Death and Resurrection: Game 19

General Summary

The Company of the Furies: Eumenides continued its journey through the dark, Drow infested caves beneath the Hall of the Fire Giant King Snurre Iron Belly. With little choice but to search to kill King Snurre and then use his heart to transport themselves back to civilization of either Sentinel Fortress or Adlerweg Keep or into the Underdark. Now the Company is venturing through caverns with the hope of entering the vast and rocky halls of the fire giants dread King.
Here, under the stronghold of King Snurre, the Company has discovered Drow of various houses at each other's throats in a constant state of threatened civil strife. It is almost like the different Drow factions are waiting for the other to falter--ready to pounce like a jumping spider. So far, with commanding persuasion of the Basillea, the priestess of the Bevilian goddess Hecate, the Company has safely and carefully navigated its way through the various Drow. While the Drow have caused no harm, a dangerous trap was sprung with the great red dragon Brazzemal. In a terrible fight, the dragon slew the Katheroi paladin Guilhem de Quéribus before the millennium old dragon was slain. Brazzemal, who participated in the Arrival of the Great Worms which sowed destruction upon the civilized world after the Guar Conquest was finally brought to his eternal rest. In the span of two days, the Company has slain two of the great near immortal worms of legends from time immemorial. Now, don't get too confident you brave and intrepid souls, for King Snurre is said to far stronger and smarter, and you can expect all encounters with him worse than those of the frost giants, as fire giants are ferocious opponents, and their associates and helpers like the Drow are undoubtably proportionately stronger and more fearsome than the frost giants. But, you are here to slay fire giants, take the King's heart and inflict punishment on the rapacious giants.
Now that the serpent hoard guardian Brazzemal has been slain, the Company has an immediate choice. The battle was loud, and it is likely that many of denizens of the fire giant caverns may be aware that something is amiss in the great vaulted cavern of the red dragon. The Company can make all haste and move forward toward what is expected to be entrance to the upper levels of King Snurre's Hall, find a place to hide in the caverns, and/or search the mountain of treasure.
The remaining company include the Katheroi paladin Guilhem de Quéribus, the bard Grady Michel Fenimure de Villemain, the monk Lin Zenhi, the priestess of Hecate Basillea, the ranger Latona, the great blade singing elf Lomilgamir Thraswen, and dwarf loving mage Twim. Etienne and Sappy died falling into the lava pit after slaying the necromancer Yarlzedd in Prophecy Fulfilled: Game 17 and the Katheroi priestess Joan has been resurrected but is healing back in Sentinel Fortress. Etienne and Pencheska Natyssa's daughter, Furia Ilios is alive and well, as far as the Company knows.

Caverns

This area is all natural, the tunnels and caverns showing no signs of marks or being hollowed out, except for the entrance where the characters came into the cavern from the teleportation room. The areas of the level are dark and still. Only a few are lit, like the lava cavern. All passages are at least 15 feet high, small caves are 20 or so feet from floor to ceiling and large caverns are anywhere from 25 to 75 feet high. A few patches of phosphorescent growth can be seen from time to time. When the Company remains still, you sometimes hear water dripping or a far distant echoing of stone against stone, but only a singular experience. Movement often is reduced as the Company must crawl over and round rock piles and formations. Carrying items in hands during certain times is not possible, as your hands are needed to climb or steady one self.

Additional Drow Learnings

There are at least four Drow Houses in the caverns under the Hall of the Fire Giant.
There are four separate "Houses" the great City of Spiders, Menzoberranzan, a large underground drow city-state in the Upper Northdark: the Hun'ett, Millithor, Despana, and Eilserv.

• The Hun'ett are considered the "Fifth House" but are not one of the great eight noble houses. They guarded the Room 18: Small Cavern with Drow encountered in Mind Flayed: Game 18.
• The Millithor the "Twenty Fourth House."
• Eilserv are one of the eight great noble houses and ranked high among the great noble houses. Their device of house Eilservs is a copper staff and their queen is Eclavdra. Eclavdra, the high priestess of Loth, is the House Queen, and the mastermind behind the now failed invasion, alliance with the Order of the Necromantia and the now dead lich necromancer Yarlzedd and his great two headed black dragon Calastryx. The Eilserv House guarded the Room 15, Gray Room below and the Drow guards first encountered by the Company.
• Despona are one of the eight great noble houses and ranked third among them. Their sigil is an adamantine mace. Nedylene, a female drow cleric of House Despana has been sent to check in on how Eclavdra's evil plans are developing. The Company encounters her servants in Room 16 below.

Vampiress

At the end of this cavern was a great onyx door, with the inscribed message and magical statement:

Room 16: Nedylene

This cavern had a fine trip wire that triggered a torrent of small iron spheres, which made a loud noise. The Company, through Basillea, negotiated with the female Drow gaining intelligence and leaving without engaging in any combat.
This Drow cavern is home to Nedylene of the House Despana, a noble Drow priestess of Lolth who has been sent check upon her rival, Eclavdra. The Company passed on the chance to talk with and negotiate with the sworn enemy of Eclavdra.
These Drow had the symbol:

by Mike Schely

Room 15: Gray Cavern

This dark cavern is a Drow strongpoint, guards at each of the six ways that meet in this cavern. The cavern was infested with a diverse variety of Drow, but again the compelling charisma of Basillea allowed the Company to pass unmolested with beady Drow eyes ready to shot and stab you in the back. These Drow are from the House Eilserv, which is the same as Eclavdra, the evil Drow mastermind.
Leaders in the Gray Cavern included the female fighter Drada Dyrr Eilserv, the male figure mage Jivin Hyluan Eilserv, and the female fighter Chessintra Hyluan Eilserv.

Rooms 6 and 7: Red Dragon Ambush!

The Company first slew the Drow following them, and then made careful plans to ambush the red dragon. The Company, however, was tricked as the they attacked the illusion of a red dragon in a giant vaulted cavern. Instead, the Company attacked and easily slew a gorgon, a large metal plated fire breathing bull. However, the trap was sprung in classic Gygax fashion with the ancient Wyrm Brazzemal attacking and killing Gui before being killed himself. Basillea again saved the day by using her wand of resurrection to bring Gui back from the dead.
Just like the dragons of old, the hoard guardian sat upon a treasure trove of astonishing riches with glittering copper, silver and gold across the ground, the serpent's den is packed with goblet and vessels from the past, crusted and cording, rusty armor all eaten away, armbands and jewelry everywhere that are artfully wrought, glittering gems, ivory statutes with inlays of gems and precious metals, and the promise of greater treasures covered by the heaps of coins and the valueless rusted weapons and armor.

by Claudio Pozzas

The Company obtained an amulet from the Mind Flayers in Mind Flayed: Game 18, which was slightly damaged and assisted with the passage through Room 15: Gray Cavern. It is the symbol of Tharizdun, which the Company knows nothing of.

Report Date

15 Oct 2022

Vampiress 

Found a corpse, with glittering hair,
Of a woman whose face, tho' dead,
The white death in it had left still fair,
Too fair for an earthly bed!
So I loosened each fold of her bright curls roll'd
From forehead to foot in a rush of red gold,
And kissed her lips till her lips were red,
And warm and light on her eyelids white
I breath'd, and pressed unto mine her breast,
Till the blue eyes ope'd and the breast grew warm,
And this woman, behold! arose up bold,
And lifelike lifting a wilful arm,
With steady feet from the winding sheet
Stepp'd forth to a mutter'd charm.
And now beside me, whatever betide me,
This woman is, night and day.
For she cleaves to me so, that, wherever I go
She is with me the whole of the way.
And her eyes are so bright in the dead of the night,
That they keep me awake with dread;
While my life blood pales in my veins and fails,
Because her red lips are so red
That I fear 'tis my heart she must eat for her food;
And it makes my whole flesh creep
To think she is drinking and draining my blood,
Unawares, if I chance to sleep.
It were better for me, ere I came nigh her,
This corpse,--ere I looked upon her,
Had they burn'd my body with penal fire
With a sorcerer's dishonour.
For when the devil has made his lair
In the living eyes of a dear dead woman,
(To bind a man's strength by her golden hair,
And break his heart, if his heart be human),
Is there any penance, or any prayer,
That may save the sinner whose soul he tries
To catch in the curse of the constant stare
Of those heartbreaking bewildering eyes,
Comfortless, cavernous glowworms that glare
From the gaping grave where a dead hope lies?
It is more than the soul of a man may bear.
For the misery worst of all miseries
Is Desire eternally feeding Despair
On the flesh, or the blood, that forever supplies
Life more than enough to keep fresh in repair
The death ever dying, which yet never dies.