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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hairy Minotaur" data-source="post: 4219989" data-attributes="member: 11574">Digging in the dirt, to find the places I got hurtAdokul led the party southwest through a barren landscape not even the Steppe Barbarians would raid over. They passed small communities of nomadic herders as they hiked. The strange site of armored men moving across the landscape sent the herders scampering into hiding among the small rocks and boulder debris that littered the plain. After three days of marching Adokul finally signaled they had arrived at their destination, a small village next to a petite stream stood out against the brown backdrop of the horizon. To Xanthos there seemed to be quite a bit more people meandering through the couple of streets than there were buildings to house them all. There were no visible buildings on the outskirts of the village and no beaten paths to mark if there were outlying farms.“I have returned to save your village as promised, I bring with me the tools with which to mend the rift and bring closure to your problem. In the name of Kador I burn for you.” Adokul recites.“What problem are you talking about? I thought we were seeing someone named Anbhas Ceirtlin?” Eeyore questions“And we are, but we must go through the sinkhole to meet with him.” Adokul says still pressing on through the village.“What sinkhole?” Eeyore asks“That sinkhole.” Adokul points out.More like an open wound than a sinkhole, Xanthos immediately spotted that the edge of the sinkhole did not angle down towards the bottom of the hole. It looked as if the top layer of soil was an egg shell and the village sat on hollow ground. There was no telltale water reservoir at the bottom of the hole either, just darkness, even beyond what his exceptional vision could see.“That’s no sinkhole, that’s not natural.” Xanthos remarks“The same could be said of you, now come along don’t dawdle we mustn’t keep or host waiting.” Adokul replies and feather falls down the huge maw in the ground.Xanthos grabs Doopa, Eeyore, Dahlgren, Kourk, and Aust and transforms into a giant eagle to fly them down the hole.“Hey what about me?” Menthos shouts“I’m not carrying you; find your own way down, preferably fast and hard.” Xanthos answersMenthos activates his spider climb and steps out over the edge of the hole, his foot pulls his body over and under the ledge, swinging him one-hundred and eighty degrees and resting his feet on the underside of the ground he was just standing on. Taking a moment to orientate himself, Menthos walks along the inside top of the hole toward the edge and then down towards where the party waited. The walk took most of the day as Menthos was in no hurry to get to where he needed to go, this was Adokul’s mission anyway, Menthos was merely here to increase the size of his wealth and take his mind of other troubling matters. It was with great anxiety that Adokul paced for his arrival.“You took your time getting here.” Adokul addresses Menthos“Yes, the elevator was broken so I had to walk it. Besides you don’t fan the flames of passion by igniting the fires of fandomhood, otherwise the fanee becomes the faner and then the fanny gets burned.” Menthos replies“It’s as if your colon is attached to the back of your tongue.” Xanthos comments“So where is this host you speak so highly of?” Eeyore wonders“This way, follow me.” Adokul motionsThe mage leads them through twisting tunnels and dripping caves to a carved out space replete with a sitting area and tapestries on the wall.“Have a seat; I’m sure he’ll be along shortly.” Adokul advises Dahlgren waves off the reclining gesture and moves to investigate the tapestries on the walls. Aust tries out every available seat he can find looking for the one that suits him best, finally deciding on the stone floor. Eeyore and Doopa sit down in wide sturdy wooden chairs while Xanthos sniffs the air and comes to a disconcerting conclusion.“Your host isn’t natural is he? In fact I bet he doesn’t even walk.” Xanthos states“Your senses run true changeling, I do not need legs to transport myself through my domain.” Anbhas Ceirtlin had shown himself finally in all his beholder glory.Doopa and Aust immediately leap to the feet, weapons readied. Eeyore tries to slink away from his seat and get behind Doopa. “I see you are more resilient than I gave you credit for flesh bag.” Anbhas stares at Adokul“I have found faith your poisonous action held no power over it.” Adokul answers“Appears to have changed you nonetheless. Have you returned to complete your bargain, or is this your way of trying to renege on our agreement?” Anbhas speaks“I have brought companions who seek the thrill of adventure just as I have, they will help me complete the mission.” Adokul states“You wish their assistance?” Anbhas asks“With it your request shall be completed by sunrise.” Adokul states“Hmm, perhaps you should not be so hasty in your assessment of a problem you have not even seen the question to? Maybe a scouting foray should be your next step?” Anbhas offers“If you wish to extend the timeframe I have no quarrel with that.” Adokul replies“I extend nothing, I do not tolerate failure. Your overconfidence in this matter will only bring about exposure to myself in this matter. Subtlety will win the day, not your grounded way of dirt combat.” Anbhas says“Because I can be punctured by an arrow and not blow myself into oblivion proves that your primitive method of balloonish warfare is an infinity loop of stupidity.” Aust comments“Drow, I will assume you’re implying how you got down my hole and not that you wish to end up disintegrated and flushed away with my children’s urine.” Anbhas answers with two of his stalked eyes pointed at the drow.Xanthos heard the shuffling of many feet all around the party, at least his children weren’t beholders as well. “Pfft, what power has any windbag carried for longer then the breeze blew him. You’re a marshmallow of oppressive gas; you wouldn’t frighten a rat even if it was in your mouth.” Aust retorts“Very well then.” Anbhas aims an eyestalk at Aust and a sickly green light beams its way onto Aust’s chest. The drow’s eyes grow sullen and his face seems to lose its youthful complexion. The large central of Anbhas scans the rest of the party and settles on Adokul again, “chose your most capable person and then I’ll send you forth to investigate.”“I chose Xanthos; his abilities will be most helpful in scouting.” Adokul answers“Then he stays here as collateral, the rest of your surface walkers will go with you, you have four hours to return with the knowledge I require before the changeling ends up as a dinner guest.” Anbhas says laughingThe party stands in defiance of the beholder.“What you wish for me to provider you with the starting gun? Very well!” Anbhas rotates his top most eyestalk and emits a yellow beam from it. Where the beam lands matter is disintegrated, the beholder uses the beam to herd the party toward an exit near Menthos as his “children” come out of hiding to confiscate Xanthos. Anbhas then utters an arcane word and a wall of fire erupts between him and the hallway the party was corralled into, “Hurry, time’s wasting and I grow hungry from all this talking.” Xanthos is led away down a side tunnel, he notices most of the creatures are troglodytes with massive heads sporting at least two extra eyes, some with upwards of six extra eyes. All of them are functional as they follow Xanthos’ movement down the hallway; they lead the shifter into a common room filled with last night’s meal, some of it still trying to escape.The rest of the party turns to Adokul.“Now what? You lost the only tracker we have.” Dahlgren states“I can track.” Eeyore speaks up“Moron, you lost the only tracker we have and the only cleric I’ll let touch me to fix me of this weakening condition.” Aust mutters to Adokul“I can track! What are we looking for?” Eeyore shouts“Xanthos! Dahlgren shouts back a reply to Eeyore“People let’s be civil about this, obviously this beholder is sadistic and wishes to put us in harms way for his personal enjoyment. I counter that we instead mount an offensive to rid this part of the underdark from an obviously disturbed and uncaring force of evil and replace him with a more stable form of aristocracy.” Kourk suggests“I vote myself in as duke; the rest of you serfs can bow down before me.” Aust grinds through his teeth.“I plan on completing the mission, retrieving Xanthos, and keeping my winnings. Adokul says, “Menthos what say you?”“I say we do both, collect our winnings and kill the beholder and take his stuff too.” Menthos answers“Doopa like that answer best.” The ogre agrees“Okay, but when we kill him, I want first choice at eyestalks.” Adokul statesAdokul leads them on into the crushing darkness of the underground, when the party reaches an intersection Dahlgren halts the group.“It occurs to me that you may not know what it is we’re looking for nor where it is located Adokul.” Dahlgren voices his concern“Nonsense, Anbhas gave me explicit directions the first time I was here. There is a floating crystal in a huge cavern up ahead. Anbhas wants us to check it out.” Adokul answers“Check it out for what, a geode?” Dahlgren questions“Apparently he can’t get close to it so he needs us to go instead of sending his children to do the job.” Adokul answers“Sounds like a suicide mission to me.” Eeyore relates“Possibly, but where the beholder is scared to go, I see a potential ally waiting to take his place.” Adokul repliesA few more twists and turns brings the party to a tunnel with a bright light shinning from the end of it.“Daylight?” Eeyore asks“Impossible, we’ve been heading deeper. This is likely what we’re looking for.” Kourk answersThe party reaches the end of the tunnel and finds themselves several hundred feet up the side of a cavern wall, the opposite side of the cavern is at least a mile away and the center of the cavern hangs a slowly spinning crystal shard which illuminates the entire cavern.“I’ll reconnaissance for the front door.” Adokul says as he casts fly on himself and steps out into the cavern.The mage flies for the underside first, the crystal spans all but fifty feet from the top and bottom of the cavern which is nearly a mile tall, as he comes in near the bottom of the crystal, his spell wavers and ends suddenly. Adokul falls sixty feet to the cavern floor, landing in a stream of water created by runoff from the crystal’s bottom point. “Well that was interesting.” Dahlgen says as he steps out and levitates to the bottom of the cavern taking Aust with himMenthos hands Doopa and Kourk some rope and starts to spider climb up the cavern wall.“What about me?” Eeyore says“Can’t you spider climb too? The rope is so we can drop down on the top of that crystal.” Menthos says“Aren’t you concerned for Adokul?” Eeyore asks“Not so much.” Menthos answers and continues his ascent.Once over the crystal, Menthos and Eeyore lower Kourk onto the top point, then Doopa. “You’re next.” Menthos says to Eeyore The ranger begins his descent carefully, taking his time. Not wanting to wait, Menthos releases his grip from the cavern’s ceiling and falls the fifty feet into Doopa’s arms. Eeyore crashes onto the crystals top shortly after.“Sorry, grip gave out. I’m not a strong as you think I am apparently.” Menthos states</blockquote>

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