10. Welcome To The Underdark
As Shadowheart, Astor and Night approached the bottom of the abyss, a dim blue glow filled the space. The hole opened up to an otherworldly landscape. The party let out a collective gasp as they looked around in awe.
There was a whole different ecosystem down here, with rocky terrain, strange plants and glowing fungi. Dirt and rock paths criss crossed through the land with occasional rocky bridges. Blue softly glowing crystals were embedded in the rock.
“This is the Underdark,” Night explained quietly.
“Is it supposed to be this…beautiful?” Shadowheart asked.
Night shook her head. “We’re still close to the surface, so this is the top-most level, the Upperdark. There’s not usually this much light in the lower levels.”
They landed softly on dirt. There was a streak of damage on the ground, and they could see red scale fragments scattered everywhere. Along the path were charred foliage, the remnants of some plants still smoldering. The party took off in a sprint, following the trail.
Soon, they came upon a wide rocky field. The body of a completely desecrated giant spider laid near the center, clumps of its body and legs strewed about. Some sort of liquid oozed from the chunks missing from its torso. Beside it, a red dragon was hunched over, his back turned towards the party, his tail wrapped tightly around him. One wing hung limp on his side.
“Kal? Are you ok?” Astor ran up to the dragon. Shadowheart and Night followed closely.
They saw that Kal’s usual large yellow eyes were tightly shut. He was in the middle of throwing up, chunks of spider meat falling out of his open mouth. Drool trailed out of his jaw.
“Ugh,” he moaned. “It doesn’t taste bad, but it doesn’t sit well with my stomach.”
“Did you eat the spider??” Night exclaimed, throwing up her arms in disbelief. “That’s a giant phase spider! They’re poisonous!”
“Well, I was hungry,” Kal said weakly.
Shadowheart clicked her tongue, and then she knelt down beside Kal, murmuring softly. A green glow hummed around Kal, the damage he took from the fight slowly healing.
“Thanks,” Kal growled quietly. He nuzzled Shadowheart’s head, making her giggle.
Astor, meanwhile, rummaged through his bag. “Do we have antidotes that would work for the spider’s poison?” He extracted a brown bottle. “Oh, I looted this yesterday. Does this work?”
“Hmmm.” Night took the bottle and held the label to the closest glowing crystal. “Possibly.” She walked over and uncorked the bottle, offering it to the dragon.
Kal opened his mouth, waiting expectantly, his long tongue flicking slowly. As Night poured the contents down his throat, she stared at his sharp teeth, his crown of horns, his scales. “You’re so lucky,” she said, sighing. She patted his snout. “Dragons are naturally powerful. It must be nice.”
Kal grunted in response.
“There are ways to become a dragon,” Astor said slowly, as he walked up to stand beside her.
“Of course,” Night replied, rolling her eyes. “Anything is possible. But if I changed my essence into a dragon, I wouldn’t be myself anymore.”
Astor regarded her thoughtfully. “How far would you go for more power?” He leaned down to her eye level. “If you lost yourself, simply start anew. Who knows, maybe your new self would be an improvement? And perhaps on the other side, we’ll find a different Nightingale.” Then he smirked. “Maybe one who’ll actually listen to me.”
There was a moment of tense silence.
“You have no idea about me, Astor,” Night responded sharply. She didn’t meet his eyes.
Astor paused. He was annoyed at her unwillingness to follow his instructions during combat, but perhaps he went too far just now. Standing up straight, he held up his hands and sighed. “Let’s see how we can get out of here.”
The party walked back to the exit of the abyss that they fell from. But all they found was a pile of rubble and rocks piled high to the ceiling.
“Hm? It wasn’t like this earlier,” Kal said, tilting his head. Back in his humanoid disguise, he was feeling much better after the antidote.
“The caves above must have collapsed,” Night reasoned.
Astor groaned in frustration. They’ll need to find a different way back to the surface. “Let’s find a place to rest. It’s late.”
They stuck to walking along the walls, so they wouldn’t be too exposed if they did meet monsters. Eventually, they found an enclosed cavern suitable for camp.
The group was used to their evening routine now. Kal quickly put together a small campfire in the cavern, and Night drew a quick rune on the ceiling to disperse the smoke. Then Shadowheart and Night roasted meat from their packs over the fire, while Kal left to hunt for his meal and Astor went to ‘scout the area.’
“We’re going to run out of food quickly,” Night said to Shadowheart.
“You think Kal won’t be able to find anything?” Shadowheart asked.
“I’m sure he can find something to eat, but whether we want to consume it is another question.”
Unfortunately, Night’s intuition was spot on, because soon, Kal returned dragging a large leg behind him. “I ate the rest and saved you the leg. This should be enough, right?”
“Kal…is that….from a minotaur?” Shadowheart asked.
Kal simply shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“We have enough food that I’m not yet desperate to eat something that speaks Common,” Shadowheart said, grimacing. “Maybe another day…”
“If it makes you feel better, I think this one only knew Abyssal,” Kal explained. “If you both don’t want the meat, I’ll take it.”
“You can have it, Kal,” Night said lightly. She gave him a polite smile. “But I appreciate the gesture.”
Kal shook his head. “It’s fine. I’m not offended. Thanks for healing me and for the antidote earlier.”
He dragged the leg back outside to finish his meal.
Astor didn’t come back until late, when Night already had her tent pitched. She waited for him by the cave door in her nightgown, sitting on a small rock. When she saw him prowling nearby, she stood up quickly.
“Finally,” Night said with a sigh. “Do you know what time it is?”
“You didn’t have to wait up,” Astor said.
“You’re covered in cuts! You know, you don’t have to go scouting, Astor.”
They walked into the cavern together. Then Night turned back towards the entrance, her arms moving through the air in wide gestures. Rocks and soil nearby started moving on their own, gathering at the cave opening and slowly filling it in.
Astor’s mouth hung open in awe as he watched her magic sculpt the earth, leaving a gap at the top of the makeshift door. “For air,” she explained. “This should prevent monsters from coming in while we rest. But my wards will still notify us.”
Astor looked around. Shadowheart and Night’s tents were constructed by the back walls. Kal was asleep in his dragon form, taking up half the space of the cozy cave, curled around the smoldering campfire. He could hear Shadowheart moving around in her tent.
“Go clean up,” Night said, leading him to her tent.
Astor was tense, worried that Night was going to ask why he kept going out at night, especially now that he promised her he wouldn’t lie to her. But once they entered her tent, she left promptly for the backyard.
Astor took a quick shower, the cuts already healing from his vampiric regeneration. He had gotten them from a skirmish with a roper, a monstrosity type monster that pretended to be a stalagmite until he got close. Their multiple tendrils grabbed at him, and he was too hungry to dodge properly.
This wasn’t a good situation. The monsters down here were either lacking the blood he needed for sustenance, or too strong for him to hunt on his own. He hadn’t gotten any blood all day, and his hunt just now turned up empty.
In the bathroom, his hands gripped the edges of the ceramic sink as he leaned closer to the silver backed mirror. The steam fogged the surface but he could see the swirling shadows that was his reflection, red dots that reflected his eyes piercing through the haze.
Sighing to himself, he realized he had gotten too careless. How will he find meals in the Underdark? The party will soon learn what he was, and they’ll kill him for being a monster.
He pushed his anxiety down, trying to ignore his spiraling thoughts.
Walking into the living room, he realized that Night was still in the yard. Curious, he opened the patio door and stepped out.
The demiplane’s sky was dark, with dim purple wisps moving silently against a pure black backdrop. There was dim light coming from crystal lanterns, enough for his darkvision to see clearly.
Night wasn’t anywhere nearby at first glance; he looked out at the fields and didn’t see her. Strange. Perhaps she was on the other side of the house?
Astor walked following the walls of the cabin to the far side. He passed planter boxes full of herbs. Wooden signs stuck into the dirt labeled each box.
There was a box of brown mushrooms labeled Rogue’s Morsels.
Then a few boxes of small shrubs, with delicate purple bell shaped flowers. The signs said Deadly Nightshade.
He also saw boxes of some sort of purple moss, labeled with Wizard’s Beard.
He didn’t take Night for much of a gardener, but the proof was right in front of him. All the plants looked healthy.
After turning a corner, he almost walked into numerous drying racks laid out on the grass, pieces of plants dotted them in half-dried states. Past that, there was a small wooden shed. He heard movement.
“…Night?” he called out. He didn’t want to sneak up on her.
Night poked her head through the shed’s door. “Oh, Astor. What are you doing here?”
“I was wondering where you went. What is this?”
“My alchemy lab. It’s small, but enough to cultivate a few plants I need. Do you want a tour?”
Astor nodded. Inside the shack was a work bench with various alchemic tools—a mortar and pestle, flasks and jars and stands of various sizes. A few burners, funnels, stirring tools, and more gadgets he couldn’t name. The room was a disorganized mess.
Along the walls closest to him were shelves lined with boxes and filled vials. One row caught his attention, containing small vials of yellow liquid.
“What’s in those?” Astor asked.
“Elixir of Peerless Focus,” Night said, though she sighed. She took one off the shelf and handed it to Astor for a closer look. “I’m a bit addicted to these. I take one every morning. I prefer it over coffee. Do you drink coffee?”
“I don’t,” Astor said. “Is this elixir similar?”
Night shook her head. “People drink coffee to stave off fatigue. But this elixir is magical. It’s made from Deadly Nightshade, and helps me focus on my casting. So it’s more about concentration.”
“What about the moss outside? And the mushrooms?”
“Curious, aren’t you?” Night gave him a smirk. “I recently finished drying the mushrooms. They’re the main ingredient in low-grade Healing Potions. I’m going to hand them to the party once my first batch is completed.”
She picked up a disk that was on the table, and Astor could see the purple moss inside. “And the weavemoss, once processed, can make Elixirs that grants me a little bit more magic per day. Though these are hard to get right, and I keep messing up.” She shrugged. “It’s still fun to play with.”
He sat down at her work bench, fidgeting with the disk of Wizard’s Beard moss, and imagining Night working through the night here. “When exactly were you going to bed?”
Night laughed. “Soon.”
“Do you have a larger lab? In your home in Waterdeep.”
Night paused. Astor hadn’t asked her much about herself like this before. “I do. I have a wizard tower in the North Ward of Waterdeep. It’s only a few floors. My family gifted it to me when I graduated college. One of the floors is my study and lab, and it’s full of so much equipment. The backyard is also a huge herb garden.” She gasped softly. “I wonder if my plants are doing ok…”
“Were you born in Waterdeep?” Astor asked.
“Of course. My family is Waterdeep nobility. Though I’m technically the last living heir. We’re a very minor house.”
“What?” Astor turned to her. “House Dezarian is dead?”
“Almost. Unless I marry and have children. My parents were always on my case about it,” She laughed to herself. “And that’s probably not happening.”
“If it was down to just you, I doubt there was much you could do anyway.”
“That’s what I told them too. We lost half of the family to some conflict a few generations back, and we’ve been in decline ever since. It doesn’t help that most of us are scholars who prefer our individual research. Who’s left to marry and expand the family line? Or even to run the family’s businesses like the academies and storefronts…”
As the conversation trailed off, Astor stood up. “Thanks for sharing. I’m going to go to bed.”
Night grabbed Astor’s sleeve. “Hold on. It’s not fair that you get to ask all the questions.”
Astor groaned internally. He shouldn’t have started this. “I’m exhausted from the spider battle.”
“Fine, fine.” Night shooed Astor out the lab and closed the door behind them. “Let’s go.”
As they walked back, Astor thought that was too easy. Every time Night wanted to ask him something personal, he gave the most half-assed reason and she would drop it. He looked back at her suspiciously.
She tilted her head and flashed him a quizzical smile, then she poked his shoulder. “Why all the questions tonight?”
Astor stopped and turned around. “…You said I didn’t know you, so I’m trying to get to know you better.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
He turned back and continued walking. “Then maybe I’ll finally figure out why you’re so stubborn.”
When he glanced back he saw her sticking her tongue out at him, and he laughed under his breath.