Chapter 3 / Episode 78 – The Slave Pits of the Undercity
Date: Planting 5, 576 CY — Beneath the Temple of Highport
Weather: Subterranean; air cool and heavy with moisture. Faint southern drafts carry the scent of mold, rust, and decay.
Players Present:
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Dog the Ranger of the Gnarley Forest
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Irving the Reluctant, Paladin of St. Cuthbert (with familiar, Harvey the Hare)
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TerryOr, Cleric of St. Cuthbert
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Dixon the Dwarf
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Silversun, Magic-User of Greyhawk
The Trapdoors and the Pits
The party entered a chamber riddled with trapdoors and narrow beams stretching above the pits below. Dixon tied a hundred-foot rope about his waist and began the perilous crossing. Every step tested his balance and faith in dwarven footing. From the shadows ahead came movement—two Aspis drones, insectile horrors wielding broadswords and shields.
Steel met chitin. Dixon’s axe struck first, but the drones’ counter-blows landed with brutal precision. Silversun’s magic missile streaked through the dark, bursting against the creatures for a searing 14 points of damage. Dog loosed an arrow that clattered against stone, while Terry and Irving followed across the beams to join the fray. The clash echoed through the chamber; one Aspis fell to Silversun’s second volley, and Terry’s flank attack crushed the other with divine wrath.
But victory came at cost—Irving plunged through a hidden pit trap. The clang of armor and his muffled curse rang out below.
Hallway Battle and Healing
Exploring further, they discovered a control chamber containing levers tied to the pits. From the corridor beyond came a new threat—a slaver Aspis drone guard armed with swords. The fight was swift and vicious. Dog and Dixon struck the killing blows while TerryOr knelt to heal the dwarf’s wounds. Silversun, bloodied but alive, retreated to safety as the last echo of battle faded into dripping silence.
The Slave Cells
Beyond the control room, the adventurers found steps descending into a massive chamber lined with iron cages. Human and orcish captives huddled within, eyes hollow with despair. Thirteen in total—one defiant barbarian among them—guarded by five orcs and three human overseers.
Dixon whispered in Dwarvish to relay his plan; Terry prepared his hold person spell. Irving stepped forward, calling out a false challenge to draw the guards closer. In a moment of perfect timing, the cleric’s spell froze three men and one orc in place while Dog’s arrow struck true. The melee was brutal but efficient. Within moments, the slavers lay defeated and the keys to the cages were theirs.
The Magic-User and His Fall
The only opponent left was cloaked in crimson robes, a Magic-User. His first act was a slow spell, warping time for Irving, Dixon, and Dog. Terry and Silversun surged forward. The wizard began a burning hands incantation, but Silversun’s thrown dagger struck him mid-gesture, shattering his concentration. The explosion of sparks backfired—engulfing the slaver mage in his own flames and Terry'Or finished him with the mace. When the smoke cleared, his spellbook lay charred but intact. Silversun claimed it, eyes gleaming in the dim light.
Aftermath: Rescue and Revelation
The group tended to the freed slaves and searched the bodies of the fallen. The Aspis bore only crude weapons, but among the slavers’ loot they discovered 3 500gp gems, a ring, and a map showing a route from Highport to the Slaver’s Stockade. One surviving female fighter, captured among the slavers, was bound and interrogated; she denied knowledge of any “noble prisoner” but offered her blade in service—for a price. The adventurers locked here in a cell.
After feeding and arming the eleven surviving prisoners, the party prepared to guide them toward safety before pressing deeper into the undercity.
Outcome
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XP Awarded: 6,000 each
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Treasure Found: 3 500 Gold Piece Gems, bracers of defense AC 6, clerical ring of spell storing, spellbook, map to Slaver’s Stockade
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Prisoners Freed: 13 humans
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Next Objective: Track the slavers’ route to the Stockade and visit the master of the Slave pits
Closing Scene
As the last of the rescued captives disappeared into the torchlit corridor, Dog turned back toward the darkness. “Slavers don’t work alone,” he muttered.
Irving tightened his grip on his mace, Harvey perched silently beside him. “Then we end the chain at its source,” he said.
The echo of their footsteps faded into the dripping dark—the road to the Slaver’s Stockade awaiting. First, they need to confront the master.
