The Lamentation of Lolth - Chapter III


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The party is led to the burnt out stump to the north. Upon reaching the shore one of the lizardmen await you at what appears to be an entrance in the base of the stump. Peering into the murky blackness, you can see that the tunnel widens into an 8-foot-high tunnel that descends slightly. The roof of the tunnel is cluttered with taproots from the cypress trees above.

The lizardman guard leads you inside. You first enter a cold, damp, 30-foot diameter cavern whose floor is a mass of puddles. The 30-foot-high ceiling is a mass of dangling roots from the cypress trees above. A pair of lizardfolk guards stand at a narrow exit in the northwestern corner.

You follow the lizardman through a narrow tunnel to the northwest into a larger chamber. Swamp water drips from the ceiling and pools on the muddy floor. This area is obviously a guardroom, which leads to an alcove that holds weapon racks. In the northeastern corner, a tunnel leads east. In the center of the room is a stout table behind which crouch two lizardfolk armed with fishing spears.

The lizardman your following only stops momentarily to acknowledge the two others in the room. They eye the party suspiciously. Moving on leads to a narrow 5-foot tunnel, winding in a north-easterly direction, that then widens and opens into a large, roughly hewn chamber. The chamber is in total darkness save for a faint glow emanating from an opening in the eastern wall. The slight clink of chains can be heard from various parts of the room. The guard does not slow in this room at all, leading you onwards further.

You quickly pass through a natural chamber with a very high ceiling. The eastern wall of the room is almost entirely dominated by a clear pool, lit by phosphorescent mosses that coat the slimy walls.

Breaking the surface of the water, a large cave becomes visible. The walls of the cavern are thick with hanging vines, behind which you can make out humanoid shapes. Waiting for you on the "beach" is an enormous lizardman, easily 7 feet tall, holding a greataxe that glows with an eerie light in the gloomy cave. Behind him is a large, writhing serpentine shape that shimmers green in the light filtering in from an opening in the ceiling. The snake creature has a nightmarish mockery of a human head and it's forked tongue between dripping fangs, tasting you on the air as orange hackles rise on the back of it's head.

Looking around you on either side you can finally make out the humanoid shapes. On one wall two halflings, twins by the looks of them, stand staring forward, glassy eyed expressions on their faces. Opposite this wall 2 more stand, a gnome, and a beautiful elven female, both too, with emotionless, glassy eyes. None of them move at all, nor do they appear to notice your arrival into the chamber. They just stare straight ahead, as if simply awaiting orders...
 
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Drogo

"Ouch," Drogo mutters to Ayden, though trying to keep a calm, smiling face. "Those halflings and the others, they were the ones giving directions on the building of the dam. We may be in trouble."
 

Nothing in Ayden's training had prepared him for walking into the proverbial lion's den, and with every step deeper into the cavern, he could feel his heart threatening to explode with its frantic pounding.

~I must be strong...I must be strong...Uncle, why couldn't they have wanted to speak to us above ground...~

Ayden knew in his mind this was meant as a display of power, and to be honest, the effect was working quite well as there was nothing more he wanted to do than to meet with their leader and feel the sunlight on his face once more.

Entering the central cavern, Ayden stopped in his tracks as he saw the four "guests" inside and stared closely at each one until he saw the slight movement of their chests which proved to him that they still drew breath.

~Thank you for sparing their lives Uncle...~

Once more it seemed as if Drogo had read his thoughts when he voiced aloud the same concerns that Ayden felt, but knowing that peace must be reforged between the two peoples, for both of their sake, Ayden stepped foward and spoke to the giant lizardman, as well as the creature behind him.

<<Draconic>>"I and my companions come in peace, speaking on behalf of Orchard Meadows and wishing to tell the Broken Axe clan of the terrible wrong which has been committed against them. I carry with me a letter from the town council, a letter written after it was discovered that within the council a viper lay in their midst, but now the poison spreader has been removed, and the town would like to begin the process of healing the wounds made by the former Mayor."

Holding one hand far to his side, Ayden slowly reached for the scroll and prepared to carry it over to them, should they ask him to. He kept his movements slow and easy, as he did not wish to be seen as provoking an attack or reaching for a weapon.

OOC: Diplomacy check for his actions and speaking to them. I do not want to end up on the wrong side of that axe, or spell. As I'm thinking domination, and that is not an easy spell for joe mage to cast...man is it great to be back..:)
 
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Drogo

Drogo uses his ghostwise ability to communicate telepathically w/Ayden. "That thing knows everything. It is behind all this conflict. It is probably what corrupted Mayor Applebottom. Let's just try to find out what it wants & get out of here before he has us for dinner, or for his 'pets' like those poor halflings. It would be nice to escape from here diplomatically, because escaping by force seems a bit grim."

He then tries to calculate some distances and areas to see if he could get the naga and lizardman in an entanglement spell if need be.
 
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Calenthang stands about with a bored smile on his face, obviously not worried, and showing particular interest in the roof above their heads and the witless prisoners.
He looks at the two halflings.
The assassins.
He looks at the gnome.
The engineer.
And finally, he looks to the elven woman. His smile dies on his face.
 


OOC: Sielwoodan - Hiding where? Did you not go with the party to begin with or are you trying to sneak off and hide under the watchful eye of a powerful naga and her minions? ;)

Kirinke - Yes you should be able to have thoughts of your own buried somewhere deep inside.
 
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