A quick confrontation at the drow outpost leaves the heroes reeling and scrambling to catch their breath. S’Thiss had moved quickly, and penetrated deep within the Drow perimeter. Quickly retreating to regain their composure, the heroes hastily seek refuge within the Rod of Security. It is there that they plan to find more scouts to extract information from them. A frontal assault was possible, but subterfuge would put their companions in less danger. Decided on their plan, the heroes venture back in search of information and their captured companions.
- Inside the Rod, they wrestle (J’afrock vs. Heren’kar w/subdual; J’afrock wins) and decide to send Ashreal in bat form as a scout, while Griften and J’afrock wait behind to scry and Teleport to Ashreal when the time is right.
- The heroes leave the Rod of Security, and Ashreal assumes bat form, flitting his way into the caverns ahead.
- After a pre-determined period of time, Griften scries Ashreal and sees him looking at a band of drow sitting around a campfire.
- Alerted that something is amiss, the closest drow scout looks at Ashreal, and suspecting more than a regular bat, shoots at him with his poisoned crossbow.
- Hitting Ashreal, the drow turns back to his campfire, while Ashreal falls to the ground, asleep from the Drow poison.
- Griften and J’afrock Teleport to Ashreal under the cover of Invisibility and prepare to assault the drow at the campfire.
- Quickly reviving Ashreal, the heroes charge.
- Using his speed and agility, Griften jumps between two drow by the campfire. Attacking both at the same time, he stunned one and turned to face the other.
- J’afrock closed in on the scout that shot Ashreal, and in seconds had cleaved the drow in two, and charged towards the fire to meet more of his foes.
- Two of the Drow Levitated with their boots and began firing at the heroes with their poisoned crossbow bolts.
- Griften deflected one, J’afrock ignored the poison from the other.
- Quickly J’afrock had slain two more of the Drow, and Griften had rendered both of his foes unconscious.
- Turning to the drow in the air, Griften channeled sonic energy and unleashed a Psychokinetic Blast upon both drow, making them seriously reconsider their odds.
- Dropping one, the other Drow surrendered to the heroes and lowered himself to the ground to meet his fate.
- J’afrock grabs the drow and throws him up against the wall, interrogating him with intimidation.
- The drow only spoke broken Common, but Griften used the power of Mind Probe to gain the information he needed. Maps, names, exact locations, and even mental pictures were all known to Griften in that moment of distasteful mental closeness. The mind of a drow is a chaotic and foul place to go looking…
- With a casual glance, Griften motioned to J’afrock to render the Drow unconscious. If they were to assault the city, they had to keep the element of surprise.
- Teleporting into one of the towers where the interrogated drow had seen before, the heroes appeared with a “pop”.
- With a quick scan, they saw naught but a beautiful elven woman, beaten and left for dead, chained against a wall across the room.
- While Griften looked for adjacent cells, Ashreal approached the elven woman who spoke softly in elven
- Woman stands up, laughs and changes shape into a succubus, quickly Teleporting away to sound the alarm.
- The heroes realize the ruse is up, and scanning for Talen, Griften receives an image of Talen, unconscious, bound to a dias under a drow priestess wielding a sacrificial dagger.
- Attempting to Teleport to the dias, they miss and land outside the Citadel where they are pummelled by arrows and charging drow.
- Trying again, they arrive perfectly where Griften stuns the priestess, J’afrock kills a couple of guards, and the heroes survive a couple of Fireballs from the onlooking drow worshippers.
- Talen is dead, his carcass eviscerated by the priestess. Landing a couple of lucky blows, J’afrock and Griften kill her and Teleport away with Talen‘s body to Tanamier‘s protected saferoom in the fortress of Blazebane.
- Grieved at their loss and inability to prevent Talen‘s death, Griften sends word telepathically to Tanamier that Talen has fallen and he is required to bring him back.
- Tanamier was commanding troops on the front and simply said in reply, “I will come when I can.”
- Griften tried to see what was happening to Tiemel, and with a brief surge of mental power, was able to see into the Abyss, Tiemel tied up in a spider’s web, and an evil drow sitting at a large, black desk. She had a swarm of Slaads bearing down on her, and Tiemel screamed in anguish before the image lapsed.
- Griften scries S’Thiss who was waiting in the forest above the Underdark near the web leading to the Abyss. He says, “I await you here.”
- Graymore joins the heroes telling of his exploits with Tanamier‘s Army, but that he has spilled blood with Tiemel and wishes to go as well.
- Griften tells the heroes he cannot go, that his responsibility weighs heavily on his heart, and that seeing Talen fall was the last straw. He offers to TP them to the forest, but that he must leave them there.
- J’afrock, Ashreal, S’Thiss and Graymore travel to the Abyss to save Tiemel.
