Captured by the drow! You wouldn’t wish this fate upon anyone, yet here you are — locked in a dark cave, the cold, heavy weight of metal tight around your throat and wrists. You are not alone. Other prisoners are trapped in here with you, in an underground outpost far from the light of the sun. Your captors include a cruel drow priestess who calls herself Mistress Ilvara of House Mizzrym. Over the past several days, you’ve met her several times, robed in silken garments and flanked by two male drow, one of whom has a mass of scars along one side of his face and neck. Mistress Ilvara likes to impress her will with scourge in hand and remind you that your life now belongs to her. “Accept your fate, learn to obey, and you may survive.” Her words echo in your memory, even as you plot your escape.

Reelq and Mikmek find themselves prisoners of the drow, held in a cell built from a natural cave formation in the Underdark. The two kobolds have been stripped of all their gear and are shackled with manacles attached to iron belts by a short length of chain, and they also wear slave collars around their neck.

The two are not alone, they share the prison cell with ten others of varying races, each one shackled in a similar fashion. The ten others include:

Buppido, a talkative and cunning derro.
Derendil, a quaggoth who claims to be a cursed elf prince.
Eldeth Feldrun, a shield dwarf scout from Guantlgrym.
Jimjar, a deep gnome with a gambling problem.
Ront, an orc bully.
Sarith Kzekarit , a drow accused of murder.
Shuushar the Awakened, a kuo-toa hermit and mystic.
Stool, a myconid sprout.
Topsy and Turvy, two deep gnome twins.

Reelq and Mikmek have been prisoners of the drow for 2 days. Mikmek plays with a hole in his black robe as the two sit together in the prison cell. The prisoners are awaiting their morning meal of thin mushroom broth.

Reelq, make a Perception check to see what you’ve been able to observe about the drow that hold you prisoner, after introducing your character.

11

While Reelq has been in this prison, he's found a flawed carnelian gemstone worth 10 gp.

Reelq keeps quiet and to himself for the most part, occasionally looking over at Mikmek, sighing a bit as he hears the self proclaimed cleric of Tiamat call to his goddess in draconic. He tunes it out though, instead turning his attention to gem in his hand. Perhaps if he worked it right maybe he could use it to get a little extra food. He quickly hides it though as he does not trust the others in the cell since one of them had already tried to steal his prosthetic arm.

"See if you can have your goddess send a dragon to save us. If she can do that then mutter all you like. But if not then help focus on learning what you can of this place." He says to Mikmek in draconic, giving the other survivor of their clan a stink eye.

Mikmek sighs with frustration. "What exactly do you think I've been TRYING to do? My prayers won't reach the mother of dragons, if they keep getting interrupted by a wannabe adventurer nonbeliever." The kobold priest returns the stink eye, but then groans in defeat. "This is a test. I have been captured by the drow, stripped of my holy symbol, and forced to share a cell with... well, alright. What do we know of this place?"

Reelq, roll a Perception check to determine how much you've observed about this place and your captors.

Reelq keeps his satisfaction at making Mikmek stop his prayers to himself, instead closing his eyes to concentrate on what he could remember seeing around them since they had been thrown in the cell. "Give me a moment to think and remember keep this in our language. I don't want any of them to rat us out to the drow."

Perception: 14

Reelq, in the time that he and Mikmek have been down here, has been able to notice a few things about the drow that have been holding them prisoner. The female drow that comes every now and again to check up on them calls herself Mistress Ilvara of House Mizzrym, and she always has two male drow accompanying her, one of whom has scars on his face and neck. The scarred drow seems to have lost some favor with his mistress recently, from the way she has been interacting with them, and it would seem the non-scarred male has displaced him. There are always at least three drow watching them from a hanging guard post across a rope bridge, and every now and again one of them will come check up on the prisoners. There seem to be between fifteen and twenty drow total. Every now and again, the prisoners are forced to perform hard labor, and after breakfast, the first group will be taken out to perform these tasks for their captors.

Reelq thinks on this, wondering if there would be a chance for him and if it was necessary Mikmek to escape during the time they were taken out for work. "Keep a look out for them having keys for the locks when we are taken out to work. If we can swipe them then it will give us a chance to leave. If the rest of these things can create a distraction then we can free them as well. After that it will be a run through the tunnels nearby."

Mikmek nods in agreement. After a moment, the three drow that are watching them from the hanging guard tower walk towards the cell, each of them holding a number of small, clay bowls. They say something in a language neither Reelq or Mikmek understands, and the other prisoners get up and walk towards a gap in the cell's bars. The drow begin handing the bowls to the prisoners one at a time. Some of them, like the quaggoth, down their broth in one gulp, while others, like the dwarf, have to take smaller sips to keep from gagging.

The drow shout in Reelq's direction, calling for the kobolds to take their broth.

Reelq moves towards the drow slowly, keeping his steps slow as he does so. He reaches out and take one of the broth in his original hand before making jerky movements with his prosthetic as he takes it for Mikmek. He will look for any signs of keys for their bonds as he does so.

Investigation: 2

Reelq is too focused trying to hold the soup with his prosthetic arm to notice any keys on the belts of the drow guards.

This morning's breakfast, like every other breakfast in the cell, is a quiet one, only the occasional gag from the fellow prisoners breaking the silence. The thin broth is unpleasant in both taste and texture.

After Reelq and Mikmek have finished their broth, and it looks like everyone else has as well, a larger contingent of drow guards show up at the cell door. There are six in total, with one fumbling with a set of keys at the door, and three holding crossbows trained on the prisoners. One of the other drow says something in Undercommon, and points to Reelq and Mikmek, as well as a handful of other prisoners. The others rise up and slowly make their way to the door. The time for hard labor has come.

Reelq doesn't know what it is that they are saying but gets the general idea from their gesturing. With little else to do he follows after the others as they are taken out of the cell. As he walks he stays close to Mikmek. "Remember look for chances to get the keys or a weapon if at all possible." He says in Draconic, trying to make it seem as if that is the only language that he can speak.

A drow barks at Reelq as the kobold talks, kicking him just lightly enough to hurt without knocking him over. He utters something else, likely an insult to Reelq and/or his people.

The drow outpost, which Reelq would have discerned by now is called Velkynvelve, is built high up in a cavern, one hundred feet above the rocky floor of the Underdark. The prisoner cell is built into the cavern wall, while much of the rest of the outpost is built into a series of four stalactites. The stalactites are connected to each other, as well as the cavern walls, by a series of rope bridges. Beneath the bridges, a thick layer of spiderwebs stretches across the entire outpost.

Reelq and the others are brought through the first stalactite, which serves as the guard tower. The tower has two tables and three chairs, two of which are occupied by drow that watch the prisoners as they are escorted through. There is also a crude stairway that leads up to an upper chamber of the guard tower.

After leaving the guard tower, the drow and prisoners alike cross another bridge, leading to a ledge on the cavern wall. They pass another two stalactites as they walk through, eventually reaching their destination: the drow barracks. Reelq and Mikmek are guided to one of the two caverns, while the other two, Buppido and Shuushar, are taken to the other. Reelq and Mikmek are each given a scrub brush and a bucket of water. With a cruel sneer, the drow orders them to begin cleaning the floors. At least, that is what Reelq would glean from his hand gestures.

The other drow leave, leaving one with a crossbow at each barracks' entrance to watch the prisoners.

Mikmek whispers to Reelq as he picks up his brush, trying to make it sound like he's complaining. "What about the guard tower? There have to be weapons in there."

"Right but we need a distraction first. Even if we get to the tower the drow will skewer is with their crossbows before we get three step. But when we get weapons I want the one that kicked me. He has it coming, either from a blade or a my fire stick." Reelq says, having to find a close translation of gun into draconic. Much like Mikmek he keeps his voice mow, focusing his eyes towards the drow while acting he is staring at the floor.

As they scrub the floor, Reelq will slowly attempt to make his way closer to the guard that is closest to the barracks. He tried to appear as if his focus is on the floor, hoping that the guards would be inattentive enough to not see him trying to get close enough. 

Stealth: 11

The drow frowns at Reelq, making a kicking motion is his direction. He points into the room, and barks orders in undercommon.

Reelq gives his best confused look which is somewhat genuine since he does not speak the language of the drow. After a bit he acts as if he understands the motions, slowly beginning to move back into the room and towards Mikmek.

Go ahead and make a Perception check as you continue cleaning the room.

Perception: 15

While cleaning Reelq moves his eyes about to see if there is any chance of catching something of interest. As he does so he occasionally looks over towards Mikmek.

In a corner, tucked away under one of the bunks in the barracks, there appears to be a forgotten shortsword.

Reelq moves towards it as he cleans, doing his best to remain inconspicuous. "Cause a distraction. I think I have a chance to get a weapon." He says to Mikmek the next time they are near each other.

Mikmek nods. He begins to move towards the bucket of water as he scrubs, eventually knocking it over, spilling its contents all over the cavern floor. The drow utters something that can only be a curse and makes his way towards the kobold priest, picking him up by the neck, raising his voice to a shout.

Make a Stealth roll with advantage.