After resting inside the lost Netherese tomb, the companions were just about to head out again when they noticed a scouting party of drow camped just outside the entrance. There were five drow, and they had a displacer beast with them.

Smak and Goder attempted to sneak outside, but the drow noticed them right away.

Combat ensued.

One of the drow retreated but the others and the displacer beast were all defeated. The companions decided to get a move on, since Elvara and the rest of the drow from Velkynvelve would probably be here soon.

After a couple days of traveling at a fast pace, the party found a lonely hut situated on the edge of a pond. Goder went ahead to check it out, finding a fish rack and some netting and poles and oars in the area. Then the kobold heard a voice from within the hut.

This is when the companions met Telemachus Thistlefuzz, a deep gnome, and his brother Thomas, who was dead but had somehow become a zombie. Telemachus seemed to be in denial of his brother’s death and acted like Thomas was merely sick.

Pike tried explaining to Telemachus that he could put the gnome’s brother out of his misery, but Telemachus was too distracted by his missing comb to really understand what the drow was telling him (Sauerkraut stole his comb earlier). So Pike knocked Telemachus out with a frying pan and dragged Thomas’s body outside to burn it.

Jimjar attempted to loot the place, but Pike chastised him about it. Jimjar did have a point, though — Elvara would eventually make her way here and would probably interrogate and kill Telemachus, so he was as dead as his brother anyway.

The companions decided to bring Telemachus with them. They didn’t want to take the deep gnome’s boat for fear of running into Demogorgon on the lake, so they found a tunnel that led in the direction of Gracklstugh.

This is when Jimjar admitted that he owed some powerful people in Gracklstugh a lot of money, and that his life might be in danger if he’s recognized there. But he was even more terrified of making the journey to Blingdenstone on his own, so he begged the party to let him stay with them, even if it meant visiting Gracklstugh.

The party navigated through a maze of tunnels and caverns for a couple more days. Then a violent tremor shook the area, causing a cave-in that injured some of them. They found the passage ahead to be blocked now, as well as the passage back the way they’d come. Fortunately, a crevice in the wall had opened up, possibly offering an escape route.

With only one option, the companions squeezed through the gap in the wall, where they found an ancient temple dedicated to Juiblex, demon lord of ooze. They met and befriended a sentient gelatinous cube named Glabbagool, who ejected a magical mace that could light up with green flame when wielded.

Reschi wondered if Demogorgon’s presence here in the Material Plane was causing all this weird stuff to happen — that faerzress in the Netherese tomb, the spontaneous animation of Thomas’s body, and now Glabbagool’s miraculous sentience. Something wasn’t right down here…

Exploring the temple led the party to a room with a fountain wherein pilgrims used to leave donations. But as soon as the companions started searching the fountain for loot, seven grey oozes poured out from the walls to attack them!

With the oozes dispatched, the party looted some coins, a dagger, and a couple potions from the fountain. And if you’re reading this, you can have a potion of healing, too.

Next they made their way to a rough-walled cave where water poured through cracks in the ceiling. Evidently this whole place would soon be completely flooded. There was no time to waste.

Breaking through the cracked ceiling, and enduring the water that rushed in, the companions swam up into the darkness that eventually led them to the surface of Darklake.

Without Eldeth and Stool in the party, the companions weren’t sure where they were headed anymore. The prospect of escaping the Underdark altogether seemed distant and hopeless.

They continued on, wandering aimlessly through tunnels and caverns, until they arrived at a chasm that stretched as far as any of them could see. A network of spiderwebs criss-crossed all over the chasm.

Moments later, two goblins approached the adventurers, surfing along the spiderwebs on greased-up boots. The goblins introduced themselves as Yuk Yuk and Spiderbait. They offered to guide the companions to wherever they wanted to go, for a price. Pike convinced them that he was Shoor, Elvara’s lieutenant and lover, and that he was on a secret mission with these here “slaves.” The goblins happily sold them a gourd of grease and gave them directions to Gracklstugh.

Yuk Yuk and Spiderbait also warned about the spiders who laired here, mentioning a deep gnome who’d recently been captured and cocooned.

The gnome turned out to be none other than Jimjar! After the companions rescued him from the spiders, Jimjar explained that he’d found an ancient Netherese tomb near here, but he didn’t have the nerve to go in there by himself.

The companions followed Jimjar back the way they came, and down some other passage for a couple hours, before they finally arrived at a huge stone cube that looked like it fell from a great height to land in this vaulted cavern. Indeed, a crevasse in the ceiling above confirmed that this tomb probably did fall down here.

Urza shared what he knew about the Netheril Empire. He also sensed the presence of magical radiation — something the folk of the Underdark called faerzress, a remnant of High Magic that helped shape the Underdark itself long ago.

It was then Pike heard a sinister whisper: “I sense life out there. You must free me from this place!”

Jimjar agreed to a 20% cut on whatever the party found in there, since he was the one who’d brought them here. And so, inside they went.

In the entrance room they found a diorama along one wall depicting the sorceress Brysis Khaem as a Netherese noble in her prime, surrounded by attendants, slaves, and other trappings of wealth and power. Covering the opposite wall was a vista of fantastic floating cities, which Smak thought was mind-blowing.

A hidden staircase descended down to a shrine room with two doors. Pike collected some of the shredded tapestries and cast mending on them.

The party made such a racket opening one of the doors that they awakened the spectres of Brysis’s two husbands, who rose out from their sarcophagi to attack!

While Goder and Smak fought with blades and fists, Urza, Reschi, and Pike cast spells that were affected by the faerzress. Urza ended up polymorphing himself into a winter wolf.

After defeating the angry spirits and looting their resting places, the companions found a hole in the floor hidden under one of the sarcophagi.

As soon as the secret room was revealed, Pike heard that whisper again: “Release me. Wield me, and I will make you powerful. We will gorge upon the lifeforce of your enemies.”

It was down here the party encountered Brysis Khaem herself, now a terrifying wight. But not so terrifying after Smak stunned her, and Reschi cursed her, and Pike finished her off with magic missiles.

The mummified body of Brysis Khaem was holding a black-iron sword of life-stealing in one hand and a wand of fear in the other; she wore a necklace of fireballs around her neck, and there were also two potions and a heap of coins, too.

The party went back and opened the second door in the room above, which contained another pair of sarcophagi — and the spectres of two more of Brysis’s husbands.

After defeating the spirits and looting the room, everyone decided that it was time to rest. Reschi cast Leomund’s tiny hut, and the party took a long rest.

When they were about to head out again, they noticed a group of drow and a displacer beast camped just outside the tomb entrance. The drow were talking about the two goblins they’d interrogated and tossed off the cliff, and that Elvara would be here soon to help recapture the prisoners!

Following the passage out of Sloobludup, the companions arrived at the gates of a long-forgotten dwarven stronghold. Dozens of kuo-toa crowded behind them, the sole survivors of Demogorgon’s wrath.

The companions found this city to be totally lifeless, though Goder could sense the presence of undead here. They made their way to the library, where they found some old history books but nothing of value, nor any clues as to what had happened here.

Eventually the party reached the other side of the city, where they entered a mine shaft. Here they found a large cavern full of zombies — hundreds of zombies! This must have been the fate of the dwarves who once lived here.

With the help of the kuo-toa, the companions fought through the horde of zombies and a zombie beholder to reach a passage on the other side of the cavern that led them outside the city walls.

After escaping captivity, the party made their way toward Darklake, where they knew about a kuo-toa village called Sloobludup.

A small party of drow from Velkynvelve caught up with them, but thanks to Eldeth and Stool’s heroic sacrifice, the companions managed to get away.

They finally made it to Sloobludup. Here they met Archpriest Ploop and his faction of kuo-toa who worshiped the Sea Mother, and Blopp, who was Ploop’s daughter and leader of those kuo-toa who worshiped the Deep Father.

Ploop brought the newcomers to the shrine of the Sea Mother, where he explained that he wanted the adventurers to help undermine his daughter, for he did not approve of this new religion she’d introduced to their people. The kuo-toa had never fought each other like this before, and he blamed this Deep Father.

The companions agreed to Ploop’s plan, to make a show of being offered to the Deep Father’s shrine as sacrifices. And so, when Blopp and her followers showed up to perform the ceremony, a fight broke out and all the followers of the Deep Father were killed.

All that bloodshed fueled the shrine of the Deep Father, summoning something ancient and evil from the depths of the Darklake…

Demogorgon!

Waves of terrified kuo-toa flooded through the streets of Sloobludup. Archpriest Ploop showed the companions a way out, but this passage was seen as dangerous, so nobody had ever explored down that way before.

But with Demogorgon laying waste to the village, that passage didn’t seem as dangerous anymore.

Our campaign began in Velkynvelve, where the companions met each other during their time in captivity.

There was a bugbear monk named Smak, a kobold ranger named Goder and his dragon companion Bluebelle, a satyr rogue named Sauerkraut, a human bard named Reschi, a vedalkin wizard named Urza, a drow sorcerer named Pike, and a modron who didn’t really have a name.

The companions were held with a number of other prisoners, captured during various raids and likewise awaiting transportation to Menzoberranzan: Prince Derendil, a quaggoth who claimed to be a cursed elf prince, Eldeth Feldrun, a dwarf from Gauntlgrym, Jimjar, a deep gnome with a gambling problem, Shuushar, a kuo-toa mystic, Stool, a myconid sprout, and Topsy and Turvy, a couple of deep gnome twins.

Their captors included a cruel drow priestess who called herself Mistress Elvara Mizzrym, and her two lieutenants , Jorlan and Shoor, along with many other drow guards. Mistress Elvara liked to impress her dominance with scourge in hand and remind her prisoners that their lives now belonged to her.

With the aid of Jorlan, who left the gate unlocked for them, the prisoners all broke free and scattered in all directions. Smak, Goder, Sauerkraut, Reschi, Urza, and the modron went straight for the guard tower where they were sure their arms and equipment were kept. The drow guards put up a good fight, and the adventuring gear was hard won.

Eldeth and Stool joined the companions, each offering directions to their respective homes — and since nobody had any idea which direction to go first, they welcomed the guidance.

Putting as much distance between themselves and Velkynvelve as they could, the party headed toward the closest population center they knew of: Sloobludup.