Prologue - Part 2
Vexir was the first to enter the chamber beyond. Immediately, she noticed a couple of dead imps nearby. She rushed to examine them. "Imps," she commented as Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan joined her. "Are we in the Hells?"
Kaedyn then noticed the blazing light pouring in from the other side. "Looks like it," he muttered in response. Even as he stared, several more imps flew past. There was a knot in his stomach the size of a fist.
"Anyone have any ideas how to get back to Faerun?" Ryth-Shan asked. He was trying to mask his fear with humor. "I mean. I've always thought it might be fun to visit other realms and all, but..."
Vexir shot him a sharp look. "Like before. Look around. See what we can..."
"Help us!" they suddenly heard. All three froze. "We are here. Help us! We are trapped." It sounded like a strange female's voice.
"What in all the realms is that?" asked Ryth-Shan.
"Sounds like someone in trouble," Kaedyn replied. "I think it came from up there." He pointed to a platform to their left.
All characters made an Arcana skill check to see if they knew how to get to the upper platform. Because Gith are more familiar with Mind Flayers, Ryth-Shan's difficulty was lower; only a 10. Ryth-Shan also had selected Aberrations as his Favored Enemies, and since Mind Flayers were Aberrations, he gained Advantage on the roll. The difficulty for both Vexir and Kaedyn was 15 with no advantage. Kaedyn rolled a 7 with no bonus for skill. Vexir rolled a 9 with no bonus for skill. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2 and a 15 with no bonus for skill. Ryth-Shan succeeded.
"That's a lift device," Ryth-Shan pointed out. "The strange pedestal is the control mechanism. Press the weird eye-like button in the center."
"You familiar with all this?" asked Kaedyn.
Ryth-Shan grinned. "We are in a Ghaik vessel," he informed them. "Mind Flayers, I mean. They are the enemies of my people. I have studied them at length."
"You two investigate," Vexir ordered them. "I'll sweep the lower level here for anything useful."
"Agreed," said Kaedyn.
"We'll scream real loud-like if we're dying," Ryth-Shan said with a smirk.
Vexir gave him a dirty look but said nothing. She was already searching the imps and thralls in the room for valuables. She found a few more healing potions, some gold, and a crossbow. "Better take what I can carry," she muttered to herself. "Who knows when I'll be able to get back to the Underdark."
Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan hurried to the platform and the Githyanki pressed the switch. Immediately, the lift made a grinding sound and carried them up to the upper level. As they arrived, they spotted a gruesome scene. There were dead bodies around and brains in jars. In a chair, tilted back, there was a man with no shirt on and blood all over him. They could see his face which was wracked with pain. He was twitching.
Both men came around to the side of the person, gingerly stepping as if they were sneaking around behind him to avoid detection. When they saw his cranium, and the EXPOSED BRAIN, both grimaced in horror. "What the...?" asked Kaedyn in disgust. The smell was beyond repugnant. Ryth-Shan was speechless for several moments.
The exposed brain, and mouth of the man it was attached to, both spoke in unison. "Yes! You've come to free us from this place. From this place, you'll free us. Quickly! Before they return. They return..."
Both Kaedyn and Ryth-Shan made a Nature roll. Again, since Ryth-Shan was more familiar with Mind Flayers and their minions, his roll was 10 or higher with advantage. Kaedyn's was 15. Kaedyn rolled a 14.
"What is this thing?" he asked, still displaying his regret for investigating the voice.
Ryth-Shan rolled an 8 and 11. "It's an Intellect Devourer; a minion of the Mind Flayers. We should kill it."
Suddenly, the brain cried out. "No! You mustn't! We are needed at the helm. At the helm, we are needed. All of us. Can't you hear it? They are calling us. I am a newborn. Born new from this husk. Please hurry! Free us quickly. You must free us."
Ryth-Shan didn't wait for Kaedyn to respond. Instead, he drew his shortswords and stabbed. Blood spewed everywhere as the Intellect Devourer squealed in agony. The body of the man it was attached to jerked and strained violently as he died. Then they grew very still as Ryth-Shan withdrew his weapons.
Kaedyn stared at him in shock. The Githyanki seemed completely unaffected. He wiped the blood off of his face and hands with a cloth from his pack. "Intellect Devourers are extremely dangerous," he explained. "NEVER let one live. The host it was born from was already dead. It was controlling him."
Kaedyn wiped himself off with a cloth from his own pack. "How... vile!" he remarked, for he didn't know what else to say. "Tyr preserve us!"
"Let's take a quick look around and get out of here," Ryth-Shan advised. "By now, Vexir has probably already swept the entire first floor.
Indeed, she had. After searching the bodies, she found a few desks with some strange tomes and other Mind Flayer oddities. One such treasure was a set of magical pockets. As she picked one up, it flew from her fingers with a sparkle of white lights. Then it attached itself to her left hip. A strange aura encompassed her, and all of her gear vanished.
At first, she was alarmed. The only things she had left, as far as she could tell, were what she had equipped. This was her chain mail armor and her greataxe which she held in her hands. Her longsword and crossbow were gone, and so was her pack and everything in it.
But then she noticed the pocket. As she opened it, she saw her inventory as if it had been turned into tiny figurines. She sighed with relief. "Ah," she said. "It's like a bag of holding. What a strange version of it! This must be a new Mind Flayer invention. Well, there are three more here. I'll take these and give them to the others. Looks like we'll at least have to rely on one another for a time. Best if we are all travelling less encumbered."
They were just descending from the upper platform when she approached. "We found only a few more things up there that can help," Kaedyn informed her. "At least we acquired another speed potion and a few more gold coins."
"I found these," Vexir said, and she held them out for the two to take. "They're some sort of magic pockets, like bags of holding. They immediately attach themselves to your hip pants and..."
Both men grabbed one each, and they instantly flew to their left hips, just Vexir's had. They jumped in fright. Like her, all of their gear vanished except what they were wearing or what they had in their hands. Since neither were carrying their weapons at that moment, neither was armed.
"What the...!" Ryth-Shan cried, and he looked at Vexir as if she had just betrayed them.
Vexir barked, "I was trying to tell you. Relax. It's all in the pockets." She then opened her own. "Look in yours. See? I..."
Then she noticed that she had more items in her pocket. "What the..." Not it was her turn to be stunned.
The men looked into their own pockets as well. "That's way more gear than I was carrying," said Kaedyn. "I don't have a longsword or..."
"All of our gear is lumped together as if in one place," Vexir deduced. "Hells!"
Ryth-Shan chuckled. "I guess we can't rip one another off, now can we? We'll have to learn to trust each other."
Vexir once more shot him a dirty look. "I am not a thief," she said with disdain.
"Nor am I," said Ryth-Shan. "Relax. I was only kidding. You are too easily upset."
Kaedyn reached in and grabbed the longsword. When he pulled it out, Vexir looked upset. But the Cleric of Tyr had no intention of stealing anything. He was merely testing out the pockets. "Do you still have a longsword in your pocket?" he asked.
She examined hers, as did Ryth-Shan. "No," she replied.
Ryth-Shan also shook his head. "Nice. Looks like we'll have to communicate with one another to avoid grabbing for the same resource." The others were thinking the same thing.
"Well," said Vexir after a moment. "We have wasted enough time here. Let's get moving." Then she led the way as she bolted for the gaping, flaming hole in the side of the ship.
"She is not one to mince words," said Ryth-Shan as he followed her.
"No," said Kaedyn as he put the sword back in his magic pocket and joined him. "No, she sure is not."
