"Yeenoghu," a voice comes from behind you. You turn to see the High Priest standing in the doorway. He looks tired, and is leaning against the wall, but he still looks remarkably well considering he was on the verge of death not long ago. "I don't believe we properly introduced ourselves the last time our paths met. I am Xandar, High Priest of Lathandar. Thank you for what you did - you almost certainly saved my life."

"Lathandar will be devoured by the-" the cultist freezes, motionless for a moment, and then vanishes into thin air. A bit of dust falls onto the ground where he had been sitting. Xander lowers his hand, and you can see a faint golden glow in his eyes. He seems satisfied.

"That peon wasn't going to offer up anything besides the typical rantings and ravings," Xander carefully makes his way across the room, sitting in the chair Sam had been using earlier. Banishing the cultist seems to have sapped the last of his energy. "If you're not familiar, Yeenoghu is the demon prince of the gnolls. We've long known that there is a cult of gnolls out on the unnamed island off the Carrion Coast, but this human faction of the cult only sprung up recently. This church, and others in the city, have been vandalized over the past year or so. Images of bones, skulls, and the number one-hundred twelve." He winces in pain and grabs his side, grunting and leaning forward.

"Please, Xander, take it easy," Sam puts a reassuring hand on his back. "One-hundred twelve is the layer of the Abyss that Yeenoghu resides over. We fear that the increased presence of these followers means he's planning something. Gathering forces...forces that seem increasingly blood-thirsty. We just don't know what he wants...but it's probably something in the order of chaos and death."

Xander sits back in the chair, taking a deep breath. He nods at Sam, letting him know he's alright. "We need a capable group to head out to the Carrion Coast to see what they can uncover about the cult. There have been rumors of kidnappings out in the country that way as well, and things much, much darker. If you'll agree, we can equip you as best we can. It will be a dangerous journey, and may even take you to the unnamed island."

"And we can pay you as well," Sam smiles at Brask. "Handsomely."

Rantings and ravings.  Yeah, that's about right.  Hmmm.   Yee-no-ghu, repeats Brask, feeling that someone mentioned the name before but not really caring enough to try to remember.  Not when someone is talking about coin, a far more interesting topic.  Money's good.  Equipment's good, too.  But money in the hand is better than a promise, for the brave warriors who thinned the cultist herd and rescued the High Priest.  He looks pointedly at Sam.

Burik mumbles, "A light for the darkness and a hammer for the dark". He then speaks more clearly. "I'll need only enough money to cover expenses, but good gear will be necessary. After all you don't want to fight a dragon with a toothpick. Although it may still be worth clearing out the sewers, enemies in the distance don't matter if the ones below you kill you first."

"Indeed. We should head back down as soon as you all feel rested enough. I'm fine," Sam says confidently. "It's still late...or early...but I can probably find a few guards to accompany us. Not sure what we're going to find down there."

"I can help equip you all," Xander says as he gingerly sits up and motions for you to follow him. He leads you down a hall and unlocks the door to a large storage room. Once inside, he heads to the back and unlocks a trunk that is filled with books and parchments. He flips through a few of the loose parchments before pulling one out and offering it to Burik. This spell scroll allows you to cast Bane once. 

He moves to a different area of the room and finds a rugged crate. It's filled with miscelleanous items, but he finally pulls out a pair of Goggles of Night and hands them to Brask. "These should be useful in the dark. When you return, I will be sure you are compensated appropriately and have plenty of coin to get you to your next destination. And please, do not hesitate to ask for anything to aid you."

Sam grabs another small vial - it looks like the healing potions he had earlier - and tucks it into the shoulder pouch he carries. "I'm going to see who's up for a dive into the sewer. When you're ready, meet me out on the steps."

Brask looks suspiciously at the goggles, but tries them on.  Then he smiles.  Useful.  Maybe we're not wasting our time completely.  He tucks the goggles away, and points to the vial.  Potions, Sammy.  Potions will aid me just fine.  Got any spare?

After finishing, Brask heads back to finish his sleep.

A few hours later Brask and Burik awake, meeting Sam out on the steps of the cathedral. The sun hasn't made an appearance yet, but there's a faint glow coming from the eastern sky over the merchant district. Two paladin guards are with him, armed with long swords, crossbows, and heavily armoured. 

"Are we ready to do this?" Sam asks the group. "Last chance to use the little boy's room before we head down."

Somewhat groggy from the disturbed sleep, Burik appears ready in his armour, his shield already acting as light. "Ready  as I'll ever be... Speed is probably of the essence, so have you guys got your own lights?"

(sorry about the delay, got busy and forgot it was waiting on me a bit...)

Ready to go, fearless leader Sam, Brask says.  He gives the two paladins a stare.  Try not to get bit.

The paladins gesture to torches strapped to their belts, and Sam smiles, pointing to his eyes. He leads the group back down into the sewer, and you pass by the same musty tunnels, pipes, and rat corpses. With torches lit, you enter the room where you fought the group of cultists last night. Their bodies are nowhere to be found.

"Well, that's not a good sign," Sam states as he slowly moves toward the door. It's locked again, although Xyr passed on the keys to Burik before vanishing from the cathedral. The cloth trigger he rigged up had been torn from its place, meaning someone had been through the gate.

Nope, Brask agrees.  It means they're too dumb just to run away.  And they think a locked door will stop us.  He shakes his head sadly.  Poor, stupid, soon-to-be-dead loser cultists.  Come on Burik, open up!  He lifts his maul, ready to attack just in case a hapless cultist is stupid enough to charge through the door when it's opened.

Burik steps forwards, unlocking the door. Just before he opens it for Brask to head in, he casts light on the maul he's carrying. "Right behind you." he says as he draws his own hammer.

As you open the door, you hear a distinct *pop* just as a barrage of darts come flying toward you.

Attack at Burik: 17  Damage: 2

Attack at Brask: 11  Damage: 1

Attack at Sam: 18  Damage: 1 

Attack at Paladin 1: 15  Damage: 1

Attack at Paladin 2: 20  Damage: 3

Everyone make a Constitution saving throw.

Sam: 17

Paladin 1: 16

Paladin 2: 4

Brask's CON save:  13

20 (if poison I have advantage: 8 )

OOC: I'm a dope. Only those hit needed to roll CON, obviously. Sorry. Also - everyone had a long rest in the cathedral so be sure your HP and spells are all back up to full!

Everyone deftly avoids the onslaught of darts, except for Sam. One sticks into his shoulder as he turns his body to avoid another. He quickly pulls it out with a concerned look (takes 10 poison). After a moment, he doubles over in pain and grabs his mid-section. "Shit." He reaches into shoulder bag and pulls out one of the potions, chugging it. (Restores 7 HP) "I'll be fine until we get back to the cathedral. Let's just keep moving."

Let me know how you proceed.

Brask looks through the doorway and, if he doesn't see anyone, steps through and continues forward.  Good trap.  Not good enough though.

You make your way down the hall as it curves gently, heading down. After you've descended for a few minutes and maybe a hundred feet, the hallway seems to end with a sharp turn to the right. From the doorway, you can hear drips of water echoing, and as you turn to look through, you see that the corridor opens into a cavernous ruin. It's so gargantuan you are all quite surprised. Sam's jaw drops as he tries to peer in deeper using his darkvision. At the edge of the light being cast by Burik's shield and the torches, you can make out the silhouettes of stone structures. Ancient homes, perhaps?  Everyone, roll perception and let me know what you do.

Brask's Perception 14.  The minotaur shifts the weight of his maul in his hand, but otherwise remains silent.  He looks to Burik and Sam to take the lead.

Brask, as you all survey this incredible scene, you notice a faint blue glow emanating from what appears to be the center of an ancient dwarven city. All of your eyes adjust and the blue begins to become obvious to everyone. "Seems like as good a place as any to figure out what the hell is going on down here..." Sam takes the lead as you all start to move through avenues of old stone houses. Some are only crumbled walls, but many are still impressively standing after what you're guessing has been thousands of years. You don't find much besides the foundations, other than the occasional axe head or broken piece of pottery on the ground. 

As you near the center, the blue glow becomes brighter. Sam motions for everyone to stay quiet as you start positioning yourselves for a better look.

Everyone, roll a stealth check.

Sam & the paladins: 5 14 4

12 Burik would like to move forward carefully, checking in and around the structures.

(I'm going to be super busy until after xmas with work and other irl stuff (strangely none of which is actually xmas related...). So just run Burik as NPC or something for the next week or so)