Krask crawls through the foundational crack and investigates the outside of the Cistern. The damage is relatively hidden, up against the cliff-face on the backside of the structure. It’s off the beaten path, meaning that it’s not outlandish that people wouldn’t have noticed it unless they went looking.
It is decided to leave Urcai with the Tenders, until arrangements can be made with the local authorities. She is bound and left outside the Cistern, and the party heads back inside.
Beyond the corpses of the purple worms, the tunnels continue to twist and wind. Bloodstains leave a long trail, as if something or someone was dragged against their will. As they turn the corner, another smaller purple worm notices them.
The creature rears back, and a bright pink light pulses from its mouth down to its tail. As the light reaches the ground, it causes a brief tremor. Down the other end of the tunnel, the shriek of another purple worm rings out as the creature advances on the party. Behind it, a much more terrifying shriek echoes down the tunnel.
Meet the Hive Queen
Barnaby quickly charges at the furthest purple worm, connecting with his signature strikes. He also locates the source of the bestial bellow; a huge, coiling, intestinal purple worm with a mouth like a nightshade flower splayed wide. As the halfling turns his attention to the larger threat, he notices a charred body partially concealed by the worm’s coiled body.
On the other side of the tunnel, Richard tries to claw one of the smaller worms. He’s largely unsuccessful, but he occupies the worm enough to allow the rest of the party to get into position. Fyn casts Enlarge Person on Trace, who moves up to engage the worm. Unfortunately, it latches on his face, and the party begins to have flashbacks of the previous worm fight.
Like clockwork, Krask unleashes arrows at the worms, trying to time their quick movements. Several arrows strike true, while Fobias assists Barnaby with the smaller worm behind him. Barnaby hacks and slashes at the hive queen, spilling acidic blood all over his body. Note: this should have been an ample warning of what’s about to come.
Fyn steps up and arcs a devastating bolt of Chain Lightning at the weakened worms. The force of the current courses through the hive queen, who slumps over before suddenly exploding in her acidic death throes. Acidic blood ruptures from the body, narrowly missing Barnaby but covers Fobias in sizzling burns.
To counteract the latching of the worms, Fobias covers himself in sharp, thorny vines. As the worm tries to penetrate the brambles, the barbs impale it, causing significant amounts of damage.
Trace does his best to remove the worm that’s latched onto him, choosing to use gravity and smash himself against the ground. It deals some damage, but its not enough to kill his enemy. Krask’s talents are required for that.
At the end of the day, Fobias is deeply injured, but the party withstands the onslaught.
Let’s Take a Dip
After healing their wounds, the party checks out the charred corpse that Barnaby found earlier. There isn’t much left, but they assume that it’s Urcai’s brother. Not wanting to leave the Cistern quite yet, they decide to come back for it on the way out.
The natural caverns eventually converge with man-made walls once more. A tall vertical shaft extends several hundred feet up, and the grooved stone floor is mildly damp. Eventually, they reach an iron grate.
It takes a comical number of attempts using the Ring of the Ram to try and open the grate, to no avail. Fobias concedes to his druidic abilities, and warps the stone around the gate to get through.
The angled walls of this shimmering room are a geometric marvel, providing an artificial illumination towards its center. A shallow pool of bright water ripples casually in the lower portion of the room, circled by an adequate line of a salt-like substance that lines the top of the surrounding stairs.
Thick iron grates mark the four corners of the chamber, with the channel indentations carved beneath them. The one to the northwest hangs from its hinges, broken. A fifth grate allows water to flow underneath the floor, presumably beyond the enormous pile of stone and rubble blocking the southern exit. Towards the north, a beautiful mosaic of a stylized tree made of emeralds is inlaid in the smooth stone wall.The hallway opens up into a glittering room.
Trace wants to take a closer look at the water, and crosses over the salt-like substance. As he breaks the threshold, the water begins to swirl and rise, eventually coming high enough to be nearly at the party’s knees. The middle of the water swells, forming a huge humanoid shape that towers over the party, dripping water as it ebbs and flows. A pair of bright red eyes looks down at them.
How did the party trigger this interaction? Will the water now flow freely for Mihlaj? Wait…Fobias is a druid?!