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• Adrian Silverstrength (Human Paladin)
• Morsus Firebeard (Hill Dwarf Cleric)
• Sephrenia (High Elf Cleric)
• Ragnaroc (Aasimar Warlock)
• Don Kannin (Half-Elf Ranger)
• Korra (Air Genasi Rogue)

Current NPCs traveling with the party:

• Pren Flintrock
• Gor Hammerstine
• Bran Homeforge
• Dran Homeforge

Connected Adventures: Adventure 14, Adventure 15, Adventure 16, Adventure 17, Adventure 18, Adventure 19, Adventure 20, Adventure 21, Adventure 22, Adventure 23 and Adventure 24.

Adrian, Morsus, Sephrenia, and Ragnaroc enjoy the festivities brought out by Chief Cur’nors (his loyal guard, Abberus always addressing him as Chief Cur’nors, Chief of the Lizard People; Chief of the Shallow Swamps). Don decides he would rather scout around the lizard folk home and look for signs of trouble.

Adrian, Sephrenia, and Ragnaroc all hear a familiar voice call out to them – and it’s Korra. They notice that Korra has been imprisoned by the Lizard People. Since only Sephrenia can speak Draconic – which is the language of the Lizard People – she explains that Korra is a part of the party – but Chief Cur’nors seems unimpressed and explains that she looks strange (he’d seen Genasi before – but not one this far out in his swamp). When Sephrenia explains that Korra is being held prisoner, Morsus turns to look – and in doing so – his cloak slips off his shoulder (Critical Fail on Dexterity Check) revealing the Drow Blade he’d been carrying. Immediately, weapons are drawn on the party as Chief Cur’nors explains that they must be spies for the Drow. Sephrenia tries desperately to try and explain that is not the case – that they’d killed a High Ranking Drow Officer and taken his weapon. However, despite Sephrenia’s numerous attempts to cool the situation – Chief Cur’nors does not calm down and demands the party to drop their weapons and surrender. Realizing that the situation was escalating, the party agrees to drop their weapons and willingly put themselves in prison.

During this time, Korra explains that she’d been scouting ahead – and came into the swamp where she saw a mimic kill three men – but then go dormant again when several Lizard Folk walked by it (but they knew to avoid it). Those same Lizard Folk – led by Zeraph – would loop back around and surround her and capture her. Her unusual appearance of a Genasi wasn’t too much of a surprise to them – as they’d seen some down here below – but since she could not speak their language they gestured for her to surrender which she’d done.

The Lizard People continue to celebrate as they prepare for another wave of attacks against the trolls. Most of the Lizard People become intoxicated and begin to lapse into states of unconsciousness. That night, the Lizard Person, Zeraph (who had been one of the leaders who helped capture Korra) returns and asks the party if he can have their word that they’re here to kill trolls. He believes the party is honorable – and believes the story that they’d killed one of the Drow Commanders (because Drow rarely use agents – they’d rather take them as slaves). He agrees to free the party and brings them to where their weapons are stored and leads them safely out of the Lizard People village. He points in a direction and explains that the trolls can be found that way.

The party moves through the dense, thick, sickly swamp – and just after about an hour of being in the swamp – Sephrenia, Ragnaroc, and Korra feel a weird sensation in their skin and discover they’d walked into a swarm of floating Rot Grub – which immediately began to burrow into the trio’s flesh!

Discovering that fire seems to be a weakness – Sephrenia goes all out and casts Sacred Flame on her wound (delivering 8 points of damage to herself, but sealing the wound and killing the Rot Grub in her skin – this heat and fire also makes the little parasites try to swim away from her). Adrian heats a blade with his torch he lights – which he immediately realizes – there seems to be a high level of methane in this area in the swamp – as the torch flared brightly for a moment – and heats Korra’s dagger and applies the heated blade to the infection of Rot Grub which also kills them – and the same is done to Ragnaroc – as the party quickly tries to move around the Rot Grub colony floating in that area of the swamp.

After wading past them, Sephrenia casts Cure Wounds on herself.

The party finally arrives at a cave entrance, where green, putrid water drips from the mouth of the cave, like a sickly being made of stone.

When Morsus sends his bat familiar into the cave to scout, it almost immediately returns, providing a visual for Morsus that looks as if the entire cave were covered with webs…

The party decides not to go inside the cave; and instead, Adrian throws his torch into the cave to ignite the webs while Ragnaroc Eldrich Blasts the mouth of the cave – bringing it down – but not before the fire from the torch and the fluttering of the bat has drawn the attention of several of the caves residents – revealing three Choldrith!

Ragnaroc launches an Eldrich Blast and misses – and much to everyone’s surprise – the spidery creatures begin casting spells – one of them casting Bane on Adrian (Critical Success! Natural 20!), Morsus (Failed Save), and Sephrenia (Failed Save) – with Bane influencing them, their attacks now suffer (roll d4, and subtract from the total). Sensing that the one in armor seemed to have resisted the Bane spell – the second one launches a web at Adrian, hitting, and grappling him – trying to pull him closer.

Korra attempts to throw her dagger – and it almost slips out of her hand (Critical Fail), but she readjusts and lands a Critical Hit (using Inspiration to re-roll that Critical Fail) landing a large amount of damage due to her Sneak Attack. Morsus casts Radiance of Dawn on two of them and discovers that something prevents him from attacking the one who cast a spell that didn’t seem to do anything (it had – Morsus realized now – cast Sanctuary on itself). The spell does hit the one who had cast Bane but it is able to maintain its concentration.

Sephrenia uses Burning Hands – and this time, the methane within the cave ignites causing a powerful explosion from the cracks and rubble of the cave – sending a burst of fire through the rubble, and shooting out small fragments of stone, hitting everyone for some damage.

Don Kannin arrives, just in time (having been told by the Lizard Person, Zeraph where he had pointed Don’s comrades towards – and Don manages to catch some of the heat from the blast, also taking damage. Several rounds with the Choldrith proceed as the party also discovers they have the ability to cast Healing Word – Morsus finally casts Faerie Fire which manages to stick on the one focusing on Bane – while the other two are able to avoid its effects. Adrian by this time had drawn out Demonbane and was swinging at one of them – only to be struck in the back by a misfired arrow from his companion Don (Critical Fail on Hit) and shortly after, get hit again by another one of his companions – Sephrenia – as her Spiritual Hammer also proceeds to miss (Critical Fail) striking Adrian instead! But the Choldrith also critical fail – as one plunges its dagger deep into the neck of one of its companions, that was already near death. Korra launches another set of arrows from the shadows, delivering critical damage – leaving another one barely alive – which Morsus finishes off with a kick to its leg.

On the last remaining one, Adrian strikes hard and true with Demonbane, then expends a Divine Smite for additional damage, crippling the creature and Don finishes it off with further damage using Sharpshooter.

As Sephrenia points out the unusual look of the Choldrith creatures – namely their elf like ears – none other than Zeraph, the Lizard Folk and several other soldiers with him – make themselves known and ask to be forgiven for the deception. He explains that he intentionally misled the party to the Choldrith cave to see if they would attack them and ensure they’re not with the Drow. Although Don has heard of the Choldrith – Zeraph explains to Sephrenia that the Choldrith are Drow who did not complete their transformation to Drider form; and that the Drow believe those who become Choldrith do so because their faith in their “Queen” is not strong enough – so their Queen curses them to become Choldrith – part spider, with their memories of being Drow and their abilities – but never to complete the transformation to Drider – the greatest honor in the Drow community – to become closer and an image of their “Queen.” So the Choldrith are typically shunned and chased out of the Drow community and tend to, over time, become more and more animalistic, but still able to cast spells – as a reminder of what they once were.

Zeraph leads the party back to the Lizard Folk village, and explains that they were all in on “the bold escape” – it’d all been a part of a test to see if they would attack Zeraph, or attack the Choldrith. Even Chief Cur’nors was in on it. Once the party arrives, the Lizard Folk explain that soon they will prepare to launch another attack against the trolls in hopes of driving them out of the swamps – so that the swamps might one day be reclaimed and restored to their former glory, before the trolls came.

Back at the village, Adrian attempts to barter for some healing potions – unable to speak Draconic he tries to visually explain what he wants – and the Lizard Folk vendor believes he wants to get drunk, so he hands Adrian a mug of swampy water, which undoubtedly has the ability to make one “intoxicated.” Korra then tries to help explain, pointing to the arrow wound that Adrian got in the back – and then the vendor understands and hands Adrian a tube of red liquid – Adrian asks how to pay since they don’t take gold (they have no use for it down here) – the Lizard folk vendor looks over Adrian’s belongings and doesn’t immediately see anything of interest so he eyes the unusual looking Korra (Genasi had been seen by many, and spoke of by many; but only the patrol got to see them from time to time down here; the normal citizens never ventured out of the swamps, especially after the arrival of the trolls). Adrian realizes that the Lizard folk vendor is hoping to barter the healing potion for Korra, and Adrian declines.

Sephrenia and Morsus ask about someone who might have access to spells around here, and Zeraph explains that Sillarfar, the Mad One would be who they would need to speak with. He points down at the swampy waters below – and they can see Sillarfar below.

Upon seeing Morsus and Sephrenia, Sillarfar picks up the bones he’d been throwing on a treestump and looks at them and says, “The Chosen Ones – just as I saw in my vision. You will bring chaos and order, destruction and salvation, and release that which has been held prison for too long back into the world!”

Morsus and Sephrenia speak with Sillarfar, and Morsus takes the time to study with the Shaman, who teaches Morsus how to ritually cast Identify. They return to the others in the upper layers of the Lizardfolk village where they proceed to get a long rest.

They’re awaken early in the morning by Don Kannin who explains the young Owlbear that had been following him has disappeared. He gathers the others and they begin scouting around the swamp, surrounding the Lizardfolk village.

Morsus and Sephrenia pick up the sounds of a distressed young Owlbear and tell the others – and come upon a scene where there are four Drow with ropes tied to a mother Owlbear (easily identified due to her nipples on her chest, having recently given birth by the looks of it) – and one Drow Priestess standing at the Owlbear’s head casting a spell. The party realizes this is the same Drow Priestess they encountered before that had used an imprisoned Owlbear to kill the Drow they’d captured!

The party focuses their fire on her – with Don launching an arrow that strikes her – but she continues casting. Ragnaroc hits her next with Eldrich Blast! Morsus drops Faerie Fire on the Priestess and the two near the front of the Owlbear holding it with ropes. Sephrenia launches an arrow and releases her Spiritual Hammer. Korra throws a dagger at the Priestess (Critical Hit!) dealing incredible damage due to her Sneak Attack which manages to interrupt the Priestess’ spell. Adrian then rushes the Priestess with Demonbane drawn and hits her hard. The stunned Drow lose concentration and the Owlbear is able to throw off one of the ropes! As the party takes down the Priestess – they then focus on the other Drow at the front with Faerie Fire, and drop him – which frees the Owlbear’s front claws. It then rips apart, in a single hit (dealing 17 damage!) one of the other Drow – leaving the other two to drop the ropes and flee – but they don’t get far as arrows and magic drop one – the other can’t outrun the Owlbear who mauls it to pieces, before returning back to the party where it’s reunited with its cubling. The Owlbear momma seems to “speak” to the cubling then approaches Don Kannin and rubs all over him – as if thanking him. The cubling seems torn at first between remaining with Don or going with its momma – but in the end, after running back and forth several times, rubbing on Don – it does proceed to reunite with its momma.

The party finds a helm and a necklace, both with the “Mark of the Spider.” Don, who finds them notices – that the gem at the base of the spider’s body is “out” but when he picks up both items, they proceed to glow a faint purple, in conjunction and pace of his own breathing – and upon setting them down – the gem fades again.

They also recover 200 gold on her body; which they in turn use as components to the Identify spell – and learn that the helm is imbued with some form of Evocation magic and Morsus with his Arcane roll is able to determine that it seems to be a Helm of Telepathy of some kind – but it does require atunement. While the necklace has Conjuration magic tied to it and appears to be an Amulet of Teleporting – also requiring atunement. Adrian gathers rope and ties it around the Drow Priestess’ deceased neck and drags her back to the Lizard Folk to show they’re not allies of the Drow. (Everyone gains inspiration!)