Another City of the Spider Queen story

Zal'Nir and Rizzen sat at the table. The twin brothers hadn't been on a raid for tendays and boredom had crept over them like a specter vying on their souls. Under Jezz's orders, they were to stay in the outpost and wait for his arrival. Their uncle had told them that, thirty days ago. Zal'Nir's arms were itching for a good fight, and everyone knew it was a matter of time until someone would end up on the wrong side of his sword. But for now, Zal'Nir contained his bloodlust; well he had to, otherwise, gods know what Jezz might do to him.

It was a different story for Rizzen, to him patience was a virtue. Especially considering that elves had long lives. There would be time for everything. The master poison maker eyed his brother mockingly. Unlike his brother, Rizzen hid behind a mask of deceptive indifference. Nothing seemed to irk him. Oh, but many things annoyed him. Those were often quickly and quietly eliminated. He didn't have that compulsive urge to kill, although he did commit his share of murders; none were ever linked to him. In drow justice, if you could get away with a crime, you were automatically acquitted of it. That made the assassin ever so powerful. Simply put, he could dispose of anyone and never be caught.

Zal'Nir sighed, caressing the hilt of his dark sword.

"Let me guess, you're bored." A melodious voice came from behind them. A graceful female figure stalked up to the brothers. It was Meliadoul; they're older sister. Like Rizzen, she also bore a mask, though this one was a real mask, a mask of faith, Vhaeraun's mask. The priestess true feelings were rarely known, her facial expressions masked by heir deity's holy symbol. Even without the mask, her face always bore a cold stern expression.
As most drow, she had a share of kills, however it was very small. Others killed for her, unknowingly. Skilled manipulation of others her method to further her own desires. Her best tool was Zal'Nir, who never backed down from any confrontation. None in this outpost could even dream of defeating him.

"Sit straight, dolts! We've got a visitor." She said imperiously. Meliadoul's was a commanding figure, and she kept or tried to keep her little brothers in check. She set her mask upon the table, knowing that the visitor hated speaking to a blank face. The outpost's inhabitants, who had languished in boredom for the last few days, suddenly sprang to life. The guards started scrambling about, taking their sentry posts. The two brothers eyed her questioningly.

"Jezz is here." At those words, the two brothers gathered their things and sprang up as well. The doors to the room swung open and their uncle strode in, with the usual thumping of his wooden leg. Right behind him a very nervous wizard only known as the Neuromancer followed. None really knew who this slight figure was, besides that he was a mage of considerable power. Meliadoul had always thought that his title was ridiculous.

"We've got a problem", Jezz said. "Drow are raiding the Daggerdale and we don't know who they are. We've come to the conclusion that they are not spiderkisser nor members of the Auzkvyn clan. The bodies were savagely mutilated which not the way any of the cormanthor drow raid. Except you, Zal'Nir."

He made a derisive smirk at his nephew and continued on. "You will head into Daggerdale, find those murderers and slay them. The Neuromancer will accompany you, as you might need some magic. You will do this efficiently and most of all quietly." The last word was again aimed at the bloodthirsty twin.

All four gathered around the table, as Jezz explained the plan. They were to sneak into Daggerhills at night and find the Dordrien crypts. The drow were last seen there. It is also rumored among Dalesmen that there is an entrance to the Underdark in those crypts. House Jaerle knew of that entrance, but had never taken control of it. Rumors of ghosts haunting the crypts discouraged them and for good reason. Restless spirits are very disturbing when trying to conduct a raid and incredibly bad for morale. They also knew that the other drow weren't foolish enough to go confront the ghosts.

They set out to the Daggerhills that very same evening.
Finding the crypts was an easy task. An hour long trek brought them before two old buildings, mausoleums and a large stone double door in the hillsides. They sneaked to the mausoleums. They were of no interest to them, although the Neuromancer did pause for a moment. Each of the buildings bore inscription in a foreign language that none of them knew. Shrugging slightly, he turned to join the others who were already examining the crypts main entrance. The door was flanked by two huge statues of skeleton dressed in full plate armor, their leering skulls staring blankly at the dark elves. As expected, the entrance was locked from the inside. Not much of problem though, Rizzen touched his house insigna and whispered a small word after which he disappeared. And reappeared. And disappeared again. He flashed in and out of existence for bit then walked right into the doors. A few seconds later, the stone doors swung open but Rizzen was nowhere to be seen.

"Fool." Meliadoul muttered. Of course, all were aware of Rizzen's tactics. Going invisible was something Rizzen always did, no matter how mundane and common a situation was. Coward, Zal'Nir thought. The still visible ones stepped in and, to there unpleasant surprise, found the bodies of five dead drow. Two females and three males, all stripped of valuables but still wearing their bloodied tabards on which was emblazoned a silver spider.

"How surprising, Spider kissers." Meliadoul said. Zal'Nir sighed and sheathed his sword. He wasn't going to quench his bloodthirst after all. Zal'Nir glanced to the ground and noticed tracks in the thick dust that covered the crypts floor.

There were more than ten people here. Two of the bodies had seemingly been dragged here. The tell-tale signs of drow crossbow bolts covered the corpses. Perhaps we should investigate further, he thought. At the same time, they heard Rizzen whisper to go deeper into the crypts. Further down the hall, a door opened. It was empty; apparently those who built the crypts didn't have enough dead to fill its halls. Looking deeper, the hall made a sharp turn to the right. It ended with a staircase that went even deeper underground. Two doors flanked this section of the corridor.

Rizzen laid his ear on the first one as precaution. If he heard something, they weren't going to open it. Happily, everything was still. Satisfied, he open the door to a room lined with sarcophagi. Meliadoul stepped confidently but as her right foot landed beyond the door, a bright glyph lit at her feet. A loud roar sounded before her and as she lifted her head, she found two enormous golden lions staring at her, showing their teeth. Before the priestess could even react, Zal'Nir was already charging into the creatures. The lions pounced onto the fighter but the elf managed to push them away. He slashed at the ribs of the first lion slaying it instantly, while his sister was lashing out at second beast with her whip. The Neuromancer leveled a wand at one of them and snarled a word. A bunch of imps swarmed out of the wand and flew to the lion but immediately vanished. As Zal'Nir turned to face other one, a black dagger materialized behind the lion and bit into the beast's flesh. The lion gave great cry and collapsed to the ground. Rizzen appeared as he pulled his assassin's dagger out of the tough skin, a wry grin on his face.

"Coward." Zal'Nir muttered under his breath. Meliadoul was already despoiling the sarcophagi when the males sheathed their weapons.

"To the next room," Rizzen called. As the others headed to next door of the hallway, Rizzen skittered back, his face pale. "I hear moaning from the other side", he squealed.

"Nonsense, it's some wind from the down below." His sister replied as she pushed the door open, but as she stepped into the room, her heart suddenly exploded in cold pain, as if thousands of arrows were piercing her black heart. The priestess stood there momentarily gripping her chest. The others eyed her curiously. She stumbled in and caught her breath as her heart starting beat again and the pain slowly receded. Rizzen glanced at the door and smiled.

"The door was trapped. A ward geared to slay any living creature that crossed its threshold. Thanks, sister, for pointing out where it was. I myself would have trouble finding it." Her sister made no reply, though she shot him one of those looks that would put shivers down anyone's spin.
Rizzen simply chuckled and quickly went to work, removing the glyph carefully.

"Ah! Done!" As soon as the elf stood up Zal'Nir shoved him aside and rushed into the room. Before him loomed the statue of regal woman whose elegant features caught the fighter's eye. Those eyes flared with crimson light a misty face sprung out of the statue. The dark elf yelped and scrambled out. A hazy white figure flowed out of the sculpture in pursuit, although it didn't leave the room.

"What?" The Neuromancer asked.

"Ha! Told you! The moaning was no wind!" Rizzen cried in triumph, he was right for once!

Zal'Nir was whimpering for the first time in ages.

"Dolts! I'll take of it for you. It's just a ghost."
The priestess stalked in, her Vhaerun's mask covering her face. Meliadoul glowered at the moaning spirit. The ghost of the very same woman depicted in the statue stared at her with red frightened eyes. It shrieked and vanished.

"Quick, check the rooms, now!" The priestess commanded her brothers. "She'll be back in a matter of minutes!"

Rizzen refused to budge. He wasn't going to walk into that damn chamber, what with all the death traps and a restless poltergeist! Zal'Nir stalked in grunting "coward" under his breath. The wizard followed. This chamber had four rooms and only one held anything of value. The skeleton of that room wore a golden pectoral. They also found a golden ring on his finger. As Zal'Nir reached for the ring, a voice boomed: "Whomsoever despoils my tomb shall be devoured by demons seven days hence!" The fighter hesitated just a second before his greed overcame his fear. He popped both items into his bag of holding.

"We'll see about that in seven days!" he yelled back. In truth, he gripped a sword a little harder from then on.

The group swiftly left the room, heading down the stairs. It led them into a series of caverns where more dead lay. Though here, the bones were strewn unceremoniously in alcoves carved into the walls and on the floor. They continued deeper into the darkness. The next cavern was similar to the first save that the statue of some alien creature with bulbous eyes stood in the middle. The drow avoided this statue. Rizzen had the feeling that all immobile things made of rock were dangerous. The cave ended in a narrow corridor. As they crept through a raspy voice whispered.

"What is your business here?" The Neuromancer jolted and grabbed his wand. Rizzen glanced around him and noticed the talking stalagmite.

"Just passing through." Meliadoul replied. "You wouldn't have seen a another group of drow coming through here?"

"Drow've been passing through here since they lost Shadowdale to the humans and to answer your question: yes, I have seen many group of your kind here." The thing growled.

The Neuromancer had no idea what the rock was babbling about. Perhaps he'd have to pour through his history books when he got back to the outpost. Shadowdale belonged to the drow? The priestess bade the roper adieu and the group trudged on.

The corridor widened into another cavern. Zal'Nir exploded ub laughter when he saw a bunch of skeletons standing idly in the middle of the cave.

to be continued...

More caverns

Meliadoul grabbed her mask and flashed at the undead. Then, she ordered them to turn and stand in formation. The skeleton did just that.

"Well, just like a small personal army of goblins, without the smell." The Neuromancer mused.

Suddenly something crashed into the priestess. She whirled about trying to see what it was. A hideous ghoul-like creature tried to stab its sharp claws into her tough mithril breatsplate. It thrashed as it tried to bear Meliadoul down. The cleric managed to escape from those wicked claws. Soon enough, Zal'Nir was all over the beast, his longsword slashing furiously. His brother joined the fray and tried to find a good opportunity to stab his lethal dagger into the the ghoul's skin. A claw raked accross Zal'Nir's face and as he howled in pain, the fighter noticed that his legs no longer moved. His sword clanged to ground and in this moment of panic. He tried to pick it up, but his arms were numb. All he could do was stare helplessly at the gaunt figure as it flashed a voracious smile of serrated teeth. When Zal'Nir thought that all was lost, in came Rizzen's dagger. A perfect stab right into the thing's neck. The monster fell and a triumphant grin etched across the assassin's face. He looked into his paralyzed brother's eyes. Zal'Nir swore that he would have broken Rizzen's nose onyl if he could move.

It took a few minutes until the monster's paralyzation wore off. They continued ever deeper into the caverns. The drow eventually arrived in a cavern chamber that reeked of death. The Neuromancer had come to the conclusion that this must have been the ghoul-like creature's lair. Rizzen covered his nose, he couldn't bear the nauseating stench. Piles of gear lay here and there, it must have belong to the creature's victims. Zal'Nir gathered every single item and but them into his bag of holding.

The adventurers pressed on and met the remnants of a wall that formerly sealed the passage to a larger cavern. Pieces of the masonry wall lie scattered on the ground. As they approached the entrance, Zal'Nir keen ears noticed a clicking. He motionned it in drow sign language that he heard something. Meliadoul motionned back her suspicions: that was the sound of a spider. To be sure of her conjecture, she sent one of her newly acquired servants first. They heard bones crack and crumble to the ground. They were expendable, so she sent another one. The sound of smashed bone echoed back again. Meliadoul wasn't a very patient elf, and frustration grew after a few seconds. She stomped right into the cave. She had been correct. A large spider that was the size of horse stood before her.

Zal'Nir approached, sword in hand, ready to charge, but then realized that the spider wasn't threatening his sister. It simply stood there idly just the like the skeletons they had found earlier. The Neuromancer approached and shuddered.

The group chose to ignore the spider as it posed no immediate threat. Behind the spider, they found a hole that sloped steeply downwards. In a single file, the dark elves, along with their undead servants, marched on deeper.

Up on the ceiling

Behind them, the large eye-less spider followed. The wizard was first to realize that the arachnid was trailing them. In a drow sign language, he gestured that perhaps it would be wiser to dispose of the creature. Agreeing with the skinny mage, Meliadoul sent in her skeletons to do the work. The undead charged in, their bones clicking as their bonys feet hit the rough uneven floor. The spider pushed one aside, easily sending it back to death. The others didn't even manage to touch it and snapped at another with its black mandibles. Zal'Nir growled and joined the fray, his enchanted lonsword twirling as his adamantite full plate armor clunked. Two slashes had the monstrous spider's front legs sliced off and a final stab sent it to the ground.

"Is that all you got?" The fighter asked aloud as he wiped the sweat that started rolling down his dark scarred face. A large scar cut through his right cheek like lightning through the black clouds of a stormy night. A drider had done this to him on oneof his lone excursions into the perilous outskirts of Menzoberrazan. Is what also during that battle that he abandonned the traditionnal drow fighting style of Jivvin Golhyrr for Z'ress A'thalak's brute force.

"It is indeed all that we've got!" echoed a voice in drow tongue from above. Rizzen immediately started to motion intricate instructions. His movement were too fast, but Zal caught the jist of it. His brother was to sneak up on them, while the rest of the group would go meet their caller. The assassin melted away between the stalacmites that pierced through the cavern floor like fangs in some gargantuan beast's mouth.

Meliadoul directed her dead guards to surround her and climbed up to where they had just descended from, with the Neuromancer and Zal'Nir close behind. A drow elf wearing a chain shirt and a white tabard with a leering black skull awaited them. He held a glaive in his right hand and with his left, he beckoned the heroes to approach.

"Reveal yourselves. Who are you and what is your business here?" He asked.

"Well, our names and our business are our own. We don not have reveal ourselves to you." Meliaoul spat defiantly. "Who are you, might I ask?" The priestess continued.

"You are in the Szith Morcane territory. Only when you'll have answered my questions, will you be allowed to continue further into the Night Below." The sentry sternly answered.

"Answer this!" Zal'Nir sneered as he lunged at the sentry with his blade. Simultaneously, Rizzen sprang out from behind a rock and stabbed him in the back. The dark elf slumped over and his glaive clanged as it hit the ground. Suddenly three quarrels came in whistling from all sides. Glancing up and down the cave, the Neuromancer pointed at a foe that was shooting from behind the remains of the wall at the cavern's entrance. As Zal'Nir ran towards the crossbowman, incantations echoed from the ceiling. A sizzling bolt of lightning streaked down onto Meliadoul. She shrieked as searing white pain washed through her body. The Neuromancer countered by flinging a bolt of utter darkness at the now visible drow hanging from the ceiling. The crawling wizard's reactions were incredibly fast, probably enhanced by a spell, the Neuromancer thought. His bolt's aim was wide and landed a few feet from its target. From the ceiling more incantations were uttered. The air grew suddenly chilly and a roaring wind swiftly filled the tunnels. Great fist-size chunks of ice poured on our priestess, crushing her and her undead followers. As she stumbled back up, another bolt of electricity arched down into to Meliadoul's now battered frame.

All the while, the brothers were fighting furiously to fight the Szith Morcanese sentries. Zal'Nir twirled his longsword at his opponent. The sentry could only dodge the attacks; Zal'Nir's slashes were impossibly fast never allowing his opponent the time to draw his own sword. The overpowered drow's boot landed on a loose pile of rumble. That was all Zal needed to end his life. A quick flick of the wrist sent his enchanted blade slicing at the off-balance elf's neck. The head thumped to the cold stony ground landing in its body's pool of blood.

Rizzen knew that he had to take out the gravity defying mage. He gulped down a potion and started to scale the cave's walls faster than a spider. Only a few feet separated him from his prey, when it vanished. The assassin scrambled through his potion belt to find the potion that would revealed all invisible creatures. He finally the found the green liquid and qualfed it down. As the magic from the vial took effect, Rizzen saw the spellguard drift slowly to ground and run towards the hole. Thankfully, the Neuromancer saw him first, for he too had a special potion. Small flashing orbs of crimson energy leaped from his fingers and slammed into the refugee. The running wizard crashed into the ground and tumbled down the steep slope, his eyes rolling backwards and his body going limp.

Meliadoul's world was whirl of pain and numbness. As she lay staring into the starless night of the cavern ceiling, she began chanting a prayer so that the cold sting of ice would recede. Her broken ribs mended and her wounds disappeared. Feeling much better she finally joined her brothers who were arguing about what to do next. Zal'Nir kept on saying that they should run into Szith Morcane and slay them all, where as Rizzen insisted that caution was the best call. The Neuromancer stared, amused by the fighting siblings. A sudden flare of genius lit up his cold calculating mind. "Three quarrels were shot. Yet we've slain only two sentries. The third one must have already headed back to the oupost," the mage stated.

Until next session. Same bat-time, same bat-station.

Good stuff, and damn well written!

And it's an interesting approach using the drow to attack the drow.

Every one of these story hours I read makes me more nervious about subjecting my own players to Szith Morcane and the rest of the 'Spider Queen' dangers!

Thanks

Thanks.

None of the current characters were anywhere close to 10th level, so made new character specifically for the campaign. Drow heroes was interesting so we went for it.