Saralas: Session 66

20 Elient, Easthaven

• We have been shopping
• Wodna is ready to transport us to The Caves of Hunger
• Karthos asks Professor Skant about the caves. The dipshit orb goes on insulting us.
• The orb doesn't believe there are any specific and particular preparations are required, other than it is unknown what evil creatures may roam the city.
• The Caves of Hunger have a terrible and gruesome reputation. None who have gone searching have ever returned.
• Before we leave town maybe we should ask after the leader of the Militia and our sled dogs and sleds.
• We find Imdra, captain of the guard, near Town Hall. She looks happy to see us, but frowns at the mark on Baerwin's hand
• The dogs are in the Easthaven stables and have been treated well. They are happy to keep looking after them for us.
• She is relieved, not only are the towns saved but there have been no killings since we left.
• Min has Bun, he is sitting on her shoulder. "Is that the *real* bun?" He giggles.
• Imdra warns that Wodna is not to be trusted. We agree. "Did you know she became speaker of Good Mead. They actually voted for her."
• "Well, she did galvanize the ten towns"
• We send a message to Wodna, and we walk over to the Inn where we find her waiting, eating an apple. I notice how much skin she is wearing, and how tight her clothes are.
• "We best not do this in plain sight" and walks into an alley.
• When out of sight, we all have to hold hands and hold your breath.

20 Elient, Caves of Hunger

• As soon as everyone is in position, there is a large crashing bang, and before we know what is happening we are standing before a large blue expanse of ice.
• There is one point we find that is a lighter colored strip, which nearly bisects the wall. This must be a frozen waterfall.
• Professor Skant says the waterfall split the glacier in two and is said to be near where Ythryn fell. Wodna smirks.
• I walk over to the waterfall and read the Rime of the Frostmaiden.
• A deep rumbling sound comes from the glacier, and the wall of ice parts. Through a crack we can see an opening that leads inside the glacier.
• Wodna produces a small purple gem, which she gives to Saralas, and says "you should take this with you for luck." Then she vanishes.
• I look at it a bit, play with it a bit, then slip it into my pocket.
• The glacier is a tunnel about 30 feet high and deep, and contains uneven naturally forming steps descending into the darkness. We enter.
• We come to a 30-foot high cavern, and in the center the remains of a wooden ship hull rest on the floor. We hear Professor Skant say, "ah, miss highgrove, a netherese sky coach".
• Karthos searches the wreckage and finds the headless skeletons of four dead netherese sorcerers. And a safe with a 50 digit combination and writing in netherese script.
• Min goes to try to pick the lock. Bun flies out.
• I ask where are these guys' heads?
• Min opens the lock and pulls out a bag and from the bag a ring and some amethysts. She gives me one. (It is a bag of holding but I just see a bag)
• From down the cave we hear a clattering noise. Bun?
• There are large spider webs around and Karthos recommends not stepping on their webs and being careful.
• Although quite old and covered in dust and debris, the webs are still quite sticky, and even a strong creature would have great difficulty escaping the web.
• To the south is an approximately 20-foot drop. We head down the passage to the southwest. Frost covered blocks of stone jut from the floor of this 10 foot high cave of ice. Perched atop the largest stone is an emaciated kobold with glowing red eyes. It bears long fangs, hisses, and scampers away to the east.
• Professor Skant says "oh my, a kobold vampire!"
• The only real exist is to the east, in the same direction as the kobold.
• Sparkling icicles cling to the 40-foot high roof the cavern. The floor is strewn with ice covered stone. Near the center is a stone tower that appears to have crashed through the ceiling long ago. Professor skant sees the tower and says it appears to be of netherese construction
• I notice that quite a few of the icicles are not icicles, and in fact are ice mephits. 7 in total. I call that out to the party, and then they drop from the ceiling. Baerwin waves his hand about and yells something about Auril. They back off into a corner, watching us carefully.
• Bearwin walks to the east and looks, there is a passage. He says it looks like we can go through.
• We head to the east. The 30 foot high cavern is empty except the tower and the rubble around it. A naturally formed staircast to the southeast.
• Professor Skant isn't much help, though he thinks the city is likely to be found as deep as possible, and suggests the south.
• Karthos takes a few minutes and meditates. He is aware that there are undead back the way we came. And ruins to the north and south. About this time Bun flies back into the room, and is bleeding and injured. Bun has been badly hurt.
• Korag casts cure wounds on Bun. He is cured but he also becomes bigger. He is now the size of a large dog, and hides behind Min.
• We investigate the passage to the north. A flat slightly canted slab of stone rests in the center of the cave. One edge of the slab is rough, as if it was broken off something larger. It looks like it was blown off one of the buildings during Ythryns fall. The slab is covered in ice.
• I chip away some of the ice, revealing lettering in Draconic. "I can't read that" I say. "Of course you can't, but I can" says the orb.
• Resda asks him to translate. These characters are written in Netherese, using Draconic script. Most likely the lost tongue of Loroth. It says "take the free self-guided tour of Ythryn, press the eye to cast the spell". Resda presses the button.
• Resda receives the effect of Arcane Eye, which creates a large spectral eyeball, floating, which she can direct and see through. The eye can pass through openings as small as one inch and can go any distance. Nothing else happens.
• Resda uses the ice to scout for us. I suggest we go to the room to the east. She sends the eye to go look for us. In this room a Golem head lying on its side in the middle of this 20 foot high cave. The head is made of iron, and its eyes glow with golden light.
• We go to investigate.
• Professor Skant says "This is quite amazing. This is an iron golem, made by the Netherese, with quite potent magic. Imagine how it has remained somewhat functional". Skant says things in a language we don't understand, and is happy when it can communicate back.
• The Golem does not know where Ythryn has fallen, as it has not moved since that fateful day. The Netherese made it, and it has no knowledge of any of the caves other than this room. It has seen a creature recently, a small vampire. The function of the golem is to protect Netheril.
• Resda looks into the room to the east, which is the direction the vampire went. The room is filled with shadows. The shadows are filled with malice. There are 12 of them. They mass around the eye, hissing.
• Karthos believes these are likely the shadows born by those who survived Ythryn's crash, and died of exposure, painful and in misery. Filled with pain and malice they were unable to move beyond the world of the living and were turned into these tortured hideous creatures.
• We decide before walking into that room to see what is to our south. Resda sends the eye to look. She see a large cavern, part of a shattered tower on the ground. North of the tower is a 15-foot diameter hole in the floor that appears to be the upper end of a tunnel.
• She does not think it looks natural.
• I explore the tower on the ground. Tucked into the spire is a wooden chest with a sliding bolt latch held fast by frost. I prestidigitate fire to melt the frost, and slide back the bolt.
• The chest used to contain a lot of potions. Two are still unbroken, two superior potions of healing.
• To the west we find a passageway that leads back into the other room.
• I ask if Resda can send the eye down the hole?
• It is a tunnel, to one direction is a passage to the underdark. To the other in an enormous cave and a couple pools, steaming and bublbing. In the north pool is a full grown remhoraz, and 8 eggs. In the south pool is a young one, swimming around.
• The passage is not something we can walk down, it is steep and icy, like a slide.
• Resda sends the eye exploring. It looks like if we go east past the shadows there is another slide that goes to Remoraz, or we can bypass them but there is a huge tentacle monster frozen in the ice.
• We decide to try the way past the shadows, though with 12 it will be a challenge.
• Resda explodes the first two, but her upper lip curls into a permanent sneer.