February 17, 2024

Hook

Arachnids Anonymous 4 (Beihui Village, Ruefang)

Plot Synopsis

Upon being left by some of the "party", Blue and Ace continue onward in the sewer entrance to the cultists' lair. All but Blue are paralyzed, and Blue plays along, learning some of the route before going unconscious as well. After they regain consciousness, they find themselves in a cell with their hands tied by spider silk with a cellmate, Bai Guo, who is the elder son of the Morning Dew innkeeper. After learning that the cultists wish to power up the Furen's "creation", they make a bit of a ruckus as Ace attempts to escape, leading to the lot being paralyzed again and moving Ace to his own cell.

Joran and Flardryn arrive in town, buy some seeds from Kong Ru, and meet up with the rest of the party at the Morning Dew Inn, where they eat breakfast and exchange stories before returning once again to the sewers. At the entrance, they scare off a spider with mechanical enhancements, trigger the paralysis trap, and fight mechanical spiders trying to take them away. Beretta breaks her gun in the process, and Quin causes some additional structure damage to the sewers, which are likely to collapse on another hit. Meanwhile, Ace manages to break the chair he is tied to with his spirit, but a cultist quickly comes in, paralyzes him, and kills the spirit, preventing him from doing much. As the cultist leaves, he smells fish and spots Blue and Bai Guo, who managed to escape their cell, but not their bindings, as they race past the mechanical spider guards and into a larger hallway. By this point, Vladisk's ability to detect the blood coming from Ace, as well as the safety from Joran's trap-finding spirit, has led the party to the captive members, and they make short work of the guards. The amulet of the cultist glowed and ran beyond a set of double doors as he died.

The party freed the captives, and removed the silk bindings, as Ace had discovered that blood could break the silk. Flardryn removed the paralyzed condition from any still under its effect. The 52 remaining cultists arrived on the scene, however, responding to the dead one's cry for help. Vladisk quickly hurt them enough to send them fleeing through the double doors, calling for the Furen. Joran agreed to take the civilians home, and the party convinced Bai Guo to join them, as he could use magic. They stand before the doors, ready to open them and face whatever's on the other side.

Noteworthy Postgame Events