Leaving the captured guards for now, the party presses on. The sewers open up into dark earthen tunnels and soon all remnants of the city above are gone from view.
Along the way, Chorister spots a scrap of paper.
I write in haste. Whoever finds this be warned, the derro took us all! Look for discarded paper to follow my path. They are herding the prisoners into the lower cells in Stavian’s Fair. They have a-
The party follows these underground tunnels for what feels like hours before they open into a larger chamber.
Salt deposits line the cavern ahead and several side passages branch east and west and run rich with blue crystals before ending at cave-ins. Eight smoldering torches illuminate a small tunnel ahead—beyond all is pitch black, though the sound of running water echoes out from the darkness.
Based on the drying blood, discarded weapons, and mite corpses, a battle happened here recently. It looks like the mites could have attempted a coup against their masters.
Rhyno spots another scrap of paper beneath a stone.
Hope is lost. The mites attempted a coup, but were betrayed by their own and murdered. My mind tires and I long for mercy in the bellies of the mite’s vermin rather than face the unknown terror that waits when the derros force me into the fetid pool I’ve heard bubbling in the room beyond.
A large pool fills most of this chamber, its green waters bathing the high ceilings in an eerie green light. The pool is open to the cavern on the south and east sides, but borders the cavern walls to the north and west. On the north side of the cavern, a small alcove sits above the water line, inside of which rests a small stone table. Dozens of corpses float serenely on the surface of the pool.
Hundreds of prisoners, both human and mite, fill the caverns to the west of the pool. A line of prisoners, herded by injured derros and mites, marches from the western caverns into the pool. Each time a body dips beneath the water, the stone table in the alcove north of the pool flashes in a near-blinding green brilliance, filling the entire cavern with near daylight brightness.
As the party makes themselves known, some of the mass notice them and then more and more. The derro prepare for an attack but then suddenly, the prisoners joined by the mites, rush their derro guards with nothing but their fists and shackles. It seems the party's presence has triggered a slave uprising!
The derro find themselves quickly overrun. A small group break off to engage the heroes responsible for the turn of events.
Ryster’s musket seriously wounds one of the wild-eyed derro but Sen’s loudly announced signature technique finishes it and drops another.
The third levels his crossbow and takes a shot.
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"Oh, come on, admit it; you LOVE to see Maximum Star go off." Sen double-moves around the crossbow wielder to give Rhyno future flanking, avoiding any natural attacks the foe might have to AoO him with, drawing his katana along the way.
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The derro almost spins as Rhyno’s hammer smashes into him. Bloodied and staggering, he sneers in defiance at the troublesome Pathfinders.
The derro resists Alexia's spell and drops his crossbow. Despite being outnumbered, he draws his aklas and starts it spinning.
"Die surfacers!" he shouts at the big man that shattered most of his rib cage.
The lanky ulfen's hardy constitution fights off the worst of the poison's effects and his hammer smashes the derro's skull like an eggshell.
As the third derro falls, the party watches the slaves quickly overpower their oppressors. Within a couple short minutes the battle is over.
As the battle winds down, one of the mites, a bite bigger and wielding a fearsome kitchen knife, approaches the party. He grins wide and nods before fishing a crude emblem from his pocket to display for the party - the Andoran eagle.
The mite hops up and down excitedly. He brandishes the symbol again before stabbing a nearby derro corpse with glee. He chatters in a strange tongue.
The mite nods happily, says something else in its strange tongue, and then offers Chorister the emblem with its grubby little hands.
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With an overly formal bow the awkward cleric reaches out to retrieve the emblem, "Thank you... sir Mite. You are all free to go!" he says with a grandiose wave of his arm.
He looks back to the others, "Do you think we should do something about that alter?" he asks, glancing across the water at the evil-looking thing.
Alexia can’t make any sense of it but there’s a definite magic aura around the altar and the waters below it.
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Chorister frowns in annoyance as he's unable to recall or understand the altar any better. He grimaces as he recalls they're unable to communicate with the mites. With a sigh he glances down at the Derros at their feet, wishing one was till alive so they could ask him some questions. He starts walking amongst those that've fallen, looking for survivors; mite or derros. Maybe if someone's alive we can get some information... he thinks as he walks, checking some.
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Chorister recalls to the others, "Well we heard they were making undead in a grotto, ummm... and this could be that grotto. I didn't like the way it was glowing green when folks entered the water either. Darn language barrier!" He walks to the edge of the pool as close to the alter as he can get and channels holy energy to harm undead.
When Chorister’s wave of positive energy hits the altar, a great groaning fills the air. A moment later, a massive crack spreads across its surface.
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Chorister looks just as shocked as the rest as the altar splits, and turns to look at Ryster, "I uh.... well, that is I... ummm..." and just trails off. Noticing the human slaves the still-shocked cleric makes his way over towards some human slaves. "Uhhhh, Excuse me sir, do you have any ills that need a healers attention? I am curious what was going on in this place?" he asks, gesturing to the room and wreckage of the battle at large.