Session One Hundred and Seventy-Nine Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

Session 179, May 1 2024

Introduction

We continue at 3:00AM on the 27th of Anurilden (00.000.08.03 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party making camp in the cavernous armory on the deepest level of the abandoned ancient dwarven Necropolis. This city in the Underdark, once the headquarters of the Silver Throne faction, now sits empty after the end of magic and freeing of the DVLs; it is therefore the perfect place for Lolth to hide alongside the refugees from Dun'Khel. Are all the halls of this massive city empty, though? Is the refuge actually safe? Find out next time; or not.

Larry's Summary

Kauri memorizes Read Magic and Comprehend Languages along with his normal load out to look over the tablets.

Caspar and Em with Lolth.

Glompus with gnomes

Thorfus with Clan Thuridan.

Rest of party camps between machines away from the crowds.

Caspar sits close to Em so they have each other's company in midst of Drow and Lolth.

A fire is made for tea. Vikram conjures wooden items to use to make a fire.

Kauri goes to sleep to rest so can re-learn spells.

Alesta also goes to sleep to rest so can re-learn spells.

Watches are set for the party.

All goes well as watches tick by.

Druul works with Renthark to teach him common and learn deep gnome.

Clan Thuridan assistant asks about plans. What about food, water, plans.

Bodyguard has set up an alcove between machines to rest.

Glompus with the gnomes keep an eye on things, mostly to prevent line jumpers.

They ask about rooms and if first come, first server.

Vikram fills in on the Dark King. A human chief of an inland tribe. He found an ancient dwarven artifact. A helm that made him an avatar of the last Marshall of the Ancient Dwarves. Jarlanna feels that he is acting, rather than being that Lord Marshall.

Jarlanna plans to use his info to undermine the influence of the war college.

Velkin asks about time piece from Mephostopheles and Vikram says it is just a time piece.

Glompus and the gnomes are hanging out and there are occasional gnomes tossing rocks.

Kauri and Alesta rise and start eating spiders to memorize spells.

Glompus wakes up to screaming. A gnomish woman is looking down at a gnome whose eyes are rolled back and the top of his head is removed along with his brains.

Glompus raises the alarm.

Thorfus uses his telescope to see if he can see what's going on from atop one of the big machines.

Glompus is at the mouth of the cave banging weapons on shields, but not clear what is going on.

Renthark, Peronelle, Prixithalm, and Aeda join Velkin moving forward.

Jarlanna has her dagger out standing in front of Lolth.

Jarlanna signals one of the priestesses to join Velkin as Jarlanna will stay with her mistress.

Glompus tries to pick up the trail of what killed the gnome, but finds none. They are obscured by the trampling of panicked gnomes.

Could be other than the Silence, but could also be the Silence.

Thorus hears the discussion and heads towards the party and relays to the dwarves along the way that the immediate danger seems to have abated. Stay vigilant and I will relay word of what I learn.

Velkin has the handmaiden alert Jarlanna and Lolth to the possible presence of Silence.

Thorfus, Velkin, and Vikram lead the way up the staircase with Velkin and Vikram invisible.

Druul, Renthark, Peronelle, Prix, Aeda, Glompus and Snuffles bring up the rear.

Aeda is the only one without infravision stays at the bottom of the stairs to keep an eye on things.

Thorfus slips his coins into his cheek so can open his mouth and slip it between his teeth for light.

Glompus moves ahead to look for a trail and finds no tracks.

Velkin has heard a noise up the stairs and listening again, still hears it.

Going up a couple hundred feet, it is just stairs and no clear sign of anyone having come this way.

Thorfus asks if Vikram can continue up the stairs looking for something, while we go check the tunnel.

Velkin is too worried about losing Vikram to send him up alone, so we all go back down to check out the tunnel.

Glompus finds no tracks and Velkin hears nothing.

In a couple hundred feet there are iron double-doors on both sides and hall keeps going.

The doors are high quality and in excellent condition.

Velkin asks Vikram to take gaseous form to check the other side of each pair of doors. It appears to be the foundries but no one there in at least a couple of months.

More doors appear. Large workshops. Dragons kept prisoner in these workshops, but none now.

More iron double doors and we keep going.

Finally some to a split that widens to a larger chamber with an open wooden door to left and two tunnels branching to right and left. Past here these two angle downward.

Checking the wooden door. There is a chair and desk, possibly an office. Not used recently. No drawers.

There is a body under the desk with intact head, with top missing with cube smashed into it. Velkin retrieves the cube. Appears to have crawled under desk and died.

It has a well-crafted sword and chainmail.

Checking the right passage, people have used the tunnel in the past, but not in at least weeks or months.

Checking the left passage, 

Velkin hears no sound to either the left or right.

Back the other way we hear banging and we start running.

Vikram carries Velkin and Thorfus back to the banging.

Everyone is turned around the other way and banging.

Gnomes and dwarves have a cordon, and Vikram flies over and around crowd.

The crowd sees Thorfus flying through the air.

There is chaos.

Vikram zeroes in where the banging is coming from. 

It is amongst the clan Toleth dwarves.

It looks like they set up similar to Clan Thuridan, but now all looking to side aisle where a body is sprawled. A guard dragged in. The dwarf is dead missing top of head.

He went to relieve himself and we went to look for him and found him.

Thorfus learns that the dead dwarf's legs ar broken.

Thorfus holds aloft his continual light coin but it doesn't reveal anything.

More banging further off towards where the refugees entered.

Vikram carries Thorfus and Velkin again.

Glompus asks Prix if dragon magic can do anything to light up the area.

Druul suggests things are safer in the stairs and Glompus starts to move people up the stairs.

Druul gives the signal to have the leaders gather.

We arrive to find a human woman who also needed to relieve herself. Her legs are not broken, but is missing the top of her head.

The crowds ask Thorfus what is going on.

Thorfus tells them to move in groups, light torches, stay vigilant, stay calm.

Vikram takes Velkin back to Druul which Thorfus continues back to ensure all groups know something is up.

Bogdan Silverill asks if we are moving on, this doesn’t seem like a safe place. Druul relays that getting under a roof will aid.

Bogdan shouts for people to get their stuff and get moving.

Thorfus gets to far end about time word to pack up and move arrives.

Glompus have the gnomes start heading up the stairs.

Velkan and others join Lolth and her priestesses. Lolth looks towards Velkin as he appears. There has been a death, attacks, The Silence is here?

They are picking off the stragglers, those who are by themselves.

Lolth agrees with moving up. I will stay at the back and wait. Others will be coming soon and need to be directed. I will keep safe those entrusted as she pulls Em and Casper close..