The Underdark Job

*This article is about the episode. For the contract, see The Underdark Job (Contract).*
**The Underdark Job** is the tenth episode of *The Chain* and the first episode of the Underdark Job arc. It aired on April 3rd, 2019.

## Summary

When last we left our heroes, they were offered a few jobs: One for the noble families, one from a monk, and one from an undead dude. They decided to take the job from the undead dude, which will entail them to go to the Underdark. They hope his connections will help them in the future and he'll pay them a lot of money. They're supposed to retrieve a crown. They have a list of supplies they need, so they send a message to an attorney representing the Dead Lady requesting a meeting.

He shows up with a couple more undead and a large chest. He says they asked for too much and he found it very amusing, but he did bring some equipment that he thought would be useful. Inside is a great sword (old, thin, really nice, made out of a weird purplish tinted gray metal aka star metal aka adamantium). He says they'll need it, but "don't ask me why." There are also a couple of scrolls of water breathing and wand. He presents a contract, which Judge and King review to make sure it's not hinky.

The only questionable clause is that The Chain will still be responsible for the quest if this party is unsuccessful in retrieving the crown of Valetta. King asks him about the Sunless Sea and if the crown is liable to be on the island. Judge wonders if there's any concern that they'll face repercussions from the other houses upon their return. He says they wouldn't dare. Boots asks if there are any other parties also interested in the crown that might interfere with their mission. He says there's a non-disclosure clause in the contract and if anyone asks he won't tell them that the Chain is currently working for them. King signs the contract and asks for a copy.

They call the rest of The Chain together and, once they receive their copy of the contract, they leave. They go to the *Somnium Tenebris*, confirm that the crew are present, and explain the mission. King announces that Boots is the new Lieutenant and says that the senior officers are going to the World Below and will also take Junior Officer Leech (OD) -- their resident Underdark expert -- who is a drow warlock. They dismiss the rest of The Chain to their respective jobs. King asks if Leech knows where the Lord of Madness is. Leech says he's on the Isle of Madness and explains that he's very powerful. He's an Old One and an outcast and lives at the bottom of an inverted tower. As the ship's surgeon, Leech feels very possessive of the ST, which he's been caring for and feeding.

The ship prepares for embarkation. Slim connects with the Navigator and gives it instructions to go between worlds to get to the Underdark. The ship begins to glow, then everything turns blindingly white. When they can see again, they're in another world. The temperature drops and Leech says, "Sirs, we're here." Leech has a babbling imp named Odie who is very happy to be back in the Underdark and taunts Leech about his past. Judge thinks maybe they can ask Odie to try to find the Isle of Madness for them. Odie says, "I know where to go." Copper says he has some knowledge of navigation and wonders if he can help find the Isle. After about an hour of navigation, Leech alerts everyone that they're getting close to their destination. In front of them, they see an island with a pebble beach. There are seven towers on the island, which is fairly small. King and Leech see the image of the island dissolve and there's another, smaller island behind it.

On the island, there's a massive skull -- the size of the ST -- and what appears to be green hair growing down into the water. The strands of seaweed that make up the hair begin to writhe and reach for the ST. Coming out of the cavities of the skull and running across the water is what appears to be a unit of ghostly drow. Leech identifies the skull as a memory eater and recognizes the ghostly squadron as warriors of the Silver Scorpion. They are warriors of renown that went on a mission and were lost.

They fight the undead drow warriors (wights). In the midst of the fight, Judge earns the ire of the strongest wight and goes down. Leech immediately leaps over the railing to get to Judge. His foot catches on the rail and he starts to fall, but manages to turn it into a somersault and land on his feet next to Judge, and heals him. In returns for his healing, Leech takes attacks from the leader and goes down himself, but Judge brings up back up. Boots kills the wight leader and the rest of them fall to the deck of the ship, lifeless. The ship lurches dramatically as it's beached by the tentacles of seaweed. King and Judge lose their balance and fall over. From the skull on the island, a hoard of skeletons come streaming towards the ship. Judge says, "We need to figure out how to get rid of these seaweed tentacles."

Slim comes storming out of the ship demanding, "What did you do to my ship!?"

## Behind the Scenes

The Underdark Job is the first episode to not include all of the players, as Phil wasn't around that night, and the first episode to feature O'D. Initially, O'D was going to be a guest player, but later became a permenant player character.