The Shadow Fey
As the party followed
Duhma through the darkness, tensions simmered among them, particularly between Yennifer, who now assumed command of the Falkovnians, and Lelf, who urged her to remain calm and trust in the party's judgment.
Yennifer's distrust of their new ally,
Duhma , was palpable, her suspicions echoing the concerns of many within the group. However, Lelf's calming words served to quell her apprehension, convincing her to withhold judgment until they had more information.
After nearly an hour of travel through the labyrinthine tunnels,
Duhma led the refugees to a cave opening, revealing a series of caverns and tunnels adorned with strange mosses, mushrooms, and iridescent crystals. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the echoes of distant whispers.
As they ventured deeper into the underground realm, the tunnels opened up into a vast subterranean chamber, where the people of this land had constructed a small village of stone and moss. The inhabitants, a number of other
Shadow Fey, greeted the party with cautious curiosity, their eyes betraying a mixture of fear and mistrust.
Burn the Bodies
With a sense of urgency,
Duhma instructed the party to place the corpses of the dead around a cool-burning fire of teal and purple flames. Reluctantly, they complied, watching with a mixture of fascination and horror as another
Shadow Fey named
Ki'Ari was summoned.
As
Ki'Ari began to play a haunting melody on her flute, carved from a large bone, the corpses rapidly decomposed into thick globs of black ichor. The party looked on in awe as they witnessed the macabre transformation, realizing the necessity of disposing of the bodies to prevent them from rising as Shadows or worse.
Duhma explained how in this plane, the dead held a dark and restless energy, prone to reanimation if not properly disposed of. It was a grim reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows, ever ready to claim those who fell victim to its grasp.
Sual, still grappling with his fragmented memories of this place, shared his concerns with Duhma. Unsurprised by
Suol 's revelation,
Duhma explained how this plane had a way of altering both the mind and body of those who dwelled within its borders. He pointed out the vulnerability of his own tribe to light, a weakness that they had learned to navigate and overcome in their struggle for survival.
With the bodies disposed of and the immediate threat averted,
Duhma instructed
Ki'Ari to escort the party and the Falkovnians to the edge of the village, where they would be provided with shelter and protection. Though the journey ahead was fraught with uncertainty, the party found solace in the knowledge that they were not alone in this strange and hostile land, and that together, they would find a way to navigate the perils that lay ahead.
A Dark Fairytale
Duhma began to recount the origins of his tribe and their journey to the dark realm they now inhabited, the party listened intently, drawn into the tale of betrayal and survival against overwhelming odds.
He spoke of their previous existence in the Fae Wilds, dwelling beneath the ground in a place known as the Under Dark. In this subterranean realm, they worshipped a cruel and deceitful goddess of the Drow, following the teachings of their Elders without question.
But everything changed with the arrival of "the Voyager," a mysterious being with the gift to step between dimensions. Alongside him came his Priestess, offering the Drow a different path, one free from the tyranny of their Elders and their oppressive religion.
However, the promise of change and freedom brought with it the wrath of those in power. The Elders, fearing the loss of their control, launched a ruthless campaign to destroy the Voyager and his followers. Using their trickery and influence, they manipulated an order of Paladins known as
The Circle led by
Kateri Shadowborn, to wage war against the
Tribe.
Caught in a desperate struggle for survival, the
Voyager and his Priestess,
Lyandria , devised a ritual to transport their followers to another dimension, seeking refuge from the persecution of their enemies. But their plans were thwarted by a vicious attack from both
The Circle and the
Elders, leaving them trapped between worlds.
In a final act of sacrifice, the Voyager gave his life to save the Tribe, containing them within a mystical dragon egg that absorbed and released magical energy. This act created a demiplane, a prison that now held both the
Tribe and their enemies, the
Elders, in eternal confinement.
Revelation of Lyandria
Suol implored
Lyandria to reveal herself in hopes of uncovering clues about their escape from the plane, the symbiotic entity reluctantly acquiesced, revealing her ravaged form to
Duhma and the rest of the party. A wave of shame and sadness washed over
Lyandria as she bared herself to their gaze, the physical remnants of her suffering at the hands of the Paladins laid bare for all to see.
With a heavy heart,
Duhma expressed his sorrow for the horrors that had befallen
Lyandria , his empathy evident in his somber expression. Determined to offer her some semblance of solace, he cast a spell that altered her image, restoring her appearance to its previous form.
However, the transformation proved to be only illusory, as
Lyandria remained unable to touch solid matter, her ethereal form unchanged despite her altered appearance. Despite their best efforts, the party realized that Lyandria's condition was beyond their ability to heal, a grim reminder of the cruelty and injustice that had brought them to this dark realm.
The Dawn Gate
Lyandria revealed the existence of the portal known as the
Dawn Gate, a glimmer of hope sparked within the party. Duhma explained that the Elders who had been pulled through with the Tribe now guarded the Dawn Gate, preventing their escape from the demiplane. He also revealed that the Tribe itself couldn't pass through the area due to a large, sun-like energy that now hovered over it, capable of scorching their flesh due to their changed nature within the domain.
Despite the formidable obstacles standing in their way, Duhma agreed to guide the party to the caves where the
Dawn Gate was located, offering them a chance to find an escape route. Recognizing the urgency of their situation, he also agreed to keep the Falkovnians under his charge while the party sought a way to release everyone from this prison.
With their resolve steeled and their purpose clear, the party set out into the darkness, guided by
Duhma's leadership and determination. Each step forward brought them closer to the possibility of freedom, and though the path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, they faced it with unwavering courage and determination.
The Spiders' Den
The light began to intensify and
Duhma bid them farewell, the party prepared to venture into the caverns that held the
Dawn Gate. With his departure, they felt a mixture of gratitude for his guidance and apprehension about the challenges that lay ahead.
Approaching the entrance to the cavern, guarded by two seemingly motionless armored figures,
Thuldor Ironbreaker and
Zildeen Zaratul volunteered to negotiate with the guards. However, upon closer inspection, they realized that the figures were nothing but withered husks, mere remnants of their former selves.
Perplexed by this discovery, the party pressed on, with Zildeen noticing small pitted indentations on the ground, indicating the presence of something non-humanoid in the area. Despite the eerie atmosphere, they continued into the cave, unaware of the dangers lurking within.
Suddenly, disaster struck as
Thuldor Ironbreaker tripped a wire, triggering a cave-in that revealed multiple passages branching off in different directions. Undeterred, the party pressed forward, determined to find a way through the maze of tunnels and reach the Dawn Gate.
Their journey took an unexpected turn as they encountered a bridge of spun web spanning a chasm, a clear indication of the presence of giant spiders. With weapons drawn and hearts pounding, the party braced themselves for battle, ready to face whatever dangers lay ahead as they ventured deeper into the darkness of the caverns.
Flies in a Web
Giant spiders descended from the cavern ceiling, hunger gleaming in their multifaceted eyes, Thuldor sprang into action, wielding his mighty pickaxe, Stoneshaper, with precision and strength. With a series of powerful strikes, he knocked the creatures off the stone walls, preventing them from ambushing the party from above.
However, his valiant efforts came at a cost, as the falling spiders landed heavily upon him, knocking him to the unforgiving stone floor below. Despite the pain, Thuldor remained resolute, fighting on alongside his companions as they battled against the arachnid assailants.
With their combined efforts, the party emerged victorious, vanquishing the giant spiders and securing their passage across the bridge of spun web. Yet, as the adrenaline of battle began to subside, a grim discovery awaited them.
Zildeen, ever vigilant, searched the corpses of the fallen spiders and made a startling revelation. Among the remains of the beasts, he discovered humanoid bones, not within their stomachs as expected, but nestled within their bodies as if forgotten fragments lost within. The implications of this unsettling discovery weighed heavily on the party as they pondered the mysteries of the dark caverns they now traversed.
Undeterred by the ominous signs around them, the party pressed forward, crossing the bridge and venturing deeper into the darkness of the caverns. With each step, they moved closer to their goal, driven by a determination to uncover the secrets that lay hidden within the depths of the earth and to find a way to escape the confines of this shadowy realm.
