You return to the room where you found the two derro. It appears to be resting place for the derro. Four filthy straw pallets occupy most of the room. All of them are recently used. A low table with a miniature maze of carved clay must be the "Rat Squish" game the derro referred to. It looks to be a needlessly complex and cruel game using a rat, a maze, handfuls of stones marked with numbers, a hammer, and a pair of pliers. The rat they were playing with is now dead. Many of its bones have been crushed.
A small crack in the wall leads west. It is too tight for you but a Small creature could probably squeeze through. The derro you interrogated mentioned this would lead to the Darklands.
Another 5-foot-wide tunnel heads east.
East then
The eastern tunnel connects to what seem to be a series of crawl spaces used by the derro to move quickly from room to room. Although it has enough headroom for a Small creature, each of you need to crouch to walk in this area. Each of the three branches ends with a stone door that blends in with the surrounding walls. From the other side they are probably hidden, but it is easy enough to realize that they are doors from this side.
One tunnel wraps back north and leads to the half-open secret door in the ossuary. The other two tunnels both end at a south-facing door, one further east than the other. These two doors are both closed.
"Let's try the westernmost door. Do you see any traps or hear anything on the other side?"
Ayako listens intently at the door Nadya indicated.
You don't see any traps but you hear the loud buzzing sound that you heard previously.
There might be insects in there! Be careful.
The derro's throat slit, Sebastian cleans the blade on its dirty rag of a shirt. As he wipes off the blood, its also as though he's wiping away a fugue from his mind. He looks down at the blade in his hand, confused. He recognizes the silver dagger belonging to Vimanda Arkona. "Strange..." he shakes his head slowly in disbelief. "I was looking for this the other day. I thought I might have left it at Devargo's, but it was on my belt the whole time."
Sebastian shrugs off the incident, finding it easier to simply not question it. Whatever the case, the derro had served its purpose, and Korvosa was better of for it having been eliminated. "I suppose we should be getting back to the catacombs. Let's get on about it, shall we?"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"The buzzing, I hear it now too. Flies, perhaps?" Reaching for the handle, he swings the door open.
Sebastian pushes open the door. The dull grinding of stone on stone is dampened by the loud buzzing noise on the other side.
Three wooden tables stand in the middle of this room, their surfaces stained red with old bloodshed. To the east stands a ten-foot-wide hutch with wicker doors opening into a straw-lined cage.
The freshly dead body of a vagrant lies on the central table. Four bloated stirges (insectoid creatures with two pairs of bat wings, a tangle of thin legs, and a needle-sharp proboscis) drone happily as they gorge themselves on the corpse's blood. Their task appears to be complete; The body is little more than a dried husk.
Two derro also occupy the room. One is tending to the stirges. He's just finished putting a stirge into the wicker hutch. The second derro is the one you wounded earlier.
Both derro spot Sebastian and immediately begin pointing and screaming wildly.
The four agitated stirges on the corpse take off and buzz angrily around the room but they don't immediately attack. You can see two more stirges hovering inside the hutch (5 & 6) but the latch is currently shut.
Stirges are vicious, blood-drinking swamp pests that prey on wild animals, livestock, and unwary travelers. While weak individually, swarms of the creatures are capable of draining a man dry in minutes, leaving only a desiccated husk in their wake.
Stirges can latch onto a creature's body with their barbed legs in order to drain its blood with its long proboscis. Stirges often carry diseases that can be transmitted during the blood draining process as well.
Ayako tries using her new spell and points at Derro 1. He called you a ninny do-do!
"Gah! Giant mosquitoes, more like." Sebastian steps into the room, pulling out his mace. He swats it at the nearest one
Nadya focuses on the derro that she hasn't seen before and wills the creature to fall asleep. "Not mosquitos, but they may as well be. They are stirges. They will attach to you and drain your blood."
The derro shakes off the slumber effect and continues to shout.
Sebastian swats at a stirge but it easily dodges out of the way.
The eastern derro yanks open the hutch releasing the remaining stirges.
The other derro plunges the room into darkness.
Ayako attempts to pit the two derro's against each other. The derro she targeted looks at the other with a wicked grin then thinks better off it...then seems to still be considering it. Its madness makes it unpredictable.
Col wades into the darkness and swings where he last saw the stirge that Sebastian was fighting. Although he can't see it, he feels his rapier pierce flesh.
Under the cloak of darkness the stirges swarm Sebastian and Col (3 each). They all attach onto the men's bodies and begin draining their blood. Col and Sebastian each take 3 points of Con damage.
Ayako activates Daylight!
Nadya waits until Ayako brings forth the daylight and then tries slumbering one of the stirges attached to Sebastian.
Feeling the needle-like probosces piercing his skin in multiple places, Sebastian flails about in the dark, trying to smash one of the attached buggers with his mace.
Sebastian stabs one of the stirges on his body. The stirge droops weakly but still breathes.
The crazed derro that Ayako attempted to command, follows her suggestion even without the compulsion and fires on its ally. Unfortunately, the attack misses.
The other derro panics. It uses one of its abilities to try to cloud Col's mind and attempts to flee down the tunnel to the southwest.
Col successfully shakes off the effect.
Ayako breaks out her daylight scroll and banishes the darkness. The remaining derro squints and shouts in pain from the bright light.
Now that Nadya can see, she uses the slumber hex on a stirge attacking Sebastian and one drops to the ground asleep.
Col will stab at a stirge (#4) on him as well injuring it.
With the darkness removed, the injured stirge flees. The other stirges also release their hold but remain in the room.
Col skewers another stirge. This one dies from a single strike.
Ayako sends a slingstone at Stirge #5
Blinded by the sudden light, Sebastian swings around at the stirges in a flurry.
As he's no longer harried by the bloodsucking pests, he springs onto the table to attack the crazed derro. Drained of blood and wielding an unusual weapon, his exuberance cannot make up for his loss of form.
Sebastian slays the fleeing stirge and leaps over the table towards the remaining derro who is very surprised by the sudden move. Still the derro manages to duck away from the attack and swing its aklys at Sebastian in a counter strike. The hooked blade pierces Sebastian's armor and tears at something vital.
Ayako's stone hits a flying stirge but it is not enough to finish it off. However, it does fly with a noticeable limp now.
Col follows Sebastian's lead and steps past the stirges to get at the derro. He also fumbles his thrust. The blood drain must be getting to him as well.
The two injured stirges give up the fight and flee north. Stirge #5 provokes from Col and Sebastian. Col slays it before it can get too far.
The one remaining stirge drifts down towards Ayako. The stirge latches on and starts sucking Ayako's blood. She takes 1 point of Con damage.
How dare you! This is our first date! Ayako punches the Stirge since she doesn't have her sickle ready.
Nadya concentrates on dealing with the stirges for the moment, knowing that they'll probably be back sooner or later. She first tries to slumber the last one that hasn't fled and then turns her attention to one of the one's in flight.
The derro takes a step backwards and continues to attack Sebastian, slashing him with a second cut.
Sebastian cries out in pain as the vicious hook pulls at his insides. Dropping his mace, he pulls out the silver dagger and stabs at the derro with murderous intent.
Ayako sends the slingstone at the Derro instead of the stirge.
Lucien rushed through the Dead Warrens. Many times, in the last few days, he had been so close to catch up with his sister’s saviors, but they somehow always managed to elude him. He had been so focused on this task that it had almost become a knightly quest to him. After all, he could have thanked them at a later time. But something inside of him kept telling him that he just had to follow their lead. The track they left behind seemed to draw a strange sort of pattern. And besides, he had nowhere else to go since he had left the Korvosan Guard, gaining his own family’s disdain as a free bonus. This quest had become everything he had left.
---
The Gray was eerily quiet as usual. What they’re looking for in such a place? he wondered as he made his way through the silent district. After a few minutes spent wandering alone in The Gray, Lucien noticed something. An entrance… He quickly decided to enter the place, hoping that it was the “Dead Warrens” the Pharasmin priestess had told him about.
A trap door welcomed him. It’s cold in here though Lucien to himself, blowing hot air from his mouth on his steely gloves. He lighted up his sunrod, a warm bright light suddenly filling the otherwise dimly lit chamber. He quickly descended the trap door, entering a long tunnel of Shoanti construction. Well, I heard the Shoanti once ruled the site where our beloved founder settled our glorious city, but still I didn’t imagine to find something dating back to those times…right under my feet. He moved forward, following the tunnel leading further underground. He soon noticed the patches of eerily glowing mold filling the tunnels with a cold blue light. He shivered without knowing why. He couldn’t feel fear anymore, but something inside of him screamed in concern. The musty air caused him to choke a few times before he could adapt to the dampness and the stink of rotting flesh. This is definitely not a good sign…I thought that the Pharasmins used to actually preserve the bodies of the dead…
---
After a short walk, he reached a large room supported by four wide pillars of stone. The ceiling above arched in a dome nearly twenty feet high. The walls were lined with skeletons caked into the mud―human bones mostly, but here and there smaller bones might be from halfings, or perhaps children. Pharasma makes cradles for us all… muttered Lucien remembering the saying one of his ex-comrades from Brevoy was always speaking out loud. He brought his right hand to his armored chest and made the sign of the spiral.
---
Leaving the room behind, Lucien followed the southern tunnel. He was not an expert tracker, but he was still able to discern clear signs of recent passage and follow that lead. The tunnel split into two directions: one path to the west and one path to the southeast. He spent a lot of time searching for tracks, but eventually he managed to find a trail and followed it until he could hear the sound of an ongoing battle. It must be them! I must hurry! Lucien darted through the tunnels, following the screams and sounds of the battle. I just hope I’m not too late. He found a door ajar. A dim light flickered from the inside. Please Abadar, guide my steps he thought as he drew his greatsword and rushed into the chamber…
______________________________
Sebastian's dagger finds purchase and his anger drives the dagger into the derro down to the hilt. It screams in pain and steps back to retaliate, as noted above. Sebastian feels an odd sense of approval wash over him.
The derro, too involved in melee combat, does not see Ayako's attack coming and is struck in the forehead with a solid sling stone.
Nadya turns her stare towards the derro and it quivers before her.
Finally, Col continues the assault and pierces the derro with another deadly wound.
The derro still lives but it now pants heavily and bends over in pain from multiple wounds. Its eyes dart around the room in panic. It is clearly looking for an escape route.
Ayako picks up two stirges and makes that airplane noise with them. Perhaps thinking of making Stirge Gauntlets.
Sebastian stabs the derro yet again. The creature appears to be on the verge of collapse but manages enough strength to bolt down the western passage.
From down the tunnel that the derro just entered, you hear a booming alien voice shout, "More food!?" followed by the yelp of the derro.
However, before you can investigate, the heavy footsteps of someone in fullplate and the light of a sunrod alert you to the presence of someone else approaching from the northwestern tunnel.
When the slumber hex wears off on the remaining stirges, they awaken in a confused state and make their way back into the hutch to rest without bothering you further. You can dispose of them (or not) as you choose.
Lucien steps in the cavern, breathing heavily for the rush. As soon as his sunrod lights up the cavern, his eyes widens as he sees four humanoid creatures standing close to one another, their weapon in their hands. Suddenly realizing that they might easily mistake him for yet another foe, Lucien quickly puts his greatsword into its scabbard tied behind his back and raises his hands up in the air. "I know this is kinda strange, but I mean no harm!" he says hesitatingly, "Name's Lucien. I've been searching you since you saved my sister Alika from the clutches of Gaedren Lamm. I...I just wanted to...thank you for what you've done."
Ayako startshealing Sebastion.
Looking at the newcomer, she nods her head. Even though we have just met, I know you are trustworthy and you are welcome to join our group. :^)
"You picked a strange place to thank us Lucien. I'm glad the stirges we just chased off didn't decide to make you lunch."
Sebastian starts toward the newcomer to get between this new threat and the others but stumbles from blood loss. He gives Ayako a stern look as she welcomes Lucien, but he's hardly in a position to do anything about it. As she heals him, the Pharasmin healing magic helps him to realize that trials in this life amount to little in the end and weren't worth getting particularly upset over.
When Nadya mentions lunch, Sebastian realizes that it's been awhile since he's eaten. "If you want to thank us, we gladly accept fine dining as tribute."
Lucien breathes a sigh of relief as he meets sudden - and partially unexpected - acceptance by his sister's saviors. "I've got a few spare golds and know a good place where to eat a delicious reefclaw. And yes, I know this feels weird, but...well, as I said, I wanted to thank you" For the first time in his life, Lucien experiences a hard time in an attempt to find the right words. Eventually, however, he sighs, and ensues: "Not that I think words could prove a suitable reward for your noble deeds. The priestess back at the Pharasmin temple told me about your investigations here, and...I want to help. So my debt can be paid back." Lucien smiled, shaking his head as he thinks to the impact his words may have on his interlocutors. "Listen, I can fight. And I know you were actually fighting down here. I heard it. So please, allow me to help you. If you don't trust me, well, I'm willing to undergo any divine mean of questioning me you might have. My heart does not lie, and, on my honor, I speak the truth" concludes Lucien bowing to his sister's saviors. I hope this is enough for them to trust me...
I will extend my hand in trust to you and accept your help, plus tasty reefclaw. Ayako smiles.
Lucien smiles at the woman in front of him. "Thank you for you trust" he says, relieved, as he shakes her hand firmly. "I'm afraid I don't know your names yet. If we're going to fight together they might come pretty in handy" he adds with another, genuine smile.
Ayako.
"I'm Nadya. Its good to meet you Lucien and I look forward to that reefclaw too. I'm much rather eat it than be eaten like last time." She gives a wry grin. "A story for another time."
"The name's Col." says Col. "When we brought Gaedren Lamm to justice, many of the children enslaved by him ran away before we could help them. I'm glad that your sister found her way home. The extra sword down here is appreciated as well. Now we can save further introductions for later. That derro ran off to the west. It's probably retreating back to the darklands but I heard another voice from that tunnel as well."
There are two other exits to the exsanguination chamber that you are in; one leading west (which the derro used) and one leading east. There is also one more passage to the east in the crawlspaces that you haven't explored yet either.
"Let's try that western tunnel so we don't leave anything behind us. I wonder if it is another of those otyughs that we faced with the Hellknights? They like garbage, right?"
"Otyughs? Hellknights?! Woah, your lives appear to be very interesting...and dangerous", says Lucien as he follows Nadya in the western tunnel, holding his sunrod with his left hand and lighting up the area. "Blh...Damn, this smell is disgusting" he says as he covers his nose with his right arm, in an attempt to prevent the terrible smell from reaching his nostrils. "And the noises do not bode well, either..."
I wonder if it is another of those otyughs that we faced with the Hellknights?
You head down the western tunnel.
The majority of this room contains a nasty-looking stretch of mud—a partially collapsed sinkhole—kept damp by rivulets of water seeping from the walls. A patch of solid ground extends into the mud to form an island, on which is heaped a reeking pile of body parts. To the north, a rickety wheelbarrow sits on its side against the wall.
An otyugh wallows in the mud enjoying its latest delivery of body parts. When it notices you enter, it cries out in a delighted slobbery voice, "Warm food!" and lumbers towards you.
A secret door is open along the northwest wall. You can see it leads back to the derro cave. The fleeing derro must have just used this passage because you don't remember seeing it before.
Among the still-uneaten body parts on the island are the broken legs and hips of a human—legs decorated with bold Shoanti tattoos.
Umm..We just wanted to see if you were awake because we can get some tasty stirges for you to eat! All full of blood so they pop so nicely! We'll trade the stirges to you for those legs and hips. Ayako points to the body parts they need.
"You...not food?" the otyugh replies dejectedly. "But...you bring me more food? Hmm... How many stirges? I don't normally trade food...but I have been eating a lot of human lately. Are you sure you're not food? All my human has been cold. I bet warm human tastes delicious. How about I just eat one of you?" The otyugh licks its lips hungrily with a long slimy tongue.
"No, you don't want to do that," says Sebastian. "The stirges already sucked out our flavor. They have all the warm human flavor you want!"
Oh stirges are full of rich blood! Just pop them in and crunch for a rich splurt!. Ayako will go gather up the stirges and put them into the wheelbarrow. If the otyuck focuses on them, Ayako will get the legs into the wheelbarrow and head off back to the old stirge room.
The otyugh will not let you put the legs into the wheelbarrow before bringing back the stirges. If it sees you attempt to move towards them, it covers the pile with a tentacle and shouts, "Stirges first!" It will allow you to take the wheelbarrow to place the stirges into it though.
When Ayako returns with the wheelbarrow full of dead stirges, the otyugh greedily lifts one up and deposits it into its mouth. "Not bad. Very fresh," it exclaims. "Fine, humans. Take the legs. Rolth will provide me with more delicious discards anyway. Besides, de-shelling humans is more work than its worth." The otyugh glances in Lucien's direction.
Ayako dumps the remaining stirges onto the pile of corpses and retrieves the Shoanti legs. Obviously it is difficult to confirm these belonged to the Shoanti boy, Gaekhen, but these are the only Shoanti parts you've come across so far.
The otyugh ignores you at this point and resumes wallowing in the mud pit.
Col declares, "I don't know if the derro merely retreated or is going to seek reinforcement, but someone needs to make sure that nothing returns from that Darklands passage. You guys go on ahead. I'm going to work on sealing the tunnel. We've cleared this portion of the warrens, so I should be okay, but I'll shout if I need you."
Ayako pats Col on the arm. Thank you for your help this far. She then turns to the others. Let us return to the secret passage and check the ways we didn't go.