Tychris' Tomb of Annihilation IC

[Jade_Tarem]

Secret had not had much to say to the giants, and the massive, brutal fight between the megafauna had already been commented on by everyone else. For her part, she put her old elven ancestry to good use climbing after her colleagues. "At least there isn't a lot of wind."

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

With their Drow in accompaniment the party found themselves within a barren cave whose naturally formed ceiling irregular sloped between seven and ten feet high. A passageway to the right only looped back around to the entrance they had climbed from and to the only other remarkable feature of the cave; A ten foot deep pit which was fifteen feet apart at the closest intersection. There appear to be many crevices and rock formations along the pit to allow for easily climbing in and out.

[Nefarion Xid]

Darion motioned for someone to shine the light ahead of him and jumped down to have a better look.

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

With the naturally carved cave walls now clearly illuminated, Darion jumps down into the ten foot deep pit, and realization dawns on him as quickly as the light illuminates his surroundings. A light chittering fills the air as several fuzzy brown giant spiders rush out of their hidden nests and attack the lone rogue.

Spoiler: Spider Surprise!

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Please array yourselves on the map anywhere on your guys side of the cave. After you have placed yourselves the spiders will take their turn, then Darion will take his turn alongside the others at the top of initiative, namely Siward and Aleandrae.

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

As the ground rumbled beneath him, Darion was soon set upon by a swarm of mastiff sized arachnids with bright bushy hair like growths, and their hisses soon zipped past him as they surged over the walls and engaged the next pair to enter the pit. Srirak's glowing shield seemed to irritate the spiders as much as the torch wielded by Bean yet they recoiled at her scent. Lunging at the bulky lizardfolk their fangs found no purchase in his scales or glowing holy symbol. The same could not be said for the Prince of the Moonshae's as a massive tarantula pierced his abdomen with twin fangs. Darion, surrounded by three different spiders that all tugged at him, was nicked several times.

Spoiler: Damage!

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Darion AND Siward take 7 piercing damage. Darion needs to make 2 constitution saves, Siward needs to make 1.

Darion, Siward, and Aleandrae are up!

[Nefarion Xid]

Incoherent muffled screaming. Darion frantically scrambled out of the pit and went to hide.

Spoiler: Athletics

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(1d20+4)[18]

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

"O, crap! There are spiders.
They have paralytic bites and are fast!
Please smite them mightily, Siward!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Inspirational Haiku for Siward.
Attack the one to my left: (1d20+4)[20]
Damage: (1d8+2)[6]

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

The creatures' venom raced through his veins, yet Siward seemed unconcerned. He leveled his sword at the nearest arachnid, not bothering a war cry against so simple an opponent. Yet his eyes were filled with blood-crazed madness.

Spoiler: OOC

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Siward rages!

Attack the spider to the right of him on the map.

Sword: (1d20+5)[13]

Damage: (1d8+5)[13]

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

Swarming out of their pit, the Giant Wolf Spider's pressed their attack and crawled along the various walls and detritus to engage their wounded prey. Srirak and Siward, shields interlocked, were a dizzying display of martial prowess as the mass of spiders wailed against them ineffectively. A lone spider crawled its way up the pit, glaring at Darion with malevolent black eyes, and stumbling beneath him in an attempt to bite his foot. Aleandrae was less fortunate however, as her attack upon the spider prompted it to glide along the rapier's length, and sink its fangs into her flesh.

Spoiler: Damage and Initiative!

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Aleandrae takes 6 piercing damage and must make a constitution saving throw. Everyone is up in initiative now.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean caught a glimpse of Darion as he scrambled out of the pit: he looked dreadfully injured! She circled around the tunnel, trying to see if she could help the man. As the gnome rounded the corner, she saw Darion with spiders snapping at his heels.
"You leave him alone!" she shouted, feeling arcane power well up within her. She made a cage with her fingers and cast the Evil Eye on the spider she could most clearly see, laying a hex upon it. Then she thrust out the palm of her hand, and a beam of ghostly green light sprang forth to smite the creature.

Spoiler: OOC

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Bean will move, then cast Hex as a bonus action on the spider to Darion's left. She will then eldritch blast it!
Attack: (1d20+6)[17]
Force damage: (1d10+4)[12] + necrotic damage: (1d6)[1]

Oh, and I'll have the spider take disadvantage on Dexterity checks.

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Alerted that one of the spiders had scuttled around him and now threatened the rest of the party, including Lyndal, Siward lashed out to fell the creature quickly.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shield Bash: (1d20+5)[25]
Advantage: (1d20+5)[15]

Attack: (1d20+5)[9]
Advantage?: (1d20+5)[19]

Damage: (1d8+5)[6]

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

Fighting down the panic that was welling up within her, Aleandrae cast a quick healing spell on herself. Then, with a flick of her rapier, the Bard stabbed at the spider again, hoping to end its miserable existence.

Spoiler: OOC

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Healing Word on self for (1d4+4)[8]
Attack the same spider: (1d20+4)[10]
Damage: (1d8+2)[9]

[Jade_Tarem]

Despite her thoughts on spiders in general, Secret acknowledged that there was such a thing as too many spiders, and that they had officially passed that threshold. She let the rest of the party know of this nuanced stance on Chult's megafauna by screaming and setting the nearest one ablaze.

[Tychris1]

Firefinger

Day 11

The spiders were too quick for Secret's radiant flames or Darion's main thrusting dagger, but couldn't elude Jack's keen eye, and in a flurry of action the party began to scythe through their numbers with bloody efficiency. The tide turned against them, the spiders halfheartedly hissed at the front lining men, and found their fangs scraping against leather and steel.

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

Once more, the Bard struck at the spider next to her, intent on slaying the foul beast!

Spoiler: OOC

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Attack: (1d20+4)[16]
Damage: (1d8+2)[6]

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean was nearly startled by the power of her newfound blast. A smoking pile of hair and chitinous legs remained of her target. Despite herself, she couldn't help but grin. She rounded the corner near Darion, speaking in a sing-songy voice that wasn't quite her own.
"A curse here, a curse there, a curse for he and she, why care?"

Pointing at the next nearest spider to the rogue, she blasted another sickly green ray from her palm as the flickering torchlight illuminated the cavern, now echoing with Bean's unnerving giggles.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move, and a bonus action to shift the Hex target to the spider nearest Darion. Bean will eldritch blast it, and it'll take disadvantage on STR checks on the off chance Siward needs to throw his weight around.

Attack: (1d20+6)[18]
Force damage: (1d10+4)[7] Necrotic Damage: (1d6)[4]

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Confident that Darion could best one wounded spider, Siward turned his attentions to the one threatening both him and Srirak. His shield arm whistled low, iron-banded oak aimed squarely at the arachnid's hairy legs, while his sword arm rose for the decisive cut.

Spoiler: OOC

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Athletics: (1d20+5)[7]
Advantage: (1d20+5)[25]

Attack: (1d20+5)[25]
Advantage?: (1d20+5)[18]

Damage: (1d8+5)[10]

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

In concert, Bean rolled around the corner to liquidate another arachnid, Siward dropped down to the ground to skewer a screeching mouth of fangs, and the estranged archeologist pirate duo pierced the remaining spider with simultaneous metal. The ground was splattered with ichor and viscera, spider hair strewn about haphazardly as the arachnids slowly slide down into their pit once more, and stirred no longer.

A scan of the abandoned cave reveals no treasure or spoils to be had but does uncover a naturally formed rock chimney that leads up for 90 feet. Several handholds and natural formations in its length make it look easy enough to scale by hand, but there are several twisty tricky spots that look difficult to slip by.

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

"Oh, you were all so amazing!" Lyndal did her best to shake off the embarrassment she had felt when her spell had fizzled. She squeezed Darion's shoulders as he hugged the gnome and gave Bean a grateful pat on her diminutive shoulder.

"You're so brave." She praised the tiny woman admiringly. She turned to her good friend Aleandrae.

"I'm so glad you're alright! I would have blamed myself if you'd been seriously wounded!" Her upset at her failure returned with a brief pout but she buried it into a quick embrace. She released the tiefling and congratulated the barbarian.

"Siward, you were marvelous I'm not sure what we would have done without you!" She wrapped her arms around the giant redhead and gave him a squeeze before he could protest, if he had privy to doing so.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Lyndal's hug seemed to snap Bean out of her strange battle-reverie.
"Oh!" she said, giving Lyndal a reflexive half-hug back. Getting hugged by Big People was always a bit startling to her. It made her feel half-again a child.

Darion and Siward seemed intent on resting a bit to recover their wounds, so Bean walked the perimeter, examining every nook and cranny with her torch. Even though there seemed to be little of value, she collected a few spider hairs out of curiosity; one never knew when a strange spell component might be called for!

"Well, that fight certainly was... invigorating! I say, I feel much more confident in a scrap now. Maybe I learned something from standing lashed to a tree in the howling rain with skeletons slashing at me? I don't remember that strange new beam-spell either. I think it's new! Kind of like the illusions! I think this is what's supposed to happen to adventurers! You get stronger! Or you die! Either way, it's quite interesting."

[Nefarion Xid]

Darion shared none of his companion's enthusiasm for the harrowing ordeal, but he patted Bean on the head and went to recover quietly in the corner. He extracted a mirror from his pack and patted at his swollen red face, occasionally spasming as the feeling of the creatures clambering up his body replayed in the back of his mind.

[Othniel]

Aleandrae

Happy to put the nightmare of giant spiders behind her, Aleandrae spent a few minutes softly singing a song of rest while the group recuperated. She returned Lyndal's hug, surprised not for the first time at quickly finding a new friend.

[zabbarot]

While the rest of the party celebrated Srirak collected the dead spiders and laid them out against a wall. He hadn't seen giant spiders in a while. He wasn't going to pass up this chance. Soon he had his shield and pack off. "Someone start a fire. Please." Meanwhile, Srirak started breaking down the spiders, removing the guts and separating the meat into manageable chunks. He rinsed his shield with water from his flask then laid it over the fire. From his pack he produced a small pot sealed with twine and wax paper. After opening it he took a generous scoop of the red paste inside and threw it into the shield. It sizzled softly and drifted towards one side as the shield sat lopsided on the fire. Next he added some waxy looking leaves and something that looked like grass. It toasted a bit before he added water and the spider meat. All the while Srirak hummed a jaunty tune. He even smiled.

"Semuanya says we eat to live, but this is always being one of my favorites." He stirred the food attentively with one of the legs. "You are all hungry, yes?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

Bean settled on her knees near where Srirak was cooking, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Ohhh, Srirak that smells amazing! I've never eaten spider before! At least, not that I'm aware of. I think I heard somewhere that you swallow a few spiders while you sleep every year. Hee hee! This time I'll be awake!"

[PepperP.]

Lyndal

"Thank you, Srirak!" Her word's carried more enthusiasm than her face showed as she took a small portion of food. She picked at it experimentally but she couldn't get past the grotesque creatures it came from.

"I'm not actually very hungry at the moment." She did her best to smile as she placed her food down somewhere inconspicuous.

[BladeofObliviom]

Jack

"Suit yourself, Scaley.", Jack muttered before munching on another leg of roasted spider. She felt...oddly refreshed. She'd pushed herself to reload, aim, and fire faster than she'd ever done before, and a little rest did her good.

"Well, I'm feelin' pretty good. Fancy another climb n' kill?" She took a few steps to look up the chute. Blackness, of course. Carrying a torch up a ladder sounded needlessly dangerous, but at least the lizard had a light that wouldn't burn.

[TheDarkDM]

Siward

Taken somewhat aback by Lyndal's sudden embrace, Siward reflexively returned the hug. His arms wrapped around her shoulders like a literal bear, though he at least had the presence of mind to restrain his mighty strength.

"A group effort! Once again we have shed blood together and emerged victorious. It is a good omen!"

He released the sorceress and set about cleaning his equipment of the spider's filth while Srirak busied himself with cooking. Attracted both by the smell and by the crowd forming around the impromptu cookpot, Siward eventually descended on Srirak with an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"And what have you prepared for us, friend Srirak? It smells divine, and I feel I could devour a horse!"

Producing a wooden spoon from his pack, Siward took a hearty glob of spider meat and sauce and devoured it with gusto. He chewed for a moment, savoring the flavors, and as he did so his face began to redden. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and tears welled in his eyes before he swallowed.

"So hot. I hadn't considered that even the cuisine of this land would blaze like the sun. Thank you."

He took another spoonful, and though he suffered for it Siward finished the entirety of his share.

[Tychris1]

Firefinger

Day 11

Faced with the rock chimney above them, the party quickly set to work in scaling the natural exit, and made their way one by one in a line. Jack effortlessly lead the way, her years spent aboard various ships and crow nests made the endeavor childs play, and she went about fastening a rope to a rock and helping the others as they progressed. One by one they crawled out of the hole, some of them more easily than others, and they soon all found themselves in yet another abandoned cave. This one was much more cramped then before, with two adjoining rooms granting the party just enough space to stand around comfortably in. A hallway branched off to the left before abruptly ending with a split to the left and the right.

Spoiler: Darion, Jack, and Srirak

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You all very faintly and very quietly hear the sound of... snoring? Coming up ahead and around the corner.

[Nefarion Xid]

Darion motioned for quiet, and then for whoever was controlling the magical light to join them at the intersection and illuminate the way ahead while he went to scout.

Spoiler: Stealth, Perception

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(1d20+6)[19]
(1d20+7)[26]

[Tychris1]

Firefinger
Day 11

Blades in hand, Darion quietly received a blessing of light from Semuanya, and crept down the rocky hallway unto the intersection. Peering around the corner to his left, he partially obscured the belt buckle with a well placed dagger, and illuminated the room only dimly as he peered inside. What greeted him was a chamber with a ten foot high ceiling covered in tiny pink disgusting batlike creatures. Eighteen of them nestled together in a slumbering swarm, their gentle buzzing throats filling the air with noise haphazardly, and were nearly enough of a distraction to make the young Rogue balk at entering.

A corpse was slumped against the northernmost wall. Amidst its desiccated remains, tattered clothes, and rotting purse was the unmistakable glint of gold and treasure.

Gazing down the right hallway, Darion needed no assistance from his belt light to see the unmistakable sight of a starry night sky facing him.