Session 22 - Back to the Underground

## Back to the Underground

15 Eleasis(Evening) - 17 Eleasis(Afternoon)

The Young Adventurers return to their inn to find that a lizardfolk messenger was waiting for them. He identifies himself as Sauriv and tells Eldeth that Callie Greenleaf at the Star Court will send her home to Gauntlgrym in the morning. The party seems to assume that they will all be sent to Gauntlgrym and Sauriv makes it clear that Callie has agreed to send Eldeth; no mention was made of the rest of the group. Fargus Rumblefoot makes it clear that whatever happens he is staying in Silverymoon for now.

Sebastian speaks to Donovan Ambersword at his temple and tells him he will be taking some time before returning to his duties, which he had been offered earlier. Sebastian does not tell anybody that he plans to run off to Gauntlgrym and back to the Underdark.

The following morning the party says their goodbyes to Fargus and does some last minute shopping. Sebastian tries to get his plate armor at Optym’s Blade but is told it will be at least a day and decides not to bother. The group then rounds up Eldeth and heads to the Star Court. They eventually find Callie Greenleaf’s office in the basement and tell her that they want to go with Eldeth to Gauntlgrym. Callie--who they recognize as one of the scribes from their debriefing at the House Invincible--tells them that she has agreed to send Eldeth as a favour to the High Mage but she couldn’t possibly send a hobgoblin wizard to Gauntlgrym’s teleportation circle. She believes King Bruernor might literally kill her. The party eventually convinces her by promising to keep Ralkor in the portable closet so there is no way he can see the circle. Sebastian also swears not to teach the circle to Ralkor (Callie is aware from the debriefing that Sebastian has an exceptional memory).

Callie cast the teleportation circle spell, sending the party to Gauntlgrym while she herself remains behind. The group is met by dwarven guards, who were clearly expecting Eldeth but nobody else. General Zigil Bloodgrip takes the change in circumstances in stride and has a page--Stronerd “Driderslayer”--show them to guest quarters while he escorts Eldeth to the king. Stronerd is an excitable young dwarf woman who happily talks with the party as she leads them through Gauntlgrym. She admits that she has not, in fact, killed a drider but she has seen one in the catacombs below the Iron Tabernacle.

At their quarters the party has time to relax and refresh themselves before being summoned by King Bruenor a couple of hours later. They are led into an audience chamber where King Bruenor and several of his advisors are present. Bruenor appears to be a surprisingly young dwarf, particularly since tales of his adventures date back well over a hundred years. King Bruenor gruffly asks the party to tell him their story and they do, from capture by the drow to escape from the Underdark. Not surprisingly, Bruenor is particularly interested in what the party saw of the demon lords.

King Bruenor thanks the party for their story and asks them what they think should be done about the demon lord invasion. Nobody really has any good plans and Bruenor tells them he will consult with his advisors and speak with the party the following day. In the meantime they are free to explore the city, though he requests that Ralkor not be unaccompanied outside their quarters. Stronard is detailed to show them around the city.

The party gets to asking Stronard about seeing a drider in the catacombs and she offers to show them the area she was in. She explains that Gauntlgrym has two large chambers (the Vault of Kings, where most of the inhabitants live and work, and the Iron Tabernacle below it containing an old complex of shrines and temples) along with various other tunnels and smaller chambers (though some are still quite large). Below the Iron Tabernacle is a warren of ancient catacombs that has not yet been fully mapped. The party discusses the possibility of looting tombs so Stronard warns the party that the catacombs contain ghosts which are generally not aggressive but will be angered if anyone disturbs the graves.

Stronard shows the party the network of magically animated mine carts and uses it to move from the Vault of Kings to the Iron Tabernacle and then into the catacombs. The trip is uneventful; they see a ghost but it doesn’t bother them. No driders are located.

Back in the Vault of Kings the Young Adventurers find a tavern (did I give this tavern a name? If I did I forget at this point. I shall call it the Iron Seal Tavern). The tavern is mostly filled with dwarven workers relaxing after their shifts but there is one half-elven man in fine garb drinking with two dwarves. Sebastian talks to the man, who identifies himself as Lord Eravien Haund, out of Waterdeep. Haund says he is a liason for the Lord’s Alliance and seems interested in Sebastian’s tales of demon lords run amok in the Underdark. It’s clear that Haund is sceptical of the story, asking incredulously if King Bruenor is taking this supposed demonic invasion seriously.

The following day the party meets with King Bruenor in a small sitting room around a stone table. Bruenor states that his daughter has heard tales of a library hidden underground where, the legend goes, everything that has ever or will ever happen in the Underdark is recorded. She says the library is called Gravenhallow and is run by stone giant scholars, but she does not know where the library may be. Bruenor has called on various factions for assistance, and appears to be about to share some further information when suddenly the air grows chill. His eyes widen, and he tells the party that the great forge of Gauntlgrym houses Maegera, a primordial of fire (basically a great big elemental). Cooling wards throughout Gauntlgrym keep the city at a comfortable temperature; the growing cold means that Maegera has been removed from the forge.

King Bruenor immediately suspects intruders and surmises that they gained entry through the catacombs. He asks the party to check either the catacombs or the forge while he gathers guards to check the other. The Young Adventurers head to the catacombs, again led by Stronard.

Near where they had been the day before--where Stronard had previously seen a drider--the party finds a group of five dwarven guards. They claim that the area has already been searched and is clear. Sebastian becomes suspicious (how did they get here ahead of the party?) and using some zone of truth and command shenanigans they discover that the guards are protecting drow intruders. The intruders already know the party is there and is circling around to another tunnel.

A fight breaks out and the five guards get beat pretty quickly. The ones that die revert to their true form, revealing that they are dopplegangers. The survivors are tied up and tossed in the portable closet (I immediately regret that magic item).

The Young Adventurers proceed further into the tunnels and find the main party of drow, consisting of two spellcasters, eight warriors, and two shadow demons. In the ensuing fight the demons are killed along with five of the warriors, but the spellcasters are mostly concerned with escaping and quickly run down a side tunnel with three of the warriors. Ralkor also turns Stronard into a giant ape, which was pretty cool but absolutely should not have worked (her CR is not high enough).

We leave off there, until next time when we find out if the Young Adventurers are going to chase after the primordial-thieves, who really don’t seem to be related to the whole escaped-demon-lords thing.