Ancient Enemies - Day 2 and Day 3 - 5/2/2023

General Summary

Waking up refreshed after the long rest in the Last Outpost, Carth, an Aereni Wood Elf, begins to look over some plants that he managed to collect while traveling the day before. Five leaves of an unknown plant. He closely compares the look of the herb to the pictures in his Herbalist Manual, and finds a match.

Having used his Herbalism kit to carefully harvest the plant, he knows he has a good selection of leaves. He makes not of the other ingredients needed to make the Gnollhart Salve, thinking to himself that this could be put to good use as the party makes their way into the Underdark and the unknown enemies they will face.

Carth stops to search for useful plants and herbs in the trek through the Underdark

Marching on - Day 2

Gathering themselves and their belongings, the party readies themselves for the days trekking in this strange place. Setting themselves in the marching order they have established from so many months and years together - Bahgras leading with Carth right behind him, Drop and Liana in the center, and Magaruk watching the rear for danger - the group leaves the chamber of the Drow picket. All are roped together to try and protect against anyone falling into one of the dangerous crevasses on the cavern floors.

Several miles down the passage, Bahgras notices some movement, seemingly coming from the right wall of the passage they are travelling in. He alerts the group. As everyone's attention turns to the area, it almost looks as if something is behind the moss that covers the wall. All quickly untie from the rope to facilitate movement in anticipation of battle. Some of the rock and moss falls away from the façade, which reveals a mass of white flesh covered in slime, appearing to be part of a colossal earthworm. Magaruk, from her position guarding the back of the party, finds it a bit hard to estimate it's size, but thinks it might be as wide as a human.

"Shall we hide and let it cross?" says Carth from behind Bahgras.
"Do you thing it will cross?" adds Liana.
The group pauses to see what the creature does next. Magaruk suggests to Bahgras that he use his ability to Know Your Enemy to better assess the situation. The worm wiggles free of the wall, and moves toward the center of the passage. All watch and wait. In between rock and soil on the floor of the tunnel, the worm starts to dig. It does not appear to sense, or even care about these intruders in its domain. Bahgras' assessment from watching the creature is that it is fairly passive, and most likely will cause no harm.
"Let it go," the half-orc says in his deep, booming voice.

A gigantic earthworm is discovered while trekking through the Underdark

As the group watch this giant creature wiggle into the soil, a noise is to be heard from a distance down the tunnel. Carth strains his ears to hear. That sounds like a wagon! And the movement of creatures as well. "A wagon," he says to himself. "Interesting. It seems unpractical down here."

Liana looks to the side of the passage at a crack she sees that appears to lead into a wider area. Pointing to it, she motions to ask whether they should perhaps hide. Looking off into the distance with her exceptional darksight, Drop sees a pair of bugbear, and a pair of Drow approaching. They are leading a pair of gigantic lizards that appear to be pulling a wagon behind them being used as beasts of burden. Carth gets down in a pool of water in front of the entrance to the small crack, with his Flame Tongue Shortsword under the water, hidden but ready. Liana decides discretion is indeed the better part of valor, and dives into the alcove, and to the chamber beyond. Magaruk debates whether to join her, and let the wagons and creatures pass. She decides to join Liana. Drop and Bahgras follow as well. The train appreaches, and Bhag and Ruk ready themselves to act if the group is seen. Carth trys to keep himself hidden.

"Do we let them go by, or do we attack and take what they are transporting?" whispers Liana.
"That is a very good question," Carth thinks to himself. He looks to see if any of the Drow look to be noble, or elites. And to see whether any of the Drow are females. All of the elves are male. The two that are on the front of the wagon appear to be spellcasters. The others all look to be warriors, and all are carrying weapons.
"I see no females, which we know are their leaders. Do we just let them go?" askes Carth.
"Let 'em go," growls Magaruk. Liana nods.

The wagon train moves past, and into the darkness. For better, or for worse, this threat is allowed to quietly pass.

Traveling through the passages of the Underdark, a Drow merchant train hitches up giant lizard creatures and travels to destinations unknown

With the wagons safely behind them the party continues for a short time until time to make camp. Drop prepares to ritually cast Leomund's Tiny Hut to protect the party through the night. Magaruk sits down at ther edge of the group, staring off into the distance, alone with her thoughts and not answering questions or participating in conversations. For the last several days since entering the Underdark, she can be seen looking various ways, as if searching for something. Carth immediately begins to cook, making a hearty stew for the company. After dinner, Carth spends the first part of the evening beginning to carve one of the giants' skulls that he has collected throughout the Giant Realms. His intent is to make a container for some of the herbs and plants that he is finding in this fascinating place. When he thinks he is not going to be seen, he looks toward Magaruk with concern, and ponders her relationship with the evil sentient sword Blackrazor.

Day 3

The next morning, after morning ablutions, and Bahgras' morning urine ritual completed, the group sets off. The passageway continues, swelling, and narrowing as they travel, but ever going downward as the adventurers travel further into the unknown. Most of the days travel through the Underdark this day is uneventful, but about mid-afternoon Bahgras from his place in the lead starts to feel weak. His vision blurs and he falls unconscious in front of the rest of the group. Liana and Magaruk also feel the impact of something in the air. Drop glances around. Nothing can be smelled, perhaps a slight smell of rotten eggs. Maybe it is some sort of bad air? Carth, of all the group the one seemingly unaffected, is looking to Bahgras with alarm. Not knowing what is happening, but wishing to try to help, Drop casts Lesser Restoration on the unconscious Bahgras. The half-orc awakens, still a bit woozy from the gas. Magaruk, moves to help Bahgras up.

"Quickly we need to go," she yells.
The group hurries on, temporarily oblivious to the dangers of pits or crevasses.
"You can't smell that?" coughs Liana. "It's gotten worse! Rotten eggs, you could chew it!

Carth looks to her, concerned but not understanding. And the party moves on.

Ancient Enemies

Another mile on, the passage begins to widen and seems to open into caverns on either side of the passage. Bahgras from his place in the front of the line of roped adventurers gazes through the darkness with his darkvision and makes out a pair of humanoid creatures with the heads of octopi and four tentacles surrounding their mouths. Illithid, or mind flayers! He quickly alerts the others, unties from the connecting rope and moves forward to look up the cavern to the right of the passage where he sees two more of the illithid. One of the creatures uses his mind to blast psychic energy out in a cone, immediately stunning both Bahgras and Liana. His companion moves forward quickly and attempts to grapple Bahgras with his tentacles but cannot quite grasp him.

Liana takes a moment to shake herself out of her stupor. A Mind Flayer Psion turns to Magaruk and uses the spell Crown of Madness, not realizing that Ruk is immune to being charmed. Carth runs up to Bahg, leaping over his prone form to use his kick, firmly connecting with one of the creatures in the face. Landing afterward, he uses his Hand of Healing on his stunned friend, removing his condition.

Magaruk uses Psionic Leap to jump over both Bahgras and Carth, swinging Blackrazor several times at one of the foes. Using her psychic abilities, she creates an additional wave of power blasting from Blackrazor and causing the creature to explode from within.

"Give me your soul," she says as the creature dies. The look of ecstasy that accompanies the flow of energy from Blackrazor from the soul of an enemy crosses over her face. And then, a look of discomfort. Carth takes a moment to glance in her direction.

Bahgras stands, shakes his head, and swings at a wounded enemy with his mace, hitting him twice and killing him. Casting divine magic to keep the party endowed with protection, Drop also summons his Spiritual Weapon in the shape of a moon, which strikes another. Ruk is hit by one of the mind flayers with his tentacles, attempting to grapple her to no avail.

The Mind Flayer Psion recovers his Mind Blast and uses it on Bahgras, Drop, and Carth, stunning Carth as well as Drop which brings his spells of concentration down. Liana, finally recovered, casts Crown of Stars and casts a mote into one of the enemies closest to her. A tentacle attack on the stunned Carth, hitting him and putting him in jeopardy of the worst attack of the mind flayer, the extraction of his brain. The tide beginning to turn against the heroes, yet another Mind Blast hits Ruk, who also is stunned.

Liana uses her staff to cast Cone of Cold, killing one flayer that was grappling Carth, and seriously injuring the other. Another mote from her Crown of Stars hits as well. While she is doing so, she notices a creature floating out from the cave to the left. An abomination with the central eye of a beholder, but the tentacles of an illithid. A Mindwitness!

<placeholder for AI pic of Mindwitness>

Magaruk, still grappled, swings with Blackrazor on her opposite, killing it and eliminating the grapple. She rushes to another enemy, slices two additional times with Blackrazor, and kills another. Not having noticed the Mindwitness arriving behind her, she starts.

"What the fuck are you?" she says to the horrid creature. The Mindwitness gives no reply.

Liana steps forward just enough to be able to see the creature, and directs yet another mote into it, and casts a fire bolt into it as a flourish. In response, the Mindwitness launches a Psychic Ray at her from one of its eye stalks which makes her knees buckle. From two other eyes, the creature blasts a Fear Ray, which Magaruk is immune to. She and Blackrazor both laugh together. The Mindwitness blasts one final ray, this time Aversion, at Ruk, to no effect.

Magaruk closes the distance and attacks with her black sword, killing in a bloodlust. She runs past with black ichor dripping from her face. Looking further into the cavern, she sees one last mind flayer, tentacles writhing over a bound male Drow. Liana yells down to her, asking, "What do you see?"

"One more," she replys. "Who are you," she quietly whispers under her breath, looking confused for just a moment. She closes the distance, attacks with Blackrazor, takes an attempt to use Crown of Madness against her to no avail, and then finishes dispatching the strange, beastly humanoid, She looks over at the bound Drow, who is dead.

Searching the caverns after the battle, Bahgras sees a glint of metal in an alcove in one of the cavern walls. Inside, he finds a Lurker Cloak, a magical cloak that does not require attunement, and which allows the wearer to assume the form and locomotion of a lurker above once per day for up to 2 hours time. He also finds a dull olive cloak, which does not radiate magic but looks to be of the Drow; and a gold ring set with a moonstone in the image of a mind flayer, looking to be worth around 400gp.

On the other side the mind flayers have encamped in the alcove off the pool area. They have folding cots, a small table, 2 folding stools, some utensils, and hampers for food. Each has a small coffer of personal effects. One contains a healing potion, a 5,000 g.p. gem, and 200 gold pieces. The other has a polymorph self potion, a scarab of death, a small silver disc which is evidently a brooch of some sort, 150 gold pieces, and 58 platinum pieces.

As the group reach the end of another day and begin to get ready to camp within the confines of another Leomund's Tiny Hut, all drift off to thoughts and fears surrounding the place in which they have found themselves. And what the future will hold.

Next chapter --->

The Troglodyte Warrens - Day 5 - 5/9/23 and 5/16/23

Discord Audio of Session-Day 2 Click Here

Items found with the Ancient Enemies

Lurker Cloak

A dull olive cloak, which does not radiate magic, but looks to be of the Drow (D3)

A gold ring with a moonstone, setting in the image of a mind flayer, looking to be worth around 400gp

one healing potion
a 5,000 g.p. gem
350 gold pieces
58 Platinum Pieces
A polymorph self potion

A Scarab of Death

A small silver disc which is evidently a brooch of some sort (D3)

Report Date

17 May 2023