Underdark- Unending Abyss Region

Outpost for Eternal Night

Captain Thardan Dulkam studied the crates as we removed them from our Inventories as others took the supplies away. Everything from food, the blankets had been recovered from the half-destroyed convoy. "Thank you my lord for doing this. What is the word about our errant commander?" the Duergar asked and I snorted.

"Seems he was a coward through-and-through. I hate to report it, but the squad that went with him died, either protecting him or by Craven's hand is unknown at this point but Decalin is being questioned currently to ascertain the truth of the matter. Either way, House Craven will never recover from Decalin's actions." I told the Captain causing him to smile and chuckle. "As far as your relief, the queen plans to send another convoy, so it should arrive later today or tomorrow at the latest. At which point you and your people will be relieved and sent back to Eternal Night." I told him earning a sigh of relief from the Duergar.

Thardan extended his hand and I shook it, "I owe you a debt Jacob Longstrider, not only for getting those supplies here but for bringing that worm to justice. It's not much, but this is yours." the Duergar extended a ring my way. It was a silver band with several small rubies inlaid within the metal. The two quest notifications I had been waiting for finally popped up.

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Quest Alert: Desperate Need

Notice: You managed to track down the lost convoy and recover several crates of critical supplies needed to finish the outpost. You have received 500 Experience, increased Reputation with the City Guard of Eternal Night, Guardian's Heart.

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Quest Alert: Lost in the Dark

Notice: Through luck or circumstances you discovered Decalin Craven of House Craven, was resting comfortably within his family's estate in Eternal Night and had him arrested for desertion. House Craven has been all but dissolved and will never retain any leadership in the future. You have received 500 Experience, your Reputation with Captain Thardan Dulkam has increased to Honored.

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Armor Name: Guardian's Heart

Armor Type: Jewelry; Silver, Rubies, Ring

Class: Rare

Base Defense: N/A

Primary Effects...

--- +10 Vitality

--- +10 Strength

--- +1 Luck

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The ring itself was nothing special except it increased my Luck, and anything that did that was a premium and worth its weight in gold. I donned it without a second thought. "You find out where those cock gobblers of House Dhalmass are based out of?" I snickered at the description the Captain provided.

I clapped him on the shoulder, "Don't worry about it Captain, just get your people home safely." I urged him and the Duergar nodded his reluctant acceptance. "Ready to go?" I asked as I looked at the others as I pulled out the portal scroll.

The other quickly gathered and I broke the seal causing a blue portal to snap in existence as the scroll dissolved into ash. As each of my companions touched the portal disappeared and once they were gone I followed suit. Traveling by portal was, disconcerting to say the best. It was like a roller coaster ride, but it shortened the distance between two points by a large margin. So it made the discomfort well worth it.

Drex spotted us immediately and waved us over to where a couple of carts and several Kobolds were standing. "Welcome back Jacob, I assume you have had a busy morning?" the Orc prodded as he pointed to my armor which was already speckled with dirt and grime from fighting random dead and other Underdark creatures when searching for where House Dhalmass had set up shop.

"Yes, it's already been a difficult morning. I need to speak to your father soon.' I told him but gestured to the Kobolds. 'It can wait for not. Are these some of the Kobolds you were talking about?" I asked, referring to the tribe that was on the brink of civil war.

"Yes, Jacob Longstrider this is Draxus Earthcracker, he fills a similar position I do within the Earth-Cracker Tribe. Draxus, this is Jacob Longstrider of Eternal Night." Drex introduced us and the Kobold studied me and snickered.

"Doesn't look like much of a Vampire, perhaps he is lying to you Drex." the Kobold snickered and I leaned down so we could see eye-to-eye as I felt the normal cold anger flood into me as my eyes shifted turning from the normal blue-green to bright blood-red in a heartbeat causing the Kobold to jerk back.

"Well you don't look like a Dragon, but Kobolds claim some ancestry from them. So perhaps neither one of us should judge the other until it is proved otherwise. Yes?" I prodded the Kobold earning a jerky nod from Draxus. "Good, we are agreed. We should get on the road, while the area is safer with the destruction of the shard, the Underdark is far from secure." I prodded and Drex showed me a toothy smile as he chuckled and walked away.

The small merchant train consisted of three carts, a dozen Kobolds, a half dozen Orcs, and my party. The Kobolds were armed with crossbows and some were mages of some sort, based on what I knew they were going to probably be either Geomancers or Pyromancers, with an occasional Shaman thrown in. According to Lore, Kobolds were master trap makers and were only outstripped by Gnomes. Although most Gnome Clans inhabited Dwarven Holds or Thiags, coexisting with the Dwarves either on the surface or Underdark.

"We are going to our home Vampire, the town is called Kiera'tan and is ruled by Braxus Earthcracker. While there, you will show the Chieftain respect and cause no problems." Draxus warned me and I gave him a slight bow.

"You have my word, I will start no trouble with your people. We are trying to find common ground with our neighbors and have no wish to start a war while our situation is so...unstable." I replied causing the Kobold to look at Drex who gave him a slight nod.

It was good enough for the Kobolds because we immediately moved out. "If we encounter nothing and make strait for Kiera'tan, we can be there in four hours, but as you have said this is the Underdark. We eat on the road and do not stop unless we have no choice." Draxus commented as the first of the carts rolled through the gates of Ghazren Hold.

Three hours of travel with the occasional random monster from the Underdark broke the monotony, but we all know it would eventually end. It was only just a question of when and what. A wave of them came out of one of the many small caverns that dotted the tunnels that plumed the depths of the Underdark.

Goblins and Orc, with a few Duergar, rushed us. "WE GOT THE RIGHT FLANK!" I called out as I yanked Moonlight from its sheath as I thrust my other hand forward as I triggered Bog of Plagued Shadows before triggering my charge and taunt skills. Arrows and Fireballs rained down on them as we engaged the raiders. While the shadow spell had blunted their rush, there was a large group of them and some were hanging back and firing crossbow bolts I found out as the first punched through my armor.

I saw Chalxae skirt the main fight, gutting two Goblins before disappearing into Stealth. The Kobolds and Goblins were fairly low level and ill-equipped but coupled with their numbers and the larger more powerful Orcs and Duergar, they were pressing me hard and my health was steadily falling. Yet with Sessa and June whittling away at the Goblins and Kobolds, I could concentrate on the stronger and more powerful foes.

I jumped back from a swinging hammer a Duergar wielded as another Orc tried to skewer me with a spear. A Shadow Bolt to the Orc's chest interrupted its attack as yet a second Orc bellowed as he swung an axe at me. I dropped low and sliced Moonlight across its exposed stomach as I triggered Tactical Blow and Shadow Strike.

The Orc grunted as its guts spilled out onto the cavern floor, but any sense of victory was quickly disrupted as the Duergar slammed his hammer into my shoulder causing me to yell in pain as I felt my collar bone crack.

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Debuff...

Internal Bleeding: 3 DPS (Duration 5 Minutes)

Broken Collarbone: Spells that require two hands cannot be cast and weapons that require two hands have a decreased Attack Speed by 20%. (Duration 5 Minutes)

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I cursed as I did my best to defend myself, but every movement jarred my left arm and caused another spike of pain. The bleeding effect I could handle, but the broken bone was hindering both my movement and concentration, in the Underdark it was an easy way to get killed. Then a dense cloud of smoke exploded around us as Sessa dropped her AoE spell on us, but more importantly it bought me time to disengage.

I dropped back and pulled out a Healing Potion and downed its contents. I screamed once in pain as the bone snapped back into place as the magic went to work knitting my body back together. I looked over at the Pyromancer to see her wreathed in flames, a beacon of light in the Underdark as she threw one Fireball after another at our enemies.

While the physical damage was mostly healed, the bones and muscles are still tender as I grabbed Moonlight again as the cloud of smoke dissipated and I hit my two remaining opponents with Shadow Bolts before rushing them. I could see Chalxae had silenced the crossbowmen and was making her way back to the main fight, but only a small handful of the raiders remained. Before I could swing my sword, a wave of crossbow bolts slammed into the Orc and Duergar ending them.

I looked back at Draxus and nodded my thanks as I made my way over to my other party members. Drax hissed as he looked at the two crossbow bolts still sticking out of me before shoving the hilt of a dagger into my mouth. "Bite down!" he commanded and braced one arm on my chest before ripping one of the bolts out causing my health to drop by a quarter as I did my best to not scream. When the Shaman ripped out the second bolt I staggered and fell to my knees as I bit the hilt so hard I thought I was going to crack my teeth.

A cooling wave of healing magic washed most of the pain away and brought my Health to one hundred percent. "Try to avoid crossbow bolts in the future." was the Orcs wise advice and I snorted in amusement as I got back to my feet. I could see June and Chalxae looting the corpses and I looked over at the Kobolds as they settled back into their carts. There was only a little damage to the carts, a stray crossbow bolt here and there, but nothing that would disable them. Good, they should make it to the Kobold town in the next hour, if there were no more significant attacks.