"Alarm! Spiders!
Seoni shoots a bolt of force from her hands and steps back to avoid the spider.
"We bring honor to ourselves through glorious battle!" Hayato yells as he spurs his fine steed forward, charging toward the nearest spider. His katana leaves its scabbard and strikes at the spider in one smooth, elegant motion.
Quinn steps past Seoni and tosses the alchemist's fire at the nearest spider. He spends two uses of inspiration to make sure he hits.
[ooc]Gonna use my GM shirt re-roll on that one... wow.
(+2 from GM stars)
fire. Next round it'll take an additional fire.
Seeing Hayato charge into battle against one spider, Harsk turns to the other and fires another bolt.
Kyra will try to escape from the web!
Hakon struggles to break free of the webs.
Seoni hits the spider in front of her with a magic missile, and sets it alight with a bottle of fire. Reiko then moves up to attack the arachnid with his blade.
Hayato and his steed charge the other spider, and in tandem, making short work of it
Hakon and Kyra struggle against the webbing. Kyra falters, but Hakon manages to break free.
The spider moves up to Reiko, and tries to bite him with his huge mandibles
---Regular---
Harsk
Seoni
Hayato
Quinn
Reiko
Hakon
Kyra
---
Spider (9)
Spider - Dead
---
Knowing he's not the most useful in combat, Quinn will spend his action to aid Hakon in getting out of the web by trying to cut the web with his sword cane.
Unfortunately he doesn't aid.
Kyra continues her struggle with the webbing. Seems she may have finally found a way out!
Despite the poor aid Quinn is providing, Kyra manages to break free of the sticky strands.
Harsk fires his crossbow again, but the bolt goes wide.
--Regular---
Harsk
Seoni
Hayato
Quinn
Reiko
Hakon
Kyra
---
Spider (9)
Spider - Dead
---
Without stopping, Hayato spins his horse and, in a smooth continuous motion from his last blow, slices at the spider. His horse also continues to bite the samurai's target.
Between Hayato and his mount, there's no match for the spider. The katana cleave off two legs, and the lilting spider gets bitten by the steed, leaving the remaining six legs curled up in the air.
"Well...looks like they were distracted when I effortlessly broke free of their web. So scared of what I had in store that they laid down and died."
Following the instructions from the journal, Hakon attempts to locate the spider's venom sac.
"Hmm. I should've been more careful." Harsk mumbles as he sets his heavy crossbow across his back. "Now then, let's see if we can get at those venom glands." Harsk pulls out his favorite hunting knife and notices Hakon's observation. "Just tell me where to cut, Hakon."
"Oh, my friends! Be careful with those sacs... we will likely only get one shot with each spider!"
(using Inspiration, 2/4 used for the day)
Hakon shares his knowledge of spider venom, and with those instructions and his own skill in surgery, Harsk manages to harvest the silk glands of the spider. Hakon also notices that the central orb of the webbing in this place holds a freshly laid egg sack. Although spider eggs are pretty much worthless, the sack is covered in fresh adhesive.
Seoni's face turns ashen when she sees the men at their gruesome work. She quickly turns away, hoping she can stop the turmoil in her stomach.
Quinn sees Seoni in discomfort, and walks over to her. "Don't fret, child. These vermin's sacrifice will help us in our goal of obtaining the artifact. Have no shame in an upset stomach, you are still green to such things. When you are my age, you will be cutting the sacs out of spiders yourself." He gives her a friendly slap on the back and a wink.
Hayato dismounts from his horse and cleans the blade of his katana thoroughly before sheathing it in ceremonial fashion.
He sits and meditates while the others dissect the spiders.
"Let us proceed," he says, all business.
Finding the way out of the forest is just as straightforward as finding the way in, especially with the map that Ulisha provided. Arriving back at Daggermark, all that is needed now is a buyer for the wares.
Hakon tries to recall if he knows of any vendors in the area who specialize in spider by-products.
"I may know some places we could try to find a buyer," Hayato suggests.
Hakon and Hayato are quick to find the trail of a gnome would-be apothecary. Called Ezmerlilly Vanderpoof, he recently failed to deliver some promised goods to the Poisoners’ Guild. She needs something to appease the guild before they decide to drastically renegotiate their contract.
Sounds like a place to start I'd imagine. I never knew there was a Poisoners' Guild...
Reiko looks up in askance at Kyra's lack of knowledge. It is clearly an 'of course there is' sort of look.
The gnome's shop is a small building, labelled 'apothecary'. The female gnome, a short figure with green spiky hair, greets the adventurers as they come in good morning! I haven't seen you before. I hope you're enjoying the sight in Daggermark...
Stepping forward, Quinn says "Good morning, my lady. I am Quinn, and these are my compatriots. We have a sales proposition for you that we do not think you will want to pass up. It involves appeasing a certain local guild that you've recently lost favor with. Can we speak privately to you about the matter?
"Indeed...we've got just what you're looking for; good quality as well."
"A most dishonorable trade, to be certain," Hayato observes quietly from behind.
The gnome looks somewhat distrusting. Who told you? she says, and takes a shifty look out of the door. Alright she says finally, I can offer you 200 crowns, and I'll throw in these two flask of alchemist's, and you seem to be the type that can use a cure light potion as well. Do we have a deal?
Harsk patiently twiddles his thumbs. No one's calling him a loon this time! Unless, they expect him to speak.
Seoni starts to speak "we might want to take our business elsewhere..."
She then realises that this is not the right tone of voice and quickly rephrases her words "I think that is an excellent deal, thank you."
Perfect. Just hand me the items, an you'll get yours. The gnome starts selecting some vials and bottles, and counting out some money.
Accompanying her notebook entry, Ulisha filled the next several pages with crude maps, complex equations, and further notes. She apparently returned to the Pathfinder’s cave mentioned in her previous entry. By observing the angle of the ridgeline and her current position, she was able to calculate the crash site’s probable location.
The last page on the matter includes a detailed map into Numeria with various landmarks and a destination. An addendum written in recent ink warns, “Tread lightly. Numeria remains a mystery to the rest of the world. Those who stay too long draw unwanted attention.”
"Numeria, untainted by the outside world."Harsk mumbles."Wish I knew something else about it."
Maybe that man over there can tell us something "He, you there. Can we invite you over for a hot meal and something to drink in exchange for some information?"
I'm sure I've been here before... seems familiar. I go so many places.
"Yes, I can see the stress of past travels on your face, Ms. Kyra. Though one would think with so much under your belt that your goddess would give you more of her power... strange indeed. It's almost as if there are other versions of yourself out on Golarion, gaining more power from experiences that you then remember but do not grow from. I, myself, have been studying for many years but only recently began working for the Society. I hope to be as well-traveled as yourself, though."
He bows to Kyra, still giving her a puzzled look as he tries to decide whether she just dreams in adventures, or if she has somehow been transported through time. She is obviously an old soul, despite her young and beautiful appearance.
Numeria is a brutal land where only the strongest survive. It was shaped by an astronomical event known as the Rain of Stars, when a large meteor exploded in the sky and rained down upon the land.
The Kellids that call Numeria home often scavenge the fallout from the Rain of Stars for a rare metal known as Numerian Steel. Scholars call the substance adamantine, and it is famed for its durability and ability to cut through the hardest materials as though they were cloth. When alloyed with iron, it is less durable and much less valuable.
Some say that the object that fell during the Rain of Stars was not a meteor at all, but in fact a massive ship carrying advanced technology and creatures from other worlds. The local population views this technology with suspicion and prefers to reclaim then often destroy any such finds they come across.
Ulisha's map leads into the Numerian foothills. The view is phenomenal at the crest of the hill, where Ulisha’s map indicates a crash site. Vast plains extend to the north, where clouds gather on the horizon. To the south, the Sellen River cuts a definitive border between the River Kingdoms and Numeria.