[Back in the Underdark, young Reinward is about to have an unexpected adventure. This account is translated from the original Undercommon.
Note that Shooh Oak is a Slyth druid. She is a native of the Underdark and her second name 'Oak' is rather like an Overworlder calling their daughter Ruby. Note that Slyths can turn into puddles of mud and move around as such, any time they like.]
DAY 503(18th Flamerule)(July)
Letter from Shooh Oak to her brother:
Dear Wynstone,
Peace be upon you.
I hope you and your family are well. I continue my work of finding hobgoblin mines and doing my best to prevent the destruction that they cause.
As you well know it is just gone 800 days since the wanton foolishness and aggression of the hobgoblins destroyed our home and cast the remains of our tribe to the four corners.
The 'summer' months as they call this time of the year in the Overworld often brings the surface dwellers down here into our Underdark, and this may account for the strange encounter that I recently had, which I will now relate to you.
Chauntea, blessed Earth Mother, had guided me to an area west of the troglodyte city of Pool. I was below it, in the ancient tunnels carved by the drow in times past, following behind a gang of hobgoblin tomb raiders.
They had been tunnelling upwards, close to where the Eight Ways Inn is located. I found their mineshaft abandoned and dangerously unstable. The shaft led up to directly below a room of the in so I discombobulated and entered through a crack in the floor.
Here I found a young human sleeping. I roused him and warned that he should leave the room as floor was unstable. He heeded my warning, but as he stepped onto the floor from the bed the floor collapsed and we fell down into the shaft.
It was a fall of a hundred feet, down into the small cave I had come from, and the hobgoblin mineworks fell down on top of us as the shaft collapsed in on itself. I slithered out of the rubble though, then pulled out the human and found that he yet lived. His name was Reinward.
Once he was revived and I had explained what had just happened he asked about getting back to the Inn.
'There is no way back up that way my friend,' I told him. 'Not after all the rock just came down. But I know a way back to the Eight Ways. We'll need to go through the Hobgoblin City of Marek E'sith though.'
It was half a mile to Marek, that network of sewers that the Hobgoblins call a city. I took him to the entrance and told him;
'Follow this canal, it bends and turns, but it leads to a tunnel that will take us up to the Eight Ways. I have my own modes of travel, but if you keep to the shadows the hobgoblins will not cause you much trouble.'
This proved to be incorrect. I had hoped the young man would be able to skulk through the city without much incident, but I had forgotten that humans do not know the ways of the Underdark and attract danger like magnetite attracts rust monsters.
At all times I was ready to step in if need be, but as he bumbled around, at each moment I hesitated, never sure what chaos might be provoked next.
At least, as he walked up the tunnel to the first Hobgoblin gate house he had the sense to pull his hood up to hide his white skin. There is not much light in the city, but the water (if you can call it that) in the canal glows with phosphor and gives off a dull green illumination.
Initially things looked promising as young Reinward moved silently around the guardhouse and into the city. We had not reckoned on their being an ankheg fight in the street beyond though, which had drawn a big crowd as they baited the two beasts that were chained up at either side of the road.
This pretty well blocked Reinward's progress and I could see that he hesitated. How convenient it is to be able to turn into a fluid, I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to be unable to do so. I am astounded that beings such as these humans ever make it into adulthood!
But perhaps they are blessed by the gods? The hobgoblin crowd were gambling, roaring, shouting, pushing and shoving. Reinward threw a gold coin into the crowd in front of him. A melee ensued and a female was trampled to death. Some of them turned to see who had thrown the coin, causing Reinward to jump abruptly through the doorway of a nearby house.
Inside the house he caused as much chaos as you would expect, moving from room to room surprising its occupants. When a hobgoblin wench went to grab him, he snarled at her with a mouthful of bear's teeth, which made her scream and flee.
I do not know if bear teeth is an affectation of his tribe, I never found out, but perhaps this is not so uncommon among his people? The ways of humans are of great mystery.
Reinward then took to the roofs, and he then noticed the chains holding the ankhegs were attached to giant cogs on the walls of the houses that some of the hobgoblins were using to adjust the chain. They were using a lever and latch to lengthen or shorten the chains to manage the fight, and I presume, the safety of the spectators.
The young man swung down from the roof and freed the latch on the cog and the chain ran free. Chaos ensued as the ankheg on the right hand side of the street suddenly found it had free reign. It promptly charged into the crowd, sending hobgoblins fleeing in all directions.
Some had seen the human though, and pointed up at the roofs as he leapt away into the shadows. He jumped from one roof to another, then made a very ambitious leap for the nearby bridge. It was far too far though and he went straight into the river.
Finding that their were some large nasty fish in it, he swam under the bridge and pulled himself up under it. Here, luckily, he found a small door that led into a narrow tunnel that was being used as a home by a Kuo-toa. As you know these beings are evil, insane, and not given to unexpected guests. It attacked the human who easily killed it with a few thrusts of his sword.
The tunnel lead to the underside of another bridge further along the canal. From here he threw his grappling hook many times at the other side until he got it attached to something on the other side of the canal. Once over he kept to the bank, avoiding the road that ran along the side water. He lost his footing though and fell in. An old, half-blind hobgoblin helped him back out again.
Now back on the street, he was about halfway across the city, he kept to the shadows of the buildings and crept onwards. Moving from alley to alley, he made slow, but careful progress.
Between the houses he was accosted by a young hobgoblin wench who was standing in her doorway.
'Here you!' she yelped. 'What are you doing?'
He muttered a reply and she replied. 'Keep yer voice down you idiot!'
She ushered him inside.
Sensing that she was open to bribery he offered her a handful of gold.
'Very nice,' she said, 'but your Overworld money isn't worth much here.
Got any food?'
He admitted he did not.
'Well, I like that,' she said pointing at his potion belt. 'Real leather is it?'
'Yes,' said Reinward with a sigh as he unstrapped it.
'Ooh lovely!' she said gleefully as she put it on.
Like many Underdark races, hobgoblins of this region treasure Overworld things such as wood, leather, bread, cheese and the like. Things from the Overworld.
Reinward moved on, until he got to the final guardhouse, at the other end of the city. This was much more heavily guarded than the other one though, with well armed hobgoblins at the door and on the battlements.
The young human was in the possession of some powerful, but unpredictable magical effects. I think he had recently peed on the grave outside the Eight Ways Inn.
Not something I would recommend as I understand there is a small, but significant, chance doing so will eat your soul, but that is by the by.
He pointed a finger at a nearby giant mushroom and while light sparked in his hand, not much else happened. This was enough to draw the attention of the guards and several of them came over to see what he was about.
Needless to say it quickly turned violent. The young man was useful with his sword and held them off smartly, but when a hobgoblin wizard came out of the gatehouse and started shooting him with Magic Missiles things started to look bad.
I was thinking of stepping in to help, but then Reinward used another of his magic fingers and pointed it at the wizard. I felt a wave of death course though my body and the wizard fell, instantly dead, along with all the hobgoblin guards that had been standing around him.
All the other hobgoblins fled, in fear of the dreadful necromancy wielded by the young man and he walked through the gate with no further molestation.
I recombobulated and met him in the tunnels outside the city, and as promised led him up from here through some ancient drow corridors that eventually lead up to near the Eight Ways Inn.
Such a strange encounter, brother! But all in all, a good one, as the destruction that was reigned down on the hobgoblins is bound to bamboozle them for a while, and who knows? Perhaps it will mean that one less Slyth tribe is decimated.
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