S1: E10: Many above, many below, together we fight, defeat the foe...

Still reveling in the delights of Narvandor, the party makes a bargain to solve the problem of the eruptions...

Transcript

 Episode 10: Many above, many below, together we fight, defeat the foe…

Kace, lacking any magical talent or clandestine connections with the natural world, wanders the upper platform, observing all of the activity below. As he gets to the three-quarters-of-the-way-around mark of the upper platform, he sees several fighters with weapons fighting quite aggressively a few tiers down. He smiles and ventures to the platform. Once there, he sees a minotaur with a large battle axe and a half-ogre with a giant club dueling. The half-ogre is on the offensive, swinging quickly and wildly, but misses. The minotaur swings its battle axe down hard on the half-ogre's back and a loud, low tone erupts from above and the minotaur glows green and the half-ogre glows red. Kace squints a bit and scratches his chin. The half-ogre stands up, unharmed and laughing. The minotaur is also laughing and they shake hands. The minotaur walks away from the middle of the platform towards Kace and waves.

“The bones of your ancestors are strong, dark one. I am Garkun Singleheart, Champion of Rockbane, Calf of Isperia.” The minotaur bows slightly.

“Kace Amberdream of the Pride of Jeramond, Savannah of Theros.” He bows as well. “Tell me, friend, what is this about?” Kace points to the place where the fight occurred.

“We are without magic but the temple holds something for everyone. In that place, you can attack each other as viciously as you like. The better your strike, the louder the sound and brighter the red. That last strike was a killing blow. But, we are unharmed. Would you like to try?” The minotaur stands with his battle axe on the floor, his hands resting on the handle. 

“May I request that we fight without weapons?” Kace looks at the half-ogre’s club with sharp spikes protruding from the end and the razor sharp blade of the battle axe. 

“You can request any fight you like.” Garkun smiles broadly and slightly nods his head. “Just walk up to whomever you’d like to fight and challenge them with your requests.” 

“Then, I challenge you, Garkun, no weapons.” Garkun smiles, nods, places his battle axe on a bench and walks into the ring. Kace places his longsword and spear on the same bench and joins him.

[Kace and Garkun roll for Initiative]

[Garkun attacks with an unarmed strike] Rolls 11 for a miss

Garkun, used to his battle axe, throws a clumsy punch at Kace which flies past his snout.

[Kace manifests an Echo behind Garkun, attacks with unarmed strike, unleashes incarnation for second unarmed strike from Echo] Rolls 18 vs AC14 for 12 damage, Rolls 19 vs AC14 for 12 damage.

Kace bumps his fists together and a silent, gray echo of himself appears behind Garkun, unknown to the minotaur. Kace swings with his fist, landing a solid punch on the minotaur’s steel jaw follow by the Echo repeating the swing into Garkun’s ribs. A low slightly loud hum erupts from above and Garkun’s jaw and side glow a light red color. Garkun stands up straight, looks over his shoulder at the Echo, and smiles. “My turn”.

[Garkun uses gore attack] Rolls 26 (nat 20) for 18 damage. 

Garkun drops his head and charges his horns towards Kace’s chest, striking him just above both ribs. Another slightly low hum erupts from above and Kace’s chest glows slightly red. Kace is amazed he felt nothing but steps back and looks at his chest. He looks up and smiles.

[Kace teleports to the location of his Echo, makes an unarmed attack, then an unleashed manifestation attack] Rolls 17 for 10 damage and 19 for  6 damage.

Kace slides his claws across his paws then turns his paws to align his claws, teleporting to the location of his Echo with the Echo appearing in front of the minotaur. He swings for the same spot on Garkun’s ribs while the Echo repeats the punch to the face. Again, a low slightly loud hum erupts from above and Garkun’s jaw and side glow a light red color. Garkun smirks and turns in place to face Kace.

[Garkun takes an action surge, makes an unarmed strike, makes a gore attack] Rolls 10 for a miss and 20 for a hit for 14 damage.

Garkun throws his shoulders back and roars then swings with a wide fist at Kace’s face, missing him and dropping his head. Garkun suddenly jerks his head upward, scoring another strike to Kace’s chest. The low hum is now louder and  erupts from above and Kace’s chest glows a little more brightly red.

[Kace takes an action surge, makes two unarmed attacks and two unleashed manifestation attacks, bonus action takes second wind] Rolls 18 for 6 damage, 23 for 8, 26 (crit) for 20, and 20 for 9 damage.

Kace follows Garkun’s example and throws his own shoulders back and makes two rapid punches which are matched by his echo, striking Garkun four times. The noise from above is almost deafening and Garkun’s entire body glows very brightly red while Kace is engulfed in green light. He takes a deep breath and regains some composure and health. Garkun looks stunned but then smiles broadly and grabs Kace in a deep embrace.

“Well fought, my friend. I would fight with you any day.” He pats Kace on the shoulder and walks him over to the half-ogre who is chatting with a bugbear which seems twice the size of Fodinis. The four of them engage in a rousing conversation about fighting, winning, and crushing one’s opponents for quite a long time.

[Kace receives 350 xp (unarmed Minotaur)]

Umgurn finds a marble bench with large soft cushions on the edge of the tiers, affording a view of the sunken floor and platforms, and sits to think. He watches with curiosity and delight as his friends move around the platforms. After an hour more or less, a tall, wide figure approaches Umgurn. He wears a long red robe and has long white hair. Small enchanted birds flutter around his head. He sits down next to Umgurn.

“Hello, Umgurn. Ennelsia told me you wanted to speak with an elder of the temple. I am not always here but I am here very frequently. And I am… quite old… for a human. In fact, almost twice your age, I believe. There are elves here sometimes who are centuries older than me… some possibly a millennia. But, only I am here now. How can I help you?”

“I am facing another 6 centuries in this world. I am… estranged… from my people. I found a calling in my heart and in my mind to serve and protect other people.  It’s a calling that comes from my understanding and love of what Eilistraee wants each of us to do with our time here. But, very few… almost none of my people share my feelings. So, I was wondering. Am I wrong? Is there something wrong with me that makes me choose a path of light when my people seem to always choose the dark?” Umgurn frowns and looks down at his hands.

“We are all put on our paths for different reasons. If I were to tell you my own story and what drives me, you would see that we are not so different… outcasts from our own people. And, like you, I am driven to pursue a higher purpose. Do my people respect me? No. Does it move me from my path? No, it does not. But I have found my own people. I have made my own family. And you could consider doing that as well. But, you must be conscious of your own mortality and relative immortality compared with your chosen family. Clearly, surrounding yourself with elves or drow would insure companions for all your days. But, you, like I, found your own people… insufferable. So, I, for one, respect your path and believe your family is yours for the making.” The elder concludes his soliloquy and smiles. He stands up, nods, and walks away. 

[Umgurn receives 25 xp]

After Enacelle leaves them, Piece and Theophania walk a bit further. Theophania sees several creatures firing arrows from bows. She pats Piece on the shoulder and moves down to the platform. Once there, she finds several goblins, an orc, a yuan-ti, and a half-elf all chatting in a circle. Every few seconds, one of them draws an arrow and fires at a magical, glowing target hovering on the end of the platform. Theophania can see that the target has several colors but they seem to shift and move before each creature fires. She smiles and moves close to the group.

“HIgh holy hell! A centaur! That’s a sight for sore eyes!” The largest of the goblins moves close to Theophania and pats her on the front legs, runs his hand down her side, and pats her on the rump. “A fine centaur at that!”

“Please excuse, Piskeq. He is forever sure that every female in the world wants to bed him. I am Kestrits, this is Domrold, and you’ve met Piskeq.” The three goblins bow. The orc extends his hand.

“I am Rogdul, my lady. This is Nuski.” The yuan-ti bows. “And that is Panfinas. Who are you, my lady?” Theophania bows deeply to all of them, much lower than any of them can manage.

“I am Theophania Blackmane, a ranger of the King of Pathlia and third daughter of Jathind Blackmane. I hail from the forest of the Dragon’s Back in Devenmere to the north.” She smiles and nods.

“Ranger! Well, lassie. You’ve come to the right place!” Piskeq slaps her on the rump again and walks over to the target. “Here’s how our little platform works, deary. We all stand over there and discuss the next shot and the conditions. Each person ups the ante of the difficulty. Then, when no one wants to challenge, they take the shot. If they hit it, that’s 10,000 gps. Hahahahahahahahahaah. Kidding, deary. If they hit it, they get 5 points. If they miss, they lose 2 points. After 5 rounds, the person with the most points wins and they can dip one arrow in the well of Eldir.” Piskeq points to a basin of glowing light on the corner of the platform. 

“What does that do?” Theophania looks derisively at Piskeq. 

“That, my dear lady, imbues the arrow with magic! But, trust me, it’s not easy to win! Because ties are not allowed! If the 5 rounds ends in a tie, we have to start over.” Piskeq laughs a groggy, throaty laugh.

“How many of you have one today?” Theophania looks around curiously.

“Just me.” Domrold holds up an arrow. Theophania takes the arrow from him and inspects it.

[Theophania makes an Arcana check with advantage] Rolls 18

“Wow. This arrow is magically enhanced to strike better and do more damage!” The group nods at her. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Let’s make the first shot easy. I can hit a standard bullseye.” Piskeq folds his arms.

“I can hit a bullseye that is half size.” Domrold rebuts, arms folded.

“I can hit a half-sized bullseye that is moving, the whole target.” Rogdul smirks and folds his arms.

“I can hit a quarter-sized bullseye that is moving around the target's face, clockwise, while the whole target is moving!” Nuski smiles and hisses, her tongue flitting out quickly. Theophania thinks she has the hang of it.

“I will hit a single dot, the size of a ladybug, with no target, moving in a random pattern.” Theophania smiles. The others gasp and look over at the target, which has been responding to each of their challenges to see a small red dot buzzing in a random pattern all over the target area. They all unfold their arms, bow, and step back. Theophania draws her bow, notches an arrow, follows the dot for a few seconds and fires.

[Theophania rolls a longbow attack DC20] Rolls 22

The arrow flies across the platform and strikes the dot, dead center, causing the dot and the arrow to vanish. Theophania finds the arrow in her hand again.

“Five points!! Incredible!” Piskeq moves next to Theophania and puts his hand on her front leg and pats it gently.

“Piskeq, I just hit a randomly moving dot at 50 paces with an arrow. I also have shortswords.” Theophania increases the derision in her face and stares.

[Theophania makes an Intimidation check versus Piskeqs Insight check] Rolls 3 versus 0 (1 - 1). 

Piskeq quickly removes his hand and moves to the back of the group, his face slightly purple. 

[Theophania rolls five ranged attacks versus DC20] Rolls 27 (crit), 19, 20, 20, and 16 (3 successes, 2 failures)

Theophania continues the archery competition with the six others for quite a while and eventually wins. More importantly, she enjoys the non-stop banter, conversation, carousing, and, eventually, warms up to Piskeq who doesn’t touch her again but pays her a lot of compliments. As she is preparing to leave, Piskeq tugs her tail and smiles. 

“I have a gift for ye, my lady.” He hands her a very fine leather saddle bag. She smiles and places it across her back and secures it with the two leather buckles underneath.

“Thank you, Piskeq.” She leans down and gives the goblin a kiss on the top of his head. He squeals and does a little dance while making his way back to the other archers.

[Theophania receives an Arrow +1, Saddlebags, and 200 xp]

Alone, Piece continues to follow the path around the tiers and sees what looks like a small library with a writing desk on one of them very close to the base of the large white crystal.  They saunter down to the platform and look around. There doesn’t appear to be anyone else on this platform. Two of the edges are bookshelves packed with books. The writing desk faces the white crystal and has stacks of parchment, quills, and ink. On the other side of the writing desk is a large circle filled with sigils and markings.

[Piece makes an Arcana check] Rolls 8

The circle looks like something magical but Piece is unsure of what it is. Piece sits at the desk, pulls a piece of parchment towards them, and picks up a quill. They again look at the circle and their quill nib falls to the paper accidentally. With a flourish, the quill seems to move rapidly around the paper and reproduces the symbols on the floor perfectly. 

[Piece makes a Wisdom check DC10] Rolls 12 

Piece pulls over another piece of parchment. With the nib just above the paper, they think about the fight with the kobolds, the device, the explosions, and the dragon. They finally form a clear first thought and place the nib to the paper. Instantly, a full verbose version of the events in the tunnel fills the page and a second page slides over from the stack and is filled just as quickly. The parchment pieces continue sliding over until eight of them are filled with writing. Piece puts the quill down and reads through the eight pages swiftly. The style and language of the prose is exactly as they would have done it. There are no errors. No mark throughs. No corrections. 

[Piece makes an Perception check] Rolls 20 

They put down the pages and go to the bookshelf. None of the books have titles as the spines are blank. They select a fine book with pale green soft leather and pull it from the shelf. They open it and, at once, the pages from the desk fly over and embed themselves into the book as if they were printed there. 

[Piece makes an Intelligence check] Rolls 6

Piece scratches their head then returns to the table with the book. They open their bag and remove all of the loose pieces of parchment and place them on the desk. They pull out Poets of Southern Angedrian, Poetry of Nature (by Pebble on the Grass), History of Angedrian, and their own journal of writings, poems and thoughts. Piece picks up the light green leather bound book and opens it. All of the pages of parchment with their notes fly up off the desk and into the journal. All four books float into the air swiftly and dive down into the book, which closes and lays on the desk. In gold foil writing on the cover of the light green journal, it now says, ‘Piece of the Puzzle’s Book of Books.’ They open the book and see a page labeled, ‘Piece’s notes’. They flip the page and see the cover of History of Angedrian. They flip the page again and see Poetry by Nature. Piece turns their head slightly left and right then touches the cover of the poetry book. 

[Piece makes a Wisdom check] Rolls 21

Their finger slides over the cover and the book vibrates a bit. They open it and now see the pages of Poetry by Nature in its entirety. They drop the book, it closes, and reverts back to the light green version. They open it again, flip to the cover of Poets of Southern Angedrian, run their finger down the page, and the book vibrates and becomes the poetry book. Piece squeals with glee. They spend a moment thinking about all they have written to date since their arrival on Angedrian and all the experiences of their childhood not yet written. They begin pulling parchment over in front of them, forming very clear thoughts about an event or idea, and touching the nib to the page. Parchment flies over until it's finished. Piece opens the Book of Books and the pages fly inside and imbed themselves. They clap their paws together and laugh. They continue recounting the events of their life, their experience, their thoughts, their hopes, and their dreams for a very long time.

[Piece acquires a Book of Books]

Umgurn eventually smiles to himself and stands up as well. He sees Malege is closest and walks over to join him. Malege is on a platform many steps down, observing a large sphere which appears to be made of fire. Malege is touching the sphere and the flames inside appear to be drawn to his hands. 

“Learning anything new, Malege?” Malege jumps, startled by Umgurn’s voice, and smirks.

“Not really. But this sphere seems to respond to my genasi nature. I can control and manipulate the flames inside the sphere in any way that I like.” As he says this, the flames for a perfectly smooth cube then fold inward and outward to form a ring of fire made up of tetrahedrons.  “It makes me feel more powerful but it also calms me.” Malege removes his hands and joins Umgurn on the steps heading up. 

Coming down the stairs towards them are four drow, led by a fifth female drow wearing a long dark purple dress covered by a black leather tunic. Her hair is up high on the top of her head in a tight bun. 

“Vendui', vlos og'elend. Usstan zhahus della nindel dos ssinssrinil ulu telanth xuil udossa.” [Greetings, blood traitor. I was told that you wanted to speak with us.] The female drow places her hands on her hips and cocks her head to the side. Umgurn speaks in Common to include Malege in the exchange.

“I am Umgurn Luthra, hailing from Xal'zil, a paladin of Elisatraee, our lady of the moon.” He extends his left hand with his index and ring finger bent in, palm up. The female drow smirks then extends her left hand, index and ring finger bent, palm down. Their hands join, their fingers close, and they gently shake.

“I am Raurina Maeth of Ullmlona, a warlock, blessed is my patron.” She releases his hand and her look of derision returns.

“You have, no doubt, seen the large tunnel north of here and possibly the tunneling device.” Umgurn folds his arms in front of him.

“That. Yes. I am aware of it. It would be impossible to not know about it.” She smiles nonchalantly.

“Why are a horde of goblins with a dragon attended by kobolds burrowing through the Underdark?” Umgurns voice is firm and authoritative, causing the drow to stand up a bit straighter.

“All that I know of… but keep in mind, I’m not in charge… All I know is they are looking for some metals and got permission to mine in the Underdark. I am sure there was some payment.” She looks off to the left, somewhat bored with the discussion.

“What if I told you that I think that they were not mining for metals but were digging a tunnel from Santernafulse to invade Pathlia from below.” He adjusts his arms and looks more sternly at her.

“And why would drow be concerned with surface dwellers and their… disagreements?” She looks directly at Umgurn and smiles darkly.

“Usstan tlun ilythiiri. Usstan zhaun vel'bol udossta lodias lac phor jal dkinoss. L'ndeir abban.” [I am drow. I know what our people seek above all else. The final ally]. Malege looks curiously at Umgurn and his sudden switch to Undercommon. 

“The Final Ally… Yes… It’s an outdated concept. The future of the drow is the drow. We don’t need ANY surface dwellers.” She looks sternly at Umgurn and refolds her arms tightly. 

“Good. Then, if that tunneling team is, in fact, digging a tunnel for Santernfulse to invade Pathilia, would you want them to succeed? Or would you want the drow to prevent such an incursion on our land?” Umgurn pauses and she chews on her lip for a moment. “We destroyed the tunneling device and its crew.” 

“Then the problem is solved.” She adjusts her arms, refolding them one over another and stands up a bit more attentive.

“No. We destroyed the device and its crew but the tunnel goes back to its origin. We need to close it. But we need to preserve the integrity of the Underdark. The tunneling has driven Underdark creatures to the surface. We need to return to the surface and close those eruptions. But the tunnel needs to be collapsed carefully down here. Especially the distant sections. Can you help us?” Umgurn remains stern.

[Umgurn makes an Intimidation check and a Persuasion check versus the drow’s Wisdom Saving Throw] Rolls 13 and 13 versus 19 and 7.

The female drow stands up a bit taller and rears her shoulders back a bit. 

“I am not afraid of you, Blood Traitor. But I do see the logic of your plan. We are 5 of a group of 20 drow who live in Ullmlona, south of the tunnel digging invaders. Ullmlona is, as far as we know, the only drow city that has been affected by the tunneling. We stopped them when they first came into the tunnels near Ullmlona. They showed us some mining contracts–in Draconic–that seemed legitimate. But, none of us actually speak Draconic.” Malege steps forward and awkwardly pulls the three Hook Horror eggs from his bag and places them at the feet of the female drow. She smiles devilishly for the briefest instant and then releases a long, slow sigh. 

“What do you want us to do?”

Malege smiles up at Umgurn who gives him a “That was not necessary but thank you” look. Umgurn moves them all back to the top, finds Kace, and motions him to join them. Kace and Umgurn spend the better part of an hour going through the maps and the tunnel route, cross referencing the eruptions. The drow listens carefully and makes additional notes on Kace’s map. Umgurn is finally satisfied with the plan to close the tunnel from below and the eruptions above. The drow confirm they have access to dynamite in sufficient quantity to blow the tunnel. Umgurn shakes the hands of the drow and makes a plan to meet up with them at the base of the last eruption to confirm the job is done.

[Umgurn and Malege receive 150 xp]

The party, having enjoyed the fruits of the temple, eventually gather at the archway entrance. They feel well rested and full. Ennelsia appears and meets them.

“I hope you have enjoyed your time in the Hall of Narvandor. You are welcome to return anytime.” 

“Ennelsia, where do the other archways go?” Malege points at a few of them.

“Ah, yes. That is a fascinating question with an even more fascinating answer, little one. I noticed your bugbear friend studying them. This temple is at a crossroads. You may have heard of the City of Sigil? This temple is not unlike the city of Sigil though they have no relationship. If you were to go through any of the other archways, you would be in a completely different world, not Angedrian. We have several elders here who have explored each of the doors. I, myself, have been through a few of them.” Ennelsia smiles and pulls a small scroll from inside her robe. “You are an inquisitive one, Malege. This is a short scroll that summarizes the destinations of those portals. I think you will find it most interesting.” With that, she turns and walks back into the temple. Malege opens the scroll immediately and reds through the colors of the portals, the names, and the brief descriptions. 

[Malege makes an Intelligence check and a History check] Rolls 12 and 17

  “I have never heard of any of these except for the Feywild and the Shadowfell. Piece, we will need to hit the library again and maybe the OTHER library when we get back to Pathilia.”

“We will need to exit the temple and head as quickly as possible back to the eruption and to the surface. From the surface, we will move to each eruption and close them from above. The drow will close off the sections of the tunnel they can from below. They will meet us at the last eruption in five days. Hopefully, they can tell us that the tunnel is closed.” Umgurn sighs and looks out of the archway.

“Umgurn, what will keep the goblins from just making another drilling machine and coming back?” Malege stares up at the paladin.

“I have much to tell you about the tunnel. Perhaps, in that knowledge, a permanent solution can be found.” Enacell quickly recounts her visions from the tree and the red poisonous scar that ends in the mountains. Umgurn pulls out a map and looks at it carefully conferring with Enacelle.

“It may not be clear from this map, but Santernafulse is physically connected to Pathilus across the southern polar cap. The cap itself is almost entirely impassable, frozen mountains. But, before the Arms of the Dragon, there are the Taigal Wastes. It’s an uninhabited… dare I say uninhabitable stretch of polar desert. I do not think they would have tunneled across that expanse. But here, Enacelle. Where you have indicated. This is in the high mountains above the frozen southern expanse of the East Mornwood. Those forests are home to deadly creatures of frost and ice that rarely venture into the warmth above. If the forces of Santernafulse found a way to breach these woods into the mountains, no one would have seen them. We must get this information to the King.”

Raurina explained, before the party departed the temple, that the Underdark west of Ullloma was mostly empty because of the temple and fear of retribution for the temple elders for causing trouble. The three drow they had run into were Raurina’s people and would speak to them and the rest of her clan when they returned to Ullmlona so that the party could pass quickly back to the eruption without interference from drow. She could not prevent any other creatures of the Underdark from bothering them.

Umgurn leads the party back to the eruption as quickly as he can, which is still a three hour journey.

[The party (Ka, En, Ma, Fo, Um, Th, Pi)  makes stealth checks] Roll 12, 13, 13, 26, 10, 18, 10

Having come this way before and now having their sense of what they need to see and navigate, the party remains very silent and moves swiftly. Fodinis is so silent and quick that Umgurn cannot keep track of him. He appears every half hour or so next to Umgurn and tells him about the tunnel ahead, but nothing important is seen. After three hours, they find themselves at the site of the first eruption. Umgurn nods to everyone in satisfaction and they begin the many mile climb up the shaft to the surface. When they are halfway up the eruption tunnel, Malege, following close to Umgurn, tugs on his pants leg and whispers quietly.

“Umgurn, these eruptions are quite long. What could make an underdark creature burrow so much?” Umgurn looks back at the fire genasi whose head flickers with a bright glow for Enacelle and Theophania to follow.

[Umgurn makes a Nature check with advantage (familiarity with Underdark)] Rolls 16 (7)

“I don’t think it’s many different creatures of the Underdark, Malege. I think it is only the Kruthik and possible Bullettes that have dug these tunnels. Those creatures have an incredibly sensitive organ for tremors in the earth. That tunneling device was cutting through rock and stone. I am sure it was driving them crazy and causing them stress. The other creatures likely just followed the tunnels up as an easy escape from the tunneling noise and got lost and confused on the surface.” Umgurn smiles at the little genasi as they continue climbing. After a long while, the party emerges from the eruption into the failing light of early evening. Umgurn relates to the group that they have been down in the Underdark for at least several days. 

“The poor horses!” Theophania bolts towards the camp with Enacelle following closely behind. By the time the rest of the party arrives at the wagon and cart, Theophania has fed and water the horses and Enacelle is casting spells on them while rubbing them down with a coarse brush. Theophania gives Umgurn a positive look and nods to suggest that the horses were okay. Malege begins heating up the remaining dragon meat and adding some vegetables to a pot of salted water to make a stew. 

[Malege uses 10 pounds of cooked dragon meat]

The rest of the party take some time to unpack all of their gear, check it, repack items in the wagon and cart, and then settle in for a meal and some sleep.

As isvara rises, the party awakens to a peaceful night of sleep. They gather for breakfast and Malege explains what he thinks they should do for each of the 6 eruptions.

“We have 10 sticks of dynamite remaining which means 2 per eruption except for the last one. The drow should have sufficient dynamite to close that one. The dirt and soil towards the last mile of the eruption tunnel is loose and soft, unlike the dense stone below. If we place one stick of dynamite a few hundred feet down and a second stick halfway to the top, that should collapse all of the dirt and rocks on this end. The drow can seal the other ends with several sticks about 100 feet up. The middle part should just seal over time with settling of the ground. But, once we collapse the tunnels, we have to seal the eruption here as best we can. Enacelle, do you think you can find some bears and have them help you move two dozen large boulders here so we can drop them in the eruption.” Malege pauses and looks at Enacelle who smiles. She transforms into a large brown bear, waves, and vanishes into the woods.

“Right. Let’s do it!” Within an hour, the charges are set and Malege ignites them. The explosions are muffled by the hundreds of tons of earth above them but the party feels the ground shift and settle. Malege looks down into the eruption and, as expected, the tunnel is closed about 100 feet down. Four brown bears rolling boulders in front of them appear from the woods and begin pushing the boulders into the hole. After three rounds, the last boulder sticks partially out of the ground. Enacelle runs back into the woods with the bears and then returns a few minutes later, back to herself. 

“That’s one done!” Malege seems very proud that his plan has worked so well and beams. Umgurn gives him a brief hug and nods. 

“It is about a half-day’s journey to the next eruption. Let’s get moving.”

[Each party member receives 25 xp]

The next four days find the party repeating this process for each eruption with little difficulty. The only challenging site is the one deep in the cave but the dynamite causes the cave to shatter and the hole collapses and fills with stone, removing the need for the bears. 

[Each party member receives 100xp]

On the morning of the fifth day, the party approaches the last eruption which is the one south of the road and on the edge of East Mornwood. Enacelle is happy to see one of her favorite forests up close again. A herd of deer running along the clearing next to the forest makes Theophania smile and sigh. They find the eruption easily, just where it was marked by Enacelle and Theophania.

[The party (Ka, En, Ma, Fo, Um, Th, Po) make Perception checks] Roll 8, 13, 9, 6, 14, 6, 20

As they approach the eruption, Enacelle and Umgurn get a faint scent they cannot quite place which is present for a moment and then seems to pass. Piece stops short of the eruption and motions for the party to be quiet and hold. They creep closely to the eruption and peer over the edge. Nothing is visible but a very strong and peculiar smell emanates from the hole. Piece returns to the party.

“I don’t know what it is but there is a very strong and strange smell down there. Enacelle, any easy way to scout this quietly?” They mimic Enacelle growing horns or shrinking. Enacelle chuckles.

“I have just the thing.” She shrinks quickly to a small cave badger, nips Piece’s boot as she walks by, and disappears down the hole.

[Enacelle makes a Perception check (Advantage for smells)] Rolls 24 (12)

Inside the hole and barrelling down the existing tunnel, Enacelle smells the odor very easily and knows that it is a mixture of blood, filth, and gore. The smell is faint but she is sure something has been slaughtered far below. After traveling for half an hour, she picks up the smell of kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins that she recognizes from their previous encounter, though these do not smell as crispy. There is another smell that she cannot place, something acrid and bitter. She pauses, turns around, and bolts back to the surface. As she emerges from the eruptions, she transforms back into herself. 

“It’s more of them, Umgurn. Definitely kobolds, goblins, and hobgoblins. And something else. I am worried your drow friends may be in trouble.” Enacelle pauses and looks back at the hole.

“Secure everything here you don’t need for a battle. Travel as lightly as you can. Malege, alarm the wagons and cart and horses. Hide them at the edge of the forest. We must hurry down to meet this foe before it’s too late.” The party scrambles quickly to secure everything they can and Malege performs the rituals to alarm the goods and horses with a loud whooping alarm that also emanates the scent of wolves. Once he’s done, he turns towards the eruption and the rest of the party waits, looking down into the hole.

Less than an hour later, the party has reached the bottom of the eruption as the Underdark, so close to the mountains, is closer to the surface. Unlike the other eruptions where the tunnel leading up joined directly with the burrowed tunnel of the invaders, this eruption base appears to be level to but adjacent to the tunnel with a few twisted walls, blocking the direct view of the invaders tunnel. At the foot of the eruption tunnel, they see the body of a drow which has been stripped of flesh and disemboweled. Enacelle looks at everyone and motions her claw to her mouth and chewing: They ate this one. The party shutters and Umgurn stoops down to look at the body. It is a male drow. He sighs and stands. 

[The party (Ka, En, Ma, Fo, Um, Th, Pi) makes Perception checks] Roll 8, 26 (crit), 6, 7, 14, 8, 9.

Enacelle jerks her head quickly and leans very close to everyone so that their heads are as close as possible.

“They are just outside of this alcove. I can hear them breathing and the clink of their armor is echoing slightly.  If they knew we were here, we would be dead already. I am going to transform into a spider and go take a look.” Everyone nods and she shrinks quickly to a small brown spider and vanishes over some rocks. The party stands perfectly still and waits with growing apprehension. After less than half an hour, Enacelle rises from the floor where she stood before and sighs. 

“It’s not good. To the right, there are two kobolds, two goblins, and a hobgoblin. They are next to four drow who appear to be unconscious. To the left, there is another hobgoblin, two of those armored kobolds, and…. a dragon.” The party seems to clench their teeth and suck in their breath all at once. “It’s just a wyrmling but it’s black. There is no device that I can see. I think this is just a patrol. Thoughts?”

[The party (Ka, En, Ma, Fo, Um, Th, Pi) make Intelligence checks] Roll 5, 11, 7, 4, 2, 19, 7.

The party seems perplexed out of fear or uncertainty or both except for Theophania who looks up from the clustered heads of her party, smirks, and puts her head back down. 

“We will only get one chance to surprise them when we emerge and will need to do something that disables them or kills them immediately. Enacelle, can you cast an entangle or similar spell?”

“I can cast a spell that will entrap their feet in thorns, make it difficult for them to move, and hurt them.”

“Perfect. Our unconscious drow friends should be okay if they don’t move. Malege, I hate to ask this of you but I think you need to throw one of your fireballs at the dragon.” Theophania looks at Malege with concern.

“How big is this tunnel, Enacelle.” Malege seems to be calculating in his mind.

“It is much the same as before. It's a 20 foot diameter tunnel.” She smiles, assuming the information will please Malege.

“Damn.” Kace looks at Malege with concern and Fodinis grabs his shoulder and stares. “When I throw it, I will have to get it at least 60 feet down the tunnel before it explodes. Otherwise, the flashback will fill the tunnel… and this space.” Malege sighs.

“Then you’ll just have to throw accurately.” Piece pats the genasi on the shoulder and smiles.

“Okay. Then what?” Malege seems encouraged.

“Then we charge them and attack.” Theophania stands tall and looks sternly at the small exit for the eruption cavity.

The party arranges themselves in the small space as quietly as possible so that Enacelle and Malege are just inside the entrance. Because she has already seen the tunnel, Enacelle does not need to step into the tunnel to cast her spell. But, Malege must move far enough in to make his throw. Kace stands directly behind him to pull him back from an attack. Enacelle and Malege look at each other one last time and then Enacelle begins casting. 

[Enacelle casts Spike Growth]

Within seconds, the spiked growth springs up around the kobolds and the goblin but, as they are not moving, they do not yet notice. Malege pokes his head and arm out of the tunnel enough to see and hurls the bead of fireball.

[Malege makes a ranged attack, targeting a point 60 feet from his location] Rolls 17

The bauble sails through the air, past the hobgoblin and kobolds who are speaking with the dragon, over the back of the dragon, and strikes its mark 60 feet from Malege. Kace snatches Malege back into the tunnel. The fireball explodes.

[Creatures make Dex Saving throw] Damage 28 damage; 6, 12, 6, 21 (3 fails, 1 save) 

The burst of flames illuminates the tunnel to the left and the creatures on the right scream and back up  five feet causing the thorny terrain to tear at them.

[Spike growth damage] Rolls 5.

[Everyone rolls for Initiative]

[Enacelle moves into the tunnel, casts produce flame, makes a ranged attack against goblin B] Rolls 15 versus AC15 for a hit for 3 damage.

Enacelle rushes into the tunnel, facing right and hurls a ball of flame at the goblin standing within her thorny growth next to the two dead kobolds. The ball of flame strikes it in the face and it falls. Beyond it, the hobgoblin and goblin scream.

[Fodinis moves 30 feet into tunnel, makes two dagger attacks at Black Dragon Wyrmling, assassinate (sneak, surprise, critical)] Rolls 11 and 11

Fodinis charges into the tunnel, turns left, and hurls both of his daggers directly at the black reptile which ducks and weaves, sending the daggers clattering behind it.

[Piece moves 30 feet into tunnel, makes a thrown spear attack against Kobold Dragonshield B] Rolls 13 for a miss

Piece follows Fodinis and, as they turn the corner, hurls their spear directly at the armored kobold closest to the left but it deflects the spear with its shield, clattering to the ground.

[Theophania moves 30 feet into tunnel, casts Hail of Thorns, attacks Black Dragon Wyrlmling with longbow, horde breaker on Kobold Dragonshield] Rolls 22 for 5 damage and 5 Hail of Thorns damage, Horde breaker rolls 10 for a miss

Theophania gallops into the tunnel and turns left, murmuring arcane words that cause her arrow to illuminate with small green thorns, and fires an arrow at the dragon, striking it in the shoulder. The arrow explodes in a rain of magical thorns that tear into the dragon and the armored Kobolds. She notches another arrow at the closest kobold but the arrow goes wild and shatters against the tunnel wall.

[Hobgoblin B moves into Spiked Growth, makes a longbow attack at Piece] Takes 10 damage, Rolls 4 (1).

The hobgoblin that was guarding the drow charges towards the party and right through the spiked growth which tears into the flesh of its legs. Screaming in pain, it attempts to fire its longbow at Piece but shoots the arrow into the ceiling, unable to concentrate from the profuse bleeding.

[Malege moves 20 feet into the tunnel, faces right, creates Eldritch Cannon: Flamethrower, bonus action fires at Hobgolbin B] Rolls 9 damage, Hobgoblin B rolls 18 Dex saving throw versus 14, saves, takes 4 damage.

Malege enters the tunnel and faces the hobgoblin. He conjures a small cannon-like device that has four legs and points at the hobgoblin. He activates the cannon  and a cone of fire erupts around the hobgoblin, killing him instantly.

[Kobold Dragonshield A moves into melee with Fodinis, makes two spear attacks with advantage (pack tactics)] Rolls 19 and 20 for two hits doing 6 damage.

The armored kobold charges towards Fodinis and stabs at him viciously with his spear striking him in the chest and arm.

[Kobold Dragonshield B moves into melee with Theophania, makes two spear attacks with advantage (pack tactics)] Rolls 20 and 18  for two hits doing 7 damage.

The armored kobold charges towards Theophania and stabs at her rapidly with his spear, piercing her stomach and shoulder

[Goblin A attacks with shortbow at Malege] Rolls 21 for a hit for 3 damage

The goblin guarding the drow notches an arrow in his shortbow and fires an arrow at Malege in response to his flaming cannon, striking him in the shoulder.

[Black Dragon Wyrmling flies 40 feet, lands inside tunnel, bite attacks Kace] Rolls 22 for 9 piercing and 2 acid damage

The black dragon takes flight over the party and lands in the entrance to the eruption tunnel. Kace is standing there and the dragon snaps at him with a nasty acid bite, crunching into his forearm.

[Umgurn moves into melee with Black Dragon Wyrmling, makes two scimitar attacks] Rolls 23 for 8 damage and 13 for a miss

Umgurn dashes around the corner, face to face with the black dragon, and slashes it across the face with his scimitar on a downswing then brings it up but its second swipe clatters across the beast’s teeth.

[Kace manifests an Echo next to the Dragon, takes Action Surge, Unleashes Manifestation twice, doing 4 unarmed punches to Black Dragon Wyrmling] Rolls 26 (crit) for 10 damage and 26 (crit) for 9 damage.

Kace, enraged by the appearance of the black dragon before him, bumps his fists together,  throws back his shoulders in a roar, passes his claws across his palms, and then prepares to unleash four punches. The first punch strikes the dragon in the throat with a crunch, sending it falling to the tunnel floor. Kace charges passed the falling dragon to the armored Kobold for a second punch.

[Enacelle moves 10 feet closer to Goblin A, casts produce flame, makes ranged attack] Rolls 14 for a miss

Enacelle moves closer to the goblin with the shortbow and hurls a ball of flame at it but the creature dodges to the left and the ball explodes harmlessly on the tunnel wall.

[Fodinis attacks Kobold Dragonshield A with two shortsword attacks] Rolls 15 for 8 damage and 17 for 7 damage.

Fodinis’ shortswords slash at the armored kobold in front of him, gashes the creature's throat in both directions and sends its head flying backward down the tunnel.

[Piece makes a dart attack at Kobold Dragonshield] Rolls 12 for a miss

Piece hurls a dart at the kobold in front of Theophania but it plinks off the creature's shield. 

[Theophania makes two shortsword attacks on Kobold Dragonshield B] Rolls 12 for a miss and 16 for a hit for 4 damage.

Theophania, angered by the stab to her shoulder, slashes the kobold with her shortswords, the second swipe cutting it across the chest and causing it to collapse.

[Malege casts firebolt at Goblin A] Rolls 7 for a miss

Malege launches a blast of fire from his hand at the last enemy standing but it deflects off his shoulder harness harmlessly

[Goblin A attacks with shortbow at Malege] Rolls 10 for a miss 

The goblin dodges the firebolt from Malege and launches an arrow which goes wide and sinks into the tunnel wall.

[Umgurn moves 30 feet into the tunnel, attacks with hand crossbow (disadvantage, distance) at Goblin A] Rolls 14 (23) for a miss

Umgurn dashes into the tunnel and turns to fire at the last creature but the distance is too great and his shot misses wide to the right.

[Kace moves his Echo to next to Goblin A, Bonus Action teleports, attacks with unarmed strike] Rolls 20 for 8 damage

Kace’s Echo slides across the spiked growth terrain to appear next to the goblin who stares at it with curiosity and fear. Kace suddenly teleports from the other side and delivers a lethal blow to the goblin’s neck, killing it instantly. 

[Each party member receives 200 XP]