Treacherous Path

November 19, 2020

The group takes stock of their area.  Now that they have a moment to get their breath, the former slaves are starting to feel like it's real.  Then their hunger hits and one asks.  Rolen starts handing out rations.  The rest of the group move forward and find another station, with the circle before the cave area and they see the rail.  Once Rolen is done handing out rations, they have him scout.  

Just outside of the station, standing or hunched over, are eight hook horrors.  Something is behind him.  Rolen comes back to report it and Rikard suggests he find out more.  Rolen goes back out and realizes they must be sleeping but something about it is off  Why are they sleeping standing up?  He doesn't know much about them to know if that's usual.  It seems off.  Creeping around them, to something he saw in the back, he sees a beholder!  He freezes up and slowly edges back, telling them what he saw.  Rikard isn't sure that it's a beholder.  Beholders don't have to sleep, Rikard says, and it seems strange to him, especially only four stalks.  Rikard gets into a digression of how they reproduce and it sounds strange no matter how it happens.  

Eventually, the freed people have eaten and come forward to hear the plans.  The group decides that Rolen will cover them with a spell to make it tough to see them.  They will then lead them past the creatures in the dark, having someone who can see in the dark in each group.  Rolen will then come back and get the rest.  They head north and find another collapsed tunnel but it's not as bad as the one he saw to the south and they are able to climb over it, with light that Rikard makes.  They move off into the darkness.  

They know they are on the Low Road.  It's another cavern, thirty feet wide, thirty feet at the highest point and the rail on the ground.  And it's like that for hours.  After a few more hours, they are all tired and rest.  There is nothing but the tunnel.  Rolen does scout up ahead but finds nothing.  They have to make do with what they have.  The party passes out extra clothes, bedrolls, and whatever else to cover the people who barely have shifts to cover themselves.  Dio goes around and heals a lot of minor wounds on their feet and hands, since both are unprotected.  Stumbles, cuts, abrasions, and other things that would add up to more if not dealt with.  Fortunately, nothing seemed infected.  They eat more rations.  

The next few days are a blur.  Endless slogging through tunnels.  Not stopping to eat until they were done for the day and could go no further.  A few slight rests but all of them know that if they stop, it could be tough to get started again.  Again, each night Dio has to heal small cuts and abrasions.  They create makeshift foot gear out of extra clothes for the people to have some options.  At some point before resting. Rolen goes out looking and finds a small cavern branch.  Following it, he finds a big cavern with mushrooms and drinkable water!  He thought something different would be nice.  The cavern floor nearly had dirt on it from years of mushroom growth and decay.  He goes back and gets the group and they come back to the cave.  

Rikard has been keeping watch as he doesn't sleep and all of them got solid rest for once.  Dio finally had better healing spells and Kaji felt Kossuth's fire burn in him fully again.  Dio prayed for Create Food and Water and while it did create something edible, it was a bland and tasteless gruel.  They could put a few items from the trail rations into it to help once a day.  Dio also takes the time to cast Augury.  He knows after casting it that if they keep going further east in this new cavern they found, they will encounter something new, and something old.  It would be dangerous but reap rewards.  The other way will take time but lead them out and to safety.  The party discusses it and decides to get the group back to Sundabar.  

They just run out of rations to flavor the gruel, many days later, when they find a shaft sloping upward.  Dio didn't do much mining but knew enough to know that this was a secondary air passage and probably egress.  As he stopped to think about it, it really depended on how the Low Road was made.  From underground to begin with or from above digging down?  They talk about it as they head up.  It ends in a small room, perhaps a utility room.  Gorstag is able to muscle open the trap door as it has ten inches of dirt on it.  

Just having sun on their skin helps everyone.  

They are a few hours from Sundabar and head there.  The guard again talks to them about what they are bringing back this time and nods at freeing slaves.  They head to the temple of Tyr.  Erik greets them and has his acolytes, the same that helped before, get the slaves into better clothes and to find out where they are form or where they call home and to see what they can do.  

Erik asks them what happened and they talk about the slaves and the mission.  They talk about going back to Homilar or not.  At least they know that despite their impression of him, he was correct about slaves.  Then Erik says that someone wants to meet Dio.  They have a meal together before this dwarf arrives.

Linda Falsen is a middle aged dwarf wearing robes of Moradin.  Dio bows and the rest greet her.  She says that she is a high priestess of Moradin and that his temple is in the Undercity.  It is only due to the parties deeds that they are being told about it and invited to see it.  She says she wants them to work for her to help Sundabar.  Before Dio can readily agree with gusto, she holds up a finger to stop him.  She encourages the group to talk it over and think about it.  There are rules to be followed and the Undercity must be kept a secret.  They think that the group acting as a strike force against the giants and others would be better than up above.  Mainly due to the scouts not having found anything above ground.  

"From what ya describe, I think the beholders were using the hook horrors as thralls to help them dig.  If they have found the Low Road, now it's a matter of time before they be in Sundabar.  But perhaps taking out their diggers, the hook horrors, would slow them down a bit.  I know ya have other options, though, so I want to consider them all."  

She does ask about some of their adventures, the tombs they found, and other items.  Then says she will leave them to it.  She walks to the back area of the temple and shows them a secret door!  There is a levitating floor that will take her to the Undercity.  She nods to them and the door shuts.  They hear a whoosh of the floor going down.  

"I do apologize for the secret, my friends," says Erik.  "Obviously, we all have them."  The group nods in understanding.  

Dio stares at the door and remembers back to how the other priest of Moradin just seemed to be in the temple of Tyr for Olva's body.  Now it makes sense.  

They head back to the Green Griffon for some drinks and to think about all they have learned.  

8000 xp

GM Notes

• This was one of those I had an idea but not a great way to execute it moments.  On several levels.
• I had some ideas of what they could try in the starting caverns and pushed them instead of letting the players figure it out.
• I probably pushed too hard or gave too many ideas. 
• I also didn't want it to stall or get into analysis paralysis so pushed for a decision.  
• I'm still thrown in how 5E has done things.  Low light versus darkvision for all now.   
• I probably used Rikard too much to push things.  I did have ideas on which way they could go but also didn't want to completely shut down a different route. 
• I had several different maps for them to choose which way to go. 
• I didn't have enough details and hadn't finished some maps. 
• Basically, there were no clues about which way to go, so it ends up being random rather than a decision, which annoyed me when I realized this.   
• I had this idea of them having to protect the people they rescued as well as having to worry about feeding them, keeping them warm, etc.  I figured it would be tough but doable. 
• They only got a partial rest while sleeping on the hard floor.
• They had limited provisions but would eventually be able to get or hunt for me. 
• The idea was rendered moot when they finally get a full rest and Dio is able to get Create Food and Water.   
• The other issue is that there were too many for me to run well. 
• This one has to go to the bathroom all of the time, more when they found water.
• That one sneaks a bit more food.  That one hoards food or eats as they walk.  
• One is curious about the tunnels and asking.  Dio and Rikard talk for a while on it, almost a good distraction.
• One keeps asking when they will get to a town.  "Are we there yet?" 
• Not that they didn't have good ideas. 
• Moving the people in the dark so they couldn't see the monsters was good. 
• How to divvy up the party with the people so they were covered with people who could see in the darkness.   
• I ended this whole thing early and got them to Sundabar.  I don't think this whole thing was doing the story I wanted it to do.  Again, too many to get into those details.  Maybe if it had been three or fewer, we could have done it.
• I do hope that my adventures, maps, and villains are logical.  Sure, there is magic and that changes some things but I still want logic. 
• To that end, I liked that the guys seems to nod with the beholder controlling hook horrors to dig. 
• We also talked about what that means for the giant council and does this mean the stone giants would change their side? 
• At least I have better ideas for next time.  We will have a bit of a break for Thanksgiving but then back for more. 

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