Session 27: Found Family Report
General Summary
After deciding that the best course of action was to first visit the Tower of Bèr Nölmien before heading to the Grand Cemetery, the party spent some time discussing how to proceed: should they go back the same way the came, risking further encounters with devils, cultists, and who knows what, or should they take their chances and see how close to the tower they can get if they follow the tunnels of the Maze to the outside of town? When a shifty individual who would not disclose their name overheard the party's conversation, they proposed to help out with a map that leads to an alchemist's workshop near the Western Switchback, which would get them a lot closer to their destination. The individual was prepared to trade the information; a hastily sketched single-line diagram ignoring whatever branches the tunnels may have had, for a collection of alchemical compounds with a sedatory effect. The party agreed to the terms, and Ronaldus Swanstone led the way into the unlit tunnels of the Maze.
After about two hours of traveling through tunnels that went up and down and further down again, the feeling crept up on the party that they were being watched, as Ron trodded the party past the same cluster of unidentified purple mushrooms for a fifth time. When Caja stepped in to help the dwarf navigate, they eventually found themselves at a precipice, looking down into the depths below Elturel and into the River Styx, flowing a few hundred feet below them. It was then that the party discovered the source of their unease, as a fleshy beholder-like creature with many tentacles and an enormous, singular eye sent them telepathic visions of its coming here through a tear in the aether when the city was ripped from the Prime Material Plane and into Avernus. It then showed you how it survived by roaming the chaos of the streets, picking on lone travelers and engulfing them whole with its beak-shaped mouth, hidden in the bedlam of arms at the bottom of its glossy body. As the days went by, people started to notice the thing, and began hunting it, driving it underground into the Maze, where it has been hiding and feeding on whatever it could find ever since.
As the vision waned, the creature attacked, with Bertha and Ron still stunned from the telepathic intrusion, it focussed its attention on the other members of the party, shooting paralysing beams of energy out of its many eyes. At some point, the thing grabbed the barbarian, Caja, and managed to halt everybody's attacks as it hovered above the abyss that was the bottomless pit of the Maze. As the damaged creature sent more visions to the party, it let go of Caja and disappeared into the darkness, agreeing on mutual terms not to further engage in any attacks.
Now acknowledging that he had led the party astray, Ron allowed Caja to aid in their navigation, eventually ending right back up where they had started before attempting to walk the route a second time. This attempt was much more successful, for after descending a tunnel that seemed to go on forever, the party came upon a row of sealed warehouse doors, with a clearly marked, heavy oak door with wrought-iron strengthening to their side. They took some time to get through the door, then found themselves in a dusty, cobweb-filled basement laden with unlabelled vials containing all kinds of colored liquids, as well as a cabinet full of interesting ingredients. The party filled their pockets with potions and rocks that seemed to be made of pure darkness before moving upstairs, taking whatever useful bits they could find, and taking to the streets.
The tabaxi, Bertha, climbed a nearby tower to ascertain their current whereabouts and found themselves indeed at the bottom of the Western Switchback, nicely cutting their travel time on the surface in half. While the bard was occupied, the rest of the party observed a trio of townsfolk slide in from a nearby alley and into a residence across from the alchemist's shop. As the party exited the locale, one of the townspeople, a scraggly-looking woman in her late forties, beckoned the party to come closer as her shrill and panicked voice warned them of devils nearby. When the party was all inside, the woman led them into a sitting room where another woman, probably in her thirties, was waiting for them, introducing herself as a sister but not giving any names. As soon as the party confirmed themselves to be "strong and boisterous adventurers," one of the two women started to contort her body in a horrifying fashion, with her head turning 180 degrees on her neck, and crawling onto the walls on all fours. The other woman bended her limbs in an impossible fashion, with her back turning in on itself, and started vomiting blood onto the party. With this dreadful scene, the session was left to continue another time...
Fenrir Firecam
Ronaldus Swanstone
Caja
Report Date
15 Jun 2023
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