Session 4

## Things Fall Apart

On or between the 9th of Kythorn and the 14th of Kythorn, in the year DR 1492, somewhere deep below the oblivious surface world and it’s happy denizens, four comrades-in-arms, thrown together by chance and circumstance, attempt to escape from Sloobludop (a settlement in the midst of a disaster--a disaster by the name of Demogorgon) along with their fellow escaped prisoners on the run from the drow, while simultaneously hoping to avoid becoming mired in long, meandering, run-on sentences; a hope that is bound to be disappointed.

As Demogorgon makes his way to shore Ploopploopeen makes a last ditch effort to save his town and people, summoning a huge whirlpool out in the harbour which briefly catches Demogorgon in its pull. Demogorgon, however, turns all four of his eyes on Ploopploopeen, breaking his will and turning him on his own people. Meanwhile our heroes are attempting to gather their wits. Sebastian is laying stunned on the ground, Ralkor can’t stop screaming, and Nespip is seeing things that aren’t there. Behind them Shuushar has attacked Stool, breaking his vow of pacifism for the first time and declaring himself “Shuushar the Unleashed.” While Prince Derendil attempts to hold Shuushar back, Buppido takes the more expedient route of stabbing the shit out of him. Ront has decided to flee and immediately put his plan into action. Those who remain take shelter in a nearby building--dragging Sebastian inside but leaving Shuushar bleeding on the ground.

Nespip climbs to the fourth floor of the rickety structure to gain a better view of the unfolding events. Demogorgon has reached to shore and Ploopploopeen lies on the ground, apparently dead. Demogorgon begins to move south along the shore, smashing docks underfoot and nearby buildings with thick, crushing tentacles. Nespip lets the rest know that, for the moment, Demogorgon is moving away from them. The group moves north along the shore a short distance before hitting a canal of some kind. At this point those who are aware enough to make a plan decide to steal a couple boats and head away from Sloobludop.

Looking back on the town from the Darklake the party sees Demogorgon, back in the water, in the midst of the shattered docks. Behind him is a ruin of fallen buildings. As the group floats out of sight they see Demogorgon walking back into the town, apparently not yet sated. One by one those who were afflicted by madness feel it subside.

As the party navigates the tight tunnels and larger caverns of the Darklake, Jimjar suggests that the group should, in fact, go to Blingdenstone instead of Gracklstugh (he was previously ambivalent). He thinks that the group should prioritize reaching the surface and seeking help there. The presence of Demogorgon in the Underdark has clearly shaken him. Buppido continues to advocate for Gracklstugh, he thinks people more powerful than the party will have to deal with the Prince of Demons. Ultimately, the group decides to continue to Gracklstugh.

Enroute to Gracklstugh the group runs into a number of Darklake natives and comes to learn why travel on the lake is so dangerous. The party fights off groups of merrow and a number of darkmantle. They meet an aquatic troll, luckily while Ralkor has some fire spells prepared. They also deal with dangerous terrain--low ceilings, shallow rocks, and rockfalls. They meet and parlay with two different duergar boats, in the process learning how to work the lock mechanisms. Roughly halfway between Sloobludop and Gracklstugh they find a trading outpost run by a kobold named Severastri. While the group is hilariously poor and can’t afford to buy much, they do pay to have a kobold finally remove their slave collars and manacles.

At last the two boats limp into Gracklstugh just as they run out of food. Buppido directs them to a seldom-travelled dock where they tie up their boats. He then directs them to The Ghohlbrorn’s Lair, which he says is the only inn in town that accepts non-duergar. As the party arranges for two rooms they notice that Buppido has taken off with nobody noticing. They view the clientele of the Ghohlbrorn’s Lair, seeing mostly kuo-toa, drow, and duergar with a smattering of goblinoids, orcs, and other deep races. One of the servers, a halfling, stands out as unusual.

Before settling in for the night they decide to speak with the halfling, who is excited to see surfacers and begs the party to take him with them when they return to the surface. He says his name is Fargas Rumblefoot, the last survivor of an adventuring company. He had a pair of googles which granted darkvision but they were seized by the duergar and he has been unable to obtain adventuring work since. He is currently working at Ghohlbrorn’s Lair as it was the only work he was able to find. Sebastian asks who they should talk to if they have serious news, of import to the Underdark at large, and eventually reveals to Fargas that they saw Demogorgon at Sloobludop. At this, Fargas becomes somber and asks the party to wait to talk to him when he gets off work.

In their room, about two hours later, Fargas tells the party a harrowing tale of his company’s end. Their leader was called the Hammerfoot, which was also the name of their company. He was a retired dwarven battlerager and Fargas had never met a stronger or tougher warrior. The Hammerfoot journeyed forth from Silverymoon in search of some tomb rumoured to contain treasure. Near the supposed location of the tomb they ran into gnolls. No problem, the company consisted of eight seasoned adventurers and dealt with the gnolls easily. At first. The gnolls became tougher and more vicious until they ran into a towering monster of a gnoll twice as tall as any other, covered in scars and chains and wielding a three-headed flail. This monster cut through the company “like butter,” handling the Hammerfoot himself with contemptuous ease. Fargas fled, the only survivor as far as he knows. Fargas believes that the monster gnoll was Yeenoghu, demon lord of the gnolls, loose upon the material plane. He believes the party that they saw Demogorgon but cautions against telling the duergar, saying that they won’t believe. Given much to think about, the party settles in for the night.