The air in the subterranean chamber was heavy and damp, pressing against Maledurk’s brass scales with a familiar discomfort. His eyes narrowed warily as he surveyed the oddly geometric walls around him—unnatural and stark amidst the rugged beauty of the Underdark. Tempest peered curiously past him, her eyes catching the strange reflective glimmers dancing across stone surfaces, the remnants of ooze-covered floors winking like tiny sinister stars.

“I don’t like this,” Maledurk murmured to the others, gripping the Sun Sword tightly, its radiant blade humming gently in anticipation. “This place doesn’t feel right.”

Elora, thoughtful and ever-curious, edged forward, her fingers brushing the wall as though she could coax its secrets forth. Thorn, quiet yet vigilant, followed closely behind, his posture tense, eyes sharp. He had learned, painfully, that beauty in this place often hid danger. And there was something mesmerizingly beautiful—and therefore doubly dangerous—about the glittering, glistening pools that dotted the chamber.

Elora knelt beside one, reaching toward the strange liquid to test its viscosity. “Be careful,” Thorn warned, a second too late. The ooze surged up in a startling burst of sentience, enveloping Elora’s outstretched hand in acid. Her cry of pain echoed sharply against the stone walls, breaking the oppressive silence.

Instinct surged within Maledurk. He swung the glowing Sun Sword fiercely, the light slicing through the viscous darkness, splattering the hostile creature across the wall. The ooze hissed and bubbled, subsiding reluctantly into inert sludge.

“Never trust puddles,” Tempest quipped from behind, swirling magical energy playfully between her fingertips, already poised to conjure Bigby’s massive hand. Her levity belied the gravity of their predicament. She danced gracefully around another puddle, daring it to stir, laughing defiantly when it remained passive.

Their momentary respite shattered as a dull, ominous squelching resonated from the hall beyond. Thorn stepped forward cautiously, his blade singing softly in readiness. His careful steps halted abruptly as he collided face-first into a translucent wall that burned fiercely with acid upon contact—a gelatinous cube, all but invisible in the gloom. Pain shot through him, sharp and biting, yet his reflexive burst of flame illuminated its menacing form clearly for the first time. Suspended grotesquely inside it, the armored bones of a past victim floated, a grim portent.

Tempest, ever unpredictable, seized the moment. With gleeful aggression, she brought Bigby’s spectral hand crashing down upon the cube, scattering its gelatinous form in explosive bursts. Her laughter echoed, wild and bright, a stark contrast to the surrounding gloom. Maledurk, emboldened, hacked at the frozen remnants, his sword shattering them decisively into harmless shards. The group moved swiftly onward, each step cautious yet purposeful.

Further along, their path twisted into narrower chambers, each identical in eerie sterility. Suddenly, amidst these corridors of repetition, Maledurk stiffened, his mind filled abruptly by a voice, clear and curious, yet gentle.

“Hello there. What are you doing here today?”

The voice carried no echo, no source, yet it resonated intimately within his mind. Maledurk, startled but ever open-hearted, responded cautiously, “We seek only passage, friend. Your kin have not welcomed us kindly.”

“Kin?” the voice echoed thoughtfully. “Oh, they are not my kin. Mindless things, driven solely by hunger.”

From the shadows slid another gelatinous cube, transparent yet possessing a strange dignity, its mass shifting thoughtfully. Two eyes floated serenely within, fixed vaguely upon them. “I am Glabagool,” the creature introduced itself with a tone of uncertain pride. “You are unlike anything I have encountered. Interesting.”

Tempest giggled delightedly at the absurdity, Elora studied it in fascination, while Thorn watched skeptically. A sentient ooze defied all logic and lore, yet there was sincerity in its voice, an innocent curiosity that tugged gently at Maledurk’s empathy.

“Do you know the way out?” Elora asked softly, extending trust despite Thorn’s guarded stance.

“I know many ways,” Glabagool replied, thoughtful and uncertain. “But none I have traveled myself. Perhaps we may find the path together?”

Thus joined, this improbable guide led them onward, winding through ancient halls that whispered forgotten histories. The distant rush of water soon beckoned them into a cavern where a shimmering waterfall cascaded from an opening high above, flooding steadily, threatening eventually to seal this route forever beneath rising tides.

“I’ll scout ahead,” Elora declared confidently, swiftly transforming into an owl. She soared upward, feathers brushing gently through humid currents, until she breached into familiar darkness—the sprawling, shadowy expanse of the Dark Lake stretching infinitely outward. She returned swiftly, feathers rustling back into silken robes, relaying her findings with urgency.

“It leads back to the lake. But this cavern will flood soon. We must find another way.”

Their path twisted back, revealing four mysterious hallways, each promising uncertainty. Thorn, attentive and cautious, spotted subtle treachery in their path—a cleverly concealed pitfall, baited hungrily with acid-filled peril.

“A cruel trap,” Glabagool mused solemnly, inspecting its brethren below, waiting patiently for prey. “They never tire. Such emptiness is their existence.”

Their journey had taught them suspicion, but Glabagool’s quiet sorrow stirred sympathy among them, particularly Maledurk, whose heart often resonated with the plight of misunderstood creatures.

As they stood there, the echo of the rushing water grew louder, a steady reminder that time moved inexorably forward. They shared glances, each recognizing silent resolve mirrored in the others’ faces.

“Let’s find our path,” Maledurk rumbled decisively, breaking the contemplative quiet. “Glabagool, your world is changing. Join us if you wish—we seek freedom, and perhaps you deserve it too.”

The sentient cube quivered slightly, the floating eyes blinking with newfound resolve. “Freedom… Yes, perhaps that is the true path.”

Together they stepped forward into uncertainty, bound not merely by the necessity of survival but by mutual trust born from trials. For this strange company—of dragons, elves, druids, sorcerers, and now even a thoughtful ooze—journeyed forth not merely to escape the Underdark, but toward an uncertain, yet hopeful, destiny.

Session Notes

  • Recap of Position and Previous Actions

    • The adventuring party — Elora the Majestic (Circle of the Shepherd druid), Maledurk (brass dragonborn barbarian), Grestkrendreghk “Thorn” Elassayl (wood-elf bladesinger), and Tempest (blue dragonborn wild-magic sorcerer) — are fugitives in the Underdark after escaping Velkynvelve.
    • They have sailed part-way across the Darklake, landed, climbed a hill, bypassed a cave, reached the cavern rim, then doubled back and entered a tunnel that opened when a rockfall exposed a passage.

  • Initial Cavern Exploration

    • The newly opened tunnel leads into softly glowing, wet caverns.
    • The group passes through two natural rooms and discovers a partially collapsed 15-foot-square, man-made stone chamber with odd puddles in each corner.

  • First Ooze Attack

    • Maledurk approaches a puddle to test its viscosity; the liquid lashes out.
    • Surprise strike deals 22 acid damage (HP 105 → 83).
    • Combat:
      • Maledurk rages, draws the Sun Sword, and delivers two slashes: 14 and 14 damage, dispersing the ooze.

  • Suspicious Noises and Second Threat

    • A faint squelching is heard from a northern corridor (Perception success by Elora and Tempest).
    • Thorn investigates and inadvertently steps into an unseen gelatinous cube filling the hallway, failing his Dexterity save and taking 25 acid damage.

  • Fight with the Gelatinous Cube

    • Thorn retaliates with Fireball, badly injuring the cube and briefly illuminating an armored skeleton suspended inside.
    • Elora moves up and casts Cure Wounds, restoring 16 HP to Maledurk (83 → 99).
    • Maledurk drags Thorn clear and strikes twice with the Sun Sword for 11 + 11 damage.
    • Tempest conjures Bigby’s Hand (Clenched Fist), punching for 21 damage; Wild-Magic Surge grants her 5 HP regeneration per round for 1 minute.
    • Cube fails an attack on the spectral hand; Thorn slows it with Ray of Frost.
    • Elora heals Thorn for 12 HP.
    • A final Sun-Sword blow from Maledurk shatters the chilled cube.

  • Third Ooze Encounter

    • Passage enters another square room with corner puddles.
    • A fresh ooze strikes at Maledurk and misses.
    • Maledurk slashes it for 11 damage.
    • Tempest drives Bigby’s Hand into the creature (5d8 damage), obliterating it.

  • Assessment of Adjacent Chamber

    • Thorn scouts ahead; observes additional puddles that resemble inert remnants of destroyed oozes.
    • Party determines they are non-threatening acid pools and avoids stepping in them.

  • Telepathic Contact with Glabagool

    • While searching, Maledurk hears a telepathic greeting: “Hello there. What are you doing here today?”
    • The voice (audible only in the mind) belongs to a sentient gelatinous cube that soon slides into view — translucent, with two floating eyeballs — and identifies itself as Glabagool.
    • Key points from the exchange:
      • Other oozes are mindless predators; Glabagool is newly self-aware.
      • It can squeeze through cracks but lacks a sense of “outside.”
      • Glabagool expresses curiosity and offers to accompany the adventurers.
    • Elora’s Detect Magic senses no arcane aura; Thorn’s arcana reasoning suggests a non-magical (possibly divine) origin of the cube’s sentience.
    • The party accepts Glabagool as a guide.

  • Corridor to Four-Way Junction

    • Group (with cube in tow) proceeds down a long finished corridor that bends south into another stone chamber.
    • This junction features:
      • Four worked passages veering west then turning south.
      • A natural tunnel to the east-south where the sound of running water can be heard.
    • Glabagool notes the water noise began only after a recent tremor.

  • Southern Passage and Pit Trap

    • Choosing the southern finished hallway, the party advances.
    • Thorn (high Perception) notices an odd floor tile just before stepping; he withdraws.
    • Testing the tile causes it to crumble, revealing a 10-foot pit filled with active oozes below. The creatures cannot reach the surface.

  • Session Conclusion

    • The session ends with the party gathered at the edge of the collapsed pit, undecided on their next route, while out-of-character events prompt an early wrap-up.