Underground River

Editor’s note: The Stone Dowser must be worn as a necklace to properly guide us to the Barrel of Bwoosh! drop site.

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Crusader Supply Depot [Moving Crates]

Ladle runs the supply depot in this cave and mentions some “Fishfolk” holding up their progress. He isn’t particularly eager to deal with the sahuagin who’ve taken up residence nearby. However, he’s happy to have me move the sacks of grain into an empty crate near the river.

• Move the grain to the open crate to the west by the riverbank
• Ladle wants us to move the grain BACK now…(12000 xp & some potions)

The Stone Dowser spins back and forth on its chain like a living thing, considering how best you might reach your destination. After a moment, it makes a decision and pulls towards the north.

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[Gurgle and Floss]

We must deal with the sahuagin to pass through this cave. Fortunately, if we’re willing to spin a good tale we won’t need to scrap fish guts off of our boots.

• Avoid fighting and offer to tell them a story.
  • Tell them the complete story of the Bhaalspawn & don’t threaten them at the end (Wand of Water Elemental Summoning)
    • Tell the abridged story (1000 xp)
  • Tell them the unfinished story of Caelar Argent (1000 xp).
• Trick them into leaving, the crusader patrollers will kill them.
• Intimidate them (5000 xp)
• Kill them!
  • Gurgle (2000 xp)
  • Floss (2000 xp)

Ladle will not be impressed to hear we’ve killed the two sahuagin as now they are free to return to work, moving crates about mindlessly.

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Vidyadhar [Zaviak’s Vision Quest]

We can pull Vidyadhar, a rakshasa, into our plane. He lectures us on pulling powerful beings from their plane.

• Attack him! (5000 xp, Modron Heart).
  • If you can find a way to kill him before he escapes…(Scroll of Protection From Magic, Scimitar +3).
• Solve his riddle (Modron Heart).
  • Edwin & Dynaheir were able to solve it for us. It’s a really simple riddle…
  • Fail to solve the riddle & Vidyadhar turns hostile.

The Stone Dowser swings on its chain for a moment, then pulls to the side and goes still, indicating you must go west to find the fault line on which to place Phossey Dugdeep’s barrel of Bwoosh!

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Bellowgulp & The Concoctor

Bellowgulp Bluefingers and his myconid pal, The Concoctor, have potions we can buy.

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[Blind Albino Wyrmlings]

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Kaelet & Umar [Drow Runaways]

Therli and her crusaders are clashing with Shapur and her Drow search party who’ve come to find two adolescent Drow. There are some interesting dialogs should you have Viconia and/or Baeloth with you. The young Drow are in the southwest part of the cavern.

• To stop further bloodshed, agreed to find the runaways and report back to Shapur
• If we’ve already run into Kaelet and Umar we can tell Shapur they were headed towards the surface and the Drow search party leaves immediately. Speak with Therli and she will reward us with the Cloak of the Gargoyle.
• Kill the drow search party!!!
  • Shapur (4000 xp, Storm Pike +2, Bracers of Binding)
  • Drow Blademaster (3000 xp)
  • Drow War Mage (3000 xp)
  • Drow War Scout (1400 xp)
  • Large Drider (3000 xp)
  • Smaller Drider (1400 xp)
• Kill Therli’s crusaders
  • Therli (975 xp, Cloak of the Gargoyle).
  • The Crusaders (Nominal xp and items).

The two young Drow, Kaelet and Umar, have runway because Umar is a servant from a lower caste house and there is no way they can be together unless they make a run for the surface.

• Kill the runaways!!!
  • Kaelet (650 xp)
  • Umar (450 xp)
• Send Kaelet & Umar on their way or ask them for a reward for saving them, they bugger off
• [Cha] Convince Kaelet and Umar to return (6000 xp, Bracers of Binding, and Shapur summons a Hooked Horror, 175 xp)
• Take their house insignias back to Shapur (House Ryrrl Insignia, House Catanzaro Insignia)
  • Tell Shapur they were slain by ankhegs and she’ll take the insignias and leave
  • Tell Shapur they’re dead and she calls our bluff (6000 xp, drow party turn hostile)
  • Tell Shapur we let them go (6000 xp, drow party turns hostile)
• Tell Shapur they were killed, she doesn’t believe us (6000 xp, drow party turns hostile)
• Tell Shapur we killed them (6000 xp, drow party turns hostile)

Once we’ve dealt with the drow search party Therli gives us the Cloak of the Gargoyle.

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[Slime Sickness]

We stumbled upon several crusaders, incapacitated by some of the local fungi. The soldiers please for aid as none of the conventional remedies have worked. I should seek out someone who understands the ecology of this place, a druid perhaps…

• Speak with the Dark Druid Ferrusk in the corrupted grove to obtain the Slime Sickness Curative
  • If we’re willing to pay for a cure (-2000 gold) plus he will want the Myconid Bloom-Sac
  • The other options save us the gold, but we still give up the Myconid Bloom-Sac for the cure
• Pickpocket the Slime Sickness Curative from Ferrusk
• Returned to the poisoned crusaders
  • Give them the potion (6000 xp, Seal of Caelar). One of the poisoned crusaders turns into a mustard jelly (2000 xp)
    • Tell Ladle we helped cure the crusaders
      • Glad to be of service OR anything else fallen off the truck? (Potion of Stone Giant Strength, Potion of Speed, Potion of Absorption)
      • Not enough. (Potion of Stone Giant Strength, Potion of Absorption)
  • Refuse to give them the potion and they all turn into slimes (2000 xp each)

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Ferrusk [Dark Druid Circle]

Ferrusk has warned us we’re not welcome in this cavern. He seems to be the religious leader of this region and only allows Hephernaan and his people passage for his assistance in a “personal matter.” He does not attack, but he gives us a final warning he will not help us should we run afoul of his “children.”

• Plant the Enchanted Seed or simply attack Ferrusk.
  • Ferrusk (4000 xp, Amulet of Abnormally Awesome Ankheg Summoning, Bloody Bone Plate +2)
  • Ankheg (975 xp each).
  • Dark Treant (4000 xp each).
    • Return to Jamven and Chorster
• If we bring up the druids on the surface, Jamven and Chorster, he says he will reward us for bringing their heads (misc. potions)
• [Cha] We can inform Ferrusk that his dealing with Hephernaan were ill-struck and that their plan is to open a gate to the Nine Hell’s and ravage the land
  • We can prove this by showing him Hephernaan’s Ritual Notes
  • Also, if we earned the trust of Nereid when dealing with Strunk he will see the truth in our words

Ferrusk’s made a bargain with Hephernaan, agreeing to support the crusade’s efforts with the use of his ankhegs in exchange for ridding him of the Jamven and Chorster. Instead of aiding the crusade, he will now give us his Amulet of Abnormally Awesome Ankheg Summoning.

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[The Hooded Man]

The Hooded Man shows up again near the river bank by the Underground Cavern Wyrms speaking in riddles. He questions our use or non-use of our decision regarding poisoning the Crusade’s rations.

Among the things he does divulge are that he’s seeking someone with the potential to move forward with his untold plans. He also alludes to Hephernaan as someone we should investigate further…

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Strunk [Strunk’s Elementals]

Strunk is experimenting with binding these elementals and using them in the service of Caelar Argent. Entering into dialogue with Strunk leads to him potentially losing control of the water elementals or ‘testing’ them on us! The only option to avoid conflict is to avoid speaking to the wizard OR agree with the manner he is using these elementals via the “Fair Enough” dialogue option.

• Manage to kill Strunk, but none of the elementals (5000 xp, Elements’ Fury +2).
  • Nereid will spawn in the river to find her elemental friends already freed, this may take several seconds after Strunk dies (12000 xp, Purification Stone).
• Kill Strunk (5000 xp, Elements’ Fury +2) & the Water Elementals (5000 xp each)
  • Nereid shows up, once an elemental had died, there’s no reasoning with her. (5000 xp, Purification Stone)

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Ettin Ghost [The Lost]

We have an encounter with the ghost of an ettin. After wailing on it for a short time we enter into a dialogue. The massive oaf is unaware he’s died long ago yet continues to search for his Grampop’s club. He can’t leave the mortal realm until it’s found.

• Threaten or otherwise welcome confrontation and he remains hostile (4000 xp, Cloak of the Strange Beast)
• Convince him we’re not his enemy and don’t want to fight OR have M’Khiin speak with him and he’ll explain why he clings to the Prime Material Plane and continue to wander the cavern
  • Bring him his club which can now be looted from the Ettin Ghost Cave and we’ll receive *gag* his…loincloth… (3000 xp, Cloak of the Strange Beast)

Editor’s Note: The Ghost Ettin will strip naked leaving our reward on the ground and frolic off gleefully to the afterlife with his favorite club.

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[Barrel of Bwoosh! Drop Site]

With the barrel in our possession, there is a spot just south of where we ran into the Ettin Ghost. Where the swirling spell appears we’re given the option to place the barrel.

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Halatathlaer [Ghost Dragon Guardian]

A ghost dragon stands guard over the entrance to a place called Kanaglym. It attempted to frighten us off, but was unwilling to take direct action against us. It is bound by some external power, forced to act in a manner not to its choosing.

• If we’ve been to the Underground Cavern Wyrms and we have in our possession the Journal of Ithtaerus, she will inquire to her hatchlings fate.
  • We can tell her we killed them out of mercy and she will thank us and indicate that she will help us if we can free her essence.
  • We can spare here the details and she again mentions that if we can find and free her essence she will aid us.
  • We can tell her they lost their miserable lives for attacking us and she will spit curses at us.
• Walk past the ghost dragon, she is unwilling to attack and indicates she is compelled to obey a master so long as he controls her essence.
• Defeat Halatathlaer (10500 xp).

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Turin Brassbreaker [Assessing the Warrens]

Turin Brassbreaker is entering a world of pain if we’re not allowed to pass. She guards our only way into The Warrens and we’ll need to figure out a way to get through.

• Tell her our true identity (Do I really need to explain what happens next?)
• [Cha] Show them the Seal of Caelar, and we can pass
• Turin Brassbreaker mentions if we can find someone she trusts to vouch for us she’ll let us through
• If we get turned away we can create a distraction the crusaders by finding something combustible and throw it into the fire by Anji, Bardyla, & Spennse. We can talk to or overhear the trio will tell a tale about the time another soldier, Phaerus, dropped a Potion of Fire Breath into the campfire causing quite a ruckus. If we don’t already have one in our inventory, the boxes by Ladle at the entrance to the cavern contain one. Go on…(6000 xp)
• Fight Turin (975 xp) & her guards (420 xp each)

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[The Dungeon Slug]

Once we have freed Slug in The Warrens, a hidden ogre cache located just behind Bellowgulp and The Concoctor is available to loot (The Hydra +2, Potion of Cloud Giant Strength, Potion of Clarity, Potion of Invisibility).

Check back in with Slug and  Murs at the ogre camp.

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After returning from Dragonspear Castle Basement, all hell eventually breaks loose and we must fight our way out of the cavern.

• Ladle (650 xp)

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Chapter Ten Intro

• Coalition Camp
• Canyon Ambush
• Dead Man’s Pass
  • Dead Man’s Cave
  • Hidden Cellar
• Bloodbark Grove
  • Vampire Hideout
• Dragonspear Castle Exterior
• Underground River Entrance
  • Underground River
    • Ettin Ghost Cave
    • Kanaglym
    • Underground Cavern Wyrms
    • The Warrens
      • Dragonspear Castle Basement
• Dead Man’s Pass Parlay
• Allied Siege Camp

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