Session 27 – And When They Got into the Sunlight, Wouldn’t Their Eyes Be Filled with Glare?

Written by KoshcheiBessmertnyi

General Summary

The party proceeds to search the Ingoeth hunting party. The female leader carried two orichalk ingots, and an orichalk and obsidian spider bracelet. All seven were armed with javelin throwers and macahuitl – “paddles” made of a strong, wood-like material set with extraordinarily sharp obsidian stones that the dark elves wielded like swords. All were dressed in grey, silken cloaks, and wore soft-soled, but very well made boots, and kept mushrooms and a unique kind of hardtack in cloth bags. As the party searches the bodies, Glitterstem spies one of the dark elves slowly crawling away. He is finished off along with the rest, who have their necks snapped by Enkidu. Using their owlbear pelt, the party leaves some owlbear tracks near the scene of the battle (though without much conviction that this will fool anyone). The four, along with the trusty Goltur, whose wounds have been attended to, proceed to the tower.
At the tower, the beacon has been extinguished. After toying with the idea of attempting another climb in through the window, Miletus gives up – that tower is sheer, and quite slippery. The group goes in through the door, and finds the tower abandoned. The Ingoeth party seems to have resupplied it, and cleaned it up after the bugbears, but the only other presence here is a hiding kobold, whom Glitterstem spies behind the box of supplies. Quickly surrounded, he gives Theobald an (apparently unconvincing) story about being recaptured by the elves. He is bound, but begs to be allowed to go home.
Enkidu takes the bugbear axe to the soft, claylike ceiling of the elevator cabin, and pulls himself up on its roof. The rope that suspends it is a bit slack (with the elevator resting on the ground, but it seems strong, resembling the material and weave of Miletus’ new bowstring. After considering climbing up the thick silken rope (and thereby saving the Climbing mushrooms for later), the party relents. Glitterstem changes to spider form, and proceeds up under his own power, taking the time to weave a safety net beneath his companions. He then ascends with the boar in tow. The rest of the party follows, with Miletus holding the bound kobold. The mushrooms prove effective and within minutes, the party emerges from the shaft into the workshop, which appears largely undisturbed. Thinking it could prove useful, Miletus and Theobald cut and pull up sections of robe, and then unwind it into three standard-width segments. This operation is time-consuming, and the effect of the mushrooms expires.
Believing the chute leading from here to the kobold cavern to be too narrow and steep, the party proceeds the way it came – through the Pasture, and the opening up to the sinkhole. As Theobald keeps the spiders away with fire, Glitterstem ascends to the sinkhole on a web strand, along with Miletus, who tries to secure a rope for the rest. Enkidu heroically climbs up with the boar on his shoulders. Theobald slips and falls a few times, but ultimately, he ties the rope around himself, and is lifted up. From there, Glitterstem reweaves the damaged safety net at the bottom of the sinkhole, and ferries all of the companions to the tunnel at the top. Here, the group decides that its interests are best served by maintaining a good relationship with Oxmyx, so the captive kobold is released at the main juncture. The party proceeds in the other direction, and soon, sees the waterfall up ahead. It is nighttime, and a warm rain drizzles down. The companions have been in the Underdark for eight days.
The group descends down the cliffside, and proceeds to seek out their old campsite at the opposite end of the pond. There is no sign of Dafna or Agni. Skepticism regarding the deal struck with Lhingril begins to rise, but it is agreed that the party should wait for them for three days before proceeding elsewhere. The following day, the rain breaks in the morning, and a warm, late spring day descends. The four discuss possible plans. Theobald wants to return to Claymore, at least temporarily, but Miletus points out that the party was already in trouble with the town authorities before any of the recent events – he was sent to bring everyone back to face justice. Glitterstem wants to at least touch base with Balint. Enkidu points out that no help or support will be coming from anyone in any settlement, with the possible exception of the Rangers. The matter is left unsettled for the time being. As evening falls, Glitterstem notices that the cloth haversacks, and the silken cloaks taken from the elves have begun to look a little threadbare. Enkidu inspects the macahuitl, and sees a little discoloration. Possibly, the elven items are damaged by the sun, so they are deposited in a small cave near the bottom of the falls, and sealed up.
At night, on Miletus’ watch, the party is approached by strangers, who bark out some sorts of commands. The elf wakens the companions, and Theobald informs the group that they are speaking goblin, and demanding that they lay down their weapons and come out with hands raised. Theobald follows their instructions, but the rest of the group stays put. The demand is repeated – the party is trespassing on Dire Wolf land, in violation of the treaty, and if the rest don’t emerge from the thicket, they will be fired upon. Enkidu replies that the future leader of the Brotherhood of Baghtru does not surrender to goblins. An arrow flies wide of Theobald, and a melee breaks out between the party and what turns out to be six Dire Wolf hobgoblin braves. Theobald succeeds in putting several to sleep, Glitterstem entangles several more, and the rest are quickly overpowered, and finished off. Enkidu collects scalps as a token to be presented to the Brotherhood. The hobgoblins are then searched, separated from several strands of whelk shells, and then butchered.
The party settles down to complete their rest. But after the sun rises, the keen-eyed Glitterstem espies two figures emerging from behind the waterfall. The group moves out to greet them, and discovers that they are indeed Dafna and Agni. Enkidu helps them to descend.

Report Date

03 Apr 2016