The Great Crawl

**The Great Crawl** was an expedition in 406 ES into the catacombs and ruins beneath Erdstadt. Consisting of some 40-50 members at its peak, the expedition was spearheaded by an upper leadership team consisting of elite warriors, mages and spies. The expedition leadership team recruited a number of weaker adventurers to serve as an advance force of sorts, with the promise of treasure and power within the depths. The final result of the Great Crawl is as of yet, unknown.

## Background

Planning for the Great Crawl began in the six years prior to the first descent. The enigmatic Party Leader recruited an elite force from around the material plane. The first mission of this elite force was to locate and secure the guide for the mission- Aru-Shi, the First Emowhen King. Later members were added following this mission, adding more versatility and utility to the leadership team.

### Upper Party Leadership:

* Party Leader
* Oracle (The Teller)
* The Paladins of Sin
* Inversion Wizard (Party Wizard)
* Estero Elstrade (Party Scout) (not present at informational meeting)
* Diane (Party Ranger) (not present at informational meeting)
* Olzud of the Holy Land (Party Druid) (not present at informational meeting)
* (Party Barbarian) (not present at informational meeting)
* Gama Jurojin
* Egg Saint Robert
* Egg Saint Michael
* Huberto (Party Fighter) (not present at informational meeting)
* Mother Mary Forthright (Party Cleric) (not present at informational meeting)

### Recruitment:

Recruitment for the Party was primarily done through advertisements left in bars and similar places. In rare instances, Upper Party leadership recruited lower members directly, such as with The Paladins of Sin and Golden Goose. Word of mouth spread from both methods. Flyers and invitations were distributed to locations in most countries, spare the Holy Land.

Flyers offered 500 gold Altsheimi (see Currency) for attendance at an informational meeting in a manor just outside of Erdstadt. The Party Leader revealed that the journey would follow one taken by The Saints, and alluded to the catacombs being where they unlocked their divine strength. The beginnings of this journey began rather quickly, as following the immediate conclusion of the meeting, the first mission to enter the catacombs began.

## The First Layer: The Ruins of The Old Revolution

Upon weeding out the disinterested and fearful, Party Leader selected a handful of recruits for the first phase of the journey- inflitrating the Star-lit Palace. Members Kaeru, Golden Goose, Melisandre, Jim, and Khad travelled through Natural Tunnels, guiding Aru-Shi in the process. Narrowly avoiding Natural guards and patrols, the forward team reached the sealed-off catacomb entrance, where Aru-Shi dramatically and deafeningly destroyed the blockage.

In the ensuing chaos, Naturals scrambled to the location of the explosion, and pandemonium filled the palace. Upon reaching the edge of a seemingly infinite dark drop, the party jumped downward. They landed painlessly, standing atop a stone plateau in the dark. Using a teleportation sigil, the rest of the adventuring party- some 40 members strong- appeared alongside them with all of their equipment and provisions for the harrowing journey.

### The First Advance Teams

The Party found itself in an old version of Erdstadt- specifically the one where the final conflict of The Saints' Usurpation took place and that was swallowed in an unknown calamity. The Party discovered many relics and antiques of the time period, as well as feral descendants of those who were swallowed in the calamity. The first adventuring party that travelled out, consisting of Melisandre, Inias, and Erika Sturec, scavenged through this area, recovering some minor treasures and scrap metals from old housewares.

At the same time, two laboratory test subjects, S-1 and S-2, who were stirred from their sleep by the pandemonium and curious to explore, fell down the dark and landed amongst the party. Party Leader didn't recognize them as any real threat, just minor nuisances.

Quickly making himself useful, Project S-1 joined another advance team with Erika Sturec, Clever Honey, Khad, and Golden Goose. They dispatched of some scavenger birds that have made a home in the dark, and then faced off against some gray oozes. In the second conflict, Clever Honey was killed, marking the first party death. Also in this second conflict, party members witnessed Project S-1 replicate the anatomy of the oozes.

### The Secondary Advance Teams

With the Party seeking out a route to the old palace, a third team explored the western area of the cavern, where underdark growths had settled over some old ruins. This team consisted of Jebediah Caulfield, the diviner Sybil, the scholar Vero, Sephanam, and Varkus. The party discovered a ruin inhabited by a vampire who had managed to survive the centuries past. Varkus has a flashback here, remembering that he fought in the revolution in a past life.

After narrowly defeating the vampire lord using a mix of Vero and Sybil's wizardry, Varkus and Sephanam's brute force, and Jebediah's improvisatory skills, Sephanam ate the brain of the vampire- much to the ire of their travelling partners. Jebediah discovered a series of locked chests and cases with copious amounts of gems and materials, and most notably, an archdevil's feather.

Inias and Vivian ventured out on their own, discovering sea hags and other deep sea life in the ruins of the city. Using this information, party leader planned the next steps of their journey.