gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on May 16, 2020 14:41:04 GMT
Episode 40 - Elf Preservation
Glissandell created a portal and flew through it, followed by the party. They arrived in Arundil, the land of the elves, a great forest of tree-top towns and village groves. The capital, Lunari, was protected by magical wards, so they landed nearby. They were attended to by royal servants and prepared to meet the elf queen. Having surrendered their weapons and been thoroughly cleansed, Glissandell led them to meet Queen Lunari. She had been told of the character's previous exploits by Glissandell, and explained that the situation in Arundil was worsening. Using her magical pool, she showed them that an army of hobgoblins was amassing near the border, and it was feared they would soon attack. More pressing however were the gnoll raiders, who seemed to appear out of nowhere to pillage and destroy. The elves had so far failed to locate their base, as there were several areas of dark forest that were lost to them.
Tarik showed the queen the objects they had recovered from the Serpent Queen and Kel-Drakkar. She surmised that the pieces of obsidian were likely fragments of a larger stone, which probably had a 'brother' which allowed communication between them. Using the pieces of gnoll skin, she touched them to the surface of the pool, and this allowed her to see a vision of Crat'zor's hideout. They witnessed the demonic gnoll performing a ritual, where he consumed the bodies of two elf sacrifices and used the energy to power a strange fungus which had roots spreading far into the elf lands. He caused an eerie light to form over the nearby trees inside his grove, and a gnoll raiding party were then able to walk through these trees and exit from others far away and attack a village. Having discovered the gnoll base, Queen Lunari asked the party if they would undertake the task of taking out Crat'zor, and they agreed. Tarik warned her of the dangers of evil artefacts, but she dismissed them.
After speaking to survivors and studying maps, they discovered that the gnolls were living in a part of the forest which had been corrupted by a green dragon. As Seijin's home village was on the way, they decided to stop there on the journey. Before they set out, they purchased some potions, and were given extra by order of the queen's advisor, Aramis. Rimir visited a weapon smith, and he and Tarik negotiated the purchase of a rapier and matching short sword. Jesus challenged Rimir to a duel with his new rapier, which he won, although not as easily as he expected after Rimir cast mirror image.
After travelling for a few hours on the carpet, they all arrived in Seijin's home village. His house was deserted, however, and he discovered that his parents had left to join the army, believing their son to be dead. The landlord welcomed Seijin to the inn, but was sceptical when the druid told him about his adventures. Seijin found the two boys who had bullied him as a child, and despite them now being burly farm hands, he beat them to a pulp easily. The adventurers stayed in the village overnight, and set off the next morning towards the dark heart of the forest. Towards evening they landed the carpet as they neared their destination. As they began to make camp, they heard the whoops and howls of gnolls encircling them....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on May 20, 2020 21:52:19 GMT
Episode 41 - Forest of Doom
As the party camped, a raiding party of gnolls appeared from the trees and attacked. A short, brutal fight followed, and the creatures soon lay dead. Rimir secured the campsite and they rested for the night in the dark forest.
Overnight, the mist drew in, covering the campsite and preventing the party travelling on the carpet. They made their way through the forest, picking their way through twisting passages between thorny bushes, observed by the small creatures of the forest who seemed to be all around them. Seijin noted the absence of any larger game, and predicted that they were nearing the dragon's lair.
Eventually, they emerged into a clearing festooned with webs. Tarik used his ki senses to find a figure lurking in the shadows, as swarms of spiders headed for the party. The ettercap, a hideous humanoid spider, tried to web the adventurers, but was quickly killed by Tarik and Seijin. Gragga and Jesus assailed the spider swarms with lightning, as suddenly the green dragon made it's appearance, the forest parting as it strode forwards.
Never having fought such a large dragon, some of the party were unnerved. Seijin hurled the elephant figurine, which attacked the dragon, and then attempted to distract the creature's breath away from the others. As Gragga and Jesus charged, the dragon beat it's wings and buffeted them to the ground, then attempted to skewer Jesus with it's tail, although he used the power of the shifting sands to escape. The dragon caused the plants to grow and entangle Tarik, and then exhaled it's poison on to the whole party, although most of them managed to resist it's full effects. Jesus freed Tarik, and Rimir hid behind a tree and tried to outline the creature with faerie fire. Ramas cast protective wards about himself and prepared to summon a storm, whilst Seijin activated the griffon as a mount and flew towards the beast....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on May 21, 2020 23:06:37 GMT
Episode 42 - Dragons: nil, Party: 3.
Seijin mounted the griffon and flew towards the dragon as Tarik leapt up into a tree. The elephant was badly injured by the dragon's poisonous breath, and Gragga, in his rage, killed it with a swipe of his axe. Jesus was again buffeted by the dragon's wings, and he and Gragga were injured when the creature caused a wall of thorns to suddenly sprout in front of them.
Tarik used his eldritch claws to attack the dragon from his treetop perch, damaging it. A swipe from the tail missed him by inches as Rimir distracted it with his cutting words. Ramas was freed by Jesus, and summoned a storm to blast the dragon with lightning. Seijin summoned two giant vultures, which set about the dragon's wing, and he launched himself on to it's back and turned into a giant snake. The dragon used it's wing to knock Seijin to the ground, and the druid was only save from death by his magical amulet.
The dragon summoned magical fog to enchant Ramas, but to no avail, and he continued to blast at it whilst also healing the party. Seijin also summoned a storm, and Jesus and Gragga fired at the dragon while Rimir blasted it with spells. The creature buffeted the vultures away, killing one of them, and turned upon Tarik, dealing him a vicious bite. Despite this, Tarik hurled punches at the dragon and finally sent it crashing to the forest floor, dead.
After resting inside Jesus's rope trick, they found the dragon's lair, which contained the bodies of many fallen elf warriors. As well as valuables, they found a magical bow and bracers which Jesus took, and after practising for an hour or so, he quickly became a crack shot. Rimir used his familiars to scout ahead, and discovered the gnoll fortress, as well as four sentries positioned in nearby trees. Jesus was able to snipe these from a great distance, killing three of them, but the fourth managed to run off towards the fort...
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on May 29, 2020 15:56:02 GMT
Episode 43 - Not a Fungi
Rimir scouted ahead with his familiars, and spied the gnolls preparing for the attack. Tarik mounted the griffon and flew above the fort with Seijin, allowing him to conjure a lightning storm. The others on the carpet also flew by, with Ramas summoning a hailstorm and Jesus sniping with his bow. Gragga then jumped off the carpet on to the rampart, and, having been enlarged by Jesus, crushed several to death before laying into the others with his axe. Seijin, in squirrel form, continued to blast them with lightning, and Rimir fired spells from the safety of the trees. Eventually all the archers were dead, and the party moved into the courtyard, slaying all in their wake. Tarik and the griffon tore into the pack leader, and Gragga beset the Fang of Yeenoghu with his axe. The battle was quickly over, with only a few gnolls escaping the onslaught, by disappearing into the enchanted trees.
In the centre of the fort was a grove of twisted trees forming a living dome. Seijin managed to open it by use of a gnoll body, and the party entered the inner sanctum. Inside, Crat'zor lurked behind an alien fungus, and two gnolls wearing chitinous armour skittered towards the adventurers. The arachnid form attacked Ramas, injuring him severely with it's sharp legs and vicious bite. The scorpion creature damaged Tarik by firing acidic wasps at him which he could not dodge. Crat'zor himself used the power of his lair to entangle the party in thorny vines, trapping all but Tarik and Gragga. Tarik used a cunning manoeuvre to redirect an attack from the scorpion on to the arachnid, and they then concentrated their attacks on the arachnid and managed to kill it.
The scorpion gnoll chopped at Tarik, badly wounding the monk with it's pincers, and Crat'zor attacked the front line with his three-headed flail. The alien fungus caused flickering lights to confuse Gragga and Jesus, and the latter also fell foul of acidic tentacles from the ground. Although the party managed to kill the scorpion gnoll, Crat'zor proved a formidable opponent, being fuelled by rage and demonic energy. He continued to howl, causing pain to all who heard it, and periodically spat acid over the adventurers. Gragga, Seijin and Tarik all fought the demon, while Jesus used his bow, Ramas healed the wounded, and Rimir used his magic from the rear, conjuring creatures to aid the fighters and blasting Crat'zor with spells. Despite all this, everyone except Rimir was knocked unconscious and only saved from death by the warlock, or the application of goodberries by Rook. With most of the party using the last of their strength, Gragga finally managed to behead the fiend. Unfortunately, his blood rage had caused him to go berserk, and he continued to hack away at Seijin, destroying his snake form and knocking him unconscious. Jesus swiftly knocked him out before he could kill the rest of the party.
After their most brutal battle so far, the exhausted party collapsed and cracked open the beers, with the barbarian temporarily excluded from their victory celebrations....
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Post by pericles on May 31, 2020 19:41:40 GMT
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Jun 4, 2020 16:32:39 GMT
Episode 44 - National Elf Service
After their battle with Crat'zor, the adventurers investigated the strange fungus. They discovered it was not of this world, and exuded acid if attacked. Eventually they decided to destroy it by blasting it with spells. On the gnoll's body, they found another shard of obsidian. After looting, they headed back to the dragon's lair to rest overnight. In the morning they travelled back to Lunari.
The elf queen was pleased with their efforts, and promised a celebratory feast the next day. Seijin caught the eye of Glissandell, and she looked upon him a little more favourably than before. Tarik endeavoured to learn elvish black-smithing skills from the sword-smith and Jesus sourced some arrows. The following day, the party were rewarded by being given a blessing by Queen Lunari, and they were presented with a magical bowl and some potions.
At a meeting of the elf council, it was revealed that there was one more obsidian shard missing, presumably held by the Hobgoblin Warlord, Ryloth. The elf wizards had been able to use the obsidian to locate him, deep within the caverns below the Underdark Forest. There was a drow contact who could guide them through the tunnels by name of Xebex. The party resolved to meet with him, once they had located Seijin's parents, who had joined the elf army stationed on the northeast border of Arundil.
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Jun 5, 2020 0:19:46 GMT
Episode 45 - Over Hill and Under Hill
After concluding their shopping in Lunari, the party were given royal mantles and allowed to use the teleportation portal to the army camp. On arrival, Seijin asked about the whereabouts of his parents. In the records tent, he discovered they had volunteered for a dangerous mission, code-named 'Black Eye'. In the commander's tent, they were told of the worsening situation: the hobgoblin army was growing exponentially, as hordes of the creatures, all with one of their eyes blackened, were pouring out of the tunnels to the north. A small scouting party, led by Seijin's parents, had been dispatched to determine the source of the horde. Tarik suggested that the tunnels could be collapsed, and sent word to Meldar requesting dwarven aid. Meldar promised to wind-walk there with a small task force.
That evening, Rimir, Seijin and Jesus dined in the officer's tent. Seijin was bored until Rimir began telling stories of their exploits, impressing the listeners and procuring Seijin a female companion for the night. Tarik, meanwhile, was teaching the elves dwarven drinking games, and he, Ramas and Gragga enjoyed a raucous night of revelry.
The following day the party set off on the magic carpet to the entrance to the Underdark Forest. In a small copse of trees they met Xebex, the drow guide who was cunningly camouflaged as a mossy rock. He explained that he had previously guided Seijin's parents through the first part of the tunnels, and they had made their own way from there. The main cavern exit had hundreds of hobgoblins marching out of it, so Xebex led them through the twisting drow tunnels alongside. Travelling on the carpet, with Xebex and Tarik scouting ahead with the familiars, the party was able to navigate the passages and make good progress, occasionally glimpsing the hobgoblin army marching below.
Xebex led them through a wide cavern. Keeping to the edge, they went quietly, but as they moved up a narrow pass they were hit with a volley of arrows. Seijin's superior senses spotted two driders, lurking above them. Tarik ran towards them, using his slippers to walk on the cavern roof, and the party let fly with missiles. Seijin summoned two spiders to attack the creatures, as Tarik managed to knock one of them off the roof. It used magic to grab Gragga and Ramas with grasping tentacles, but the barbarian burst free and ran at it with his axe. Jesus hurled a ball of lightning at the drider on the roof and Tarik killed the creature with his rapid blows, leaping down to hit the other one with a powerful kick. It blasted Seijin with a lightning bolt, which Tarik dodged and Gragga virtually ignored, and then the barbarian waded in with his axe. The drider was finally killed by Rimir, who blew it away with his eldritch blast.
After hiding the bodies, Xebex led the adventurers onward, and they found a secluded cave in which to rest. Rimir cast his protective enchantments, and the party settled down for a quiet night's sleep....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Aug 29, 2020 16:12:49 GMT
Episode 46 - Do You Get the Feeling We're Being Watched?
While the party rested inside Rimir's conjured dome tent, they were approached by a small floating eye creature. Ramas summoned a storm and blasted the thing with lightning, and Seijin sliced it in two with a thorn whip. As it died, however, Seijin was unnerved to hear it speaking in his mother's voice. After Gragga and Jesus's watch passed uneventfully, Tarik and Rimir spotted a large spider-like creature crawling above them. Tarik leaped up and punched it so hard that it crashed to the ground, and the monk then jumped down and finished the thing by crushing it's head.
Xebex lead them further into the caves, explaining that they were nearing the point at which he had left Seijin's parents and their companions. Often glimpsing eerie shadows and hearing strange noises, the feeling of being watched intensified. At the mouth of a passageway leading off the main tunnel, they discovered a drow crawling along, his legs having been burned away leaving blackened stumps. Xebex recognised this as Malthar, one of the elves who had been with Seijin's parents. Malthar explained that Andros, Seijin's father, had opted to press on towards the hobgoblins' base with his group, whilst his wife, Maloxoran, attempted to infiltrate the drow city that lay beyond the tunnels to the west. Unfortunately they had to pass through the realm of a beholder, and the creature had attacked them and presumably killed the rest. Despite Malthar's warnings, Seijin determined to enter the caves and find out the fate of his mother. Seijin healed Malthar, and Rimir gallantly donated a potion to aid him also. Rimir then conjured a magical steed to carry him back to the surface, with Xebex accompanying him.
Following Malthar's route, the party marched into the tunnels to confront the beholder. Eyes began to watch them from the walls. They ascended into a dark cavern where a large spherical creature floated toward them, but when Seijin attacked it, the thing exploded and showered them with spores. Rimir was poisoned and infected with a disease. Seijin shot the other gas spore from a distance, and the party pressed on to the central lair. An eye appeared and hit Gragga with a ray which caused him to momentarily fall asleep, and they realised that the beholder was close. Seijin summoned his needle blights and two wolves, which ran ahead. As they went down the passage leading to the lair, tentacles sprouted from the walls and entangled Jesus and most of the blights. As the others burst into the cavern, they saw an ogre, a troll and Seijin's mother, who was sitting serenely on the ground. The eye tyrant loomed into view, and fixed it's gaze upon them...
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Sept 6, 2020 16:52:12 GMT
Episode 47 - "Can't take my eyes off you"
The beholder used it's anti-magic cone to de-activate Seijin's summoned creatures and prevent most of the party attacking it with spells, although this also had the effect of removing the grasping tentacles from Jesus. Tarik leaped up and fixed his staff in place, giving him a platform and allowing him to punch the thing in the eyes. Gragga also jumped up, but was hit by an eye ray which sapped his strength. Rimir tried to shield himself with an illusion, but the anti-magic removed it and he was also targeted, although his magic ring saved him from being petrified.
Jesus let fly with several arrows from the relative safety of the passageway, and Ramas charged in, summoning a storm to blast the beholder with lightning, although he also had to contend with the troll. Seijin ran up to his mother and the shock of seeing him snapped her out of the beholder's mind control, fortunately before she was able to attack the party. As Tarik continued to bash the creature, dodging it's rays, Gragga climbed a wall and jumped onto the beholder, hacking at it with his axe. It turned to face Rimir, Seijin and his mother, and continued to assail the rest with eye rays, although most were avoided with the help of their dwarven bands.
Eventually, Maloxoran blasted the beholder with lightning, destroying it, and the ogre and troll were quickly killed by Tarik jumping down. In the lair, the party found several magical items, and they were able to rest and recover and Seijin was able to catch up with his mum. Maloxoran explained that Seijin's father, Andros, had continued on towards the hobgoblin stronghold, while she had investigated the drow. There was a blocked stairway leading to the dark elves' city, and the adventurers discussed whether to take it, or head straight to find Andros, who failed to answer when Mal used a sending stone, leaving them concerned about his fate....
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Post by brumguvnor on Sept 12, 2020 9:10:53 GMT
The map of the Drow city... Attachments:
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Sept 12, 2020 13:27:49 GMT
Episode 48 - The UnderDark Web
Having rested in the beholder's lair, the dwarves quickly cleared the rock fall, and the party made their way down a secret passage to the drow city. Descending a stairway at the edge of a vast cavern, they could see the sprawling metropolis below, mainly inhabited by drow, duergar and hobgoblins. Many of the grey dwarves were using steeders (riding spiders) to transport goods around the city.
Rimir and Ramas used their magical armour to appear like drow, Jesus hid his face with his cloak, and the two dwarves were led along as 'slaves' by Mal, with Seijin in the form of a giant spider. In this way, they made their way through the city, attracting some strange looks, but Mal's manner and knowledge of the drow was good enough to see them through. They noticed fleshy strands running through the buildings, forming a web. On the west side of the city was a large area with a lot of activity. Hobgoblins were arriving from the north and being fitted with armour and weapons, all of which had a greenish glow. The constant stream of armed warriors marched off to the south, presumably amassing in the elf lands. It was noted that the hobgoblins all had a similar appearance.
Mal turned Tarik and Gragga invisible, and the barbarian was carried by Seijin in spider form while Tarik walked on the ceiling with his magical slippers. The group scouted out the chambers to the west, discovering an organised operation to supply the hobgoblin army. A strange contraption consisting of a giant spider's abdomen, an alien pod and a large purple crystal was being used to enchant the weapons. The weapons were being manufactured by duergar in a chamber further west, where several forges were powered by a stream of lava, and ore was brought in from a mine. Some of the duergar were using mechanical digging suits, powered by their own psychic pain, and one in particular was able to shoot out jets of flame. Another chamber to the north seemed to be the meeting point for the web strands, and in this cavern they saw a drow arachnomancer, guarded by two spider creatures. The scouting party rejoined the others, and began to plan their strategy to disrupt the wheels of war....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Sept 22, 2020 17:24:51 GMT
Episode 49 - Eight-legged Freaks
The party carefully planned their attack on the arachnomancer, concerned that it could easily alert many other enemies. Under cover of invisibility spells and disguises they assembled in the passageway and Seijin summoned a group of pixies and then turned into a giant scorpion. Ramas cast protective wards and Rimir conjured a sphere of silence behind them. Rimir then distracted the guards with a hypnotic pattern and Jesus let fly with a volley of arrows whilst Tarik used his eldritch claws to pummel the arachnomancer, quickly stunning him. Unable to attack or defend, the creature was hit with a barrage of attacks and Maloxoran finished it with a bolt of lightning. (When the party later looked at the corpse they discovered that this creature was actually a Vilak - an alien shapechanger with an exposed brain surrounded by tentacles.)
The drow spider-constructs were heavily armoured and tough, proving resistant to most attacks. The party concentrated on one of them, with Tarik and Gragga dealing a lot of damage to it. Rimir broke from his normal routine and attempted to melee the creature, but a poisonous bite left him paralysed and bleeding, and ended the silence spell. As one of the spiders was finally defeated, the other tried to raise the alarm by sending a message down one of the web strands. Seijin acted quickly and severed the strand with his pincer. The party attacked the remaining guard, but it sent another alarm message. Ramas revived Rimir, and he was able to kill the creature and stop the message with some well aimed eldritch blasts.
Having defeated the enemies without attracting any attention, the party hid inside Jesus's extra-dimensional rope trick and rested before attempting to assault the duergar....
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Sept 30, 2020 19:23:33 GMT
Episode 50 - What just hit us?
Once again, the part took time to plan their attack. Mal took Rimir under cover of invisibility and he conjured a sphere of silence at the entrance to the drow city. Tarik borrowed Gragga's belt and, also invisible, began the attack on the duergar. He quickly caught the warlord in his chain, pushed him off the platform and hung him, finishing the job with a kick which broke his neck. Tarik then attacked the forges, causing lava to spurt out and kill several of the dark dwarves.
The rest of the party attacked the drow in the other chamber, Seijin summoning a storm and Jesus letting fly with deadly arrows. Soon the drow were defeated, but not before the mage had blasted most of the party with a cone of cold. Tarik continued to break forges, and the lava destroyed many duergar, leaving just the despot, a large construct. However, it was no match for an invisible monk and his friends, and so it too was destroyed.
Gragga and the others attacked the enchantment machine and destroyed it, freeing a large purple crystal. Seijin blasted this with lightning, but the crystal absorbed the attack, amplified it and sent it back at the party. In the forging chamber, Tarik discovered an emaciated hell hound and, hidden in a crack in the rock, her new born puppy...
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Post by brumguvnor on Oct 1, 2020 20:29:34 GMT
Hellhound puppy! Attachments:
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gilbo
2019 Group
Posts: 1,446
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Post by gilbo on Oct 1, 2020 22:48:49 GMT
Episode 51 - Just a Friendly Neighbourhood Spider Queen
Having looted the drow and duergar, Tarik quickly scouted the mines and discovered mostly duergar workers, with a few slaves. He also noticed a mine-cart piled with expired slaves. With half the party invisible and half disguised, they made their way past the drow, and Rimir was so imposing that they let them all through without question.
Following the tunnel to the north, the party rejoined the route taken by Andros, and soon came across a chamber where the way onward was blocked by rocks bound up with webbing. While the party rested, Rimir conjured bats to scout out the chambers to the east, but they became trapped in webs. Eventually they discovered the lair of a spider queen, attended by several giant spiders. As they rested, they were attacked by a phase spider, which disappeared after striking. Ramas damaged it with lightning, and when the others waited for it to appear, Rimir managed to quickly kill it. Unfortunately this fight attracted several swarms, as well as the queen herself.
The web animated and held Tarik in place, also burning his skin. Swarms attacked the others and Seijin fought back with a flaming sphere in scorpion form. The arrival of the queen unnerved many of the adventurers, hampering their attacks. Rimir summoned a sphere of cold, but she leaped out of it. Malox blasted her with cold, but she proved resistant to this and many other attacks, and continued to assail the party with deadly barbs. Ramas used a thunderclap to damage her and kill a giant spider, and Tarik used his punches to good effect despite being restrained. The monstrosity then showered the party with acid, which knocked Jesus out and injured the others severely. Ramas was saved by his magical ward, and Rimir revived Jesus with some choice words. Eventually Gragga was able to get a good swing of his axe in, and decapitated the monster. Battered and exhausted, Jesus conjured a rope trick and the party hurried inside to finally get some rest...
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