The consensus amongst the party was that they should pursue the “Dragon” into the Underdark and there endeavour to slay him, lest he return to wreak his revenge. The Invisible Man’s counsel was sought. It became plain that he had some experience of the Sub-World, so when he volunteered to join their party, he was welcomed.
Girindor flew them once more to the Friendship Gate of Rilyamar (as the elves once called it) or Thangoria as it was now known. There they spoke the word of entry and the Invisible Man led them by dark ways to the Deep Gate. It took two days. Wilf wore the helm that gave him the visage of a demon, while the others drew up their hoods and played the part of his followers. None sought to detain them. They gave a small amount of gold to the Gate guards and passed into the Underdark. There they had many adventures.
- In a forest of mushrooms they were set upon by a band of troglodytes, commanded by two dark elves (Girindor still hated this term and denied kinship, but all could see the similarity of features, beneath their dark skin and white hair). They slew most of the troglodytes and one of the dark elves – the other fled. The dead dark elf wore a gold brooch in the form of a spider. The Invisible Man said that this was the token of those who dwelt in the City of the Drow (which was apparently what the Dark Elves called themselves).
- In a tunnel they encountered two fierce giant lizards. They slew them and discovered their lair. Amongst the detritus there they found another spider brooch, this one a wolf spider inlaid with jet, along with some lizard eggs that Yspadadden pronounced live and viable. They also found the remains of a saddle with some weed in its bags, making them suspect that at least one of these had once been a riding beast.
- The party ambushed a caravan as it traversed a very large tunnel. It comprised three very large pack lizards with troglodyte guards and a dark elf in charge, mounted upon a giant scorpion. There was also a Hell Hound. The main trigger for this precipitate action was that one of the lizards carried a cage upon its back within which were two, apparently human, captives. The adventurers prosecuted their ambush with brutal efficiency. The troglodytes were swiftly dispatched, along with the Hell Hound. The dark elf fought bravely but Wilfred smashed her scorpion with his two-handed blade and Yspadadden struck her down.
The captives proved to be a man and a woman. The man spoke common with a Southern accent. He said he was a pit-fighter from Anango who had gained his freedom and had made his way to Chittagong. The last he remembered was smoking in a narco-den in the city, before he awoke in the cage. His name was Zothar. The woman was tall and shapely but there was a cast to her features that suggested orcish blood. Yspadadden guessed that she was of the spawn of Gamesh and she later confirmed it. He did not doubt that she had an inkling of who they were, and of their part in her sire’s downfall. He had no doubt that she had magic. Her name was Kashan.
It transpired that the dark elf was badly injured – at death’s door but not passed beyond. The healers in the party restored her to consciousness in order to question her. She gave her name as Anya. She was a ronin, indentured to the Daimyo of the Idyll of Ameron, whose goods these were. In return for her life and the eventual return of the caravan and cargo to the Daimyo she would swear to serve them faithfully and to the best of her ability on their mission. She said that should they not accept her terms they should slay her now, for her life and honour would be forfeit for this failing in her duty. She did not know what the Daimyo would do about it but his power was great and his arm long. The party made it clear that Zothar and Kashan would not be part of this deal. She said that the Daimyo could be compensated in another way for the loss. She also described the Hell Hound in the same terms, but said that the troglodyte guards were mercenaries and of no account. The scorpion had been her own mount and she demanded no compensation. The party agreed to her terms. They had no real idea what to do with three pack lizards and the cargo was mainly in bulk goods – two bolts of silk; several amphora of spirits; baskets of salted fish – that they could not shift without them. She gave them her parole and they returned her equipment. They did not come to regret this decision.
There followed a long planning session. Zothar and Kashan were keen to throw their lot in with the party – and were given the pick of the equipment taken by the troglodytes. Anya was curious as to what they hoped to achieve. When they told her she came up with a plan. She would lead them back to the City of the Drow, which is where she had traded for the goods on the caravan. She could return, saying that they had been waylaid on the road – which was true enough – and needed to resupply. She thought that she could get a couple of the party into the city as traders, wearing captured spider-brooches. She said that one of them should be Wilf wearing his demon helm; the other would have to be swathed in robes – and probably not a dwarf. They could do some genuine trade while asking after their quarry. It seemed a good plan.
En route to the city – a journey that took many days – they were waylaid by a strong band of orcs. Their leader was a giant in the mould of Gamesh and he was accompanied by a female shaman. Throughout the fight Yspadadden kept half an eye on Kashan, for these were plainly her kin. However, the half-orc showed no sign of wavering and indeed made an important intervention by cursing the shaman at a critical juncture in the fight. At the end all but one of the orcs – a snaga managed to flee – lay dead. They were remarkably well equipped and the leader carried a dwarf-wrought magic war-axe. He also had something in a pouch around his neck that made the dwarves gasp when they saw it. For it was a live moonstone, still partially encased in the ore from which it had been mined. Neither of them had ever seen such a thing, though Yspadadden had heard that live gems might be found deep in the earth. Even Anya’s eyes grew round when she saw it. “Now you really do have something to trade in the City”, she observed.
When they arrived at the city, Anya arranged for them to hire a caravanserai with a walled compound and a set of adobe-style buildings in which to sleep and store their goods. After settling in she took Wilf and Trev – the former wearing his demon helm, the latter cloaked and hooded but sporting one of the spider badges – into the city. There was little difficulty. She then walked them through setting up a trading account with the city authorities – the protocol for all public trading in the city. They quickly seeded the account by selling the orc armour and weapons and a few other bits and pieces of loot. She also helped them enter the moonstone into an auction to be held in a few days time.
Their second night was interrupted by a ninja-style attack upon their caravanserai. The attack was led by a Dark Elf wizard, four dark-elf assassins and what appeared to be a tunnel scout of dwarvish or gnomish origin. The assassins were armed with dart-guns that delivered a strong paralyzing poison. The guards on the roof fared badly but managed to raise the alarm. The arrival of Wilf and Yspadadden on the roof augured ill for the attackers and the Drow were all cut down. The tunnel scout was captured.
Their assailants had a great deal of interesting and valuable equipment. It was assumed that the hit was intended to snatch the live gem – much interest had been expressed in the auction. The tunnel scout could offer little information. He was hired help, there primarily as a locksmith should one be required. He was armed with daggers and flash-bombs. The latter would have been more effective against dark-elves than light-dwellers. On close examination he was neither dwarf nor gnome, but clearly of a related race. He self-identified as a Svear – a slave race of the Drow. When offered the chance to join the party, he did not hesitate.
The auction was fiercely contested and netted a staggering sum. It was paid in cut emeralds of remarkable uniformity that seemed the high level currency in those parts. There were 70 of them and Yspadadden reckoned each worth a talent in Chittagong – so 35,000 gold pieces worth – a tidy sum indeed. There was a sticky moment at the auction when Wilfred wearing his demon visage was spoken to by another demon who seemed to make him or possibly to recognise his face. However, it led to no further action and the moment passed.
During their time in the city the party did not forget their original mission. Between Trevillion and the Invisible Man pieced together the tale of a priest of Set who had failed in his duty to protect a sacred fane to the God. He had allowed the fane to be destroyed. Out of favour with with his God and Temple, he had been given an opportunity to redeem himself by taking command of an army of Set that was marching to war. None could tell whence it was bound – but it was departing the city presently. The core party climbed of a point of vantage to see the army depart. They saw the “Dragon”, a huge cowled figure, mounted upon a lizard, a great sword strapped to its back. It was plain that they would not be able to come at him amidst his host. However, it was equally apparent that their enemy was no longer a free agent and that it was unlikely that he would be returning to Middle Earth any time soon.
The party fulfilled their promise to Anya to escort her and her caravan back to the Idyll of Ameron – a large walled cantonment surrounding an extensive palace. The Daimyo, proved to be an Illithid. This was Yspadadden’s first encounter with one. He certainly knew of the evil reputation of these psychic cephalopods and their association with the Pyray, at least in the world above. However, he had heard that they were sticklers for rules and conventions guessed, or at least hoped, that it would respect the laws of hospitality. Girindor’s face took on a sickly hue as the nature his host became apparent. The last time he had encountered and Illithid, its tentacles were rummaging in his brain (Last Man Standing – E14).
Luckily Yspadadden was correct in his surmise. The Daimyo was pleasant, even genial in his dealings with the party. He did show some steel when it came to assessing the reparations due for their action against his caravan, but the cost was not punitive. They parted with twenty-six of their emeralds (13,000 gold pieces) to cover his losses in regard to Kashan and Zothar, who he formally freed, and the Hell Hound they had slain. It did not seem unreasonable.
He also talked commerce with Yspadadden and ordered a weapon from him – a fighting chain. He gave him a “beacon” by which he implied that they would be able to contact each other (in the end it turned out that this was a one-way device by which he could contact Yspadadden but not vice versa. He subsequently apologised for this “small deception”). They parted on good terms with both the Daimyo and with Anya. Though she had lost her scorpion mount, she had gained a magic blade, taken from the assassins. Above all she was happy to be returned to the favour of the Daimyo who was pleased with the way she had handled things and the outcomer. Yspadadden did rather suspect that Anya’s loyalty to the Daimyo might not be entirely natural – he had no doubt that he was quite capable of interfering with her mental processes to ensure her fanatical loyalty.
After leaving the Idyll of Acheron, they retraced their footsteps back to the Deep Gate of Thangoria, from thence to the Friendship Gate and wind-walked back to Dingradur. They had been away for over a month. At their request, Yspadadden teleported Kashan and Zothar, who were plainly now an item, to Chittagong. He set them up with enough gold to get themselves started and told them to stay in touch and call on him if they needed help. Gemec elected to stay at Dingradur and join Yspadadden and Ranulf’s crew.
G-40
OE Date: Late October to late November 696
Characters: Yspadadden, Ranulf, Wilf, Trevillion, Girindor NPCs: The Invisible Man, Kashan, Zothar, Gemec
Real World: Autumn 2016; Where: Bristol