Session 31

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

The Heroes take advantage of the chaos in the city, and sneak inside the tower of Sorcere. They reach Gromph Baenre's chambers, and face the magical guardians and traps put in place to protect the Book of the Nine. With the book finally in their hands, they leave Vizeran's amulet in Gromph's study, and go back to Araj.

While Vizeran prepares himself for the ritual, the Heroes go back home to rest and say their goodbyes. They receive the visit of the ancient golden dragon Prothanter, and his retinue of metallic dragons. Each of them presents the gift of a powerful magical item to use in the battle to come. Only Prothanter bears no gift, yet he assures the Heroes that he has not fogotten them.

The day after, the Heroes go back to Araj, where Vizeran informs them that the ritual will be completed in one day. The Heroes teleport to Menzoberranzan, and ready themselves for the Rage of Demons to be unleashed on the drow city.

Several hours go by, when rifts in reality start to appear, uncontrolled surges of faerzness from which hordes of demons come forth, to battle each other in a frenzy on the streets of Menzoberranzan. Eventually, the nine demon lords make their appearance, and begin to tear into each other. As the battle unfolds, the chaotic energies of the fearzness fill the demons with their power. But it's a power that means their death.

Unable to contain it, one by one the demons literally explode, leaving behind only their stench. The demon lords battle each other, until only Juiblex stands (!) triumphant. Then the fearzness surges all around the massacre, and also the ooze lord is destroyed. 

The Heroes survey the carnage, thousands of elves dead, buildings destroyed. Yet it seems that the battle is won. They couldn't be more wrong. As the faerzness surges once again, a portal opens above the ruin of Menzoberranzan, and Lolth, Queen of Spiders, makes her entrance, in the form of a drow priestess.

As she laughs and gloat upon the corpses of her former servants, she notices the Heroes and battle is joined. Even though she cannot use her full divine powers on the Prime Material Plane, she's a terrible foe. The Heroes fight her with all they have, with Thoradin losing his life in the battle. When Tarkin manages to cut her head, the Heroes have a few second to rejoice.

Then, from her drow corpse, the hybrid form of Lolth arises, a gargantuan monster with a humaoid torso and a spider body. With their powers almost completely spent, Ruthinn calls for a divine intervention from Sune, goddess of Love and Beauty. The goddess answers the call, and raises Thoradin from the dead, while at the same time infusing the Heroes with renewed strength.

Battle is joined again, and this time the Heroes have an ally. Plunging on the monstrous form of Lolth from above, the golden dragon Prothanter unleashes a river of fire on the goddess, then claws and bites into her.

Dwarves and dragon fight the Queen of Spiders; after a hard battle, Moryak aims his crossbow one last time, and hits Lolth square through the eye. The form of Lolth begins to discorporate. The Heroes have won the day! 

Session 30

Menzoberranzan

Heroes: Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

Having recovered one more of the components needed by Vizeran, the Heroes return to the archmage, though they still have some doubts. The drow wizard plans to unleash the ritual in Menzoberranzan, where many thousands will die. Thoradin still believes the ritual should be performed in some place less populated, but Vizeran insists that Menzoberranzan is the only place where he can be sure the ritual will be successful.

While Vizeran creates the amulet of the Dark Heart, the Heroes return to Greywall keep to enjoy some rest before the final steps of their journey. Tarkin contacts Prothanter, the ancient golden dragon that helped the Greywall brothers during the Rise of Tiamat. He seeks the counsel of the powerful creature, and also warns him of the impending danger. Prothanter warns the Heroes against the deceptions of the dark elves.

When the Heroes return to the Tower of Araj, Vizeran gives them the Dark Heart. They will have to place it in the same spot where the ritual book of Gromph Baenre can be found, inside the tower of Sorcere in Menzoberranzan. Once the amulet is in place, they must return to him with the book, and he will unleash the ritual upon the drow city.

The Heroes travel to Menzoberranzan, magically disguised as dark elves. They make their way through several sections of the city, when sudden disaster strikes. Dark wraiths rise from the ground in great numbers, slaughtering drow and slaves alike. They are the harbingers of Orcus, demon lord of undeath. As the giant form of Orcus makes its way to Sorcere, the Heroes attract its attention, and battle is joined. The demon lord seems to have the upper hand in the beginning, but when the Heroes manage to organize and combine their efforts, not even the great Orcus can resist them.

After a bloody battle, Thoradin punches the demon lord one last time in the jaw with his magical Bigby's Hand, and mighty Orcus falls in defeat.

Session 29

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin

The Heroes go back to the Tower of Araj, to deliver more components to Vizeran. All that's left is to gather the rare timmask mushrooms, and the notes of Gromph Baenre. The Heroes decide to go for the mushrooms first, and travel to Araumycos, a huge sentient fungal growth covering hundreds of miles of the Underdark.

While crossing the moss-infested tunnels, they encounter a parade of myconids, dancing and skipping on their way to a grand event. Further investigation reveals that the myconids are under the influence of Zuggtmoy's madness, and and travelling to the center of Araumycos to witness the wedding of the Lady of Rot with Araumycos itself.

But not all myconids are lost; the sovereign Basidia of Neverlight Grove contacts the Heroes, giving them the ability to enter Araumycos mind to try and stop the unholy union. The Heroes travel to the center of Araumycos just as Zuggtmoy is performing her ritual to bind herself to the ancient being. They enter Araumycos' mind, and find the Queen of Fungi waiting for them. They battle her in the alien mindscape and defeat her!

When they come back to reality, they have no time to rejoice. Weakened by her battle with the Heroes, Zuggtmoy is now being devoured by Juiblex, demon lord of slime and oozes, who is executing a surprise attack on his hated adversary. The Faceless Lord and his legions of slimes roll over the myconid, engulfing them with their pseudopods. The Heroes do not shy away from this challenge, and charge to attack Juiblex. Even weakened from the fight with Zuggtmoy, the Heroes throw all they have at the Oozing Hunger, and defeat one more demon lord!

Session 28

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

Guided by Ruthinn's find the path spell, the Heroes arrive at the Gallery of Angels, where they find the petrified forms of fallen celestials cursed for ancient crimes. As they chip off their feathers to be used in Vizeran's ritual, the trapped minds of the angels send out thoughts of fear and despair. Ruthinn experiences a bout of madness, and his companions are forced to knock him unconscious before he kills them with his divine powers. When he awakes, the madness is gone. Having gathered the feathers, the Heroes follow their monodrone companions to the Orderer, a powerful artefact of Law created by the modron god Primus.

A few days later they arrive at a huge cavern, dominated by a wide rift. Inside the rift, the Heroes spot a spherical contraption of steel and brass, stuck 40 feet above a lake of magma. But the Orderer is not unguarded: the demon lord Baphomet has left a nalfeshnee demon and several vrocks inside the cave to make sure no one tinkers with the powerful law-aligned artefact.

The Heroes fight the demons, but very soon both Thoradin and Moryak are stunned by the vrocks' screeches, and are thrown into the magma, while Tarkin and Ruthinn fend off the band of demons. On the brink of death, Moryak regains his wits, and thanks to his magical boots flies away from the magma with Thoradin, and deposits both of them on the Orderer. Thoradin activates the artefact, which begins sending forth waves of wild magic.

In the distance, the four dwarves can hear the thunder of massive hooves approaching. Could that be Baphomet himself? The Heroes ready themselves for one more battle, when the Orderer unleashes a last wave of magical energy, sending all extraplanar entities in a 100 miles radius back to their plane of origin. The modrons disappear, and the cavern falls silent again, as the Orderer sinks into the magma.

Session 27

Heroes: Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

Guided by Ruthinn's find the path spell, the Heroes resume their travels to the Gallery of Angels. On their way they meet a dozen monodrones led by a tridrone officer. The Heroes question the modron, and learn that they're still trying to find a way home to Mechanus after marching in the Underdark for a couple of centuries. They mention some sort of divine artifact they call "the Orderer", situated somewhere in the middle of the Labyrith, but damaged and very dangerous. Intrigued, the Heroes convince the modron to guide them to the Orderer, to try and repair it and restore Law and Order in the Underdark.

The two groups travel together for a few days, when they arrive at a vast cave where a band of gnolls is battling a powerful goristro demon. But clearly they're not facing this menace alone. Leading them is the demon lord Yeenoghu himself! The Heroes remain hidden, and witness Yeenoghu slaughtering the goristro, and then leaving the cave, while his minions gorge on demon flesh. But the Heroes need the heart of a goristro for Vizeran's ritual, so they come out of hiding, and kill the gnolls. While they're retreaving the heart, Yeenoghu returns to the cave, howling vengeance for the death of his hunting party.

The modron assist the Heroes as best they can, considering their weapons cannot hurt the demon lord's fiendish form. Thoradin uses powerful magic to create a dome of prismatic force, useful both in defense and offense, while pelletting Yeenoghu with his arsenal of spells. Tarkin puts himself between the demon and his companions, while Ruthinn keeps everyone standing with his healing powers. Their team-work pays off, and even though they suffer greatly, they eventually succeed in shattering Yeenoghu's skull, and banish him back to the Abyss!

Session 26

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

 

The Heroes recover their strength at Greywall Keep, and then travel back to the Wormwrithings with the help of a couple of plane shift spells. They reach the worm nursery, and find the place has become a slaughterhouse, where several purple worms lie dead and half eaten in the vast caves. Among the carnage, the Heroes recover one last remaining purple worm egg. Then they travel back to Vizeran to deliver both the egg and the beholder eye that they gathered previously.

 

Vizeran welcomes them in his tower, and instructs them on their next destination. Deep inside a vast region of the Underdark called "the Labyrinth", they must find the Gallery of Angels to recover the celestial feathers they need. The Heroes travel to the Labyrinth, where they find that gnoll tribes and minotaur clans are locked in a bloody war, led by their respective demon lords, Yeenoghu and Baphomet.

 

After fighting their way through warbands of both factions, a captive gnoll leads them to the shanty-town of Filthriddens, where a crazed acolyte of Yeenoghu and his cultists perform their dark rites. Disgusted by their evil, Thoradin purges the whole town with a well placed meteor swarm.

Session 25

click to enlarge

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

The Heroes spend a couple of days in the Vast Oblivium, while they recover their strengths and use divination magic to find the location of a purple worm egg.

They leave the beholder's lair, and travel the round tunnels for a few days, before finally reaching their destination, the Worm Nursery. There they find a vast cave containing several clusters of purple worm eggs. Moryak has just managed to pry one of the round silvery eggs from the resin it was encased in, when a tunnel opens up on the side of the cave.

From the tunnel, the demon lord Qorgeth comes forth, enraged by the Heroes' presence. Instead of running for their lives, the Heroes decide to fight the Writhing Prince. The ground shakes under their feet, as the demon summons the power of an earthquake spell, sending Ruthinn falling 80 feet into a crevice. Then it proceeds with crushing the others under his massive body, while piercing them with its poisonous stinger.

The fight quickly goes against the Heroes, and one by one they're swallowed by Qorgeth. When Sune's does not answer his call for hep, Ruthinn realises it's time to leave. He jumps into the maw of Qorgeth, somehow finding his companions inside its gullet, and uses a word of recall spell to get them all away from danger.

Session 24

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin

The Heroes escape the Tower of Araj, and find refuge in the Underdark. After a few hours of rest, Ruthinn uses a scry spell to make sure no more surprise await them in the tower.

When they return, they find the corpses of Vizeran and his apprentice savagely mangled, but the tower looks empty. A thorough search in the library and laboratory provides more details about Vizeran's ritual. The Heroes decide to spend the night in the tower, to continute their study on the ritual the day after.

During the night the suits of armor decorating each floor come to life, led by none other than Vizeran himself! The archmage seems to have no recollection of the Heroes, and gives them one chance to explain what they're doing in his tower. The Heroes keep their wits about them and matters are clarified, as Vizeran reveals his return is the result of a clone spell he prepared for such an occasion.

The day after, Vizeran sends the Heroes to the Wormwrithings to recover the first components needed for his ritual: the unhatched egg of a purple worm, and the central eye of a beholder.

The Heroes travel through the tubular tunnels of the Wormwrithings for several days, and eventually reach the Vast Oblivium, the lair of the beholder Karazikar. The beholder is surrounded by dozens of slaves that venerate the aberration as their god. After a short introduction the Heroes provoke the beholder's wrath, and battle is joined.

The Heroes emerge victorious from the confrontation, and recover the beholder's central eye.

Session 23

Heroes: Thoradin, Tarkin, Moryak, Ruthinn

The Heroes recover from their wounds, and they meet again with Vizeran. The drow mage commends them for their courage, and invites them to visit him when they've concluded their researches in Gravenhollow. Before leaving, he gives them a map detailing the path to reach his Tower of Araj.

The Heroes are granted an audience with the three stone giant librarians of Gravenhollow. The librarians thank them for their efforts in battling Fraz-Urb'luu, and reward them with a stonespeaker crystal, a magical item that will grant them visions when they visit the library's archives.

The dwarves visit again the archives of the past, present, and future, and receive visions confirming the involvement of Gromph Baenre, archmage of Menzoberranzan, with the arrival of the demon lords. But it looks like the archmage was not the only responsible. From the visions, Thoradin learns that the demon queen of spiders, Lolth, has manipulated the events somehow.

Having learned what they can from Gravenhollow, the Heroes travel to Araj where they meet with Vizeran. The mage reveals that he has a plan to stop the demonic incursion by performing a ritual that will summon the demon lords to Menzoberranzan, where they will battle against each other. He trusts that the party will then be able to defeat the last demon standing, thus sending them all back to the Abyss. Vizeran will need the Heroes' help in order to acquire the components necessary for the ritual.

• The intact and unhatched egg of a purple worm - for channeling great physical power. 
• The central eye of a beholder - to break down magical resistance and overcome magical forces. 
• Six feathers from six different angels - the authority of the celestial realms and a force to enrage fiendish creatures. 
• The heart of a goristro - to reach and influence the hearts of other demons. 
• Thirteen timmasks, also known as "devil's mushrooms", sprouted from the footprint of a marilith, a balor, or a goristro - a lure to draw demons in. 
• A few drops of blood or ichor from a demon lord - to connect with the demons the ritual will call. 
• Gromph Baenre's grimoires and notes on his ritual - to assist in better understanding the power that summoned the demon lords.

Yet, the demon lords do not sit idly. While the Heroes are planning with Vizeran, Graz'zt and a marilith companion make their entrance in the wizard's sanctum, set on killing Vizeran. While the Heroes cover him, Vizeran escapes.

Battle is joined, but unfortunately the marilith rapidly assaults Ruthinn, entrapping him in her coils. The demon lord uses powerful magic to turn invisible, and then harrasses the Heroes with his acidic sword and his abyssal powers. The fight quickly turns to the worst, as one by one the Heroes fall. When Graz'zt pierces Tarkin's heart with his blade, Ruthinn begs the goddess Sune to come to aid. Miracolously, the goddess makes her appearance, raising Tarkin from the dead, and healing the others.

With Graz'zt's attention now focused on hunting Vizeran, the Heroes decide to run for their lives. As they leave the tower, the screams of terror and pain of the former archmage Vizeran fill the cave.

Session 22

Heroes: Moryak, Ruthinn, Tarkin, Thoradin

The Heroes visit the legendary library of Gravenhollow, where the records of the past, present, and future of the Underdark are kept. They hope to find more information about the demonic incursion that is plaguing the deep caverns of Faerun. While they search the ancient halls, they meet fellow researchers, but also echoes of those that have walked the same floors in the past, or in the future!

During their research, they're approached by Vizeran DeVir, a drow archamge exiled from Menzoberranzan. He seems to share the Heroes' interest in the demons, and he even suggests that the cause of all these troubles is to be found in Menzoberranzan. He accuses the archmage Gromph Baenre of having accidentally summoned the demon lords in the Underdark while performing a dangerous ritual.

But their discussion is soon interrupted. Initially disguised behind a human form, the demon lord Fraz'Urb-luu orders the Heroes to stop their meddling and bow to his power. As expected, the Heroes refuse and throw themselves at the demon. The lord of deception sheds his human guise and towers over them, as he calls forth his servant Xazax the beholder. The aberration unleashes deadly rays of power at the Heroes, while Fraz'Urb-luu uses his power to create illusions of their worst fears in their minds. Illusions of such intensity they can kill!

After a long and savage battle, the Heroes manage to destroy Xazax, but must succumb to Fraz'Urb-luu's might. The stone giant librarians rush to the site of the battle before the Heroes are slaughtered, and the demon lord, grieviously injured, abandons the field.

Session 21

Heroes: Alric, Sinhim, Zimridge

Fraz'Urb-luu seems more interested in minions than victims, and tries to trick the Heroes into servitude. When all else fails, he possesses Sinhim body, disappearing once again from view. Though his presence can be felt as a lingering sense of unease, Sinhim remains in control of his faculties.

 

With the gem destroyed, and peace restored in Manthol-derith, the Heroes begin their journey to Gravenhollow. As the days go by, they travel in the dark tunnels of the Underdark, facing natural terrors, and the occasional demons roaming the maddened halls.

 

Their path leads them near to purple worms' territory, and the svirfneblin Peeble suggests to take an alternative route. The Heroes trust the sneaky gnome, but are led into the lair of Peeble's master... Xazax the beholder!

 

The aberration demands the Heroes' surrender, but his threats fall on deaf ears. When battle is joined, the beholder uses his full magical power against the Heroes, and one by one they succumb to his might.

 

When the last one of them dies, Fraz'Urb-luu leaves Sinhim's corpses, and shows his fearsome visage to Xazax. The beholder quickly pledges his servitude to the demon lord. With all the Heroes dead, things look very grim for the Underdark, and for the world above. Will new Heroes come forth to save the day?

Session 20

Heroes: Alric, Sinhim, Zimridge

It is clear that whoever touches the gem is taken by madness. The Heroes secure the gem in a box, and deliver it to the duergar in exchange for Yantha, the svirfneblin leader. When they return her to the gnome enclave, she's still under the influence of the gem, and still craves to obtain the malign artifact for herself.

Believing that the only way to get rid of this curse is to destroy the gem, the Heroes ask Ghazrim help to arrange a meeting of all leaders of Manthol Derith in the main market. While they're gathered there, they plan to infiltrate the duergar enclave and destroy the gem.

Everything goes as planned, but when they arrive at the duergar warehouse, they find many dwarves guarding the gem. Before blood is spilled, they appeal to the duergar sense of honour with a moving speech, and Chief Negotiator Ghuldur agrees to let fate decide the issue: if Zimridge can defeat their xorn monstrosity, they'll relinquish the gem. The barbarian is eager for a fight, and throws himself inside the xorn's pit. The duel is bloody, but Zimridge emerges victorious.

Under the eager eyes of the duergar, Alric uses his blade of sunlight to cut the gem in half. As dark smoke spreads from the broken crystal, a fiendish form starts to take shape... the demon lord Fraz'Urb-luu is finally free from his prison!

Session 19

Heroes: Alric, Sinhim, Zimridge

The Heroes hurry to the drow enclave, where they meet a friendy dark elf calling himself "Zilch"; he tries to help them in their search for Flink, but without much success. As they're about to leave, a screaming, terryfied Flink comes out of hiding, running to them for protection. He explains to the Heroes that he fears for his life, though it is soon clear that he's also affected by some sort of madness. To make matters worse, he reveals that the gem once entrusted to him by Yantha has been stolen by a gargoyle.

As they try to get more information out of Flink, they realize that several items of considerable value have "disappeared" from their belongings. Their suspects quickly point to Zilch, who is surprised to be accused of such felony. Yet, he refuses to have his bag checked by the Heroes, and the situation quickly escalates, with Zimridge challenging the drow to a duel. Unfortunately for the gnome, Zilch is a mage of great power, and pellets the barbarian with lighting bolts until he's knocked unconscious. The Heroes leave the drow enclave, and Alric heals Zimridge just in time for their evening meeting with the Zhentarim.

When they arrive at the Zhentarim outpost, they notice a gargoyle surveying the entrance of the main pavillion. They try to provoke the creature to come down from its ledge, but in so doing they attract the attention of the half-dozen drow emissaries present in the pavillion. A few words from Zimridge are enough to start a fight. Leading the drow is a deadly female assassin, who stabs Alric to near death.

When things turn depserate, Gazhrim DuLoc makes his appearance, accompanied by the maimed beholder Lorthuun. The fight becomes even more chaotic. The gargoyle, apparently deeply in love with the female assassin, does his best to protect her. From her part, the assassin, also taken by some unexplained madness, focuses all her efforts in killing the beholder. But she's no match for the aberration, and soon her skin is peeled off her flesh and bones by the tyrnat eye magic. From her remains, a dark gem falls to the ground.

Sinhim orders one of his men to take the gem. When the thug does as ordered, a glint of madness begins to shine in his eyes...

Session 18

Click to Enlarge

Heroes: Alric, Daza, Zimridge

Upon their arrival in Manthol Derith, the Heroes are soon involved in the outpost's power plays. They save a band of svirfneblin being chased by duergar, and discover that the gnomes' leader (Yantha) has been kindnapped by the dark dwarves. When they confront the duergar about this issue, they learn that Yantha has stolen a magical gem from the dwarves. 

While one of the gnomes they saved (Peeble) tries to push them to murder all the duergar, the Heroes try to handle the situation diplomatically. They approach the duergar, and obtain permission to speak with Yantha. They soon discover that the gnome leader has no idea of the whereabouts of the gem, and she's gone completely mad due to the influence of the precious stone. The duergar agree to give the Heroes one day to find their gem, then they will execute Yantha.

Investigating the matter, the Heroes discover that Flink, Yantha's former apprentice, may have absconded with the gem. After searching the surroundings of the outpost, the Heroes catch news that Flink has been spotted somewhere around the drow enclave.

In the meanwhile, Daza has reached out to her Zhentarim contacts, and learned that the drow are quite interested in meeting the maimed beholder guardian the Zhents keep in their warehouse.

Session 17

Heroes: Alric, Daza, Sinhim, Zimridge

The Heroes leave Gauntlgrym with the blessing of king Bruenor, and travel to a hidden cave among the Surbrin Hills. From there, they begin the month-long journey to Mantol-Derith, deep into the ground. On the way, they must face the dangerous predators of the Underdak, and the hostile environment. 

When they're a few days from the trading outpost, they encounter their old traveling companion Daza: she seems to know a lot about Manthol-Deirth, and she fears that the madness that is rapidly spreading in the Underdark has reached also the outpost.

Session 16

Heroes: Alric, Sinhim, Zimridge

The Heroes enjoy a well-deserved rest for the next three months. Yet, they do not remain idle, trying to alert the world above of the evil gathering in the Underdark. Unfortunately their warnings fall on deaf ears, as the lords of the Sword Coast dismiss thir words as rumors and tall-tales.

When all hope to gather any support seems lost, the Heroes receive an invitation from the dwarven king Bruenor Battlehammer, sovereign of Gauntlgrym and legendary hero of the North.

When they arrive in the underground realm, the king welcomes them as great lords, and is eager to hear their story. He takes the Heroes' warnings at heart, and promises to support them in their fight against the evil rising in the Underdark. To this end, Bruenor has organised a feast, where the Heroes will have the chance to gather the support of the great factions of the Sword Coast.

During the feast, the Heroes manage to obtain the help of the emerald Enclave, the Zentharim, and the Order of the Gauntlet, all offering man-power to accompany the Heroes into the Underdark.

From the Zentharim, they also learn of  the secret Underdark trading outpost of Manthol-Derith, where one of their agents, Ghazrim DuLoc, is stationed. DuLoc can provide the Heroes with a map to Gravenhollow, a legendary stone giants enclave said to contain the knowledge of the depths. If any answer can be found about the events of a few months back, Gravenhollow may be the place to start.

Session 15

Heroes: Alric, Gothos, Sinhim

The Heroes defeat the fire snake, and decapitate the salamander. They gather its head, and proceed to the upper levels of the compound, where they find an ancient magical portal surrouned by alcoves containing skulls. When they position the salamander skull inside the one empty alcove, the portal activates.

When they cross the portal, they find themselves in a vast tunnel. Ahead of them they can see an exit, and the blue of the morning sky. Yet their happiness is short-lived. As they move to the exit, a hunting party of dark elves from Velkynvelve gives them chase. The Heroes run to the open, and hide among the surrounding trees. The dark elves, at a disadvantage in the light of the sun, go back to the tunnel, and do not return.

The Heroes wander the wilds, eventualy finding their way to the town of Triboar. They spend a few days carousing, then they join a caravan bound to Waterdeep. On the way, they defend the caravan from a band of marauding hobgoblins.

After almost two tendays of travel, they spot the walls of Waterdeep on the horizon. Have they finally left the dread of the Underdark behind them?

Session 14

Heroes: Gothos, Sinhim, Alric

The Heroes interrogate Droki, and find out about a shady organization called the Grey Ghosts active in the duergar city. But most importantly, they learn from their prisoner of a "portal" that will finally bring them to the world above.

They decide to keep the dragon egg for themselves, and flee the city together with Droki, to reach the abandoned dwarven outpost where the portal is said to be.

In the outpost, they find several giant-sized vermins infesting the place, and a few infernal creatures. From a captured imp, they learn that in order to activate the portal, they'll need the skull of a salamander, an elemental creature of fire lurking in the lower levels of the outpost.

With their minds set on leaving the Underdark behind, the Heroes descend to the fiery lower levels, ready to face the mighty salamander, and its fire snake minions.

Session 13

Heroes: Gothos, Sinhim, Daza, Alric

The Heroes store the dragon egg into their bag of holding, and continue the exploration of the derro caves. After passing through caves filled with offal, they find a large room where several derro cultists are performing a dark ritual in honor of Demogorgon. The Heroes rapidly dispatch the crazed dwarves, and disrupt their ritual.

But when Gothos approaches the ritual circle, a madness takes control of his mind, and he turns on his own companions! Fearing he may kill someone with his necromantic powers, they knock him out. Whe he awakes a few hours later, he's back in control.

Not long after, they stumble upon Droki, a derro messenger running around the caves, to and from Gracklstugh, with a satchel full of surprises. When the Heroes capture him, they hope to get from his a few answers about the many plots unfolding in the duergar city.

Session 12

Whorlstone Tunnels

Heroes: Druid, Alric, Gothos, Sinhim

 

The Heroes are approached by the Keepers of the Flame, a cult in charge of maintaing the magical fires used in the city's forges. They introduce them to the mighty Themberchaud, an arrogant and bloated red dragon, who believes to be the real ruler of the city.

Both Themberchaud and the Keepers want the Heroes to recover a missing dragon egg from the Gray Ghosts down in Whorlstone Tunnels. The Keepers want the egg so they can murder Themberchaud and put a younger and more easily controlled dragon in charge of maintaining the furnaces.

 

The Heroes find their way into the tunnels, and discover the magical powers of several of the mushrooms in the dark caves. Some can make them grow, some can make them shrink, and some are simply deadly poison.

 

Thanks to Druid's scouting abilities, the Heroes find the room where the egg is kept, guarded by a derro savant and a monstrous "spectator", a creature similar to a beholder, but luckily not as powerful. After killing both guardians, the Heroes approach the dragon egg.