Belowdown Ep. 5

The Belowdowners climbed down to Level 9 and stepped into a maze of chalk-marked caverns where bipedal, eight‑eyed, purple‑furred spider‑folk gorged on lumps of nameless flesh. The party struck first. Webs hissed through the dark, Junie went down hard, and Wolf was trussed and poisoned more than once. Aratha froze two of the creatures with a well‑timed incantation, Adder’s blasts hammered the flank, and Wolf’s blade finally dropped the first of many. One survivor fled, hissing in a serpentine tongue.

After a quick retreat to town and resupply, they returned to a grisly scene: five spider‑folk corpses, hacked apart rather than bitten, and piles of nauseating meat. Deeper in, they found a shaft thick with webs and dead vermin, then a side‑room where three orcs of the Hell’s Skulls mercenaries lay cocooned, branded with flaming skulls. One clutched a black curling tusk etched in silver. Aratha read the runes: a single casting of acid arrow, the tusk itself serviceable as a short sword.

Pressing on, they reached a brood‑chamber. A bloated matron chittered to three attendants while a floating eyeball, chained by its pierced lid to the floor, hovered over offerings of hearts and “prepared” flesh. Aratha answered with a rolling cloud of death. Wolf braced in the doorway like a living bulwark while the chamber filled; the attendants and the eyeball perished where they stood. The party torched the obscene heaps, and the stench drove them onward.

At a yawning web‑choked shaft, Wolf knotted a safety line to the eyeball’s brass chain, sank the spike, and led the crossing on a taut spider‑rope and hook. Beyond, a glittering hoard glimmered behind a malodorous spider‑ogre bristling with barbs and a dozen glaring eyes. Its gaze dazed minds and its vast webs pinned bodies; Aratha blinded it, Junie slimed it with a clinging alchemical rot, and Aratha loosed acid from the tusk. Reeling and corroding, the brute fled—only to die beyond sight as the slime ate through.

They gathered the hoard—coin, citrines, a beetle‑caught amber, and a carnelian necklace—left some silver too bulky to haul, and returned to town. Over carousing and a familiar tithe skimmed by the Thieves’ Guild, they tallied the dead, the loot, and the leads left behind in the Web Warrens.

OUTLINE:

Descent into Level 9 and First Clash

• The Belowdowners descended the stone ladders into a chalk‑marked cavern network on Level 9.
• They encountered six bipedal purple‑furred spider‑folk feasting on lumps of flesh beneath pictographs of humans trapped in circular webs.
• Aratha’s hold froze two foes; Adder’s blasts and Wolf’s blade cut another; Junie fell and was later revived.
• A survivor fled, hissing in a serpentine tongue into the tunnels.

Resupply and Grim Discoveries

• The party returned to town for light and draughts, then descended again.
• They found five spider‑folk corpses mutilated by cutting and tearing rather than bitten, alongside piles of strange meat.
• A web‑choked shaft with dead vermin and lifeless runes loomed ahead.
• In a side‑room, three Hell’s Skulls orcs hung cocooned and dead, one gripping a black curling tusk etched with silver runes (a one‑use acid arrow, the tusk usable as a short sword).

Brood‑Chamber and the Chained Eyeball

• They confronted a bloated ettercap matron with three attendants and a floating eyeball chained by a pierced lid to a floor spike.
• Aratha unleashed a killing cloud while Wolf braced the doorway; the attendants and the eyeball died inside the fog.
• The room held hearts, parts, and “prepared” meat; they burned the obscene piles and pressed on.

Crossing the Shaft and Facing the Spider‑Ogre

• At a smooth‑walled shaft, Wolf set a brass‑chain anchor and spider‑rope with a safety line; the party traversed and left the rig for retreat.
• Beyond a trickling stream, a malodorous, barbed, many‑eyed spider‑ogre guarded a glittering hoard.
• Its gaze dazed minds and wide webs pinned bodies; Aratha blinded it, Junie coated it with bottled slime that kept eating, and Aratha later loosed acid from the tusk.
• Wolf was dropped and healed back; Adder’s volatile power repeatedly backfired as he tried to bring it to bear.
• Corroding and panicked, the brute fled; the slime finished it in the tunnels.

Hoard Claimed and Aftermath

• They recovered 55 gp, 2,000 sp (leaving a portion due to weight), four citrines, beetle‑amber, and a carnelian necklace.
• The group returned to town; the Thieves’ Guild skimmed a cut during carousing.
• Wolf leveled, and the party noted unresolved mysteries in the Web Warrens (who hacked the spider‑folk, the purpose of the chained eye).

NPCs:

• Chained Floating Eyeball: A single vast eye, its lid pierced and chained to a floor spike, hovering over offerings as if transforming parts into strange meat.
• Escaped Ettercap Scout: A survivor from the first battle who fled hissing in a snake‑like language deeper into the warrens.
• Ettercap Attendants: Purple‑furred, bipedal spider‑folk with poison webs and biting mandibles, guarding their matron and larders.
• Ettercap Broodmother: A bloated matron perched in webs, spinning fat bundles of flesh and directing her attendants in the brood‑chamber.
• Hell’s Skulls Orcs (Cocooned): Three orcs branded with a flaming skull, found cocooned and dead; one clutched the runed tusk.
• Spider‑Ogre Brute: A malodorous, barbed, many‑eyed giant of the warrens whose gaze dazed minds and whose sweeping webs snared whole ranks.

ITEMS:

• Bottled Slime (Junie): A clinging alchemical slime that keeps eating until scraped, burned, cut, frozen, or outshone.
• Carnelian Bead Necklace: A warm‑hued string of carnelian beads, a prize glittering amid the brute’s hoard.
• Citrines and Beetle‑Amber: Four thumb‑sized citrines and a glossy amber with a beetle trapped within, taken from the hoard.
• Eyeball’s Brass Chain and Spike: A corroded brass chain and floor spike torn from the chained eye, later used to anchor a crossing.
• Misty‑Step Mace (Aratha): A battered mace tied to sudden, errant flashes of teleportation when its magic misbehaves.
• Runed Black Tusk: A curling black tusk etched with silver runes that can be read once to loose an acid arrow; the tusk itself serves as a short blade.
• Silver Longsword (Wolf): A well‑used blade that has tasted venom and ichor in the warrens.
• Spider‑Rope and Grappling Hook: A strong silk rope and hooked head used to span the shaft and secure a safety traverse.

LOCATIONS:

• Brood‑Chamber of the Matron: A reeking nest of webs, flesh bundles, and a chained floating eye that oversaw grisly offerings.
• Hoard Cavern by the Stream: A glittering cache guarded by a barbed spider‑ogre, with a small stream threading the stone.
• Ladder Shaft Chamber: The dark, narrow descent that opened into the first feeding cavern where the party struck.
• Orc Cocoon Den: A side‑room where branded Hell’s Skulls orcs hung cocooned, one clutching a runed tusk.
• Web Warrens, Level 9: A maze of chalked pictographs, clotted webs, and damp stone beneath the city, hunted by spider‑folk.
• Web‑Choked Shaft of Dead Runes: A smooth‑walled drop veiled in webs and trapped vermin, its rune‑rings cold and lifeless.

FACTIONS:

• City Thieves’ Guild: The unseen hands who skim a familiar cut from revelers’ purses during carousing nights.
• Ettercap Nest of Level 9: The spider‑folk colony infesting the warrens, now missing its attendants and a brute but not yet eradicated.
• Hell’s Skulls Mercenaries: A hard‑fighting orc company that brands its own with a flaming skull; three were found cocooned and dead.

QUESTS:

• Cull the Web Warrens on Level 9: Reduce or eliminate the ettercap threat and make the route safe for deeper delves.
• Discover the Fate of the Hell’s Skulls Patrol: Track what happened to the branded orcs found cocooned in the warrens.
• Establish a Safe Crossing over the Webbed Shaft: Rig a reliable traverse to move the party and loot across the dangerous drop.
• Recover the Brute’s Hoard: Claim valuable coin and curios guarded by the spider‑ogre beyond the shaft.
• Unravel the Purpose of the Chained Eye: Determine what the floating, chained eyeball was doing to the flesh offerings and why.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A kineticist who channels raw force until it burns him as readily as his enemies. Adder fights from range, building power for devastating blasts that sometimes backfire, scalding his own reflexes and breath. In the warrens he hammered foes, called for their morale to break, and helped finish the spider‑ogre despite punishing recoil.
• Aratha: A druid‑scholar who wields storm, poison, and silence with equal poise, and mends wounds when the line buckles. Calm under pressure, she froze minds, cloaked foes in killing vapor, blinded a many‑eyed horror, and poured acid from a runed tusk. She also kept her companions on their feet through timely, powerful restorations.
• Junie: A resourceful alchemist whose belt clinks with tinctures, solvents, and the occasional bottled catastrophe. Junie bounces between slingstones and handaxes, but her craft shines in concoctions like bottled slime and quick‑mixed heals. She lit the dark, revived allies, and slimed the spider‑ogre into a panicked, melting retreat.
• Wolf: A hard‑charging shield‑bearer with a silver longsword and a talent for holding lines others would flee. Wolf’s instincts are blunt but brave; he wades into danger, eats the risk, and cracks jokes about stranger meats than he should. In the warrens he was webbed, bitten, dropped, healed, and still made himself a wall when it mattered.