Lann nods. "Ah... I've heard tale of such creatures." He thinks for a moment. "Are we going to set a trap here? I suppose one of the trogs could set it off, though..."
"Hm. I like the idea, but I do have a suggestion," Ehren says, trying his hand at a bit of trickery.
"There is a simple spell that I know of called pass without trace. Those affected by it are virtually impossible to track through mundane means, and it lasts for hours. We could head in the direction of these troglodytes, to make the duergar think that we are trying to throw them off our trail by going into hostile territory. When in reality, we would double back while affected by the spell and head in the other direction."
Javyn's ears perk up at Ehren's suggestion. "That seems like a sound suggestion, I like it. There are very many of us, however... how many can your spell reach at once?"
"I am still skeptical they will pursue through the river. I suggest we simply use the spell and continue on in this direction. Even if they make it past the water, they'll lose any ability to follow us once we reach the next fork. Leave some tracks on the other path to further confuse things if need be, but I would not expend any further effort to confuse them. In fact, if you wish I can go to the other entrance and provide footprints roughly matching all of us to make the two paths seem identical. Or we can wipe them both equally clean."
"That sounds better than my plan, Ehren. If you're able to do it, we should do it and keep moving quickly." Ary agrees with him.
"Isilme, they could be riding giant spiders or giant lizards and be completely unimpeded by the water! Or they could have twiddlefingers as powerful as ours! Anevia responds, before Ary continues.
"If we can completely leave no trail for a time, I don't think we need to disguise our trail at all. Do we have a way to remove a scent trail in case they can follow that?"
"If we're ready to break off pursuit, Ehren's magic will probably be easiest. We can still lay a false trail going off in a different direction if we want to send them on a wild goose chase for a while."
"The spell should cover our scent as well," Ehren says as he casts the transmutation, "They would need to use magic of some kind to pick up our trail again."
Their minds made up, the heroes barely skip a beat, Ehren's magic subtly repairing the natural world around them so that no visible signs of their passage could possibly be found. They continue along the chosen path for less than an hour. Anevia's suspicions seem to come true as they come to glimpse crude structures made from humanoid skeletons, and painted over with black pigment.
These structures likely mark the boundaries of what they consider to be their territory. The message from the grisly signage is clear - "Stay Out".
While Sandricaan's published journals are one of the most accessible written accounts of encounters with troglodytes, they aren't alone. There are many other written accounts of well-traveled adventurers meeting them and living to tell the tale.
From what you've read about troglodytes, though, there doesn't seem to be much of a chance they could pose much of a threat to you and your allies. Troglodytes are savage, but stupid, and they only grasp the most primitive of weapons. They tend to view anything that comes into their territory as prey. They have an extremely poor grasp on language, speaking and understanding only simple words and phrases in Draconic, so communication is a challenge. They do however, value strength, so the biggest (and stupidest) troglodyte in the lot tends to end up being the leader troglodyte tribes gravitate around.
Strength, whether shown as physical or magical prowess, can allow even an outsider to reign dominant over a tribe of troglodytes. As a result, troglodytes are readily enslaved by the duergar, and generally accept them as masters, given that they are able to prove their strength. Surviving free troglodyte colonies typically only survive in the fringes of the Darklands - places too inhospitable for other races to survive. Sandricaan notes that he once observed them consuming charcoaled flesh, and postulates that this could allow them to survive on very little for an extended period of time.
Another account by Sandricaan indicates that troglodytes can be bribed, typically with flashy magical items. They also have a special love for obsidian, which they consider a most precious substance.
Seeing the structures built out of bones, Lann shifts uncomfortably. Needless to say, troglodytes were not one of the peoples the underfolk bartered with.
Xanderghul floats to the fore of the group when the trog structures are found. He hums thoughtfully. "It seems we've found yet another primitive tribe to dominate," he says. "Probably too stupid to do anything really useful with, but stupid is easy to fool. Even if we can't fool them, we can likely defeat them easily. What do you think?"
"We could fairly easily disguise ourselves as powerful Darklands residents and try to bluff our way through. The appearance of overwhelming strength might be enough to cow them."
"Deceiving them shouldn't pose a problem. What would we disguise ourselves as? Drow? other Troglodtyes? Duergar? I am not certain which they would fear most. Otherwise it is a good plan."
"If the Duergar come here, they'll be enslaved." Ary says without hesitation. "And if they go elsewhere, they're likely to be hunted." she says, pursing her lips. "They can survive on next to nothing, which is how they eke out small corners of the Underdark for themselves. We could attempt to pull another Bloodknives... or we could barter with them. They value strength, magic, and obsidian. Dealing with them would likely be like dealing with Ironfin." she says after a moment. "Do any of you speak the language of dragons?"
For a moment, Hinagiku is under the impression that Xanderghul is once more being overconfident. However, when Ary chimes in, she realizes that they might indeed not be the smartest inhabitants of the darklands. Although, something that the commander says draws her attention... small corner?
"But Ary, we found this place quite easily...it feels like someone else might have come here before. Maybe they are already under someone else's control." she chips in softly.
Javyn tilts his head, then sighs. "I wish for a way to spare them. It seems unfair to struggle so hard to save those who have become enslaved, only to end up causing others to become enslaved in the process."
"I do not speak any such language, no," he offers, finally.
"I can, so we need not worry about that. I can pose as a drow if we feel that would work best, the underfolk reacted poorly enough to that form that the Troglodytes might also think twice about attacking one. I believe having some of us disguised as troglodytes if we can, would also simplify making it through."
"I think a duergar would work better. They're more likely to respect them for their structure and military prowess than they are to respect elves without a show of might or magic." Ary responds, keying Isilme in on other insights she had on them.
"We just need to get by, right? I don't think it should be that hard to do a show of force, especially with Val in the lead. If she can disguise self into a muscular person and we can back her up with Ehren-rock and Ary, then we just need to tell them that we're on an important mission and that we'll kill anyone who gets in our way. Maybe Ary can smash a boulder with her hammer. Then we just walk on through." Xanderghul hums, stroking his beard as he thinks. "I bet we could even bring them with us if we wanted to try really hard. We could promise them a better life than any life they've ever had before."
"A crude display of strength might be all it takes to avoid conflict," Ehren says in agreement, albeit reluctantly. While he would much prefer diplomacy over intimidation, he did not get the impression that they have anything that the troglodytes would want... and Xanderghul's idea of bringing them along would likely spell disaster once they reached Janderhoff.
Still, the matter of the troglodytes potentially being enslaved does not sit well with him. They arguably already did their due diligence by covering their tracks, but perhaps they could a little more while passing through their territory.
"This is their home. Asking them to leave it behind might be too much to ask. Even so, it might be prudent to warn them that slavers might find this place. If they heed it, they might make the decision to leave on their own."
"How will we disguise the rest of the group? Or will we bother?" Isilme asks.
"Disguising ourselves as drow is easier," Xanderghul brings up. "The height issue and all. Disguise self is not great for changing the overall shape of your body." To emphasize his point, Xanderghul shifts his form into the shape of a dark-skinned white-haired male drow. His equipment stays mostly the same, but changes in tone to black, silver, and purple. "If we're just going for the 'move out of the way or we're going to kill you' option, disguising ourselves may not be necessary, except to counter surprise and a lack of recognition."
Xanderghul then counts the others off while he considers Isilme's question about disguising everyone. Isilme, he, and Valaria could disguise themselves. Ary was already half-drow. Ehren could shapeshift. Lann and Javyn fit in already. That just left Dornanus and Hinagiku. "Four drow, two Underfolk, an earth elemental, a dwarf, and a human make for a fairly convincing Underdark adventuring party, no?"
"I can't think of a better plan than a show of brute strength. I recommend Ary uses her hammer, Isilme speaks on behalf of the group, and we just say, "move aside. We need to use this passage. If you get in the way, we will kill you". Then, to emphasize our point, Ary smashes the wall or a boulder and Ehren uses earth magic."
"Well... I mean... a half-drow is something I'm really good at being disguised as." Ary offers with a slightly lopsided grin. "And smashing rocks is kind of my forte... but I do think we should attempt to get them to come with us, just in case the duergar are more driven. We... did kill one of their famous priestesses. They're likely to take extra steps to try to hunt us down." she says, offering a small shrug. "They might give up at the river, might give up at the fork, but they might not give up at all."
"If Isilme is doing the talking, then perhaps we should dial back on the smashing a little," Ehren suggests, realizing that perhaps intimidation is not their strong suit. "With drow among us, we should look imposing enough without the display. Most of us are armed to the teeth, besides."
Thinking again on the matter of the troglodytes' fate, he looks to Dornarnus. He did not want the troglodytes to be enslaved either, but he did not necessarily want to travel with them. "Would I be correct in assuming that these creatures would be ill-received at Janderhoff?"
Dornarnus scoffs. He isn't really much for subterfuge, it seems. "Hrmph. Well, I think fer all this plannin', we'll end up in a grand old melee at the end anyway. But me n' my axe'll be ready fer it, either way."
Isilme's form shifts into the one she'd gotten the party in trouble for earlier, a drow female with long silver hair and hawkish facial features. Using the magic of her sleeves, she changes her outfit to appear as robes fit for a priestess and prepares herself to assume the role of leader of the group.
She encourages Ary and Dornarnus to travel in the front, while Ehren, Hinagiku (in human guise) and Xanderghul travel behind. She keeps Val to her side. "Val, I will talk through you to the 'subordinates' when we go forward. Everyone, when they invariably speak to us in Draconic, I'll attempt to have one of you talk to them. When none are capable of speaking draconic to them, I will do so after having Val threaten everyone. Making an effort to appear cowed at that point would be helpful for when I have her threaten them non-verbally. Well then, lets go have some fun with the Troglodytes!"
The bound horror scoffs in your head. "This is boring. Why not just fight your way through like you do everything else?"
From what you've heard of the drow, they're strictly matriarchal. This is a commonly known aspect of their culture, resulting from a hereditary predisposition for male drow to be both smaller and physically weaker than the opposite sex. Male drow are considered just above slaves, as judged by their rigid matriarchical system, always strictly inferior to the female sex. As a result, male drow generally are judged to be passive and timid. Most of them solely exist to serve the female drow.
You also know that the drow also enjoy enslaving troglodytes. Though you aren't sure of the chances that these particular troglodytes would even know the difference. The drow live much deeper than Nar-Voth, so it is unlikely that they've ever actually encountered drow.
Val taps her chin thoughtfully. "Well... bluffing through this sort of thing is kind of our specialty by now, so I'm all on board for that. The drow do enslave troglodytes, but I think that most species around here do. And this far up in the Darklands, there's a good chance these guys have never actually met drow, so we don't need to be perfectly accurate, just accurate enough to get the point across. They might be cautious but we can probably make it work. Isilme and I already do the talking most of the time when we're pulling this sort of thing, so that's a good start. Drow are matriarchal to the extreme, so we'd be in charge. They're also usually taller, so anyone with a male disguise should try to look properly browbeaten and obedient. Any non-drow would usually be slaves, so... just act sufficiently passive I guess?" She taps her hat and starts using the magic to weave an illusion around herself. Ultimately, she doesn't need to make too many changes, all things considered. Her pink skin turns a deep, midnight blue and her tattoos disappear along with her horns while her hair turns silvery white. Her clothing hardly changes, though she darkens the red to a deep purple and lays a symbol of pair of lips imposed over the moon and a seven-pointed crown, the symbol of Nocticula, over the holy symbol of Desna that acts as a cloak clasp.
"I guess that makes me the conjured elemental..." Ehren remarks, looking down at his earthen form. He supposes that he could adjust it to look a bit more sinister - with darker stone, more jagged edges - but decides that he looks imposing enough already. "I can do passive."
Hinagiku joins in with the others as they start reshaping their form. Her shape changes to that of the usual Minkaian woman. She wriggles in her clothes for a moment as her hips and chest grow wider. Compared to her vulpine form, her human one was more fit for birthing and raising children than it was for fighting.
"I will act as a slave then." she says in her usual soft yet strong voice. Joining action to words, she bows her head. Still, acting is not her forte and her expression remains kind and soft, far from that of a fearful servant.
Valaria and Isilme lead the group through the tunnels. The heroes don't adopt any pretense of being stealthy, continuing along as a single line in the tightest tunnels. The tunnels here are tight, narrow, and twisty, and full of alternate branching paths. It takes all of Isilme and Ary's efforts to keep their bearings straight, lest they become hopelessly lost.
They stay out of the reaches of your vision, always around a bend or deeper in the dark, but you can hear the soft foot steps of creatures somewhere just beyond. The further you go, the more of them you can hear. They're coming from all different directions. Soon you will be surrounded!
You have read that troglodytes prefer these sorts of tight, twisted tunnel systems because they, unlike most Darklands residents, prefer to tend open flames in their warrens for warmth and light. The tight structures make it difficult for such practices to give their dens away.
"That will work perfectly then, Val," she says when Val explains that the drow society is heavily matriarchal.
As they head down the tunnels, Isilme's keen senses perceive the first of the troglodytes--or so she assumed--beginning to gather around the group.
"Thri shokhi krishota, " she says, looking to Val, not bothering to keep her voice down at all, "ushul bi ukur gu bushoshi gu glakhi al glum ai throm hurzushush."
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Xanderghul does not notice the incoming trogs. He is instead too wrapped up in his own head, amused and imagining that Ehren is his conjured pet. When Isilme speaks up in Abyssal, however, he perks up. Xanderghul only had five attack spells left, so he hopes that it doesn't come to a fight. Still, he withdraws a wand from his belt to signal that he's ready for battle.
Faith obligingly shrinks down as Ary draws out her Lucerne Hammer, rather than Radiance, while Anevia draws an arrow and readies her bow. Neither of them are able to make out much more than the flickering shadows, even with Isilme's help. "Bloodknives first, or break something first? If we see light sources, we'll be near their homes."
Valaria keeps her nose pointed upwards, looking haughtily down it at the others. When she speaks, her voice is loud and authoritative. "Bush bushi im pu rumb ish nushdug bam ata kúshul. I bâm snompi al imbumb bim gu bulki skushul berúshum, lashul."
Isilme looks around at the group before calling out to the Troglodytes.
"צאו יצורים! אתה לא פיקח ולא מתגנב כמו שאתה חושב!" Isilme says clearly, her commanding voice a deep alto.
Isilme looks around at the group before calling out to the Troglodytes.
"צאו יצורים! אתה לא פיקח ולא מתגנב כמו שאתה חושב!" Isilme says clearly, her commanding voice a deep alto.
"הסגת גבול!" hisses a voice from the darkness.
"הסגת גבול! הסגת גבול!! הסגת גבול!! הסגת גבול!" A chorus of hissing reptilian voices join it. They don't come into sight, just yet, but their voices can be heard from all around.
They are chanting the word 'trespass' over and over.
"הטלת הסגת גבול באדמת גונדול. גונדול לוקח עבד בשר ואז יעבור. כן! סחר! עבד בשר לדראוב-פס!"
"Drow trespass! This Xundul land. Xundul take meat-slave, then drow pass. Yes! Trade! Meat-slave for Drow-Pass!"
Isilme sighs loudly and shakes her head.
"אתה מעז לדרוש ממני, קסונדול? גם כשאתה יודע מי אני?" she calls out loudly to the cowardly Xundul, her ire clearly evident.
Isilme takes a deep breath and calms herself, laughing audibly. "טוב מאוד, אני אודה בתעוזה שלך, ולו רק בגלל שאני מוצאת את זה משעשע. אלה שלי שלי", ואתה רשאי לא לקחת מהם. עם זאת, אם ה- קסונדול מעוניין בהנפקה, אתה לוקח כמה שרצונך מחסידי שעדיין מאחורינו במורד המנהרה. הם איטיו מדי לטעמי בכל מקרה. האם זה יספיק, קסונדול?"
The heroes can hear the loud stamping of feet and clattering of weapons against the tunnel walls and floor. They start to chant same words over and over. "רוצה עבד בשר! רוצה עבד בשר! רוצה עבד בשר! עכשיו! עכשיו! עכשיו!"
"Want meat-slave! Want meat-slave! Want meat-slave! Now! Now! Now!"
Isilme turns to look at Valaria, then back out into the darkness. "שלחו את החזקים שבכם. האלופה שלך. אם הם יכולים להביס את שלי, אתה יכול לקחת את הבחירה שלך יחד עם האלוף שלי. אם האלופה שלך מפסידה, תציע לנו מחווה בזהב ותקח את עבד הבשר שלך מהקבוצה שמאחורינו." She gestures towards Val and then waits for a response.
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"Lle eru lle sule no' hrava, seler'. Car amin ndengina sen ikotane yele arato ar' ae carin yassen sina? Ri' lye maghaya i' perya agar?"
Ary's eyes move back and forth between the two, having no idea what was going on... but allowing the established pecking order of their 'disguise' to tell her to stay silent.
"Lle Lotesse caela lle me'a, agar megil," she responds, looking towards Val with a grin.
"Their champion will fight Val, keep an eye out for others" she whispers through her magic to the group.
The troglodytes start to emerge at the fringes of the heroes's vision. They are all crammed in tight tunnels, marching single-file down a set of twisting paths, with numerous tunnels branching off at every direction. They come from all directions - they know the paths through their territory more than anyone.
"Ugh. Hate th' 'terts" Dornarnus mutters under his breath (though not into message, Isilme's magic could not reach that far).
"אלוף? להילחם! אלוף! להילחם! להילחם על עבדי בשר!" chant the troglodytes, ceaselessly. Their chatter comes from all around.
"Champion? Fight! Champion! Fight! Fight for meat-slaves!"
There isn't much logic to who seems to be speaking first among them. The troglodytes will start screaming out different words, and then others will either join in the chorus or drown the others out until a sort of mob-consensus is reached. In the end, they are just chanting 'Fight!' loudly over and over.
"אלוף קרב אלוף בגבעת ברוד! לבוא! לעקוב אחר!" yells out one voice above the others.
"champion fight champion at brood den! come! follow!" All from one troglodyte. They seem to have varying levels of intelligence which isn't terribly surprising.
There is a pitter patter of feet that starts moving away from the heroes and into the darkness. Will they follow, or try to give them the slip?
Isilme motions the group to begin moving forward. There was no reason not to see the ruse through. Better to fight a single one of the troglodytes here now rather than getting bogged down in a fight against them all. If things went well, it was likely they would be further harassing the Duergar as well.
"Let us go, no reason not to continue. They are leading us to their 'brood den'" she whispers, updating the others as to where they were headed.
Forgetting momentarily to act her part, Hinagiku raises her head in concern when Isilme mentions the one on one fight between Valaria and their champion. She goes on to whisper: "I am still pretty fresh.". Only then does she realize that she is supposed to be acting like a slave and bows her head.
Ehren plays his part as the stoic elemental bodyguard, remaining silent even as the troglodytes emerge from the tunnels in force. Not being able to understand most of the languages being spoken is frustrating, but he trusts his friends' capacity for deception. He does however, raise an eyebrow-crag when the prospect of following them to their home comes up. He eyes Hinagiku meaningfully but does not raise any objections to the course of action.
The heroes follow the creatures through a long, winding, and narrow path. The entrance into their warrens is tight - at the end, they are forced down crawling on their hands and knees in a tight space, but at the end of the tunnel they can glimpse a flicker of natural light. They come out into a large, expansive cavern filled with primitive structures made of bone and chitin. There are large bonfires in small, carved out pits in the ground, all burning on animal fats that fill the caverns with light.
The cavern is filled with about twenty troglodytes - small, reptilian humanoids of about five feet in height, with dull gray scaly hides and skinny bodies. They paint their bodies with vividly colored pigments, and wear ornamental jewelry crafted of small bones. They keep themselves close to the walls, which are filled with numerous tiny holes, leading into many, many, branching tunnels.
The cavern is filled with sharp stalagmites. The troglodytes have carved out crude tables from the stone, all oriented in a circle around the central stalagmites. These tables are stained with blood.
As you have learned from studying writings of Heavenly origin, these are typical altars to the demonic lord Zevgavizeb, the demonic lord of gluttony, caverns, and reptiles. Zevgavizeb is the demonic patron of the troglodyte race. Zevgavizeb sleeps for centuries at a time. His cultists fear the day Zevgavizeb will awaken again. Their prophecies state that when he does, the world will end, and he will rage across the world, devouring the weak. To appease Zevgavizeb, his followers offer up impaled, live, sacrifices to him, believing that they will satisfy his hunger while asleep, and delaying his eventual return.
They stamp their feet and scream out, "!להילחם !להילחם! להילחם" until a particularly large specimen emerges. Crudely armored in leather and bone, the reptile snarls, awaiting contest.
The troglodytes smell terrible, and with so many of them in such a tight, enclosed space, the musky stench becomes overwhelming, mixed with the overbearing heat of the many bonfires.
As Isilme is lead along with the others into the warren, her face briefly wrinkles in displeasure at the ... pungent aroma of the troglodytes. She manages to maintain her composure, however and resumes her act. It would not do to show weakness, after all.
When the large creature steps out, Isilme reaches over and stops Val from stepping forward to fight. She looks at her and shakes her head, a grin forming on her face.
"יש לי רעיון נפלא. איזה כיף אם הטובים מאיתנו מתנגדים מול הטוב שבכם? לא, במקום זאת אני אפיל את המעט מאיתנו נגד האלופה שלך," she says to the troglodytes assembled before her.
"כמובן שכדי להיות הוגן זה לא ישנה את תנאי ההסכם שלנו," she adds, clearly displaying the amusement.
She looks back among the rest of the group trailing behind them for a moment and then picks out Hinagiku, pointing at her. "You, slave, will fight! And do not bother asking for a weapon."