Along came a spider
DM Adalyn
Players: Ridge, Yang & Zwei, Glorion, Magni, Xeren , Gallow
Special thanks to Taka for information on map links
Having received the news at the axe and thistle from Gi’ Airmo, about a magical scroll located somewhere in the Neathy Woods, which could lift the curse or spell that poor Lini was under, our group made haste toward the the north and we soon encounter a roving band that was heading east from the woods. They were a muscular lot and seemed to be well armed. After some simple dialog with them we found out they were moving to warmer areas, and since neither side sought a fight, they continued on their way.
Soon after setting up camp for our first night a man named Glandel approached our camp seeking assistance in removing his cart from a ditch of some sort. It seemed that Glorion was somewhat familiar with him from back at the Axe and Thistle and went to assist him. they return a few moment later cart in tow and we allowed him to share our camp for the night. We discovered in the morning that Glandel was some sort of fur trader and was seeking to trade with the Bloodeye clan. As a trip there would take our group far away from our destination so in a compromise we escorted Glandel to the Yellowwoon Inn, where he would be a little safer and might chance upon a group headed his way.
After parting way we continued back to our first camp site and encountered a pride of Lionesses with their male milling and stalking about the area we had slept. We moved up on them and they dashed to devour us. It was a pitch battle until Xeren unleashed a burst of divine power killing or wounding the lot of them. The warriors finished up the leftovers, which we promptly skinned and cooked. We learned a lesson as to how great the weight of the spoil could be.
Seeking shelter from the plains we pressed into the woods and soon came upon a small wooden shack which was the finally resting place of an unfortunate goblin. We examined the bloated body and inadvertently cause it to expel noxious cadaverousness gas which exploded upon contact with our torches. When to ones outside ask to the cause of the commotion I responded that we were trying new ways of cooking lion meat. We then chose to use the shack as a makeshift camp and was surprised to find that some strange earthen creature had decided to investigate our activities. It spoke to us in some strange language that none of understood and since it seem non-hostile we departed in peace. Our group also noted seeing a pair of giant eagles and a wandering giant heading separately to the east.
The next day we came upon the home of Salda and informed her about Lini plight and the need to find the scroll, she shared no knowledge with of having known about it or anyone that would have ought against her or her cousin so we traveled on till nightfall.
That night the group was awoken by Ridge who had spied some strange cultist doing horrible things to a nude half orc maiden tied helplessly to a pole. We rushed to her aid and quickly dispatch the strange cultist. They wore blue and purple robes and wore mask in the visage of octopus. Yang was quick to shoo the men folk away as they rushed to untie the nude lass. I quickly turned and adverted my eyes to spare the maidan from suffering any more humiliation as Yang assisted the maiden in recovering her attire. We later found that her name was Japada Lounk and that she was unfamiliar with White Moon Cove and was far away from her home which seem to be some swampy area far to the north of Rotmoor. As a side note I did notice that she had some form of tattoo on her shoulder by did not want to discomfort her any more than she had been by trying to examine it closer.
What happen next was very strange indeed we came upon some strange and bewitched hedgerows where the narrow passages seemed to distort the very fabric of reality and clear paths double back on themselves or confuse the mind leading us to travel in circles. Yang and Zwei ran ahead of us and we lost sight of her, fortunately Ridge came up with the idea to use a rope and Magni and Glorion developed a system whereby we would not be separated. It took a while to finally transverse the maze but we soon caught up with Yang.
At the end of the maze we found an open grove with ankle deep flowing water. At the center was a large tree with a door set into it’s side. Yang never to hesitate battered it down and we discovered a ladder which descended into the darkness below. Moving cautiously we proceeded to the bottle where we soon encountered several strange creatures they appeared to spiders encased within large skulls
We fought through them and moved deeper into the cave where we found an even bigger one, I almost felt the twinge of panic until I saw Magni single handedly smite the large one down in one fell smashing blow of rightest fury and Ridge in the form of a large bear tearing through the smaller ones. However it was not enough as an endless wave kept pouring forth from the darkness beyond. Fearing that the battle ahead might prove costly and still having the Madien Lounk in the line of danger we withdrew while we had the advantage and took her to the safety of White Moon Cove.