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In the Undermountain

Dagda

• 6 min read
In the Undermountain

20 Kythorn 1492

Breakfast. Zanalor brooding. Peter feeling empowered and offering aid everywhere. Nuitt looking content and getting some free food (20 days of rations now for all players)

Pessius snuck out the visit to gnomes who own The Sea Chest. There are other stores in Skullport that may offer clothes and equipment, but nothing like she can get in Waterdeep. For her need the proprietors stitched together a pair of long silk gloves that are a patchwork of some serviceable gloves and silk they repurpose from old clothing

She reentered through the front of the Flagon and Dragon and made a point to sit by Zanalor. The reunion was delicate; it’s clear that he’s been fiercely worried and she is making a point to hide her own pains. She mentioned a “fever dream”, but quickly shifts topics when he mentioned his own dream from a new patron. He has had a pact with Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools. Pessius was surprised, as he’d not shared this patron with her or anyone before. “I’m sure if you had told me this earlier, I would made a point to mention it… often.” The greater surprise was his visit last night from another of the Arch Fey, a woman who gave him new power and a charge. Pessius raised an eyebrow. “So you’re taking orders from another woman now?”

“When have I ever listened?” Zanalor was glad to have Pessius back, and she pulls her chair closer while Cai’lel and Katabek came to visit with a glowing Nuitt. Peter, who had communed with his own visitor overnight, extended her radiance to bolster his new companions. [10 temporary hit point that would soon be need by all]

Lareal stood, having been informed that there seems to be some stirring trouble down the Coast so she can’t linger in Skullport. She asked that the party relent in their revenge against Xanathar – she had made a pledge with the Lords of Waterdeep to quell the Guild’s uprising and thanked the party for their very messy but effective disruption in the lair below – as it’s clear the real danger was coming from deeper in Undermountain itself. She restates the most immediate need that Joroth Brighthelm of the Lords Alliance and Helion Moonrise had described the day before. A band of dwarves led by a Falkir Gravelfist had entered Undermountain with a scrying stone, a great emerald that was set into “a helm like a boar’s head”. They were blind to Undermountain and feared the missing stone that had gone dark could somehow be used against them and the city above. The hard work is at hand as she asked you to push into the uncharted regions of the Mad Mage’s domain.

Pessius asked what the party should expect for payment, given your reputation. Lareal frowned. “Given your reputation, I thought you might do this for good of the people above. Your friends. The family you have in the city.” Pessius pushed back again, but then Peter stood to say that he would do this without coin and for the good of all. Nuitt nodded his assent as well. Zanalor tried to calm Pessius with gentle but still firm tones, reminding her of their daughter and others. Lareal agreed to continue to watch over Galiana, and Pessius finally relented.

Pessius thought to teleport to Waterdeep in the hopes of better outfitting herself and the party. Lareal, however, confirmed that there is a witch of some sort on the second level of Skullport, nodding with her head up to the buildings built on top of the riggings and planks you’ve seen stretch above the streets. “Tasselgryn of The Poisoned Quill [edit: DM didn’t have the name handy at the time] will be able to teleport you for 50 gold per person.” When Pessius asked why they would do that when she can do it herself, Lareal encouraged her to reach out and try. Pessius stretched for her divination powers only to find that her access to her teleportation circles seemed somehow blocked, reminiscent of a feeling she had in her dreams last night. She worried openly how the party would be able to return from the levels below. Lareal confirmed that the party would have to be careful. There are likely more gates, but even as the party descends into Undermountain you’ll need to remember your way back and be mindful of the resources you have left. Pessius remarked how happy she was to be doing this for free.

Helion Moonrise provided more information about House Moonrise’s services available to Silverhand and the party. He or others would remain in Skullport. His house provides most of the magical items in Waterdeep. Moonrise employs a cadre of artificers and arcane engineers working under the Chief Artificer, the drow MocGeiver. For trusted adventurers who do not antagonize the House, MocGeiver and his support offers specialized services.

In working directly with Moonrise, adventurers are rewarded for their patronage with the items they want in exchange for a small amount of coin and patience. The House increases it's stores and coffers.

MocGeiver will:

  • resize magic armor +/-1 size for 20% of the armor cost
  • Transfer the Power: transference is rechanneling the magical properties into a similar items at a cost of 20% of the new item cost. [makes the random magic item table rolls a bit more useful and also provides Malsanos access to ranged enchantments on par with others]
  • Exchange the item for a similar item, requiring time and funds for sourcing [if you’ve been wanting that +2 rapier but the +2 longsword drops instead….]

You can also sell spellbooks to the Chultan priest Obaya Uday priced on the highest spell contained. [more details on the handout].

With some health potions, 20 days of rations, and confirming your bedpacks, ropes, and torches, you were led through the morning streets of Skullport to a tunnel descending in the northwest quadrant. A dwarf led you into a narrow cave passage that wound north and south, past small caverns of jeering hobgoblins. The dwarf provides some history of coming down through upper levels with Janzo, and a conflict between a drow temple and hobgoblins on this level centering on an ancient dwarven city. Your work, however, lay much farther below. He took you to an arched gate showing a carved dwarf maid with a keyhole which Nuitt found rather suggestive. Zanalow approach and activated the gate with the stone key from Janzo, absorbing some kind of arcane rune and hearing a voice that seemed to test each of you before deciding you were worthy. “Finally, finally. Yes. Maybe you will be enough. Maybe to can be strong enough to do what must be done. You may pass…”

The party considered the door a moment longer while the voice [DM should have made it more clear that the voice still seemed present in case you had anything to ask] waited. Unable to see through the arcane veil, Zanalor jumped through. The rest of the party waited to see if he would join the pile of bloody limbs on the floor, but the voice then prompted them. “This door will close…”

You soon found yourself in swamp filled caverns. Zanalor took the lead, reclaiming the stone key that fell from the inert gate’s twin and turned down a south passage to investigate a ledge 20 feet above. Just as Nuitt was preparing to join him, two massive fern fists pummeled Peter from behind. Grappling him. Soon enough, Peter was engulfed within one of the three shambling mounds that assaulted the party. Pessius picked fire, cold, and lightning spells and was dismayed at the results. Zanalor did some massive assassination damage, but quickly used one of his new powers to thunderstep to his wife’s defense.

Pessius tried to banish one of the hulking plants but the spell failed, as whatever bridge the spell required to the other plane was somehow blocked not by the monster but the mountain itself. Even in the thick of battle, she began to surmise from her access to teleport circles and this spell failure that some specific magic in Undermountain is altered or suppressed.

Nuitt had leapt into the fray using his abilities to run up walls and be awesome to try to help free Peter, but learned quickly that these monsters had less trouble hitting him than the lowly minions of Xanathar. He fell unconscious quickly under the unrelenting attacks of two Mounds. In a miracle that he may share someday, he surprised everyone by leaping to his feet the next round and regrouping. And then he became a dinosaur….

Having cast spells, Pessius felt the odd tingling in her limbs near the end of the fight as crackling blue flames - a sign of wild magic - snaked around her hands.