Enemy of My Enemy - 07/06/2022 - A Kavel Perspective

Bath Buddies

I had just finished my early morning carpentry lessons. Teacher Anton Thames had me fixing more wagons for the evacuation. But, in addition to this, he let me fully assist him with ballista construction since I was getting better at the task.

I was walking back to the Dragon when I ran into a familiar gnome I hadn’t seen in a while. It was comrade Amble, the little wizard who I had some tea with and took a bath with; to get to the Witching Court. Teleportation is sometimes very odd.

Comrade Amble was on his way to the Town Hall to see the Defence Council about a proposition he had.
Amble told me how he had just been at the Daring Academy researching the githyanki, and had discovered they have a history of escaped enslavement from creatures called Illithids, or Mindflayers. Amble was hoping to enlist the help of Illitids against the gith, if not as full allies, then maybe a distraction for the gith. Amble presented the idea as, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. It was an intriguing idea. I asked my wizard comrade more about these ‘mindflayers,’ because the name seemed descriptive of something I wouldn’t like, and I wanted clarification. Amble mentioned the illithids like to consume brains, and he confirmed my fear; they like to take over the minds of others and control them, in addition they can attack the mind with psychic power. I turned my head away from my comrade and put my fist up against my mouth, and silently said “shit! Psychic attacks - the one thing my awesome physical conditioning is not resilient against.”

“Oh is that so, Kavel?” Amble strangely asked in response to what I said privately to myself. But, then I realised I had said what I said loud enough for him to hear.

“Well. Regardless, I will come with you comrade Amble. I will not let you attempt to converse with these mind flayers without backup.” Psychic attacks be damned!

Comrade Amble offered me a snack on the way to the Town Hall. This was nice of him, I accepted. Amble then rummaged around one of his pockets and pulled out some loose pieces of bread, and pieces of cheese. I was not impressed with his food storage methods. Before he could produce another food item out of his pocket, I thanked him for his offer and said I didn’t want anything - he ate some of the cheese.


Musician, Investigator, Silent Pearl Curator

Comrade Felix, who I have only had the pleasure of meeting once before, was entertaining the city with his musical talent. I met him when we were tasked with bringing down the Langston simulacrum. The mountain dwarf, verse-magician is a talented instrumentalist and from what I remembered, was fond of the Lighting Bolt spell. Amusingly, so too is the next adventurer we encountered.

My dragonborn, investigator friend, comrade Derthaad was just finishing his shift on patrol. He was tired again. He’s been that way with the increased City Watch work that’s been going on with the city evacuation and preparation for the gith assault. Amble and Derthaad were discussing magic, when Amble asked if Derthaad had gotten any better with falling - me and the good blue dragon comrade exchanged a smile, and my friend explained our awesome dragon beating tag team move - The Sorcerer Assisted Sky-High Elbow Drop (see A Conversation with Friends: A Kavel Perspective for details).

Almost at the Town Hall, we saw a beggar on the street, and a fairy person reached towards the beggar’s ear with an empty hand, only to pull out what looked like a pearl - this was confirmed very soon afterward. The pink haired fairy saw us, and I believe recognised comrade Amble. She waved, but did not speak as she floated over, much like how Beets does. When she reached us, she did her magic trick again with comrade Amble, and indeed pulled a pearl from behind his ear. Amble reciprocated with his own magic, but then his pearl disappeared. I preferred the fairy’s version of the trick.

For the fourth time, Amble re-explained what we were up to, to get our newest recruit up to speed. The fairy person seemed to have some red in the roots of her pink hair. I liked that, so in the absence of a voice from which to speak a name, I started to think of her as ‘Red.’ Red nodded in agreement that she would join us, although her eyes gave a peculiar look when Amble mentioned the word illithid, and it was almost as if Red felt resigned to help us.


The Town Hall - Mission Pitch

It was very busy in the Town Hall. I felt we were lucky to get some time with Council Lady Aurelia to pitch comrade Amble’s plan. This was the fifth time today Amble had explained his idea about the illithids, and I must admit, with every new explanation and hearing the same objections again and again - I was beginning to see a moral deadlock about enlisting the help of a group of people known for mentally enslaving another group. Felix backed Amble up, and to be fair was convincing enough for me. Aurelia said only the business owner of the OMTC, Heret, has had any success negotiating with the mind flayers. Comrade Felix said he would be the second, and my newest comrade, ‘Red’ suggested she knew the way to the group of mind slayers Heret had experience with. Aurelia gave the mission her approval, but it did seem like she only did this because she was too busy to give us any more time.


Going to a Nice Place to get to a Shit One

No teleportation circle to the mind flayer city, which is a pain. But, I guess no one wants to go there under normal circumstances, so why would there be a teleportation circle ready?

Walking was going to be a big part of our journey. Fortunately we could start with a teleportation to the Summer Court in the Feywild, which was very pleasant. In the Summer Court we took a tunnel to the Fey Dark and then we walked to the Underdark. It was a very long walk - for most of us. No doubt flying can be exhausting too, but one of us had a mastiff companion that they were perfectly sized to ride.

Journeying through the Fey Dark involved spelunking through some narrow passages - who is building these passages? Ants? Yet again I find myself wanting to get a crew together to widen another tunnel to an acceptable size. These tunnels were lit by underground crystals embedded in the rock, which was nice and at least meant we could see. But, the crystals were not the only source of weird, magical light in the Feydark. We came across a mushroom that shone a purple light. We came by this fungus when we came across a couple of decomposing mind flayer bodies by an underground waterfall. ‘Red’ led us all the way here. I pointed at the rotting mind flayers and asked comrade ‘Red’ if she was responsible for this, and she nodded. Comrade ‘Red’ makes for a good navigator and seemingly a good fighter too.

Comrade Amble, was curious whether the glowing mushrooms could be consumed. ‘Red’s’ raised eyebrow suggested they were not edible, and Felix suggested now was not the time to carry out that experiment. Amble agreed to pocket some for later. I suggested he make sure to separate the glowing mushrooms from his snack pocket.

Mushrooms collected, ‘Red’ nodded that she would continue to lead, and then walked intently and directly into an alcove and vanished. Before we followed, Derthaad casted Detect Magic and informed us that the alcove was like a teleportation gate. We had reached the entrance to the mind flayers city in the Underdark.


Don’t ‘Mind’ Us

In this new cave system, we turned around a corner to find ourselves in front of a lake of lava. I had to do a quick double take to check I hadn’t accidentally ended up back in Phlegethos, but the lack of a burnt skyline, and a more bearable level of heat reassured me we were only in the Underdark.

Amble warned us that the mind flyers are a hive mind society led by an elder brain and telepathy was common. ‘Red’ mimed something for us, and we gathered she was warning us that the mind flayers float, so we wouldn’t be able to hear them approaching, if they snuck up behind us.

Fortunately, unlike in Phlegethos, the team came prepared and had familiars - two in fact - and they were sent out to scout. The lava lake was vast, but behind it was a city with magma pouring into parts of the city, but the city showed resilience to it. The only way across for us were these floating stone platforms, but they all seemed connected in a fashion like a train.

‘Red’ blew a signal whistle…

‘Red’s’ whistle caught the attention of a couple of mind flayers floating on some smaller stone platforms and then we heard a voice in our minds.

“Heret has sent more people for trade?”

We replied that we were here for something else.

“So you are here to sacrifice yourselves to the hive mind?” The voice wanted to confirm.

“... it’s more trade that we are here for,” we said, steering the focus away from sacrifice.

Infernum was the name of the elder brain conversing with us in our minds. He sent three delegates from the city to the beginning on the lava lake where we were to escort us to the city.

Together, the three mind flayer delegates created a magical platform to ferry us across the lake. I say magical, but I was corrected by the others, ‘psionic’ was the right term for mind flayers.

I asked ‘Red’ if this is how she and Heret travelled to the city. She shook her head in response and gave me a pearl like Amble received back in Daring Heights. I didn’t understand why I’d just received a pearl.

It was a long, twenty minute journey across that lake. Comrade Felix took it upon himself to do most of the talking. He recounted a really good story and in our short time together summarised our strengths and why on this day they would be instrumental in achieving what we had set out to do - it was a very inspiring speech. I felt spiritually stronger. “You’re very good at that, comrade!” I told my verbally gifted, dwarven ally. “It’s what I do,” he shrugged.

Arriving on the city side of the lake, we followed the escorts into the city. Like our escorts, the mind flayer citizens were similarly garbed in black, with fire-like motives on the material. Some illithids were grey-skinned, others a deeper red. Some had jewellry, crowns and such. There appeared to be a hierarchy. There was also an intense pressure in my head as we entered the city with its hundreds of psionically gifted citizens - I was not a fan of this. Luckily this feeling dissipated a little. My more knowledgeable comrades reckoned we were being protected from experiencing the hive mind.


Infernum - A Very Large Brain

Magma was pouring into the very large room where we met Infernum, the elder brain of this city. I didn’t understand how, but fortunately the magma did not appear to damage the stone and was safely restricted where it fell.

On a central, raised pedestal there was a giant brain with tentacles beneath it. A very red magma was flowing across it, like syrup. The tentacles were flowing about underneath the brain in a pool of magma, pulling things out. A tadpole was removed by a tentacle and fed down into the top of the giant brain, where it was consumed.

Where I come from, the leader of the city always has a strong physique. To be fair, everyone has a strong physique where I come from, but this really was quite the contrast. Illithids have no physique to speak of and live underground. Goliaths have powerful builds and live on mountains - it’s like we are the opposite of each other.

The business pitch began.

Infernum was not happy with the mention of githyanki. Amble produced some gith weapons he was carrying as proof of our own hostility towards the gith - Infernum picked up the weapons with his tentacles and threw them into his magma bath. Felix advised that helping us deal with the gith now - whilst they are far away from the Underdark - would prevent a more troublesome attack against their own city down the line. I bent down to consult with our lead negotiator, “comrade, surely if Daring Heights falls, then whatever trade agreement with Heret ceases? Is this not right?”

“There’s a good point,” Infernum responded, and then I remembered a side-bar with my comrade was not possible when the elder brain was communicating to us telepathically. Felix took my point and ran with it, bringing our pitch to its close.

Infernum was positive towards helping us against the gith invasion. But, he demanded proof that we had the means to be useful to him, and in addition showed interest in the capturing of a gith red dragon. I’m not sure where this point led to. It seemed like Infernum was talking to ‘Red’ at some point, but before we knew it we had agreed to prove our own effectiveness by investigating and dealing with a missing convoy in a neighbouring illithid city.


All Aboard the Train Bound for a Massacred Mind Flayer City

On our way to the train platform, the citizens were salivating while observing us - I was happy to be wearing my hard hat.

The train carriages were made of stone - nice. Cargo was being loaded into some of the carriages, we were led into a carriage with seating, but no windows. Our escort, in the same carriage went towards the front and connected to some device - I guess he was driving. The train began to move. ‘Red’ removed a patch from her robe and slapped it against the left hand wall, and where she slapped, a three by three foot window appeared, enabling us to see out. The train was moving extremely fast. Everything we saw through the window was a blur.

Derthaad casted his Mage Armour spell for both Amble and his mastiff mount, ‘Stiffy’ (ha! I had no idea gnomes were so humorous). ‘Red’ gave, whoever she hadn’t already given a pearl, a pearl from her seemingly endless supply of them. I mentioned to the others that I got one earlier and questioned if this was a known Fairy custom? Because if so, comrade Beets was slacking in this practice.

After a half hour journey, the train eventually came to a stop. Our driver/escort said that if we remained alive when he returned, he would escort us back to Infernum. We were informed that something killed the elder brain in this city.

Before we left the carriage, I tried to see if I could remove the window from the stone wall, but it looked well installed and permanent. When we stepped off of the carriage, the doors shut leaving no visible opening, and then the train left for wherever the cargo was destined.


Familiar Vision

Before ‘Red’ could once again blow her signal whistle, Amble asked her to wait, while he sent his owl to scout ahead.

Comrade Amble informed us what we would find when we walked into the city - no live. Some of the buildings before we reached the principal structure were unharmed, but closer to the main structure the buildings were devastated - the central building especially so, with streets decorated with impaled mind flayers. With no visible live, it was very silent here. No buzzing pressure on the mind, too, which was a positive point that I did not speak.

We reached a large room where this city’s Infernum would have resided and found a half eaten elder brain.

Comrade Derthaad investigated, and proposed that a large worm creature was responsible for the city’s massacre and half-eaten elder brain. We could see something moving from around the half-eaten gigantic brain. Comrade Amble wondered if we might perhaps have found another ally to help us in the on-coming gith invasion? I think he was getting ahead of himself if he thought this trip to the Underdark would result in a two for one deal. I pointed out it felt very murky trying to wrap my head around the idea that the enemy of my enemy’s enemy is also my friend - would this be acceptable to my enemy’s enemy?

At that moment, a giant tentacle of a creature emerged from the elder brain’s remains and the point of the gargantuan tentacle split into four revealing an immense maw.

‘Red’ tapped me on the shoulder - she was floating - and I got the chance to experience what my thicc-boi comrade Ivan has been doing in combat recently, and my half-giant, 7’4” frame enlarged to that of a full giant.


Mind Flayers Eat the Brains of Humanoids - Neothelids Eat the Brains of Mind Flayers!

Comrade Derthaad set the precedent for the rest of the magic users in the party; lightning and more lightning. Standing at the entrance to the immense room, more than a hundred feet away from the neothelid, my dragonborn friend casted the Storm Sphere spell in the space where the neothelid emerged from the elder brain. The neothelid managed to evade some of the lightning that shot out of the sphere towards it, but it did not evade the Lightning Bolt shot out from my comrade’s blue-scaled body, which scorched the target painfully.

I ran forward, a full giant, to engage the super, gargantuan worm, and halfway towards it I hurled a javelin piercing the skin near where the worm was recently scorched. From my left a lighting spell from Amble hit the worm, as Amble’s owl flew towards the worm for a fight as well… I had until that moment never really seen a familiar engage in combat.

‘Red’ flying, managed to reach the neothelid before me, and got in range to throw a peculiar dagger that appeared in her hand, struck the neothelid, caused it pain, but then vanished with no impact wound. I guessed she was using psychic magic, I had seen comrade Derthaad hurt many an opponent without also leaving a visible mark.

An immense Lighting Bolt shot out from my right hand side at the neothelid causing immense damage. It came from a dwarf poking out slightly from behind a column. You could see ember marks still burning on the screaming neothelid.

Very unhappy now, the neothelid escaped the sights of my lightning trigger happy comrades and slithered down into the elder brain, disappearing from sight. A rumbling sound in the floor gave way to an emergent, floor breaking neothelid as it reappeared in front of me in the centre of the room, and exhaled acid straight at me at close range. I was covered in a wave of burning substance, but fortunately my body is super resilient to such attacks when I’m battle ready. I don’t mean to brag, but the wave of acid barely stung.

“Careful comrades! It’s acid breath stings a little,” I said, cautioning my comrades.

“Arrgh!” Came the noise of a dwarf not hidden well enough behind a column, “Stings?! Not all of us are built like a barbarian goliath!”


Team Lightning Strike Go Again

As Felix and I received our acid wash, Derthaad’s Storm Sphere had another lightning bolt charged and ready to unload, and despite the neothelid’s recent movement, it was not out of range of the Storm Sphere. Another lighting bolt shot the neothelid, this time in its rear, and Derthaad, from the western column back at the same line as Felix, launched an attack at the neothelid’s mind - a one-two punch of lightning and psychic blasts.

Now that the neothelid was right in front of me, I threw three heavy, giant punches at the worm’s belly, while Amble - also from the safety of a column - attacked with his own lightning spell.

‘Red’ flew over the neothelid’s head and threw a couple of her psychic daggers with expert precision at what must have been the neothelid’s brain as it screamed in mental anguish, when the first dagger pierced its hide only to vanish.

There was no timeout for the neothelid, as Felix sidestepped to be fully behind the column he was at, after firing another terrifically powerful lightning bolt spell straight at the neothelid. The neothelid was covered in scorch marks from my comrades’ attack spells - I think it pissed the neothelid well and truly off. In retaliation, it reached up to ‘Red’ flying in the air and swallowed her whole. This was bad…


“Say, ‘ahhhhh’!”

We all attacked in unison. The Storm Sphere’s lightning bolt, like a starting whistle for runners signalled us to go, whilst also hitting the neothelid in the rear. Derthaad fired off another Psychic Lance, Amble’s owl swept by the neothelid whilst unleashing a stored psychic spell, and Felix struck the neothelid with another powerful Lightning Bolt. I threw as many left and right hooks to the neothelid’s belly whilst yelling, “O-pen! Your! Mouth!”


Neothelid Meet Gemstone Dragon

Summons. I made a mental note to myself. Summons, when a magic user gets better at magic; summons are the new familiar.

The Storm Sphere disappeared, and Derthaad summoned his gemstone dragon, Ulhar to the side of the neothelid. The neothelid had no defence for a suddenly materialising dragon. Ulhar sprayed the neothelid with his own acid breath causing so much pain to the overgrown worm that it regurgitated ‘Red’ onto the floor beside me, prone.

Left jab, right cross, left spinning side kick - somebody had to bring non lightning, psychic and acid damage to the mix, and that was me. As I kicked the neothelid from a side stance I could see ‘Red’ covered in some acid on the floor, “come on comrade fairy! Let’s see more of your psychic daggers!” I said encouragingly. As I said that, Amble hit the neothelid with another lightning spell attack, and from the protection of the column providing him cover, he too encouraged ‘Red’ to attack.

Encouraged - ‘Red’ took to the sky, flapping off some of the acid as she rose, but rose too high and too directly within reach of the neothelid, as it took the opportunity to whip her with its jaws, and ‘Red’ came crashing down to the floor.

Felix, now re-exposed to the neothelid’s field of vision as it moved to attack ‘Red’, quickly readjusted his position behind the eastern column, and despite the already many high level Lightning Bolt spells he had unleashed at the neothelid, my dwarven comrade still had more - another high level Lightning Bolt crashed into the neothelid. The worm was looking seared on its left side.

Earlier, the neothelid retaliated against ‘Red’ for the painful psychic attacks. But, now with comrade Felix only a few feet away, the neothelid could reach the source of the most devastating volly of repeated Lighting Bolts. The neothelid focused what passed for a glare towards my comrade behind the column. My dwarven comrade walked out from behind the column into full view - a stupid action on his part. But, when I saw his face, his action made sense. The expression on comrade Felix’s face made him look feeble-minded. The neothelid, cooked on all sides, had some powerful magic in its reserves, and had enfeebled my ally’s brains. This was bad…


Mouth to Mouth Debilitation

Ulhar, the gemstone dragon walked in front of me, and around to the front of the neothelid. Ulhar then prised the neothelid’s maw wide open, flew above it and roared lighting directly down the neothelid’s throat. The neothelid was seared all over on the outside, and now cooked from the inside, and in addition; now very dead.

Comrade Derthaad then came to Felix’s aid with just the right spell, Greater Restoration. You could then see intelligence and charm come back to Felix’s eyes. Felix in return rushed over to ‘Red’ and casted a powerful Cure Wounds spell to get her back on her feet.


Back to Magma City

We got the train back to see Infernum. The elder brain rewarded us with three hundred gold pieces each, and had an assortment of additional, curious gifts for us.

‘Red’ was given one blue sock that could never get wet. Where was its pair? Felix obtained a sacred chime said to be connected to the gods. Derthaad was given a book telling the story of a legendary hero’s rise and fall. But, when my dragonborn comrade checked - the last chapter was missing. I was given the baby tooth of a giant who lost it long ago - it was kind of on brand, to be fair. Finally, Amble was given a strand of hair said to be from a lower goddess. Such an odd assortment of gifts. Where do our employers obtain all these curious trinkets?

Infernum was content that we were worthy of his city’s aid, and agreed to send a small battalion of mind flayers to help us defend the gith invasion. Infernum reminded us that payment must be made in full after the invasion. Was he referring to the capture of a large red dragon? I didn’t remember that being cemented in the deal. Funnily enough, Infernum once again ended their brainy gaze at ‘Red’.

Infernum was very pleased with Heret’s trade agreement and felt he was getting closer to Daring Heights with his newer agreement. If this was not good, it was a concern for after the invasion.

It was very late at this point, and in his volly of high level Lighting Bolts, Felix exhausted the possibility of being able to teleport us back to Fort Ettin. Infernum kindly provided us a room to stay - it was a stone slab room with no food. All of us were a little on edge with having to stay in a city of citizens that looked our way and salivated, so we took it in turn to take watch.

There were screams in the night from outside our room and all over the place - it was not a pleasant sleep. The next morning, comrade Felix teleported us back to Fort Ettin as early as he could.

It was back to Daring Heights for me, as soon as we arrived in Fort Ettin. I barely stayed to say hello to my Iron Strong Bros. Mission accomplished, it was time to get back to Anton Thames to learn carpentry and help with the city.