Jinx:OOtA 2 The underdark gets darker. We lose a dear friend

Eventually, the core of the party consisted of Thordan, Menrin, Huldir, Gael, and me. Jinx I had learned to trust every one of them with my life. Along the journey, we met some people who, in more normal times, would have been enemies on sight but who turned out to help us. I learned you can't judge people based solely on their race or how they look. We traveled to the home land of one of our fallen comrades, the Kuotoa, everyone called them 'fish people'. It was essentially an island. Sloobludop seem like the right word to describe the city island and the people.   We were told that the greatest honor we could offer them was to vomit at the foot of the statue of their god. Thorand, being the good cleric he was, managed to pull it off. We were trying to conduct trading and got involved in the politics of the little island. Most worshipped the old gods but some worshipped some new god of the sea. We weren't there for political reasons, we just wanted to make trades. We traded a lot of things successfully and we met another trader named Hemmeth who is a Duergar.   As we were talking, one of the Kuatoa explained to us that some of the newer younger Kuatoa were interested in this new god. It was something from the sea. A sea creature that didn't seem worthy of worship to the older Kuoatoans. And that's just about the time this huge thing rose out of the sea.   What we saw stunned some of us quite literally. It was a Demogorgon. Those young Kuotoans were thinking the Demogorgon was their new deity. I was running for our boats when I noticed that Gael and Menrin had fallen for the Demogorgon's gaze. We had to shake them to get them moving, but we ran towards the boats. We had 2 boats as part of our trade with the Kuotoa. Hemmeth came running up breathless, begging us to let him get on one of our boats. He would steer us to safety. He knew how to get to Gracklestug. I didn't know anything about Gracklestug but we needed to navigate our way away from this black lake as quickly as possible.   Hemmeth actually knew a small island where we could rest for the night. Gael was still under the influence of that gaze because he started acting like I was pregnant and he was responsible. It was embarrassing. He finally came to his senses though. On the way to Gracklestug, we found out that it would be dangerous for us because we aren't Duergar and there were still Drow patrolling the area looking for fugitives and stirring up trouble. We would have to take our chances. In the meantime, we were pursued by underwater creatures like I've never seen before in all my days on the sea.   We battled sea creatures and made our way to Gracklestug. Hemmeth warned us that there would be people there who would not like us. We would have to try to lay low. It didn't seem much different from any of our experiences up to then and we would take our chances over dealing with a Demogorgon.   We made shore and found our way into a town big enough to have a tavern with rooms. We considered going to the tavern but then we saw that we were clocked by some Drow who looked to be wearing the same insignia of the Drow who had captured us. Hemmeth told us to leave as soon as possible and gave us directions how to get into the tunnels of the underdark and a path to follow. He would find us later. He took an order for us for weapons and clothing. I didn't know if we'd ever see him again or our money but he came through alright. But we had to fight some unfriendly Duergar before we got to the place we were to meet him. Oh yeah, and part of the deal was that we needed to get an egg for him. A dragon egg! No problem, right?  

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Blingdingstone

  After meeting up with Hemmeth, we parted ways. He sent us to the town of Blingdingstone. We found a comfortable tavern with a pleasant pub. We learned from the locals (we were on the surface again), that the Drow had come through and ruined most of their town and they were working hard to rebuilt the things the Drow had destroyed when they had occupied the town. They told us they could use our help and we would get paid. We agreed and were sent to find out why many of their people who had gone into some mines never returned.   The journey started off well enough. We were armed with shovels as we were told we might have to dig past some cave ins. We worked hard. We came across a deep gnome who was frozen in place. He was petrified like stone. He had one hand up and was holding a crystal in that hand. Huldir suggested we needed to remove the crystal from his hand to wake him up. I tried to knock the crystal out of his hand but accidentally chopped his hand off. I felt pretty bad about it and everybody started calling me Jinx the Mutilator.   Not long after that, we came across what looked like a cave going downward. Gael and I wanted to investigate. When he got close to the cave, these automated Drow statues came to life and tried to attack him. He was able to get away by stepping back. He came up with a plan though. I am the fastest in the group so it made sense. I would lure them out and the rest of the party would kill them.   What we hadn't counted on though was that there weren't just four of them. After the first four came out, another four followed, then another four and soon we were in dire straits. Huldir came down to the cave to try to help me fight the crazy things off. And before either he or I knew what was happening, a Medusa had come out of nowhere and Gael, Menrin, and Thorand were frozen in space. They were petrified. I was so angry. I was going to kill that Medusa no matter what.   I had a brand new set of thieves tools and it has a special mirror in it. It's on a long handle so you can look around doors. I used a potion of invisibility we had picked up very very quietly, I snuck up behind her and put the mirror in her face. It worked. She was petrified. Even though I managed to kill her with her own weapon, Huldir and I were devastated. I looked at Gael, Menrin and Thorand and almost cried. I didn't want to just leave them there like that.   But we had to report back to the Duergar and hope that we could find a way to save our friends.   We chopped off her head and put it in a bag and carried it back to the town. People were shocked to learn that a Medusa was petrifying people and they were sympathetic but had no answers for us. Finally someone came to the tavern where we were staying and told to go and see a special trader named Ichs Back Boon or something like that. He told us there was a place some 12 miles to the west where we would find a basilisk according to the legends. We needed the stomach and contents to save our friends. We also needed help. Huldir and I wanted nothing more than to drink away our sorrows that night but we had to hire some help.We found a couple of people who agreed to help us for a pretty hefty fee.   Even so, Huldir was still asking everybody he met if they had a magic dwarven hammer to sell. I could forgive him for being so callous considering it would help us with the basilisk.   We found the basilisk. There was more than one. There were two and they were protecting babies, maybe even eggs. I can't remember now. It was a nightmarish time. Our three new party members were extremely helpful and we were able to take the Basilisks parts back to Ichs Bak Boon. He made an oil with the ingredients. He was a very clever man. We went back to the cave where the Medusa had petrified Menrin, Thorand, and Gael.   First, we used the oil on Thorand. It was startling to see him come back to life and he was disoriented and kept wanting to know what happened but we had to heal the others. We managed to heal Gael and he had the same kind of reaction Thorand did but he seemed very quiet.   We tried to heal Menrin but his constitution couldn't take the transformation. I was truly devastated.   Then Gael told us he was going to part ways. He said all he ever really wanted to do was hunt and his time being petrified had reminded him of that. I was very sad to see him go but I understood and at least he was alive. I was trembling as I said good bye to him. When he walked away, I kept expecting him to look back but he never did.   Alas for our party! Gael was healthy but he was gone. Menrin could not be revived. It broke my heart. I thought about that unicorn he had accidentally summoned and had tears pouring down my face. I couldn't bear to leave him in that cave like that. I was desperate to carry him back to the surface. I thought we could put him under a tree or something and it would seem like he was enjoying watching over things. Huldir agreed with me. The newer members of our party thought we were quite stupid and maybe we were but they didn't understand how devastating it was to leave him behind. When I tried to get hold of him, he was much much heavier than I expected and he fell forward and shattered into pieces. I wasn't bothered by them making jokes about it. I think everybody has their own way of dealing with grief.   On the way out, we came across the little petrified gnome whose hand I had lopped off. We used the remaining oil to bring him back. He was shocked and surprised but mostly upset that his hand was missing. I admit it kind of made me mad. I told him he had only lost a hand, he had his life back and could go home to his family. All I could think about was Menrin laying in pieces.   When we got back to the inn, a celebration ensued and we were able to talk two of the fellows who had helped us out into joining our party. Nobody will ever replace Gael or Menrin but at least we were five again. The new party members consisted of a rather hoity toity half elf named Eldredge. He claims his father is a god named Azuth. Maybe he is but I have to wonder what he's doing out here in the middle of nowhere with all his refined manners and upper class voice. I grudgingly admit he had proved himself capable in the battle with the basilisks.   The other fellow is a Dwarf named Kromdar. Kromdar is a Paladin. He is very capable but I noticed that Huldir and Thorand sometimes leave him out of dwarven jokes and things. I wish they wouldn't do that. He has proved himself quite capable. But on the otherhand, we had been through this stuff together and Kromdar was new.   I was still so upset over losing Menrin that way that when I found two goodberries in my pocket, I sobbed right there at the bar as Huldir and I competed to see who would get drunk the fastest.   The next morning, I went back to the clever little Duergar in the market who tinkers with things and makes things, trades, and so on. I took the two goodberries to him and asked him if there was some way he could preserve them. He was very patient and kind and came up with an idea. He would put a hole through each one and then coat the berries in silver. Then he put them on a silver chain and I wear that chain to this day. I've never taken it off. Whenever things seem tough, I just feel those goodberries and remember Menrin and how much he made me laugh. I remember that unicorn and all of those memories give me the will to keep going.