Session 9: The Silk Guild
General Summary
Previous Session: Session 8: Road to Mariam The Lads entered a tavern called The Middle Man and Krosk went to the barkeep asking how they could make money in Mariam, specifically if there were any bounty boards. The barkeep tells him that there aren't any bounty boards, and the ways people usually make money in Mariam are at the Stockpiles, Processing, and the Silk Guild. Krosk relays this information, and Willow volunteers to investigate the Silk Guild while the rest of the party sees if they can stay overnight at a different tavern. In the late evening, Willow skulks outside the Silk Guild watching for who is entering and exiting. He sees that not many individuals are going in and out, but those that go in empty-handed leave with new weapons, armour, and an empty bag. Willow decides to enter the building and see it for himself. Inside, he sees a man sitting behind a fancy desk and a white, circular rug beneath, of which Willow was suspicious. The man, a supervisor for the guild, informs Willow of what they do, collecting, processing, and selling silk and cloth in Halcyon. He also offered Willow a membership to the guild, but Willow insisted that he return with the rest of the party for memberships. The supervisor told Willow that he could show him the rug showroom if he were interested, and Willow agreed. They went to another, larger room with several tables with rolled-up rugs on them and unrolled rugs draped down the walls. Willow investigated the rugs for anything out of the ordinary but found nothing more than one stain, of which he said nothing. Willow then asked to see the guild's weapons and armour but was told it was for members only. He then left the building to scout the building for another hour before rejoining the party. Meanwhile, the rest of the Lads went to a tavern called The Busted Lute. Krosk abruptly walks through the door and shouts at the nearest commoner, "Does this place have any rooms?" To which the commoner rudely responded with, "Not here!" Krosk then asked if anywhere in Mariam had rooms, and the commoner yelled back, "No!" Shyu then entered the tavern and walked toward a table where a couple was chatting with another couple. Shyu asks the woman to room with her for the night, but the man she is with angrily denies the request. Shyu hatches a plan. He casts Minor Illusion on an annoying band currently playing, targeting the lute player, and makes it sound horrible. Then, he takes to the stage, declaring the lute player is terrible, and he could play better. An impromptu contest begins, with Hettle giving Shyu some inspiration and Turuk throwing a tankard at the opposing lute player's head. Shyu outshined the lute player and was showered in applause by the audience as the band's lead tried to shoo him off the stage promptly. Shyu then goes back to the couple and asks again for a place to stay. Enthralled by his performance, they agreed and allowed him to sit with them, and the night blossomed a lovely new relationship. Afterwards, Hettle convinced the barkeep to let him stay in the tavern overnight as a guard to avoid sleeping outside. Later that night, the party regrouped back at The Middle Man and discussed their findings and sleeping arrangements. While Shyu and Hettle stayed, everyone else camped outside the village walls in the forest to get away from the stench. The next day, the Lads regrouped at The Busted Lute, where Hettle was staying and planned to join the Silk Guild to make some money while they continued their search for the bandits. They went to the Silk Guild and purchased memberships, and then they were showed the weapons showroom. The Lads viewed the display, noting the similarity of the weapons and armour to what they had seen before. The previous ones had wolf and shark designs, but these had spider designs and looked much more polished. The supervisor ensured them the weapons and armour were designed for branding and ordered from outside the village. Afterwards, the Lads were each provided with a Silk Sack, a specially made bag used in collecting the webbing. Krosk asked about purchasing more and was told it would be 10 GP, as they are expensive to produce. They then took their bags and left the guild building, heading down the road to Krong until they reached Greatweb Forest. Once they reached the forest, Louis stayed with Honeybirch and the cart on the side of the road. Shyu also cast an Alarm spell on the cart. The party ventured deep into the cobweb-covered woods and began collecting. Carefully, they cut through the webbing and placed them into their Silk Sacks, little by little. However, Willow slashed at a web that held a cocooned victim, causing it to collapse to the ground with a loud thud. Quickly, four giant spiders and three giant wolf spiders were alerted to the Lads' presence. In the ensuing fight, the spiders restrained Krosk and Willow in their web, but Hettle and Turuk broke their bindings. The Lads remained strong and were able to kill all of the spiders without any significant injuries. Next Session: Session 10: Web Collecting
