Enter the Void Hollow - Episode Four

== Summary: ==
"The Void Hollow," also known as the Endless Dungeon, was a tapestry woven from the remnants of ancient caves, fallen cities, and forgotten temples dedicated to obscure deities. Its halls whispered of a history littered with those who never returned and monsters that thrived in the shadows.
The dungeon was not merely a collection of corridors and chambers; it was an entire world unto itself, a realm where the very walls seemed to pulse with a malevolent life. There were secondhand accounts and a curious wizard's notes describing a place where dark fey drifts intersected with the remnants of lost civilizations. The dungeon's inhabitants ranged from lost souls unable to find their way back, to malevolent creatures luring unwary adventurers with hoarded gold as bait.
This place was a crossroad of the vast caverns, exiled fey, and fiendish domains. Legends spoke of dark fey banished from their realms, demons and devils trapped in a purgatory of their own making, and entire ecosystems thriving in the dungeon's depths. Six mercenaries navigated this living, everchanging dungeon, where every step could lead to fortune or death.
In this episode, the party went shopping, then found the strongest monster of the second level. After defeating it, they went to the next level, where Eisen became the commander of undead servants. Large spiders found them, and while Gobin tried to be diplomatic, a fight broke out that nearly cost Gobin his sanity. Gobin was also nearly singed by Fireballs multiple times as the party flexed their power.
== Mercenaries: ==
* Asher "Whiffle-Tongue" - Lizardfolk Wizard
* Eisen Mistburo - Human Cleric
* Eyalon Bogpyre - Deerfolk Sorcerer
* Gobin Glowstep - Halfling Druid
* Nwalmë Shadhavar - Shadar-Kai Rogue
* Tar’ren r'Eehp r'Eehp - Warlock
== Adventure: ==
While at Dulwin’s shop, Nwalmë purchased the Amulet of Gossip, the Ring of Growth, and the Somewhat Immovable Rod. Nwalmë also purchased the Choker of Only Water Breathing and worked with Asher to determine how difficult it would be to remove. Nwalmë decided that with his dexterous hands, he had about an 80% chance to remove it without issue.
Eyalon purchased the Potion of Wonder.
Nwalmë said to Dulwin that there would be a lot of good pickings in their wake. He could follow them and be a reoccurring merchant. It was just a thought.
Eyalon wanted to seek out other creatures on the floor so that they wouldn’t get attacked from behind. The group moved to the east where more ghouls resided. Balboa charged through the door and into the other room. The sounds of ghouls filled the air.
Gobin prepared to wildshape. Tar’ren commanded Balboa to swing at the nearest ghoul and cast Eldritch Blast. Nwalmë shot at one of the white ghouls, completely obliterating the creature.
Another ghoul attacked Balboa and scratched it. The golem resisted the paralyzing effects of the claws.
Asher blasted a ghoul with a Ray of Frost. Eisen came up alongside Asher and said, “Now hold still.” He then threw a Sacred Flame, though the ghoul dodged it.
One ghoul tried to bite Balboa while another ghoul slashed at it. They got in each other’s way and ended up harming each other.
Eyalon cast Chaos Bolt and hit, causing the ghoul to screech as it died.
From beyond a corner, they could hear the sound of some sort of underspeech. The creature appeared to be barking orders.
Gobin wildshaped into a goat and ran down the hall. He attempted to headbutt a ghoul, but missed. Tar’ren Bubble Hexed Gobin while Balboa bonked a ghoul. Nwalmë sniped a ghoul and slid down the hall to hide behind the door.
Another door opened and another ghoul entered. It bit Balboa and caused the golem to crumble. Asher and Eisen worked together, critically damaging the ghoul. The ghoul was incinerated in ice and radiant sparkles.
More ghouls entered the room, including an iron ghoul. Eyalon cast Melf’s Minute Meteors. He threw two of them near the ghouls. The meteors burned the ghouls.
A gong resounded. Gobin suddenly felt his energies sapping from him as a creature cast Toll the Dead at him. He didn’t see who cast it, however. Gobin crashed his head into a ghoul, knocking the wind from it. Tar’ren cast Eldritch Blast, hampering the ghoul. Nwalmë shot an arrow at the ghoul and severed its spinal column. He then shot another arrow at a different ghoul, but missed.
Asher cast Ray of Frost and froze a ghoul, causing it to crumble into snow. Eisen stepped forward and cast Sacred Flame on the iron ghoul that was barking out orders. The flames flared on it.
The iron ghoul neared Gobin, biting and clawing him. Gobin locked up and fell over, but thankfully, because he was a goat, he did not contract darakhul fever. He popped out of his wildshape, however.
Eyalon slung some meteors near the iron ghoul, burning it. He then cast Fire Bolt and hit.
Stepping from around the corner came a pale white ghoul with red eyes, a nasty face, a high collar, and tendrils of magic clinging to it. It was a darakhul. It cast Ice Storm, causing blistering ice to surround Nwalmë, Asher, Tar’ren, Eisen, and Eyalon. Asher, Nwalmë, and Eyalon braced themselves against the cold, but Eisen and Tar’ren were buffeted.
Tar’ren cast Fireball, delicately aiming it so that it wouldn’t hit Gobin. The fire swooshed into the room, burning the ghouls. Gobin was paralyzed and unable to scream, even though the fire terrified him.
Nwalmë shot the iron ghoul and hit twice. Asher cast Vortex Warp to move the paralyzed Gobin as far away from the fray as possible. Then he stepped lightly over the snow, hiding behind a corner.
Eisen cast Sacred Flame but missed. The iron ghoul bit at Nwalmë but missed. It also clawed at him, but got its claw stuck in the wall.
Eyalon threw out two meteors, one hitting each of the two remaining ghoulish creatures. Both took concussive damage from the fire. He then cast a careful Fireball, the flames bending around Nwalmë but releasing their brunt on the ghouls. Wild Magic surged, turning the eye of the darakhul into a sapphire.
The darakhul realized that Eyalon was a big threat, but knew that Nwalmë was right in its face. It attempted to encase Nwalmë in ice, but he dodged out of the way. The darakhul then hid behind a wall.
Tar’ren shot an Acid Splash and sizzled a ghoul. Roger asked if the group needed help. He prepared to cast Magic Missile.
Nwalmë attacked the iron ghoul with a dagger and a shortsword, eviscerating it.
Asher prepared a Psychic Lance in case the darakhul came into view. Eisen moved back by Roger. Roger flew into the hallway and looked for the enemies. “Oh, they’re dead already,” he said. “They would have tasted my cold steel in a moment.”
Eyalon ducked behind Asher and prepared a Fire Bolt.
The darakhul came into view and tried to pass itself off as a living creature, but before it could finish trying to deceive them, Asher’s Psychic Lance crushed it. It fell, defeated.
As Gobin’s paralysis wore off, he began to scream.
Nwalmë tossed the sapphire eye to Eisen.
Tar’ren looked around the rooms. He found a small bag of six silver ametrine stones, one set of silver bracers, and one golden torc.
Gobin cast Healing Word on himself.
The group decided to take a rest. Asher cast Private Sanctum to protect their campsite a little more.
Nwalmë tried to put the knife he had traded with Gobin back in Gobin’s pack. Gobin caught him. Nwalmë lied and said that he was just checking out another of Gobin’s daggers. Gobin didn’t know what was in his bag, so he thought that tracked.
The party Identified the torc as a Healing Torc. It could heal the wearer once a day, but could lose its magic. There was also Sagrid’s Bracers, which Nwalmë took, though since he could only wear one set of bracers, he gave his Armlet of Elegance to Tar’ren. Eyalon took the Healing Torc.
As they rested, Eyalon shifted to an autumnal form. He could hear the sounds of an autumn hunt in the back of his mind. Gobin asked if Eyalon’s velvet on his antlers was coming off. Eyalon said that the velvet was gone.
After the rest, the party went down to the next floor. It was a crypt with clutches of corpses in the corners.
Tar’ren found eleven silver and nine copper in the alcoves. Eyalon found twelve silver and thirteen copper. Gobin found a nice rock. Eisen found Gobin’s rock in his hand. Roger also found Gobin’s rock.
Asher could see slabs with broken remains. He saw a holster for funerary candles. The candles were all unlit except one that had a violet light. There was writing in the alcove that was being revealed from the violet flame. Not all of it was revealed. Eisen cast Thaumaturgy to increase the candle’s brightness. He read, “Rise and be counted.”
As soon as Eisen spoke the words, the words vanished. Three of the skeletons rose up. They approached Eisen and kneeled before him as if he was a commander. Eisen was pleased with that turn of events. He named them Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.
Eisen, Asher, and Gobin heard stonework shifting on the north side of the corridor. They alerted the party to the sound.
Nwalmë took some of the candles and sent Maahes into the north corridor. They saw a secret passage that had opened up and more skeletons that were lying still. Checking the south passage revealed cocoons wrapping around pillars.
The party went to the secret tunnel and saw a door. Eyalon went through and saw a pristine sarcophagus. Nwalmë snuck into the room. At first glance, Eyalon saw that the room was eerily undisturbed. It would be easy to open the sarcophagus. He also saw oils and preservative jars on the wall. Asher saw insignia markings and guessed it was a captain buried there. There was probably an enchantment or trap.
Gobin looked for bones. Tar’ren dropped some bones for him while Gobin was looking the other way.
Eisen didn’t know if his soldiers would serve the captain if the captain were to rise, so the group decided to explore the rest of the floor before attempting to open the sarcophagus. They went down the southern pass and found a stone door that was stuck. Gobin smelled a bit of fresh air seeping through the crack, but the party left the door closed.
Nwalmë suggested that Gobin could talk to the spiders if there were spiders. The group approached the cocoons. Tar’ren saw the remnants of previous adventurers. They asked Roger if he recognized them.
There seemed to be nothing but dead adventurers and dead flies. Gobin poked one of the bodies. It felt drained and dessicated.
A few strands of silk started to twitch and warble. Tar’ren slapped Gobin with a Bubble Hex and pushed him forward.
A spider descended into range. Gobin greeted the spider and said they didn’t mean it any harm. He wanted to be friends.
The large spider was three times Gobin’s size. It looked towards Gobin with curiosity. It said, in a way only Gobin could understand, “Spider? No. Drider? No. Star Elf? What are you?”
“I’m a friend,” Gobin said. He nudged Tar’ren for a fish, but Tar’ren looked at him incredulously. He had already explained that the fish he conjured for lunch would only last an hour.
The spider said that Tar’ren smelled foul.
Gobin created a cabbage and offered it to the spider, which offended it. The spider looked at Eyalon and said, “That one smells much better. Fresh deer.” It leapt and landed on Eyalon and Nwalmë, knocking Eyalon prone.
Asher Vortex Warped Eyalon back up the hallway, then retreated to Eyalon’s side.
Gobin activated his spirit totem, summoning a hawk. He then positioned himself to distract the spider while Tar’ren attacked it with the Devils Dagger. The spider resisted the paralyzing strike.
Nwalmë attacked with his daggers, doing significant damage. Eisen cast Cure Wounds on Eyalon and sent his skeletons to fight the spider.
The spider critically slammed a leg into Bubbles, eviscerating her. The spider then critically bit Nwalmë, flooding him with poison.
Eyalon stood up and cast Mind Sliver. Asher cast Psychic Lance. The spider spat out curses that only Gobin could understand as its brain melted. The curses were so violently graphic that Gobin nearly went insane, but he steeled his resolve and kept his mind.
There were more web strands moving. Gobin drew his sun sickle and started to cut strands.
Dropping from the ceiling, another spider appeared. It shot webs at Gobin, restraining him. Tar’ren threw his Devils Dagger, though it missed, clattering on the floor. Tar’ren turned around and shouted, “Incoming!”
Another spider dropped down. Nwalmë nearly got webbed, but some of his blood was siphoned into his Bloodprice Armor, causing a crimson shield that prevented the web from sticking.
Nwalmë shot the spider that tried to web him, doing massive damage. He then used Wails from the Grave to burn the other spider, and afterwards shielded Gobin with his body.
Eisen used Toll the Dead on the nearest spider, but it failed.
Eyalon cast Chaos Bolt, but missed. His magic surged and enchanted his eyes, causing him to see invisible creatures. Thankfully, there were no invisible creatures around him.
Asher cast Mind Sliver on the nearest spider. It critically failed and took large damage.
Gobin cast Primal Savagery, causing claws to grow from his fingers. He slashed the webbing and melted it. He wildshaped into a giant goat and backed up, preparing to charge.
One spider bit Gobin. Tar’ren shot a Fireball between Gobin’s legs. One spider was incinerated and Nwalmë was singed.
Nwalmë smashed the remaining spider. He gave the dagger a firm twist, causing the spider to go limp. He looked back at Tar’ren with a raised brow and asked, “Was that fire you?”
“I think it came from the goat,” Tar’ren said.
“I’m not a scapegoat,” Gobin said.
Tar’ren retrieved his dagger and looked ahead. He saw natural caves and smelled moist death.
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Enter the Void Hollow - 04