DM: Dayman
PCs: Vuldred, Ragna, Bartimaeus, Oet, Morel, Shantarr, Velikos, Warden, Runt, Jax
Led by Vuldred we met up with Slyde and headed to a ramshackle tavern with an entrance to the Underdark. Slyde asked for our help, in finding some lance with which we could fight off an army of aberrations residing in an old drow city.
On our way to the tavern, Morel stepped on some metal and found a rudimentary sword. Later while we rested, Oet and I found a buried dead body during our watch, it looked really dead, but could it could still be a trap, so we kept holding the watch and let it alone. Shantarr woke us all up as the magic around got strange. I shocked myself but the spell died, then some lightning thing materialized, I embraced it and let it flow through my body, but we moved on and rested further away, as this place did not seem to save.
Oet looked a little exhausted, as we moved on into a tavern and down into some caves leading to the Underdark. We explored the caves for a bit and faced a little ill looking beholder. It was still a fearsome enemy shutting of magic and paralyzing Ragna and Morel.
At first, Oet shot with his longbow and cowered behind an edge but took his whits charged after the monster afterward, slaying it. Out of a portal, there came two big midflayer-like creatures, Slyde identified them later as “Madcrafters of Thoon”, trying to grapple us with their tentacles and eat our brains. They seemed near invulnerable as some shield around them kept recharging, Then everything went suddenly black and I only remember a warm feeling as some healing magic from Shantarr got me back to my senses. By my side, Ragna was still struggling, being paralyzed and Oet was grappled and stunned by one of the creatures, but Morel seemed to have gotten free. But things didn’t look as bad, as Master Velikos had arrived and one of the madcrafters was slain by him and he was already fighting the remaining one. But then Oet’s brain got eaten by it and he slumped down, as Ragna finally freed himself and slew the remaining madcrafter.
Slyde told us some things about those madcrafters, they seem to be quite vulnerable to lightning as it stops their shield from recharging. Some disease was spreading from the beholder, we quickly grabbed a few things and burned its body, as well as the madcrafter ones. We found two drow-hide leathered books on them, which Vuldred translated the deep speech writings as “Book of Zxcu: A compendium”
Morel carved his name on the crystal and a ghostly hand lunched out, grabbing after Morel, sending him to the ground. Another light flashed and a dens fog filled the area with the smell of rotten eggs. Bartimaeus went after Morel, teleporting with him to the cave entrance and after a while Morel came back to consciousness.
We trawled on down into the Underdark, Vuldred and Slyde leading our way. We came down a tunnel with three distinct paths. one left, one up and ahead and one right and down. Each tunnel had a little sign mark on the entrances while also giving a distinct smell.
A fish symbol and a smell of rotten fish on the left tunnel.
A flame above a brasier and some strange smell on the middle tunnel
A star constellation and the smell fresh backing cookies on the right tunnel
We went to the left tunnel, the smell got stronger and we came to a underground lake.
Shantarr split the lake and we started moving through it, but got teleported back to the edge as we reached the middle. We saw a reptilian head in the water, similar to a dragon but not quite like one luckily it seemed to only be an illusion, as its breath did not harm Vuldred, as he swam over the lake, reaching the other side. So we followed through.
As we there resting I started floating but fell down again after a bit of time. After we had rested, Slyed led the way to a refuge camp of his people.
Morel offered them some goodberries, providing some food. We saw that many of them are heavily wounded as well as their priestess, we healed all of them, getting them up and strengthening their moral.
I kept at the camp, helping them further while the rest went ahead to face the aberrations in the drow city. Not that long after, Master Velikos came back, saying, the others are fine for now but they could use my help.
We headed together to the drow city, where the Rest of the party had slain some aberrations and demons. Runt and Warden had joined them in the meantime. They found a mask, that was emitting cold. Velikos send his familiar towards it and it was frozen and disappeared. Any of our attempts to get the Mask moving through magical means only resulted in the magic freezing away. Then Vuldred shoot a sturdy looking arrow at it, that also froze, together with the rope, hanging on it and as he touched the rope, Vuldred’s Body started to freeze and the Mask went right to his head.
I used the power of my necklace to cast a death ward on him and Warden and Ragna tried to cut the Mask off. While Ragna’s Sword started freezing on impact and he let loose, Warden holding some lance had more of an effect. But the Mask was still intact Warden experimented a bit more with the lance, touching the Mask and after a while, Vuldred started moving again and the things frozen to him and the mask, fall of.
Shantarr stated, that Vuldred should try holding the lance. Warden, doubt that would be a good idea, put it down and backed away. As Vuldred grabbed the lance, his entire body started to melt as a fiery explosion of white radiant light burst forth. The death ward I had cast on him, triggered, saving his life and the lance flew across the room, hitting the opposite wall.
We headed back to the refugee camp and Vuldred stated, that the mask seems to whisper to him and he got the feeling, it tries to convince him not to trust us. As it seems that the mask is cursed, I asked him if he would like me trying to remove it, but we agreed, that it might be to dangerous and he does not want me frozen to his face.
Arriving at the refugee camp, we helped the drow a bit more with some healing and gave them the retreived lance, while Vuldred stayed outside. Then we moved on, back to the surface and to White Moon Cove.
Jax