Session 2

## Subterranean Homesick Blues

### Today's Date

The following tale takes place from early morning of 2 Kythorn to the evening of 4 Kythorn.

### Picking Up Where We Left Off

The motley crew of escaped prisoners have just slain a grey ooze and are still on the shore of the pond below Velkynvelve. Kaia, noting that the ooze ate through the metal of her club without hurting anybody who directly punched the slime, tries dipping her chains in the slime left behind. In a fit of generosity, the DM allowed this to work since the ooze was freshly killed. All the prisoners were able to break the chains connecting their manacles, though they all still wear slave collars, cuff, and belts; they just aren't connected.

There was some debate amongst the Young Adventurers about immediately trying to climb back into the outpost like they hadn't just almost died trying to escape. Sebastian also briefly suggested going over to where the lift comes down and ambushing the drow as they come down to give chase. Jimjar nervously suggested they make up their mind because he doesn't think Mistress Ilvara is the type to let her slaves get away and they're just kinda hanging out right below her house. Ultimately the crew decides to head west to Sloobludop and allows Shuushar to take the lead.

Taking quick stock of their situation the escaped prisoners assign a marching order and tasks all around. As the lone escapee without darkvision, Kaia is assigned the task of being a burden on Sebastian. Most of the rest of the group attempt to forage the surrounding area as they march, with those unfamiliar with the Underdark paired up with natives to learn the ropes. Ralkor asks Eldeth to teach him and is coldly rebuffed, because fuck hobgoblins. The foraging is sort of successful, with each escapee getting a half ration of food and not nearly enough water. As they set up camp Sebastian magically creates enough water to give everybody a full days worth. After camp is set up Eldeth talks to Kaia, asking her to tell her fate to her family in Gauntlgrym if she dies in the Underdark, and offers to do the same for Kaia. Eldeth also opines that the group should not go to Gracklstugh because the duergar are evil and untrustworthy, while the deep gnomes of Blingdenstone are friendlier to surface races. This leads to everybody jumping in with their opinions on where the party should head. On balance, most think Gracklstugh has the most in it's favour. Sebastian and Ralkor mostly want to go back to Velkynvelve to get their stuff and Sarith, who might know the area.

Much of the following day is spent travelling through tunnels lit by softly glowing green "moss" which frees up Sebastian and Kaia to learn what mushrooms are OK to eat. The party finds a grove of zurkhwood and barrelstalks, providing more than enough food and water for the day. Kaia is even able to fashion a crude waterskin from a barrelstalk, doubling their equipment from shitty club to shitty club and shitty waterskin.

The following day the party enters a series of huge caverns filled with stalagmites and stalactites, all in complete darkness. As they traverse one such cavern they are attacked--goblins! The goblins are comparatively well equipped but they are outnumbered (eleven to six if you count Shuushar and Stool, which you shouldn't). Nespip tries out his new Divine Strike ability (after borrowing the shitty club), transforming a goblin into a fine red mist. Sebastian and Ralkor use their magic to great effect while Kaia stumbles around the dark loudly promising to punch anyone who gets too close. Eldeth throws herself into the fight and gets wrecked repeatedly by the goblins. As the fight draws to a close Buppido (who is heroically guarding the rear by himself) spots a drow scout watching the battle. He alerts the crew (loudly) and the drow flees. Luckily Sebastian, Ralkor, and Derendil chase the drow down and kill him.

The ex-prisoners divide the loot from the goblins and drow, leaving everybody armed and armoured to some extent. The drow, it seems, was out of Velkynvelve as he has Ralkor's spell book on him, using it in some sort of arcane tracking ritual. The group continues on into an area of caverns filled with faerzress. They find some ripplebark and fire lichen while foraging but are caught in a lava swell nearby. Everyone is able to doge the lava flow except Nespip, who gets burnt damn near to death. The party is simultaneously attacked by fire beetles but the group easily fights them off and saves Nespip.

The rest of the travel was pretty uneventful. The group was able to sneak past a wandering carrion crawler with only a small sacrifice of food. As they prepared to make camp they discovered they were being followed by an ochre jelly, but it proved no match for the way-to-many people in their party. We leave our party here, for now, as they prepare to settle in for a restful night of sleeping on hard stone without blankets, still days away from the nearest town (which is full of crazy fish people).