The Heroes of the Cloakwood

The Troupe makes their way through the Cloakwood, still searching for Tiber’s brother Chelak. They pull their way through ettercaps and spiders, webs and undergrowth, deeper into the wood. Each step taking them closer to Tazok, to the Iron Throne, to Gorion’s killer.

6 Eleasias 1368

Back in the Keep I would often dust cobwebs from petrified bookshelves full of ancient tomes; one of the many chores the monks would have me do. Now we are deep in a spider-infested wood, constantly pulling ourselves out of fresh webs as huge spiders hunt us down, and smaller ones crawl all over us. How did I get here?

We kill one spider and ettercaps follow it: the beasts that infested the wood in the first place. Spiders of all sizes follow them and settle wherever they happen to be.

Despite our hindered movement we slay them easily. But their bite is poisonous, and it flows into Khalid’s veins. Thankfully we have some Antidotes on hand.

We can’t turn anywhere in this wood without spiders of all sizes following the silk threads to our position. Small spiders crawl all over us. The larger spiders are hungry for our flesh, so we feed them arrow and blade.

We come to a river with a waterfall. Less trees grow here, allowing us to see the sky clearly; and we can see giant spiders at the foot of the falls.

These spiders seem to phase out of our plane of existence, only to materialise next to Khalid. Their long legs latch into the gaps in Khalid’s armour and they try to pull him toward hungry mandibles.

Khalid forces Varscona into them instead, and their blood mixes with the water of the river. I thought giant spiders were bad enough, but now they can teleport as well. I hate this place.

We find some kind of structure in the middle of the woods. It seems to be constructed of dead wood mixed with thick cobwebs hardened to form a thick wall. The structure is in the loose shape of a dome, with an opening surrounded by logs and bones.

Perhaps this is where Chelak ended up. Khalid steps forward, but a chill grips my spine. The visions strike again – flashes of my own death, played on repeat. A looming shape, swollen and grotesque, something almost human.

This battle proved to be all but impossible right now. There’s a script after you wound the boss that cancels all commands given to the party, meaning spells get wasted, characters stop attacking, and so on. No matter what I couldn’t avoid a party wipe because I simply couldn’t do anything to defend myself.

I still think we need to check if Chelak is here, though. I pull out my Potions of Invisibility and hand one to Khalid so he can follow me with the Bag of Holding. I go inside first and see the creature from my vision. It isn’t an ettercap, but it barely seems human either.

Ettercaps and spiders surround it. Cautiously I walk to a pile of flesh and bone near the creature. There is a body here, a fresh kill clutching an enchanted sword.

We have to deliver the news to his brother. I quickly gather up the corpse and whatever seems useful from the pile as Khalid stores what he can in the Bag of Holding. Somehow the spiders and ettercaps don’t hear us. We quietly make our way out of this spider-hole before they do.

We take a look at the items we managed to gather. Chelak’s sword is indeed enchanted, but it’s hard to tell what it was that made him so bold.

Among the equipment there are Bracers of Protection. Our armour is better than these, however, so we leave them in the Bag.

There is some real armour as well, an enchanted splint mail. It still doesn’t offer any of us more protection than we already have.

A few trinkets among the stash, a fire opal ring and a ruby. They may fetch us some coin the next time we need to trade.

There is also an enchanted girdle. Jaheira tries it on and says it seems to offer her some protection.

We also managed to obtain an enchanted ring. Khalid tries it on and he suddenly starts looking around in a panic, as if he doesn’t know where he is anymore. The ring is cursed!

We use Gellana’s Curse Removing Soap to get it off. I wonder if this ring could be responsible for Chelak’s foolishness and bravery in entering these spider-infested woods.

I crack open the last item I picked up, expecting a spellbook or tome of knowledge. Instead, I find a journal. As I flick through the pages, I realize it belongs to the creature within the lair.

Cursed, abandoned, left to rot in the dark. She was once someone who loved, who longed to be loved in return. And yet, she became this. A monster. The thought unsettles me. How many more lives will be twisted by magic and misfortune before my journey is done? How close am I to such a fate?

I almost feel I should put her out of her misery, but perhaps she deserves the punishment she has wrought upon herself. Like Chelak, she tried to be a hero, but her actions were that of a jealous lover, not a hero. She deserves her fate, Chelak did not.

And while we didn’t save Chelak, we can at least return his body to his brother. His fate may be undeserved, but at least we can bring peace to his family.

We make our way back to Tiber, unhindered by the webs and spiders we have already cut down. He breaks down when we show him his brother’s fate.

We wish him well on his journey home, though we know his path will only bring more pain.

We make our way back through the forest, following the river to the south. The sound of the ocean can be heard in the distance. Along the cliffs we spot another phase spider, and we prepare for it to teleport.

It disappears and rematerialises next to Helga, and she raises her Stalwart Defender to block its sharp chitinous legs. Khalid moves to aid her in close combat.

The spider manages to push past Helga’s shield and sinks its mandibles into her arm. She steps back in pain as poison rushes into her. Khalid throws her an Elixir of Health which she quickly consumes.

She moves away from the spider and Coran sinks an arrow into it before it can follow her.

We move slowly, but not slowly enough. Another of the ettercaps’ web traps traps us on the cliffs, as a giant spider closes in on us.

The webs pin Coran down as he tries to defend himself with his Mind-as-Swift-as-Weasels. We support his efforts with bow and sling, but it’s hard to aim through the sticky silk.

Jaheira manages to crack open its skull and we turn our focus to cutting ourselves out of this web trap.

As we do so Helga decides to take a dig at Jaheira and druids in general.

Jaheira: Peace must be fought for like anything else. Even animals fight for their own piece of mind.

Helga: Bah. What glory can ye find with the scurrying squirrel?

Jaheira: Not everything is about bloodshed or battle. You would do well to open your mind further, priest.

Helga: All I see is a puffy cheek critter. Ye keep to your wood view, I’ll keep to me battles.

No sooner has she finished talking and we cut ourselves free, another phase spider teleports into us and starts going for Coran.

He is bit and is forced to consume another of Khalid’s Elixirs of Health.

Khalid leaps on the spider from behind and cuts it open. With the ordeal over we continue toward the cliffs overlooking the sea, only to be caught in yet another web trap.

I’m sick of this. Once again we cut ourselves free and walk south toward the cliffs, toward the sea breeze. Selene said there was a dragon around here. Coran insists it must be the wyvern we are hunting.

Perched upon the edge of a cliff we find a winged lizard. And yet, though small enough, its scales are a bright red which isn’t usual for wyverns. Then Coran points out its tail. No barbs. Is this actually a wyrmling – a young dragon?

It notices our approach and it swoops toward us. While Khalid steps up to hold its advance, I hit it with my Wand of Lightning.

Khalid manages to get its attention while Helga Hurls a Stone at the young dragon.

While it holds Khalid at bay with its large claws, the dragon rears it head and looks directly at White. Its teeth spark as its jaws open, and flames burst forth and consume the barbarian. Fortunately White has a Potion of Fire Resistance in his belt and uses it to reduce the effects of his skin burning.

With its head exposed, Coran is able to get a lucky shot, sending an arrow into the dragon’s yellow eyes. The beast falls and will no longer trouble the druids of this wood.

White pats himself down and is able to extinguish the dragon’s flame. But for a moment, the rest of us don’t speak. The beast’s lifeless form sprawls across the rocks, its red scales still gleaming in the light. Even Coran, ever quick with a jest, is silent.

Did we just… did we just slay a dragon? Of course I have read about these legendary creatures, but the books always talk about the old dragons, wyrms that have lived for generations even by an elf’s reckoning. It had never occurred to me that they could be young, that they may not have learned the powers that make them so terrifying.

White starts drinking Potions to bring him back to fighting strength. I’m amazed he’s still as healthy as he is. I thought for sure he was gone when the dragon’s breath consumed him.

He says that he has learned to be more careful in future fights, and that preparedness is also a vital skill for battle.

His Breath and Spells Saving Throws improve by 1 each. He also gets a bonus of 1 to THAC0, 14 additional Hit Points, and 1 point of Lore.

Helga says this battle has reminded her of battles old where she would often fight larger opponents. She also says she’s starting to get a hang of the sling.

She gets another Weapon Proficiency which I put into slings. Her Wand and Breath Saving Throws improve by 1 point, and her THAC0 improves by 2 points. She gets one more Level 1 and Level 2 Spell. She also gains 8 Hit Points and 2 points of Lore.

Khalid takes his Varscona to the dragon’s head. It is an unusual dragon, and you’d easily mistake the dragon for a wyvern at this age. I ask Coran if this is the wyvern he wanted to hunt. He shakes his head. The tail has no barbs. There must still be a wyvern to hunt in these woods.

I still can’t believe this may be an actual dragon. I’ve come a long way since cleaning dust and cobwebs from tomes of legend. Now I’m cutting through webs infested with creatures those books described. I am no longer a bookworm, but a slayer of wyrms.