📜13. the truth
session 13 • 02/19/2022 • 3,968 words
『 📜 』 adventure log
🌞 DAY 4 • 📅 ELEINT 25
The Report
Sorennar very nervously and respectfully delivers his report to the spider -- referring to it as his "master" -- recounting his joining of the cart escort, and the Cragmaw hideout events. Sorennar's master seems displeased by the party's interference with the Cragmaw goblins, and hints to Gundren's brother being a "present" for Sorennar, which Sorennar takes as confirmation that his master is the Black Spider.
The Black Spider demands more information about the rest of the party, despite Sorennar's attempts at subtly deflecting, and learns of the party's races, taking special interest in Lera's. Though Sorennar attempts to reason that the party is of no threat to him, and that Sildar's wealth and connections could be taken advantage of, the Black Spider orders Sorennar to kill Sildar, citing that "we already have one [Lord's Alliance member], we don't need another."
He also orders Sorennar to bring the rest of the party to him in good condition, and implies that he will sacrifice or torture them.
Sorennar agrees to all of it reluctantly, but as a last-ditch effort to save Sildar, claims that he does not have the ability to kill someone so strong. The Black Spider scolds Sorennar for not being able to kill something so weak as a human, but gifts him a magic ring to help him assassinate Sildar.
The Black Spider dismisses Sorennar, but not before making a display of intimidation by charging at Sorennar. He pins Soren down on the ground with the spider, and pretends to rear up to bite him.
Sorennar cowers, but the Black Spider eventually releases him, laughing. Sorennar runs out of the woods and collapses for a moment, before picking himself back up and attempting to return to the party like nothing is wrong.
Group Discussion
Back at Stonehill Inn, the group, still reeling over their discovery of the truth behind Sorennar, try their best to regroup. With Toblen, they attempt to clear out the tavern of people in light of the upcoming confrontation, causing Lera to have to bribe everyone with 1GP each to go back to their rooms / leave.
They run into some trouble when a woman refuses to move, throwing a drink on Toblen when he insists, and Colt pulls a knife on her. After Hugh intimidates her further, she assumes they are with the Redbrands and runs away hollering threats about reporting them to the Townsmaster.
Colt is dismissive of the situation which frustrates Sildar greatly, even moreso when Colt dismisses all of Sildar's concerns about Sorennar and claims that there was "no way" Sorennar had done any wrong at all. Deeply in denial, Colt flounders to grasp for explanations as to why Sorennar had lied to them about everything. Lera joins him, though trying to remain more logical, in finding a justifiable explanation that didn't involve Sorennar being a manipulative traitor.
Sildar is unmoved and unimpressed by their attempts, and instructs Lera to fetch two Zone of Truth spell scrolls from Sister Garaele, who is at the Shrine of Luck across the road.
The Shrine of Luck
Lera finds Sister Garaele at the Shrine without much difficulty. Though Garaele initially presents herself as a matronly clerical figure, she reveals a slightly more flippant side when Sildar Hallwinter's name is mentioned, hinting at a rivalry in their past.
She agrees to grant Lera the spell scrolls, but attempts to strongarm Lera into doing a "favor" for her in turn, which involves going to Conyberry, an abandoned village a day's travel away from Phandalin. Lera sprints back to the tavern to ask the group, and in his frustration / upset, Sildar affirms that they would do whatever Garaele wanted, as long as they could get the scrolls.
Lera returns and agrees to Garaele to receive the spell scrolls, before returning to Stonehill inn.
Cloaks and Names
While waiting for Sorennar to return, Lera recalls that there was text written on the inside of Sorennar's cloak and opens it to see if it offered any answers. The group is met with a long list of names, races, genders and years. Though initially confused, the group notices the following:
The names seemingly follow a timetable: 8 names every 10 years.
The first name on the list is Rizoyn Catanzora (1410-1420), Sorennar's little brother.
One of the names is Sumkler Stringlemaw (1440-1450), the name of Hugh's uncle. He went missing in 1447 in the mines.
Another name is Star in the Morning, a Tabaxi whom Sorennar had previously claimed he had been intimate with.
The group try to come up with various theories, including these are people that Sorennar liked, was intimate with (which they quickly squash because Rizoyn's name is there), but Sildar points out that the rigid timetable of 8 every 10 years is odd.
Sildar and Lera realize the implications, connecting the dots between the Drow sacrifices and Hugh's missing uncle.
Perhaps sensing the shift in atmosphere, Hugh reminds the whole party that several of them owed Sorennar their lives, and warns firmly that if they hurt Sorennar, he would hurt them.
The Confrontation
At this moment, Sorennar enters the tavern, in seemingly high spirits and several paper bags of shopping. He greets the group and Toblen, and is slightly taken aback when Hugh begins crying; though Hugh attributes it to running out of juice, prompting Sorennar to try and purchase juice for Hugh.
Hugh hugs Sorennar, holding him a mechanical grapple, claiming that he knew that Sorennar had been lying and asking Sorennar to tell him the truth so that the party might be able to help him. Sorennar realizes that his cover has been blown, and promises to explain everything, requesting that Hugh release him as Hugh is "hurting" him.
Hugh refuses. Sorennar, after asking two more times, becomes desperate and casts Dissonant Whispers at Hugh, causing him to retreat 25 feet. Sorennar bolts as soon as Hugh lets go, with a hectic chase ensuing as he utilizes Silvery Barbs to dodge out of various grapples. Colt easily manages to cut Sorennar off, and Lera catches up, both of them asking Sorennar to calm down and come back. In response, Sorennar begs them for "just a moment", and attempts to cast with his Sending scroll.
Lera tries to take the scroll -- as she thinks Sorennar, in his fear, will waste it on reporting his death to his family -- but Sorennar's Silvery Barbs swarms her, preventing her from doing so. Sildar once again finds a burst of strength in him, catching up to Sorennar and attempting to wrangle the scroll away -- though he is doing so in order to both use the scroll as leverage in the upcoming interrogation, as well as to ensure Sorennar does not contact an enemy. He fails as well.
Hugh, seeing everyone chase Sorennar, sits back down at the table and drinks his juice, before emerging from the room and repeating his previous threat loudly to the party.
Sorennar falls to his knees upon finding himself cornered by Colt, Lera and Sildar, using the same language and deference he used with the Black Spider in order to try and plead for just one moment to contact his family. It falls on deaf ears. Despite another round of the party's attempts at disarming the scroll from Sorennar, he manages to avoid them all and finally manages to cast sending, sending his mother, Matron Amalka Catanzora, the following message:
Matron, Nadhiir, Dresnan: I've been captured, and will be killed. The Xorlarrins grow bored. Please, escape, but be careful. Something powerful invades the Underdark. Goodbye.
After a brief moment, Sorennar receives the following back through a strange static and heavy interference that cuts off parts of the message, represented by [...].
You served your purpose [...] no longer need you. [...] gained power [....] safe for years now.
Horrified at the implications that his family had not been at the mercy of the Xorlarrins for years now, Sorennar clutches at the disintegrating, used spell scroll, trying to continue the conversation with his mother to no avail.
Thoroughly shattered, Sorennar slumps to the ground. Sildar attempts to move him, but Colt steps in, snapping at Sildar's previous aggression in trying to take the scroll away, and helps Sorennar back to the inn.
The Interrogation
[Thank you Chris for writing this part!!!!]
Zone of Truth #1
As they return to Stonehill, Lera orders some strong alcohol for Sorennar, knowing that he enjoys being intoxicated. Sorennar is initially catatonic, ignoring questions, until Lera offers him the drink -- at which point he is mildly confused, assuming that they are going to want him to "feel" the pain they cause him in the subsequent interrogation.
Upon further pressing from Sildar, Sorennar begins to refer to him with the same deference he uses for the Black Spider, upsetting the group. Sildar tells Sorennar to tell the group the truth and to answer their questions, before handing Lera one of the Zone of Truth scrolls she had gotten from Garaele.
Lera uses the scroll, but not before reminding Sorennar that we are friends and on his side.
As everyone gets adjusted to the magic and it is confirmed that everyone is under the effect, the group begins to bombard Sorennar with questions, asking about his master and their abilities, how long he has been serving them, what they know, and why he is working under his master. The sudden amount of questions and the time constraint prompts Sorennar to explain everything about his past, before and after the Black Spider.
Sorennar was born in the slums of Menzobranzen, the Braeryn, also known as the Stenchstreets, where the poorest and weakest Drow festered.
The Drow take lots of species as slaves, but the richest of Drow nobility make a practice of taking poorer Drow as slaves.
This is how Sorennar was “adopted” into the Xorlarrin family. He and his brother, Rizoyn, were traded with the Xorlarrin family in order to escape Braeryn 80 years ago.
Sorennar was the plaything of Nezznar Xorlarrin, the eldest son of the family, who subject him to humiliation and torture, such as kneeling in front of his portraits for hours, locking him in a cage for days, getting other servants to pretend they were his friends just to convince Sorennar to do things that would always end with him getting into trouble, etc.
At this point in the conversation, Lera begins to cry from sympathy, and the group shares this sentiment. Sildar speedruns any% through shock, sadness, and anger at Sorennar's situation, but stays firm in his resolve to get everything out of Sorennar. Sorennar continues telling the party his story.
A while ago, something happened to the Xorlarrin family and they started to lose power.
His master, Nezznar, went into a frenzy trying to find a way to restore his family.
After researching in Gravenhollow, Nezznar was able to gather information on the Wave Echo Cave. He had Sorennar spy on the Rockseeker brothers, while gathering any information he could, to stop the Lord's Alliance's interference in the matter: Sildar Hallwinter.
Sorennar was instructed to gain Sildar's trust and to keep him away from the cave, ideally by removing him from the picture with an ‘accident’.
He heard about the Rockseeker's shipment of supplies said to arrive in Phandalin and went to Neverwinter to join the escort that was bringing it to the town.
He had arrived at the Bad Paino a couple of days before the party had made it.
Sorennar, smiling exhaustedly, admits that he had failed spectacularly -- and ironically, had even saved their lives. Sildar, overtaken by sadness and desperation, asks Sorennar if despite everything that happened, Sorennar only saw the party as targets to spy on. Sorennar, who has been looking down since the start, finally looks up at Sildar and delivers the hard as fuck line of:
“it's a tale as long as time is it not? A moth falls for the brightest thing it sees. Except the drow know not of light, and wings burn when they get too close to the sun”.
(Annie Note: CHRIS WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HRAHODIFLSD HARD AS FUFKCSLDIHFJI)
Sildar, who wanted a direct answer, asks the question again adding a yes or no. Sorennar answers that at first, the party was nothing more than people to watch and use. But as time progressed along with their kindness and friendship, his orders began to matter less, and he began to see the party as much more.
Zone of Truth #2
As the Zone of Truth spell runs out, Hugh asks Sorennar why he saved the group, if his only goal was to delay them. He believes that doesn’t line up, why save our lives when dying would fit his goal more. Before answering the question, Sorennar reminds the group that the Zone of Truth spell has run out, but answers that he was only trying to gain the group's trust.
The group talks about whether is it necessary to set up another Zone of Truth, but does it in the end, with Sildar pushing for it to happen. Hugh re-asks his question, saying that part of the order was to prevent us from getting closer to the objective, yet Sorennar saved their lives.
Sorennar tries to deny that he had initially saved the party out of the goodness of his heart, by saying that "no part of me wanted to..." but is not able to finish the statement of denial, due to it not being truthful and him being in the effects of Zone of Truth. Hugh asks Sorennar about his family Sorennar confirms that he thought they had been at the mercy of the Xorlarrins, but after the message, he learned that they are actually safe, and have been for years.
Hugh, who did not witness the events outside, is glad that Sorennar was able to contact his family, thanking the party for allowing it. Colt shares this sentiment and calls out Sildar, who had in actuality attempted to stop Sorennar from contacting his family. Sildar affirms that if he could have prevented it, he would have, because he wanted to use it as leverage over Sorennar during the interrogations.
Colt tries to prove Sorennar’s innocence by questioning Sorennar's claim about them being best friends, which Sorennar confirms is true under the Zone of Truth. Colt then insists that Sorennar is innocent, which greatly frustrates Sildar. Sildar brings up the names on the cloak, which Hugh also questions due to his uncle's name being on it.
Sumkler Stringlemaw
Sorennar admits that one of the atrocities that Nezznar had had him perform was to lure people into the Underdark in stereotypical Drow manner, Hugh's uncle, Sumkler, being one of them. Shakily, Sorennar describes Hugh's uncle, how they met in 1447, how he followed him into the Underdark, and assures Hugh that he died quickly.
Hugh asks if Sorennar was responsible for his daughter's disappearance as well, as she had gone searching for him and never returned. Sorennar is surprised at this, but is devastated, stating that she was most likely also now in Menzoberranzan, enslaved or dead.
Lera once again inquires about Rizoyn's name being on his cloak, and Sorennar brusquely states that Rizoyn is dead, and Sorennar held his head while Lolth priestess bled him out on the altar.
Hugh interrupts and states that though he cannot forgive Sorennar for what was done to his uncle, he wants to know if Sorennar would stand up and fight back against Nezznar.
The Conclusion
Sorennar hesitates, stating that the group could stand no chance against an eldestboy of Menzoberranzan's third house, as they all received excellent training at Sorcere, Menzoberranzan's greatest academy.
Hugh demands that his question: if Sorennar would fight, be answered. Sildar points out that the group is pretty strong.
Sorennar maintains that they had only been fighting "goblins and slimes", to which Sildar retorts, "so what does one spider matter?" Though Sorennar is unconvinced, he relents and asks the question be asked one more time so he can answer under the Zone of Truth.
Sildar, however, cuts in with his own question, which he admits to be selfish: did Sorennar ever see him as more than a target to use and spy on?
Sorennar admits that he was beginning to love Sildar.
Sildar wonders why Sorennar used the past tense of the phrase, just as the Zone of Truth runs out. Sorennar points out that now that the final Zone of Truth spell has ended, they don't have any use for him anymore.
Sorennar promises that he never wanted to do any of this, nor kill or betray anyone. He admits that every time he is near death or in danger, he laments that he might die before living long enough to change who he is. Finally, he bares his throat to Sildar and asks that Sildar offer him one last act of dignity when killing him.
The group flatly refuses, with Lera insisting that Sorennar needs to stay with the group to make up for his sins. Sorennar reacts in disbelief at the idea that the group might let him live and stay with them. He turns his attention to Sildar, pleading with him to understand how foolish it would be to allow Sorennar to remain with the group, and wondering if he would be restrained and under surveillance constantly.
Sildar does not directly confirm nor deny this, but reiterates Lera's point: that for him to redeem himself, Sorennar has to stay to help defeat the Black Spider and prevent much, much more loss of life. Sorennar expresses disbelief again at the group's comfort level with him, and Colt comforts him, stating that now he believes that he knows best what Sorennar is going through.
Sorennar is on the verge of tears upon realizing that, potentially, he would live and even be allowed to remain with the party, albeit on a tight leash. Sildar offers his help in aiding Sorennar in "taking down his master, who has tormented him for many years", as well as his help after that in helping Sorennar adjust to his newfound freedom. He asks for an answer from Sorennar, who responds with a very quiet "I want to".
Lera goes around the table to give Sorennar a very much-needed hug ;-; Thank you
TOBLEN who has been FUCKING LISTENING to the ENTIRE ASS THING!??!! at the bar, bursts into tears im CRYING??
6 Chickens
Hugh orders 6 chickens, but then changes the order to 3 when he realizes how expensive it is. Coming down from his adrenaline, Sorennar realizes that he forgot the following information and delivers it to the group:
Nezznar had requested that he bring the party, minus Sildar, to him in "good condition".
Nezznar had requested that Sorennar bring him Sildar's head, stating that "we already have one [Lord's Alliance representative], we don't need another"
Nezznar stated that the "Rockseeker brother broke easily", and has also stated that he's "getting close" to his goal.
This sparks some discussion about Iarno Albrek, the missing Lord's Alliance member with whom Sildar Hallwinter was meant to rendezvous. The group wonders if he is aligned with Nezznar, or if he had been similarly kidnapped and is being tortured.
The group also wonders if this all means Nezznar has already found the Spellforge, and if everything is for naught. Sildar regales us with a small story about Wave Echo Cave, stating that the cave had collapsed in the ensuing war for control over it, meaning that even if someone found it, it would take a long time to excavate and traverse properly.
Sildar concludes that the next course of action is to rescue Gundren in order to find where the cave is. He promises that he will ask around town / the townsmaster, Harbin Wester, for information, which prompts Colt and Hugh to bicker about the fact that Colt had pulled a dagger out on a woman, MUCH to Sorennar's confusion.
At this point, a woman enters whom Sorennar seems to recognize. They exchange brief, curt words, and it's immediately clear that the woman -- Elsa, seemingly the manager of the inn -- is barely tolerating of Sorennar due to his race as it's "bad for business".
Upon the arrival of Elsa, Toblen hurries off to leave to "spend time with his family". Before going, he wishes Sorennar a tearful "all the best" and tells him he is free to play in the tavern whenever. Due to the previous rehearsal lie to empty out the tavern, Toblen also inquires when the group is going to "perform".
Sorennar asks him to mark the date for the 3rd -- a tenday from now -- and promises that the group will put on a performance.
Hugh inquires about a doctor in town, and is directed to Sister Garaele for religious healing, Barthen's Provisions for elixirs, and Linene for potential medical assistance.
Sorennar attempts to apologize, but is cut off by Lera. Hugh confronts Sorennar for casting dissonant whispers on him.
Sildar goes into the kitchen to stow away Sorennar's shopping from pre-Henry-reveal, and gets chewed out by a very angry Elsa, who has taken over the cooking. Hugh attempts to confront Elsa, but the group manages to distract him with a fake sighting of flying goats and wolves that are chasing them.
Lera asks Hugh for a hug, then asks if she can try to heal his head again. She casts lesser restoration, and mist flies out of his head and wraps around his flail, Soren’s ring, the jug and bag of holding. Hugh starts screaming in pain, and Lera panics. She asks Hugh to come with her to Sister Garaele, whom the party agree to come with to see due to their earlier arrangements for the scrolls.
The Shrine of Luck, Again
Sister Garaele is still at the shrine, and greets the adventurers. She tries various healing spells and elixirs on Hugh, and a very strong pain reliever has a mild effect.
The group explains the situation, including the Dissonant Whispers, the Lesser Restoration, and Hugh's adventures in the Underdark. Sister Garaele is very concerned over the potential head trauma, as well as about the belly button lights. She concedes that she's not a doctor, can only cast healing spells, and that the problem may run deeper if those don't work.
Garaele requests that the group complete her errand in Conyberry in exchange for both the scrolls and the medicine. At the group's request, she reluctantly and very secretively elaborates on the errand.
The group is to find a banshee near Conyberry named Agatha
They're to flatter her, present her with a fancy comb (provided by Garaele) and extract the location of a spellbook owned by Bowgentle, a famous mage.
Garaele had tried beforehand, but Agatha did not show for them.
Sorennar recognizes Agatha's name from books about Drizzt that he's MOST CERTAINLY DEFINITELY NOT READ because he wOULD NEVER be a DRIZZT FAN.
He has a very brief fanboy moment over meeting someone from Drizzt's past, but quickly becomes embarassed and hides behind Sildar, remaining quiet for a while, though he does inquire about the town's rumors about Garaele's "superiors".
Garaele proceeds to be very secretive about her motives and superiors, but seems to show no ill intentions to Lera. She tells the group to report at her house whenever they are ready to depart, though she seems to be OK with the group handling the Redbrand threat first, since she doesn't like their hold over the town either. She marks Conyberry, and Agatha's lair, on Hugh's map.
Before the group returns to the inn, Hugh inadvertently reveals Sildar and Sorennar's,,,, encounter in the woods the previous night. Garaele teases Sildar for this, then makes a pass at both Sorennar and Lera.
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