S1: E16: Stoney cave, dark wizard, and... a dragon!

Having found Hespa and it's great mysterious tree, the party maps the ruins only to find a large gaping hole below the tree...

Transcript

Episode 16: Stoney cave, dark wizard, and… a dragon?

As Malege looks down from the hole in the ceiling, ready to descend, the cavern grows bright with light, illuminating the stone below him. After a few seconds, Theophania pokes it with her sword and some sort of tentacled beak emerges. Malege draws his short sword.

[Malege Attacks Grick A with shortsword (Advantage, Autocritical, Double bonus for weight addition to damage)] Rolls 22 versus AC14 for a hit for 17 damage

Malege falls from the hole in the ceiling with his shortsword extending directly towards the creature’s head, stabbing it deep in the back behind its tentacles. It squawks and writhes with pain. The party hears three more loud squawking shrieks, one from where Piece went up and two more behind them.

[Malege makes a Dex Saving Throw, DC15] Rolls 21, takes 2 damage

As his sword buries itself in the creature’s thick neck, the beast unfurls its full long slender body and thrashes, sending Malege flying towards the cave wall where he lands on his feet but slams against the wall, breaking loose several large chunks of stone. His sword is still stuck in the creature.

Piece starts to descend from the hole as it illuminates with a bright light. They can clearly see the stone below them and Umgurn and Kace nearby staring at it. They pause for a moment and then hear a horrid squawking from further ahead in the cave. The stone below them begins to writhe. 

 [Piece Attacks Grick B with spear, two handed (Advantage, Autocritical, Double bonus for weight addition to damage)] Rolls 26 versus AC14 for a hit for 17 damage.

Piece, clutching their spear with both hands and putting their full weight into the drop, brings their spear down into the writhing stone, stabbing it through its body. Piece lands gracefully behind it. The beast unfurls its full body quickly, snatching the spear from Piece’s grasp and letting out a horrific shriek. 

[Everyone rolls for Initiative]

[Malege holds Action, moves to at least 10 feet away from the creature]

Malege, a bit stunned from the slam against the wall, takes advantage of being out of the beast’s way and moves further back. He decides to wait and see how this unfolds before he acts as he is unclear what these are.

[Grick A attacks Theophania with Tentacles and Beak] Rolls 16 versus AC17 for a miss.

The rock mimic beast lashes out at Theophania’s legs with its four frightening tentacles but they make contact with the ground as it is distracted by the sword in its neck.

[Grick B Attacks Kace with Tentacles and Beak] Rolls 20 versus AC19 for a hit for 11 damage; Rolls 5(crit) for a miss 

The beast with Piece’s spear in its neck lashes out at Kace with its tentacles and slashes him across the legs. It lunges with its beak but, instead, finds its own tentacle in its mouth.

[Fodinis moves to Grick C, attacks with two shortswords (assassinate, surprise, sneak), dashes to Grick D] Rolls 26 versus AC14 (crit) for 14 damage, 16 surprise attack damage, and 15 sneak attack damage

Fodinis, hearing the creature behind them, rushes the stone beast and slashes with his shortsword, decapitating the beast in a single swipe. As its head hits the ground, Fodinis rushes to the other beast behind the party. 

[Grick D attacks Fodinis with tentacles and beak] Rolls 11 for a miss.

As Fodinis rushes it, the last creature lurches towards him with its four flailing arms but Fodinis blocks with his shortswords already up. 

[Kace manifests echo behind Grick B, attacks Grick B with Spear, two-handed, Unleashes Echo] Rolls 24 versus AC14 for a hit for 7 damage; Rolls 26 for 10 damage. 

Kace bumps his fists together and a gray misty version of himself appears behind the creature. He then lunges at the beast with his own spear, grazing its tentacles but cutting deeply into its sides. His echo punches the beast on the opposite side and it shrieks and goes limp.

[Enacelle moves to Grick A, attacks with scimitar, casts Healing Word on Kace] Rolls 25 for 7 damage; Rolls 8 healing.

Enacelle charges towards the beast that attacked Theophania and slashes it with her crystal scimitar, slicing off a tentacle. She murmurs several words and Kace is infused with healing energy. 

[Umgurn moves to within 20 feet of the remaining Gricks, attacks Grick A with a handbow] Rolls 15 versus AC14 for a hit for 6 damage.

Umgurn moves between the last two beasts engaged with the party and fires a bolt at the creature with Malege’s shortsword stuck in its neck, smashing into the mouth through the beak and dropping it instantly.

[Malege casts Firebolt at Grick D] Rolls 17 versus AC14 for a hit for 4 damage.

Seeing the other three beasts succumb quickly to his party’s attacks, Malege launches a blast of fire at the creature facing Fodinis and chars part of its tentacle. He then readies his shortbow.

[Theophania moves into melee with Grick D, makes two short sword attacks] Rolls 21 for 8 damage and 17 for 5 damage. 

With only one beast remaining, Theophania charges forward and slashes with both of her shortswords, smashing the beast in the beak and tentacles.

[Piece moves 30 feet towards Grick D, casts Sacred Flame] Rolls 4 damage, Grick rolls 20 versus DC14 Dex save

Piece rushes towards the last beast, stops, and casts down a radiant beam of flame but the undulating stoney reptile slithers out of the way.

[Malege casts Firebolt at Grick D] Rolls 23 versus AC14 for a hit for 8 damage.

Malege launches a second blast of fire at the creature facing Fodinis and chars most of its tentacles and beak.

 [Fodinis attacks Grick D with two shortswords] Rolls 24 versus AC14 for a hit for 8 regular damage and 8 sneak attack damage.

The creature, distracted by the double blast of flames, does not see Fodinis shortsword come down on its face, slicing it cleanly in half. The beast collapses. 

[The party receives 300 xp each]

[Fodinis has achieved Level 5]

[Kace has achieved Level 5]

[Enacelle makes a Nature check assisted by Theophania] Rolls 19

“These nasty little Underdark stoney snakes are called Gricks. If these creatures were trapped elsewhere and placed here, I would not be surprised.” She starts inspecting their skin and tentacles.

“We found eggs.” Malege pulls them from his bag as does Piece and places them on the ground. Theophania looks at one carefully as does Umgurn.

“I knew a drow mage that was breeding these and using them to guard sections of the Underdark that she didn’t want others to explore. It was a nasty business. She would harvest the eggs from the Grick cave she kept, feed them to capture humanoids of any type–or drow she didn’t like. She had a few scars from attacks. But that was more than 50 isvara ago and far from here.” Umgurn returns the egg and begins searching the cavern in more detail.

“Wait… we missed a hole!” Malege scrambles with help of Theophania to the last hole where one of the Gricks was resting and climbs inside. After many minutes, he pokes his head out. “Clear out of the way.” The party hears a very loud boom echo from Malege location. A few items drop here and there and then a bolus of junk emerges and lands on the floor. He pokes his head back out and smiles. 

“No eggs but I guess this was their nest of stuff?” He drops down into Theophania’s arms and lands on the ground. Enacelle has managed to collect 13 intact tentacles and skin all four Gricks. She places the materials inside Malege’s Chest of Preserving. The rest of the party poke through the debris. The bulk of it is small animal bones but several larger skulls are present and some other bone fragments.

[Theophania and Enacelle make Medicine Checks] Roll 13 and 13

“Although there is significant damage, it is clear that at least 4 kobolds, 2 goblins, and a hobgoblin were the victims of these creatures.” Enacelle begins arranging all of the bones into piles. Umgurn sighs, knowing there is no sense in arguing, and nods to the party.

“Or someone fed them to the Gricks?” Malege nods his head as he looks at the party.

“Maybe. Those that need a short rest, please take one. Malege and Kace, here.” Umgurn lays his hands on them and heals them back to full health. Piece and Theophania assist Enacelle while Malege builds a small fire near the entrance. Fodinis and Kace gather up the Grick carcasses and lay them next to the bone work. 

“Enacelle, we can’t bury anything in here. It’s a solid stone cave.” Theophania continues to gently sort bones.

“She is right, our friend. What is your plan?” Piece smiles and pats the lizard folk on the shoulder. 

“The soil is important or the fire. I don’t think a large fire here is advisable.” She opens her bag and pulls out many feet of oil cloth, unspooling it from a bolt she stuck in her back. With her scimitar, she cuts large squares and then many strips. 

“Let’s put all of the animal bones together on this one. Then each skull in one cloth with as many appropriate bones as we can match.” After half an hour, all of the bones are accounted for on a cloth with flowers, herbs, and shiny stones. Enacelle begins folding the cloth into a tight packet which she secures with the strips. She places the 8 packets inside her bag then looks up with a smile. Piece smiles back and then looks down at the remaining debris. They extend their claws on one paw and filter through the dust and trash for several minutes then look up.

“Well, these poor fellows didn’t die destitute.” She shows them a pile of coins and small gems.

[Piece receives 34 sp, 25 cp, a small hematite (10 gp), 2 small tiger eye (10 gp ea), a large, perfectly round malachite (25 gp), and  large perfectly round blue quartz (25 gp)]

Enacelle picks up the malachite and quartz and studies them for a moment. 

“I think these poor souls were thrown down here naked and unarmed. Those coins and small gems, they swallowed. These two orbs are fake eyes. These Gricks were placed here and fed so they would breed. Umgurn, do you remember how long a Grick breeding cycle is?” Enacelle waves him over.

“Hmmmm…. She wasn’t a nice person so I didn’t pay that much attention, but I want to guess that after she fed a Grick egg to a victim, the adult Grick would emerge several quindays later having consumed most of the organs. Then it would feed on the remaining flesh.” Everyone recoils a bit from the eggs except Malege who promptly picks them up and places them in a sheet of oil cloth, folds it closed, and tightly binds it. Umgurn smiles. 

“Well, since there were 7 humanoid bodies but only 4 Gricks, assuming our villain only captured one to begin with, these could have been here for only a moonturn or two.” Enacelle returns to the carcasses. “What to do with these?”

“Haul them to the surface?” Fodinis tugs on the rope secured to the piton above that is tied in a circular loop. Enacelle smiles and nods. Earlier, Fodinis had assured her the meat would be no good but would also begin to smell horribly after a few hours. He pulls some rope from his bag and ties a loop around each carcass then ties the other end to the rope. After all four are secure, he begins pulling the rope in the opposite direction. The four carcasses begin ascending into the darkness. Enacelle crosses to the ladder and begins her climb back up. After about a minute of pulling, the rope seems hung up.

[Fodinis makes a Strength check] Rolls 11

Despite a few tugs, nothing seems to happen. Kace joins him and then both grab the rope.

[Fodinis and Kace make a combine strength check] Roll 22

Their combined strength pulls the rope suddenly down but, they both realize, a bit too quickly. A pinging sound is followed by the entire coil of rope along with the four carcasses and the piton falling past them and down deeper into the hole. Both of them listen, along with Enacelle, and after a little more than 4 seconds, they hear a faint crash, possible splash, and a very faint ping. Kace and Fodinis look at each other as Enacelle climbs back down and stares at them with her arms folded. From below they hear the sudden, cacophonous roar that is unmistakably a dragon.

With the roar of the dragon still haunting their memories, the party climbs back to the bunkhouse level and the ladders they now know are secure, resets the alarms including an additional one below the level they just finished exploring, and settles in for a long rest with another raging fire. Malege adds the Grick eggs to the fire, happy to see the parasites burn to a crisp. Before bedding down with a watch, they converse over dinner, which was a special stew made of dragon meat and several wild flora that Enacelle harvested before they entered the hole above.

“If that was a dragon, which we all think it was, would it be the source of these defenses?” Malege sips an extra strong cup of tea that Piece prepared for everyone to calm their minds.

“That is always possible with dragons but definitely not always true. And this bunkhouse? The ladders? The stone worked caves? A dragon did not build this. It has chosen to dwell here. Or, it is also a prisoner. A dragon egg or a small wyrmling could have been placed below and now may be trapped by its size.” Umgurn eats several bites of the stew which is delicious and filling. 

“Did we just feed it?” Kace looks concerned at the group.

“Most definitely but that’s a good thing.” Enacelle pats Kace on the arm and smiles. “If the beast is well fed, it won’t want to eat us.” Kace smiles unconvinced.

“We have to assume a few things but then also assume we know nothing.” Malege sits up and the rest of the party, always enamored by his clear, sharp mind, eager to hear.

“First, whatever is below at the level of the dragon is of extremely high value.” The party nods.

“Second, there will be traps, defenses, monsters, or something on every level to protect it.” The party nods again this time with a bit of angst in their faces.

“Something or someone else knows what’s down there and wants it as well.” The party all seems a bit bewildered. Malege smiles and places all of his fingers together in front of him and takes a deep breath.

“No one knew that anything was in The Blight or that it was safe to travel here except those that dared to venture here. We have to assume that includes agents of Santernafulse and that the map of Enicryn’s, which was all dated in the future, was THEIR plan to explore. The patrol we ran into in Filla was likely just a patrol. So, whoever discovered the treasure that lies below is acting alone and doing so very secretly and securely. They wouldn’t be concerned with anyone finding or claiming what they have found. But they are? They are going to great lengths to protect it. Very dark and expensive lengths. So, something else, since they discovered it, is threatening their find. Our goal is to figure out who or what that is and make sure they are on our side. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He pauses and sips more tea.

“A lot to consider but I think you are on to something, little one. The skeletons and the gricks were certainly defenses. Whatever we find below will either be the finder, the seeker, or more defenses. I’m hoping, as I am sure Enacelle does, that we can reason with some of them. And, of course, I still have questions about how this mine is related to the incredible tree above us.”   Umgurn folds his hands under his armpits and shivers.

“Maybe the answers will be below?” Theophania smiles and begins gathering things. The rest of the party follows suit and in a few moments they are packed and ready to go for the night. Before sleeping, Fodinis ran to the surface and out from under the base of the tree to signal to the airship waiting for them that all was well and they would signal them for pick up when ready. He also grabbed a few things from the cart.

[The party takes a long rest]

After sufficient rest, the group begins the climb down to the second sub-level. It is very familiar to the level above at first glance. There is an almost imperceptible but distinct low moaning sound coming from somewhere ahead of the party.

[The party (Fo, Um, En, Ka, Ma, Th, Pi) makes Wisdom Saving Throws (DC13)] Rolls 18, 20, 7 (crit 1), 6, 4, 8, 9 (2 saves, 5 fails)

Fodinis and Umgurn begin to move forward but the rest of the party seems a bit frozen in place. Umgurn turns to look at them.

“What is it?” 

“I’m not going in there. Somethings in there.” Malege is visibly shaken. Umgurn scans the dark ahead and taps Fodinis on the shoulder to do the same.

[Umgurn and Fodinis makes a Perception check] Rolls 20 (nat) and 8

Fodinis shakes his head, unaware of anything in his visual field ahead. But Umgurn sees two dark, leathery structures against the rough stone wall that seem out of place. He motions to Enacelle, points at his scimitar and at hers. She nods still scared, holds it up, and bright light beams out of it. Nothing is obvious in the bright light but at the edge of the dim light, the leathery structures glistens, one on either side of the cavern, near the holes in the ceiling like they saw above. 

[Umgurn uses Faerie Fire] DC13 Dex saving throw, Cloaker rolls 16

Umgurn calls upon his drow magic to ignite a point ahead in the cavern with faerie fire but nothing seems to happen. He shakes his head and leans close to Fodinis to whisper quietly.

“I can see something up ahead. Two leathery structures on the cave walls.” He points to both places and Fodinis looks with the light of Enacelle’s scimitar and can now make out the two things.  He notices they are clinging to the top of the cavern near the entrance to one of the natural holes. “Can you sneak close to them and strike them with your daggers?” Fodinis nods.

[Fodinis makes a Stealth check versus DC11] Rolls 18

Fodinis moves ahead in the tunnel so he is halfway between the two leather objects. With his eyes attuned to their forms, he scans the tunnel ahead and thinks he sees two more clinging to the openings of other small holes on the ceiling. He takes a deep breath.

[Fodinis makes a ranged dagger attack at Cloaker A (assassinate, surprise, sneak) and Cloaker B] Rolls 23 versus AC14 for 9 damage,  9 surprise attack damage, and 21 sneak attack damage; Rolls 19 versus AC14 for a hit for 0 damage.

Fodinis hurls the first blade at the leathery structure on the right, striking it solidly and burying the dagger deep inside. The leather unfurls revealing a white underbelly, rows of sharp teeth in a small head, and whip-like tail. His second dagger sinks into the leather structure on the right but the structure vanishes and Fodinis’ blade clatters to the floor. The unfurled creature screeches.

[Everyone rolls for initiative]

[Enacelle casts Summon Beast]

Enacelle sees Fodinis’ blades sink into the beast as it unfurls to its full form. Still frightened, she summons a flying beast next to the unfurled horror. She commands it to attack.

[Summoned Beast attacks Cloaker] Rolls 19 versus AC14 for 8 damage

The large eagle rakes the creature with its claws, scratching its underbelly deeply.

[Umgurn moves next to Fodinis, attacks Cloaker with handbow, casts Compelled Duel on Cloaker] Rolls 11 for a miss, Cloaker rolls 8 saving throw versus 13, is compelled

Umgurn charges towards the beast and stands next to Fodinis. He raises his hand bow and fires a bolt towards the fluttering mass but it deflects with a quick whip of its tail. Umgurn screams a holy litany at the beast and it turns its attention only to him.

[Fodinis holds his action]

Fodinis, hearing Umgurns holy challenge and seeing the beast direct its gaze at the paladin, waits to see what the creature does.

[Malege casts firebolt at the Cloaker (disadvantage)] Rolls 16 for a hit for 3 damage.

Malege, scared of the horrifying vision, launches a fire bolt and strikes its belly with a blast of flame.

[Kace attacks Cloaker with spear (disadvantage)] Rolls 15 versus AC14 for a hit for 12 damage

Kace, afraid to move any closer, hurls his spear, striking the creature in the face.

[Piece moves behind Kace, attacks Cloaker with spear (disadvantage)] Rolls 15 versus AC14 for a hit for 6 damage.

Piece, although frightened of what they heard, cannot see the beast. However, they saw Kace throw his spear and move behind Kace. Now seeing the unfurled flying monster, they throw their spear and strike its belly. 

[Cloaker moves into melee with Umgurn]

[Fodinis attacks with shortsword (sneak)] Rolls 12 for a miss

[Cloaker attacks Umgurn with bite] Rolls 9 versus AC19 for a miss

The leathery beast swoops low and gnashes at Umgurn with his teeth. Fodinis takes the opportunity to slash at the beast with his shortsword but misses. The distraction of Fodinis blade causes the creature to misjudge his bite and his teeth come down on the end of Umgurn’s blade.

[Theophania attacks Cloaker with longbow] Rolls 26 versus AC14 for a hit for 9 damage. 

Theophania, suddenly feeling no fear, snatches up her bow and launches an arrow at the creature, striking it in the eye. It seems to be fluttering and flapping wildly as it can barely keep air. 

[Enacelle holds her action, commands her beast to attack]

Enacelle no longer feels afraid but doesn’t waste time and sends her summoned eagle to attack the creature and finish it off. 

[Summoned beast attacks Cloaker] Rolls 11 for a miss

The eagle flies closer to slice with its talons but the erratic flight pattern of the dying creature makes it impossible to hit.

[Umgurn attacks with scimitar twice] Rolls 17 for 6 damage and 21 for 7 damage

With the creature's teeth on the end of his blade, Umgurn swings upward, spins and brings the back of his blade into the same path, cleaving the beast’s head in half. It collapses to the cavern floor. Fodinis looks to the last two which dissipate like mist. 

[The party receives 600 xp each]

[Piece has achieved 5th level]

The party moves to Fodinis and Umgurn to examine the large flying beast.

“This is a cloaker. I know them well from the Underdark. Nasty things that have a haunting moan, make duplicates of themselves, and prey on the weak in the dark. But, they are quite valuable if harvested properly.” Enacelle, Theophania, Malege and Umgurn study the cloaker. 

[Malege makes an Arcana check with advantage] Rolls 25

“The teeth, the tail, the hide, and some blood are all of reasonable valuable. The tail can make a magic whip and the cloak is used for Cloaks of Displacement!” He sets to work with Fodinis and Enacelle harvesting the pieces and places them in his Chest of Preserving when finished. The rest of the party searches the remainder of the cavern.

[The remainder of the party (Um, Ka, Th, Pi) makes Investigation Checks (advantage, time)] Roll 17, 11, 8, 13

“If we were in the Underdark at a tunnel near a surface connection, a cloaker often has quite a pile of bodies and bones where there might be some things of interest. I suspect in this particular tunnel, if the cloaker was placed here, they wouldn’t have had much of a chance to eat random visitors.” Umgurn moves some small stones with his scimitar.

“But they must have eaten something.” Kace looks around curiously. 

“The little holes up there.” Piece points. “Likely there is something in the recesses. Kace, boost us up.” Kace lifts Piece to one hole and Theophania boosts Umgurn to another. They vanish behind the recess. Theophania kicks around  loose stones and looks with a torch as best she can but sees very little of interest, still a bit distressed by the haunting moan of the beast. Kace moves to the opposite side of the tunnel and similarly finds little, though he is mostly concerned with Piece. Piece drops from the ceiling landing gracefully on the floor.

“More tool marks and holes but not much else.” He points to another hole and Kace joins him. Umgurn drops from the other hole a few seconds later.

“Empty except for the excavation of something before.” He also points to a different hole and Theophania assists him. After about 15 minutes 6 of the 7 holes have been searched including the one the cloaker was actually clinging to but with no luck other than some small crystal fragments. Umgurn is boosted into the last hole. Piece and Kace take a few minutes to clean their spears together. Theophania searches for recoverable ammunition. 

Inside the hole, Umgurn crawls up about 6 feet and then the hold turns back down, creating a basin of stone about 6 feet across and about a foot deep. It is littered with bones of small animals, possibly rats, or other rodents. He picks through them carefully but finds no skulls of humanoids or other large bones suggesting unsuspecting victims had wandered through… or been fed to the cloaker. He pulls a square of oilcloth and some strips from his bag–which Enacelle insisted Piece and he take if they were going to search the holes–and gathers up everything in the debris field that looks like bone and puts into a secure packet. He checks the rest of the debris but finds nothing of value. Satisfied, he returns to the mouth and drops through.

“Only another packet of bones, all animal, for our druid to inter.” He smiles and places the packet next to Enacelle as they finish up their work. 

[Malege puts a cloaker tail (20 lb), cloaker hide(25 lb), into Chest of Preserving; 5 vials of cloaker blood into Enacelle’s bag of holding; 24 cloaker teeth into his bag of holding]

Half an hour later, everyone is finished and all that remains is the carcass of the cloaker. 

“They probably already know we are here and that we dispensed with the gricks. Should we give them an update?” Fodinis has the remains balled and folded into a solid, slightly dripping mass. Enacelle looks concerned and everyone stares at her. Then she smiles and nods. Fodinis grins and releases the morbid mass of cartilage and guts over the slide. After a little less time than before, only a faint splash is heard. Everyone waits apprehensively. Second tick by. And then another brief dragon’s roar echoes from below. Fodinis smiles.

“I think we are making a friend!”

The party gathers their things and moves back to the ladder. Fodinis repeats his test of the ladder and gives everyone a thumbs up, beginning his descent. In less than 15 minutes, everyone is below and at the entrance to the next tooled tunnel. Umgurn and Fodinis with Malege confirm this is of an almost identical configuration to the ones above and can make out holes in the ceiling again. Umgurn gives a long, deep sigh. Malege suddenly tugs him on the sleeve and leans close.

“Have you been trying out the other lenses of your glasses?” Malege points to the spectacles on his face which are currently set in the clear crystal mode. He smiles and nods and looks into the cave. He rotates to each different setting. The bright light setting makes everything dark. The isvara setting makes that darkness impenetrable. The clear crystal looks like his normal dark vision. The last setting, with an odd purple green hue to the stones ahead of him doesn’t seem to add much but the details of the darkness seem slightly crisper. He turns back to the group with the purple green still engaged and gasps. Most of the other party members are a glowing orange and red version of themselves but Malege is almost white with red edges. Enacelle, however, is only a faint yellow.  He flips back to the clear crystal.

“Amazing! I think this last set of lenses senses heat! I can see all of you so clearly and Malege is much brighter. And Enacelle barely registers.” Umgurn smiles at the group and points at the glasses excitedly.

“That might have helped with the mimics or the cloaker. Good to know now. But what about this cave?” Fodinis stares at his friend with an unimpressed smirk.

“Nothing, really. Which is strange. We know it’s probably 100 plus feet like the others. If there is something in there, it’s either hidden or cold.” Umgurn frowns. 

“Better to be safe than be dead. May I borrow them?” Umgurn hands the glasses to Fodinis who slips them on and sets them to the heat signature setting. He looks at everyone in the group for a few seconds. “Be right back.”

[Fodinis makes a Stealth check] Rolls 16

Familiar with the caves above, the tooling, and the natural holes in the stone, Fodinis darts quickly 50 feet into the space with the glasses off, then quietly slides them on and surveys his surroundings. The holes in the ceiling around him, which there are four, are dark. Ahead, where he expects the end of the tunnel based on their experience, he sees a faint yellow glow of a very large something which has odd borders.

[Fodinis makes an Intelligence check] Rolls 6

Unsure if it's one large creature like a giant snake or something else, he flips to the clear glass and looks, straining his eyes. The form of the beast or beasts is difficult at this range but he is certain they are there. 

[Fodinis makes a Stealth check] Rolls 27 (crit)

As quiet as the dead, he returns to the party and huddles them close.

“There is definitely something at the end of this tunnel. The heat is like Enacelle so it must be a cold-blooded creature.” Fodinis frowns.

“Cold-blooded but with a warm heart, in my case.” Enacelle smiles and bows. 

“I don’t think we can trust that is the case here.” Theophania squeezes Enacelle’s shoulder and laughs softly. “Best to find out.” Theophania’s familiar, Filigree, emerges from her pocket and slides onto the floor. The little snake slithers rapidly down the floor of the tunnel. Theophania’s eyes go a sparkling white and Enacelle grabs both of her hands and angles her body so that her eyes are not reflecting into the cave. Theophania begins whispering.

“She is more than halfway. She smells other snakes and something more gamey. There are definitely snakes here. Large ones. Almost to the end. There are other reptiles ahead. Eight legs. Large spiny backs. An infant. A young one. Two adults. No eggs. She is at the back of the cavern. This is their nest here. There are long chains attached to the wall with bolts. The other end are collars around the adults necks. They are prisoners but their babies are free. Their eyes are strange. Magical. She is coming back now.” Theophania’s eyes return to their normal color and a few seconds later, Filigree slithers up her leg, onto her back, and vanishes into her tunic.

[Malege makes an Arcana Check (Advantage, observations) Rolls 25

“An eight-legged reptile with a spiny back and strange eyes? Basilisks.” He folds his arms and sighs.

“With an infant and a young one.” Enacelle’s voice, though a whisper, sounds sad and remorseful. 

“Here’s what we are going to do.” Fodinis stands tall from the group, looks towards the far end of the cave, and gathers them back close. “They clearly don’t want to be here and the young won’t leave them. They will starve soon without food. I think we should just keep going down, deal with what’s below, and then figure out a clever way to free them.” Fodinis nods to Enacelle.

“Yes, for example, I think I could wild shape…” Fodinis holds up a hand and smiles. 

“We will figure it out later, Enacelle. Let’s get going.” Umgurn nods, pats them both on the back, and moves to the ladder. Fodinis takes the lead and moves quickly down. The others follow and within a few minutes, they are all on the next level. Unlike the prior levels, the far end of the tooled tunnel is illuminated and figures are moving there. The party quickly looks around and sees they are veiled in darkness but still move to the sides as best they can being quiet. 

[The party (En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi, Fo) make Stealth Checks versus DC11] Rolls 24, 18, 21, 12, 19, 15, 16

Quietly hiding in the dark against the cover of the tunnel walls, the party watches the lighted area ahead carefully. Enacelle calls Sister and sends her closer.

[The party (En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi, Fo) make Perceptions checks] Roll 8, 10, 18, 19, 19, 17, 9

Malege, Umgurn, Theophania, and Piece can clearly make out a humanoid form, possibly a tiefling wearing scarlet, black and dark green robes moving in and out of the torchlight. Opposite the tiefling is what looks like a large pile of rocks that seems to also be moving here and there. Enacelle lets Sister see for her. Kace and Fodinis can barely see because of the cover they choose and wait patiently for the others to report. Sister makes her way quickly across the tunnel floor, sticking to the side wall so she can move in and out of cracks. When she gets into the bright light of the torches, she can clearly see the tiefling who carries a staff and a spellbook, studying a passage in the text. Across from it is a large, distinctly humanoid, mass of rocks of great size that is rumbling about the tunnel, occasionally stomping its feet angrily at the tiefling but then moving away. Sister quickly makes her way back to the party and vanishes in Enacelle’s pocket. Enacelle whispers to the party quietly.

“It’s a wizard, likely a conjurer, and he has an earth elemental with him now. But, the elemental seems angry with the wizard.” Enacelle drops into a squat and looks at the group, using her staff for support.

“I speak primordial. And, alone, I am not a threat. Stay here!” Malege walks out of his hiding place just as Umgurn attempts to grab the back of his coat and pull him back but misses. Malege strides proudly into the light of the torches towards the two figures and immediately addresses the elemental in primordial.

“My king of rock and gem! Is this tiefling harming you? May I assist?” The elemental looks at the fire genasi, turns its large boulder head to the left and right then looks back at the tiefling.

“Wizard want keep me here. Want me stay in tunnel. I want go rocks!”

“Well, that’s not very nice, is it?” Malege continues the banter with the elemental in primordial. The tiefling seems to watch in amusement, looking up from his book occasionally but mostly ignoring Malege.

“No! Not nice. Want to smash wizard!” The elemental seems to rage a bit with his rocky fists raised high but then steps back to keep a distance from the wizard. Malege turns to the wizard.

“Hello there, sir. I am Malege Urmdal, Child of Fire, Order of the Tower of High Sorcery, Bella-don-oui. And you are?” He bows slightly to the tiefling who closes his spellbook and lets it rest at his side on a bright gold chain. He stands perfectly still with a quarterstaff in one hand. 

“Enokron, Order of the Saynion, Master of the Elements, Conjureror Supreme, and… seeker of fortunes. This may be a strange question, little fire genasi, but, how, might I ask, did a child of the elemental plane of fire come to be in this place?” The wizard stays in his position but makes a flourish with his free hand to indicate the tunnel.

[Malege makes an Arcana check] Rolls 9

Though he can’t quite figure it out, Malege suspects the wizard has some sort of protection around him, keeping the elemental at bay.

“Me? Well, I’m an explorer. I work with an archeologist. She’s also a tiefling. Orilia. Do you know her? We just arrived here today to claim this site for our beloved mistress.” Malege folds his hands across his chest proudly.

[Malege makes a Deception check versus versus Wizard Insight (DC11)] Rolls 14

“You work with Orilia? And she is here? That is most interesting. May I indulge you in a brief story of what I have found here? I would love the assistance of your mistress who is, of course, known to me.” He bows. Malege nods. 

“Very well. You see, these tunnels were dug from the surface at the dawn of this age to salvage the stone used for the foundations of the city above us. The rest of this area was immense, dense, and beautiful forests. The people who founded this city built it from the precious and diverse woods of the land and created a most magnificent testament to ingenuity and construction. As they dug down into this solid stone, they occasionally found natural formations where crystals, some precious, others not, could be mined. It increased the wealth of the city. But, alas, the evils of Santernafulse laid waste to this land and made it uninhabitable for 1000 isvara. But as you and your mistress discovered when you arrived, all that has changed! The seeds of the trees that used to grow here have emerged. And the Great Tree! When I arrived two moonturns ago and saw the tree, I knew something great lay within these mines.” The wizard paused and looked at the elemental who rages at him again and rumbles with anger.

“And what did you find down here?” Malage puts a hand behind his back and motions for the elemental to calm down. It promptly goes a bit quieter and sits on its stony bottom.

“Below us, a few levels down, is the MOST incredible thing you will ever see. A huge spherical cavern, some 100 feet in diameter, made of pure amethyst. Thousands of enormous crystals of amethyst. It is worth.. and unspeakable amount of platinum. But, I was only able to glimpse it for a brief moment.” The wizard pauses and twirls his staff in his hand.

“Why is that?” Malege produces several balls of flame and begins juggling them. The elemental claps his rocky palms with glee.

“Very nice trick, young sir. There is, you see, a dragon below. A gem dragon. And they are attracted to gems. This one seems to have settled there. I have no hope of defeating the dragon on my own. Not even with the help of that mindless pile of rubble. Probably not even with your help. So, I decided I would create some defenses above to keep anyone out until I could determine how best to secure and excavate the gems. But dragons are clever and magical. It apparently called to its minions. Good for me as it gave me some corpses for my defenses. But bad because several of them, one who is very strong, got below me and have held their ground. This elemental was going to be my defense of this layer but I’m not able to make him permanent or secure him here. I’d really like to have three or four at this level because, with their ability to simply glide through rock and slam their enormous bodies into their enemies, they could clear that wretched dragon’s minions. But I can only manage the one.” Enokron squats to the floor, folds his legs in front of him and rests his staff across his legs. Malege stops juggling and the balls of fire absorb into his head. The elemental seems to stare with his mouth hanging open, a small rivulet of sand dribbling out. The wizard scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“So, how long with the elemental last?” Malege also sits cross legged about 10 feet from Enokron.

“Only an hour, I’m afraid and I conjured him nearly ¾ of an hour ago. He’ll be gone in 15 minutes.” The earth elemental cocks his head to the right and left and then seems to slump into a state of sadness. Malege turns to him and speaks primordial.

“You will be home soon to the Elemental Plane of Earth, brother. Do not fret. This wizard holds no sway over you.” Malege smiles.

“Wizard bad. Make barrier keep me out. Make barrier keep me in. Bad wizard.” The elemental bumps his fists together and bits of stone and debris clatter to the floor. Malege turns back to Enokron.

[Malege makes a Perception check] Rolls 3

Behind the wizard’s head on the far wall, for a fleeting moment, Malege thought he saw a stone move.

“Where do you come from, Enokron?” 

“Well, I was born in the north, Anbeth. My parents were in the court of the High King. That’s how I was afforded a wizard’s education at Gallenterian, you see. Then I ventured through Devenmere and visited the sisters of the City of Vala for a long time. Brilliant spellcasters those colorful houses. Then the towers of Pathilia including the Agmon, Bella-don-oui, and the Vinporus. Your people, little genasi. And then Enik’Kulthur. A miraculous city of magic. If you are a spellcaster and you cannot study at Enik’Kulthur… why are you living?” The wizard pauses and twirls a bit of hair and pulls it behind his right horn. 

[Malege makes a Perception check] Rolls 12  

The same stone behind the wizard’s head definitely moves and Malege lets his eyes linger there for a second longer. A great eyeball seems to open in the stone and a clawed hand emerges and waves silently. A gentle whispering sound fills his ears.

“Little fire brother. We help. Bad wizard. We help!” The clawed stone hand sinks back into the wall but only enough so that one claw still protrudes. Malege watches it move down the wall, across the floor and towards him. He nonchalantly unfolds his hands and places them on the stone floor behind him, leaning back.

“Malege Urmdal, I think I have indulged you long enough. I know Orilia well and she is a bitter enemy. So much so that I have a spy who travels with her and always alerts me to her location so that I can stay far away. She would kill me on sight should she find me. You see, I am not Enokron, as I said. My real name is Callen Dahl. Orilia claims to have captured Callen Dahl in a ruby, as she often does with her enemies, but I tricked her. I am clever that way. But her reputation for having captured me is so great that she would never let me live. So, I know, little genasi, that you lie. She is not here. And you’ve never traveled with her. It was a strangely convenient story, however, so I can only assume someone sent you after me. Perhaps her through the means of a contract. Or to claim my rightful treasure. But it is of no matter. You will be dead shortly. Elemental! Smash this worm to dust!” The rock elemental looks up from his setting place, stands, and looks at Malege  . As if such a thing can happen, the rocky face split into a macabre grin and laughed a groggy dusty roar. Then, collapses into fine pebbles, stones, sand, and then was gone.

“Damn! My hour is up.” The wizard stands to his full height and a shimmering ball of arcane energy dissipates around him. He pulls his quarterstaff close, raises his spellbook in front of him and then pauses. Malege feels a firm, claw hand grasp his own and smiles at the wizard.

“Bye!” And with that, the hand begins dragging Malege rapidly to the side wall, up the side, and suspends him from the ceiling. Now hanging freely, he zings back out of the tunnel, past his own party, down the wall of the hole, passed another opening, and then down another hole wall, then, across the ceiling of tunnel, and is dropped to his feet. From out of the wall, a big eye winks at him.

“We’ll be right back!” Malege dusts himself off and waits a few moments. Three at a time, the rest of the party comes zinging along the ceiling with looks of horror on their face, their hands held by rocky claws, and land next to Malege. When everyone is back, Umgurn grabs Malege’s shoulders firmly, hugs him briefly, and then glares.

“What EXACTLY do you think you were doing?? A wizard and an elemental! He could have killed you instantly!” Umgurn stands back, arms akimbo, fuming.

“Ignoring Malege’s clearly blatantly dangerous and, of course, disrespectful behavior… How in Isvara did we get down here?” Fodinis looks around at the dark tunnel but sees no additional hands.

“I think they will come back soon. My guess is they are dealing with the wizard.” From the tunnel entrance, they hear angry screaming, a few nasty phrases, see a blast of fire, and then a yell that seems to dissipate as if someone were falling or ascending quickly. “I think the wizard’s been… ejected.” Malege smiles at Umgurn and then frowns as the paladin continues to glare. 

[The party  (En, Ka, Ma, Um, Th, Pi, Fo) makes Investigation and Perception checks] Roll 6, 10, 16, 6, 2, 19, 15 and 8, 18, 4, 8, 22, 18, 13

Malege, Piece, and Fodinis, not disturbed by the confusing journey from the level above, take note that this tunnel is very similar to the above, extending far back about 100 feet with the same natural holes in the ceiling. Kace, Theophania, and Piece detect a faint glow from the holes and Piece taps Malege on the shoulder and points. Malege smiles and goes over to Theophania who lifts him to one hole while Kace lifts Piece to another. They both vanish into the darkness.

Inside the small cavern in the ceiling, Malege quickly finds a very large blue gem, slightly glowing, at the end of the space. The surface is rough and covered with scag and dirt, but the blue crystal inside is easily discernible. He brushes it off a bit and hears primordial next to him.

“Hungry? I’m happy to share with you!” Malege turns to his left to see a creature protruding halfway from the stone wall. The yellow-orange eyeball below a gaping mouth of teeth seems to be manifesting a grin. One large leg with three hooked toes and two arms with hooked claws are also visible. It reaches with one of its claws, grab a chunk of the blue gem off the massive piece, and hands it to Malege. Malege looks at the stone curiously and at the creature.

“None for me, thanks, but you have it.” He tosses it into the gapping maw and the beasts chews it quickly and returns the grin. Malege climbs down, drops into Theophania’s arms, and to the floor. As he lands, the creature emerges from the stone wall. Piece drops from their hole and a beast follows him as well. The rest of the party look on at the two three-armed, three-legged beasts the size of a humanoid curiously as a third one appears followed by a much larger version. The larger one picks up Malege with one hand and sits him on its shoulder next to its mouth.