Drow after Dark

(GM's note- Only Evan, Katya, and Sam were able to attend)

Summary
Marpenoth 7th
The party has brought the petrified Aria and Akari's mother Adkrona to a temple of Hanali in the elven town of Tangledtrees. Akari negotiates with the priests and they agree to save the bards. When Adkrona awakens, she grabs Akari and says "Akari, what are you doing here, you're in danger…" she trails off as she realizes she is no longer in the medusa's cave, but in a temple. She sweeps Akari into a hug and thanks her. She says they need to talk privately and they thank the priests and leave. When she walks outside and realizes it's Fall, she asks how long she was trapped. Akari replies that it's Uktar, it's been about six months. Mom tears up and whispers that as far as she's concerned, it's only been two days since Aldon's funeral.
The party goes to an inn, gets rooms and a private dining room. After food is served, Adkrona begins to tell her tale. She disappeared after the funeral after she was attacked by the assassins because she wanted to cover for Akari's existence. She killed all the assassins in town who had seen Akari and interrogated one of the assassins. She found out they were assassins from the Fire Knives in Westgate looking for revenge on orders from their Guildmaster. Akari asks why assassins from far away would come after them and their former adventuring companions. Adkrona explains that her father was an orphan from Westgate, the Fire Knives test orphans for potential and buy them from the orphanage, since orphans have no family to compete with the guild for loyalty. Akari's father was musically talented, and the guild trained him as an assassin who could pass as a bard. Adkrona met him in Cormyr while he was on a mission. He was undercover at a bard festival and Adkrona fell in love with him after hearing him play. She pursued him until he admitted he was really an assassin, she convinced him to run away from guild and become a bard for real. That was enough to get a death mark from the guild, but years later their adventuring party stopped a plot by the assassins guild and that really angered the guild. Aldon's former partner, Tagreth Cormaeril, is now the guildmaster and holds a grudge against Aldon for interfering with his career. Akari says that doesn't seem like enough to get a contract on all of them after all these years and Adkrona replies they stopped the assassination of the crown prince of Cormyr. Prim asks where the crown prince is now and Adkrona replies he is now the king of Cormyr… The assassin she questioned told her they were ordered to kill everyone else first to make her suffer. The only one who may still be alive is the wizard Adril from Saerloon. Adkrona's goal is to head to Harrowdale, where they invested money in local businesses, so she can withdraw funds, then take a portal to Cormyr. She wants to go to Saerloon to visit Adril's house. Even if he's not home, she has a way through the defenses and he may have left a way to reach him. If not, she will wait a few days for the party to catch up before she goes through the portals to Baldur's Gate, to speak with Adril's wizard friend Lexie Ravenwing. Akari explains about the magic amulet Adril left her to help find her mom, and Adkrona says Adril made a bunch of those years ago.
So Adkrona wants to head to Harrowdale and then head south. Everyone else is willing to head south, especially Dolomoth, Furath and Joan. Aria speaks up, she says they are only a couple days from the house where she and Ezra lived, she has not been there in months. She would like to check the house while they are so close. Adkrona says she will head to Harrowdale and wait there for them to catch up and tells them to meet her at the Anchorage inn. If they take more than a week, she will head through the portals and head for Saerloon and wait for them at the Blue Cow inn. If they don't catch up with her there, she will continue on to Baldur's Gate. She gives them directions on how the portals work. They take a day to shop for supplies and Joan needs a new horse to replace the one killed in the Feywild and Adkrona needs one as well. They also shop for potions and magic and Prim finds a couple of enchanted bolts. The next morning, the party leaves for Essembra and Adkrona heads to Harrowdale.
Marpenoth 11th
The party heads to Essembra, and Aria gives a few details. She recommends the Watchful Eye inn at Essembra for dinner and rooms. Before they arrive, she uses her disguise kit to change her appearance and hides her instruments in her saddle bags. At Essembra, they check into the inn and have a good meal. In the morning, Aria leads them to an old abandoned farm with a collapsed barn and rickety farm house. There are no signs of tracks or inhabitants. Furath casts Detect Magic and doesn't sense any magic traps. Aria looks for physical traps and opens the door. Inside, Furath detects an illusion spell on the table, but nothing else. The spell doesn't react until Aria approaches, then a Magic Mouth appears and delivers a message from Torin "Aria, your brother is still alive. When you have something worthwhile to offer, I will contact you to buy his freedom." Aria searches their home, but anything that Ezra might have left behind is gone, there's nothing left for her. They decide to get on the road for Harrowdale. Weather is particularly bad, delaying their travel and they get the first snow of the year. Halfway to their goal, they're forced to camp for the night on the edge of the woods. Akari casts a Leomund's Tiny Hut for the party and Prim finds a thick stand of trees to shelter the horses. In the middle of the night, Prim and Joan are on watch and Prim notices Joan is staring into the distance and doesn't hear Prim speak to her. Joan shakes and comes out of it and tells Prim something bad is coming, they need to get the party moving. The rest of the party is awakened and packs up and gets the horses ready. Joan casts Aid on Akari, Dolomoth, and Prim. They move off in the dark night and they hear something moving in the woods, there's a clink of mail and weapons and elves talking, but not speaking elven. The party dismounts and moves ahead quietly. Ahead of them, a group of warriors emerge from the woods, escorting a hideous creature, half man, half spider. It's a drider and a squad of drow! Dolomoth turns invisible and starts to move closer, casting Shillelagh. Akari throws a Shatter into the enemy, Furath hits the drider with Firebolt. Aria fires a supercharged Dissonant Whispers at the drider but it resists. Prim ducks into the woods and hits the drider with a sniper's shot. The enemy turns on the party, some of the drow charging into melee and others drawing bows. The drider hits Furath with three arrows, but he blocks them with Shield. Joan casts Boon of Lathander on Akari since she is facing multiple opponents. Aria and Akari fence with the drow, Prim circles to flank enemies and Joan doubles up with Spiritual Weapon and her mace. Aria kills a drow, Dolomoth casts Green Flame Blade and wades into the drow, striking from within his invisibility. The party starts knocking down the warriors and taking shots at the drider. Akari heals herself and drops another Shatter spell. The drider hits Akari with with multiple arrows and knocks her down, venom on the arrows paralyzes her as well. Akari is down, Joan and Aria are wounded so Joan gets in a Mass Healing Word. Dolomoth hits a drow with Repelling Eldritch Blast and tries to throw the drow into another, but hits Aria instead. Dolomoth finishes off some more and Furath kills the drider. With the drow down, Joan uses Lesser Restoration to cure Akari's paralysis. They pick themselves up and check the enemy dead, but before they can move on, another, larger group approaches from the woods…
To be continued…
Marpenoth 19th
(GM's note- Sam and Nick missed the game, Jack came halfway through)
The second group is a drow priestess, her bodyguard and five more soldiers. Aria hits the priestess and two of her men with Confusion, Akari uses Greater Invisibility, and Prim snipes one of the soldiers, almost killing him. The bodyguard charges Joan and fights her with a long, black spear that drains health from her to give to the bodyguard. She fights him hand to hand and with her Spiritual Weapon. The warriors attack the party, some with bows, other charging up with swords. Furath hurls Firebolts and uses Dragon's Breath on warriors that approach him. Akari throws a Shatter into the group of confused drow, Dolomoth circles around throwing Eldritch Blasts. The priestess shakes off the confusion long enough to summon two giant spiders and shapeshifts into a spider as well, but then the confusion grabs her again. Akari finishes the warrior Prim sniped and Dolomoth drops another (nat 20!). Joan and the bodyguard have been hammering each other and Aria finishes off the bodyguard. Joan moves into the center of the battle, ducking past a drow who misses her in order to use Mass Healing Word. One of the spiders sprays a web on Akari, trapping her. The other spider sprays a web at Dolomoth, but he uses his Ring of Misty Step to escape. Prim continues sneaking through the forest, taking shots from cover and kills the priestess, causing the summoned spiders to disappear just as one goes to bite Akari. One of the drow warriors breaks and flees through the woods and Dolomoth kills the last. The party picks up magic shoes, the spear, a potion, a short sword and the enemies' coins. The priestess has a fine set of chain mail and they take that as well before they flee to make camp a safe distance away.
Marpenoth 27th
The party travels the rest of the way to Harrowdale and meet Adkrona at her business, the Harrow Trade Collective. Adkrona covers her plans to travel to Saerloon, but says she could get them passage on a ship headed down to Selgaunt. Akari absolutely vetoes travelling by sea. Adkrona agrees and the party will leave in the morning. Furath finds components to use Identify on the item; the spear and short sword are evil, so they take them to a local church to be destroyed. They're going to sell the chain mail, but decide to hold onto it until they get to a larger city where they can get more for it. Akari takes the Shoes of Spider Climbing. The party buys holy symbols as directed by Adkrona.
Marpenoth 28th
Adkrona leads them to the portal the next day, hidden in a small clearing in the woods. It looks like a stone arch with protruding rays, they realize it is Lathander's rising sunrise. Adkrona rides through and disappears in a red glow like the rising sun. The party follows her and emerges from another portal stone in Cormyr, near the Vast Swamp. They head south and pick up the Manticore Way trade road and follow to Daerlun.
Marpenoth 30th
In Daerlun the party rests a day and sells the drow chain mail, but Dolomoth has a request. He wants to head north to Highmoon to pick up the staff he commissioned. The party agrees; Adkrona will head on to Saerloon to check Adril's house. If Adril is not home, she will give them time, if they don't show up, she will head back to the portal to head to Baldur's Gate. They split up again, with the party heading north to Archenbridge.
Uktar 8th
They arrive in Archenbridge with little trouble and find an inn, Alask's Arrow. While Akari is performing, a rude nobleman warrior with two squires loaded with arms comes in and evicts some people from the best table by the fireplace. He waits for Akari to finish playing then makes her an offer; he is on an important quest and needs a bard to accompany him and record his deed in song to be spread through the kingdom. He offers them 1000 gold if they will accompany him. Furath asks his quest, he is on his way to kill a dragon! The party initially withdraws, but reassured that it is supposed to be a young, black dragon, they agree.

Silly Quotes and Smart Remarks
They had a good meal at the inn
Katya "No need for Prestidigitation"

Evan "I heard 'Tagreth' and thought of Hagrid. 'Where's Harry?' "
Jim "You're an assassin, Harry"
Katya "Well, that's how the assassins get members, from orphanages"
Evan "Does Hagrid have a sword in his umbrella?"

Discussing again about the whole family thing and how Furath and Joan's dad got around. Joan, Furath and Akari have human fathers and Evan didn't specify his parents' races. Could all the half-elves be siblings?
Katya "I know who my father was"
Jim "You know your mother's HUSBAND. Doesn't mean he was your birth father. <looks at Evan> Your parents were merchants and travelled around, maybe your mom hooked up with their dad. Brittany's the only one who's safe" But later Jim as Adkrona says "your father", so we're not going to go there.

The bad guys are down, but Jim takes a picture of the battlemat to set things up again at the next session
Jim "Next game; Second Wave!"

We backed up a little so Brittany could go shopping in the last town. She found a salt shaker enchanted with Prestidigitation cantrip to flavor food
Evan "Someone gets upset, shake it on them and ask why they're so salty"

Someone got knocked down
Brittany <sings> "I get knocked down and I stay down and make up a new character"

What is a group of drow?
Brittany "A cult of drow?"
Evan "A drowt"

The drow priestess summons two giant spiders and shapeshifts into another
Brittany "Three spiders in a trenchcoat"

Discussing the Leomund's Tiny Hut spell
Katya "Can you drop it on someone?"
Jim "Only on a witch"
Evan "If you wanted it to do significant damage, it would need to be named Jabba"

The teleportation portals use clerical magic
Brittany "No clerical errors"

The portal is on the edge of the Vast Swamp
Brittany "Shrek!"

Trying dill flavored popcorn, Katya didn't like it
Brittany "Just dill with it"

Talking about glass eyes and eye patches
Jack "They'll fix that in the patch notes"

Looking for potions, they find Chain Lightning for 1,800 gold. Jim rolls again for something cheaper
Jack "For those of us in economy class"
There's a potion of Leomund's Tiny Hut
Jack "What, you turn into a hut?"
Brittany "You just look a little homely"

The nobleman rudely makes a group of people move from the best table by the fireplace
Brittany "He's a dick"

We had a run of "load" jokes; dropping his load, putting down his package, spreading his junk on the table, dropping his sword, unloading his equipment.

Talking to the nobleman about his quest, he wants to hire the bards to record it
Jack "Where are you going?"
<Jim> Sir Ulrich "I'm hunting a dragon!"
Jack "And we're out!"