After resting, the party activated the portal with a magical chime and stepped through. The other side of the portal didnt contain the dragon fight they were expecting, but instead into a dark room covered in spider webs. As the party generated light and moved forward, they were ambushed by some half humanoid, half spider creatures that, after Griff used a fire breath potion to clear the webs, turned out to be Driders. The party managed to dispose of them after taking some hits.
After regrouping, they found themselves presented with a barred door that proved possible to open with Flint’s prowess with stone craft. The group then proceeded down a long narrow passage full of twists and turns and traps, passing an odd stone face set in the wall, until they reached another barred door. Griff peered ahead inside, and was met with a room completely full of dark skinned elves known as Drow. Between Tinkles’ helm of Comprehend Languages and Griff and Grigtung’s fluency in Goblin, the party was able to communicate with the Drow.
The Drow allowed them to pass in hunt of killing the ancient dragon, so they weren't hostile, but certainly weren't friendly. They seemed...open...to the idea of the dragon next door being vanquished. The party's priority was allowing Callie time to heal and return to full strength before going up against a full-strength dragon. After passing through the western gate, the party came upon an enormous cavern, where a Drow city took up one entire side. The guards had recommended finding shelter near the slave pits....but that didn't sound like the best idea. Dania's giant spider form was able to form a web shelter around a giant mushroom that the party was able to rest in. The drow civilization seemed to revere spiders, so Dania was able to scout out most of the cavern. She observed the slave pits and found dwarves, hobgoblins, halflings, and sharn being forced into labor for the drow. In her spider scout form, Dania even managed to witness the high priestess of Lolth, apparently the leader of the Drow, announce a rally to muster their strength and overtake the “surface dwellers”. Clearly this is something the party must stop, but unfortunately, being half strength and focused on the mission to defeat the dragon took priority, so the party pressed on through The Dragon Gate to a series of caverns filled with water and vents. The water was acrid and full of unknown dead matter. As the group progressed in the SS Grigtung, The Heroes of Wickshire encountered the young black dragon that had been with the beholder, and a mindflayer appeared. The party fought a tough battle, but Dania’s new pixie army helped the group fly and gain mobility in the acrid and watery terrain. The group managed to take down the young dragon, but not before Griff had been gripped by the mindflayer and had it nearly suck his brains out. As he barely clung to life, Callie managed to shoot it down out of the air.
The group scooped Griff into the boat to hear him incoherently babbling and full of fear. After calming down with some dama, he seemed to return to some semblance of normalcy, but he was certainly still on edge. Callie and Griff worked together to decapitate the baby dragon in case they needed some reason to taunt the ancient one. They came upon a small platform that contained the dragon’s hoard, which was mostly made up of Drow coin and a few bodies containing small treasures.
After regrouping, they found themselves presented with a barred door that proved possible to open with Flint’s prowess with stone craft. The group then proceeded down a long narrow passage full of twists and turns and traps, passing an odd stone face set in the wall, until they reached another barred door. Griff peered ahead inside, and was met with a room completely full of dark skinned elves known as Drow. Between Tinkles’ helm of Comprehend Languages and Griff and Grigtung’s fluency in Goblin, the party was able to communicate with the Drow.
The Drow allowed them to pass in hunt of killing the ancient dragon, so they weren't hostile, but certainly weren't friendly. They seemed...open...to the idea of the dragon next door being vanquished. The party's priority was allowing Callie time to heal and return to full strength before going up against a full-strength dragon. After passing through the western gate, the party came upon an enormous cavern, where a Drow city took up one entire side. The guards had recommended finding shelter near the slave pits....but that didn't sound like the best idea. Dania's giant spider form was able to form a web shelter around a giant mushroom that the party was able to rest in. The drow civilization seemed to revere spiders, so Dania was able to scout out most of the cavern. She observed the slave pits and found dwarves, hobgoblins, halflings, and sharn being forced into labor for the drow. In her spider scout form, Dania even managed to witness the high priestess of Lolth, apparently the leader of the Drow, announce a rally to muster their strength and overtake the “surface dwellers”. Clearly this is something the party must stop, but unfortunately, being half strength and focused on the mission to defeat the dragon took priority, so the party pressed on through The Dragon Gate to a series of caverns filled with water and vents. The water was acrid and full of unknown dead matter. As the group progressed in the SS Grigtung, The Heroes of Wickshire encountered the young black dragon that had been with the beholder, and a mindflayer appeared. The party fought a tough battle, but Dania’s new pixie army helped the group fly and gain mobility in the acrid and watery terrain. The group managed to take down the young dragon, but not before Griff had been gripped by the mindflayer and had it nearly suck his brains out. As he barely clung to life, Callie managed to shoot it down out of the air.
The group scooped Griff into the boat to hear him incoherently babbling and full of fear. After calming down with some dama, he seemed to return to some semblance of normalcy, but he was certainly still on edge. Callie and Griff worked together to decapitate the baby dragon in case they needed some reason to taunt the ancient one. They came upon a small platform that contained the dragon’s hoard, which was mostly made up of Drow coin and a few bodies containing small treasures.