The crew explores the last of the lost level, with a tense fight against 4 umber hulks and three minotaurs that saw Nocreth seconds away from death. Danni also flirted with her demise when a behir struck her with its lightning breath TWICE.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[53]]. Dani wakes up female.

Upon entering the Slitherswamp, D-Con blunders right into a bullywug patrol, which leads to a running fight spread across the caverns, including bullywug, giant toads, giant frogs, carrion crawlers

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[94]]. Dani wakes up female.

Finished off the bullywug onslaught, including a handful of giant crocodiles.

Beyond the temple complex is a series of caves inhabited by three naga, one a dead bone naga and two spirit naga. One of the spirit naga has a Rod of Rulership with which they have charmed a number of weak-willed creaures like several trolls and minotaurs.

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 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.

Traded an unneeded sentinel shield to Eskane Balezta, a Bounty Hunter and sharpshooter with a hand crossbow. These gloves will help me become almost as effective as Tigre at disarming locks, but they will make it virtually impossible for him to fail doing so.

Hand-to-hand combat in the narrow hallways of Muiral's Gauntlet continues. Destroyed a handful of retriever demons, a couple drow, and several demons, including a Marilith. House Ayruvandar has far greater numbers of combatants than we'd been lead to expect.

Through the next doors, the crew discovered a shrine to Eilistraee and Danifae spent a few moments in prayer. Placing a sword in the statue's hand, it began to dance, then pointed to the East by southeast. Dani, D-con, and Aidan were given a minor charm from the statue, the ability to cast bless (1st level) once.
Setting our path in that SxSE direction, we began to clear rooms. In a Ballroom, they encountered two mutated drow, science experiments crossed with giant spiders. Hideous things that could turn to vapor, but died easily enough.

The next hallway led to an encounter with four drow guards, one of which, Sornssnozz, turned on his compatriots, telling us he was a plant by House Freth. He also warned us of an ambush by three phase spiders in that same room, so he's already proved valuable.

Sorn is working with a House Freth Assassin and has agreed to introduce us so we can ally together to wipe out the rest of House Aryuvndar on this floor... include Matron Mother Aryuvndar. He says she has an enormous number of demons and elites guarding her. It is sure to be a challenge.

But first he showed us into a very nice guest quarters and dining room that had clean, working plumbing. I have missed certain creature comforts from Waterdeep while stalking these hallways. D-con, Geran, and Danifae are already hatching a scheme to turn these guest quarters into our forward operating base for the rest of our delving into Undermountain.

The House Freth infiltration team of Sornozz and Xaraann A'Daragon brief us on the presence of a fight club down the hallway. It is supposed to be a location for the honorable practive and drill of combat techniques, but Drinrith —Matron Auvryndar's niece—is haughtily beating down weakened males for her own sport.

Xaraann and Danifae approach to engage Drinrith in a duel, but the party fails to stick to the plan, dropping Hypnotic pattern and a fireball on us. Xarraan is livid, as he should be, and Aidan expends some rapidly depleting healing to bring the Freth agent back to fighting shape and to placate his ire.

In the next room, we discover an interrogation chamber, where Drinrith's consort and a pair of drow elites are torturing Tazirahc Oussar, a Freth conspiritor. We dispatch the elites, but D-con takes Kereth the warlock into custody, despite Dani's protestations.

Discovered a scroll of hold person in the servants' quarters on that hallway.

The party continues to wage war on the scores of House Auvryndar forces in the Hall of the Dark Seldarine. In the chaos, one of the drow guarding their prisoners, a band of halfling entertainers called The Sing-Alongs, enters the cage and cuts down a hapless halfing. Aidan wildshapes into the form of an air elemental to cover the distance and save his hin cousins.

We down the last half dozen of their troglodyte brutes, as well as eliminating over a dozen drow warriors, and several pair of Retriever fiend constructs. Many of these are dropped by waves of missiles from Geran's swift quiver, Tigre's precise sneak attacks, and Zayis' barrage of eldritch blasts. The best of the results, though is one of Vlonwelv's youngest daughters, a priestess of the Spider Queen, falling to a combination of Dani's greataxe and D-con's Steel Wind Strike.

The party is still combat effective, but it is beginning to look like we will not have enough in the tank to complete this task in this one day.

Combat in the Hall of the Dark Seldarine resumes, with Aidan and Dani holding back the retrievers and giant Lizard mounts while D-con temporarily disappears. After he joined us again, we finished off the last combatants in this room, including a pair of drow elites, a yochlol, and two more retrievers guarding the doors to the south.
(Seriously, Gary. I know we're a very strong party but this is a bit much.)

Aidan dashes back to the prisoners' cage where one of the halfing entertainers has been struck down by it's drow guard. The blessing of the Earthmother grants him the ability to revivfy this poor halfing and give her a second chance at life.

In the next vestibule, we discover another pair of retrievers, another priestess, more elites and a mage. The priestess casts silence in the doorway to foil attempts at counterspelling, but Dani throws the last of her necklace of fireballs into the room, which but one or two of the dozen occupants were able to avoid the full brunt. The priestess' concentration falters and we push in to clear this up.

It takes using about half of our healing potion stores, Dani's Righteous Rage to keeep her fighting when she should've dropped, and every spell the casters had available to finish this room. D-con, Aidan and Dani are all on the verge of collapse from their wounds.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[37]]. Dani wakes up male.

Exploring caverns to attempt an entry from behind the temple of the Spider Queen, we find a few outlying sentriesand a dozen ghouls that must be put down. Discovering the last handful of Muirial's troglodyte mercenaries, Dani deceives them into responding to a hoax threat, clearing them from our path.
Several magical traps were somehow too difficult to avoid, taking out Aidan's earth elemental wildshapes and a good chunk of Dani's health.

We opened a secret door into the temple and opened combat with a moderate fireball (3 remaining beads for 5th level), but will have to contend with silences, cloudkills and a number of other unknown challenges as we attempt to assassinate the matron mother of house Ayrvrundar.

Dani donated her gem-encrusted bowl so that Aidan could cast Heroes' Feast.

The crew explores the last of the lost level, with a tense fight against 4 umber hulks and three minotaurs that saw Nocreth seconds away from death. Danni also flirted with her demise when a behir struck her with its lightning breath TWICE.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[53]]. Dani wakes up female.

Upon entering the Slitherswamp, D-Con blunders right into a bullywug patrol, which leads to a running fight spread across the caverns, including bullywug, giant toads, giant frogs, carrion crawlers

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[94]]. Dani wakes up female.

Finished off the bullywug onslaught, including a handful of giant crocodiles.

Beyond the temple complex is a series of caves inhabited by three naga, one a dead bone naga and two spirit naga. One of the spirit naga has a Rod of Rulership with which they have charmed a number of weak-willed creaures like several trolls and minotaurs.

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 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.

Traded an unneeded sentinel shield to Eskane Balezta, a Bounty Hunter and sharpshooter with a hand crossbow. These gloves will help me become almost as effective as Tigre at disarming locks, but they will make it virtually impossible for him to fail doing so.

Hand-to-hand combat in the narrow hallways of Muiral's Gauntlet continues. Destroyed a handful of retriever demons, a couple drow, and several demons, including a Marilith. House Ayruvandar has far greater numbers of combatants than we'd been lead to expect.

Through the next doors, the crew discovered a shrine to Eilistraee and Danifae spent a few moments in prayer. Placing a sword in the statue's hand, it began to dance, then pointed to the East by southeast. Dani, D-con, and Aidan were given a minor charm from the statue, the ability to cast bless (1st level) once.
Setting our path in that SxSE direction, we began to clear rooms. In a Ballroom, they encountered two mutated drow, science experiments crossed with giant spiders. Hideous things that could turn to vapor, but died easily enough.

The next hallway led to an encounter with four drow guards, one of which, Sornssnozz, turned on his compatriots, telling us he was a plant by House Freth. He also warned us of an ambush by three phase spiders in that same room, so he's already proved valuable.

Sorn is working with a House Freth Assassin and has agreed to introduce us so we can ally together to wipe out the rest of House Aryuvndar on this floor... include Matron Mother Aryuvndar. He says she has an enormous number of demons and elites guarding her. It is sure to be a challenge.

But first he showed us into a very nice guest quarters and dining room that had clean, working plumbing. I have missed certain creature comforts from Waterdeep while stalking these hallways. D-con, Geran, and Danifae are already hatching a scheme to turn these guest quarters into our forward operating base for the rest of our delving into Undermountain.

The House Freth infiltration team of Sornozz and Xaraann A'Daragon brief us on the presence of a fight club down the hallway. It is supposed to be a location for the honorable practive and drill of combat techniques, but Drinrith —Matron Auvryndar's niece—is haughtily beating down weakened males for her own sport.

Xaraann and Danifae approach to engage Drinrith in a duel, but the party fails to stick to the plan, dropping Hypnotic pattern and a fireball on us. Xarraan is livid, as he should be, and Aidan expends some rapidly depleting healing to bring the Freth agent back to fighting shape and to placate his ire.

In the next room, we discover an interrogation chamber, where Drinrith's consort and a pair of drow elites are torturing Tazirahc Oussar, a Freth conspiritor. We dispatch the elites, but D-con takes Kereth the warlock into custody, despite Dani's protestations.

Discovered a scroll of hold person in the servants' quarters on that hallway.

The party continues to wage war on the scores of House Auvryndar forces in the Hall of the Dark Seldarine. In the chaos, one of the drow guarding their prisoners, a band of halfling entertainers called The Sing-Alongs, enters the cage and cuts down a hapless halfing. Aidan wildshapes into the form of an air elemental to cover the distance and save his hin cousins.

We down the last half dozen of their troglodyte brutes, as well as eliminating over a dozen drow warriors, and several pair of Retriever fiend constructs. Many of these are dropped by waves of missiles from Geran's swift quiver, Tigre's precise sneak attacks, and Zayis' barrage of eldritch blasts. The best of the results, though is one of Vlonwelv's youngest daughters, a priestess of the Spider Queen, falling to a combination of Dani's greataxe and D-con's Steel Wind Strike.

The party is still combat effective, but it is beginning to look like we will not have enough in the tank to complete this task in this one day.

Combat in the Hall of the Dark Seldarine resumes, with Aidan and Dani holding back the retrievers and giant Lizard mounts while D-con temporarily disappears. After he joined us again, we finished off the last combatants in this room, including a pair of drow elites, a yochlol, and two more retrievers guarding the doors to the south.
(Seriously, Gary. I know we're a very strong party but this is a bit much.)

Aidan dashes back to the prisoners' cage where one of the halfing entertainers has been struck down by it's drow guard. The blessing of the Earthmother grants him the ability to revivfy this poor halfing and give her a second chance at life.

In the next vestibule, we discover another pair of retrievers, another priestess, more elites and a mage. The priestess casts silence in the doorway to foil attempts at counterspelling, but Dani throws the last of her necklace of fireballs into the room, which but one or two of the dozen occupants were able to avoid the full brunt. The priestess' concentration falters and we push in to clear this up.

It takes using about half of our healing potion stores, Dani's Righteous Rage to keeep her fighting when she should've dropped, and every spell the casters had available to finish this room. D-con, Aidan and Dani are all on the verge of collapse from their wounds.

Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[37]]. Dani wakes up male.

Exploring caverns to attempt an entry from behind the temple of the Spider Queen, we find a few outlying sentriesand a dozen ghouls that must be put down. Discovering the last handful of Muirial's troglodyte mercenaries, Dani deceives them into responding to a hoax threat, clearing them from our path.
Several magical traps were somehow too difficult to avoid, taking out Aidan's earth elemental wildshapes and a good chunk of Dani's health.

We opened a secret door into the temple and opened combat with a moderate fireball (3 remaining beads for 5th level), but will have to contend with silences, cloudkills and a number of other unknown challenges as we attempt to assassinate the matron mother of house Ayrvrundar.

Dani donated her gem-encrusted bowl so that Aidan could cast Heroes' Feast.