Episode 4, "Flirting With Disaster"

Dugan turns-tail and heads back topside to get some R&R and consult the local mage's guild about what to do next with the whole "breach" situation. Meanwhile, the crew decide to retreat back into the kobold lair for a little nap. Talos' trance gets interrupted by the 'ole aboleth again, suggesting that a conversation needs to be had, so they about-face and head back into the Underdark for round 2.

Their first trek involves a somewhat lengthy climb up a series of mounds covered in human-sized mushrooms. Fhasys makes her uneasiness known, and her fears are confirmed when several mushrooms start lashing out at their legs. In a dramatic display of fire, Talos manages to set of a group of nearby shriekers who alert everything within the cavern to their presence. A giant wolf spider is the first to respond, descending upon the heroes in a stealthy attack. Finally, the duo makes it to the top of the mounds to find a space clear of mushrooms, home to the trapped spirit of an old adventurer. The spirit makes an impassioned plea to slay the resident aboleth once and for all and release her from her bonds and Talos comes into possession of the fallen adventurer's spear.

Pressing forward, toward a mysterious and pale dot of light in the distance past the mounds, the heroes descend the opposite side of the mushroom hill. After another half-hour's walk, the terrain begins to shift into a more spider-appropriate theme, complete with webbing floor cover and towering pillars of silk. Almost immediately, the party is slung into battle once more with two more giant wolf spiders and an ettercap. They barely manage to keep it together as reinforcements start arriving (more spiders and ettercaps), and quickly decide to make a hasty retreat.

Finding a quiet spot along the Southern wall, the heroes make camp to tend their wounds and then strike out toward a curious dancing light show rippling along the Western cavern walls. As the sounds of a distant waterfall begin to fill-in the ambiance, the two stumble upon a small creek that leads them to a stinky, putrid subterranean lake (another spider sneak-attacks). Talos announces his presence--to what, exactly, Fhasys is unclear--and the two argue for a moment about the finer points of sharing information with one another. The aboleth makes an appearance.

Quar-Jezz't is his name, and power is his game. Talos and Fhasys quickly discover the perils of communing with a sentient telepathic being. First, Talos is grilled about the spear and warded from touching it at all. Then, the silence of Talos and Jezz't's telepathic conversation proves too much for Fhasys to stomach... She makes a play for the spear to put an end to this creature once and for all. Unfortunately, the aboleth was already two steps ahead of her and blasted her mind with awful, evil visions and pain. Her body froze in place, convulsing from fear, and Talos grew a bit worried. Fortunately, the aboleth released Fhasys from his grip shortly thereafter as he explained to Talos the task before him. He must capture the soul of his ex-mentor, Weshryn, using his strange glass orb in exchange for their lives. Agreed. Talos is fine with this arrangement as he already hates the guy--something the aboleth had already taken into account--and the two are guaranteed protection on their journey out of the Underdark.

However, instead of opting to take the "safe route" back to the surface, the heroes decide to milk their new aura of protection for all it's worth and head back toward the ettercap farms. Strangely (and predictably), neither spider nor ettercap is anywhere to be found. Discovering a dimly lit tunnel, the two wind their way topside and stumble out into a corrupted swath of forest, full of spider webs and decaying flora. As the aura of protection dissipates, it becomes painfully obvious that creatures are fast on their heels.

Episode 3, "Into The Breach"

Continuing their descent into the Embershard Mine, Fhasys springs a kobold alarm trap that sends the critters scurrying within their lair. Using a network of crude tunnels snaking between the main shafts of the mine, the kobolds get the jump on the party. A fight ensues in a small room filled with trash piles and campfires, and the number of kobolds became nearly too much for the heroes. After the melee, they decided to take a short rest and recoup some hit points. On the way out, the party discovered several more kobolds lying in wait just outside the lair. While in the heat of combat, the heroes spotted two armored men running down the hall chasing kobolds who apparently didn't notice them. Cleaning off their weapons, they headed out of the lair to say hello to their new guests.

Turns out, Dugan had been alerted to the party's whereabouts by the escaped prisoner (see previous session). Knowing a bit about the mine's sordid past, Dugan decided to grab a lackey and go help the idio... er... heroes. Once the pleasantries were dispensed, Dugan explained all he knew of the "official" history of the mines. They were created during the founding of Lehren as a source of income and soon shuttered do to a breach that was discovered leading to the Underdark.

Continuing their exploration (now +2), the party descended even deeper into the mine into a strange network of mining tunnels. The stone tunnels were dotted with strange liquefied stone pools that neither Fhasys nor Talos could make heads or tails of. Was this the work of a dragon? Or perhaps the embershale was capable of heating to the point of melting stone. A strange whispering chatter erupted further down the tunnels.

Investigating one tunnel in particular, blocked by a cave in, Talos manages to spot a dead miner behind the wall of stone. Using his mage hand, he brings the deceased worker's bag up to a small opening in the rubble and rifles around. Dust and cobwebs litter the pack--a sign of just how old this mine really is--and inside is found a set of scribbled journals detailing the miner's last days. The cave in was not accidental, but instead created to protect him from some evil thing that was trying to eat him. The chattering noises continued to ebb and flow within the lower tunnels. Fhasys worried of an ambush.

No sooner had the party gathered itself to continue their exploration, a very odd thing happened... What appeared to be a large, blue-green tentacled creature dragged itself into view, turned its head, and locked its gaze with Talos. A round of telepathic communication ensued and then the creature flickered out of existence. An illusion, perhaps? Talos was left with some precious clues regarding the lower mines and his mentor/captor but unsure of what to make of them.

Pushing on, the crew stumbled upon "the breach"--a large gaping hole in the side of the tunnel walls leading out into a dark and massive chamber. A slightly cooler and more "fresh" breeze wafted into the mines from this opening, a layer of mycelium creeping onto the stone floors from the outside, and some phosphorescent mounds could be seen far off in the distance surrounded by pitch black. As the strange chattering noises slowly grew to a point where conversation was becoming difficult, the group decided on a change of scenery and stepped out into the Underdark.

Their greeting party wasn't exactly friendly. Several darkmantles dropped down on their heads from the cavern ceilings high above, emitting a strange and dark magical cloud as they attempted to suffocate their victims. Stumbling around blindly and flailing at the huge squid-like things on their heads, Dugan decided he'd had enough and transformed into a werewolf. Most managed to either wrestle or slash the things off their heads, except for Dugan's lackey who got eaten. In the midst of the squid frenzy, a grotesque and menacing creature entered the scene from the mines.

A huge, shambling, red pile of ooze sporting dozens of seemingly disconnected eyeballs and jagged tooth-filled mouths discovered its next meal and advanced on the disoriented crew. Dugan (the werewolf) engaged the blob in what would be a very brutal exchange of blows. Talos, succumbing to the gibbering mouther's incessant babbling, took a quick run in a random direction for no apparent reason. After a volley of arrows, a few magic missiles, and some bites and slashes, the blob was dispatched. Unfortunately, the mouther got one solid bite on Dugan which finally incapacitated him.

The party caught their breath, surveyed the scene, and Talos managed to (barely) revive Dugan using a healing potion. He was not amused. Fhasys, in her strange womanly ways, decided it'd be fun to sift through the now melted puddle of red slime and assorted mining equipment to see if she could find any shiny baubles. Staring out into the darkness, the heroes resolved to press onward... toward the glowing mounds in the distance.