Out of the Abyss

Game Master Angie H

I am going to do some illusion magic, this is not an actual Succubus

Too late you spiderf++%ed fools!

As she starts singing an Abyssal warsong at the top of her lungs to distract from the fact that she is actually casting silent image.

As a stunningly attractive figure, clad in black leather armor appears 20 feet above her, her wings, horns and tail clearly revealing her as a Succubus, but one clearly dressed for battle not seduction. The Succubus winks at Alexandra and blows
of fate: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Action: Cast silent image, making a Succubus, her patron actually, appear. She does maintain concentration on the spell as she alters the spell to make the Succubus look like translucent air, but I think RAW I can make her reappear as an action if I maintain concentration.

deception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15 I have a Succubus, run you fools!

Through the stool link:
Topsy, Turvy, assist Szarith and Derendil if you can!
Aid action from both, not quite sure if they can actually do it though.

Kalanzar looks out from behind a stone where he hid from possible crossbow bolts. He takes a couple of steps forward and sees the spider's leg and realizes that the quaggots tore it apart much faster than he expected... although no, he expected that a giant spider would come out of cave full and with a victory.

Kalanzar's white hair swirling as he turns his head, looking around the battlefield. Time seems to slow down. He sees the blood of Ront and Derendil falling into the rage of fight. He sees Buppido running away. He sees faces distorted by the fury of battle. Sees more and more new enemies.

He sees Alexandra casting her spell, sees a beautiful illusion, hears her song. His fists clench, as if he's made some decision he doesn't like. Kalanzar addresses his co-religionist in the language that she knows, as he noted earlier.

Красиво... Александра, я знаю, что ты хочешь мести. Но этот иллюзорный суккуб - это еще и символ иллюзии нашей победы здесь. Нам не выиграть прямо сейчас. Их все еще слишком много. Очень скоро наши союзники начнут гибнуть прямо здесь один за одним. Ты хочешь мести и ты ее получишь. Я знаю пути моего народа. Жрицы будут преследовать нас до самой Бездны и дальше. Если мы сейчас отступим, то встретимся с ними еще не раз. Но если не отступим - наc задавят числом.

Therefore, he addresses all allies using Stool's telepathy.

:: Ront, Maddy, Eldet. Kill quaggoth, then take away everything useful and retreat! Jump down into the net, and then into the waterfall. It is true for everyone! Grab everything of value and retreat. Hurry up! ::

He goes to the railing and looks down, trying to figure out how sticky this web is and if there are any more spiders there - and if so, how busy they are with those who have already fallen there.

I will write the rest of the actions a little later, probably based on the reaction of my comrades. I plan to jump down.

Maddy was breathing heavy after the exertion of shoving the drow guard off the bridge. Had she had time to think she may have recognized a feeling of glee from deep inside herself but the sudden appearance of a quaggoth from the south demanded she press her attack with her stolen weapon.

She moved up beside Ront and slashed at the quaggoth with the scimitar.

scimitar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Not that Maddy is a thinker but we probably should have done more to befriend the quaggoths so we wouldn't have to fight them now. Oh well.

EDIT

Even though she said nothing, Maddy nodded when Kalanzar's words sounded in her head courtesy of Stool. Although she didn't like the idea of jumping into the unknown, she figured that someone having a plan was better than her having no plan. She focused on ending the quaggoth as ordered and then collecting whatever weapons they could before escaping.

"Keep running to the Abyss, you spindeljävel and tell all the devils that Ksenia Frostforge is right behind you!" Ksenia screamed at the fleeing drow.

She grabbed the bag with the drow's weapons and armor, and then gives the room a quick glance for any other weapons or useful items.

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

if she sees something, she grabs it

Ksenia then takes off running, and yells into the Stool collective: "So can y'all hear me? Because I've got some weapons, and I'm coming back now, but um there seems to be a ruckus, and it's only mostly my fault, I'm sorry."

######

Eldeth stabs the quaggoth in front of her at Kalanzar's urging:

attack with dagger: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 241d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

To the Stool collective: "Ksenia, are you there? Has anyone heard from Ksenia? We cannot leave without her!"

Picking up a link from Ksenia, Alexandra shouts through the spool collective.

I am distracting them with an illusionary invisible Succubus, Spider and Quaggoths are fighting each other Eldeth is fighting, we are attempting to retreat while the chaos is ongoing. Bluff to be confused and panicked while running towards us, past Asha, Run away towards us shouting "GLABREZU GLABREZU" pointing to the direction you ran away from.

A Glabrezu is a massive threat, their confusion abilities should be commong knowledge, is a plausible excuse for weird behavior, if she is where I think she is, she will only get through by bluffing and running, hopefully the drow will pay a single slave little heed.

Alexandras mind is racing.

I just hope she doesnt run into the arms of whoever will move out of the central building 6-8

To Szarith vs Stool collective
With a chuckling intonation she thinks at Szarith: Good Sir Szarith, how do I shout "Szarith, the drow behind the mistress is under my patrons control, shoot at somebody else" in Undercommon? It may be relevant in a second or 10, worth a try in any account.

Having seen the drow guard go down, Jimjar crept over to him and began liberating the corpse of anything of value.

This turn Jimjar will collect whatever he can as supplies while others do the fighting

Maddy already went this round but if Ront and Eldeth can handle the quaggoth, Maddy will begin to move to help Ksenia get out

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Ront will try the same tactics that have already given him so much fun with fallen drow. The smell of blood inflames him (+11 hp as a bonus action) and he tries to push the quaggoth out of the room and down. At the same time, he jokes about Eldeth on the topic that weaklings-shorties girls will never have enough strength to push out a quaggoth, only normal orcs-men of normal height can do it (please imagine that it sounds very stupid and crookedly worded, but Ront likes it).

You are absolutely right, we can't leave Ksenia and it's not a fact that she can get out now by herself. Half a minute, no more. During this time we have to pull her out.

Kalanzar will cast his ice spell again preferring to choose a target with a weapon in his hands and only if there is no such, then hit the target without a weapon.

Frostbite: 1d6 ⇒ 6 - DC 13 con

The request about the activity of spiders at the bottom and the stickiness of the web is still valid.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
PS. I... see... everything! ))

Something to remember. It's DARK here. If you don't have darkvision, there is very little illumination. You can't see the ground, and there's just enough light coming from the cave and the guard tower to see dimly in the immediate vicinity. Even if you have darkvision, it's 60 or 120 feet. The ground is 100 feet down. I've updated the maps in the slide deck.

Ziyad spoke a word in his strange, Gith language, and the quaggoth suddenly stopped moving. His lips curled back in a snarl, but the gesture revealed fear, not fury. He paused his forward movement, clearly undecided about what to do next.

Top of round 3
Sarith quickly loaded and shot another bolt at the quaggoth fighting the prince. It struck home, but the poison was wasted, as the quaggoth were immune to it. Still, the bolt had to hurt, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the beast.

Darendil and his opponent fought savagely, slashing hard at each other, nails tearing through blue fur and flesh. The frightened quaggoth entered battle from above, attacking Darendil since he didn’t dare move closer to Ziyad.

Maddy turned her weapon, still sticky in her bloody hands, towards the quaggoth entering the tower. She scored a hit across his stomach, and his blue fur turned purple with blood, but he barely seemed to notice it. Ront pushed forward and tried to grapple the quaggoth, but the beast was much stronger than the drow had been, and the orc wasn’t prepared. The quaggoth easily knocked his hands aside. Eldeth ducked in from underneath, stepping on Ront’s foot as she did so, muttering, ”Useless idiot”. Her dagger was small, but found its target with ease. It was clear, however, that the quaggoth wasn’t going to be stopped by a few scratches.

Then out of nowhere, Buppido launched himself at the quaggoth. Practically climbing the quaggoth’s back, he threw a line of spidersilk around the quaggoth’s throat, and hauled back, strangling him. The quaggoth let out a choked gasp, then began clawing at his neck, trying to throw the derro off. He grabbed at the derro, but was unable to tear him from his back.

Jimjar, meanwhile, snuck across the bridge and began wrestling the chain shirt off the fallen drow, having already grabbed the shortsword, crossbow, and bolts.

Kalanzar looked over the edge, and saw no spiders. It seemed that the one he’d spoken to had taken its friends to the south end of Valkenvelve. The drow guard that Ront had thrown over was struggling mightily in the webs, clearly caught by the web’s stickiness.

Alex looked around, considering her options. She had a great spell planned, but there was currently nobody around to really see it. All three quaggoth were completely intent on their fights, and she didn’t know how much they’d understand of her deception anyway. Stepping forward, the warlock looked past the guard tower, though it was very dark and she couldn’t see far. In the dim light coming from the guard tower, she was just able to see a drow (more than one? Hard to be sure) running down the second hanging bridge towards the guard tower. She wasn’t sure if they’d be able to hear her song over the sound of the waterfall they were running past, but she began to sing anyway as she wove her illusion.

The lead guard noticed the appearance of the succubus, and skidded to a stop. The other two crashed into him, then looked where he pointed. There was a very quick discussion, then the drow in the back turned and ran back the direction they’d come. The one in front pulled out his crossbows and aimed for Alex, hoping that if he were able to drop the summoner, the succubus would leave.

Kalanzar noticed the drow at the same moment, and unleashed the spell he'd been holding. It struck true, and the guard found his weapon suddenly slippery with ice. Rattled, his hands shaking with cold, the dark elf aimed carefully and squeezed the trigger.

Unfortunately for the human, the bolt struck home, piercing her in the stomach. The pain was immediate and intense, and she could feel the poison trying to work its way through her, trying to take her down. Con save DC 13 or be poisoned. Fail by 5 and you’re unconscious.

Topsy and Turvy, meanwhile, popped out of hiding and began pelting the quaggoth hanging off the wall with rocks. Adv for Sarith and Darendil next round.

***

Meanwhile, at the other end of Valkynvelve…
Ksenia, having grabbed the drow’s bundle from under the bed, took a few precious seconds to roll the weapons into the chain shirt, as he hadn’t been considerate enough to pack her pickings into a bag. Seeing nothing of use in the room, other than the shirt and token she’d already taken from one of the chests, she ran to the gate and looked out. There appeared to be a full-fledged, chaotic war happening on the ledge outside. Quaggoth, drow, and spiders all appeared to be fighting one another. She looked towards the path that led to the hanging bridge, and saw Asha and Jorlan standing there. Jorlan seemed to be fighting a quaggoth, who was in the midst of rolling over in surrender. Asha was striding in Ksenia’s direction, howling at everybody to stop. Oh, and there was also a giant spider and a few quaggoth in between Ksenia and Asha.

A voice in her mind gave her a word to yell…the question was, would she try it? Or was it safer to go over the edge here? Or stay and hide? The dwarf considered her options.

Ksenia used her move action, so still has a standard action. She can use it to dash if she would like, and I'll let her try her bluff roll at the same time. Or she has a short sword and a hand crossbow from the guard. Then it will be Ziyad's turn, then the top of Round 4.

Ziyad conjured up another fist sized ball of Limbo-plasma, hurling it at the frightened quaggoth...

Firebolt: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Dmg: 1d10 ⇒ 1 fart

...as the bolt sailed through the air, Ziyad was on the lookout for anything flammable he might combust to bring some light to the cavern...paying less attention to actually damaging the creature than he should have.

Anything flammable not worn/caried within range?

Consave: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 Empty Night I will not fail in this Alexandra strains as she uses every ounce of her constition to fight against the poison.
Using inspiration I just got.
Consave: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 Wohoo!

She shoots an eldritch blast at Quaggoth 2, hopeing to put it down for good.

Eldrich Pew Pew Pew: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 SPLAT I hope
damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Shouting
Полночь вечная пришла за тобой, ублюдок!
being quite satisfied with this blast.

Ты, мой покровитель убьет тебя, и ты будешь наслаждаться каждой секундой этого. she snarls back at the drow who attempted to poison her.

Intimidate if appropriate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 no idea if the lead drow even understand abyssal. And its probably not such a great threat.

She then take temporary cover within the slave cave, to make further hits on her harder.

Edit: Forgot: Concentration save to maintain the currently invisible illusion:
concentration: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Athletics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Ront isn't joking anymore. He growls and focuses only on pushing the enemy, hoping that he will be distracted by the derro!

Kalanzar repeats his spell at the drow who shot Alexandra.

Frostbite: 1d6 ⇒ 1 + disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll | Con save DC 13

Then he hides behind a boulder or retreats deep into the cave so that it would be difficult to shoot at him.

Maddy's eyes widened in surprise as Buppido suddenly appeared and began choking the quaggoth. Taking advantage of the grappled quaggoth's vulnerability, Maddy slashed at the creature's stomach attempting to disembowel it.

scimitar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

I don't think that hits but one can hope if it's flat-footed

I've just been informed that Maddy would get advantage because there's no flat-footed in 5e so here's the other attack which hopefully will hit. Not sure if she's supposed to roll damage again as well so if not then just ignore it

scimitar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

*turns on the Stool auto-pilot* I just want him to be working his way along with me not leaving his side, but if we get separated (and only if) then he will use his area burst ability.

Ziyad's firebolt hit the quaggoth, singing his blue fur, but did little more than further frighten the creature.

Darendil and Sarith continued their assault on the quaggoth, and finally succeeded in ending its life. Blood pouring from its many wounds, it toppled from the ledge and fell into the webbing 30 feet below.

The frightened and singed quaggoth, unwilling to approach Ziyad, continued to lash out at the prince, but was too uneasy to focus properly, and failed to draw blood.

In the guard tower, Buppido continued to cling to the quaggoth's back, as the creature wheezed and clawed for breath. Maddy took advantage of it distraction to slice deeply with her scimitar. Eldeth lunged in with her stolen dagger, and between the three of them, they drove the quaggoth to the ground. Ront, a moment too late, picked up the limp body and threw it from the tower, laughing as though he was responsible for the killing blow. Jimjar continued to wrestle the corpse out of the armour.

Alexandra turned her back on the drow with the crossbow, and used her eldritch powers to blast at the quaggoth clinging to the rocks. It was a direct hit, getting it straight in the chest, and it slid from the wall onto the ledge. It was by no means out of the fight, but it wasn't happy about what had just happened. She then hurled an insult at the drow, but her words were drowned out by the waterfall between them.

Afraid of being hit again, knowing she might not be able to survive another bolt, Alexandra retreated into the slave cave. Unfortunately, the magic-cancelling effect of the cave immediately ended her illusion, and she felt her control of the spell fizzle out.

Kalanzar's spell hit the drow with the crossbow, and he was gratified to see the dark elf start to shiver and shake. He and Alex retreated into the cave, leaving Ziyad alone on the ledge with the deep gnome siblings. Deciding that the tall, yellow-skinned githzerai was more of a threat, he aimed his shaking hands and squeezed the crossbow's trigger. Ziyad, focused on the fight between the quaggoths, didn't see the danger. The bolt lodged deep in his shoulderblade. 6 points of damage, CON save DC 13 or be poisoned, fail by 5 and fall unconscious

On the otherside of the waterfall, the two drow who'd seen the illusion had a quick discussion with Ilvara and Shoor, who were exiting their tower. Both were naked, but armed with their magical weapons. Ilvara, seeing the danger the spiders were in, moved to help Asha. Shoor took the two drow guards and ran onto the hanging bridge. They pointed to the cave, where Alex was no longer in sight.

Seeing nothing, Shoor instead took aim at Ront, who was laughing at the entrance to the guard tower. Leaning out from behind the drow in front of him, Shoor aimed his wand at Ront's feet, and a viscous glob flew unerringly at the orc. He immediately found his feet stuck tight to the ground at the edge of the guard tower.

The other two drow guards, hot on Shoor's heels, lifted their crossbows to shoot at the orc. However, they were interrupted by a horrific cacophany of buzzing, droning, and ear-splitting shrieks. Anybody with darkvision was able to see six demons fly into the cavern from the north. Four were in the shape of flies, but they were the size of a moose, and had a three-foot-long sword-like proboscis for a mouthpart. Two were shaped more-or-less like gaunt humanoids, with giant feathery wings, rat-like tails, long clawed fingers and toes, and toothed, beaky faces.

The two types of demon were locked in aerial combat, the fly-like ones stabbing at the others, and getting clawed in return. The wings of the fly demons made a horrific droning sound; it drowned out the sounds of battle, even louder than the waterfall, and it grated at the ears and the mind. Those who couldn't see in the dark had no idea what was happening, but they could hear the droning.

All the drow immediately turned their attention from the escaping slaves to face this new threat. Bolts were fired into the dark, adding to the confusion. At the south end of Velkynvelve, several drow, quaggoth and spiders fell unconscious, their minds unable to handle the sounds the demons were producing. Asha collapsed, but Jorlan and Ilvara kept their feet. The high priestess cast a web into the darkness, hoping to entangle one of the demons.

It had seemed to be chaos before. There was no word for what was happening now. Ksenia stared, wide-eyed, from her hiding spot, and knew that if she was going to make a run for it, now was the time.

Slide deck updated with pics of these little beauties. Religion roll for info about them. Hopefully we haven't lost Ksenia. If we don't hear from her before the next update, I'll have her try to make it to you. Ziyad is up, then the beginning of round 4

Con save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Con save, Inspiration: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Concentration(Cause Fear) vs DC 10: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Concentration(Cause Fear) vs DC 10, disadvantage from poison: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

In the darkness Ziyad never even saw the bolt, its launcher, nor his companions leave...the poison rapidly consuming his focus as the magics keeping the quaggoth at bay wavered and at last fizzled. Unwilling to lose his magics so close to death, the gith made a last ditch effort towards the guard tower...

Poisoned, and lost Cause Fear spell. Dash to get inside the tower.

Come with me, our hosts are really busy

Figuring the Drow are busy, she moves to the North, initially aiming at taking the Quaggoth opposing Derendil out but then seeing 4 drow on a rope bridge, firing in formation.

Shit, do I blast the rope bridge? Where is Ksenia, crap, no I cant, but can she possible rejoin us via that bridge if a bunch of drow are on it?

He mind racing, she just blasts the Quaggoth facing Derendel instead.
Eldritch Blast: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 7

Looking at the demons:

Knowledge religion: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (3) + 0 = 3 Dont think that gets much, is it ok if I play it up like "knowing too much"

F+*+, what are these, Vrock? Glabrezu? Zebubs? Colloxi? Thoxls? Crap, I cant see for shit in the darkness and the bad thing about being told about demons by a Succubus is that you dont tend to focus on what she actually tells you arrrghhhh! Focus Alex damn it!

Through the stool collective:
Carefull, these new things are real, and not with me, avoid contact if possible!
To Topsy and Turvy:
Sir Topsy, please keep aiding Derendil, Lady Turvy, grab anything of use, but dont risk yourself.

Kalanzar looks out from behind the stone in shock.

Alexandra, please tell me that this is another one of your illusions.

Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Kalanzar looks out from behind the stone in shock.

Alexandra, please tell me that this is another one of your illusions.

[dice=Religion]1d20 + 3

I wish it was

The come with me in the other post was directed at the NPCs still in the cave.

"GLABRAZU! GLABRAZU!" Ksenia screams pointing at the terrifying visage in the air. She had no idea what that is, but the name is a terrifying match to the sight. A couple drow glance over to her, she sees over their shoulders the arrival of the enormous flies and assorted terrors. Her eyes widen further, she points at them and screams again: "MORE GLABRAZU!"

Ksenia stares in awe at the tableau in front of her. Demons! Drow! Spiders! Quaggoth! More demons! She realizes that she has been screaming out loud and clamps her hand over her mouth. And once she does so, she finally hears peeps of the Stool collective filtering through the noise of her screeching mind.

"I'm here! I'm sorry! Mind blanked for a bit while the apocalypse arrived."

Ksenia grimly stares at the swarm of various blades, teeth, and stingers between her and her friends and realizes that running that gauntlet would likely result in her insides being on her outsides. She looks over at the ledge, licks her lips, and hurtles herself over with a shout, plummeting down to the webbing below.

"I'm taking the low road over to y'all." she declared, hoping that the webs connected enough that she could manage.

Noooo! You sharp-eared b#+#&!

Enraged, Ront tries to free his leg, struggling with all his strength!

Str Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

In vain.

Maddy paused after the quaggoth fell to assess any more immediate threats. There were four incoming drow but Ront blocked her way. She was just about to push past when the horrible droning started. She looked in the direction with wide-eyes knowing that the sound meant nothing good but she could see nothing in the darkness.

She reached out through Stool's link and thought, ::That sound means that it's time to go. Everyone grab what you can and if we are going to jump, we jump. Is that still the plan?::

Maddy knew that there wasn't time to access the trap door so she quickly looked around the guard tower for anything she could grab. She saw a quiver with bolts and a couple water skins. She picked them up and handed the quiver to Buppido while pushing him towards the others. She then helped Jimjar collect the last of the items off the drow guard.

If Kalanzar confirms that it's still safe to jump to the web below, Maddy will jump. She wants nothing to do with whatever is making the droning because she knows the drow view it as a threat. And the drow are distracted...

Kalanzar watches the demons appear in shock.

Alexandra, if these aren't your magic, then we're in trouble. These are vroks and chasme demons. We are in very big trouble. But this is our chance!

Kalanzar concentrates, closes his eyes a little and addresses everyone telepathically.

:: Hey! Demons have arrived here. Real. Our chance is that they are not allies with our enemies! We need to leave. Avoid demons by all means even more than drow. ::

Kalanzar opens his eyes, sees the futile attempts of the orc to get out and curses almost inaudibly. He seems to have doubts on his face about what to do next, but he quickly dismisses them.

:: Shit. We need to get Ront out. Maddy, let's help him! ::

Dark elf rushes forward, thrusting his hand towards the nearest hostile drow on the move and throws a spell at that one.

Frostbite: 1d6 ⇒ 3 + disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll | Con save DC 13

Then he runs into a stalactite watchtower.

Maddy was already to the jump point when Kalanzar requested help for Ront. All the talk of demons made her want to leave even more.

Something echoed deep within her, Let me out again and I will fight demons

She cleared her head with a shake and addressed the others through Stool, ::We already know that we can't break the substance that comes from that wand. It's time to jump if we want to survive. Especially now that the drow are distracted::

With that, Maddy launched herself down on to the webbing.

Sorry, but pulling the trigger on jumping. I guess I'll find Ksenia :)

The droning of the demons is like sandpaper on the brain, and everybody is feeling it. If not for Stool's telepathy, you wouldn't be able to hear each other at all.

Sarith shoots at the quaggoth, who is thrown off by the barage of rocks from Topsy. The bolt strikes him, but he is too intent on tearing Prince Derendil apart to notice. It was hard to tell what happens next, with the blood and blue fur flying; perhaps one falls and knocks the other down, perhaps Alexandra's eldritch blast knocks one of them off, or perhaps they kill each other, but suddenly the ledge is empty and the quaggoth are in the sticky web below.

Topsy and Turvy look towards Alexandra for a moment, but their survival instinct is stronger than their loyalty. They run down the steps towards the northern guard outpost, and leap past the webbing and straight into the pool below. The guard doesn't even notice, as he is busy firing bolts at the demons speeding by. Shuushar lumbers after them and executs a graceful swan dive into the pool.

Ziyad rushes for the guard tower, while Kalanzar takes a moment to throw his spell at the lead drow on the bridge before following Ziyad. They pass Maddy, who hesitates, then throws herself off the bridge and into the webbing below.

The lead drow's shaking increases as he is covered in frost yet again. However, it would be hard to miss the big orc from ten feet away, and the drow doesn't miss. Ront immediately collapses, though whether he's dead or unconscious from the drow poison, it's impossible to know.

Shoor, his naked muscles glinting in the reflected light from the tower, points his wand at Eldeth. A viscous glob shoots into the guard tower, unerringly towards Eldeth's feet, and glues her tightly to the ground.

The ginger-haired dwarf tries to pull free, but it's as though her feet are encased in stone. Knife in hand, she prepares to fight whomever enters the tower. ::Go! All of you!:: she cries, both physically and mentally. ::I'll hold them off as long as I can!::

Buppido and Jimjar don't hesitate, but rush past Ziyad to the empty bridge, and fling themselves into the webs, landing nearly on top of Maddy. Terrified, Stool trembles behind Ziyad.

Those who are in the web find that the webs are stronger and stickier than they hoped. There's no way they'll be able to crawl around on them. The best they can hope for is tear a hole through the webs and fall to the pool below. Unfortunately for Ksenia, she has jumped into the webs past the pool, and only has the rocky ground in the darkness below her.

Everybody in the web: Str check DC 12 to tear through the webs. Or you can attack with a blade at disadvantage, AC 20, 5HP. Fire will automatically burn through it and let you out. If you fall into the pool, then do an Acrobatics roll to make a damage-less dive into the water. DC 12 for no damage, 5-11 for 1d6 damage, 2-4 for 2d6 damage, critical 1 and you land very badly.

To Eldeth via telepath
Hold still, ill try to blast you out! It may hurt you a bit, but much less then what the drow will do!

Oh Lady Midnight, help thy client free the slaves

FREEEDOM for Eldeth!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Alexandra focuses her Eldritch power, trying to blast off the glob entangling Eldeth
damage: 1d10 ⇒ 1
BLYAD not enough
Using advantadge to add 1d4 to the damage die on the glob
extra damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

5 force damage to the blob binding Eldeth, some probably spills on her, but much better then to be captured again!

Run with us, only if alive you can take vengeance later, only if you are alive you can save others, only if alive you can save yourself! All she knew of Dwarfish were some cliche warcries, which she was certain to horribly mispronounce, but why not try...
För frihet, för livet

Persuasion to motivate if needed: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Szarith, do you think we 2 can take the lookout, if yes, nod and I open the door without blocking your field of fire, if not, shake your head and we both jump down.

She then rushes towards the northern guardtower, aiming to jump at the edge of the web, or to attempt to go and take the northern lookout together with Szarith, who likely has a better idea on wether he can + Alex can take out the drow there.

Despair shows on Kalanzar's face when he sees what happened to Ront and Eldeth. He nods at the dwarf's words, jumps back out of the tower and jumps down. He is not so surprised by the stickiness of the web, after all, he is a drow and a druid... And he really wants to survive. Trying with all his strength, the dark elf tears the web with his hands, cursing all the servants of Lolth put together.

Str: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

He manages to do this, after which he groups up and jumps into the water quite gracefully.

There he will try to hang for a while below the water level in order to disappear from the sight of the shooters, if such are going to attack him at all.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Sarith, intuiting what happened to Eldeth from Stool, said, ::Don't bother. Ilvara has a special solvent for that; nothing else will break it.:

Szarith, do you think we 2 can take the lookout, if yes, nod and I open the door without blocking your field of fire, if not, shake your head and we both jump down.

Sarith mentally shrugged. ::It depends if he notices us. It's a straight shot up the stairs at us, and it's pitch black there. If he gets a shot off at whoever is in front...:: He let the sentence hang for a moment. ::If we surprise him, we could probably throw him over the rail.::

Do the enemies have actions before my init count, or do you want me to go ahead and go?

Maddy was grateful for the webbing as a safety net for her jump but she was unprepared for the tacky it was. She hated the way that regular spider webs felt on her skin when she accidentally walked through them in the wild. The way that giant spider webs felt was absolutely horrid. She found it nearly impossible to move and so began to rip at the strands to free herself but to no avail. Just when she thought she had a firm grip on the webbing, she was nearly landed on by Buppido and Jimjar so she had to try to roll to the side to avoid being landed upon.

Str,DC12: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

I assume she's stuck in place until next round?

The hard walls of the tower would offer no respite from the chaos outside, as the bustle and terror streamed through from the south. Ziyad and Stool had little time to think as they were caught up in it as well, tumbling over the side into some unknowable darkness.

Str: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Unable to free himself he at least tries to burn away the bonds holding his frightened companion in place...

Firebolt: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Dmg: 1d10 ⇒ 2

...but the restraints on his more subtle gestures weakens the spell.

Will continue casting to get everyone free.

Ksenia struggles against the web and realizes that raw strength will take her a while to get anywhere with these strands, sticking and clinging to every part of her. She rummages through the pack she stole from the drow until she finds a dagger and starts sawing at the web to free herself.

slicing at web: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

slicing at web 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

But the blade only seems to stick and spread the strands around. Ksenia looks frantically for anything else to do, and instead lunges with all her strength to simply break free.

strength check: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Ksenia grimaces and looks for any other options...

###

Eldeth, her feet caught, looks in terror at the advancing drow and then back at the fleeing companions. She begins hacking at the goop binding her feet, desperately hoping to make a dent enough to struggle free:

dagger at goop: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 181d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

The aerial battle between the demons raged on, the demons flying back and forth in the large cavern, stabbing and slashing at each other. Hellish shrieks filled the air, and the droning buzz of wings threatened to tear at everybody's minds. Everybody realized that if they came much closer, they would be in real danger of falling unconscious, as the drone would become too much to handle.

For those who couldn't see in the darkness, the battle took place entirely in their imagination, as the sounds filled their brains. Even those with darkvision could only discern the black-and-white figures fleetingly, as they flew into range and then disappeared again.

Most of the prisoners were struggling in the thick spider's web. Kalanzar and Stool had fallen through into the pool, along with Topsy, Turvy and Shuushar. The others began to twist and turn and tear at the webs, trying to break free. They were very lucky that the giant spiders were engaged at the other end of Valkynvelve; if they'd been intent on a free meal, this would have been much more dangerous.

Maddy finally got her hands in a good position and tore through the webbing. Jimjar, practically on top of her, came tumbling into the pool as well. Unfortunately, they were a bit tangled together, and Maddy hit the water hard. She felt something creak in her back, then suddenly she was struggling in the icy water. She managed to break the surface, gasping air, and found herself treading water in complete and utter darkness.

She felt a tug on her hand, and she shrieked, then she heard Jimjar say, "This way," and tug her towards shore.

70 feet above, Buppido tried to take advantage of the hole in the web Jimjar and Maddy had left, but only succeeded in eating a faceful of web. At the other end of the web, Ksenia likewise struggled in vain.

30 feet above the web, two drow shot at Eldeth, point-blank. The poison overwhelmed her, and she collapsed to the floor. The naked drow turned his attention to the final two slaves, ignoring the demonic battle behind him. The ran through the guard tower and onto the other bridge, then pointed his wand at the drow who had once been under his command, and the viscous glob shot unerringly at Sarith's feet.

The drow let loose a string of obscenities, then pointed his crossbow at Shoor. His aim spoke to vicious revenge, for the bolt hit the naked drow in the worst possible place. Whether it was pain or poison, Shoor fell unconscious, rolled off the bridge, and fell into the webbing.

Sarith pulled uselessly at his feet, but knew it was hopeless. "I'm not getting free without Ilvara's special oil," he said to Alexandra. He handed her the crossbow and the 5 remaining bolts. "Good luck. Run fast; this will make Ilvara look a fool, and she'll send whomever survives after you. Go."

Everybody up

Via Link to Szarith

I do not have the means to free you Sir Szarith, but it is not the way of midnight to sacrifice allies to hopelessness.
Alexs quickly moves up to him and kisses him, while channelling her eldritch powers and perhaps giving up a bit of a light show.
Just like, looking to make her eyes shine purple and warlocky, and maybe his as well, intended as her action

You can now truely state that I performed a quick, sensual pact magic ritual of unknown nature on you when interrogated.
One that will draw you towards me, and that could credibly inform you of my status. Ilvara may, if you play your cards well, opt to use you as a trackinghound to hunt us, as she will soon be further reduced in manpower.

May Midnight guide you through the wars to come Sir Szarith.

Trying to give Szarith a possible edge in terms of staying alive by giving him a good semi bluff which is mostly true. Assuming Ilvara knows about Succubi and the Succubus bluff got bought.

With that Alexandra jumps aftre Shushaar and T&T, expertly (I hope) getting into the water directly.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Yzalina my Patron, if you can hear me, I have no idea if you can actually do something, but I think yoinking Drow from effing Loth is a feather in your cap right?
You can save others only if you can save yourself She hears an answer whispered in her mind.

Who is still trapped in the web (besides Z)?

Ksenia licks her lips and looks around, realizing that she should use her brain if her brawn wasn't going to do the trick. She spotted the spider silk rope that held the lift, and her eyes gleamed with an idea. Ksenia tucked away the dagger, rolled the pack onto her back, and whipped her trusty chain around in a great arc towards the rope.

attack the rope: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

She holds her breath, realizing she slung it a little too hard, but it ever so barely wraps itself around the rope and pulls taut in her hands. Ksenia takes a deep breath and then yanks with all her might, now that she has some sort of leverage.

pulling as hard as she can!: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10

pulling as hard as she can 2!: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11

She heaves twice, and ever so barely falls short of pulling herself free! Ksenia screams in frustration, both aloud and to the Stool collective.

She will keep trying that when next round comes around.

######

Eldeth felt the darts enter her, their needle points so fine that there was not pain so much as a pinch. But the poison immediately burned, spreading like wildfire through her veins.

Run my new friends, run free from this place and sing my name to the stones! She cries to the Stool collective.

Her vision begins to fade at the edges, and she sees Ront slump down in front of her, victim of the same sorcery to his feet and poison in his veins.

"Mitt blads sista kyss är din." She mutters, her tongue thickening around her teeth as the poison works.

And with her last ounce of consciousness, as the drow dance in to make sure she goes down, as another and another dart slam into her body, Eldeth lunges to the limits of her reach and plunges her dagger into Ront's still form, sinking into unconsciousness even as her blade sinks to the hilt.

a final stab for her enemy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 211d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Surrounded by water, Alexandra casts Armor of Agathys, both for buyoancy (ice is lighter then water) and for protection purposes. She then Swims to the shore west of her, aiming for the north western entrance with an eye towards reuniting with Ksenia if possible.
Topsy, Turvy, can either of you use a hand crossbow? I prefer my Eldritch blasts. Where exactly are you? You were right to jump immidiatly.
As she swims, she tries to figure out if the water is salt or sweet water.

Alex is not a great swimmer (she is a fast talker though) with the bouyancy from the ice armor, she can maybe make it out of the water, and perhaps hand off the hand crossbow to either of her auxillaries, even that, from my personal experiences from swimming with clothes on in darkness, is optimisitic, thankfully I never had to swim while wounded, I dont imagine its easy.

Alexandra would otherwise aim for the north western exit, as meeting up in the middle is probably the most likely thing. She definitly tries to reastablish contact with T&T because she cannot see yet.

Ziyad struggled in the darkness as the feeling of being upside down and weightless further baffled his bearings. He had heard Stool plop into the waters below, but could feel transmitted by the webs the struggle of another fellow captive. Using the vibrations as a guide, he aimed his spell...correcting slightly as the light of the fire came into existence.

Freeing Buppido, then self.

Acro: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Fall Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

*smack*

The sound of a gith skull hitting stone reverberated across the chamber.

Death Save: 1d20 ⇒ 4 Fail 1, Success 0

Ksenia seesaws back and forth repeatedly until her legs pull free of the webbing, and she finds herself weightless and flailing with only darkness and rocks below! She gasps and remembers that grabbing things is better than falling from things and snags the lift cable between her fingers...

acrobatics to grab the rope: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

... and manages to slide down to the top of the lift, and the clamber over it down into the rocky darkness. She begins moving swiftly in the direction of the waterfall's noise, knowing her friends were jumping down into the pool.

Did anyone make it down to the waters? Ksenia asks the Stool collective. I'm on the rocks and can help!

Ksenia scans the dark waters for any sign of her friends, and the rocky grounds of the cave for any dangers lurking close by.

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Just surfacing from under the water, Kalanzar hears the sound of a thud. Either it's an enemy and has equipment, or it's one of us and needs help. He rushes forward as fast as he can, only to find Ziyad unconscious with a trickle of blood pouring out of his broken head.

Medicine: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Kalanzar is trying to somehow provide first aid and bandage the wound. However, it seems that without his herbalist kit and a supply of dried herbs, he is not as good at it as he would like.

:: Ksenia, we're down! At least some of us! Hey, somebody... Ziyad needs help! He's unconscious, hit in the fall. ::

The slaves have made it to the cavern floor. The sounds of the demon battle rage overhead, slightly less urgent now that you're farther below it all.

Kalanzar's darkvision help him quickly find the unconscious form of Ziyad, and the drow hauls the gith to shore. Using a remaining piece of the rags he used to call underclothes, the druid bandages the wound on his head, stabilizing Ziyad.

Stool, bobbing in the water like a cork, complains plaintively. After a moment, Shuushar swims to the myconid sprout, and brings him to shore.

Alex finds herself aided by Turvy, and after a few moments of swimming finds herself shivering on the shore with the others. Buppido, Jimjar, Topsy - they all seem to have made it down in one piece.

Ksenia sees two drow and two quaggoth between her and her friends. They're distracted by the aerial battle above, and don't notice her creep along the wall towards the pond. Soon she is reunited with her rather soggy companions.

For Maddy and Alex, the darkness is complete. For Ksenia, she can see dimply across the width of the cavern, to where a dark slit in the rock reveals a passageway. Kalanzar and the others can see a little further, the entirety of the cavern floor, and the tunnels at either end of it.

The air is cool, but would be tolerable to anybody dry and clothed. Everybody who fell into the pond is soon shivering.

As you regroup, about to decide where to go, you hear a strange whistling coming from overhead. It grows louder, as if something is drawing nearer, and a second later, there is a loud thump. Harsh panted breathing can be heard, along with the sound of feathers rustling and rubbing on scales.

That DC 10 medicine check was all that was necessary to stabilize Ziyad. Unless he receives magical healing, he'll wake up with 1HP in 1d4 ⇒ 2 hours.

WHat was that, did one of the demon drop? Can you see something?
Was it between us and either the northwest or the southwestern exist?

I was like "hej, I am currently wearing Ice armor I totally got this" but Armor of Agathys says nothing about increasing cold resistance

Hypothermia is a concern, but lets get dry somehow when we are out of sight of hostile Demons and drow.

To Topsy: Here, have the handcrossbow and the 5 bolts
To Turvy: I got a ranged weapon for you too, take my right hand, point it at something you can see, squeeze twice and I blast it. The Eldritch blasts care little about gravity and fly straight.

So, Ronc ded, Eldeth dead or prisoner, Szarith prisoner, Derendil dead, missing or prisoner? Last time he was mentioned he and the quaggoth he was fighting both fell down.

:: There's a demon here, a vrok. Hide!!! ::

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Kalanzar crouches to the ground, and then begins to crawl away from the monster, dragging Ziyad by the shoulders.

stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 Alexandra shuts up and tries to be stealthy as well.

To Turvy Point my hand and the demon and squeeze twice if you think its going for us

On the boundaries of life, Ziyad's consciousness drifted between images that were his own making, and some that were perhaps not.

First there stood the mythical ruined plains of Pharagos, scorched and razed after countless battles with the Illithid Empire. This was not a terror however, but instead a symbol of peace and creation. Before Zerthimon's Pronouncement of Two Skies, it would have been the world Ziyad's people could rebuild and make home...a blank canvas.

Second were the coven of elven wizards that had brought him to this Realm in their erudite experiment...all slain at the hands of drow. Were they ghosts, arcane echoes, or a side effect of Ziyad's cracking psyche? They spoke in riddles which, even for a fellow wizard, at times seeded pretentious. One thing was certain, they were a hindrance to the austere focus the gith was used to.

Third a nightmare of oozes and darkness, an unidentifiable intellect sending lesser chaos motes scattering...yet somehow concealing itself in Ziyad's waking thoughts. Perhaps it was his training. All students of manifestation must first learn to manage the uncontrollable images that burst into consciousness...should they come at the wrong time a structure would fracture and fail. Perhaps this darkness was a repository of his own thoughts...one that he should not fear, but embrace as part of himself.

Peace, anxiety, or resolution...such were the choices of imagery and emotion Ziyad grappled with as his metabolism found some semblance of regulation, unknowingly touched by a drow.

Thanks Kal :)

Maddy kept close to Jimjar, at least she assumed it was close considering she couldn't see in the dark and it's not like she could hold his hand forever.

Once on shore, she stood there shivering. She desired nothing more than to build a fire and get warm but was more afraid of being detected and having their escape be for naught should they be detected. And nothing said 'here we are' in the dark more than a burning fire.

She had just whispered, "Which way now?", when a strange whistling followed by the sound of something hitting the ground happened. When she heard ragged breathing and Kalanzar yell in her head to hide because it was a demon, she was honestly afraid because how was she supposed to hide when she couldn't see where she was going?

This time when she felt the tug on her hand, she didn't make a sound but allowed herself to be pulled. Jimjar used the telepathic link via Stool to guide her to hide behind an outcropping of rock. She did her best to hide and stay quiet but her body was hurt from the fall and wasn't responding the way she wanted.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

She assumed that Jimjar had hidden himself better than she considering she couldn't see otherwise. However, in his concern in helping her hide in the best rocks around he was left with less than ideal conditions to hide in himself.

Stealth,Jimjar,Adv: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Stealth,Jimjar,Adv: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Stool bumbled along after Ziyad, hopping onto his body like a sled as Kalanzar pulled. Perhaps the fungus among us sensed something still stirring in the gith's psyche...

Stealth: 1d20 ⇒ 8 +unknown dex mod

Stealth Topsy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Stealth Topsy adv.: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Topsy goes Stealthy, expertly bringing the handcrossbow into position as she does so.

Stealth Turvy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Stealth Turvy adv.: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Turvy grabs Alexandras hand is asked, and becomes even more stealthy!