A small cat appeared at the cave opening and began to meow. The spectator's eyestalks slowly moved to look at the cat. Its body rose from the ground and turned around, its massive eye scanning the area. One of the eyestalks came forward and shot a red beam. The beam passed through the cat, revealing it as an illusion.
"An illusion," the spectator thought, slowly floating in place. It closed its big eye as something hard and small hit its body, shattering on contact. Rage clouded the spectator's mind. After just escaping that infernal prison and finally eating something, someone was disturbing its peace. "I can't wait to eat their flesh," it thought, floating out of the cave.
Suddenly, the area where it stood was covered by a black mist that was extremely cold, burning its flesh. Its eyestalks were already covered by a thin sheet of ice. It tried to move, but something was slowing its movements. "This must be the Hunger of Hadar," it thought. Just as it tried to leave the area covered by the spell, a red fireball hit the spectator. The spell was slightly off course but close enough to burn two of its eyestalks.
The dark mist disappeared, revealing four humanoid figures, three wielding blades and one big red one wielding a war axe.
They leaped at the injured spectator, but before they could touch it, it teleported away. Its big eye and the remaining two eyestalks started shooting rays of different colors at them.
The spectator shrieked and teleported again. Two humanoids stood in the place it had just left.
The spectator started to panic, feeling the excruciating pain from the wound on its back. Deciding it wasn't worth the risk, the spectator plane-shifted. A hole in reality big enough for the spectator to escape through appeared.
Everyone watched as the hole in reality closed.
"Good job, everyone," Wyll shouted for all to hear.
"That was easy," Astarion said, cleaning his dagger.
"Was it just me, or did the spectator look kinda skinny?" Karlach said.
"I think so, the thing was barely floating," Shadowheart said next to Astarion.
"Tsk. Even weakened, we couldn't kill it fast enough," Lae'zel said.
They were right, Alex thought. Spectators had the ability to generate food and water once a day. Whatever happened to it, something stopped it from doing so.
Gale appeared from behind the rock rampart and walked to the rest of the group.
"Nice planning, Wyll," Gale praised.
"Thank you, but without Alex's insight, I couldn't have come up with such a plan. How do you know so much about spectators?" Wyll asked Alex.
"I saw a spectator fight a group of drow while I was in the Underdark," Alex replied.
"That must have been an experience," Wyll responded with a nod.
Wyll looked at everyone. "Let's see what's inside."
...
The party stepped over the burned corpses, into the cave, and started to look around. They didn't find anything remotely close to a cargo.
"Guys, look what I found," Gale said, presenting something.
It was an iron flask that looked like it had exploded, with pieces of it missing.
"I think this was the cargo," Alex noted. When he spoke to the boss, he read her thoughts and found out what the cargo was: a chest with an iron flask that contained a spectator inside.
"Why do you think so?" Wyll asked.
"There is nothing important here. Look at this flask, it's the only thing that looks noteworthy," Alex replied.
"I hope you are right. I can't wait to get a better dagger. This one almost snapped when I backstabbed the spectator," Astarion said.
...
They walked back to the burning manor. They stopped at the building where the entrance to the Zhentarim hideout was.
"Everyone stay here. I will go talk to their boss. They looked kinda tense when I was there last time. Who knows how they will react to new faces," Alex said to the party.
Everyone seemed to agree, more or less.
Alex walked inside the hideout. The faint smell of blood was in the air. Alex spotted a man tied to a chair below, continuously punched in the face by another man. Another younger man lay face down on the floor in a pool of blood, riddled with bruises and cuts.
The boss was shouting at him from her stone rampart.
"You're the one who recruited me, Rugan. You are the one who taught me rule number one. Remember," the boss shouted as Rugan squirmed in pain and received another punch in his stomach. "No, Olly didn't remember either, did you, Olly?" She turned to Alex and waved for him to come to her.
"I was glad to see Rugan until he told me he lost the shipment," she said, looking at the man tied to the chair, the one still alive. "Failure creates debt. And debt requires payment. But he'll live."
Alex showed her the iron flask he found in the cave.
The boss's eyes shot wide open.
"Everyone attack, kill him!" she yelled.
Alex was surprised for a moment by her reaction. She aimed her crossbow and shot. He sidestepped an arrow that flew past his face. He could hear two howls to the far right of the cave.
Normally he would have killed them, but he had a few new tricks he wanted to try against them, the non-lethal type.
Alex locked eyes with the boss, who froze.
...
"He found the cargo and what's inside it," the boss thought, giving the order to kill the hooded man and shoot her crossbow at his face.
"This guy has reflexes," she thought, seeing how easily he dodged another arrow, this time shot by Ballar. But that didn't matter; there were at least a dozen members in the cave, and they had two rangers with them. They would overwhelm him. She locked eyes with him and froze. His gaze... She felt his will against hers, his mind against hers. Whatever that man was, he was not human. A human couldn't possess such a monstrous will. She felt like a butterfly against a raging bull. The monster threw something at her. It hit her right in the chest. Something slimy.
"Stop!" she shouted. She must protect the master.
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They didn't stop. She watched as two white wolves pounced on the master. Instead of dodging, he simply locked eyes with the wolves, and they stopped, turned around, and started to run to their masters.
She watched with wide eyes as the wolves started to attack their own masters, defying orders to stop.
Zarys felt a hand on her shoulder.
She turned around and spotted Vol looking at her, worry in his eyes.
"Zarys, what the fuck did he do to you?" he asked.
Before she could respond, a slime blob hit him in the face.
Vol gasped and turned to the master.
"We must protect the master," Vol said to her.
"We must protect the master," Zarys repeated.
...
Alex dodged a man's sword attack and threw another blob of slime at his face.
The man gasped and let go of the weapon.
"Forgive me, master," he pleaded as he fell to his knees.
Alex didn't even look at him, instead surveying the cave. Every single living being in the cave was under his control now. This was one of the abilities of the aboleth. The aboleth secreted a slime that, if it came in contact with any living being, made them its servants if they weren't strong enough. The slime had the effect of transforming the victim's skin into a membrane that allowed them to breathe underwater but took away the ability to breathe air. He modified the slime, making it more potent without transforming the skin.
"Master," Zarys said, bowing to him.
"Why did you attack me?" Alex asked, though he already suspected the answer.
"The contract said to kill anyone who found out what the cargo was."
"Where did you plan on shipping the cargo?"
"To Baldur's Gate."
"For what reason?"
"I don't know. We were paid to deliver it."
"Who is the one who ordered the cargo?"
"I don't know. Only the higher-ups know."
"I will get my party down here. Provide them with the best equipment you have," Alex ordered.
"Yes, master," she replied.
Alex shook his head and left.
A few minutes later, the party descended into the Zhentarim basement.
"Look at all these barrels. They planned to collapse this cave?" Karlach asked.
"After they leave, yes," Alex responded.
The party looked around at the Zhentarim members hauling the cargo around.
Zarys walked to them.
"We found the cargo thanks to the flask you brought to us. Here's your reward," she said, pointing to a crate to her right.
"Thanks," Wyll said, walking to the crate and looking inside.
"This is a very good blade," he said, taking out a silvery rapier.
Astarion ran to the crate and pushed Wyll aside. He looked for a moment in the crate and took out a dagger.
"This is mine," he said, admiring the beautifully ornate dagger.
One by one, everyone approached the crate and took something out. Lae'zel was the only one who seemed uninterested as she already had her silvery armor and flaming sword.
"I can't wait to test this baby," Karlach said, swinging around her new war axe.
Wyll did a small bow to Zarys and turned around . "Everyone, let's go," he commanded.
...
They found themselves where the goblin camp once stood, at the Shattered Sanctum. Everything was left in a hurry, likely expecting to return after destroying the grove. Empty cups and some still half-full with booze lay scattered around. A pile of coals in the middle was almost extinguished, with skewered meats above it. Among the skewers, they spotted a foot and an arm.
"Bastards. Good they're dead now," Wyll commented at the gruesome sight.
"This was a Selûne temple," Shadowheart remarked, pointing to a statue on the far left depicting a beautiful woman.
Suddenly, they heard something and turned to the left. A small owlbear cub was eyeing them.
"Look at him, how cute he is," Karlach commented.
"Why is it here? Do you think its mother is around?" Wyll asked.
"She’s dead," Alex said, pointing to a gruesome sight. An owlbear head was hanging by a rope, blood still dripping from it.
"Poor baby," Karlach said. She made a few hand signs, casting Speak with Animals on herself, and slowly walked to the cub.
"Mother gone... hungry," the cub said.
"I have a camp. You can come there," Karlach offered the cub.
"New home?... maybe."
Karlach extended her hand, allowing the cub to sniff it. Suddenly, the owlbear cub bolted away.
Karlach stood up, watching the cub run off. "I hope he finds the camp," she said softly.
...
"Follow me," Alex instructed as they walked inside the temple.
No one was inside, just a pair of spiders trapped behind a metal gate. Alex guided them to where he came from.
"Do I really need to climb down all those steps?" Astarion whined, peeking down at the seemingly never-ending descent.
"There is no need. Come together so I can cast Feather Fall," Gale said. "After Alex unfortunate accident, I found someone in the grove who was willing to trade a scroll with the spell."
After a few hand gestures, everyone was enveloped in a blue-white energy.
"I will go first. Jump one by one; there is not much space down there for more than one at a time." Alex instructed the party.
Alex walked to the edge and jumped. One by one, everyone followed.
...
"This is a Selûnite outpost in the Underdark. Intriguing," Gale commented, looking at the big statue in the middle of the outpost.
From his memories, Alex deduced that Gale noted this because Selûne is a surface deity, her influence being weaker below ground.
Alex pulled a lever, opening the gate, and everyone followed. "Watch where you step, or you could find yourself covered in poisonous spores," Alex warned.
As they approached the colony, Alex signaled for everyone to stop.
"What's the matter?" Wyll asked, squinting ahead.
"This platform should be covered with exploding plants, but it seems someone or something triggered them."
Alex jumped onto the platform and walked to the remains of a creature. It looked like a combination between a fish and a man.
"Kuo-toa," Alex commented. As he moved forward to the colony entrance, he saw dead myconids lying around. Alex could feel the mind spores connecting to him. A quiet, barely audible song echoed in his mind.
"Peace-bringer... come to... garden..." Spaw's voice whispered in his head.
Alex glanced at the rest of the group. They looked wary, weapons drawn.
"Follow me, stay close," Alex said, leading them to where Spaw indicated.
He found Spaw inside the cave with Blurg and Omeluum next to him. Spaw was missing his arms and one leg, lying on the ground. Deep cuts all over his body leaking a greenish white ichor. Omeluum and Blurg weren't looking good either. Their robes were tattered and bloodied. One of Omeluum's tentacles seemed to have been cut off, while Blurg's right arm was covered in bandages.
"What happened here?" Alex asked as he approached them.
Blurg stood up, wincing as he braced himself. He looked at Alex, his expression pained but resolute.
"Shortly after you left, a group of kuo-toa came and attacked the colony. Normally, this wouldn't be a threat, but these kuo-toa were anything but normal. Their hands and weapons glowed with a red energy, and a single cut from them would draw an unnatural amount of blood. They massacred all the myconids while shouting, 'Sacrifices for Booal.'"
"Sorry, did you say Booal, not Bhaal?" Wyll asked, frowning.
Blurg shook his head. "Booal. They were shouting it with a frenzy."
"Peace-bringer..." Spaw whispered weakly.
Alex moved closer and squatted beside him. He knew Spaw would recover from these wounds with time. Flashes of the myconids being killed and cut to pieces flickered in Alex's mind.
"Those kuo-toa must pay for what they did. Slay them, get revenge for my kin," Spaw's voice echoed in his thoughts, filled with anger and sorrow. Alex could imagine Spaw felt the same grief and rage as Glut once did.
"I will," Alex promised.
Spaw closed his eyes, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Is he dead?" Karlach asked.
"No, just tired," Alex replied, standing up and walking to Omeluum, who was inspecting the rest of the group.
"They have a tadpole inside their heads. Why are they not turning?" Omeluum inquired telepathically.
"I don't know. Can you get rid of them?" Alex asked.
"I can brew a potion that can kill the tadpole, but I need to gather the ingredients from the tower. Will you go there for me?" Omeluum's mental voice conveyed a faint anger.
Alex glanced at the stump where a tentacle had been severed.
"I will go to the tower. I'm faster," he decided.
"Good. Go then . Kill some kuo-tao if you spot them" Omeluum's mental voice conveyed a faint anger., floating to a nearby table.
"What did it say? Can it help us?" Karlach asked.
"Yes, but we need to collect some ingredients from a nearby wizard tower," Alex explained.
"A wizard tower?" Gale's ears perked up.
"Yes, it’s in ruins but has the ingredients we need. But first, we need to take care of those kuo-toa."
"Why is that our problem, and why are you believing a mind flayer's words?" Astarion complained. Everyone was tense, especially Lae'zel, who had her weapon in hand.
"Omeluum seems trustworthy, and myconids have a habit of rewarding those who help them."
"Hm, if I get something nice out of it, I say it's worth it. Let's go slay some fish," Karlach said with a grin.
"Trustworthy? Ghaik are never trustworthy. Why rely on it when we can be cured at the creche?" Lae'zel retorted.
"And what if the githyanki at the creche refuse to cure everyone? Besides, if you don't want the help, you could just walk to the creche and get cured yourself," Alex countered.
This seemed to give Lae'zel pause.
"Tsk.Fine. Let's be done with this. I can't wait to get rid of the parasite in my head," she finally agreed.
Alex nodded and led the group towards the kuo-toa grotto. After a bit of climbing down, they found themselves in a vast, open cave. The scent of water lingered in the air, a telltale sign of a nearby underground river or lake. Using his mental radar, Alex detected at least two dozen minds.
He put a finger to his lips, signaling for silence, and pointed forward. Ahead, a cluster of kuo-toa seemed to be enacting some kind of ritual. Their feverish prayers filled the cavern, and their hands were raised, glowing with a bloody red hue. An altar laid ahead . A kuo-tao laid on it with a primitive sickle stabbed in his chest .