Down, Down, Down We Go

I was going to take everyone back to the big blinking head and the ghosts, but then we got distracted by an icy slide tunnel. It just looked like so much fun. So we slide on down to a big cavern. It had some many-legged dragons in it. One of them was really big and curled up around some eggs, the other two were smaller. Awww, dragon family.

They are not happy to see us, though. Eggy is really happy to have big monsters to hunt, and as they attack without talking, there’s not much I can do to stop him. Doc grabs me up and we go swimming into the big warm pool to fight the Mommy dragon-thing. After they all stop attacking us, I gather up the eggs for a nice lunch later on.

There’s another icy slide down out of this cave, too. Down we go! This room is full of icicles. Over on one side is a black dome building with sparkly star designs on it. We go over to investigate and meet some weird elf people. I can’t really understand them, but Saalym and Leshy can. They say the dome belongs to them or their Mom or something. They say we can look inside though, but Saalym and Leshy get weird about it. I look inside anyway. No big magic item to get rid the stupid goddess lady, though.

So, we head down the next tunnel. There’s another dome in here. This one has a wizard statue out front. Some of the icicles in here fall on us. Leshy gets mad at the poor little thing and kills it, but Doc and I put ours back up on the ceiling. Silly little icicles.

The next cavern has trees in it! Real, living trees with purple pears. Underground. I Don’t Like It. There’s paths back home in places like this. Doc wants to go look, though. Then a weird gnoll comes out, and four more people. They have big fangs and pale skin and don’t want to talk. We fight them, and Saalym says the four look like the one who bit her, but they all look different to us. The gnoll vampire turns into mist before we kill him, and floats away, but the rest of them die.

Then a Dryad lady walks out of the forest and asks if we got rid of them all. We tell her about the gnoll mist. She’s been down here a very long time, taking care of her trees. I give her some mead from Leshy’s jug. She really likes it and we offer to help her replant her trees up near Good Mead so she can have more. Eggy thinks maybe if she went into an acorn or a branch or something, we could replant her up above where the sunshine will be after we win. She’ll think about it, but she got really drunk on the mead and needs to take a nap. We’ll come back after.

Doc and I scout ahead, but find a dead end with some spikey guys hiding up on a shelf. We shush them and back up so Eggy doesn’t come kill them for not hurting anybody. We go back to the forest room and take the next tunnel. It’s another slide, but less slidey. And it’s really, really, really long. We’re about to turn around and go back up, but then we find the City Under the Ice. It’s really pretty!

Drow Story – or How Spook Became Skeeter

Everybody tired and sick. Margie made too big a dinner, everyone sleepy. Skeeter gettin restless. Tell us a story, they say. How bout drow? Okay, a story of stupid drow.

Drow things wicked and mean. They live in deep dark. Black like they skin, so they blends with the darkness. Outside match inside Mammy once said. No like other bigs, never can see bad on surface whole things. They look all kind and boring, til sword go through your guts. Whole things say we ugly and kill us for no better reason. Stupid drow only kill us if we in the way or make them mad. Stupid drow rather use us.

They came to see Tribe one day, tried to trade for workers. No one want to go with, til they threaten young ones. Group of men go with. Skeeter was still Spook then. Stupid drow not see him. They march for long time. Tribe-friends very noisy, make drow angry, easy to follow shouts and whips.

Drow not take tribe-friends to drow home. Take to big cavern full of spiders. Stone spiders, real spiders, drow spiders, glowing spiders, inky spiders. Spook not like it there, stay by entrance counting spiders. Don’t know words for how many.

Dirty drow take tribe-friends to big stone spider, tie em up and put them on table, like dinner. Spook scared. Drow eat goblins? Or they spider dinner? Too many spiders. Maybe drow fraid of spiders too? Drow lady shouting over table, others lighting fires, heating blades, shouting, too. Tribe-friends start screaming, spiders all get closer, Spook can’t watch.

Spook slip into room, start stabbing smaller spiders in back. Spiders at front too hungry, not notice. Spook keep stabbing, as tribe keep screaming. Why won’t stop screaming? Spook only see blood and death, spiders, drow and tribe. Spinning, whirling, then blackness all around.

Spook wake up, covered in blood. Spider blood. Spook blood. Dirty drow blood. Giant stone spider still overhead. Spook scramble away. Fall over, something wrong. Legs not work right. Can’t find feet. Where? What? Big spider on Spook! Get away, get off! Ow! Nononononono!

Spook wake up, still covered in blood. Don’t move. What happened? Spook flex fingers – works. Roll shoulders – works. Poke belly – works. Flex toes – toes? Not work. Legs? Yes, legs – too many legs. What? How? Spook have spider legs? Spider body under belly, too. Spook a goblin spider now.

Spook wake up, blood all crusted now. Still have spider legs. Gotta get outa here before turn into whole spider. Spook close eyes, fold up all legs, push upright with arms, legs under, slowly unfold legs. Okay, Spook standing. Spook open eyes, ground so far away. No, stay, no sleeping, gotta go. Walk is walk? One side then other? All together as one? Lift one side, Spook fall over. Ow! Try again. Spook fall down lots, but fall forward and out of room slowly. Figure out how to walk before fall all way home.

Spook get home, skin dark as dirty drow, too many legs and spider body. Many tribe run away from Spook. Fishface not scared. He laugh. Stupid Spook, got hisself turned into a spider. You a Skeeter now, Spook. Stupid buggy Skeeter.

Find drow someday, make pay for this, and for Tribe-friends. Stupid, dirty drow.