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In attendance:

22 March 1109

Following Roderick into the darkness, the party heads into a long tunnel with a gradual upward slope. Once out of the Drow city of Dezzavold, they bring out their magical light sources to better see their surroundings. This reveals that, while the tunnel takes a generally straight path, it makes enough turns and dips to make any high-speed magical travel impractical. Thus, the party is forced to proceed on foot.

After about an hour, the tunnel ends abruptly. Roderick's Path, however, heads directly into the stone. As the party approaches, Aramil discovers (and manages to avoid) a pit trap covered by an illusion. Not surprisingly, the wall at the end of the tunnel turns out to be an illusion, as well.

Once through the illusory wall, the party spots a small shrine to Lolth ahead. However, Roderick indicates that the path points up to a tunnel about fifteen above them. This new tunnel runs perpendicular to the original tunnel. Since Roderick's spell has a limited duration (and Drow shrines can't be a good thing, the shrine is ignored and the party climbs up to the new tunnel.

After another mile, both Flint and Aramil become aware that the party is being shadowed by at least one Drow. They inform the rest of the party, but opt to ignore it for the time being.

About this time, a Xorn burrows out of the stone floor and introduces itself. It offers information in exchange for gems and minerals. The party obliges, but the Xorn (whose name is “Quaeel'u” - pronounced quickly - as if spitting the syllables out) can offer few specifics. He is able to tell of the Drow city of Mlezzir and the “toll bridge” they operate several miles ahead (and to the left).

A few miles beyond the encounter with the Xorn, Roderick's path veers away from the main tunnel (which is, at this point, gently curving to the right). As they prepare to descend into a small alcove, the Drow scout who has been shadowing them since at least the first intersection, suddenly reveals herself and pleads with the party not to stray from the main tunnel.

Her name, she tells them, is Belarbreena (though she accepts the shorter form of “Bella”). At first, she plays the part of the curious rebel - following the mysterious surface worlders (or “flatlanders” as she calls them) to see what mischief they might be up to. In the end, though, the party believe none of it and Bella reluctantly admits that she was sent my Matron Talice to ensure the party would not double back or otherwise renege on their agreement with the Drow of Dezzavold.

Bella's main argument against diverting from the main path is that the side tunnels are dangerous. Since the party tends to trust Roderick (or at least Imhotep) over some random Drow, they ignore her advice and proceed off the beaten path.

Once again, they find themselves in a tunnel “blocked” by an illusion. Through it, they travel along a narrow, gently winding path for about a mile before it opens up into a worked cavern. In the cavern, they encounter a large pack of Trolls - a few of which have eery, white eyes. As the battle progresses, the party discovers they are near some kind of structure - with a Spider motif around the entrance. They also learn that some of the Trolls are possessed by ghostly undead. When the Trolls are finally dispatched, the undead make their appearance. They appear as a squadron of spell-casting Drow. Several attempt to take over the bodies of various party members, but only Kesi succumbs to their power.

Throughout it all, Roderick finds himself unable to see the ghosts or affect them in any way. But, conversely, they seem unaware of him.

When the undead are finally banished, Roderick finds that his “Find The Path” spell has expired and he doesn't know where the party's next move is. To one side is what appears to be the entrance to a temple to Lolth, but ahead, the tunnel continues into the darkness.

XP awarded: 3,200 for Bigby, Aramil, and Vincent; 4,300 for Pavo and Flint; and 7,600 for Kesi.