Session 85 - Solveig Makes Some... Interesting... Decisions

Wed 28th May 2025

In-game timeline: Alturiak 7 - Alturiak 7

Having chased one of the cultists around the sewers, they have arrived at a door, with no idea if he is behind it, but there is the sound of voices coming from within.

While the others wait around a corner, Solveig changes to a spider to check out the room, crawling under the door. He emerges on the other side of the door in a lounge area - a well-lit and relatively comfortable room within the sewers. He spots the guy they were chasing - the seeming leader of the ritual - on the far side of the room, and about 6 other cultists standing around, blades ready and discussing their next steps, being well aware of the intruders in the sewers.

Rather than retreat and tell the others of the contents of this room, Solveig decides to take advantage of his spider form and run across the well-lit and well-furnished room to see what is on the other side of the room. To save time, he runs across the floor of the room.

Unfortunately, despite being a relatively small spider, two of the cultists spot him. They seem a little jumpy about spiders and decide to try to stamp on this little beastie - the first missing, but the second managing to stamp on Solveig, which results on him instantly transforming back into a large firbolg under the cultist's foot!

With our other "Heroes" still standing unaware outside the room, Solveig is on his own in here. The cultists are surprised, but prepared for battle, having been forewarned. Solveig immediately tries to take some of them out using erupting earth - something which makes enough noise to alert those outside to something going on!

The cultists lay in to Solveig, using their pact weapons and summoned spiritual weapons to attack him. He withstands some of these attacks, but is knocked unconscious by a sickening radiance that emerges from the priest figure. By this time the others have entered the room and try to help an unconscious Solveig.

Around this point, with Faith trying to heal up Sanada and Solveig, it becomes apparent that the sewer disease that they contracted seems to have given them the equivalence of a level of exhaustion, and they are unable to receive the full benefits of any healing.

The others take on some of the cultists and Phil Spectre heads across the room to take out his former friends. These cultists are intelligent enough to know that being knocked unconscious is not enough to kill outright, and one of them stabs at Solveig's body, bring Solveig perilously close to death. Faith passes his Inspiration to Solveig to enable him to pass his death saving throw, despite having penalties from the disease, from previously being knocked out, and from his proximity to a despairing Sanada.

The group have managed to take down enough of the cultists now to make it safer bringing Solveig back from the brink, and Faith brings him back again before he fades completely, but he now has 3 levels of exhaustion.

The remaining cultists are trying to escape, but the party block their exit, capturing one of them, and the final cultist - the priest - is Banished by Faith, allowing the party to regroup where they know he will reappear, and they quickly subdue and capture him.

Whilst Sanada checks out the rest of the room, finding a couple of healing potions and a couple of doors, and Solveig recovers from two bouts of exhaustion and still being diseased, Faith and Alwaith interrogate the two captives.

The priest, Drake, is reluctant to reveal information and begins to bargain for his life. Faith promises to let him go if he spills all, Alwaith is more threatening than promising, something which seems to have less effect on the priest, who seems to think being killed by a warlock may be more pleasant than being killed by a vengeful God. But they slowly do extract some information about the sewers, and Thalios, the leader of the cult here. They learn that many of the members of this sect have been summoned away from here recently, so the sewers are not as occupied than it otherwise would be. Drake says that he does not know exactly where they have gone, but is well aware of the upcoming Cleansing and the return of Malar.

The evil side of the party comes to the fore, as Alwaith seems to relish the torture of his captive, using ravens to peck at his tied up body, and Solveig was worryingly keen on trying to order Phil Spectre to bite off the captive's genitals unless he talks quickly. Faith is a little disconcerted at this turn of events - a concern that will later prove valid when Solveig slits the throat of the other, tied up and unconscious, captive.

Faith decides to get the priest to lead them to Thalios' quarters. He takes them to one of the doors in the room that Sanada had previously spotted. It is unbolted and supposedly unlocked but Faith detects that the priest seems reluctant to go through this door. Concerned at this, he backs away from the door with the bound priest in hand.

At this point, Solveig, who had been very distracted by his illness and exhaustion, and was not really following what was going on, decides to walk boldly up to the door and attempt to knock it down. This was unnecessary, as it was unlocked. It opened to a dark corridor, and Solveig was not able to see very far down it.

Which meant he was not very able to see the giant spider standing just the other side of the door, mandibles salivating at the sound and smell of possible food this side of the door. The cultists' dislike of spiders becomes a little more apparent. After failing to cover Solveig in a web, the firbolg has a chance to escape with a Misty Step. But decides not to take it, and instead makes the spider glow with Faerie Fire before running, allowing the spider to strike Solveig who, in his weakened form, falls once again to the floor. The spider starts to drag Solveig's unconscious body into the darkened corridor.

The tied up priest takes advantage of the disturbance and tries to make a run for it, but Sanada is able to trip him up before he gets away, and she ties his legs up.

Alwaith gets to Solveig and focuses on attacking the spider, rather than help Solveig directly. He damages, but does not kill, the spider. Faith heals Solveig from a distance, as he is unable to reach him. Solveig is now at exhaustion level 3, having recovered from being unconscious twice and having the sewer disease.

Unfortunately the spider is able to have another attack on the prone Solveig before Solveig has a chance to get away. The teeth of the spider make contact and Solveig is once again unconscious, for the third time this fight. Alwaith manages to kill the spider with his attack, and the spider loosens its grip on Solveig, allowing Alwaith to drag the unconscious firbolg away from the door.

Faith runs over and pulls the door closed, with Alwaith having heard more scuttling noises from the corridor beyond. The cleric heals Solveig back to consciousness, but he is now at level 4 exhaustion.

With the priest tied at hands and feet, the other captive having been "mysteriously" had his throat cut and no other combatants to be seen, our "Heroes" regather. With the threat of battle no longer pressing, Faith realises that his Lesser Restoration spell could cure Solveig or Sanada's sewer disease, but he only has one higher level spell slot to use for it. He manages to cure Solveig's disease, indirectly recovering one of his levels of exhaustion (he is now back at level 3) and allowing him to receive healing properly in future, but Sanada's disease must still remain for now.

Our "Heroes" regroup, somewhat battered and having used a number of abilities, and work out their next steps….