Eleusis, Caverns of Danger, 07. Sorcerer's Retreat

This cave is roughly 40 feet in diameter, with a 30 foot ceiling. A small ledge lines the northern side of the cavern. Phosphorescent moss growing in patches on the walls dimly lights the entire cave. Gardens of barrelstalk, ripplebark, timmask, and tongue of madness grow throughout.

Near the north wall, a slight elderly human woman wearing tattered gray robes over black pants sits on a 2-foot-tall toadstool. Her long hair is tied back with a swatch of gray cloth that matches. A toad sits on her knee.   The woman is Darribeth Meltimer. Darribeth comes across as a curious and kind woman with a flair for magic who doesn’t mind bending rules for the greater good. She speaks Common, Draconic, Halfling, and Undercommon.   Darribeth is actually a werebat. Note, we have not updated from the base human mage. An escaped slave who found her way to Eleusis centuries ago after a lycanthropic plague swept through a farmstead. As she escaped, she witnessed all of the infected, including her family, being rounded up and burned. She has no love for her former society above ground, and has no urge to join the party.   Since descending, she has found a home amongst the kobolds, and other denizens. She has befriended a daughter of Chryseis, who was her tutor in magic. She has met Asími Kallitéchnis before his most recent imprisonment. She prefers now to immerse herself in her studies, venturing every few weeks to trade services for supplies with the Kobolds.   When the invaders passed through, she cast an illusion which directed them towards the roper cave. She can't provide any more details after that as she was focused on remaining hidden.   She has become concerned with the recent activity of the Binyip to the south. After hibernating for a millenia, it's active again and growing stronger.

The little cavern is sparsely furnished and is what you would expect from an aescetic. Writing supplies, ancient texts bartered with the local denizens can be found.

Darribeth’s collection of spell scrolls includes 1 each of the following spells: cone of cold, counterspell, darkvision, detect magic, fireball, fly, greater invisibility, ice storm, jump, mage armor, magic missile, misty step, shield, suggestion, tongues, and water breathing.   In addition to her scrolls, Darribeth carries a backpack missing a strap, within which she keeps a diary, material components for her spells, a pouch containing 11 gold drachma, a dagger, a canteen, and a worn blanket. Fastened to the backpack is a coiled rope of climbing which was how she escaped to begin with.