CB's City of the Spider Queen v3.5

[CanadienneBacon]

K'yorl snaps down the hood of her robe and allows Captain Morcane to lead her through the heavy iron door into a small darkened office chamber beyond. No prize of a work space, the office consists of a 10 x 10 room, the bulk of which is taken up by a wooden table with drawers, a bookcase with books on only one of the four shelves, and one bench-style chair that is awkwardly drawn up behind the table. Captain Morcane places the leather-bound tome in his hand flat on the table. After open to the ledger to a page half-filled with names, the drow Captain wordlessly dips a quill in red ink and, handing the dripping quill to K'yorl, indicates where he would have her sign and date her departure. In a dry voice, the Captain speaks. "Calimshan is hot this time of year, milady. I was there once, recently, and found it not to my liking. The sun is bright and the city smells of...humans..."

K'yorl spies out a name three lines above hers. In bold black script, the line reads "Morcane, T. Dated 1374 DR, 3rd Chitine of the month of Chalice." Not recognizing the name just after, which reads "Rayto Buna" and has no date affixed, K'yorl skips it in favor of the one signed just above the spot where Captain Morcane would have her sign. This line is scrawled with a signature that is nearly imperceptible but seems to read, "Marr-Shinn, Vicuriia. Dated 1374 DR. Chitine--Chalice."

Captain Morcane waits quietly to the side, watching K'yorl all the while.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Lyssa tries her best to non-chalantly glance back toward the passageway. Finding that, save for the odd straggler who enters the Lower Bar area, the crowd seems to be heading up rather than down and not spying any guardsmen save those who are already working at the Bar, Lyssa turns her attention back to the iron door. Already uncomfortable with the wait, Lyssa looks up, only to realize that two of the bowmen on the catwalk have arrows notched and trained on the queue of folk waiting to exit. The rest of the guardsmen appear to be focused either on the wagon trains inside the gates or on the crowd that waits outside the gates.

 

[Eydis]

Zarra will try to listen toward the iron door for any signs of a possible struggle or anything abnormal, and will keep a sharp eye out, (Listen +12, Spot +12), until something happens or we are through the gate.

 

[Mellubb]

Alex looks at the Dwarf's bloody sack. The shrunken look on his face is somewhere between discust, shock, and disappointment. He holds his tongue but body language should tell everyone present how Alex now views the ranger.

 

[wmasters]

Blite shifts from hoof to hoof, waiting impatiently for K'yorl's return so they can be on their way.

 

[Watus]

K'yorl signs her name with a flourish and hands the captain his quill, leveling him with a heavy, inscrutable glare. She spins on her heel without a word and exits his squalid little cell without sparing him another thought.

She nods to Zarra as she approaches the assembled company. "Let's be off then," she says, raising the cowl on her cloak.

 

[Voadam]

The scowling Hael appears either not to notice, or not to care about, Alex's squeamish human reaction. His attention seems to be focused on the guards and crowd, watching for indications that things will turn ugly.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Captain Morcane tails K'yorl out of the office and has a private word with his lieutenant, who still clearly wants nothing to do with the majority of the party. The lieutenant nods and with some hesitation, begins moving toward the gate at the head of the party. Two drow sergeants pick up the party's right and left flank halfway across the open expanse of cavern and busy themselves clearing a path for the minotaur. Carts, wagons, and bystanders are abruptly ordered aside, causing many in the gaggle of merchants and newcomers to stop and stare at the procession.

Passing under the black malachite Bar induces a tingling under the skin akin to spiders hatching and burrowing for freedom. Once past the gate, however, the lieutenant and his two drow guardsmen turn and without so much as a word return to the cavern, leaving the companions on their own. With no sight of pursuit, the party finds themselves out of Szith Morcane and into the depths of the Upperdark.

The area outside of Szith Morcane is often referred to as the Deep Wastes. Most areas in this region are either natural caverns or long, winding tunnels. The size of the caverns and the width of the tunnels, however, oftentimes make it difficult to determine which feature is which. Streams and lakes are very common in this area, and the water in such features is icy cold. With rare exceptions, the walls in the Deep Wastes are unworked natural stone. The floors are also natural stone, frought with uneven surfaces, boulders, and stalagmites. Running and charging are impossible in the Deep Wastes. Some sections of the floor are uneven enough as to require Climb checks. Ceilings in the Deep Wastes are natural unworked stone, range in height to an average of 20 feet, and are littered with stalactites. Tracking is difficult and is equivalent to barren or badlands terrain. Movement is reduced to half of normal. Additionally, all the spellcasters in the party know that the Deep Wastes are subject to the full effects of faerzress. Pockets of wild magic are also not entirely uncommon.

We're at a transition point here; decisive action will need to be declared and taken by the players. Now might also be a good time to call for knowledge or survival checks to determine further hazards, cardinal direction, etc, etc. The Lower Bar dumps out into one large tunnel, which leads roughly east.

 

[Voadam]

Hael looks over his companions again, this time evaluating their stances, the way they hold themselves, how they evaluate their surroundings. He snorts, city warriors and spellcasters for the most part. He scowls and takes his bearings. Lets the wind of the big tunnels wash over him again and lets himself just look and look for a minute.

"Lets head out a ways and make our plans. How many of you have been there before?"

ooc: Survival +14 for orientation and wilderness navigation.

 

[Eydis]

Well Zarra has knowledge underdark +8, Survival +6, knowledge nature +5; and can aid anyone else on their Survival check if they are within 30 ft. of her (against a DC 10 using her Survival), which grants them a +2 circumstance bonus, if she makes it.

Zarra will ask "Was anyone able to read the words on the Bar? I could only make out the word 'soul' and that the gate had a magical aura as well as a little box on the wall by the one gaudsman, and it felt kind of funny walking through the gate."