The Lightbringer shines forth

It is hard to credit the extent of these caverns and tunnels beneath Ptolus. We had been told how many days it would take to get to the drow fortress, but the realisation is completely different.

We have encountered the drow twice and I can only assume there is something more formidable coming because thus far they have failed to present a serious threat.

In our first meeting they crowded the ledges on either side of a cavern we were entering, teaming with a horde of creatures I think Damien said were called bugbears. There were also some drow mounted on huge dinosaurs. The groups on either side were led by a cleric and a sorcerer respectively and while it resulted in most of our group being engulfed in a fireball it was of little aid to them.

I stepped into the cavern and unleashed the glory of the Lightbringer, cleansing the area of most of the drow and bugbears. The remnants were easily mopped up and we were fortunate to have one bugbear surrender for us to question and he provided much interesting information.

The disturbing news was that a rider had been dispatched as soon as we had been spotted, which made me wonder how much resistance we would encounter when we eventually reached the watchtower we had been warned about.

The bugbear also knew about the elven slave that had escaped. Surely the drow would keep such a thing secret, and that it is apparently common knowledge supports the theory that she was deliberately released to provide misleading intelligence.

The bugbear was set free but I find it unlikely we will see him again. Or at least we won’t if he knows what’s good for him anyway.

It was another three days before we came in sight of the watchtower, and it seemed eerily quiet. I understood the challenge it presented—it was completely suspended from the walls and roof of the cavern; there was no way to reach it from the ground; and it completely dominated the cavern. We might have been able to sneak past it but nobody wanted to leave it behind us in case we had to retreat in a hurry.

Then it became a question of how best to assault the tower. We had various magical methods of reaching the tower, but they wouldn’t get us inside. Aeriana said that she could disguise herself as one of the drow that led the ambush, and talk her way in. One would have thought that the complete inability to talk drow would be some impediment but apparently not—before long there was a raging battle inside the tower.

This fight was somewhat more challenging than the ambush, but mostly because of the confined space of the tower and the difficulty in actually getting to the enemy.

We were eventually victorious but in both battles my healing was less effective than I might have liked—it is clear that I must lead our group in prayer to strengthen our bond with Lothian.