Session 24
After almost 18 hours of travelling through the cave, the Yugs stop the party and say that through the next small squeeze-space is the first of the obstacles the party will need to overcome: spiders! The group decide to stop for a rest before heading on, setting up a watch in case anything comes out of the darkenss at them. They pass the “night” jumping at shadows.
Wei realises they don't know the Yugs names, so asks them. They are: Igsai, Runxai, Srash, Pufees and Jitmild. Igsai seems to have become the small group's spokes-yug.
Pushing through the final crawlspace, the group finds themselves standing on a ledge overlooking a vast ravine. The light of their torches doesn't extend far enough to see any other features. They experiment with firing arrows with Light cast on them, and eventually discover another ledge some distance away connected by a rickety bridge supported by spider silk. Webs extend up the walls behind them, and into the ravine before them.
Noticing their presence, some of the local fauna comes to investigate. The group are ambushed by three chitine, riding on the back of giant spiders. Unsure of how strong the enemy is, the group let loose and destroy the three scouts. A cry goes out in the darkness, but for the time being they are left alone.
The group decides to traverse the bridge that the Yugs had left behind. Most cross without incident, though Wei is almost pulled into the ravine as the Yugs he has tied himself to slip. Luckily, two of them are able to grab ahold and save all six from tumbling in. Kathra, concerned the bridge would not hold the weight of her armour, instead sprints across the spider silk to near the next ledge then leaps the rest of the way. Behind her, the bridge collapses.
As the group take stock on the plateau they're now stranded on, the underground denizens launch their attack in earnest. Numerous giant spiders, chitine and cholorith descend from the ceiling, trying to ensnare the group in webbing before moving in for the kill. As the group begin to prevail, two larger spiders with wicked green markings descend from the ceiling, and set about spitting venom into the fight. The Yugs, grouped together for protection, are caught in one of the first blasts and a number of them fall.
The group wins out, then sets about working out how to proceed. Again using Light and arrows they discover some more distant outcroppings of rock in the darkness. Whilst some members of the group begin frantically creating kites and sails to try to leap across, Suna leans into her newfound power and transforms into a giant bat. She begins ferrying the party across one by one, taking the stealthiest first so as not to attract attention at the next outcropping. Kathra is left until last, and as she waits for the final lift is set upon once more by the spiders. Through Kazan no Saisei's intervention, however, the attack is very swiftly halted.
On the far ledge the remaining Yugs (Igsai, Srash and Jitmild) lead the group forwards. The room begins to lower, with the party quickly entering a low maze of webbing. Relying on the Yugs to guide them backfires slightly as the Yugs get lost. When they finally manage to find their way through, they present to the group a sheer cliff. The drop is about 200 feet, with the Yugs saying the way onwards is at the bottom. The way down is obscured by numerous webs, and more spiders can be seen lurking in the shadows. Feeling pretty done with spiders, Suna blasts the webbing to pieces with Fire Bolts, allowing the group to proceed.
The group rig a rope and begin climbing down. It's not the easiest climb, but aside from a few slips and near misses almost everyone manages to make it down. Unfortunately, Jitmild slips halfway and ends up with her arm wedged between two rocks, crying plaintively for help. Kathra again comes last, both in case of spider attack and because she's the heaviest. Unfortunately for her, her worry was correct and the rope snapped under the weight of her armour. As she fell she tried to grab Jitmild, but where the Yug's arm was stuck Kathra's weight instead yanked her arm out of it's socket, dragging the Yug with her as the arm remained stuck. Just as she was about to hit the floor Kathra cast Death Ward on herself, taking the fall to protect the Jitmild before healing them both.
After taking stock the group proceeded onwards, into the tunnels.