War for the Underdark (D&D 5e)

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan shakes his head "You can go ahead and alert your people, but I intend to follow this to it's source, and see if I can end it."

 

[MrBrown]

Saria has no doubt in her mind what she must do. She could never look at herself in the mirror if she turned her back to those in need, Sune gave love to everyone, no exceptions. "I'll save them." She says, simply. "Sune forgive my words, they might be dead already but they might also not be."

 

[russetrues]

The injured dwarf's tale unnerved Torfhras, yet also awoke a sense of curiosity. When Brillewyn said that they should go back to the rest of her people and warn them of the dangers, his stomach clenched. If there were potential survivors along those kidnapped... "How long ago were you attacked?" he asked the injured dwarf, not committing to an answer before trying to think both possibilities through.

 

[WlfSamurai]

The injured dwarf, who eventually tells you his name is Gaile, grumbles to himself for a few moments. "...I've lost track of time," he says. "But I think it was two or three days ago. I'm not sure."

Brillewyn shakes her head. "Those dwarves are soldiers. They were trained to fight and die, if needed. It's more important that we tell command about this threat."

It's at this moment you all notice a new face standing at the top of the stairs.

Vaeryn, you stand at the top of the stairs to the two bedchambers of the small outpost. Through one of the doors at the top of the stairs, the group of adventurers stand in the master bedchamber. There are several kobold corpses littering the floor. With them is a dwaf soldier from Thakar's Delve. Sitting on the floor is another dwarf soldier. He has scratches and gashes all over him and looks in bad shape. Go ahead and describe yourself for the party and say what you're doing.

russetrues , MrBrown , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain

 

[skycaptain]

After hearing a commotion Vaeryn made her way up the stairs and peeked into the bedchamber of the dwarf outpost. She hesitantly stepped into the room, her cerulean skin making her stand out in the dull atmosphere. She stood at her full height of 4'11 and brushed her cobalt blue hair out of her eyes. She wore leather armor around her petite frame and waved awkwardly as she entered the room. Her rose pink eyes briefly scanned the room and saw the corpses and finally other living beings. Vaeryn approaches with a welcoming smile and speaks in a light melodic eastern european accent "Oh hello! You are new! Where did you all come from?" Her gaze lands on the dwarf covered in wounds, recognizing the armor from the other bodies she got a little excited and moved towards him and sat on her legs. "Thank the waves, someone survived! I have so many questions for you!" She chirped bubbly before she really got a look at him. He was in very poor shape. Vaeryn was never good with wounds but from how he looked it seemed a little surprising he was a live. She hesitantly spoke quieter this time feeling as though she was being a little disrespectful. "B-but I can wait till you're feeling better."

 

[WlfSamurai]

Gaile pulls himself up with a wince. His wounds have been stabilized and closed, but he still needs healing. Or at least some kind of medical attention.

"I'm fine enough for your questions," he says. "I've been answerin' theirs so far. What do ya want to know?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan looks at the newcomer, and the way she almost disregarded everyone in the room but the wounded dwarf, and chuckles to himself. "I believe we ask you the same question. Where did you come from? As for myself, I am hunting the denizens of the Underdark."

 

[skycaptain]

Vaeryn's pink eyes light up and she takes an excited gasp of air. "What's your story? How long have you defended this place? Was it hard? What was your most poetic~ battle?" Then she heard another person speak up and she found herself looking way up at the large firbolg. "Whoa, you're really tall! I'm Vaeryn! I'm from the sea!" She extends her small webbed hand with a smile. "Denizens of the Underdark? Oh the Underdark! I've heard of that place! Sounds real spooky. I've heard a few good stories about that place... You all wouldn't happen to be going there would you?"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan visibly groans. Why is this being here? why is asking so many questions? and why does it seem so excited about stories? He can tell her stories of his tribe, but he doubted she would really care. Instead, he answered her solemnly. "My name is Erevan, and I lost my home to the foul hobgoblins, and i'm trying to track them."

 

[WlfSamurai]

Brillewyn balls her fists. "What are you talking about?" she asks you, Vaeryn. "You're in it. This is the Underdark. Here. All around us. Right now. What are you doing here anyway, Vaeryn-from-the-sea?"

 

[skycaptain]

Vaeryn continued holding her hand out awkwardly as the Firbolg gave her a very curt and annoyed answer. She moved her arm awkwardly up and down to mimic a handshake. "Nice to meet you.." She turns at the sound of the female dwarf who seemed a little upset for some reason. "What? This is it?" She looks around the room again and lets out a disappointed sigh. "This isn't quite as exciting as I hoped.." She perked up again when she questioned her in a bit of a aggressive tone but she was distracted by how good Vaeryn from the sea sounded. "I wanted to meet the legendary defenders of Iron-rock Delve. Though now I feel a little bad... Are you all here to avenge them?"

 

[WlfSamurai]

"This isn't a game," Brillewyn says through clenched teeth. "These dwarves died defending their post. Have some respect!" She turns back to the rest of you. "I'm going back to Command. If you want to track down the survivors, that's fine. I can't promise anything, but I'll see if Command will let me put together some volunteers to come find you. Think you can walk, Gaile?"

Gaile manages a wry smile. "I'll figure somethin' out, love." He lets out a deep groan as he starts hoisting himself up on the bed.

Brillewyn moves to help him.

What are you all doing?

russetrues , MrBrown , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan Moves to check the bodies of the kobolds, to see if they have anything on them that would give more clues as to who sent them or where they came from.

 

[skycaptain]

Vaeryn looks a little hurt by the dwarf's tone and calms down off her bubbly spurt. She didn't mean any offense but she figured it would be best to stop talking for the time being. Vaeryn stepped away from the dwarves, feeling as though they weren't the biggest fans of hers. She glanced at the other members of the group, curious as to what their stories were. Though she didn't stay standing still for long before she saw Erevan investigating the room. As he is checking the bodies she peeks her head out from behind the giant, gleaming eyes going from his expression to the bodies every second or so. "I think they're dead."

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan groans visibly. "You think?! Why don't you go and make sure? Or ask them maybe they'll have a tale to tell you, or answers to your questions." He then fell silent, for in a way she reminded him of his younger sister, and it wasn't fair to get mad at her for things she isn't to blame for.

 

[skycaptain]

Vaeryn shrunk away from the giant when he raised his voice at her. She was starting to get the feeling she wasn't making the best first impression. She forced a happy giggle and left the firbolg to his work. She looked around the room again at the others, trying to gauge their attitude toward her. She elegantly turned toward the stairs with a dancers grace and moved towards the door. "I'll look downstairs for anything important." She started down the stairs, going to look to see if there's a path further into the underdark.

 

[WlfSamurai]

Does anyone want to do anything further before we move into our next set of scenes?

Vaeryn, was there something in particular you're looking for? Do you want to roll intelligence (investigation)?

russetrues , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

I think we're good

 

[russetrues]

{ Same on my part. }

 

[skycaptain]

(Nah, I'm good for next scene)

 

[WlfSamurai]

Everyone gets 62 XP and 21 CP

After piecing together what had happened at the outpost and who had taken the survivors, you all decide to delve deeper into the Underdark. Brillewyn collected Gaile and they staggered out of the outpost in the direction of The Delve. Now, your goal is to find the missing dwarves and rescue them. And, if you survive, maybe profit on what you can recover. Intel and weapons are very valuable to the dwarves when it comes to the the war effort.

You find a kind of trail from the hobgoblins. Its a combination of blood and discarded mundane items they had stolen. Following it takes you on a punishing expedition through the Underdark. You spend a whole day hiking across plains of broken stone, over fissures filled with the void below, and through yawning chambers waiting to swallow any who brave them.

(Your travel includes an overnight which we’re considering a long rest.)

Tight passages finally give way to a cavern that stretches for miles and you can see the burning fires of a small hobgoblin camp below. But, instead of the militaristic and disciplined organization that usually characterizes the hobgoblins, you find chaos. Tents—where used—are pitched in random places. Most are torn or burnt. Charred bodies decorate steaks over raging bonfires. Knots of hobgoblins encircle fist fights or other violent sport. There are separate groups chanting rituals as they bathe in and drink each other’s blood. Pentagrams and demonic script are drawn on the ground in kerosene and lit, then worshiped.

In the far right corner of the camp, you see cages. Inside several of them, you see dwarf soldiers from The Delve. These are the prisoners taken from the outpost. In others, you see goblins, kobolds, and even a couple humans. The two hobgoblins that are guarding the cages hold are tying a human woman down to an altar. When she’s secure and her thrashing is in vain, the open her from navel to jaw with a sacrificial knife. Her hysterical scream dissolves into a wet chocking.

You stand on a precipice looking down. The path knifes to the left and down. It cuts back and forth in a steep decline all the way down to the cavern floor. From there, it’s about 100 yards to the camp. Sharpened steaks are buried surrounding the camp every five feet or so. You can move around the camp with ease as the cavern floor is mostly smooth and open. But that also makes an approach easy to spot.

The camp is small, by hobgoblin standards. But there are still between 40 and 50 of them down there. Granted, many are drunk on blood, alcohol, or lust—or a combination.

What is the plan or what are you doing?

russetrues , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Erevan surveys the carnage below them. "We need to take them by surprise, and kill as many of them as we can from a distance. I hope everyone has a ranged attack so we can hit them, and maybe one can slip down and release the prisoners."

 

[skycaptain]

Vaeryn was in awe during their trip into the Underdark, though she tried to contain herself for the sake of her companions she kind of forced herself upon. There was beauty in danger but some of the voids seemed as though they wanted to reach out and grab her. She slept quietly without bothering anyone, trying to salvage their perception of her. Finally when they arrived at the outcrop overlooking the hobgoblin camp she watched the creatures brutally cut the womans face. With the combination of that and her screams Vaeryn turned a little green and turned away, happy to see someone taking charge while she collected herself and push the horrifying image from her mind. She finally turned back to the group and looked down at the hobgoblins again. "But there's so many! Even with a sneak attack I'm not sure how long we could last with their sheer numbers.." She looked at the camp again and starred at the bright dancing lights for a second, searching for the word. "Those things! What's that called... Fog.. oh fire, right? I hear creatures don't like that, could we do anything with that? Like spread it to their camps all sneaky and try to save everyone in the chaos?" She looked back to the group a little more focused than normal.

 

[WlfSamurai]

So, Vaeryn, Erevan, Elyas, Torfhras—

I see a few options, here. Your options aren't limited to these, of course, but I wanted to give you some possible directions.

• Direct assault — There are quite a few hobgoblins down there, so this probably has the most risk involved. But, you could march up to the main camp approach and take them on as they come. Hobgoblins, as you know, are some of the more tactical goblinoids, though. So they may quickly adapt to this situation.
• Choke point — The precipice you stand on has one path down to the cavern floor. It's narrow, has many switchbacks, and is steep. If you drew them out into this choke point, they'd be easier to deal with. You'd still have to potentially deal with the entire force, though.
• Deception — You could create a diversion in some way—attacking or some kind of chase maybe?—to draw them to one or the other side of the camp. This might create the opening for someone else to get the prisoners released and out.
• Stealth — You could try to sneak your way into the camp and/or around the back to the corner the prisoners are in. There is always the risk of being caught, but it might be easier than dealing with the camp directly. This could include dressing up as the enemy to get close to the prisoners. Lots of ways to approach this one.

Some thing to keep in mind.

• You can move freely around the entire camp. The cavern floor is open. So you can approach it from any angle.
• These guys are still riding high on their victory at the outpost. You could use that to your advantage.
• There is a lot of demon worship going on down there. Everything seems to have an infernal tone to it. It seems different than normal hobgoblin activity—which is normally more organized and militaristic. These seem extra nasty.
• There is always the possibility of coming back with Dwarf reinforcements.

Any thoughts? Let's discuss further.

russetrues , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain

 

[WlfSamurai]

As you all stand eyeing, thinking, deciding, you see a patrol approaching. To your left, five hobgoblins skirt the cavern wall below you. Their laughing carries all the way up here. They approach the path that zig-zags the wall up to where you're perched continuing their patrol.

They haven't seen you, but they'll be here in a few minutes.

russetrues , KStrausser , Red Shadow Claws , skycaptain