EooD Session 33: Dordekt's Death
General Summary
Month 1, Week 3, Year 908
Day 8 in the Underdark
The Dark Souls continued to sneak into illithid territory, surveying the area to check for any more patrols of mind-controlled slaves. Despite the quaggoth run-in earlier in the afternoon, the camp's illithids appeared focused on overseeing the construction of new buildings and outposts in the camp. Nineveh sent her familiar Merlin flying towards the Broken Tower, the tower where Marwen had told Jael she was staying. When Merlin jumped onto the ledge of the tower's window, Marwen appeared friendly and inviting, hopefully a sign that she wasn't corrupted by the illithids. A couple of tense moments passed as the party raced over to the tower, avoiding detection through a combination of spells and luck. They found the Broken Tower's interior full of food and general supplies, presumably for the camp's brainwashed slaves. The top of the tower was transformed into a makeshift wizard's lab, every wall and desk covered in diagrams and arcane formulae. Lachesis checked to see that Marwen wasn't under the influence of the mind flayers, put more at ease when she saw her long-lost sister's same nervous tics and intensity. Once the reunions were complete, Marwen explained her reason for staying in the illithid camp: to search for a way to kill Dordekt once and for all. Dordekt was an ancient mind flayer kept alive by arcane spells from House Hainaut, and Marwen had spent the past few years searching for a way to undo these wards. There were a couple of spells capable of undoing this damage, but many of them took too long or required enormous amounts of energy. A modified 'Wish' spell could accelerate the effects of a necromantic spell and kill Dordekt in a matter of seconds, but she lacked the components needed to channel so much arcane energy. At this point Nineveh offered Marwen her dagger, the fey weapon glowing a vibrant purple color as the matriarch touched it. Marwen needed time to recalculate some of her formlae, but it appeared that the dagger was the missing component in her spell. The rest of the party rested and talked among themselves, preparing for the swarm of illithids that would attack them the moment they landed in Dordekt's lair. Allexander wanted to have a long conversation to catch up with his mother, but Jael made sure Skyler kept him distracted so Marwen could focus on her work. With the new spell complete, the party was teleported to Dordekt's lair by Marwen for the most harrowing minute of their lives. Five doors opened out into the vast network of tunnels beneath the illithid camp, and in the center of the room stood a massive vat of gray matter that made up the mind flayer Dordekt. The party set up a defensive line around Marwen as she prepared the spell, Poolp leaping over to the other side of the room in case any more creatures showed up from that end. Almost immediately three illithids stormed the chambers, unfazed by the 'Grease' spell Lachesis had cast on the doorways. Verity and Arnulf cast off a salvo of arrows, tipped with the paralyzing slime of Poolp's pet slug Guls. Poolp had one of these creatures in a chokehold the moment they stepped into the room, and a barrage of magic attacks from Skyler and Allexander kept the illthids too distracted to maintain concentration on any of their spells. The monsters kept rushing through the doorways, and the party kept pushing them back. Despite their overwhelming firepower, some illtihid attacks slipped through the cracks. An alhoon that had led the first wave of attackers noticed Jael rushing forward, firing off a beam of green energy and disintegrating her instantaneously. Lachesis tried to counter the spell, but the headstrong cleric was nothing but a pile of ash by the battle's end. Jael's sacrifice and the party's valiant fighting gave Marwen enough time to complete her spell and give Dordekt the thing he'd been craving for centuries: death. The room was enveloped in a blinding flash of light, the remaining illithids left reeling in pain as their major source of psionic energy was left dead inside a vat of liquids. Marwen looked gaunt and weakened from the casting of the spell, but the rest of the party carried her out of the chambers and back out up to the camp's top level. Dazed mind flayers writhed in pain down the various hallways, the party making sure to deal with as many of them as they could along the way. Back on the surface many of the slaves were walking around in a daze, confused about where they were and what had happened to them. The Dark Souls convinced them to start fighting back, a handful of quaggoths taking to the task with a ruthless glee. Noticing some tieflings among the freed, Lachesis invited them to join the party on their return to Dromire (after all, they'd make good bargaining chips in negotiations with Rakka). Making small talk as the party escaped from the illithid camp, a blue tiefling introduced himself as Mormo.
Day 8 in the Underdark
The Dark Souls continued to sneak into illithid territory, surveying the area to check for any more patrols of mind-controlled slaves. Despite the quaggoth run-in earlier in the afternoon, the camp's illithids appeared focused on overseeing the construction of new buildings and outposts in the camp. Nineveh sent her familiar Merlin flying towards the Broken Tower, the tower where Marwen had told Jael she was staying. When Merlin jumped onto the ledge of the tower's window, Marwen appeared friendly and inviting, hopefully a sign that she wasn't corrupted by the illithids. A couple of tense moments passed as the party raced over to the tower, avoiding detection through a combination of spells and luck. They found the Broken Tower's interior full of food and general supplies, presumably for the camp's brainwashed slaves. The top of the tower was transformed into a makeshift wizard's lab, every wall and desk covered in diagrams and arcane formulae. Lachesis checked to see that Marwen wasn't under the influence of the mind flayers, put more at ease when she saw her long-lost sister's same nervous tics and intensity. Once the reunions were complete, Marwen explained her reason for staying in the illithid camp: to search for a way to kill Dordekt once and for all. Dordekt was an ancient mind flayer kept alive by arcane spells from House Hainaut, and Marwen had spent the past few years searching for a way to undo these wards. There were a couple of spells capable of undoing this damage, but many of them took too long or required enormous amounts of energy. A modified 'Wish' spell could accelerate the effects of a necromantic spell and kill Dordekt in a matter of seconds, but she lacked the components needed to channel so much arcane energy. At this point Nineveh offered Marwen her dagger, the fey weapon glowing a vibrant purple color as the matriarch touched it. Marwen needed time to recalculate some of her formlae, but it appeared that the dagger was the missing component in her spell. The rest of the party rested and talked among themselves, preparing for the swarm of illithids that would attack them the moment they landed in Dordekt's lair. Allexander wanted to have a long conversation to catch up with his mother, but Jael made sure Skyler kept him distracted so Marwen could focus on her work. With the new spell complete, the party was teleported to Dordekt's lair by Marwen for the most harrowing minute of their lives. Five doors opened out into the vast network of tunnels beneath the illithid camp, and in the center of the room stood a massive vat of gray matter that made up the mind flayer Dordekt. The party set up a defensive line around Marwen as she prepared the spell, Poolp leaping over to the other side of the room in case any more creatures showed up from that end. Almost immediately three illithids stormed the chambers, unfazed by the 'Grease' spell Lachesis had cast on the doorways. Verity and Arnulf cast off a salvo of arrows, tipped with the paralyzing slime of Poolp's pet slug Guls. Poolp had one of these creatures in a chokehold the moment they stepped into the room, and a barrage of magic attacks from Skyler and Allexander kept the illthids too distracted to maintain concentration on any of their spells. The monsters kept rushing through the doorways, and the party kept pushing them back. Despite their overwhelming firepower, some illtihid attacks slipped through the cracks. An alhoon that had led the first wave of attackers noticed Jael rushing forward, firing off a beam of green energy and disintegrating her instantaneously. Lachesis tried to counter the spell, but the headstrong cleric was nothing but a pile of ash by the battle's end. Jael's sacrifice and the party's valiant fighting gave Marwen enough time to complete her spell and give Dordekt the thing he'd been craving for centuries: death. The room was enveloped in a blinding flash of light, the remaining illithids left reeling in pain as their major source of psionic energy was left dead inside a vat of liquids. Marwen looked gaunt and weakened from the casting of the spell, but the rest of the party carried her out of the chambers and back out up to the camp's top level. Dazed mind flayers writhed in pain down the various hallways, the party making sure to deal with as many of them as they could along the way. Back on the surface many of the slaves were walking around in a daze, confused about where they were and what had happened to them. The Dark Souls convinced them to start fighting back, a handful of quaggoths taking to the task with a ruthless glee. Noticing some tieflings among the freed, Lachesis invited them to join the party on their return to Dromire (after all, they'd make good bargaining chips in negotiations with Rakka). Making small talk as the party escaped from the illithid camp, a blue tiefling introduced himself as Mormo.
Rewards Granted
- Jael Hainaut left the party
Character(s) interacted with
- Allexander Hainaut - a necromancer and Matriarch Marwen's firstborn son
- Arnulf Hainaut - Marwen's youngest son, a skilled ranger in the Underdark
- Marwen Hainaut - Matriarch of House Hainaut, one of the most talented spellcasters in Southern Pescat
Report Date
12 Jan 2021
Primary Location
Featured Players
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