Idum Mid Salan-Solath 15305

Dimia's Demise
With Eliose Twor tied up and Toman the vampire on their side, the party set out from Finethil's Rest out into the forest to the west, where they came across a small camp of orc lumberjacks. It was awkward and everyone just sort of went on their way and pretended it didn't happen.

They reached the opening of Dimia's Cave at dusk, and elected to hide back in the forest and sleep, then break into the Spider Cult the next morning. Their plan was this: for Noose to pretend to be Eliose, having practiced her voice on the trip up and having cast Disguise Self on himself, and for everyone to wear the cultist robes.

Toman elected to, instead of doing that, sneak in on his own terms.

Everyone they came across fell for Noose's scheme. They came upon an ambush which had been set for them, a scout having spotted them camping in the woods, and were able to talk their way out of it. They talked their way into the main chamber, and then outside, in the open-air clearing where Dimia lived.

Toman, having rolled shitty stealth rolls, didn't have quite as smooth an entrance. Luckily, he was far behind them and could handle himself.

The party hesitated long enough to overhear a seemingly one-sided conversation between Dimia and someone who probably wasn't a cultist. The only things outside of her responses were random sounds that might or might not have had any bases in reality. She seemed to be asking someone for help or recruitment, or relocation, or even a shutdown, claiming discontent with "these imbeciles". She seemed to deride the silent person for their choice to acquire this cult in the first place.

When the party rounded the corner, they saw that Dimia's 'conversational' partner was a kenku in a vibrant green cloak with a stylized wing stitched into the corners, its cowl shrouding all of their features but their long black beak. As soon as the kenku spotted the party, it vanished into a cloud of smoke, leaving a fluttering stack of papers.

The party then proceeded to demolish Dimia and all of her (admittedly lackluster) backup. Then, when two cultists ran in too-late to the party, Noose and Eli used Disguise Self and some ventriloquism to pretend to be Dimia and sniff out the Catos worshippers in their midst, openly blaming Eliose herself (who the party had left out in the forest).

They stole all of Dimia's pouches, her travel sack, and a handheld mirror, then (with Toman's help and that of a rope) scaled the cliff to escape into the forest.

Where they immediately proceeded to get into something of an argument, which, somehow, was made far worse when Ana introduced a Zone of Truth.

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