A quick examination of the guard tower reveals nothing of note other than the ancient frescoes, yet their mystery will remain until another day.
You then turn your attention to the cobweb-choked corridor. Theodora begins sweeping away the webs with her sword and the rest of you follow gingerly.
As you slowly make your way down the 10-foot-wide corridor, everyone by Countessa hears the distant sound of a man shriek in terror. "Arrrgh!! Get them off me!! Get them off me!!"
Damion follows...
The distant voice has a distinct Chelish accent and isn't Merrick's.
Hearing the voice calling out for help, Celowyn and Daimon move deeper into the pitch-black, web-choked corridor, cutting at the webs with their swords. After another ten feet into the corridor, you find the source of the cries: The transluscent image of a halfling is suspended by ghostly chains from the ceiling. Ghostly spiders crawl over his body as he cries out in fear!
And now everyone feels themselves stuck in the sticky strands of the web, with a swarm of spiders crawling over your own bodies!
...succeeds
hopefully I'm close enough for the +4!
"That's not Merrick!!! Stand fast friends... be brave!!!"
"What gave it away? That he's a halfling or that he's see through?"
Verran moves up with the others and then hears Celowyn screaming.
"They're not real Celowyn, I suspect this is another haunting.
Countessa screams in panic as the ghostly spiders crawl over her. She is unable to do anything other than bat furiously at them, trying to remove them.
"What's going on? I don't see anything on you!" Theodora exclaims with confusion.
Round 1
However: You do see six actual giant spiders climbing down out of the webs! Their bodies are cat-sized, yet their legs span at least five feet!
Addendum...
"Look out! Not all of them are imaginary!"
Damian will take a 5' step and swing at one of the approaching spiders.
(power attack)
Petracleus holds fast, waiting for one of the arachnids to scuttle in to range of his blades...
...in the dust and web of the corridor, the erstwhile swordsman is ill-prepared...
Countessa buckles at the knees, as the spiders' venom takes effect. She fights to throw them off of her, only to find herself more deeply entangled in their webs.
Round 1
Hearing Theodora's and Daimon's words echo through the distance, doubt about what she's experiencing crosses Celowyn's mind. With a strong effort of will, she sees through the phantasm and realizes that the web and spiders are all in her mind. Yet the six cat-sized black-and-yellow spiders descending through the webs appear all too real!
Daimon brushes through the wispy cobwebs and slashes at one of the spiders, easily cutting it in half.
...miss
...miss
...hit
...miss; subject to AOO
...fails
The remaining spiders descend on the party members that seem to have been affected by the haunt. Two each land on Ireena and Countessa, and each of the women are bitten.
The fifth spider attempts to land on Celowyn.
Petracleus then attempts to skewer one of the spiders that's on Countessa, but the thing skitters out of the way.
Theodora advances as necessary to attack the closest spider.
Celowyn pulls out her morningstar and smacks the spider that had crawled onto her arm. Its exoskeleton is cracked and one leg snaps off, but it still skitters back toward her.
Theodora easily slices a spider in half. Its legs twitch unsettlingly, but it's clearly dead.
Damion will swing away with a growl
(power attack)
Countessa gasps again as she is bitten. In an instant, her mind clears and she realizes that while most of the spiders were phantasms, that one was all-too real! In a panic, she brushes with her quarterstaff, attempting to knock it off of her arm.
...fails!
Petracleus attempts to skewer a spider on Countessa, but the arachnid moves too quickly to be hit.
Theodora kills one of the spiders on Ireena with her falcion.
With an act of will, Countessa breaks out of the phantasmal webs only to be bitten by an all-too-real spider. She feels her arm go numb at the bite as its poison flows into her body.
Ireena also shakes herself out of the phantasm when the very real spider bites her. "Oww! Hey-- this one's real!"
Round 2
Daimon slashes through one of the cat-sized spiders on Countessa, killing it. Celowyn also bashes the one on her with her morningstar. However, that spider was mostly in its web, and the force of the blow mainly threw it to the floor, hard.
...hit
...miss
The spiders on Ireena and Countessa both bite them again.
Countessa moans as the poison courses through her veins, her legs failing to support her any longer. She sinks to her knees under the weight of her gear. She halfheartedly attempts to brush the spider off of her arm.
She is not attempting to do damage, merely to brush the spider away.
"Stand still Contessa!"
(power attack)
Cursing at the haunt, Verran will move to smash any remaining spiders with his mace.
in the altertnative, he'll attempt to determine how this haunt might be destroyed.
Grimacing as the spiders escape his first attempts to skewer them, Petracleus steps forward and, more balanced this time, thrusts and slashes once more...
Theodora turns her attention to the closest remaining spider and tries to splat it.
Round 2 (continued)
Petracleus continues to try to stab the spider attacking Celowyn, but it keeps skittering out of his reach.
While Countessa tries in vain to shoo the spider off her back, Theodora knocks it off her friend, then smashes it with her falchion.
Verran smashes at the wounded spider attacking Celowyn, but it manages to skitter out from under his mace at the last moment.
Round 3
The wounded spider attacking her is devilishly agile, as Celowyn can't manage to crush it either.
Daimon knocks the spider from Ireena, and then deftly cleaves it with is sword.
Ireena draws her longsword and tries to attack the sole remaining spider, but her swing is clumsy due to the numbing poison coursing through her arm.
The spider then skitters away from you, scurrying through Petracleus' legs into the webs. It then quickly climbs into the thick webs into the shadows.
During the whole fight, the ghost of the chained-up halfling continues to scream in terror as the swarm of ghostly spiders devour his ghostly flesh. Yet, as the living spider retreats, his ghostly image fades away, and his screams echo distantly into the darkness.
A lesser restoration spell automatically reduces the severity of an ongoing poison effect by one step toward Healthy.
You also notice that there are two rusty iron chains hanging from the ceiling, each ending in a manacle. Below the chains is a pile of bones covered in dust and cobwebs.
Not eager to be ambushed again by any spider, Theodora attempts to find the remaining spider's hiding spot. If she cannot find it quickly, she'll let it go and continue forward.
Holding her sunrod aloft, Theodora peers into the shadowy webs, but can't find the runaway spider.
Damion will sheath his sword and ready his bow before searching for a target.
Someone got a torch? Burn off the webs.
Countessa struggles to her feet. "So tired... my gear is sooo heavy!"
Neither Theodora nor Daimon see it, but Celowyn spots the motionless spider in the webs, about eight feet above the floor.
"Ahhhh, I see it..."
...except, Petracleus hasn't actually seen it - his arrow slicing through cobwebs to finally strike nothing but stone... grabbing another arrow, the bard scowls.
just in case that was enough to see it...
Celowyn's shot hits the spider dead-center. It falls out of the web, with the arrow sticking out of the other side. Its legs twitch disconcertingly for a moment, and then is still.
"Normally, I'd say we should try, but until Strahd is destroyed this place can never rest peacefully." Theodora replies to Celowyn.
Damion will poke around a moment to see if there are any clues to the poor unfortunates identity.
Countessa grunts audibly as she lifts her pack and swings it into position on her back. She sighs under the weight of the load, but does not falter.
"If we can set an uneasy soul to rest now... then maybe we should? But I think Theodora has the truth of it... As long as Strahd holds dominion here, there may be no peace", Petracleus, rapier still drawn, looks to Verran and for his Pharasmin views...