Karai

Karai is a medusa who was once an elf, long ago cursed by an elven goddess in a foul mood for being called more beautiful than she. In the years that followed, she has made friends of both ancient dark elves and their Eilistraee-worshiping drow descendants. It was one such friendship, that with Sabrae Vaerixas and K’yorl Arlathil, that allowed her to prevent their deaths after Lolth worshipers wiped out their people and left them for dead. In the process, she also temporarily took the baby Leh'ct Arlathil into her care and delivered him to the orphanarium in Haven City where he was raised. She has spent the years since attempting to secure a sample of the poison that was killing her friends from a Temple of Lolth so that she may craft an antidote and administer it after freeing them from the petrification presently keeping them alive.
Table of Contents

Early History

A Woman Wrongly Cursed

Long ago, the medusa who calls herself Karai was a high elf woman born with a gift of great beauty. She was considered to be blessed by Hanali Celanil, the elven goddess of beauty. But gods, like mortals, can bear imperfections that stain their hearts. Though it was her creed to spread the joys of romance, beauty, and love, Hanali Celanil's heart also harbored a vanity that she, at times, struggled to keep in check. It was bad luck on Karai's part that many of her kinsmen prayed to the goddess praising her beauty as that which rivaled Hanali Celanil's own shortly after the disastrous affair of Lolth's betrayal that fractured the elven pantheon. Her heart darkened by recent events, and seeking an outlet for the emotions plaguing her mind, the elven goddess accused Karai of vanity and cursed her, twisted her elven body into that of a medusa.
Karai did not know what had happened to her at first. She remembered collapsing to the ground, writhing in pain. Her friends surrounded her, reaching forward to assist her while voicing growing concern. When the pain stopped, she opened her eyes and before them one of her friends turned to stone. She panicked, looking around her hoping to see looks of help or sympathy. She saw only fear in their eyes, and only for a moment as those windows into the soul were quickly turned to stone. Confused and horrified, Karai fled.
It took a good deal to time to come to her senses. At first, she didn't want to accept it. But she had heard the stories, knew of the medusa, and that they were spawned by divine retribution. She recalled what people had said about her; their praises and prayers. And though she lacked definitive evidence, she knew what had happened. And just as Hanali Celanil's heart had blackened, so too was Karai's at the fate that had befallen her. Though not with vanity, as was the case with the elven goddess, but with an unyielding anger that made her heart as hard as the flesh turned stone of her victims.
But despite this anger, Karai was still a good person at heart. She wanted help, to be the elven woman she once was, yet she could not seek it. Those people, her friends, were now stone because of her. She could not risk casting such a fate upon others. But she recalled having heard that many elves were leaving their lands recently. The dark elves, having been banished along with Lolth, were migrating deep into the earth. And so, Karai decided, would she. She would find a new home down there, someplace far and away from others where there would be no one she could potentially hurt. She traveled down, deeper and deeper into the Underdark.

Happenstance Meeting

While the Underdark is hardly a hospitable environment, Karai's curse granted her a host of new abilities that made self-defense a non-issue. In time, she came to a large unoccupied cavern that would make a new home. There was a spring of fresh water and many edible fungi grew in the area for food. She settled in and was just getting used to her new surroundings when suddenly light surrounded her. Unknown to Karai, the dark elf migration was completed and the elven gods still loyal to Corellon Larethian had combined their magic to bring faerzress to the Underdark and keep the dark elves imprisoned.
Karai's cavern was one of the areas most effected with every square centimeter of the ground, walls, and ceiling converted into the magical substance. Though she didn't know its meaning, the glowing rocks didn't seem to be harmful and Karai was content to ignore them (though the glow did result in her fashioning a sleeping mask for herself). And so her mundane life continued, until the day she received an unexpected visitor.
Hearing footsteps echoing down a tunnel, Karai hid herself in her spring, keeping only her face just above the water. In the cavern's glow, she saw a dark elf enter the chamber. The man was injured, his clothes torn and blood running fresh from wounds staining them. In his arms he held a child who clutched him for dear life, sobbing face pressed into the adult's chest. The elf sprinted across the cavern as fast as his injured legs could carry him. It was not long before more elves emerged, these wearing armor and holding weapons. Kirai knew not this man's situation, but it hardly takes a sage to know people wiling to hurt a child are generally ill-willed. She leapt from her pool hissing and fell upon the pursuers, attacking them with fangs, poison, and her petrifying gaze.
When the last of the pursuers stood frozen, Karai took a moment to compose herself and put on her blindfold before turning towards the man and child. She could hear their fear, the man's quivering voice and the scraping of his shoes inching backwards as the boy whimpered. She told the two that she meant them no harm, hoping the man would not panic and flee. He didn't get the chance as he collapsed from his injuries, using the last of his strength to make sure the boy wasn't harmed as he fell. The child was paralyzed with fear as Karai approached. She tried to reassure him that it would be ok and she would care for them. The frightened, wide-eyed child merely nodded; underneath her blindfold, Karai assumed the lack of fleeing little footsteps meant the boy intended to stay.
Using her knowledge of medicine, Karai treated the injured man as best she could while having to work by touch. She tended his wounds with a medicinal paste and poured a mixture of water and mashed edible fungi down this throat. Though it took several days, he did recover in a weakened state. Seeing himself cared for, the man seemed willing to trust Karai and told her his story.

A New Purpose

There were those among the dark elves who had no wish to follow Lolth, unwilling participants in their kinds migration underground. Such thoughts were not tolerated by her loyal followers and those who voiced them quickly found themselves on the sharp end of sacrificial daggers, the most zealous of Lolth's clergy eager to prove themselves to the Spider Queen's new decrees.
But hope was not yet lost. There were those among them who had managed to slip away in secret. The journey into the Underdark had been most dangerous and it was hardly unheard of for dark elves to disappear. Treacherous tunnels, hungry wildlife, and many other dangers waited for humanoids still relatively unfamiliar with their new environment. Those dark elves who gave their faith to Eilistraee, the Dark Dancer and sole noble member of Lolth's dark pantheon, were using these incidents to flee and leave the Lolth-faithful to believe them dead. A good many dark elves had managed to flee in this manner before the zealots began to grow wise to this strategy.
The elf man had been looking for a place his people could hide and settle down. Though the risk was great, he took his son with him on a last-ditch effort scouting mission as he was unsure his boy would be safe from the zealots in his absence. Zealots who did indeed follow him, but were now thankfully silenced. And he had found the place he had been looking for; an entire cavern, massive enough to fit all the good dark elves, and filled with faerzress to protect them from Lolth's gaze.
This tale resonated deeply with Karai, who pitied these poor people who had been forsaken by their gods, the very same gods who had forsaken her. She told the man they would gather his scattered people and bring them to this cavern where they could be safe. And so they did, spending years gathering all they could and making the cavern into a place of safety. In time it grew into a home, a community, and one of the few places of peace to be found within the Underdark. Sadly, it would not last.

Until a Better Time

As the years passed, it became apparent that the magics of the Underdark were changing the dark elves into something else. Something more sinister as their minds, bodies, and hearts were slowly twisted by the ancient, dark presence of this place. The only cure was to leave, yet they could not. In the tunnels, they would be found by Lolth's followers if not by the Spider Queen herself the moment they stepped away from the faerzress. On the surface, the elven gods would find them and either drive them back underground or execute them on the spot. There was nowhere to go that wasn't a death sentence. Until Karai thought of another way, the only way, though it would come at great personal cost.
She had spent the many years becoming a beloved member of this sheltered community. Those familiar with the arcane arts educated her on what they knew of the medusa species. With their guidance, Karai was able to become much more skilled with the magic of her curse than the average medusa, developing a familiarity for all forms of stone. She also learned a great deal about petrification, which she used only against predators of the Underdark that threatened their community. She knew now that petrification could be reversed and that once undone, the affected individual would return to the way they were prior to petrification. Exactly the way they were prior, without having aged a day. There was no achievable solution to her new people's predicament today, but perhaps there would be someday in the future.
And so, for the first time since she defended the life of another all those years ago, Karai petrified people. One by one, she petrified her friends and neighbors, her family, in the hopes that one day they would be restored under better circumstances. When the last of them was stone, she went to work in her new duties as their keeper. Using her knowledge of stone, she carefully sealed the tunnels leading to the cavern in collapses that would look natural.
She then prepared herself in front of a device assembled by the smartest of her elven friends. The device collected water that slowly dripped from stalactites above. When enough was collected, it would open a door and release the contents it contained to splash upon her: an anti-petrification potion. She would be their keeper; waking for a short time once every century (or until someone breached the cavern and triggered the device early) in hopes that things would have changed and her friends could live free before age claimed her and she could watch over them no longer. She would not fail them. She looked into the polished surface of the device, and for the first time since she was an elf, briefly gazed at her own reflection.

New Friends Found

When Karai awoke again for the first time, her first order of business was to scout the settlements nearby. A lot could change in 100 years and she was unsure those she knew of were still there. Wrapping herself in an obscuring hooded cloak, she set out to check on the villages, towns, and cities nearby, never straying too far from where the dark elves in her care were hidden. She was but a visitor in most of these settlements, places where strangers were often viewed with suspicion. But despite the harshness of the Underdark and its denizens, Karai often did what she could to help those in need. She offered food to starving travelers, killed or scared away beasts that wished to make food of travelers, and whatever other small acts of kindness she saw opportunity for. Sometimes her actions were met with thanks, while other times those saved were individuals with dark hearts who repaid her kindness with attempted violence. So it was as she wandered, until she came upon the outskirts of a certain village.
Walking down a tunnel much like all the others in the Underdark, Karai heard a short scream. Picking up her pace, she spied around a corner and spotted a pair of drow who had wandered into a small nest of grick. These elves were only lightly armed and seemed more at home with the foraging baskets they carried than their weapons. One had their leg seized by a grick tentacle while the rest of the nest closed in on the other. Karai ran to their aid, throwing her Staff of the Python ahead as it transformed into a snake and drawing to her sword as she closed the distance.
The drow seemed surprised at this hooded stranger's aid and Karai instructed them to get behind her as she battled the grick. Though Karai was skilled, she was heavily outnumbered and could not use her full abilities without revealing herself as a medusa. As she began to struggle, more drow arrived. It would seem the two she rescued had traveled with a third who had ran for help. This aid came in the form of an extremely skilled warrior woman who made short work of the grick with her enchanted sword. With the monsters dead, her next order of business was to ensure her fellow drow were not injured. It was only after confirming that that she turned her attention to Karai.
What came next surprised Karai: she was thanked. Karai immediately surmised that these were not Lolth-worshiping drow. They invited her back to their village to rest and heal, which Karai accepted after detecting no deception. In time, she came to know the villagers and they her. These people had fled from the drow city of Vlyn'darastyl, ousted for their faith in the goddess Eilistraee, the Dark Dancer. Despite the Dark Dancer's faith preaching acceptance, some were hesitant to accept Karai after she revealed herself to be a medusa. But the woman who saved her, village co-leader Sabrae Vaerixas, said Karai's actions spoke for themselves, both her first impression as a savior and the fact she blindfolded herself to protect others.
Thus, for the first time in many centuries, Karai found a place where she was openly welcome. And more than that, she found hope. Here were a people not so different from the dark elves she wished to save. Though Lolth still had a stranglehold on many drow, there were those who wished to find another way. A kinder, better way. But as much as she wanted to, Karai could not stay here. She told only Sabrae and her lover, K’yorl Arlathil, of her mission and stated she would visit their village in the years to come. And so she did, becoming a welcome if infrequent member of their community. The sight of the village and its people was always a welcome reprieve to Karai's hard travels. Until the day it wasn't.

More Friends Lost

Karai came to the village to find its buildings burned and its people slaughtered. There were but three still alive: Sabrae, K’yorl, and their newborn babe. Sabrae and K’yorl had been stabbed and were nearly dead from a slow acting, lethal poison. They explained the Lolth worshipers had found them, attacking the village in great numbers of drow and demons alike. The villagers fought to the bitter end but their enemies proved too great to contend with. As the village leaders, Sabrae and K’yorl were stabbed by the raid leader with a slow-acting poison that would give them painful deaths they would suffer knowing their baby would die soon after.
The poison used was very rare, kept only by the priestesses of Lolth, and Karai had no way to cure it at this time. But that didn't mean there was nothing she could do. She could buy her friends time, time enough to find the antidote they needed. She explained her plan and her friends agreed, but only after making Karai swear to look after their son. And so, Karai petrified her friends to lock them safely away in stone stasis. As for the child, Karai knew she had to take care of him quickly. He could not be petrified with his parents, for even once Sabrae took the antidote it would take time for her milk to become untainted. The child would starve in that scenario. Nor did Karai have the means to feed the child herself. She would have to take him somewhere else, somewhere far away and safe.
And so Karai took him from place to place, buying milk where she could in the settlements she knew and stealing it where she could not. All the while, she made her way for the surface to find a place that would take in this boy and keep him removed from Lolth's influence. She moved even more stealthily when she reached the surface, traveling only at night and stealing what milk the baby needed from farmsteads. After days of following roads and signs written in unfamiliar language, she came across a city larger than any she'd even seen. Surely a place this large would have somewhere to care for children with nowhere else to go.
She used her mastery of stone magic to pass through the city's walls on that cold, rainy night. Her features even more closely concealed than normal, Karai did all she could to keep the baby Leh'ct quiet and covered, stealing a damp sheet from a clothesline when he soiled his wrappings, as she took great pains to avoid others since navigating the city required use of her eyesight. In time, she found a place that appeared to be a home for children. She made her way to the porch and hesitated for just a moment as she set the infant there. How she wished she could look on his boy with her own eyes before telling him goodbye. But it was too great a risk, and so she knocked at the door before running away. Hiding near the gate, she stayed long enough to ensure the child was taken inside before making her way back to the ruined village to move Leh'ct's parents to safety and start looking for a way to secure the poison sample she would need for their antidote.

Journey Into the Underdark Arc

Rescuing the Injured

As Karai made her way toward Spyr-Anaisz, hoping to steal a dose of the poison she needed from a smaller settlement or at least learn something that would help her get into Vlyn'darastyl, she noticed a pair of injured humanoids hiding nearby as a group of hook horrors approached them. She decided to intervene, using a whistle that pained creatures capable of echolocation to send the monstrosities running.
When the two humanoids made no move to reveal themselves, Karai decided to keep walking and see what they did. Should they simply follow her, she would provide what aid she could. But should they attack her, she would flee and leave them to their fate. They choose to follow her peacefully, believing themselves unobserved. Karai brought them to a opening in the rock, a cliff that overlooked the Black Loch, and used her Driftglobe to brightly draw the attention of a drow patrol she knew to be nearby. As the adventurers whispered to each other, trying to figure out what Karai was doing, she addressed them directly and let them know she was aware of their presence.
Karai informed them that a nearby patrol of the Arcane Knights would have seen her signal and soon come to investigate. They could collect the adventurers and provide them with shelter at the Deep Spire. One of the adventurers, the male, was skeptical as to why someone would simply help them no questions asked and seeking nothing in return. Karai informed him she helped because they needed it, as she noticed when she was passing by. As the footsteps of the drow patrol approached, the adventurers attention was briefly drawn away from Karai and when they looked back she had vanished.

Leh'ct's Heritage Arc

Guiding the Young Arlathil

Karai came upon these adventurers again some weeks later while they were en route to Brazenthrone, this time accompanied by more of their companions as well as Gobo the Traveling Merchant. Though the adventurers attempted to conceal themselves upon hearing her footsteps, some were not quite skilled or lucky enough to pull it off. She rounded the corner and recognized Elycia and Jake, whom she greeted before introducing herself to the others. When they stated their names, Karai's heart nearly stopped when the young drow identified himself as "Leh'ct". Surely it couldn't be a coincedence? "Leh'ct Arlathil of Haven City," she asked. Her answer surprised Leh'ct, who questioned how he knew her. Karai asked Gobo if the adventurers could be trusted. Gobo gave her an affirmative and she lowered her hood to reveal herself as a blindfolded medusa.
At Leh'ct's asking, Karai confirmed it was she who had left him on the doorstep of the orphanarium where he'd grown up all those years ago. Before the boy could settle on which of his undoubtedly many questions to ask next, Karai asked if he'd like to see his parents. His attitude and enthusiasm were welcome; he seemed to have grown up in a manner his family would have approved of. Yet the young man seemed sad when he learned the path to his parents would take him away from Brazenthrone, this friends destination. But he resolved that this was an opportunity he could not throw away. Leh'ct bid his traveling companions farewell and went off with Karai towards her home.

How Leh’ct Came to Haven City

As they began to travel together Karai remained silent, seemingly content to let Leh’ct lead the conversation. He asked a bit about her first and mentioned Mother Moth in his rambling, prompting Karai to ask him what he knew of the Animal Lords. He was also curious why she'd been near the Black Loch; Karai explained she could wield earth-like magicks and had sensed something amiss at Ollin's Borehole. Leh’ct explained how he and his friends had resolved the situation there, which seemed to sit well with the medusa. He also mentioned his run-in with Santaura, and Karai echoed Ysri's sentiment that Leh’ct had done all he could against such a terror and was lucky to have escaped unmaimed.
Once he'd gotten all his initial questions out, Karai began to tell him about how he'd come to Haven City. As something of a prerequisite, she first started with how she'd met his parents. On her wanderings through the Underdark, Karai came across a pair of foraging drow who'd stumbled into a grick nest. She knew they were not Lolth worshipers, for the Spider Queen's faithful would never do such work themselves, and moved to aid them. But they were no warriors; even with Karai's aid, they were outnumbered and outmatched.
But these two drow had not been foraging alone. The third of their number had run for help when the grick appeared and it arrived in the form of Sabrae, Leh’ct’s mother and a fierce warrior that made short work of the monstrosities. When the fighting was finished, Sabrae checked on the foragers before insisting (rather firmly) Karai come to their village to be treated as well. It was during this time that Karai's nature as a medusa became apparent to the drow. Many of them were uneasy, but Sabrae stood by her side. She reminded the other elves that their goddess Eilistraee preached acceptance and that Karai had already shown her true character when she put herself in harm's way to rescue strangers.
But much to Leh’ct’s disappointment, the story did not remain a pleasant one. Though Karai would occasionally stop in on the drow village over the course of many years, one visit was eventually her last. She arrived to find the village burned and all but three of the villagers dead. Only the infant Leh’ct and his parents remained alive. Their Lolth-worshiping cousins had found them and descended on the village with an overwhelming number of drow and demons alike. The priestess leading the assault had stabbed Leh’ct’s parents with a dagger coated in a cruel poison, designed to kill with excruciating pain over the course of 24 hours. Their pain was to be more than physical though; they would die knowing their infant would soon grow hungry and cry, being taken either by starvation or a hungry predator that was attracted by the noise. Thankfully, Karai arrived before that happened.
With no way to save his parents now, Karai removed her blindfold to lock them in a stone statis until she could find a cure. But this solution would not work for the infant Leh’ct. Even if his mother was one day cured, he would starve before the poison could leave her milk. Sabrae made Karai swear to get her son somewhere safe, an oath Karai took quite seriously. She moved stealthily from village to village, stealing what she needed for the baby to survive. Her journey led her to the surface, for she knew nowhere in the Underdark would take him in safely. Eventually, she found Haven City and left him on the doorstep of the orphanarium where he was raised. In the years since, she'd tried to steal a sample of the deadly poison to craft an antidote but had been unable to get past Vlyn'darastyl's defenses to do so.
Leh’ct was shocked to learn his parents were still alive (and that he was only 13). He expressed an interest in learning to make the poison used against his parents, but Karai cautioned him away from the idea with a warning that the Spider Queen's blessing was a necessary ingredient. Still, the fact that Leh’ct was skilled at crafting poison could simplify making an antidote for his parents and Karai welcomed that news. Leh’ct speculated that if Lolth's blessing made the poison perhaps Eilistraee's could make the antidote, but it was a moot point without a sample to work with.

Lesson in Ancient History

As Karai explained she'd employed a wizard to help her sneak into Vlyn'darastyl, Leh’ct asked what she had tried on her previous attempts. Karai demonstrated her mastery of earth magic, which allowed her to pass through solid rock like an elemental. However, she still had to come out for air and Vlyn'darastyl was far too large to sneak through completely unseen using such a tactic. She speculated Leh’ct may be able to pose as a local and herself as a prisoner, but then commented his age, gender, and accent might prevent that plan from being viable. She also mentioned the city's defenses blocked any and all forms of teleportation into, within, or out of the city. Leh’ct recalled Santaura's ability to disrupt faerzress, but quickly dismissed the idea as getting her to do anything helpful seemed like an impossibility.
Leh’ct also considered the possibility that Mother Moth may be able to help them and Karai asked if Leh’ct had a way to locate her. He showed her the letter Mother Moth had sent to him. Karai stated she knew a location that somewhat fit the description, but recommended they get as close as possible to it before entering the Shadowfell. With how dangerous the Shadowfell and Underdark were separately, any trek through the Underdark version of the Shadowfell was likely to be a great challenge. Karai thought her hired wizard may be able to help with that as well, and Leh’ct learned the man in question was Pompolius the Powerful.
He was also still concerned that Lolth seemed to be gunning for him, though Karai didn't consider it worrisome. Simply put, Lolth had many enemies including a great number that were a bigger threat to her (and more worth her time) than Leh’ct. Leh’ct questioned why anyone would follow such a vile deity and Karai seemed surprised he didn't know the history behind Lolth's fall from grace. She told him the story of how she was once the goddess Araushnee but was cast out of the Seldarine after attempting to betray Corellon Larethian, Elven God of Magic, to take his place and power. By the time any mortals had realized this occurred, Araushnee had become Lolth and already spent many years corrupting the dark elves and their culture into what would become the drow.
Karai asked if Leh’ct had been the only drow in Haven City and seemed disappointed to hear that he indeed was. She believed any drow who wished to return to the surface should be able to but was unclear on what prejudices they would face there. Leh’ct commented that somewhere like the Deep Spire was better to the lack of horribly bright sunlight.

Recent Events in the Underdark

As they continued to walk, Karai suddenly stuck a hand out for Leh’ct and Silinrul to stop. They did so and moments later a talus flow, the same type of energy-starved earth elemental they'd encountered at Ollin's Borehole, emerged from a side tunnel and reared up at them. Though it was clearly hostile, Karai remained calm and slowly approached it. She raised a hand encased in soft magical light and with a touch restored that which had been lost to the creature, transforming it back into a healthy earth elemental. Leh’ct asked how she did and and Karai merely commented, "Years of practice." She then asked him to wait a moment while she conversed with the elemental in Terran and it departed shortly thereafter.
The elemental told her that Vlyn'darastyl had attacked the deep gnome city of Azurizt. They'd brought with them an Abyssal Shard and used its powerful to corrupt and weaken the settlement's elemental defenders, swinging the battle in the drow's favor. The elemental knew not why the city had been attacked, but the incident prompted Leh’ct to explain the various near-wars and similar incidents he'd witnessed during his time in the Underdark. Karai found what he said odd; while the Underdark was no stranger to violence, so much at once was practically unheard of.
Leh’ct began searching for an animal to carry a message about this incident to Ysri and wondered if what happened at Ollin's Borehole might be connected. Karai considered it unlikely, as that tragedy has been many decades ago. He also pondered if Spyr-Anaisz had been involved in the attack, but that was not something the elemental had known. Karai commented she had tried to infiltrate Spyr-Anaisz in her quest for an antidote, but something had put the city on lockdown and he was unable to approach it. Somewhere, far away from the two of them, Villamax sneezed.
Leh’ct decided to send off a pair of animal messengers to relay what the elemental had said, one to Elycia and the other to Ysri. At Leh’ct’s prompting, Karai explained that she could heal stone elementals that were in a state of starvation from being separated from the Elemental Plane of Earth for too long. While this sort of magic was normally impossible for a non-earth elemental to learn, medusa like Karai had a faint connection to earth magic that made them an exception to that rule.

Karai's History

As Leh’ct, Silinrul, and Karai continued to travel, hours turned to days and days to weeks. Karai taught Leh’ct what magic she could, things she knew that he seemed able to pick up on. His skill with his druidic primal magic grew, allowing him access to new spells including one that awakened Silinrul's mind and turned Leh’ct’s longtime companion into a sapient being. Much time passed until one day, Karai motioned for her traveling companions to stop. Just ahead lay a tunnel coated in brown mold, one of several defense measures Karai had in place around her home.
Karai herself normally used her ability to walk through solid rock to bypass the mold, but this was not an option for Leh’ct and Silinrul. With seemingly no options to simply bypass it, Karai stated extreme cold could kill the mold so they could pass. It would then need to be regrown, but that was a trivial matter for Leh’ct’s druidic magic. The only other option was to take another route and the nearest one was home to a drider Karai believed would attack Leh’ct on sight due to his being a drow. Killing the mold would have to suffice, but Leh’ct would need an evening to prepare the proper magic.
Though Leh’ct told Karai to go ahead without him and sleep in her own home, she stated she would remain in his company for the night. As he prepared the campsite, Karai stated she had something she needed to tell him before they came to her home. She had not revealed this information yet for she had spent the last few weeks observing his behavior, making sure he held to the same noble ideals as his parents before revealing her greatest secrets.
Karai told Leh'ct she had petrified persons other than his parents in her care and had acted as their guardian for around 50,000 or 60,000 years, no longer sure of the number. She told Leh’ct of her past, of how she was born long ago and twisted into a medusa by a jealous elven goddess when her beauty was compared to the goddess' own. She fled to the Underdark, not wanting her gaze to hurt anyone, and lived alone until a dark elf, one of the drow's ancestors, carrying a boy ran into the cave where she'd settled under pursuit. She slew his pursuers and nursed him back to health, learning not all his people had submitted to Lolth's tyrannical rule. Some were resisting and trying to escape before the Spider Queen'sthe Spider Queen's loyalists could slaughter them.
She and this man saved those they could and brought them to the cavern Karai called home. The faerzeress there prevented the Spider Queen from finding them, but it could not forestall the effects of the Underdark's magic on the dark elves bodies. They were changing, becoming something else. Something they feared would place them under Lolth's thrall. But they could not leave this place; above or below the ground, they would be persecuted and killed if they tried. So, they took the only other option available to them. Karai petrified them and then herself, placing her own body under a device that would wake her every 100 years so that she could scout and hopefully find a world where her friends could live in peace. She had repeated this cycle for millennia, until her promise to keep the baby Leh’ct safe and quest to save his parents broke it.

Ambushed by an Old Enemy

Bypassing Security

Karai left Leh’ct briefly, stating she had an errand to run nearby but would return before morning. She was evidently able to function on little sleep, for she was already awake and working when he woke. Karai had collected several mushrooms and was mashing them together into a dye with a pestle and mortar before applying their color to strips of cloth. She explained that one of her home's defenses was designed to go off against anyone not wearing a specific shade of brown, so he and Silinrul would need to tie on these cloths before bypassing the mold. Just as she was handing them over for Leh’ct to tie on, Karai looked up. She hardly said a word before three blasts of eldritch energy slammed into her, knocking her back into the brown mold. Light dimly illuminated Leh’ct from behind as he heard a familiar voice, "Hello there, Little Man." He turned to find "Black Hand" Kelly sitting atop a nightmare.
Leh’ct immediately used his magic to summon four ice mephits, ordering them to clear the mold and get Karai to safety. Kelly stated he had no interest in "the snake hair" and questioned whether Leh’ct would come quietly. He even said he'd bring Leh’ct to the Haven City guards instead of Marchioness Eve's if Leh’ct came willingly. Leh’ct questioned why the guards would want him and Kelly revealed three of Eve's maids hadn't made it out when he set the Marchioness' mansion on fire. He was wanted for three counts of manslaughter on top of a count of arson back in Haven City.
Karai had stood up behind Leh’ct, aiming a bow at Kelly, but Leh’ct hardly noticed. He fought back tears as the deaths he caused, the consequences of his actions, sent a storm of emotions roiling through him. But Leh’ct was not one to be disillusioned by Kelly's venomous words; he knew that if he returned to Haven City now only pain and suffering would await him, likely delivered by Marchioness Eve's hand. Kelly respected Leh’ct’s decision to fight back rather than give in but repeated his words from their first encounter, from when he'd brought Leh’ct in the first time, "By hook or by crook, you're coming with me."
Leh’ct told Karai to run, to save herself and Silinrul while he held Kelly off. She swiftly and bluntly refused, stating they would face the bounty hunter together.

Showdown with Black Hand Kelly

Leh'ct summoned a group of ice mephits to assist and swarm Kelly with numbers. Though they did little to slow the bounty hunter down, they kept him busy long enough for Leh'ct to dispel the magic maintaining his nightmare's form and revert it back into a Figurine of Wondrous Power, Obsidian Steed. Though outnumbered 3-to-1, Kelly was just as capable as his opponents and unleashed the full force of an experienced warlock's magic. Karai used her mastery of stone magic to summon a pillar under Kelly and try to crush him against the ceiling. Kelly provided too nimble for her plan to work, but it did give Leh'ct some much needed cover from Kelly's magic.
Though the cover helped, it wasn't enough to turn the tide. Thinking quickly, Leh'ct used a spell to put the combatants in a massive cube of water to prevent Kelly from speaking the magic words his spells required. His magic rendered near-useless, the warlock switched from spell to blade and provided just as deadly with his sword. Cutting Kelly off from his magic finally evened the odds enough to transform the battle into one of attrition. Silinrul was soon forced to retreat after taking near-fatal injuries, leaving only Karai and Leh'ct to combat Kelly. Karai was soon injured badly as well, leaving Leh'ct alone. But just as Kelly went in for a killing stroke, his blood loss got the better of him and the bounty hunter collapsed.
Leh'ct stood above the bounty hunter, breathing heavily. He seemed hesitant to finish his hunter off while he had the chance. Karai had no such reservations and told the young drow that if he spared Kelly now, the bounty hunter would only come after them again. Kelly himself commented that that was true. He'd taken the job to bring Leh'ct in and would finish it unless something finished him first. Kelly ultimately rejected Leh'ct's desire to grant him mercy and encouraged the druid to "be a man" and finish him instead. Leh'ct did so with a single dagger thrust to Kelly's heart, ending the infamous bounty hunter's life.
After Leh'ct stripped the remains of anything valuable, Karai used her earth magic to make a hole in the solid stone floor, roll Kelly’s body in, and reseal it. She stated it was more to make sure that Kelly could not be easily revived than anything else.

Aftermath of Battle

Leh’ct was quick to fuss over the injured Karai and Silinrul, blaming himself (as Kelly's target) for their injuries. Karai, between labored breaths due to her injuries, asked if Kelly's words about the fire had been true. This broke something in Leh’ct and resulted in a maximum lung capacity tirade about his history Kelly and the Crows. Karai followed up by asking whether Leh’ct thought Kelly had been telling the truth. Leh’ct was uncertain and hopeful that he'd been lying. Karai seemed to consider that a distinct possibility, as the man had been cunning enough to try and do anything that could distract Leh’ct and give himself an advantage.
Thinking about that, Leh’ct was also skeptical that someone as wicked as Eve would care about other people like Kelly had claimed. That settled (for now), Leh’ct again asked about Karai's injuries. She stated she would be fine and admitted the fight would've been easier in her home near its defenses, but that bringing a warlock there was too risk. Leh’ct asked why that was and Karai commented that they didn't know who or what Kelly had gotten his powers from. Letting his soul take her secrets back to whatever master he was bound to was too great a risk. Leh’ct questioned whether such a master could return Kelly to life, but Karai thought it unlikely given where they'd left his cadaver.
To safely move past the brown mold, Leh’ct had to wait for his magic to recover enough to summon more ice mephits. Once that was done and the way forward was clear, Karai told Leh’ct to follow her and that she'd introduce him to the orchestra. As Leh’ct was asking what she meant, Karai gave a short whistle and called out a name, "Flugel". This Flugel individual turned out of be a Holler Spider, one of many that Karai had trained to monitor the tunnels around her cavern and act as an early warning system. She explained the spiders and their functions to him, noting that she'd trained Flugel to give two horn doots for 'yes' and one doot for 'no'. Karai instructed Flugel to run ahead and call his siblings to the main chamber and Leh’ct excitedly ran behind.

Petrified Parents

Introduction to Karai's Guardians

Several minutes of running later, Leh’ct came upon the central chamber. He recognized it as the right place from Karai's description, but there was something else here. Something that resonated with the magic inside him. Ancient, primitive, lush, and full of plant life that should not be able to grow so abundantly in this environment. This was a druid grove, a place of power for people with magic like his own, and an ancient one at that. The magic here seemed to strengthen his own magical power, granting him a greater innate understanding of it. Karai caught up while Leh’ct was taking in the scenery and he asked how she grew all this here. She commented that she did not; the cavern was this way when she found it and seemed to take care of itself.
Karai then turned and addressed a boulder in the middle of the chamber, which stood up and revealed itself to be a galeb duhr named Bol. She addressed the elemental in Terran. While Leh’ct could not understand her, for some reason he had no trouble understanding Bol's reply in the same language. Bol could likewise understand Leh’ct despite the boy's "strange tongue", though Karai simply dismissed it as a form of translation magic. Leh’ct started to speculate that what he'd felt before, that change in his magic, may be responsible and Karai informed him it sounded quite similar to his father's magic. Leh’ct recalled a similar comment from Ysri Vaerixas some months before, which prompted Karai into saying Leh’ct's father once used one of the vines from this chamber to enhance his own staff.
Leh’ct began to run about the room looking for a suitable vine and asked Mr. Bol if he had a favorite plant. The earth elemental informed Leh’ct that his last name as Der and he largely ignored plants since he ate rocks instead (salt being the best one, he claimed). But as he searched, his eyes wandered over to the many petrified dark elves throughout the chamber. Leh’ct asked how petrification could be broken and Karai stated she had a potion that could reverse the condition. She used a device to splash a dosage onto herself while she was petrified, which released when slowly dripping water from the stalactites above filled it and triggered its mechanism. If the device ever breaks down, releasing her in its place was one of Bol's duties. While this was all fascinating to Leh’ct, he could no longer put off the question that had been gnawing at his mind since he entered this chamber. He asked Karai where his parents were located. She pointed to a separate ruin and left him to speak with their petrified forms privately.

Preparing for the Next Adventure

While the Holler Spiders had themselves a little symphony and Bol guarded the entrances, Karai was refilling her waterskin and performing weapon maintenance. Leh’ct thought about how he needed to reapply poison to his own daggers and mentioned he'd been surprised to see his mother had the armor of a Sword Dancer warrior. Karai stated that even in her weakened state (just prior to her petrification), she still took down many of the attacking Lolth followers and the demons they'd summoned. Leh’ct questioned whether relying on sheer numbers was the best tactic against such a capable warrior. It was not, according to Karai, but Lolth's followers considered killing Eilistraee's worshipers to be quite personal.
Leh’ct once again questioned if Lolth truly hated her daughter that much. Karai stated that Lolth largely considers Eilistraee to be a brat, but also questioned to what degree the Spider Queen fears her estranged daughter. Why react so violently and try so hard to shield her own followers from Eilistraee's teachings if not out of fear for her own power base? Leh’ct remained skeptical as to why anyone would choose to believe any promises Lolth made them, but Karai reminded him that one of her titles is Mistress of Lies. And though her teachings were twisted, the drow that worship her would be powerful enough to conquer all the Underdark, perhaps also the surface world as well, if they ever stopped infighting. This came as a surprise to Leh’ct, that a single culture could wield so much military power. Karai reminded him that it was not just their own prowess, which was admittingly fairly substantial, but also their ability to summon forth legions of demons that made that hypothetical so extreme.
Setting aside that topic, Karai prepared to leave to gather provisions for their journey ahead. Leh’ct inquired as to where that journey would take them. Though Vlyn'darastyl was their ultimate goal, more preparations would be needed to see them there safely (let alone in & out safely). Given that Leh’ct's former traveling companions were also headed there and likely to cause a ruckus upon arrival, that seemed like it would be a distraction they could use to get the poison sample they needed. In the meantime, they could make Karai's appointment with Pompolius the Powerful to retrieve the potions she'd paid the wizard to make. However, the wizard often moved his tower as a security precaution. Karai would need to meditate and commune with the stone to see where it was currently located first.

Known Magic Items
Driftglobe
Staff of the Python
Non-Magical Items
Silent Whistle