Tor's Dream

You're crouching in a narrow tunnel behind Cassandra. You two are tasked with keeping this escape route clear, and the bodies of two dwarven Mindflayer thralls stuffed into the alcove behind you evidence your success thus far. The air is stale and each breath pulls dust and spores into your lungs, heightening your sense of claustrophobia. You've been waiting in the darkness for your kobold friend, Karma, and the human, Sid DeZario. It's been too long. You can feel Cassandra becoming impatient.

"They should've been back by now, " she whispers. "I knew splitting the party was a bad idea. We need to go find them."

You hesitate, knowing this tunnel is the only route you know for sure leads back to the surface. However, without Karma to guide you, the chances that Cassandra and you could navigate your way out are slim.

You simply grunt in resigned acceptance. She wasn't asking for permission anyway. That's not how Cassandra operates. It's a dynamic that works for you, because you trust her and like having someone smart around to give you direction. But it doesn't work for Sid. He hates being told what to do. Their pride keeps those two at a distance.

You're making your way deeper into the mindflayer colony. It's brighter here thanks to the guanlo muddlers. Cassandra has set her arcane armor to stealth mode and you are using your natural invisibility magics to keep the thralls from spotting you, but a wide berth must be given to any mindflayers you come across. Unfortunately, there was only one Sphere of Mind-Masking, and it was given to Karma and Sid for their infiltration mission. If they're stuck in the vicinity of the master brain, you'll have no choice but to reveal yourselves.

These thralls must have been taken from the mines at the surface, but a master brain at this extreme depth shouldn't have been able to exert control that far away. The artifact shard Cassandra detected is the only explanation. Whatever expanded range it's providing may also be why the Brain's followers are spread so thin currently. It must be taken before more mindflayers are created and the colony's forces are filled out.

Cassandra raises a hand to stop you in front of one of the many fleshy structures that make up the colony. She studies the copper-plated dowsing disk in her hand to settle on a direction, and before long you find an unconscious, chameleon-eyed kobold stuffed into a moist crevasse. Even in this state his camouflage is active and effective, concealing him from the thralls. You rouse him with a light smack and a splash of water from your canteen.

Karma awakens with a wheeze that's quickly snuffed by a large hand over his mouth and nose. "Where's Sid?" he whispers with concern in his voice. He goes on to explain that Cassandra was right about the Artifact Shard, and with the Sphere active they were able to get close enough to snatch it, but it must have had a ward active because the last thing Karma remembers is getting blasted into a wall. He doesn't know how he wound up here, but the Sphere of Mind Masking, the Artifact Shard, and Sid are nowhere to be found.

Suddenly you hear a loud crack in the distance, followed by a wave of psychic energy washing over you. An alert has been broadcast from the master brain, and it now knows where you are. There's no time to find Sid - you have to get back to the exit tunnel.

You're sprinting through the alleyways with Karma and Cassandra under each arm. Your heart drops as you get closer to the exit and spy a mindflayer with a dozen thralls trying to dig their way through impenetrable rubble that's filled the tunnel. As if sensing your despair, the creature turns to look at you with beady red eyes nestled into a horrific, squidlike head. This path is no longer an option.

You turn on your heel and run in the opposite direction, desperately searching for another route. Karma spots a crack in the cavern wall, and as you get closer you can feel a breeze moving through it. Mindflayers and their thralls are pouring into the colony through every other passageway, so this is your only hope. You set your friends down, pull out your pick, and start chipping at the crack. Cassandra launches spells from the gauntlets of her arcane armor into the colony as the army of thralls catches up to you. Karma is moving quickly between the vascular buildings, picking off an unfortunate dwarf with his shortbow before moving to a new position to repeat, confusing and slowing the mob down. The rock is dense and unyielding, but finally you carve out enough space for Karma and Cassandra to fit through.

Karma squeezes through with ease, and with her back to the opening Cassandra casts Reduce on you and orders you to get inside. Once again you hesitate, but when you look up at her face you know better than to argue. Cassandra pulls out a scroll and casts Wall of Fire before quickly hitting the release latches on her bulky armor. She's just barely able to slip through the gap with a cry of pain from an as-of-yet unseen injury. She shouts elven curses at the suit that she had to leave behind before turning to you and yelling: "Move!"

The three of you worm deeper into the crevasse, as quickly as you're able. The suit detonates, killing the thralls that made it beyond the fire and collapsing the passageway. It's difficult to feel relief in complete darkness with walls of stone compressing your chest.

And thus, cut off from the only known route to the surface, began a journey of pain and struggle that lasted many tendays. Without Karma's gift for navigation you'd likely still be down there in one form or another, but that is a dream for another night.