Desperation seems to be the only thing that keeps the tiefling alive as she continues to stab and struggle to escape the creatures clutches.
Tasha stabs the daemon numerous times, her final critical hit finishing it off. It releases its grasp on her as it dies.
Meanwhile, Grelda quickly moves up to the two humanoids and unleashes a prismatic spray!
The first one narrowly avoids two beams, while the other is slowed by a violet beam.
Ruinë reaches for the heavens and when she pulls her hand back down, she pulls forth divine fire that she aims towards the two humanoids.
The creatures dodge the worst of the flames, as well as Ashlion's attacks. The one that Ashlion charged bites him, draining his vitality, while the other tries to scare him to death!
Fed up with these things already, Grelda nudges Ashlion's fate before banishing the one casting spells to an extradimensional maze!
Ruinë throws a lance of divine energy towards one, hoping to help bring one down quickly and save some of her other spells.
Tasha takes a moment to spit on the creature that had held her before turning her blade on the two newcomers.
Ashlion only delivers one blow, but it is a crushing, critical hit that knocks the creature to the ground! Ruine blasts it with divine light before Tasha leaps upon it and delivers two piercing strikes with her blade.
Groaning in pain, the humanoid raises his translucent arms. "I yield!" he growls in Undercommon.
The other one likewise surrenders when it reappears from the maze. "Well fought. You have proved your mettle. Our illustrious leader, war champion Kharostan, grants you an audeince in our camp at Spear Hill. Follow us."
Ruinë is about ready to open her mouth and tell Ashlion to stop once the man yields, unsure if he heard him or not. She insists on seeing to her groups injuries before they head off to meet war champion Kharostan.
After inspection the warrior, she asks the humanoids, "How long will this trip to Spear Hill take?"
"We can reach Spear Hill before the end of the day if we leave now," the creature says.
The humanoids mount up on a pair of ghoulish bats that are waiting nearby, flying overhead as they escort you south. After a day's march, you can see the camp. On a mesa rising from the black sands of the desert, houses of dark stone stand within a perimeter fence of large spikes of metal held together by massive lengths of chain. At uneven intervals, stone towers rise around the perimeter. Bodies at various stages of decay hang impaled on the fence.
Once you are in the camp, guards escort you to an empty house. "Rest, surface-dwellers. The great War Champion Kharostan wants to talk to you, but before that, he’s throwing a feast. You’ll join. Don’t disappoint him."
Holding Tasha's hand, Ruinë smiles at the invitation, "A feast sounds fantastic! I am famished!" She squeezes the tiefling's hand and bounces on her toes, clearly excited about the prospect of a feast.
"Be warned, My Love," Tasha whispers quietly. "What they're feasting upon may not be fit for rational beings." She returns the squeeze and leans over to press a quick kiss to the shorter woman's temple.
After you've had time to rest, the guards bring you to the center of Spear Hill camp. As patrols return to the camp on their ghoulish bats, everyone in the camp starts preparing for a feast. While urdefhan raiders haul in strange-looking animals they’ve captured and bound with steel chains and manacles, other urdefhans start lighting big fires in large stone fire rings and passing around lit torches for everyone. Seers toss white powder into the flames as they pass by, making the fires crackle and burn brighter and higher. Grim duergars haul out long tables and benches to form a giant ring around the fires.
A steady beat rises above the din of expectant urdefhans in the camp as drummers begin to pound enormous kettle drums constructed from skin and sinew. The music is a cacophonous din, rising and falling erratically. Skavelings tethered to tall steel poles start shrieking as if to accompany the music.
The urdefhans prepare a cauldron of boiling blood and wine, which they pass around for their warriors to drink. The eager warriors howl as the hot liquid burns their mouths and throats.
Excited by the pain, the urdefhans break into frenzied dancing. Performers with their faces painted with blood step out of the shadows, grab torches, and start waving them around.
Soon, more duergar slaves carry giant plates laden with a wide variety of food: dark sausages, roasted meat with oozing blood, fried scorpion tails, worm flesh boiled in blood, and other, even more unusual dishes. The urdefhans look at the food hungrily, but they wait to partake until their war champion formally begins the feast.
As they wait, sporadic brawls break out among the urdefhans, warriors launching themselves at others and wrestling each other to the ground. Some even bare their two-bladed rhoka swords, engaging in impromptu duels with blows of lethal force.
Ruinë looks at the blood-wine and raises an eyebrow, passing it on to Tasha. "Do you think they have any spiced wine?"
Looking over the food, she passes on all of the things covered in blood and eyes the sausages. "Those don't look so bad..." she tries to convince herself.
Tasha easily manages to down the boiling drink, but she seems distracted by Ruine's misgivings and her shout of challenge lacks ... something.
She delves into the food without hesitation, but continues to watch her lover.
After these initial festivities, War Champion Kharostan emerges from one of the largest tents in the camp. A large urdefhan, nearly two heads taller than the rest of his kin, strides forward and sits upon a throne of iron. Behind the throne is a twenty-foot-tall iron spike, and hanging from it is an impaled, largely decomposed urdefhan corpse. The crowd begins to settle as they see their leader arrive.
Once everyone is silent, the large urdefhan stands and raises a cup of blood wine in toast. In a booming voice, he shouts, “You like to eat and drink and fight? You want a feast? Yes? I’ll give you a feast!” The urdefhans start to cheer and roar, and the feast begins in earnest.
BANQUET OF BLOOD AND VENOM
When Kharostan gives the word for the feast to begin, the urdefhans dig into the food that has already been brought out. Nearly all the food is laden with or boiled in blood, and many dishes are strange and sometimes venomous dishes—such as roasted scorpion tails. You can either choke down this unsavory food by attempting a DC 34 Fortitude save, or pretend to eat it by attempting a DC 34 Stealth check to Conceal an Object.
Critical Success Gain 2 Respect Points.
Success Gain 1 Respect Point.
Failure Lose 1 Respect Point. If you used Fortitude, you show visible discomfort and become sickened 1.
Critical Failure As failure, but you lose 2 Respect Points and cannot attempt to retch to recover from this sickened condition until after the feast is over.
FERVENT DANCE
Many urdefhans dance wildly, shaking and thrashing about forcefully and seemingly without control. Attempt a DC 34 Acrobatics, Athletics, or Performance check. If your signature trick has the dance trait, you can attempt to Perform a Trick instead, with a DC of 30.
Critical Success Gain 2 Respect Points.
Success Gain 1 Respect Point.
Critical Failure Lose 1 Respect Point.
FIRE JUGGLING
Some urdefhans are juggling torches and breathing fire. Attempt a DC 34 Acrobatics or Performance check. If your signature trick has the fire trait, you can attempt to Perform a Trick instead, with a DC of 30.
Critical Success Gain 2 Respect Points.
Success Gain 1 Respect Point.
Critical Failure Lose 1 Respect Point, and become clumsy 1until the feast is over due to a bad burn.
IMPROMPTU WRESTLING
Urdefhan warriors continue to face off in impromptu wresting duels. Attempt a DC 34 Athletics or Intimidation check to challenge a warrior to a duel and defeat them.
Critical Success Gain 2 Respect Points.
Success Gain 1 Respect Point.
Critical Failure Lose 1 Respect Point.
MUSICAL CACOPHONY
The urdefhans play drums, shout, and make other sounds in the style of traditional urdefhan music. Attempt a DC 34 Performance or Society check. If your signature trick has the musical trait, you can attempt to Perform a Trick instead, with a DC of 30.
Critical Success Gain 2 Respect Points.
Success Gain 1 Respect Point.
Critical Failure Lose 1 Respect Point.
|
Ashlion moves into the wrestling ring to compete with the urdefhan, and although he easily matches his chosen opponent the match rapidly descends into stalemate when Ashlion declines to use his size advantage. Eventually the two competitors break apart but the crowd are unimpressed by the spectacle.
Ashlion eats heartily to refuel, chomping through everything he is offered without comment or flinching - something which does seem to impress their hosts.
"Dancing? Oh. I like to dance!" the cleric says with a broad smile. "Hopefully there is no blood involved." she whispers to Tasha as she cups a hand over her mouth.
Ruinë observes the dancers for a bit and then tries to participate, mimicking their erratic and wild movements.
Grelda happily pretends to eat the food, secreting it in her sleeves and rubbing her rounded belly in mock delight. She then does her best to try to play the drums and juggle the flames, though she doesn’t prove to be particularly skilled at either task. At least she has fun doing it!
Grelda cheers and whistles as Ashlion shakes his stuff. ”That’s my husband!”
Emboldened by her success dancing, Ruinë bravely tries her hand at some fire juggling.
Try as she might, Tasha's attempt to tackle the food laid out before them ends in a whimper when she pushes away from the table and clutches at her stomach. She does manage to avoid utter embarrassment by keeping what she did eat down.
Seeing her lover dancing cheers up the tiefling and she joins her in her sensual movements.
Snarling and growling without the physicality to back it up gain her nothing.
You perform well during the feast, despite a few hiccups, impressing the urdefhans with your prowess. As the feast draws to a close, Kharostan rises up from his throne and retires from the festivities. A few moments later, though, the guards who brought you here inform you that the war champion has requested to meet with you.
The group of urdefhan warriors stops abruptly in front of a house built from irregular pieces of stone and held together by some kind of cement and bands of iron. “Go in,” one of the warriors commands. Inside the house, torches placed in black iron sconces illuminate a large stone bed covered with pelts from strange beasts. Many heads adorn the walls, some from animals and monsters and others from urdefhans and other humanoids.
The large urdefhan from the feast is sitting on a throne of iron opposite the entrance. He motions at much smaller stone stools near the door. “I am Kharostan, the war champion of this cult. Sit. We must talk.”
Three gaunt urdefhans stand near Kharostan’s throne. One with bulging eyes speaks: “War champion, don’t let these outsiders fool you. They bring with them lies, only lies. Cut off their tongues and send them away.” A second daemon-binder, this one hunched and long-fingered, says, “We should torture them for information and then kill them.” A third one, this one with a long, lolling tongue, says, “We should send them to Shraen to spy for us. No one will suspect these surface-dwellers work for us, and if they die, no one cares.”
Kharostan stands up and waves his hand dismissively at his advisors. “I’ve heard your advice. Now, go! Leave!” The binders each bow hastily and force a toothy smile before leaving. “Good,” Kharostan mutters, “now I can hear my own thoughts. Tell me who you are, and why your names will live on after your deaths!"
|
|
"BECAUSE I WILL HAVE STRONG SONS AND BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS!" Ashlion replies swiftly, not bothering to moderate his voice at all. "AND BECAUSE THERE IS NO-ONE TO MATCH MY STRENGTH. ALL ENVY MY WIVES AND MY FAMILY WILL LAST A THOUSAND GENERATIONS! I AM ASHLION, AND YOU WILL REMEMBER MY NAME!"
Say what you will about the barbarian - but he knows how to announce himself.
Tasha smiles as Ashlion stays true to himself.
"Myself on the other hand," the tiefling says, stepping forward with a bow and a tip of her hat. "Will not be known by any children, nor by the nameless slave that was my mother." She returns her hat to her head and gives it a tap. "But all will know me because my friends and I will save the great city Absalom and the surrounding isles from devastation. We will retrieve the aeon orb from the xulgath and restore life-giving harmony above."
She smiles at the war champion as her wings appear and spread wide.
"I am Tasha the Fair and you will remember my name until the day you die," she declares.
After suitably impressive introductions from Grelda and Ruine, Kharostan gets to the point of this visit. "I have a few tasks in mind for you. First of all, I have a prisoner: a soldier of Shraen, our ancestral enemies. I want to find out if you’re any better at talking to him than my warriors and binders. They weren’t able to get anything useful. I want to know two things: How are the forces of Shraen planning to attack our camps next, and why did they send a group of their people to the Cradle of Worms?
"So far, I’m impressed with you. If you manage to break the prisoner, I’ll give you two necklaces that should protect you against the crystals in the vault’s ceiling. Will you persuade the prisoner to speak?"
Looking to Tasha, Ruinë frowns at her comment about not being known by any children before turning back to the war champion. "I can only dream to have a child one day to carry on my name, but that is unknown at this time."
She clears her throat lifts her chin, knowing this is not the time to show weakness or doubt. "For many other things my name will be remembered. As the savior of the lands above, for the death-defying aerial feats of wonderment, for the healings hands to stave sickness and death."
---
After he explains what is to be done, the cleric nods. "Perhaps we can provide a different tactic than what has been sought before."
Urdefhan hunters take you to the building in the Spear Hill camp where the prisoner is being held. The prisoner is a broad-chested tiefling with large eyes, long black hair, and dark, curving horns like a ram’s. The urdefhans haven’t been kind to him in captivity; the tiefling looks weak, with fresh wounds on top of old scars that crisscross his body. With his purple skin, he bears a striking resemblance to Tasha...
”I don’t know anything. Go away,” he says in Undercommon. The flat tone of his voice makes it clear his response is a well-worn mantra, but you can sense his fear.
While the fact that there's a resemblance to herself may be lost on Tasha, something about the prisoner seems unsettling to her.
"I'm sure you know many things," she replies in the same language. "But we have no intention of trying to force you to share them with us against your will. My name is Tasha. What's yours?" she asks.
The tiefling regards Tasha for a few long moments. Finally, he says, "Khufar. My name is Khufar."
Tasha nods. Still trying to narrow down why the tiefling unsettles her so, she continues. "Good to meet you, Khufar. I would prefer better circumstances in which to meet new people, but sometimes life puts us in less than ideal situations."
She looks over the scars and wounds on the man's body. "It would appear that you've lived a hard life. My life has been hard as well, although it hasn't left as much evidence on my skin. Because of that, I take no pleasure in making anyone else's trials worse. How can I help you, Khufar? What would ease your burden?"
Khufar sighs. "I serve Zavizik Shraen, of the Red Circus. He's my master. I'm one of his house guards, but I was randomly assigned to a scout patrol. Bad luck for me. Raiders attacked us, killed everyone else but me. Then they made me walk back here--must have been over 100 miles, maybe 150. Then they beat and tortured me to try to get me to reveal the drow's plans. If I talk, they'll have no use for me, and they'll kill me. And even if they don't, if the drow find out I shared their secrets, they'll kill me. I'm a dead man either way. Maybe you should just kill me now and put me out of my misery."
"What if I gave you a third option?" Tasha asks with a shrug. "We have a hard task ahead of us, but once we've achieved it - which we will, do not doubt - we will be returning to our family on the surface world. Our family is very accepting. Share the drow secrets and you could then return with us when we travel back up." She shakes her head. "The dark elves hold no power up there. A new life would await you there."
Khufar smiles wistfully. ”A new life on the surface. My mother used to talk about wanting that for me one day. If you can truly promise a place for me, free of the slavery I have known my whole life, then yes, I will talk.
“There’s not a whole lot I can tell, you though, beyond the fact that the drow plan to attack with slaves like me. Zyra and Nyrinda Shraen are in charge now, have been expanding the slave stables for years. They’re worried about the urdefhans, so they send house guards like me out with the scouting patrols.
“The urdefhans have been questioning me about something called the Cradle of Worms. I haven’t even heard of such a thing. It must have been an independent operation kept out of the public knowledge on purpose. No one in my unit ever mentioned anything like that.”
"My mother went through much to give that to me as well," Tasha replies softly. She adopts a more positive tone. "Thank you for your cooperation." She gestures for the others to leave with her, returning to Kharostan.
"He has given us some information in exchange for us taking him into our custody," she explains to the warchief. "If you agree to that then I'll pass along what he's told us."
Tasha is quite certain Khufar is telling the truth.
Kharostan balks initially. ”Shraen prisoners know too much about the Spear Hill camp. You must swear he will not reveal what he knows to the enemy.”
Once you make the promise, he listens to what you have learned. Pleased with your efforts, he rewards you as promised with two blightburn wards.
Kharostan sits on his throne, scratching the translucent flesh of his cheek in thought. After a brief silence, he speaks: “I know a group of drow and their slaves went into the Cradle of Worms a few months ago. I want you to find out what the drow are doing there. Judging by the direction you’re traveling, that’s where you’re headed, too. You will help me, and I will help you. One of my hunters, Thaxon, will accompany you to the Cradle of Worms. Her presence guarantees that my raiders, or those from other cults, will not attack you. Once you are done, she’ll report back to me. That’s all. In exchange for your service, we’ll grant you safe passage through our territory.
“You’ve already impressed me more than I expected from surface-dwellers. You are free to go if you do not want my aid, and you can leave this camp as my allies. But if you accept the task and Thaxon brings news back to me, I promise to reward you even further.”
Tasha nods and bows in response. "We will be taking him with us when we return to the surface world," she replies. "We will keep a close eye on him and ensure that he does nothing to harm your tribe."
"Thaxon is welcome to accompany us as we head to the Cradle of Worms. We will endeavor to determine what the drow are up to."
Kharostan nods in satisfaction. "Good. The reeking valley of the worms lies 145 miles to the southwest of our camp. That place is different. So full of life. Plants, beasts. We hunt along its edges but don’t go in. We like the open desert; our hunters are unparalleled here."
The war champion whistles, and a female urdefhan approaches. "This is Thaxon. You will find her a competent hunter." Thaxon simply nods. "Now, go! Crush our enemies and bring glory to your names!"
|
|
When Grelda sits everyone down to go through their collected valuables Ashlion isn't hugely interested, his hammer is already a mighty weapon! He does insist that his wife takes one of the wards however.
"YOU MUST PROTECT THE LITTLE ONE!" He declares firmly. "SHE IS NOT AS STRONG AS HER MOTHER YET!"
Grelda nods. ”Yes, of course. I trust you will be strong enough to fight off any potential sickness, husband.”
She takes Ashlion’s hand and places it on her belly. He can feel subtle movements beneath it. ”You feel? She grows bigger every day.”
The next day, you set out from Spear Hill across the Vault of the Black Desert, heading towards the Cradle of Worms. With Thaxon guiding you, you are able to pass through the urdefhans' territory without incident. After six days of travel, you finally arrive at your destination.
Under the alien starlight of the blightburn crystals in the ceiling of the Vault of the Black Desert lies the jagged, miles-long valley known as the Cradle of Worms. The slopes and edges of the valley floor are bare, covered in the same desolate sand found throughout the rest of the Black Desert. But a few miles inward, grasses and weeds emerge from cracked earth, and further still, shrubs, trees, and other leafy plants spring from moister sand. At the center of the valley, the terrain is thick with vegetation, the massive trees creating an impenetrable canopy above a sprawling jungle.
Your next task is to reach “legendary Xul-Khundur,” a place cryptically hinted at in ancient texts, to find the missing aeon orb. But the pyramid of Xul-Khundur is obscured by the central jungle’s thick vegetation, and searching blindly across dozens of square miles would be an exercise in futility.
Thankfully, Farwalker’s Travels lists three landmarks, albeit cryptically—a massive stone hand, three jutting stones that resemble a crown of teeth, and an island in the middle of a lake—that narrow this search considerably. The three landmarks are visible from most locations within the Cradle of Worms. It's up to you which one you wish to explore first!
As they walk, Tasha keeps Ruine close. She's aware that the half-elf is quite capable of taking care of herself, but in this dark and dangerous place, with so many feelings of fear and dread flooding back to her, she's unable to let her lover roam too far away from her.
"You said that your mother wanted a life of freedom on the surface for you. Is she still alive?" she asks Khufar in an attempt to make conversation.
~~~~~
"Let us begin with the first landmark listed - the stone hand," the tiefling says when they reach the edge of the underground jungle.
Khufar shakes his head. "She passed a few years back. The life of a slave is brutal and ofttimes short. I am grateful to have had her in my life as long as I did."
***
You circle the Cradle of Worms as you make your way to the first landmark. A massive clawed hand built from stone rises from the black sands of the desert encroaching along the edges of the lush valley. The surface of the stone monument is marred with cracks, and it looks as though the hand was once part of a larger statue. Tufts of purple and brown grass grow in patches near the hand.
"It looks like a xulgath's hand," Grelda observes. "The rest of the statue must be buried under the sands. It must be more than 300 feet tall, altogether!"