Session 25: Dazed and Confused

General Summary

Session 17 JUL 2019: We cast the Tiny Hut, and upon waking we find that Lily is missing! We frantically search, and I release Akira to perform tracking. Eventually, we find Lily. But, when we do, we are instantly transported to a new location without fanfare, and it seems to be a large library. We are ‘ported into position near the hearth, and there is a man in a high chair with a book in his lap. The man is Halaster Blackcloak! He greets us, and tells us about the Dungeon/ruins we are in. After his speech, we are returned to our original location. Odd!   WE make some breakfast, ‘cause, ya know, bacon! As we gather ourselves, many of us note that personal objects of note have undergone cosmetic changes, portending more fundamental alterations. My dice have changed: one of the dice has changed the “6” pips to a door.   As we prepare to continue, Det finds a note at his feet from Halaster. He opens it to read it to the group, and finds a religious symbol inscribed on the paper: a giant spider, the symbol of Tarisa Auvryndar. The note reads: “Look for this symbol, it is the House Auvryndar’s symbol. If you cast this into the river, you will be met with a reward.” The river is the River Sargauth [ED: From the GM, “Halaster's quest is simple: kill T'rissa Auvryndar (see Area 6) and rout her forces in what Halaster calls "Drow Town" (Area 20). They must then cast T'rissa's holy symbol of Lolth into the River Sargauth. He promises a reward of "great power".]   We set off for a previously unexplored passage, that we think leads to “Drowtown.” We find a door that seems to consist of nothing but spider webs, actively woven by small spiders. We burn the webs, and find an actual basic door behind. Inside we find some troglodytes and a giant spider, which quickly fall to our martial prowess.   Inside this next room, we find two more doors, one with a fist-sized depression with a Dwarven symbol next to it. Det tries fisting the door, but it doesn’t really respond. We open the south door, and it appears to reveal a prison, complete with prisoners and sadistic Grimlock jailors. When Det approaches to help the prisoners, they brandish crossbows and try to shoot him, saying something about “winning T’rissa’s love.” Ugh, Fanbois. Combat starts!   We kill the jailors and rude Drow prisoners, and I take three poisoned arrows to the face! I am revived, and we check out the other prisoners, who are grateful for salvation and release. One is a dead non-humanoid, one is a Hobgoblin who gets scarce, and the remaining one is a male human. The human is quite fearful; amd Feng reassures him as to our intentions. Det joins the reassuring, after feeding him some rations. The human, Geldax, says that he was trying to get to Skullport when he was captured and thrown in this cell. He rambles on about the capture of his friends, something about a Demon Gate, and a Boat of Death.   We check the other door in the room, which is locked from our side. A voice inside asks for “Help!” Lorin rummages in her keys, and announces that she has a Thieves’ tool! I discover that I always had one in my pocket! We get the door open.   Inside is a bloodied Elven woman with lashes on her back. She looks at us with a mixture of suspicion and hope. We check her out and cure some wounds. She thanks us, and asks if we can “get her out of here!” Her name is Marta Moonshadow, and she was taken captive on her way to Skullport, sold at market for the Skull Island Fortress at the heart of Skullport, then captured by Drow. It would seem that we’re accruing a collection of vagabonds traveling to Skullport.   We stash the civilians and return to the magic door, which we Knock. Inside, we find a temple with several Drow, some spiders, a Priestess, some Acolytes, and a sacrifice. The Priestess turns to us and says, “More sacrifices for [our Goddess] Lauss!” Combat starts (next week!)