Session 32: The Kuo-Toa Leaders

The kuo-toa Outpost in Wave Echo Lake
As soon as they entered the scorched room, the group was attacked by an unusually large kuo-toa, wielding a jagged-bladed long sword, and two giant lizards.

The kuo-toa warleader was hiding behind the door when Moriarty opened it. The kuo-toa tried to slam the door into them, separating them, but Lee brushed the door aside, and they all piled into the room. The warleader shouted, and with tongues still in effect, Turenim understood the words to say: "You unholy murderers will all die for your actions!"

The kuo-toa slashed into Moriarty. Moula attacked one of the giant lizards, and it bit her in return. Pippin circled around and stuck the warleader with Yig and Yag. Turenim cast bless on Pippin, Lee, Moula, and Atilius. With two strikes, Lee killed the other giant lizard. The warleader turned his attacks on Pippin, who dodged out of the way. Moriarty finished the first drake with a blow from Fiendburn. Meanwhile, Broward, Atilius, and Albrecht made their way from the corridor into the room.

Moula, Pippin, Turenim, and Lee all turned their attacks on the warleader, who continued to swing his jagged blade at Pippin. Broward hit the warleader with fire bolt, and Atilius finished it with scorching ray.

Once the battle was over, they noticed that the double doors to the south were open, so they ventured through them into a forty foot square room. Two their sides were two long weapons racks, with plenty of spears and a few pincers. Farther into the room were a bellows and a rusty forge. The bellows did not appear to be operational. Atilius examined the forge and found faded dwarven runes. He took out his spellbook and cast detect magic, but found none in the room or on the warleader.

The room contained another door, and they continued through it, finding a twenty foot square bedroom. In the far right corner were two human females and a male dwarf, all cowering in fright. Atilius detected magic coming from far left corner, behind the bed. There they found a kuo-toa hiding. Pippin quickly tied it up.

They tried to talk to the humans and the dwarf, but none of them answered. Eventually Turenim realized their tongues had been cut out. He asked them to nod if they wanted to be left there or come with them, but they were too frightened to give a definitive response. All they were able to determine was that they had been prisoners and used as slaves. Turenim questioned the kuo-toa, who told him that she was the wife of the warleader and that he would kill them if they hurt her.

After telling her that they had killed the warleader, they eventually untied the kuo-toa and sent it into the corridor with the other families they had left behind. Then Albrecht cast Leomund's tiny hut with the former prisoners inside, trapping the living kuo-toa in the hallway, and told the prisoners to stay inside where they would be safe until the group could return.

Then they went through the last door in the scorched room, into twenty foot square room. It looked like living quarters, and four kuo-toa were waiting there with spears pointed at them. Moula attacked one of them, and Pippin finished it off with Yig, and slashed at another with Yag. Lee finished the third kuo-toa. Moriarty smashed Fiendburn into the fourth. Broward hit the one Pippin attacked with a fire bolt. Atilius cast fire bolt, but missed. Albrecht killed the same one with his rapier, and Moula finished the last.

This room had two doors on the left and one on the right. The first door on the left contained a very small chamber with a stone seat with a hole in the center. The second door on the left contained a small room with three small kuo-toa, as did the door on the right. They left them there.

The group made their way back up the corridor to the four way intersection and continued straight ahead to the double doors beyond.

The doors opened into a forty foot square room with another smaller room to the left, connected by a ten foot opening. In the main room they saw a large statue on the right wall that appeared to once have been a dwarf, but had been modified to look like some sort of demon-thing. Dim candle light illuminated the base of the statue showing another prisoner that appeared to have been recently tortured and near dead. Dim light also shown from the rear room revealing another deformed statue and several bunks. Several kuo-toa guards stood in the main room near the prisoner. In the center of the room was a large hook horror that looked like it some sort of pet. They also saw a few more kuo-toa in the rear room, two of them wielding scepters.

Atilius cast fireball on the kuo-toa gathered around the statue, also catching the prisoner and the hook horror in its effect. One of the kuo-toa leaped away, and all but one other were able to leap out of the blasts' center. Lee rushed the hook horror, hitting it hard with Talon. Pippin dashed in and out, slashing it with Yig. A large kuo-toa smashed its spiked club into Lee twice. Broward hit it with a fire bolt. The other four kuo-toa all stabbed at Lee with their spears, but only one hit the mark. Moriarty rushed up to engage the large kuo-toa, but swung wild, sending Fiendburn flying further into the room. One of the scepter wielding kuo-toa, wearing an ornate cape, cast blade barrier across the two rooms, dividing them in half. Moriarty and Lee found themselves inside the five foot thick wall of blades, and the cuts were too much for the ranger. Turenim cast preserve life on Moriarty and Lee, reviving the old man. He also cast healing spirit on the prisoner, but the prisoner did not move. Atilius felt his muscles seize up as the kuo-toa shaman cast hold person on him, but he was able to break free of the spell's effect. Moula ran through the wall of blades, evading all of them, and attacked the shaman with a flurry of blows from her staff and kicks. Albrecht cast eldritch blast on the shaman.

Atilius cast fire bolt at the shaman, but missed. As soon as Lee moved out of the wall of blades, the hook horror swung its hooks at Lee, but the ranger defended and was able to retaliate. Pippin jumped through the wall of blades, also evading their strikes, and landed the killing blows on the hook horror. The large kuo-toa swung its spiked club and Lee, but was deflected by the ranger's shield. Again the other four kuo-toa stabbed at Lee with their spears with only one getting through his defenses. Moriarty was able to get out of the wall of blades and retrieve Fiendburn, only to drop as the caped kuo-toa's sacred flame fell on him. Turenim revived Moriarty with healing spirit, and cast daylight, causing all the kuo-toa to shun from the light. The shaman cast spirit guardians, but Moula absorbed the fiendish spirits' attacks and continued her assault on the shaman. Albrecht hit the shaman with eldritch blasts again.

Atilius killed the shaman with a fire bolt. With two swings of Talon, Lee dropped the large kuo-toa. Pippin dropped two more kuo-toa. Broward hit the caped kuo-toa with a fire bolt. The two remaining kuo-toa turned their spears to Pippin, but could not catch the child. The two other kuo-toa in the rear room attacked Moula with their spears, one of them catching the monk. Moriarty hit the caped kuo-toa with Fiendburn. In retaliation it dropped Moriarty with a swipe from its scepter and landed a second strike on Moula. Turenim revived Moriarty with healing spirit, and used preserve life to heal Moula, Lee, and Moriarty some more. Moula caught the caped kuo-toa once with her staff, and Albrecht hit it once with eldritch blast.

Atilius missed it with fire bolt, but Broward's attempt hit. Lee took a swing at the last kuo-toa in the main room and threw his javelin of lightning at the caped kuo-toa in the rear room. Pippin finished off that last kuo-toa with Yig. Moriarty slammed Fiendburn into the caped kuo-toa, and it dropped him again in retaliation. Again Turenim revived Moriarty with healing spirit. Moula landed more strikes on it, and Albrecht hit it with another eldritch blast.

Atilius and Broward both missed with the fire bolts. Lee ran into the rear room and dropped both of the spear wielding kuo-toa there, leaving only the caped one. Pippin darted over and stabbed it, and it cast heal on itself. Turenim cast healing spirit on Moriarty again. Moula struck the caped one some more, and Albrecht stabbed it with his rapier.

Atilius missed the caped kuo-toa with fire bolt, but Broward hit it. Lee swung Talon, hitting his target, but then sending the sword flying across the room. Pippin stabbed it from behind with Yig, and it suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind the faint smell of brimstone. Broward shared his suspicion that the kuo-toa had been able to teleport because of its cape.

In a panic, they all ran out of the room, into the corridor and back to the intersection, but saw no sign of the caped kuo-toa. They made their way back to where they had left the prisoners, and found them safe in the tiny hut. Albrecht dispelled the shelter and they explored the area. There they found the warleader's wife and the two families of kuo-toa, but that was all.

Albrecht recast Leomund's tiny hut to secure the former prisoners, and they continued their search. They searched the warleader's chambers and the rest of the living quarters. They made their way back to the landing, but found it deserted. The could see nothing else on the dark lake's expanse. Finally they went back to the intersection and opened the last set of double doors to the east.

The doors opened onto a grand hall, filled with loud noises of many kuo-toa. A few torches dimly illuminated the room, casting long shadows into the corners. They found themselves in the center of an eighty foot wide room the went forty feet across from them. The loud noises came from a pair of kuo-toa fighting a bear-like humanoid with long, shaggy, white hair covering its entire body. The beast was chained to the leg of a large stone table near the opposite wall. Several more kuo-toa were gathered around the scene of fighting and two other groups of several more were sitting at smaller stone tables eating, some of them smaller than the rest.

"Put down your weapons, we don't want to hurt you." Turenim announced, but his spell had worn off and they could not understand him.

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