Journal of Lt. Tupper, Day 231

Day 231
Well, not dead yet.

We managed to escape the jail cell this morning, and proceeded to check in on the other prisoners. Most of them were there for very good reasons. One of them was a little girl named Leaf. After that, we located the kitchen for the prison area, including live humans as food for the nastier inmates. Apparently there was an illithid locked up, emphasis on "was". Leaf said she looked at it and made it 'gone'. Grand.

From there, we came across a murderhole-and-archer-slot-laden room which led to a door. Leaf opened the door for us by blasting a hole into the wall. Naturally the next room held a number of surprised and angry drow elves. After a brief kerfuffle, which led to their tactical withdrawal, they were beset upon by wolverines led by a mouse. I would like to make a note to my superiors reviewing this journal that I was perfectly sober at the time of these events as well as when I transcribed them, however, I really wish I hadn't been. When all the drow either had fled, died, or were mind-wiped to docility by Leaf, the mouse revealed herself to be a friendly druid (relatively speaking) named Mystera. Apparently she and Ariella worship the same god under different names. That seems… dishonest, somehow. A desk in the room provided us with notes on the danger that Leaf presents, proving that the drow are a foe far more competent that we are.

While wandering about the place looking for the exit and almost getting my brain fried, we encountered more drow; whereupon Mystera launched a gigantic bear at them, which in turn was made to flee by the drow. Turns out they were guarding another prison area, this one with about 18 people in it and no readily-apparent mindflayers. Following the swath of destruction cut by the bear led us to a heavily-scarred door that Leaf was kind enough to disintegrate for us. This led to even more armed drow, naturally. All very scintillating in retrospect. At one point, my hand was almost digested by goop when I tried to open a liquor cabinet for Ragnar. Fortunately he cured the condition by lighting my hand on fire. He was kind enough to forgo my assistance on the next container of alcohol and got Leaf to vanish it for him, which left the bottles to fall and break on the floor. I probably would have cackled at this had I thought to.

Then we found the hatch. Inside was a crystal and a cross-piece from a staff. Also a zombified Alcander, but I didn't actually see much of him while he was moving. Needless to say, he is well and truly dead now. Ragnar, being insane, was first to pull the cross piece away from the crystal, and so was knocked unconscious. Since actually leaving this place was not regarded as smart move by the others, we have currently set up camp inside the actively-defended drow fortress, bringing the prisoners from the upper level down to stay near us. Tomorrow, barring a 'surprise' attack by the locals, we will evacuate to a safer point outside. It is now, in the stillness of the night, that I wonder why the flopping sandal of St. Cuthbert on a cliff are we keeping the small child of mass destruction around. Ragnar spoke of teaching the little monster of morality and ethics, but I don't know if any of us could live through the attempt.

Herakles once authored a bible to guide his followers. It made for quite a bookmark.