Fulk looks around, but can't see anything that might've spun these webs. Remembering the instruction to stay quiet, he pantomimes casting a spell to deal with the webs, then raises an eyebrow.
Brias crouches low and looks around, but sees nothing other than the obvious.
"A local hunter went missing recently. I think it may have been at about this area, too."
Drogeda shrugs back at Fulk's suggestion, then gives him an affirmative nod.
When Brias finishes talking after she just clearly indicated to keep quiet, she gives him dagger eyes. Having not spotted any immediate threats though, she lets it go with an exhale.
"You're lucky there's nothing here at the moment to hear you," she whispers back to Brias anyway. "But that is interesting. Hopefully they just skipped town, instead of... being dinner for whatever lives in this."
"I have no idea who or what that is." Rhia whispers to her companions, looking at the hulking figure at the bridge.
Nodding to the others, Fulk uses Burning Hands to clear out as much webbing as possible.
The Speaker gazes sternly at the tall green creature a moment. His mouth slowly frowns as realization dawns upon him.
"Troll", he whispers in response to Zelda.
"No, not friendly", he adds, "Ferocious, formidable, and fearless, trolls innately regenerate fresh wounds quickly."
Drawing his bow, "There's no turning back. We kill it. Or, we cut through the woods quietly, head downstream and ride across the river."
The river is only some twenty feet across, but it flows rapidly. It's hard to tell how deep it is from this distance, but it might be shallow enough for the horses to make it across, albeit with some difficulty.
A cone of searing flame jets forth from Fulk's fingertips. The webs in its path quickly flare up and disintegrate, causing once-connected strands to slacken and resettle, some dangling loose up above, while others clump up. The path ahead for the next twenty feet is now cleared of webs...
Fulk then feels an unsettling sensation. Feeling the slightest breeze on the back of his neck, the hairs there rise ominously. He then reacts just in time, dodging the bite of a very silent spider, the size of a large dog, which managed to sneak up right behind him!
Fulk moves just in time then reacts quickly, summoning his arcane might to strike back at the creature.
Confirm?
Before the others have time to react, Fulk claws at the large spider, shredding it into a black icky mess at his feet. Its disconcerting spidery legs jerk and twitch in its death throes...
Wait. Claws? Brias now notices that Fulk's fingertips now end in sharp claws. And come to think of it, his orcish teeth and fangs are considerably more pronounced and menacing to behold.
But before you have a moment to ponder this any further...
Quickly glancing about, Fulk sees more spiders coming down from above, and yells out "Look out! There's more coming!" Wasting no time, he casts another spell, targeting two of the spiders in succession.
As the companions consider whether to attack, talk with, or avoid the troll, the troll sets aside a small book he was apparently reading. He then begins to audibly sniff the air. Looking around and scratching his green-braided, long-bearded chin thoughtfully, his confused gaze turns to look down the path in the direction of the companions. Squinty eyed, he speaks in common in a deep voice.
"Someone there? Oi! Giggles smell ya, me do! No play hide an' seek! Come an' pay toll if ye wanna cross me bridge. At's..."
He thinks long and hard a moment, as if trying to remember something very difficult to comprehend.
"...ten gold ta pass!"
"T...twenty gold?" Giggles the troll seems confused, but after a moment of head scratching, he smiles and concludes, "Ok. Twenty gold!"
Sookie shrugs as she nods in the affirmative to Zelda, but advises everyone to, "Keep an eye open for trouble". Gently pressing Rhia's hand down, she donates six gold to the bridge toll.
Istivan nods and donates three gold.
Aliseya enthusiastically says, "You've got a deal, mister!" and donates two gold.
Naught shrugs, puts her axe away, and donates three gold with a toothy smile.
Sunny cheerfully donates two gold.
Christoph remains entirely skeptical. But he concedes, "Well, it's not undead..." as he covers the remaining four gold. He goes along with the plan to pay, but keeps his bow unsheathed. "Just in case."
Sookie volunteers to step forward and hand the gold to the troll. The troll smiles back, bends low, and holds out a big hand to receive it.
When Sookie places the gold in his big hand, he stares at it for a long moment.
"Is... that... is that, um, twenty gold?" he asks.
Sookie looks incredulous for a moment as she responds, "Yes. Yes it is."
"Hmpf," Giggles grunts, smiles back, and says "Fair is fair. Off ye goes. Have a nice day!"
As he moves back to allow the party to pass, the troll earns his namesake with a few audible giggles as the party begins to move towards the bridge. The giggling is rather off-putting, coming from a hulking troll with no apparent cause for humor.
However, you believe that you can quickly and easily shimmy a small object, like a stone you easily find from the ground, into a particular wooden groove before crossing that will very likely prevent the bridge from dropping and let everyone cross safely.
With Zelda in the lead, the companions cross the bridge. As they do so, Giggles the troll continues to giggle and wave at them like a big green goofball. As Zelda nears the other side of the bridge, the troll furrows a brow. And as the remaining companions each reach the other side, Giggles' one furrowed brow is accompanied by his other brow in confused anger.
Giggles in no longer giggling.
"W... why it no work?! Oi! Stoopid bridge!"
Safely across the bridge, the companions deem it best to carry on in haste as a now angry troll, scratching his head in confusion, carefully looks over the bridge for a long moment.
Rounding the corner through some trees, the companions who glance behind catch one last glimpse of Giggles in his attempt to fix the bridge: he punches it. The bridge splits in two, each half collapsing into the river below.
"NOW you work, eh?! Bloody garbage trap bridge don't trap NUTHIN!"
Now out of sight, the companions hear the troll's loud frustration, followed by the sound of another punch.
...
The companions ride on along the old trail for the rest of the afternoon. The deep woods grow eerily dark as the sunlight fades into evening. Eventually, Naught and Christoph agree on a spot to camp out for the night.
Sunny happily skips along and circles around stern Christoph after a quick hunt for "somethin' squiggly an' tasty fer supper" that her big snake just found. She makes a hot stew for the group.
Aliseya keeps looking up and all around, anticipating more "huge creepy spiders" to drop down at any moment. Naught sits beside her, comforting her with a warm soup bowl. "I'll watch over you, don't worry."
Sookie sits down beside Rhia, offering her a soup bowl as well. "It's... stew." She shrugs. "I'm not quite sure what 'somethin' squiggly' is, but doesn't smell bad at least."
Istivan intervenes with a hand flourish over each bowl. A glittery spritz of seasoning lands perfectly into each bowl. "Just some extra seasoning to heighten the flavors."
Sunny smiles back at Istivan with amazed, wide-open eyes. Looking up towards the sky, "Oh! You is puttin star light inta it, like? I never be tastin' star light before..."
"Something like that," Istivan responds with a smile.
Two scorched mounds of black remain on two of the tree trunks in the wake of Fulk's scorching rays. The light breeze casts a stream of ashes from each mound, as clumps of a charred and vaguely spider-shaped pulp dribble to the ground below.
Drogeda is swift to catch on. Two arrows rip a third spider through, while a fourth spider is pinned by her third arrow.
Brias blinks and looks around, squinting to see that three more spiders are swiftly crawling down three more trees.
Before he can act, one of the dog-sized spiders jumps him, biting Brias in the shoulder!
Another leaps towards Drogeda, but misses!
And a third tries to jump Fulk from behind, but misses!
Finally, the spider pinned by Drogeda's arrow pulls itself free with a disturbing squishy sound, leaving a goo-coated arrow in the tree trunk.
1 - Dead (-18 hp)
2 - Dead (-25 hp)
3 - Dead (-11 hp)
4 - Alive (-9 hp)
5 - Alive
6 - Alive
7 - Alive
Fulk takes another couple of swipes at the spider that just jumped at him.
Rhia sits beside Sookie, gratefully accepting the bowl of stew with a smile, appreciating it even more once Istivan has enhanced it with his magic. "I'll never be one to turn down a warm meal when out in the wilds, there's far worse we could be eating."
"Far worse company to be had as well." she says with a grin.
Fulk slashes the spider on him in one swipe, leaving a blackish bloody ooze at his feet. Stepping up to the spider on Drogeda, he slashes that one down as well.
Drogeda drops her bow and draws both her short sword and throwing axe in a split second as she steps closer towards Brias. She stabs at the spider near him with a squeal, then hacks off two of its legs with a follow-up mauling. She then finishes it off with a second sword thrust through its many-eyed head.
Brias recoils from the spider's bite. Drawing his crossbow, he snipes at the remaining spider, but his bolt only hits the tree trunk beside it.
The last spider, deeply wounded, climbs back up the tree trunk in retreat.
As the spider retreats into the shadowy pine foliage high above, the companions take a breather. Looking ahead, they see more spider webs beyond the immediate clearing created by Fulk's fire. They can conceivable press on ahead, though that might mean more verminous encounters. Alternatively Drogeda has the survival skills to circle the party around the infested area, probably avoiding further spider encounters, though she believes it will delay the journey at least half a day.
Do you press on ahead? Or do you circle around?
Brias manages to shake off further effects.
"Sorry. Sorry! I, er, have a thing with spiders."
"I think perhaps avoiding more of these would be wise."
Sookie smiles back at Rhia warmly.
"I couldn't agree more."
Sookie hovers an arm around Rhia as if to embrace her, inviting her to snuggle in with a gesture.
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With a smile, the Ghost Whiperer slips into the Paladin's embrace, snuggling up to her for both warmth and the very welcome contact.
"I think perhaps avoiding more of these would be wise."
"Yes, I think you're right. I can't keep doing that all day."
"Whatever it is you've been doing is pretty impressive."
The companions settle down for the evening along the chilled boreal ground. A light snow flurry trickles past the dark canopy of pines. Only the rustling of pine needles and the distant howling of wolves breaks the nighttime silence.
Well rested under thick warm blankets, Sookie gently awakens Rhia beside her as Christoph wakes the remaining companions in the early morning light. Naught grumbles something unintelligible as Aliseya complains about needing her beauty sleep, though they are up quickly enough anyway. The companions find the ground covered in a light dusting of snow, though the temperature remains as wintery cold as the day before.
After breakfast, they saddle up and head back onto the old trail towards Ascanor Lodge. After a few hours of uneventful riding, the trail begins making a gradual turn to the right. From an east-southeastern direction, the path now heads in a more south-facing southeastern direction.
Drogeda nods in agreement with the plan to get away from these spider-infested woods. Backtracking and circling around to the west, she takes the companions deeper off-trail along a hillier path. The party makes camp, eating a late supper.
The night passes uneventfully, save for the eerie sounds of wolves howling in the not-so-distant distance. The next morning, Drogeda leads the companions again through the deeper Shudderwood.
Not one hour into the morning, Drogeda stops in her tracks. Pointing to some disturbed underbrush and some broken twigs that would not seem eventful to an untrained hunter, she believes something large passed quickly through this area, urging silent caution as they proceed.
Shortly after, the companions come upon a gristly sight. A bloody, skeletal mound from some unfortunate large beast rests before them. The now-unrecognizable beast appears to have been eaten, judging by the canine markings on the bones. With several sets of large, bloody paw prints surrounding it, Drogeda believes it was some kind of large wolf-like pack.
"Dire wolves? Or, perhaps something worse..."
Letting her unsettling words linger in the air a moment, she gathers her thoughts.
"Rumor has it that the Shudderwood is home to werewolves," she at last adds.
"They're rumors, but..." she hesitates a moment. "Lets hope it's just a pack of dire wolves, though." She tries to cheer up her companions, probably without success.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully. After finding another minor hunting trail, the companions find a relatively comfortable spot to camp nearby for the night and bed down. Thoughts of nocturnal werewolves and dire wolves are difficult to repress, though everyone manages to get decent sleep nonetheless.
They awaken in the early morning to a light scattering of snow this winter's morn. Taking the lead once more, Drogeda states her belief that this new trail leads to the old Silent Path, a major trail that traverses through the Suddderwood. It will take them to Ascanor Lodge.
Traveling the minor trail all morning, noontime approaches. Drogeda states she thinks they will soon find the Silent Path.
Awakening, after eventually overcoming the urge to cuddle in the cold morning air. Rhia helps prepare breakfast and break down camp, before the group once again sets out.
Wary due to Drogeda's pronouncements, Fulk watches the forest carefully as they go on.
Aliseya hums softly to herself as the companions ride the winding old trail. The light jingling of her jewelry can be heard over the sound of snow-muffled hooves upon the dirt trail, adding her personal charm to the general atmosphere.
Suddenly, she stops her humming, her jingling, and her halflinger horse. Eyes wide open, she turns her head to the left. Looking deeply into the woods, her eyes then suddenly roll up, showing only the whites of her eyes. Her expression is one of searching.
"We are not alone," she says aloud after a strange, long moment.
Sookie immediately halts her own horse, motioning for the others to as well come to a halt. She looks in the direction Aliseya looks... but sees nothing.
Christoph as well immediately comes to a halt. Drawing his bow, he grimly scans the woods in the same direction, ready for trouble.
When Aliseya stops and makes her eerie revelation, the companions all come to a halt and silently watch as she does her... weird, witchy, mind search thing.
She had a vision, and now shares it with her friends...
Aliseya's pupils now return to normal. She pensively ponders what she has seen in her mind's eye for a long moment before revealing her vision.
"Three people are walking through these woods, not far from us. We'll meet them, soon. I saw... a woman in leather... a well-built armored man with red hair... and another strong man. They are all armed, and are all half-orcs. I..."
She pauses a moment, as if making sense of the images she received in her mind.
"I think their destinies are intertwined with ours."
...
"Oh!" she suddenly closes her eyes and holds her forehead for a moment...
Opening them again, "I also see an adorable fox with them? Omigods it is like so adorbs!"
Rhia tilts her head, considering the revelation of Aliseya's vision. "Intertwined could mean working together or opposing, any idea which?"
Aliseya shrugs in response to Rhia's question, but adds, "With that adorable fox? They must want to work together?"
Other than the adorableness of the fox, she does not sound particularly confident.
To Zelda, "Omigods Zel, like I can't wait for you to see this little cutie."
Carrying on for a few more minutes, Speaker Metzger suddenly halts Jitters his horse. He hand signals for everyone else to do likewise. He silently holds three fingers up, then points further down the path, off-path into the woods some hundred feet away.
His severe gaze stares for a long moment, bow in hand but not drawn.
He then loosens up a bit, whispering "Three half-orcs indeed... your truly are gifted with the sight, Miss Belododia."
A few minutes after Drogeda announces the Silent Path should be near, Fulk stops when he faintly hears something different than the usual woodland sounds. He peers up ahead through the wintry foliage.
Drogeda halts when she also hears it, and looks knowingly in the same direction as Fulk.
Brias, however, does not hear or see anything.
You both stop in your tracks when you think you hear the soft, distant beating sounds of horse hooves on light snow and dirt. Standing a moment and peering in the direction of the sounds, you can see that the woods open up about a hundred feet ahead of you: a dirt path. The promised old hunters' trail, at last.
Along that path, you also spot several figures on horseback.
As they walk the path for a few seconds more, one of the riders halts, and the others come to a halt as well. You count eight riders in all.
From this distance, they appear to be seven humans and an elf. The female elf is most curious of all. For starters, she rides a very large snake-like creature, not a horse like the others. On this frigid winter day, she's also wearing a netted outfit that shows considerable skin... attire more suitable to a tropical islander. She is also heavily armed with a number of swords.
The humans all wear more winter-appropriate attire, some with light or medium armor too.
From this distance, you can clearly make out that the rider who first halted the group seems to be starting right back at you. He has a military bow in hand, though he holds it down and has not drawn an arrow. Another nearby rider wields a long and rather formidable-looking spear. More than not appear armed as well, though it is difficult to make out more details from this distance and through the foliage.
"Hold, Brias." Fulk says, holding up a hand to stop the doctor. "You two remain, I will ensure they are not hostile." Without waiting for an answer, he pulls off his cesti, casts light on a handy piece of cloth, and walks slowly forward, holding out the cloth to show he is making no attempt to hide. "Hello, travelers." he says when he reaches speaking range.
Approaching is a half-orc, stoutly built, though of average height for his people (a shade over 6 feet). He wears a mithral shirt, has dark red hair, and much of his exposed arms are covered in tattoos. He holds a glowing piece of cloth, but no weapon, though a large bow is strapped to his back.
"Greetings, salutations, well met, and all that."
A woman, casually dressed in a brown, three-piece tweed suit, responds to Fulk from atop her horse. Her red-brown hair is in a sideshave. She has fine features, and her skin has a healthy glow with a fair share of freckles. Though her appearance is casual and low-key, she most notably holds a rather impressive silver longspear in one hand, in a non-threatening manner. She speaks with a distinctively southern Ustalavic accent.
There is something endearing about her...
"The name's Clayton. Sookie Clayton. And you are?"
After any other introductions are made, she speaks up again.
"So. What a pleasant day for a stroll through the Shudderwood."
It is a cold winter day. There is a light coating of snow on the ground...
"And with a large bow, rather. Hunting are we?"
Though her tone is genuine and emotive, Sookie's raised brow and the intelligence behind her words make it apparent to the perceptive and the sharp-minded alike: she's not really inclined to believe they're just hunting.
A grim man on horseback beside Sookie silently studies Fulk as Sookie and any others speak up. Bedecked in scarlet and black, the man's intimidating presence seems to loom over you like a watchful gargoyle. Like a noblewomen wears jewelry, his armament can only reasonably be called "excessive". Between the dagger and wickedly bright morningstar hanging from his belt, the spears across his back, and the composite bow lowered but in hand, not to mention the array of vials stretched across his chest on bandoliers, it would be forgivable for an observer to think this man could equip an army on his own.
His eyes flicker constantly from Fulk, to Fulk's companions back in the woods, to unseen phantoms up and all around in these dark woods, and back with the constant practice of one whose life depends on quick wits and fast reflexes to avoid the inhuman threats that lurk in Ustalav's shadows...
"Speaker Metzger, Voices of the Spire," he eventually introduces himself as a soldier would state their name, rank, and platoon.
You believe are speaking with a high-ranking member of the Voices of the Spire. You've heard a tale or few of the militant wing of the church of Pharasma. It is an order dedicated to eradicating any and all undead. The Voices are led by the sullen and humorless Great Speaker Nakht Shepses in its headquarters in the city of Wati in Osirion. The Shepses family is a very influential family in Osirion politics, but Nakht is a bastard son. The Voices of the Spire also have chapter houses in Nex and Ustalav.
Fulk motions the others forward, before turning back to the newcomers with a shrug. "In these woods, if you aren't hunting, you're being hunted. Probably being hunted even then. These are my companions, Brias and Drogeda. We are heading for the Ascanor Lodge." He doesn't seem troubled by these newcomers. But then, anyone traveling through the Shudderwood has probably seen stranger creatures than group of humans. That elf is an odd one, though.
A stunningly beautiful young woman waves at the three strangers from atop her peaches and cream halflinger horse. She addresses them in her light Varisian accent.
"Hello! I'm Aliseya. And this," indicating her horse, "is Lexy."
Expressive, soulful, heterochromatic eyes easily captivate those who behold them, and her sweet smile is contagious. Her hair is a lush dark brown, her complexion smooth olive. At just under five and a half feet tall, her voluptuous figure is graceful. Her winter outfit is best described as vibrant, with both flowing and fitted elements that tend to emphasize her figure: a colorful, loose body suit of silk and satin, with form-fitted pants, a warm fitted coat, and matching boots. Those familiar with the Varisian wanderers of the west recognize their colorful style in her.
As she pats her horse's neck, the light jingling of her bracelets rings pleasantly in the crisp winter air.
Another young woman with an intimidating stature of just under five feet sits atop her own black horse beside Aliseya. Dressed in a dark winter coat over a robe more befitting a hermit, her choice of headgear stands in sharp contrast to her otherwise mundane attire: a large brimmed conical hat, bent with age. She bears a minor scar or two on her pale face, and wears a pair of rose colored glasses.
"Pleased ta meetcha, I'm Naught." she says in a sweet, gravelly voice. She bows a bit formally, tipping off her hat to the strangers.
At which point, you notice her hair is a thick mat of undulating locks. You could swear it moves rather serpent-like...
When Naught places her hat back atop her head, the hat seems to adjust and fit perfectly of its own accord. She smiles broadly, revealing sharp teeth more befitting a shark than a short human girl...
She also has an intimidating-looking great axe strapped across her back.