Session Sixty-Seven Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 67, October 20 2021

Introduction

We continue at some unknown hour on the 26th of Laurilden (00.000.10.05 on Apocalypse Clock) with the party attacking the hideout of the Mycelian gang in the Undercity of Malgrim. The group has blown through the defenders near the front door and now are hunting for Bogfunk, the mushrooms' leader, and any treasure he might possess.

Larry's Summary

The party searches all the remaining doors, Borthan agrees to open the doors and all are OK. We find the pallets (beds) of all the mycelians, ignoring looting them for later.

We find their storeroom, and take 40 days of food, leaving what we can't carry among the party back at the embassy. IN addition to food are weapons and several crates labelled with BMG (Bargeman's Guild - of Vargen). These containers contain mysterious packets, that Khelrathat says he thinks are poison. We destroy them.

Inside rwo of three makeshift "jail" cells we find two deepgnome prisoners of the Mycelian gang: Divalu Karst and Arthra Ragathi and set them free. We encourage them to take a weapon from the stores we found.

Khelratha examines the room with the trap and finds nothing else to it.

Khelratha then looks at the North section of the wall that does not match up with a room and finds a secret door. Inside is a long table with 6 chairs and 12 pieces of parchment, each with a map. The one on top shows a less traveled way to an unguarded entrance that is an old mine tunnel. We suspect that is where Bogfunk went. One of the maps is also a rarely used staircase that will take us more easily, and less observed than the main starcase. We gather up these maps.

We find inside a dusty room with doors to the North, West, and East. There are only signs of activity to the East door. We check the other two, ust in case, finding two unused rooms. To the East is a long passageway. Just inside the door is a pallet, desk, and locked chest. On the desk is a bound ledger with notes of transactions. Most are initials or sparse descriptions of deepgnomes. Towards the end is a note of a transaction from the Bargeman's Guild of Vargen for Dog Froth. Dog froth is a greenish powder. This contact was made two months ago, shortly before the station fell when DVL magic ended. Velkin resists the poison trap when he tries to pick the lock. We end up popping the lock and hinges and find several gems and a piece of cloth with gold thread.

We continue East and come to the inside of a secret door that is one door down from the door we entered the mycelian gang's lair. We hear commotion coming from the lower market and go check it out. The gnome bard is trying to stir up the crowd to resist and they head up the main stairs.

We take our new route to the embassy to drop off the food. We look at the gold threaded white cloth. It is either a scarf or stole. It has astrological symbols. Jax tells us it is the Eastern sky. There are bumps that represent a mountain range on the mainland. If we can figure out where this piece of coast is, we can perhaps determine the date represented. Tik Tok has no idea about stars.

We prepare to go after Bogfunk before he makes it out of the secret exit when we see 5 drow trying to open the gate. We learn that they are refugees who follow Lolth who came to Malgrim, when the Winter King took over VAlgrim. They wanted sancutary here, but since Lungmold swore allegiance to the Winter King and claimed the embassy, we can't offer them sanctuary. They claimed to have information we didn't. Lungmold read their mouthpiece's mind and learned that those who died back at VAlgrim were resurrected by Jarlanna and the other high priestesses of Lolth for questioning. When Jarlanna, the DArk King, and the high priestesses left, Lolth took them to her place of origin - The City of Brass.

Kauri gave them rough instructions to the secret exit we learned of from Bogfunk's map. Lungmold, Brendil, and Ranarth all had the urge to kill the drow.

We waited a couple of hours and then went down to the exit to see if perhaps they got in a fight with Bogfunk. They did not. We found the collapsed fill in from the mine and went through. We went down and down and finally came to a large room where we caught up to the drow resting. Kauri interposed himself to prevent Brendil from doing something, and the drow left. They mentioned more crates. We investigated the crates and fond 100 packets of Dog Froth and destroyed them. We took 5 crates of adamatine drow made weapons and 4 shields back to the embassy.

5 Drow at gate:

• Beziella Thule - Priestess
  
• Miszerth Tanielu - Chief Instructor of War College
  
• Adantia Tvala and Mithandra Tvala - Priestesses of the Ossuary
  
• Razmum Tanielu - Commander of the Temple Guard; Fellow of the War College
  

Just before we made it to the embassy, we heard this loud and clear message over the rooftops:

Citizens of Malgrim! Your leaders have now pledged fealty to the Winter King and joined his crusade to conquer the Contested Lands and drive back his sworn enemy, The Lord of Summer. The first step on this glorious path will be uniting the Underdark underneath the banner of the Eternal Blizzard. Your fellow gnomes will soon join our righteous army and the recalcitrant Silence will be brought to kneel soon thereafter. I go now to discuss with your Lords, the Czizek-Ygna, the appropriate levy given the size of their domain. I would like to emphasize, though, that volunteers will be looked on much more favorably than conscripts as befits their greater degree of honor. Think on that and consider presenting yourself preemptively at one of the Higiki Citadels for service.

When we got back to the embassy, Kauri asked Azra to write down all that the monks taught her about the Matriarchs. KAuri also asked Jax about a mini DVL trap. Jax will think on it. Kauri reviewed Sutung's notes and verified that the embassy is the prototype, but it is based on notes found at the Dragon Emperor's lab in Xen Khel. All the more reason to go there.

We then left through Velkin's other portal, leaving it at the embassy in the care of Bili who will check it once a week for us coming through.

The spell casters rest near the portal to the Winter King's world to re-charge their spells.