Delve 12 - Caverns of Thracia

In which the party checking in on Aatyh and their gnollic allies, the party negotiated a truce, and fought of a large squid creature and found a bunch of treasure.

Party:

• Fang the cleric
• Nieven the warlock (accompanied by a cultist ally)
• Athoz the fighter
• Nox the fighter

• The party enters the main entrance on the 1st level. This level was been pretty much cleared at this point, other than wandering undead and beasts. Mostly parties check that the "death door" (a stone slab leading to a corridor of magical darkness and sinister noises) and continue down to the second level.
• During their routine check, the warlock zones out and has a vision, seemingly someone's memory. It is the end of a conversation, where one person is communicating with Thanatos (the one who the cultists in another part of the cavern worship). The pair seem to be agreeing to something, mentioning how their ambitions are aligned and such. Thanatos refers to the other speaker (who's memory Nieven now has) as Paslaqatal. The memory vision ends, and he tells the party of what he saw, though no one can tell if there is a meaning or reason behind it.
• The party enters a large chamber to the west of the 1st level. It is long, split in two by a chasm. The southern side is a cemetery for the Dark One/Thanatos cultists, while the northern end has a shaft where a platform would bring a demon statue up to laugh and put on a pyrotechnics display, though this has now long been destroyed. In the room the party encountered a group of gnolls, who did not respond to the codewords given to allied gnolls, and the gnolls offered a gem to allow them to climb a rope down the cavern and leave. The party let them go.
• Heading down, the party discovers that Aatyhs' gnolls have set up camp in the western end of the large northern cavern. The telepoter (and the sight of last delve's battle) is in the east, and Aatsyh does not have the troops to repel an invasion from below. The party offers to speak to the lizardfolk of G'ruk, who occupy the southern cavern on this level, and see if they are willing to accept a truce. Aatsyh seems doubtful, but lets the party try.
• The party head to the southern cavern. There they are led to meet with G'ruk, the shaman king of the lizardfolk. He reveals that they now obey Paslaqatal, the Immortal King, and also that they would accept a truce if the party helped them solve a puzzle.
• A stream runs through the southern cavern, and a tale says that a door can be opened with "the blood of the Thracians". The party accept to give it a look, and are let by a couple of lizardfolk up the river. They avoid a giant spider and are shown the door.
• The door is built to resemble the cave wall, and it is not magical. Athoz breaks it down, revealing a small room painted with fanged mouths and three bronze boxes resting on the floor. The party enters. A passageway leads out of the room to a pool, visible, open and unguarded. The party begin they are being led into a trap.
• Tentacles slither down to open corridor. It is a trap. The Guardian Beast, basically a giant squid (or like the Watcher in the water from the lord of the rings) attacks the party, intending to drag one or two down into the water for a snack.
  The fight is tough; Athoz uses a power to grow to ogre size, meaning he cannot be pulled down the corridor, and proceeds to try and keep the squid in place while the party hack off the tentacles and shoot it will missiles. The warlock nearly dies, Nox is nearly dragged away to a watery doom, but eventually the creature is almost slain, causing it to retreat.
• At this point G'ruk conveniently shows up. (Sidenote: I was considering the possibility for G'ruk to be a liar and turn on the party, but given the allotted session time was up, and the open table format, I decided G'ruk would keep his word. Instead, driving off the beast was a test to prove that they could be trusted, and weren't just any old treasure hunters.) The party got to cracking open the bronze chests, being bitten a few times by ghostly fanged mouths, but eventually managed to crack open the locks.
  While the party had agreed to split the loot with G'ruk 50/50, G'ruk instead asked for the magical shield and a fancy jade axe, and left the rest to the party; a potion, magical dagger and sword, a bag of 1000 gold, and some bits of jewellery.
• The party bagged up their loot, sealed a (temporary) non aggression pact between G'ruk and Aatsyh, and left the dungeon.

At this point, the players have pretty much pacified the 1st and a good portion of the 2nd level. Though it is a tenuous hold. Aatysh, while friendly, only has a few gnoll allies (less than 20), and she is expecting a cohort of the Minotaur King any time now. And while G'ruk agreed to not fight Aatsyh, he has a much larger force, and is slowly moving into areas cleared out by the players in previous delves. 

I've also been toying with ideas for a new entrance into the caverns. A couple of levels, offering another way into the caverns, as well as a different biome/area to mix things up. Thinking something to do with poison brewing goblins and kobold traders, maybe a buried stasis prison of ancient plant monsters buried by people who came become the Thracians.

Also, the "magical sword and dagger" are vague as they actually haven't been developed yet. I'm endeavouring not to give out just +X weapons and armour, and I apparently did not update the key here. So that needs to be done.