Pursuing the fight into the tunnels beyond the Yuan-ti den. Fighting through the fumes of a cloudkill, Dani dives into a pool where Aidan in Earth Elemental form is fighting what he says is a "giant squid." The adveresary is in actuality an aboleth, which grapples Dani and infects her with it's disease before they cut it down.

Destroying the aboleth, two chulls, and a handful of skum, Dani moves out of the foul pond and up to support Aidan in facing minotaur skeletons and zombie clots. Nocreth and Tigre moved down a separate passage, while Geran was stranded behind the cloud.

Aboleth disease: After 1 minute, the diseased creature's skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can't regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.

Dani, infected with the cursed disease of an aboleth, is taken back from the Slitherswamp to visit Wyllow the archdruid in Level 5: the Wyllowwood. Wyllow casts Heal to remove the aboleth's skin disease from Dani in exchange for 1,600 gold total, 800 of it donated by other party members. Dani rendered her payment with 75 10gp gems: 60 blue quartz chunks, 6 banded agate, and 9 moss agates.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[87]]. Dani wakes up female.

Opening the door into the halls of Dweomercore, we meet the headmaster's bouncers, summoned Vrocks, Cannaloths, and a Nycaloth.

The Dean of the Dweomercore school sets a bargain with Geran. If we exterminate a handful of barbed and bone devils, he will show us the way through the school to the next level.

These devils are comparatively easy when considered against dealing with that disembodied arm and it's high level magic. It's nice moving through a level so quickly.
D-con "gets an inkling" that the Xunderbrok room is on this floor. But come on, the Melairkin were dwarves. They never hide just one thing.

We finished off the Nycaloths guarding the exit to the 10th level, but not before Nocreth disappears in a cloud of smoke. I don't know if he was banished or summoned to some other duty, but I was really counting on him to watch my back. (Dan M. left the campaign.)*

As we entered the level now called Murial's Gaunlet, we found hallways of broken mirrors guarded by a drow skeleton that had lost it's arcance ability, but was still attempting to use a wand of the warmage. Long deceased adventurer or wayward student of the arcane arts wandered down from the magister's school? we couldn't tell...

Then around the next corner, we found a temple to the Spider Queen guarded by three banshees. Undead banshees dropped most of our group with their screams, but the righteous fury of Ellistraee kept me on my feet until the last of them withered under arrow shots and eldritch blasts. I don't think I'll hear right for weeks.

Geran and Aidan discovered two deceased adventurers here and returned them to life. It's amazing they made it all the way down here equipped as they are. Takes a lot of luck to survive using rough leather armor and mass produced, market-grade weapons. Servicable for hunting your typical humanoid bounties or working caravan guard duty, yeah, but for delving into somewhere like Undermountain? Insanity.

We destroyed a laboratory built by the scorpion man, Muiral, saving the adventurers trapped there for his experiments. We also looted an ancient dining hall and found the scorpion man's stash of extra-spell components. It is insane that this feels normal.

We continue to explore the level known as Murial's Gauntlet. There is a drow temple here, complete with a stone golem effigy of the Spider Queen that we destroyed. The adamantine pick I took from that deurgar several levels above has come in handy for destroying these malevolent statues.
There are, however, two blessed rooms sanctified to Ellistraee.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[63]]. Dani wakes up female.

Pressing the attack against House Aryvundar's defenses in the courtyard of Murial's gauntlet, we strip the dead of their equipment and retreat to rest in the Yawning Portal.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[14]]. Dani wakes up male.

Gained a Potion of Storm Giant Strength

Assigned to guard duty for Junior, JB's experiment? Kid? Golem creature? Who knows what the hell D-Con actually counts as. Beats me, but Parts is a member of Bregan d'Arthe, so he's okay. Good spellslinger and handy in a fight.
He wanted to go meet a contact for a bottle or two of Zzarr down at the Yawning Portal Inn and I didn't mind that. But then he goes and promises some folks—that he just met!—that he'd venture into Undermountain with them. Couple might know what they're doing, like the archer and the genasi. The tiefling is completely wet behind the ears.

I mean, this is not too inconvenient since I had a contact I needed to check on in Skullport, but I was expecting 8 easy and boring hours of drinking ale. Messing around in an insane arch-wizard's tower? That's dumb, and worse if that insane arch-mage is Halaster Blackcloak.
Anyway, I paid our money to Durnan, the Yawning Portal's owner. Like you haven't heard of him. You better believe I used my expense account! ...so our strange crew was lowered in a big tub on ropes and pulleys to the first level of Undermountain.

First thing down there, one of them found a one-way secret door to the north side and left an unscouted passage behind us. This is going to get bad. Then Parts the wonder-boy falls through a door when trying to open it with his Thieves Tools. A door with stacks of plates on the other side. The racket is an alarm and within a minute, there's a doppleganger and some human bandits running around in cast off vampire spawn clothing. Not very convincing and they all died pretty fast, but a nuisance all the same. Pulled a few usable items off of them, but no real treasure.
How's Parts follow up with an encore? Decides to sit down in an ancient alabaster throne carved like snakes and gets poisoned half to death. I was thinking this was going to be a looong night, but I might have just been pulled into active dungeoneering duty for a few days or a week.

We find mirrors that make shadow copies of our party members. A brief struggle disables the nasty contraptions. Exploring the corridors, we eliminate two or three dozen goblins and bugbears, then track down a party that had been charmed, knocking out the blackguard that held them entranced. The Thayan wizard ran through a portal, but we couldn't make it work. I'm sure that's not the last we've heard from them.

We recovered a bronze mask shaped like the visage of Halaster Blackcloak. (50g) Keeping it with us in case it's useful later.

This place is a maze and I feel like we definitely have been through this room once already. I'm going to have to map this out. Spent a lot of time killing things that I thought we'd killed before, but maybe there's just a LOT of them.

Cleared out bandits, bugbears, goblins, grells, a trio of brain puppies, and similar nuisance monsters. Personal effects indicate a number of the goblinoids were employed by the Xanathar. Recovered a passcode for a Xanathar Shield Guardian at the Stairs access to 2nd level. Passcode is "Sylgar." The name of his goldfish? Everyone knows that.

D-Con and Dani allied our group with a revenant of Halleth Garke. Friar Garke was a 5th level priest of Waukeen, but was betrayed by a fairly amatuer adventuring party. Stole his holy symbol and weapons, broke his limbs, and pushed him into an abandoned well. Unprofessionally grisly, cruel, and left behind one very pissed off loose end. Halleth has been a huge help as rearguard, sentry, and protecting our flanks.

The group finishes a rest and moves deeper into the next caverns, where they discover swarms of kobolds, including some turned to vampire spawn. A long and tiring fight ensues.

Vampire sapped my strength and stamina, leaving me gassed for the rest of the day. Halleth, Geran, and Aiden extracted me from some of the worst of it. Nasty close quarters scrap with undead. Surprised we took no casualties.
Long Rest, Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[64]]. Dani remains Female

So. many. kobolds. How do they all fit in such tiny rooms. It's like they never end. We finished camping 3 hours ago and we already are headed back to fortify and sleep. Didn't even find any coin or salvage. Definitely not our best day.

It's your standard evening of dungeoneering. a half dozen gricks, Halleth the Revenant killed one of the guys that killed him, carved up a flesh golem and bandits and a chopped down an animated statue of a sauhagin holding a box with a withered heart just before acid fell from the ceiling and melted it. That's all standard stuff right?

Oh and D-Con decided to sit in every throne or chair he saw. One dropped a magic wand on his head. Another dropped like 100 skulls into the room. Couple others were just old chairs. He got crossways with some kind of bad juju elder rune, but was able to decurse himself like right away. I guess the rune should've been a "Keep out" sign cause there are three hungry manticores sitting on the other side. Sheesh. On the bright side, we did find a couple handfuls of coin, a half dozen semi-precious gemstones, and some disguise kits that are in resale condition. It's not a vast fortune, but it will pay rent!

Destroyed the nests of three Manticores, the Troll used to feed them, and uncovered a lot of dead adventurers. 11 of them got stoned by a basilisk, so we sent a map and word with a Tormite priest to find them some help. Took a bath and a good night's sleep in the Yawning Portal before we moved to the second level.

Second level so far was a shady goblin market for "found items" that fell off of a cart. It's run by Yek the Tall, a goblin that used a magic doodad to turn himself human. Yek's a bully; rules with bugbear hired muscle and fear. I don't like him, but he's not a fan of the Xanathar and he's neutral to Bregan d'Arthe. Might be a good place to unload found items. I'll include this intelligence in my report to the Bregan d'Arthe intelligence officer.

Halleth says we're getting closer to the adventurers that murdered him and threw him in that pit. That is going to be an interesting conversation based on that pulverizing Hal gave that worm on the 1st level. Note to Self: mind the splash zone next time.

Sold a lot of our salvage at market. Purchased a poisoner's kit (-50g), vial of alchemist's fire (-50g) (troll repellent), and most of a burglar's pack (-11g) to expand our denied entry and countermeasure options. Worst case, I can use the ball bearings for shot in the company-issued handgonne. Similar calibre. I think.
Long Rest, Blessing of Corellon d100= [[97]] Dani remains female

The crew dented and broke up some flying cutlery & cookware in an abandoned kitchen, raided a wizard's bedchamber for some blank books, and then—following Halleth's lead toward one of the 4 "Fine Fellows of Daggerford" adventurers that murdered him on the floor above—cleared out a slavery operation run by Yek the Tall, saving 8 humans and half-elves. D-Con removed Yek's Circlet of Human Perfection, revealing that Yek was actually a goblin. The treacherous miscreant had lied to us about keeping slaves. I stove his head nearly in with the haft of my axe and left him to the bugbear's entertainment for justice. We do not abide depriving peacable humanoids of their right to be free.

The freed men and women were healed and fed (wish I could cast goodberry), then escorted back to the lift up to the Yawning Portal. We're keeping the priesthood that patronizes the place quite busy with basilisk-victim depetrifying and fattening up starved slaves and the like.
The adventurer Copper Stormforge (NE male shield dwarf scout), formerly of the Fine Fellows of Daggerford did not fare as well and perished while in the torture devices of Yek the Tall. Technically. Cause of death: pissed-off revenant's holy justice.

Our ecletic crew continued to explore the Arcane Chambers of the second level, finding a lot of trash, but also a mage named Rizzeryl (NE drow mage, male and of no house.) & quasit familiar (that I split in twain like all demons should be), a pack of wererats (don't look at me, I want'd to put them all down. 'Twas Geran that insisted on removing the curse on the trio caught in his hypnotic pattern.), but also some half dozen rust monsters, and a zombified beholder.

Pursuing the fight into the tunnels beyond the Yuan-ti den. Fighting through the fumes of a cloudkill, Dani dives into a pool where Aidan in Earth Elemental form is fighting what he says is a "giant squid." The adveresary is in actuality an aboleth, which grapples Dani and infects her with it's disease before they cut it down.

Destroying the aboleth, two chulls, and a handful of skum, Dani moves out of the foul pond and up to support Aidan in facing minotaur skeletons and zombie clots. Nocreth and Tigre moved down a separate passage, while Geran was stranded behind the cloud.

Aboleth disease: After 1 minute, the diseased creature's skin becomes translucent and slimy, the creature can't regain hit points unless it is underwater, and the disease can be removed only by heal or another disease-curing spell of 6th level or higher. When the creature is outside a body of water, it takes 6 (1d12) acid damage every 10 minutes unless moisture is applied to the skin before 10 minutes have passed.

Dani, infected with the cursed disease of an aboleth, is taken back from the Slitherswamp to visit Wyllow the archdruid in Level 5: the Wyllowwood. Wyllow casts Heal to remove the aboleth's skin disease from Dani in exchange for 1,600 gold total, 800 of it donated by other party members. Dani rendered her payment with 75 10gp gems: 60 blue quartz chunks, 6 banded agate, and 9 moss agates.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[87]]. Dani wakes up female.

Opening the door into the halls of Dweomercore, we meet the headmaster's bouncers, summoned Vrocks, Cannaloths, and a Nycaloth.

The Dean of the Dweomercore school sets a bargain with Geran. If we exterminate a handful of barbed and bone devils, he will show us the way through the school to the next level.

These devils are comparatively easy when considered against dealing with that disembodied arm and it's high level magic. It's nice moving through a level so quickly.
D-con "gets an inkling" that the Xunderbrok room is on this floor. But come on, the Melairkin were dwarves. They never hide just one thing.

We finished off the Nycaloths guarding the exit to the 10th level, but not before Nocreth disappears in a cloud of smoke. I don't know if he was banished or summoned to some other duty, but I was really counting on him to watch my back. (Dan M. left the campaign.)*

As we entered the level now called Murial's Gaunlet, we found hallways of broken mirrors guarded by a drow skeleton that had lost it's arcance ability, but was still attempting to use a wand of the warmage. Long deceased adventurer or wayward student of the arcane arts wandered down from the magister's school? we couldn't tell...

Then around the next corner, we found a temple to the Spider Queen guarded by three banshees. Undead banshees dropped most of our group with their screams, but the righteous fury of Ellistraee kept me on my feet until the last of them withered under arrow shots and eldritch blasts. I don't think I'll hear right for weeks.

Geran and Aidan discovered two deceased adventurers here and returned them to life. It's amazing they made it all the way down here equipped as they are. Takes a lot of luck to survive using rough leather armor and mass produced, market-grade weapons. Servicable for hunting your typical humanoid bounties or working caravan guard duty, yeah, but for delving into somewhere like Undermountain? Insanity.

We destroyed a laboratory built by the scorpion man, Muiral, saving the adventurers trapped there for his experiments. We also looted an ancient dining hall and found the scorpion man's stash of extra-spell components. It is insane that this feels normal.

We continue to explore the level known as Murial's Gauntlet. There is a drow temple here, complete with a stone golem effigy of the Spider Queen that we destroyed. The adamantine pick I took from that deurgar several levels above has come in handy for destroying these malevolent statues.
There are, however, two blessed rooms sanctified to Ellistraee.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[63]]. Dani wakes up female.

Pressing the attack against House Aryvundar's defenses in the courtyard of Murial's gauntlet, we strip the dead of their equipment and retreat to rest in the Yawning Portal.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[14]]. Dani wakes up male.

Gained a Potion of Storm Giant Strength

Assigned to guard duty for Junior, JB's experiment? Kid? Golem creature? Who knows what the hell D-Con actually counts as. Beats me, but Parts is a member of Bregan d'Arthe, so he's okay. Good spellslinger and handy in a fight.
He wanted to go meet a contact for a bottle or two of Zzarr down at the Yawning Portal Inn and I didn't mind that. But then he goes and promises some folks—that he just met!—that he'd venture into Undermountain with them. Couple might know what they're doing, like the archer and the genasi. The tiefling is completely wet behind the ears.

I mean, this is not too inconvenient since I had a contact I needed to check on in Skullport, but I was expecting 8 easy and boring hours of drinking ale. Messing around in an insane arch-wizard's tower? That's dumb, and worse if that insane arch-mage is Halaster Blackcloak.
Anyway, I paid our money to Durnan, the Yawning Portal's owner. Like you haven't heard of him. You better believe I used my expense account! ...so our strange crew was lowered in a big tub on ropes and pulleys to the first level of Undermountain.

First thing down there, one of them found a one-way secret door to the north side and left an unscouted passage behind us. This is going to get bad. Then Parts the wonder-boy falls through a door when trying to open it with his Thieves Tools. A door with stacks of plates on the other side. The racket is an alarm and within a minute, there's a doppleganger and some human bandits running around in cast off vampire spawn clothing. Not very convincing and they all died pretty fast, but a nuisance all the same. Pulled a few usable items off of them, but no real treasure.
How's Parts follow up with an encore? Decides to sit down in an ancient alabaster throne carved like snakes and gets poisoned half to death. I was thinking this was going to be a looong night, but I might have just been pulled into active dungeoneering duty for a few days or a week.

We find mirrors that make shadow copies of our party members. A brief struggle disables the nasty contraptions. Exploring the corridors, we eliminate two or three dozen goblins and bugbears, then track down a party that had been charmed, knocking out the blackguard that held them entranced. The Thayan wizard ran through a portal, but we couldn't make it work. I'm sure that's not the last we've heard from them.

We recovered a bronze mask shaped like the visage of Halaster Blackcloak. (50g) Keeping it with us in case it's useful later.

This place is a maze and I feel like we definitely have been through this room once already. I'm going to have to map this out. Spent a lot of time killing things that I thought we'd killed before, but maybe there's just a LOT of them.

Cleared out bandits, bugbears, goblins, grells, a trio of brain puppies, and similar nuisance monsters. Personal effects indicate a number of the goblinoids were employed by the Xanathar. Recovered a passcode for a Xanathar Shield Guardian at the Stairs access to 2nd level. Passcode is "Sylgar." The name of his goldfish? Everyone knows that.

D-Con and Dani allied our group with a revenant of Halleth Garke. Friar Garke was a 5th level priest of Waukeen, but was betrayed by a fairly amatuer adventuring party. Stole his holy symbol and weapons, broke his limbs, and pushed him into an abandoned well. Unprofessionally grisly, cruel, and left behind one very pissed off loose end. Halleth has been a huge help as rearguard, sentry, and protecting our flanks.

The group finishes a rest and moves deeper into the next caverns, where they discover swarms of kobolds, including some turned to vampire spawn. A long and tiring fight ensues.

Vampire sapped my strength and stamina, leaving me gassed for the rest of the day. Halleth, Geran, and Aiden extracted me from some of the worst of it. Nasty close quarters scrap with undead. Surprised we took no casualties.
Long Rest, Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[64]]. Dani remains Female

So. many. kobolds. How do they all fit in such tiny rooms. It's like they never end. We finished camping 3 hours ago and we already are headed back to fortify and sleep. Didn't even find any coin or salvage. Definitely not our best day.

It's your standard evening of dungeoneering. a half dozen gricks, Halleth the Revenant killed one of the guys that killed him, carved up a flesh golem and bandits and a chopped down an animated statue of a sauhagin holding a box with a withered heart just before acid fell from the ceiling and melted it. That's all standard stuff right?

Oh and D-Con decided to sit in every throne or chair he saw. One dropped a magic wand on his head. Another dropped like 100 skulls into the room. Couple others were just old chairs. He got crossways with some kind of bad juju elder rune, but was able to decurse himself like right away. I guess the rune should've been a "Keep out" sign cause there are three hungry manticores sitting on the other side. Sheesh. On the bright side, we did find a couple handfuls of coin, a half dozen semi-precious gemstones, and some disguise kits that are in resale condition. It's not a vast fortune, but it will pay rent!

Destroyed the nests of three Manticores, the Troll used to feed them, and uncovered a lot of dead adventurers. 11 of them got stoned by a basilisk, so we sent a map and word with a Tormite priest to find them some help. Took a bath and a good night's sleep in the Yawning Portal before we moved to the second level.

Second level so far was a shady goblin market for "found items" that fell off of a cart. It's run by Yek the Tall, a goblin that used a magic doodad to turn himself human. Yek's a bully; rules with bugbear hired muscle and fear. I don't like him, but he's not a fan of the Xanathar and he's neutral to Bregan d'Arthe. Might be a good place to unload found items. I'll include this intelligence in my report to the Bregan d'Arthe intelligence officer.

Halleth says we're getting closer to the adventurers that murdered him and threw him in that pit. That is going to be an interesting conversation based on that pulverizing Hal gave that worm on the 1st level. Note to Self: mind the splash zone next time.

Sold a lot of our salvage at market. Purchased a poisoner's kit (-50g), vial of alchemist's fire (-50g) (troll repellent), and most of a burglar's pack (-11g) to expand our denied entry and countermeasure options. Worst case, I can use the ball bearings for shot in the company-issued handgonne. Similar calibre. I think.
Long Rest, Blessing of Corellon d100= [[97]] Dani remains female

The crew dented and broke up some flying cutlery & cookware in an abandoned kitchen, raided a wizard's bedchamber for some blank books, and then—following Halleth's lead toward one of the 4 "Fine Fellows of Daggerford" adventurers that murdered him on the floor above—cleared out a slavery operation run by Yek the Tall, saving 8 humans and half-elves. D-Con removed Yek's Circlet of Human Perfection, revealing that Yek was actually a goblin. The treacherous miscreant had lied to us about keeping slaves. I stove his head nearly in with the haft of my axe and left him to the bugbear's entertainment for justice. We do not abide depriving peacable humanoids of their right to be free.

The freed men and women were healed and fed (wish I could cast goodberry), then escorted back to the lift up to the Yawning Portal. We're keeping the priesthood that patronizes the place quite busy with basilisk-victim depetrifying and fattening up starved slaves and the like.
The adventurer Copper Stormforge (NE male shield dwarf scout), formerly of the Fine Fellows of Daggerford did not fare as well and perished while in the torture devices of Yek the Tall. Technically. Cause of death: pissed-off revenant's holy justice.

Our ecletic crew continued to explore the Arcane Chambers of the second level, finding a lot of trash, but also a mage named Rizzeryl (NE drow mage, male and of no house.) & quasit familiar (that I split in twain like all demons should be), a pack of wererats (don't look at me, I want'd to put them all down. 'Twas Geran that insisted on removing the curse on the trio caught in his hypnotic pattern.), but also some half dozen rust monsters, and a zombified beholder.