Session 39 - Mushroom Ale

 After a rest, Bruvo takes them to meet Grandolpha as she is enjoying her evening meal. The smells circling the room are exotic and like nothing they have ever smelt before.  Somewhere between revulsion and intrigue, they enter the room and see three Duergar who immediately reach for their swords, and Grandolpha who stops them with some hasty but firm words in Dwarvish.

She invites them to sit and share the food, and they try some stewed Intellect devourer, and some mind flayer tentacles, she offers them some of her famous mushroom ale, and they sample what tastes like goblin feet and etches worst hangover breath.

She explains that she is the heiress to the Muzgardt Ale business, and that Xaradok bought her here to try and woo her into being his fourth wife. She has no interest in his plans and would like to see what he has built here toppled, but cannot openly oppose him. They ask if they could arrange a monthly delivery of mushroom ale from the Underdark, and she agrees that this can be arranged. They ask if she can help them, and she calls for Bruvo to arrange a friendly Duergar to be on the elevator duty and Bruvo tells them that Durreth can do that, and leaves to arrange this. 

She says that some of the rooms they past on the way in were Xaradoks quarters and as they have some time, they should go and explore there and see what they can find. Nox takes one last mug of mushroom ale with him. 

She bids them good luck and they had back, finding the war room, where the flight plan of the dragon has been built into the table, and they determine that the dragon is headed to 

1. Dougans Hole

2. Good Meade

3. Easthaven

4. Caer Dineval

5. Caer Konig

6. Lonelywood

7. Termaline

8. Bremen

9. Targos

10. Bryn Shander

They use the final sending and pass this back to the speaker, and then get a response that says, do what you can to stop them making another one of these then come back to Bryn Shander to help us protect it. 

They search Xaradoks quarters next and find a carving on the wall of a Giant Duergar raging into battle, a heavy stone chest, and other items you would expect to find in a bedroom. Off to the east is a small room when they look into it they see a Statue of a naked woman, with mind flayer skulls positioned around it. Leaving this they look in the chest where they find some very expensive items including a Hookah and some Dwarf sized clothing. 

They leave the mug of ale on the bedside table with a hastily drawn love heart on a piece of parchment, Throt drinks some and then tops it up with his own special ingredients. 

They take all the items in the chest and as they remove the last item they hear gas entering the room from the mouth of the carving on the wall and all get somewhat poisoned. As they recover from this Bruvo appears and tells them its time. 

They follow him down the hall to the elevator where they descend to the Forge Level. Here they see a Duergar in some kind of exoskeleton who walks on a treadmill which powers the elevator. 

He indicates that the next room is empty and they head through, they find a mauled mind flayer, whose face tentacles have been removed tied to a statue of a naked Deurgar, the mind flayer tells them the priest that maintains this area is in the next room, and that he has been mauled to remove his powers as an ode to Deep Deurra (the goddess in the statue). The party kill F'yorl the mind flayer out of mercy and arrange themselves around the door way to Klondorns chambers, they knock and as he comes to the door they attack and take him down and as he dies he changes form to show his true self as a Demon, they notice hundreds of stone tablets etched in a strange language and take a few for later inspection.