Episode 21: Khaldun, Part 2

The party discusses the letters and a plan of action for escaping the cavern. Their short rest is interrupted by a baby firesnake, which Kika tames using *Animal Friendship,* along with its sibling. After a completed rest, Ridley *Flies* back over the lake of lava safely, and Kika and Fan *Dimension Door* to join him using Kika's ring. The adult firesnake notices them as they flee, getting stuck in the tunnel mouth and collapsing the passage behind the party as they flee. Ridley and Fan sustain damage from falling rocks and the firesnake's lava spit.

The party successfully reaches the Egg Zone, and Ridley flies to the top with a grappling hook and the 200 ft rope for the others to climb. Kika destroys several eggs and is attacked by the lizards as she climbs, but makes it to the top safely. Fan joins her. Ridley casts *Light* on Kika to confuse the lizards. Kika complains until he drops the spell, and she lights a torch instead.

The party eventually makes it back to the city of Khaldun. They proceed straight to the inn to meet Milla, but instead find the dark haired woman who attempted to arrest them at the Temple of Bahamut and two guards: "I'll be needing that ring back," says the woman. Kika closes the door on them and immediately flees, but Fan stands her ground, seeking information about Master Drelrik's fate. Ridley initially flees, but hesitates when he realizes Fan is not with him. Fan engages the woman in combat, repeatedly asking "is Calumorn Drelrik alive?" but the woman dodges the question, telling Fan she will give her the answer if the paladin surrenders. Ridley joins Fan in combat, and Fan injures the woman. Kika breaks through the window into their room at the inn, and lassos the dark haired woman, but she is immediately freed by one of her guards. She then tells the party "surrender and your friends will not be harmed." Fan immediately surrenders, followed by Ridley and, reluctantly, Kika. Kika swallows the *Ring of Dimension Door,* for which the woman states she'll make sure Kika is locked up longer than the others. The party members are handcuffed - Ridley's cuffs block his spellcasting abilities - and put in a wagon for transporting to the Capital.

The party takes a rest in the wagon. Fan goes unresponsive, overwhelmed with worry and rage about Master Drelrik and the rest of her family at the Temple. Ridley and Kika attempt an escape, pretending to have an awkwardly personal argument to distract the guards, and manage to remove Ridley's cuffs. Ridley jumps out of the wagon and casts *Feign Death* on himself, which he learned from a spellbook in the University of Khaldun's library. Kika and Fan are oblivious and panic, unsure if it's a spell or the halfling is really comatose. Kika attempts to escape but is quickly subdued. Fan casts *Zone of Truth* on herself, the guard chasing Ridley when he collapsed, Ridley, and the dark haired woman. She asks the guard what he did to Ridley, to which the guard responds truthfully that he did nothing. Fan then asks Ridley if this is a trick. "You're putting Milla and who knows who else in danger. If this is a trick, you're a coward," she responds to his silence, furious. "Is Master Drelrik alive?" she asks the woman again. She agrees to surrender if given an answer, and the woman tells her: "yes, he's alive, all right?"

The party, their escape attempt unsuccessful, is taken towards the seaside town of Leviton en route to Oratia.