Episode 28 - Entrance to the Underdark

Where we last left off, the party decided to remove all doubt and opened the last door on the 2^nd level, which had etched in elven, “Dead Inside! Don’t Open!”  Indeed, there were four drow zombies inside, that had wounds, not from sword strikes, but from clawed hands with some chew marks. 

Descending to the next level, the party found the remains of former inhabitants. Severed limbs began to twitch and move, attempting to reach the cell doors and release the skeletons within.   However, after a quick fireball from Scomitch, Judgement Day was brought on the undead. 

Further into Krelgar Keep, they discovered a horrific scene: Drow ghouls led by an Ogre-sized Wight were actively torturing a female Drow on a rack. A brutal fight ensued, and the undead were sent back to their rightful state. 

Checking on the drow prisoner, she relayed that her name was D’Kar and that the person the mercenary drow cohort from the prior level were looking for.  D’Kar said, “Tell my mother Talanetha (Talen-etha) that I told them nothing! I can return to the Spider Queen and enter her embrace with my head held high.” 

Unfortunately, the party’s medical skills were not sufficient to save the dark elf.  However, the party did learn, from an emblem on her torn armor, that D’Kar was part of House Gullion.  What is unknown if D’Kar and her mother (Talen-etha) were loyal to the Matron Mother Maelora of House Gullion or her daughter Makinnga Gullion, who is looking to help the party to restore the Vidrefact with the Moonshard crystal and restore the sun Scomatch. 

A new, daunting path lies ahead. The party stands at the entrance to a narrow stone slope descending into absolute darkness. This precarious ten-foot-wide path has sheer drops on either side, promising a fatal fall for any misstep. A profoundly unnatural, bone-chilling draft rises from the abyss—a cold that seems to steal the very warmth from your bodies. This chilling passageway signals the entrance to the Underdark, a realm ancient and unforgiving that awaits those brave, or foolish enough, to enter.