Session 44

ZYN

• Belgar blips back into the story in Da'ath, Vrae and Narinn's room (Da'ath has suddenly blipped out of existence as well) in the middle of the night
• (FYI, T'nin and Elasfar had the other room)
• Belgar, Narinn and Vrae quielty talk about weirdness of blips and fact that Da'ath is gone
• In the morning they all reconvene, and quickly realize that BORD is missing, Elasfar goes to look for him
• They wait a bit, but eventually talk to the bartender Lirdyl Maerae - Drow F - Bartender at Brass Barbarian in Zyn  who tells them which room Lythrana the Bard had the night before
• They find Elasfar in the room, having found very little, but they find A LOT of plucked black feathers, and within them, a slip of parchment that reads "REGINA ARANEA RESURGET"
• They ask around and are told it means "The Spider Queen will Return" in the Drow dialect
• They realize Bord is likely in trouble and head out to find him, deciding to try the old Lolth Shrine Ruins as a possible lead
• (NOTE - realize that Bord had the TCS Tablets, so they need him)
• T'nin and Vrae find Lukas and ask him to wait a day before leading them out of Zyn, he demands more money, and uses the FRIEND spell on Vrae to get another 100GP and agrees to mee them in the bar the next day
• When the spell wears off, Vrae is furious, and T'nin reminds her the drow (they still don't know his name) has taken advantage of both of them now

• On the way they stop at the Magic Shop to the north to buy potions of healing
• They meet the Drow Twins Madribo Phangi - Drow F Sorcerer - Magic Shop ZYN and her brother Kouggil Phang - Drow M Wizard - Magic Shop ZYN who run the shop
• Are also shown some interesting items including various poisons, a Piwafwi cloak, a Tentacle Rod, and a Wand of Viscid Globs, none of which they want/ can afford

• Group stops along the way to see the public teleportation circle in Zyn
• Narinn learns the ruins (30 minutes plus Arcana check) in case anyone in the group ever learns the Teleportation Circle or Teleport Spell

• They pass this on their way to the southeast residential sector to investigat the old Lolth Shrine Ruins
• T'nin notices that the face of Elyria Helviiran looks familiar, and realizes the half gnome/drow from the Bar had VERY similar features

• As they pass the army HQ, they stop and speak to a Drow F with a HAND crest on her chest, meeting Quarra Telenna - Drow F - Helvirran Hand Member ZYN  (though they never ask for her name) and learning she is an ELITE scout, a part of Helviiran's Hands, a group founded by Elyria
• Quarra is interested in their story, especially after seeing the paper, and asks them to report back if they find anything in the ruins, as the Cult of Lolth was supposed to have been run OUT of Zyn decades ago

• The ruins are on the far edges of one of the poor residential areas, jutting up against the outer wall/dome of the underground city
• There is no one around, but they find tracks leading inside the meager ruins and stopping in front of a statue of Lolth that looks to be mostly whole, minus the spider arms which have been ripped off
• They look for an entrance and the statue attacks them with necrotic energy it shoots from its eyes
• T'nin guesses they need to use the phrase on the note, which they do, and the statue stops attacking and rolls back, revealing stone stairs leading below

• They enter a large chamber with an altar to Lolth in the middle below the same statue of Lolth as above, only this one is still whole, and on either sides blue flames crackle. To the left and the right of the room are small doors, and throughout are cots, crates and barrels, the place appears to be a safehouse of some sort
• They spot a GIANT SPIDER in the upper right ceiling, who demands to know who they are and what they are doing there
• The group tries to be nice, but the spider seems to already sense they are intruders (likely due to their non-drow nature) and a battle ensues
• The spider is reveals to be a DROW Aracnomancer (female of course), and while her powers are strong, she is no match for the group
• After Vrae spears her with her Halbert and the group deals a lot more damage, the Drow falls to the ground and they tie her up with T'nin's Kusa, wanting to interrogate her
• She ignores their questions, and then whispers a word, VANISHING with Vrae's Halbert and T'nin Kusa's still attached to her
• The group is PISSED, but proceed to investigate the chamber
• In the right door they find a room with all of Bord's equipment, plus some potions and a Drow Cloak
• In the left door Belgar opens it to find a NUDE Bord bound and gagged. As the door opens though, Bord BLIPS out

• As they exit, preparing for an ambush from other Cult Members, they spot blood behind the initial statue and find the Drow Aracnomancer behind it, still bound, now dead from her wounds (she had used Dimension Door to try to escape, but was grievously injured by the group and did not make it)
• Vrae and T'nin regain their weapons, and they toss the body back down into the chamber and try to clean up the area.
• They then decide to head home, dismissing the idea of going to the Arena that day

• they pass by this Drow Brothel on the way back, noticing a sign that says "Orgea en seara asta" in the strange Drow dialect all the signs of Zyn are in
• When T'nin knocks on the door, is told to go away and come back that night for the Orgy

• As they pass they stop to tell Quarra what they found, and she says she will send troops to clear out the site

• They return to the bar and get more rooms for the night after eating and drinking
• T'nin leaves saying he is going to the brothel, but actually just goes outside to think and decompress, revealing events of late have affected him more than the party realizes (though he does NOT tell anyone in game)
• Vrae, having forgetten to check the dates, turns into a RAVEN as it is the first night of the FULL MOON cycle (luckily she is not hostile to anyone)
• Belgar is accused of wanting to wildshape into a Raven and fuck Vrae, which he takes great offense at, claiming he is just being nice by bringing the little bird food
• Vrae spends the night calling out that she is "HUNGRY" and "HORNY" and cackling, which is very unnerving to everyone
• They all then settle down to Long Rest, leaving a note that people should avoid Vrae's room

• Bord will also blip back in, naked and without any of his equipment or money.