Session 19 – Descent to the Depths of the Earth, Part 1

Written by KoshcheiBessmertnyi

General Summary

Having awakened from their rest after the confrontation with the Sons of Alurax, the party prepares for another foray into the Underdark. Enkidu uses his newfound skills, as well as a mushroom given to him by the goblins to soothe his wounds, but Glitterstem is concerned about using the up the mushrooms. He focuses his mind on seeking some in their immediate surroundings, and discovers that they are plentiful in the areas beneath the main kobold cave (he also discovers large pockets populated by large arachnids). The gnome experiments with trying to replicate the goblins’ gifts, and succeeds in producing a pentagonal pattern of mushrooms, now growing out of tree roots near the water’s edge. The party leaves the new growth as it is.
After another strenuous hike to the waterfall (with which Enkidu is becoming increasingly comfortable, even while carrying Goltur), the group enters the kobold’s domain. Theobald is preparing to turn everyone except Glitterstem (in spider form) invisible, but realizes the light from his torch (which he needs to see) will still give away his location, so the party decides to investigate ways to descent first. Eschewing another encounter with the kobolds (especially after seeing new webs in the passageway leading to the kobold cavern), the party proceeds right, to the pit, and then beyond. The downward-leading passage becomes increasingly small and narrow, allowing only Glitterstem to proceed with ease, so the group turns back to the pit again.
A significant amount of rope will have to be used to lower party members down into the darkenss below, so the best course of action seems to be to send an invisible, arachnid Glitterstem to investigate the spider cave, to see whether descent further downward is possible, and to find out what, if anything, lies below. With the aid of Theobald, he becomes invisible, transform, and climbs down into the pit. The bodies in the pit look to have been removed, although Glitterstem does see multiple small openings leading to passages on all sides of the cave. At the bottom, past layers of webs, is a roughly cylindrical aperture, roughly 15 feet in diameter, leading further downward – it is from here that the spiders appear to have come above. Glitterstem maneuvers downward, finding a very large cavern covered in glowing fungus. Webs cover the ceiling and various projections, while water drips from the ceiling somewhere in the distance. Masses of large, bulldog-sized spiders scurry up and down the webs, though they keep their distance from the invisible giant spider. Glitterstem investigates the cave further, finding a peculiar eight-legged wolf racing around on the cavern floor, and a giant spider like himself near the cavern edge to the left of the aperture above. Having gotten a lay of the land, Glitterstem ascends, transforms back into a gnome, and relates his experiences to the rest of the group.
After toying with the idea of using ropes to lower everyone down to the aperture and beyond. It is decided that the most effective way is to have the giant spider ferry everyone down to the sinkhole, and then using ropes to rappel the additional 30-40 feet down to the pasture floor. Glitterstem changes back and begins with Enkidu, but as he ascends to collect Theobald, Enkidu must fend off four smallish spiders, several of which sting the ranger, though he proves sufficiently tough to resist the poison. As Glitterstem returns, he and Theobald help drive off the remaining spiders Enkidu has not killed. Eventually, Miletus and and Goltur (the latter nervous about being transported by the spider, but calmed by his master), are brought down to the aperture. Beneath them, the party sees a couple of eight-legged wolves racing around. Enkidu and Miletus fire a couple of flaming arrows down, and drive them off, after which Enkidu, with his boar’s help, lowers Theobald and Miletus simultaneously to the pasture floor. As preparations are being made for the ranger and the boar to descend as well, Theobald and Miletus are attacked from above by an arachnid humanoid, who shoots a web at them from the ceiling. Luckily, the web falls harmlessly wide of the pair, but the humanoid descends, while the wolves, which Theobald takes to be his hounds, close in. The sorcerer dispenses magical energy all around, succeeding in destroying the wolves, Miletus staves off the humanoid’s attacks, Enkidu assists with his bow from above, and Glitterstem descends by web, and succeeds in biting the arachnid in the back of the head, and finishes him off. He then assists the half-orc’s descent, and finally, collects the boar, while Theobald holds off masses of converging smaller spiders by shooting flames in their direction. The entire group is now on the pasture floor, surrounded by glowing fungi.

Report Date

14 Nov 2015