Into the Maze
The Dark Fellowship
Chapter Two
Following their companions into wherever they vanished, Shoutanei and Path-Chak stepped through the freestanding doorframe- and found themselves suddenly standing in what looked like an ordinary town on the surface world, both Garadon and Kezreck standing before them apparently unharmed and looking just as confused as they were.
Shoutanei whirled around to look behind him- the mysterious doorframe was nowhere in sight. The sound of flapping wings overhead caused the four to look up, but they only saw a dark sky- without a visible moon or even stars.
"Greetings," the four jumped at the sound of her, tense and confused as they were; they turned to face a comely woman wearing a warm smile, "Welcome to the Maze," she continued, "If there is anyway I can help make your stay here more comfortable, please don't hesitate to ask."
The four looked from her to each other, then Shoutanei faced the woman again, "We have come a long way, and would appreciate if you could direct us to a place we could find rest…"
The woman nodded, "We have many inns at the lodging district," to which she pointed, "However for your needs I would recommend a place called the Roasted Gnome- you may find it the most welcoming for the more- unusual visitors such as yourselves," with that, she headed toward a party of humanoids that seemed to appear in a manner not unlike the four did.
Once she moved on Shoutanei, using the drow sign language he had taught the other three, asked Garadon what her thoughts were while she spoke to her. Garadon replied he could not sense what she was thinking- in fact he could not sense the thoughts of anyone around, even his companions- it was like trying to see through a thick fog- perhaps a rather appropriate comparison, considering the haze that seemed to hang in the air. Path-Chak informed them through his gestures his telepathic abilities seemed somehow suppressed- this was a problem as Nak'Cha'Dok could not grant divine magic through drow signage.
Bereft of a game plan Shoutanei suggested they seek this place called the Roasted Gnome, if only to rest and figure things out from there.
The inn was easy enough to locate due to the gruesome image painted on the wooden sign. Looking about as they entered, a group of duergar- known to most people as grey dwarves huddled around their table trying to ignore everyone, whilst an armoured troll bearing a sword on his back looked their way and lifted up a beaten bronze goblet in salute. All in all, a surprisingly well-mannered clientele, considering their parentages.
Shoutanei knocked on the bar with his fingers. The innkeeper- a grey-skinned, ratty haired humanoid with pupil-less eyes approached on a pair of stilts, as his arms and legs were as short and scrawny as his frame. Looking upon the four said innkeeper- of a race Shoutanei recognized as derro, greeted them with a smile, "Welcome to the Roasted Gnome. You may be pleased to hear we have more than enough vacancies for the four of you," he looked to Shoutanei specifically, "We also have fine bottles of drow mushroom wine."
Kezreck's ears picked up at the mention of an intoxicant he hadn't had the chance to taste yet, however Shoutanei cared little for what was an unwelcome reminder of his underdark life. The wizard held up the medallion supplied by the cathedral and asked, "Any chance you know of humans wearing medallions looking like this come around here?"
The innkeeper examined the medallion before answering, "Doesn't look like something the kind of humans this place caters to would wear- however if they come to the maze, I imagine they did so for the same reason you did."
Curious at whatever assumptions the derro might have made concerning their arrival Shoutanei asked, "And what reason do you think that would be?"
The innkeeper looked surprised, "Why- the archways, of course. People from all over many worlds come here to seek their fortunes in the paths they lead to."
Shoutanei signed their names in the guest book and paid up front for a room with four medium sized beds; as the innkeeper moved on to other patrons the four looked to each other, wondering about these archways- and why clerics seeking to rescue an imprisoned angel would be led here.
The following day- as close to such as the four could determine, since the town someone endured without a rising or descending sun to mark the passage of time- they stood before one of the many arches that form a ring circling the entire community. From what they could gather by asking others who found their way to this place each of these led to places where treasure in gold, gems and magic could be found- though usually guarded by powerful protectors. An arch need not led to the same place twice; many would shift to another path once explorers returned from plundering them- though many such treasure seekers never came back.
What unnerved Shoutanei the most was when he asked how successful adventurers returned to their worlds of origin with the loot they acquired- no one seemed to know of anybody that managed to do so; the fortune hunters simply returned from one arch to head into another until they failed to return at all.
Spooked but unsure of any other way to proceed, the four headed through the arch. They found themselves in a desert canyon under a blazing sun; the path under their feet rose and twisted to a cave in the cliffside. They'd gone about ten feet into the cave when five large dogs with burning red eyes confronted them- and three more appeared behind, cutting off any escape. The pack's leader belched a short burst of fire before it and its brethren attacked.
Kezreck sat on the sandstone floor as Path-Chak applied balm to the bugbear's burns- the best the thri-kreen could do as he was somehow still cut off from his deity. Garadon stepped over the bodies of the fallen hell hounds to sift through the pile of bones from the pack's previous victims; finding not much in the way of 'treasure' aside from three masterwork swords that might fetch a good price from a successful weapon smith.
The next day another arch led through a winding forest trail to a keep atop a hill. Expecting trouble at the front door they came in through a window on the top level courtesy of Garadon's grappling hook and rope. The fort's interior housed many snares and traps that even an infiltrator of Garadon's skill found challenging to detect and disarm; in time the four made their way into the main hall where awaited several brutish humanoid thugs surrounding a throne on which sat a figure with membranous wings and short horns on his forehead. The fiend on the throne chuckled as his guards drew their weapons.
When the dust had settled the thugs lay fallen and their cambion master sat limp in his throne, pinned to it by three of Garadon's arrows. Aside from what possessions their slain enemies had on them, the four found a vault beneath the throne; only one chest was inside yet was so full of coin it took the combined strength of both Kezreck and Path-Chak to carry it back to the town.
They found that many inns including the Roasted Gnome provided another service in addition to lodgings, in the inn's basement were multiple lockers for storage of spoils recovered from the archways. As they brought in the chest and locked it up Shoutanei asked the innkeeper what happened to the contents of lockers set for guests who never returned from an arch. The derro told him he inspected the lockers regularly, and that when a party failed to return from an arch he'd find their locker somehow emptied but with no evidence of intrusion- in fact earlier in the day a locker claimed by a troll named Aarkh was found so.
As their original task the four went about town inquiring about visitors wearing medallions like the one they brought, but no one had answers for them.
The following morning the four heard talk of an archway from which no one in recent days had come back from; deciding it was likely their best bet to find the clerics they headed into it. It started out innocently enough, a trail through rather pleasant forest. Small strands of spider silk were visible along the path; they gradually grew thicker and longer, with increasingly larger arachnids to match. Soon the forest gave way entirely to tunnels of web, some branching into lairs of giant spiders the size of horses if not bigger; though the four kept their distance from these. Finally the trail terminated in what appeared as a vast air pocket in a colossal mass of web- the roof of it too high up to see, yet reaching down from it dangled many human-sized cocoons of silk.
Rushing toward the web bundles they cut them open. Sure enough they held the dead bodies of previous adventurers preserved for an arachnid's later meals. None of the bodies they unearthed wore medallions of those the four sought however a wizard among them was wrapped up with a well crafted staff; clutching it hand and casting an identify spell Shoutanei looked on the discovery in awe- until an impact from behind nearly knocked all four to their feet.
Blocking the exit from the tunnel was a tarantula of such size it put a dragon the four once fought to shame- and it was hungry. Garadon aimed for its eyes; the creature closed its eyelids and the arrows broke upon hitting them. Shoutanei hurled lightning toward the spider, it backed a bit but then came forward with no apparent pain or injury.
Shoutanei passed the dead wizard's staff to Kezreck yelling "Throw this at its legs!" Having learned from experience the drow usually knew what he was talking about Kezreck hurled the staff toward their mutual enemy. It landed on the web just as one of the spider's legs touched down- breaking the staff in two.
The explosion that resulted made the spider skitter away, turning to reveal a smoking gap in its carapace where an middle leg once extended from; more of Garadon's arrows followed by a fireball cast by Shoutanei entered this newly made chink in its armour. Seconds after the fireball's detonation the spider crashed to the web floor from which it would never get back up.
"Yeah!" Kezreck yelled once it was obvious the spider was dead, "That's what you get for thinking you could eat us!" then remembering something he looked to Shoutanei, "Sorry about your new toy," he said rather sheepishly.
"It would be of little use to me if I was dead," the always pragmatic Shoutanei pointed out, "I suggest we leave this place - that thing might have a family."
Back at the inn and in dire need of strong drink, even Shoutanei welcomed the bottle of mushroom wine the innkeeper brought to their table. Kezreck bit down on the cork and twisted his neck to pull it free.
The bugbear brought the bottle to his lips when Shoutanei grabbed his muscular wrist and pulled it down.
"You don't just guzzle mushroom wine right away," the drow explained, "You give it a moment to breathe first." Kezreck looked at him strangely- even he knew wine bottles didn't have lungs- but humoured the wizard and waited.
The four finished the bottle fairly quickly and called for another when a voice called for their attention; behind them stood a rather meek-looking human who held up a medallion that was a dead ringer for the one they had brought with them into this strange place.
The four leapt to their feet, Garadon started to ask a question but the human hushed him, "The walls in these inns have ears- follow me." The four were suspicious, but ran after the man.
The human, who identified himself as Orton, led them through the streets toward a simple looking structure- "My temple to Fharlanghn," he explained, "I built it when I first came to the maze, in my young and foolish days. Unfortunately it's not easy to commune with him here, most of the locals treat the place like a joke- but the advantage is it's a good place to avoid unwanted attention- and I assure you, the questions you have been asking attract attention most unwanted."
With that, the humble Orton ushered the four inside…