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.

Defeating that last remaining guards, we engaged the matron mother of House Arvryandar... but must continue to press the fight if she is to be ended.

Orbiting high above Toril is Stardock, a hollowed-out asteroid used by the Githyanki as a fortress and connected to the Crystal Labyrinth in Undermountain via a magical gate. The ruler of Stardock is a githyanki named Commander Urlon. Urlon hired a 30 or so of us to provide extra security for a conclave he was sponsoring.
It was quiet, easy money for a few days before a massive illithid force attacked. I took off with one set of five while D-con took another. I don't know where Geran, Aidan and Tigre were.

We exploded illithid boreworm attack vessels, prevented an illithid plot to turn Ashtyrranthor, an adult red dragon, against us, and retrieved the Forgotten Phoenix, a skiff destroyed by an astral deadnaught warped by a portal from the Far Realm. A githyanki traitor called Kaaltav attempted to ambush us, but we slew the former githyanki supreme commander.

After a short breather, we regrouped to destroy the illithid nautiloid a spacefaring vessel large than anything I've experienced, doing crippling damage by boarding it and ripping it apart from within. the skiff we used to board the massive ship was destroyed by missile fire, but we were saved from the ship's implosion and the cold of space by a cleverly employed cube of force by the spacer wizard that was on our security detail. It paid well. I'll give them that.

Ganied a Potion of Greater Healing

Clearing the last of House Arvryndar from the Troglodyte Warrens, The party proceeds down into the Maze Level.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[55]]. Dani wakes up female.

Two House Freth casters are executed. In the maze-like tunnels beyond, we find a cavern of minotaur attempting to summon Baphomet. The leader carries a strange war horn that Dani chooses to keep with her.

The party rests the evening in a side passage that D-con makes secure with alarms and a Leomund's Tiny Hut.
Gerand returns to the surface on his own business for a time, and the adventurers continue to explore, finding and eliminating two dozen of House Freth's armsmen.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[82]]. Dani wakes up female.

add potion of vitality, 2 potions of healing

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.

Defeating that last remaining guards, we engaged the matron mother of House Arvryandar... but must continue to press the fight if she is to be ended.

Orbiting high above Toril is Stardock, a hollowed-out asteroid used by the Githyanki as a fortress and connected to the Crystal Labyrinth in Undermountain via a magical gate. The ruler of Stardock is a githyanki named Commander Urlon. Urlon hired a 30 or so of us to provide extra security for a conclave he was sponsoring.
It was quiet, easy money for a few days before a massive illithid force attacked. I took off with one set of five while D-con took another. I don't know where Geran, Aidan and Tigre were.

We exploded illithid boreworm attack vessels, prevented an illithid plot to turn Ashtyrranthor, an adult red dragon, against us, and retrieved the Forgotten Phoenix, a skiff destroyed by an astral deadnaught warped by a portal from the Far Realm. A githyanki traitor called Kaaltav attempted to ambush us, but we slew the former githyanki supreme commander.

After a short breather, we regrouped to destroy the illithid nautiloid a spacefaring vessel large than anything I've experienced, doing crippling damage by boarding it and ripping it apart from within. the skiff we used to board the massive ship was destroyed by missile fire, but we were saved from the ship's implosion and the cold of space by a cleverly employed cube of force by the spacer wizard that was on our security detail. It paid well. I'll give them that.

Ganied a Potion of Greater Healing

Clearing the last of House Arvryndar from the Troglodyte Warrens, The party proceeds down into the Maze Level.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[55]]. Dani wakes up female.

Two House Freth casters are executed. In the maze-like tunnels beyond, we find a cavern of minotaur attempting to summon Baphomet. The leader carries a strange war horn that Dani chooses to keep with her.

The party rests the evening in a side passage that D-con makes secure with alarms and a Leomund's Tiny Hut.
Gerand returns to the surface on his own business for a time, and the adventurers continue to explore, finding and eliminating two dozen of House Freth's armsmen.
Long Rest; Blessing of Corellon d100 = [[82]]. Dani wakes up female.

add potion of vitality, 2 potions of healing