Axel's Journey
Okay – Moysant takes the stone disk and hands it to an Undying who then stands vigil beside the pedestal that controls the portal. You notice that another Undying has stayed in the northern chamber and is writing a new message on the back of the panel with its blood. He says, “Being Lord Marshal of the Crystal Tower was an honor; being the last was a curse. We must travel swiftly and quietly now – it is not completely safe – so no more idle talk.”
As you pass through the doorway, there is a momentary tingling of magical energy, but you shake it off without effect. The room beyond is a huge chamber, with the southern wall and ceiling beyond the range of your vision. The main part of it consists of partially flooded tiers, much like rice paddies. You stand on a platform overlooking the tiers and can see the carcass of a giant snake rotting on the nearest level, half-submerged in muck.
Already on the platform is a lone Undying who stands beside a small rectangular device; two wires emerge from it and the creature is holding those wires against a partially exposed cable embedded in the wall where some paneling has been removed. He doesn’t react to your presence or passage.
Rather than descend the stairs from the platform to the paddies, the group moves to the western wall of the chamber – which you can see has at least three levels of inset balconies with railings. Within moments, ropes descend from the first balcony and Moysant ties one around his waist and encourages you to do the same. Once done, you will be hoisted up and then helped onto the balcony by two more Undying. The hallways has several doors to the west and one to the north – through some open doors to the west, you can see the typical living quarters of Xen’Khel.
Once everyone is gathered on the balcony, though, Moysant takes you through the north door into a small enclosed room and then out another door to the west which leads you onto another balcony with living quarters overlooking another huge chamber filled with mushrooms. At a guess, you would say this is the room to the west of the portal chamber.
Once again, the group is lowered – this time to the ground level – and then makes its way very cautiously north into the mushrooms. Eventually, you pass through what you realize is a large hole in the chamber’s wall to the west. You almost miss that because the huge mushrooms, some glowing in sickly colors are constant – except that now you are in a natural cavern working your way down a slope on a fresh-looking path that has been hacked through the growth.
It takes quite some time – and Moysant is obviously nervous and occasionally cautions you to be quiet – but the group finally starts climbing another slope until you reach what is clearly the edge of the BioForge facility where the outer wall of the administrator’s office has been hacked through to get into this cavern. Moysant seems relieved when you pass through the opening. You move quickly to the portal chamber, where the cleric leaves you while he and the Undying move south into the airlock area. You do notice another Undying in the western airlock, though, with a small box identical to the one in Botany and holding wires against something behind a removed wall panel.
*Axel's Adventures with War Band**Vignette # 3*
The hours continue to pass as Ilsske’s group keeps travelling upwards and to the north through what seem to be endless caverns. Despite the monotonous diet of bland food provided by the clerics and grueling pace, another ten marches soon pass. Axel does note that Ilsske invariably prefers tunnels with steady inclines rather than quick ascents towards the surface – even if the former promise more danger. In fact, leaving aside minor skirmishes with lone predators, the most intense combat follows one of these choices when the war band comes across a pair of huge beasts with insectoid mandibles and multi-faceted eyeballs in addition to finely honed claws with which they dug through solid stone.
Initially stumbled upon by an advance party of Undying and their native islander minders, the creatures proved so deadly that the entire war band was required to bring them down. Interestingly, Axel observed that each creature’s gaze was capable of disorienting the regular warriors in Ilsske’s band, causing them to strike at friend and foe alike; the Undying, however, were unaffected by this strange power. In the end, it took a coordinated wave of Undying warriors led by Ilsske to drop the monsters.
[Please let me know if Axel joined in the attack]
Even that near disaster was not enough to change Ilsske’s pattern when choosing tunnels, though, and the war band continued on as before (each member slightly more encumbered than previously, though, as the various sacks and carts are shuffled around among the survivors). Fortunately, the next encounter was not nearly so dangerous. Once again, the advance scouting party stumbled upon a group making its way through the tunnels, only this group consisted of dusky-skinned gnomes eager to parley.
While Axel did not observe the initial meeting, it seems that Ilsske spoke through his Undying slaves to ascertain the gnomes motives before bringing the main body of the war band up to speak with them. When he finally saw the gnomes, who appeared to be a caravan with various carts and wagons, Axel was surprised to hear them speaking Ancient Dwarven and addressing him as the assumed leader of the group.
“Greetings, Honored Master of the Hidden Ones. We are but poor svirfneblin merchants making our way through these tunnels to trade with your people and the other denizens of the Great Underground. We have finely-crafted tools and slaves, both goblin and human, that may be of use to you as Undying servants.”
Ilsske, though, interrupts their speech and makes it clear that she is the war band’s leader. The gnomes seem surprised, but accept her claim after studying her mismatched power armor outfit and hearing her eloquence with Ancient Dwarven. They apologize for their error and soon Ilsske and Moysant have moved off to speak with the caravan masters about their goods and information about the environs and paths ahead. Axel, meanwhile, is left with some of the less important gnomes – porters and guards – who take the opportunity of this respite for travel to tend to their equipment and packs or eat silently while studying the war band.
[Does Axel wish to do anything while waiting for Ilsske and Moysant to finish their chat with the gnomes?]
*Axel's Adventures with War Band**Vignette # 4a*
The war band seems to move with new purpose after parting ways with the dark gnome merchants. Even more notably, though, is Ilsske’s new preference for tunnels that climb steeply upwards or veer off towards the northeast. Axel can tell soon that the group couldn’t be more than five or six marches from the surface unless there is a particularly tall mountain above. Spite grows more nervous with each passing hour, but the native warriors start to visibly relax.
During the third march after the change in direction, the advance scouts discover a small warren full of goblins. Ilsske pulls back the advance parties except for a few lookouts and calls together his inner group of advisors. Moysant indicates that you (and by extension Spite) are welcome to join the impromptu strategizing session.
[Does Axel follow Moysant and participate in the conversation?]
*Axel's Adventures with War Band Vignette #5a*
The sound of struggling awakes Axel from his sleep and he sits up from his pallet to look around the darkened tent. With his infravision, he can see Spite wrestling with the eyeless Moysant. When the eyeless cleric sees Axel sit up, he hisses in a whisper: "Tell your human watchdog to cease -- I have not come to do you harm but offer you a last chance at freedom." For a moment, Axel is caught between sleep and wakefulness and confused by the scene before him. Soon, though, he recollects the events of the last day and a half...
Ilsske's forces from Xen'Khel finally exited the dark caves they had been wandering in for weeks into the oppressive heat of the jungle on the afternoon of Jourilden the 29th. Waiting for them above was a larger force made up of Undying native villagers as well as their still-living warrior chaperones -- neither this new force nor Ilsske seemed surprised to see one another and the new group’s leader (who also wears a dwarven crown of gold) immediately fell into conversion with the Dark King's lieutenant as if picking up an ongoing conversation.
While the two groups greeted one another, Axel and Spite were left to their own devices. This allowed for some eavesdropping on Illske's conversation in ancient dwarven with this newcomer:
Ilsske: "... is closed. My apologies, Lord Marshall, but I thought these adventurers were in league with the Architect and could be reasoned with. This turned out to not be the case."
Newcomer (eyes glazed and distant): "It is unfortunate that we have lost access to the Xen'Khel facilities, but the items you have recovered will serve us well. You may rest your forces here for a few days before marching to meet us in Glavnone. By then it will no doubt have succumbed to our surprise attack, but it will take some time to plunder its treasures.”
Ilsske: “So it is true that the trickster gnome has betrayed his allies and allowed you to march on the mines undetected? That is good news, indeed.”
Newcomer: “Yes, that one has no great loyalty to anything other than his research and was easily convinced to turn a blind eye to our movements in exchange for some tidbits of knowledge. Indeed, he even freely offered up information about a very useful machine that recently surfaced near his tower.”
Ilsske [now noticing Axel and Spite]: “My Lord, I would like to hear more about this machine, but let us retire somewhere private. More than just weapons and devices accompanied us on our return from the first Khel.”
With that, the two retired to one of the many tents set up for the combined forces of the Dark King present, and, soon afterwards, Moysant led Axel and Spite to another and announced that they should rest. Moysant also indicated that leaving the tent unaccompanied would not be a good idea, but that he would check on them regularly and provide whatever nourishment they might require. Since then, another day has passed with little contact with anyone besides Spite and Moysant … this is the first time the eyeless cleric has entered the tent unannounced in the middle of the night, though.
[How does Axel react to the scene before him?]