Pulyana 19, 1423.
The PCs examine the strange webbing and find that it has a fluffy texture, but is still quite sticky. They approach the hunters' lodge, dividing into two pairs to enter each of the doors, which are slightly ajar, letting in drifts of snow to the interior. The lodge has been divided into two areas, one with an old stone floor and fire pit, and bed, and the other a kitchen with a great heart, table, and lots of stored foodstuffs. They note that the ceiling loft area of the room is obscured by the fluffy webs, and soon after, they meet what has made them...a deformed humanoid with mandibles, and a pair of giant spiders. Each of the enemies is able to spin a web that can bind up our heroes, so the battle is slow and dangerous, but through a combination of spells they manage to gain the advantage and eventually take down all the creatures. They search through the rest of the lodge and find some naughty drawings, some coin and a vintage bottle of some sort of wine.
Aldren finds a sliding panel beneath the fire pit on the old stone floor, and below is a low-ceilinged stone cellar full of the bones of humans, dwarves, and elves. Meanwhile, Nebel'shoy spies a bulkhead on the eastern side of the lodge which leads to a separate cellar, but it's full of more webbing. The gnome heads back inside and they lower him down into the bone-pile, where he finds a rusted iron key. They also retrieve a shield in excellent condition which bears the symbol of the evil god Denzemuth, and with a little historical brainstorming equate it with the legend of Sadyakov, an ancient general of the Blood Counts who was known to 'hunt' mortals in this area in his time away from the battlefield. This shield is believed to belong to him, and though the Blood Counts are a thing of the past, the fate of this huntsman was unknown. After a short rest, the group heads over to the bulkhead and finds that it is occupied by one more of the mandible-packing humanoids, and they find the fate of the two hunters they were sent to check up on...now corpses stuffed in a large ale barrel.
Behind the ale barrel, there is an opening in the cellar which leads into a chilly, natural corridor. There are bits of web strewn along the way, and the PCs enter single file. They come to a split where large icicles have formed to block off two more passages, and then they follow the one that has been uncovered (presumably by the spider things). After another long corridor, they find yet another branch which Aldren heads down, but it turns into a steep sloped slide, and he plummets down into a large, semi-open cave wherein resides a giant-like creature eating flesh by a fire. He remains quiet, and soon Nebel'shoy joins him. Not knowing the fate of their companions, Bjork and Rucia explore a bit more along the spider-web strewn corridor before turning back. Bjork heads down the chute and manages to pull himself onto yet another branching path. Aldren lowers the skeleton alarm from the bottom of the chute, and then he and Nebel'shoy try to pull themselves up on rope that Bjork let slack down to the cavern where they are trying to remain silent.
They both climb up, but Aldren falls again, and the giant-thing becomes aware of his presence. A deadly battle ensues...eventually Nebel'shoy, Rucia and Bjork all arrive at the bottom of the chute to reinforce their friend against this mighty foe, who wields a horrid giant longsword and can also hurl frozen heads at them which explode on contact! Will the PCs survive this one?
PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia
