><p></p><p>This was plainly evident to Cramer and the two dwarves, who could see the octopoid bodies of the darkmantles wrapped around the heads of Marlo and Jhasspok, choking the life from them. Cramer threw a stone at the one strangling Marlo, dealing it enough damage to cause it to release its grip and slide down to the ground by the sorceress's feet. Jhasspok, on the other hand, grabbed the creature suffocating him and pressed it up against his muzzle, chewing through the darkmantle's body from the underside. It tried to release its grip on the lizardfolk but the lizardfolk wasn't reciprocating; Jhasspok bit through the creature's tentacles and it bled to death. The other one, by Marlo, was cut into two pieces by Utred's greataxe.</p><p></p><p><You may make camp in this chamber for the night,> allowed N'zorthal. <The Writhing Gate is still 5 hours away but it would be best to continue the trek in the morning. Do not stray too close to the fungus - their spores are damaging.></p><p></p><p>"Lovely," muttered Marlo, setting up her bedroll as far away from the fungus as she could get. Cramer and the dwarves unpacked their own bedrolls and blankets, while Jhasspok investigated the pool. There was a large toadstool growing out of one end of it, but the other end - the one with the runoff stream - was clear of any spores. With a relaxing sigh, the lizardfolk removed his <em>slave-light cloak</em>, food pouch, and belt of weapons and lowered himself into the pool. The water was cool but it was so good to submerge himself again! He hadn't realized how much he had missed swimming in the Underdark sea as a fisher!</p><p></p><p>Marlo went over to the pool to splash her face with water and allow Truffles, her toad familiar, to swim about for a while under close supervision - for the sorceress didn't like the way Jhasspok kept a beady eye on the toad as it swam. "Truffles is not to be harmed, or eaten," she reminded the lizardfolk. Jhasspok didn't answer, nor did his gaze falter from watching the toad's progress. Finally, Marlo scooped Truffles up and returned him to the large pocket of her robes she wore over her ironsilk armor, returning to her bedroll to get some rest.</p><p></p><p>The group opted to keep one person on guard shift all night as the others slept; as spellcasters who needed uninterrupted sleep to regain their spells the next morning, they decided Cramer would take the first shift and Marlo the last, with the other three taking two-hour shifts in between. But it was an uneventful night, and when Marlo woke everyone up in the morning (at N'zorthal's urging, as he had been their timekeeper all night) they seemed refreshed after a good night's sleep following a day of exertion.</p><p></p><p>"Wait--anybody else hear that?" asked Utred suddenly as bedrolls and blankets were being rolled up and tied into place.</p><p></p><p>"What?" whispered Cramer.</p><p></p><p>"Footsteps," answered Utred in a whisper of his own. "Comin' from that way." He indicated an opening beyond the phosphorescent fungus leading to a tunnel other than the one the slaves would be following to the Writhing Gate. As everyone listened intently, they could make out several pairs of footsteps - three, possibly - which slowed down and made an attempt at stealth as they got nearer.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok, wearing his gear once again, sunk back down into the pool of water, leaving only the tops of his eyes above the waterline. He wasn't the least bit concerned about his weapons getting wet; they'd survive a short immersion just fine. But he prepared himself to spring out of the water if an enemy showed itself. Khari sidled sideways, using a stalagmite rising up from the ground as cover. Utred did the same, moving behind another stalagmite and readying to bring his greataxe swinging into the first enemy to come into view. Marlo brought the words of a <em>ray of frost</em> spell to the forefront of her mind, ready to cast it as needed.</p><p></p><p>Two puffs of fungal spores indicated the presence of two individuals walking through the growths - and yet there was nobody visible in the cavern with the five slaves. The dwarves peered cautiously around their stalagmites, looking for foes - and then one suddenly popped into visibility as his warhammer came slamming down upon Khari's head, denting his helmet. The other also became visible after he let fly with his own weapon, a set of bolas that went whipping around Utred's legs, tripping the dwarven barbarian to fall onto the stone cavern floor. He then raced over to his fallen foe, a warhammer of his own raised and ready to crush the barbarian's skull. Marlo fired off her <em>ray of frost</em> at him as he crossed the distance to Utred.</p><p></p><p>These intruders, the slaves could now see, were dwarves themselves, but unlike Utred or Khari they were both bald, with white beards and skin the color of slate. <em>Duergar</em>, Utred realized as he swung his greataxe at his attacker from his prone position, slicing deep into the gray dwarf's belly. With a dwarven curse, the surprised duergar fell dead atop the barbarian from the Butterflinger clan.</p><p></p><p>Cramer threw a pebble at the first duergar, the missile recently enhanced by a new application of the gnome's <em>magic stone</em> spell. The stone hit the unsuspecting duergar right between the eyes, dropping him as well. Seeing the two gray dwarves down, Jhasspok remained hidden in the pool, biding his time until the third duergar showed. He wasn't the only one straining to hear any signs of the invisible duergar's position; the others were doing their best to pick out his location as well.</p><p></p><p>Another disturbance of spores revealed the general location of the third interloper, but unfortunately not well enough for Marlo to target with a spell. But then he attacked the still-prone Utred (the barbarian had had to push the duergar he'd slain off of him and was struggling to remove the bolas twisted around his legs) with a massive maul, popping into visibility as he attacked. That was all Jhasspok had been waiting for; he leaped out of the pool and onto the gray dwarf, tackling him to the ground and raking his claws across the bald fighter's face as he clamped down on the back of his neck with his teeth. Khari made the killing blow with his warhammer, allowing everyone to assume ready stances in case there were any other of these invisible dwarves about. Several minutes passed before they were satisfied there had just been the three of them, then they started looting the corpses.</p><p></p><p>All three of the gray dwarves' primary weapons - two warhammers and a maul - had the glow of magic about them when examined by Cramer's <em>detect magic</em> spell. Each of the dwarves claimed a warhammer and Utred (who never bothered with carrying a shield, unlike Khari) took the maul as well, realizing there might well be a time when a two-handed bludgeoning weapon would come in handy. Khari also stripped off the maul-wielder's banded mail armor, recognizing it as an upgrade from his own splint mail. He abandoned his old armor behind, not wanting to have to drag the extra weight around with him. And then, at N'zorthal's urging, the group followed the stream down a side passage and onward to the Writhing Gate.</p><p></p><p>The next five hours of marching were uneventful; eventually the group made their way into a cavern with a diameter of some 100 feet or so, with a domed ceiling reaching half that height in its center. In the center of this chamber were 10 undulating tentacles, each blacker than black and capable of reaching anywhere in the cavern. At the base of each tentacle sat a throne; seated in nine of them were the petrified remains of nine illithids. Sitting in the tenth throne was none other than N'zorthal, his four tentacles seemingly cut off by four iron rings at their tips; these, the slaves realized, were the other rings to the four sets of <em>ring gates</em> at the ends of the necklaces worn by Cramer, Khari, Marlo, and Utred.</p><p></p><p>All five of the slaves felt a sudden desire to run far, far away, as quickly as possible, putting as much distance between themselves and the Writhing Gate as they could.</p><p></p><p><You made it,> N'zorthal said inside their heads, his mental presence helping to overcome their desire to flee. <Now, let me tell you all about your mission....></p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>This, quite obviously, is part one of a two-part adventure. Logan's already told us the next adventure is called "Fun in the Sun." Unfortunately, it's not going to be possible for us to play in this campaign again for a full four weeks since our last session, as we're faced with me on a business trip this coming week; Dan, Vicki, and Joey being gone for Thanksgiving week the following week; and Dan being gone on a business trip the week after that. So it'll be 11 Dec 19 before we get a chance to carry out our surface mission for Calish Jalamir: attacking a caravan on the surface and then scouting around to see if there's anything else of value nearby to be taken back to the drow. It ought to be interesting. [Later edit: it'll actually be another week after that - 18 Dec 19 - before we get to play again in this campaign; another business trip arose and I got stuck with it.]</p><p></p><p>Oh, and Vicki's damage for the first three <em>magic missiles</em> she had Marlo cast this session all did minimum damage: three natural 1's in a row, for 2 points of damage each. She was giving serious thought about punishing her traitorous d4.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7855109, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 4: JOURNEY TO THE WRITHING GATE[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardfolk 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 2[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 2[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 13 November 2019 - - - "Well," said Calish Jalamir to the five slaves assembled before him, "that was certainly a surprise! When I sent you off to the slave market, I didn't expect you to end up getting House Ky'hulcressen to owe our own Noble House a favor! Well done, everyone - I am truly pleased!" He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out five silk bags, passing one to each of the slaves. "Here are 20 slave tokens each - I suggest you head back to the market and buy provisions for two weeks, for your next mission will send you to the surface. Make your purchases and return to me at once." Thus dismissed, the slaves headed back to the market, buzzing with questions and anticipation. "I wonder what we're going to be doing back on the surface?" asked Marlo. "Who knows, but there's likely a way we can take advantage of the situation," suggested Cramer, his mind already spinning with possibilities. "What's the big deal about the surface?" asked Khari. "It's so...open up there." As a dwarf, he greatly preferred the confining walls of the Underdark to the wide-open spaces of the surface world. "It would probably be more exciting for you if that's where you were from," pointed out Marlo. "I for one will be glad to see the sun once again." "What's the sun?" asked Jhasspok. It wasn't a stupid question (although the lizardfolk had more than his share of those); having spent his entire life as a slave to the drow in their Underdark city, he'd never seen the sun before or even heard of such a thing. But before anyone could give him an answer the group arrived at the slave market and got ready to make their purchases. "We'll want dried food for the trip," advised Cramer. "And water, since there are no guarantees we'll find sources of fresh water along the way." "Screw the water: found me some ale for sale!" cried Utred, spotting a vendor with gallon jugs of ale and beer. He and Khari stocked up on beverages first, then gave some passing thought about solid food to go with it. "Did you get enough food for the trip?" Marlo asked Jhasspok after they gathered back together after splitting up to make their individual purchases. The lizardfolk towered above the short human woman but she was well aware in many ways he had the mind of a child. It certainly wouldn't hurt to look after him. "Fish!" cried Jhasspok in reply, holding up a fat fish he'd purchased. "...That's not going to last two weeks," pointed out Marlo. "You'll need food that will last for a while." "That's just a snack for now," replied Jhasspok, biting into his beloved fish. "I have dried fish for the trip." He patted a leather satchel at his hip. "And some dried beetles." Marlo suddenly lost interest in the rest of his provisions; it seemed he was as ready as the rest of them. Returning to Calish with their goods packed up, the drow slavemaster had more items to pass out to the group. "Take these," he commanded, giving all but Jhasspok a necklace with an iron ring welded into place. "These will allow [B]N'zorthal[/B] to keep in contact with you and guide you to the Writhing Gate, which lies two days away. Once there, N'zorthal will explain the details of your mission to you." The four slaves each put the necklace around their necks, allowing the iron ring to hang free. "You won't need one," explained Calish to Jhasspok. "There are only the four, and you've been an exemplary slave." Jhasspok had no idea what 'exemplary' meant, but he was willing to bet it had something to do with not wearing jewelry. "Go ahead, stick a finger through the rings," Calish said, and by now the slaves knew this was a command, not a suggestion. "Does it matter which finger?" asked Cramer, wondering what was up with these rings and trying to stall for time. "Not in the least - I just want to demonstrate their abilities," replied Calish. Hesitantly, the four slaves each poked a finger into the ring, only to see them disappear - they did not protrude from the other end as expected. "AH!" gasped Khari, pulling his finger back out and examining it. It was perfectly fine. He held the ring up to his eye and looked through it, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "What does this do, turn our fingers invisible?" he asked. "Nothing of the sort. These are miniature [I]ring gates[/I]. Your fingers each passed through your ring and came out of your ring's 'partner' ring, as it were. And that allows this to occur." As if waiting for the announcement, a tentacle emerged from the other sides of each of the four rings. Cramer dropped his ring immediately, but it just hung there from the necklace around his neck. The tentacles wrapped their way up the necklaces to touch the warm skin of the wearers' necks - and the little gnome had immediately recognized the tentacles as belonging to a mind flayer. <I will be your guide through the Underdark passageways,> announced N'zorthal - the Administer of Discipline - directly into the heads of the four slaves wearing the necklaces. They all flinched, leaving Jhasspok to wonder exactly what was going on, for he had heard nothing of the mind flayer's telepathic speech. "By extending a part of himself through the [I]ring gates[/I], N'zorthal can extend his telepathic powers to anyone with which he is in physical contact. Off we go, then!" <This way,> commanded the mind flayer, mentally indicating a direction for the slaves to go. Marlo looked back at the confused lizardfolk and called, "We're heading this way, Jhasspok." With a shrug, Jhasspok followed the others. Calish walked beside them for a short while. N'zorthal led the group to the North Gate of the city, a place the group had never been to before - although it was near the area where the fisher slaves bunked, so it was somewhat familiar to Jhasspok. "You'll be going to the Writhing Gate," said Calish with a slight shudder that Cramer noticed; whatever this gate was, it creeped out the drow slavemaster - not a good sign! "It's an ancient illithid structure used as a redirectable [I]teleportation circle[/I],"continued Calish. "It requires an illithid to activate and use it, hence N'zorthal's participation in this venture. And...some people who have been through it swear that it...talked to them." The drow slavemaster stifled another shudder then came to a stop - this was as far as he was going. "Good luck, and I will see you upon your return!" With that, he turned on his heels and went back the way he had come. "I'm not liking this tentacle by my neck," whispered Marlo as the group walked down a narrow tunnel. <It is required to make mental contact at this distance,> replied N'zorthal. <And whispering will not prevent me from hearing you - I can pick up your very thoughts.> Marlo made a face of disgust but said nothing. [I]Oh yeah?[/I] thought Cramer to himself. [I]Then what am I thinking about now?[/I] <You are thinking about hammering a nail into each of my tentacles, thus attaching the four necklaces permanently to the stone of this tunnel floor. However, while this will cause me some amount of pain, prevent me from retracting my tentacles through the [I]ring gates[/I], and break off my mental contact with you, it will do nothing to prevent my mobility - I will still be able to walk around - and the drow will punish such actions through the tattoos you each wear.> [I]Crap![/I] thought Cramer. As much as it galled him, he'd have to put off any thoughts of escaping from the yoke of the drow for a bit longer. The tunnel the slaves traversed stayed to a relatively straight course for three hours of trudging before they arrived at their first junction. Up ahead, in the light of their [I]slave-light cloaks[/I], they could see side passages veering off to the left and right. Jhasspok was in the lead, not because he knew the way but because the group thought putting their biggest and burliest combatant up front might dissuade anyone from attacking them. Plus, even though the lizardfolk had no mental contact with their mind flayer guide, the others could give him directions as needed. Seeing the side-branches up ahead, he turned and asked, "Which way from here?" "Continue straight ahead," relayed Marlo. Then she frowned, for carved into the sides of the tunnel walls they were passing were warnings of "Danger" and "Death" in several different languages. There were arrows pointing back the way the group had come. Apparently other nearby races were aware that this passageway led to a drow city. Jhasspok had walked blithely past the warnings, not recognizing them as written messages, for the lizardfolk slave had no knowledge of writing. "Hold up!" called Cramer from behind the lizardfolk leading this ragged expedition. "There's movement up ahead!" Cramer had seen what looked to him like a tentacle curling back, ready to strike. Forewarned of potential danger, Khari approached cautiously with his warhammer raised. There, hiding in a crevice along the side of the tunnel wall just past the side-passageways curled an odd creature with four sharp-tipped tentacles growing out from a parrotlike beak. Its rubbery-looking torso was that of a particularly thick snake. Swinging his hammer down at the beast, Khari was surprised at how quick it was, for it darted to the side of its crevice and the dwarf's weapon did nothing but shatter bits of stone from the side of the crevice. Jhasspok leaped forward to assist his fellow slave, swinging down with his masterwork short sword in an overhand strike as the creature crawled from the crevice and fully into the tunnel. But Jhasspok's swing also failed to hit the nimble creature. Utred followed suit, using his greataxe to no effect - although he had the excuse of two other combatants crowding the limited space around the target. Marlo, however, only needed a quick glimpse of the creature to fire off a [I]magic missile[/I] spell that unerringly struck its intended target. The grick hissed in pain as the spell did what three weapons could not (at least not yet). For his part, Cramer cast a [I]magic stone[/I] spell on the handful of pebbles he'd gathered on the trip thus far for just this very purpose. With two dwarves close up, the grick opted to swing two tentacles at each of them and despite having the better armor of the two, it was Khari who was carved up by the slicing organic blades at the tips of the grick's facial appendages. Growling under his breath, Khari maneuvered over to the side so he was flanking the grick with Jhasspok, allowing the grick to get in another hit as he repositioned himself. Then Jhasspok hit the grick's rubbery flesh with his blade, following it up with a snap of his reptilian teeth - and was surprised that although both attacks struck true, neither penetrated the grick's thick hide. Utred swung at the grick again and missed, causing his rage to boil up into full steam. Marlo hit it with another [I]magic missile[/I] but seemed to be doing minimal damage. Cramer, seeing the cuts on Khari's face and hands, opted to forego his intended [I]magic stone[/I] assault and moved up to cast a healing spell upon the hammer-wielding dwarven fighter. The grick, confused by the wounds suddenly closing up on the dwarf's flesh, switched targets to Jhasspok and Utred - maybe their wounds would actually [I]stay[/I] once they'd been inflicted. A whirlwind assault of four flying tentacles followed, getting past the defenses of both the dwarven barbarian and the lizardfolk fisher. They, as well as Khari, continued their assault but didn't seem to have much lucky in even hitting the creature, let alone dealing it much damage on the rare occasions when they did manage to hit it. Marlo struck it with another low-damage [I]magic missile[/I], trying to figure out what she was doing wrong in casting the spell to make its effects so minimal. Cramer took careful aim and sent his first [I]magic stone[/I] flying at the creature; it didn't hit anywhere near the grick, instead shattering against the tunnel wall a good foot and half above its eyeless head. But finally the string of failed attacks affected the grick as well, as its follow-on tentacle strikes were easily avoided by the three front-line attackers among the combat slaves. Finally, Utred's first successful hit upon the grick's rubbery body with his greataxe nearly cut it in twain, slaying it instantly. He backed off with a grunt and a nod, then opened his first gallon flask of ale and had himself a celebratory swig. Cramer used a few of the [I]cure light wounds[/I] scrolls he'd purchased to heal Jhasspok and Utred back to full fighting trim. And then, the momentary excitement having been finished up, N'zorthal urged the slaves onward. Jhasspok took only a moment to cut a slab of flesh from the grick's body, figuring it to be a source of ready food he didn't want to let go to waste. Utred also quickly cut away the grick's beak, thinking it would look nice mounted on the shoulder of his armor - something he could work on during their down time. Another four hours of walking through narrow Underdark tunnels led the group into a small cavern, the back half covered in bioluminescent fungal growths allowing the group to see far past the normal range of their glowing [I]slave-light cloaks[/I]. There was a pool of water at the back of the cavern, trickling off to a narrow stream flowing down a side tunnel from the large cavern. The group could see a few tall-capped mushroom growths - and then the glowing fungus suddenly provided the only illumination in the shadowy cave as the light from their cloaks all went out at once. "Wha--?" sputtered Marlo before what seemed like a dark, leathery bag was dropped over her head. She could feel it being tightened around her neck, making it hard to breathe. Jhasspok was in a similar position, although his life in the Underdark had at least provided him with a likely explanation of what was happening to him: they were under attack by darkmantles. This was plainly evident to Cramer and the two dwarves, who could see the octopoid bodies of the darkmantles wrapped around the heads of Marlo and Jhasspok, choking the life from them. Cramer threw a stone at the one strangling Marlo, dealing it enough damage to cause it to release its grip and slide down to the ground by the sorceress's feet. Jhasspok, on the other hand, grabbed the creature suffocating him and pressed it up against his muzzle, chewing through the darkmantle's body from the underside. It tried to release its grip on the lizardfolk but the lizardfolk wasn't reciprocating; Jhasspok bit through the creature's tentacles and it bled to death. The other one, by Marlo, was cut into two pieces by Utred's greataxe. <You may make camp in this chamber for the night,> allowed N'zorthal. <The Writhing Gate is still 5 hours away but it would be best to continue the trek in the morning. Do not stray too close to the fungus - their spores are damaging.> "Lovely," muttered Marlo, setting up her bedroll as far away from the fungus as she could get. Cramer and the dwarves unpacked their own bedrolls and blankets, while Jhasspok investigated the pool. There was a large toadstool growing out of one end of it, but the other end - the one with the runoff stream - was clear of any spores. With a relaxing sigh, the lizardfolk removed his [I]slave-light cloak[/I], food pouch, and belt of weapons and lowered himself into the pool. The water was cool but it was so good to submerge himself again! He hadn't realized how much he had missed swimming in the Underdark sea as a fisher! Marlo went over to the pool to splash her face with water and allow Truffles, her toad familiar, to swim about for a while under close supervision - for the sorceress didn't like the way Jhasspok kept a beady eye on the toad as it swam. "Truffles is not to be harmed, or eaten," she reminded the lizardfolk. Jhasspok didn't answer, nor did his gaze falter from watching the toad's progress. Finally, Marlo scooped Truffles up and returned him to the large pocket of her robes she wore over her ironsilk armor, returning to her bedroll to get some rest. The group opted to keep one person on guard shift all night as the others slept; as spellcasters who needed uninterrupted sleep to regain their spells the next morning, they decided Cramer would take the first shift and Marlo the last, with the other three taking two-hour shifts in between. But it was an uneventful night, and when Marlo woke everyone up in the morning (at N'zorthal's urging, as he had been their timekeeper all night) they seemed refreshed after a good night's sleep following a day of exertion. "Wait--anybody else hear that?" asked Utred suddenly as bedrolls and blankets were being rolled up and tied into place. "What?" whispered Cramer. "Footsteps," answered Utred in a whisper of his own. "Comin' from that way." He indicated an opening beyond the phosphorescent fungus leading to a tunnel other than the one the slaves would be following to the Writhing Gate. As everyone listened intently, they could make out several pairs of footsteps - three, possibly - which slowed down and made an attempt at stealth as they got nearer. Jhasspok, wearing his gear once again, sunk back down into the pool of water, leaving only the tops of his eyes above the waterline. He wasn't the least bit concerned about his weapons getting wet; they'd survive a short immersion just fine. But he prepared himself to spring out of the water if an enemy showed itself. Khari sidled sideways, using a stalagmite rising up from the ground as cover. Utred did the same, moving behind another stalagmite and readying to bring his greataxe swinging into the first enemy to come into view. Marlo brought the words of a [I]ray of frost[/I] spell to the forefront of her mind, ready to cast it as needed. Two puffs of fungal spores indicated the presence of two individuals walking through the growths - and yet there was nobody visible in the cavern with the five slaves. The dwarves peered cautiously around their stalagmites, looking for foes - and then one suddenly popped into visibility as his warhammer came slamming down upon Khari's head, denting his helmet. The other also became visible after he let fly with his own weapon, a set of bolas that went whipping around Utred's legs, tripping the dwarven barbarian to fall onto the stone cavern floor. He then raced over to his fallen foe, a warhammer of his own raised and ready to crush the barbarian's skull. Marlo fired off her [I]ray of frost[/I] at him as he crossed the distance to Utred. These intruders, the slaves could now see, were dwarves themselves, but unlike Utred or Khari they were both bald, with white beards and skin the color of slate. [I]Duergar[/I], Utred realized as he swung his greataxe at his attacker from his prone position, slicing deep into the gray dwarf's belly. With a dwarven curse, the surprised duergar fell dead atop the barbarian from the Butterflinger clan. Cramer threw a pebble at the first duergar, the missile recently enhanced by a new application of the gnome's [I]magic stone[/I] spell. The stone hit the unsuspecting duergar right between the eyes, dropping him as well. Seeing the two gray dwarves down, Jhasspok remained hidden in the pool, biding his time until the third duergar showed. He wasn't the only one straining to hear any signs of the invisible duergar's position; the others were doing their best to pick out his location as well. Another disturbance of spores revealed the general location of the third interloper, but unfortunately not well enough for Marlo to target with a spell. But then he attacked the still-prone Utred (the barbarian had had to push the duergar he'd slain off of him and was struggling to remove the bolas twisted around his legs) with a massive maul, popping into visibility as he attacked. That was all Jhasspok had been waiting for; he leaped out of the pool and onto the gray dwarf, tackling him to the ground and raking his claws across the bald fighter's face as he clamped down on the back of his neck with his teeth. Khari made the killing blow with his warhammer, allowing everyone to assume ready stances in case there were any other of these invisible dwarves about. Several minutes passed before they were satisfied there had just been the three of them, then they started looting the corpses. All three of the gray dwarves' primary weapons - two warhammers and a maul - had the glow of magic about them when examined by Cramer's [I]detect magic[/I] spell. Each of the dwarves claimed a warhammer and Utred (who never bothered with carrying a shield, unlike Khari) took the maul as well, realizing there might well be a time when a two-handed bludgeoning weapon would come in handy. Khari also stripped off the maul-wielder's banded mail armor, recognizing it as an upgrade from his own splint mail. He abandoned his old armor behind, not wanting to have to drag the extra weight around with him. And then, at N'zorthal's urging, the group followed the stream down a side passage and onward to the Writhing Gate. The next five hours of marching were uneventful; eventually the group made their way into a cavern with a diameter of some 100 feet or so, with a domed ceiling reaching half that height in its center. In the center of this chamber were 10 undulating tentacles, each blacker than black and capable of reaching anywhere in the cavern. At the base of each tentacle sat a throne; seated in nine of them were the petrified remains of nine illithids. Sitting in the tenth throne was none other than N'zorthal, his four tentacles seemingly cut off by four iron rings at their tips; these, the slaves realized, were the other rings to the four sets of [I]ring gates[/I] at the ends of the necklaces worn by Cramer, Khari, Marlo, and Utred. All five of the slaves felt a sudden desire to run far, far away, as quickly as possible, putting as much distance between themselves and the Writhing Gate as they could. <You made it,> N'zorthal said inside their heads, his mental presence helping to overcome their desire to flee. <Now, let me tell you all about your mission....> - - - This, quite obviously, is part one of a two-part adventure. Logan's already told us the next adventure is called "Fun in the Sun." Unfortunately, it's not going to be possible for us to play in this campaign again for a full four weeks since our last session, as we're faced with me on a business trip this coming week; Dan, Vicki, and Joey being gone for Thanksgiving week the following week; and Dan being gone on a business trip the week after that. So it'll be 11 Dec 19 before we get a chance to carry out our surface mission for Calish Jalamir: attacking a caravan on the surface and then scouting around to see if there's anything else of value nearby to be taken back to the drow. It ought to be interesting. [Later edit: it'll actually be another week after that - 18 Dec 19 - before we get to play again in this campaign; another business trip arose and I got stuck with it.] Oh, and Vicki's damage for the first three [I]magic missiles[/I] she had Marlo cast this session all did minimum damage: three natural 1's in a row, for 2 points of damage each. She was giving serious thought about punishing her traitorous d4. [/QUOTE]
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