Session 5: Underdark Surprises Report

Written by Shiftrex

General Summary

A party consisting of the Elf Barbarian, the Dwarf Cleric and the Human Pugilist from the coastline were selected to scout out the ruins of the great Drow city that was rumored to lay just beyond the mists of the stone bridge they had encountered during their early explorations of the immediate area. They made preparations and set out, quietly passing through the tunnel that permeated the Kobold's network of passageways and they confronted the grand abyss where they had previously discovered titanic claw marks that descended into the darkness below. Much like an unfortunate dream, the claw marks persisted and had seen no change since the party last saw them. Immense furrows that dug into the stone bridge and marred it in six places, the distance between each mark easily 6 six feet in length.
They resolved to brave the suspended stone bridge that led across what they could only guess to be an endless void, they marched through the mist for what seemed like an eternity. When they emerged from the mist they found that they had returned to the same side that they initially departed from, somehow they had become lost and a layer of frost had built up over their clothing and weapons. The dwarf came up with a plan on the spot, he took four lengths of rope to create a square and slowly they party took their time flipping the square over and over so that they could not lose their point of reference or become turned by the elf magic that produced the fog. They continued in this manner for nearly half an hour before the fog finally gave way to the other side of the immense cavern, revealing that the narrow stone bridge broadened gradually to meet the base of two grand doors. These doors were almost completely smooth, but upon the group's approach a grand symbol of a crescent moon turned so that the gap face the ground lit up with an eerie, purple light. The seam between the two door also flooded with this light, casting the group in a strange glow and revealing that the door extended nearly sixty feet up the side of the wall before the ceiling of the cavern sloped away to leave a small gap at the top. The door was shut and unmoving though the party did discover a hidden crevice that appeared to be made for a large key or wedge of some type.
The plan was formed to scale the side of the cavern using spikes and rope, gradually climbing to the top before slipping in at the gap one by one. They scaled the wall and had little trouble in descending down the other side, though what met their eyes was far stranger than they had thought to imagine. The very steps leading into the sprawling Drow city were ornated carved into a pale, white stone and set with finely cut gems so that even a single slab of this stone was worth hundreds of pieces of gold. Everywhere they looked this was the same, even the guard houses that graces the pathway a dozen steps down from the gate were created from the white stone and set with precious gems. The party examined the guard houses before moving inside, noting that they had long slots cut into them a intervals, one high, one at the midsection of a human and one near the knees but they did not readily determine the purpose of this architecture. Inside they found 6 perfect suits of black metal armor, still grasping weapons and covered in a layer of white ash, though they dared not to disturb them. In the other guardhouse they found a small box filled with what appeared to be torches but they were not able to light them and stowed them away to examine later.
They walked further into the city and watched the buildings grow in number and stature, each a pillar of ivory that twisted and reached up out of their vision like an ancient, white tree. The expanse of the city continue to unfold but the sense of grandeur and wealth did not decrease which caused some to wonder if Duergar had a hand in building the city. As they continued they began to noticed that white ashe continually fell from an unknown source like snow and left a blanket over everything in sight. They happened upon carts, crates, wagons and other signs of travel and population that looked as if they had been abruptly left or abandoned years ago. This was a frequent sight as they made their way to what they assumed was the center of the city, here they found what was once a great statue of black stone but it was toppled and destroyed with debris strewn about. The first sign of any disturbance or destruction since they had entered the town. From the town center they were able to discern that to west they could find homes, to the north they would eventually come to a palace of some kind and to the east they would find the old market districts. Before departing from the city's center they discovered a grand domed building with a set of stairs that led farther underground, they identified it as a place of worship and proceeded down.
Here the walls were made of black stone that were polished so expertly they acted as perfect mirrors. The inside of the building was filled with innumerable black pillars that were placed in a grid fashion, showing perfect symmetry. Upon further exploration they discovered there were three main areas of worship in this temple, one dedicated to the worship of Kallex the Dragon god and it seemed to be made for use by smaller humanoid creatures. The second was an ornate area meant for the worship of The Huntress, the well known deity of the Drow race. The third was a mystery, there was no symbols to be found that could indicate what god it was dedicated to. Where one would hope to find the murals and depictions of a celestial being there was only a burned, gash in the stone. The party used this information to try and puzzle out what sort of place they had happened upon.
After this they existed the building and made their way towards the market district which was no smaller than the rest of the city, there were numerous multi-storied building that had stalls, overhangs, crates and good out in front of them. The scene was that of a busy trade city that was in the middle of its business day, but completely deserted without explanation. They began sorting through some of the stalls to see what they could find. During this they happened upon a spirit, a wraith of malice wielding ice magic that provoked the group. They rallied and were quickly able to dispel the spirits that the wraith summoned but it fled from the revealed divine power of the cleric. After this clash the group could hear the distinct sound of metal on stone, marching of innumerable feet that had begun moving somewhere in the distance. They resolved to hide themselves and continue looking through the area.
While hidden they observed the source of this sound finally, empty suits of black steel armor marched through the city. They moved in perfect unison and their number was beyond recognition. They were seen as ranks and files that moved down the streets of the market districts that approached the area of the fight before stopping. An eternity passed before they moved again, each step taken as one while the endless stream of empty suits moved in a complicated fashion, entering buildings, clearing stalls, searching each area through brute force without causing even the slightest bit of destruction. The party moved up to the second floor of a building and skirted the rooftops of several nearby buildings to move away from the immediate area. During the course of their hiding they were able to make out the glowing visage of the wraith that had fled from them before, it wailed in a threatening manner but was silenced with the sound of a hundred crossbows fired in perfect unison. The creature became a block of ice as the bolts pieced it, the spirit fell to the ground and shattered without the chance to defend itself.
The party observed this and stealthily made their way back to the town center, cutting far around the army of empty armor. They could not tell the number of the host even by trying to examine their tracks in the white ash, they stepped perfectly into each other's steps with an eerie perfection that was unnatural. The group made their way back to the gate of the Drow city, and before leaving the Dwarf entered the guard house and carefully tried to take one of the black steel weapons held by the stationary suits. He was met with the immediate animation of not only one suit but all six that were in the guard house, they each made the motion of reaching forward to reclaim the weapon, present their blade in fashion and then return to their dormant stance. After this, the party scaled the gate once more and departed for the Mithril Mantle.

Rewards Granted

1. 6 Cold Drow Torches
2. 3 pairs of Boots of Elven Kind
3. Blacksteel Longswords (6)
4. 1 Bag of Holding
5. 1 Froststeel Shield
6. 2 Black steel Pushknives

Character(s) interacted with

The Army without Sleep

Report Date

20 Jul 2020