UK meaning, of course, the UnderdarK. As our last session came to a close, an unseen attacker ambushed the party with an arrow streaking towards Adran but we stopped before the attack could be resolved. Actually, before it was announced as I actually rolled a crit but kept it hidden from all but RJ. We pick up this session with the arrow strike.
This recap is from Craig and we had a rare full table. My GM comments, as usual, are in [brackets and italics].
There are definite spoilers below for the module, The Sinister Spire.
As the group leaves the Dripstone Inn, an arrow—shot from a building across the road—goes through Adran’s eye. The group runs around the side of the Inn looking for shelter, Adran barely clinging to life. Looking for shelter from the archer, the group runs into the group they crossed inside the Inn, made up of two kuo-toas, two derro, two grimlocks and a rat boy. The group fights off the aggressors, Adran casting a fireball that takes down three of the adversaries. When the fourth goes down the kuo-toa scramble off down the back alleys. The Rat Boy is still up and seems impervious to Meri’s attacks, but is finally done in by Skarr.
Rather than chase the archer, probably long gone by this point, the group searches the bodies and decides to continue their journey North towards the docks. As they make their way through the city they see a green glow emanating from behind the city’s inner walls. Few are out on the streets, they see a few Drow but not many others until they run across a Duergar trying to sell mushroom kabobs. Though the group wants to press on Skarr is hungry and finds himself in the middle of a bidding war between two mushroom kabob salesman, both fighting for Skarr’s business (Skarr eventually buys one from each but refuses to say which is better).
While the group is heading towards the dock, Rory reveals that when they were on the bridge she too felt something creep into her mind. But it retreated when the Aboleth did; but unlike the others, Rory heard a voice in her mind tell her that she would be left alone for she was already marked by another. The group is perplexed.
[This was, essentially, the note that I had passed Rachel in the prior session that–at the time–she elected to keep to herself.]
The group approaches the docks to find that almost every boat is damaged beyond repair. They search the docks and eventually find a boat that looks like it will carry them across. As the group prepares to embark, a duergar appears from inside a dock-house and says that the boat belongs to him and it will cost the group thirty gold pieces and Verrak as collateral. When the group protests, he raises the fee and now wants Verrak and Meri. Unwilling to pay the fee, Dench barters with the duergar. Dench tells a quick lie, saying they need to go to the glowing island because they heard of virility mushrooms and Skarr is in desperate need of some “enhancements.” Dench offers the duergar all the virility mushrooms they can carry in exchange for being able to use the boat. The duergar agrees if the group also pays him twenty gold pieces. The group pools their money and abides by the duergars conditions (the duergar also bilks the group for more money once they realize the boat’s oars weren’t included in the initial price).
[Hey…what do you expect in a former drow city reduced to a near warzone by some sort of plague? 😉 ]
The group boards the boat and heads toward the island.
When they reach the island they see it is covered in yellow capped mushrooms, some small, some reaching up to forty feet. The shore itself is covered in long, finger-like fibers, spongy but solid. Dench casts Speak with Plants in order to get a few clues from the island’s mushrooms, but all he can hear is the island’s mushrooms chanting “Food, food, food, digest, digest, digest” over and aver again. The group presses on towards the center of the island, taking small amounts of damage from the poisonous spores in the atmosphere. The group eventually makes it to a clearing, surrounded by a thick haze and even taller mushrooms. In the center of the clearing are the black-cap mushrooms with the red spots that Es Sarch requested.
The group begins to harvest the mushrooms. Dench hears a voice from within the mushroom forest yell, “Defiler!”. Moments later, two vines break into the clearing, one grabs Meri and begins to pull her away, but she escapes as the mushroom retract into the forest. Rory and Adran continue to pick mushrooms as the group stands watch. All of a sudden, two mushroom monsters emerge from the forest and begin to attack. Dench is swallowed and engulfed by the mushroom but manages to escape but Verrak falls in the battle (but is healed by Skarr). A quick fight ensues and the mushrooms are defeated. The group finishes harvesting the black mushrooms, all the while continuing to take damage [as their skin feels like it is burning…the spores are digestive].
The group heads back to the boat, making sure to harvest some “virility” mushrooms. The group boards the boat and heads back to Pedastal, using the boat trip to take a short rest. When they dock the deurgar is waiting for them. The group gives him the mushrooms they promised and try to go on their way. But the deurgar announces he intends to take all of our belongings, then he swells in size and is joined by three large deurgar, all wearing armor. A fight ensues, and the group makes quick work of the deurgar, making sure to reclaim their gold (and then some). They check the boat house but find nothing, using the boat house instead to hide the deurgar bodies.
[See…you got shook down for some extra cash but ended up making a bit extra off of the shyster duergar in the end. Gotta love a warzone ruined drow city in anarchy, right?]
The group begins to head back to the Dripstone Inn to return the black mushrooms to Es Sarch, when everything in Pedastal goes entirely black. The group decides to run towards the Dripstone Inn but is interrupted when a drider drops from above and begins to attack. The group fights back and the drider eventually retreats.
Okay…maybe a warzone ruined drow city essentially in anarchy might not be the best place to visit.]
The group eventually reaches the Dripstone Inn and takes a seat at a table, except for Verrak who approaches Es Sarch. Verrak gives Es Sarch the black mushrooms and asks if Es Sarch knows what the blue (“virility”) mushrooms are (Es Sarch says he knows but won’t tell without substantial payment). Instead, Verrak asks about the snake arrow. Es Sarch tells him it belongs to someone named Fadheela, a Yuan-Ti and feared assassin for the Assassin’s Guild. Es Sarch pulls another snake arrow from his robe and reveals that it was found on the door of the Dripstone Inn with a note that reads, “Cease and desist your pursuit of the person you are seeking.” [Presumably the arrow that struck Adran earlier.]
Verrak continues questioning Es Sarch, learning Es Sarch owns the Dripstone Inn. Verrak begins asking about Matron Elessarwa [the drow that Es Sarch wants them to kill]. Es Sarch tells him she spends a lot of time practicing her “hobby” [of torturing people]. Verrak offers to provide info about dworcs if Es Sarch continues giving him information. Verrak asks about the eye symbol on Es Sarch’s robe. Es Sarch offers to trade that information in exchange for Verrak’s hammer. Verrak respectfully declines [indicating that the hammer was too precious and important to him and Es Sarch indicated that the eyes were the same for him]. Instead Verrak offers to provide the information Rory told them earlier about the Aboleth and being marked by another [as Es Sarch had indicated great interest in learning how the escaped their encounter with Imaug]. Es Sarch reveals that Fadheela is in the Necromancer’s Spike inside some sort of the zone of decay. [Es Sarch explained a little about the zone of decay and that he could determine how to bypass it but that would require an additional payment.]
When Verrak and Es Sarch conclude, Es Sarch says he would like to speak with Rory.
[And that’s where we stopped as it was getting late.
The party is getting a better taste of what life is probably like in Pedestal. Would be assassins attack with near lethal results from shadowed windows. Driders apparently hunt at will. Thugs of all stripes appear to feel free to attack groups in the streets in the middle of the “day” so to speak. The party “hired” to assassinate a drow matron to maintain the precarious balance of power that leads to no one controlling the city. Islands of mushrooms with airborne spores that digest flesh. Such fun!
I’m sure there is more “fun” to come. 😉
Beer Log: Using our hit, miss, crit, and fumble rating scale, below is what we sampled this session. This session was a couple of weeks ago (as of my writing this) so my recollections of some of the beers are a bit fuzzy.
- Brew Bus Hazelnut Spread Porter: Not bad but I’m not a huge fan of Hazelnut. Others, however, loved it so I’ll keep at a hit.
- Bells HopSlam: Much better this year than it has been the past couple but it still just doesn’t seem to be the crit that it was originally. Still a hit of an imperial IPA and in cans this year.
- Rekordling Strawberry Lime: The last of the four Rekordling ciders that we’ve seen in town (haven’t seen the Spiced Apple yet) and it continues their streak of being pretty good. A hit but maybe the weakest strike of the set.
- Laughing Gargoyle Brewing Nectar of the Nile: This mead was shared by Muse and brewed by one of her friends. Not bad at all. A hit!
