The River Kingdoms is a tumultuous land of bloodthirsty bandits, treasure-laden ruins, and self-proclaimed kings, and for years it has been the subject of study for Ulisha, a curious and capable half-orc explorer. Shortly after performing a heist that enraged the local nobility, she came across a collapsing stone circle and discovered Silverhex, an enchanted sickle used by druids millennia before. She did not have long to admire her find, though, for the nobles had posted a bounty to end her meddling for good. Unable to deal with her pursuers on her own, she has contacted the Pathfinder Society for aid, and since Ulisha has proven herself to be a valuable asset to the Society over the years, both as an informant and as a procurer of rare artefacts, they are eager to see she stays safe and well. The fact that she is willing to sell Silverhex at a steep discount in order to pay off her bounty... Well, that is just an added bonus.
And so it is that you have all been sent to Daggermark, the largest city in all of the River Kingdoms, to meet with Ulisha and fix a price for the precious artefact in advance of a second team who will actually be handling the gold. The meeting place, a tiny cafe on the outskirts of the city called The Last Biscuiteer, is warm and inviting, but after nearly eight hours of waiting, it’s beginning to lose its charm. The original plan was to meet with Ulisha and discuss business over breakfast. It’s now early evening and the friendly halfling proprietor, Rora Meadowtide, has insisted that if you are going to take up all the seats in her cafe, you have to at least order regular drinks. "And you should really order a biscuit or two to keep your strength up! I have sweet or savoury, hard or soft biscuits. Oh, I make a warm spicy-gooey centred, chocolate covered gingerbread that I know you’ll just love.” She always seems to have flour all over her face as she runs back and forth from the kitchen, supplying the group of Pathfinders with ample refreshments for a reasonable fee while baking a mouthwatering variety of treats.
Rora is currently in the kitchen, happily trying out a few new recipes and, somewhat deliberately, producing all kinds of pleasant aromas to make your mouths water just in time for dinner. And you are still sitting in the corner, either buzzing from your tenth double espresso or laying back, lulled into a torpor thanks to Rora’s selection of relaxing herbal tea. Whatever your energy levels, there is one question on everyone's mind ‘where is Ulisha?’.
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Danicka was a meek, waif of a woman, slender and scrawny, with bony limbs and freckled cheeks. Her hair was mousy brown, worn long and loose, messy more often than not. She wore simple spectacles over her dull brown eyes and clutched a fancy looking broom in her ink-stained fingers. She wore an odd, floppy hat on her head and her clothes were plain and poor-quality. The poor thing obviously had no head for fashion. This was to be her second mission, and she was clearly nervous. Her body shook like a leaf in the wind, and her eyes looked at her own feet more often than at anything.
Danicka had stuttered nervously in The Last Biscuiteer, jumping in fear everytime a patron entered the little bake-shop. "There's supposed to be a lot of b-b-bandits and a-a-assassins here..." she stuttered meekly.
Oh, how embarrassing! This was her second mission! She had to make a good impression. How could they trust her if she couldn't even speak to them? The mission at the museum had gone well. She had saved people. Been brave. And here she couldn't even wait in a bakery without jumping! She could do this
Working up her courage, Danicka turned to her companions. "It's taking a while..." she squeaked out meekly.
Realizing she was whispering again, Danicka screws up her courage and exclaims loudly: "It's taking a while!" Realizing she's yelling now, which is just as mortifying, she raises a hand to her mouth and covers it. She blushes furiously, looks at the floor and finishes: "I wonder what's keeping her..." in a quivering voice.
How embarrassing! I've really messed up now! Oh, I hope they don't send me back to training...
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As day turns to evening, Danicka only grows more nervous and jumpy. She'd been guilted into buying twelve servings of biscuits throughout the day, and she was beginning to feel sick at the thought of more treats. Still, the nice little halfling woman was letting them use her shop all day...
"Oh, I'm s-s-s-so sorry, Miss Meadowtide, ma'am," Danicka stutters quietly. "Chocolate gingerbread sounds delightful." Her eyes widen as the halfling demands she order more. "Oh! And a... hot chocolate?" she asks quietly. "Please?"
Putting a quivering hand to her long-since full little stomach, Danicka takes a steadying breath.
"Do you..." She begins quietly.
Be brave.
Do you think Ulisha's alright?" she asks loudly. Realizing she's yelling again, Danicka blushes brightly and shrinks in on herself. "She could be hurt, or worse." Danicka finishes in a normal voice.
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Yaiho sits at the table, barely fitting in the chair due to his muscular size. He is a half-orc that doesn't look too bright but looks like he would be good to have in a fight. He has little possessions but leaning against the table is what looks to be a new earthbreaker of extra fine quality. He often smiles down at the weapon and has repeatedly told the tale of why he has a new weapon.
"Yaiho face big monkey. But Yaiho find out monkey controlled by urn. Urn cast magic, damage old earthbreaker. So Yaiho break urn. Yaiho then buy new, stronger earthbreaker."
He often smiles at Danicka during the trip, remember last mission with her. When she squeaks again, he puts his big hand over Danicka's head and pats her. "Danicka smart. Danicka brave. Danicka hurt, Yaiho crush those that hurt."
While waiting, Yaiho consumes a vast amount of biscuits, easily losing count while oddly gulping down tea with them. A lot of the biscuits crumble away from his mouth due to his large tusk. Yaiho otherwise doesn't seem to realize a lot of time has passed without Ulisha showing up.
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Brock grunts in annoyance as the proprietor insists on ordering drinks and food, but he acquiesces and orders another bitter drink and some hard biscuits. "The Pathfinders will be reimbursing me for these" he mumbles under his breath as he looks around the shop for the thousandth time over the course of the day.
Brock sits in a corner chair, his back to the wall. He had managed to find a comfortable position for his tall, lean, frame in the chair with his legs stretched and mostly out of the way. His simple brown, well made but well worn, leather armor and breeches creaked as he stretched his legs again, growling as he takes another sip of the bitter espresso and again wished he had a flask of something stronger to add to the brew.
His well worn longsword leaned on the wall next to his chair, its scabbard resting against the remainder of his kit, all, much like him, worn yet well cared for.
His brown eyes scanned the cafe again, eyes set in a scarred, yet not un-handsome, face. Close cropped brown hair, and a few days stubble on a normally clean shaven face had been known to be found attractive to a lady or two. Though many quickly grew tired with his sardonic smirk cynical outlook on life.
A hard life growing up on the streets of Korvosa had bred a cynicism and self serving attitude that the priests of Abadar could not quite beat. After taking him in as an orphan, they had hoped to turn him into a productive member of the clergy; what they got was a hot headed mercenary with a slightly crooked moral compass. While an efficient caravan guard, his drive for glory and riches often led him to bored distraction. Passing him off to the Pathfinders had been a boon for all involved.
If they had just told me the contact would be so late, I could have been happily ensconced in a gambling den for the morning and still made this meeting, but I suppose this might be worth it. Negotiating a high gold deal for a precious artifact seems interesting enough, and should be an easy payday. Now, if this contact would just hurry up I can see if this town has a more interesting side.
He had been amusing himself watching the timid mage jump at every noise and snorting at her mention of assassins and bandits if only, that would make things interesting he did agree when she mentioned her worry about Ulisha.
"Aye, it seems unusual Ulisha would be so late, we may want to think about looking for her. Pathfinder agents are usually more punctual."
I assume if we don't find her, I don't get paid.
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Forrest, a short man - even for a halfling, sits next to Yaiho. Constantly fidgeting, he seems to have a hard time staying still. As the day goes on he continues to go outside and check on Mary, his donkey. As you entered, you noticed a gleaming pair of tap shoes peeking out of her saddlebags.
He makes small talk with the proprietor and his companions, sampling many of the biscuits, but sticking with water. "Sorry m'aam, I don't drink on the job. " Despite her efforts to assure him there was no liquor in the beverages, he insists. As he raises a biscuit to his bearded face you can see scars along his neck. They almost look like those created by a slave collar.
He replies to Danicka calmly. "Don't worry, doll. Nobody knows who we are yet. And nobody drops coin on an assassin for a complete stranger. " He thinks for a moment. "Now, Ulisha on the other hand... "
He begins fidgeting with his rapier, suddenly nervous.
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Danicka smiles every time Yaiho tells his story about the earthbreaker, proud of her friend, and happy for him. "He was very brave," she assures everyone.
Danicka nearly jumps right out of her chair when Yaiho suddenly pats her on the head, but then she smiles at him and blushes redder than a tomato at his compliments.
"Thank you, Yaiho." she replies shyly.
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Danicka's eyes go wide at the thought of assassins coming for her. Then she nods in agreement with Forrest.
He's right. Assassins would never come for me. I'm a nobody. But Ulisha...
"Oh, dear!"
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Eventually Danicka works up her courage and asks Forrest in a stuttering, quiet little voice.. "I saw some f-f-f-fine shoes out there. With your donkey, I mean. Are you a dancer?"
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Throughout the day Danicka casts nervous little glances at the growling, scarred Pathfinder sitting alone in the corner. When he finally speaks she startles, spilling some of her hot chocolate on the table.
"Oh, my!" she exclaims, quickly righting her drink and frantically patting down the mess with a nearby cloth. When it's cleaned the cloth is sopping wet, Danicka's got hot chocolate all over her hands and on the front of her drab robes, and she looks completely mortified.
How embarrassing!
Danicka screws up her courage, walks as bravely as possible over to Rora, hands her the dirty cloth and exclaims, "Sorry." Unfortunately, her apology comes out meek and stuttering, sounding more like "S-sorry?"
She then turns to the others and asks, "Where would we start looking?" She stands tall (relatively) and proud (not really) in an attempt to move on from her clumsy blunder. It fails, and the mess all over her does little to help.
After a moment of standing there messy she turns and asks the baker, "Can I have another cloth, please, Miss Meadowtide?" Then she sets to work wiping her hands and patting down her wet robes.
"Oh, of course, dear! Aww, and all over your clothes too," Rora fusses, as she takes the soaked cloth from Danicka. "Oh that's going to leave an awful stain..." She rushes into the kitchen, and reappears a few moments later with a couple of clean towels, "Here you go sweetie, one for your hands and one for your clothes." After passing Danicka the towels, Rora ducks her head behind the counter and pops back up again with a new mug, "What you need is some some white hot chocolate! I think I heard somewhere that if you dab a little on the stain, it won't look so bad when it dries." Her brow furrows, "Or was that wine?"
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"Oh, I- I don't know. Okay?" Danicka replies in a flustered confusion to Rora's questions. "Oh, I needn't worry about the stain. I'll be able to clean it tomorrow." she adds as she cleans herself.
When she's moderately dry Danicka carries her new mug of white hot chocolate over to the table and sits with Forrest and Yaiho.
"What were we talking about, again?" she asks bashfully.
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Brock uses his cup to cover a snicker at the spilled chocolate occurance, trying avoid letting the timid, and clumsy, wizardess see his amusement at her expense.
Such strange travelling companions I encounter working for these Pathfinders, yet it is steady work, and interesting to boot. It is best to try to avoid insulting them, as amusing as some of them can be.
Controlling his mirth, he offers the wizardress a, hopefully friendly and comforting, smile as she returns to the remainder of the group.
I think I need to practice my charming smiles on folks other than barmaids in sleazy taverns and ladies of the night. Respectable folk, I think they call them. This group seems respectable enough , he thinks, watching the halfling and wizard. His gaze lingers on the massive barbarian, perhaps a bit dim witted, but respectable. That one looks handy in a fight, at least.
He idly hoped this missing pathfinder would lead to some action. It seemed a simple task, but things could go wrong. In fact, they often did when he was involved, but he liked to think that was other peoples' fault.
If we do see fighting I hope these don't get in my way, that halfling looks a glory hound. He better not sneak in and rob me of honorable killing blows.
These last thoughts roll thrpugh a head blissfully unaware that honor could be gained in less voilent ways.
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Sinaryn rests along the wall rather than taking a seat as the others have their fill of biscuits. At least for a time.
Someone being late in this area is the last thing we need. Or well the last thing our client needs.
Getting impatient and fatigued she runs a hand through her tumultuous hair, a dark green as if it were soot-covered seaweed, pulling it back into a ponytail. With the hair out of the way she joins the others at the table with a smirk.
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"Oh Danicka, I hope I didn't scare you on the way here with talks of bandits and such? They wouldn't get close enough before getting blasted, anyways." she teases in her gruff voice.
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"Hey! I will take his liquor...no reason to put it to waste." she calls to their hostess when the half-ling insists on not having anything to drink. "So no drinking on the job, huh, guess smaller guys have smaller tolerances." she says while nudging him in the side.
She loudly shares some stories with the rest of the table while sizing them up. Probably coming off far too brash and boisterous as usual.
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Her hands fidget on the table waiting for their client. Her ocean blue skin tenses as she makes a fist and raps it on the table. This continues for awhile before she speaks up.
"She better show up soon. Gonna need a bonus if we have to blast the city apart to find her!" she practically is yelling at this point.
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Danicka blushes at the implication she's afraid. "Oh, no, I'm not... I'm fine!" Danicka smiles brightly, but it's clearly forced.
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Danicka is just about to take a sip of her new, white hot chocolate when Sinaryn practically yells in impatience. Danicka startles and lets out a little squeal of surprise.
"Eeek!"
She manages to keep hold of her drink this time. With wide, nervous eyes she carefully puts her mug back down on the table. Looking both embarrassed and terribly worried about trying to take another sip of her hot beverage. After a moment, she pushes the mug a little further away, into the centre of the table, for good measure.
"Sorry," she mutters.
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Forrest grins ear to ear at Danicka's question. "Why yes, lass. These nimble feet are good for more than tip toeing around the enemy! Growing up in a noble's house, I practiced with the noble's son at dancing nearly as much as fencing! "
As Sinarin grabs Forrest's drink, his face grows tomato red. "Excuse me! I can hold my liqueur, thank you very much! I'll have you know I once drank four half-pints of ale in one sitting!" He stands, to his full height of 2 foot 9 inches. "FOUR! "
He sits back down and attempts to change the topic. "So, this is my first mission. Do the contacts normally arrive this late? "
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Standing at approximately 3 1/2 feet tall, a set of scholarly robes hangs on Umbru's lean frame. Rather jarringly though, 2 bandoliers are strapped across his chest, stuffed full with mysterious vials, emitting odour both sweet and foul. His near-jet black skin, at least whatever is exposed, is covered with ritualistic and geometrical tattooes. Over his back is a large backpack, at least relative to his size, and he looks to be struggling somewhat under its weight.
He quietly glides over to a chair, joining the rest of the Pathfinders but keeping his chair slightly away from the table, gladly dropping the backpack beside him. He seems to unconsciously avoid the light, keeping to the shadows. That pretty much describes his personality as well, naturally avoiding the limelight. He looks at each of the fellow Pathfinders in turn, patiently waiting until the attention is on him before he softly introduces himself.
"My name is Umbrutani Shadnani. You may call me Umbru if it rolls off your tongue better. The wayang tongue is not easy to master." He stops here, as if content to just leave things as that, but as you look at him, expecting more, he abruptly continues, [b]"I am a wayang, as you have likely not seen one of my people before. We hail from the foothills of the remnants of Mount Shibotai in the isles of Minata, but really, our origins are from the shadows. Perhaps that makes us outsiders of this realm, but perhaps it is time we take our place." He ends here cryptically.
From the halfling, he asks for just water, with bread and cheese, contently nibbling away while waiting the contact to arrive, looking from time to time at the interactions of his companions, but chipping in little.
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"That's lovely, Forrest." Danicka replies with sincerity when she hears of his dancing. "I'm not... graceful." She adds obviously. Danicka blushes and goes back to her drink.
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"He-Hello Umbrutani Shadnani," Danicka stutters shyly as she watches the strange fellow. "I've never met one of your kind before..."
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Surprisingly, Danicka nods at Yaiho. "Yes," she answers him seriously. "Then we go avenge, Yaiho." It's the first thing she's said with confidence the entire trip.
Settling herself after the shock of the floor of her little cafe shaking, Rora gives Yaiho a stern look, "Excuse me Sir! I would appreciate it if you did not destroy my cafe." Despite this minor setback, the day has been tremendously lucrative for the little baker, and she quickly calms down when she notices the shear amount of crumbs surrounding the big half-orc. "If you wanted more biscuits, you only had to ask..." She smiles deeply and winks, "I'll just go mix up a new batch, then I’ll brew a nice fresh pot of tea for you." She says as she excitedly ducks back into the kitchen, scarcely believing how well the day has went.
Moments later, the little bell over the front door jingles as a small boy with tatty clothes and a dirty face opens it and strides in confidently. "Just a moment!" Rora calls from the back, but the boy obviously has no intention of ordering, "'Ere, are you lot waitin' on Ulisha? She told me to look for an odd bunch of people, and if you lot ain't odd, I ain't the best dang messenger in all o' Daggermark!" He quickly looks around the otherwise empty cafe and then marches to the table of Pathfinders, "She told me to tell you to look under the table, 'cause she can't make it..." The boy holds out his hand and smiles, "She also told me that you'd be paying me! One gold coin, for the message, she said. Ain't no lie!"
Tied to the bottom of the table using straps that have been glued to the wood by some sort of alchemical substance, you find a journal and a small note that reads:
'Pathfinders, I leave you this journal in good faith. You will find it full of profitable leads that I hope will make up for my absence today. Follow them, and when we are finally able to meet, you might even have enough money that you could just buy Silverhex there and then. I'll contact you again to set up another meeting once I am sure it's safe to do so.
-Ulisha'
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Brock watches the messenger run off with an amused chuckle.
Enterprising little skamp, I'll give him that. Bold too, hustling this group
He glides to his feet and moves to the table where the group is gathered around the journal. Leaning to the barbarian he says; "You know the boy was lying, right? Probably only owed a copper or two."
To the whole group, "I'm Brock, by the way."
Looking over the journal he mutters, "An uncertain goose chase instead of a clear and easy payday, I suppose our masters will want us to skurry around the world. At least there are interesting places to go. We better be paid well for our time.".
Finishing reading the journal with the others hr continues, "I agree with our large friend here, let us hunt these spiders. Unlike our missing pathfinder, I AM some vagabond who is fine killing vermin for coin."
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...using straps that have been glued to the wood by some sort of alchemical substance...
Johnny shivers. "Of course. Spiders. I HATE spiders. At least we'll be killing 'em. " He looks around. "Let's get that done first. Seems the most unpleasant. "
He takes another look at the note. "How unusual that she would take the time to earn us about her supplier. That's worrisome. "
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Danicka shrinks in on herself a little bit. "Poor thing could use the gold coin more than we could..." she mutters quietly.
As Danicka looks at the journal she speaks aloud quietly... "Oh my... Grave-robbing! Haunted forests, magical sceptres, the Rain of Stars... Some of these tasks are fascinating! And... killing spiders. Oh, dear."
Seeing the logic in tackling the spiders first, Danicka gathers her courage and announces, "Agreed."
To Brock she nods and blushes. "Good thinking."
"Sorry about the wait." Rora says as she emerges from the kitchen, fresh flour all over her face, and wiping her hands on her apron, "What can I get yo- Oh!" She looks around, and then wonders around to the front of the counter to make sure no one is there. "Huh, must be hearing things..." Shrugging, Rora returns to the kitchen, not noticing the ragamuffin with the big grin standing just outside the window. The boy is just stood there, staring in wide-eyed disbelief at the gold coin in his hand.
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She smirks as the large half-orc tosses the boy a coin.
Can't say I would have tried to trick such a big fella but if it works it works.
"Good work!" she calls out to the boy as he leaves.
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Watching the group talk over their ideas for the first task and nodding in agreement. She starts cleaning and preparing her pistol while grimacing at the thought of eating the spiders.
"Unfortunately, Yaiho, any spider that gets personal with you won't have much meat left to cook." she teases.
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Johnny smiles at the thought of a spider paste. "Yaiho, if you wish to eat the remains, I would be happy to finish off any wounded spiders. Rapiers are excellent for clean kills. " He pulls his out and sets it on the table. "See? Small end! Besides, I'm sure a strong gentleman like yourself doesn't need the glory of the final blow! Like some smaller people might... " He trails off awkwardly, then shiethes his blade.
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"Ohhhh-kay, let's not do that..." Danicka mumbles softly, clearly disgusted at the thought of eating spiders.
Don't throw up, don't throw up!
She reaches out and shoves her half-eaten biscuit at Yaiho. "Would you like the rest?" she asks louder. "I've lost my a-a-appetite."
She then buries her nose in Ulisha's journal, scouring the pages for further clues while she tries to tune out the gross conversation going on around her.
Even though Ulisha’s map is a little crude, Danicka recognises some of the landmarks and determines that the nest must be roughly 20 miles away. With the scale fixed, Sinaryn reckons that if you leave straight after shopping, you will make it to the nest by early afternoon tomorrow. Assuming, that is, no one minds spending an evening under the stars. Since some of you have lost your appetite anyway, you all agree that that sounds like a good plan, and you gather your things. "Come back any time! I have a shipment of saffron due to arrive tomorrow, you can be the first to try out my new recipes..." Rora calls out as you leave The Flour Pot and start looking for general stores. It’s early evening, but since Daggermark is such a large city, you easily find the supplies you need before the stores close.
You follow Ulisha’s map to the outskirts of Daggermark and into the Shroudwood to the city’s southeast. As you get closer to your destination, the signs of obvious spider habitation increase, and especially large cobwebs link some of the higher branches. However, none of these are fresh enough to harvest adhesive from, and you continue deeper into the woods until you arrive at the clearing indicated by the map. The webs are thicker here than they have been thus far, appearing newer and white, rather than the dingy grey of those seen earlier. These webs crisscross the canopy above, most strands meeting near the centre to support a large globe of webbing the size of a large pumpkin.
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Yaiho brandishes his earthbreaker as he looks up at the webs. Even he knows the spiders are up there and will probably come down when they disturb the ball of web.
Yaiho steps forward and covers half the distance to the ball of web and prepares himself to fight if the spiders show up. Keeping an eye out for any suspicious movement from above.
Yaiho spots two spiders hiding in the dense canopy of leaves and webs some 20 foot overhead. They stare down at the big half-orc through their many pairs of eyes, perfectly motionless yet ready to pounce.
The northern spider twitches ever so slightly as the second man approaches, but the southern one remains perfectly still, staring daggers at Yaiho.
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Umbru receives the wand with some deference from the orc, surprised that this monstrous looking humanoid is entrusting him with an item of great value. He nods silently, and stows it away carefully.
After the messenger boy has left, Umbru listens in to the discussion but does not contribute much, being to the Riverlands, or any part in the West, for the first time. He humbly accepts their decision. He listens with some interest though at Yaiho's description of the preparation of spiders. Hmm, interesting. Have not tried that recipe before.
As the party enters Shroudwood, Umbru looks uncertain whether to speak up. Finally, his concern for his new comrades trumps his natural reticence. "Not to be too forward, but please allow me to share the little I know of giant spiders. It was wise indeed to purchase antitoxin - their venom is known to weaken their prey. Their spider webs contain a strong adhesive that is used as a stabiliser in volatile poisons, that which our client is seeking. This adhesive is most valuable when it is fresh; the silk glands of a freshly killed spider are the best source. And should we locate one, I should be able to point out its exact location for retrieval."
As soon as Yaiho points out the two spiders, Umbru quickly downs three vials in rapid succession. Although none causes any significant physical changes, he grows sharper of his surroundings, he mind gains greater focus and a magical shield has formed around him. He then pulls out a bomb ready to throw at any of the spiders should they make threatening moves.
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After seeing the spiders Sin cringes and makes sure her pistol is loaded. Watching the others ready to make the first move.
"We move together. These spiders aren't going to just let us harvest the web. Let's fight on our terms." she says quietly to the others.
When Yaiho makes a move to strike she let's loose a round as well.
To Umbru, the sudden exchange seems to happen in slow motion. He sees Yaiho reach for his sling and, before the bullet is even loaded, he looks up to see the spiders reacting with a sudden burst of activity of their own. Looking back down at his new comrades on the floor, Umbru also sees Brock and Sunaryn both glance at the impetuous half-orc, and it's clear that they are just about to shoot themselves. Unfortunately, all of them are too slow, and the spiders are obviously going to strike first. Umbru has a split-second to make a decision...
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As they approach the spider territory on the map, Danicka pulls out and uses a scroll on herself.
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As Yaiho suddenly attacks the spider, Danicka exclaims, "Oh! I'm c-c-coming!"
Danicka draws another scroll and casts it on herself , then she clutches her broom tightly in her hands, take a deep breath, and scampers closer to spiders.
Be brave!
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Forrest walks alongside Yaiho as they walk through the woods with his usual swagger, knowing that the brute would probably be quick to action. Taking in Umbru's information, he nods. "It is good to have such a knowledgeable member among our party. Thank you for sharing, Umbru."
As Yaiho draws his sling, Forrest follows suit. As he releases the stone he comments. "Why can't they come down here and fight with honor?"
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Umbru takes in everything is happening with one quick glance. He does not like how the party is all congregating directly under the spiders, but he acknowledges that there is little choice with the creatures so high up. He quickly puts aside the further one, knowing there is little he can do it that. Instead, he moves closer to the nearer one, until he is almost directly under it, and tosses his bombs straight up towards it.
The southern spider acts with lightning speed, scurrying half-way down the tree, before the stone from Yaiho's sling has even travelled a quarter of the distance to it's target. Unfortunately (for the spider), it fails to notice Umbru and runs face first into an awaiting bomb. *Screee!* It writhes in agony, spraying everything in a twenty foot radius with thin, ineffectual threads of sticky web as the flames engulf it. Until, that is, Forrest puts the spider out of its misery with an expertly placed sling bullet. It falls to the floor with a thud, and it's legs coil underneath its now dead body.
The other spider descends upon Brock, scurrying around the circumference of the tree and spraying a stream of webbing that covers the poor man from head to toe a split second before he manages to fire his crossbow. However, the spider made itself a big target in the process of weaving its web, and the bolt still sinks into its abdomen. Followed closely by a bullet from Sinaryn's pistol, the sound of which sets the forest alive with the flapping of birds.
The spider with the yellow markings looks to be in considerable trouble, it's abdomen leaking blue blood all over the forest floor. The one with the red markings, however, is now just a smoking body.
Brock is covered in webs that, apart from feeling icky, considerably hampers his movement.
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Danicka picks her way across the battlefield, letting out little shrieks as she steps on the hot goopy innards of the burnt spider on the ground.
"Oh, dear! Don't throw up, don't throw up..." she mutters to herself quietly. "Not sure the silk glands still function when cooked..."
Settling in beside her good friend Yaiho, Danicka takes a steadying breath. She holds her mother's beloved broom in one hand and holds her other hand out before her. She forms her fingers into a strange sigil, then another and whispers some strange words to herself. A sizzling ball of acid appears in her hand, and she throws it at the spider in the tree.
As the ball of acid sizzles on the body of the spider Danicka lets out a little shriek of glee. She jumps into the air with her casting arm raised in triumph and a bright little smile on her freckled face.