Hello, Everyone!
So happy to be here! I’ve been getting so much support these days, thanks to the awesome community at Scholar and Scribe! I hope our D&D story continues to be up to ya’ll’s liking!
Last time, our heroes were at the last part of their journey back to the Duergar city of Gracklstugh. Aurum went into a dangerous portal, there was a fight and everything. But it was all good at the end, and now they’re ready to finally go save Bruno’s brother Saami.
Let’s see how that goes.
They went back to Fennec and, together, they climbed up the rest of the way to the fissure. It was way harder than on the way down – one, because it was upwards, and two, because of all the accumulated fatigue from the past few days. Many, many times, Mary had to rest on the spikes protruding from the wall, because her muscles just gave up from the strain.
After a while, they finally managed to get out in the open and ducked behind the rocks that concealed them from the duergar city. It was quiet and calm, no sign of alarm bells or increased security anywhere to be seen.
“We’re almost there,” Bruno said. “We just have to pass around Gracklstugh and get to out usual hiding place.”
“P-pass around?” Fennec said weakly. “What if they c-catch us again?”
He was fidgeting with the hem of his tunic and Mary could see fear building in his eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Paulina said. “I’ve got this.”
She took Aurum’s pipe and used its ash to once again gather the nearby shadows and make the group harder to detect. She explained Fennec the nature of her spell and he seemed to calm down a bit.
Then, they started sneaking about, running from cover to cover and ducking behind every little barrier they could find. It took them shorter than the last time but they already knew the layout and what to expect.
While they passed the last tunnel before their small alcove, Paulina put a finger to her lips and urged them to be even more careful.
“There’re steps coming from out there,” she said. “Many steps. Too far for anyone to be able to see us but let’s be quicker, anyways.”
They quietly passed the tunnel entrance and continued their way to safety.
When they got into the alcove, Fennec crumbled on the ground, trembling. Sneaking around the edges of the duergar city had taken its toll on his already fragile psyche. Paulina sat next to him, put her hand on his shoulder and started talking softly. Mary smiled to herself. Bruno’s sister seemed to be able to be really reassuring when she needed to be.
A loud rumble startled them and they looked around, worried that they’d been discovered. Mary, being closest to the edge of the alcove, peaked her head through, and then, because she couldn’t see anything from this angle, risked running a few steps ahead, having a Minor Illusion prepared to hide herself at any moment.
She didn’t need it.
What she spied from her better viewing place, made her heart beat faster with fear. She saw a long column of dark elves, maybe a hundred or so people, coming from the tunnel she and her friends had just passed by. The drow were marching in rows of three, all in the same black uniforms, with ashy grey skin and long white hair. All blindfolded.
Mary saw them stop in the open and greet their leader, the elven woman Aingels had barely escaped from in the duergar tower. There was a second figure beside her, a vague humanoid silhouette concealed in the shadows. As much as Mary strained her eyes, she just couldn’t quite make it out.
And next to the two figures, she finally saw, for the first time, the creature they’d first heard about back when they were still travelling on the road towards Myth Adofhaer.
The stone giant Agrax.
His body was entirely made out of rocks of different shapes and sizes. Green crystals were sticking out of different parts of his construction. He was massive! His head alone was as big as Mary’s whole torso and his voice was rumbling through the whole cavern. He greeted the elves and expressed his content of their early arrival. He told them that because of their timing, the plan was going to move quicker than expected and thus, he was going to send someone named ‘Imenoth’ a gift. Then he gestured to the city and they all moved towards it.
Mary went back to the group and told them what she’d witnessed.
They started making plans for action. First, Mary thought, they had to talk to Fennec. She turned to him with all the compassion she could muster.
“Look, Fennec, if you want, you can come and help us…”
Bruno looked at her fiercely.
“What the hell, Mary?!” he snapped. “That’s the least thoughtful thing you could say to someone we’ve just saved from torture and maybe death…”
“Don’t talk about Fennec like he’s not even here!” Mary said. “I just want to…”
“He might feel obliged to come with us when you put the question like that!” Bruno continued, even more indignant.
Mary frowned. Why was he so antagonistic towards her? She was just…
“That’s not what I was saying at all!” she insisted and turned to the other dwarf. “Fennec, you can just go back to Belfast. It might not be the safest route but you can. You don’t have to come with us. Really!”
Fenec’s eyes looked at the floor for almost a full minute. The whole time, Bruno and Mary were staring daggers at each other. Then, the tortured dwarf’s jaw clenched.
“No. I’ll stay,” he said. “I don’t want someone to suffer as I did, just because I got scared.”
Mary looked at Bruno, pointedly. He frowned.
“I hope I can m-muster the courage,” Fennec continued, a bit more quiet.
Bruno looked at Mary furiously. She bit her lip.
“Can you hear that?” Aurum said, interrupting the tension.
Something was creaking in the distance. An open cart with a cage on top came out of the city and headed into the tunnel where the elves had come through.
“You wanna bet that those are the prisoners from the tower?” Aurum said. “The ‘presents for what’s-her-name’?”
They needed a closer look and Mary summoned her familiars to help them. This time, however, she didn’t use Atti, Aingels or Rudhol. She feared they were too well known in Gracklstugh and would get unwanted attention. She folded the paper and it formed a spider and a rat. They weren’t from ‘The Fairy And Her Friends’, they were of her own creation. She’d even thought of names for these new additions to her familiar family.
“This is Peter,” she introduced the spider to the rest of the group. “And this is P--“ she realized what she was going to say but it was too late to stop herself, “Paulo.”
The rat moved its paper ears. Paulina looked it up and down and raised her eyebrows.
“Paulo?” she smirked.
“Powlo!” Mary squealed, her ears burning red. “His name is Pow-lo!”
“Riiight,” Paulina said with a snicker.
Sooo, a new development, eh? Let’s see what’ll happen with this prison cart. It seems important – after all it’s the name of the chapter :D
Anyway, see you next time!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide and the Glossary for the series. You're welcome!)