Tales from Tabletop

Session 7.3: Lord of Abyss

Chapter III: Search Party

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"This Lendrig does not seem to be a good fellow," Hamish grimaced as Ari and Argent seemed to take turns answering what they knew.

The trio rushed through ancient halls in search of a trail, or anything, that might lead them to the remaining members of their party.

No trace had yet to be found.

Hamish's guilt stuck him like a knife as it became clearer that his daring rescue of the two elves may have doomed their other companions.

The conversation was a welcome distraction.

"You could say that, yes," Argent whispered, eyeing the nearest tunnel as he placed his ear against the wall.

"Lendrig was one of Seven powerful sorcerer kings that once ruled the world long ago," Ari continued, standing closer to Hamish as they waited for the all clear, "They and their followers were known as the Order of Magus."

"Okay," Argent said, pausing the conversation, "All clear."

The trio move forward in unison, soon finding themselves in another grand hallway.

"If ruled world, surely we would know this thing, yes?" Hamish asked, following Argent's lead as he searched the wall for any sign or possible markings Jezran or Selene left on the wall by the tunnel.

Argent shrugged, "It was long ago. History fades with enough time. Now, only the longest lived races remember it well. The rest has been lost to myth and legend."

Hamish nodded absentmindedly, he was interested in this conversation as a distraction from his guilt, but his primary focus was finding Selene.

I made a promise to keep her safe. I have no intention of leaving her alone down here.

"Anyway," Ari said, trying to finish this up as she clearly did not enjoy the conversation, "The people eventually rebelled against the Magus in a massive war that stretched across the entire world. During the war, Lendrig was supposedly slain in battle. It was said his head was separated clean from his body. The head fell into the deep pit in Lendrigol, never to be seen again. Then in the aftermath, the body was burned as an added measure."

Their conversation was again put on hold as they searched the nearby area.

No sign of their friends nor enemy patrols, so they decided to follow the main hallway for a while. Holes in the walls lead to passageways similar to the ones they found before. Each time they passed one, they gave it a few minutes of searching for any sign of the pair. It was also an opportunity to scour the passageways and determine if any rose or fell.

Given the effort needed for their method of escape, they all knew it was unlikely that Selene and Jezran escaped that chamber. Even if they had, they would be beneath the current halls they walked, unless their capture had brought them up here. So finding a path down might lead to their friends, but on the other hand, a path up could be the ticket out of here as well. So they multitasked where possible.

"I think we should keep looking," Argent declared once Hamish had rejoined them in the main hall, "This place is worn from travel, but I'm not getting a clear sign where they are heading or which way is back to their base."

"So you think this Lendrig still lives, yes?" Hamish asked, as they entered another nearby passage.

Ari nodded, "There's no doubt, not after what we've seen and what's happening back at the Hollow. I heard—" Ari stopped, then corrected herself, "Legends say Lendrig was a schemer, he rarely made any direct action on his own, preferring his minions to do the dirty work."