What lies beneath
There are deep places in this world, many long forgotten and undisturbed for an age. Entire cultures, races and worlds live unto themselves in the depths. Strange things hint at the past buried beneath centuries of neglect and disinterest. Facts well known to our companions.
The party finds themselves at the top of a stairway leading to unknown depths. Sieg and Dex are revived with the skill of Aranel and the brave lot heads deeper. Spurred on by the unknown fate of those brothers of Karnak on the surface, the party delves down 5 stories deep into the earth and rock. Finding a chamber at the bottom, with a large ornate door, blocked by toppled debris and statues. However with every path closed, at least another presents itself. Following air currents in the room, Aranel spies a hole leading down into a natural looking chamber. Hoping for an alternate entrance into the ancient Magnatherian library the party explores. Finding a dead end path, the party finds themselves assaulted by large poisonous spiders within their den. Small fighting quarters makes the fight difficult but the party prevails. Smashing carapace, limb, and eyes, the blighted care not about poisons. Varaxis however still of a living persuasion indeed succumbs to the biting poisons of the dog sized spiders. Arrows fall, axes cleave, and swords ring true as Jaspyr obliterates the last of the spiders and the party explores further.
Not all is as it seems, Aranel spots a crude trap through one of the natural chambers exits. Is there deft hands at work down in these depths, setting nets and the like, or are these the remnants of a long forgotten people, they wonder. The question is soon answered as Aranel sets off the trap intentionally, and walks through the opening sensing no danger. Spiders descend upon the party, this time with little fierce halfling sized men riding upon their backs, armed with spear and net. The bottle neck in the cavern allows limited access to the 3 darklings and their mounts. The party even in their hurt and tired state easily dispatch these 3 and send them to a darkness new to even those that live without light.
“Carry on, there are people dying up top we need to find a way to help them” Dex commands as the party continues on. Coming into a large chamber split into two by a large chasm they cannot see the bottom of. Halfway into the chamber they hear a few words of the clicking language of the darklings and all is dark. Varaxis carrying the only light source notes he cannot even see much more than his Magnatherian gift and the others have never known such darkness. With no blightcreep, no lights and no senses the party stumbles, trying to find their way out of the darkness. Spears jab at Jaspyr and Sieg as Dex and Aranel find their way out to the cavern wall. Darkness still greets them until Varaxis emerges forth, showing a globe of black still encompassing most of the chamber and 2 of their cursed friends. Sieg being attacked from many sides stumbles and brutally falls deep into the chasm, hitting a ledge far below his already bruised and battered body leaves his consciousness behind. Jaspyr wanders in the dark as a spider net grabs hold of Dex and Varaxis. Aranel climbs a ledge to gain a good advantage on the situation and tries to lower a rope into the chasm, hoping beyond hope that Sieg is still conscious, and able to find this life line, he is wrong on both counts. A bolt of dark energy emerges from the dark sphere slamming Aranel hard with enough force to make him drop his rope into the deep. Dex and Varaxis struggle out of the spider web and try to gain their footing. Jaspyr eventually takes so many spears and jabs in the dark he succumbs to unconsciousness.
The darkness lifts and our 3 remaining hero's spy many Darklings scurrying about and hauling Jaspyr off into the chasm. Dropping many with his arrows, Aranel spots a Darkling wearing a head dress made of one of the large spiders as dark bolts fly from his fingers hitting him again and again. Dex and Varaxis hurry to help as the 3 take out the remainder as the Darkling shaman runs up the wall unhindered by gravity or the need of a spider mount. Varaxis and Aranel quickly drop him as Dex hurries to secure the fate of his chasm bound comrades. Dropping down 50 ft of rope and heading without tarry, Dex leads into the chasm. “We need to find them, and get the hell out of here” as he drops down to a ledge in the chasm 15 feet below the end of his rope without a second glance. As a man possessed Dex drops the Darklings, and spiders hauling off Jaspyr and newly bound Sieg. They revive Sieg and Jaspyr as they scramble up to the rope with difficulty finding themselves atop the chasm once again.
At the top, upon closer inspection of the Darkling shaman Jaspyr finds a strange ring upon his small hands. As he holds it, the ring re sises to fit upon his finger perfectly...Magic! With new found stability balance and grip, Jaspyr finds he too can now scramble up vertical walls as though he were a spider. Varaxis takes the head dress and finds it makes him look even more fearsome and decides to make it a permanent fixture to his travelling attire...you know to scare the kids. As if a demon man with glowing rune tattoos, bracer and green fiery energy wasn't scary enough
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