Out of the Abyss is a Dungeons and Dragons (DnD 5e) game set in the Underdark. Play takes place every Friday night at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club in Chislehurst South East London. The Dungeon Master is Joshua.
Cast of Characters
Janek Boone - Human Champion (Tony)
Targonis - Wood Elf Ranger (Steve)
Aur - Aarakocra Rogue (Suresh)
Selya Skag - Vedalken Alchemist Artificer (Daniel)
Sunna Mortas - Tiefling Sorceror (Jo)
A Sad Farewell to Eldeth
Our Heroes, Stool, Topsy & Turvy and Derendel end their conversation with the Derro kids in the alley and decide to return to the inn. Skag and Aur have had a busy night and urgently need rest. As they make their way through the market they see a crowd of Derro loudly protesting against the discrimination they suffer from their Duergar rulers. Several brandish placards with slogans like "Duergar Lives Matter", "Save Our Derro" and "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?" Several Stone Guard have formed a cordon around the Derro to try to control them.
Inside their room at Gholbron's Lair, The Dwarf Eldeth's body still lies in the middle of the room, the black holes that were once filled with her twinkling brown eyes stare back at the heroes. Aur and Janek take their slave rags and shroud her lifeless body, binding it tightly. Outside the window is the shore of the darklake and they proceed to push her corpse out of the window. It lands with a thud unoticed on the shoreline. Nug flies out of and gives it a nudge and it disappears below the gently lapping waves.
Next Steps
After a full night's rest the heroes gather and discuss their plans. Their possible next moves are to:
1. Go see the Dragon Themberchaud who has urgently requested their presence. It is not good to keep a dragon waiting and Sunna is most keen to speak with the legendary Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh.
2. Re-equip themselves. Targonis has been in a foul mood since he lost Darkfang and Skag urgently needs to replenish their supplies. They will need gold and Aur still has the rings he stole from the merchant Kaethra which could be traded.
3. Find the Derro Droki. Edree Blackskull, the Stone Guard Commander, was most insistent of the urgency in finding this miscreant.
4. Find the Grey Ghosts. Aur is keen to find what is left of the mysterious thieves guild and find out what is really going on in the city.
5. Find the missing Derro kids. They have been told that Tinetra was the most recent child to go missing so there is hope she may still be found alive, but that window of opportunity is shrinking.
They decide to visit the dragon and equip themselves along the way. As they pass the buildings they see crudely printed wanted posters featuring an artists sketch of a creature wanted for Fungalterrorism whatever that is. It bears a strange resemblance to Aur and Stool.
Aur and Skag (disguised as a wealthy female Drow) enter a jewelers shop called Good Good Goods owned by a drow named Zalita Mizzrael. Nug obligingly coughs up the two rings. One is very ornate and bejewelled. Skag translates the Celestial inscription which reads "Property of Glitterbrow" and they offer the ring to the shop keeper to evaluate. She offers a sum of 950gp which Skag accepts. They spend some time conversing about the city and Zalita proffers that the Deepking is in trouble and the Drow are ready to leave the city making his grip on the throne even more precarious. Aur gets too close to some of her wares triggering an alarum spell and Zalita throws him out of the shop.
In the street outside Targonis pines for his long lost bow Darkfang and he regales the heroes of how he bravely drew the dark horde away from the villagers and led them into the Endless Chasm where he slaughtered many of their number. Oh how he misses his beloved Darkfang.
Skag leaves the shop and shares out the gold to each hero. They proceed to the market and equip themselves for their audience with the dragon.
An Audience with Themberchaud the Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh
Approaching the Keepers Temple and Lair of the Wyrmsmith they are met by a priest who introduces himself as Gartokka. He leads them into the huge tunnel that forms the mouth of the temple past many other priests and acolytes of the Flamekeepers order. A thunderous booming of heavy footsteps announces the presence of Themberchaud.
"Gartokka? You did not say I was having Surfacers for dinner tonight?"
Gartokka apologises for his master wry sense of humour and ushers them into the dragons horde chamber.
The corpulent Themberchaud shoos away the keepers and brings the group in close. Whispering to them he explains his predicament and the task that he wants them to perform for him.
He has come to the realisation that Gracklstugh is overdue a change in regime. He is clearly the most obvious candidate to become its new ruler, a position which is long overdue, He believes that the Keepers of the Flame have other plans and are in league with the Deepking and are plotting to kill him before he gets to strong and replace him with a juvenile dragon they can control. This dragon is yet to hatch from his egg. One of his derro minnions, Droki, knows where the egg is but he has gone missing. Themberchaud wants the heroes to find Droki, find the egg and destroy it. If they can return with evidence of the destroyed egg he will reward them handsomely with a portion of his horde. Droki is rumoured to spend his time between the market and the Westcleft end of Laduguer's Furrow.
As they leave the lair Gartokka explains that it is tradition to replace the Wyrmsmith before they become too strong to kill and replace them with a younger more compliant dragon. This has been their tradition for many generations. The egg has been stolen by the Grey Ghosts who have fled into Westcleft. It is imperative that they return the egg intact so that tradition can be upheld.
The Derro Slums of Westcleft
The heroes approach the Westcleft and the acrid metallic taste in the air from the Gracklstugh forges abates only to be replaced by a foul fetid rotting smell. The derro they meet along their path treat them with derision, spitting at them and yelling "You are not welcome here foreigners". To the heroes it seems that embolden by numbers the derro are aggressive an unkind little creatures.
Janek loudly offers
"a gold coin to the one who can bring word from Droki we have a message from Themberchaud regarding his egg"
Aur spies that they are being constantly surveyed by derro wearing scraps of red cloth around their arms. Not long after they are confronted by a group of armed derro who stop them from entering a tunnel shrouded by a grey curtain.
Aur charms their leader and they begin to parley. They tell us that Droki is not here but they will allow them to stay until his return as long as they do not move further into Westcleft.
Aur uses his familiar to inspect the tunnel behind the cloth and finds a sign in thieves cant which reads Grey Ghosts. He stealthily evades the watchful eyes of the derro and investigates the tunnels. Meanwhile Skag offers one of the derro 20 gold for an audience with The Master...