Day 3: Part 6: Chasing the Drow
The team left Brazemel’s lair with a mix of shame and sorrow, having retreated without their hard-earned items and treasures, yet grateful to live another day. Among them, Oscorn wore the brightest smile as he clutched his tiara, a relic from his homeland, with stunning beauty and the incredible power to understand and speak with all creatures.
Expressing his gratitude, Oscorn walked around, thanking each party member for their help in recovering his precious relic. The air was thick with relief and camaraderie as they made their way back from the cave. Silvius, however, had questions burning in his mind and turned to Zeke. “Did you know what was in there?” Silvius inquired.
Zeke, seemingly surprised, responded, “I didn’t know. Who was there?”
“A real and powerful red dragon,” Silvius answered solemnly.
“Brazemel?” Zeke’s expression shifted to a mix of surprise and nervousness. “What was he doing there?”
“I didn’t know that was one of his entrances. He’s an ancient dragon,” Silvius explained. “We keep tabs on his comings and goings. This one is news to me,” Zeke admitted.
Kalinar interjected, “Can you detect these portals he uses?”
Zeke sighed, “Not me personally, but we try to keep tabs on their movements. My people and I can move from plane to plane, but only once a day, and I have business here.”
Silvius speculated, “Could Brazemel be the cause of this?”
Zeke shook his head, “Not on his own. He must be connected to a race or another group. This is an odd place for him. This mountain has many twists and turns that are very odd. The Drow must have been a part of this.”
Silvius agreed, “Maybe this could be a clue. Can you read it?”
Zeke took a long look at the map and responded, “It does seem like something from the Drow. Actually, it’s a map. It is in a weird dialect, though.”
Silvius eagerly asked, “What does it say?”
Zeke pointed at each location on the map and shared his understanding. “On the top, it reads ‘Vault, Drow.’ The two dots represent ‘Black Guardians.’ The third says something like ‘Vault and Drow, maybe Gate?’ The fourth mentions a shrine and another word that sounds like ‘Kua toa.’ Those are rarely seen, and even more rarely, if not never, in the Underdark. They tend to worship large gods. The fifth talks of a barge crossing, and the map looks like a river. The sixth says ‘caverns and warrens.’ Seven is a spy post. The final set of symbols says ‘checkpoint.’ After that… who knows.”
Silvius thanked Zeke, and with a determined gaze, he continued to study the map. Zeke chimed in, “I hope that helped.”
The group turned to each other, deliberating on their next move. The challenges posed by Brazemel may have stalled their progress, but the looming presence of giants and Drow demanded their attention.
Kalinar directed his question to Baldo, the fire giant, “Have you ever heard of this checkpoint mentioned?”
Baldo responded with a shake of his head, “Never heard of it.”
Silvius pointed to the northeast, suggesting, “Let’s try that way.”
Czolg, always attentive to details, questioned, “What about the door?”
Silvius shuddered at the memory, “Let’s definitely close it.”
Operation Trundle Wagon continued its journey to the northeast. As they advanced, Czolg spotted a fire giant guarding the passage and quickly stepped back. He relayed the information to the team, “I see a fire giant ahead, I think he saw me.”
The message passed through the group, and a tense silence followed. Several minutes passed, and they heard nothing. Czolg and Silvius, later on, cautiously began moving forward. As soon as they did, a fire giant appeared, staring back at them, and a boulder whizzed past their heads.
“Blow it!” the fire giant commanded, and a loud horn sounded, echoing through the cavern.
The team collectively sighed, “Oh no, not again,” recognizing the familiar sound of an alarm.
Silvius, having turned invisible, sneaked forward and spotted two fire giants. He sent a silent magical message to Czolg, “There are two of them. We can take them.”
Before Operation Trundle Wagon could make a move, one of the fire giants spotted Silvius, despite his invisibility. ADC wasted no time and charged, creating a storm of ice that painfully froze the furthest fire giant and covered the path in shards of ice.
Czolg attacked the nearest giant with his spear, Panzerfaust. Oscorn peeked around the corner and tolled the dead on the frozen fire giant, remarking, “ADC has got one iced down pretty well!”
Kalinar unleashed a blast on the same frozen fire giant. The battle seemed to be turning in their favor, but suddenly, the sound of crossbow bolts filled the air. One bolt struck Kalinar in the leg, carrying a burning sensation of poison. Another bolt hit Silvius’s wolf, Kazik, poisoning him.
As arrows flew, two boulders crashed into ADC and Silvius, causing significant damage. Silvius, now visible and shocked, mocked the fire giant as he hopped on Kazik and ran back to the others, screaming, “These fire giants can see invisible creatures!”
ADC pulled back, noticing several Drow fighters approaching. Two centaurs arrived, joining the fight against the Drow and clashing with their swords and hooves. Oscorn, observing more Drow behind them, called out to the others as he tolled the dead to harm the first approaching Drow.
Kalinar took down a Drow with a powerful blast and shouted to Fennuris, “You can get a better shot from here!” The Drow and centaurs continued their intense combat, with Kalinar’s tentacle aiding in defending the centaurs.
A voice in Undercommon resonated, and suddenly, the centaurs were covered in a glowing light, making them easy targets for the surrounding Drow. A particularly well-armored Drow approached a centaur and struck it down with his swords. Fennuris, repositioning himself, began shooting at the Drow.
The battle raged on, with OTR feeling the Drow and giants losing their advantage. Darkness enveloped Oscorn and some others due to the Drow’s tactics.
As Drow were defeated near Silvius, he ran back to the other flank on Kazik and pulled out his magical lantern. ADC summoned an earth elemental that delivered powerful blows to the Drow. Czolg continued stabbing the fire giant in front of him with his spear, and Oscorn, now aided by Silvius’s light, attacked the remaining Drow.
The entire team focused their might on the remaining fire giant and they successfully brought him down.