Spider Alchemist

Overlooking the town of Windshire, our adventurers observe that it is a small Thorp of around 100 people. The letter Anton d'Cannith gave the party tells them to travel to the house of Khemed d'Cannith who will provide them lodging and rations for the trip back to Fairhaven. Travelling to his house he takes the party in and allows them to sleep in the barn out back that is fitted with cots and was built around a well. According to him people from House Cannith like Anton send mercenaries to stay with him due to his connection, and has embraced it instead of sending away the various mercenaries. 

After recuperating and having a small chat with Khemed about his days in the Creation Forges and how he helped create the first Warforged. Korth, Ethelred and Grapé went to the East of town to complete their jobs while Shur Reem and Derek stayed behind. A fading dirt road from town went on for a few miles before fading into a trampled section of grass as the party came upon their destination: the cart that they have been paid to find and recover its cargo. It was smashed apart in many places with dead bodies layered in dried blood broken underneath the wreckage. 

Standing atop the cart were 4 gnolls. Gnolls are rumored in legend to be the servants of a powerful demon lord and were once hyenas that were warped by his foul blood. These were picking through the heap, obviously looking for something. The party attacked the gnolls on sight and found them to be almost supernaturally strong, but they proved victorious regardless. Inside the pocket of one a scrumped up note written in extremely poor Common. It said:

"YOU WHELPS MISSED A FEW VIALS. HOTZENPLOTS NEEDS ALL OR HE WILL STRING YOU UP NEXT. TAKE THEM TO BIG ROCK SOON."

Returning to Khemed's house to recuperate they asked him if he knew of a "Big Rock". According to him a few miles West of town there was a local "attraction" of sorts called the Big Rock. It is a huge sheet of sparkling, naturally polished shale that people used to visit for good luck. However that trend stopped 5-6 years ago because of a rash of suicides were committed by jumping from the top. Now the locals refuse to go near it for fear of those events. Khemed admits to the party that if gnolls were in town that would be a good place to hide out since no-one would visit. 

With this information Korth, Ethelred and Grapé decided to head West to the Big Rock. They noticed on the once-well traveled path there were a few signs warning that entry was not allowed but they ignored them and proceeded. They discovered a small campfire with 2 gnolls and a Hobgoblin in chainmail cooking some sort of humanoid torso over a fire. Upon approaching Grapé (the only one who spoke Goblin) had a small conversation with the Hobgoblin, which resulted in them attacking the party. Korth fought the Hobgoblin and in the heat of battle it proclaimed that "It is too late, pink meat. Hotzenplots already has the glass!" before committing seppuku. Ethelred following the motion of the Hobgoblin's hands and realized that there was some sort of passage into the nearby woods. The trees were full of overgrown brambles, thick vines and trees that were only a hair's breadth apart. These overgrown walls of nature surrounded a path of flat grass that lead deep into the woods. Still not having what they were paid to acquire the three went into the forest. 

Marching into this weird natural corridor it opened up into a large clearing in the woods that was filled with 8 kobolds. They were practicing some ritual around a large granite fountain filled with misty green water. The kobolds declared "How dare you invade the inner sanctum of Cahpicus! Myaaaa!" and attacked. When they were killed the party saw that this clearing had three paths leading onwards: one with heavy traffic from small lizard-like feet, one with only one set of larger tracks, and one with a large amount of larger tracks (it was later determined these were gnoll tracks). They went through the path with the larger tracks and found a glade with a large hill and a house without windows on that hill. Behind it was a pen layered with large fungi and filled with large dinner-plate sized spiders. A vial (the same ones that were found loose in the wrecked cart) of the red liquid was attached to some sort of apparatus that slowly misted it on top of the spiders. When Grapé attempted to disarm this contraption the glass vial feel out of its holding and shattered, spilling the red liquid everywhere.

When Grapé attempted to listen inside the house, he made a loud creaking sound. Korth and Ethelred watched as a long purple clawed hand reached out and dragged him inside, slamming the door loudly. Korth ran and broke down the door (not bothering to realize it wasn't locked) to see Grapé being strangled by an Ettercap. The Ettercap was a medium sized humanoid creature with spongey purple flesh and had an arachnid-like face. The part made very quick work of Hotzenplotz the Alchemist, and his 2 gnoll bodyguards who were arguing over what to cook.