Tam nods, gulping as he moves toward the webbing. He casts acid splash as much as he has to, seeming disconcerted by the action of spell casting.
Silent you are making some progress but it is difficult.
The pods are tied to a rope held by Joe. It is now possible to pull the pods free and to an easier location where you will be able to work on them more efficiently.
None of you were able to cut them open. The webbing sticks fiercely to your blades.
Jivaji, you need to make one more escape artist check, the DC is 15 but your are at a -2 to your check due to being entangled in it already.
If you fail again, your condition will be moved to helpless.
Acid will work if anyone is willing to give it a try.
I will help Joe pull in the pods.
Jivaji unties the rope from himself, and manages to tie it around what he hopes is the 'foot' end of the pods. By this point he is so heavily encased in webbing that his movements are sluggish and belabored. He yells out to his companions, but his words are almost completely muffled.
"Okerr! Perrll! Perl dermif!"
As he begins to walk out behind the pods, he finds his arms and legs quite stuck as he struggles unsuccessfully against the mess.
"Gufgem weffinz koo skrng. Grrt nmw om skrk"
After a while, it's blatantly obvious that Jivaji isn't following. Over the sounds of the horse team, Jivaji tries to call out: "Hrlp! OM SKRK!"
Oops, I missed Tam's post, probably as I was typing my own. I'm gonna move things along a little bit.
Jivaji is stuck.....bluntly put he has become another human shape pod in the spiders lair.
You all work together to pull out the pods, including Jivaji's. Tam sets to work using the acid splash to melt away the sticky webbing. There are six pods in all. Seven if you include Jivaji. Upon opening the pods, you find that each one contains dark skinned females. There are two humans, two elves, a half elf, Jivaji, and a drow. All are dressed in in hide or leather armor baring similar markings, this indicates they all serve the same banner. Except Jivaji who isn't dressed in the same garb. Checking pulses you discover that the two humans, and the two elves are all dead, due to the poison. However, the Half-Elf, the Drow, and Jivaji are all still alive. The two girls are unconscious but Jivaji seems to be quite awake and quite upset.
The Drow seems to be handling the poison well, she may be able to beat it back on her own. However, the Half-elf isn't fairing so well. She, like Levi, is on the brink of death. Administering a potion would be the quick fix to get her conscious but it wont stop the poison. You can attempt the same methods you used to help Levi and Joe recover.
Now is the time to act! What will become of Jivaji.......I mean the elven ladies.
"If you're sure she's suffering from the same poison, then stand back and let me do this."
Dang Eltamul! Glad to see your alchemist going his thing. You produce the antivenom with Gylwinth's help.
"Whooo! We got 'em! Well now, that wasn't so bad after all." He says as Jivaji looks at him with comtempt. "What?" He gives him a wry smile with a pat on the back.
Discouraged by not making it in time to save all of the humanoids, Joe watches as Gylwinth and Eltumal tag team in hopes to save the one that is poisoned. Breathing a sigh of relief as they manage to create the antivenom, "Whooo! Man you fellas sure do some real good work on fixin' up a poison remover! That's some fine work!" He slaps them both on their respective shoulders at the same time.
Jivaji begins to run his claws through the remaining webbing, stuck in his feathers, his cloak, his armor, his scabbard...
pausing for a moment, and looking up to the group, somewhat flustered.
"Thank you, friends. I hope our efforts were enough to save some of these people."
He continues preening... his backpack, his shield, his belt...
As all the pods - and finally Jivaji - clear the webbing, Silent stumbles out, trying to pull the webbing from his own clothes. He watches Jivaji or a few seconds try to use his mouth. There has got to be a better way of doing that.
Giving up on getting clean, he takes the time only to really immaculately clean off his blade. He finds a spot on the ground without vegetation and digs a shallow pit with his hands. Pulling out his flint and steel, he begins showering the blade with sparks until he webbing catches. Bit by bit the webbing is burned away, the small, cinder-like webs falling safely into the shallow pit.
Once done he fills in the shallow pit and stands up, giving the blade one more look before sheathing it on his back once more. Then he goes over to stand between Jivaji and Mac. As he watches the two elves work on the women liberated from the pods, he claps Mac on the back with a serious nod of thanks. He then turns to the bird-man - hand ready to do the same to him when he notices the abundance of slippery web covering him. He shrugs, giving a short smile to Jivaji instead.
"Now, just imagine," Jivaji stop picking at his webbing, looking towards the crumpled arachnid corpses, "what may have happened if we saw those pods BEFORE finding the spiders."
He stares at the corpses for a couple seconds, then shakes his head violently while the feathers around his neck flare out. "I, for one, am happy there were only two, and that we drew them out. Though I wonder if it is their laying season or not..."
Tam uses his acid to burn off as much of the webbing as he can without harming anyone. "Listen, I'm for saving people, but a dark elf? I've never heard they're the type to be thankful for, well, anything. Shouldn't we keep her tied up? At least until we're sure she's not going to flip out and kill us?"
Silent nods at the idea, looking around for a piece of rope before tying the dark elf up.
Joe turns to Silent in response. "We did alright didn't we Silent fella?" He says with a smile, glad that at least two of the pod people survived.
"Thanks Eltumal! Your insight made all the difference. Now the dark elf, shile being able to fight the poison, could also certainly use our help. Let's remove their weapons first though. Joe, would you mind? I'll administer the antitoxin."
"Will do." He says as he moves to disarm them both. "I'll just hold on to 'em 'til y'all think it's alright to give 'em back."
"Listen, I'm for saving people, but a dark elf? I've never heard they're the type to be thankful for, well, anything. Shouldn't we keep her tied up? At least until we're sure she's not going to flip out and kill us?"
"That's intersting. I must say, I ain't never seen one like her kind before. Is she really that dangerous?"
"By my guess, anyone still alive in this jungle is dangerous. By my paranoia, everyone in this jungle is dangerous. But also, the enemy of my enemy is my ally, for a time. We should at least proceed with caution"
Joe listens to Jivaji's point of view and ponders it. "Well now, I don't think anyone or everyone living out here is bad. You might be right, but I like to look on the bright side. You just never know when you're gonna run into a good ol' fella or gal!" He says with enthusiasm. "We ain't bad and we're out here!" He says as he slaps him on the shoulder, and gives him a wry grin. "But I don't disagree with the caution part. Now, I can tell you what you should caution; you should caution where you're stepping when you're out in the fields where the cows graze. Whooo! THAT'S what you should caution!" He laughs and slaps Jivaji on the back. "But now as far as the enemy, who's your enemy, and your ally. I ain't real sure what all that's about, but it sure sounds fancy!"
Silent manages to tie a good knot on the drow female. She groans a bit but doesn't quite wake up.
You still need to administer the antivenom to the half-elf. I have not noted a post where someone has done it.....unless I missed it which wouldn't surprise me.
"What do you make of these insignia? Who do you suppose they serve?" Tam stares closely at them, seeing if they shake any memory loose.
Knowledge: local:
You will notice that the insignia is tribal. You have heard stories of this mark or at least one similar too it, and know that it belongs to a tribe of wild elves calling themselves the Garansi. The Garansi were know for being brutal warriors and savage people. These tribals have been known to treat the women of their tribe as possessions or trophy's and slaves. The strange part is that the Garansi don't let their women wear armor or carry weapons. Heck, women of that tribe aren't even allowed to speak. These women are armed and armored. Though you do notice one thing. The insignia seems to be somewhat different than that of the Garansi, similar enough for the comparison, but different enough to where it is obviously not the same. Further more, you have never heard of the Garansi mingling with either drow or human's. This could be a completely unknown, or even a new tribe altogether.
Tam points at the insignia, looking a bit nervous again.
"Guys, I think we may have stumbled into someone else's territory here. That looks like a Garansi insignia, but different. And they don't usually let women be anything more than property. But if the dark elf's with them, we maybe should tie them all up, or else cut them all free." Tam looks frustrated. "I guess everyone in this damn jungle is going to try to kill us, aren't they?"
After administering the antipoison, the half-elf's reaction to the poison greatly lessens and she begins to sleep more peacefully.
Both the Drow and the half-elf are resting peacefully. They will likely sleep off the effects of the poison for several days. Aside from the sizable bite in her side, the Drow seems the healthiest and could be awaken easily if you desire. Otherwise you will have to camp here for a couple of days or attempt to travel with them on your shoulders......or you could simply leave them for the wildlife. Up to you.
"I agree. I don't feel we could just leave them be, or at least I couldn't, with a clear conscience. It is strange, though, that anyone would be travelling in the company of a Drow. Whatever, once they are in better condition, we can find out what happened and why they are in such a position."
Tam points at the insignia, looking a bit nervous again.
"Guys, I think we may have stumbled into someone else's territory here. That looks like a Garansi insignia, but different. And they don't usually let women be anything more than property. But if the dark elf's with them, we maybe should tie them all up, or else cut them all free." Tam looks frustrated. "I guess everyone in this damn jungle is going to try to kill us, aren't they?"
Joe looks to Tam, "I hope not, little buddy. I sure hope not." He tells him. Then remembering Levi, "Hey, don't forget about this little fella! He hasn't tried to kill us." He mentions hoping that might relieve a bit of tension Tam is feeling. "Don't worry, little buddy. We're gonna be alright. A word of warnin' to you, though. Don't let some big, many-legged critter bite you. It don't feel real good." He says, recalling the nasty bite he took.
Then throwing his two cents into the current conversation, "That works for me too. I sure don't wanna just leave 'em to the dogs. I'll get 'em both comfortable, so when they wake, they won't be too sore." He says as he looks in his pack for a blanket. Seeing he forgot to bring one, "Hey, any of you fellas have a couple o' blankets?"
"I doubt we will be safe waiting in one spot for a couple of days, unless we know for sure that other things avoid the hunting area of these spiders?" "If so, we may be in the best place to wait this out, otherwise we will need to find some way to drag these sleeping bodies about."
Jivaji stands up and begins pacing slowly between the many sleeping bodies. "Now, between Tam and I, we may be able to build something to help transport them?"
Spiders build there webs as stealthily as possible. They want other creatures to wander in. The odds are that the web is more likely to attract wildlife than deter it.
Hmm, the problem is that there are few or no forests in this campaign. I will allow your request. Since your character took the jungle trait. I'm going to say that jungle counts as a forest for the purpose of your ability
"Jivaji, spiders don't really hunt, per se. They trap. If you'll look at where we are standing, you'll notice that where the majority of the webs were was a major bottleneck. the majority of wildlife would happily choose to go down the middle, rather than to either side, and simply rub the white stuff they would be going through off on some tree. What we should do, however, is find an easily defensible, nearby location, and build some sort of temporary shelter that can, at the very least, provide shelter for these two.
Silent is quick to volunteer for the search as well as the hunt; he hands his pack off to Jivaji to keep with his mule, keeping only his shuriken and his blade as he heads out into the jungle.
About an hour north east of the lair you find a cave, best you can tell, it is vacant. The entrance is about 9 feet tall so at the very least large predators or other sizable animals cannot get into, and hopefully you are enough to handle what does. With some work, the entrance can be fortified.
As Silent meets back up with Eltumal, a brace of rabbits and some assorted edible plants in tow, he hikes a thumb back over his shoulder before signing...
Tam watches Silent's hands. "I need to learn how to do that!"
Silent smiles at the halfling before nudging Eltumal.
Eltumal will pat Silent on the shoulder before turning to the others and saying,"Our mute friend here has found a vacant cave about an hour north. With a bit of work, the entrance can be fortified, and the larger predators will be unable to get in. We should, however, be enough to drive off anything that does fit. This shoud be excellent for the next few days, while we wait for the Drow and Half-elf to recover."
"Very good job. You seem to be pretty capable, whatever we need doing. I'm definitely glad you are here, and I'm sure the others feel the same. In any case, you are valuable, and I'm going to try and see if I can work out a way that my extracts work on you. I'll see what I can do, at any rate.
"Tam, if you'd like to learn, Silent and I would be happy to teach you."
"I will also set traps before the entrance to the cave, to warn us of encroachment."
At Eltumal's gestures, Silent shrugs, uncomfortable with the praise.
He smiles at everyone when Eltumal delivers their offer to train in sign language, giving a shy thumbs up. You note, however, that there is a grim determination lingering in his eyes since his exchange with Eltumal... and a hidden anger.
Extracts produce effects similar to those of potions. For example,Eltumal holds up a small green vial, This one makes me shrink in size to about half of what I am now. I can make other kinds, but I don't have any made right now. Anyway, they can make you stronger, too. I have one formula that will make you double in size, for a short time. If you are uncomfortable with ingesting these chemicals, just tell me. Some of the others may be able to benefit from these as well, and if I succeed in this endeavor, I can more adequately heal others, through the use of extracts similar to healing potions.
While Silent continues to look slightly uncomfortable with what Eltumal is signing, he shrugs.
His golden-yellow eyes glow fiercely with his second signed-statement.
Tam nods to Eltumal and Silent. "Definitely!" He begins to gather his things, getting everything together for the hike to the cave. He keeps his crossbow handy, just in case, keeping an eye out for spiders or ...worse.
"It will definitely help kill that bastard, although that's a way off. First, we need to survive the Jungle, and these extracts may come in handy in this endeavor as well. This is all theoretical at this point, but I should be able to, at some point, render these usable by others.
Normally I don't like reading but this is a lot of fun
Completely lost amongst all the sign language, Joe shrugs. "Alright, I can carry one o' the women while one of you other fellas can carry that little fella." He points to Levi. "That'll help save you some time from havin' to build some type o' transport, Jivaji. O' course, that just means someone's got to carry the other lady." He says as he goes to pick up the drow. "I'll take this'un. She don't seem all that dangerous to me. She's kind of a purdy little ol' gal." He says with a wink and a big ol' Joe smile. He then leans over to the half-elf, "No offense. You're a purdy little ol' gal too. It's just them fellas think she's just an ornery critter." Unable to keep from winking and smiling at the unconscious half-elf as he shoots his thumb behind him, motioning everyone.
"I'll take the half-elf, then, I suppose. It'll take less time than building something to carry her. It's only an hour away, and I feel pretty good to go. We should get moving, though; who knows when some of the fauna could stop by to say hello? We don't want to be carrying anyone if we are attacked." Eltumal will go to the half-elf, and proceed to pick her up. "Well, somebody get Levi, and then we can be out of here."