(31 days total, 14 days until the New Moon)
Drained Passages
The group woke to find the flooded chamber they'd slept in completely drained. Relic remarked he'd watched it all night flowing down an unexplored passage, the one Kaylan recognized her vine horror abductor dragged her down. The group collected themselves and chose to follow the path, avoiding the clingy naiads and whatever else lurked in their steamy grotto.
They moved through several chambers, all of them drained and muddy. This section was once the basement of Blackdelve Asylum, what several in the group recognized was a converted Gloriandeline structure. They eventually came to a burst wall, looking like some tremendous pressure had blown outward.
Caves loomed beyond the breach, but on closer inspection it was discovered these caves were artificial, carved into the limestone foundations of the Black Forest and made to look natural, even down to the stalactites and stalagmites. Peculiar, to say the least, and requiring some great amount of skill.
Chewed Through
The group eventually came to a high wall of the same black stone the asylum was built from, in the ancient elven style, three times the height of a man. It looks to be some sort of dam, but it'd been compromized with a gaping hole some twenty feet wide. The hole in the wall was not burst through like the basement prior, instead it looked... chewed through.
Some very keen detective work and knowledge of nature deduced the chewing done by mandibles... of ants, but giant ants. Though no recorded species of ant was even remotely large enough to do this on Othyr, with fey and the Wild anything was possible.
The Device
Following the mud flow, the group found a second cavern with a second chewed-through dam. Beyond this was a fifty-foot wide sinkhole that looked chewed into the stone itself. Deep below and out of sight the sound of rushing water echoed. There was an underground river rushing beneath them, one the flood waters of lastnight had been emptied into.
It was really no great surprise, some of the scions surmised, for Gloriandelines often build structures over such natural occurences as underwater rivers, geysers, natural gas pockets, even volcanoes, their advanced techniques capable of harnessing these natural forces into such long-lost miracles as indoor plumbing and central air.
Some also notices huge, black pipes in a marble not unlike the dam walls or the asylum itself, running along the walls of the cavern and plunging into the ground near the sinkhole and the underground river. Gloriandelines also harnessed natural features when designing their traps and wards. These pipes at one time had drank water from the underground river and flooded the basement. Kaylan and Portia recalled a story to that effect during their first plunge beneath Blackdelve. The cultists were making small talk, discussing how near a hundred years ago curious doctors from the asylum above were looking for yet more space to keep their loons. They accidentally triggered a Gloriandeline trap which flooded the basement and killed them. The section was closed off ever since.
Though Kaylan couldn't have suspected why there was a trap in the basement then, she knew quite well now. This ancient elven structure was built over the resting place of her uncle, Dazeen the Uniter, whose power to join the Hearts was well-worth protecting.
Though Diana was tempted to trace the pipes back into the first cave and learn the finer mechanisms of the device, the group was anxious to press on.
Fungal Gardens
They came to a cross section of three passages. The cleric has no memory of which way she was taken, thus it was ultimately put up to a guess. The guess was right. The group followed an ever-narrowing-and-expanding tunnel until they entered a low, wide cavern overwhelmed with fungi. It dangled from the ceiling, covered the floor, strangled the walls, and emitted all sorts of sour odors. It was like being in the earth's arm pit. And in that colorful, humid, steamy place things lurked...
Faerie Dragons
It wasn't long before the keepers of the fungal gardens appeared, cat-sized crosses between dragons and butterflies, with brilliant wings, bulging eyes and sweet, melodic voices. They proved a numerous lot, forty in all, which surrounded you without a single air of menace (except for Killerqueen, of course). They were above all curious, and energetic, wondering all sorts of things and thrilled to have made your acquaintances. Given the nature of previously-met fey, and their large numbers, this was quite a relief for the group.
If a leader had to be named, it was Lashbat, the first to engage the group and the one that seemed to talk most on the collectives behalf. Then there was Ladyrose, a pink, gentle creature that took an interest in Relic. Droppedegg was perhaps the most innocent of them all, a slow, overweight faerie dragon with a crush on the cleric. Others also made themselves known, like the easily-distracted Spewn who fell in love with Portia's shinies and the unsatisfiable Bloodbelly who ate all of Thamior's rations. And Killerqueen, oh Killerqueen, the cruelest of the lot, who scowled and criticized Hulda and her small puppet show wherever she could.
Chatty
Faerie dragons love to talk, the group quickly discovered as they subtly drew information about the operations going on beneath Blackdelve. These creatures, and the larger assortment of fey under Greentongue, were missionaries of sorts, bringing the message of the Green God to the outworld of Othyr. Innocent though they were, the faerie dragons described some rather brutal methods of conversion, including threatening lives and families, which they were oblivious were 'bad'. Rather they hailed them as ingeniusly efficient and praised Greentongue for thinking them up. They'd been converting Nors patients, doctors and select others for over a month, using them to help dig beneath the asylum in search of the Tomb of the Uniter. Kaylan already knew Ghisidhran's interest in that, eventual godhood.
They also gave some loose guesses as to the numbers still ahead and the path the group must take in order to reach the tomb.
The Tribute Songs
Giers, still a little shocked there wasn't about to be a huge fight against the typically-hostile fey, asked if that was all and could they pass. Sensing the expectation of something more, Lashbat quickly puffed out his check and flashed his wings, suddenly demanding tribute of some sort before passing their domain.
When rations were offered, all forty of them looked ready to pounce. Lashbat collected the food and went about flying around the garden, peppering his subjects with trail meals. Over the course of a few minutes, the dragons ate them all, even what was in the groups' packs.
Still not entirely satisfied, Diana offered them a song. This, more than even food, captivated them. They huddled close to listen as Diana stepped up to sing. Clearing her throat, she released a... lukewarm performance, one that the faerie dragonsbarely stirred for. Giers was next, a son of bards and performers, picking up the pace a little with a more jovial bar tune, but the lyrics were a little over the heads of the faerie dragons and the telling a bit too gutteral. Kaylan, rolling her eyes a bit, thought what the hell and threw her hat into the ring. She sung a sad song, haunting really, with such sudden force and emotion is literally scared the nest of fey.
Kaylan felt very self-conscious then, but the group assured her it was beautiful. Eventually she came to realize that it was sung with such conviction and beauty that it moved all forty into hiding. Droppedegg was shivering beneath Kaylan's skirts, hugging her leg and asking if the scary lady was gone. The others slowly crept out, too, Lashbat holding a golden vial. For her great performance, he gifted her with a vial of Dragon Repellant, to ward against the negative effects of a dragon attack. He gave a little wink as he explained it, calling into question just how naive the faerie dragons really were, and whether or not they guessed at the group's true purpose.
Slave Pits
The group continued into a larger cavern with less fungi and three massive pits chewed into the ground. Dozens of Nors doctors and patients, wounded and shivering, slept dreamless sleeps born out of overworking. Patrolling the filthy pits were slithering vine horrors, sucking up the human wastes for sustenance, and leaving trails of swamp water and bugs. Whip-happy redcap spriggans, looking like deformed gnomes with ugly grills and sharp claws, also kept weather eyes.
Two passages on either side of the cavern led on, the group deciding on the eastern passage when a few slaves passed through that way. However a fight seemed inevitable, for half the group proved near-impossible to sneak.
Cha-Cha-Changes
With unnerving frequency, Thamior seemed to switch attitudes and positions. One moment he would be the calm and dedicated protector the group had come to know, an elf valuing life and freedom, and the next he seemed... someone else, a person who despised weakness and the needy, concerned only with his own goals. Fearful some fey glamor had been placed on him, several in the group attempted to diagnose this condition, only to discover nothing arcane about it.
Though worrisome to say the least, more pressing matters and Thamior's ability to regain his composure allowed the group to continue on.
The Rubble Room
As Lashbat advised, the group managed their way to the rubble room, a cavern riddled with cart-sized holes. Piles of broken stone lay strewn before the openings. A deafening clicking sound, insect-like, pervaded the area. Suddenly a set of giant mandibles lurched out from one of the openings and dragged a few boulders back inside. The giant ants were quite real. More mandibles from different openings picked at their respective piles.
Slaves shoving carts passed up from an exit passage, pushing more loads to feed the ants. Though they seemed unperturbed by the presence of these massive creatures, the group wanted out as soon as possible. Relic hid in a cart, Hulda in another. Heads down, the rest pushed their way down into a small, fungal forest. Though some slaves noticed the group's unusual makeup, they thought nothing of it amidst fey and monsters.
Spore Bowl
A wide, low cielinged cavern awaited them, the largest yet, with a bowl-shaped bottom choked with giant, yellow spores. Man-sized, funnel-shaped fungi almost constantly spewed the stuff out, so that it choked the air and gave everything a yellowy-green tinge. The group took a worn path through the thickets of fungi and to a black stone opening of obvious Gloriandeline style, vaulted and imposing, with a black staircase leading downward.
The Seals
Three black stone chambers laid beyond, with black pillars and vaulted cielings, and three heavy stone doors swung wide, allowing access further into the Tomb of the Uniter. Dozens and dozens of human doctors and patients turned slave laborers worked in assembly lines, passing rubble down through the rooms and into carts to be emptied into the rubble room and cleared by the ants. The lot of them looked miserable, exhausted, and lost deep within themselves.
The group passed by unnoticed, wheeling their way toward a confrontation.
Versus the Excavation Team
The long line of patients and doctors eventually led to the chamber of the third seal and the place of the digging. Various tunnels had been bore into the wall, while various human teams moved the debris out of the way. Concentrated of a long, black set of steps and a great door were two fey, no larger than gnomes, with over-sized fists punching as hard as they could against the barrier. Spriggans, Redcaps, mean and determined, were directed by the twin Norswomen from the church a few days ago.
Surprised by the intrusion, the fey were quickly put on the defensive, one they never really recovered from. Though the twins were able to call on baleful magic to blind and slow and sear, not even the spriggan giantsouls could defend them from the group's combined onslaught. One by one they fell, Kaylan even inspiring their slaves to rise against them.
When the dust cleared, the group was victorious. The spriggans were dead, and Thamior lifted a fine leather-and-steel belt. Diana removed the second twin's cloak, only to watch as the twins' Nors appearance faded and they became thin, albino creatures with but the faintest of features and the thinnest of hair. Changelings.
Behind the Elven Door...
And so Ghisidhran growled angrily at his dead minions behind the immovable Elven Door, the fourth seal and the last barrier between the group and the green, Heart-hungry, fey-powered dragon. How quickly he's learned to despise them so, Kaylan most of all.
Experience: 400 xp each (11,291 total)
Magic: Dragon Repellent (Kaylan, from Lashbat), Cape of the Mounteback (Diana, off Twin 2), Belt of Vim (Thamior, off of a Spriggan Giantsoul)
Money: 1400 gp (200 each)
Loot: Group lost all trail rations
NPCs:
Lashbat, defacto leader of the Blackdelve faerie dragons
Droppedegg, slow faerie dragon with a crush on Kaylan
Ladyrose, pretty faerie dragon that took a liking to Relic
Killerqueen, mean faerie dragon that only mildly hated Hulda
Spewm, easily-distracted faerie dragon with an obsession for Portia's shinies
Bloodbelly, faerie dragon who ate all of Thamior's rations
Redcap Spriggans, twisted gnomes with blood-soaked caps and surprising strength
Asylum Doctors, doctors of Blackdelve Asylum kidnapped by fey and made to work moving rubble
Asylum Patients, patients of Blackdelve Asylum kidnapped by fey and made to work moving rubble
Note: Those who gave me wish lists have first dibs on the gear they mentioned, thus Diana gets the Cloak of the Mounteback and Thamior the Belt of Vim.
Dragon Repellent
Drinking this golden liquid immunizes you from the ravages of dragonkind.
Level: 13
Price: 650 gp
Potion
Power (Consumable): Minor Action. Use this power after you drink the elixir. Once during this encounter, you can automatically save against one condition placed on you by a dragon or a creature with the dragon type. Use this as an immediate reaction to a condition being placed on you.
Cape of the Mountebank
With a flourish of this silk-hemmed garment, you transport out of harm’s way.
Level: 5
Price: 1000 gp
Item Slot: Neck
Enhancement: +1 Fortitude, Reflex, and Will
Power (Daily • Teleportation): Immediate Reaction. Use this power when you are hit by an attack. Teleport 5 squares and gain combat advantage against the attacker until the end of your next turn.
Belt of Vim
You feel hale and hearty while wearing this wide belt.
Level: 8
Price: 3400 gp
Item Slot: Waist
Property: Gain a +1 bonus to Fortitude defense.
Cruel Ultimatum
Fourteen Days and Counting...
- Reedthagn's will must still be done and Ghisidhran's tongue placed before him in the Tesseract, lest Blight be dropped on someone's home
- The group must pass under Blackdelve, enter the resting place of Dazeen the Uniter, slay Ghisidhran and then manage a way back to the Wild and to the ancient green's cube within a cube within a cube
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