🐜47. the spider and the ant

session 47 • october 30 2022 • 1,566 words

🌞 DAY 11 • 📅 MARPENOTH 1

Taking Blame

Hugh steps between Gundren and Soren, trying to take the blame for not telling Gundren about his brother's death. Gundren is not accepting of this explanation, and states that it's his right to know about his brother's death, getting a little angrier when Hugh promises that he would have told him at the right time (after killing the Spider).

Soren admits that the Spider killed his brother too, and that he (Soren) was too cowardly to witness Gundren go through that same pain. He apologizes for this sincerely and gives all of his money (286GP) to Gundren in order to try and cast Raise Dead on Tharden by the end of the tenday (we have 4 days left). This seems to placate Gundren.

Will reminds Gundren that the group probably didn't mean ill by keeping the information from him, but Gundren still chides Sildar for doing so, and that he thought Sildar was his friend. Sildar is so sad :(

Soren says that Nundro might be alive still; but lets it slip that Tharden was tortured, at which point Gundren laments that it might be best that Nundro passed before the same could happen to him. Gundren questions us on when we are going to try and free Nundro, if he's still alive, we don't have a plan yet so we kinda skirt around the subject, and eventually promise that it would be tomorrow. Soren points out that the Spider is fond of taking hostages, and we convince Gundren to stay in Phandalin until we clear the cave out, which he begrudgingly agrees to after reminding us not to touch the forge.

Hugh offers Gundren to help unbury Tharden but Gundren asks to wait till the end of the tenday to see if we can resurrect him.

We get our room keys from Toblen, and he tells us that Garaele is gone to Conyberry.

Shrine of Luck

Will pulls out a rat, mastiff and giant boar, the former of which we decide to use for him to cast Beast Sense on and spy on Soren's meeting with.

We pray at the Shrine of Luck to Tymora, Goddess of Fortune, though Soren is very skeptical about praying. The party sees that Soren is apprehensive and hugs him before sending him off.

The Spider

As Soren goes to his usual meeting spot with the Spider, he is accosted from above by Nezznar's spider familiar and pinned to the ground. He starts babbling in apology for his incompetence and promises Nezznar to bring him a "half blood angel"--an aasimar--to make up for it.

Nezznar is skeptical that it's a real aasimar, but Soren accurately describes Willow's characteristics and he's convinced. He wonders how the group still trusts Soren; Soren says that surfacers are fuckin idiots. Still, Nezznar is furious about Soren's "getting caught" and bites him twice in the shoulder as punishment. Thanks to Hugh's Belt of Dwarvenkind, Soren does not succumb to the poison.

Soren promises Nezznar that he would be at the cave in two days. Eventually, Nezznar mentions that in addition to Soren being a disappointment, "Zaara" is as well. Soren is immediately stricken by this name, and asks if Zaara is also helping with the Spellforge efforts. Nezznar chides him for being concerned about anything other than his mission.

Sorennar also tells Nezznar about the strange ongoings in which Underdark monsters have been escaping to the surface. Nezznar is once again angered by Soren's distraction from the mission, and dismisses his concerns readily; "when I give you an order, you focus on nothing but that."

Soren backs away from the clearing after being dismissed, and returns to the party.

For the Worse

A concerned party meets Soren halfway and fuss over him again. Will heals Soren of his spiderbite wounds. The group inquires as to who this "Zaara" is; Soren admits that she's the youngest of the Xorlarrins, Nezznar's younger sister.

The group immediately assumes her to be a threat. Soren tries to reason that when they were younger, she was kinder than Nezznar and had saved his life before, but admits that she's been out of contact with him for a very long time, and that "people change, drow generally for the worse". He still pleads with the group to spare her life if it comes down to it, and to give him a chance to speak with her, if they face off in the cave.

Sildar picks Soren up because of his injuries, Soren weakly tries to make a flirtatious joke of it. No one is amused.

Jail Visit!

The group, at Soren's behest, vibes their way to the townmaster's hall, where they visit a prison full of disgruntled Redbrands, the former townsmaster Harbin Wester, and the two doppelgangers, Art and Vyerith.

Soren takes Harbin's racist comments in stride before approaching the doppelgangers to inquire if they saw a female drow by Nezznar's side. They admit to only really having seen Nezznar once, after Vyerith alludes to Soren's disposition towards torture due to his race.

Will gives Vyerith a pumpkin cupcake (the one that comes back every dawn). Vyerith, who thinks that Will bought it specifically for her, is flattered and eats it.

We talk about where the doppelgangers will go after we kill Nezznar, which is when they will get released. Will attempts to persuade Vyerith to join the Emerald Enclave, and gets "SWEETIE"d because, of course, the Enclave hunts down monstrosities like doppelgangers. The group suggests that they go to Honeypuddle and settle down among the halflings and gnomes, and also allude to the doppelganger already living there.

Vyerith doesn't seem opposed to the idea. Art is smoking pipeweed with Soren.

Hugh pulls Will aside and wonders what Reidoth will say about Will leaving Vyerith alive. Will expresses that he doesn't care if Reidoth gets malding at him, he won't condemn another creature to die just because of how they were born. Hugh is unclear on the logistics, so Will uses Droop as an example, since goblins are also marginalized in humanoid civilizations. Hugh kind of understands.

The Ant

As the group begins to leave, one of the Redbrands who has been demanding alcohol, calls Soren blind due to his new white eyes, and proceeds to insult his race. Soren takes it in stride as usual, responding with his own scathing remarks (vicious mockery), which infuriates the Redbrand.

The bandit reaches through the bars and grabs Soren's collar, smashing him against the cell and yelling obscenities. Soren becomes coldly calm, and hears the voice of Graz'zt reminding him that "who does this ant think he is? you have the power to show him his place."

Soren obliges, casting first Darkness which alarms the party and frightens the bandits, before casting Phantasmal Force to make the bandit feel like there are spiders crawling all over him, choking and suffocating him. The Redbrand begins to scream, while Soren holds concentration on the spell despite the party's pleas for him to stop.

Eventually, though the party makes good points about his moral responsibility, Soren is snapped out of his cruel reverie by the sight of the Redbrand cowering and begging him for mercy, realizing suddenly that he was becoming his master. Soren stands there in his regret while Will pushes past him to go upstairs, upset. Sildar follows shortly behind.

Soren gives the cowering Redbrand (Jeff) his last bottle of alcohol and says that he's sorry, before heading upstairs. Hugh tells the rest of the Redbrands that this is a lesson to them all not to be racist, and then gives Jeff some ball bearings and leaves as the beginnings of a mutiny begin to form as the Redbrands start to worry about whether they'll also suffer the same fate.

Upstairs, Sildar asks Will if he's OK; Will is not. They discuss Soren's erratic behavior and acknowledge that he's going through some stuff rn; that this is not truly who he is. They check in with Soren, who tries to brush it off but admits that what he did was stupid. Hugh informs the group that it might be in everyone's best interests that Soren doesn't go down there anymore because they fear him; making Soren more uncomfortable.

Sincerely trying to understand, Soren asks the group why it is that others can be cruel to him but it's his moral responsibility to be kind to others. Will shortly says: Because if you don't, then no one will; which seems to resonate with Soren. The group reminds Soren that with power comes responsibility.

PAX PAX PAX

Somberly, the group makes their way to Pax's Magic Shoppe, where she greets us heartily. Hugh purchases a shield of pingponging.

Pax rambles a little more about her research focus: the Demon Lords, citing a powerful staff of Fraz'Urbluu that has since been broken into pieces. She laments that she reaaaaally wants a piece of that staff, for totally non-mad-mage reasons.

We purchase LOTS of herbs for potions of healing that Soren will need to mash for like 10 hours.

As the group eventually leaves, Soren lingers back and admits to Pax that he hypothetically might be drawing power from a demon lord, and wants something to help strengthen the connection. Pax expresses concern, but tells Soren that he's his own person and simply to be careful. She sells him a Rod of the Pactkeeper.

Soren doesn't nearly have enough, but she gives him an advance and tells him that she wants to see what cool shit they find in Wave Echo Cave, which he readily promises.