Out of the Abyss

12/27/2015

• My village was attacked by Drow.
• I attempted to follow them and free the captives, but I was captured.
• The left me with my bear tooth necklace, traveller's clothes.
• There is a pouch somewhere with 18 GP.
• They destroyed my pan flute.
• Tim and I are from roughly the same area.
• Roland Galandoel (Me) - Half-Elf Ranger.
• Aramil Amastacia (Tim) - High Elf Cleric. Captured by the Drow while out on a evangelical mission.
• B'jarn (Kevin) - Drow Elf Warlock / Rogue. B'jarn fled Drow society early in life. He believes we are being taken to Menzoberranzan to be sold as slaves.
• We are kept in moderate health. We assume slavers.
• No undercommon, but there are other captives wrapped up in silk on the caravan of spiders.
• Conversation is vigorously discouraged, though intermittently enforced.
• We've been underground most of the time.
• Finally we are suspended from the ceiling by silk pouches, and we hear what sound like preparations for battle.
• The Drow go out and return, with more people.
• Captors mostly speak Drow. B'jarn can pick out the name of the group's commander - Jorlan. He has a priestess of Lolth named Asha with him. They seem to get along well.
• Jorlan is injured by a prisoner during raid. He wants to kill the prisoner, though Asha wants to keep the prisoner alive.
• One of the other captives thought we were going to Velkenvelve.
• We come to a cavern with a river in it. We are hauled up in a rope lift, into a complex about 100' above the river.
• We see Quaggoths, semi-intelligent, bipedal beasts of burden.
• We are hauled across a rope bridge to a hanging tower, then over another rope bridge into a large prison area.
• The holding area is open, and we are free to talk.
• The prisoner responsible for injuring Jorlan was a Dragonborn, with shiny, jet black skin. He tricked the Drow into thinking he was asleep so that he could use his breath weapon.
• The Dragonborn is also now muzzled; his name is Arjhan. He was probably keps alive because it was so unique. B'jarn has never seen a Dragonborn.
• There is a male Darrow (sub-branch of Duergar). Sneaky, insane. The race has a history of being enslaved by the Illithid. This one seems fairly calm.
• There is a Quaggoth - claims he is a polymorphed Elven prince. Prince Darendil. He speaks Elvish fluently. He claims he is from Nelrendenvain of the high forest. Neither Aramil or I have heard of him.
• Male Orc, Ront. Claims his tribe was ambushed by dwarves.
• Female Dwarf, Eldith Feldrun. Captured in the same fight as another prisoner, an orc. Claims her team did ambush the orcs, but they weren't idle.
• Ront and Eldith are being kept separate by the guards. They want to kill each other badly.
• 3 Svirfneblin; Jimjar (male), Topsy (female) & Turvy (male). Topsy and Turvy are siblings. Topsy and Jimjar are talkative, Turvy just mumbles to himself.
• Drow, Sareth. He is neither talkative or pleased to be here. He is quiet.
• In the farthest corner is a Kuo-Toa, Shuushar the Awakened. He is calm, but these fish people have a reputation for insanity.
• Myconid, Sprout - a fungal person. It looks terrified, and appears to be rather young. It's about 3' tall.
• Aramil and I quickly befriend each other, as the nearest in tribe. Eldith joins us before long, identifying herself as being from Gauntlgrym. She is a normal dwarf, though she's always lived deep.
• There seems to be some sort of magic suppression here. Something absorbs spellcasting rather than completing the spell.
• We started discussing options for escape. Before long, Topsy joined us (and had clearly been eavesdropping). She told us we would be let out to perform chores. The drop to the floor was significant though, with layers of spider webs around half-way down.
• Giant spiders everywhere - in hanging towers above the cavern floor, in giant webs between the towers, etc.
• Darendil remained near us throughout, as Aramil & I were the only surface elves in the area.
• Topsy told us they'd been here about 3 weeks. We'd be introduced to the Matron, Elvessa Mizrim, soon. She was a high priestess of Lolth, and the commander of this installation.
• When the matron arrived, we were manhandled up against the walls by the guard Quaggoths. She was flanked by a small contingent of Drow, along with her lieutenant.
• We were advised that cooperation was the less painful option. Anything else would lead to a very painful stay.
• The Dragonborn tried to resist a bit, but was quickly restrained.
• Jorlan, well dressed and injured, was being made to hand out our food. He was clearly out of favor; she enjoyed watching him do menial labor. His face and an arm were badly damaged. His fighting ability was likely restricted.
• We were left alone for hours after that. We rested and had horrible nightmares, especially Aramil. The place was smelly, alien, and cut off from our gods.
• The nightmares continued to get worse as a few days passed, and we did not get used to them.
• The Drow picked us up and divided us into work groups. We hauled water, did some cleaning. Everywhere outside the holding cell was kept immaculate. Elvessa watched, testing. We were also set to menial tasks - coiling ropes, washing clean clothes, etc.
• Shoor, Jorlan's previous junior, is now the leader of the warriors.
• The guards seem concerned that their regular supply caravan from Menzoberranzan is overdue, such that they are concerned about it.
• Before too many days had passed, the Myconid approached us. A spore cloud was evident. B'jarn allowed it to get near him, which he learned allowed it to establish a telepathic link.
• The Myconid communicated that something worse than the Drow was coming.
• The rest of us joined the telepathic link and the conversation.
• The Myconid communicated that the Great Chaos was coming. It wasn't sure how long we had.
• We had managed to secure two 5' lengths of silk rope, and a length of rusty iron bar that could be used as a club.
• B'jarn was able to pry loose a nail. I was able to reweave our rope into a 15' segment capable of supporting one person.
• Aramil found that spells work outside the cell.
• Aramil was called before Elvessa; she confirmed that he was the owner of a confiscated holy symbol. She dangled him upside down to see if the spiders were hungry - None obliged.
• We asked around... There was a Svirfneblin settlement, but it was something like 36 days away. Jimjar, Topsy & Turvy didn't know the way.
• Gauntlgrym is about 30 days travel away. Eldith doesn't know the way.
• There is a Myconid settlement, but Sprout doesn't know the way or how far away it is.
• The Kuo-Toa settlement, Sloobludop, is about 8 days away. Shuushar knows the way.
• Though the Kuo-Toa are known to be somewhat unstable, this Shuushar is a pacifist. He was looking for a way to bring peace to his people.
• Jorlan was continuously subjected to menial tasks, and it wasn't long before he approached us.
• He told us the gate would be unlocked at the next change of the guards; he recommended we jump off the side, writhe past the spiderwebs and get into the water.
• We knew that his plan didn't really involve us surviving, just putting Shoor out of favor.
• We decided to push into the guard tower, try to get some weapons and see about getting to the rope lift.
• We would keep Sprout and Shuushar close. Shuushar confirmed that, though he was a pacficist, he would leave if the way was cleared. He would not participate in any fighting.
• If we made it to Shuushar's settlement, he could get us equipment.
• We noticed a key appear outside the gate, about 6" away. We couldn't tell who had left it.
• As soon as Aramil, B'larn, Sprout, Eldith, Shuushar and I started moving towards the front of the cell, the other prisoners stood up and took notice. We tried to hold Ront back a little, but he wasn't having it.
• Aramil opened the lock on Arjahn's muzzle, and gave the chain to Eldith to use as a flail.
• As soon as the door was open, Ront charged out with a large rock in hand.
• We slowed him down enough to get the guard room door open. There were three Drow which we dispatched quickly.
• I got two shortswords for dual-wielding; Ront picked up one; Aramil made do with his Cleric abilities and B'larn used his poison cantrip.
• The rest of the prisoners, including Prince Darendil, were holding off the Quaggoth back near the main cell. (The Quaggoth lair was slightly downstairs, on the same ledge.) It looked like Topsy & Turvy were wererats, and gone into their lycanthrope forms to fight side-by-side.
• There was no sign of Sareth, Jimjar, or the Darrow.
• One of the wererats was dead.
• Ront charged down a rope bridge towards four more Drow foot soldiers. He had grabbed Eldith by her neck, and was shoving her along as a shield. Shoor and Jorlan had come out of their quarters as well. All six were loading hand crossbows.
• They each were hit by several bolts. It looked like Eldith was affected.
• I didn't think this was a winning situation. Instead of chasing after them, I cut one side of the rope bridge.
• Ront fell off, pulling Eldith with him, to the webs 60' below. I jumped after them with Sprout, and landed on top of them.
• I was able to mostly cut through the webs. However, Drow crossbow bolts knocked both me and Ront out.
• B'larn was able to slip through the webbing and drop into the water below. He made it to shore before long.
• Aramil had a little tougher time. Shuushar was still with him, but a spider was coming for them.
• Shuushar slid between the webs, due to its slick skin.
• Aramil singed me slightly to wake me up. It was enough to wake me up and let me cut through the rest of the web.
• Ront and Eldith awoke on hitting the water.
• Aramil dazzled the spider and burned the web from out below him, plunging into the water below.
• Ront immediately began trying to Drown Eldith, as I noticed a Drow levitating down slowly through the hole I'd cut in the webbing.
• The other Drow were moving towards the lift elevator.

01/03/2016

• I swam under Ront and used him as a shield from the Drow. That worked - he took a crossbow bolt in the back.
• Eldith broke out of his grapple.
• We all made it to shore.
• Buppido & Sareth were by the West tunnel exit, and beckoning to us.
• Demons were coming out of the North tunnel. All flying - insectoids chasing two Vrock (half-vulture).
• The aerial fight moved towards the West passage, and Buppido & Sareth moved into the passage.
• B'jarn ran to Shuushar and helped him out of the water.
• We made it through the demon combatants without incident and met up with Buppido & Sareth in the tunnel.
• Buppido & Sareth said they had been storing up silk rope, and stealthed out as quickly as possible when things got exciting.
• We covered our tracks very well for the first couple of hours; Eldith showed Roland how to cover the tracks.
• Order of march: B'jarn, Eldith, Shuushar, Sprout, Aramil, Buppido, Sareth, Roland.
• Eldith knows parts of Darklake, so after getting to the Kuo-Toa settlement, Shuushar is willing to provide asylum (he is a wise man) and provisions. We can get to Gauntlegrym from there.
• Sareth is willing to go with Sprout to his Myconid settlement. They'll provide asylum to anyone that ensures Sprout's safe return.
• Shuushar led us to a small settlement from a long-dead civilization. It's partial shelter, seems to be a clear area with light illumination from fungus. Good place to rest. It's only been about 3 hours though.
• Searching the area, B'jarn found a shortsword; Roland found a flask of lamp oil; Aramil found some fuel chips. One was large enough to carve into a holy symbol.
• We continued to march at a fairly comfortable pace. After something like another 8 hours, Shuushar found us a nice cavern to rest.
• The cavern was small, with only one entrance, and suffused with faerzress, and ancient magic that suffused the area with a beautiful pink and blue glow.
• Aramil broke off a piece of crystal, which made the whole cavern flash very brightly. Half of us were blinded, temporarily.
• Once our sight came back, we were able to take a full rest. (*And level up.)
• It still felt like we were in hell.
• We continued our pace; forced march for Eldith but fairly easy going for the rest of us.
• A few hours later, we came to a large cavern with a large chasm. It's likely miles across from echoes.
• Shuushar felt we were on the Silk Road; huge complexes of spider silk networks that Drow travellers used. (Only if they used the right paths.)
• If we can get up onto the silk path and across the chasm, that would be easiest. Shuushar felt he could find a way out from the other side.
• Menzoberranzan was generally towards the right, we we tried going to the left to find a crossing. (From the perspective of where we entered the chasm.)
• After an hour, we hit a dead end by following the ledge. After three hours, we found a 3-point rope bridge made of spider silk. It stretched beyond our sight. This appeared to be our best bet.
• Buppido & B'jarn crossed first to check the length and see how strong it was. They encountered no issues.
• We sent groups of two across in our remaining marching order, about 20-30 minutes between each group.
• Buppido had a crazy spell from the other side, and started sawing on the spider silk with a long knife he produced from his clothing.
• Buppido was very curious about what would happen if so large a bridge were cut with people on it. B'jarn was able to talk him out of it.
• Once we were all across, Shuushar was able to establish his bearings and find a new path.
• We let Sprout eat Roland's mistletoe. Sprout was able to determine a mushroom that should work in its place. We would look out for it in addition to our normal scrounging.
• Shuushar found us a pool with some fish.
• The cave is moderately well lit, and we could see the fish. It was beautiful, even for surface dwellers.
• We were able to catch 9 fish.
• We defeated a group of stone-like bats that swooped out of the rafters. We took some hits, but killed several and drove the others off.
• We rested in the cavern and ate Goodberries for breakfast.
• B'jarn noticed a goblin camp before we ran into it on the next march. Their camp had high ground to our path.
• We attacked, but they all retreated down a passage.
• We stopped to pick up some shields, a shortbow, and a scimitar.
• B'jarn, in the lead, went down the passage and nearly fell into a pit trap.
• The goblins had retreated to another high position, around the corner and into higher ground.
• Shuushar said he felt we weren't in the tunnel he thought we were in.
• We decided to backtrack. Shuushar figured out where he made a mistake.
• We wandered for several hours, until we ran into a cavern that Shuushar was sure was the right way. There was an unfamiliar sigil on a stalagmite.
• It was a warning that the drow use to indicate demons ahead.
• Shuushar told us that backtracking was a very long way, almost back to the Silk Road. We'd have to find a way onto the web at that point.
• We decided to take a long rest here.
• Everyone was going a little insane. Sareth was starting to have episodes, and he'd found a dagger.

01/17/2016

• We continued on our way into the cavern. About a hundred feet up was a drop, 30 feet down to a larger area.
• There were about 10 bloated corpses, naked as far as we could tell. Eldith noticed that the arms were not bloated. (Manes.)
• Aramil used Sacred Flame on one of them... sure enough it sprang up, cursing and yelling. The others sprang up as well.
• The drop was climbable, but they didn't look particularly nimble.
• Aramil used Sacred Flame on another. It missed, but they all scrambled back into the cavern.
• Roland, Aramil, and Eldith climbed down. They started scrambling forward again as Roland hit the cavern floor.
• B'jarn lifted our flask out, and spread it on the ground a few feet in front of us.
• The demons attacked; Roland and Aramil were on the front line.
• We successfully fended them off, though we took some hits in the process.
• There was still a scent of dead flesh in the air; it wasn't coming from the dead demons or their castoff.
• Beyond the room where we'd found the demons, there was another passage. It was only small enough to go one at a time, crawling.
• B'jarn found there were 9 demons (Dretches) in the room below. He tried to encourage them to come up the chute, but they didn't take the bait.
• We went down, shoved in a beachhead, and before long killed them all.
• Buppido, hurt from Aramil's previous holy radiance, went mad and attacked Sprout. He hurt sprout badly, but Sareth and Aramil dispatched him before Sprout fully died. Aramil healed the poor little guy.
• The smell of rot was even worse in the second chamber, so we retreated back to where we'd previously rested and took a long rest again.
• We retraced our steps farther down into the cavern system. The stench was even stronger in the third chamber. We weren't sure we could continue if it got worse.
• The third chamber seemed to have a lake in it. It stretched beyond our sight.
• B'jarn scouted forward alone; the lake was a pool of gore.
• We encountered and slew two shadow demons.
• Exploring the rest of the cave, we found a corpse with battered armor, and a sword that flashed a little light.
• As we approached it, another shadow demon attacked us.
• Thanks to more radiant magic from Aramil, we dispatched it swiftly.
• The armor, sword, and scabard were covered with signs indicating the bearer had been a paladin.
• Aramil recognized the markings as a paladin of Torm. The sword was attuned to clerics, so Aramil took it up. It was a Demonslayer - and would drive its wielder to continue slaying demons until death.
• The effect was limited to the person attuned to it. So while it wasn't as useful to a non-Cleric, it also wasn't as dangerous.

01/31/2016

• We travelled about 8 hours unmolested, and were able to take a long rest at the end.
• After travelling for a few more hours, we stopped at the sound of a creature eating.
• B'jarn snuck up, and spotted two carrion crawlers. They were working on a humanoid corpse.
• We attacked, and drove back one of the creatures. The other attacked with fury, savaging Roland.
• Before long, the second crawler dropped out of the ceiling behind us, attacking Sprout, Shuushar, and Sareth.
• It was close, but we disptached both. Sprout was briefly unconscious.
• The crawlers had been working on a Gnoll corpse. It was alone, which was odd.
• We picked up a Longbow, 3 arrows, and a spear from it.
• This area had some extra twists and turns. Clearly this was an excellent ambush spot.
• It looked like this Gnoll corpse was fresh, and Gnolls travelled in packs. We decided to go back to our rest from the previous evening and rest there again.
• Shuushar started mumbling about how the sea mother and the deep father were coming; he could feel it.
• After setting out again, we had an uneventful full march. Shuushar wasn't terribly familiar with the area, having only been through here once or twice, but he was able to get us past the carrion crawler warren.
• Further ahead, we heard echoes of Gnolls a few hundred feet ahead, along with something else. They were being very loud.
• Shuushar was pretty confident that we were on the right path though, so we pushed forward.
• There were 6 Gnolls ahead, seemingly very excited about something.
• We could only see 5. We attacked, and killed two before they could close. (Thanks to Faerie Fire.)
• While we were working on the last in melee, two more creatures - Hook Horrors - emerged from passages behind where the Gnolls had been.
• They ran across, and another pack of Gnolls came out behind it.
• It included a Gnoll chiefain.
• Sareth and Eldith quickly fell to its glaive.
• We were able to overwhelm it and kill them all.
• We found 2 more longbows, a Glaive, 17 longbow arrows.
• The Pack Lord had 500g worth of gems.
• We spent about 10 minutes gathering and fixing our items.
• We could still hear more Gnolls in the distance, but they were farther down the tunnel... 500 feet in some direction.
• We could also hear constant strange sounds from the direction that the hook horrors went.
• We continued on in the passage.
• A smaller passage split off from the main tunnel about 100 feet farther on.
• We stuck with the main passage. It circled around eventually, and seemed to be going towards the Gnolls.
• We continued through the cave systems, and found several branches. We avoided the hook horrors long enough to catch a short rest.
• Eventually we had to move towards the Gnolls. It seemed they were celebrating something, and there were only four in sight.
• We dispatched two of them quickly, but three joined from around the corner.
• We killed them all, and picked up some additional ammunition. Nothing else was worth salvaging.
• We moved on slightly and found a good place to rest. The area was finally quiet.
• 4th Level!

02/14/2016

• We traveled on, and reached Darklake; Sloobludop was close.
• Shuushar reiterated his promise of arms & assistance upon safe return to Sloobludop. We were slightly cautious, as Shuushar and Sareth were showing more signs of stability.
• There was no sound in the cavern, beyond the slight lap of water. There was no echo of boats or commerce.
• We moved in along the slight shoreline. We could make out empty docks and huts, from an outlying settlement. It was about 20 huts.
• We looked at finishing a boat that was under construction.
• We heard a shrill whistle from somewhere in the cavern. A faerie fire spell sprung up around us.
• Several Drow peeked out of the water, and fired their hand crossbows at us. Shoor also descended from the ceiling.
• We had a very difficult fight; their poison caused complications, and both Eldith & Roland were down before the end.
• We were able to salvage some additional ammunition, replace Roland's shield, and Shoor's studded leather fit Roland as well.
• After a rest, we took a few hours to lash together some rafts. They were shoddy and slow, but they should get us to Sloobludop.
• We considered backtracking to take a long rest, but Shuushar would leave us at that point. He was close enough to home that he wouldn't go back into the caverns.
• Eldith knew about where they were, and was pretty sure she could get us to Gauntlegrym.
• About 10 minutes after shoving off, we believed we could barely make out a ship against some of the bioluminescence. It appeared to be a Drow ship with oarsmen.
• We shipped our oars and remained as still as possible.
• After a little time passed, we resumed a very quiet paddle, trying to avoid the straight path from the camp to Sloobludop.
• Eldith was able to spot a decent ledge that looked like a good place to rest.
• We were unocomfortable, but we were able to rest without any surprises.
• Shuushar left while we were sleeping. He didn't leave a note or say goodbye.
• We set out again on our rafts.
• Eventually we picked up a small current.
• The current picked up a little as we spotted what we thought was a Duergar ship.
• We engaged them once it was clear negotiation wasn't an option.
• Thanks to a lucky Faerie Fire by Aramil, we were able to kill two and damage the other two at range. B'jarn put them to sleep, and we boarded without opposition.
• We dispatched the final two and took inventory.
• Eldith picked up a shield and scale mail armor from the Duergar. She was taking disadvantage on stealth, but she'd taken a lot of damage the last few combats.
• We divvied up 120 gold among the 5 fighters and Aramil picked up 3 gems worth 100 gold each.
• We had a boat, and could now bypass Sloobludop. We'd have to sight on it for Eldith to get her bearings.

02/28/2016

• B'jarn found a hidden compartment that contained six underwater breathing potions. They were good for about an hour.
• We distributed one to each party member.
• After about 2/3 of a day on the lake, we could start hearing the sounds of a city and a bit of light.
• Eldith was pretty sure she knew where she was, but wanted to get a little closer.
• The city was on the shores of a joining of two caverns. Eldith still felt there was still something wrong; it was missing a major statue - 40-50' tall.
• We planned to make an approach in line with our projected path to Gauntlegrym. As we approached about 50 yards, it turned out that the statue Eldith was looking for was on the opposite of what she expected.
• The channel was about 200' wide, but built up with docks and full of boats.
• The drow were there. It looked like the drow priestess was there, with about 4 poeople.
• The city also seemed to be in turmoil. 4-5 factions seemed like they were building to a possible holy war.
• We retreated back into the darkness and waited a day. In the interim, the murmurs from the city seemed to gain some coherence. It seemed like the factions were closer to picking sides.
• As we approached again, the drow ship had taken up a position on our side of the water.
• B'jarn disguised himself, Eldith and Roland as Duergar. We tried to pass into the channel, closer to the docks than the Drow.
• The priestess completely fell for our disguise. Since there were three of us, it looked like they thought about killing us anyway - they didn't like Duergar. The priestess waved him off, and B'jarn mean-mugged them long enough to keep up the appearance.
• As we approached the center of the channel, we could see there was a platform with a group of Kuo-toa on it - with Shuushar in the center.
• As we approached the platform, we reached out to him on the link and asked if we could free him.
• His response was muddled, but seemed to be along the lines of "RELEASE ME."
• We surmised that Shuushar was possessed by a demon.
• The Kuo-toa stabbed Shuushar in unison, releasing his bloo into the water.
• Eldith and Roland rowed harder, as Aramil drew his magical longsword and looked longingly at the platform. Sareth was also completely consumed with terror, huddled in the bottom of the boat.
• We exited the area as a radiance grew beneath the water. Aramil and Sareth calmed as we got some distance.
• On the other side, another Drow boat waited, with the junior priestess.
• She summoned a shadow demon. It slid into the water as Roland fired and hit the priestess.
• She returned the favor with a lightning bolt. Roland dodged it, but still took a significant hit.
• Roland hit with a poisoned arrow, and she dropped.
• We turned our ship to intercept the Drow vessel. The shadow demon apparently returned to attack its unonscious mistress, because we heard screams and their boat stopped acting under direction.
• Behind us, something woke. Sareth fell to the ground screaming, as Aramil drew his sword.
• Eldith and Roland let our vessel drift for a moment while they wrestled and bound Aramil and relieved him of the sword. Then they did the same with Sareth.
• Behind us, at Sloobludop, we could see a giant, two-headed demon rise from the water. It was easily 30-40' tall. It Demogorgon, Prince of Demons.

03/06/2016

• We continued on our intercept course for the Drow vessel. Things had settled down a bit at this point; two Drow were still alive but not hiding from us as well.
• Between us and the shadow demon, the remaining two Drow were easy to dispatch. We fought off the shadow demon.
• We looted the Drow and transferred to the Drow vessel. It was lighter, so if we had to portage it might be better.
• Once we got rowing, Roland noticed that Eldith wasn't very sure about where she was. She was trying though, and hoped we'd get to some landmarks.
• Another vessel was approaching behind us. We altered our course, and it did not move to match. It was empty, with no obvious occupants or method of locomotion.
• We could see a small head over the head of the boat as it got closer, and seemed to have a water elemental powering it.
• B'jarn hailed the boat, and the Svirfneblin stopped to chat at about 60'.
• She told us there was a Duergar city of Gracklestew about two days away. It was a major trading post.
• She was willing to trade with us... After discussing some options, we traded our Scroll of Resurrection for a Rapier +2, a Shortsword +1, and a Bag of Holding.
• After completing the exchange and starting to leave, she told us her name was Ariana. She invited us to look her up if we made it to Gracklestew.
• She also warned us to look out for pirates.
• We traveled for two days without incident. They were in complete blackness - no fungal light, no light from below. We had to stay within around 120' of walls.
• Eldith heard something out of the ordinary ahead of us. It was directly in our path some distance ahead; something scuffing rock. Maybe shoes, maybe claws, we weren't sure.
• We proceeded slowly, but ran aground and were ambushed by Dark Mantles.
• We killed 9 Dark Mantles, but not before Sareth died.

03/13/2016

• 5th Level
• We got some distance away and rested.
• After a while, the passages grew narrower. Still navigable, but narrower.
• Eldith was very certain now about which way to go though, so we continued.
• We reached an area where skulls had been piled up. The area stank of excrement. Roland (surprisingly) identified the area as a likely troglodyte lair.
• The path was infested, but it was the only way.
• We entered a larger cavern, dimily lit by bioluminescent fungi. It was the main lair. Eldith informed us that this used to be a Kuo Toa trading settlement, but they had perhaps been overrun.
• We saw some fish-type people, which could be Kuo Toa, on the shores.
• As we approached within 40' of one of the shore, we saw 10 figures around a fire. They were clearly Kuo Toa. They looked kind of like troglodytes, but fishier.
• They were solidly sized. The battle was very close.
• At the end, only B'jarn was left standing. Thanks to Sprout's help stabilizing us as we went down, we made it, but barely.
• We took a short rest once we woke up and healed each other.
• There was a building at the other side of the cavern.
• We approached the building, and Roland kicked in one of the doors. There was a chained troll on the other side, and it was hungry. It hit Roland twice before he could run back.
• We backed off and took a long, uneventful rest.
• We reapproached and used Eldritch Bolts from B'jarn to blow through both of the doors from a safe distance.
• With B'jarn on the roof, and the rest of us on a boat, we were able to harass the troll with a flaming sphere and arrows until we overcame it.
• Once it was safe to enter, we found a locked hatch in one corner.
• It took an hour or so, but B'jarn was able to get through it using carefully placed Acid Splashes.
• We charged in. There were 5 more Troglodytes, which hurt a little more too, but we got through it.
• There was another room below it. It was a little smaller.
• It looked like some kind of religious area. There were two doors.
• One room had an ornate sarcophagus.
• The other had 4 smaller sarcophagi.
• As we investigated the room with the 4 small sarcophagi, specters rose up and engaged us. We took some damage, but killed them.
• The other sarcophagus had nothing in it; just a curse.
• We waited 24 hours for the curse to wear off. During that time, we found that one of the smaller sarcophagi was on rollers, exposing a stairway down.
• We descended. A wraith rose up and attacked.
• We killed it quickly, in large part thanks to Aramil's Spirit Guardians.
• This sarcophagus, we were able to open, though it was very hard.
• There was a longsword, a necklace, potion, 4000 silver, 1200 gold, 11 zircon (50g/ea)

  • Coin & gems were divided evenly; Roland volunteered to skip a zircon.
  • Longsword +1 - Kept for trade.
  • Necklace of Fireballs with 4 beads - B'jarn
  • Potion of Greater Healing (4d4+4) - Roland
  • Philter of Love - Kept for trade.