Eighty-second session - 4 August 2006 - Descent Into the Depths

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In attendance:

20 March 1109

After 40 days of pursuing their own plans of preparation, the party returns to Aramil's fortress to discuss their plans for using the Drow teleport chain. They agree to set up the chain inside the fortress under one of Roderick's Deeper Darkness spells. The goal is to keep the chain protected from the damaging effects of sunlight for as long as possible.

21 March 1109

Additional planning is done. Additional spells are discussed. But, for the most part, the party sits and waits.

22 March 1109

The party spends the night watching the Dancer, waiting for it to cross the face of the full moon - which it does about an hour and a half past midnight. As it approaches, some defensive spells are cast and Flint changes from his natural, Svirfneblin form into that of a Drow. When it enters the disk of the full moon, Bigby attempts to use his Telekinesis spell to shape the chain into a perfect circle to activate it. Unfortunately, the chain proves difficult to manipulate and the perfect symmetry required to open a stable gate is beyond his agility.

Pavo steps in and uses his steadier hand (along with a little magic) to form the circle. With the party waiting on all sides of the chain, the gate springs to life. On cue, everyone steps through and into the Underdark.

They find themselves on one of four circular teleport pedestals in a room guarded by four Drow - who have readied themselves behind short walls with their hand crossbows pointed at the party. Along a wall to one side, there are numerous arrow slits - some of which appear to be occupied by more guards. Also around the room are three massive and ominous obsidian statues of what look like four-armed Drow.

With little discussion, the party goes on the offensive. The Drow respond by unleashing a volley of poisoned crossbow bolts. As fate would have it, Vincent bears the largest brunt of these attacks and, despite two days of discussion and preparation, it appears that either nobody cast a Slow Poison, or the spell cast on him did not take effect for some mysterious reason. He succumbs to the poison and collapses into a deep sleep inside the teleport circle.

The rest of the group engages the Drow guards. Bigby dimension doors behind the arrow slits into a side room, while Flint moves toward the one and only door - which also leads to the same side room. Pavo, Aramil, and Kesi tackle the guards, while Roderick positions himself tactically and begins casting defensive spells.

Within seconds, the Drow realize they are outclassed, so one of them speaks a magical activation word which brings the three statues to life. As the last of the Drow guards are defeated, the three statues begin a punishing assault. Despite their near-invulnerability to spells and most weapons, the party eventually brings them down.

With the combat over, the group realizes that the room they are in some kind of sealed portal room - with no obvious exit. After a couple of spells, though, they learn that one entire wall is magical. Since it has the characteristics of a magic item, rather than a spell, the party's various Dispel spells will be ineffective. However, Bigby has a Rod of Cancellation that proves to be just the trick. After the magic of the wall is dissipated, Flint is able to use a Stone Shape spell to create an opening.

To their surprise, they find the room opens into a large, natural cavern which is filling with Drow readying defensive positions. In addition, two massive Spider Demons flank the room and one Drow in the back casts a spell, summoning a giant spider. Unbeknown to the party, a third Spider-Demon waits on the ethereal plane, silently and invisibly moving to the party's undefended rear.

Bigby and Flint target the Drow spellcaster in the back and bring him down almost immediately. Meanwhile, as the fighters ready for another fight, Roderick decides the safest course of action is to reseal the room with another Stone Shape.

The safety is short-lived, though, as the ethereal Spider-Demon phases in to attack from surprise. Flint's keen hearing and Pavo's uncanny defenses, though, alert the party to the beast. However, with the ability to shift between the material and the ethereal planes at will, along with a hide which repels much of the sting from even Pavo's weapon, the demons seem to have a significant advantage. Roderick manages to even the odds, though, by casting a spell to consecrate the party's weapons to Imhotep.

In the end, Roderick shifts the party to the ethereal plane where two of the demons are slain, and the third limps away very near death. Since their ethereal state will last only a short time, the party frantically begins a discussion about their next course of action.

Just as they are deciding to scatter to search for the “heat” crystal, the wounded demon returns and announces telepathically that “Matron Talice of House Mar'Sevul wishes to negotiate.” The party puts their plans on hold and agrees to return to the material plane to hear her out.

Back in the sealed room, the drow use a Stone Shape to open a small slit in the wall at ground level. Through this slit, a swarm of spiders crawl in and form into a Drow-shaped figure - which quickly coalesces into a perfect image of an elderly female Drow. She introduces herself as “Matron Talice of House Mar'Sevul” and asks what the party's intentions are. When the admit they are after the crystal, she tells them they are “150 years too late” and that the crystal was taken by the renegade house Erel Hudai through a portal - which was subsequently sealed off.

Her terms are simple: Return the stolen Teleport Chain and leave the city immediately. Despite leaving them no obvious means of returning home, the party decides to accept her terms - on the condition that she provide safe passage out of the city. She agrees with little hesitation and the negotiations are concluded.

Roderick then revives the sleeping Vincent and casts Find The Path to locate the crystal. Since he cannot locate the crystal itself, he opts to trust the Drow Matron and seek the portal through which she claimed it was taken. Flint reopens the sealed room with another Stone Shape and the waiting Drow line up on either side of the cavern. The party steps cautiously into their midst and they find Talice's promise to be true. Not only do the Drow Guards escort the group through the outer and inner cities (which they learn is called “Dezzavold”), Roderick's path leads exactly where Talice claimed it would.

In the end, the group arrives at - and are escorted through - a great gate at the edge of the city. Roderick's magical path leads down a large tunnel into the darkness…

No XP was awarded for Talice, the Priestesses, the three Invokers, or the two dozen Guards - all of whom were outside the portal room.

XP awarded: 4,200 for Bigby and Aramil; 5,900 for Roderick, Pavo and Flint; and 13,400 for Kesi.