Session 317

# December 15th, 2023 - Death to Dark Elves

## Death to Dark Elves

The session began with the party continuing down the cave tunnel after the chimera’s small lair, emerging into a much larger cavern filled with small stone buildings. Most of the buildings were overgrown with sediment, each about ten feet tall but varying in shapes. The large cavern itself was roughly thirty feet high, and the only light of the area was from the *light* spells Carlton and Fax had cast upon themselves. Hal said he remembered the exit tunnel was across the large chamber on the right hand side, but before he started to blindly walk through the darkness, Fax started casting *light* upon rocks and throwing them beyond the nearest buildings.

The party then noticed draped from the ceiling and down across some of the buildings was thick webbing, but it did not extend to the ground. They did not see any spiders, but wary they began casting fire cantrips, Raven *producing flame* and Joakim slinging *firebolts*. The webs easily caught fire and started snapping. It was very quickly afterward that the scurrying sounds started, from along the ceiling, down the side cavern walls, and from behind the buildings came numerous giant spiders. However, the party was wary and ready, and they began to engage by blanketing *spike growth* to stop crawlers on the ground, but the spiders moved along the walls and over the buildings to pounce on them.

Many of the spiders fired webbing at the party as they neared, covering many and restraining them. Watch had cast *fly* upon himself and was hovering fifteen feet in the air, but he too was covered in webbing that reached and attached to the ground. A spider leaped from the nearest building roof and easily grappled the warlock in the air, covered in web. Other party members were webbed as the spiders closed in, but they started felling the beasts one by one. Orsais cast a *hypnotic gaze* on a mass of spiders, but only stopped two. Raven’s summoned raptors fought, killed, and died.

Daelain shapeshifted into her bear form to cover their left flank, while Carlton swung and sliced Hazirawn on the right flank, cutting down a number of giant spiders. They unleashed a *fireball* and closely started reducing the numbers of spiders until eventually they overwhelmed the creatures that remained. None of the party fell, but most took significant damage. When the last spider was cut down, the group said they should probably take a short rest to bandage their wounds, perhaps taking up shelter in one of the small buildings. As they started to gather and prepare, Raven and the still flying Watch went slightly further into the cavern around the area of Fax’s *light*-rocks to scout more of the large cavern.

The two immediately saw the dozens of drow that had crept close to their position, crawling along the roofs of the adjacent buildings taking up position. A few of their monstrous beasts, quaggoths and grimlocks obediently lead the way. As soon as they saw what was about to happen, Raven cried out “ambush!”, and the party readied themselves for a second wave. The spiders clearly alerted the drow - that must be inhabiting the buildings in their current cavern - and gave them time to get into favorable positions. The drow began firing their crossbows while the party did their best to shield themselves with the closest buildings. Fax unleashed a *lightning bolt* between buildings, vaporizing a number of the charging quaggoths.

Around the right flank the other monstrous grimlocks tried to flank, and on the left Watch tried to block the area by casting *hunger of hadar*, which killed a number of drow quickly. Bear-Daelain held the left flank. Watch was shot down unconscious from his flight and Fax healed him to save him from death. Orsais got into a favorable position in the middle of the assault to cast another *hypnotic gaze* atop one of the buildings where a majority of the drow - and their apparent leader - had taken position. He succeeded in hypnotizing all six of the drow there, allowing the party to easily whittle down the rest of the ambushers on either side of the cavern. It was only a few minutes and the party had taken out all those who threatened them, and then they easily climbed atop the central building and executed the hypnotized drow. They did however knock unconscious and tie up the apparent leader.

As they began to scavenge the bodies of the dead, Raven and Watch could see from the far end of the cavern non-combatant drow fleeing from other buildings and heading away to the north. The party had no intention of pursuing women and children, and decided they really did need to rest after their battles.

And that is where the session ended, it was the late afternoon of the twentieth day since the party first left Black Landing.

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