Recaps

Renato, Balin, and Tristana defeated the Duergar and discussed the Nightwind Family before three Mind Flayer-controlled owlbears found them among the ruins. As the creatures signaled the Mind Flayer nest for reinforcements, Balin led the others into a nearby cave to escape.

• Renato killed the Duergar Stone Guard, and he and Balin checked the fallen enemies to ensure they were dead.
• Renato questioned Tristana about Samoriel City and learned that the Nightwind Family was its eighth-greatest family and that Aiton had been a veteran warrior.
• Three Mind Flayer-controlled owlbears emerged from the ruins and began signaling the Mind Flayer nest.
• Renato warned that reinforcements were coming, and Balin struck the owlbears with lightning before leading Renato and Tristana into a cave.

Renato, Balin, and Tristana escaped pursuing owlbears through a narrow tunnel and camped in an unexplored cavern. Tristana discovered that Balin carried the Mind Ripper, and Renato explained its limited function while warning her not to make trouble.

• Renato killed a pursuing owlbear, then followed Balin through a narrow fissure as the others chased them.
• Balin crushed an owlbear's paw in the fissure, and he urged Tristana to crawl onward through the low tunnel.
• The three emerged into a cavern and camped outside a grove of funguswood, where Balin admitted he did not know where they were.
• Balin and Tristana argued while Renato tried to calm them and urged them to focus on finding their location and staying safe.
• Tristana noticed Balin's black torch and asked about the Mind Ripper, so Renato explained that it severed mental links within a limited range and warned her against attempting to take it.

Renato questioned Tristana about her failed expedition while cooking a meal for her, and she admitted she had intended to raid a Deep Gnome settlement before encountering mind flayers. The conversation turned into an argument between Tristana and Balin about their families and gods, and Renato served them meat broth to end it.

• Renato discovered that the Mind Ripper's force field prevented him from touching it, though Balin could handle the artifact normally.
• Tristana pressed Renato about his origins, but he offered her stew in exchange for the story of how mind flayers captured her.
• Tristana explained that she had led a raiding party to attack a Deep Gnome settlement and gather slaves and spoils for Lolth.
• Balin mocked Tristana's belief that her defeat and escape were a trial from Lolth, and Tristana taunted him about his life in the Underdark.
• Balin and Tristana argued over their families and whether Lolth loved Tristana, until Renato served them meat broth.

Renato, Balin, and Tristana shared a meal and agreed to take turns preparing food as they traveled through the Underdark. While searching for a reliable food source near a mushroom forest, Tristana found tracks and set out with Renato to hunt their prey.

• Renato cooked stew and explained to Tristana that the hard white bread was made from wheat.
• Tristana offered Renato servants if he became her protector, but he ignored her offer and asked Balin what Hobgoblins were.
• Renato proposed that the three take turns making meals to build cooperation.
• Tristana examined damaged mushrooms and tracks at the edge of a mushroom forest while Renato and Balin accompanied her.
• Tristana identified the remains as scarlet fevercaps and followed the footprints, declaring that they would find fresh meat.

Tristana led Renato and Balin through a mushroom forest, killed a Deep Rothé, and helped prepare its meat despite her reluctance to butcher it. As they searched for a way out, Balin detected a breeze from a fissure and warned them to prepare for danger.

• Tristana used Silence to guide Renato and Balin through the mushroom forest and killed a Deep Rothé with a Light Arrow.
• Tristana explained the Rothé's blood was used for brewing, while Balin identified a Dwarven brand and suspected it had escaped from Rolling Stone City.
• Renato made Tristana and Balin help butcher the Rothé, and the three packed its meat and hide for their journey.
• Renato, Tristana, and Balin crossed the funguswood while the odor of blood risked revealing their trail.
• Balin detected a breeze from a fissure ahead and told Tristana to prepare Renato for a fight.

Renato, Tristana, and Balin crossed a sheer cliff beside an underground river and then argued over how quickly to reach New Rolling Stone City. Balin explained that the Mind Flayers’ war against the Duergar threatened them all, and Renato agreed to keep moving and help his companions.

• Balin discovered that the group had taken the wrong route and said they needed to detour, but Tristana proposed following the river and using Spider Climb to cross the cliff.
• Tristana used Spider Climb to ascend the slick rock face, while Renato activated the Ring of Spider Climbing and climbed after her.
• Renato reached the top and pulled Balin over the edge after the Dwarf struggled up with Climbing Gear.
• Balin rejected Tristana’s suggestion to camp and insisted they could reach New Rolling Stone City in three days if they hurried.
• Balin explained that the Mind Flayers could destroy the Duergar and enslave the underground layer, so their survival depended on reaching New Rolling Stone City.
• Renato reassured Balin that he would not fail the job and said the companions had to stick together.

After defeating the goblins, Renato, Tristana, and Balin rested in the abandoned underground settlement. Tristana and Balin fell asleep, leaving Renato to meditate and keep watch.

• Renato, Tristana, and Balin settled in the ruined settlement after killing the goblins and washing off the blood.
• Renato insisted they stop after Tristana nearly collapsed from exhaustion during their march.
• Renato roasted beef while Tristana struggled to stay awake, then she fell asleep against his shoulder.
• Renato told Balin to sleep and agreed to take the first watch while Tristana continued sleeping beside him.
• Balin quickly fell asleep, and Renato entered a meditative state by the campfire.

Renato, Tristana, and Balin survived a night raid by cave lizardfolk and discussed the uncertain state of New Rolling Stone City. They left the camp planning to investigate whether the duergar city had fallen to the mind flayers.

• Tristana revealed the approaching cave lizardfolk with a sonic spell, waking Balin and injuring several attackers.
• Renato killed the remaining cave lizardfolk with the Silent Lady while Tristana and Balin joined the fight.
• Tristana insisted Renato had elven or drow ancestry because of his darkvision and ability to meditate while alert, but Renato denied it.
• Renato told Tristana that Madra Deepforge ruled New Rolling Stone City and said the duergar might welcome outsiders.
• Renato, Tristana, and Balin suspected the nearby monsters might signal trouble for the duergar, and Balin said they should see the city for themselves.

Renato, Balin, and Tristana reached New Rolling Stone City but were mistaken for Mind Flayer-controlled intruders. Balin revealed the Mind Ripper to Madra, who recognized it and declared the city saved.

• Renato assessed the Duergar forces blocking the passage while Lolth's power fueled his urge to kill.
• Balin argued with the Duergar soldiers, who accused him and his companions of being Mind Flayer puppets.
• Madra arrived and questioned Balin about his escape and whether he was under mind control.
• Madra cast Dispel Magic on Balin, but the spell revealed nothing unusual.
• Balin raised the Mind Ripper, and Madra recognized it and proclaimed New Rolling Stone City saved.

Renato gained the Inevitable Conquest feat and helped Tristana secure a house in New Rolling Stone City. After she chose the home beside his, Tristana quietly cursed the Duergar who had handed her the key.

• Renato gained a point of Resolve and the Inevitable Conquest feat, which increased his melee damage when his Resolve exceeded an opponent's but made him more vulnerable while routing.
• Renato visited Madra and explained that Tristana had nowhere to stay in New Rolling Stone City.
• Renato discovered that Tristana had nearly fought Duergar miners because they could not understand each other's languages.
• Madra ordered a guard to give Renato and Tristana the key to an empty house, earning Renato seventy experience points.
• Tristana chose the house next to Renato's and quietly cursed the Duergar housing clerk in Elvish after they left the tower.

Renato visited Balin at the site of Madra’s altar and learned that Little Deepforge’s army had suffered a disastrous defeat against the mind flayers. Balin began recounting the battle, which ended in a one-sided slaughter despite the Stone Sons’ preparations.

• Renato found Flori at the altar construction site and learned Big Tooth had rescued him from the ruins of Deepforge Fortress.
• Flori asked Renato to put in a good word with Madra so he could escape his Devil’s Contract, and Renato agreed to help.
• Renato found Balin, who dismissed the altar’s promise of protection and revealed that Little Deepforge’s army had been crushed by the mind flayers.
• Balin said nearly a hundred warriors had died, fewer than twenty had returned, and Little Deepforge had lost his helmet but survived.
• Balin explained that the Stone Sons had prepared defenses against psionics, yet the battle had been a one-sided slaughter.

Balin explained how an unexpectedly enormous mind flayer force annihilated Madra’s army and left New Rolling Stone City nearly undefended. Renato realized that the Mind Ripper might not stop the mind flayers, while Balin warned that Madra’s faith in Laduguer was desperate and urged Renato to stock up for what came next.

• Balin recounted how Madra withdrew into the Rolling Stone City Ruins, where more than a hundred mind flayers and their slaves overwhelmed the Duergar army and forced Madra to escape by teleportation.
• Renato estimated that the mind flayer nest held at least three hundred mind flayers and a vast force of enslaved warriors, enough to threaten even the Empire.
• Balin explained that Elder Brains were immobile and vulnerable, but their psionic influence coordinated mind flayers and their slaves across several kilometers.
• Renato questioned whether the Mind Ripper had worked, and Balin said that blocking the mind flayers’ mental link would not necessarily stop them from coordinating.
• Balin told Renato to gather food, water, bandages, and potions, then dismissed Madra’s hope that Laduguer would save New Rolling Stone City as a drowning man’s grasp at a miracle.

Renato stocked up on supplies and bought Styx Grease from Dain, who was secretly preparing to leave New Rolling Stone City. Dain explained that he feared the Mind Flayers and hinted that he had another escape route.

• Renato bought food and water before confronting Dain, who was packing his belongings in an alley.
• Renato offered gold for See Invisibility Potions, but Dain said he had none and sold him Styx Grease instead.
• Dain warned Renato not to discuss the failed expedition in the city and said Madra might not remain its lord.
• Dain explained that he feared the Mind Flayers would pursue anyone who fled and hinted that he knew a way out that did not lead upward.

Renato weighed Dain’s offer to explore a deeper Underdark stratum and sought Balin’s advice, while still hoping to find a way back to the surface. Their discussion was interrupted when Madra emerged from Deep Hammer Tower and the Statue of Laduguer began to blaze with light.

• Dain invited Renato to explore Mushroom Putty Cave and gave him a note with directions for a meeting in two days.
• Renato asked Balin about the expedition, and Balin agreed to inspect the cave with him before deciding what to do.
• Balin admitted that deeper strata were more dangerous and vowed to fight the Mind Flayers guerrilla-style if necessary.
• Madra led a solemn procession from Deep Hammer Tower, and the Mind Ripper and Statue of Laduguer began shining as runes lit across the platform.

Madra used the Mind Ripper to bathe New Rolling Stone City in protective golden light and rallied the Duergar by invoking their history and Laduguer. Renato wondered whether the artifact or the god could stop the Mind Flayers, but Balin warned him to prepare for battle instead of waiting for a miracle.

• Madra raised the Mind Ripper and, after chanting an ancient Dwarven prayer, sent it to the Statue of Laduguer, whose light spread throughout New Rolling Stone City.
• The Duergar cheered and praised Laduguer as Madra claimed the artifact would protect every resident.
• Madra recounted the Duergar's history, condemned the Mind Flayers and the gods who had abandoned their ancestors, and promised to rebuild Rolling Stone City.
• Renato recognized Madra's political skill but doubted that the city's fewer than three hundred civilians could withstand the Mind Flayers.
• Renato considered whether Laduguer might intervene, but Balin told him to stop imagining miracles and get ready to fight.

Renato told Tristana that New Rolling Stone City’s army had been wiped out and planned for their escape as the city faced the mind flayers. Tristana explained that the artifact could not stop the mind flayers’ spellcasting and recalled that Klauthsura had once used psionics to travel to the upper level, though that route was now inaccessible.

• Tristana reacted to the Mind Ripper’s light with protective spells, and Renato questioned her about a pouch she had obtained from a duergar using Suggestion.
• Renato told Tristana he wanted to discuss their escape route after New Rolling Stone City fell, and she smashed furniture in anger when he explained the army had been annihilated.
• Renato decided Tristana’s knowledge and divine magic would make her a valuable teammate, then asked whether the artifact could protect the city and whether she knew another route to the upper level.
• Tristana warned Renato that mind flayers remained dangerous because of their spellcasting, even if the artifact blocked mental connections.
• Tristana struggled to recall memories overwritten by Klauthsura’s psionics and revealed that he had once floated through an opening above the mind flayer nest, a route they could not use now.

Renato visited Madra to ask about the Mind Ripper and learned that the young Deepforge had lost faith in Laduguer after his prayers went unanswered. Madra believed the Deepforge family and New Rolling Stone City were doomed, leaving Renato without a clear answer about the artifact.

• Renato arranged with Balin and Tristana to investigate the Mushroom Putty Cave and lent Tristana fifty gold coins for repairs and supplies.
• Renato entered Deep Hammer Tower after Madra allowed the guards to let him in.
• Renato asked Madra about the Mind Ripper, and Madra said Balin had already told him what Renato wanted to know.
• Madra accused the people of New Rolling Stone City of plotting against him and said he had hoped Laduguer would save the city.
• Madra said Laduguer had ignored his rituals and prayers, then lamented that the earthquake had destroyed Rolling Stone City and left him with nowhere to flee.

Renato told Madra Deepforge that he knew a safe route out of New Rolling Stone City, and Madra agreed to flee with him to Mushroom Putty Cave. They arranged to meet at the rear gate within an hour as the Mind Flayers threatened to attack.

• Renato learned that Madra's ritual had only awakened and amplified the Mind Ripper's power, not earned Laduguer's favor.
• Renato offered Madra a way to escape, and Madra agreed to pay him after they reached Mushroom Putty Cave.
• Madra negotiated the payment with Renato and decided they would leave immediately rather than wait until the next day.
• Madra ordered Renato to fetch Balin and told his guards to pack the supplies for their departure.

Renato searched for Balin amid the Duergar’s celebration, but Mind Flayers suddenly attacked the Altar. As the Duergar fell around him, Renato killed one of the attackers and discovered that it resisted neither his sword nor the Mountain’s Embrace.

• Renato went to Balin’s empty stone house, then asked Flori at the Altar where the old Dwarf had gone.
• Flori sent a Duergar laborer to find Balin while he and Renato talked about Big Tooth and the city’s food supply.
• More than a dozen portals opened around the Altar, and armored Mind Flayers emerged as Flori shouted that the city was under attack.
• The Mind Flayers slaughtered Duergar with psionic blades and Mind Blasts, while Renato countercharged one of them.
• Renato pierced the Mind Flayer’s shield, resisted its Mind Blast, and split its head with the Silent Lady.

Renato fought three Mind Flayers after an unknown voice helped him break through a Wall of Force, and Klauthsura appeared atop Laduguer’s Statue. The chapter left Renato facing the Mind Flayer who had defied the Elder Brain.

• Renato drank Oil of Speed and coated the Silent Lady with Styx Grease as three Mind Flayers closed in on him.
• An unknown voice told Renato to pass through the Wall of Force and attack the Mind Flayer on the right.
• Renato used his knowledge of the Mind Flayers’ instinctive evasions to decapitate one, then endured lightning from the other two.
• A snap of fingers interrupted one Mind Flayer’s spell and froze the other in place.
• Renato turned and recognized Klauthsura standing atop Laduguer’s Statue.

Renato and Klauthsura faced the newly arrived Mind Flayer Zephros, who destroyed Laduguer’s statue and crushed the Duergar forces with his psionic power. Zephros condemned Klauthsura as a defective specimen and declared the Elder Brain’s experiment a failure.

• Renato killed one Mind Flayer and drained vitality from another with Touch of Dakoul, healing his injuries and leaving him with a cold, detached clarity.
• The surviving Mind Flayer escaped through a Dimension Door as Zephros’s Disintegrate spell struck and reduced Laduguer’s statue to dust.
• Zephros emerged from invisibility and swept the Duergar from the battlefield with immense telekinetic force.
• Klauthsura arrived beside Renato and identified Zephros as the Voice of the Elder Brain, a centuries-old master of psionics.
• Zephros silenced the battlefield, then rebuked Klauthsura as a defective specimen and said the Elder Brain’s experiment had failed.

Renato and Klauthsura faced Zephros as he revealed his power and the Mind Flayers prepared a large-scale teleportation. Zephros banished the Mind Ripper and activated the Psionics Beacon, leaving Klauthsura and the Duergar under threat from incoming thralls.

• Renato asked Klauthsura about Zephros, and Klauthsura explained that Zephros was the colony's most powerful Psion with independent authority.
• Mind Flayers gathered in the square and inscribed a Psionics Beacon to prepare for a large-scale teleportation.
• Zephros unleashed a Fire Storm that killed advancing Duergar and several Mind Flayers, then declared that the Elder Brain's plan would restore the lost Empire.
• Zephros noticed Renato was an Untransformed and banished the Mind Ripper to the Ethereal Plane, while Klauthsura reassured Renato that it would return within an hour.
• Zephros finished activating the beacon, threatened to discard Klauthsura's brain, and caused countless portals to open.

Klauthsura disrupted the Elder Brain’s mass teleportation, causing the arriving slaves to die in chaos, while Renato faced Zephros’s attack. After Renato’s sword somehow made Zephros’s fireball vanish, Klauthsura countered Zephros’s shield as Renato hurled a dart at him.

• Klauthsura activated interference arrays during the Elder Brain’s mass deployment, scattering portals across New Rolling Stone City and killing many slaves.
• Zephros attacked Klauthsura and Renato with a massive psionic fireball.
• Renato stepped forward and swung the Silent Lady at the fireball, which disappeared without an explosion.
• Renato threw a heavy dart at Zephros as Klauthsura countered Zephros’s Psionics Shield.
• The dart flew toward Zephros’s head.

Renato and Klauthsura escaped Zephros’s attack by teleporting away, while Balin, Tristana, Whitebeard, and the duergar joined the fight against the Voice of the Elder Brain. As the mind flayers scattered, Renato countered one’s lightning with the Silent Lady and prepared to duel it in close combat.

• Renato threw a dart at Zephros, and Klauthsura deactivated the interference array and teleported them away as Zephros’s psionic backlash struck.
• Klauthsura explained that Zephros had prepared Contingency spells, then pulled Renato through another portal as Zephros unleashed lightning.
• Balin and Tristana attacked Zephros, while Whitebeard drove the Rockborer mech into the fight and the duergar fired crossbows.
• Renato fought the scattered mind flayers, killing two duergar civilians whom one mind flayer had forced to charge him.
• Renato blocked a mind flayer’s Lightning Bolt with the Silent Lady, nullifying the spell with its Negation Runes.
• The mind flayer abandoned spellcasting, formed psionic blades, and rushed Renato for a close-range duel.

Renato and Klauthsura discussed Zephros’s defeat and the Mind Flayer’s interest in Renato while the city lay in ruins. As Balin, Tristana, and Deepforge warriors arrived with weapons ready, Klauthsura asked Renato to convince them it meant no harm.

• Renato killed the Mind Flayer after defeating it in close combat.
• Renato surveyed the destruction Zephros had wrought on New Rolling Stone City and learned that Madra’s ninth-level Banishment scroll had sent Zephros to the Astral Plane.
• Klauthsura explained that Renato’s psionic signal resembled a Mind Flayer’s and that Zephros had mistaken him for one of the Untransformed.
• Klauthsura asked Renato to explain its actions to his companions as Balin, Tristana, and armed Deepforge warriors approached.