II.2.1 Enemy of my Enemy

Session Preface

  The corner room of the Silver Flood Inn falls silent. Shattered glass, tattered books, and shredded bed sheets lay scattered across the uneven wooden floor. The residual scent of raw, arcane magic, like storm air just after a lightning strike, hangs in the room. Dim lamplight pierces through transluscent curtains, silhoutetting a middle aged figured dressed in unassuming dark robes with short curled grey hair and defined wrinkles across his forehead. He sits on the bed, his expression grim and distant.   "We do not have much time. But perhaps it is best if I start from the beginning."   "My name is Kaledus. I am a patron of Gristaxadahn, known to many as the Godsforsaken. I myself have acquired an honorific — Disciple of the Damned. A ridiculous title from the same mind that crafted the folklore of the Devil of Daggerford. We serve similar functions in their narrative. Stoking flames of fear. Covering a multitude of misdeeds. The mask frightening enough for the true monsters to hide behind."   "Duke Jorvund, the oldest son of a disgraced Waterdhavian lineage, whether by intent or ignorance, has come under the influence of Verin, a demon lord who thrives on sowing cruelty and wickedness in the hearts of mortals. The duke has similarly ensorcled the duchess, convincing her to go along with his evil machinations. His work is well underway."   "In eons past, the demon prince, Fraz-Urb'luu, possessed a staff of great power, filled with his wrath and hatred for all existence beyond the Abyss. This staff was stolen from him, splintered into pieces, and hidden among the realms. Duke Jorvund believes one such artifact is buried deep beneath the city among the ruins of a kingdom predating Phalorm by centuries. Fraz-Urb'luu greatly covets the reforging of his staff. But even one shard of its full strength in the hands of any demon lord would be ruinous for the entire world. With it, the Duke could pierce the arcane defenses surrounding Dragonspear Castle, where behind its fortifications, Gristaxadahn guards a portal into the Abyss, ensuring it remains sealed and secure. If Jorvund were to recover the staff, Verin could open a floodgate of damnation and chaos."   "Gristaxadahn sent me to Daggerford to thwart these efforts. I have slowed his progress, but the Duke has built a resilient, well-oiled machine. He leverages the rule of law to hide his efforts. He arrests and imprisons citizens, enslaving them to dig into the depths beneath the city, searching for the ancient ruins. He shuts Daggerford off from the outside world, clenching his fist around the entire city. And every night, he comes closer to uncovering the staff."   "You claim you wish to hold audience with Gristaxadan. In seeking me out, I trust you know that I am your sole means of entry. Yet I cannot return to Dragonspear Castle until my work is complete. I must either steal the staff from beneath the duke's grasp, halt his efforts by stripping away his authority, or bring his life to a overdue end. And soon."   The warlock's eyes burn with a wicked resolve as his gaze focusses, waiting for your reaction.  

Session Summary

  The companions and Kaledus discuss their options, ultimately deciding to investigate the catacombs. They sneak through over the castle wall and repel through a cistern and meet up with the tunnels below, observing a concerning amount of ash in the water. Pressing through the narrow tendrils of excavated caves, the party eventually draw close to an opening where a group of guards maintain patrol. Listening in, they learn that the guards fear catching a sickness that seems to be going through the prisoners and the name of the man in charge - Commander Gorch.   Turning invisible, Pax sneaks past the guards and follows the cave to a checkpoint area where guards bring in the most recent prisoners. Finding it surprisingly unattended, Pax is able to investigate the simple guard's quarters and discovers a drafted note, as well as a rough map of the catacombs.  

Sir, I wish to inform you that while progress remains on track, we have experienced a number of setbacks and challenges in maintaining the requisite pace. Many of the laborers working in the northern shafts appear to be falling ill. They experience coughing fits, erratic fevers paired with hallucinations, and eventually collapse either in exhaustion or, in some cases, death. We have run out of space for the sick, as whatever the ailment is seems to be increasingly contagious. Following your orders of not bringing any of the laborers out of the catacombs, we’ve had no choice but to contain the situation besides burning the bodies of those who fall. The ashes will be added to the rubble and debris pickups in the evenings. Perhaps if you were to send a cleric to us, we could properly diagnose this contagion and eradicate it, allowing us to return back to normal operations. In service of the crown, Renald Gorch

  Pax pushes forward to see firsthand the prisoner's conditions. He finds dozens of Daggerford citizens in small pens, huddled together and exhausted. In a separate pen, several individuals who match the note's description can be seen dazed and despondant. Among them, several shout concerning phrases such as, "I can feel them growing inside me!", but most concerning of all to Pax is the woman who simply says, "We will all be one. We will all meld into one." Pax immediately recognizes this as a sign of Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi, and her influence.   Pax returns to Aethuriel and Kaledus, sharing the note and map he discovered and explaining his concerning theory of Zuggtmoy's presence. The three press on to the northern chamber and are fortunately present as one of the prisoners breaks through the stone and comes across open air behind the cavern wall, suggesting a way forward to the ancient city and the staff's hidden location. While the guards call for their commander and get the prisoners back into their pens, the companions sneak into the small crawlspace and descend into the tunnels below. When they finally find themselves among the sought after ruins, Kaledus collapses the tunnel behind them.  

Within the Ruins

In the ruins themselves, the companions quickly discover they are in a massive and ancient dwarven complex. As they get their bearings, they discover small mushrooms growing in the dark corners of the caves, confirming Zuggtmoy's presence and the threat they represent. The party is careful to not disturb their spores, but it is not long before they are detected by another presence, skeletal figures bound together by demonic vines, lichen, and other unnatural growths. The demonic undead hail down arrows from a bridge above, but the party manage to escape the attacks and continue exploring.   The party discover a mining operation, as well as a secret chamber hiding a set of valuable rubies, and test their theories about the plant demon's hive mind and shared consciousness, now realizing that alerting any of the monstrosities is to draw the attention of all of them. They also take note of a massive dwarven fortress only accessible through a retractable draw bridge, but continue exploring before pressing onward. Looping around towards the front of the complex, they come to a massive waterfall and the grand entrance of the dwarven keep. As they take in the views, they discover they have been spotted by a party of the plant fiends who move in to strike.