Past Meet Present - Wait ... What?!?

Another session has come and gone in the campaign I am running and last night held the first moment that really took me aback and shocked me.  The title of the blog isn't story related as the rest have been but rather a direct result of how things turned out last night.  Without further ado, here is the recap which will explain the title...
No plunged into darkness and separated the members of the Karameikan Fist scrambled to find light sources.  Atvan was the first to find a torch and get it lit and he along with Crispin and Shadow found the chitine leader they had looked for over the past several days in this complex still bound and breathing, unconscious at their feet.  Elsewhere in the complex Temeris soon had a torch lit as well and Daisy had her lantern lit.

Looking around in the circular room and seeing the doors all shut Daisy sat on the mound of dirt she had just used to bury the Foundingstone and decided to start building a sand castle while she awaited the others to open the doors from the outside.

On the outside Temeris rushed around, swam through the mucky water, and then fumbled in the dark until he found the stone peg.  He pressed it and it clicked into place, however the eyes didn't glow.  Stumbling his way back out he swam back.  Meanwhile Shadow had rushed around with the chitine leader on her shoulder and pressed the second stud, leaving Crispin to finally push the last one.  The doors unlocked as the third one was pressed, but the glowing eyes never glowed and the doors had to be pushed open.  After looking at the broken contraption in the middle of the room the party pulled Daisy away from what was becoming a rather impressive dirt castle and headed towards the exit.  Along the way Temeris officially welcomed Atvan to become part of the Karameikan Fist, and after learning that it was a group that made joint decisions and not one that was led by a single individual he agreed.

As they reached the large black iron door with the ceiling-less hallway beyond they noticed they a pair of chitine sat at the Western edge of the rock slope leading into the main cavern where the strange balled city sat suspended by webbing.  Discussing their options they decided that they would try to sneak out and Temeris could create a distraction for the rest to get up with the leader still in hand.  He approached the rock slope without notice and expertly made his way to the top edge, however as he reached the top he killed a large rock loose that bounced all the way down the 50 foot slope.

The chitine at the Western edge rushed forward and another pair rushed at him from a nearby passageway.  As they closed in on him he could see that a pair of guards had been posted at each such passageway leading away from the cavern.  Temeris pulled a white cloth and began waving it above his head, however his words fell on ears that didn't understand him.  However through gestures they instructed him to drop his sword.  As he attempted to move off they pointed to the ground, and after laying on the ground they instructed him to stand.  Temeris understood then that they just wanted him to remain there while one of the chitine rushed up a nearby webbing toward the city.

Speaking loudly he relayed what was going on to the rest who were watching from a distance.  Seeing the chitine distracted they moved to the now vacant Western edge and managed to scramble up unseen and unheard.  They then saw what Temeris had seen as well though, a pair of guards at each exit.  Deciding to sit back and watch to see what the chitine did with Temeris before acting they huddled into the rock wall and hid themselves.

As Temeris watched another group of chitine walked down the webbing and surrounded him.  They opened a gap that would allow him to walk through and pointed at the webbing.  Temeris stepped forward and bent down to touch the webbing to see if it was sticky and found that it was more solid, like a hard rubber, than sticky and soft.  Two chitine stepped behind him and took an arm each and began to lead him up the web, using their grip more to give him balance than to force him along.

Upon reaching the top and before a hole in the web ball he saw beyond a village similar to what he would find in a human community with streets and buildings built into the webbing, the streets going down into the ball and up as well.  Inside were chitine bustling around with their daily chores.  Approaching from one of the streets leading down further into the ball a group of chitine was approaching with another in their midst that Temeris recognized to be Vald.

"Vald, it is good to see you again!" Temeris exclaimed but it was soon that he noticed that he was being guarded and it quickly became apparent that he was there to translate only.  He did manage to relay to Temeris that they were being held while it was determined what was to be done with them for their rebellious actions before being scolded and just translating.  Using Vald to translate Temeris was able to tell the others that they had found their leader and he was with the others nearby, and that he could lead them to him if they agreed to let them all go including Vald and the rebels.  The chitine agreed to let the party go if their leader was unharmed but the rebels would have to stay in the city.  As Vald was led away the chitine started leading Temeris back towards the hole he had entered.

Meanwhile outside the rest of the party having seen Temeris led up the webbing into the city and the rest of the chitine resume their posts decided that they would make a run for it and come back for Temeris at a later time.  They wanted to try to get to where they had met the initial chitine in hopes that the "queen" would have returned there.

Karath stepped forward and used a lullaby to cause a pair of the gaurds to become sleepy.  With that in place the rest of the party rushed forward but were spotted as they tried to pass.  Soon Daisy and Atvan outdistanced the others, especially Karath who lagged behind because of his nagging injury and the spell he had cast.  Shadow stopped to engage the gaurds to give Karath time to get through, and Daisy returned charging at the chitine menacingly.  Intimidated by the woman's charge and the axe she held they moved back giving Karath the room he needed to escape.

Having seen this group carrying their leader bound however and seeing themselves outmatched the gaurds yelled out as the party turned to run.  Seeing Karath falling behind again Atvan instructed Daisy to return back and carry the dwarf, which she did.  They ran forward, up the stairs, as a group of chitine followed a few hundred feet back.

The scream from below by one of the chitine was heard back at the entrance to the city where Temeris was being led, and while Temeris couldn't understand what was said he did see several of the chitine rush out and he began being led back down the way they had taken Vald.  As he traveled down he began to see doors with just slits in them.  Soon he was stopped before one of them as the chitine opened it and he was ushered inside where Vald sat.

"Something must have gone wrong" Vald had said.  He asked what had happened and Temeris could only relay that chitine had rushed out.  Vald speculated that perhaps guards had been alerted by something from the underdark or someone else from above, and he hoped that the party hadn't encountered guards and things had gone bad.  He told Temeris that they would likely be back to deal with him at some point after dealing with what drew them away, but in the meantime agreed to help Temeris fill in the gaps in his map that he could help with as they waited.

The chase upstairs went on, with the party soon coming to the area that the chitine had initially been encountered in.  However they found the area empty and deserted.  The group mentioned needing to head above ground since they were being followed by subterranean creatures and needing to check on the horses anyway so Daisy and Crispin rushed up the stairs.  However the party split there as Karath decided he would stay there in the first room they had entered to speak with the chitine chasing them.  Shadow remained as well and Atvan took the chitine leader to a room down the hall.

The chitine began to flow into the room and spread out.  Karath tried speaking with them but they seemed to not understand.  He pointed to the ground and demanded that they bring Ulewee, the rebel leader.  They seemed to recognize the name but little else.  One of them pointed at him and pointed back down the hallway and he yelled out for Atvan to get the leader conscious and out there as Shadow headed that way.

Atvan back in the other room tried slapping the leader awake, and tried splashing water on him, however the wounds he had suffered had hurt him pretty badly.  He tried some minor curing but while it appeared to heal some wounds it didn't bring him to.  Shadow soon rushed in and Atvan asked him if he could do any healing.  Shadow reached out to Meiliki and cast a curing spell upon the chitine.

With a gasp the chitine sat upright and looked around startled.  They removed his gag and asked him if he remembered anything.  He said that he had.  They asked if he was in control of his actions and he said that he was and that he controlled the stone.  They spoke briefly and he agreed that he would see the party go free if they returned him unharmed.  Shadow loosened his foot bindings and prepared to stand him.

"They will see this as a hostile action if I am paraded out bound such as this," the chitine leader stated.  Shadow stated that he didn't trust him and the leader replied "because I defended myself when you attacked first?"  Shadow told him to be quiet as he stood him, and the chitine turned to Atvan and repeated that his followers would see this as hostile.

Atvan not knowing the history of their interactions and only recently becoming involved told Shadow that he would trust her judgement.  With that Shadow agreed to remove the bindings from his feet but no more and began to march the leader down the hallway and out into the room beyond.

The chitine visibly bristled at the sight of their leader marched out and bound as he was, each having a spear or two spears in their four hands and on gaurd.

"Tell them to drop their weapons or I'll slit your throat!" Karath exclaimed to the leader.  The leader, perhaps thinking it a bluff, perhaps putting forward a show of strength of his own, denied to be intimidated however even being bound as he was.

He turned and spoke in his chitine tongue to the others and they appeared to tense further and he turned back to the party.  "I have told them you have threatened to kill me.  You should release me as you are outnumbered."

"You will tell them to bring the queen Ulewee here now!" demanded the dwarf.

"She is not a queen.  She is one of my generals."  Replied the chitine leader as he struggled against his bonds even as his arms were held behind him by Shadow.

With that the dwarf exclaimed that he was "tired of dealing with these bugs" and swung his axe down slicing into the chitine.  As he did so Shadow drew a dagger and buried it deep into the chitine's back.  The chitine fell lifeless to the floor there.

The chitine seemed to go into a rage with the murder of their leader before their eyes.  Karath threw an axe at one of them and Shadow fired a couple of arrows as well.  Atvan, seeing all this before him and realizing things were about to get bad stepped into the room from the hallway beyond and prepared to defend himself.  The chitine then began throwing spears into the party.

Above Daisy heard the commotion of battle and began rushing down the stairs leaving Crispin to ready the horses if needed.  As she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw several chitine engage with the party throwing spears or stabbing with them while the party continued to fire arrows or swing quarterstaff or axe.  She rushed forward into combat as well.

Despite the advantage in numbers the chitine were not the best warriors and they began falling under the blows of the party members.  One managed to catch Daisy with a great blow in the abdomen with a spear which severely hurt her but she continued on.  As their numbers dwindled they caught a break as Shadow slipped on the floor and struck his head on the wall.  Even stunned from the blow as he was the chitine was unable to finish him with Howler chomping at his flank.

Soon all but two of the original nine chitine had fallen and Karath rushed forward at one confidently.  However it sidestepped his attacks and buried two spears into the dwarf, one into the thigh and the other in the shoulder region.  The dwarf dropped in a heap on the floor bleeding.  The last two chitine couldn't stand long however under the mighty blows of Daisy and Atvan.


...and that is where we leave off.  The chitine leader that the party had searched for over the last several days (and sessions) now lay dead along with a number of chitine at the hands of the party.  Karath lay bleeding near death in the middle of the room and the rest of the party there all are hurt as well.  Crispin has prepared the horses above should they need to flee.  Are there more chitine coming?  Was this the end?

Meanwhile Temeris finds himself locked in a room with Vald in the depths of the chitine city.  His fate is unknown.  What will become of him, especially if the chitine find that their leader is now dead?  Is he destined to be imprisoned or worse, or is there a way out still?

What direction does the rest of the party take with Temeris still below?  How does Atvan react to what he just witnessed?  What do they all do now?

What lies ahead for the Karameikan Fist Adventuring Company?