You notice a strange, familiar troubling of the waters in the pool as you move past. But you continue following Droki.
The dirty derro is easy to recognize: a pale face under a floppy hat fitted with two tentacle-like things that bob up and down in time with his brisk pace. He keeps muttering a repetitive series of phrases to himself at different volumes, failing to notice you. “Droki is late! They will be so angry! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Delays, blocks, procrastination, obstructions, pfah! No time, no rhyme, not mine! No! Time! Ghosts weren't home... someone else was there... couldn't deliver...”
Droki moves on further through the tunnels. He approaches a very strong-looking set of iron bars forming a locked gate in the wall. You hear two voices babbling in Undercommon. One is complaining about "the master" while the other is talking about a weird flute that he fished out of the Darklake one time. They don't seem to be paying any attention to each other. The babbling continues as you hear one of them unlocking the gate for Droki to enter.
Galinndan's eyes flick about, trying to spy another route in.
Galinndan's tired eyes see that the tunnel continues past the gate but he doesn't know whether or not it will lead into the same chamber.
Softly, Galinndan says:
"The tunnel continues on. Perhaps it leads past the door."
I agree. I'd rather not alarm every person down here to our presence just yet.
Kanzen makes to rush after Droki, but pulls up suddenly as his companions motion to wait. "He's getting away!" he murmurs urgently, his eyes fixed on the dwarf like a greyhound staring at a rabbit.
The derro slips through the door unhindered and it locks behind him with a click. You creep stealthily past the doorway in a hurry. You see down the passage that there is an offshoot tunnel to the right in about 75 feet. The passage itself seems to bend to the left. Perhaps it will meet back up with wherever Droki is going?
The first thing you notice as you enter the room is a heavy, unpleasant musk in the air, coming from cages assembled from scrap iron on both sides of the chamber. A spiral path circles into the center of the room, marked off by small stone pylons.
Two derro stand by a large cauldron in front of a tent near the cave’s center. Both are talking while apparently ignoring each other. In the cages, three hulking brown bears appear to be resting.
You see a crack in the south wall, opposite from the door, that looks too small for a medium creature to pass through. You just catch a glimpse of Droki entering it!
Idril keeps a slow pace towards the back of the group, hoping not to trip anymore..
Kanzen frowns as the group makes to sneak past the door. Once the party has passed it he shakes his head. "He was right there, in our reach. Now we have to battle our way into... wherever he's gone! More bloodshed and death. We could have snatched him and been done with it." He realises the moment has passed, however, and tries to shake it off. "So what's the plan now? Follow this passage, see where it leads?"
There were two guards there. We would have had to battle them anyways, and they likely would have called for others. I thought that not charging in would lead to less bloodshed.
Let's see if we can sneak in another way.
"I agree with Galenus. The moment...was not right. Let us try that left-leaning tunnel."
Galinndan begins moving towards the tunnel, more in hope than certainty.
The tunnel continues to bend along to the left until you think you're nearly on the opposite side of the iron bars. Then you find a passage that goes off to the left and one that continues straight ahead.
A chanting droning noise comes from the passage to the left, as does a sickly greenish light.
Softly, Galinndan moves, and softly he speaks.
"Clanking and green light to my left."
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Cyrus scoffs. "I think you've been down here too long."
"Nah I 'ear it too, we should check it out, and by we I mean you or one da elves."
Eddrick is right,[b] Galenus says. [b]Send in a scout. We'll be here as backup.
Kanzen waits a moment for Galinndan or Cyrus to volunteer, then steps forth. "I'll go take a look," he says, trying not to sound too eager.
He sheathes his swords and unslings his bow, an arrow loosely nocked as he creeps down the corridor.
"Den I'm da one whose gone mad." Cyrus grumbles. Following after Kanzen keeping a safe distance.
Galinndan nods, his eyes weary, and follows.
Kanzen creeps forward through the tunnel. He can hear a chanting coming from around the corner saying "Demogorgon! Demogorgon!" He can just make out a cage up ahead containing a pacing dark shape and a humanoid figure standing near it. Suddenly, a mushroom about 2 feet tall begins convulsing and screaming and shrieking! At the same time, Kanzen steps forward onto a section of the floor that is trapped! Kanzen falls into a hidden pit!
But things get worse! He splashes into something odd at the bottom of the pit that immediately begins burning his skin. It's a green slime!
With all the noise, the chanting stops and bustling preparations can be heard!
Now that you have time to breathe and look around a little, you note that these twisting caverns are lit dimly by glowing fungi. You've seen this odd glow before. You also notice two particularly odd types of fungi scattered here and there.
But soon you hear shrieking coming from the tunnel the scouts stealthed into! It sounds like somebody's murdering a very loud piglet or something horrible like that!!!
Eddrikk moves to the edge of the pit, and lowers a portion of his glove to assist the dark elf.
Kanzen leaps up desperately, arm stretched out towards Eddrikk's glaive.
Galenus picks at the muchrooms, examining them. What do you think they are, Eldeth?
'Ell if I know. This far down ain't my territory. I'm jus a soldier in the dwarven armies. he replies.
Lot good you are, then, Galenus replies with a wry smile.
Irdril inspects the fungi with Gale.
"I believe I have seen this type of glow before..."
She trails off as the screaming noise alerts her..
"Well I guess it will have to wait, it sounds like the scouts were made. Let's Go!"
She moves in the direction of the noise.
Galinndan draws his bow and aims it at the entrance, ready to shoot as soon as a foe appears!
Galenus, distracted by the fungus, runs after Idril to help his companions.
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Irdril has no idea what's up with the mushrooms but she recognizes the glow as something she overheard the drow talking about, faerzness.
Areas suffused with faerzress are always filled with dim light.
A creature in an area suffused with faerzress has advantage on saving throws against any divination spells. If a divination spell doesn’t allow a saving throw, the caster must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw to cast the spell. Failing this save means the spell is wasted and has no effect.
Any creature attempting to teleport into, within, or out of a faerzress-suffused area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 1d10 force damage and the teleportation attempt fails. Even if the save succeeds, the teleportation attempt can suffer a mishap as if the destination was known only by description, regardless of how familiar the destination actually is. See the table in the teleport spell for more information.
Areas suffused with faerzress have become tainted by the chaos of the demon lords. When a spell is cast in a faerzress-suffused area, the caster rolls a d20. On a roll of 1, the spell has an additional effect, determined by rolling on the Wild Magic Surge table in chapter 3, “Classes,” of the Player’s Handbook.
Galenus looks at the mushrooms and thinks that they would have an effect he's kind of familiar with! But he's not sure what just this moment... Then more important things start happening!
Cyrus moves toward the pit and lowers his rope.
"Someone else is gonna need ta pull him up" Cyrus grunts.
A lot of clatter is heard as the chanting ceases. Dark humanoid figures can be barely seen hopping down from a platform. One unlatches the cage and a dark shape begins sprinting toward you, growling and slobbering. A big hulking shape can be seen approaching from the back.
The medium shape sprinting toward you is a death dog.
The big shape in the back is an ettin.
The acid continues to tear at Kanzen's skin, dealing him another
damage!
"I can't help but think we did poorly here.."
Irdril keeps moving to catch up with the party.
Irdril moves up and fires a blast at the death dog.
Eddrikk continues to try to pull his companion from the pi.
Irdril's blast smashes into the canid. It snarls in pain but keeps coming!
Kanzen winces as the slime's acid burns his flesh, and he mentally calls out to Eilistraee for aid as he leaps for Eddrikk's proffered glaive once more.
With Kanzen free of his slimy pit, Cyrus takes up his bow and fires at the hound.
Kanzen clambers up out of the hole thanks to Eddrikk's glaive. Galinndan fires at the hound as well
He and Cyrus land shafts that pierce the creature's shoulders but it keeps coming, slobbering ferociously. It bites Kanzen twice for 14 damage! He feels a poison or disease seeping into his wounds but manages to shake it off. The great lumbering shape rushes forward while the derro move forward, chattering in undercommon, and fire their crossbows. A derro in the back fires a blast of force at Cyrus! But at this range, accuracy is poor. Cyrus is hit by one bolt for 7 damage but the other four bolts and the blast of force all miss.
Kanzen grunts in pain and shock as the hound mauls him, and somehow manages to break its grip on him by beating it across the nose. Desperately, barely able to see through the haze of pain, he throws himself acrobatically backwards, and instinctively goes into a series of rolls and twists, retreating from the monstrosity.
Galenus will move forward 20 feet.
Irdril heals Kanzen and attempts to blast the hound again.
Irdril barely manages to weave her magic past Cyrus and hits the death dog.