Hub:Chapter 4-1
The Book of Squidzilla: Chapter 1
The Empress
Our intrepid group, having sat idle for a few moments and grown tired of such inactivity, decided to journey again to Capitol City to meet the new Empress, who had arisen to rule in the Dark Overlord's absence. We arrived there with little interruption along the way, and were admitted to speak to her. We found that she had heard about us, and knew of our exploits in the middle of everything and the fixing of the world. In fact, she knew quite a lot about us, and it seems she already had an request in mind when we arrived. She asked us to return in a few days.
In our second meeting with the Empress, she explained to us that there was trouble stirring in the Underdark. Namely, that the mind-flayers, the Illithid, had been massing and were up to no good. She produced for us a special jar, and a special knife, and asked us to go down to the Illithid city and retrieve an Elder Brain for her people to study. She sent with us a drow team of guides to be sure we were unharmed as we passed near the drow city. The Empress provided a few other items to help us, including a few circlets that would prevent the Illithid mind-control effects from working on the wearers, and items to protect us from the Underdark radiation. So we departed, once again, for adventure.
Knowing that the drow still, for reasons in large part undisclosed, wish our party dead, the Empress summoned a powerful caster to place our drow guides under a geas, forcing them to guide us safely to the Illithid lair. We restocked and departed with minimal delay. We brought with us a rudimentry map of the area surrounding the Illithid enclave we were to be seeking.
Out of the Overbright
It was a short day's, or few days', journey out of Capitol City to reach the entrance to the Underdark. Once there, we embarked on a dank and dingy trip into the tunnels and caverns below our continent. Days blurred into unending darkness, as we travelled through the maze of corridors. Soon, we passed near the great drow city. Being a fairly large traveling group, we were left unchallenged, for the most part. We did have a run-in with some huge stone-like columns and some weird shadows.
Our drow guides here bid us farewell (or perhaps, good riddance), sending us on our way with the aid of our map, and setting us down the correct tunnel to exit the area surrounding their city. They instructed us to come back via the same tunnel, so they could escort us back past the city on our way back to the exit from the Underdark. We struck out on our own, to fullfill our promise to pilfer an elder brain.
Did we toast those troglodytes before we got to the illies?
As we drew closer to the city of Illithid, strange mental pressures began to take hold of some members of the group — mainly, a few bad headaches. This alerted us to the fact that we were growing close to our goal.
