#matreos

previously on:

we entered a mine!

we fought some derro!

we freed a captive!

A hostile hobgoblin has fled the scene!

Matreos, Thistle, Niamh, Zyldi and Vorrakaz are in pursuit!

---

Rowan and Ilvar remained behind with the now-free captive, who is starting to look healthier, thanks to Ilvar's healing brew. The captive is thankful to be removed from the cell, though still wary of his liberators. That might just be because Esther looks dangerous AF. Ilvar and Rowan rejoin the others.

Matreos shouts something racist and runs off after the hobgoblin. Thistle resolves to find a suitable pamhplet on cultural competency once the party leave the mine.

Racing ahead, Matreos is in no mood to stop and investigate the rooms he races through. Leaving no time to admire the handiwrk of the 'home sweet home' embroidery, the party try to catch Matreos before he does something irreparably stupid.

The party break out of the tunnel and find themselves in a wide cavern with a rive running through the centre. We have interrupted a hobgoblib/derro prayer time.

Ilvar recognises the prayers as primordial, and calls out to the crowd:

Your prayers have been answered, it is I, the lord of (redacted)

Niamh and Thistle project Ilvar's voice across the cavern, joining it with rolling thunder and flickering lights.

The derro nearest the door screams out and two of his compatriates fall to the floor. Rising in their place stands a 7ft bear that appears to be made of magma.

Thistle distracts the bear with firefly-shaped lights. The hobgoblin we have chased attempts to dissuade its peers, but Ilvar intervenes before it can finish its sentence.

You, of all my followers, know that I can take any shape I choose. You took this path knowing it would not be without sacrifice.

previously on:

we fell in a hole!

we walked through a maze of tunnels!

we squashed some derro and found they were occcupied by intellect devourers (ew)

---

we rejoin our party at the conclusion of the battle.

Rowan is investigating a runied altar. It is broken, but he identifies some writing that matches the script on an old sign pointing towards a mine. Rowan points and Zyldi translates:

The sign is part of a common prayer of reverence to the angels of silence. Items of power would be put on display, though more commonly in secure places. Having such an altar in an underground tunnel is unusual.

The party heads towards the chamber exit.

We've come across a cart - one wheel is broken and there is nothing of value left behind, just coal. The path forks in three directions. Ahead, Ilvar can see a blacksmithing station resting between three pillars of stone. There are no signs of life at the forge, but there is a whisper of jolly conversation in a harsh language floating through the tunnels, Zyldi recognises it as Undercommon. There are other sounds as well, perhaps another language?

Matreos is getting antsy. He wants to get a move on (he doesn't like brains). Thistle uses her wizard hat as a light source to illuminate the cavern, while Niamh searches for signs of danger, finding nothing but strange vibes from the cart.

Ilvar uses the light to look for reading materials. He pushes aside shields and weapons of average quality, that have clearly seen some use. Ilvar finds no books but comes across some rolls of paper and some blacksmith's tools. These get swept into one of the many pockets in Ilvar's cloak.

Thistle finds a tiny diamond!

As the party continues on, the party hears a whimpering call for help from further down the tunnels. Ilvar and Rowan round the corner without a second thought.

Ilvar bursts into the room singing a loud sea shanty in the hopes of distracting whoever is inside. A red goblin and a derro are inside, and look confusedly at Ilvar. Taking advantage of the confusion, Rowan shoots an arrow into the chest of the derro. Before the derro can respond, Thistle arrives and shoots two blasts of Eldritch force from her tiny fluffy finger guns. The derro drops to the ground.

Vorrakaz enters, breathing fire which knocks over the goblin. The goblin is on his knees with an unhealthy amount of damage to his armor. Zyldi shoots a ball of flame into the face of the goblin, igniting the falling body. Neither of the bodies move, nor do their brains take the opportunity to exit - this is a great relief.

Zyldi assess the captives in the cages, finding one captive unmoving and the other very frightened.

Esther strolls in and assess the captives, revitalising them.

Suddenly the sound of loud footsteps echoes through the tunnels, getting louder as they close in on Niamh.

Ilvar summons a ghostly dragon and launches it towards the oncoming derro. Matreos draws a spear, lunging for the nearest derro. The derro steps aside and the spear bounces harmlessly off the tunnel wall. The derro tries to catch Matreos off-guard, but stumbles and misses.

Thistle launches thunder down the corridor, downing the stumbling derro. Three more are close on his heels. Vorrakaz and Zyldi unleash fire on the group. The front-most derro falls to the ground in a heap of charred armor.

Meanwhile, Esther blasts the lock on the cage and frees the captive. Before the captive can speak, Esther puts a sword in his hand and tells him to hide.

Rowan has joined the corridor and sends a crossbow bolt into the chest of the second derro. He too hits the ground.

Matreos, trying to recover some dignity, lunges forward to swipe at the next derro. With a shout of triumph, Matreos steps back. The derro takes advantage of Matreos' distraction and sweeps him off his feet. Emboldened by this stroke of luck, the derro lunges for the nearest combatant, attempting to take Vorrakaz by surprise

Vorrakaz smacks the derro for his imputence. The derro stumbles and steps back, straight into a bolt of thunder launched from Thistle's tiny fluffy finger guns. Another derro bites the dust.

An enormous beam of moonlight blasts through the earth and hits the rear guard. The skin of the hobgoblin and derro caught in the beam starts to bubble. Esther reaches for the only derro not in the moonlight. Suddenly, the derro's skin begins to blacken and char. The derro is dead before it hits the floor. The hobgoblin knows when a fight is lost, and slinks away through a back door. Niamh strikes down the remaining foe with a blast of paladinian magic.

Esther doubles back to check on the captive. Re-entering the room, it's immediately obvious that the lumpy sack crouched behind the cage is the captive, still holding the sword Esther gave him. Now that he is healed, it is clear that he is an unkempt, homeless human. The human is in desperate need of the Gentle Dental centre. He goes on to explain that he and his friend went to the warehouse for the free food, then found themselves in cells. They have been tortured and held underground for some time. Esther hands out a selection of equipment to aid our journey.

Rowan receives a cloak of protection. Zyldi receives a ring of waterwalking. Ilvar receives a staff of healing.

Confrontation in the Cavern

Niamh bops a Derro with her book-on-a-chain, cracking its head like a melon, only to have the brain sprout legs and pop out!

Meanwhile, Vorrakaz sends a dart towards the derro nearest to him, hitting him square in the neck. The Derro goes down like a sack of po-tay-toes, but it's not quite out for the count.

Rowan has stealthed to the lowest point of the cavern. He aims his longbow at an unsuspecting Derro. The arrow flies straight and true, landing in the smallest gap in its armor. Before the Derro has time to react, Rowan lets fly another. The poor Derro takes the second shot in the eye. The Derro falls back (ded).

Esther summons a bright ball of light which fills the cavern. The Derro haven't got their transitions lenses on and shrink away from the blinding light.

Matreos steps in and tries to freeze the brain in front of Niamh. The brain shakes its tiny hand, as much as a brain can convey anger.

Zyldi blasts the nearest Derro with frosty goodness, then moves towards Niamh and the brain. As she passes, frost begins to creep up its legs, icing up the body as it travels.

Thistle is having none of this, and rains fire on the brain. Ilvar objects to the smell of burning flesh. In response, Thistle blasts the Derro nearest Ilvar - burning it to a crisp. As the Derro hits the ground, the skull cracks and a charred brain rolls out and bounces up onto little legs.

Ilvar is disgusted. He summons a spirtual weapon, which hovers in the air next to him. With a swish of his hand, the spirit coalesces into a black dragon with red eyes. The dragon opens its mouth and inhales the brain. In a flash, the dragon mists away and leaves the unmoving brain ded on the floor.

With only one foe remaining, Niamh pulls an enormous javelin from her tiny pocket, yeeting it towards the final Derro, with frost now spreading up its neck. As the javelin catches it in the back, the Derro breaks into icy pieces. It falls to the ground with a crash. A worn brain crawls from the corpse. Vorrakaz expels poison towards it, shriveling it to the size of a prune.

THE BATTLE IS WON.

The party regroups at the center of the cavern.

Estevaan acknowledges the victorious Vorrakaz, shouting the party a round of drinks to celebrate.

Ilvar heals Thebus' wounds as a show of good faith.

The party agree to meet Matreos back at the Pickled Inn at daybreak. Matreos is a bit disheartened that he is not as fit as the elderly Vorrakaz.

Zyldi looks for the source of the music at the inn, but can only see Bartemus is playing the dulcimer. Seeing Bartemus, she turns back to the bar for further (non-alcoholic) drinks instead.

Ilvar chats with Thebus about his previous opponents. Thebus mentions the only other person who has beaten him was Lieutenant Cindertooth, head of the city watch (a red Dragonborn). Thebus calls him a cheeky bastard.

Ilvar invites Thebus to join the party, Thebus relunctantly declines but would happily meet up with the party in the future.

Ilvar asks about Bartemus - Thebus notes he's a bit odd, and his friends are odd too. He acknowledges that you can't expect to like everyone.

Thebus passes a handful of gold to Ilvar, but has paid too much. Ilvar makes sure to return the excess.

Zyldi notices Fi and Re have followed Esther to a corner of the bar. Zyldi compliment the twins on their hair, and Esther responds for them - they aren't very talkative. Esther explains the twins are from a village in the mountain but can't recall the name. Esther turns back to the twins as if listening, but they don't speak. There is the sound of a fire crackling, and Esther translates the noise (their speech) as the name of the village, and mentions there is an entrance to the elemental plane of fire there. Zyldi asks where Esther is from, and she says "everywhere". Upon further pressing, she names the island of Lucario's Coin as her hometown.

Zyldi asks if Esther recalls anyone passing through with a book. The twins make eye contact, and Esther asks if Matreos is involved in any of this. Esther suggests the party take this conversation to a more private location, and shifts to a quieter corner of the bar.

~meanwhile, unbeknownst to the party~

Rowan is chatting to Estevaan about the fight. Rowan asks for information about the missing homeless population of Tiberium. Estevaan's face loses it's jolly smile and turns grim - this topic is clearly of great concern.

Estevaan states he's always been friendly with the guard, but some parties have been complaining that previously quiet roads are now bustling with unsanctioned activity. Rowan knows these roads to be a set of tunnels under the city, managed by a criminal network of 'Grinners', led by the 'Golden Jester'. The city watch have been unable to locate the Grinners, following them into the tunnels only to lose them in the maze. The fact that the Grinners are unhappy about the use of the tunnels speaks volumes to the nature of the activities underway.

~back at the booth~

Niamh has made Thistle a drink named the midnight star, to match her hat.

Niamh drops a drink at Rowan's table but as he is on duty, he doesn't touch it.

The party (minus Rowan) file into the booth. Esther gives Zyldi a look, and mentions how interesting it is that she mention a book. Esther recalls about 3 weeks ago a mouthy fellow passed through, and put several of our friend's (Rowan) friends in the ground (DED). They were sober guards, not ones to indulge while on duty. The perpetrator mentioned he was going north, a great calling awaited him near the mountains...

The noise of fire crackling gets louder, and Esther continues: "oh yes, the god brain would reward him". When asked what that meant, she looks genuinely afraid. There are few sources that talk of brains in the way he did, one is Illithids (tentacle faced, davy jones type fellas), one could also mistake a beholder for a god. Either way, he had the book, and he was heading north, expecting a reward.

Niamh says EW and recalls a scary story about Illithids snatching fairies in the night for a snack. The brains of the fairies would be turned into little creatures to do their bidding. If they were to be real, Niamh would not hesitate to eliminate them.

Zyldi mentions Illithids can take whole races captive, and that Illithids are not fairy tales. This gets the attention of the genassi twins, who nod vehemently.

Niamh brings Zyldi a soothing tea. Esther is interested to hear Zyldi affirm they are real, and questions whether Zyldi serves them. Ilvar objects, frustrated.

Esther mentions anyone proficient at tracking psychic energies would have no trouble picking up the scent of the perpetrator. She promises to take us to the location the perpetrator was last seen in the morning.

The tiefling and the genassi rise to leave. One of the twins smells of lavender and cinnamon.