Session 15 – Into the Underdark

Written by KoshcheiBessmertnyi

General Summary

The group awakens at dawn on the following day, and develops of plan of action to get past the waterfall. An attempt to scout out the pond reveals a dark figure, and possibly more, moving along the pool’s edge about halfway toward the waterfall. The party, led by Enkidu, attempts to sneak up on the strangers, who turn out to be Miletus, along with Dirk, an associate of Meerlinda’s. Miletus reveals that after he returned to Claymore from Shining (where he discovered no traces of Amando), Meerlinda confronted him, and indicated that he had information that the rest of the Horse Pelican group left the fortified encampment toward the frontier. Since he suspected Miletus knew their final destination, he dispatched him, along with an aide, to inform them that they must return immediately, and that they each face a 10 guilder fine for violating Bester’s ordinance when they do. The party decides to make the fine-payment worthwhile by attempting to enter the tunnels first. Dirk is outraged at the suggestion, but he has no wish to camp out in enemy territory by himself, so he reluctantly goes along. As the final preparations are made, Enkidu introduces Miletus to his new boar, who now bears the name Goltur. As the party departs for the cliff-side, up on his master’s shoulders Goltur goes.
A dweomer created by Glitterstem camouflages the group as they approach the waterfall, and Theobald tries increase the chances of sneaking past the guardian by creating an illusory image of himself entering from the other side. But the large boulders that lie in the way betray the gnome yet again, and as Miletus leads the party into the tunnel, the creature manifests, grabs Glitterstem roughly, and proceeds to crush him. Balint just manages to bestow a cure onto his friend before the creature flings the hapless gnome over the edge. Theobald slings spells from inside the tunnel in an attempt to subdue the creature, while Miletus exhibits some expert shooting that apparently has some impact. Enkidu protects the rest of the group by presenting himself as a target, and shouts down to make sure Glitterstem is OK. The gnome is fortunate – he did not hit any stones on his way down, and ends up in the depths, but he is not a swimmer, and takes on water as he struggles to surface. Eventually, having transformed himself into a dire wolf, he manages to come up for air. Despite his ordeal, he feels a sense of lightness pervade his body. Hearing Enkidu from above, and seeing no obvious way up, he transforms again – into a giant spider, and begins to slowly ascend up the cliffside. By the time he manages to make his way to the top, Theobald and Miletus have dispatched the watery guardian, and its corpus comes pouring down, along with the falling water, into the pond.
Aside from poor Glitterstem (who is now hale, in spider form), they group is none the worse for wear from the encounter, but Theobald and others have exhausted a significant amount of their magical energy in the struggle. Dirk is particularly apprehensive in the face of the spider. Nevertheless, Enkidu reassures him that the arachnid is their companion, and a decision is made to press on. Led by the half-orc and his porcine pal, with the human spelunkers in the back, seeing their way by torchlight, the party proceeds downward into the hill. Glitterstem scampers on all eight legs along the ceiling. The sides of the tunnel appear rough but natural, with no drawings or markings indicating who might live or use this passage. A few minutes in, the party comes to a fork, and decides to head left. After progressing for another short while, the group is surprised by a mouthlike aperture opening on the wall to their left. Hissing out words in an unknown language, it vanishes, but Theobald understands it, and informs the rest of the group that the message warned them to not come between a dragon and his wrath. Recollecting the vision he experienced back in the sweat lodge, he surmises that the message may have been left behind a relative of his. Dirk especially wants to turn back now, but the group proceeds downward. In another few minutes, the passage opens up into a wider space. Enkidu peers in, and sees the horse-pelican standing freely, yet somehow bound, in the cave. The creature lets out its characteristic whistle and telepathically communicates to the group to beware. Suddenly, form the far side of the cave, a reptilian, draconic shape appears, and slithers past the horse-pelican and toward the party. Quickly deciding that they have wandered into a trap, the group flees back toward the fork, and is apparently not pursued. Theobald inquires as to the presence of draconic creatures in the area. Enkidu offers that orc culture lacks any sort of draconic symbolism, though he does vaguely recollect stories of a miserable, subterranean race that does have such associations.
Having reached the fork again, the party now heads down the right passage. In a few minutes, it bends back, and along the right wall, a pit lies open before them. The arachnid Glitterstem inspects the pit with his legs, while the rest of the group tries to maneuver around it. As he leads the group around the bend, Enkidu somehow loses his footing, and disappears under the tunnel floor. Goltur just barely keeps his footing, and draws back. The party hears Enkidu’s yell, and then a loud thud, from below.

Report Date

12 Sep 2015