Session 48: Half-spider, half-drow, all evil!!!

In our travels, we have encountered many spiders. None have been pleasant. We have also been introduced to drow on an occasion or two. They too are unpleasant. Perhaps unsurprisingly, breeding a spider and a drow, the offspring of which is unimaginatively called a drider, does not improve the disposition of either.

Having dispatched a gaggle of fish-people, we continued our descent into the Underdark in search of the next section of the Rod. Suddenly, I began to notice an uncomfortable warmth growing on my chest. Initially thinking back to an unfortunate meal of field rations earlier in the day, I began to grow more suspicious of the sudden heat when my new large warrior friend began to make a similar complaint. As I feared, the uncomfortable heat soon grew into a searing burn as my armor became red hot. Though it had been quite some time since I had been able to use the tactic myself, so rarely do my allies and I face foes wearing metal armor, I was more than familiar with the spell being used against me and immediately peered about for the culprit. Two driders crouched near the cavern wall, cleverly camouflaged in the shadows.

The dwarf quickly brought me relief from the drider’s spell as he attacked with his Warhammer and disrupted the foul creature’s concentration. Meanwhile, our strange blue elf friend, in monotone words, unraveled the spell similarly afflicting the warrior. We then fell upon the two drider ferociously with spells and weapons. It was a tense battle for the driders’ physical and magical defenses were formidable. Just when we were gaining the upper hand, a third drider skittered into the room from the north, with two giant spiders flanking it. The newcomer, summoning its magic, called out words of power and began to conjure a horrid mass of inky black tentacles. The elf, unimpressed, uttered a word of dismissal, counterspelling the tentacles before they could fully materialize.

Our enemies closing in around us, the dwarf conjured his faithful spirit guardians to hold the creatures at bay while his spectral hammer of light lashed out at our foe. The goliath attacked with both spell and his own great physical might while the warrior fell upon the driders with his great sword, striking several powerful blows. Meanwhile, the wizard conjured his own mass of tentacles (perhaps it’s an elven fetish of some sort) to harass the newcoming drider and his spider companions. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, a fourth drider and two more spiders emerged from the tunnels behind us, trying to flank the party and attack the wizard and I.
Magical bursts of sound, masses of inky black tentacles, bright coronas of radiant light, and explosions of a fiery rocks erupted all around us in a great clash of sorcery and divine power. With another powerful stroke of his sword, the warrior dispatched the drider attacking him and then moved to cut off the fiend that had ambushed the wizard and I from the rear. At the same time, the combination of the dwarf’s Warhammer and his divine defenses overcame the other drider. When the wizard bound the drider in the rear with the magical force of his will, the other, together with its remaining spider companion, began to cowardly skitter away back down the tunnel from whence it came. All at once a sense of justice overcame me. Grabbing the goliath’s arm, I heard myself righteously say, “He will not get away; you’re coming with me!” And in a blinding flash of sorcery, I teleported the goliath and myself in front of the coward’s path. The goliath leveled his hammer at the drider and, calling on the power of his storm god, conjured a thunderous wave of power, obliterating the spider outright and sending its master flying back into the room. The dwarf and I pursued the cowardly drider, dispatching it forthwith.

Meanwhile, the remaining drider cast a spell and reached a hand into the stone floor. Another coward trying to escape. The wizard exercised his will, keeping the drider clenched in the magical force of his mind while the warrior rained sword blow after sword blow over the creature. The drider did not last long under such an assault. Exhausted but victorious, we resolved to rest before continuing our descent into this maddening labyrinth of abberant foes.

Session 47: Spelunking

Our intrepid adventurers returned to a favorite and familiar tavern to regroup after their latest adventure and the recovery of the Hammer of Thunderbolts. Whilst carousing they happened to meet two very competent looking adventurers and a page who happened to be looking to join up with a group in search of powerful magical items. Shortly thereafter a messenger arrived from a patron named Arquestan, requesting an audience. Along with their new companions the Abolitionists went before their patron who had made a breakthrough in their search for the other parts of the Broken Rod. Performing an arcane ritual over the segment of the of the rod in the groups possession he unlocked dormant powers within the artifact and it could now lead the bearer towards the other pieces, in addition to holding charges of healing magic.

Following the guidance of the dowsing rod, the party traveled to a small and desolate island wherein the rod revealed a small cavern leading downward. Following the path the group repeatedly ran into shriekers among the fungus farms. The shriekers were loud, but there as no encounter seemed imminent, the party continued. In the next room, Flint noticed some cracks in the wall. Goblin went to investigate and tried to break through, but was surprised to see an umber hulk burst out of the wall. Despite some confusion, he was overcome, and the party continued on.

Shortly thereafter, the group fought a group of fish-men who called themselves 'skum'. They initially only saw two, who were dealt with quickly, when four more ambushed them from the side. They managed to cause some damage, but were overcome. Questioning them, the Abolitionists learned that the skum harvested mushrooms to feed themselves and the masters, two huge fish that apparently had psychic abilities. Traveling further under the guidance of the rod the Abolitionists wait to see what they will encounter next.