Drow's Dilemma Ep. 102: Hell

Phanuel had a plan that went beyond murder (or re-murder as the case was). With several skillful maneuvers, he took the battle down the hall towards the main thoroughfare of the Citadel that the party had gone out of their way to avoid until that point. It wasn't ideal, tactically speaking, for himself and Althaia, but it did give the party quite a bit of space to pass into the dungeons without being seen by the rest of the guards. Althaia happily followed along with Phanuel's plan to move down the hallway. As long as the bodies found her enemies kept falling, she was pleased to go wherever.

Shaking his head, he focused on Dahlia and the drow. "With that racket, our time is limited. Let us make a break for the dungeons and free everything that does not look like it is going to try to kill us immediately." With that, he left the alcove and darted for the dungeon.

The party slipped past where the first two guards had been standing and began their search for creatures to free who did not look outright hostile. The first couple of haphazardly-placed cells were empty, forcing them to go deeper into the winding, forking, seemingly endless maze where the prisoners were kept. There was no order, no predictability where the cells were going to be.

"I had a hell of a time just finding my way out of the place," Dahlia noted with a twitch of a smirk at her use of appropriate language. The more they rushed through the area, the more it became apparent why Dahlia didn't try to find and rescue her sisters herself. "Ended up having to follow my nose. Can't do that in reverse, though. Maybe we should split up?" The succubus suggested. "Caleldir and me, the drow sisters, and Risa? Otherwise, this could take forever. I don't think there are other guards here - the maze was guard enough from people finding their way - but I think a couple of us can take one of them."

Risa finally broke her very long silence. The artificial goddess had been quietly keeping as low of a profile as possible, holding on to her spell energy, ignoring the environment, and concentrating on hiding her divine aura. This dark god was more powerful than her, after all, and they were in his domain, not hers. Exposing herself as a holy divine rival would be a very quick way to get personal attention. A last resort, to be unleashed at the last moment to cover their escape through her realm. If she could open her realm here. It would be a struggle. "I approve of this plan," she said in a low tone. "But my casting so much as an orison should be avoided at all costs." Cocking her head a bit, she drew a deep breath. "If you two find the succubi first, let me know immediately. I can draw additional power from even being close to such sexual beings. That will give me an edge in my attempt to force our way out of this realm when we are ready to go."

Caleldir nodded. "Understood. Led the way, Dahlia. Let us find ourselves an Ashyr. And your friends."

Selene and Sidhriia both nodded, agreeing to the plan. They went down a passageway that Dahlia pointed them down - but not before Selene risked some slightly psionic power to give herself a connection to Caleldir and Risa, should she need to contact them. She felt it was relatively safe, considering the number of times they were already mentally linked. Selene barely had to think to connect herself to them.

"It's probably a little bit safer to cast tiny things; that nymph paladin shines with the amount of divine magic she's casting right now," Dahlia noted to Risa.

Risa shrugged. "Very small, maybe. But I am saving my power," she said simply. Then went off with Selene and Sidhriia.

Likewise, Dahlia took Caleldir by the hand and led him down a passageway. "Come on; I think I remember this area..." she muttered to him.

It proved a little be easier for Risa and Dahlia to hone in on the succubi that were dotted around the prison. They found four of her sisters within the first couple of minutes. Those four were not very helpful for the search, however; they were too horny and lacking in strength because of this. So they gathered at an easy to remember location and waited to be able to leave. The drow sisters, using Selene's psionics, found a few beings of varying sanity and sentience. They gathered a collection of drow, a gnome, and some sort of druid that had gone slightly feral and was stuck in a surprisingly non-violent puma form. No Ashyr yet, though, and no one who knew where she was.

Caleldir was grateful to find those of Dahlia's sisters that they did find, and was not displeased to find others to rescue, but this jailbreak was seeming to be taking far too long. Everyone was too scattered and the place was too large and disorganized. And the succubi were no help at all. He wondered about the feasibility of feeding an imprisoned succubus and decided not to question it: just grimacing and moving on. It was clear that no one was being treated even remotely healthily down here.

This place was annoying. So very illogically laid out. "I have no idea what the people building this place were thinking," Caleldir fussed to Dahlia. "I mean, think of how inconvenient it would be for the things that work here!" He sighed. "Course, they are probably all undead or otherwise not ones to be inconvenienced by nonsensical floor plans. At least this place is not still all weirdly fleshy."

"I don't think the things that work here find it very inconvenient. Or have much in the way of opinions at all." Dahlia pointed out. "And it's likely that Lord Whats-his-name can just teleport everywhere within his dimension. So why not make a confusing labyrinth that no one could escape from easily even if they got out of their cell?" The succubus was just as annoyed by it as her master was, but she wasn't in the slightest bit baffled. A denizen of hell such as herself could understand the chaotic mindset of a demon god. To a certain degree.

Caleldir knew that Dahlia was right, of course. He was just venting. Not super-rational venting, but venting.

Up in the main hall, the paladins' fight continued on with a steady stream of enemies replacing every one they killed. But there was an angry rumble in the far distance that made the ground tremble beneath them. Something (or Someone) much bigger was paying attention to the battle.

And that was all that was needed for Althaia to calm down and fight less enthusiastically and more efficiently. As soon as the first rumblings of whatever-that-was began to make its way towards them, she pulled back and began fighting less theatrically. "That sounds encouraging." She observed cheerfully to Faust. "Hopefully they are finding those we came for quickly."

"Yes." Was the only response that Phanuel had to Althaia's words. They fought on, the enemies coming against them actually dwindling slightly. Whether that was because the realm was running out of enemies to throw at them or it was just a temporary lull remained to be seen. Whatever made the horrifying sound had yet to show its face.

"Oi!" came a voice down in the dungeon as Caleldir and Dahlia were searching a section of the dungeons. "I hear you out there! Get me out of this box!" It was a gruff male voice speaking in undercommon, but with an accent not of Duskhaven. The muffled voice came from one of the best-sealed cells they had come across. The only way to look in was by a small sliding metal plate at around eye level.

Dahlia's black eyes fixed on the spot, and apprehension filtered between her bond with Caleldir. Who would warrant such high security?

Now, the obvious conclusion was that if the voice was in Undercommon, the speaker was from the Underdark: not a place where nice people lived. But no matter how unpleasant he may have been he was hardly likely to attack his rescuers, and if he needed this much security he had to be pretty powerful. And anything that the ruler of this land wanted locked up they could hardly but gain from having free. "Regardless of how unpleasant this fellow may be, if this land wants him imprisoned, we will benefit from his freedom," Caleldir observed to Dahlia. "Let us get him out of there."

The door resisted Caleldir's attempts to magically unlock it. He had not truly expected the door to be easy to open, given the security, but he had multiple ways of getting at such a thing. Several magical, several mundane. He also had a bit of inspiration on the topic. It took a bit, but then he opened the door.

It reluctantly swung open to reveal the solid - if a bit short - form of a grey-skinned duergar. There was a look of fierce anger and determination on his scruffy, noble features as he stepped out of the cage he had been trapped in. As soon as he left the little metal box, blue runes flared across his bared torso and his eyes literally shone with the cold light that spoke of immense power. He was no typical surface dwarf with a bulbous nose and ruddy complexion. No, he was a true dwarf; all muscle and well-defined feature. A Noble Tyrant: one who was most definitely a leader of some civilization back in the Underdark. He took one look at Caleldir, and Dahlia, and began to stride down the hallway deeper into the dungeon.

Caleldir stepped out of the way of the duergar. A powerful, important Duergar. Well, probably an evil, tyrannical creature that would sternly cause all sorts of trouble back in the material plane, but all they had to do was not take him with them when they ported out and he would at least be useful in doing damage around here before being caught and/or killed. That was the gamble that Caleldir had taken when he released him.

[I will assist in the escape if you help me find her,] came a powerful thought project directly into the minds of the three who had rescued him. Then came a picture of a younger-looking Ashyr with her signature naughty grin and her hair adorned with a single object: a finely-wrought silver chain glinting in the blue-green fungal glow of the room she had been in.

[What's going on?] Selene's thoughts demanded across the mental link almost simultaneous to the communication from the dark dwarf. Then the newly escaped dwarf's runes flared just a bit brighter before dulling back to near-complete invisibility, and shock that was quickly muffled was telegraphed through Selene's link with the rest of the party.

That gamble that Caleldir was contemplating seemed a little more stupid when the dwarf projected an image of Ashyr. This was Ashyr's old duergar 'lover'. How nice. "Good looking drow," Caleldir said cheerfully. "What do you need her for?"

Mentally, he replied to Selene. [We just unleashed a duergar fling of Ashyr's. He wants to find her. Do you remember Ashyr ever mentioning this guy? Scale of 1-10, how likely is it he wants to kill her?]

[With one being the least likely? That would probably be about a two. No, a three,] responded the Duergar, his 'voice' sternly serious. [Selene can't hear you; she was being too loud. I will be the communicator henceforth.] He continued to stride down the passage, seeming the only one who actually knew where he was going.

Risa, for her part, after hearing through their link what was going on, decided to keep an eye on the dwarf. However powerful he was, she still outclassed him. Probably the only one here who did (which spoke to his terrifying power). She moved in his direction.

[If you must know, I am a former sexual partner. But I am not here for her sake.] He sent another projection, one steeped in terror. It was of a creature who looked similar to the tiefling-turned-aasimar formally known as Faust - though darker-skinned and lighter-haired - sitting on a throne of bones. Children of various races of the Underdark were being sacrificed at his feet while their mothers, wrapped in chains, looked on in hopeless terror. Then the vision panned out, and the surface and Underdark alike were subjected to a chaos that only a god could wreak. [This is what will happen if we don't get to her in time.]

The realm rumbled again, this time from a sound that was far too close to the Paladins. Through the cracks of the bones on the outer wall of the citadel, a massive fleshy dragon could be seen landing at the front gate. The paladins were too busy to do anything about it yet.

Not that the searching party could pay attention to this. They reached a cell that the dwarf seemed to be seeking. And yet, inside, there was nothing but old cloth. [Shit. They moved her.] About that time was when Risa reached the rest of the party. The dark dwarf didn't look surprised. He didn't even seem to care about her presence. He was focused on bigger things currently.

The duergar continued on through the labyrinth. He must have thought continuing the search was worthwhile at least. Every now and then, his runes across his body flared, and he turned in a particular direction with a confidence that implied he knew where he was going even still. A couple of turns through the maze later, and he came upon another cell. This one was smaller than the average - much smaller - and had nothing but several lumps of cloth in- No. Something stirred in the cloth, and Bard's nose came up out of the bed he was sleeping on.

[Her animal companion,] The dwarf thought in what was probably meant to be a question. [That would explain why I felt her signature. Well, it's a start.] That cage was trivial to open. Bard was, after all, a mostly normal wolf. Just a little bit smarter, and a little bit more imbued with magic. No need to close him off in a more complex cell.

Bard, finding himself freed, lept up in a blur of gold and grey fur and shot further down the passageway. Wordlessly, the dwarf picked up his pace and jogged with surprising speed after the animal homing beacon they had rescued.

Dahlia fell behind slightly; she had found a couple more of her sisters. Three, in fact, in three closely situated cells. Only five left until her whole seduction was returned to her. Her happiness was muted by the fact that they were still in that Hell of hells.

And, outside the citadel, the place groaned in protest as the arrived dragon leaped upon its walls and deftly crawled along the outer edge of the building towards where the paladins fought. Althaia grimaced at the dragon. "Well, that is a bit more than I want to tangle with at the moment." She confessed. "Should probably just give it the old run-around until our backup is freed."

Phanuel seemed to agree with Althaia. In one swift motion, he knocked off the head of a hulking skeleton and twisted its body so that the creature that had been attacking him from behind cut into the bones of the skeleton instead. Then he used that temporary gap in the enemies to break free from the melee and start jogging down the main hall directly away from the strange fleshy dragon that was coming for them.

Althaia cast a look at the dragon. Her face wrinkled in distaste. "That thing seems pleasant." She fussed. "Why does everything here have to be so gross? What is wrong with a nice, clean, classic obsidian fortress with a lava moat?"

"Because my father has a sick mind," Phanuel grimly responded, his voice raised over the noise of their enemies clattering and squelching towards them. "And a flesh obsession." He might have explained more, but just that moment was not the time for lengthy explanations.

Risa ignored the rumblings above, noted her location, and sent a message to the others through a minor divine spell (at a lower caster level, of course). [Bard is traveling to Ashyr. Caleldir, you and the Duskhavens should be there. I will stay with Dahlia to find the rest of her Seduction.]

[Understood,] Caleldir replied. He turned to Dahlia. "Let's follow her plan. You will be able to find me fairly easily that way. And Risa needs your succubi to be near her to give her the boost to get out of here."

[I said I would be the communicator,] The duergar insisted with a small, audible grumble of frustration. [She acknowledges whatever plan you sent her. They are on their way.] Even as he projected that thought, he kept chasing after the animal companion. The wolf was not going to stop for any reason, that much was clear.

Risa just shrugged. "You use psionics. I use divine magic."

[Oh yes. An equally viable option in the living quarters of a demon god with psionic abilities comparatively minor to his divine,] the duergar responded flatly before cursing to himself about the humiliation of being rescued by idiots.

And, just as planned, the two sisters met up with Caleldir and ran (or rather, floated just across the ground) with him as they followed the desperate Bard. Dahlia and Risa split from the group. When away from the duergar, Risa relaxed a bit. Keeping her disguise up psychically - as well as everything else she was trying to keep hidden - was stressful. And she really did not trust the deep dwarf. It was easier dealing with the succubi. And more fun. and proceeded to find two more of Dahlia's sisters - Lilac and Lily, actually, two of the more powerful succubi of the seduction. That meant there were only three more to find, presuming that they still lived and that they had a bit of actual help.

For those following Bard, there were a couple of missed turns and dead-ends. Bard was trying to go straight for his master, but the hallways were unpredictable. Sometimes, it seemed, even magically so. This place seemed bigger on the inside, too. But the animal was stubborn and smarter than the average wolf. He found his way through the mess of tunnels soon enough. He stopped at a door that was just as secure as the one that held the duergar. The wolf began scratching desperately at the floor in front of it.

Caleldir took a deep breath "Well, this seems to be the place. Most likely." If this door was anything like the one the duergar had been behind, he would just have to do that again to open it. Spells and lockpicks alike.

Meanwhile, the dragon was going faster across the edge of the citadel than the Paladins could fight on the run.

At least, the Paladins they had with them right then.

The flesh-dragon fell backward onto the ground, flesh squelching and bones cracking, a tall, nude, dark-grey skinned elf woman on top of it. Abanonda Blackdawn, entire body thrumming with divine power, looked up at the other paladins. "I have got this one!" she shouted in Celestial. "Go! Go!"

Althaia instantly recognized the nude dark-elf as another paladin, and one of greater power than her own (the first time she had ever seen a paladin more powerful than her, actually). She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, and nodded, continuing on. "We will come back for you!"

"Your mission comes first!" Abanonda shouted back. "Eilistraee be with you!"

During the brief exchange, Phanuel studied the unfamiliar figure seriously. He had the strong urge to fight alongside the strange dark woman, but judging by the power he felt radiate from her, she could manage the dragon herself. He began to circle around and back into the dungeon entrance.

Luckily for Caleldir, the lock at this door was similar to the lock that held the duergar. It came right open with a minimal amount of fiddling. The door only had to crack open before Bard forced his way past the crowd of people. It was then that the atmosphere of the realm altered drastically. Palpable anger filled their senses, and an impossibly loud voice tore through their ears and into their minds.

[NO]

Runes across the duergar's body flared brighter than they had ever been as he pushed back against the Voice that suddenly entered into the minds of everyone in the flesh hell. He was only strong enough to throw up a bubble around him, Caleldir, Selene, Riia, Bard, and Ashyr. Dahlia, the other succubi, and the rest of the rescues temporarily collapsed under the oppressive power of the word.

[We need you here, demigoddess.] The dwarf demanded, projecting his thoughts to where Risa had gone. While he said this, he reached an open hand out and closed it into a fist. The figure at the back of the cell on the bed floated as gently and quickly as possible over to them. She got deposited into Caleldir's arms for indeed it was Ashyr. Alive, but unconscious and sickly-looking. Selene cast a quick spell to buff Caleldir's strength to assure that he could carry her without issue.