Open for business.
Dippity Doppit Dot.
Dotting!
The Drow outpost of Velkynvelve is situated high in a cavern, 100 feet above the rocky floor. It consists of several small natural caverns and four "hanging towers - hollowed out stalactites. The caverns and towers are connected by a series of natural ledges, stairs, and rope bridges. A waterfall cuts the outpost in half, and the sound of falling water fills your ears no matter where you are.
About 30 feet below the outpost (70 feet up from the ground), a thick layer of giant spiders webs acts as a "safety" net, and conceals the existance of the outpost from below.
The caverns and rooms created in the hanging towers are dimly lit with lanterns containing phosphorescent fungi. The exterior, including the bridges, stairs, and walkways, is kept dark.
The bottom of the cavern is long and narrow, and there are three entrances to it: the natural extensions of the cavern, running roughly NE and SW, and another tunnel heading off towards the NW. There is a large pool at the bottom of the waterfall, which is covered in floating filth, as the drow use the waterfall as a convenient place to get rid of their waste.
The only way up to the outpost is via a winch-and-basket device. The swinging arm can be positioned out over the webs, and and a spider silk cord runs through a series of pulleys to a hand-cranked spool. The basket is kept up top when not in use.
On the maps, you're familiar with all the places that are visible. Please make sure the maps and description make sense, as your familiarity with Velkynvelve will help progress the game along. Ask any questions you have.
Blyad. curses Alexandra as she keeps riding.
Her pursuers where faster and gaining! Her horse was tiring and
she could see and hear them getting ever closer!
All for a f~!@ing play She thought, oh Lady in Shadows hide me from their sight!
What, a cave? Ok, this could work She thought, thoughs racing
With an a jumps, she moved off the horse while using her illusory powers to create an illusion of her keeping riding, as she hurried into the cage.
Need to get deeply inside, quick She thought.
Her perception fully focused on her pursuers, she spared little thought for those possible threats inside. She barely felt the sleeping poisoned laced bolt impacting in her upper leg.
Ok, I am captured, by Drow. So, what would Nocticula do hmmm Alexnadra thought
Bide her time, escape, murder those who put irons on her and take over their cities, livelihoods and belongings. Well, the boss mellowed out somewhat so maybe the final part is voluntary, alternatively, you may commenorate the lack of drow prisoner security efforts in a sarcastic poem or play. Came her patrons mental answer
Can I expect any direct help from you my Lady? Alexandra asked
You mean apart from enabling you to blast people in the face with eldritch power, making you able to turn invisible or being able to create illusions? I am helpfull, am I not?
Her Patrons telepathic voice answered her, having a particular pronounciation on "helpfull am I not" that was subtly at odds with her normal speaking patterns.
It was quite cunning of you to bide your time, your captors do not yet know of your abilities, and a quite eclectic group of prisoners has been assembled, with a pretty interesting and varied skillset, I do wonder what ravishing picture of adventure you will paint with such a palette. Came more words as her eldritch connection went silent.
Alexandra took stock of herself.
She was a slim, fairly tall human female, sporting a tomboyish look, wearing fairly practical cold weather clothing, having quite large deep blue eyes and what seems to be a slight dueling scar on her left cheek. Said eyes seem quite undefeated, and dart around looking for any possible advantadge in terms of escaping.
"You have two families in this world: the one from blood, and the one you choose." Ksenia muttered to herself with a staggeringly inaccurate imitation of a certain old half-orc as she clambered up yet another ledge to yet another cave.
"So why'd I go and choose one whose favorite birthday dish is risotto made with gnomes head mushrooms that only grow at the back of dank caverns?" She glanced up at the sun, cursed how low it was in the sky, and then cursed again when she remembered she had no idea how to tell time from the sun anyway.
"Why can't Aspaz drool over some civilized mushrooms that are sold in civilized markets in civilized cities so I could buy some?" Ksenia squinted against the darkness of the cave in front of her, shrugged as an aside. "Or, you know, pocket a few. Shouldn't be legal to charge good silver for fungus anyway."
Ksenia trudged back, wishing she was back in the city. The wilds - and she knew any ranger worth their salt would laugh at the thought of a hillside a half day's walk from the city gates being wild - were no place for a city girl.
There! At the very back of this cave, the slightest of glows! Ksenia fumbled out her well-thumbed notebook and found the page she had delicately stolen from a cookbook and pasted among her notes. An azure glow? Was that blue? It sounded like a word for blue.
Ksenia stalked back and found the barest handful of mushrooms, glowing a subtle blue and shaped just like the hooded caps gnomes seemed to favor in caricatures. They were deep in a hollow though, and she couldn't quite reach them, however she stretched. She dug in, shoved her heels against solid rock, wormed with all her might, and just as her fingertips brushed the tips of the mushrooms, a sharp crack sounded from below her. After a long frozen pause, the cave floor gave way beneath her.
She fell in darkness for an eternal moment and then plunged into the coldest water she had ever felt. It swept her along into the depths, and a low hanging rock glanced her temple, thunking away consciousness before panic could truly set in.
When Ksenia awoke, it was on the cold hard shale of some beach in the depths of such darkness she had never imagined could exist, her dwarven eyes seeing only shades of grey all around. And then the cold hard hands grasped her, and the darkness of the caverns were nothing to the darkness in the elves' eyes.
Maddy drove the sheep on ahead of her. She shouldn't take them so far from the village but in her search for Maggie, she kept going further and further out. To be fair, the different plants the sheep were grazing on during their jaunts were making more delicious cheese from the milk and so no one in the village was complaining about her being away longer and longer. It's not like her parents even noticed she was gone, not since Maggie disappeared. If she could find her sister, maybe things would be better. This way, she got to look for her sister and the village got tastier food...it was win, win.
For not the first time, Maddy wished her brother was with her. He'd know what to do and he'd know where to look for Maggie. She headed off a wayward sheep and brought it back into the fold with the rest. "You are not allowed to leave me too, Glen. You need to stay with your family." Maybe instead of wishing her brother was here, she should go to the city and find him. First, she would chew him out for not coming home. Did he not know that Maggie was missing? She found it hard to believe that he didn't care...or maybe the city had changed him. She shook her head as if trying to banish the thought.
Today's route took Maddy and the sheep into the rockier foothills which were riddled with caves. While she was musing about her siblings, one of the sheep had wandered into one of the caves. She was alerted to this when she heard panicked bleating from inside the cave. As she rushed towards the distressed sheep, she heard a scuff of footsteps behind her. She drew her greatsword in one fluid movement and whirled to face the threat. Three hooded figures closed in on her but before she could defend her and her flock, she felt something prick her shoulder. There must be more in the cave! She stumbled towards the three, swinging her sword in an upward arc just as everything went black.
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Timeline
The other prisoners
10 days ago: Kalanzar awoke to find himself in a dark cavern with another drow, and a strange shaggy creature that looked not unlike a bear-person, though its fur appeared to be blue-grey. A small, round footstool turned out to be another prisoner, though it took several hours before Kalanzar saw it move and realized it was alive.
7 days ago: two guard drow deposited a strange looking humanoid in the cell. He was lean to the point of emaciation, but muscular looking. He had sharply pointed ears, even more so than the drow and surface elves, and his skin seemed to be yellowish, though it was hard to be sure in the dim light of the cavern. (Ziyad, not sure of his description yet, so went generic for now)
5 days ago: Another patrol returned, this time with three prisoners. A red-headed dwarven woman, a grey-skinned half-orc, and a young human female with short yellow hair (Alexandra).
4 days ago: A sleep cycle had barely passed before another trio arrived. A dark-skinned derro - a short creature who looked to be some hybrid of dwarf and gnome. A dark gnome, thinner than the derro, who had been badly beaten. Another surface dwarf, this one with darker auburn hair (Ksenia).
2 days ago: The final four prisoners were brought in by a passing patrol, who continued on after depositing the prisoners in their cell. These included a pair of dark gnomes who could only be siblings, some sort of fish-man, and a fair-skinned, muscle-bound human woman (Madison).
Awaking in the slave cave
When you awoke, it was to find yourself wearing a metal slave-collar, a heavy iron belt, as well as manacles tight on each wrist. The manacles are attached to the belt by short lengths of chain – long enough to get your hand to about eye-height, but no higher.
When you’re in the slave cave, the belt is locked to another length of chain, which is bolted to the cave floor. You each have about five feet of slack in your chain, enough to get to one of the three chamber pots in the middle of the cave.
Your slave cave is a little longer than 30 feet long, and nearly 20 feet wide at the widest point. A heavy wooden gate is kept locked at all times, except when groups of slaves are being escorted in or out.
Though you arrived with none of your possessions (in fact, you’re in your underclothes and nothing else, though they did leave you your shoes), occasionally one of the slaves finds a small item that has been unnoticed by the guards, and is able to scavenge it.
You have enough water, as you’re responsible for bringing water buckets into the slave cavern. Food is always the same, a cold gruel made with some unfamiliar grains and fungi. It’s bland, but not unpalatable, and while you’re never full after a meal, you’re never starving either.
Velkynvelve description
You spend most of your time in the slave cavern. To the north is a set of stairs you’ve never been allowed down. If you look straight down from the ledge in front of the cave, you can see nothing but the great mat of webs. To the south is a swaying rope bridge that leads to the first hanging tower – a great, hollowed out stalactite. You’ve been in this tower (the guard tower) several times a day. It’s the only way to get past the waterfall. The guard tower has large openings carved into it, so the guards can look down into the cavern below. To most of you, all you can see is unending darkness. It is clear that if anybody was down there with a light, it would be glaringly obvious from up here.
The guard tower chamber contains a table and three chairs, and is always manned by three guards. The guards are usually talking or playing dice games, and rarely pay attention when you’re escorted through the room. A spider silk ladder leads to a trapdoor in the ceiling, but you don’t know what’s up there.
A second rope bridge leaves from the other side of the guard room, past the waterfall, and terminates at a very narrow ledge. You can walk south along the ledge, which goes past another short bridge to a second hanging tower. You’ve never been allowed in it.
A little ways beyond that, the ledge widens out. Here is where you can find the main hall – the only other cavern you’ve been allowed into. It serves as dining hall, kitchen, and storage. The cavern contains four tables, each with five chairs, and a kitchen. There are also barrels, boxes and sacks of various supplies in the back of the cavern. You’re only ever allowed in here when cleaning.
The wide exterior ledge also leads to two other locked caverns, and two hanging towers which are directly attached to the ledge. You haven’t been in these ones either. This is also where you can find the winch and the lift.
Residents of Velkynvelve
Your captors include a cruel drow priestess who calls herself Mistress Ivara of House Mizzrym. Over the past days, you’ve seen her several times, robed in silken garments and always flanked by two drow men, one of whom has a mass of newly healed scars along one side of his face and neck. Sometimes Ivara ignores you completely; other times she seems to delight in her possession of you, and laughs at your fate, and says, ”Accept your fate and learn to obey, and you may survive.”
You’ve able to count at least a dozen drow guards, if not more. There are also a dozen or so of the strong, shaggy creatures called quaggoths. (One such quaggoth is locked up with you). The quaggoths seem to be servants to the drow, but are treated better than the prisoners.
Your “days” are long and unpleasant. It is so completely dark in the cavern that it is impossible to guess how much time has passed. You spend most of your time in the cave, and are escorted out for a few hours at a time to do various menial tasks and hard labour for your captors. After the chamber pots have been emptied (into the waterfall), the water buckets have been filled and hauled to the common area, and the laundry and dishes have been done, then they get you to operate the lift winch, hauling up heavy loads of various fungi and other foodstuffs, and sometimes just rocks. As the lift goes past the thick layer of sticky webs, you occasionally see a dark shadow of something huge and leggy moving along the webs.
Day 1: Alexandra attempts to coax information from other prisoners, who they are, which guards are particularly a!$~+@*ish etc.
Day 2: Alexandra pretends to be completely obedient, she wishes to establish which if any of the guards speak common, Abyssal or elfen.
Day 3: Alexandra makes herself smelly, and wishes to turn this into having a barrel of water for washing be in the slave cave, so the slaves smell does not assault the nostrils of the illustrious Ivara or house Mizzrym
Day 4: While cleaning, she sees if there are weapons, or things easily improvised as such in the storage area, she does not take any, and if challenged will simply truthfully reply that she was ordered to clean here.
Day 5: Using her latent skills, she attempts to see if any magical means are in place to spy on them.
Moonlit night. The noise of the pines overhead. I move among the shadows as usual. I'm not hiding because this is my home. There are many like me in the depths of this forest. Real Drow who left the darkness of the Underdark and chose the light of the stars and the call of Eilistraee. It's not about the darkness of caves. It's about the darkness in the hearts. I walk through this grove and admire the starry sky. I recognize every constellation, because I've taught them hundreds of times. And they are also carved on my body with a thin silver knife during the initiation process. On a moonless dark night, the archdruid created a masterpiece on my torso, shoulders, arms and legs, throwing back his head and looking at the beautiful stars. I walk and smile at the constellations. I know them all and they are my friends. I breathe fresh air and offer prayers in turn to Eilistraee, the goddess of Night and the true goddess of the Drow, to Desna, the goddess of the Stars, to Selûne, the goddess of the Moon, and to Nocticula, the new goddess of the darkness that surrounds the stars. I'm happy. I'm smiling. And then the dart goes into my neck. The world is dimming. And I wake up screaming in a real hell, which I hoped never to end up in. I've been waking up for 10 days in a row. I have the same dream. And every time I wake up screaming, facing the nightmare of a new day...
______
On the first day, Kalanzar will mainly take a closer look and listen to the situation. He knows Elvish and Undercommon, so some conversations may be useful to him...
On the second day, Kalanzar will try to talk to his cellmates, especially other drow. Who is he, where is he from, why was he put here, how far are we from the surface?
______
Hearing the surname Mizzrym, the drow from the surface begins to tremble.
Everything falls into place. This is their revenge. Revenge, for sure. My mother ran away from them and now they have found her son. Or is it all an accident? Or the providence of my goddesses? No, it's still their nasty revenge, that's for sure.
Kalanzar is not yet sure what to do with this discovery. But this is fate, no other way.
_______
Day 1:
While not particularly charismatic, Ksenia loves to meet new people, especially strangers from far away. A rough looking crowd, but there's rougher every fishing moon at the Leaky Flagon. And so determined to make the best of a decidedly bad situation, she immediately on her first day in captivity seeks out the most familiar looking face, finding herself next to the red headed dwarf.
Ksenia blurts out in Dwarven: "To the rest of these malcontents, us ginger dwarves may all look the same, but I don't recognize your clan. I'm a Frostforge myself, though the tats are barely visible in this dreary darkness."
______
Day 2:
Ksenia keeps an eye out during both the toils and boredom for any mushrooms, lichen, or the like that she might recognize that might add a bit of seasoning and flavor to the daily gruel.
______
Day 3:
The next order of business is to figure out an eventual way out of these chains when the moment is right, so Ksenia keeps a careful eye out for anything she might palm that might be used to pick a lock: a stray bit of wire, a particularly thin and sharp rock, a wickedly sharp thorn.
________
Day 4:
All those history books crammed high to the rafters in the office of her grandfather's shop. Ksenia hadn't been much for the hammering, but those books wiled away the hours while she was supposed to be smelting or forging or whatever else she was failing to learn that week. She's sure she's heard some of these words floating around at one point or another, in the distant recesses of her memory. And as she washes clothes, empties chamber pots, and struggles to lift what needs lifted with all to thin of arms, she is thrown back to those days of menial labor when she filled her mind with history, and worries away like a tongue at a loose tooth trying to recall if she remembers anything about these places:
Maddy woke with a start, her first thoughts of Maggie and Matty before getting her bearings. She was in a place that was too dark for her liking and she was shackled. Her head swivelled around wildly as she tried to figure out where she was and who she was with. The weight of chains made her realize that she was not in a good situation and the fact that she was in her underclothes made her cringe inwardly. She may not be the sharpest knife in the kitchen but she knew enough to not even bother groping for her greatsword. How was she supposed to find her sister if she was locked wherever she was? And what about the village's sheep? Maybe someone in the village would notice the sheep were missing and then realize she was missing.
For now she needed to learn more about where she was so that she could eventually get herself out.
Maddy was not a stranger to hard work and put in a good effort with the tasks she was given but that didn't mean that she desired to stay in this place away from family. When they were returned to their slave cave later in the time of being awake, she systematically pulled at her different bindings looking for a weak spot.
I’m putting everything in spoilers just so this isn’t a mile long. It’s okay to read each other’s spoilers. If I want something to be private I’ll write “Character only” in the spoiler.
Kalanzar day 1 (10 days ago): Kalanzar is able to overhear several conversations amongst the drow, many regarding him. It’s very unusual to find a surface drow, and there are many speculations about it. They are certain that Mistress Ilvara will question him specially soon, and are looking forward to it with sadistic glee.
Kalanzar day 2 (9 days ago). The other drow is sullen and withdrawn, and doesn’t deign to answer Kalanzar’s questions.
While crossing one of the rope bridges, Kalanzar notices a 5 foot strand of silk rope hanging loose, and is able to pocket it.
Zayid day 1 (7 days ago). What was even happening?!?!
Zayid day 2 (6 days ago). He seemed to be healthy enough – clearly the poison that had knocked him out had cleared his system. Same with the others.
Zayid day 3 (5 days ago). If there was magic here, he couldn’t sense it.
Zayid day 4 (4 days ago).
Zayid day 5 (3 days ago). Warmth is the main problem, as you aren’t provided with blankets, and your underclothes are thin. You’re never warm enough, but it’s never cold enough to be dangerous. A regular blanket would help. But there’s nothing to use for warmth, and no way to make fire. The drow aren’t kind, but they’re keeping the slaves healthy. Mostly. Aside from the beatings.
Zayid day 6 (2 days ago). The day seemed to go easier than previous days, and he was able to help get the work done faster. The deep gnome appreciated getting finished an hour earlier, and sighed in relief. In deeply accented common, he said, ”Thanks, longshanks. Appreciate the helping hand.” He turned to the white-bearded derro and said, ”That’s 5 silver coins you owe me. Don’t worry, I’ve got it all in my ledger,” he pointed to his forehead. Grinning, he continued, ”Buppido there bet me that you’d be a limp noodle, no use to anybody.”
Zayid day 7 (yesterday). While filling water buckets at the waterfall, he noticed a strange, bulbous fungus growing in a shallow pool of water in a nearby ledge. Examining it, he discovered that he could squeeze nearly a gallon of drinkable water from it. Tasting it, it seemed quite edible, if bland and chewy. Zayid suspects this might grow in other shallow water throughout the caves.
Alex Day 1 (5 days ago). Alexandra tries her charms on her fellow prisoners. She only has luck with one: a myconid sprout called Stool. The dwarf, called Eldeth, seems friendly enough, but has also only just arrived. Stool is walking mushroom with stumpy legs and thin arms that it often tucked up under its “cap”. If it has eyes, she couldn’t see them, but it seemed to get around just fine.
Stool talks directly into Alexandra’s mind, and seems happy to have somebody to talk to. It had been captured a few days before, and doesn’t like it here at all. It’s very afraid of Ilvara, as she has a “tentacle weapon” that hurt and frightens him. Other than her, he can’t tell the other drow apart.
Alex Day 2 (4 days ago). Alexandra poses as the perfect slave, completely compliant and unobservant. She overhears two of the guards in the watchtower speaking Elven to each other. One of them is called Balok, but she doesn’t catch the other’s name.
Alex Day 3 (3 days ago). Ilvara cocks her head and considers a moment, before replying in common, "The reek of you foul surface dwellers is particularly unwholesome. Yes, fill a barrel. You shall be responsible for emptying it daily and replacing it with clean water."
That night, Alex awoke spluttering and gasping as a barrel of cold water pours over her. The orc, Ront, laughs hysterically in his corner, then breaks the barrel into pieces. The next morning he attacks one of the guards with one of the barrel staves, and is beaten into unconsciousness. The barrel pieces are taken away and not replaced.
Alex Day 4 (2 days ago). While cleaning the main hall, Alex sees lots of rations and kitchen tools, but nothing worse than a spatula that she could use as a weapon. However, as she’s dumping a box of scrap and waste into the waterfall, she finds a rusted iron bar, about 3 feet long, that would do nicely as a club.
Alex Day 5 (yesterday). Studying the areas around the slave pen, Alexandra tries to determine if there’s any magical detection being used. There’s nothing that she can detect; they seem to be relying on mundane methods for keeping you here, and are not interested in what you’re doing while in the pen.
Ksenia Day 1 (4 days ago).
Ksenia blurts out in Dwarven: "To the rest of these malcontents, us ginger dwarves may all look the same, but I don't recognize your clan. I'm a Frostforge myself, though the tats are barely visible in this dreary darkness."
The other dwarf manages to dredge up a grin. ”Nice to see another pretty face in this horrible place. The name’s Eldeth Feldrun, of Gauntlgrym. What dire mishap brought you here? I’m a scout; we’ve been at war with the Iceshield orcs for over a year now,” she spat the name with hatred, while throwing a foul look at the orc chained up on the other side of the cave. ”I was following that coward, running away from battle, and we fell down some sort of shaft. Woke up here.”
Ksenia Day 2 (3 days ago). Tired of the food already, Ksenia kept an eye out for something, anything, to add to the stew. The area around the outpost was pretty picked over, but in a corner of the cave slightly warmer than the others, she found a single “leaf” of lichen that was a pale orange in colour. Careful testing proved it to be quite spicy when ground into a paste. It added a spicy flavor to the stew. (will she offer some to the others?)
Ksenia Day 3 (2 days ago). Spending her day keeping an eagle eye on the ground, she managed to find a very stiff hair or whisker that might be stiff enough to use as a tool. What creature shed it, she didn’t want to consider…
It's a lucky day! While moving rocks for the drow, she sees a reddish gleam in the dust. She manages to extract a small, clear carnelian gemstone.
Ksenia Day 4 (yesterday). Is there perhaps a memory of the name Mizzrym? Or was it Messurm? Something about a powerful slave family?
Maddy day 1 (2 days ago). Deep in the dirt and rock under where she is chained, she notices a glint. Groping in the dirt, she finds a single gold coin.
Maddy day 2 (yesterday). The strong woman was unable to find a weak spot that would allow her to break her bonds.
There seems to be very little "clockwork" to this place. There is obviously no natural day or night cycle, and there seems to be no artifical one wither. At least some of your drow captors appear to be active at all hours. At any one time, at least 3 or 4 of the prisoners are out working, and food seems to be served at random hours.
Various patrols come through seemingly randomly. Two might come within a few hours, then days might go by with nothing. The only thing that's regular is that you are well guarded whenever you're out of your cell.
As Ronc is beaten into unconciousness, Alexandra, who is displeased at no longer having the spell component for Armor of Agathys available, irritated at being dosed with cold water during the night, and actively afraid of possible punishment. Kicks the Orc in the balls.
(not proficient in unarmed, but I think I can use charisma because hexblade?)
You f@&$ing stupid fang-f%*$ing Дебил! Твоя мать родила тебя из задницы и оставила в сортире? She swears, interspersing swearing in common with swearing in Abyssal, in the presence of the guards.
Kalanzar is trying to find weaknesses in the guard. Perhaps some particular guard is too lazy to do his duties? Some part of the territory should potentially not be visible from the windows of the guard stalactites?
The task is still the same. To prepare an escape, you need to understand the way to escape.
On the fifth day, Kalanzar will cast a Speak with Animals spell and learn from various creatures (a small underground lizard of whitish color; a small spider with cranny spots; and twice from a bat) about what is around these caves; what kind of creature lives below; something useful that they know about the habits of the creatures inhabiting stalactites - drow.
Kalanzar will try to make new friends. He will try to gently heal a badly beaten dark gnome who has just been brought here and talk to him about who he is and where he comes from.
He will also generally try to take a closer look at other slaves. In which of them is the spirit not broken and they are ready for a potential escape? Who is looking for opportunities with his eyes, like himself?
I've been here for a whole week! I'm gradually losing track of the days. What they want in the end...
Kalanzar will try to talk to someone from the guards. Maybe their curiosity will push them to communicate with the drow from the surface?
With his ability to live in nature, Kalanzar wants to understand how realistic it is to go down the rocks? And how many chances of survival if you jump into a waterfall? Perhaps there are some other natural possibilities that nature will provide?
Just find something useful that can be useful for escape. Everything that observation can give me.
Approximately on the 4th day of Kalanzar's stay here, he will try to communicate with a strange yellow-skinned sharp-eared prisoner (this is the 2nd day for Ziyad). There are many creatures in this place that he has never seen, but this one is particularly curious. Could it be some other lost tribe of the Elven people?
During the general work, while we are pulling up heavy supplies with mushrooms and something else with all our strength, Kalanzar will try to be closer to the yellow-skinned one. Kalanzar will try to talk to him in a whisper.
Hey! Hey! Pssss... Hi. My name is Kalanzar. Who are you, where are you from? How did you end up here?
Of course, Kalanzar will try to communicate with a strange creature that looks like a stone. He will try the language of the earth elementals, than will try to communicate with him as with an animal and even try to whisper a few words in the secret language of the druids.
And he will also try to communicate with the drow who has fresh scars (does it looks like whip marks?) on his face and neck. Kalanzar will try to convey the idea that he can be useful in exchange for usefulness. Maybe he has a competitor who framed him?
Yeah, the traits of my people are coming back very quickly. I need to be careful with this.
Alexandra spends time communicating telepathically with Stool.
You can talk telepathically? Are you a Myconoid? I have heard that you exist, but I know next to nothing about your kind.
Do you hear me load and clear? Can I modulate my voice? And what do you hear If I think in a different language? What do you perceive if I think of singing in Abyssal?
Oh, can you relay my thoughts to others? Communicating with others without our guards noticing it could be key to survival.
And also, do your people do Poetry? If yes, how?
Rather, brothers in skin color, Zayad. These serve the Spider Queen Lolth and are very cruel. I and my closest relatives have left this path and that's why we are enemies. I am a prisoner with probably the most unenviable fate here. All this is said to you in a whisper by dark elf, really similar to all other male drow here. Like all of them, he is slightly shorter than an ordinary elf from the surface, red-eyed, has long white hair and very wiry. Perhaps a little more prominent musculature and strange (but beautiful) scars in the form of stars and star routes - that's all that distinguishes him from the rest of the drow. And the fact that he is imprisoned in chains. We need to get out of here. What awaits us here is only slavery and a terrible death in the end, nothing more. If we could arm all the prisoners, we would be no less than them. I'm sure some of us must be skilled in battle or magic. If only I could figure out a way to get weapons and components...
Listening in to Kalanzars and Ziyads conversation, Alexandra thinks to Stool.
Stool, can you include these 2 into our conversation?
Ksenia blurts out in Dwarven: "To the rest of these malcontents, us ginger dwarves may all look the same, but I don't recognize your clan. I'm a Frostforge myself, though the tats are barely visible in this dreary darkness."
The other dwarf manages to dredge up a grin. ”Nice to see another pretty face in this horrible place. The name’s Eldeth Feldrun, of Gauntlgrym. What dire mishap brought you here? I’m a scout; we’ve been at war with the Iceshield orcs for over a year now,” she spat the name with hatred, while throwing a foul look at the orc chained up on the other side of the cave. ”I was following that coward, running away from battle, and we fell down some sort of shaft. Woke up here.”
"Ha! I'm pretty as an anvil, but among this crowd of longshanks and abberations, we're both gorgeous. Gauntlgrym! I have a cousin's aunt who maintained the statue gardens on the north cliffs of that holding! My grandfather has always talked about taking us on a tour of some of the great dwarven citadels, but we never could scrape enough silver together… Frostforge fell twenty-odd years ago and we've lived in the docks outside Waterdeep ever since."
"Are you a soldier then?" Ksenia looks wide-eyed over at the orc that Eldeth is glaring at. "You must have been on such adventures! I've never been anywhere but Waterdeep. And there's not much excitement there other than the cut purses, assassins, wars between thieves guilds, and the occasional rogue mage blowing up a block or two."
Ksenia frowns. "But why are you glaring at that orc so much? Seems if he was running away from the battle, he was the best sort of soldier for your enemy to have in their ranks."
Tired of the food already, Ksenia kept an eye out for something, anything, to add to the stew. The area around the outpost was pretty picked over, but in a corner of the cave slightly warmer than the others, she found a single “leaf” of lichen that was a pale orange in colour. Careful testing proved it to be quite spicy when ground into a paste. It added a spicy flavor to the stew. (will she offer some to the others?)
"WHEW!" Ksenia blurts out as she tastes her recently enhanced gruel. "You could polish copper with that! Like a mix of ghost pepper with a hint of the sweetness of Neverwinter ice chilis!" She puckers her lips. "Bit of an odd texture though. Gritty."
Ksenia leans over to the impressively muscled human woman sitting next to her who arrived recently. "Maddy, isn't it? Try a bite of my gruel, see what you think. I put a little kick in it to liven up the slavery and forced labor and what not."
Ksenia jabs a thumb over her shoulder at the wheezing and coughing Eldeth who just sampled a bite. "Maybe take a smaller bite if you're not sure about spiciness."
Ksenia also offers it to anyone else who happens to be nearby!
Day 3 (8 days ago)- If any of the guards are lazy or otherwise lacking, they do a good job of hiding it. They all seem to be terrified of Ilvara, and the junior priestess, Asha. She isn't around as much, but you do see her from time to time. Ilvara's lieutenant, Shoor Vandree, lords his position over the others, and they are careful not to step out of line.
As for sightlines, the guard tower is meant to keep watch on the cavern bottom below, and doesn't have good sightlines to all of the outpost.
Day 4 (7 days ago) - It appears the only ways down are the lift, or jumping into the pool from the waterfall or the spider's webs below. There's no way to climb down without ending up in the webs.
Day 5 (6 days ago)- The spider tells of its giant cousins that live in the webs below you. There are several, and they are quick to eat anybody who ends up in the webs. The bats know that the dark two-legs (drow) come to and from mostly from the north passage, and that the west passage eventually ends up at a big lake. They don't like the south passage, it's too loud for them.
Day 6 (5 days ago)- As he heals the gnome, the little fellow sits up with a sigh of relief. In undercommon, he said, "Many thanks, friend! Jimjar's the name. Don't let the drow see you do that, they'll beat us more just to watch you heal us."
When asked where he's from, he shrugs, "Oh, I wander about. Was last in Blingdenstone. Trying to find a shortcut to Mantol Dereth; some fool bet me 200 gold that I couldn't! Well, I'll show him. When I get out of here, of course."
Day 7 (4 days ago)- The shaggy-furred person is keeping his eyes open, but making no suspicious moves. The other drow seems angry, but resigned to his fate. The orc seems ready to smash some skulls, be they fellow prisoners, or guards.
Day 8 (3 days ago) - Impossible to climb down the rocks without ending up in the webs, but they do look climbable. Perhaps a sharp knife would cut the webs, or they could be burned? As for the waterfall, it really depends on how deep the pool is at the bottom.
Day 9 (2 days ago) - Kalanzar, the dwarf woman Eldeth, and the drow Sarith, are at work at the bottom of the lift, moving rocks from one pile to another. They're pretty sure that the group of prisoners that just got off shift put them in the first pile to begin with. Kalanzar tries to get a closer look at the dark pool. It seems deep close to the cliff face, but it's impossible to be certain without going for a swim.
Day 10 (yesterday) - He overhears Shoor mocking Jorlan, making fun of his disfiguring injury, and bragging about spending his nights in Ilvara's bed now. Jorlan says nothing, but looks furious.
Kalanzar tries to speak to Jorlan, who listens, but doesn't speak to you. Perhaps your words got through to him, however.
Telepathy with Stool
The little myconid is happy to talk with anybody who is kind to him. He ejects little puffs of shimmery dark spoors, and if any are breathed in, he seems able to not only communicate with you, but allow groups of people to communicate together. He doesn't speak in any specific language, it's like the thoughts just appear raw, without the unnecessary words to accompany them. Concentrating on the mechanism of communication can leave one feeling a little dizzy.
"I hear you, (Alexandra)!" Instead of hearing your name, it's more like a somewhat distorted image of your body, all in reds and purples. "It is nice to talk to you! I do not understand your word, language. The singing is nice! Is it a lullaby? We sing lullabys to our buttoned-up-ones. And poetry is very nice! Like this!" He sends you a series of thought-senses: sparkling phosphoresence in an underground lake, the sound of wind sighing through a narrow tunnel, the labourous journey of a 3 legged spider trying to crawl up a stalagmite, and somehow a strange, salty taste. "Do you like it?!"
Listening in to Kalanzars and Ziyads conversation, Alexandra thinks to Stool. Stool, can you include these 2 into our conversation?
"Of course! Hello new friends of (Alexandra)!"
Ksenia frowns. "But why are you glaring at that orc so much? Seems if he was running away from the battle, he was the best sort of soldier for your enemy to have in their ranks."
Eldeth huffed. "If all the orcs were cowards, they wouldn't be worthy of fighting! His god has seen his cowardice, and will judge him accordingly. Ha! Look at him glare. He knows we're talking about him, even if he can't understand civilized language."
"Waterdeep, eh? Never been myself. Don't know if I'd like living side-by-each with so many others not of my clan. When we get out of here, come with me to Gauntlgrym! The statue gardens are a wonder, and not the most impressive in our keep. We will be hailed as heroes, and feasted as such."
Maddy blew a piece of hair out of her face in frustration as her testing of the chains proved fruitless. There was no way that she would be able to break herself free. She found it difficult to keep track of time without being outside. Her survival skills would be tested here as it was nothing like what she was used to. It also didn't help that there didn't seem to be any set schedule for sleeping or working or eating.
She was internally trying to process everything that was happening and growing more anxious at not being free to look for her sister or travel to get help from her brother. It took one of her fellow prisoners to shake her out of her own thoughts.
"Maddy, isn't it? Try a bite of my gruel, see what you think. I put a little kick in it to liven up the slavery and forced labor and what not."
Maddy gave a small smile, "And you're Ksenia, if I heard correctly during work duty." Her face brightened at the prospect of tastier food. She took a bite and nodded appreciatively. "Just the right amount of heat. It definitely helps me stomach the bland gruel. Thank you for sharing. A friendly face makes this place more bearable."
She glanced around the room at the others and then leaned closer to Ksenia and asked, "How long have you been here? Have you spoken with any of the other prisoners? Or do you and Eldeth keep to yourselves?"
Telepathy with Stool:
Lullaby? She thought to herself although Stool probably hears it in the play that got me doomed, well, I wrote it as a war song, because I saw no reason for Demons to not have warsongs, but tastes differ I guess.
Your poetry Stool, I like it. Try to keep it alive within you and protect it, then it will protect you from despair in turn.
With the other 2:
To Kalanzar
Greetings, my Myconoid friend stool is capable of faciliating telepathic communications between us. If you are a surface drow who does not worship Lolth, then you have more motivation to get out of here then any of us. And communication is key to this.
My Name is Alexandra, I have a way with words and a degree of arcane skills. Unfortunately that Orc Clown just nixed my cunning plan to make ice armor.
To Ziyad (who would hear the previous communication)
May I enquire what you are? I would say Githzerai from the looks, but you dont act in the way I would expect one to act.
I *do not* worship Lolth. I'm a druid from the Circle of Stars and I pray to completely different gods. I... I've never been to Underdark before. I grew up in the forest of Cormanthor listening to the song of the night and admiring the beauty of the moon and the radiance of the stars.
He looks at Stool.
Unbelievable! I've never met a myconid before. It's incredibly interesting.
Kalanzar concentrates and tries to send him images. The sky is dotted with huge summer stars, like diamonds in the height of a very large cave. The aroma of fresh greenery and a slightly cool but life-bearing spring breeze blowing over the face. A huge moon illuminating the autumn forest when the foot is buried in soft fallen leaves. The crunch of the first snow under your feet when you sneak behind a deer with a smile...
After smiling a little, he returns to the topic.
Yes. We need to run. So far I see three ways. Jump into a waterfall and hope for a miracle. Go down the wall and cut or burn part of the web at the wall. We need to do this quickly before the spiders come. Or to persuade someone from the drow to frame a fellow competitor in the escape of prisoners... In any case, there are a lot of doomed people here and I would like the maximum of those who are here to run with us.
Telepahtically:
Drow are known for being fairly fractricidal, I do not speak undercommon, but can get by in Elfish and Abyssal in addition to surface common. Framing or exploiting inner drow conflict seem good option. Question is, where to go from there? Perhaps our other co prisoners are more knowledgeable of the lay of the land? The Orc is a loose cannon, the 2 dwarfs seem friendly enough.
The one female apparently named Son of Madis seems to be a competent fighter
There are three exits from here. One leads north - that's where the drow usually come from. I guess we shouldn't go there. Another to the west leads to a large lake. And to the south... it's not clear to me what's there - bats don't fly there, they complain that it's too loud.
The stars, I wish to see them again, on a warm midnight ideally. According to some, the sun is just the closest star, greedily denying us the sight of the more distant brothers and sisters, although I certainly wouldnt mind seeing the sun again either.
Stool would probably register and impression of dance and festivities on a warm summer night, laughter and merriment being shared freely.
Maddy gave a small smile, "And you're Ksenia, if I heard correctly during work duty." Her face brightened at the prospect of tastier food. She took a bite and nodded appreciatively. "Just the right amount of heat. It definitely helps me stomach the bland gruel. Thank you for sharing. A friendly face makes this place more bearable."She glanced around the room at the others and then leaned closer to Ksenia and asked, "How long have you been here? Have you spoken with any of the other prisoners? Or do you and Eldeth keep to yourselves?"
Ksenia pulls up her shirt a bit to expose an enormous and painful set of bruises. "The guards swing cudgels if they hear us talking too much, so I've kept my head down since I got this trying to ask the drow prisoner if he knows what's going on." Ksenia looks around, notices the guards have drifted off a bit "but they're not looking now if you want make friends."
Ksenis nods to Topsy and Turvy and the fishman and asks Maddy "Do you know them? They brought the four of you in together."
I know very little, great warrior-scholars who are not hindered by the consuming hatred of their estranged Githyanki kin? Perhaps I am clutching at straws, but couldnt you be a dear and meditate us all out of the underdark?
My patron has given access to some plays performed in Sigill, for inspiration, I have adapted them, in part to Faerun, exchanged some parts, and the saga of the nameless one's Torment had a Githzerai in the supporting cast.
You're awoken from a not-quite-long-enough sleep by the sounds of the cage door squealing open, and the working shift being locked back up by the guards. Serith, Topsy, Ront and the shaggy quaggoth (nobody had gotten his name yet, as he didn't seem to speak common or undercommon) were drenched with water, and collapsed to the ground, exhausted, as soon as they were secured.
"Come on, get up!" one of the drow guards growled in undercommon. Many of you didn't speak the language, but the meaning was clear, especially when paired with the kicks. Maddy, Ziyad and Jimjar were taken away to clean in the main hall.
Clearly a meal had just finished, for the tables were covered with dirty bowls, plates and cups. Two drow were sitting quietly at one of the tables, finishing their drinks and playing dice. Again, the guard spoke something incomprehensible, but the meaning was clear enough. Clean.
An hour or so in, Jimjar sidled up to Maddy and Ziyad and whispered in common, "See those two guards playing dice? Bet you 5 gold pieces I can get one of their purses without them noticing!"
About an hour after the others had been pulled away for their shift, the gate squealed open again. Ilvara swept in, holding a rod topped by three waving tentacles. Her lieutenant, Shoor, was holding a small, black wand. Two other guards stood by the open gates, swords in hand.
The priestess spoke to Shoor.
Shoor frowned, clearly annoyed, but kept his face turned from Ilvara so she wouldn't see. He aimed the wand at Ksenia's foot, and spoke a strange word.
A small blob of...something...shot from the wand to Ksenia's foot, striking squarely. In a matter of seconds, it had grown and expanded to cover the whole foot, then down to the ground. With a strange creaking sound it hardened, and Ksenia found herself stuck fast to the stone floor.
The high preistess smiled.
She moved towards Alexandra and struck at her with her rod, the tentacles lashing out at the human.
All three tentacles struck poor Alexandra, despite her scrambling to the end of her chain to try and avoid them. It was like being hit with a rubber hammer, but hard enough to crack bones. One struck her across both thighs, one in the right shoulder, and one cracked across her left forearm as she raised it to protect her face.
As Alexandra was being thrashed, Shoor attacked with his wand, managing to catch her right hand and bind it securely to the floor. Ilvara's expression turned appreciative, and she spoke to Shoor, who looked smug.
This time she beat the quaggoth with her rod, all three tentacles striking him in the thigh, stomach, and head. The normally silent quaggoth prisoner groaned a few words.
Shoor tried again with the wand, but the viscous blob splattered harmlessly on the wall behind him.
Ilvara looked furious, and rounded on Shoor.
Topsy laughed, then immediately realized his mistake. He covered his mouth with his hands, trying to stifle the giggle, but it was too late. Shoor spun at the little deep gnome and aimed.
The viscous blob shot straight out, covering Topsy's mouth and hands. Startled, he fell backwards against the wall, clearly afraid of being thrashed by the tentacle rod, but Ilvara merely stood and watched. Topsy tried to pull his hands away from his face, but they were glued tight. A few seconds later, and he began to panic...the others realized that the adhesive had hardened over his nose and mouth - he couldn't breathe.
Turvy, who was chained on the other side of the cave, near Ksenia, immediately became frantic. She ran to the end of her chain, desperate to reach her brother, but was at least 5 feet too far. She reached for him, crying.
Shoor became agitated, nearly running back and forth on the end of his chain, wringing his thin hands together. Serith, sitting next to Topsy, smiled coldly.
Go for it!
In despair, watching Sasha and quaggot being beaten, Kalanzar only clenched his fists. Hold on. There's nothing you can do right now. Hold on and be silent. But when he saw that the deep gnome was about to suffocate...
Indifference. If I don't want to be like them, it's not enough for me not to enjoy such scenes. I need to not be indifferent.
Kalanzar rushes forward and begins to tear the sticky mass from the gnome's face. At the same time, he begins to desperately shout out words, hoping that he will not suffer a terrible fate or simply will not be interrupted:
Drow-B~@@!, in the hallowed names of midnight and shadow and murder I will strike you, I will kill you, and I will roast your pathetic small tit-remains on a fire made from your own ripped off a+$@*%@~
Thinks Alexandra as she nearly loses conciousness.
Bad hair day my dear? Asked her Patron telepathically.
It is just us 2 by the way, the Myconoid friend cannot access this channel of communication. Nor of your earlier statement revelaing your allegiance. I am as always devoted to protecting my clients privacy.
Is that b+&$& that furious because my tits are better then hers?
To ask this question is to answer it, she indeed has at least 2 deficiencies in that department, they are very small though so it is hard to tell. Your statement was received however downstairs however, and will be judged most favorably should it ever come true, which may well be, but you should not attempt this before gaining strength elsewhere.
Back to the situation at hand Aleks thought.
I need to get out of this before that Orc gets cunning ideas, and without revealing my capabilities hmmm.
As she tries to wriggle out.
I head you like bets Jinjar?
I bet that you will have cause for merriment later if I ever get out of here She whispers in common to Jinjar.
It must be dinner because they're exhausted and eating gruel before they sleep dark dreams instead of after and Ksenia has found herself chained this time to Eldeth, Topsy, Turvy, and Sarith. She shares a bit of the brilliant orange lichen seasoning to every one. Topsy and Turvy devour a mouth scorching quantity of it, Sarith a moderate amount.
Eldeth shakes her head. "I don't know how you can eat that poison. The gruel's the only decent thing around here. Bland as pebbles, the way Dwarven food is meant to be."
Ksenia shakes her head, talking around chewing. "Never could abide the blandness. That's why all the cooks in Waterdeep are half-orcs and not dwarves." At Eldeth's grimace and automatic glare across the cavern at Ront, she continues "Hey! Race wars wait for freedom. As long as we're prisoners, we're all the same."
Sarith shows a rare hint of humor. "Even a drow?"
"Especially a drow!" Ksenia insists. "They hate you more than they hate us! Now listen up, I have a theoretical hypothesis that might be of use."
She leans in and speaks in a lowered voice. "Do you remember the other day when we were on kitchen duty with Topsy and the guards whipped another group by us to clean up rubbish? And Turvy was with them, and fell down, and when Topsy rushed over to help they both got whipped?"
Topsy and Turvy look at each other, grimace, and then glare at Ksenia for the reminder. But Ksenia pushes on "But then Turvy got left behind, and Topsy got dragged off to rubbish detail?" The two paused, nodded, half-glared.
"Or on the first day Eldeth was here. The guard with all the scars screamed something I didn't understand and when I went left instead of right, he turned around and yelled the same thing at Eldeth and whacked her right good with the cudgel?"
The group stares at her. "Everybody of the same race just looks the same to them. They can't tell Eldeth and me apart. They can't tell Topsy and Turvy apart."
"Now who's racist?" Eldeth grunts.
"They are." Sarith nods. "It is as you say. Lesser races are beneath a drow's notice. And while our eyes are sharp in the darkness, all the little things that make you different?" He shrugs. "Dwarf is dwarf ... " he trails off looking at Topsy and Turvy. "And ... whatever is whatever."
Ksenia snapped her fingers. "See? We can use this."
"How?" Eldeth asked.
"That's step five. We're only on step two. I need to figure out steps three and four still." Ksenia said. "Planning is a process."
Ksenia stares in horror as Topsy spasms, looks down in trepidation at the gloop that has solidified around her foot. A raw surge of nausea rises in her at being trapped. Chain around neck, foot immobile, a friend choking ... the weight of all the stone around them seemed to weigh down on her all at once and she felt a sudden desperate need to get free if only to cower under something sturdy.
She grabs a discarded bowl of gruel half full and tilted on a stone outcropping and dumps the liquid down her ankle, trying to get it between the gripping hardened glop and her skin, jabbing with fingers to try to cram the liquid into whatever gap might be there.
"Hang in there Turvy, we're going to help Topsy, we got you." Ksenia feverishly blurts.
Ziyad looked them over "10 gold you can't take it AND put it in the other one's pocket..." he dared, wondering if the strange creatures cared enough about material wealth to start a fight with each other.
Jimjar's eyes gleamed with delight. "Challenge accepted!" As they scrubbed tables and straightened chairs, the deep gnome made his way casually over to the table where the guards were dicing. He was a wonder to watch, or not watch, which was more accurate. Ziyad and Maddy tried to watch without drawing attention to him by staring.
The gnome leaned over to pick up a dropped spoon, and when he straightened, he held up the purse, just for a moment. Then he returned to collecing dirty dishes. When he returned to the others, he grinned again. "Success! Don't supppose you have those 10 gold on you, friend?"
tag Ziyad,
"No worries," he said genially, tapping his head, "I keep it all up here. We get out of here, I trust you'll pay me." As he brought the dishes to the washing buckets, it seemed that he clinked a little as he walked - it was likely that the purse he'd dropped in the other pocket was lighter than it had been.
Their little piece of subterfuge paid off hours later, as they were finishing up scrubbing the stone floor for the second time. Their guards were just about to return them to their cell when one of the dicing drow stood up with a shout. Neither Ziyad or Maddy understood the yelling, but they knew what it was about all the same.
Their two guards hurried them out of the main hall before the fight came to blows, and Jimjar was holding back giggles the entire way back to the slave cave.
Alex and Ksenia tried to wiggle free of their bonds, the dwarf using gruel as a lubricant, but to no avail.
Turvy continued to wail, and Ront began to laugh. Stool was fantic, and Alexandra, Ksenia and Kalanzar received fragments of thoughts, images, and fear. It was unclear if he was passing on Topsy's terror, or just his own.
The fish man stepped forward, saying:
The orc, chained up next to the fish man, turned and punched him right in his large, fishy face. Startled, the fishman sat down with a thud, clearly stunned. Ront laughed hard, spat in his face, then turned back to the unfolding drama.
Kalanzar found his efforts to free Topsy doomed. The adhesive had dried to a completely impervious finish. He might as well try to scratch his way through adamantine bonds with his fingernails. Perhaps if he tore hard enough, he could tear the skin off below the adhesive, but that would divest Topsy of his nose, lips, and the skin off half his face.
To Kalanzar's appeal, Ilvana raised one beautifully shaped eyebrow in skepticism. Though she continued to speak undercommon, Stool had gathered himself a little, and translated to the others: "Hardly. The sverfneblin never gain much of a price, he would probably not fetch enough at market to pay for his upkeep." She paused a moment, looking at the fishman sitting groggy on the ground. "Still, I am not without mercy. Give me a reason to save him - demonstrate something that will make you worth more to me. Raise the price that I can sell you for at auction, and I will free him."
She was looking at Kalanzar as she spoke, but it seemed likely that if any of them spoke up, produced an unexpected talent, she would rescue Topsy. He was kicking his heels on the stone floor, desperate for air.
Shoor looked at her, clearly surprised and unhappy with her words, but said nothing.