2/6/2026 – Belowdown Ep. 4

The party stood amid the reeking aftermath of their troglodyte slaughter, and the halfling farmers they had saved fled with rude farewells. In the latrine-turned-bone-pit beyond, a cadaver mound of rot and fungus heaved to life. Junie tried to burn it, but flame slid off slick decay. Cad invoked the Light to drive it back to no effect, and Phramberzond and Adder pounded it down while the stench settled in their lungs, leaving several of them queasy and feverish.

A stone door burst open to reveal an iridescent-scaled troglodyte witch. She snuffed Junie’s torch, plunging the room into chaos, and for a panicked heartbeat, the fight became a scrabble to spark light while the witch pressed the attack. When the torch finally flared, steel and force answered in kind; the witch fell, her runed chamber yielding only filth, ominous pillars, and a silver hip flask that Junie identified as a restorative elixir. Runes in the witch’s lair mocked them in a reptilian tongue no one could read.

Skirting a hall where three grayscale trogs bickered over grubs, they slipped away, fought off a needle-beaked stingbat, and climbed to an old guardroom with arrow slits. There, two withered duergar rose as wights. Mundane blows passed uselessly through them until Adder’s force and a cold-forged blade found purchase. One wight swung a black metal singing mace that keened like deep-earth chanting before they cut it down. Phramberzond fell and was dragged back from the brink as the other wight dissolved; the mace alone remained.

After curing the worst of their taint at the temple and identifying the mace’s power to loose a fearsome howl, they descended again. A treacherous, spiraling slope swallowed a grappling hook and half a rope before delivering them to a cavern laced with wind and troglodyte pictographs. Deeper still, they stumbled into a nursery: three adults and a clutch of snapping young. Junie spread alchemical frost that pinned many in place, but the reek rolled over them, blades grew clumsy, and wounds mounted. They felled an adult and several young, then broke contact, fleeing through an ascending side passage that spilled them out on the surface miles from the temple. They returned to town to bind wounds, cleanse the last of the stench, and ready themselves to bring the fight back below.

OUTLINE:

Back to the Troglodyte Warren and the Cadaver Mound

• Returned to the reeking trog chambers as rescued halflings departed with insults.
• Opened a stone door into a latrine-bone pit where a cadaver mound animated.
• Junie’s fire failed to catch; Cad’s attempt to drive it back did not take; Adder and Phramberzond destroyed it.
• Several party members suffered lingering sickness from the overpowering stench.

The Troglodyte Witch and the Pillared Lair

• A frilled, iridescent troglodyte witch burst from a door and snuffed Junie’s torch.
• Scramble in darkness to relight; once lit, the party overwhelmed and slew the witch.
• Explored her chamber of rune-daubed pillars and a hammock; Junie identified a silver hip flask as a restorative elixir.
• Unable to read the reptilian runes; decided to move on.

Skirting Guards, Arrow-Slit Room, and Duergar Wights

• Spotted three grayscale troglodyte guards in a stair hall and quietly backed away.
• Fought off a darting stingbat while repositioning.
• Climbed to a duergar guardroom with curtains over arrow slits; two withered duergar rose as wights.
• Mundane blows failed; Adder’s power and a cold-forged blade struck true.
• One wight wielded a black metal singing mace; after both fell, the mace remained and Phramberzond was revived.

Town Interlude: Cures and Identification

• Paid the temple to cure lingering troglodyte taint and patch up wounds.
• Identified the black singing mace as a potent weapon that can unleash a fearsome howl to rattle foes.

Descent by Treacherous Slope and the Troglodyte Nursery

• Followed a slick, spiraling chute to a deeper level, losing a grappling hook and most of a rope retrieving it.
• Explored windy caverns marked with troglodyte pictographs of hunts, feasts, and mating.
• Stumbled into a brood cave: three adults and a clutch of young; the stench imposed heavy disadvantage.
• Junie froze the floor with alchemical frost, pinning many; they killed an adult and several hatchlings.
• With wounds mounting, they executed a fighting withdrawal and escaped via an ascending passage to the surface miles from the temple.

NPCs:

• Cadaver Mound: A heaving quilt of carrion, vermin, and fungus stitched by foul growths. Fire slid off it; brute force finally tore it apart while its stench sickened the party.
• Duergar Wights: Withered dark dwarves in rusted mail who rose as hateful dead. Ordinary steel passed through them, but force and cold-forged metal ended them. One wielded a black singing mace.
• Grayscale Troglodyte Guards: A trio of cave-hardened lizardfolk grumbling over grubs in a stair hall. They were cowed and lured away by the singing mace’s dread reputation and the party’s caution.
• Halfling Farmers: Recently rescued commonfolk who fled with rude parting words. Grateful to be alive, ungrateful in every other respect.
• Stingbat: A darting, orange, needle-beaked pest that latched on to drain blood. It died to a well-timed swat.
• Temple Priest: A practical cleric in town who traded coin for cures and identifications. Their rites scoured the lingering troglodyte taint and named the powers of the singing mace.
• Troglodyte Brood Wardens and Young: Adults protecting a clutch of snapping hatchlings in a stinking nursery. Vicious when pressed; one adult and several young fell before the party withdrew.
• Troglodyte Witch: An iridescent-scaled priestess with a flared frill who snuffed light and struck from darkness. She ruled a filthy pillar-chamber and died quickly once the torch was relit.

ITEMS:

• Alchemical Ice Oil: Junie’s quick-brewed vial that flash-freezes slick sheets across stone, hindering foes in cramped caves.
• Black Singing Mace: A duergar-forged, black metal mace that hums with deep-earth chants when swung. Strikes true and can, once per day, unleash a dreadful howl to shake the courage of those before the wielder.
• Cold Steel Longsword +1: A keen, cold-forged blade that bites where ordinary steel fails. Passed between hands at need, it proved decisive against the wights.
• Grappling Hook and Severed Rope: A hook lost to the spiraling chute and a ten-foot remnant of the rope that once held it. A reminder that the stone takes its toll.
• Healing Salve: A compact kit of pungent unguents Phramberzond keeps ready for battlefield emergencies.
• Silver Hip Flask (Restorative Elixir): An etched flask holding a single swig of warming draught tasting of cinnamon, peppermint, and thyme. Restores health and scours disease when drunk.

LOCATIONS:

• Arrow-Slit Guardroom: An old duergar position with benches and curtains pulled back from three firing slits. Two wights rose here.
• Latrine-Bone Pit: A foul chamber of corpses and slop where a cadaver mound animated. The air burned with disease and decay.
• Spiraling Slope to the Lower Caverns: A treacherous, slick chute that curved out of sight. It cost a grappling hook and most of a rope to negotiate safely.
• Stair Hall with Grayscale Trogs: A hewn-stone passage sloping down toward deeper levels where three trogs lingered over grubs.
• Surface Egress: A rising side passage that spilled the party into the winter air miles from the temple.
• Town Temple: Sanctum of cures, counsel, and identification. A brief haven between forays into the dark.
• Troglodyte Nursery: A brood cave reeking of musk and offal where adults guarded snapping young. Ice stalled many but not for long.
• Windy Caverns with Pictographs: Lower tunnels threaded by cold drafts and walls painted with reptilian hunts, feasts, and rites.
• Witch’s Pillared Lair: A room of four rune-daubed pillars with a filthy hammock and an unbearable stench. A silver hip flask lay hidden in the debris.

FACTIONS:

• Duergar Remnants: Fallen dark dwarves whose dead still linger in old redoubts. Their craft endures in grim relics like the singing mace.
• Town Temple: Local custodians of healing and lore who exchange coin for cures and identifications. Their quiet influence steadies the frontier.
• Troglodyte Tribe: A subterranean lizardfolk clan guarding warrens, brood caves, and shrines with stubborn ferocity and an eye-watering stench.

QUESTS:

• Breach the Nursery: Neutralize the brood cave and its wardens or find a way to bypass it safely to reach deeper levels.
• Cure the Troglodyte Taint: Rid the party of sickness and stench-sickness contracted in foul chambers before it worsens.
• Explore the Troglodyte Warrens: Probe the lower caves, chart passages, and undermine the tribe’s strength without being overrun by numbers or stench.
• Learn the Reptilian Tongue: Study the language etched in runes and growls to read troglodyte warnings and rites without guesswork.
• Secure Duergar Relics: Recover potent artifacts from duergar ruins before they are lost to time or corrupted by the deep.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A scarred kineticist who channels raw force with volatile precision. He hangs back to build power, then erupts with blasts that shatter the unnatural—pivotal against the duergar wights and the cadaver mound. He pays for that power in blood and breath, but never hesitates when it matters.
• Cad: A gruff, pious warrior-priest who shoulders the front line with shield and conviction. He calls down blessings and protections, patches comrades back from the brink, and wields a cold-forged longsword when words fail. He kept Phramberzond alive and steadied the line when undead rose.
• Junie: A sharp-minded alchemist and problem-solver who meets danger with quick improvisation. She brews tinctures and oils on the fly—freezing floors, identifying strange draughts, and keeping the team upright. In the nursery fight, her alchemical frost turned a rout into a fighting chance.
• Phramberzond: A human fighter and battlefield chirurgeon, equal parts iron and bedside manner. He leads with shield and blade, then kneels with bandages when the din fades. He seized the black singing mace mid-fight, fell, rose, and kept swinging, determined to hold the line for the others.