Escape the Underdark: Session 1

I am Obsidian, a young earth genasi who wanders the lands searching for my soul mates. Recently, I met Faia, a Ki-Rin of intense majestic beauty. Realizing instantly that she was a soul mate, I bound myself to her. This is how I became a warlock. Since then, I have traveled the lands, picking up quests and missions to earn money, searching for more beings to bond me with their love.

While I resided in the city of Waterdeep, the Harper’s Guild asked me to steal a golden and amber bracelet from Xanathar, a powerful beholder whose lair was in the caverns beneath Waterdeep. I was teamed up with 4 companions: Adalene, a changeling ranger; Chelle, a half-orc barbarian; Grok, a half-orc fighter; and Zepher, an air genasi rogue.

We descended a steep staircase below Waterdeep, and arrived in a looming, dark cavern. The walls were covered with eyes, staring menacingly into our souls. Statues surrounded us, their faces contorted in terror, disgust, awe, anger, and bewilderment. Some reached out as if defending themselves from an oncoming attack.

Shaking ourselves with dreaded resolve, we continued through some tunnels till we reached an underground chamber filled with treasure. In the center of the room, there was a table upon which perched a glass bowl and a goldfish swimming within.

As Chell tentatively approached the goldfish, a roar echoed through the chamber. Xanathar appeared. He was a floating ball of flesh – deep blue in color, with 10 wriggling eye-stocks reaching out of his head. In the center of his body, was a large wicked eye.

Chell turned from the goldfish in horrified shock, but too late. Her feet had started to change to stone. As the stone crept up her body towards her head, she reached out to each of her companions in turn. As she turned entirely to stone, I realized that the other statues must also be travelers.

Behind Xanathar emerged a pale, thin wizard with a black plait tied in back. He bellowed “Now, Xanathar, you will see what I am useful for!” And he pointed at us travelers, who were frozen in our spots. Everything went black.

When we awakened, we were in a dark cavern surrounded by skeletons clothed as peasants. Before we had gotten our bearings, a gnome entered the chamber, exclaimed in fear, and disappeared down a tunnel.

He soon returned with his steam powered bunny, whom he called Bunbun. I felt an immediate bond to Bunbun, and saw that he was not happy with the gnome. While I tried to coax the bunny to me, the others questioned the gnome, whom they called Gerald the Corpse Eater, since he would not say his name.

Corpse Eater grumpily told them that we were in the deepest depths if the Underdark, and that there was no way out, except down the bottomless pit. When Corpse Eater realized that “his Bunbun” had grown fond of me, he grabbed the bunny and ran.

We gave chase, and Groc headed him off down a tunnel, whapping the gnome non-lethaly with his longsword. I called out “Come to me, Bouncy Inferno!” The bunny, delighted with its new name, clunkity-bounced to me.

Feeling sorry for Corpse Eater, I performed Healing Light on him. Then the others bound him and questioned him some more. They determined that there was an underground city nearby, and decided we should go there.

With Groc carrying Corpse Eater, we traversed the tunnels, eventually coming to a lake of acid. Corpse Eater indicated that the city was on the other side of the lake. We coerced him into admitting there was another path we could follow. Down that path lay a few rivers to cross – Groc and Zepher jumped across, I spider climbed, and Adalene water-walked.

We had to fight quite a few stirges – an interesting form of mosquito-bat that Bouncy Inferno found quite delicious once drained of blood. Bouncy Inferno did his share of battling the stirges by jumping in the air and flaring his coals. Sadly, the stirges killed Corpse Eater.

Finally, we arrived in a cavern filled with crystals and, bafflingly, shrubberies. We saw a campsite with a fire across the way, but saw no clear path to it. We decided we wanted to see who was there.