Falxi presses his advantage on the one he badly wounded.
for
for
"Flee, if you know what's good for you!"
With few moments to spare Zin uses the opportunity to heal his injuries as the creature continues to hug him. "Kill this one!"
AC 26 (27 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor | Enfeebled 2 | Drained 1
HP 79/96 | Resistance Physical 6; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 0/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 3/3 | (4) 2/3 | (5) 3/2
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 1/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 6
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Akkaboo continues shocking the two urdefhans, guiding electrical charge back and forth between the pair.
Wan advances on the creature threatening Zin.
"*squawk* You don't know what's good for you, it would seem."
Wan's khakkara ratchets slowly upwards then releases at an impossible speed directly on the crown of the combatant.
Akkaboo zaps both urdefhans, then Falxi delivers a critical hit to finish one off! He whirls on the last foe, slashing them, before Wan's khakkara bashes the creature's skull in! As the three foes lie dead on the cave floor, their invisible flesh quickly rots away and sublimates into foul-smelling gas, leaving their bones and internal organs in a gruesome puddle.
"Well, that was disgusting." Zin wipes some of the goop off of his arms and clothes as the creature dies around him. "Let's keep looking around for this token. We need to find the key."
"Agreed. Belcorra has all sorts of monstrosities working for her, it seems." Falxi gathers the weapons from the piles of goo, intent on making sure that they are destroyed.
The passage the urdefhans were guarding opens into a massive cavern that holds a jumble of low-lying tents made of stitched-together pelts and blood-streaked leather. Most of the tents surround a natural stone pillar decorated with strange symbols in brown and red paint, amid skulls tied or spiked to the pillar. Hides cover the entrances to three large caves to the southeast, each with a narrow wooden door.
Over a dozen urdefhans are active here, cooking, carousing, or sparring with one another. Their growling whoops and cries fill the air. A pair of large horned simian fiends move among them, stoking their bloodlust. They don't appear to have noticed your arrival yet...
"Any chance we can avoid the camp?" Zin whispers as he kneels down watching the camp for any signs of the key they are searching for.
"I can obscure us from view. Does anyone recognize those fiends?" Falxi prepares to draw on the stillness of the caves.
”Yikes. Enemy camp. Yes, let’s leave the other way,” Wan agrees.
Wan recognizes the fiends as cuestodaemons. Ceustodaemons are formed from the souls of vile mortals, particularly those who took efforts to hasten their own death, their willingness shaping them into daemonic servants. Their otherworldly senses make them useful for protecting vaults and similar locations on the Material Plane. They are able to see invisible creature, which puts a chink in Falxi's plan to turn the group invisible...
Informed by Wan, Falxi says: "They could see through my magic, but I still know the ways of these caverns fairly well. IF you follow me, we have a good chance of sneaking by."
Zin nods. "Let's sneak past, there are a lot of them."
Wan coos in sotto voce.
"I am awful at sneaking, friends. You got an idea for clankety-clank-me?"
Akkaboo nods silently in agreement, already practicing being quiet.
"Don't worry, Wan. Just step where I step."
Following Falxi's lead, you quietly sneak along the outskirts of the urdefhan camp. Fortunately, neither they nor the daemons notice your presence, and you peek through the first door you come across.
This cavern slopes upward to a flat area on the far side. A metal box about three feet across sits against the northern wall, its lid pressed against the wall to prevent it from opening. A bloody circle surrounded by runes is painted on the floor to the south.
Three urdefhans chant and wail here, in the midst of a lengthy ritual. They haven't noticed you yet...
Wan gives a short nod and preps his khakkara.
Zin gives a small pinch to nod his agreement as he whispers. "Let's kill them quickly and silently."
Akkaboo nods again.
You attempt to get the drop on the urdefhans, but unfortunately, they notice you a moment before you can strike. They react quickly. Two of them fire crackling rays of enfeeblement at Falxi and Wan, both of which go wide! The third opens his mouth wide as he casts a spell to try to call the blood out of Zin's body!
Wan charges forward, hoping to take down the spell casters quickly. His khakkara ratchets back with potential energy as he moves into position.
Akkaboo draws squiggling lines in the air around her, launching each one at the stone floor under the enemy mages. Explosions of slippery blue-and-pink slime coat the floor with each impact.
Falxi starts a performance, closes the gap, and attacks.
for
Feeling severely drained Zin rushes in with his blade drawn to try and cut down the urdefhan draining his blood.
AC 26 (27 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor | Enfeebled 2 | Drained 1
HP 50/96 | Resistance Physical 6; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 0/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 3/3 | (4) 2/3 | (5) 3/2
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 1/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 6
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
One of the secondary spellcasting urdefhans slips on the grease, but the others keep their footing. Falxi delivers a critical hit on the primary caster that drained Zin's blood, leaving him flat-footed and allowing Zin to score a single hit on him as well. Wan's attack narrowly misses.
Snarling, the primary caster targets Falxi with a phantasmal killer spell. The secondary ones attack Zin with negative energy.
Akkaboo follows up her lubricant with shocking sparks, hoping to keep the less-powerful casters twitching rather than hurting her friends.
Falxi recoils from the horrifying creatures.
With shaking hands, he attempts to press the attack on the primary spellcaster.
for
for
Zin slashes in a wider arc trying to keep the two as far away from him as possible. "Their touch hurts! It is draining me quickly!"
AC 26 (27 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor | Enfeebled 2 | Drained 1
HP 36/96 | Resistance Physical 6; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 0/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 3/3 | (4) 2/3 | (5) 3/2
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 1/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 6
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Wan targets one of the creatures trying to drain Zin.
"Hang tight, chicky-poos. I think I got this."
The tengu smacks an obsidian panel on his thigh and a blast of strange, grey energy that none of you have seen before blasts out from Aggro's form.
When the spell effect fails to end, Wan sighs. "Oh well, I can always fall back on THIS!" Aggro's single arm swats one of the urdefhans targeting Zin.
As Akkaboo electrocutes the other underhans, the rest of you focus your attacks on the primary blood mage. The spellcaster succumbs to his injuries, his flesh rotting away into foul-smelling gas as he falls.
The other two mages channel negative energy all around them before drawing their warhammers!
Zin is getting used to the oppresive negative energy down here. he isn't sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing as he feels a slight tingle. Zin continues to slash his blade at the pair. "That will be enough of that."
AC 26 (27 w/ shield); Curse Stage: Minor | Enfeebled 2 | Drained 1
HP 36/96 | Resistance Physical 6; Harm 5 |
Hero Points 0/3
Focus Points 0/3
Spells (1) 3/3 | (2) 3/3 | (3) 3/3 | (4) 2/3 | (5) 3/2
Wand of Heal (1st) 1/1 | (2nd) 1/1
Ring of the Ram 1/1
Curse Benefit: Resistance: All Physical 6
Minor - (Enfeebled 1; -2 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
Moderate- (Enfeebled 2; -3 to saves, Grapple, Shoved and Forced Movement)
"You're next." Falxi doesn't know if the creatures even understand, but he slashes at one of the enemies.
for
for
Akkaboo is too far away for the brunt of the life-draining energy to reach her - but not so far away that she can’t continue to shock the remaining urdefhans!
"Time to join your gassy cousin!" Wan quips. "They probably don't speak 'clever', anyways."
Aggro's gears cough and splutter, failing to catch and turn over.
"Embarrassing..." the tengu mutters, swinging his khakkara in a vicious, two-handed uppercut.
Akkaboo shocks both urdefhans again. While Zin and Falxi team up to take down one of the mages, Wan moves in and delivers a critical hit, following up with another strike to finish off the last foe!
With the ritual disrupted, you are able to examine the metal box against the wall. You open it up to reveal a bedraggled deep gnome inside!
"Hey! Thanks for the rescue," he says, standing up and stretching his sore muscles. He hesitates and gives you a look. "This is a rescue, right? You're not gonna try to sacrifice me too, are you?"
"Sacrifice you? To whom? What were those urdefhans up to?" Falxi hands the deep gnome a canteen of water.
"They were trying conjure more daemons into their midst," the gnome says, eagerly gulping down the water. "You guys showed up just in the nick of time!
"I'm Calinth Narogblom. I came to these wretched caverns searching for evidence that an offshoot of my people were still living here in the Abomination Vaults. I didn't get too far before the urdefhands captured me. But now that I'm free, I'd like to continue my quest. You haven't seen any other deep gnomes around these parts, have you?"
"Guess you could call it a rescue. We weren't expecting to find anyone alive down here." Zin explains. "Would you like an escort back to the surface?"
"The surface, no. My home is deeper in the Darklands. Get me away from these urdefhans, though, and I'll make sure to send you a reward once I make it back to my people."
"We'd be happy to help if we can. Do you know how to access lower levels?"
"Not directly," Calinth says. "I came from a different part of the Darklands. There's a passage on the northwest side of the lake north of here. If you can get me there, I can find the rest of my way."
"Sure thing." Zin helps him up. "Let's head there right away." He begins to make his way towards he lake to escort Calinth to safety.
"We've not seen any other deep gnomes down here," Wan explains as they walk. "Dark dwarves, dark elves, dark creepers...." The tengu rattles off an exhaustive list of enemies as they walk towards the lake. The list takes the entire journey.
...and mites all the way at the surface, yeah. We've killed a lot of things. I think the musical interlude was probably the weirdest thing that happened, though, yeah."
You sneak out past the urdefhan camp and head north. Calinth listens dutifully to Wan's list as you walk along the shore of the murky underground lake. After 100 feet or so, you can see stone along the shore sprouts large growths of pale‑green crystals. The crystals hang from the ceiling, climb up the wall, and reach toward the water in long strands.
A short distance away, an island made up of a mix of green crystals and grayish stone protrudes from the lake. A few patches of fungus grow across the rocks, with a particularly thick patch near the island’s eastern shore.
Zin looks back. "Is this the way Calinth?"
"Yes, just a bit further!" Calinth confirms. You head up the coastline for another hundred feet or so before coming to a rubble-filled passage that slopes steeply downward. The passage’s ceiling undulates as an echoing chitter fills the air, created by hundreds of subterranean bats.
Calinth turns to you and bows. "Thank you again, friends. I will not forget your kindness!" He waves and departs down the steep tunnel, heading deeper into the Darklands.
You can continue back to the strange crystal island, or continue along this path to explore the caves along the northern lakeshore.
"I don't like the look of the fungi on that island. Shall we explore the cave first?" Falxi appreciates the role of fungus in clearing away nature's detritus, but knows how dangerous it can be, underground.
Zin nods. "Let's take a few minutes in the cave while we are here." He draws his blade and steps into the mouth of the cave.