Houk enters startoss style then takes a 5ft step and throws his starknife at spider 1
He then draws another star knife
Houk's starknife slices a long, deep wound along the spider's abdomen, which drips black ichor. The creature shrieks and trembles in fury, and continues its advance.
Margût leaps away from the spider, using his teeth to tear the cork away from one of his stoppered vials. The mixture within looks disturbingly like pure quicksilver, but he does not hesitate to drink the entire thing with one big gulp. He seems to collapse momentarily, audibly gritting his teeth as his entire body is wracked by painful muscle spasms.
Another of the spiders (4) climbs forward around the outside of the glade, aiming for the center of the group while they are distracted by the two at their flank.
Blaughter
Spider3
Henris
Spider2 (dead)
Houk
Spider4
Margut
Oronos - can post
Minah - can post
Spider1
Roscoe - can post
Roscoe steps forward a few steps. Then launches a bullet from his sling staff.
"Ow." Roscoe curses as the bullet bounces around and flops back hitting him in the head he rubs the bump.
Sasha and Minah try ripping and smashing into the closest spider .
Sasha makes a mighty leap into the tree, clawing and biting at the spider. It recoils and retreats halfway down the tree, only to encounter Minah's club coming in the other direction. There is a high-pitched wail, and the spider lays still.
Orono makes a hissing noise and points with her sword, directing her pet spider to attack one of the enemy ones as she closes on it with her blade as well.
(probably a miss)
Extremely relucantly (to the extent that anyone can read a spider's emotions) Briella emerges from her hole, and leaps at the remaining giant spider. It doesn't even notice the distraction, and Orono's shortsword connects, but bounces off its chitinous body.
Another of the spiders (1) scuttles around the trees to the side of the group. It squats forward, and sprays a mess of silk webbing at Houk.
The young man is smothered in the sticky mass.
Blaughter - can post
Spider3
Henris - can post
Spider2 (dead)
Houk (webbed) - can post
Spider4 (dead)
Margut
Oronos
Minah
Spider1
Roscoe
Stepping forward, Henris moves closer to the flanking spider , and fires his crossbow at the creature.
Unfortunately, the trees shaded the creature enough that his bolt went wide.
"Gah! icky goo!"
Houk struggles to escape the webbing
Blaughter hustles his rump to flank one of the arachnids with Orono, his reversion to dealing with the critters warring with his momentary success at killing one of them.
Blaughter once again proves that the most dangerous part of a longspear is the mass and muscle behind it. Throwing all his considerable weight into the thrust, the spear bursts through the body of the spider, which convulses obscenely for a moment, before hanging dead on the weapon's shaft.
Blaughter
Spider3 (dead)
Henris - can post
Spider2 (dead)
Houk
Spider4 (dead)
Margut - can post
Oronos - can post
Minah - can post
Spider1
Roscoe - can post
Recovering from his sudden convulsions, Margût springs forwards, his muscles seeming to pulse and shift under his crimson skin in grotesque ways. With jerky but exact motions, the hobgoblin mixes another vial of explosives and lobs it at the spider. The canopy around the arachnid explodes in an inferno, scorching the trees and consuming the surrounding webbing.
With the spider that she was facing exploded by Blaughter, Orono directs her pet to follow her and advances cautiously on the last visible enemy arachnid.
Minah is impressed by the group's display of martial prowess. "Quite the competent bunch." she whispers to Sasha. "Now you stay here." She then drops her club and shield to the ground and pulls out her shortbow, stepping up to fire an arrow at the remaining spider.
Roscoe attempts another bullet toward the last spider.
Set on fire, stabbed, pelted with stones and generally having a bad day, the last remaining spider beats a retreat through the trees, screaming as it bangs itself against the wet branches in an attempt to put out the fire. Trailing cinders, it disappears into the rapidly darkening forest. All is suddenly silent again, apart from the persistent rhythmic creaking noise.
Margût spits on the ground and curses in the guttural Goblin tongue, angry at himself for not realising the obvious. "F*cking gobs! The little bastard led us to the spiders..."
Houk jumps slightly at Marguts break into goblin
"It seems you are correct, I wonder if this was a standard trap sight, there may be other victims that have loot or possessions to return to grateful relatives?"
Looks like bundles in the webs."
Roscoe looks ahead at the webs, "Wonder if the spiders are the only traps."
"Hard to say. I don't know if the spiders would leave the goblins alone long enough to construct a trap - there are practical considerations. But if they drove the spiders out for a while, maybe."
Houk looks around looking for a spider hole or webs
"I concur with Orono's assessments as far as other traps. Likely, the Goblins merely noted the existence of the spiders and then came up with a plan to lure travelers to them. Perhaps they even wait until the spiders are satiated and, while the spiders slumber, come to steal whatever possessions of the travelers remain."
"Hurragh! Foul little wretches! Only good spider is bleeding and dea...er...ah... eyeing Orono he clears his throught, "So, did any o' ye get bit?"
"Sasha and I are fine; thank you for asking, Blaughter. Not sure if these goblins set this up as a trap or if we just happened into a spider hunting ground. Either way, we've handled what we've happened upon quite well so far. Shall we see what's in these cocoons?
Minah looks at the bundles.
Houk retrieves his thrown star knives
Roscoe picks up a stick to test stickiness of the webbing on the ground and to clear webs from his path and makes his way to the pods.
The strange creaking noise is revealed to be caused by a small reptilian creature, vaguely humanoid, with a long pointed snout and long tail. The creature is bound in webbing and hanging from a branch. Its eyes bulge, and foam is gathered around its mouth, but it is obviously still alive, as its left foot twitches spasmodically, and it is this that has set it swinging from the branch.
The rest of the glade seems clear of life, although there is plenty of death - almost a dozen cocoon-wrapped bodies of various sizes litter the web-draped glade. Some appear to be relatively intact, although others rattle when tested - little more than skin and bone - probably feasts from a previous season.
Searching them all will take a few hours, as the webbing is touch and resistant to being cut. At the moment, the light is fading fast, and the glade is already too gloomy for those with only human vision to see in properly.
"'At right there is...ain't a squirrel worth putting in a stew..."
"Fricken kobold. Margut you know how to get kobolds to tell you everything they know?" He pauses and turns, "No really it did sound like the set up for a joke but do you. Like some kind of truth potion or aggressive poking."
"We should probably make camp a bit away from here and come back in the morning to see if we can find any goodies?"
Margût offers Roscoe an ugly smile, yanking the still wrapped-up kobold up by its tail and throwing it over his shoulder.
"I can poke it," he says. "But not here. The screaming will attract more danger."
"Safe camp is a great idea but we just potentially killed the things keeping the goblins from looting the spider pods. Do we have to check the pods not containing kobolds who squirm."
"Perhaps we should capture it and take it with us while we make camp elsewhere. We should be able to find this place again in the light of day. Or we could take the time now while we set up a guard."
"The squirmy kobold has info the other bundles might have shiny things."
Margût glances between his companions and the other cocoons.
"Just grab 'em," he snarls annoyedly. "We can open 'em somewhere else. What, scared of getting your hands sticky?"
"No I am scared of spider egg eruptions." Roscoe flips his staff in his hands, "Houk you wanna grab the bundles I got you covered."
"I'll carry them," Orono says with a roll of her eyes. "I'm immune to their venom anyway."
"I like Orono's idea more... " he says very certainly..
Henris casts light and looks over the Kobold. "Well, he certainly seems quite scared, doesn't he? I imagine he'll be most cooperative."
He will then attempt to use mage hand to pull some of the bundles loose as long as they are under 5 pounds.
Minah nods at Margut's suggestion. She attempts to pull some of the pods loose.
In the few minutes of fading light available, the group manage to gather five web bundles. There are more, but they are either too heavy, or too well secured in the mass of old webbing to be retrieved without further work.
Orono checks them over, and is fairly sure that there are no spiders lurking within.
By the time the group is finished, it is dark. Only Margut can see in the dark - the rest of the group will have to rely on Henris's light spell.
The kobold is still swinging from his tether.
Minah will cast light on a nearby tree as well, trying to expand the lighted area so the group can work. She will renew it as needed so the group can continue freeing the pods. She gives Sasha the guard command just in case something untoward approaches.
Roscoe cuts into the nearest bundle hoping to find gold.
Orono puts her spider back atop her pack, where it seems to make itself home among the small spiderweb sacks. She grunts slightly as she hefts the pack.
"What do you all want to do about this kobold?" she says. "Leave him or cut him down? I don't speak their language, so I don't really have an opinion."
Margût offers Roscoe an ugly smile, yanking the still wrapped-up kobold up by its tail and throwing it over his shoulder.
"I can poke it," he says. "But not here. The screaming will attract more danger."
"I speak dragon-tongue," grunts Margût.
Once the others are done gathering bundles, the hobgoblin starts to scout for a safe campsite.