General disclaimer: I own nothing, even Maiyn generally decides her own path.
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Prisoners
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Maiyn's hand trembled as she used the key they'd found in Irenicus' bedroom to unlock the ward over the portal. The lock shimmered slightly and faded away and the ranger looked back to her companions.
"One at a time," she said quietly. "But as quick as we can -- we don't know where we'll come out or what we might face."
Minsc stepped forward immediately. "Minsc and Boo stand ready," he said. "We shall venture forth first and ensure there is no danger for little Maiyn!"
Maiyn smiled and nodded. "Then Jaheira, myself, Kivan, Sime and Xan." No one objected, and the berserker calmly walked into the portal, disappearing with a little swishing noise. Jaheira was quick to follow and Maiyn took a deep breath and took her turn.
Everything swirled around her, then it all went black. She blinked a few times and concentrated on her balance -- she was definitely standing on firm ground, so she'd arrived wherever it took them. But even her infravision was a poor substitute for light in the Underdark -- with time she could only just about make out the faint glowing of the walls, but most of her vision melded into one big void of darkness. She understood how humans felt.
A small bobbing light meant that Xan had arrived and they were all safely through. She quickly counted the heads -- all were present and looking either wary or scared. She could feel both; the sense of trepidation was almost as suffocating as the surroundings.
For several minutes they stood, absolutely still. It was silent around them, and Maiyn didn't know if this was comforting or sinister. The lack of noise didn't mean they were alone -- she'd read enough about the Underdark to know that fearsome creatures lived within its domain and she doubted that they'd announce their presence to unsuspecting travellers.
Eventually she moved, searching around the corridor for any signs of recent use. Kivan and Minsc joined in, but the gloom and the nature of their surroundings conspired to yield minimal results. They gave up with small shrugs and went back to surveying their surroundings.
"We need to decide which way to go," said Jaheira firmly. The druid was scowling, and Maiyn couldn't blame her. They were hardly in the most pleasant of places.
The ranger pondered for a moment. The tunnel they were in was quite wide, and more like a small chamber than a passage. It wound its way away in two directions, both a complete mystery.
"How about we try that way?" she said quietly, pointing to the closest exit. Jaheira nodded.
"A moment," the half-elf said, closing her eyes and murmuring gently. Within a few seconds a small glowing ball of flame appeared, growing at an amazing rate. Before long a fully formed fire elemental stood glowing before them. The druid nodded to Xan and he extinguished his magical torch, enough light being provided by their new companion.
"Allow us to go first," said Jaheira flatly, slowly moving forward. The elemental moved first down the tunnel and one by one the others followed the druid as she walked in its wake. It wasn't long before they came across life -- the elemental lunging at the illithid as its tentacles snaked out to the burning creature. Sime, Maiyn and Kivan peppered it with arrows as Jaheira and Xan slung stone after stone at it, and eventually it fell to the ground dead. Jaheira looked around warily.
"One on its own is unusual indeed," she whispered darkly. "I suggest we go back and try the other way."
Maiyn nodded her agreement, and the party retreated, allowing the now injured elemental to lead as they followed the other route. The passage opened up widely and the walls almost seemed to fade away, being replaced by natural lines of stalagmites and stalactites so large that they served as a barrier to anything lying beyond them. Maiyn paused after a while and caught the druid's arm. Jaheira nodded and signalled for the others to stop. Those with the benefit of elven hearing could hear the low voices of chatter quite clearly, though Sime and Minsc looked baffled by the pause.
Slowly they began to inch their way towards the source, and Maiyn peered around the rocky corner carefully. She withdrew quickly enough, a slight frown on her face.
"Duergar," she whispered as quietly as she could. "Only three."
The voices instantly stopped and the party froze, listening intently. There was no sound of approach, and eventually they relaxed a little.
"We will face them," whispered Jaheira, creeping towards the corner. When they had all assembled, she stood from her cover and strode confidently around to face the dark dwarves, Maiyn and Minsc by her side, the others close behind. The three strangers looked up at them curiously.
"Cor der noror rrin doth samman?" said the middle dwarf carefully. He was the tallest of the three, swathed in a thick brown cloak and with long black hair and a long black beard. He was watching the newcomers carefully.
"Ol raugh corl sargh? Xunder to thuldin sonn? Thuldul ol torst?" A slightly fairer dwarf to the side frowned as he spoke. His hair was a mousy brown colour, and his skin much less swarthy, making him appear wildly different to his darker brothers.
"I am sorry, but I cannot understand the tongue you speak," said Jaheira clearly.
"Gordul! Ta jarge." The third dwarf had a deeper, gruffer sounding voice, and he seemed to be the oldest. His sneer crossed his face as he muttered his words. The other dwarves sniggered in appreciation.
"Boo bristles at his words," frowned Minsc. "I don't know the language, but he was insulting us for certain!"
"Ahh haha. (Ahem)," coughed the middle duergar. "You must excuse my fellows. It is not often we encounter surfacers down here."
"Yes, very seldom," agreed the older one. "They do not live long."
"Well, unfortunate things can happen in the depths, but we do not partake in such events," mused the tall duergar thoughtfully. He paused and regarded the companions then nodded to himself. "I am Carlig, a trader of sorts. These are my associates; Uder Mordin and Finderlig." He pointed to first the fairer of his friends, then the elder. Both of them grunted in response.
"I am Maiyn," the elf introduced herself. "I am looking for a couple of other 'surfacers,' as you say."
"I haven't seen many strangers around here, and I talk to everyone," replied Carlig. "Well, almost."
"Those two creepy ones were back," interrupted Uder. "You remember, Carlig -- the neck-biter and the mage."
"Oh yes, those two," nodded the tall duergar, a look of recollection crossing his face. "Bad news, I would wager. I've seen them near the drow city -- must be up to dirty dealings; those dark elves don't usually let strangers live."
"Drow city?" asked Jaheira.
The duergar all gave her an amused look.
"Ust Natha," said Finderlig eventually. "You are not far from its gates, here; keep travelling the way you were headed and you will get there soon enough."
"Unless something gets you first," chuckled Uder.
"And if not, the drow will enjoy the sport," added Carlig with an evil grin.
Sime frowned at them. "Do you know of any way we could get into the city safely?"
"You know not much about the drow, do you?" exclaimed Finderlig with amusement. "It would be, quite likely, impossible, but strange things happen down here. You may find allies if you look hard enough, though where they'd be, I don't know."
Maiyn sighed. "Well, thank you for your help."
"Glad to assist!" called Uder. "We have wares to sell if you are interested. Always looking for fresh faces to trade with. No matter the colour of shadow in you."
Maiyn nodded, and joined with her companions as they browsed what was on offer. Missiles were stocked up on, and the few magical scrolls and potions the duergars possessed were quickly snapped up by the group and stored in the bag of holding. Then they bid the dwarves farewell and continued into the gloom of the tunnels.
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"Ahh, you wakey wakey now, I sees? Goods! Now it time to fight!"
Maiyn groaned and opened her eyes. She had no idea where she was. Well, that wasn't completely accurate -- she had a vague idea where she was, which involved such general descriptions as 'Underdark' and 'tunnel'. She was only half right, however, as her eyes adjusted to the low lighting that was provided by the chamber.
Chamber?
She frowned, still lying still, and cautiously rolled her eyes around, trying to see as much as she could without moving. Some of her companions seemed to be on their feet, their hands at their heads and puzzled expressions adorning their faces. The room was small -- barely large enough to fit all of them in, and the light came from a strange looking lantern that was fixed to the purple hued wall.
Slowly she sat up. Sime and Xan were still lying down, both of them curled up but awake. The others were standing or sitting, just as confused as she was with their current predicament. There was no mistaking the fact that they had become prisoners of something or someone, but whom was another question entirely.
She closed her eyes, thinking back. They'd left the duergars, heading along towards the drow city they'd been told about. They knew they couldn't just wander up to it and knock on the gates, but they were at a loss over what to do, and so decided to get as close as they dared and think of a plan from there. The tunnel had opened up into fairly large cavern after a while, and they'd been ambushed by some creatures -- Kua-Toa, Jaheira had called them when they'd fought them off. They'd had mages and priests in their ranks, as well as skilled warriors. It had been a testing fight, especially considering their alien surroundings, but they'd managed, and had only slight injuries.
They'd crossed the shaky rope bridge that led over a deep chasm and noticed the path splitting into two directions. They'd decided to go straight on, heading towards some stairs. They'd reached the stairs, and then...
And then it had gone black. She couldn't remember a single thing beyond that point, and it seemed that none of the others could either. She raised her head to look at the doorway to their cell -- an extremely tall ogre was standing there, smiling at them in a disturbing manner. She felt a bit of hope welling up; ogres shouldn't be too hard to overcome -- they'd killed a dragon, after all! Do ogres really live in the Underdark?
"What are we doing here?" asked Jaheira. Maiyn noticed Kivan's tensing, and she extended her arm, reminding him of her presence and urging him wordlessly to calm himself.
"Questions, questions!" exclaimed the ogre merrily. "Always da new fighters got the same questions. You listen then, and I tell you what you need to know. First thing, I not the one that capture."
Maiyn felt her hope beginning to drift away and her shoulders slumped.
"You trespass on the home of the flayers," continued the ogre, "and you got caught. Now you pay for your stay. Understand?"
"Pay?" snapped the druid.
"Illithids," groaned Xan. "We are captured by tentacled monsters, whose favourite entertainment is devouring brains! I lost consciousness before I could notice our captors, but how I wish I was still in the dark..."
"Pay," nodded the ogre, ignoring the enchanter's words. "You better fight well in the arena, because if you don't fight well, you die. If you don't fight at all... uh, well, you die. Maybe you live long enough to get servant position. Better than fighting. Oh, last rule, never attack the flayers. You are in their home. They kill you with their thoughts."
"We will not be forced to fight!" protested Maiyn as she clambered to her feet. "I refuse to comply with this."
The ogre scratched his head. "There is no refuse. You get stunned before you come here, right? Well, in this place they even stronger because of real big brain. So you will do what you told and that is that. I did what I was told and I live. Others disobeyed and they dead. You will live if you fight well. First battle begins now!"
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Maiyn staggered into the cell, throwing herself down onto one of the rough mattresses that had been provided as bedding and immediately reaching out to Fenmarel. He answered swiftly, allowing His healing to course through her fingers and into the wound on her leg, healing the worst of the damage almost immediately. Jaheira looked on with concern as the door shut behind them.
"We are in immense danger."
Maiyn stared at the druid. "I think we are all aware of that," the elf replied dryly. "But we need to keep fighting in order to live, because we'll not be able to find a way out if we're dead."
"The only way to get out may be to become dead," noted Xan dourly. Maiyn tried to kick him, but only managed to hurt her already tender leg. She whimpered in pain and he sat down next to her, stroking her hand comfortingly.
Sime was kneeling and examining the door when she sighed and straightened back up. "There is no way to release the door from in here," she said softly. "As we came in I could see an intricate lock, and the ogre jailer carried the key on his belt. The only way we can secure our release is for one of us to be outside in the first place."
"And that's unlikely," added Kivan. "They will keep us confined between battles."
"Maybe we could overpower the ogre next time he opens the door?" suggested Maiyn hopefully.
"Boo suggests that we be careful when we act," said Minsc seriously. "The evil creatures at the heart of this lair have power even he does not fully understand."
"They're mind flayers," nodded Xan sombrely. "Illithids, to be precise. Their psionics are too strong for us to even hope to overcome without some way of breaking their concentration and destroying their link to whatever serves as their greater power."
"Well," sighed Maiyn. "At least we seem to be safe while we're useful for entertainment. We have time to work something out, though what it will be, I have no idea."
"I suggest we rest," stated Jaheira firmly. "We do not know when next we will be summoned, and at any chance an opportunity may present itself. We must be ready, and we must make the most of the time we have to ourselves here. At least we have no need to have guards while we sleep -- we can all use the time as fully as possible."
The others nodded their agreement and slowly drifted off to find space on the mattresses. Most had to double up -- Jaheira lay by Sime while Kivan and Minsc took over the largest of the three pads. Xan and Maiyn stayed where they were, both sitting up as silence fell. The enchanter had been allowed to keep his spellbook, but the rest of their belongings were outside, in the ogre's room. He poured over it now, only moving to adjust himself as Maiyn leaned into his arm for warmth. Jaheira and Kivan were praying, and Maiyn joined them in silent tribute as Sime curled up and closed her eyes.
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They weren't sure how long they spent as captives; it became impossible for them to tell how much time had passed, especially when there was no set routine for them to be called to fight. None of the battles were overly challenging, but they were enough to leave them tired and subdued -- their rations were barely enough to go around, and slowly they felt themselves getting weaker and weaker.
It was Sime who discovered the other door in their cell. Maiyn was sure she could hear something through the wall of their cell, and Jaheira had suggested it was an adjoining prison. Remembering how it looked from the jailer's room, the ranger had to agree, but sat beside the wall for a long time listening. Eventually she called Sime over, pointing to some of the stranger looking patterns on the wall. The thief took no time at all to discover the secret door, and she'd managed to unlock it after almost an hour of effort while Jaheira voiced her concern over the plan.
"What if they are hostile creatures?" she asked with a frown. "We are already weary, and we have nowhere to run to if they prove to be more powerful than us."
"We don't have anywhere to run to in the arena, either," shrugged Maiyn. "We have to see if this is our chance to escape."
The elf cautiously opened the door, and peered through to see the other captives sitting in a circle. They looked fearsome indeed -- tall humanoid beings, with red eyes and strangely misshapen faces. They were slenderly built, but Maiyn was aware enough to see the tones muscles in their limbs.
"Githyanki," whispered Kivan behind her. She had no idea what they were and no opportunity to ask as one of the creatures stood up and turned to face her.
"I see we are not alone in this place," it said calmly. "It is the worse of fates, for we are entrapped by the feared and despicable illithids. We are all destined for the same fate, as playthings in the arena. A foul way to end a being's life, I think."
"What manner of creatures are you?" asked Maiyn with fascination. "I have not seen your kind before."
"We are githyanki, and we do not come here without purpose. Someone had taken a sword of ours... a silver sword. We were to reclaim it. But our ship was attacked by sahuagin and now we are in custody of the most hated of enemies; this is an abomination I will not allow. I can speak no more -- my charges must meditate for the coming battle. It will take great strength of mind to escape this place. Great strength."
The creature turned away again, sitting back with its comrades as they meditated. Maiyn quietly pulled away, closing the door to allow them privacy and frowned at her comrades.
"If they have been recently captured, they may be the opponents of choice for a while, just as we seemed to be upon our imprisonment," she mused. "It might give us a bit more time to try and gather our strength and think of a plan."
"I would have expected the gith to be more unfriendly," added Jaheira thoughtfully. "Perhaps there may yet be a chance for us to find allies in the most unlikely of places."
"What do you mean?" asked Sime curiously.
"The gith have their own psionic powers," expanded the druid. "Perhaps they will use them against the creatures they hate so much, rather than remain imprisoned by them. If they do, it may be the chance we need to grab."
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The group heard the githyanki being taken from their cell. Tension seemed to grow as they waited patiently, listening for a sign of their return. Maiyn was the first to catch the sound, signalling for the others to remain silent -- sure enough, they could hear the low tones of the gith as they conversed in their cell. The ranger waited a few minutes to ensure the ogre jailer was gone before she manipulated the secret door into opening once more. Their leader spoke before she could say anything.
"You there, we have fought in our battle and I believe we are scheduled to face each other when next the jailer comes."
Maiyn's heart sank and she instinctively drew back. Some of her friends sighed behind her.
The creature studied her for several long moments before speaking again. "We could each boast about who will live, but I believe a far better plan is before us. It is a slim chance, but it is the only one that is available."
Maiyn's eyebrow rose. "I am listening."
"The illithid have the way to slay us with ease. But we believe we may be able to disrupt their mind power and allow another to make an escape."
Maiyn nodded. "Can we trust you?"
"You have no other option, elfling, do you? We could have the same view on you."
"It would appear that neither of us have much of a choice in the matter," said Jaheira calmly. "We must trust one another."
"Then when we are called to battle, we of the githyanki will meditate within the ring, pushing back the minds of the illithids," spoke the gith. "You may then open the arena doors that we may all escape."
"And then Minsc will disrupt them with his bootheel!" roared the berserker. "Yes, speak more of this evil-smashing partnership!"
"You must find a way out of the lair. We will distract them until you succeed in forcing your way from this twisted city."
Maiyn looked quickly to her companions to register their views. They all wore grim expressions, but there was a hope in their eyes. She nodded as her gaze returned to their newest ally. "Then that is what I will do. We will work together."
"Then ready yourself, for the time of battle is at hand," said the githyanki. "The jailer will come for us both soon."
The ranger nodded and closed the door. Her companions instantly busied themselves; last minute prayers were offered and Xan frantically studied his spellbook while Kivan and Sime divided what arrows they'd been given before their last battle between them. Before long their door swung open and the ogre stepped in, smiling around at them.
"Time to fight again," he said cheerfully. "I cheer for you guys, I think. Those githyanki is awful sour in the face, and you face them this round. Come on, no time to dally!"
Maiyn obediently walked along as he herded them down the short corridor to the arena and ushered them inside. No other creature was present, and the companions went to the far side of the field and waited. Only a few minutes later, the gate opened once more and the githyanki stalked in.
Almost immediately they huddled together. Their leader looked over to Maiyn before he joined with them and nodded to her.
"We begin the meditation," he said strongly. "Find our escape from this place -- we will deal with the hated Illithid."
Sparks of light began to flicker between the concentrating creatures, and Maiyn could hear cries of outrage coming from somewhere beyond the arena walls. She sprinted to the gate, throwing it open and running back down the corridor to the ogre's room with her friends close behind. They grabbed their belongings, drawing out their favoured weapons, most of which had been taken from them to make the battles more interesting, and they were ready to move on before their jailer reappeared.
"No, can't let you escape!" he growled, lumbering towards them. Minsc's deft swing with Lilarcor stopped him in his tracks, however, neatly decapitating him. Maiyn surveyed their surroundings -- several doors led off from the room, and even more cell doors led into other prisons.
"Do we free the other creatures?" she wondered aloud.
"The chances that any will thank us are slim," noted Jaheira dryly. "If we are to do that, let us first secure a means to escape."
The ranger nodded and moved towards the nearest passage. The same lanterns lit the way as had been in their own cell and the purple hued wall was a consistent fixture to the lair. Doors opened easily as they arrived in a large chamber where several pods were lined against the walls, each seeming to incubate a humanoid figure within its clasp. Maiyn wandered around them, horrified by the sight, but unable to tear her eyes from it.
"What are they doing to them?" she asked quietly.
"I am unsure," muttered Jaheira, stalking over to a large device on the far wall. It was emitting a low hum and several pipes were hooked up to it that ran from each of the pods. A large funnel was at the top, the only opening visible on it. The druid spun round, her keen eyes searching for something in the room.
"What is it?" asked Kivan. "What do you seek?"
"This device -- I think it is keeping the slaves in their sleeping state," she explained. "We need to find a way to reverse the effect it has on them -- we need to replace the fluid it's pumping into them."
"With what?" asked Maiyn with confusion.
"I don't know," Jaheira admitted with a sigh. "But we must be able to find something. Come! We need to search elsewhere."
They followed the half-elf as she strode back along the corridor, taking another passage from the ogre's room. This caused them to come face to face with one of the mind-flayers, and its tentacles managed to swirl out and latch onto Kivan as he tried to dodge past. He fell to the ground, clutching at his temples as Maiyn slashed at the tendrils while Jaheira and Minsc finished off the creature with more fatal blows.
"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, helping her fellow ranger to his feet. He looked at her dazedly but nodded. Jaheira appeared by his side, and murmured a few words gently as she touched his forehead. A warm orange glow lit up her hand briefly and she nodded approvingly as his eyes began to focus once more.
"He will need a few minutes, but then he will be fine," she said, satisfied. She turned back to examine the room and approached a large cauldron that was set into the centre. A strange liquid was bubbling in it gently.
"What's that?" asked Sime, her nose wrinkled at the sight and the smell -- it was a strong scent, similar to rotten eggs.
"Some sort of serum," replied Jaheira thoughtfully, sniffing at the air cautiously. "It is refreshing, except by odour -- does your mind not feel clearer?"
Maiyn nodded slowly -- it was true. Her senses felt vaguely heightened -- if it had an obvious effect just through its scent, what would it do if it was drunk? Or...
"We use this in the device?" the ranger asked.
Jaheira nodded determinedly, gathering a few glass vials from a pile at the side of the room. "Help me, child. We must act quickly."
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Maiyn watched as Jaheira and Sime poured the strange liquid into the device. Almost immediately it was pumped out along the pipes and into the pods of the slaves, and within minutes they lost their glazed expression and managed to push open the lids to their cells, stretching as they left their cramped prisons.
"You... you have freed us, stranger," whispered one of them weakly. He was a tall man with long blonde hair, and many weeks' worth of growth on his chin. Like the others, he wore only a simple loincloth, and his bones could be seen protruding from his skin, clearly showing his poor health. "Thank Ilmater! You cannot imagine what a horror it was, nightmare after nightmare without the ability to awaken!" He approached Jaheira and took her hand. "Thank you, dear woman, thank you! My... my name is Camaris Highcastle of... of Myratma. If only there was some way to properly repay you!"
"You can tell us how you ended up here," the druid suggested, though she smiled warmly to him.
"I am unsure," he sighed. "We were part of an expedition to find adventure in the Underdark. Hah! This was... hardly what we were expecting, you can be certain. We set out from Myratma and had been in the Underdark for a week, maybe more. I heard a noise, and then everything went grey and blurry. The mind flayers must have surprised us. Next thing I remember, we were hooked to these machines. It was strange... you could see everything and... be aware... but not quite."
Maiyn shuddered at his words and Xan instinctively took her hand.
"They somehow used our minds to power those machines over there. It makes necklaces... circlets rather... which the mind flayers use to control their slaves," he continued, pointing to the machine they'd poured the serum into. "If you were captured, too, I... I can only imagine the next batch of circlets would have been meant for you. Good thing you escaped when you did."
Jaheira nodded grimly and looked back to the device. "Do you know how to work the controls?" she asked thoughtfully.
"It's fairly simple," he said, a slight frown creasing his eyes. "I can show you, if you wish -- but it will be limited in power now. I do not know how many you would be able to get from it."
"Even one would help us," replied the druid with a slight smile. "We need all the help we can get, and if there is some power in these circlets that can aid our escape, then having them with us won't cause any harm."
"You are seeking a way out?" asked Camaris with excitement. "My lady, if you could... we'd be so very grateful. I... I don't know if we can help -- we have no armour or weapons, and we are very weak..."
"You shall stay here where it is safe," said Jaheira firmly, leading him to the machine. "When it is safe to leave, we will come for you. But now, show me how to manipulate these controls."
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They encountered no enemies as they made their way down the final corridor leading from their former jailer's room, and arrived at what appeared to be the entrance to the complex. Maiyn ran to the large, sealed door, and swore in frustration as she realised it was held shut by a force somewhere else in the lair. Jaheira tried the other door to discover it was also locked.
"An energy hangs over it," she murmured. "It will only open to one with the correct mental powers."
The party looked to Xan. He sighed heavily.
"I have not yet the skill to shapechange into that form," he informed them, "so you will have to think of something else."
Maiyn tutted loudly and tapped her foot impatiently as she thought. She only stopped when Kivan hushed her, and they heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching.
Jaheira suddenly exclaimed in delight, pulling one of the circlets they'd got from the device out of her pocket as the door swung open and one of the illithids entered the room. The door swung shut behind it almost immediately to Maiyn's annoyance, but Jaheira yelled for her to stop as she lunged forward with her sword. Instead, the druid darted to the bewildered mind flayer and snapped the circlet around its neck, pulling it closed tightly.
The creature flailed wildly as it tried to remove the collar, but it soon fell docile and obediently went to stand by the druid's side. She smiled to the others -- almost evilly -- and strode back to the door with her new pet in tow. It reached out and opened the way for them, showing no signs of resistance to her commands. The air began to shimmer, and the githyanki appeared in the chamber -- they regarded the group with curiosity and slight amusement.
"You have done well, and the githyanki are now free of the illithid web of mind," said their leader. "Our own power is free once more, and we may leave this place on wings of will. You will remain here, I fear, for we cannot carry you and still remain free ourselves. In future we will return and kill all the filth that their tentacles have touched."
Maiyn glared at them. "Cowardice," she spat. "You face these creatures only when convenient?"
"We face them when the fight will be glorious, but there is a limit. Losing lives to the illithid without hope of victory is not a course we welcome."
"Yet we have no choice in the matter, and must proceed through this place to secure our own escape. You will offer no assistance, despite our own aid to you."
"If you can conquer this place, if you can kill the elder brain, all the doors shall swing wide and you may walk free," stated the gith calmly. "If not, we will return at a later time with a greater force. This den of filth will be wiped from existence."
"Us, included," noted Maiyn.
"If you do not make haste with your escape, you would not live long enough to worry about that time. I wish you success and health, and may the great brain fall beneath your feet."
The air shimmered once more and the creatures were gone. Maiyn swore colourfully at thin air, and only calmed down when she noticed the disapproving look Jaheira was throwing at her. Meekly she quietened down, and followed the half-elf as she cautiously made her way down the new tunnel, the others following them guardedly.
Umber hulks and more illithids met them, providing a difficult battle that was only won due to Minsc's enraged state and his consumption of some of the illithid serum they'd found earlier. The mind flayers found their tentacles were unable to penetrate him at all, and the other members of the group skipped away from them, concentrating on the hulks, and leaving the almost invincible Rashemeni to obliterate their masters.
Another two doors was opened by their illithid pet, and they employed the same tactics as they resolutely made their way along. They passed through what appeared to be the personal chambers of the illithids, but found nothing of any interest, and soon came to the final door of the lair -- a large metal one that almost seemed to buzz with power. Jaheira commanded her flayer to go and open it while they hung back in the outer cavern, and it did so obediently, immediately falling dead to the power that lay beyond it.
Maiyn could feel it in her mind -- pressing and pushing, trying to take over and distract her. She fumbled with her pack, clumsily accepting the serum that Jaheira passed to her and taking a sip before passing it in turn to Sime. Almost immediately the pressure withdrew and she felt clarity return. The illithids from the room were advancing towards them by the time they'd all recovered, and Minsc took no time at all in charging up his rage. Xan began murmuring the words to a spell while Jaheira brought an elemental into existence, and Kivan and Sime were letting their arrows fly at their enemy.
The ranger pulled her own bow free and carefully took aim with her arrow. Umber hulks and golems were following their masters into the room, and the battle would be long and hard -- but she could see something behind them that made it all worth it.
In the room beyond was the master brain.