The Maze is aptly named, and were it not for Katryl's natural aptitude and a bit of help from Lulu, it might have been far worse, as you all zip, zig and zag your way through the twisting tunnels, scouting the best way through. In the end you are only down another 2 hours on your spell as you emerge from the Maze. Unfortunately, you are still met with the rest of the Labyrinth and some distance to cover still to reach at least one prize.
Another hour of searching and exploring, through numerous pitfalls, switchbacks, dead-ends and the like, past dozens of small now barren and wasted camps from miners long long ago, the cavern that opens up ahead looks like a settlement, with tents and crudely built shanties lining its irregular walls. It appears deserted except for a lone human male kneeling within a circle of burning torchstalk mushrooms in the center of the cave and two ragged figures lurking near a zurkhwood door set into a wall thirty feet distant. The figure in the circle is praying over a rotting minotaur head. He appears to be a thin human, and his face and arms are streaked with dry blood.
The noble drow struggles to see any reason at all to stay and talk with these creatures, they clearly already taken by the spreading madness and there is nothing to suggest any of the things the team seeks will be found here. He is still ready to stop and investigate this closer if any of the others insists on doing so.
Following what he thought was their now established pattern, Horkas continues into the cavern in cloud form to quickly move through and around the area. He will sweep through the settlement to see if it is truly abandoned, then get a closer look at the door in the wall and the ragged figures in front. Next, he blows by the man in the center to see if he can discern anything about him. Finally, Horkas will end up back where they started, ready to turn into solid form to discuss what he discovered in his in'mist'igation.
(Perception: 12 ; Insight: 7)He finds it harder to determine the intentions of these strange underground dwellers...
Seeing the gnome take solid form, Khessa does the same: "Another atypical encounter. What do you say, Horkas? The thin human is alone..." her voice takes on a slightly worried tone, "probably in need of help... even if, equally probably, a victim of Demon Lord Madness, as seeing him praying over a rotting minotaur head suggests..."
"Shall we try the path of dialogue in this case too?" the blonde arcane warrior proposes"Maybe we will be able to help him... And maybe he will have some useful information".
As others take solid form, the noble drow follows suit, although not seeming very pleased about this. "Is there anything to suggest this place is anything more than a waste of our precious time?" He scoffs. "If you insist on staying here I think I will stay away from any attempts to communicate with the locals, in fact I can't remember one time that we had any useful information or other progress with our mission thanks to a diplomatic approach."He grumbles and stays back, hoping to continue through the maze as quickly as possible.
Following what he thought was their now established pattern, Horkas continues into the cavern in cloud form to quickly move through and around the area. He will sweep through the settlement to see if it is truly abandoned, then get a closer look at the door in the wall and the ragged figures in front. Next, he blows by the man in the center to see if he can discern anything about him. Finally, Horkas will end up back where they started, ready to turn into solid form to discuss what he discovered in his in'mist'igation.
(Perception: 12 ; Insight: 7)He finds it harder to determine the intentions of these strange underground dwellers...
Maybe it's a function of being a zippy cloud, that Horkas doesn't spot much as he flies around. But as you decide to take solid form, the man catches a glimpse, raises his head, and calls out to you.
“Friends,” he says, “I have heard the call and I hope you have too. With my own eyes, I saw our Great Lord Yeenoghu slaughter the minotaurs that had plagued us. Now we are free and strong with his blessings. We feast while we live, and thanks to our lord, we will also feast when we are dead. If you’ve heard the call, come. Join my pack and feel the strength of Yeenoghu.”
The figure smiles as he speaks, revealing teeth filed to sharp points.
"Another soul to save perhaps?" The noble drow says quietly to Lunaria and Khessa, then letting out a tired sigh. "Just count me out of any Yeenoghu hunting party to please our gracious host. If we are lucky though Yeenoghu and Baphomet are indeed already at each other's throats which would lessen the risk for them to intervene with our mission."
Lulu's eyes narrow as her fur stands on end at the reveal of the figure's filed teeth. She glances warily towards the door the others seem to be standing guard over.
The firbolg shakes her head at Traydark and whispers, "This is no servant bent to will by cruelty. Madness, perhaps, but..." She looks to Khessa, "I suppose we should try an' get what information we can."
Though by no means the most charismatic among them, Lulu replies to the figure, "Praise be, that ye were spared from such violence, friends! Who do we have the pleasure of speaking to--he who has become a champion of His Call? Is this yer settlement?"
"I am Grisha, and this be the Filthriddens, the start of a new and glorious empire in Yeenoghu's name!" He stares at Lulu hungrily but makes no overt threat, just stands and stares.
Katryl also reverts back to normal form as the others do. She watches the interaction though with skepticism. Certainly a servant of Yeenoghu is not likely to be all that helpful. Although, the gnoll they'd met previous had almost seemed like it would help. 'Or he would have led us to a trap,' she thinks. The mention of this place being the 'Filthriddens' finally moves her to break her silence. "Filthriddens? Really? Are we really going to get any help here?" She shakes her head. "I mean, I hate to agree with Traydark, but..."
Lulu presses on despite her party’s misgivings, maintaining her courtly manner of arse-kissery perfected in the Fey Courts.
”Glorious indeed, Master Grisha! We ourselves seek to prove our strength by defeating a great demon—a goristro. Have ye seen any sign of such a fiend in Lord Yeenoghu’s new domain?”
"Or even better," Khessa steps forward "why not hunt him we and you together, forces of Filthriddens! The head of a Goristro would certainly make a much better impression on Huntmaster Yeenoghu than that..." she hints with her hand to the rotting minotaur head "...much more humble offering there. Joins us in this hunt! Yeenoghu will be pleased!".
The blonde arcane warrior concludes her exhortation by raising her head to the overlying darkness of the Underdark and emitting a hyena howl; then she fixes her blue eyes in Grisha's, trying to convey to him her (not fake) enthusiasm for the possible joint hunt.
He had to admit the firbolg and the human did what could be done to squeeze some sort of help with their mission from this filthy place, and he says nothing although he fully expects the locals to try and eat them at any moment now. They would need to put them out of their misery and would have wasted precious time on something as inisgnificant as these lowly creatures. He takes a few steps further back, ready to incinerate the camp at first sign of trouble.
Grisha licks his lips a bit and looks over you all with a rather sadistic smile. "I have not seen such terrifying, magnificent creature. But perhaps in our hunts to claim territory in Yeenoghu's name we will find such a creature! What say you, will you join us in a hunt?"
The noble drow can't help but groan at the madman's proposition. There was absolutely no chance in the abyss that joining these filthy creatures in a hunt would find a Goristro demon quicker than if the team simply kept scouring the labyrinth in wind form. It would make sure the madman and his followers would die in battle against demons of course but there was much quicker ways than that to put an end to their suffering down here.
Khessa is (albeit unconsciously) of the same opinion as Traydark... the forces of Filthriddens are certainly more familiar with the territory, but if they have never met a Goristro, then said familiarity is useless for the purpose. So the party should succeed more quickly by leveraging its much greater aerial speed.
The blonde arcane warrior, however, imagining that the Goristro are powerful and dangerous, does not give up on leaving open the possibility of operating together: "As you saw upon our arrival, Grisha, the great Yeenoghu gave us the ability to travel as fast as the wind that caresses the fur of the hunting hyenas. So we will probably track down the prey more quickly on our own. But when we have found it, if we can and Yeenoghu wants it, we will come and take you and guide you to the goal, so that you too can be part of this great undertaking!"
"In the meantime, hunting brothers," the tall adventuress inquires "is there any advice you can give us, based on your experience of these places? Anything that can help us not get lost or recognize any dangers... Or indication of peculiar places that might be of interest... You know, if Yeenoghu has given us greater speed, he has given you greater knowledge of the area... It is right to make use of both his gifts to provide him with such a noble and welcome prey!"
As Khessa speaks, the man looks beyond her again and locks eyes with Traydark, and his face changes. "You! Drow! Get out of here! I will not be enslaved to your putrid kind again! I will not be complicit with their kind! They must leave!"
(If you wish to continue trying to join them, make a persuasion check at disadvantage.)
As Grisha barks, you can all hear the sound of metal, wood and stone grinding together, as various doors and flaps of metal open around the settlement and another 10 cultists emerge, along with a pack of ghouls from the guarded door further door, who look oddly hyena-like.
The noble drow scoffs. Only because his companions still hoped to find something beneficial to the mission here he did not immediately incinerate all of these pitiful creatures for their insolence. He certainly has no wish to stay in this filthy place longer than absolutely necessary, ready to return to wind form now.
Lulu is surprised when Khessa offers them up to join their pack, she herself having only meant to pry for information. As things escalate and ghouls appear, Lulu steps out in front of their group, holy symbol clutched in one hand while the other gestures for calm.
"He means ye no harm, Grisha. And has freed many a slave like yerself from his kin. The family of one of our own, in fact," she says, nodding her head towards their human. "If ye wish him to leave, we all must leave. And then ye will have little hope of securing such a sacrificial feast for yer Lord and his empire."
Though calm in demeanor, Lulu's tail flicks low behind her.
Khessa is sorry as yet another negotiation seems destined to fail, but she is certainly ready to leave the forces of Filthriddens alone, in case they don't change their minds.
However, moving slowly and naturally, the blonde arcane warrior takes position (along with the three Gauntlet infantrymen present) so as to find herself between Traydark and the potential enemies... so that, if the encounter degenerates into a fight, no one can run to attack the drow warlock directly.
The Maze is aptly named, and were it not for Katryl's natural aptitude and a bit of help from Lulu, it might have been far worse, as you all zip, zig and zag your way through the twisting tunnels, scouting the best way through. In the end you are only down another 2 hours on your spell as you emerge from the Maze. Unfortunately, you are still met with the rest of the Labyrinth and some distance to cover still to reach at least one prize.
Another hour of searching and exploring, through numerous pitfalls, switchbacks, dead-ends and the like, past dozens of small now barren and wasted camps from miners long long ago, the cavern that opens up ahead looks like a settlement, with tents and crudely built shanties lining its irregular walls. It appears deserted except for a lone human male kneeling within a circle of burning torchstalk mushrooms in the center of the cave and two ragged figures lurking near a zurkhwood door set into a wall thirty feet distant. The figure in the circle is praying over a rotting minotaur head. He appears to be a thin human, and his face and arms are streaked with dry blood.
The noble drow struggles to see any reason at all to stay and talk with these creatures, they clearly already taken by the spreading madness and there is nothing to suggest any of the things the team seeks will be found here. He is still ready to stop and investigate this closer if any of the others insists on doing so.
Following what he thought was their now established pattern, Horkas continues into the cavern in cloud form to quickly move through and around the area. He will sweep through the settlement to see if it is truly abandoned, then get a closer look at the door in the wall and the ragged figures in front. Next, he blows by the man in the center to see if he can discern anything about him. Finally, Horkas will end up back where they started, ready to turn into solid form to discuss what he discovered in his in'mist'igation.
(Perception: 12 ; Insight: 7) He finds it harder to determine the intentions of these strange underground dwellers...
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Seeing the gnome take solid form, Khessa does the same: "Another atypical encounter. What do you say, Horkas? The thin human is alone..." her voice takes on a slightly worried tone, "probably in need of help... even if, equally probably, a victim of Demon Lord Madness, as seeing him praying over a rotting minotaur head suggests..."
"Shall we try the path of dialogue in this case too?" the blonde arcane warrior proposes "Maybe we will be able to help him... And maybe he will have some useful information".
As others take solid form, the noble drow follows suit, although not seeming very pleased about this. "Is there anything to suggest this place is anything more than a waste of our precious time?" He scoffs. "If you insist on staying here I think I will stay away from any attempts to communicate with the locals, in fact I can't remember one time that we had any useful information or other progress with our mission thanks to a diplomatic approach." He grumbles and stays back, hoping to continue through the maze as quickly as possible.
Maybe it's a function of being a zippy cloud, that Horkas doesn't spot much as he flies around. But as you decide to take solid form, the man catches a glimpse, raises his head, and calls out to you.
“Friends,” he says, “I have heard the call and I hope you have too. With my own eyes, I saw our Great Lord Yeenoghu slaughter the minotaurs that had plagued us. Now we are free and strong with his blessings. We feast while we live, and thanks to our lord, we will also feast when we are dead. If you’ve heard the call, come. Join my pack and feel the strength of Yeenoghu.”
The figure smiles as he speaks, revealing teeth filed to sharp points.
"Another soul to save perhaps?" The noble drow says quietly to Lunaria and Khessa, then letting out a tired sigh. "Just count me out of any Yeenoghu hunting party to please our gracious host. If we are lucky though Yeenoghu and Baphomet are indeed already at each other's throats which would lessen the risk for them to intervene with our mission."
Lulu's eyes narrow as her fur stands on end at the reveal of the figure's filed teeth. She glances warily towards the door the others seem to be standing guard over.
The firbolg shakes her head at Traydark and whispers, "This is no servant bent to will by cruelty. Madness, perhaps, but..." She looks to Khessa, "I suppose we should try an' get what information we can."
Though by no means the most charismatic among them, Lulu replies to the figure, "Praise be, that ye were spared from such violence, friends! Who do we have the pleasure of speaking to--he who has become a champion of His Call? Is this yer settlement?"
"I am Grisha, and this be the Filthriddens, the start of a new and glorious empire in Yeenoghu's name!" He stares at Lulu hungrily but makes no overt threat, just stands and stares.
Katryl also reverts back to normal form as the others do. She watches the interaction though with skepticism. Certainly a servant of Yeenoghu is not likely to be all that helpful. Although, the gnoll they'd met previous had almost seemed like it would help. 'Or he would have led us to a trap,' she thinks. The mention of this place being the 'Filthriddens' finally moves her to break her silence. "Filthriddens? Really? Are we really going to get any help here?" She shakes her head. "I mean, I hate to agree with Traydark, but..."
Rabbit Sebrica, Sorcerer || Skarai, Monk || Lokilia Vaelphin, Druid || Liivi Orav, Barbarian || Vanizi, Warlock || Britari / Halila Talgeta / Jesa Gumovi || Neital Rhessil, Wizard
Iromae Quinaea, Cleric || Roxana Raincrest, Rogue || Meira Dheran, Rogue || Qirynna Thadri, Wizard || Crisaryn Melkial, Sorcerer
Lulu presses on despite her party’s misgivings, maintaining her courtly manner of arse-kissery perfected in the Fey Courts.
”Glorious indeed, Master Grisha! We ourselves seek to prove our strength by defeating a great demon—a goristro. Have ye seen any sign of such a fiend in Lord Yeenoghu’s new domain?”
"Or even better," Khessa steps forward "why not hunt him we and you together, forces of Filthriddens! The head of a Goristro would certainly make a much better impression on Huntmaster Yeenoghu than that..." she hints with her hand to the rotting minotaur head "...much more humble offering there. Joins us in this hunt! Yeenoghu will be pleased!".
The blonde arcane warrior concludes her exhortation by raising her head to the overlying darkness of the Underdark and emitting a hyena howl; then she fixes her blue eyes in Grisha's, trying to convey to him her (not fake) enthusiasm for the possible joint hunt.
He had to admit the firbolg and the human did what could be done to squeeze some sort of help with their mission from this filthy place, and he says nothing although he fully expects the locals to try and eat them at any moment now. They would need to put them out of their misery and would have wasted precious time on something as inisgnificant as these lowly creatures. He takes a few steps further back, ready to incinerate the camp at first sign of trouble.
Grisha licks his lips a bit and looks over you all with a rather sadistic smile. "I have not seen such terrifying, magnificent creature. But perhaps in our hunts to claim territory in Yeenoghu's name we will find such a creature! What say you, will you join us in a hunt?"
The noble drow can't help but groan at the madman's proposition. There was absolutely no chance in the abyss that joining these filthy creatures in a hunt would find a Goristro demon quicker than if the team simply kept scouring the labyrinth in wind form. It would make sure the madman and his followers would die in battle against demons of course but there was much quicker ways than that to put an end to their suffering down here.
Khessa is (albeit unconsciously) of the same opinion as Traydark... the forces of Filthriddens are certainly more familiar with the territory, but if they have never met a Goristro, then said familiarity is useless for the purpose. So the party should succeed more quickly by leveraging its much greater aerial speed.
The blonde arcane warrior, however, imagining that the Goristro are powerful and dangerous, does not give up on leaving open the possibility of operating together: "As you saw upon our arrival, Grisha, the great Yeenoghu gave us the ability to travel as fast as the wind that caresses the fur of the hunting hyenas. So we will probably track down the prey more quickly on our own. But when we have found it, if we can and Yeenoghu wants it, we will come and take you and guide you to the goal, so that you too can be part of this great undertaking!"
"In the meantime, hunting brothers," the tall adventuress inquires "is there any advice you can give us, based on your experience of these places? Anything that can help us not get lost or recognize any dangers... Or indication of peculiar places that might be of interest... You know, if Yeenoghu has given us greater speed, he has given you greater knowledge of the area... It is right to make use of both his gifts to provide him with such a noble and welcome prey!"
As Khessa speaks, the man looks beyond her again and locks eyes with Traydark, and his face changes. "You! Drow! Get out of here! I will not be enslaved to your putrid kind again! I will not be complicit with their kind! They must leave!"
(If you wish to continue trying to join them, make a persuasion check at disadvantage.)
As Grisha barks, you can all hear the sound of metal, wood and stone grinding together, as various doors and flaps of metal open around the settlement and another 10 cultists emerge, along with a pack of ghouls from the guarded door further door, who look oddly hyena-like.
The noble drow scoffs. Only because his companions still hoped to find something beneficial to the mission here he did not immediately incinerate all of these pitiful creatures for their insolence. He certainly has no wish to stay in this filthy place longer than absolutely necessary, ready to return to wind form now.
Lulu is surprised when Khessa offers them up to join their pack, she herself having only meant to pry for information. As things escalate and ghouls appear, Lulu steps out in front of their group, holy symbol clutched in one hand while the other gestures for calm.
"He means ye no harm, Grisha. And has freed many a slave like yerself from his kin. The family of one of our own, in fact," she says, nodding her head towards their human. "If ye wish him to leave, we all must leave. And then ye will have little hope of securing such a sacrificial feast for yer Lord and his empire."
Though calm in demeanor, Lulu's tail flicks low behind her.
((Persuasion at disadv again: 12, 11 + 0 11))
Khessa is sorry as yet another negotiation seems destined to fail, but she is certainly ready to leave the forces of Filthriddens alone, in case they don't change their minds.
However, moving slowly and naturally, the blonde arcane warrior takes position (along with the three Gauntlet infantrymen present) so as to find herself between Traydark and the potential enemies... so that, if the encounter degenerates into a fight, no one can run to attack the drow warlock directly.