Webs Ablaze! - 1/19/2019

The Clutch arrived at their house, after seeing the exposed tunnel system they decided to lighten their load of their most recent adventures. Carrying only what they felt they needed into the tunnels. The most urgent task in their mind was finding their friend Dekin.

Lilli leads the group into the tunnel system. She looks behind her mentioning that the tunnel's footing is not consistent, and somewhat slippery. As if calling upon fate, the monk loses her footing (nat 1), and slides down the tunnel spinning in circles. She catches Meattus' and Sitara's eyes as she spins around the corner, giggling and laughing as her fall slows to a controlled joy ride (monk slowfall). 'Wheeeeee! It's slippery guys!' The monk calls out gleefully. Meattus wedges himself in the tunnel opening and starts to shuffle down, 'I'm not sure we'd have that much fun.'

As Lilli slides down the tunnel opens into an opening. Eerie green light illuminates the tunnels extending from this area. A small tool, a mining pick covered in webbing, catches Lilli's eye and she gasps, 'GUYS! Spiders have Dekin!!'

Sitara now in the large opening walks over and calmly takes the pick and places it into a bedroll to keep for their friend. Meattus, looking at the area around the pick and the patterns of the webbing along the walls recognizes that the darkest, unlit portions of the cave are where the webbing grows thicker. The clutch realizes that is the most likely area that Dekin would be if he was taken.

The darkness has the Clutch concerned. While Meattus and Lilli can see in darkened areas, Sitara would be fully blind. Lilli looks up at the eerie green light and remembers the teachings from the monks regarding magic torches that wizards would create that never exhausted. Everburning... Sitara asks for Meattus' help to get one of the torches from the sconce upon the wall. Lilli sits back and watches the scene. An armored paladin, attempting to climb upon the shoulders have a large half-orc barbarian. Sitara falls clumsily from the shoulders of Meattus. Lilli says, 'Um, I can try!' Lilli doesn't wait for permission but deftly jumps to the back of barbarian, and grabs the torch before landing gracefully before Sitara. She giggles and skips proud of her recent show of athleticism.

Meattus and Sitara grumble slightly annoyed at the child-like monk and put their attention on the torch before them. The barbarian notices spiders and other grotesque imagery carved into the torch. Sitara stares intently into the green light, focusing on the glow - she attempts to attune to it. Lilli and Meattus see Sitara go into a trance and stand guard while she communes with the torch. As time passes she mumbles 'Nox' the torch's green flame goes out. 'Lumos' the torches flame returns. Sitara stands, happy with herself and her new way to see.

Meattus decides that a normal torch would also be a good idea - perhaps to burn away webbing later.

The Clutch heads to the dark tunnel coming across what appears to be a large spider egg sac. It wriggles with movement. Meattus pokes the sac and spiders flee from the opening. The group exchange looks to each other, wondering if their friend is within. Lilli steps up with her dagger positioned to open the egg sac. Meattus stands at the ready. Lilli deftly slices open the sac, tiny spiders scatter and a husk of a human falls out.

Loot:

* A ring carved from crystal - appears to be elven made, smells extremely good
* A locket with a beautiful woman
* Odd potion with a face on it that has a tongue sticking out (peculiar puking potion)
* Satchel with 35 gps

Meattus burns what was the husk of the person while Sitara says a prayer.

Lilli gasps and points above, 'Spiders! Really big ones!'

Meattus roars and waves his torch nearing a rage at the sight of the spiders closing in, his lightning aura starts to spark and arc toward the arachnids. (Intimidation) The spiders rear up and back off slowly into the darkness.

Lilli shakes off the sight of the lowering spiders and moves to the next egg sac. She looks to her friends who stand at the ready behind her. She slices into the sac with her rethorite dagger. A mummy raises from the silken sac that has now been sliced. 'MY LIFE FOR SALAZAR!' Sitara growls at the mummy, 'You do NOT utter that name in my presence.' Sitara lunges at the mummy landing a solid blow.

Lilli, seeing her friend so intent with hatred, pounces on the mummy landing a critical strike with her dagger, and following up with a piercing blow with her punching dagger.

The mummy slashes with a wicked looking weapon, once at Sitara, once at Lillishandra, both dodge out of the way. The grotesque shell of a human glares at Meattus. The barbarian's face once full of a near rage suddenly shifts to terror and he cowers away in fright.

Sitara's eyes narrow further after hearing the name Salazar, and watching the barbarian cringe with fright and she calls upon her deity to smite this being (Divine Smite). The mummy crumples under the power of Eyrn.

At the death of the mummy Meattus blinks shaking off the unnatural fear. Sitara breathes heavily still staring at the being.

Lilli shaken by the actions of her friend, 'Are, are you okay? You seem...angrier than normal...I mean you're always kind of angry...but you seem realllly angry right now...' Sitara mumbles, 'It's personal,' and walks away to catch her breath.

Loot:

* Khopesh +3 - magical - Sword of dehydration (cursed) - Given to Salazar's elite troops - Grants speed (Meattus has seen this before and knew what this was)
	+ AKA - Husking sword, if it hits it draws out a massive amount of moisture.
	+ Meattus picked it up and the water in his water skin turned to sand. They toss it away.

The Clutch moves on - but spiders again start to lower from the darkness above. Meattus again roars and waves the torch. The webbing here is thicker and catches fire. Sitara's reflexes sense this and she cleanly cuts the quickly burning web. The burning webbing falling to the cave floor and extinguishing itself quickly. Meattus growls and waves the torch and the arachnids again slink back into the darkness.

Lilli approaches another egg sac, desperately trying to find their kobold friend. With the slice of this egg sac a skeletal dwarf slumps into a pile.

Loot:

* a viola of moonlit spirits - it glows a ghostly blue (to Sitara)
* a Soldier's trinket - a trinket with a sword and axe (Meattus)
* A small box with dwarven iron rations (Lilli)

The group stands at the ready as Lilli approaches another egg sac. She cuts through the silk revealing two drakes that stumble from a smoke billow.

'Step aside human!' One of the drakes says. Meattus, 'Why!? We don't fear you, you should fear us!'

'Oh, you should!' cries the other drake. 'We were caught by the spiders!'

Meattus says, 'We can put you back!' (rolled a 2 for intimidate)

The drakes blow ash and soot at the Clutch - Lilli takes the hit fully, it knocking her back she disappears in a cloud. Meattus and Sitara manage to jump clear of the attack.

Meattus roars in a rage, 'You got soot on my frost wolf helm, Dekin made me this!' Lightning arcs from his skin, and the scent of ozone touches those within his presence. Meattus lands an attack on each drake. Sitara takes her axe and lands two solid hits upon one of the drakes.

Lilli fumbles in the soot cloud and downs a healing potion, her lungs burning from the ash she inhaled.

The drakes lash out in anger at those that they can see. One lands a claw attack on Sitara, the other one rakes its talons on the arm of Meattus.

Meattus distracted by the flurry of actions and his intense rage misses his targets. Lilli steps from the cloud and pounces upon the drake that's been focused on Meattus. She growls, 'that hurt!' as she lands a flurry of blows and slices at the drake landing all five of her blows. Sitara following suit takes her axe and lands a criss-crossed attack on the drake before her.

One of the drakes lashes out at Meattus, landing another attack with its claws. The other attempts to rake Lilli, but only hits air as she side steps the attack.

Meattus snarls and focuses his lighting within his sword. He puts all his power into one attack, and cleanly severs the head from the body of one of the drakes. He roars, 'Didn't I tell you' as the head falls to the ground. Lilli giggles fueled by the intensity of the fight and lands five blows, the last twisting the head to a fatal angle.

Sitara says a prayer to Eryn asking for her help to aid them in their battles, healing the group.

The clutch continues on, searching for Dekin. Arachnids again descend from the dark, Meattus roars still raging from the prior fight and instantly scaring the spiders away.

Lilli runs to the next egg sac, feeling more and more impatient, her face covered with concern. She looks to her friends and slices the egg sac open. Dekin falls to the ground unconscious and shivering. Lilli and Sitara both agree that he is poisoned. They stabilize him and Meattus picks him up gently, and places him in the backpack on his back. The Clutch decides they should clear all the egg sacs to attempt to minimize an increase in these evil spiders.

Lilli slices the last egg sac, which was substantially larger than those they previously came across. A grotesque, deformed half-orc stumbles from the egg sac. He looks very similar to Meattus, but larger...and he has 3 members and is wielding a wicked looking great sword that has hook/curves and is intricately carved with spiders. He yells, 'Kill for Mistress!' Meattus rages at those words, instantly calling down lightning and wind. A torrent of precipitation and arcing bolts swirl around the barbarian. 'There is only room for 2!' Meattus slices twice with his sword and lands each. Sitara lands two hits from her axe, the last extremely powerful and cutting through the shoulder of the doppelganger causing him to fall to the ground. Lilli pouts and starts to tear up, 'but I didn't even get to poke him!'

Meattus still raging growls, 'I only know of one Mistress and I thought she was dead. Though my Mistress...she did ride spiders.'

Sitara leans down to the doppelganger and stabs it in the face, 'This. Is not good.'

Loot:

* Great Sword +3 - Covered in intricate markings, 'For those that I have lost', 1/day spider climb, can walk through spider webs when holding without issue (Meattus)
* Wand of spider summoning - Glows purple - made of chitnous armor with fur all over it - 8 charges, it recharges 1/day - Drow use them to control spiders. If no charges remain roll 1d20 and if 1 it changes to a spider and runs away. 3 charges - Summon a large spider, 2 charges - a spider swarm, 1 charge a normal spider

#### Next Adventure:

Past, Present, Future, and Cats! - 3/9/2019