Chapter 23: Drow Cave Clearing

August 9, 1 pm

Neiia starts moving the rubble that had collapsed behind Ra, and at the same time Ra knocks on the wall and at the other end says it’s better to go through this spot. Neiia suddenly feels it’s a bad idea to go through the rubble, so she goes to the place Ra indicated to make a hole in the wall. Neiia makes a hole into the black druid’s room so she can conveniently move the wall to the outside and then continues making the corridor in the wall. Neiia seems to find some space after about three minutes; Neiia tries to look inside but doesn’t see anything and goes to ask Jaysek for light. At this point, Ra goes to peek through the opening, and someone from there orders him to hit himself. Jaysek throws a small continual light on a stone and drops it into the corridor and notices it falls into water, and then casts a normal light in there. Neiia tries to peek through the opening when Jaysek has cast the light inside and sees some bridge a little way away, and then suddenly 2 bolts are hitting her. Despite Ra’s suggestions, the group says this seems to be tactically quite suboptimal as an attack direction.

Neiia blocks the corridor leading to the demon gate with a round boulder-like stone thing that you can still see around, to which Ertak starts muttering with fast talk; Jaysek and Neiia counter the muttering, and finally Ra also thinks it’s a good idea to block it. Neiia starts making an opening to that intermediate room where the shadow creature attacked us earlier. As Neiia moves the third block, several drow rush from behind them to fight.

The drow make move-and-attacks and get Jaysek into poor condition. Ra draws his weapon and hits the first drow, and it seems to hurt because that drow drops his rapier so it won’t hinder him in battle. The drow continue their attack but don’t have any effect this round. The caster-boss tries to command Kieron to “lie down on the ground,” but Kieron isn’t interested. The group tries to hit their opponents, but they parry and dodge successfully, except Neiia hits the melee-boss in the back.

The drow attack, and the melee-boss, after attacking Neiia with sword and shield, tries to throw Neiia with another drow, but Neiia dodges. The caster-boss orders Neiia “don’t move a muscle.” Ra strikes down the drow he had hit earlier. Kieron starts hitting one minion, and as a result, he drops his weapon. All the minions attack Neiia when they notice Neiia has been ordered to stay still, but none of them hit. Jaysek sets several drow and Ra on fire. Ra chops down one drow; Neiia starts aiming at the mage-boss with a sliver. The melee-boss attacks Kieron. The mage-boss comes to hit Neiia. Ra drops another drow; Kieron says to the boss, “Those feints are pretty pathetic; can’t you do better?” At some point, drow torches fall to the ground. Neiia shoots the mage-boss with that sliver. The melee-boss tries to intimidate Kieron and succeeds to the extent that Kieron starts hesitating. The mage-boss seems to move with great haste, and Jaysek also casts great haste on Ra. The mage-boss tries to hit Neiia several times but doesn’t cause harm. Ra starts hitting the melee-boss, and Kieron shifts to a defensive stance. Ra gets the melee-boss’s arm bleeding, and Neiia hits the mage-boss in the back but doesn’t succeed in doing damage. Jaysek casts a fire portal, and Ra continues pounding the melee-boss’s arm.