Danger in the Underdark
The Folly received additional instructions in telepathic form from
Queen Cressida regarding what was required: that they were to discover what happened to the missing soldiers in
Duris, emphasising the political sensitivity of the situation and that they should not reveal the King's involvement.
They decided the safest way to spy was on the
Ethereal Plane, and used the
Portal Stone to get there. They found
Lisa Fairburn, secretary to
Furstin Derra Emberback, writing a letter to the head of trade on the
Royal Council of Cannis, Derra meeting
Ogra of the Duris Unders, an apparent collaboration between the Duris dwarves and the
duergar, and some large eggs deep in the caves near
Edrom.
When
Lizzie approached the eggs, he fell under the thrall of an unknown creature despite being on the Ethereal Plane.
They spent some time investigating
Edrom, eventually following a priest,
Belleros, to a cavern containing a large pool surrounded by four altars. They witnessed her sacrifice her companion by pushing them into the pool. They then tailed Belleros further, hoping to discover more, but she was aware of their presence thanks to her connection to the creature and led them to a dead end, before eventually escaping during Lizzie's watch.
The Folly returned to Derra's house and the Material Plane where they confronted an alarmed Lisa. She was defensive in the face of Lizzie and Agnes's questioning, but warmed to Mal's more sympathetic attempt and explained her concerns about Derra's changed behaviour and the decision to cut off contact with outside settlements. She also revealed that some who were taken down to
Edrom did not return - including the Cannis soldiers. She gave Mal a slip of
Magic message paper, which they could use to contact each other.
After discussing their options
The Folly decided to consult with
Alric Kota, and travelled to meet him where he was staying at
Master Sorrell's family home on
Aris.
They conducted some research in Sorrell's library, locating some information on
ilithid, which seem to fit the bill of
Underdark creatures with mind controlling powers. They heard from Lisa via the message paper, saying that she had been ordered to visit Edrom the following day. Alric agreed to return to Duris with them, though doing so caused tension with a concerned Sorrell.
Back on the Ethereal Plane, the Folly and Alric followed Derra and Lisa down to Edrom, where they were taken to an audience with Edrom's leader,
Katlan Bralma. They realised that Belleros, who was also present, could see them observing from the Ethereal Plane, but chose to continue following when Lisa, Derra, their duergar guide and Duris guards were led down to the cavern where they had previously witnessed a sacrifice.
When it became clear that Lisa and the others had fallen under the influence of the creature and were in immediate danger, the Folly and Alric returned to the Material Plane to intervene. A fight ensued, during which Belleros ended up in the water, Derra fled with the duergar guide, and the others attempted to transport back to Duris using the Portal Stone.
Having done so, they found the town eerily empty, and over the next short while Lisa and both guards disappeared. Feeling out of their depth, the Folly and Alric attempted to leave via the road to the surface. They unexpectedly ran into Sorrell in the tunnel, who attempted to lead them to the way out. Alric was convinced, but a suspicious Lizzie used Truesight to discover that both Sorrell and the tunnels were an illusion, and they were actually deep in some unknown part of the
Underdark Cave System.
Lizzie suggested he use Teleportation Circle to return home, but was unwittingly controlled by the creature and instead took them even deeper into the Underdark. The group decided to give up trying to escape and instead follow where they were seemingly being led. They passed through a cavernous landscape filled with fungi and strange creatures, eventually making camp near a river. On his watch, Lizzie was compelled to leave the Hut and speak to an illusory avatar of the creature, which took the form of a tiefling. The avatar revealed their name to be
Nevdath, and offered to kill any immortals or deities he wished, in exchange for freeing it.
Lizzie took this offer back to the others, which they decided to decline. Instead, they continued to follow the river and eventually reached a small cave containing what appeared to be a portal. With few other options they jumped in, and found themselves immediately immersed in water.
A Watery Detour
They were rescued from drowning by a group of
triton guards, who granted them the temporary ability to breathe water and led them to the
City of Glass, where they discovered they had travelled to the
Plane of Water. Once in the city they were taken to the council building by
Dilryn Savedath, the youngest of the guards, where they met
Zanath Shah. After explaining how they got there, Zanath left them to discuss the matter with the council, asking that they remain in the city for the time being.
They engaged in a little light tourism, then Dilryn found them and revealed that she had been tasked with returning to the Material Plane with them and killing Nevdath, who the tritons believed to be an aboleth: a dangerous enemy of their people.
Agreeing, slightly reluctantly, to allow Dilryn to join them, they decided to prepare for the task in
Cannis City. Before they left they visited Dilryn's grandmother
Lolyn Savedath, who aided them by casting a day-long water breathing spell on the group, and giving Dilryn
a trinket for safety.
In Cannis they stayed at the Lean Inn, where they got some updates from
Hosk Valer, including the information that
Fyn Saremar had been spending a lot of time at the local Temple of
Lathe in order to deal with the grief of his own actions in
Stygia.
They returned to Edrom the next morning, arriving directly at the pool cavern. In the water they found a mutated Belleros, who they defeated before swimming through the tunnel at the bottom of the pool and emerging in a new, vaster cavern. Here they discovered the ruins of an ilithid city, where they located some obscure magical items and texts written in Qualith, the ilithid language, along with what appeared to be genetic experiments on duergar. They heard the rumbling of some giant creature through the nearby tunnels, and decided it would be safest to return to the main cavern. On the way, they found the remains of numerous ilithids, which appeared to have been drowned some time ago.
Back in the cavern, Lizzie and Mal explored underwater and found the missing Cannis soldiers and a number of dwarves and duergar, including Lisa. They all still lived, but were being held unconscious in a kind of goo. Once released, it was found that they could no longer breathe outside of the water.
Meanwhile Agnes and Alric remained on the surface, where Agnes was tormented by an illusion of
Ishtar. While distracted she was grabbed by a tentacle of Nevdath himself and dragged under the water.
Mal returned in time to chase Nevdath down to the mouth of another tunnel, where Agnes eventually escaped and the two were reunited. They decided against following Nevdath further, and went back to the surface to regroup with the others. There they left the freed prisoners, and the Folly, Alric and Dilryn headed back down to confront Nevdath.
They fought their way through waves of thralls and eventually succeeded in detroying the creature. Following the battle Mal telepathically heard several angry, mournful voices, but having had quite enough of the Underdark decided not to investigate.
They healed the prisoners of disease, allowing them to once again breathe air, then transported Dilryn to the City of Glass, the dwarves to Duris, and themselves and the Cannis soldiers to the
Follyday Inn.
Time to Think
After spending some time bathing, eating, and getting drunk at the Follyday Inn, the group took a long rest. Lizzie dreamed again of a walk through a forest and encountering three symbolic items. This time in the dream, he stopped and took an ornate ruby-studded scimitar from a fire.
The next morning they travelled to Cannis City using
the moonstone, though found that the process was less smooth than usual. At the Lean Inn they were met by
Arrow, whose task it was to take them to the palace so they could report to the King and receive their reward.
Later, they returned to the Lean Inn to discuss what they intended to do next. Agnes had a chance to speak to
Fyn Saremar in private, and made her peace with him. Mal declined to speak to him, and also revealed that she intended to stay in Cannis City while Agnes, Lizzie and Alric returned to the Follyday Inn.
During the next couple of weeks Mal got work at the docks and ran into
Latara, who was arriving in Cannis from
Tolsta. She explained that the situation on the island had become too precarious for her as a priest of
Persana, and planned to find refuge at another temple on the mainland.
Before she did so, she asked Mal to retrieve a ring which had been extorted from her by
Captain Melior, the captain of the ship she had travelled on. Mal agreed, finding the ring and also a note on the ship which implied it was owned by her uncle,
Eldon Vard.
When the Folly returned to Cannis City after their break, Mal affirmed her desire to stay with them. Alric took his leave, heading back to Aris, and the Folly decided to visit Agnes's family for a few days before going to stay with Lizzie's in
Holmir for
Fioch.
Before leaving the Silverbrands, Agnes's grandmother
Catlin Silverbrand warned her to keep the Portal Stone safe, as there would likely be many others seeking it.
In Holmir they met Lizzie's adoptive parents,
Gubb & Tharlick Caskshaper, for the first time, exchanged gifts, got drunk, and made emotional oaths. Lizzie told his parents about discovering the truth of his birth parents, and they reassured him they love him unconditionally. They also gifted him a scimitar - an exact copy of the weapon he had found in his recent dream - which they had found in the Night Market.
A drunk Alric messaged each member of the Folly with seasonal greetings, and revealed that he and Sorrell had visited
Annbrook together for Fioch and confessed their feelings for each other.
Before leaving Holmir the Folly took the opportunity to visit The Grand Letter library to research more obscure topics, guided by visiting researcher
Reverence, and discovered further information about
The Cailachan and
The Fallen Alliance. They also visited the Greylake district of the city where they spoke to a local elf,
Feyric, about his worship of a version of Eldath known as
Riddala, and took a tour of the Night Market where they purchased potions and magical tattoos (and passed on a very expensive item described as
Milucra's Oracle).
Choices Made
Mal was visited in a dream by
Levistus, who offered her a contract for her uncle's soul, which she signed. She woke up with a magical weapon, an
Elemental Dagger, with which she was expected to do the deed. Agnes and Lizzie agreed to support her in this quest, and they travelled back to Cannis City where they confronted
Captain Melior who gave them enough information to track
Eldon Vard as he arrived in Cannis City's Port District.
Having followed him to his house in the city, they planned to use the Portal Stone to investigate on the Ethereal Plane, but found that it did not work. Instead, Agnes cast a scrying spell and discovered Vard at home in conversation with
Arrow, whle Lizzie used a Detect Thoughts spell to identify a number of other people present.
They retreated to the nearby
Bluebell Inn to rest and plan. That night Agnes had a dream sent by
Lydia which made her realise she could not aid in Vard's murder, but would instead stay at the inn and cast protective spells on Mal and Lizzie before they left.
Back at Vard's house Lizzie and Mal snuck in through the basement, apprehending the cook and servant boy and using magic to disguise themselves and take their place.
Arrow, who was once again visiting the house, subtly revealed that he knew their identities due to the same kind of Truesight Ring that Lizzie also owned. They sought his help, but he indicated that he was not in a position to actively put Vard in danger, and while he would not hinder them he was obligated to report any injury that befell Vard to
the King.
After he left Mal waited for Vard in his room, but was discovered by one of his bodyguards,
Hesta, who raised the alarm. In a final confrontation, Lizzie prevented Hesta's attack with a Counterspell and dispelled the invisibility magic hiding Vard. Mal held her uncle at the point of the Elemental Dagger, but her experiences with the Folly made her realise that she did not want to kill Vard for Levistus, and she left him instead with a warning and the reveal of her identity.
She and Lizzie escaped as the city guard hurried to the house, having been alerted by the servant boy.
Back at the Bluebell, the three decided it would be wiser to return to the Follyday Inn rather than stay the night in Cannis. That night Mal had another dream, this time visited by
Estrig, who confirmed that Levistus was outraged at Mal breaking their pact. Estrig explained that they had convinced Levistus to transfer ownership of Mal's soul to them, in exchange for not enacting his vengeance on her and her friends. Feeling that she had little choice, Mal accepted Estrig as her new patron.
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