The session begins with the party rushing Ben into Von Gloom manor, worried about his poisoned condition. Peter tries to wake Ben, who eventually stirs and reassures them that the poison is not lethal and he will recover. At this moment, a the painting girl from the backyard storms into the house, accusing someone of touching her belongings in the guest house. Peter proudly explains that the guest house is now his personal church to
Laydi'wahni, but the girl becomes enraged and transforms into a Stone Giant. The giant attacks Peter, but Ben intervenes, declaring that he "Protects this child". The giant, seemingly moved, returns to her human form and stomps off to her new room in the manor, slamming the door behind her.
Victor reveals the severed head of Hixxlrr, one of the most dangerous villains in history, which is still alive. Peter, with the power of Laydi'wahni's true sight, can see and hear the head cursing them but the others can not. Victor produces a strange metal box lined with the symbols of all the good aligned Gods and places the head inside, activating it and causing immense pain to Hixxlrr's head. Victor explains that as long as the head is trapped in the box,
Hixx'lixxapis "Poison, Sickness and Disease" will devote the entirety of his power to defend Hixxlrr in his time of need, ultimately refusing service to all those who worship Hixx'lixxapis and rendering them powerless.
Victor reveals his plan to collect the four remaining heads of the four remaining evil high priests, which he believes will deny service to every cleric of every evil god. He calls this a "
Divine denial of service" and speaks of it with great pride. Both Peter and Ben are amazed by this plan and decide to swear their loyalty to Victor and his goal of collecting evil heads in an effort to defeat the evil Gods of Cruul. Peter himself was so excited by the plan that he consumed alcohol, for the first time, in honor to Victor Cauldron, geniu inventor extraordinaire.
The following day, Ben and Peter traveled to town and began to preach at the local shrine. Drawing a large crowd, Peter spoke words of faith and advice to the people of
Vaneesh as they shared their woes and worries with both the ranger and the cleric. They heard the following problems from the public.
- Bob Barker said his teenage daughter "Bobalina" was missing.
- A local woman said her teenage daughter "Zelenda" was also missing.
- Various parents spoke of missing children much younger who went to see "The puppet man"
- A angered farmer spoke of wolves killing his she nightly.
- Many in the crowd speak of the local drug problem plaguing Vaneesh.
After a long day of preaching and interacting with the religious community in town, Ben and Peter set out to return to Von Gloom Manor, but are intercepted by five men wearing silver sacks to conceal their faces. The men deliver a warning that the Underguild is unhappy with the bomb attack on the "The Night Spiders" and demand financial compensation. They tell the heroes that their boss wants to speak with them, and if they refuse, they will be beaten and forced to comply. Peter and Ben refuse, and the rogue attackers are promptly immobilized by Peter's "hold person" spell, tied up, and taken captive.
Ben and Peter negotiate a secret meeting with the rogue's boss,
Faxwell Heveypenny III, the wealthy head of the local underguild and owner of the Vaneesh lumber mills. Despite the strict rules against revealing information about other guilds, Heveypenny agrees to share the location of documents detailing the drug trade across Vangash, citing his disdain for the destructive effects of drugs on the kingdom. In exchange, Ben and Peter promise to retrieve the documents and bring them to the police. Heveypenny reveals that the ringleader of the operation, Mr Anthony Todd, can be found at his secret drug manufacturing facility, "Todd's Ranch". The heroes thank Heveypenny for his cooperation and set off to investigate and bring an end to the illegal drug trade in Vangash.
Ben and Peter, along with the Light Spiders, successfully raid the Todd Ranch and discover documents exposing illegal trade and criminal activities involving several powerful individuals, including Adrian Eugene Chancellor, the Lord Mayor of Lakemouth. In the course of the raid, one of the Kortez, one of the Light Spiders" is killed. However, the heroes are able to defeat the guards and secure the documents, which they subsequently hand over to
Detective Theodore William Keenu . After completing this task, they leave the police station with intent to return home for the night.
As they made their way home, Ben and Peter were stopped by Little Bobby Barker, who told them that his sister, Bobalina, had gone to visit her new boyfriend at the old Obi Knobi cabin. Despite the late hour, the heroes and the remaining Light Spiders decided to investigate and headed to the cabin.
Upon arriving, they felt a sense of dread emanating from the cabin and peered inside, finding no signs of life. Peter kicked the door open and entered, while the Light Spiders kept watch outside. Inside, they found a cozy interior warmed by a tended fireplace. While searching the room, Ben found and read a paper on a nearby desk and began to hallucinate. Believing Peter had turned into an undead horror, Ben started to panic. Peter, who was immune to illusions, realized that Ben was being affected by evil magic and shook him until he returned to his senses.
Ben and Peter then descended to the root cellar beneath the cabin, where they found "Black Root" growing out of control in a small network of soil-walled tunnels. As they ventured deeper, they were confronted by a demonically possessed woman with a long, snake-like neck. She introduced herself as Henrietta Knobi, wife of Obi Knobi, and explained that they had desired a child, so B'zuuzhal, the God of Lies and Betrayal, had sent young women to them to breed magical children inside them. In a tense battle, Ben finally killed the demonic woman, sending her lost soul to hell.
Continuing their search, Ben and Peter heard the cries of two young women being held in a cage in a room with a dead hanging man. The women were Zelenda and Bobalina, the two missing teenage girls from town. As they tried to release the girls, the hanging man, Obi Knowbi, became undead and aggressive. Ben and Peter defeated the demonic presence and freed the terrified girls from their captivity, just as the ground began to rumble.
In a rush to escape, Peter managed to get Bobalina out of the cabin, but Ben saw oblivion waiting to swallow him whole. Peter yelled for Ben to overcome his hallucinations and jump out the door as the house began to sink into the ground. At the last moment, Ben grabbed Zelenda and leaped out the door as the cabin tumbled into a fiery pit of hell. Black roots emerged from the ground and attempted to drag Zelenda down with the cabin, but Ben used all his strength to pull her to safety as the ground mended itself, leaving no trace.
Back at the manor,
Rolfio Don Crimillio , leader of the Light Spiders, holds a funeral for his beloved cousin Kotez. The party secretly buries him in the backyard of
Gloom Manor, where his body was blessed and laid to rest. The funeral was attended by the surviving Light Spiders and Ben and Peter Henry.
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