Session 28: Dark Before the Light

General Summary

The party got Lunch and Dinner situated away in the back, lined up some caltrops between mushrooms and stood ready to receive whatever the underdark was sending their way.
The screeching got closer and closer until eventually they saw the many limb horrors scattering along the ground between the giant blue mushrooms. The blue light from the mushroom trees shined against their purple and yellow carapace. The six pincer legs, the points ending very sharply, carried them forward. Their heads covered in their exoskeleton and huge mandibles looking to feed.
Eight of these terrifying monsters rushed forward.
Zanthros met this oncoming swarm by conjuring a raging wall of fire right in their path. It erupted from the ground, immediately burning the mushrooms and catching four of the underdark bugs directly, while ejecting more fire away and burning a fifth. And yet, they came on.
Brother Les and Pooka (and Akoop) held at the line, Les taking a moment to brighten up the entire area with the light of the sun, while Eglantina and Atreena added to their defense with fey blasts and arrows.
Then the bugs got close enough and started spitting acid. Some of the acid got passed Brother Les' defenses and started melting his skin between the cracks in his armor. Pooka got splashed with some acid as well.
Zanthros thought that returning the acid back to the creatures would work, but his ball of acid splash seemed to run off their carapace like water.
More fey blasts, arrows, a hovering sun of Pelor and Akoop started breaking the natural armor of the bugs. They killed a couple, but plenty more lived to close in on Brother Les and Pooka. The pincer legs stabbed at the two, occasionally finding weak points, and Pooka took a bite that included the acidic saliva of the monstrosity.
A couple came around a raised area of rock and attempted to stab Eglantina. She took a pincer in her leg and reacted by instantly teleporting 60 feet away and turning invisible for a few seconds.
Another attempted to spit on Atreena with its acidic saliva, but Brother Les saw this from the corner of his eye and called upon the magic within his new shield by yelling "Enkase!" and encased Atreena in a wall of impervious light. The acid goo hit the spiritual shield and slid off of it, not harming Atreena within.
Zanthros dropped his multi-pass special on those and incinerated a couple more.
Atreena darted around the battle, stabbing here and there when good opportunities arose, using her rapier to deadly effect.
Pooka used his Lash to find many weak spots in the carapace and pumped venom into the vulnerable skin underneath, killing his fare share.
After a mere 30 seconds of hectic and anxiety riddled danger, the cave went quiet again, except for the sound of the raging wall of fire not 60-70 feet away. This too eventually ended 30 seconds after that and with the end of Brother Les' daylight spell, the cavern was plunged into a dim darkness again. The only light available was Zanthros' staff and the weird, dim blue glow of the mushroom forest.
The party took stock for a moment to make sure everyone was alright. Pooka, with his new found love for harvesting creatures, started looking immediately at what he could possibly remove from them. The pincers looked nice and sharp. The carapace could probably be removed. And maybe even the acid sacs in the jaw/neck area. He set to work on removing those pieces. He was able to sever several pincer legs and even a full, undamaged carapace shell, but couldn't get an acid sac removed safely and securely.
The party put some distance between the creatures bodies, settled Lunch and Dinner down, and took an hour to get their wind back. Then they started moving through the forest once again.
Several hours later, the elongated and narrow cavern eventually ended with another tunnel leading into darkness. They entered.
Another day or so passed. Occasional offshoots of smaller tunnels broke here and there but the larger main tunnel served as a steady goal towards the other side. They hoped it would lead out and be able to take their wagon and mules with them.
Sometime after yet another sleep in the dark tunnels, they came to another smaller cavern but this was hot and filled with light. Atreena snuck ahead to see what was there. The air got hotter and hotter. Then she got close enough and saw a river of lava passing directly through the center of this cave. It flowed from a fissure to her right and went into the wall to her left. And the narrowest point was about 7 feet across. A path continued on the other side.
She climbed up the cavern wall and over the top until she got to the other side and took a look down the tunnel into darkness again. She reported what she found.
The rest of the party moved into the room. Looking at the river of lava, they found it was as wide as 15-20ft and as narrow as 7ft. How were they going to get the mules and wagon across?
Brother Les had an idea. He would call on Pelor to help shape the rock floor to bridge the lava river.
He started working on it with the help of he others except for Eglantina who found the lava flows fascinating. It started to concern her, though, when the lava started to grow in specific spots and rise up into rough humanoid forms. She called out to the rest of the party to be aware.
The lava formed into four humanoid forms with heads and arms but a single amorphous lower body. They rose from the river flow and moved to burn the party.
Zanthros jumped on this and retried his vitriolic sphere of acid and tossed it at two of the elementals. The acid hissed and burned the lava forms, causing damage to their structures.
But the closest elemental moved out of the lava and reached out to Zanthros, swiping at his body and burning him and causing his clothes to ignite.
Atreena let fly with a magic infused arrow, piercing through the center of one that burned Zanthros.
One elemental closed on Eglantina, burning her briefly before she reflexively teleported to the other side of the lava river and disappeared from sight.
Another reached out to Pooka, singeing his body and lighting him on fire as well.
Eglantina moved a bit into position then called upon her power bestowed by Xalicas to shatter a space between two elementals with thunderous noise, rupturing their unnatural forms, causing them damage.
Pooka let loose his 5 headed snake whip again. The magical fangs tearing through the magical lava forms. The mind within the Lash not very content that these things did not feel pain. He also put out the rising flames on his clothes and fur.
Brother Les backed off a bit, brought forth his floating sun of Pelor to bash into the elementals while Atreena attempted to use rapier to stab at another to very little effect. Although, her necrotic ball of energy did cause black cracks to course over the hot lava form.
Zanthros, his clothes slowly burning, walked a bit to the side of the elemental attacking though, sighted down between the combat, then rub some fur on a rod of glass and pointed it directly at the elemental in front of him, called on arcane words of power then sent a flashing bolt of crackling lightning into the face of his attacked, past it and into the bodies of 2 more. Pooka stood in the path but the arcing electricity flashed around him, causing only his smoking fur to rise up from the static.
The elementals swatted at the party again, setting Zanthros, Brother Les and Pooka on fire again.
The party then took turns using rays of frost, lashes and the might of Pelor's weapon to finish off the elementals until just ash and residue remained where the elementals once stood. Those still burning quickly put out their flames.
Pooka took a look at the residue left by the elementals and tried to harvest what was left but found he had nothing sufficient to hold the remains of the elementals in that would keep it contained. So, he left it all behind.
Brother Les finished up his stone bridge across the lava river, then coerced Lunch and Dinner to make their way across and into the next tunnel.
Another day went by. The party found a small widening in the tunnel that afforded them some space to lay down and rest during what they thought was the night. Then continued on once they all felt rested.
A few hours after that, they all started to notice a small and subtle breeze. Air was actively flowing and then, after a few turns, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Before long, that light gave way to green and fresh air. The party emerged from the Dark Highway into a beautifully warm day. Trees surrounded them from a lush forest that looked different than what existed on the other side of the Cyrios Mountains.
The party had finally reached the Menagerie Coast.
What lies in store for the party here? How will they find the dangers that Eglantina's patron, Xalicas, warned them to stop?

Report Date

27 Apr 2021