Sia tries to dodge out of the way. She manages to avoid one bomb but not the other.
Eustoma looks relieved that ended quickly, and confused as to why the fight happened so quickly. "Why did they want to make us slaves? We didn't DO anything. We were just walking."
Wulfram replied to Eustoma, "So they could make money by selling us. But they ended up dead instead of wealthy."
After gathering up all the useful equipment, he healed Sia's singed pelt.
"OK, let's get going again," he said, hoisting his pack.
The rest of the day passes without incident, as does the next day's journey. You see several strange creatures, but most are small and quickly scurry out of your way. At one point, you can hear a chorus of hissing from what might be hundreds of snakes, but you wisely steer clear of the side tunnel from which it emanates.
Early on your fifth day of travel, you cross paths with another convoy. This caravan consists of somber men and women swathed head to toe in dirty rags—dark folk—towing a makeshift wagon. The caravan wagon mostly holds supplies—blankets, sleeping mats, rations, water, ropes, canvas, oil, and lanterns.
As they draw near, the caravan mistress chuckles and steps forward. "Oh my gold and garnets! If this isn't a blast from the past." She pulls down her rags to reveal a familiar smiling face. "It's me, Novvi!"
When they made camp for the 'night', Wulfram meditated, memorized and cast a spell to contact Rhyna.
"Hi Rhyna! Journeying through Darklands to Kraggodan (dwarven Sky Citidel). Many strange creatures. Interesting land, but I'll be glad to see the sun again!"
The next time they made camp, he did the same, replying to her questions.
When they met a familiar Svirfneblin in the caravan, Wulfram cried, "Novvi, good to see you again! How have you been? We're on our way to Kraggodan."
"Novi. Good to see you. How's business? We're in your stomping grounds, but I have to admit I don't like it one bit." she gives the gnome a warm smile.
Rhyna replies to the sending: "Wulfram! I've heard the Darklands are very dangerous. Please, be careful! I miss you! I hope you come back to me soon!"
---
Novvi laughs at Karla. "I'm not a slaver, but there are an awful lot of duergar that frequent these roads who would try to capture me in a heartbeat. That's why I travel disguised as a dark creeper--the gray dwarves generally allow dark folk to pass without harassment. The other caligni in my caravan were exiled from their tribe as tensions with neighboring fey courts are escalating. But the fighting between the dark folk and fey is good for business, and I've been growing my trading empire!
[b]"Why don't you stop and have some lunch with me? I've just come from the general direction of Kraggodan, and you seem to be coming from where I'm going. I'd like to hear what you've seen on your trip so far, and we can trade if you've got any interesting wares!"
Wulfram replied to Rhyna the next night: "A few months ago, I wouldn't have been ready, but it's OK now. I miss you too; I can't wait to see you again!"
**********
"Lunch sounds great!," Wulfram replied to Novvi. He took off his pack and took out some rations.
"We came from the Valley of Aloi, through some Morlock caves. After defeating our treacherous guide, we found a bronze dwarven door, which gave us access to the Darklands." He proceeded to tell Novvi of the duergar caravan, the strange mushrooms and the aberrations that lurked above them, and the drow slavers.
Eustoma happily sits down to eat lunch. "There were some dauguer and drow that you no longer have to worry about. I really don't like it here. It's dark, and dreary. Everything wants to kill us."
"I'm glad to hear you are doing well in your business. We've missed you these last few months."
Novvi chuckles at Eustoma's statements. "Yep, that's the Darklands for you. It's a rather hostile environment if you're not used to it."
She listens carefully to your tale, mentally noting the dangers to avoid. She replies in turn with several tips and tricks to allow you to reduce the chance of running into dangerous denizens of the lightless depths.
After finishing your meal and trading for some supplies, the svirfneblin packs up her wares and prepares to depart. "It really was good to see you again. I wish I could stay and chat longer, but time is money! Perhaps our paths will cross again in the future. And if you really need something special, if you give me a sending, I'll see if I can arrange something for you!"
Wulfram replied to Novvi, "Well, I'm always in the market for an Aegis of Recovery — I seem to go through those things like candy!"
To Karla's suggestion he said, "That could help. I don't speak Undercommon, so it would be up to someone else to maintain the ruse."
"I can be a little dwarf I guess." Eustoma doesn't look quite convinced, but is willing to go along with the plan if people will stop trying to make them slaves.
"It's never come up, but I have a spell that can hide our campsite. It might help with resting."
Disguised as drow, you continue along the Long Walk. Novvi's advice allows you to avoid any nasty encounters for the remainder of the day, and Eustoma's magic hides your campsite from any prying eyes.
You rest and continue on, and late the next day, you reach a landmark. Phosphorescent fungi cling to the walls here, shining a soft violet light across a large underground pool to one side of the paved highway. An immense statue of a plump dwarven woman appears to hold the ceiling aloft by the shore, her spiderlike face half-collapsed and leaving only a scowling mouth and five eyes behind. This must be the Five-Eyed Matron referred to in Zanathura's notes.
A group of five duergar are camped here, along with an enormous stag beetle. When they notice you, the leader approaches with hands outstretched in a gesture of peace. The stout woman wears robes over a breastplate, and the holy symbol of the dark god Droskar is tattooed on her forehead.
"I am Rovalda. You tread on territory controlled by our kind, dark elves," she says in Undercommon. "But we will allow you to pass unmolested if you do us a favor. A few days ago, four of our slaves broke free of their chains and fled into these side tunnels. They are dumb, hulking brutes known as trox. Promise to report back on the locations of any that you come across, and accept a geas to fulfill that promise, and you may proceed."
Wulfram listened to Rogar's translation and conferred with the others in a low voice, "A geas? I have no intention of submitting to that!"
Rogar, translating (though trying to not call too much suspicion to his allies' lack of understanding), wishes that they might give him some idea of what to say, but with not much forthcoming, replies for them, trying to hide his accent (fortunately not very obvious in Undercommon anyway) "We will accept no Geas, from y' or any others we come across. Our minds are our own. And if you are unable to keep your own slaves under control, we see no reason to think you could fulfill your threat. Let us pass, or suffer the consequences, stone child." he tries to keep a haughty, dismissive tone that he suspected Drow might have.
Rovalda scowls at you, unimpressed by Rogar's posturing. She closes her eyes and concentrates, and when she opens them again, they glow with a blue light. She gasps as she stares at you. "It's a trick! They are not drow--that one is a surface dwarf! Kill them!"
Wulfram gestured, and the enemies where engulfed in flame.
Pele laughed maniacally, basking in the heat of the fiery explosions.
Sia heads into battle with a growl, and moves up next to Niko.
She chomps down on the north most drow.
Eustoma fires at the drow that Sia bites.
All of the duergar guards get caught in the full blast of Wulfram's fireball, but three of the four manage to dodge the worst of Karla's. Both Rovalda and her beetle mount twist out of the way of most of the explosions, but Karla's spell blinds the big bug.
Nik'o chomps down on the rightmost duergar, pulling him into a grapple. Sia's bite takes down the leftmost gray dwarf, who took the full force of both fireballs. Eustoma shifts her aim to the grappled duergar, finishing him off with a pair of arrows.
Rovalda levitates up into the air as she concentrates, conjuring illusory duplicates of herself. The beetle snaps its mandibles at Nik'o, but misses since it can't see the cat. It subsequently recovers from its blindness.
The remaining guards try to hold the line, attacking Sia and Nik'o. One of them manages a critical hit on Nik'o, his axe slicing deeply into the lynx's neck!
"Rogar, can you take care of that big bug?"Wulfram shouted. He prayed to the battle spririts, seeking their aid to ensure victory, and then flew up towards the enemy spellcaster.
Rogar turns towards Wulfram as he says his name, then turns back to the foes. His eyes narrow on the beetle, "Aye."
He moves up to behind the animal pair, and summons his metal shards, coalescing them into a single, oversized spear, and hurls it at the insect.
Sia bites at the dauger in front of her.
Eustoma takes a step up and fires at the bug.
Rogar blasts the beetle. Already weakened by the twin fireballs, the giant insect explodes in a gruesome burst of ichor and chitin, staining the ground a sickly whitish-green.
Wulfram blesses the party with fervor, then Nik'o tears apart the closest duergar, while Sia and Eustoma work together and bring down the final guard.
Karla's barrage of magic missiles sputter as they strike a shield of force in front of her, negating the attack!
Rovalda dodges the webs to avoid getting stuck in them. Still, she's trapped in the center of the sticky mass with no easy way to move without being entangled. She tries to dispel the effect, to no avail.
Wulfram replied, "I can breathe fire on her; just burn off the webs so I can get close enough!"
He flew towards the webs at an angle. As soon as Karla's spell burned away the webs he swooped in and roared, enveloping the enemy spell-caster in a jet of flame. Speaking a word of power, he followed this up with a sheet of flame from his outstretched hand.
*Oh, this is gonna be good!*, Pele barked, popping her head out of Wulfram's pack.
*Woo-hoo!*, she cried, as they flew forward into the flaming embers of the web.
Rogar stands by, earth swirling around him, as he waits to see if the duergar will emerge.
Rovalda manages to dodge away from all three fiery blasts sent her way. As the webs burn up, you can see she is burned but still alive--and very angry!
Rogar does his best to fix the problem at hand, "Ye should have just let us carry on." he says in a calm voice, as he sends a spear hurtling towards Rovalda.
Eustoma lets loose with a flurry of arrows at the dauger. "Why to people keep trying to make us slaves. They just end up dying.
Eustoma's and Rogar's attacks destroy all of Rovalda's mirror images, leaving the duergar vulnerable to attack. She flies back a few feet away from Wulfram, then concentrates on a psychic spell. Eustoma, Karla and Rogar find their minds being clouded with confusion!