Episode 91

## Summary

You know what they say about staring into the Abyss, right? The Arsonists take the plunge into the Demonweb Pits, the first step of many to rescue the Platinum Dragon once and for all. Allies and shelter are hard to come by, however...

## Recap

* Lucius, without the rest of the party, goes to talk with Calliope. He asks for a description of the person since he isn't sure if the rest of the party will allow her to accompany them and she does so, also giving him a name (Yorick). Lucius also asks about what she does and if there's a way to speak with the dead without a body, although he doesn't get many leads on that front. He assures her that he'll keep a lookout for Yorick and leaves.
* Lucius returns to the party at the tavern. After some discussion of things to buy before their next step, they take a long rest.
* Deacon is back at the tavern the morning after and together everyone goes to retrieve Caitlyn. She warns the party to be careful. Barkley asks her what it means and how one is chosen to be a champion of a god but doesn't give too terribly specific in the way of answers.
* Everyone partakes in a Heroes Feast.
* The party goes to Nidhogg to get back to the Abyss, who points out a door to the lower portals and wishes them luck. The room is filled with vines and eerie, ambient red light. Everyone says their last words to one another before jumping in after one another through the portal and into the Demonweb Pits.
* Everyone feels the sensation of falling backward and when they hit solid ground, they're dizzy and unsteady. Surrounding them are what appear to be dead, blackened corn fields. Above them isn't sky, but webs with unidentifiable shapes crawling among them. The feeling of dread and being watched is ever present.
* The voice of Lolth calls out from above, taunting the party.
* There's no dragon cocoon on the horizon - just corn fields, a farmhouse in the distance, and a figure among the stalks. Deacon attempts to get in contact with the Raven Queen, who advises them to follow the river.
* The party goes around the figure in the corn field and goes toward the farm. There is webbing everywhere. Godfrey briefly investigates but, seeing spiders following him around, decides not to go much further.
* There's a discussion what to do next. A tremor interrupts the party and they take off into the canopy of the nearby dark forest.
* Following the tremors a massive white shape ominously looms above them, hovering there before moving on.
* The forest is rightfully crawling with webs that the party has to navigate around. They spot a few dark shapes in the trees which appear to be sleeping. Everyone tries to be stealthy, but Vahlka and Godfrey immediately fail in doing so by tripping over a bramble patch. The creatures find them, laugh, and take off into the sky. The noise continues to wake more of the vrocks up, who point and jeer terrible things while mimicking voices of loved ones.
* Eventually, the party who successfully hid themselves reunite with the separated pair. Lolth speaks again, this time not directly to anyone, saying: "One king died of poison. One with a blade to the heart. One forgot how to be human, and another tore him apart. The last thing ran away to the west, to drown out the sorrow and shame... but when he arrived, all that he found, was a poor man's shallow grave." which is a rhyme indicative to the Northmarch. Vahlka asks if Seth knows anything about it, but receives only a grunt in return. Necara wails that she doesn't like the Abyss.
* After feeling like they're moving in circles, the party comes across a clearing with the sound of running water. It isn't the river they're looking for, but three pools arranged in a strange pattern and a broken, winged statue. Vahlka and Olivia briefly get closer and, among coins, see the outlines of a person in the water. Considering that it seems suspicious, though, no one actually investigates it further.
* Lolth continues her mad rambling, saying: "One head screams and one head wails. Never sleeps, never fails! Crown of nails upon each head, prince of damned, prince of dead!"
* Lucius, Godfrey, and Olivia see two yellow eyes briefly before it disappears entirely. Vahlka is firm that she wants to avoid a confrontation with anything if at all possible, and that if something wants to fight then it'll come eventually.
* The party comes across a town, or at least the remnants of one. Barkley wants to avoid it, but Lucius reasons that they can't avoid things forever if they want to find the Styx without going insane. Vahlka insists just to be careful. Godfrey sees a creature on a roof of one of the buildings and that the entire area, while also mostly covered in webs, is covered in spiders. Okay, nevermind, we aren't going to investigate the town after all.
* Everyone tries to stealth through the forest again. Godfrey and Vahlka do well this time, but Lucius doesn't. Shapes begin to move out of the town and in the direction of the party, flanking them. A creature with two sets of arms drops down from one of the trees, followed by more and more. They continue to run, breaking stealth, in an attempt to stop being pursued. Vahlka, Godfrey, and Lucius take damage running through thorns.
* With the creatures still hot on their tail, a hidden voice tells them to follow it. Lucius reasons that they should follow the voice and drop down with it, because he's rather deal with one person than a whole hoard. They watch in a hollowed out cave as the creatures move past.
* A drow man with yellow eyes by the name of Gahdein stands before them, gesturing them to be quiet. He later interrogates them, wondering what the party is doing in the Abyss. He says he's a scout and doesn't usually help people, but that they seemed to be in trouble.
* Lucius asks if there's a safe place for them to go and Gahdein gives a vague answer, saying that there might be depending how much he trusts them. After discussing it, Gahdein says that they have to make a decision fast or he'll have to leave them at the surface without any means of shelter. Eventually the party capitulates to the man and goes with him before it gets dark.
* Gahdein leads them to a hole covered in brambles and invites them to go down. Vahlka reads him as honest enough to follow his orders and does so. The party hides from the creeping darkness of the realm. Gahdein comes back with a high elf saying that they can stay in town but not for very long, as they have to talk to their leader first.
* They're led into a series of tunnels where they're able to rest for the night. It's not exactly comfortable, the room being almost like how a prison cell is a room, but they manage. They're watched from a distance by the other inhabitants.
* Everyone falls asleep and the madness begins, starting with Olivia...

## Recording

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