|
Faustinia nods in agreement. "Yes, let's head up. We must remain prepared of course, but it must certainly be better than whatever crawling horrors await us down these other paths," she asserts, wrinkling her nose at the text on the sign.
"I'm sure this place will reveal its purpose as we explore it more. Whatever secrets are hidden here are hidden deep - perhaps we should concentrate on finding the Chelish Crux." Her serious expression softens as she smiles at Varius. "If I can find some spare time after this whole mess, I'd be happy to help you brush up on your Infernal. Your accent is, frankly, terrible."
Spiders and snakes seem too tame for this place. They are probably spiders and snakes with people faces or baby arms, or... paling at her own suggestions she decides to stop. She'll dutifully follow the others up to observation.
The Irises decide to follow the central path. After walking through a narrow corridor for about 50 feet, the group enters a square room. The wooden walls of this room are painted a somewhat nauseating yellow color. In one wall, an oak door with a large lock on the handle stands, a message burnt into the front. Likewise, hanging wooden signs bear messages as well, six in all, each hanging over a stairway leading out of the room. Ruined heaps of what may have once been chairs and a table lie scattered over the floor. The signs are written in Infernal, as before.
All of a sudden, as the group is still trying to figure out what to do next, a shrill voice calls out, its source nowhere to be seen. “You poor things! Suffering so from such baseless fears! Please, step into the therapy chambers and face these terrors. When you’re cured, bring me your prizes and I’ll pronounce you cured. You want to be cured, don’t you?”
Catina looks up in surprisem trying to locate the source of the sound. "Is it magical? Is someone really there?" she wonders. Then she calls up, slightly louder to ask whether anyone is really there. "Hello? I don't believe we have to be cured of anything, honestly. I think we've faced enough horrors in the Knot already, to be honest." Just to be sure, she walks up to the door labeled 'Exit' and checks whether it can be opened. She also peeks in the hallway, if it can be opened.
|
|
Faustinia mutters under her breath, ”It seems we've avoided one nightmare and stumbled into another…” She glances around, trying to locate the source of the voice.
As Catina tries the exit door, Faustinia wrinkles her forehead and calls out, ”Who are you? By what authority would you pronounce us ‘cured?’ And what are these prizes you speak of?”
Petals jumps at the voice. This place has her on edge, as it probably does to all of them. As Catina and Faustinia try and converse with it she wonders aloud Maybe it is just a magical construct set to trigger when someone enters? She hopes they can just leave through the exit without any new trials. She does a quick check for traps on the exit door if she has time before Catina opens it. Or aiding Alessandro in the attempt to locate/disarm/open. What if my baseless fear is of shrill disembodied voices? she mutters as she works.
Varius snorts in laughter at Petals' comment but suppresses it before speaking to the voice. "And can you answer some questions about this place?"
"An asylum within a plane of madness. How fitting. I'm sure there've been no lack of patients here. Compared to the horrors we've faced, snakes and spiders don't scare me. Bring them on."
Alessandro moves towards the arachnophobia door. "Any preference? Arachnophobia is as good a start as any."
The sourceless voice has not answered yet when Catina tries to open the exit door, which is unlocked. Beyond the door, there’s a chamber lacking a visible floor and ceiling—instead, what appears to be an endless shaft stretches to infinity both above and below. A ring of stone stairs winds upward counterclockwise around the room’s perimeter, winding back on itself in a mind-bending twist that, impossibly, brings one back to the starting point’s elevation even though the stairs themselves seem never to change their ascent or descent. Stone archways, some opening into other similar rooms and some sealed with stone, extend off from landings here and there on the ring of stairs.
“There’s no way out from here. Beyond that door awaits the path of insanity. I don’t recommend you going that way” suddenly says the voice. “Instead, I strongly recommend you to bring me back the prizes, and I will tell you the only possible safe path out of here…But only when you’ll be cured!”
In the meantime, Alessandro has started walking toward the arachnophobia room. After going down some stairs, he finds a room. Two flights of stairs – one of which is the one Alessandro used to get down here – allow access to this cylindrical room, one leading up and the other down. Above, the ceiling is obscured by thick tangles of drooping cobwebs.
Catina sighs and turns to the others. "We don't really have a choice, do we? This place is nasty enough that what he says is probably true..." She looks around the group. "Wait, where's Alessandro?" She hurries to where she sees a bit of his cape, following him to the spider room. Really, spiders first?! She prays for light to aid the others' sight in the dark, and keeps her glaive at the ready. "Are you sure about this, Alessandro? And... do you think we have to do all the rooms?" She looks around, hoping to spot anything that would consist a 'prize'.
Varius scowls as the little voice provides nothing of help. "We'd better have a good way for killing lots of spiders. Any handy spells Faustinia?"
He nervously flips his swords in his hands a few times. "Let... I think I'll pull a torch." Sheathing his left sword, Varius pulls out and lights a torch.
|
|
Faustinia lets out an exasperated sigh at the mysterious voice’s dodgy answers and insistence. ”What a ridiculous - hey!” Faustinia starts to mutter when she sees the others heading down the stairs. She does her best to scurry in a dignified manner after Alessandro and the others.
Faustinia furrows her brow at Varius’ question. ”I certainly know some spells that would be effective. None that I have on hand, though. I still have the scrolls that belonged to the poor chap we saw at the entrance, but I've been saving them for an emergency - let's hope this isn't one.” Faustinia follows carefully behind, crossbow in hand and dancing motes of light bobbing along the ceiling.
When Petals notices she is all alone. she mutters a very unladylike curse then rushes to quickly catch up to Faustinia. A casting of her own dancing lights to tail behind them a little, allow her to dart a glance back now and then to make sure nothing is following.
In the room full of webs, she is more than a little creeped out I'm not fond of spiders in truth. Too many legs and those eyes... horrid really. she pulls her rapier expecting hordes of the things to fall upon them any second.
Alessandro moves into the room with the webs with the others and keeps his weapons ready. "I know where this is going..."
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
A few seconds after Alessandro enters the room, and just about when the other members of the party reach him, the cobwebs above shake and rustle as a rain of spiders tumbles down into the room’s center. These hundreds of fist-sized hairy spiders are ready to attack!
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
The barbazu roars furiously, but his fit of anger seems to suddenly come to an end when the devil stops at a distance of 5 feet from the door and holds his glaive with both of his red hands. He’s clearly waiting for you to make the first step, staying true to its kind tactical wisdom even in his insanity.
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Spider swarm
Catina
______________________________________________________
--- ---
========
========
Despite herself, Catina screams as she watches the fist-sized spiders come down in droves. "Alessandro," she says with some resignation in her voice, "why did you have to pick this one first?"
--
"Sorry Catina. I may have made a mistake. Again I find myself woefully unequipped for this encounter."
Alessandro leaps up to the ceiling and clings, hoping to find purchase among the webs. Failing that, he moves so that he isn't standing within the swarm.
|
|
==========
==========
As the spiders descend, Faustinia shudders and a chill runs up her spine. She drops her crossbow and scrambles to reach for her staff instead. She brings it up starts jabbing and swinging at the spiders with the bottom end of it. ”Ugh! Horrible creatures! Does anyone have any alchemist's fire?” she exclaims, thinking back to the acid biting torbles in the sewers. It's hard to say which is worse.
---
As spiders fall all over Varius and Alessandro, Petals actually screams. SO SO SO many legs. It is truly horrible.
Her immediate reaction (well second after wanting to run) is to make the entire area explode in fire of some sort, but she doesn't have that ability, so instead she yells from the back for the others to be brave and sings her last bit of magical song to help them.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"
Varius shrieks at an octave typically reserved for goblins or pre-teens as the spiders descend upon them. He frantically waves his torch at them, trying to get the spiders.
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Faustinia quickly realizes that the spider are immune to weapon damage and moves away. Petals screams and then starts yelling from the back of the group for his companions to be brave. Alessandro fails to find purchase among the webs and moves away as well. Varius attacks with his torch, but he has no luck: he kills perhaps a dozen spiders, but that’s nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
The spiders swarm on Varius and Alessandro. They climb with their tiny legs, they bite.
After Catina’s actions, three bigger (giant, in fact) spiders fall into the room and join forces with their own smaller kind. Two of them immediately attacks Varius, while one stays on the rear of the group and tries to throw a web at the Iris. Varius finds himself entangled by the web, and in the meantime the spiders attack him, but fortunately his armor protects him.
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Spider swarm
Catina
Blue Giant Spider
Green Giant Spider
Pink Giant Spider
______________________________________________________
--- ---
========
========
Catina watches in horror as the spiders swarm over her companions. "Get back here. There are just too many!" She looks around for anything flammable as she follows Faustinia's lead and withdraws. "Does anyone have something to burn them away? Oil? Alchemist's fire? Faustinia, no flashy spells?" She checks her own backpack. "I only have a tanglefoot bag. Would that do anything? Can we glue them to the ground back there?"
--
========
========
Catina's heart sinks as she watches even more spiders join the fray. "Oh, no..." However, there is a silver lining. At least, these creatures seem like they can be hit be her weapon. She pulls out her glaive and readies it to strike the first large spider to come within striking distance.
--
|
|
==========
==========
Despite managing to squish a few of the creatures, Faustinia can tell that it's not having much effect on the total population. A look of panic crosses her face, then an idea. ”Fall back! If we can't hurt them, maybe something else can!” That said, Faustinia runs away from the swarm and directly across to the other set of stairs labeled “Pyrophobia.”
==========
==========
Faustinia turns to see if the others are following her, only to see that more spiders have dropped down from the ceiling - easily bigger than any family dog she’s owned. As one’s sticky web entangles Varius, she sees that there’s not going to be any easy running away. She turns and heads back down the stairs, conjuring a dart of acid from her hand as the smaller spiders crawl over her crossbow on the ground. "Never mind, I suppose we've no choice now! Like Catina said, we need anything! Even a flask of lantern oil could do!"
She turns briefly to Catina, replying to the girl’s question, ”Nothing flashy left, no. I honestly thought finding the Crux would be a lot easier than all this!”
---
Not much need living in the city to be carrying lantern oil around... unfortunately. Not that I won't be from now on. Petals chants a quick spell, sending a blinding flash of light in front of one of the large spiders to allow her friends to back away as quickly as possible.
Then she backs quickly in the room they just came from.
Alessandro's immune system fights off the spider poison but the spiders crawling all over his body and into his mouth nauseate him. He stumbles out of the room to recover. He spits out spiders and frenziedly brushes them off his body.
========
========
Although brave in his own foolhardy way, Varius falls into a complete and utter panic as he is overwhelmed by tiny spiders, and webbed by the bigger ones. Fear is a powerful motivator, however, and Varius thrashes wildly as he is webbed, ripping through the webbing. He then turns and sees Faustinia at the stairs, and realizes the wizard will be exposed if he flees.
"I'M FINE GET INTO THE FIRE ROOM NOW!"
Still standing in the swarm and refusing to allow it to travel to the others, Varius turns to defend against the spiders.
"I'll hold them off and follow. Go."
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Faustinia hits one of the bigger spiders with her acid dart, while Petals keeps encouraging her allies. Alessandro makes his way out of the room, while Varius barely has the time to break free from the web and step away from the swarm’s area.
The spider swarm moves forward, its members squeezing through the narrow corridor in order to reach Lady Faustinia.
After Catina’s actions, the bigger spiders assault Varius. This time, though, the man is able to avoid the web. On the other hand, the other spiders prove much more determined this time, and they attack with fury. Fortunately, Varius was not entangled, because this time his armor wouldn’t have sufficed to protect him!
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Spider swarm
Catina
Blue Giant Spider
Green Giant Spider
Pink Giant Spider
______________________________________________________
--- ---
|
|
==========
==========
Faustinia can feel the hundreds of tiny bites on her flesh and the fiery sensation of their poison in her veins. Her muscles acquire a deep ache, but even so she keeps her composure at least as the tiny legs raise goosebumps on her skin.
Shaking off some of the bugs, she meets Varius’s eyes and nods. Snatching up her crossbow, she bats a spider off it and makes her way back to the top of the stairs leading to the “pyrophobia” room.
---
========
========
Catina is still poised at the top of the stairs, waiting to strike at the spiders. "Varius, don't try to be a hero on your own down there. Come up, so we can all fight them!"
--
Petals will try to dazzle another of the giant spiders (or the first one if it did not seem to be effected).
==========
==========
Still covered in biting spiders, Varius sees that the group have cleared out. Taking a step back, he fishes through his pack, pulling out a flask of lamp oil. Remaining in the spiders, he dashes it on the ground and then tries to light it with his torch.
==========
Round 3
==========
Alessandro, like Catina steps back and readies an attack against a spider should it enter the central room.
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Faustinia withdraws, while Petals tries to dazzle one on the bigger spiders. Alessandro prepares himself for an attack, while Varius covers the spider swarm with oil, but he’s not able to light it yet.
The spider swarm moves forward, its members squeezing through the narrow corridor in order to reach Lady Faustinia.
Varius acts as a sort of old wine cork, preventing the bigger spiders to get at the group…and also preventing his friends from attacking the spiders! Catina is able to attack, in very truth, but she misses. On the other hand, only one of the giant spiders manages to effectively close in on Varius, while the remaining two try to entangle him with their webs. Fortunately, the spiders are not in their lucky day, and none of them is able to succeed!
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Spider swarm
Catina
Blue Giant Spider
Green Giant Spider
Pink Giant Spider
______________________________________________________
--- ---
Now that the group has withdrawn inside the central room from which they came, a familiar voice echoes from somewhere above your heads, nowhere to be seen. "Do you need a little help, dear patients?"
"No, we're fine." Alessandro speaks to the disembodied voice.
"Back up Varius, I can't help while the narrow hallway is blocked."
Alessandro holds again per the last round to attack a spider when it comes through.
Arg, not now, you annoying wasp of a voice! Petals hisses as she continues to try and annoy the lead spider with her flare. She'll back up a little to make you for Varius, to allow the three warriors to create a killing circle for the insects.
|
|
==========
==========
Faustinia fires off a crossbow bolt at the giant spider coming up the stairs as the horde surges up with it. ”Light the oil and move back! We can all stop them at the top of the stairs! Don't be foolhardy, Varius!” she calls out to the fighter boldly blocking the spiders.
Hearing the voice from above again in this tense moment raises the hair on the back of Faustinia’s neck. She replies cautiously to the ceiling voice, ”What help do you offer? What's the catch?”
---
==========
==========
"That was my plan!" he shouts back irritably, not being in a great mood thanks to the fact he has spiders in every possible crevice.
Varius sticks his torch into the oil, lighting it, before he withdraws.
========
========
Catina holds her position, and strikes when the large spiders come within striking range of her glaive.
--
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Faustinia fires an inaccurate bolt, and the voice above her giggles. “We can reach an agreement…What about giving me a silver weapon in exchange of my help?”
In the meantime, Petals tries to dazzle another spider after her previous unsuccessful attempts. Alessandro stands ready, waiting for Varius to light the oil and then move back. The fighter manages to accomplish his task, and the oil catches fire almost instantly, annihilating every single spider in the swarm. In a desperate attempt to get out of the area, Varius lowers his defenses, though. The bite of the spider in front of Varius, however, only provokes a scratch on the fighter’s armor. Nothing more.
The bigger spiders quickly move forward. This gives Catina the chance to bring down her glaive on the first of them, hitting the creature and almost breaking one of its many legs.
The spider still lives, but before it can try and bite at Varius, Alessandro gets the chance to make his attack. He hits the spider, but the damage dealt is not enough to end the creature, which then attacks Varius. Once again, the fighter’s armor makes a good job in protecting him. The other spiders line up in the corridor.
Catina steps back and with a fluid move she ends the first giant spider!
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Spider swarm
Catina
Blue Giant Spider
Green Giant Spider
Pink Giant Spider
______________________________________________________
--- ---
|
|
==========
==========
As the spiders go up in flame, Faustinia lets out a triumphant, ”Ha!” With the threat of the large spiders still looming, though, she takes aim and tries to sink a bolt into its carapace. Feeling more under control, she ignores the voice from the ceiling and instead calls to Varius, ”You did it! Excellent work!”
---
==========
Round 5
==========
Petals draws her dagger and throws at the next spider in line, hoping to be able to help somewhat, since her flare seems ineffectual.
=========
=========
Varius ditches the torch, drawing his second shortsword. He then readies himself to stab the next spider as it comes in. He twitches constantly as the few remaining little spiders continue to nibble at his everything. "See? It was a good plan."
==========
Round 5
==========
Not wanting to block the passage, Alessandro holds again to attack a spider when it moves within range.
========
========
Catina ignores the voice from above, concentrating on the grim task of dealing with spiders. She tries to boost the group's morale when she strikes the killing blow against the first one. "See, we can do it if we work together!" Like Allesandro, she holds her position to let the spiders come to them. When the next one comes up the stairs, she strikes her glaive down in a graceful arc.
--
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
Faustinia misses wildly, while Petals’ dagger surprisingly hits the target! Both Alessandro and Varius, not wanting to obstruct the corridor, wait for the right moment to attack. A moment which soon comes, when one of the giant spiders enters the room, giving Alessandro and Varius a chance to vent their fury on it. They both hit, but the damage is not enough to kill the creature. This gives the spider a chance to make another attack. This time, the creature tries to bite at Alessandro, but it fails—Alessandro is simply too fast for the giant spider, whose brethren tries to cover Varius in a web once again…with much better luck compared with his spider colleague. Varius is entangled!
It is now Catina’s turn. The tiefling girl strikes her glaive down in a graceful arc, but unfortunately, she only hits the stone floor of the Knot!
▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
: none
Lady Faustinia
Petals
Alessandro
Varius
Blue Giant Spider
Green Giant Spider
Catina
______________________________________________________
--- ---
Petals decides her adventuring life probably should include a ranged weapon of some sort, for these times when shadows have drained her strength and spiders clog a hallway. Instead she points and sing songs her arcane words at her dagger. The slim knife wiggles free and comes back to her.
============
============
Varius scowls as he is webbed but ignores it and instead focuses a full attack on the spider, which is a complete disaster.
========
========
"Almost, almost," Catina says, mostly to herself. "Stick together, and we can hold them off here. Nice shot, Petals." She steps back on the ball of her left foot, then pushes herself forward with the glaive pointing forward. However, she's quite weary and this attack also has more flair than punch. "Sorry, everyone... It's my arms, they feel gooey..."
--