Abyses 22 & 23: Hydras, Mindflayers, and Demons! Oh my!

## TL;DR

* The ESK was in fact working with a Mindflayer, though the party had to retreat before gaining any more intel
* Demons and the Council of Savants have began directing the Gray Ghosts to act uncharacteristically aggressively
* Whore Shoe seeks to purge the Gray Ghosts of the Council’s influence, with the Acquaintances help
* The party delivered Droki’s body and the Hydra head
* Errde won’t tell Ivis the location of the nearest Mindflayer colony until Thumberchud is dead
* Tumberchud believes that the Acquaintances are working with the Keepers of the Flame to thwart an impending invasion
* Rewards earned
	+ A potion of healing and Gilded Spell Scroll of Blindness/Deafness held by Rat King
	+ Info about the Mindflayers (see Rightful Reward)
	+ A writ proving Rat King killed Droki
	+ An Immovable Rod, currently held by Ivis
	+ A Dagger of Guitar Solos, currently held by Bernhol

## Mindflayer Massacre

* The party bust down the sturdy zurkhwood door leading to the Empty Scabbard Killer’s hideout
* In addition to the rank and file ESK that the Acquaintances had faced off up until that point, the chamber also included some Duergar with especially developed psionic abilities, a swarm of cranium rats, and a Mindflayer
* The apparent head Duergar wielded a shield with a massive eye in the center. He had the ability to create a spectral duplicate of himself, and the Mindflayer could emit his psychic blasts from the shield
* Ivis focused all his attention on the Mindflayer as soon as it made its presence known, and as he cut it his sword began to glow red hot and scorch the aberration’s flesh. He quickly killed it.
* After killing the Mindflayer and the ESK leader most of the party was in rough shape
* As the fight went on the ESK sent out reinforcements from deeper within the chamber, seeing no end to the combatants the Acquaintances decided to retreat, however one of the higherup ESK members had enlarged themselves and blocked exit
* Fortunately a mysterious ally began attacking her from behind, together with Bernhol they flanked and killed her

## Warning & Rest

* The mysterious figure who aided the party’s escape was the same Gray Ghost member who had asked for the party’s help earlier
* He introduced himself as Whore Shoe and once again asked the Acquaintances if they would be willing to join forces
* Ivis reiterated that they already had a task they needed to do, however Rat King was willing to hear what he had to say
* Whore Shoe warned the party that a group of demons and Gray Ghosts were waiting at the Tunnels’ entrance to ambush them, and that they stood little chance in their current state
* Whore Shoe agreed to help them but only on the condition that they don’t kill any Gray Ghosts
* He explained that the Gray Ghosts have recently fallen under the influence of the Council of Savants, who in turn have fallen under the influence of demons
* After some deliberation the party agreed to help Whore Shoe, and set up a Tiny Hut near the entrance of the ESK hideout
* While the party recovered some ESK members investigated the hut, but it seemed that their group was also still recovering from the recent conflict so the Acquaintances were able to regain their strength without issue
* Furthermore, the battles the party had faced up until now had allowed them to grow stronger and develop their abilities even further (level 7)

## Ambush the Ambush

* With the warnings from Whore Shoe, the Acquaintances were able to get the drop on the demons and Gray Ghosts awaiting them at the sole entrance of the Whorlstone Tunnels, instead of the other way around.
* In preparation Fergus activated his protective aura, Whore Shoe used a goldtrimmed scroll to disguise himself as Droki, and the rest prepared to attack the first enemy they saw.
* Rat King summoned a swarm of rats to draw a flying demon out from the putrid pond then immediately killed it with two well placed arrows.
* With their ambush thoroughly exposed, the enemies soon broke formation. Some tried going to attack the party by running through the long but narrow winding tunnel to the side of the pond, others tried attacking at a range from across the pond, both flanks found themselves thoroughly outmatched by the wellrested Acquaintances.
* Most imposing among the enemies was a hookriddled demon who resembled a skinless man’s upper body stitched to a skinless horse. It tried to take hold of the minds of several party members and turn them to wanton violence, but only succeeded to control Flumphward who poisoned Fergus before being knocked unconscious by Whore Shoe.
* After the battle the Acquaintances informed Whore Shoe that the real Droki was dead. Whore Shoe asked that they consider helping him purge the influence of the Savants and fiends from the Gray Ghosts, and gave Rat King the rewards he requested. Then the party finally exited the tunnel, bounties in hand.

## Rightful Reward

* Soon after exiting the tunnels the Acquaintances met with the captain of the Stone Guard, Errde Blackskull, the one who had originally tasked Ivis with hunting down Droki in exchange for allowing him entry into Gracklstugh.
* Errde had come to expect Fergus to cast See Invisibility upon entering her seemingly unguarded office, upon doing so Fergus saw some guards that were more heavily armored than the ones he had seen until now
* Errde was happy to see Droki laid to rest, and had his body sent to a cleric to be questioned before handing out rewards.
* Ivis was given some of the information he asked for regarding the Mindflayers:
	+ The Stone Guard knew of two Mindflayer colonies nearby
	+ The less established and closer colony was recently utterly destroyed, based on the ruins it is presumed to have been done by a purple worm or, more likely, a Neothelid, a gargantuan mutated Mindflayer tadpole even more threatening than the aberrations they were meant to become.
	+ The larger colony is believed to still be intact
	+ In relatively recent years, those taken by the Mindflayers have had their bodies twisted and weakened, and their brains painfully engorged, without dying
	+ The most successful tactic for hunting Mindflayers is to draw them out of their colony and pick them off. Attacking them within the winding alien halls of their colonies is a death sentence.
	+ Mindflayers typically target individuals or small settlements, which can be used to bait them out of their colonies

* Errde refused to give Ivis the exact location of the larger colony until he slayed the Wyrmsmith Thumberchud, out of concern he would get himself killed before doing what she needed him to
* Rat King was given a writ, proving that Errde recognized him as the hero who slew Droki the thief, which would surely earn him a special discount from the grateful merchants of Gracklstugh
* Fegus and Bernhol were content without rewards, which earned them some favor with Errde
* Rat King then brought out the Hydra head they had collected. Errde was impressed with the party’s efficiency and happy to see the had seemingly agreed to her plan to user Thumberchud to wipe out the Council of Savants before killing him, however she did not take the head and instead told them to take it to Gartokkar, head of the Keepers of the Flame

## Frantic Fearful Flame Keeper

* The Acquaintances then made their way to the Keepers of the Flame to deliver the Hydra head they needed to make the poison meant for Thumberchud
* Thuberchud was relaxing on the building’s roof when the party arrived, somewhat bemused by the waves and air kisses the Acquaintances gave him
* When the party entered Gartokkar’s office they found him even more exhausted, paranoid, and stressed than the last time they met. There were severe bags under his eyes, his nails were all chewed up, and many hairs could be seen on his cloak
* As the party announced the reason for their visit Gartokkar panickedly hushed them, though Rat King refused to be silenced until Ivis sternly requested him to do so
* Gartokarr then led the party to a trapdoor in the back corner of a storage closet, which led down into a secret alchemical laboratory. The sounds and smells within were totally blocked from the outside world
* Gartokarr passed the Hydra head along to some Keeper alchemists and was relieved the party was evidently willing to lend a hand in the execution of Thumberchud
* Gartokarr said that they knew the general direction of a Deep Dragon, the scales of which would act as the final ingredient for the poison, but needed some time to find an exact location unless the party wanted to track it down themselves
* At that point another Keeper came down and whispered something into Gartokarr’s, turning his gray face white

## Chatting with the Chud

* Gartokarr stammered out that Thumberchud requested the Acquaintances be brought to him
* He panickedly asked who among the party was the most skilled liar, Ivis and Bernhol both agreed it was Ivis and Gartokarr blessed him with an Eagle’s Splendor before Rat King had a chance to volunteer himself
* As they made their way to the dragon’s den Ivis cautioned Rat King that saying the wrong thing could get the entire party killed
* Thumberchud was lying on a pile of gold and precious items, and he appeared even more huge and obese up close
* Within the pile Fergus spotted an oil of sharpness, a potion of flying, a potion of longevity, and a potion of supreme healing. There were other potions, scrolls, and items present but they were either unlabeled or too deeply buried within the hoard.
* Speaking to Thumberchud made both his arrogance and ignorance extremely apparent, although it was also clear that he was beginning to suspect his Keepers
* The red dragon demanded to know why the party of outsiders had been allowed into the Keeper’s headquarters
* Without missing a beat Ivis confidently gave the dragon a cover story, saying that the Acquaintances were there to discuss the threat of an impending Mindflayer invasion, all the while sprinkling in bits of truth and appealing to Thumberchud’s pride
* By the time the party was dismissed, they had not only managed to alleviate Thumberchud’s suspicions, but even earned some of his favor

## Reunion with Ylsa

* The Acquaintances told Ylsa that Droki had been slain, and showed her the writ awarded to Rat King when asked for proof
* Ylsa was delighted with the skill and efficiency that the party had been completing her jobs and gave allowed them to pick two items from a Immovable Rod, Wind Fan, and Dagger of Guitar Solos as a reward
* Ivis took the Immovable Rod and Bernhol took the musical dagger
* She then asked the party what kind of magical items the party would like as rewards in the future:
	+ Ivis requested a new shield
	+ Bernhol requested something to improve his already incredible stealth
	+ Rat King asked for magical rats, a rapier, or a new shield
	+ Fergus asked for some adamantine armor or something to enhance his divine magics
	+ Ylsa informed Fergus that adamantine was incredibly difficult to come by