Session Eight Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)

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Session 8, August 26 2020

Underdark.jpg

Introduction

The party has tracked the Drow through the jungle to a small cave in a gully; Braadlur's cave fisher, though, determines that this unassuming hole connects to their home tunnels deep beneath the surface. We continue with the party just entering this cave at 3PM on the 9th of Tenrilden ...

Session Summary

We went into the cave and went down a few hundred feet over a few hours. Rallion made marks to help find out way out.

We came to a cavern too far to see across. It has a chasm with the roar of rushing water and unknown depth below. There is a ledge that we decided to keep following.

Just as we got started in our intended direction, 3 enormous spiders attacked. Braadluur called them Sabre Spiders.

Two attacked Fisher and Braadluur who were in the lead and one came at the rest of us.

Fisher quickly went down and the spiders went off with him. Braadluur tried to save him, but the spiders also took him. This was unknown to the rest of us who took a few hits, but dropped the third spider.

Laris moved up and caught sight of the spiders with the bodies of Braadluur and Fisher, but they seemed to be stabilized. We followed and came to an enormous spider web with huge strands that we walked on to follow the spiders with out travelling companions.

We ended up inside the strands and detected a spider ahead, Felix carved the speak with animals rune and unknown to the rest of the party threatened to burn their webs if we didn't get our friends. We were allowed to go to the "larder" to retrieve our companions and their gear.

We find a silver bejeweled scepter which Kauri can see no DVLs. Rallion scoops it up, figuring that being the bearer of the feather and once the bearer of the shard would enable him to pick it up. Laris and others scoop up jewelry and nice gems. Rallion pous his last 3 healing elixirs into Braadluur who finally revives. He then helps build a travois to help haul Fisher.

Three spiders attack and we trade blows. Rallion holds aloft the sceptre and cries, "All hail The Mothers!" but nothing happens.

Felix makes good on his threat to burn the webs as he missed the spider and started a small fire on the webs.

We prepare to make a fighting retreat when [chronicler pauses to fetch a new vial of ink].

Laris' Journal

Burnin’ down the house!

Tenrilden 9 Afternoon

We regroup and head Underground. Not that I’m having second thoughts… well maybe… but I suppose it won’t hurt to try. We can always run right? Right??

We travel underground, down down down. We take some reasonable precautions with ropes and grapples through the slick parts and Braadlur gives us a rundown on Vilsnarg. It’s a large multicultural city that includes a Drow embassy/enclave. There is a chasm that is spanned by an aqueduct that was created by dwarves. He tells us the city is built in tiers on the sides of the chasm at either end of the aqueduct. It is a great crossroads of travel in the Underdark. The queen has her court and offices in a giant stalactite above the chasm reachable only by cablecars. It’s not a safe place, but surface dwellers aren’t unknown in the city. His village is on the other side of the chasm and he traveled through here to get to the surface.

As we travel downward, mostly west-ish, the sound of running water and Braadlur’s special connection with the underground tells him there’s a great river and a large cavern ahead somewhere. There’s a damp cool breeze coming up from below.

Wondrous. Damp, Cold and Dark. We travel on.

After a couple hours passages start branching off the main tunnel. Rallion begins to mark our way out by scraping a sign in rocks then covering them so hopefully if we’re separated, each of us can make our way out.

Another half hour passes and the sounds of rushing water increase significantly. Our passage opens onto a ledge with an emptiness that goes out from, above and below beyond any of our sight. This ledge and chasm of infinite blackness with a roaring water sound at the bottom goes both generally NE and SW. Most of the traffic, Rallion determines, heads SW. There’s some light travel NE, certainly not a group of 20 or so.

We go SW along the ledge. About as soon as we set foot heading away from our side passage entrance to the ledge, we’re attacked by giant spiders with bladelike forelimbs. Braadlur calls them Saberspiders, ambushers/hunters. Not web or trap spiders. Awesome. At that he charges with Fisher. What the hell is this with charging… well, here we go!!

Fisher goes down, then Braadlur. They are carried away by the spiders however it looks like their wounds were sealed as they carried off their bodies. Keep ‘em fresh for more flavorful snacking...

I light off like a fool with Peronell backing me up following these spiders carrying our friend and his pet away. The rest of the party keep up. Luckily? The spiders stay in sight and after about an hour of chase, we see them enter into a giant spiderweb tunnel/bridge spanning out into darkness. Presumably attaching at the other side of this chasm. It’s big enough to walk on as a bridge (About 10’ wide). Evidently there’s an interior as that’s where the spiders disappeared. The web-bridge gives off a slight heat emanation so is visible to our infravision. There’s an alter to Lloth on this end with the bodies of small humanoids/children, gnomes? That have been sacrificed to appease the spiders we assume. Rallion thinks that the drow party may have crossed over this bridge. But isn’t sure. There’s a glow coming from inside the web tunnel ahead of us a little ways. I go out, alone, and scout… Geez… I’m really gonna give Bavmorda hell for playing house. I almost stumble into an entrance hole at my feet. We head down into the web tube and there’s where the fun starts.

Felix uses the Speak with Animals runespell and chats with some would be spider ambushers. He tells us that we’ve got leave to get our friends and cross. And there’s a town of little people that they leave alone across the way.

We get to the glowing area, it’s a treasure trove. I lick my chops and scoop up some what I think may be high value items and a nice pouch of platinum as the rest of the party frees up Braadlur and extracts Fisher. Rallion grabs the glowing scepter and our welcome has worn out. The spiders arrive, I see Felix talking to them, he looks a bit belligerent as he holds up a flask of oil and a flame. This doesn’t look too good. He’s threatening with a bit of web burning apparently. The one we’re standing on. Obviously the conversation was boring and to spice it up, he tosses a flaming oil flask onto the web tube. Yup, that same web tube that’s supporting us over a chasm of unknown depth with rushing water at the bottom. I’m gonna guess there’s rocks too.

Those of us who grabbed stuff, secure it. They grab Fisher and we’re all asses and elbows running out of here trying not to get caught by spiders, outrun the flames, and make it to the other side. There’s wild looks in these guys' eyes. I’d hate to do some shadow stepping, but I ain’t fallin’ down if I can help it. Hopefully it’ll work if we have to use it.

RUN!!!!