CB's City of the Spider Queen v3.5

The party is currently in the lower half of the natural cavern, headed south toward the passageway to the Lower Bar.

Map Key

Natural Cavern: This huge natural cavern has the Chasm at its northwestern border. Primarily a mixed milleu of shop fronts borderning the natural stone of the cavern's west and east walls and a veritable maze of market stalls and hastily erected market shanties offering everything from hard tack to black diamonds, the natural cavern of the bazaar is a feast for the eyes and an assault on the nose.

Tariff Office: Staffed by citizen accountants and drow guardsmen, the tariff office is inset into the northern wall of the bazaar's natural cavern near the Chasm dropoff. Merchants with established shop fronts must by law make a monthly accounting of sales and invoice to the Tariff Office. A company of guardsmen insures that business and customers remain orderly.

Perfumed Quarter: From the exotic to the cheap, the Perfumed Quarter is a large but enclosed cavern held together by mortared stone with an elaborate archway entry into a maze of shops and other nefarious forms of entertainment. Goods from the surface world are contained to the Perfumed Quarter, which is named not for any scent particularly pleasing to the nose but rather because of the unbearable stench.

Alehouses: Drink, meals, entertainment, and company.

Public Bathhouses: A natural hot spring warms the waters of these public bathhouses. For a silver mark, guests of Szith Morcane are encouraged to bath upon entry from the Lower Bar.

Looking a little amazed by Alex's words, Zarra replies "Well then, we shall either need to fight our way out or hide for a while and figure out another means. Just don't forget that they are all armed with bows and will shoot at us as we approach."

"Why should they shoot at us" Prixo asks "unless we start trouble?

I don't know if the guards use magic, but if not, maybe we can. I can alter my own appearance. Ardyth, perhaps you can perform some illusion that will help? Maybe even an illusory writ to display?

If not, I would still prefer to sneak out some other way than fighting."

"Either way is fine. Just know that I may be a small human, but I am human non the less." Alex states quite matter-of-factly "I am niether silver tongued nor deft at hiding. I am a straight forward kind of guy and can do little to aid a stealthy escape of the city."

Alex then sighs. He does not like the feeling of helplessness and likes less to admit he might not be as good as someone else at something especially in Ardyth's eyes.

Knowing that he's unlikely to easily blend into the crowd, Blite begins to head south towards the lower bar, hoping that the guard will not follow. Glancing at the rest of the party "Well I'm not hanging around. Coming?"

As Zarra is making her way, she will ask Lyssa "Have you any quick ideas on how to do this, my friend?"

Lyssa

Lyssa considers as she flaps along. "I think a little fast talking at the gate might be in order. Perhaps we can either bluff or intimidate our way through before word of the trouble in the market gets down there. Either way let's make haste. If we can't talk our way through then we'll have to hit them hard and flee. I have a scroll that will create a little mist to cover our escape."

When the last of the spiders fell and Lyssa winged down to her drow friend, Hael dropped down to the drider's corpse. With a curse as he put weight on his wounded leg the duergar raised his axe and brought it down on the dead drider's neck, severing the abomination's head. Picking up the large bloody trophy he stumped over to the others with a pronounced limp he is doggedly ignoring.

In response to Alex's question about injuries Hael grunts "Just a scratch that's not worth worrying about but the filthy spiders are infectious and my leg is inflamed already. I'll fight it off. I'm going to get my flying beast," he gestures up at the cavern ceiling "Where should I meet you all."

Prixo, glancing back and seeing what the dwarf is up to, sighs. Crazy dwarf.

"Before you go anywhere, friend dwarf ... do me a favor and lose the severed drow head before someone sees it."

"I am guessing just outside the lower gate, sir dwarf. I am thinking that a fog might be best used before we approach the gate and then we could try to slip through amidst the confusion, hopefully. We will all have to be as quick as possible though; the confusion won't last long at all I'm sure."