OttL Session 14: Attack on Aaqa

General Summary

The session resumes with Barry the Airship surrounded by aarokocra. On the deck is Memento Vitae, Thaiva Phenol, and Izar. Natsu, Hobbs, Bosgosho are all below decks.
The soldiers quickly board the vessel and attempt to place the party under arrest.  The guards identify the location as the Vale of Aaqa.  They also clearly recognize Izar, due to his past history of serving as an admiral for the Elemental Plane of Air. Some of the soldiers even go so far as to address him as "admiral". The party attempts to resist arrest. Ignacio Icarsus casts arcane lock on the door leading below decks and Natsu hides in a cabinet. Izar orders the party to stand down, however, and eventually they reluctantly obey and are taken in. Barry the Airship is landed on the fortress exterior and the party is split up. Bosgosho, Hobbs, and Izar are taken upwards while Natsu, Thaiva Phenol, Memento Vitae, and Ignacio Icarsus are taken downwards.
With the upper group, Bosgosho and Hobbs are in the same chamber, separated by a wall and unable to see each other. Hobbs is across the hall from a red-furred kitsune woman who turns out to be Tsukiko. Izar, (along with Ignacio Icarsus' familiar) is taken further upwards. Ignacio Icarsus sees Izar get ambushed just before his vision cuts out. Natsu uses Vecna's Orb to get further information, where they see Izar and his guards easily beat down the drow which had attacked them. The three move onwards, arguing in primordial.
Hobbs, for his part, is having a conversation with Tsukiko. She is astonished to see him, calling him "D". She says it has been a very long time, and asks what the hell he is doing there. Hobbs responds vaguely. The two make small talk for a bit, and when Hobbs mentions that Natsu is locked up somewhere, Tsukiko just shrugs this off and says she is sure she taught her daughter well enough to get out of a cage. Hobbs tosses Tsukiko a drink, and she asks him when he will "come back to the bar". Hobbs is very confused, and also asks why she keeps calling him "D", but she dodges the question.
Tsukiko also says that, for a while, Hobbs was her boss, back in the Feywild. Hobbs says that he doesn't think he has been there before, and Tsukiko goes wild with laughter.

The Archfey says he's never been to the Feywild! That's amazing!

Hobbs also asks her why she is locked up, and she said she had been here for a week and that she "wouldn't be a very good alibi" if she wasn't locked up. Hobbs, eager to talk about something he actually understands, tells her the story about negotiating with Penguin regarding Vecna's Orb to get Kei back. Tsukiko seems surprised by this news, and seems to be unaware that her husband was ever kidnapped in the first place.
As all of this happens, Bosgosho is frantically trying to escape. He first gets himself stuck in a wall, then sets some barrels on fire, then eventually uses disguise self to disguise himself as himself, but with a severe allergic reaction. He proceeds to fake his own death using a wildly elaborate note, and is hauled further up the fortress. His act fools both guards and even Hobbs himself, but the guards carrying him are interrupted when they come across a massive battle occurring within the fortress walls. They drop Bosgosho in order to join the fray, and Bosgosho immediately turns himself invisible and runs further into fortress in search of an exit.
Meanwhile, with the lower group, Memento Vitae is praying to Lolth. (The prayer is quite long winded, see "The prayer to lolth" in his journal), and he rolls low, but he does receive a response from a very impatient Lolth:
The response

if you really want to help, then GET OUT! War rages above you. Come join us in our fight and prove you're worth something. I have no need for pity. I need fighters.

After a few moments of hesitation, Memento Vitae loudly announces that the forces of Lolth are attacking and the party needs to escape immediately if they want to live.  He removes his bl indfold and proceeds to bust out of his cell, thus initiating combat down below as well.
The remainder of the session is spent in combat, and in fact overruns the normal three hour game window.  There are actually two fights happening concurrently.  Highlights of each:
Lower group:

• Ignacio Icarsus remains in his cell for most of the fight.
• The dice are cruel.  The players roll low on both attacks and damage, while the single guard consistently rolls very well on both.
• Thaiva Phenol goes down.
• Ignacio Icarsus finally does break out to assist after hearing a party member go down.
• Thaiva Phenol fails two death saves.  Natsu fails a medicine roll to stabilize her.  Memento Vitae succeeds, however, thus halting the need for continued saving throws.
• The single guard is eventually slain, though Thaiva Phenol is still down and Natsu and Memento Vitae are both quite low.

Higher group:

• Tsukiko warns Hobbs that his friends are in trouble, so he breaks out and joins the upper fight. 
• Bosgosho is trying to avoid most of the fray, running through the halls invisibly and encountering dozens of enemies in the process. 
• Hobbs catches up to Bosgosho rather quickly, thanks to being incredibly speedy. 
• Hobbs and Bosgosho "explore", triggering many MANY foes, but eventually find Izar trapped in a room with a drider.
• Hobbs and Bosgosho rescue Hobbs
• the three continue to fight, attacking only Lolth's forces despite taking attacks from both sides.  Once Lolth's forces are defeated, they surrender to the aarakocran guards and agree to be escorted back downstairs into their cells.

Report Date

10 Aug 2020