Isilme greets Val as she arrives, having successfully retrieved the a map for their trip.
As they head out, she looks over the map carefully, trying to get an idea of what routes they had available.
"Yes, heading down the Long Walk will be the shortest route there," Isilme responds to Lann, pulling out a map. "As you can see, there are a variety of paths that arc off of it coming and going. We might be able to avoid traveling directly on the Long Walk if we wanted, but it would likely be slower."
Once clear of the guards and patrols, Isilme shifts her shape into something that will function underground, her form changing to that of a drow. "When we camp tonight I may attempt to break the continual light spell on my ioun stone. I believe it will be a detriment down here. Unless of course either of you have the magic available to do so now," she says, looking at Ehren and Xanderghul.
Xanderghul shakes his head. "I do not have dispel magic prepared today. I can, however, provide us a safe place to sleep inside of a shadowy haven. Since it is so dark down here, I think we should be okay using that spell."
"I think we should just use light to navigate," he adds. "It's not worth the trouble of fumbling around in the dark. If we need to, we can send Valaria ahead and Isilme behind to give us some warning and allow us to turn the lights off."
He then shares Sandricaan's letter with the others.
Attention Pathfinders,
All Pathfinders on missions in the Darklands are advised to be on high alert for a group of dwarven prisoners. Reports state that they have been taken by a group of duergar. Freeding them from the clutches of their ancient enemies is a worthy cause. You can strike a blow in the name of freedom and justice by breaking the shackles of duergar tyranny.
For those who would undertake such a task, please be aware of the following intelligence which has come to my attention. The gray dwarves take pride in breaking their strongest-willed captives and forcing them to betray and subjugate their own comrades. We know that the most powerful dwarven prisoner is a paladin of Torag. This great warrior, Dornarnus, has won many battles against duergar slavers and is a true ally of our faction. If our suspicions are correct, he now fights for the duergar, albeit unwillingly. I ask that you ensure he escapes their clutches so that he can help us in our continued struggles against oppression.
In pursuit of true liberty, always.
Major Colson Maldris
"What do you think?" he asks, "Think we can fit in an additional rescue?"
"Just like old times," Val agrees with Xanderghul's comment. "I'm kind of surprised that the duergar took a dwarf captive rather than killing him, but I wouldn't want to leave anyone to their 'mercies' if we can help it."
"So we should head directly down the Long Walk?" Isilme asks. "We might need to scry on this Dornarus if we wish to make an attempt at freeing him along the way, as we have no clues for the moment as to where he might be."
"It is unwise to rely on chance to be on our side. The paladin of Torag will likely not be in the same caravan as Mr. Lann's friend. Mr. Sandricaan did mention that we were likely to meet many of them. Although, he did say that with mastery of the undercommon tongue and deceiving them in believing we do not have riches, we could pass them by without too much trouble." Hinagiku flashes a quick look at Isilme and Valaria as she mentions deception.
"Attacking the various caravans seems unwise though. Mr. Sandricaan said that there are a few dozen duergars in each with as many riding beasts. He did mention that we could contact a clan of underfolk and maybe form an alliance with them. I think that might be the wisest thing to do, and the way to do the most good since their help would provide us with protection and allow us to free a whole caravan on slaves.... maybe even two."
"I have had practice with the blindfold that my master sent me. I could easily follow all of you in the dark... if Ary can find a way to navigate without light."
"Well... my vote goes towards hitting everyone that we think we can get away with." Ary says with a small shrug. "Which means we'll want to prepare more food creation spells, and we'll definitely need water creation spells." she adds.
"Assuming twisting and winding tunnels, we should be able to maneuver pretty easily down here, even with a reliance on light. Between Isilme and I, we can both have light active most of the time, and we could give Anevia my goggles, so she can move ahead, near Val, and scout." she suggests, matter-of-fact. "That'd let her stick to the darkness to help deal with things... and I'll only be sorry if something dispels our light sources." she adds, wryly.
Ehren speaks to Kaptra for a while longer, before realizing that it is almost time for the group to rendezvous. After asking for directions to the entrance to Nar-Voth, he thanks her for their talk and bids her farewell.
"I am all for rescuing as many people as we can," Ehren agrees, knowing full well that it would be easier said than done. "I can attempt to scry on Dornarnus tomorrow, but the spell will have a very slim chance of working. Likewise, I could attempt to scry on Javyn as well. And perhaps we could attempt to contact them with a sending? It might behoove us to convince Dornarnus of our intentions beforehand so that we do not inadvertently meet him in battle."
"I was going to take on a form that could see in the dark, but if we are going to rely on light, I will travel as I am now for the time being," he adds, eyeing the form Isilme has assumed. "It will be less difficult to explain to any patrols we encounter. On that note, is Lann the only one among us who can speak Undercommon?" He eyes his underfolk friend, smiling wryly. "You are no stranger to negotiation, but some situations might come down to us lying through our teeth."
"We cannot risk using light down here at all. It will be visible from an exceedingly long distance away. Doing so will immediately mark us as coming from the surface, and likely make us target for all manner of things beyond the Duergar we encounter."
"As far as engaging all of the caravans goes, if we make any mistakes and allow any duergar to escape or use magic to warn others, we could easily find ourselves overwhelmed. We should think carefully before essentially starting a war."
"Finally, I think it is worth you attempting to scry on both tomorrow. We'll need every advantage we can get going forward. Similarly, I recommend against preparing any spells for supplying food while we have hard supplies available. We will need our magic to defend ourselves or go on the offense. If we actually raid the caravans, they should have additional supplies available which we can take. Keep in mind, however, that we will not be in a position to take prisoners Ary. I cannot overstate how unprepared we are to handle any prisoners."
"Mrs. Isilme, do you believe the underfolk help would lead to an all out war? With them, we could probably free a whole caravan... or would you think it safer to simply save Lann's friend and Mr. Dornarnus?"
Xanderghul shakes his head. "A small, hidden village of a marginalized people is not likely to go to war on our behalf. At best, we could count on hiding people in their village."
"I know it's going to be distasteful, but I think we should consider putting away many of our expensive magical items and disguising ourselves as a slaver caravan. Several of us are capable of taking on other forms - including those that would fit in here. We have several humans that would make for ideal slaves. Ehren can shift into a fire elemental or a glowing animal to provide nonsuspicious light. And we won't draw too much attention that way. If necessary, I can turn us all invisible, hide our entire group in a shadow, or give someone the ability to communicate with everyone. We have the tools."
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"It wouldn't be the first time we've played that kind of trick," Val muses. "And we've managed to make it work for use before. Trying to maintain the facade the entire time might be difficult though. It might make getting close easier, or perhaps even give us the chance to have real slavers reveal their stock to us."
"Xanderghul is right, they are unlikely to risk an all out confrontation, and I would be hesitant to ask them to do so. They might be willing to come join us in Drezen, however, if they learn other Underfolk have joined us there. I suspect they will be able to be convinced to provide us aid and shelter as well."
"We can certainly try," Isilme says, considering the idea. "What is to stop a group of a dozen or more slavers from deciding that we look like an easy target to add to their slaves?"
Lann's elven ear tints red at the mention that he alone speaks Undercommon. 'Oh...is that so?" He blanches a bit when they continue discussing a plan of subterfuge - as slavers, no less! "I'm a terrible liar, or so I am told. But I will try my best."
Anevia grins at the prospect of their plan. "Ooh, do I get a slave costume? OOOOOH! Do we all get costumes?" she asks, deviously.
Lann is less enthused at the mention of costumes. "That is true, that means some of us would need to march unarmed...and perhaps I shouldn't be wearing my tabard. Do we need time to prepare such a plan? It is getting late, so there are not many more hours we have before we start growing weary. We could seek out a room in Janderhoff above to rest and ready ourselves....then make up time, later, I presume."
"I would prefer to set out as soon as possible, but I can understand wanting to rest the evening," she replies.
The plan was not exactly what she had imagined, and relying on Lann to carry their deception worried her greatly. Normally Val and she would be the ones in charge of that, and the both of them were quite skilled at feeding the targets of their deceit what they wanted and needed to hear. Lann was woefully unprepared to do so from what she could tell.
Hinagiku eyes Anevia with some incredulity as she mentions slave costumes. There really didn't seem to be anything appealing about them to her... she had spent most of her time training at the monastery in plain, and at times, almost ragged clothes, after all.
"I could be a slave, I am after all unarmed. And, I think I would be believable if I took the role right now, my undergarments are mostly sashes that aren't really revealing and would be fitting for a slave." she says, the others having already seen the said plain undergarments when she fought Shu Lien. "But... would we not need more time to hide those costly items some of you are wearing?"
"I... think that even though it will be more dangerous, and perhaps take longer, traveling down the side caverns is likely our best bet. Because the dangers of running into something the duergar don't want to deal with, as opposed to running into the full force of the duergar when something goes wrong is... dangerous." Ary says, pausing, before continuing with a frown. "And... if we're really not going to do our best to rescue everyone that we meet, that we think we could help... I'd rather see a lot fewer people who need help." she adds, sounding clearly disheartened by the whole ordeal.
"We'll also be able to wipe out some dangerous creatures and perhaps gather rare reagents for magical item crafting, as well as add to our own supplies. And... if we're hitting from the cavern edges, rather than traveling along the roads, we have a higher chance of being able to hit slavers in between their posts... and maybe do a little good and destabilize them."
Lann nods. "That would certainly allow us to all remain armed," he says, refastening his shield to his back. He folds up his tabard neatly and puts it in his keep. "So we're guarding the slave, Hinagiku, then?"
Isilme shrugs, not really certain one ploy was better than the others. Travelling off the path was likely to be a safer and more effective route to go than to attempt to plow directly through the various slaver groups, but it seemed that the others were interested in the ruse to allow for the use of light.
"I feel less of us unarmed is likely to be a better choice than more of us, especially if we intend to use light and head directly down the Long Walk."
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Xanderghul scowls. As usual, there was bickering and fighting over the particulars of the plan. While the group debates, Xanderghul activates his hat of disguise. With a swirl of magic, his image transforms into that of a handsome, gray-skinned fetchling. Xanderghul's colorful clothing fades, replaced by a palette made entirely of grey. "One way or the other, it's safer to look like a local," he says.
Then, he moves to head into the tunnel. "Feel free to follow me!" he calls behind himself. "I'm not worried about being down here," he adds. "It can't be worse than the Abyss."
"As for main tunnel or side-tunnels... The back way 'round seems safer to me. I'd rather get there alive than fast."
"Alrighty then, Val and I can take the lead!" Anevia says, strapping on Ary's goggles. Once everyone is oriented, they take off ahead, vanishing in the darkness.
The tunnels in most of Nar'Voth are narrow, and twisting, opening up into larger cave complexes from time to time. This first set of tunnels, while much rougher to traverse than the hewn stairs of Janderhoff, are relatively free of any noticeable hazards.
Anevia travels onwards, lagging just slightly behind Valaria, with the measured pace of a wandering vagabond. A quiet, sneaky vagabond. Who would totally be rocking a slave outfit if the group had only let her.
Val nods to Anevia. "It's been a while since we've gotten to do this. Just like old times." She falls into her usual pace, just ahead of the group to watch for danger.
Valaria and Anevia creep along the tunnels ahead of the group. Eventually they return, having found what is apparently an entry-tunnel to the Long Walk. The tunnel is completely sealed off by a large fortification, entirely formed of rugged, black cast iron. Two enormous doors seal the way forwards, and there are four duergar standing guard at the entrance. Along the walls of the fortification are many arrow slits, allowing the grey-skinned dwarves to withstand siege.
According to A Primer on Nar'Voth, the entrance to the Long Walk near Janderhoff is one of the most highly fortified entrances into Nar'Voth... by both the dwarves and the duergar. The duergar are opportunistic, happy to slay any hapless dwarves that wander too close to their territory, but for now there is no active war between the two races. The duergar do not attempt to press into Janderhoff, and in turn. the dwarves do not attempt to take control of the Long Walk. However, the duergar are spread too thin along the Long Walk to maintain a strong military presence at each entrance.
Anevia and Valaria are able to get fairly close, completely undetected, before retreating back to the others to report their findings. By this point, the heroes had decided against attempting to disguise themselves to travel along the main Nar'Voth trade route, opting to travel into the more dangerous wilderness of Nar'Voth instead.
"Alright, so, are we gonna go up and talk to them? Or we could just keep going the way we're going," Anevia asks, in a low whisper. "In these little tunnels, at least, it's hard to see too far ahead...which can be both good and bad."
"If I can see the map, I might be able to plan a slightly better route... but... we should likely head this way, first." Ary says as she motions to the path they'd already been traveling along, looking to Isilme to share the map if she was willing.
"Mmmm, can't say as I disagree, boss." Anevia agrees, chipperly.
"Though, Xanderghul might also know a bit more about all this... or Lann? Val?" Ary continues, recognizing a short bit of discussion will likely save hours down here.
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"I say, we hit this gate. We kill the duergar, we break open the gate, we leave signs of battle everywhere. Then, we head down the side-path anyway." Xanderghul grins mischievously. "They'll spend time and effort and paranoia searching in the places where we are not."
Ehren raises an eyebrow. "I don't think anything good can come of such pointless violence. Conflict with the duergar is inevitable, but the further away from Janderhoff we engage them, the better."
"Well, I have never been in this region of the Darklands, but I think I can help find us safe passage," Lann volunteers, familiar with many of the dangers present underground.
Isilme hands over the map to Ary without hesitating, pointing out on the map where they were and likely candidates for side passages.
"I believe we should avoid direct confrontation at this point. Not only for the possibility we alert the Duergar and they send patrols down the long haul behind us, but also for the political implications of staging a massacre at the entrance nearest Janderhoff. To do so might invite reprisals against the city itself."
Xanderghul sighs. "Fiiiiiine,"
"As long as we agree that we get to fight something today. My hands are itchy."
With that, he leads the others down a side tunnel, stopping occasionally to consult with one of the other members of the party for their advice, access to the map, or for their thoughts.
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"Mr. Xanderghul, you could scratch you hands with illusions and misdirection as well as with dangerous spells, no?" Hinagiku replies, while also surprised at how violent Xanderghul's plan is.
Ary leads the heroes down through the tunnels. Between herself, Isilme, Xanderghul, Anevia, and Lann, the heroes are able to anticipate most problems before they occur - whether its a whiff of a strange smell down one passage, or strange sounds coming up from another, or the presence of odd fungi or growths warning them of dangers beyond. Much of this area is well-charted on the maps Isilme found, which is helpful, though they can see the further they get out past Janderhoff the way forwards becomes less concrete. After wading through a tunnel filled with waist-deep mud (the alternative being a tunnel of uncertain stability), Lann flags the group down to pause and take a breath. The heroes had been walking forwards for hours now, and fatigue was starting to set in. Will the heroes press forwards? If so, for how long?
Taking the long way around was certainly significantly more taxing, but Isilme is pleased to find that hours later they have encountered no duergar or other threats. When Lann pulls them over to discuss their plans going forward she takes a few moments to consider their path forward.
"I believe we should keep moving onwards for now. We have hardly used our magic and should be able to deal with the fatigue of travel without too much issue. The longer we can travel each day, the sooner we will reach our target, and the further we will be from Hagegraf when we do so. Pushing for another four hours at least today, if not a full eight would be for the best."
Never does the Green cease to amaze Ehren with the myriad ways it expresses itself, whether it is an odd fungus, an underground pool, or some strange animal that has somehow adapted to survive against the odds in this environment. But underneath it all, there is a longing for something he once had - a certain oneness with the deep places of the world, a sense of belonging he had fostered during his last visit to the Underdark. He could not shake the feeling that it would have been incredibly useful, right about now.
"I am inclined to agree,” Ehren says with a nod, ignoring the mild soreness in his legs. ”But we should take care not to go on for too long. We might well find ourselves somewhere unsuitable for rest.”
"I can create a shelter for us out of any shadow," adds Xanderghul. Despite his apparent middle age, he is hale, and is hardly tired. "I say we go for a few more hours. Then we must rest for some time."
Hinagiku, eyes closed since they entered the tunnels, listens at the dripping stalactites and echos of the tunnels while the others discuss continuing moving forward. She could feel the weariness in her legs, but her mind was as sharp as ever, it would be many hours before she would truly required sleeping.
"Ary, I can go on walking for still sometime if it is what you want." she finally says, once the others have voiced their opinions.
"I can keep going for a bit," Val agrees. "But let's pace ourselves at least a bit. If we're exhausted when we find our targets, we're not going to put up much of a fight."
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Xanderghul is, among wizards, the best hiker around. However, even the best hikers around still can push themselves too hard. He eventually strains a hamstring.
After another hour of stubbornly marching through the tunnels, the pain in Ehren's legs worsens, his muscles' way of telling him that it is time to stop. He ignores them at first, but knows that it would be unwise to do so for too long.
Under ordinary circumstances, Lann might have insisted that everyone stop for the day hours ago. But with Javyn's life on the line, he was more than happy to cover more ground. Besides, the group he was traveling with was far from ordinary.
Hinagiku is at first able to maintain her focus and save her energy. But soon, focusing on her hearing and touche, rather than sight, takes its toll on her mind and then her body. She slowly starts panting, tired. Yet, she remains silent.
NL
NL
The hours pass by quietly in the subterranean passages, and Isilme does her best to help Ehren as he begins to tire. One by one the others tire as well until in the fourth hour both she and Xanderghul finally begin to show signs of fatigue. Drawing upon the powers of her Lady Starsong, Isilme releases a burst of healing energy which washes over them and relieves some of the strain on the group.
Though feeling somewhat refreshed, the going would still be harder from here on. "Should we continue onwards?"
Val groans as she cracks her back and stretches. "I'm getting soft..."
The first hour was relatively easy going, but then the second hour forces the heroes on their hands and knees, scrambling arm over arm through a tight, narrow passage for nearly thirty minutes straight. Maintaining their blazing speed in those conditions would tax just about anyone.
"If you intend for us to use this haven spell of yours, Xanderghul, we should head a bit farther and try to find some natural light to enable it."
"Yeah...I second that. Ready for a bit of shut eye...sorry, Lann, we'll get going as soon as we can, yeah?" Anevia pants, her legs caked in mud all the way up to her belly-button. While Lady Desna herself was giving the heroes the strength to keep going, despite their burning muscles and aching feet, there was only so much further they could go before someone collapsed onto the ground.
The group doubles back another 30 minutes or so to reach a small cavern filled with glowing fungus so that Xanderghul can cast shadowy haven to rest for the night. He creates a door, which appears as a shadow on the wall. This leads into an extradimensional space for them to rest in.
It's up to you what your shadowy haven looks like!
Hinagiku, having taken of her blindfold, watches with both a hint of disbelief and amazement as Xanderghul creates a strange portal into impenetrable darkness. She continues watching, while keeping guard, as the others disappear one by one into this strange place. At last, she takes a look around before entering herself.
Once inside, the monk sits on the ground and let's out a silent sigh before beginning to stretch. Her body might have been tired, but she still did not feel the need to sleep yet. Though, her companions really did. For a moment Hinagiku entertains the thought of asking Isilme to tell them about her travels, but what they all needed now was rest, not a story, however beautifully told it might be.
"I can stand guard are the door for most of the night." Hinagiku simply says.
Xanderghul waves a hand, pulls out a small black silk bag, and does some simple sleight-of-hand. The bag disappears, and a glowing portal of shadowy darkness swirls to life on the wall in the glowing chamber.
The inside is the size of a large living room. It appears similar to the cave outside, with dark, vague, fuzzy facsimiles of fungi, boulders, rough cavern wall and floor. A clear, circular window views the chamber beyond. The landscape blurs and shifts, none of the shapes retaining a clear and sharp shape. "Welcome to my humble abode," he says.
Xanderghul also does not have to sleep quite yet. He elects to stay awake with Hinagiku. "I'll be up for a few more hours yet," he adds. "Though I'll be scribing. We'll need tongues if we're going to speak to the creatures down here."