The Rescue

After spending about 18 hours making contacts with Sirs Quai and Skovin, who told the group they couldn't help and Agathor, who ended up providing the same directions as he did to Pip, et al. the second bunch of PCs headed into the sewers. Taking much the same path as the first and meeting the same 'people' Iam, Potenzia, Leo and Zoltan reach the area where numerous, small, amphibious creatures lay scattered (and dead). Further exploration reveals a large minotuar and several derro (all dead). Zoltan scanned the area for sings of intelligence and found one. Preparing for battle, it turned out to only be Pip, who managed to find his way back to this point after being totally lost for the last day.

Pip filled his friends in on what he knew. The group cast a few longer lasting spells and headed on. They flew down the shaft into the large room that Pip told them was empty. It wasn't. Instead of the large gargoyles, there were two Athach who immediately started throwing rocks at those descending. It wasn't much of a fight. Pip informed everyone that the next battle would be close.

Resorting to knock spells to get through two sets of doors, the group encountered the hallway that was uncomfortably familiar to Pip. As the group moved forward they began to spread out much to Iam's displeasure. As the group moved closer on of Zoltan's high level protective spells was stripped as if from a dispel magic, but no one heard anything to alert them to the location of the source. Iam was bringing up the rear when two strange looking creatures emerged from a solid wall and closed. The oddest looking one stayed back. All asked of Iam would be okay and he said yes, so the others continued. A third creature emerged from the wall, but only one had closed with Iam.

Potenzia and Zotlan had now flown through the light fog that had also been there the time the other group approached. A six-tentacled beast who was very well hidden while clinging to the ceiling lashed out unerringly at the invisible, mirror imaged, flame-shielded Zoltan. Once the creature grrapple Zoltan, all his spells and magic items were snuffed out and useless. Potenzi moved away. Leo approached but suffered the same fate as Zoltan. Meanwhile Pip spotted yuan-ti abomination who was taking pot shots with a large bow at mostly Leo. Pip snuck up to it invisibly. Potenzi moved in to melee with the tentacled monster.

In the back of the fight a very large and mean looking Minotaur stepped out of another wall and waited. Shortly thereafter the oddest of the creatures (a bulbous head on legs) shivered and a wave of anti magic filled the hallway rendering Iam's protective spells and items temporarily useless. The Minotaur charged knocking him back nearly 15'. Iam returned blows. The next attacks from the minotaur were brutal but not life threatening. However the next set probably would be as Iam was without any magic.

Leo and Zoltan could not free themselves from the grap of the tentacle beast. Potenzia was flying near it repeatedly piecing with rapier and dagger. Soone Potenzi found himself the target of spells cast the mind flayer who could tell relatively where he was. Pip surprised the abomination but was quickly taken down a few pegs by vicious falcion blows and attacks from anther odd, snake-like creature.

Potenzia had finally drawn the tentacled beast’s attention and it dropped Leo in favor of attacking Potenzia, barely missing. Pip ran toward Leo hoping for cures. The abomination followed. The Minotaur, evilly grinning at Iam paused while Iam braced for the attack. The minotaur first shattered Iam's shield and then proceeded to pummel Iam into unconsciousness. It and the three strange creatures moved towards the rest of the fight.

Potenzia quickly dropped the tentacle beast and Leo healed Pip just as the abomination landed blows that would have otherwise killed him. Zoltan, with all his protections back, blasted the abomination with a powerword stun. It had no effect. Potenzia bought the group some time by placing a wall of force between the abomination and the rest of the party. At about this time, the other odd snake-like creature that had attacked Pip resurfaced out from the floor. It was quickly defeated.

Pow Duc suddenly appeared in the hall toward the room with the spell casting hydra. The mind flayer responded by filling the hall with webs and than covered much of the room in an obscuring mist. Attention shifted back to the rear of the fight as the minotaur and others approached. The bulbous head created another anti magic field and the minotaur laid some damage down on Pow Duc who had freed himself from the webs. Pip received another heal from Leo and joined in the fight. Zoltan had dimensioned doored to where Iam was laft to find him unconscious and bleeding. He grabbed his body and teleported back by Leo, who cast another heal (from a scroll) and Iam returned to the fight as well. The head was killed and Leo cast a grasping hand at the odd (wizard) creature to keep it busy. It had the ability to turn into a jelly-like substance so was able to free itself, but as it reformed, Leo simply redirected the hand. The minotaur and abomination soon retreated. The group did not pursue them knowing Alorian and Schweitzer were still in the room with the spell casting hydra.

While the fight had been raging outside, Alorian and Schweitzer had irritated the hydra enough that it lowered the forcecage they were trapped in. Schweitzer closed and Alorian cast spells and fired his bow. After a few rounds, Alorian had again been trapped, this time in a solid wall forcecage, effectively removing him from the fight while Schweitzer had been subject to several spells – some of which made him exhausted and others sapped energy directly. He tried to run to the door hoping for help only to meet the mindflayer who enfeebled him. The group arrived to face an onslaught of four simultaneous fireballs from the hydra. Pow Duc was able to stun the mind flayer moments before one of its tentacles reached Schweitzer’s brain. The hydra teleported away, Potenzia hit the forcecage in which Alorian was trapped with a disintigrate and the mindflayer was easily dispatched.

The battle was over. There was no sign of the creature that withdrew.