May 25, 2019

We Should Just Set Up a Base Camp in the Underdark, We Go So Often

The Motley Too take the stolen staff belonging to the elf queen Morwyn and store it in a lead-lined room. Adarra has planted the old Staff of Law and must wait for a new tree to grow in order to carve a new Staff of Law. In the meantime, the Motley Too decides to add to their growing collection of staffs by retrieving the Staff of Shattering. On their previous return to Gelfini, a messenger from the Society of the Occulisticons told them a wizard named Strinior was in the Underdark, working for Crulicar by creating hybrid monsters such as the rust monster bulettes and zombie beholders the group has had the misfortune to encounter. In the wizard's possession was something called the Staff of Shattering. The Occulisticons, a group of beholders that claim to have infiltrated all of society, wants the Motley Too to bring the staff to them as a sign of the group's allegiance.

While they don't want to join this society of beholders nor give the Society something that sounds so powerful, the Motley Too also doesn't want to add to their list of enemies just yet. So, the plan is to retrieve the staff and just not say anything about it and hope nobody comes asking for it.

Just as they are about to leave Gelfini, Vain walks up to the Mirror of Thought and steps in. Since when has Vain been able to open the mirror? Kurtis pops out but then Delphine and The Harper of the North get sucked in. The mirror then floats near the largest grouping of party members. Unsure about what just happened and unable to communicate with Vain or the two now trapped in the mirror, the remaining members of the Motley Too decide to continue to the Underdark with the mirror in tow. A solution will eventually present itself. Vain will come back with the others or something. Stepping outside the town limits, Adarra feels her connection to the mirror snap. While she is outside of Gelfini, she won't be able to access the mirror dimension.

On the way to the kobold cave where the Underdark entrance is, the Motley Too encounter an old woman and her ogrillon (orc/ogre) companion, their wagon mired in mud. While most of the group stays hidden in case this is a trap, Sir Gyles and Wileu help get the wagon out. In return, Granny Grimes tells Wileu her fortune.

Granny Grimes: Beware of the tentacled ones. Especially their vermin. It will not end well for you. Be quiet and cautious.

Warily thanking the old woman, Wileu and Sir Gyles rejoin the party. They reach the kobolds by nightfall. The kobolds report a great deal of unrest among the various factions in the Underdark. Yog-Sothoth's mindmeld with Adarra and The Harper informed them that Cthulhu is making a return and not all of the Mind Flayers are happy about that. The unrest could be related to this. After taking a little time to rest and partake of kobold hospitality (don't eat the meat!), they continue into the Underdark. The magick users feel the now-familiar suppression of their abilities as they descend into the cavernous depths.

This is the Motley Too's Version of Quiet and Cautious

The party tries to stay out of sight of the denizens of the Underdark. But it doesn't work out that way. First, they encounter three gnome prisoners and help free them. The gnomes are wary of the Motley Too, and become even more suspicious when Jandove has no idea how to respond to their questions about her family name. Then they get attacked by wererat minions of the Mind Flayers (Granny Grimes did warn you, Wileu). Using residual energy from his handling of the fragment of the Staff of Law, Sir Gyles summons Alana from the mirror and she makes short work of them with her silver-tipped arrows.

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Alana: Make sure you pick up my arrows!

Next, they find the area where they knew that a pair of blue dragons used to live, but instead of encountering dragons, they are attacked by purple worms. Both Wileu and Adarra are swallowed by worms and have to be rescued by their companions. The pair of dragons are gone, presumably eaten by the worms, but Kurtis and Sir Gyles manage to find one undamaged dragon egg. If they can keep it safe for a year, it will satisfy their agreement with Lung Wang, the Turtle of Large Proportions.

Then the party kills a couple of ropers and frees a dog-sized elephant creature. It cuddles up to Sir Gyles on Doggie but backs away in horror once the paladin dismounts. It thought they were one creature!

Gods Slayers and the Jersey Shore

Finally, the Motley Too reaches the corridor where the Motley Crew had once seen the wizard Strinior working in a lab behind a transparent wall. The wall is now an opaque obsidian with the words "Your Doom is Upon You" scrawled across it. Adarra summons a fire elemental to melt through the wall. The lab and the equipment are still in the room, but it is otherwise currently empty. Opening the only door in the room, Kurtis spots a fin on the ground quickly coming towards him.

Kurtis: Back in the room! Back in the room!

Sir Gyles summons Malouf from the mirror. Seeing a foe approaching, the barbarian brandishes his war axe...And it disintegrates because that is a rust monster bulette!

Undeterred, Malouf raises his fists.

Malouf: Meet the Gods Slayers!

Between the "Gods Slayers" and various ranged weapons, they manage to kill the rust monster bulette without losing anyone else's prized weapon. They traverse the corridor and reach the door at the end unmolested. They hear a voice.

Voice: We have taken your measure. You have done well against my pet. Why have you come? You said you wouldn't interfere with Crulicar's plans.

Adarra: *points at ear, shaking head* What?

Voice: (baffled) Can't you hear me? I said we have taken your measure and -

Adarra: What? Look, is this your elephant dog? *points at platybelodon*

Voice: (angrily) You cannot fool us! I know you can hear me! Survey of adventurers - which eye of the beholder would you most like to face? Answer now!

Sir Gyles: Er...slow?

A ray of light bathes the party, and they are all slowed. The door at the end of the corridor opens into a room. A staff-wielding wizard, likely Strinior, is on a dais in the back and two fighters flank the room. One of the fighters is a female named Jwoww. The Motley Crew saved her and her mercenary group a while back from a fire elemental they couldn't control.

Jwoww: Dunno what you guys want, but he's under our protection so we're gonna fight you guys.

Adarra: You're protecting him? He must be so annoying. And the smell!

Jwoww: You have no idea. It's so gross, but we have a rep to uphold. *shrugs, checks manicure*

Strinior: (in a strained voice) Jwoww, can you please stop talking and kill them?

Jwoww: *rolls eyes* Whatevs.

On either side of the helmet is a metal flask with a tube that goes to her mouth. Turning a valve on this strange contraption, she gets a dose of some kind of power enhancing potion. She's able to shatter Wileu's armor and knock her unconscious. Sir Gyles uses his deck of playing cards to conjure an illusion of a lich. It touches Jwoww. Her hair immediately turns white and she visibly weakens.

Adarra hears a whispering voice telling Jwoww the lich is an illusion. All of the mercenary's strength returns. Strinior opens a door and releases a pair of zombie beholders.

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Despite this, the tide of battle starts to turn in the Motley Too's favor.

Strinior: Jwoww, things are not going well!

Jwoww: Hey, man, it's up to you. If you want to leave, you can leave. Or we can surrender.

Adarra, in bird form, flies over to Strinior, and then transforms into a hippo, crushing the wizard and causing him to drop the Staff of Shattering.

Strinior: Argh! Take me now!!!

Strinior disappears. Jwoww and her companion immediately drop their weapons and hold their hands up in surrender. The group decides to let the two mercenaries leave unharmed, hoping to bank some goodwill towards any future encounters. Adarra takes the Staff of Shattering and the Motley Too make their way home.

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