Hillfolk, Alleybashers and Spiders..... Oh My!

The party drags an unconscious Triel and two guards to the basket. With anger and fierce retaliation, Triel is often given a swift whack on the head to make sure there is no chance of escape. She was a little too difficult to have loose. Running ahead, Donner splashes into the rain soaked jungle and clambers to the road leading to Cauldron. From here Donner fetches Jenya and a few town guards. By the time the party makes their way up the muddy climb to the road, Donner is waiting with Jenya and friends.
Jenya was able to do some minor healing on a few party members and was able to recognize that three of the wands were from the eight(8) missing wands of Control Water. Triel an Alleybasher and a hillfolk are all brought into custody. Before the morning light hits the party ducks back onto the mud filled slopes of the rain forest and makes their way back to the lava tube.
The group enters the lava tube tired but feeling a little better healed due to Jenya's generosity. A few guards accompany the party to run the winch so the party can move more easily between the top and bottom landings.
The lava tube gives a welcome respite to the rain, but the humidity and heat are taking its toll. Exiting the tube onto the upper landing greets the party with an unlikely combat. A web shoots from the abdomen of some freaky purplish creature, pinning Churchkey to the wall. The party springs into action. Donner flips and dodges to the back side of the most prominent of the three creatures. Churchkey wrestles himself out of the webbing and confronts the monstrosity. Pepper lives up to his name and peppers the thing with a well placed crossbow bolt. Bolgrim steps up and swings and Connell uses his usual bravado and leaps into the fray. These creatures are not terribly tough, but they can absorb a lot of damage.

One creature drops within the second round and attention is quickly moved to the next in line. At this, the third of these atrocity's nimbly leaps to the top of the giant ropes that suspend the "cage" and at a dead run fades into the dim hue of the light given off by the lake. It takes no more than a few more seconds for the creature remaining on the upper landing to be brought to its knees.

Regaining the party's composure, they pile onto the suspended cage and the city guards slowly lowers the group across the lake and onto the opposing beach. While descending, bits of cob webbing brush against the party.

Landing on the beach, the party immediately makes their way back to Triel's quarters. The room is somewhat minimal but a lap of luxury. A natural hot spring/tub fills the back portion of the room. A chest of scattered clothing and gowns hurriedly thrown about drape across bits of furniture. Despite a long and thorough search, nothing other than some high quality, tailored clothing is found.

Moving back to the "kitchen" the group makes their way to the one remaining door. Here they find some kind of strategy room. A large table filled with paperwork and maps. A very detailed map of "The Lucky Monkey" is prominent as are accurate, to scale maps from Calderon to Sasserine. Here they find a few very well executed attempts on the life of Sarcem Then, at the Lucky Monkey Triel and the others of the Ebon Triad where able to finally take his life and the 8 wands of Water Control. They also find a book written to Hextor in Triels hand. It shows some divine symbols and far too much information for a short perusal. But in the time allotted Bolgrim is able to figure out, that the symbols are those of some ritual where Triel was able to take Sarcem soul and gift it to Hextor. Sarcem is not able to be raised and Hextor has feasted.

Not having time to explore these papers in full, they gather them up and exit out of the only other door from this room.

A hallway extends before them ending at a triad of doors. Moving down the hall they put "plan A" back into action. Barrett searches doors but Donner hears some sounds of people talking behind one of the doors. Busting the door open, the party sees a group of 4 hillfolk armed and armored. They look like they where in mid discussion about something. When combat goes into play. The usual charge into the room. Mighty blows are exchanged and blood paints the walls. Pepper takes up a position in the rear with his crossbow of death while the others exchange painful wounds. A few hillfolk drop from their wounds, when the door immediately behind Pepper opens revealing 3 Alleybashers. Pepper is alerted to their presence when by luck his backpack blocks a deadly short sword from entering his spine. Pepper flees down the corridor alerting the rest of the party as to the Alleybashers presence.

It doesn't take long and the rest of these dirty mercenaries are taken to their grave.

The party explores the last room at the end of the hall. Opening the door, they find an octagonal room that is empty. A quick search in front of the door heads no trap. For some reason, it just doesn't feel right, so Barrett throws a body into the room. The body slides below the stone surface, disappears accompanied by the splash of water. The party opts to ignore this room.

Searching the rest of the reaches of this side of the complex meets the party with torcher rooms, prisons etc. One door reveals a huge chamber that has had part of it collapse. The back of the room splits off into two natural caverns. The floor of the room radiates evil. There is the smell of death and rot coming from the room and the corridors beyond. With a bit of deliberation, the party leaves and continues on.

They encounter one more room with some hillfolk. The party makes quick work of this group, but opts to not enter the natural caverns beyond.

After a bit of discussion, it is thought that the best course of action is to gather all of the goods they can. Bring it back to Cauldron. Donate some of the arms/armor to the city guard and sell the rest for profit... this task falls to Bolgrim and Churchkey. Meanwhile Barrett and Connell decide to smash away at the locked door. To set watch, Donner and Pepper hangout and look through the arrow slits at the main central corridor.

About 10 minutes into door smashing Barrett and Connell see a spider about 5' in diameter and a spider about 10' in diameter rounding the corner. Barrett yells "Spiders!" throws out his spiked chain and shreds the smaller spider. It lies quivering on the ground. Barrett then follows up, "Never mind!". Pepper hears the yelling and lets Donner know what is happening.

The next round Barrett and Connell just about piss in their pants when rounding the corner come more spiders of a variety of sizes as well as a halfling and one of those strange purple creatures. A very large black spider shoots a mandible at connell and reals him in. luckily Connell is able to resist the poison and rolls away from this huge deadly beast. The halfling casts a spell and begins to shift and dart around making it difficult to keep your eyes on him.

At this same time Donner peers around the corrner and sees a parade of arachnids and a halfling. Both he and Pepper retreat further in and wait for 20 seconds or so before they look back into the hallway.

Barrett and Connell spend a round back peddling. Connell again gets tagged by the big black spider. Again, his iron constitution keeps him from succoming to the venom. Barrett is screaming at the top of his lungs and Connell dashes out onto the beach. Barrett puts his back to the door and plants his feet. Meanwhile Connell darts to the central doors and yells for Churchkey and Bolgrim.

Churchkey and Bolgrim come a running. The wand of healing comes into play as it gets tossed back and forth. A couple rounds later being stuffed back in Bolgrims pack. Connell takes up aim with his bow behind some rocks. Barrett yells to get back into the room as the spiders are pushing him aside. He bolts and the party quickly moves back into the main entrance to the complex.

Bolgrim puts his body against the door and Connell moves to the opposing door. Meanwhile Churchkey and Barrett beeline for the heavy table. they launch themselves over to it and begin pushing with all their strength.

Pepper and Donner see and empty corridor and make a run for the door at the end of the hall. When they are almost there they see the end of the spiders crowding out of the hall into an adjacent room. They open the door and look back to see a spider the size of an Ox cart heading towards them. With mad pursuit Pepper pushes open doors and Donner forces the door closed behind them. With veins pulsing he is able to keep back the brunt force of the huge spider.

Meanwhile the Giant black spider is able to open the door a few inches and the little halfling is peering through the crack. Connell feels a definite pressure against the opposing door. The table is screeching its way toward the entrance alcove when Bolgrim turns white, screams and collapses to the ground. With no more than a second to spare the table wedges its way between these doors. Churchkey grabs Bolgrim from under the table and zaps him with the wand. The rest move towards an inner room.

While getting set up, Donner and Pepper enter the room. there is a rough exchange of what happened when they open the door. Stuffing its way toward the party is the big spider. All hands move to destroy this bahemouth of venom and death. They are able to wound it to the point of withdrawal. Players are teetering and cures are expired. Then, its junior makes its way through the door. Potions are consumed and combat continues. Pepper removes a bead from his necklass and expertly lays the bead between the halfling and the purple creature.

With mallace the halfling casts a spell and a horrid flash erupts from his hands. Barrett and Churchkey both drop. Others are charred. The last of the wands charges are used and Churchkey breathes a deep breath. Pepper throws the last of his beads and then Donner makes an acrobatic moves that lands him behind the halfling. Churchkey stabilizes Barrett and Connell charges the little man. Unfortunately for Connell the blurring spell keeps the blow from finding its target.

At this, the rest of the party surround the little guy and drop him. The charred remains of spiders are in the room. As a final act of barely be conscious, Barrett crawls across the room and stabs the downed halfling until he is truly satisfied that he is dead.

Limping and leaning on one another, the party uses some keys found on the halfling and open a chamber. there some sort of animated air creature attacks them. Outside of giving Churchkey a bit of damage, it proves to be of little difficulty.

The room is the fanciest thus far. Books of all kinds line the far wall. Many about Vecna, A race of beings called Kopru and other odd topics. After much searching they find a spell book and a wand. This wand and one found on the Vecna worshiping halfling bring the party up to 5 wands. Only three to go.

With this, the party decide to rest and heal before they see where the other missing wands might have gone. Heck, they have 35 hours before The Great Flood Festival Ball. Thats plenty of time to rest and kill stuff before they bath and get into costume. One thing will be for sure... they will be hungry at the meal....

Until next time.