Attack of the Drow! (Cont.)

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Marpenoth 19 - 21

PART 2: 'Alone in the Dark'

Our party makes it back to Skullport only to see the Drow invasion forces slowly clearing the city building by building. After the second night of uneasy sleep they find an inn that the Drow have left alone for now called 'The Blind Fool'. They know this place from their time here and actually meet a contact of theirs named Seamus Rockfur; being a Drow himself Seamus has a bit more freedom to travel about town. They ask him for a favor, to scout the area for their missing friends and to let them know of safe routes out of the city. The next day Seamus returns and brings bad news: "Your friends were on the first of the slave trains out of Skullport, apparently they gave the Drow such a battle that they are to be rushed into a very important sacrifice to Loth herself! The slave train left two suns ago, heading further into the Underdark. I spoke to a young woman from House Kingstinn, she knows your friends on site. On the plus side, the increased security due to that mysterious group of do-gooders heighten security and the Drow took many more losses than they planned on. Also more people were able to make it out alive when the attacks started." What foul news! Our adventurers speak together on what options they have. It comes down to three:

1, Chase after them, heading into parts unknown in the
Underdark.

2, Return to Waterdeep and seek help there.

3, Head to Solace a fortified way town, where you are known to
seek aid there from a tracker.

No one can track, scratch #1. If they head for help in Waterdeep, it will take
close to a week to get there without help from a guide such as Etchzeeth, so by the time
they get there and get help close to 10 days will have passed, this is deemed
too long to wait.

The choice is easy, but the path will not be, strike out and make towards Solace, evading Drow patrols too find help in the Underdark. Now, the hard part is getting out of Skullport. The Dark Elves have instituted a no light policy, anyone wielding a light of any kind will be attacked on site. Jax has hold of a ritual that will shed a "dark light" only the group will see, but its range is about 30 feet, so certainly the Drow will see the party far before the party can see the Drow. A debate between Jax and Leif center on taking a lesser known road vs. going completely back-roads. The back-roads will take longer but are safer it is thought so off they go. Along the way the group gets lost and stumbles into a Giant Spider egg cave. With a lot of skill and some luck they use their training to navigate out of it and back onto the road. An encounter some wights and a shadow beast is all that they run into before Solace is finally reached.

They are let into the way camp after they prove they are not Drow, and seek out aid from a tracker. In a dark corner they meet a very tall, cut-out-of-stone Human ranger self-named Justicar. Justicar has agreed to guide a merchant patrol back to the surface and away from the Drow when approached by Leif and Brolgar. Along with Jax and Diovanni, a game of diplomacy, insight and religion is played trying to woo the Justicar to their side. After a while it works. The Justicar deems many more beings can be brought to justice helping you than the merchant. One odd thing about the Justicar is his Hell Hound cloak. The eyes sometimes light up and the tail wags for no apparent reason, but that is a tale for later. Upon agreeing to your quest he jumps up and heads out the tavern door. "Let's go, not a moment to lose" he shouts and heads for the gates of the camp.

EXP - 1750

Attack of the Drow!

1489

Year of the Warrior Princess

Marpenoth 17

PART 1: 'The Drow attack'

The last 3 months or so since you have returned from the Lonely Tower has been very fruitful. Given more and more freedom from House Kingstinn, your clandestine missions in and around Skullport have really started hurting the slave traders and their related businesses. From burning narcotic mushroom fields to ambushing slave caravans headed out to Waterdeep and beyond. You have also completed over a half dozen hit and run attacks against other houses sometimes with the planning and blessing of House Kingstinn. As a direct result of your successes, local law enforcement and private security paid for by the major houses has been stepped up, costing the slave lords a good deal of gold. This in turn was starting to hurt the economy all together.
You are to meet with Etchzeeth in less than a 10 day for your last, and greatest hit before your orders from the Lords of Waterdeep call you back to home. Sleeping in the barracks house which your group calls home after moving up in the ranks, you are awakened by large explosions and horrific screams! DROW ATTACK! The common yard of House Kingstinn is being overrun by what seems to be an army of dark elves, several hundred at least. The explosion has caused a rift that runs through your bunker, several mercenaries are ripped in two, you are lucky enough to survive the magical energies but the building is not. The back side of the structure shears off and drops down a newly created ravine almost 60 feet deep! Shaking off sleep, and with ears ringing, Jax, Leif, Diovanni and Brolgar shrug off some damage and realize they are the only ones to survive the drop. Along with them come several drow! After a tough fight (especially not having any strikers), the group realizes the only way to make it back up is to go though the newly found caverns and try to come up around the back end of the compound. There is hope: Heard during the fight was Hannibal's methodical strategic orders, as well as several whaa's and whumps that accompany Brother Krux's feet and hands as he metes out damage.
After after several hours the group arrives at a little used cave exit and sneaks back through the compound. Bodies lie everywhere. The Drow left no one behind that could be useful, even the dead that were skilled in life were taken; most likely the cost to raise them would be a small investment to what their value as a slave would be. As they crossed the field of death getting closer to what was left of their barracks, they pass a pile of booty taken from the fallen. They don't recognize anything of their friend's, so they each grab a random item as they pass by the pile. At this point the Drow have all but left, surely they are moving on to other places of resistance. Looking around there is no sign of Riddick or any other comrade. The group decides to sneak back to town and try and make some contacts with people they know to gain some information.

Hannibal's Journal - Marpenoth 16

Our contact Etchzeeth has delivered wonderful news. We are to strike a major blow against the Skullport slavers tomorrow and then return to Waterdeep! Gods, I cannot wait to feel the sun shining on my scales again. The pervasive dark of this place has taken its toll on everyone; Brother Krux is meditating more than usual; Jax, Diovanni, and Leif have been getting into petty, stupid arguments; even Riddick seems more sullen than normal. The one bright note is that the group has now rounded into an effective fighting unit. As much as I hate to admit it, I've also learned much about insurgency tactics. It's useful knowledge that would have been frowned upon at the Academy.

Despite the melancholy brought on by this interminable darkness, our efforts these last three months have borne fruit. Our House Kingstinn sanctioned raids, along with our more clandestine efforts have disrupted the slavers' supply lines and sources of income. Paranoia amongst the slaving houses is at a dangerous level and all houses are spending valuable resources arming themselves for open warfare. Skullport is like a nervous red dragon right now and all someone has to do is go for the horde and the city will erupt in flames. We plan to do just that tomorrow...