Acid Burns
Rizzen looked over the temple of Ghaunadaur with great pride. It had been hard work, taking over a decade of labor, but the black and purple structure, with it's portal resembling a massive eye, had finally been completed. Trolls, fomorians, hill giants and an increasing flow of drow refugees filled the ranks of The Servants of The Eye. Ghaunadaur had been with him, granting him abilities, including the ability to spit acid and transform his limbs into semi-solid pseudopods. The acid was a great help in dealing with ambitious trolls who had sought to overthrow him as leader, as it was one of the few things that could permanently harm a troll. He had also experienced some problems with angry clerics of Vaprak, the traditional god of trolls, but they had been dispatched by Ghaunadaur's power as well. Gristle, though ever faithful, would not be able to protect him forever, and Rizzen had to make sure that he could protect himself. The thought of life without his closest friend was difficult, but both had accepted that a drow's lifespan far outstretched that of a troll.
Apparently, from the stories told to him by drow adherents of the faith, Lolth was losing ground in the Underdark. He was saddened to hear that many of The Chosen of Eilistraee had been slaughtered, The Promenade destroyed, but they had taken one of Ghaunadaur's holiest sites, The Pit of Ghaunadaur, slain his avatar and the faithful attending it, and, to add insult to injury, built their own temple upon that holy ground. Eilistraee had done much for the drow people, and Rizzen held her in great respect, but he could not risk sympathizing too much with her, after all, The Eye was all-seeing, all-knowing. It would not do to have personal ties to one of his god's greatest enemies.
While he fervently hoped that Lolth would fall before her enemies, he prayed that it would not be Ilsensine who wrested control of The Underdark from her cursed claws. All that is not illithid is thrall. If the illithid god gained power over The Spider Queen's empire, the drow would know a whole new form of suffering as the helpless thralls of the merciless mind flayers. Ilix'Ith, priest of Maanzecorian, had been one of his greatest allies in the Underdark, along with Uru Drowbiter, but Ilix'Ith was mad and a heretic among his own race. He knew that most illithids were cold, ruthless beings who saw all other life as cattle to be enslaved and consumed.
Still, they had come far. He had been a slave, herding rothe among filthy goblins who resented and hated him, along with Gristle, who had protected him for years before a daring chitine and a mad illithid had freed them all, and saw him safely on his journey to the service of That Which Lurks. He had truly been blessed.
"Rizzen!" A twisted fomorian named Rek rushed into the temple, "There's a terrible monster outside!"
"Ghaunadaur is a god of monsters." He said flatly. It was true, most of Ghaunadaur's faithful were 'monsters' in the eyes of most races.
"This is a thing from Her!" Rek added. "And it calls for you!"
Rizzen grabbed his tentacle rod, it's seven tentacles writhing like serpents on the head of a medusa. Armed with the holy weapon of his faith, he stepped into the humid night air.
Gristle didn't know what to make of the ugly creature that had appeared outside the temple of Ghaunadaur, but he knew it was evil. That alone did not bother him, he was himself a 'monster', a troll, living among monsters, many of them evil. He was used to the sight of even the most repulsive of beasts, but this. . . Even the other trolls could see that it was not a thing of nature or even the world itself. It was some sort of demon, but not any kind he had ever seen before. It looked like a melting candle of rancid flesh. . . And it was calling Rizzen's name. . .
No one present had ever seen a creature such as this one, but many drow, including Rizzen, recognized it at once. A yochlol. A Handmaiden of Lolth, a demon who served as her attendant and proxy. It looked like a jelly, and stank like a rotting corpse. One red eye glared with boundless hate from it's slimy, melting flesh. Even the trolls, who feared almost nothing, held a respectful distance from the reeking, melting horror. Gristle snarled at the disgusting mass, but it ignored him. All heads turned toward the Slime Lord as he walked calmly to face the grotesque demon.
Why in the Nine Hells would Lolth send a yochlol to a backwater marsh separating a troll-filled swamp and a giant-filled forest?
"Why has Lolth sent a Handmaiden to this humble place?" Rizzen asked coolly, "Surely she has greater threats to deal with." "Do not question Lolth! As for why I am here. . ." The voice was glutenous, bubbling like tar, "I am here to punish Ghaunadaur for his attacks upon the faithful of Lolth." Rizzen was calm, he trusted his god against this pathetic minion of The Spider Queen, "Then why here?" The yochlol laughed, a sound like one makes when walking through thick mud, "You do not know?" She laughed again, "The Chosen of Ghaunadaur does not even know his station! How pitiful." Rizzen's eyes widened, his composure dropped for a moment, he knew that he had been gifted with great power and the position of Slime Lord, but The Chosen of Ghaunadaur himself? "There is no challenge here, to destroy a low-born male whelp in the service of a god of filth." Gristle rumbled angrily, but Rizzen held him back, "Strong words from the slave of a filthy whore." The yochlol shrieked and lashed out, but Rizzen was ready, lunging forward and ramming his tentacle rod into the demon's one red eye. The yochlol's blow knocked him backwards, but his powers as a Slime Lord protected him from serious injury. As the wounded yochlol shrieked and flailed, Rizzen mumbled a hurried spell, summoning a Greater Spawn of Juiblex. A pool of bubbling slime began to seep up from the ground around the yochlol. The gigantic, fluid mass of slime and ooze was covered in eyes, including a single great eye, and its twisting, heaving bulk engulfed The Handmaiden. The two thrashed and hissed and screeched, the yochlol fighting to free herself from the titanic slime. Finally, the digestive acids of the Spawn overpowered the yochlol, and she melted into the mass of the gigantic ooze. The Spawn then vanished, leaving behind a stunned assembly of faithful. They had witnessed the power of their god, the power to slay a Handmaiden of Lolth.
In The Demonweb Pits, Lolth screamed in rage and hatred. She cared nothing for the life of the yochlol, but to have it defeated by a boy-priest of Ghaunadaur, a creature beneath contempt, was unthinkable. Keptolo heard and trembled, retreating into his small corner of the Pit, knowing well his mistress' deadly wrath.
"You killed a Handmaiden." Gristle said in awe. "No, Ghaunadaur killed it, I merely called his child here." Rizzen replied humbly.
No one noticed the cranium rat hiding within the branches of a nearby tree, its beady, glowing eyes trained upon the battlefield.
Now this is interesting, Ilsensine thought, Ghaunadaur has now taken two powerful servants of Lolth. She had discovered the other, but had yet to act against it, for some reason. Ilsensine considered the situation, if Lolth fell it would have far-reaching consequences, not just for the drow and chitine races, or even the Underdark as a whole, but the balance of power within the entire Abyss would be irrevocably altered, such was her importance. Though The God-Brain loathed the chaos of The Abyss, acquiring The Demonweb Pits would increase his power exponentially, allowing a foothold from which he could bring order to that chaotic plane.
He would follow these events carefully. . .
To be continued. . .
Notes:
Uru Drowbiter will return in a different story I'm working on. I have no plans for Ilix'Ith yet, though, but if I think of something, I'll right him a story too.
I always confuse Fomorians and Formians. Fomorians are hideously deformed giant-kin, while Formians are ant-men.
I refer to Ilsensine as a male for convenience, some books call it a female, but it's actually neither, it's just a giant, sexless brain.
Greater Spawn of Juiblex are titanic oozes and children of Juiblex, Lord of Slime.
The Tentacle Rod is a weapon used by priests of Ghaunadaur. Depending on the priest's clerical level, it has three, six or seven tentacles sprouting from the tip. Rizzen, as a Slime Lord of high rank, carries a tentacle rod with seven tentacles. One of its powers is Blinding.
Slime Lords are priests of Ghaunadaur gifted with the ability to transform their limbs into powerful pseudopods of ooze.
Rizzen Ken'Ghaunadaur
Race - Drow
Sex - Male
Height - 5'2"
Weight - 90 Lbs
Alignment - Chaotic Neutral
Class - Cleric, Chosen of Ghaunadaur, Slime Lord
Patron Deity - Ghaunadaur/Juiblex
Rizzen was a houseless slave from Menzoberranzan who was befriended and protected by the troll Gristle. They were rescued from slavery and aided by Uru Drowbiter and Ilix'Ith. He went to the surface so that Gristle could live out his life among his people, but found that it was new territory for the followers of The Elder Eye.
Gristle
Race - Forest/Swamp Troll
Sex - Male
Height - 9'2"
Weight - 600 Lbs
Alignment - Neutral (Lawful tendencies)
Class - Fighter
Patron Deity - Ghaunadaur/Juiblex
While a slave of the drow, Gristle befriended the young drow slave Rizzen and loyally protected him throughout all their adventures, even fighting off a Githyanki raiding party who attacked them. He's noble even by human standards, and is a very unusual troll.