Moira tries to reach the deck--once safely there, she draws her magic blade, singing all the while.
Liamae fires on the red spider!
Iagon grins at Turante. Thank you, your highness. He then calls up whirling vortex of wooden particles again. At the same time, his skin takes on a darker hue, and shows lines like bark on a tree. He lashes out with a strike again...at the same spider that had webbed him.
Moira tries to reach the deck--once safely there, she draws her magic blade, singing all the while.
Moira realizes she's been squawking and represses her alter-ego.
Everyone gets up the rope and joins Iagon safely, err..., on the deck of the ship. With his companions behind him, Iagon shows off. First hardening his skin, he blasts the closest spider with shards of decking, ripping into its fungal armor. Patches of moldy chitin litter the deck, but the spider remains standing on all eight legs.
The spiders move in for the attack, but as they draw near, they release a cloud of spores from their fungal growths.
Liamae and Moira hold their breath, but everyone else gets a lungfull of noxious spores. Even though the ship is grounded, Túrante, Attai, and Iagon are suddenly seasick.
Then the spiders bite.
Túrante feels her spider must be blind, but Moira gets to know the other spider a little more intimately. Although she withstood the cloud of spores, the venom dripping from fangs tells her she might be in trouble.
All of a sudden, things are looking a tad bleak.
Iagon turns and hurls his breakfast down to the fishes.
Moira reels as the poison floods her system. It noticeably saps her strength, but she keeps singing and starts swinging!
It'd take more than full strength to make that hit, caught off balance by the listing of the ship as she is.
Helpless due to the spores, the princess does nothing.
Attai weaves a little in place...
"Attai, step back!" Liamae shouts as she takes a step away from the spider. Assuming the sylph complies, the elf casts a spell and slams her gloved hands together, sending a burst of flames at the nearby spider!
Attai is able to take a step toward the other spider and out of the way of a gout of flames.
Clouded though they be, the spiders many eyes catch sight of the commotion, and with a surprising intelligence, barely anticipates the spell. Now singed, it looks worse for the wear.
Everyone else staggers about. However, Moira feels the poison lose hold.
Túrante’s spider continues its attack.
It feels a solid hit is overdue.
The other spider reassesses the threat situation and prefers Liamae over Moira.
It punctures through mage armor and sinks fang into thigh.
Still nauseated, the princess can do nothing.
Attai continues to weave, then falls prone. He considers whether the deck needs a new coat of vomit...
Iagon, similarly, wavers on his feet and tries not to fall over. He continues to lament his lack of preparation.
Liamae cries out in pain as the spider's fangs sink into her thigh. She steps away, wobbling a bit unsteadily, as she draws her bow and fires from point-blank range!
Moira slashes again!
She impovises mid-song to quip:
"Ugh, my swing was nauseating! That whiff stank! I'll get 'em next time--careful, Liamae!"
She assesses the threat:
Moira has seen her fair share of plague and disease, and her affinity with death tells her, these spiders are being reanimated by some sort of intelligent fungal infection.
But for this specific spider, there won’t be a next time. Liamae backs up against a stack of barrels and fires into its hissing mandibles. The arrow plunges deep, and the spider falls back into death.
The other continues to offend Túrante.
This can’t be mathematically possible, it thinks.
Liamae’s histamine system wins the day.
Attai loses his battle and erupts.
Liamae sighs with relief when the spider falls. She shifts her aim to the other one but misses her shot.
Iagon had been retelling the mantra. Don't puke Attai; if you puke, I'll puke; if you puke, I'll puke... Then, it happened....and Iagon followed suit.
Moira, still singing, assesses the undeadness of her remaining foe and decides to send it running--better to buy some time and clean up the lads! First Chill Touch, then Prestidigitation...
Moira must feel grateful, since she is now standing on a grate as she moves next to poor Attai. No time to behold what horrors await them in the hold below, she focuses on the task at hand.
The gods briefly smile on our heroes. As her blade hits, the spider cowers before Moira, then it flees. In panic, it blunders into Túrante then clambers over the side of the hull. Miro and son scream at the sight, but the spider simply cowers as it reaches the waterline.
Liamae aims over the side and fires down at the spider, hoping to finish it off!
Iagon continues to retch, then once again marvels at Liamae's marksmanship as she kills the wretched little arachnid. He falls to his knees, chest heaving from the sickness.
Moira starts by stopping her song--gotta save the vocal cords!
Then, she:
1. Peers into the grate:
2. Casts Prestidigitation on Iagon to clean him off
3. Same for Túrante
4. Same for Attai
5. Reloads her sword with another Chill Touch
Liamae does indeed finish the cowering spider off. It falls into the water and floats gently down the stream.
Helping others recover, Moira glances down through the grate. It’s dark down there. She sees vague shapes, but nothing seems to be moving.
Attai nods a soppy, soggy thanks. He stands, careful not to disturb any of his or Iagon’s muck. He loads his crossbow and...staggers a little, clearly affected by the recent battle.
”That was...disturbing. What manner of spider...does this?”
"Some kind of undead arachnid fungus humanoid... really it's too many categories at once for my taste. I don't see anything alive under the grate. Shall we continue? Who takes point in this outfit, or shall I? I'm feeling a little weak after that poison, but I'm pretty tough and I'm usually better with this..."
She raises her magic blade in front of her face in parody of a fencer's salute.
"...sometimes I put Hideous Laughter in it, heh. Going with Chill Touch again this time."
Iagon shakes his head to banish the last bits of the horrible nausea, and then gets back to his feet. Moira, I can't tell you how glad I am to have you along. Sorry if I...well, if I was a bit hesitant. You and Liamae here really pulled us out of that one.
He looks around the deck as he steadies himself on the railing. if those creature's are up here, who knows what's underneath. Shall we find a way down, see if anyone is alive down there?
Some in the group may remember a very similar thing happening to a pair of centipedes found in the bog cave.
From the main deck there are two sets of stairs down into the hold. There are also doors leading into the quarterdeck and forecastle. You can get onto the forecastle from stairs as well. Two storage closets flank the doors leading into the quarterdeck.
You and Liamae here really pulled us out of that one.
Moira slaps Iagon on the back, "Happy to help, but you know what the hobbits say about frying pans and fires."
She casts Light on a belaying pin or some other bit of nautical flotsam and drops it down the grate, hoping to get a better look at whatever's down there.
Iagon nods, fairly unsure of this endeavor now. But, he glances back at the ship they'd come from then shrugs and continues on. He moves to the closed door at the...thingie (he didn't know ship terms) and opens it.
Attai moves to support Iagon in case something else untoward and undead appears, pointing his heavy crossbow into the exposed portal.
Liamae beams at the praise from her companions. She stands back with her bow at the ready as the others open the door.
Moira drops an illuminated tool down into the hold. It falls into a puddle of slick, drying blood. The body of a fallen sailor lies next to it, eyes staring blankly into the light, a look of horror stuck on his face. Other bodies lie in the hold, some human, some spiders, some of the grotesque, purple, spider-faced creatures.
Having a moment to assess the scene, Liamae may recognize the strange purple creatures. She had a glimpse of them from the psychic impressions left on the hobgoblin’s bow.
Iagon opens the door into what must be the captain’s quarters. It’s roomy and nicely furnished, for ships quarters. Immediately in Iagon’s view is a table with maps and charts. A journal lies open on the table. Iagon too sees a puddle of dark red liquid, but quickly realizes it is from a spilt bottle of wine on the floor.
But, back to Moira, if we may. For, you see, as she peers through the holes in the grate, trying to get a sense of what lies below, something moves toward the light. A form moves over the glowing tool, and then a grotesque arachnid visage looks up to see Moira peering down. The creature hisses and calls out in an abominable tongue:
The creature is first to act. It rushes up the stairs and lashes out with sickle-like claw.
Moira feels the rush of air on her skin as the claw misses.
A second creature moves up the other set of stairs onto the deck. Black eyes look frantically about.
Iagon turns and pushes out a blast of whirling particles towards the creature that just gained the top of the stairs.
"I see dead people! And more of these monsters, and I think they can talk! Nine hells!"
When the one gets in her face and swings, Moira steps back five feet and starts singing again: "So where were the spiders/ While the fly tried to break our bones?"
Attai spins around, and seeing Moira in trouble has a moment of hesitation. Still, he has a clearer shot on the closer creature. He shoots it.
[+2 BAB, +2 Dec, +1 bless]
Liamae's eyes widen as she thrusts out her gloved hand, firing a beam of fire at the nearest creature!
Someone will have to tell Moira about the giant flies, too.
With encouragement, Attai and Liamae strike their target. The monster reels, but bears it’s claws, having found its target.
But first, Túrante steps forward and slashes from behind.
Her blade cuts deeply across its hunched and knobby back. It turns to face the princess, fangs dripping with venom.
The arachnoid horrors continue their attack.
Moira takes a brutal gash from the monster’s claw and bite. She feels her muscles stiffen under the onslaught of the venomous bite. As badly injured as it is, Túrante’s opponent can’t get through her defenses.
Attai drops the heavy crossbow and rushes to Túrante’s aid, brandishing the gnarled druidic club, swinging it at the arachnid abomination.
[+2 BAB, +2 Str, +1 ABP, +1 bless; +3 THF]
Iagon fires again, a bit more urgently given the obviously tough situation. He sweeps his arm across, loosing a flying scythe of wooden bits.
He curses at his miss, and rushes down to the south, pointing at the creature attacking Moira. Hey, over here!
Moira stops singing with a flourish, attempting Saving Finale!
...unfortunately, this time she gets nothin' but a bunch of dex damage. Inspire Courage will last for two more rounds, though!
Inspired to brave her finale's failure, she (somewhat clumsily) takes a shot with the sword:
"Run, you monster, run!"
She unleashes Chill Touch.
Liamae tries to burn the creature attacking Turante again but her ray of flame goes wide.