Chapter 7: To Gravenhollow

Elayna looks between the narrow tunnel and the soldiers for a few moments and then back to Hunter, taking a deep breath and re-adjusting her equipment, "I think I'll go with you," she says, "I feel safest that way."The passage behind the secret door is narrow enough that you need to move through it single file, occasionally turning sideways to squeeze. It takes about an hour to navigate its pitch-black darkness, and the journey is filled with a constant echo of distant sounds. The passage then widens, opening out into a cavern whose far walls and ceiling are out of sight in the darkness. Bits of quartz and mica en the stone glimmer as they catch the light, showing a footpath worn into the stone floor. At the end of that path, a vast, dark shape rises-an enormous stalagmite carved into a bleak, black tower.

Past the heavy iron door that is the tower's only visible entrance, a short tunnel extends through five feet of solid rock into a cool, dark chamber. As you enter, a floating orb of pale violet light brightens before you, revealing an opening in the vaulted ceiling and a spiral stone staircase with no railing, climbing up into darkness.

Around the stairs, the light reveals a circular audience chamber with cold, unlit lanterns hanging from brackets set into the stone wall, heavy carpets covering the smooth stone door, and a throne-like stone chair on a raised dais to the left of the entrance.

The ball of violet light floats to a stop beneath the center of the open shaft, beyond the foot of the stairs. It then hovers there as if waiting for you.

Vizeran leads the way around the open shaft to the other side of the audience chamber taking a seat in a high-backed chair and beckoning you all to take a seat. He snaps his finger and the lanterns are suddenly lit with an odd purple-ish flame and the tables are suddenly set with a feast. Trays of dried mushrooms, smoked rothe meat, and goblets of spicy liquor fill the tables.

Vizeran takes a cup of the liquor and immediately takes a drink, looking in your direction as if to say "It's not poisoned".

The food and drink offered is not quite as good as that which you had in Bruenor's halls, but is much better than anything you've had since you left Gauntlgrym. Vizeran waits until you've all served yourselves before speaking.

"The only one of my kind who could ever match me in the Art is Gromph Baenre. I think we knew from the moment we met that we were destined to be rivals. But where I sought only to master the Art, Gromph was also an astute political manipulator. No more devout than I in the service of the Spider Queen, he arranged for my disgrace and exile. Deprived of my considerable skills, my house fell to our rival, House Do'Urden. Gromph became the Archmage of Menzoberranzan under the auspices of his own house, the First House of the Ruling Council."

"Gromph and I only ever had two things in common: our passion for the Art, and our hatred of the manner in which our fellow mages suffer at the hands of the matron mothers and mistresses of the drow. Gromph has always hungered for power, and not even becoming Archmage of Menzoberranzan was enough to satisfy him."

"From this tower of exile, I kept watch on Gromph's activities. This was no easy task given his suspicious and circumspect nature. Nonetheless, my observations revealed that he was crafting a unique ritual-one that somehow drew on the energy of faerzress to channel incalculable arcane power. When Gromph performed this ritual, the walls between the planes shuddered. Then, as you have by now realized, the demon lords were wrenched from their layers of the Abyss and cast about here in the Underdark. What we all witnessed in Gravenhollow confirms this."

After allowing you all a moment to digest the information, Vizeran continues:

"Demons are creatures ruled by madness and hatred, even the greatest and most powerful of them. They war ceaselessly upon each other in the Abyss, and have already begun to do so here. We can play them against each other, and then deal with the weakened victors."

"I believe I have the ability to devise and cast a ritual, similar to Gromph's but nowhere near as dangerous or foolish, that will draw the most powerful demon lords together to the site of the original summoning. Once they are brought together, they will try to destroy each other."

"But though the demon lords might destroy each other's physical manifestations here in our world, their essence cannot be extinguished. They will thus be cast back into the Abyss, as effectively as if they had been banished."

"The ritual needs certain components to produce the talisman that will draw the demons. Then a rite to empower and activate it. Then blood and battle such as this world has never seen. Any survivors among the demon lords will be sorely weakened, and should be far easier to destroy."

"All I need are the necessary ingredients," Vizeran says, "and, ideally, a look at Gromph's grimoires and notes from his sanctum."

While the drow archmage watches you mull over his plan, a thin smile curls one corner of his mouth.

Vizeran smiles, "Excellent! I think you're beginning to understand how this works," he says, pulling out a piece of folded parchment and sliding it across the desk to Hunter.

Vizeran raises an eyebrow, "Do you think I'd set you on this task without knowing where to find the ingredients that you'll need? I'm not so foolish as to trust you all to be able to find them on your own, as resourceful as you may be for one of the lesser races." The statement, at face value, sounds like an insult, but you get the idea that it's a sort of off-handed compliment.

"Now, I'd suggest that you begin at the Wormwrithings," he says as he snaps his fingers. After a moment, you see a rolled piece of parchment float through the air toward him. He takes it and unrolls it on a clear section of one of the tables, revealing a very confusing map of criss-crossing tunnels. He points to one point, "This is my tower," he says, beginning to trace a path across the map before stopping at an especially wide tunnel, "These are the Wormwrithings, a nest of purple worms. I imagine you can find eggs somewhere within. There is also a place call the Vast Oblivium just beyond. Once you've retrieved the egg, I will send further instructions on how to find it. That is where you'll find a beholder named Karazikar."

To Hunter's question, Vizeran nods, "Yes, feel free. It's a copy that I had made for you," he says.

The drow listens to Mai'ngor and then smiles, "This will undoubtedly result in my power growing. I also won't refute that there will likely be massive collateral damage, but what do you care?" he asks, "The Underdark is far from your home and I doubt you have any love for my kind to be so concerned."

Xeliss sips at the liquor and finds that it's very smooth. It is very strong, but not overpowering, and she can feel the tenseness in her muscles slipping away as her body relaxes for the first time in a long time.

Sarith sits at the back of the group, silently eating and drinking. It appears to those of you who've spent a lot of time with him that he is trying to avoid bringing notice to himself.

Elayna barely seems to notice the presence of the drow now that there's good food in front of you all. She pays only half-attention through the whole conversation, focused instead on looking around and sampling the foods.

"I'll be watching from here and will contact you magically once you've gotten the egg," he replies simply.