Episode 55: The Cult of Webs

General Summary

After a quick meeting with the Sheriff back at the Guard Hall, the party decided to head out to solve the mystery of some missing people, not wanting to see the was going by the name Nyx in the interim, they headed to the Teashop and requested Chase to pick her up meeting some interesting people in the town and discovering a quaint little shop that served what seemed to be Reylan's favorite drink: bubble tea.
As the group interacted with the various patrons, Vasya himself as Ferrick. As Vasya pressed questions to him, noticing his unease and paranoia, the interaction was cut short by the arrival of Chase, and with the young nullmaiden off to the ship for her own safety, the party headed off to the woods for any sign of missing people.
With the help of the rangers, the party was able to navigate through the woods fairly quickly. However, before they could close the investigation on the forest, they happened upon a fire being caused by forest drakes. With an enhancement from Reylan, Nyx was able to speak to the dragons as well as spot something moving along the smoke remaining invisible save for the sparse moment when firelight was able to shine through the haze. The Elder Umbral Drake was seemingly about to propose a deal with Tetran, but the warlock's knee-jerk reaction caused him to expend a charge of Eyebite, fearing the creature who returned a moment later annoyed and no longer in a mood for play. Despite this, they party walked away without confronting the creature and instead headed to the dead wood.
Upon entering, Reylan began shaking and shrinking in toward her dragon as she noticed that the woods were covered with webs-- thicker than what could be deemed normal. As the party moved through, Sarku wandered around looking for a vantage point only to feel soft ground beneath his feet. Looking into it further, he uncovered what looked to be a mysterious sigil and after bringing it to the party's attention, only Tetran realized that they may have stumbled into something bigger than just a case of missing people.
He revealed that the mark was that of the Six-Eyed Queen of the [Cult Name] and that the wooden plank may be covering a way to somewhere much deeper in the world itself. While the group decided to leave the board untouched and moved, they moved forward only to see still bodies hanging from webbing thirty feet overhead above what seemed to look like human-sized cocoons. While Nyx and Terra happened to notice large spiders watching them and hiding amongst the woods and as Tetran realizes that they may have found an altar to feed victims to spider swarms, Vasya called out to creatures in the area trying to ask some questions but inadvertently starting battle.
While the party struggled between fighting off the many-legged foes and saving the soon-to-be sacrifices, something soared in from overhead... a spider drake with the sigil of the cult on her thorax. While Tetran attempted to reach out to it as if to clear a misunderstanding, negotiations were cut short when Sarku shot at it with his rifle before scurrying off to try to hide from the other shadows. Angered, the spider drake lashed out at the party nearly killing Tetran before turning and felling Gideon when he came to assist.
While the party battled on two fronts, they were finally able to bring down the spider-drake along with saving two that had been captured. While only one was restored with Reylan's ability, the woman angrily proclaimed that they had been sent there by Ferrick, the paranoid elf that the party had met earlier that day. Sending the two off while they investigated the area, the group eventually uncovered the board that Sarku had discovered and after some back and forth decided to open it, uncovering the body of a dead woman seemingly stuffed in something-- a person-sized hole in the ground.
Removing the body and deciding to bring it back to the sheriff as proof of the troubles in the woods, Tetran decided to drop a light down into the hole to see just how far it went. The orb struck the bottom of a pit no farther than about 30 feet before rolling at an angle and into the tunnel before getting covered. Finding it strange, Reylan dropped Dancing Lights into the space following the path of the orb toward the bottom... illuminating the face of a human-looking arachnid. Alarmed at the sudden appearance of something that Tetran identified as being not good and from the Underdark, the party decided to seal off the hole once more and trap the board setting off an explosive and tripping an alarm that would notify them of any movement. With night falling and what soon could be a nocturnal attack, the group raced back down to the town.
Luckily, they came across Sheriff Kam who seemed to be approaching the northern pass with an arrested Ferrick in tow. After Valentine used Zone of Truth, the party interrogated him, learning that he had been monitoring activity in the town and kept a log of people that had come in and out and those that he had met from day to day as well as tried to monitor things on the island but was always too spooked to do it alone which was why he had hired some people. Convinced that he wasn't a part of the cult, Kam still had him locked up for protection- though his wording didn't inspire confidence within Tetran and Valentine- and beckoned the group to follow him to the Temple as there was something they needed from there before exploring the deadwoods.

Report Date

09 Jan 2021

Feats & Features

Valentine	Slayer's Prey (2)
Vasya	Luck

Signature Spells

Vasya	Hunter's Mark
Reylan	Spritiual Weapon

Items Used

Character	Item	Target
	Eyebite: Fear	Drake Spider
	Lion Shield: Lion Maul	Drake Spider

Harvested

1 use of Sovereign Glue 1 vial of poison

Trivia

⦿ While bubble tea was introduced by Reylan when she had visited the bar at the Amber House, it was officially introduced within the Astraeus Falls Teashop as one of the staples on their menu.

Session 55 Stats

by Mara Jaena (Canva)