Chapter 2-5: The Black Spider

General Summary

The party took the opportunity to rest for a couple of hours in Jinx's cave. Miaug and Aetilius took a look at Clootie's injuries. She'd either been lucky or incredibly nimble, and had managed to avoid any serious harm. She had a handful of bruises, and the beginnings of a headache, but otherwise she appeared uninjured. The party ate some rations and refilled their waterskins in Jinx's pool. Then Clootie began to quiz the dragon on the layout of the mine tunnels. Jinx agreed to guide them through the tunnels to the mine base. The party grabbed their belongings and set off back into the gloom.
They followed the little dragon for about a quarter of an hour. Then, abruptly the tunnel ended and the party found themselves looking out into a massive cave. The cavern was so large that neither the roof or the far wall were visible in the darkness. Immediately in front of the opening loomed a squat stone building, almost claustrophobically close. Rough hewn block walls stood no more than ten feet high. Behind this first building, the party could just make out the shape of another similar building crouched in the shadows. Beyond the hulking shape, Miaug's keen eyes could just about make out what appeared to be a ledge running along the far wall. A damp, faint sickly putrid odour hung heavy in the air, and the dim silence was punctuated occasionally by deep growls and high pitched barking.
Clootie asked Jinx to scout ahead and give her the layout of the cavern. The little blue dragon shimmered and disappeared. After a few minutes Clootie felt a now familiar weight settle around her shoulders and Jinx reappeared. He fixed her with his opalescent eyes and explained that behind the squat building in front, another building sat nestled into a natural cutout in the far wall. Rough hewn steps led up either side of this building to a deep ledge which ran along the length of the far wall. Two passageways led out of the cave to the left, between the two buildings; and a third passageway led off to the right just beside the front building. A throng of goblins swarmed about on the flat roof of the far building; while on the ledge a group of larger figure, most likely bugbears, stood. Both groups seemed to be acting strangely.
Ramas sent his raven familiar, Jean Parmigan, out to search around the nearest building looking for an entrance. As the tiny bird swooped over the flat roof there was a sudden cacophony of noise. Crude javelins sailed out of the darkness, striking the stonework. One javelin caught the bird just under the wing. It failed to do any real damage, but it knocked him off balance. Jean squawked in surprise and dove back behind the structure towards Ramas. The party waited with baited breath for the goblins to follow, but there was no sound of pursuit.
The party crept forward, pressing their backs against the wall of the building, and began to edge their way around to the right hand side passageway. Ryoko closed her eyes for a moment, muttering under breath, and suddenly a shifting inky aura materialised around the group, helping to mask their movement in the gloom. Ramas reached the corner of the building and motioned back to the rest of the group to wait where they were. Ryoko knelt down on the rough stone floor and caught her breath. The Iskathi was unable to see in the dark as well as her companions, so the whole experience was making her particularly paranoid. Gradually she became aware of something warm seeping through the material of her leggings. Unable to see the in the darkness, she fumbled about for clues. As she put her hand down on the ground, she felt something wet and sticky cling to her fingers. Reaching forward she felt something bulky, rough and near round. She fumbled her hand over the surface of the object, and came across a tuft of fine thread or similar. She picked up the object by the threaded end, and brought it up to her face, peering into the darkness. Suddenly she recognised the object, dropping it in disgust. It was the severed head of a goblin. Which meant she must be kneeling in a pool of goblin blood. Quickly she got back to her feet, wiping her hand on her armour in revulsion.
Ramas confirmed that the route ahead was clear, and crept around the corner. The rest of the party followed after. They made their way along the side of the building up to the far corner. Beyond this, the cavern wall curved sharply, cutting across just narrowly in front of the building. A broad passageway was carved into the wall ahead, curving off to the right. It was a short dash across open ground to reach the passageway. Ramas signalled that he would try first. The half-elf almost seemed to dissolve into the darkness as he darted across the open ground, into the opening.
Ramas crept along the passage, which continued to travel gradually right, before curving sharply a half-dozen feet ahead. Beyond the bend, he could see a comforting golden light. As he slid along the wall towards the corner, he noticed a series of runes had been drawn on the ground just before. Ramas wasn't certain, but he thought that the runes appeared to be glowing faintly. Uncertain what the runes meant, Ramas decided to sneak back to the main cavern and collect the rest of the party.
One by one, the rest of the group darted across the open ground. Ryoko's Pass Without Trace spell swirled around them, safely masking their movement from the denizens of the cave. At Ramas's suggestion, Aetilius took a look at the runes. He reached out his hand and try to gain a sense of the magic. It appeared to be some form of protective spell, but he couldn't quite get a sense of what it was designed to repel. Shrugging his shoulders, Aetilius stepped through the ward. His skin tingled slightly for a moment as he passed the threshold, but there appeared to be no other ill effects.
Turning the corner, the party found themselves in a neatly arranged office. A large granite desk dominated the centre of the room; and against the far wall stood a series of stone bookshelves, each filled with dusty old books bound in red leather. In the far wall, two oil lamps burned, filling the room with warm golden light. Seated at the desk was a thin, nearly emaciated dark elf. His jet skin seemed to shimmer slightly in the light. His long white hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail. He looked up at the arrivals with wide violet eyes, fixing them with a faintly unfocused gaze,
"Heh. I figured you would get here eventually. Pity those brutes out there didn't rip you apart. They could have at least been useful."
He giggled to himself, appearing a little unhinged,
"Seeing as we're all going to die in here together - I guess formal introductions are the least I could offer... I'm Nezzar"
The dark elf stood up and extended a hand. Surprised and cautious, the group each shook it in turn,
"What happened?" Aetilius asked, curiously.
"What? Oh, you mean with the bugbears. I'm not really sure myself. There's something here, some sort of force or something. I can feel it whispering in the back of my mind. I'm sure you've felt it to. If not, you will soon..." the dark elf giggled again,
"Where was I? Oh, yes. I overheard a group of dwarves talking in the Stubborn Duck in Neverwinter, a few months ago. They were talking about how they had found the legendary Lost Mine of Phandelver. They were drunk, and talking too loudly. Idiots! Naturally, I followed them. I hired the Cragmaw Goblins to help me; and I managed to persuade that idiot Iarno to lend me his Redbrands. My plan was going perfectly. I had the map, we caught that idiot dwarf by surprise and I was finally in the mine. And I have to be honest - it was underwhelming. Where are the piles of gold and treasure, or the racks full of powerful enchanted weapons. Just dust and dirt. I was getting fairly disheartened, until we found that door near the forge. Obviously, that was where they hid it all. You don't build that elaborate a lock unless you've got something worth hiding. I set the goblins to work trying to find a key for it. The bugbears just tried to smash the door down. I didn't expect they'd manage, but it kept them out of trouble. Or so I thought. Then, all of a sudden, the bugbears went berserk. They turned on each other; and the goblins. Began tearing them all to pieces. I saw a few of them die, only to get right back up and keep tearing away at one another. Obviously, this was some fairly powerful necromantic magic. I tried to escape back through the tunnels, but someone had cut down the bridge. I'd left all my gear here in the Foreman's Office, so I managed to sneak back through the tunnels and in here to grab a rope. But by then the creatures had set up a sort of camp in the middle of the cavern. I tried to sneak past, but they spotted me and chased me back in here. I raised a protection ward, and managed to force them back. Eventually they got bored and wandered off. Unfortunately for me, the ward only lasts for an hour at a time, so I've had to reinstate it every hour. I haven't slept more than an hour in three days. And I'm really just waiting here to die..." the elf let out another strained giggle, but this time it cracked and turned into a choked sob.
He looked up at the party uncertainly with watery violet eyes, "Maybe we could help each other?"
Jean Parmigan hopped off Ramas's shoulder and landed on the table in front of Nezzar. The bird cocked his head, eyeing the elf intently, then squawked loudly, "Don't trust him! He lies!"
The party unsheathed their weapons. Nezzar's eyes narrowed, "So be it"
He raised his hands, and inky blackness swept outwards, filling the room in with a choking tenebrous cloud. The party hear soft footfalls, and then suddenly the blade of a dagger sank into Ramas's side. Miaug readied an arrow on her bowstring, desperately seeking out a target in the cloud of shadow. Jean swooped down at Nezzar's, pecking and clawing at the hand clutching the dagger. Ramas swiped in the general direction of Nezzar. Unable to see his target, the dagger glanced off the elf's armour; but Ramas focused on the sound, spinning around and sinking his other blade deep into Nezzar's flesh.
Aetilius felt his way along the edge of desk in the direction of the scuffle, readying his sword. Ryoko lifted both her hands, and made a broad sweeping motion. The cloud of darkness dissolved in front of her. As soon as the cloud lifted, Miaug loosed her arrow. The first shot missed, glancing off Aetilius's armour. The second shot caught Nezzar in the shoulder. Jinx leaped into the air, swooping in front of Nezzar and leaving behind a pulsing trail of multicoloured light. The light blinded the dark elf, and he flailed around wildly with his dagger.
Clootie shouted "Killiat", and bright sparks coursed along Kulog's shaft. She leaped on the table, hurled Kulog at Nezzar. The hammer thudded into his chest, and erupted in a burst of electrical energy. Nezzar muttered something quietly to himself, and suddenly a shadowy dog-like creature bounded out of the wall behind Ryoko. It's tenebrous jaws tore at the back of her legs, causing her to stumble and cry out. The creature then leaped forward, disappearing into the opposite wall.
Nezzar raised his arm, and a thunderous bolt of lightning arced out from his palm. Ramas just ducked under the bolt, but it hit Miaug square in the chest. Suddenly the room was filled with the acrid smell of burned fur. Miaug gritted her teeth against the pain, loosing another arrow at him. A barrier of golden light appeared in front of him, intercepting the arrow and causing it to shatter into pieces. Undeterred, Miaug loosed a second shot, which passed through the barrier and sank deep into his shoulder.
Jean swooped down at Nezzar's arm again, clawing furiously at this hand. The attack caused Nezzar to lose his grip on the dagger, and it hit the floor with a loud clunk. Jean hopped down, grabbing the weapon in his talons, and flew up to drop it into Ramas's hand. Ramas quickly reversed the dagger in his grip and drove it into the dark elf's side, just underneath his leather tunic. Aetilius stepped forward around the table, swinging Talon with both hands. The swipe tore Nezzar's head off his shoulders. The severed head spun up away from his body, and Aetilius swiftly brought Talon down, it's razor sharp edge slicing the head in half before it hit the ground.
The party took a moment to recover. Aetilius tore Nezzar's robe into strips to form makeshift bandages. He soaked them in water from the party's waterskins and bound Miaug's burned flesh. Ryoko laid her hands on both Ramas and Miaug, golden light spilling out from underneath them, as she worked her magics to help heal their injuries. Clootie cut a small piece of from Nezzar's robe, pocketing it as a trophy

Report Date

15 Jan 2020