The weary adventurers, battered and drained from their fierce battle against the tentacled horror in the sewers, sought respite before continuing their search for the missing Constable Boot and Sergeant Toshi. Thalmiir, the stalwart dwarf, bore the brunt of his wounds stoically, his resolve unwavering despite the toll on his body. The group discussed the merits of a short rest to recover their strength, but the eerie sounds emanating from a nearby cavern gave them pause.

Bartholemeow’s keen feline senses picked up on the strange noises - the clicking of rocks and the occasional whoosh of air. His suspicions turned to the possibility of a creature that propelled itself through the air like a “jelly bat”, an unsettling thought that set the party on edge. Deciding caution was the better part of valor, they backtracked to find a defensible position to make camp and recuperate.

After an uneventful night’s rest, the group approached the cavern entrance with stealth, Thalmiir boldly tossing a lit torch inside to draw out any lurking threats. The flickering light revealed a scene of recent devastation - a cave-in had buried something beneath the rubble. A scaly, greenish-yellow wing protruded from the rocks, and a snout poked out from behind a boulder. It appeared to be a dragon, larger than the diminutive fae dragons but not the city-leveling behemoths of legend.

Thalmiir’s attempts to communicate with the creature were met with silence, leaving the party to debate the wisdom of freeing the trapped dragon. As they deliberated, a sudden cloud of magical darkness engulfed Thalmiir and Bhakris, plunging them into an impenetrable void. Bhakris, relying on his instincts, managed to escape the darkness, catching a clearer glimpse of the immobilized dragon. Its eyes, too large for its head, opened weakly as it raised its head and spoke in an unfamiliar tongue.

Vordara, drawing upon her arcane knowledge, used her Levitate spell to carefully lift a large stone from the dragon’s wing, but as she approached, the darkness swallowed her, Bartholemeow, Pebblesong, and Hat. Disoriented and separated, the party struggled to navigate the unnatural gloom. Pebblesong emerged near the rock pile, keeping a wary eye on the dragon, while Hat attempted to skirt the edge of the darkness, seeking a hiding spot.

Suddenly, a muffled cry rang out from the heart of the darkness - Bartholemeow was under attack, his air supply cut off by an unseen assailant. Bhakris, guided by the sounds of struggle, charged into the darkness to aid his companion, stumbling over the treacherous terrain. Thalmiir, unwilling to risk injuring his allies, groped blindly in the darkness, bumping into unseen figures.

Waer’dara, quick-thinking, used her Levitate spell to extract the young dragon from the darkness before resuming her efforts to free it from the rubble. Pebblesong joined in, encouraged by the dragon’s pleas for haste. The darkness shifted and swirled, concealing the attacker’s movements as it lashed out at Bhakris, its blows deflected by his sturdy shield.

In a heart-stopping moment, Bartholemeow’s struggles ceased, his instruments clattering to the ground as he fell unconscious. Bhakris, guided by the sound, managed to locate the fallen feline, who regained consciousness and retreated to heal himself with a whispered incantation. Thalmiir, relying on his keen senses, struck out with his axe, connecting with the unseen foe and bellowing a warning in Common.

Just as it seemed the tide might turn in their favor, Hat found himself engulfed by the darkness, tentacles wrapping around him and cutting off his air. Pebblesong, desperate to aid her friend, hurled a rock into the darkness, striking the creature with a solid hit. The session ended on a cliffhanger, with Hat’s fate hanging in the balance as the dark creature pressed its attack, leaving the party to face an uncertain future in the depths of the cavern.

Session Notes

  • The party defeated a tentacle monster in a sewer and is now tasked with making the passage safe for engineers to fix up and shore up weaknesses. They are also searching for Constable Boot and Sergeant Toshi, though they suspect they already found Constable Boot’s corpse.

  • Thalmiir the dwarf is tired and hurt after the battle. The party discusses taking a short rest to recover hit points before finding a suitable campsite, as most of the spellcasters are out of spells.

  • They hear strange noises coming from a natural cavern above where the ceiling has fallen in - clicking rocks and occasional “whoosh” sounds. Bartholemeow suspects it may be a creature that flies through jet propulsion rather than flapping wings, like a “jelly bat”.

  • The party decides to backtrack and find a safe place to take a long rest, setting up camp in a hallway between the sewer and a “foot room”. They establish a watch order.

  • After resting uneventfully, the group stealthily makes their way to the entrance of the natural cavern. Thalmiir tosses a lit torch inside to distract whatever creature may be lurking.

  • Inside the cavern, they see evidence of a recent cave-in with a large pile of rubble. A greenish-yellow scaly wing is pinned under some rocks, and a snout pokes out from behind another rock. It appears to be some kind of dragon, larger than a fae dragon but not a massive city-flattening dragon.

  • Thalmiir tries to communicate with the creature but receives no response. The party debates whether they should help free the trapped dragon or be wary of an ambush. Here are the detailed notes for the provided transcript section:

  • The party approaches a pile of rubble in a cave. A large cloud of magical darkness suddenly descends upon Thalmiir and Bhakris, obscuring their vision completely.

  • Bhakris moves out of the darkness, using 20 feet of movement. He sees a dragon that appears to be partially buried under rocks, with its right wing, hind legs, and tail pinned. The dragon is not moving.

  • The darkness is roughly spherical and undulating. There are no obvious enemies or sources of the darkness visible.

  • Bhakris approaches the dragon. It has greenish bronze scales, four horns, and eyes that look large for its head. The dragon’s eyes open and it weakly raises its head, saying something in Draconic, which no one in the party understands.

  • Bartholemeow holds his turn, setting a reaction to use Vicious Mockery if a creature attacks.

  • Thalmiir cautiously advances out of the darkness, looking for threats. He sees a passageway to the east that disappears into darkness.

  • Vordara offers to use Levitate to lift a large stone off the dragon’s wing. She makes a successful nature check to figure out how to lift the rock without causing a cave-in. The rock rises 20 feet and remains suspended.

  • As Vordara moves towards the levitated rock, she is also plunged into darkness, along with Bartholemeow, Pebblesong, and Hat.

  • Pebblesong, disoriented by the darkness despite her darkvision, moves in the direction of the others until she emerges from the darkness near the pile of rocks. She keeps an eye on the dragon from a distance.

  • Hat tries to skirt around the darkness by following the wall, using his bonus action to Dash. He attempts to hide in the darkness but fails to find a suitable nook.

  • Bartholemeow is suddenly assaulted in the darkness, taking 8 points of crush damage as something clamps down on his head, sealing his air passages and preventing him from breathing.

  • The rest of the party hears a muffled sound coming from the center of the darkness where Bartholemeow is located.

  • Bhakris attempts to draw some templates to illustrate the zones of darkness centered on Bartholemeow, but has difficulty getting the drawing tool to work properly.

  • Bhakris heads into the darkness towards the sound of Bartholemeow struggling, calling out to him. The terrain is difficult with rocks.

  • Bartholemeow, engulfed by something and unable to breathe, stabs at the unseen attacker with his rapier, hitting it but the grasp does not loosen. He lets out a muffled scream.

  • Bartholemeow tries to move towards the sound of Bhakris’ voice. Moving through the darkness is disorienting.

  • The young dragon complains they are taking too long and demands to be freed.

  • Thalmiir charges into the darkness, stumbling and bumping into someone, unsure if it’s Bartholemeow, Bhakris or the attacker. He gropes around, unwilling to swing his axe blindly.

  • Waer’dara uses her levitate spell to carefully move the young dragon out of the darkness before setting it down. She then tries casting Dancing Lights on the dark blob but the spell is absorbed by the darkness.

  • Bhakris feels a wet slap against his shield as an unseen creature attacks him but fails to injure him. The darkness shifts position.

  • Pebblesong starts lifting rocks off the young dragon, who encourages her to continue freeing him.

  • The sounds of Bartholemeow’s struggle suddenly stop and his instruments clatter to the ground as he falls unconscious. The darkness moves again.

  • Bhakris finds Bartholemeow on the ground. Bartholemeow regains consciousness, warns of the darkness, and moves away to heal himself with Healing Word.

  • Thalmiir listens carefully and swings his axe at where he thinks the creature is, connecting with a satisfying hit. He threatens it to run in Common.

  • Waer’dara backs away from the darkness globe and helps Pebblesong free the dragon.

  • Hat, well hidden, is suddenly engulfed by the darkness and tentacles, unable to breathe.

  • Pebblesong throws a rock at the creature in the darkness globe, connecting with a decent hit.

  • The session ends on a cliffhanger with Hat in peril as the dark creature attacks.