Brelish Military Recap Forum

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Session One: The Foundation of the Company (aka Who in the military isn't drunk?) We began our adventure as most others often do, sitting around a fire with a drunk person making moves on the females of the party. The "recruiter" was rather drunk and making rather open advances on Arika, as he had determined she was more desirable than our furry kitten, Zumera. After a short while, he passed out for a brief time and we were able to introduce ourselves properly to each other as it had been a relatively short time since we had all been gathered together. Introductions were had around the camp (several missing / dead parent stories were shared, along with the missing of limb(s)), aside from Edward, who was stricken with a case of the coma. We broke down camp and made our way to the actual training town whose name we never got / don't remember. Once there we were immediately put to the test, and told to run laps around the town. Zumera, the quickest of cats, was able to outpace the entire party by a healthy margin and won the first test to see who would be designated leader of our small squad. After that warm up, we were allowed to retire to the mess hall for lunch. Alphonse found and promptly adopted a stray puppy that was inside of the barracks, much to Zumera's great displeasure. Damien aka Thorn, our resident druid, and Zumera went to a small gambling ring set up to the side of the barracks and won both of their attempts at gambling while the rest stayed away to chat and play with the puppy. After the small break, the next exam was a test of the mind. It was neck and neck for several moments, with the lead falling from Arika after one wrong answer, granting Thorn victory in the challenge. Next came the test of strategy, in which the party had to solve two problems at once. 1) Solve the mystery of what was attacking a local village 2) Remove a tribe of orcs from the area All gave it a good effort, but all but one could only figure out how to solve one issue and not the other in the same breath. Half credit was given for most here, but due to a more complete answer Kael was able to leap from the bottom to 3rd in line. The rankings going into the last test were: 1) Zumera 2) Damien 3) Kael 4) Alphonse 5) Arika The last test was one of physical might and combat prowess. Unfortunately for many of the members of the party, their opponent was a ranking leader in the military and pulled no punches, and was pulling more shots of whiskey than a Scotsman at an open bar. With a crit on the opening attack, Zumera was laid unconscious. Damien stepped up as Zumera was dragged out of the field of combat. He too quickly went down to the absolutely punishing spear of the captain. Next up was Thorn who was able to last for several rounds until a shield bash also laid him flat on his back. Alphonse was able to unleash one powerful blast of magic until he too was brought down. Last up Arika chose to go defensive to survive at least the first strike before responding. However, yet again it was a one hit one KO from the spear. The results were in, and Thorn was declared the overall victor of the test, and granted rank and command over the rest of the party. Swiftly from there, they were told they were being shipped to Sterngate via Lightning Rail, a 2 day long journey. They were instructed to get to know each other more, practice, study, and prepare for what was to come in the future.

Session Two: The Slave Cave (aka Vampire Rats) The session began with our arrival at Sterngate after two long days of travel on the Lightning Rail. Much to the relief of most of the party, we were able to stretch our legs at the station for a few moments. However, not everything went that well as Shadowy Man #423 showed up and presented a message to our Eternally Drunk seageant. The letter detailed how Ed was required by the military for secret operations, and thus was snatched up before the rest of the party could really object (those that wanted to at least). Thus, our little metal alchemist was taken from us and to where he has gone, we do not know. (His player left and so the character was removed, potential NPC in the future.) After the departure of our friend, we made our way to a military lodging to rest for the night. It was basically a bed and breakfast home with a stable outside. The owner, a rather rotund woman of immense personality, was very nice and accommodating to our party (minus the assault on our bladders with sub-par cooking). Zumera was able to down three bowls of...soup? at the same time one bowl of the liquid was causing Thorn to question life. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end. Due to concerns from the train ride, Zumera roomed with Ed while Arika, Thorn, and Kael all shared a room for the night. Nothing happened that night. Nothing. In the morning, after another round of the woman's cooking, the party was supplied with horses and feed for them to last the rest of the journey to the Goblin's capital city. The time on the road went uneventfully until the party suddenly came across a ransacked caravan. The group searched through the wreckage and disposed of the bodies through cremation. It was during this cremation process that a hunter from a small village nearby arrived on the scene and demanded to know what we were doing. After much dick-measuring, he finally came out of the bushes and we were able to exchange information. He was looking for a missing child that was potentially taken by slavers in the area. Agreeing to help, we traced her scent / tracks to a nearby waterfall. Digging around the campsite that was located near the waterfall and pond, which for some reason had a mausoleum in the middle of the water on a small island, we located two jade figurines of Lolth. After a history debate from Kael on Lolth, Arika swam to the mausoleum to inspect it further. Nothing of note was found near it, so she swam back and nearly drowned in the attempt. Tracks were also found near the camp fire, and they led to behind the waterfall were an unlocked and unbarred door was discovered. Seeing this as the right place to go, the party advanced into the dark. This is where Kael fucked up. We advanced down the corridor, letting Zumera scout ahead as she could see in the dark while the rest could not and required a torch. She discovered some disturbed ground and inform the rest of the group about it, even pointing it out to us. Kael walked straight over it. Revealing a 10ft deep pit filled with diseased rats. The combat was a quick one, as the group made plunging attacks into the swarm to handle most of the rodents. However, the rats struck back hard by severely wounding and spreading disease through Arika and Thorn (both of which were bit in the neck). Only through sheer luck were Thorn and Al able to create an antidote through the use of the mushrooms growing in the cave. This process took four hours total, and so the party rested while they worked. After the short break, the party advanced and discovered a band of survivors. They had escaped from the drow and were now trying to get back to the surface. One of them was sick with the disease that had been affecting Arika and Thorn. The group gave them the recipe for the cure, before moving on to try to liberate the rest of the slaves. We arrived to an intersection, and could not determine which way to go. Zumera went on ahead while Arika got into a debate with Kael and Al on the legality of slaves, slaves in the military, and if what they were doing was right. Thankfully, that conversation did not go on that long as Zumera quickly returned as she discovered a Myconoid resting down the corridor she explored. Further interaction with him gave the party the information of where the drow were, much credit to Thorn. We moved up the northern cavern and stumbled into a room filled with bones and goblins. What followed was a shootout with the exchange of gunfire, crossbow bolts, spells, and javelins. Several goblins also rushed the group, with one goblin neatly striking down both Thorn and Kael with expert scimitar slashes. Though a combination of Zumera's pinpoint expert defenses, the blasts from Al, and the crossbow bolts from Arika were they able to weather the storm. Kael was able to bring himself back from the edge on sheer willpower alone, while Arika performed emergency CPR on Thorn to stabilize him. That is where the session ended, with the party surrounded by bones, death, and blood.

Session Three: The Slave Cave, A Dwarf named Duril This session continues in the fungus-filled cave. While recuperating in the cave Kael heard a noise rustling in the bare bones that riddled the floor. When Zumera went in close to investigate she heard a small laugh come from the area Kael had pointed to. After she demanded the creature show itself a small goblin child popped out of the scattered bones. When the child noticed all the dead goblin bodies on the floor he began to cry out running towards his dead fathers corpse that the group had slain just hours earlier. With the realization that they had killed the goblin child family guilt came over a few members of the party. One of them being Al who scooped up the crying child and cradled him in attempts to calm him down. After taking the child with them and comforting him further they learn that the child name was Fidelio and his family was forced to stay in the caves by large creatures. Fidelio explained he did not know where his mother was but that him and his family knew the Myconids that the party had ran into earlier. The group made their way back to the Myconids to see if they could get any more information. When they reached the Myconids they were much more welcoming with Thorn not pretending to be one if them and informed the party that there had been crunching and tearing sounds of something eating flesh to the north of their settlement and it was disturbing them. The Myconids asked that the party investigates and reluctantly Al gave Fidelio over to the Myconids to watch over him while they investigated the north cavern. Making their way through the north cavern with Zumera taking point, she was able to discover a wire trap on the floor that the rest of the party easy passed by. Trying to group stealth the team made their way to the point where the noises became louder. Failing on their stealth Thorn heard creatures stop eating and become aware of their presence. Zumera prepared her shield in front of the group and the Team made their way into battle. In the opening of the north cavern where scattered dead half eaten bodies and two large creature with rapiers and javelins that were later discovered to be bugbears. During the battle, Kael and then Al noticed a hole 10-foot wide hole in the ground on the far right of the cavern and heard a rustling in the pit. Kael ignored the noise to continued the battle now seeing that Thorn was taking heavy damaged and about to fall. While Al investigated the pit to see the floor of the pit was covered with dead bodies impaled by large spikes, but miraculously there was one survivor in the pit. A stout dwarf who immediately yelled out to Al to help him escape. Al threw a rope down to the dwarf and helped him out of the Pit. During this time the bugbears now surrounded and outnumbered took a fierce attack against Thorn which caused him the fall unconscious. Once the dwarf was out of the cave he joined the battle against the bugbear displaying his power by striking and killing one of the bug bears with a guiding bolt. The remaining bugbear in a rage after watching his companion get eradicated took an attack against Zumera that reopened the scar on her face. Finally, the battle came to an end when Al's cannon shot killed the last bugbear. After the battle, the Dwarf was able to stabilize and heal Thorn bring him back to consciousnesses. When Kael asked the Dwarf's name he said his name was Druil and he was a soldier with the Brelish army. He explained he was one of the guards protecting the caravan when they were ambushed. The bead bodies on the ground that the bugbears were feeding off of was his fellow guard's men but the people of the caravan were still captured. Duril offered his services to the party which they gladly accepted. They made their way back around to the Myconoid settlement from the path behind the pit. While being there Al wanted to take Fidelio with the group but Kael and Zumera informed him it would be safer for the child to stay in the caves with the Myconids. Once again Al reluctantly said goodbye to Fidelio giving him all of his rations and the group got a glimpse of Duril's prejudice when he urged Al to put the goblin child out of his misery. This made Al defensive and almost take up arms against Duril before Zumera stepped in and calmed Al down. The party with their new companion made their way to the only area in the cave they had not explored. The left cavern. While investigating and following the drag marks to a north path, they realized the tracks had immediately and strangely stopped. Suspicious of traps, Duril threw a bedroll on the ground to reveal and large pit fall trap around 40 feet deep. After much discussion the party and a very nervous Al; made the choice to tie rope around Al and throw him over the pit since he was the lightest, then use the rope to make a secure way for the group to shimmy over the pit. After some comforting and reassurance from Zumera, Duril and Zumera throw Al over and the rest of the party made their way pass the pit. Zumera distracted by the group making their way around the pit slipped and fell on the caltrops that were scattered on the floor. This alerted the Drow around the corner who had the survivors from the caravan. After slowly making their way around the caltrops, the Drow slavers put a dagger up to one of the innocent travelers throat and told the party if they did not leave they would kill all the people. Thorn and Zumera attempted to calm the Drow down. Zumera offering them coin for the slaves and Thorn preparing to change his appearance and appeal to their religious side. Before any further agreement could be discussed Duril recklessly tried to cast a spell on the Drow threatening the woman but when the spell did not hit the Drow he slit the woman's throat and in one swift action the other two Drow next to him stabbed and killed two more innocent people. The party advanced on the Drow trying to get in front of the people and push them away so the Drow could not kill them. During the battle, Kael managed to strike down one of the Drow that had cast Fairy fire on Thorn and Al decapitated two more with his canon fire. After seeing the odds the two of the drow tried to escape leaving one Drow alone surrounded by the party. Thorn urged the party to keep him alive for questioning but between the removal of the drows hand by Arika's crossbow bolt, the gash on his leg caused by Zumera's long sword and the final blow with the hammer of Duril the last Drow was dead. Zumera and Duril tried to chase after the two escaping Drow but it was too late for them to make an attack. Al did manage to use his excellent marksmanship to blow one of the Drow hands off before they escaped. After to battle the party took the remaining survivors and brought them closer to the entrance of the cave where to first survivors they found were still waiting for their return. This session ended with the survivors being reunited and tension between and party and their new found companion very high.

Session Four: Arrival at Goblin Town, aka "God dammit, Al." The group emerged from the depressing darkness that was the slaver cave, and out into the world above. With the caravan of rescued slaves and survivors in toe, the party was confronted by their commander, the eternally drunk sergeant. He was proud we had rescued so many, but felt like we took our sweet time in getting the job done. The group split up to rest and recuperate, having decided to keep pushing forward to the goblin town instead of returning the survivors to Breland. In the morning the party pushed forward, and after a week of travel they arrived to a blockade in the road. Massive trees had been placed across the road for a long ways, and when Zumera and Thorn scouted ahead they discovered traps had been interlaced with the trees. Only through the quick reaction time of Thorn was he able to avoid becoming a porcupine. The scouts returned to the party and informed them of the problems ahead. Knowing the dangers ahead of them, the group, with some exceptions, agreed to head to the river down south and follow it to the city instead. A relatively uneventful journey later, they arrived to a bridge that would allow them to cross the river. Unfortunately, orcs were using it as a toll way. After a rather ludicrous amount of 1,400 gold was demanded for passage of the caravan, the party did what it does and attacked first. A short fight later, all but one orc was slain, and the one orc alive was taken prisoner. Only through Arika's defense of the orc was he not chopped down with the others. While the squabble over the orc was taking place, Thorn and Duril went to find the orc's stash of loot. They found it, but a poisoned dart knocked Thorn on his ass for a few hours. After that fun, the party made their way to the city after another week of travel. Having arrived, they divested themselves of the caravan of people at the military outpost located in the city. The slave auction was in week, so the party decided to train while they waited for the auction to start. In this time everyone did what they did, with some information being learned. The new Goblin King was acting very aggressive with his citizens, enacting new laws which actively put him at odds with them in times. Due to his stance and tone with his own people, rumors were circulating that he was responsible for the dangerous roads and that more people were being attacked as they traveled. Disturbing news for sure, especially since the party needed to travel back to Breland. Then the slave auctions happened. Through three different lines of slaves, the party aquired: Zumera - A Goliath Barbarian, and a Deep Gnome Bard Duril - A Dwarf Miner Arika - An Orc Deserter, who is also a medic (also a paladin, but an evil one) Thorn - A vampire without a master (Much headache detected by the Paladin x.x) Kael - An ugly as hell fighting woman Alphonse - A Human Servant Alphonse attempted to bid on many more, but the party quickly discovered he does not know how bidding works. He would often start a bid well over the minimum asked for, normally 10 to 20 gold over. He was also often in contest vs a very large, some would say repulsive, noble. The noble routinely placed bids on the younger of the slaves, and Al attempted to buy them to force the noble to weigh in heavily, or drop his bid. Al fought his hardest for a young girl who was eventually won by the noble in the end. After the auctions were over, Al made his way to the noble and threatened him with physical violence if anything happened to the girl. Naturally, the noble was prudish and dismissed Al and even threatened him with retribution. Well...Al punched him in the face and send teeth flying. The auction master saw this and called the guards. Al was then arrested and taken away while the party was struggling to figure out what the hell to do and what happened.

Session Five: A Punch for my Kobold, part 1. Several days passed since the incident at the slave auction, with the group splitting up to handle various personal tasks such as training / getting sucked into dream worlds / crafting. While the various members of the group handled their personal responsibilities, Al remained confined to the jail cell, getting the occasional visitor from everyone in the party aside from Arika. This was due to the fact of her still trying to come to terms with what all transpired in said dream world, and her action of willingly letting Yao, a slave bought at the auction, die. This sequence of events happened when during said dream world excursion the group came upon a female child in their exploration of a dungeon they were hired to clear of cultists. Pulling out a dagger and declaring that she was going to defend her dad, she stabbed at Yao. Al shot the child, removing her arm and half of her chest in the explosion of force. Yao finished the job by killing the wounded child while the rest of the party looked on in horror, too stunned to do anything. In the next fight, both Zumera and Arika let Yao bleed out after she took three crossbow bolts to the chest. Later, when they returned to the real world, they found Yao still alive but in a coma-like state.  Fast forward a few days, the party met up again inside a tavern, deciding they needed to have some fun after the darkness that was slowly enveloping a few of the party members. Duril, Zumera, and Arika competed in a drinking contest, in which the dwarf Duril won in a landslide, as both women were quickly smashed. The contest did what was hoped for, many of the members of the group cheering up and having fun.  The next morning the group resolved to help speed up the release of Al from prison, making their way across this fucking huge city (6 hour walk, wtf) to arrive at the mayor's office. Kael, the cunning diplomat that he was, trying to negotiate with the head guard to let them in to see the Mayor. After several failed attempted, he resorted to trying to intimidate the guard, which backfired spectacularly. The guard insulted Zumera who attempted to help intimidate with Kael, and Kael, gentleman that he was, punched the guard in the face. Arika noticed there was a growing theme of punching authority figures in the face with this group. Kael was hauled off to jail, and in the confusion of the arrest, Arika and Zumera ducked off into the Mayor's office. Arika was able to negotiate with the Mayor for passes to see the prisoners, and the next day (cause fuck this huge city and walking) the two women went to negotiate the men's release. After a heartfelt reunion between Kael and Zumera, Arika began the business of negotiating with the Guard Captain. Eventually, it was decided upon that the prisoners would be released, if the group handled a kobold problem at a local quarry.  The group gathered together again and made their way to the quarry's outer surface. At the entrance they battled rats (who once again diseased Arika, and also bit Duril), kobolds who were killers with slings and daggers, and a giant scorpion. After a long and hard fought battle, the group rested, and also attempted to gather poison from the scorpion. Zumera and Thorn, after a spectacular fail, both destroyed the sack and got covered in poison, severely injuring both of them. After the rest, the group made its way inside, fighting two more scorpions who nearly killed Kael with their dogged attacks. The group settled down to rest in the ruined hallway after discovering a room filled with clothing and supplies, deciding it was a good time to rest before they pushed forward into more scorpions. 

Session Six: A Punch for my Kobold, part 2. After their rest, the group of young adventurers pushed into the quarry proper, going underground. They arrived to the sandy outer layer of the quarry, and slowly made their way deeper, on the look out for anymore kobolds. What attacked however came from the sand, as two giant scorpions exploded from the sand and laid into the group. After a hard fight, where Kael went down to a particularly devastating lance from the scorpion's tail into his chest. Curing Duril's and Kael's poisonings with the last of her healing, the group was out of any particular drive to keep pressing forward with so many of their members wounded. Luckily, while pushing deeper into the complex to escape the sand area, they found a small workshop filled with tailoring supplies that they were able to camp in for the first night.  Rested and refreshed, the group pushed further into the complex and arrived in a spider webbed room with various spots of easily-collapsible floors. Making their way along the edge of the room, the party heard skittering ahead of them and tossed an illuminated rock towards the source of the sound. Revealed by the light were two giant spiders, a gaggle of kobolds, and a kobold mage. With swift and terrible wrath, the mage was blown to bits in mere seconds while the kobolds charged with the support of the spiders. Many webs where thrown, and rocks, taking their toll on the party as they struggled in the webs. Thorn then set fire to webs, causing a massive chain reaction that set more webs on fire. This fire, also illuminated a third spider that assaulted the group from behind while the more melee members dealt with the other spiders and kobolds. Though eventually victorious, much blood was shed by the party, with both Kael and  Duril again being poisoned, leaving them in paralyzed states.  Seeing as retreat being the only option, the group fell back to the workshop area again, barricading themselves in for safety. Soon into their rest (as warned by Arika as they were barricading themselves in) Kobolds came back, and started to smoke the group out. Arika was the first one to approach the door, tossing the barricade to the side and throwing the door open. Al blew one of the pesky kobolds in half as soon as the door opened, and Arika shoulder charged one into the wall, splattering it against the wall. The fight soon dissolved into a rush to stop a kobold mage from summoning allies, as Arika and Thorn (Giant Hyena mode) climbing over each other to get to him. Neither were expecting what happened next. The mage used a Thunderwave, sending Arika flying  back into Zumera, knocking her off her feet while also edging her much closer to death. Zumera stood up and rushed to take Arika's place, while leaving Al to handle her. To his credit, Al kept his malice in check and forced a healing berry into her mouth before tossing her like a doll into the workshop to protect her. Soon, another Thunderwave rocked the hallway, causing Zumera to also be tossed into the room, landing squarely on Arika.  The fight ended soon after with the Kobold being slain by the combined work of Thorn and Al, but the group was on it's last legs. They were unable to stop the mage from calling reinforcements, and so the party had to flee the quarry. A mad rush to reach the surface ensued, the party being chased by giant scorpions the entire way. The group finally was able to rest after they escaped the underground lair, collapsing on the grass outside. 

Session Seven: A Punch for my Kobold, part 3 aka "Death House". After a relaxing rest in the clean air the party once more sallied into the darkness of the cave. The group traveled well worn paths this time, exploring into the passages they had already cleared and discovered new paths. Heading along one of these paths, they traveled along it until they reached a dead-end with a number locked door. Not having the combination, the group turned back and headed along a different new pathway. They advanced down until they encountered another door.  This time they opened it easily and discovered a room full of sleeping kobolds. Taking the drop on them, they party stumbled in and accidentally awoke the sleeping kobolds, starting a fight. The party encountered a new type of kobold they had not fought before, the Kobold Defender. Clad in heavy armor and able to dish immense damage with its spear, the party had a hard time fighting and overcoming it. Eventually however, the group was able to defeat all the kobolds and the reinforcements that stumbled into the fight. Taking a short rest, the group gathered themselves before pushing along again. They eventually found another room after traversing across a pit willed with dead bodies and spikes, an ill omen for later. With a swift sleight of hand from Arika, they bypassed a heavily locked door, uncovering their main prize: a kobold fight club arena. With gusto the party charged in, trying to handle the Kobold Defenders first due to their threat. However, underestimation led the the initial attack to fail dramatically, and then the kobolds were able to react. What followed is the sad tale of defeat, death, and retreat. The group could not overcome the defenders even when all other kobolds were dead. The party fled from the room and most were able to jump the pit, however, it became a great hazard as Thorn was taken down in the rearguard. Attempting to save him, Arika tried to drag him across to the other side of the pit but dropped him when a spear whizzed past her face. Thorn fell into the spikes below, and as Arika was getting ready to jump down to save him a spear tore through her stomach and laid her low. Duril stayed to buy time for Al, Kael, and Zumera to flee. Duril died fighting a kobold to the death in the pit of bodies.   With the sacrifice of the dwarf, the survivors were able to scramble out of the cave and into the air above, fleeing back towards the city.       

Session Eight: New Recruits and Tavern Tales The survivors of the Kobold Quarry made their way back to town in one piece and made their way immediately to the sergeant. Once there, an explosion of emotion was unleashed upon the happy drunk as the group told him about the hell they went through and the loss of their friends. This assault of emotion and words did little to sway the already swaying drunk as he informed the group that investigations were being conducted into the Watch Captain. After informing the group of the investigation, the sarge introduced the group to two new members of the military, One-Eye and Fellhand. The duo joined the survivors as they started their own investigation into the Watch Captain. The new group immediately split up to search for clues. Kael went to the mayor to discuss the captain. Al and One-Eye hit up the guard's favorite bar, and Zumera and Fellhand shook down guards for information. Through their collective efforts, all but Kael arrived at the same inn to gather information. While at the bar, key pieces of evidence were found: 1. The Burden of Proof had fallen to the Captain. 2. Strange dealings had been going on inside the ranks of the town watch. 3. The Watch Captain had been using prisoners to do his dirty work in and outside of the city.  One of such incidents included the ousting of a local noble in the town of Dragontail, to the south of the city. The Noble, named Red, is a short elf of 4'2'', human looking in all aspects aside from the ears, big bellied, with a large scar across the eye. He had apparently owned the Watch Captain money, and when he failed to pay up the Captain had sent prisoners to oust him, but before the prisoners could make it to freedom the noble's guards cut them down.  The party was offered a job to reinstate the noble, but as of this writing it is unsure if the group will complete such a task as they are more focused on resolving existing issues before expanding to new ones.   

Session Nine: The New vs the Old, part one The day of assignment came around after a short rest at the military encampment in the goblin city. The old members of the party got a better understanding of their new allies, Harra and Karrak, but they were not prepared for the last edition to the group, Talon. A short introduction was had before the Sergeant began to lay out the goals that he needed handled by the party when a woman of considerable beauty busted into the room and demand that the military assist with her kidnapped daughter. This latest upset in a long line of duties that they needed to handle caused a rift in party thinking and wanting. Half of the group wanted to assist the woman since it was a Brelish citizen that needed help, while the other half said they had more important and pressing concerns that needed to be handled, that the kidnapping was a local issue. With no clear leader due to their recently promoted commander recovering from "back injuries," the group was left to flounder until a vote was called. The votes finally swayed into the favor of helping the woman, and so the group along with the slaves they bought headed out to find the missing daughter. They traveled north for a couple days to the spot that the woman and daughter were attacked by short creatures. The group split up to search for clues but all came back together at the entrance to an underground facility. The long line of people started their way down the tunnel, with no real sign of threat as they kept going deeper and deeper. It was easy going until spiders fell from the ceiling onto Talon and Zumera, who were leading the trek. Battering at the swarms, Al decided to help by shooting his cannon in the tightly compacted space, alerting everything around to their actual presence. Soon, bigger spiders came into the picture and attacked the group from the rear while the spider swarms were being handled in the front. Through sheer luck and skill, the swarms were handled without serious damage,  and the much larger spiders in the rear were also soon handled without issue.  The party regained its breath in the small corridor, surrounded on all sides by foes they have yet to see but ready to face. 

Session Ten: The New vs the Old, part two aka "Finally Back on Task" After a short rest in the cavern, during which much talking, yelling, and general dick measuring happened between the different members of the party, the group gathered what remained of the party after sending most of their slave companions back to the surface. Following the living carpet of spiders on the ceiling, they made their way deeper into the complex only to stumble into yet another store room filled with silks, tools, and pottery. Most went about looking for anything useful while Karrak was able to point out that there were strangely pigmented elves in the next room over, surrounded by spiders. A quick history lesson on Drow, their Religion, and such from Kael later, the group readied up and Kael stepped forward to initiate the ambush. And then...everything went dark.  In the mix of crossbow bolts, someone cast an explosion of color which marked a few members of the party, and then just as the group was reacting to the lights, everything went supernaturally dark. For way too long, the party bumbled about, sat on its hands waiting, or tried to return crossbow fire that whizzed through the darkness. Eventually however, Zumera's slave was able to peg the drow who had been maintaining the darkness with a crossbow shot, bringing back the light. With light restored, the party swung into action now that they could see. Talon was holding back spiders from the north while Karrak, Zumera, and Harra handled the drow. In the first real display of power, Harra was able to summon a wave of water from the earth and killed two of the three drow that had been harassing the party, and brought the survivor right to Zumera's feet to end. In the flurry of excitement, Talon went down to a nasty spiderbite, and was quickly overrun. Thankfully Karrak was able to survive the surprise assault from behind, and the spider was quickly handled. Advancing into the newly cleared room, the party discovered it was a sacrificial / feeding room.  Harra lounged on the ornate throne like a happy cat while the rest of the group went about detecting magic / looting / checking for survivors. A magical sacrifical dagger was found by Karrak, and a great argument arose about if he could keep it or not. "Military Protocol" waged war with stubbornness, and blows were nearly had, but right before that point was reached Karrak handed the dagger to Al. Zumera was able to located two survivors, an old man and the missing girl the group was tasked with finding. Though Zumera did chop off two of the girl's toes while trying to save her from the web cocoon, the mother was able to look past that.   With the side task of saving the woman's child done, the group travelled back to Sterngate to rest and train at the fortress before continuing on. For nine days the group trained, rested and prepared to go find the spy they had been tasked to contact forever ago.