Previously: Chapter 13: The Path to Wave Echo Cave
A Place to Rest
Seeing the group of undeads coming down on them, the party is quick to defend themselves, and force their way inside so as to not draw any attention from any roaming monsters nearby. Unfortunately the odor of the ghouls that reside within the chamber is extremely pungent, almost overwhelming to the party, but after a brief scuttle that they managed to contain to the chamber, the undeads lie defeated on the ground, and the party has a place to rest.
The party gathers the pile of corpses into the corner, as far away as possible from the party so that they can get some sleep without being awoken by the smell, and then search the chambers, as the rhythmic booming coming from further into the cave resonates through the chamber every couple of minutes. To the northern wall, opposite of where they came in, they find a small shrine to a dwarven deity, with the symbol and effigy of a dwarf holding a pickaxe. Looking around the bones the ghouls were munching on, Penny and Demetrius find an ancient piece of parchment. On it is the same picture that they found before, the circle with four notches, but as soon as they pick it up it crumbles and falls away.
The party, satisfied that there are no more hidden dangers lurking in the room, decides to block the entryways in case something or someone tries to enter, and sits down to take a rest. Penny plays a quiet tune to the party on her viol, while Kal prepares some dinner for them to eat. While resting, the party theorizes as to what the rumbling noise they hear throughout the cave can be, with various theories ranging from dragons to earthquakes, but Kal suddenly connects the name Wave Echo Cave, figuring there is probably a large body of water somewhere within the cave causing the sound.
During their conversation, Granny, positioned strategically with her shell blocking the door, abruptly signals for the party to halt. A heightened sense of awareness fills the air as she discerns the approaching sound of heavy footsteps. The footsteps come to a halt just outside the door, and a cautious attempt is made to open it. Thankfully, Granny resolutely holds the door shut, preventing any unwanted entry.
Minutes stretch on as the mysterious presence lingers outside, its intentions unclear. Eventually, the heavy footsteps recede, fading into the distance. The party collectively releases a relieved sigh, grateful for Granny's alertness to danger.
Deeper Into the Cave
After regaining some stamina and resources, the party carefully opens the door, checking to see if the coast is clear. As Granny perceived the footsteps to be moving east, they decide to backtrack to the mines and see if they can find a way forward from there. During the walk they still cannot shake the feeling of being watched, but after traversing through the mines they reach a staircase leading into what appears to be a larger room, and they can see a bunch of ghouls as well as some larger ghasts roaming the chamber. They try to think of a way to get the advantage, as the enemy far outnumbers the party. Figuring that remaining in the hallway will provide a choke point, the party decides to lure them towards them, giving them the benefit.
Theren quickly fires a fireball into the room, catching several of the undead in it, which causes them all to spring into action. They fall for the party’s ploy at first, but the undeads seem to be more intelligent than first thought, as a large group veers off and heads away from the battle, while the remaining undead tries to attack the party through the hallway. Figuring that the undeads are trying to flank them by going around, Willowbark summons a moonbeam in the staircase, repelling the undeads who eventually manage to make their way through the mines, trapping the party between them.
As the party has defeated the group that was distracting them, they move further into the larger room, keeping the flanking group at bay. Penny notices that Kal seems to be more perceptive in darkness than she first thought, as she seems to make a point of telling the party that the coast is clear in the chamber, even though she shouldn’t be able to see anything. Eventually, by slowly moving the moonbeam closer to the undeads and firing at them with weapons and spells, they manage to take down the last remaining undead that resided in the room.
Looking around, the party finds that the chamber at one time was a room for gathering and celebration, as a large table with ruined chairs dominates the center of the room, with several smaller tables in the periphery. The ghouls and ghasts were once again feasting on the bones of the fallen dwarves and orcs, hoping to consume some remaining marrow, but the corpses have been there for far too long for there to be any sustenance left. On one of the corpses they find another piece of parchment with a symbol of the circle, and as Theren goes to the eastern wall, he can see a faint glowing green light further into the cave. Looking closer at it, they can see that it resembles a skull. Granny recognizes this as a flameskull, long dead wizards that have been awoken to protect by powerful necromancers. The group theorizes if it is the Mormesk they heard mention of in the notes from the Redbrand base.
Realizing that the party has expended most of their resources, they decide to try to find another place to rest, and find a room on the map that might be suitable, just south of where they are. Sneaking down the hallway to the room, being careful to avoid the lumbering presence that roams the area, they find a door. The party tries to listen in to check if it is occupied, but as the footsteps rapidly approach, Demetrius kicks open the door and leads the rest inside. The room is mostly empty, apart from some barrels that have the writing “Phandelver Cider” on them. Once used to store drinks for the workers, the contents of the barrels have long since dried up. Noticing a chimney that vents the air, the party realizes that the room could be perfect to sleep in with a bonfire during the night if needed. The party takes a short rest again, and after the sentient coffee pot thinks it has claimed their souls, they wait for the footsteps outside to move on, before venturing out to explore further.
Unseen Dangers
Making their way down south of the chamber, the party once again encounters the large room with the corpses that they saw when they first entered the ravine. Examining the bodies they find that most of them are extremely old, probably from around when the cave was lost 400 years ago. Kal examines one of the orcish bodies and recognizes the emblems on the shield to be those of the Thax'ning Tribes north of Moroxia. A bit further into the room they find a fresher body of a bugbear, lying in front of a rather large stalagmite. When the party moves closer to the bugbear to examine it, the stalagmite suddenly starts to move, as large tentacles emerge from it, and the rock opening to reveal a large mouth with sharp teeth, as the roper that was hidden tries to attack the party.
Several of the party members are suddenly grabbed by the tentacles of the roper, and as it reels them in close, it takes a bite out of the closest member, before some of them manage to break themselves free. The party quickly backs off, trying to avoid the tentacles, but it has a reach that spans all across the room, making it nearly impossible to go on the offensive and stay clear of the ropers' grasp at the same time. Unfortunately, backing too far off reveals the source of the constant feeling of being observed throughout the cave, as a pair of shadows have stalked the party ever since they entered, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Amidst a relentless onslaught from adversaries on both sides, Kal takes swift action, igniting her longsword to bathe the area in bright light. The heightened illumination serves to impede the encroaching shadows, but inadvertently exposes the party to the lurking danger of the roper. The ensuing battle rages fiercely, with every member of the group fighting valiantly.
However, the roper proves to be a formidable opponent, ensnaring everyone except Theren and Granny within its menacing grasp. Even with Willowbark summoning her bear totem in a desperate attempt to aid their escape, the bonds remain unyielding. Granny's relentless hacking at the roper yields no success, and the dire situation becomes apparent as Penny and Willowbark sway on the brink of death.
Suddenly, Theren finds himself caught under the relentless assault of the remaining shadow. Weakened and driven to the edge, he summons the last vestiges of his strength. Employing his arcane abilities, Theren swiftly teleports away from the shadow's clutches. As a final, desperate maneuver, he unleashes an eldritch blast, obliterating the shadow and reducing it to nothingness.
In a moment of incredible resolve, Theren redirects his second eldritch blast, targeting the roper's eye with unwavering precision. The powerful blast strikes makes contact, shattering the creature's final resolve and causing it to collapse, liberating his trapped companions from their entanglement.
Wanting to harvest the roper when they inevitably leave the cave, as it might have useful parts, Kal casts a ritual of gentle repose, which preserves its corpse, preventing the valuable parts from deteriorating. As she is in the middle of the ritual, the party suddenly spots the source of the lumbering footsteps through the hallways: a large ogre zombie patrolling the area. The party holds its breath as it passes by, but luckily it does not notice the party, and moves on. Kal quickly finishes her ritual, and the party sneak back to the safe room they found earlier, barricades the door, and goes to sleep.
During the night, they all have various dreams about their experiences and hopes for the future, but something that connects all dreams is that they all have a presence in the dream. Nothing too overt, but every member of the party can see a sinister looking silhouette in the background, watching them from within their dreams.