Expedition 128: Entering Nexus

## Summary

We rescue Linselda, divination archmage of the mageline, then continue into Nexus, exploring several floors before we make our way out.

## Detailed Description

We take the mageline towards Nexus and come across a pile of bones. A pressure plate that detects elves only tries to trap Ark in a wall of force cage but Ark nimbly dodges.

We see two Golems, back to back, guarding doorway heading southeast. The plaque next to them reads:

"Linselda, master of divination, lives within. Only registered Deepguards, mages of the line, and royal emissaries may enter."

We hear a faint noise from the hallway and try to figure out what it could be, using minor illusion and message to try communicate with them. We guess that it is Linselda, and Ark messages them. They tell us they are impaled on a spike and need to be rescued, so we fight through the golems. By the time we get to her, she has died, so we use the pearl to revivify her.

She used time-displacement stolen from Otiluke to send herself forward to when she could be rescued. We ask her a few questions about her past, and learn that the mages needed a divination expert, and coerced her into it by threatening her home village (the empire hated elves). She also tells us that "Dravandre is a serpent, occasionally useful but extremely dangerous." We send her back to town on a phantom steed.

We continue on to Nexus. Massive iron doors warn us away, next to the entrance to the Wailing Leagues. An inscription at the top interweaves several messages: We enter Nexus to a hall, with some dark windows, some opening into a blue sky storming with lightning.

Floor Div 1 - the Defense Matrix, larger ~80ft chamber, pillar of lightning crackling down into rune covered golem. See Anubian appear, hold hand up to golem, disappear (recharging?). Continue to explore floor, pass by door with sound of running water. Come across flow of stone panels, moving quickly across the hallway. Two mechanical creatures, like modrons but bigger - Pentadrones - attack on hearing common. Modrons start popping out of the walls - we deal with them quickly, but more keep appearing, so we leave down the moving walkway. Have to jump off at just the right moment, Confidence gets a bit hurt.

Floor Nec 1 - the Rothouse - rotting meat, biological detritus. Cross bridge over muck pit, attacked by Otyughs, fight two, pull out halberd and staff from their throats and they dissolve, flee as massive kraken-like Otyugh comes for us.

Floor Abj 4 - prison (Meditation Room?) - Ark tries to focus on the lightning room with the Nexus key as we go through the next door. A glowing outline rims the door, and we go through into an iron cell. We see, or don't see, something in another cell, and bodies in other cells. Time seems to be passing quickly here. We break out, taking about ten minutes, and get into a watch station for the previous room, having aged about a week. Find an infusion of lichen, halberd, longsword, 50 ft chain.

Leave out barred door, a simply robed figure, humanoid with giant eyes, walks past us into prison and sits in front of the being. It talks telepathically in passing to Confidence, praising the Endless Watcher. We continue out, crossing one of those moving passages and climbing up a hydroponic trough to the exit.