Legends of the Elsir Vale Chapter 1: Descent to the Sunless Citadel

As the party continued on to disarm the musical trap, they were joined by a new hero: human barbarian Bryson Bisonson. They continued on down the long-sealed off wing of the Citadel, encountering a dragon statue and a riddle that upon being solved opened a false door in one of the walls, revealing a tomb adorned with an elaborate dragon sculpture. After a brief investigation and a fight with a terrible little naked man (in fact a demon called a quasit) the party disturbed the tomb's occupant: an undead troll dressed in once-ornate, now-disintegrating robes. They fought the troll and many of the party were driven to flee by the troll's awful bellowing, but finally Espada was able to strike the killing blow. As it expired, the troll said a single intelligible word: "Ashardalon."

Dire Angus recalled that this is the name of the ancient red dragon whose rampage is said to have created the Thornwastes and the Ashen Plains, barren areas of desolation to the southwest of the vale. Angus correctly deduced that this area of the citadel must have once been a shrine to the ancient dragon, and indeed this held when the party considered that all the depictions of dragons they had so far seen were images of red dragons.

Coming to a dead end, the party decided to camp for the night and continue on after a long rest. The next morning (or what they assumed was morning--it's hard to tell time underground), the party set off further into the Citadel. Doubling back on their previous path, they then explored the north-most passage from the entrance courtyard. Down this path they encountered a water cistern occupied by a creature called a mephit, an elemental water spirit under the magical geas to protect the water supply. The party slayed this creature and continued on, into a chamber that seemed to serve as the shelter of some type of beast. In the center of the south wall of this chamber there was a cage with the front face of it's bars ripped open. On the floor nearby was a crying kobold, who after being intimidated by Kickolas told the party the following:

The kobolds name was Meepo, and he had been entrusted by his tribe with the care of a great prize: a baby white dragon. Though Meepo described it as a fierce and terrible beast, the party deduced the size of the dragon by the hole in the cage it formerly occupied. Meepo told them that while the dragon had been in his care, they had been attacked by goblins who kidnapped the dragon and killed several of Meepo's companions. Meepo at first wished for death, but after being induced to voiding both bowel and bladder, swore allegiance and aid to the party, saying that he would lead the party on into the Citadel to what he called the Goblin-lands if they went along with the story that they were hired by Meepo to find and return the dragon. With this ruse in mind, the party plus Meepo pressed on into Kobold territory, passing a group of patrolling bounders before finally coming to the central chamber of their settlement and meeting their chief: a highly decorated female Kobold named Yusdrayl.

Yusdrayl skeptically went along with the story Meepo told and the plan he proposed. She offered the party 10 gold and a small selection of minor magical items for returning their dragon to them. She also agreed to allow Meepo to join the party as their guide, and (for now) not turn him into soup.

With Meepo as their guide, the party delved deeper into the Sunless Citadel, coming to an area that Meepo admitted had fallen out of use after being over run with dire rats. The party pressed forward and after finding a fountain that dispensed potions of fire breath, faced off with an abominable opponent: a Dire Rat King. This creature, which consists of dozens of mundane rats tangled at the tail with a larger group of dire rats, had stalked this part of the complex, making the Kobold's worship of Ashardalon in this area untenable. The party slayed the creature, dealing expertly with its bites and poisons, and then continued on, eventually discovering another dry fountain. As with the previous fountain, a Draconic word was inscribed in the stone above this one, but where as the previous one (translated helpfully by Meepo) read "Let there be fire," the second read "let there be death." Upon Meepo speaking the command word, a thick green gas began flooding the chamber from the mouth of the dragon statue atop the fountain....