17th of the Month of SepDec in the Imperial Year of 1023
Town of Pelister, Royal Republic of Argivia
To His Lordship, Viscount Wilifrick of Verbobonc,
After getting dropped off by the Cloud Giant flying longship, we said farewell to the ever cheerful, always mercenary, bugbear Captain Tirrann.
The walk down to the village took most of the afternoon. No sooner than we entered the unwalled town that we were accosted a group of locals. None appeared to be able to speak the Imperial trade tongue (the horror!), but assuming we could handle foreign cultists who were happy to see us, we followed them to a local inn to meet with a gnome.
The gnome was Pevuss Corkburst, a merchant by trade. He had claimed the nearby gnomish mining community of Burrok his home, but in recent weeks, things had fallen asunder.
Before I explain the distress of Burrok, let me explain their concept of "mining." At some point in ancient history, a civilization far more advanced than the current Argivians, inhabited the land. I have yet to attach a name to this realm, but there was a great cataclysm and all peoples and memories were wiped out. With the expansion of Argivia came the discovery of many magical relics. Some had incredible powers, and are now under the protection of the Royal Vault of Argivia. Others are as pedestrian as magical rocks to keep your hands warm during mountain hiking, or even a continual light spell cast on a torch, with a device to turn it "off." Humans historically have excavated sites above ground, while gnomes and a handful of dwarves have dug in sites that are obviously exhausted mines.
Burrok was a few mile underground. While Pelister had felt a number of earthquakes in recent memory, each one had potential catastrophic effects in Burrok.
A while back, a group of adventurers was hired to further investigate the earthquakes, and claimed to have removed the problem. After a few weeks of calm, a sizable earthquake has struck the region. Pevuss has been unable to venture deep within the caves, and is desperate to ask someone brave to investigate... for a decent fee.
Since I've begun my travels, I've had the good fortune to talk to a number of "professional" adventurers who simply follow the legends and lore to the next dungeon, catacomb, and abandoned castle, in the search for treasure. Many mention the vast natural cave and tunnel networks that are under our feet, and serve as the highways and turnpikes for the World Below.
Having now ventured those caves, I can assure you that I do not wish to become a "professional."
Hiring a brave (of foolish) local named Maksim to help translate Argivian and Gnomish (I've seen Morag the dwarf speak gnomish, and the results weren't diplomatic) as well as carry all of our torches, we dove into the tunnel towards Burrok.
I'm certain the path to Burrok was once a clean route, but the earthquake had caved in numerous portions of the network, and lack of traffic had attracted a number of natural underground species.
Commander HouseKarl had down some dungeoneering in his youth, but it still wasn't enough to avoid shriekers, sentient fungus? that emit an ear splitting screaming pitch when you get too close. Piercers, rocky fungus that replicate stalagmites... or stalagtites, the rocky formation on the roof of caves, would attempt to drop on their victims, impale them, and feast on their prey's innards.
And anything that wasn't a rock, or a killer fungus camouflaged as a rock was some mold or slime wishing to eat our armor or infect our lungs. I don't care what treasures are down here. To live here long term is mind destroyer.
We finally reached Burrok, which, being a gnome town, was four foot high in many locations. Most of the common housing caves had collapsed, but we did find a few survivors milling about.
The leader of the survivors was bald gnome named Gavin Wellharn. The only member of the council of elders to make it through the last earthquake, he had given order to pack up and leave... soon.
He retold the last few weeks. Between the frequency of the earthquakes and their scouts detecting some beings called Ithillids, the council decide to hire a group of adventurers to solve the issue. Obviously these vile beasts were the cause of the earthquakes.
Everyone was excited when they swiftly returned with bodies as proof that they successfully slayed them all. We were impressed, paid them their handsome fee with sapphires, garnets, and some artifact tech, and the were on their merry way.
The scouts detected no more of these creatures, but the earthquakes restarted a few days later.
For some reason beyond my understanding, we agreed to search the alleged area of these "Ithillids" and if they were all gone, venture further into this never-ending darkness to see if there was a reason for these earthquakes.
And I thought I assembled this group....
Gavin led us to the outskirts of the Ilthillid outpost and left to return to Burrok. More cavern collapses, more dead sentient fungus, although I hope my eyes deceived me that these had arms and legs.
Entering the camp of these beings, I got my first horrid look of a dead Illithid. These creatures were badly burned, but the twisted head, inhuman looks, and squid-like arms coming out of their mouths were disgusting.
We caught a group of them scavenging through some of their ruined camp. Before I could even begin to speak, my head felt like it was being crushed by two stones. Everyone else also succumbed to this strange effect overwhelming us.
Everyone else but Andrei.
Since I met him, I knew Andrei had fancied himself a bit of arcane hobbyist. On our journeys, he was usually the one we gave the forbidden tomes and recently-deceased evil spellcaster's magic books to. I've seen him perform a number of spells that were certainly above mere parlor tricks.
But I've never seen him cast a fireball before, much less the two he threw at the Ithillids.
Some seemed completely unfazed my the magical inferno, but others were quickly incinerated, just like the bodies we had already discovered.
The others quickly scampered further into darkness. Still recovering from the attack on our minds, another one hit us, with a loud booming voice inside our heads, "Akuloth demands an audience to speak."
Realizing this thing was possibly reading our minds, we agreed to a meeting.
Ithillids are over seven foot tall, so to see one well over nine was quite daunting. Seeing him (it?) next to a Beholder, we hoped he didn't sense our sudden loss of confidence.
Akuloth was the commander on a scientific expedition. Zhamthrul the beholder was his assistant in the matter. "We're not the ones causing the earthquakes, but we know what is! Stop killing us with fire!
Akuloth described a large beast even further deeper underground that either growing into adulthood and laying eggs. Regardless of the scenario, the action was causing the earthquakes, which were interfering with their experiments.
They had already been raided by a different adventuring party, led by an elf, and a female human wizardress whose power was much greater than Andrei. They ransacked the place and fled before the Ithillids could organize a counter-attack. By the time they could, the earthquakes started again.
I've got a sneaking suspicion that we've crossed paths with the handiwork of Talanth Blackash once again.
We did get directions to discover this "Draknor" the Ithillids insisted we kill. We got to the edges of its lair, only to find super-hot temperatures, giant undulating pools of red hot substance Morag called magma with humongous squid arms... tentacles moving through it without discomfort. There were no signs of a head, or even a body. The Order quickly fell in line with my decision to return to the surface as fast as possible.
My Lord, I must admit to one horrible deed that day. We successfully sneaked past the Ithillid and gnome camps to the outside. I dispatched the rest of the Order of Merit back to Pelister, and once they were sufficiently down the mountain, I pulled the elemental stone I found in Old Illefarn many moons ago, and I recited the chant inscribed on it.
Without any way to control it, I simply ran out of the cave. I could hear the elemental entity ravaging the tunnels, and I assume the survivors within. I doubt it could defeat the Draknor, but it did seal up what little access remained for the mine.
May Akana show mercy on our Gnomish friends, and some protection from the Ithillids and the Draknor.
Yours in Service,
Sir Elsderth Greyhawk, Lord of Greywhawk
Sage of the The Order of Merit,
Sellsword - Extraordinaire
Wielder of the Legendary Betrayer.
Defilier of the Temple of Tiamat.
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll.
DM Notes: Blackash's crew? They got VERY lucky. Thendara Wandsregal, the only Name-Level character in the party, got the jump on the mind flayers, and instead of injuring 2 or 3 with a fireball (magic resistance plus save), she killed 10 of the 35. Mind flayer attacks only took the Drunken Warrior, who was equally ineffective. The entire expedition (including Akuloth and Zhamthru... not the drow military commander... he perished as well). were chased into the Underdark. The ithillids had only just returned prior to the last earthquake, and the cave-ins killed six more. The mind flayers are injured, confused, and full of fear... and Andrei just got lucky again with the rolls.
Spoiler alert: Neither group succeeded in the mission, so we'll follow up on this in a future episode.
Andrei started the story as a translator and guide for Nevskia, but has been an integral part of the group and of the story. Better suited to be a Nevskian priest, or perhaps a Galmar Elemental Shaman, Andrei was the odd man to collect the magic items the fighters, barbarians, thieves, and clerics were using. And he hasn't had enough time to go over the spells from Sazor's spellbook!
Yes, Argivia is taken directly from Magic: The Gathering. I never knew exactly where this adventure took place in Georic, but with the Lost Dispatches storyline progressing as it is, and Danaan being our last destination, Argivia is a logical spot. Danaan is more the classic Greece you come to expect from Greek Mythology and Philosophy. Argivia, like the land in Magic, is a nation built atop a much earlier and more advanced civilization and they are trying to take advantage of everything they can find.
Thunder Under Needlespire comes from Dungeon #24.
Next: #46 The Royal Republic of Argivia
Town of Pelister, Royal Republic of Argivia
To His Lordship, Viscount Wilifrick of Verbobonc,
After getting dropped off by the Cloud Giant flying longship, we said farewell to the ever cheerful, always mercenary, bugbear Captain Tirrann.
The walk down to the village took most of the afternoon. No sooner than we entered the unwalled town that we were accosted a group of locals. None appeared to be able to speak the Imperial trade tongue (the horror!), but assuming we could handle foreign cultists who were happy to see us, we followed them to a local inn to meet with a gnome.
The gnome was Pevuss Corkburst, a merchant by trade. He had claimed the nearby gnomish mining community of Burrok his home, but in recent weeks, things had fallen asunder.
Before I explain the distress of Burrok, let me explain their concept of "mining." At some point in ancient history, a civilization far more advanced than the current Argivians, inhabited the land. I have yet to attach a name to this realm, but there was a great cataclysm and all peoples and memories were wiped out. With the expansion of Argivia came the discovery of many magical relics. Some had incredible powers, and are now under the protection of the Royal Vault of Argivia. Others are as pedestrian as magical rocks to keep your hands warm during mountain hiking, or even a continual light spell cast on a torch, with a device to turn it "off." Humans historically have excavated sites above ground, while gnomes and a handful of dwarves have dug in sites that are obviously exhausted mines.
Burrok was a few mile underground. While Pelister had felt a number of earthquakes in recent memory, each one had potential catastrophic effects in Burrok.
Since I've begun my travels, I've had the good fortune to talk to a number of "professional" adventurers who simply follow the legends and lore to the next dungeon, catacomb, and abandoned castle, in the search for treasure. Many mention the vast natural cave and tunnel networks that are under our feet, and serve as the highways and turnpikes for the World Below.
Having now ventured those caves, I can assure you that I do not wish to become a "professional."
Hiring a brave (of foolish) local named Maksim to help translate Argivian and Gnomish (I've seen Morag the dwarf speak gnomish, and the results weren't diplomatic) as well as carry all of our torches, we dove into the tunnel towards Burrok.
 |
| Maksim |
I'm certain the path to Burrok was once a clean route, but the earthquake had caved in numerous portions of the network, and lack of traffic had attracted a number of natural underground species.
Commander HouseKarl had down some dungeoneering in his youth, but it still wasn't enough to avoid shriekers, sentient fungus? that emit an ear splitting screaming pitch when you get too close. Piercers, rocky fungus that replicate stalagmites... or stalagtites, the rocky formation on the roof of caves, would attempt to drop on their victims, impale them, and feast on their prey's innards.
And anything that wasn't a rock, or a killer fungus camouflaged as a rock was some mold or slime wishing to eat our armor or infect our lungs. I don't care what treasures are down here. To live here long term is mind destroyer.
We finally reached Burrok, which, being a gnome town, was four foot high in many locations. Most of the common housing caves had collapsed, but we did find a few survivors milling about.
He retold the last few weeks. Between the frequency of the earthquakes and their scouts detecting some beings called Ithillids, the council decide to hire a group of adventurers to solve the issue. Obviously these vile beasts were the cause of the earthquakes.
Everyone was excited when they swiftly returned with bodies as proof that they successfully slayed them all. We were impressed, paid them their handsome fee with sapphires, garnets, and some artifact tech, and the were on their merry way.
The scouts detected no more of these creatures, but the earthquakes restarted a few days later.
For some reason beyond my understanding, we agreed to search the alleged area of these "Ithillids" and if they were all gone, venture further into this never-ending darkness to see if there was a reason for these earthquakes.
And I thought I assembled this group....
Gavin led us to the outskirts of the Ilthillid outpost and left to return to Burrok. More cavern collapses, more dead sentient fungus, although I hope my eyes deceived me that these had arms and legs.
Entering the camp of these beings, I got my first horrid look of a dead Illithid. These creatures were badly burned, but the twisted head, inhuman looks, and squid-like arms coming out of their mouths were disgusting.
We caught a group of them scavenging through some of their ruined camp. Before I could even begin to speak, my head felt like it was being crushed by two stones. Everyone else also succumbed to this strange effect overwhelming us.
Everyone else but Andrei.
Since I met him, I knew Andrei had fancied himself a bit of arcane hobbyist. On our journeys, he was usually the one we gave the forbidden tomes and recently-deceased evil spellcaster's magic books to. I've seen him perform a number of spells that were certainly above mere parlor tricks.
But I've never seen him cast a fireball before, much less the two he threw at the Ithillids.
Some seemed completely unfazed my the magical inferno, but others were quickly incinerated, just like the bodies we had already discovered.
The others quickly scampered further into darkness. Still recovering from the attack on our minds, another one hit us, with a loud booming voice inside our heads, "Akuloth demands an audience to speak."
Realizing this thing was possibly reading our minds, we agreed to a meeting.
Ithillids are over seven foot tall, so to see one well over nine was quite daunting. Seeing him (it?) next to a Beholder, we hoped he didn't sense our sudden loss of confidence.
Akuloth described a large beast even further deeper underground that either growing into adulthood and laying eggs. Regardless of the scenario, the action was causing the earthquakes, which were interfering with their experiments.
They had already been raided by a different adventuring party, led by an elf, and a female human wizardress whose power was much greater than Andrei. They ransacked the place and fled before the Ithillids could organize a counter-attack. By the time they could, the earthquakes started again.
I've got a sneaking suspicion that we've crossed paths with the handiwork of Talanth Blackash once again.
We did get directions to discover this "Draknor" the Ithillids insisted we kill. We got to the edges of its lair, only to find super-hot temperatures, giant undulating pools of red hot substance Morag called magma with humongous squid arms... tentacles moving through it without discomfort. There were no signs of a head, or even a body. The Order quickly fell in line with my decision to return to the surface as fast as possible.
My Lord, I must admit to one horrible deed that day. We successfully sneaked past the Ithillid and gnome camps to the outside. I dispatched the rest of the Order of Merit back to Pelister, and once they were sufficiently down the mountain, I pulled the elemental stone I found in Old Illefarn many moons ago, and I recited the chant inscribed on it.
Without any way to control it, I simply ran out of the cave. I could hear the elemental entity ravaging the tunnels, and I assume the survivors within. I doubt it could defeat the Draknor, but it did seal up what little access remained for the mine.
May Akana show mercy on our Gnomish friends, and some protection from the Ithillids and the Draknor.
Yours in Service,
Sir Elsderth Greyhawk, Lord of Greywhawk
Sage of the The Order of Merit,
Sellsword - Extraordinaire
Wielder of the Legendary Betrayer.
Defilier of the Temple of Tiamat.
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll.
DM Notes: Blackash's crew? They got VERY lucky. Thendara Wandsregal, the only Name-Level character in the party, got the jump on the mind flayers, and instead of injuring 2 or 3 with a fireball (magic resistance plus save), she killed 10 of the 35. Mind flayer attacks only took the Drunken Warrior, who was equally ineffective. The entire expedition (including Akuloth and Zhamthru... not the drow military commander... he perished as well). were chased into the Underdark. The ithillids had only just returned prior to the last earthquake, and the cave-ins killed six more. The mind flayers are injured, confused, and full of fear... and Andrei just got lucky again with the rolls.
Spoiler alert: Neither group succeeded in the mission, so we'll follow up on this in a future episode.
Andrei started the story as a translator and guide for Nevskia, but has been an integral part of the group and of the story. Better suited to be a Nevskian priest, or perhaps a Galmar Elemental Shaman, Andrei was the odd man to collect the magic items the fighters, barbarians, thieves, and clerics were using. And he hasn't had enough time to go over the spells from Sazor's spellbook!
Yes, Argivia is taken directly from Magic: The Gathering. I never knew exactly where this adventure took place in Georic, but with the Lost Dispatches storyline progressing as it is, and Danaan being our last destination, Argivia is a logical spot. Danaan is more the classic Greece you come to expect from Greek Mythology and Philosophy. Argivia, like the land in Magic, is a nation built atop a much earlier and more advanced civilization and they are trying to take advantage of everything they can find.
Thunder Under Needlespire comes from Dungeon #24.
Next: #46 The Royal Republic of Argivia
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