The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

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18. The Prisoners
Four drow warriors lie here, with chains wrapped round
their arms and ankles. Though their faces are calm,
hatred is burning in their eyes.
The dwarves were able to overpower these guards by
tripping them up with their chains and grappling them
into submission. They are now hostages. Ten dwarf
slaves stand here, armed with picks and shovels, ready
to bash the hostages’ brains out if they try to escape.
They have been told not to harm the prisoners unless
they make trouble, but it is obvious that they are itching
to repay the treatment they have endured.
19. The Tunnel
This narrow tunnel has been hastily dug. It leads
upwards at an angle of 45 degrees. You can see daylight
through a crack at the upper end.
This is where the dwarf slaves are digging their escape
tunnel. Their expertise with rock led them to the best
place to dig. They have almost broken through to the
surface. Another 20 minutes of work will widen the
tunnel sufficiently for a Medium-sized creature to
squeeze through it.
20. The Negotiators
As you approach, you hear voices engaged in calm
discussion. One is a weary-sounding, aristocratic voice;
the other is gravelly and deep, as if the speaker has a
heavy cold. They seem to be discussing arrangements
for the handing over of prisoners.
Drozen Vellish is here, discussing the settlement of the
revolt with Grundin Derth, the self-appointed leader of
the dwarves. Derth is dying from the poisonous fumes,
so he has chosen to lead the rebellion, as he has nothing
left to lose.
Vellish’s Predicament: Vellish is in a very delicate
situation. He fervently hopes that the Player Characters
are in the mine somewhere, so that he can leave this
mess behind him. His three lieutenants are bewildered
at his concession to negotiate with the dwarves. They
want to know why he does not just storm the mines, kill
the ringleaders, torture the rest and have done with it.
The drow hostages were stupid and let themselves be
caught. Since when has it been drow policy to rescue
idiots?
Vellish’s only answer to them has been to cite ‘secret
orders’, which the lieutenants are now sceptical about,
and to insist that ‘we need the slaves alive to make the
mine work – unless you’d rather dig the ore yourself!’
to which they have no answer.
Enter the Player Characters: How this scene plays
out depends entirely on how the Player Characters
approach it. If they simply pile in and attack, Vellish
has no choice but to turn on his three lieutenants, who
try to alert the priestesses (see above) and the other
guards. The moment Vellish is revealed to be a traitor,
the lieutenants flee the scene. They know they have no
chance against the Player Characters and their former
leader together.
If the Player Characters opt to parley first (perhaps in
the hope of reading Vellish’s subtle cues and finding out
if this is a trap or not), Vellish tries to use his Bluff skill
to send a secret message (see the Bluff skill description
in the PHB). The message is ‘Get me out of here now,
damn you!’ The Player Characters can make Sense
Motive checks to notice and read the message. The
lieutenants should have a chance to notice this, so the
Games Master should give them Sense Motive checks
too.
If the Games Master prefers to increase the tension at
the expense of a little deus ex machina action, Zertivul
(see below) can have detect thoughts running and
accidentally pick up Vellish’s thoughts when the Player
Characters enter the area. Zertivul’s first action is to
tell Saranek to hit Vellish with a dimensional anchor,
after which they teleport away to the nearest source
of help (either the barracks or the chapel). The Player
Characters can thus arrive just as Vellish is prevented
from escaping with them and all hell breaks loose.
Drozen Vellish has lank, stringy hair combed back from
a widow’s peak. His face has heavy jowls, his eyes are
sunken and his demeanour is that of a man who is jaded
with decadence, as if he has indulged in every sin and
vice available until nothing is interesting anymore. He
seems so weary of everything that it is tiring to look at
him.
Vellish’s three lieutenants are Ca’varren, Zertivul and
Saranek. Ca’varren is a narrow-eyed, pinch-faced dark
elf whose teeth are in extremely bad condition; he has
a habit of sucking on crystallised fruit. Zertivul has
a round moon face, hamster cheeks and a perpetually
surprised expression. Saranek, the youngest of the
three, likes to glower and smirk and is proud of his long
mane of white hair.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8