March 30, 2019

Unfriendly Neighborhood Spider-Women

The Motley Too decides to head into Orgoth, hoping to find the Staff of Law remnants the demon Kostchtchie told them about. Sir Gyles and Kurtis make a side trip to deliver a message for the demon, meeting up with the rest of the party at the bridge into Orgoth. The two arrive none-too-soon as their companions are engaged with a Lolth's minions - driders, fire giants, and Drow.

The fight is difficult and, at times, does not go well for the Motley Too.

Female Drow: (to Kurtis) Are you in league with the Motley Crew?

Kurtis: Uh...No! No! I don't know them! I'm, uh, just following them for my own benefit. I'm recording their adventures for the bard college. I'm a non-combatant.

Female Drow: Your comopanions are dying. If you are not loyal to them, you should join me now. If you tell me all you know, I will not kill you.

Kurtis: Wait! Does that mean you'll kill me otherwise? But I told you I'm a non-combatant!

Wileu dies from a blade barrier conjured by one of the Driders. The Harper of the North locates an invisible Drow mage and stabs her with his special dagger. Delphine is wounded and rendered unconscious. Seeing Kurtis needs help, Adarra flies over the female Drow in bird form and then transforms into a hippo. Kurtis is able to leap away as 3,300lbs of hippo come crashing down onto the Drow.

Adarra: OH MY GOD! I am SOOOOO sorry! Are you ok?!! Let me just move my foot...OOPS! Was that your kidney? I'm sure it's fine. You're fine. Wow, I'm just such a klutz today! LOLZ

Turns out, the Drow is not fine. But she's able to escape and take her mage with her. The Harper wastes no time in resurrecting Wileu. Thankfully, the spell works even though Wileu's body has been pureed into bits all over the battlefield. The group needs to move quickly but carefully. Lolth's agents are still out there, not to mention minions sent by Demogorgon and Orcus. And being discovered trespassing by the Orgothians would certainly lead to a diplomatic incident Vashti would not thank them for creating.

Orgoth Again

On the second day of travel, the Motley Too are discovered by Orgothian soldiers. The Orgothians hate all demi-humans and magick users, so it's no surprise when they immediate attempt to arrest the party. After a short skirmish, the Motley Too is able to disable the soldiers and leave them tied up. So much for not creating a diplomatic incident. Also, the magic-cancelling gem that the party found in their previous incursion into Orgoth was destroyed in the fight.

They manage to reach the cave Kostchtchie told them about by the end of the day, but wait until morning to enter.

Hopping Mad

Inside the narrow crevice, the group finds their way blocked by a round, stone door. An image of a toad covered with eyes is carved into the door.

Kurtis picks the lock with ease. Through the door is a narrow corridor. On the floor is a mutilated skeleton. Wileu notices something unusual about a small area in the dirt. Digging around, she finds an ornate jade scrollcase decorated with Candonian carvings. Inside is a key with a toad carved into the end and a scroll written in Candonese. Studying the scroll, Kurtis is able to translate enough to get the gist - a group of Candonians had entered this cave some time ago, seeking information on the Mirror(s) of Thought. But an old enemy of theirs, a "Jiangshi" named Yuewei, got their first, and attacked the party, turning them all into "wights" (an approximate translation).

As the party is digesting the realization that they will probably encounter life-draining undead, a swirling mist appears and solidifies into a pale man wearing long, flowing robes.

Vampire: Tsk. You have allowed the door to close again. Now we are trapped and you will die.

With his arms raised in front of him, he begins hopping towards them. This gives them pause for a second, but a vampire is a vampire, so Sir Gyles smashes into it with his holy sword. But the sword is stopped by some kind of protective aura. Oh, he's some kind of specialized vampire. Wonderful.

It takes a few attempts before they realize that The Harper's ability to turn undead and Adarra's Sunray spell causes the protective aura to drop for a few seconds, leaving the jiangshi vulnerable to physical attacks.

Kurtis: Kill the undead beast
I won't be turned to an undead feast
Gonna hide cuz I'm the sneak thief
If things get bad,
Maybe I'll just leave

Once they start being able to damage the jiangshi, it leaves, promising to return if the group survives its minions. And there are lots of minions.

Lots and lots of minions.

Some of the rooms and caverns are closed off by barred doors. Near these doors are pedestals with a face-shaped indentation on the top. Kurtis discovers that he can raise and lower the bars by putting his face on the pedestal. By controlling which doors are open or closed, the party is able to fight one group of jiangshi at a time. And thanks to The Harper's Negative Plane Protection spell, the Motley Too manages to kill all of the jiangshi minions without being harmed by them. Unfortunately, they have yet to find the Staff of Law.

Does the second toad statue, this one with a tongue instead of an eye, open a secret door?

When they pull its tongue, they can hear unseen gears and tumblers moving.

Or maybe the staff is at the end of the section with the mirrored walls. But walking through those mirrored halls allowed the Revenge Squad to see them, thanks to their own weird mirror guy. The last thing they want is the Revenge Squad finding them before they have a way to destroy the Juggernauts.

The mirrored corridors also caused them to hear each other's thoughts. And one of the party members is worried about being found out. Who is it? And what are they hiding?

Back to the bullet points