Hannibal's Journal - Kythorn 23??

I've neglected my journal, but I've finally found the time and the LIGHT to reflect on what's happened the last several weeks.

In the weeks following our big raid on the Waterdeep slave ring we were kept busy putting our affairs in order and preparing for our journey to Skullport.

Etchzeeth instructed us on the finer points of the Underdark and what to expect in Skullport. We were trained on the hazards of the Underdark and given a crash course on the habits and traditions of the various subterranean races that we would come in contact with. Etchzeeth proved an excellent teacher, but he still seemed very secretive about himself and some key features of his "plan".

We were to pose as slaves and be sold to one of the most notorious slavers in Skullport. It was hoped that we'd be used in the gladiatorial arena, but there was no guarantee that we wouldn't spend the rest of our lives locked in a kitchen scrubbing pots! Although we would be inside the slaver's compound, we would be unarmed and likely restrained, beaten, and undernourished. I'm not sure what the dark elf expected of us in such a condition.

We started out using Etchzeeth's plan. He and Riddick would be drow slavers, Brolgar would be the hired muscle, and the rest of us would get a free ride to Skullport in a slavers pen.

Nothing Etchzeeth taught could prepare us for the Underdark. The air was heavy and damp and it was pitch black, so dark and still that the air seemed to close in on you. Time seemed to crawl sitting in the hay in the dark. We couldn't talk so we sat listening to the sound of hooves echoing off the cavern walls. The rhythmic sounds of the hooves would sometimes be accompanied by dripping sounds, the skittering of some small creature, and most disturbing, the occasional roar of some far off aberration. We travelled like this for what seemed an eternity, meeting no one, and only pausing occasionally to rest the horses or eat a cold meal silently in the dark.

A change in the pitch of the echoing hooves signaled that we had entered a large cavern. The cart stopped abruptly, we heard orders being shouted somewhere in front of us and the cavern erupted in light.

After our eyes adjusted to the Light cantrip cast by Jax, we saw that we had stumbled upon a sacrificial ritual being performed by a priest of Cyric! We were set upon by the priest and his followers and it looked uncertain that we would make it to Skullport at all. In a violent battle that went back and forth, we finally managed to drive off the priest and slay his followers. The priest looked vaguely familiar and the rest of the party agreed that they had seen him before. The light was poor and his face was so twisted with murderous intent that his identity remained just out of our reach.

Concerned by our run-in with the Church of Cyric, Etchzeeth decided to take us on an alternate path to a "pass camp" used by his people to meet, trade, and camp. We came upon a deep chasm equipped with a magical device that would create a bridge across. Jax and Leif managed to figure out the workings of the magical device and we crossed the bridge. On the other side we found an abandoned camp. There were no signs of the living, but we did find a chest filled with a magical powder. At Jax's direction I applied the powder to my Arditi blade and it seemed to be imbued with additional power!

We finally made the pass camp and stopped to rest. There were multiple groups’ setup in the cavern and we could finally light some torches so we could see! Leif and Diovanni met a familiar Dwarven merchant named Curkel who sold rare herbs to Rose.

We were sitting down to eat when a huge chitinous beast suddenly ran through the middle of the camp pursued by two Gelatinous Cubes! This creature had brought some blood sucking stirges in its wake. Tents and poles flew everywhere as most of the campers evacuated the cavern. Only a group of dwarves stayed to protect their cargo. We blew our slave cover by retrieving our weapons and battling the strange creatures. The cubes managed to grab Brolgar, Diovanni, and Brother Krux. They were pulled through the cubes' membranes and were slowly being digested. Jax used his Flaming Sphere spell to great effect, Brolgar proved painful to digest, and after an intense battle we were victorious.

After some debate, we decided to continue our slaver ruse until we got into Skullport. After resting for the "night" we travelled into the city a short time after waking. I couldn't make out much of the dark city, only bits and pieces lit by the infrequent torch...but from what I could tell it was an impressive structure. A city literally cut out of the rock of the cavern. The main thoroughfares where crowded and after struggling to get through a market square we travelled a side road through a Drow neighborhood. Apparently, we made tempting target as we were jumped by a gang identifying themselves as the "Stillborn". Much to their dismay, the cage full of slaves turned out to be a cage full of adventurers looking to stretch cramped muscles with a good fight.

We checked into an inn and set to planning our next move. We decided against the original slave plan and decided to try to hire ourselves out as mercenaries to get close to the slave guilds. Etchzeeth had a formidable network of contacts in the city and quickly found an opportunity at a large slaver house, Kingstinn… notorious for surface raids.

We met with our future “boss”, an orc named Knuckle. He had us take some aptitude tests. Satisfied with the results he told us to show up tomorrow and be ready for anything he asks.