Session 20: One... Two... Escape!

There Must Be Some Way Out Of Here

Winter 41, 6840 CA

With all of the hostages rescued, the group now has to make their escape. They spend a minute to heal up with the knowledge they don't have the time to find somewhere safe to rest. They know that doubling back on the same path they used isn't an option after the Swordunners barricaded the door in the lower basement level. With Gobbo's map, they know that there's a path that circles around the big convention area they were warned away from. Havmos and Arturo wish to find the Eye of Aureon, but the group ultimately vote on survival first. But as they travel the hallway, they are able to hear voices on the other side of the door. They can brace for a fight or they can head south along an alternate path that takes them to the important room that was highlighted on the map.

They decide to take the path of least resistance and locate a secret door that takes them along a cavern tunnel. The cavern opens up into a finished room where a large mechanism is built into the floor. At the center of the mechanism is a glass dome that contains a floating orb that matches the description of the Eye of Aureon. Zed also notices that to the south of the room is a pool of water. It appears that water is flowing into the room, but the water isn't flowing anywhere else and doesn't seem to be overflowing. She immediately senses this is a trap.

Before inviting the others in, she searches the room. She find a large book written in Dwarvish script that she can't read. She also finds a chest that she is able to easily open. Inside is a long rod, a necklace with four red beads, and a bag of beans. She pockets the goods and invites the others inside. The group debate on what to do. Now that the Eye is in reach, they may never get another chance like this. Ultimately they decide it's best to take it and make a break for it. While inside the room, Valia tries to use her Divine Sense but is puzzled when nothing happens. Ursa's echo is also nowhere to be seen. Valia and Lt. Booth escort the hostage into a secret hallway while Yuri prepares to use his hammer to shatter the glass protecting the Eye. Yuri casts Invisibility on Havmos and Limaera to keep them out of the fighting.

With each hammer swing, the glass hums and causes the floor to gently vibrate. Yuri continues to swing away, but the glass is slow to crack. Ursa joins him and eventually they break through the barrier. Yuri reaches out for the Eye and suddenly feels a surge of energy shoot up his arm into the rest of his body. The result leaves him feeling more powerful, as though some deep well of potential inside him has surfaced. He is frozen for a second before taking the orb to the others. Wally opens the Bag of Holding to drop the Aetherstone inside, but is surprised when the ball hits the bottom of the bag and the weight suddenly sends Wally falling forward. The bag seems to have lost its magic, so Ursa grabs the bag.

Final Countdown

With the Eye removed, suddenly the lights in the room go dark. The door to the secret passage begins to close and Valia narrowly catches it before it closes. Behind the group, they hear the water start to rush in. Whatever magic that had held it back was lost and the Swordrunner base begins to flood. The group flees through the passageway, which takes them to the western side of the base. As they exit, they run into more Swordrunner goons that had returned to the barracks after the arena match ended. The group doesn't buy their story that the base is flooding and a fight breaks out.

The group is able to tear through the thugs easily. The three blind goblins that the group had passed up earlier are alerted to the group's presence and quickly show up to investigate. To make things more complicated, the strange goat-man puppeteer reappears and manages to take over Arturo's mind. The hobgoblin makes his way up to Wally and painfully stabs the gnome with a surprise attack. In all the chaos, Booth and Angelica are completely blind and fumble in the darkness trying to defend the party. Eventually Arturo's mind is freed and the goat-man is so annoyed by the zombies that he vanishes again. Valia talks down one of the goons into surrendering, just as another band of Swordrunners rush upstairs to avoid the basement which has already flooded.

The group make their way north, but the secret passage they entered is closed. Arturo finds the lever to open the door, but the lack of power means the door doesn't open. In a feat of awesome power, Zed finds the edges of the door, props it open with her rapier and opens it up. One by one the group exits into the main hallway, except for one zombie which doesn't make it in time and is trapped and left behind. Tragic.

Under Pressure

The group see the stairway leading to the surface and start rushing towards it. Wally has had to mount Snotz due to how deep the water is, but he comes to a stop when he hears heavy footsteps descending the stairs. He warns the others and they all brace for an attack. Suddenly, they hear Boss Grumm's voice on the southern side of the room. He expresses his disappointment that they made arrangements to talk, but have instead invaded his base, killed more Swordrunners, stolen from him, and flooded his home. But he doesn't attack. The group takes this as a sign to start running upstairs. Yuri, Ursa, Wally, Booth, and Angelica start up the stairs. Havmos and Limaera are still invisible and have been trailing the group to avoid the fighting. Just as Yuri is about to head up the stairs, Boss Grumm strikes suddenly as his invisibility fades. Yuri is down and bleeding in the water. Limaera and Havmos are suddenly visible to all.

A desperate scramble forms on the stairs as the party realizes they're cut off from their friends. Arturo senses an opportunity and makes a play for the Bag of Holding, but fails to lift it from Ursa. Yuri is brought back up, while Zed uses her Mistwalker Armor to create a fog around the group. No one can see anything except for her, but this also means Grumm is also fighting blind. Wally throws the Water Elemental Gem into the room, followed by summoning two Giant Toads. Valia goes down and Zed is forced to drag her to safety as the water is now chest high and they're effectively swimming while fighting. The group can escape, but there's no simple and safe way for Havmos and Limaera to make it to the door. Grumm's ferocious attacks are making quick work of the Water Elemental and the two Giant Toads.

From the northernmost passage where the group had previously fought the Rot Troll, Gobbo emerges and is swiftly swimming through the water. He catches Zed's attention and seems to notice her despite the fog. She watches as the goblin's limbs all begin to extend, his pointed ears shrink into rounded human ears, and his appearance and clothing all shifts into that of a human man. Limaera seems to recognize him. The man looks back with bright blue eyes and abruptly vanishes, taking Limaera and Havmos with him. With Grumm fighting blind and two of the hostages presumably safe, Zed calls to the others to continue up the stairs. As they ascend the stairs, Arturo uses a small grenade to block the stairwell.

Safehouse

The group emerges on the surface. Once again they are soaked to the bone and met with the cold wintery air of Thules. They continue running, but at first with no destination in mind. The Wanderlust is gone and all of their homes are compromised. The only place they can think of that might provide some safety is the Maralys estate. Valia is extremely reluctant to go back home, but even she is forced to admit that they need all the help they can get. They at last take a moment to catch their breath and take stock of what has happened. Zed explains that Limaera and Havmos are safe, but will explain later.

What to do with the Eye? Arturo wants it for the Brass Whispers and is irritated when it becomes apparent the group has no intention of turning it over. He makes some veiled threats about the Brass Whispers not being happy at this betrayal, but the group see his injured state and make some less veiled threats in return. He reluctantly agrees to keep his mouth shut about what happened and separates from the group. Valia floats the idea of turning the Eye over to the Watch, but the group is torn on it. When asked, Booth thinks the Watch is best equipped to protect it, but the more pragmatic Angelica points out that it will just end up in the hands of the Mayor or the Abalian Speaker. The two of them agree to say nothing about the Eye and return to the Watch.

The group make their way to the Maralys estate where the house steward, Nicholas Stafford, greets them all and welcomes them inside. Cora and Sovek Maralys are currently out, but Valia's room is still available as are the rooms of her siblings who are currently adventuring outside the city. As they prepare to settle in, they ask about Percy. As far as Nicholas is aware, Percy is off at Bracemark Manor waiting for the party. While the group settles in, Zed slips off on her own to go check up on him.