Falxi moves gracefully into battle with the caligni.
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Wan steps to flank the caligni with Falxi.
”Surrendering to talk with us is an option at any time,” the tengu offhandedly offers as Aggro’s gears power up, ”or we could pulverize you into a messy paste.”
Akkaboo's monkeys fail to steal anything from the caligni. Falxi delivers a telling blow, temporarily stunning the caligni. Zin batters him with a ram of force, wihle Wan delivers a good strike.
The caligni pulls himself together, recovering from the stun. Despite being flanked, he lashes out with his dagger at Falxi, slicing the elf twice.
Falxi continues to attack.
"Why are you attacking us? We're just passing through."
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Akkaboo watches Falxi and the stranger trade blows and words, trying to imagine what they might be saying to each other. Was it a misunderstanding? A lover’s quarrel? Maybe Falxi left him here by himself and he’s stressed out from caring for the children all by himself? Regardless, she hurls fire into the fray and encourages her monkeys to make mischief.
As the Caligni is shoved back Zin closes the gap, slicing and stabbing at it in return.
AC 25 (26 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor
HP 63/86 | Resistance Physical 5; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 2/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 2/3 | (4) 1/3
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 0/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 5
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Wan sighs and switches to Undercommon.
An audible hum emanates from Aggro as the air around the tengu vibrates with some strange intensity, unlike other noises heard before from the armoured hulk.
"I will not surrender! I will join Urthagul in death!" the caligni shouts in Undercommon. You have no choice but to keep fighting. Each of you lands powerful blows on the caligni who buckles under their impacts. Akkaboo's fire burns him, and as the rest of you slice and pound him, he cries out, glows white-hot, and explodes in a ball of flame!
The caligni has a key and a wand of magic missile (3rd level). Amid the comforts of the room is a small pouch with 25 gp, 10 sp, and a greater cheetah’s elixir.
Falxi manages to dodge some of the explosion.
"Impossible to know what his relationship was with that gug, but he was very upset about us defeating him."
Not expecting the flames Zin covers his face with his arm bt stil managaes to get badly burned. "I think its safe to say everyone down here is with her."
Wan takes a light scorching from the self-immolation.
”Its strange that the caligni would be so fond of the gug though. I mean, the gug ain’t Madame Doom ——unless she WAS and we just solved this whole mess!”
Wan pops his helm and looks around at the non-plussed faces. ”No? No. NOOOOOO. Yes, no. Ahem. Well, carry on!”
"We may want to take a few hours to bandage these wounds." He offers a fair bit of healing to continue on quicker.
As the healing energy releases from his body he begins to glow slightly. "There is a litle more in me if you need it just grasp my shoulder."
AC 25 (26 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor
HP 58/86 | Resistance Physical 5; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 2/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 0/3 | (4) 0/3
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 0/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 5
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
After healing up, you check the room across the hall. A key that the caligni had unlocks it, revealing a small rom with a single prisoner inside: an urdefhan warrior. The translucent-skinned humanoid is emaciated and his lips are dry and cracked. Still, he gives you a look of determination. Initial attempts to get him to talk are met with stubborn silence.
"Tell us how you got here, and why that caligni was holding you, or we will simply leave you here in silence. We don't have time to deal with your nonsense if we are to stop Belcora."
”Show him the thing we took from that gug,” Wan says in Common with a twinkle in his unhelmeted eye. He shifts his gaze to the daemon-linked humanoid and switches to Undercommon.
”Urthagul, that is.”
Zin holds out the small shard to the urdefhan as he kneels down. "Do you need some help?"
The urdefhan glares at you, but Falxi's attempt to coerce compliance works. "I am Huglu. I was caught by the calignis near the entry from the fungal caverns to the south. I serve a great war champion of my people named Khurfel. We control the territory at the bottom of the chasm."
He turns to Zin. "I do not need your help! I came to inflict death and destruction on all that oppose us! I will slaughter you and feast on your blood!"
“Um… who do you think opposes you?” Akkaboo asks hesitantly.
"Is that what got you locked in a cell? If so we can gladly shut this door again?" Zin moves to slowly close the door to make his point.
"We are the vanguard of Belcorra's armies!" Huglu shouts proudly. "All others who dwell in these vaults are weak and not worthy of the honor of serving the Ghost Queen! The calignis! The drow! We will slaughter them all as a warm-up before we raze the surface world!"
"Well, I've heard enough." Falxi looks askance at his companions, ready to silence the fanatic if necessary.
Zin quickly shuts the cell door. "Alright, have fun with that then." He motions to lock it up again.
With the urdefhan locked back up, you return to exploring the rooms around you. You first uncover a secret door that leads to stairs spiraling down--the way to the next level of the Abomination Vaults.
The other nearby rooms include a storage chamber for the calignis. Aside from casks of food and water, you find three beautiful amethysts worth 20 gp each. A drab chamber contains a few bedrolls and a box with several earthern mugs atop it. The last empty room hides a hidden door behind which is the calignis' treasury. The treasury holds an iron strongbox containing 13 gp and 50 sp, 30 pieces of onyx worth 2 gp each, four moderate healing potions, and a barkskin potion.
A stout, iron-bound door at the end of the hall here is blocked with rubble. Moving the rubble will be time-consuming, but not difficult.
Falxi gives Zin a searching look, "Do you think the other parts of your lens are on this level, or should we proceed toward our goal?"
"Could just as well be down below. Let's clear out this rubble ans see if we find anything. Otherwise we can head down and do some poking around." Zin offers.
”Do you think that gug we killed was not on Belcorra’s side?” Wan asks, puzzled at the urdefhan’s words and stance. ”It seems that that - person - was not keen on allies not named Belcorra.” Wan clucks to himself for a few moments.
”I mean, it just might be that evil people can’t generally work together well, but…”
The tengu lets the half-formed thought drop.
"I am not sure the Gugs mind wasn't broken from the voices." He knew all too well the affects of those same voices on his own mind, for it is what brought him here in the first place.
Beyond the door is a vast cavern filled with a forest of massive fungi. Some of the fungus reaches nearly to the high ceiling of the cavern, fifty feet overhead. The remains of old paths are here, but most are covered with clumps of smaller fungus or patches of pale slime. Spores drift through the air and huge red blooms on the fungi shift as though in a wind, although there is no wind here. Several paths lead out of this cavern, including a bridge over a chasm to the west.
"Step quietly now, and mind you don't brush against any fungi. If it doesn't try to devour you, its spores may make you see things that aren't there." Falxi gazes intently into the mushroom forest.
They are necessary to sweep away the dead, but I am not ready to be decomposed yet.
"Wrin would probably really like this room...." Wan lets slip wistfully. He then harrumphs in a means to save face.
"Time's like this that I wish I wasn't an armoured hulk and instead a more sleek flying machine.....OH WELL. Lead on into our hallucinatory doom!"
Zin takes it slow and cautiously tip toes around the larger piles of spores as he motions to the south. "Let's head this way and circle back up north."
The south path ends at a door leading west. A large boulder blocks a cave entrance to the east. The door is locked.
"These ways seem blocked, but everything is not what it seems."
Falxi finesses the lock and points out the hidden mechanism of the boulder.
"Which way to go? More effort was made to block this passage with the boulder, so I suspect something interesting is there, but if we are searching for the descent to the next level, a doorway seems a more likely route."
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“Are you really sure that’s not Mazul?” Akkaboo whispers to Zin, admiration shining in her eyes as she watches the other elf work.
”I’m a bird. I’m all ABOUT hunting down hidden shiny things. Let’s go take a look in the hidden boulder area!” Wan suggests enthusiastically.
Zin nods. "Through the boulder then. Let's see what was worth hiding."
Falxi gets the boulder to swing open, allowing access to the cave beyond. Faintly glowing green veins of crystal line the walls of this large cave. To the south, a wide passage spirals into the earth as though created by some massive burrowing creature.
A quartet of drow archers stand guard over the passage here. They instinctively raise their bows when they see you. "You there, halt! What business do you have in Yldaris territory?" one calls.
As they peer closer, the speaker's eyes widen. "Falxi? Is that you? What are you doing with these surface dwellers?"
Zin looks back and forth as the drow recognize Falxi. "You know them? Maybe they can help the cause." He lets Falxi speak to his kin.
"What am I doing? Bringing them to Yldaris. By the silence, did no one tell you about my mission?" Falxi shakes his head. "They've come to fight against Belcora."
"You vouch for them, then?" the drow says to Falxi. "Very well. We will escort you to Quara if you are ready now. No doubt your cousin will want to hear your full report."
”Whoa….cousins??? Foxy, you sly fox! You got us….wait, what’s Yldaris?” Wan goes from excitedly surprised to excitedly confused in the span of a few words.
"Yldaris is our settlement, and Belcora's rise is the chief threat to it." Falxi explains. "At least, as far as Quara thinks."
"So you think you can talk your cousin into helping us then if we go to Yldaris?" Zin wonders.
"I think you're interests align with hers. You both want to stop Belcora." Falxi nods at Zin.
"Can they tell us the layout of this place. How to find Belcorra or even how we can stop her?" Zin has so many questions.
"Hopefully she has some good news to share. I was trying to reach the surface to find help when I ran into you, so I've been out of touch for some time."
”Working with the drow…” Wan whistles to himself. He startles as his beady eyes land on Falxi.
”No offense meant, Foxy. Just never thought that I’d be working with more than one drow at a time. Or could, even.”
The drow form an honor guard and escort you down the wide passage that spirals down into the earth. You reach a tunnel in which a female drow hunter sits on a stool, carving a bit of fungus wood with a small knife. She nods a greeting to Falxi and looks at the rest of you with open curiosity as the hunters escort you south down the tunnel. This tunnel appears to come to a rocky end in the south, but this ersatz collapse hides a secret door the Yldaris hunters use to come and go from the caverns.
One of your escorts touches a wall panel and says "Open" in Elven, causing the rubble to swing aside. He then knocks on the door behind it in a particular pattern, and the guard on the other side opens it and allows you entry. The guard gives you a once-over.
"Welcome back, Falxi," he says. Falxi recognizes this man as Yrorix. "You know the rules. The surface-dwellers will have to leave their weapons here before meeting with Quara."
Zin hands over his elven curved blade. "Where are they taking us Falxi?" Zin tries to cover his own ears as best as he can from the dark elves.
"To see Quara. Don't worry, this is what you want, right? Allies against Belcora." Falxi tries to reassure Zin.
"And Wan, do we seem so different from other elves to you? Have you seen any human sacrifices or people shouting, 'we rule, supreme!' on your way here? Try to keep an open mind."