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Music by Kevin MacLeod.
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Previously on Call from the Deep
Starring:
Gotwald Ironhorn, level 11 minotaur Rune Knight Fighter
Mac, level 11 tortle Drakewarden Ranger/Rogue
Savra Akkedis, level 11 lizardfolk School of Necromancy Wizard
Torrel, level 11 kenku Fathomless Warlock Pact of the Amulet/Fighter
Having cleared a monster filled path in the Corrupted Caverns, the party finally has access to one of the Augmenter brains that helps keep Zellix’Phor and the mind flayer colony in control of the powerful kraken demi-god, Slarkrethel.
But dealing with the brain is a bit trickier than the party expects.
Gotwald dives beneath the poisonous water to retrieve the glass jar with the brain inside, only to receive a nasty stunning shock as it psychically defends itself.
Mac tries a gentler touch, speaking soothingly to the brain, but is met with the same painful response. Finally they call Savra over, who attaches her zombies like water skis to avoid touching the water.
Programming note: We’re off the next two weeks. Happy Holidays!
Savra notices the brain could either be destroyed (while it actively defends itself), or its psychic link could be severed with a contested INT check. The wizard engages in a psychic battle on the astral plane, and easily finds and destroys the brain’s link.
The brain was an unwitting participant, and once the link is broken, it withers and dies.
Zellix’Phor’s omnipresence looms again, filling their minds. It still wants these pesky meddlers alive to join the colony, and sends waves of sahuagin-illithid hybrids, along with a few lumbering brutes (and aquatic troll and an uchuulon) to knock the party into submission.
After Gotwald throws his javelin of lightning across a line of sahauithids, Torrel drops hunger of hadar down the southern tunnel. Mac fires a volley of nasty arrows at the troll, and Gotwald finishes it off with a swing from his giant-slayer axe, finally getting that sweet bonus anti-giant damage!
The enemies take a full round to close in from the eastern tunnel, attacking with psychic mind slivers. Gotwald gets a ton of value out of the potion of psychic resistance he drank at the end of last session.
Despite going last in initiative, Savra launches a fireball from her staff of the magi, devastating that half of the army, and softening them up for the rest of the party to quickly finish them off.
Most importantly, Torrel rebuffs the control that Zellix’Phor again attempts to wrest from the warlock, due to his special connection to the kraken.
The party earns a temporary reprieve, though they hear more monsters approaching. With their severed head brain-locater telling them the next closest Augmenter brain is northeast, they head toward a seemingly dead-end cave with softly glowing writing on the walls (Area 38).
As the only person in the party capable of reading Elvish, Mac deciphers the words.
The first half reads, “Deep Sashelas protects the faithful within his temple.”
The second half isn’t glowing, and written in a shakier hand: “Why have you forsaken us?”
They see the outline of a secret, square-shaped hatch in the wall, but no way to open it. Savra notes that the words and door appear magical, and Mac recites the first phrase.
As soon as he speaks the first two words, which they identify as an Elven deity associated with the ocean, the hatch door opens, revealing a dark tunnel.
Mac quickly sends Cheese in to scout ahead, finding burn marks covering the floor and walls, holes along the walls, and an upraised, jammed pressure plate.
Without much time to dilly-dally, the party heads inside the tunnel, hoping whatever trap was in here has long since been triggered.
The tunnel is dark but peaceful (Area 31). They make it to the far side and find a similar hatch-door. Mac recites the phrase again, and the previous door closes as this one opens, revealing a wall of water.
Like other areas of the dungeon, the water is held back by arcane runes, preventing the caverns from being flooded.
The party uses this opportunity to short rest, and Gotwald drinks a potion of water breathing. The others all have magical means of breathing and maneuvering within the water (or are a fish-man like Borgas).
Well, all except Cheese. Mac leaves his drake behind in the tunnel for now.
They dive into the cold water of the ocean, and into a destroyed storage room (Area 29). Opening a door reveals a long, curved corridor, its once beautiful azurite floors marred by the erosion and destruction of the sea (Area 28).
They check-in with the severed head, finding the next brain only about 50-ft northeast. It’s a dead-end with a statue nearby.
They examine the statue. It’s an elven man, but can’t determine its significance. It’s holding a real trident and pointing to the eastern wall, however.
Gotwald begins punching the wall, and Mac quickly stops him with a slap. Perhaps a lighter touch will work this time?
He searches for three holes in a row, and finds them. In a smug ah-ha moment, he brazenly takes the trident from the statue, and inserts it into the holes.
Mac disappears!
The trident returns to the statue as the worried party looks around.
Mac appears in a holy shrine (Area 24) with several altars on a raised dais holding pristine artifacts. One of those artifacts happens to be the next Augmenter brain!
As Mac plans his move, a ghostly elven man materializes out of the water, and demands to know what he’s doing in this holy chamber. He’ll have to think fast, but thankfully he does speak Elvish!
Programming note: We’re off the next two weeks. Happy Holidays!
MVPC – Gotwald
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