Team Xantrius

Game Master JasonX

I assume Aleziella can still hear him? She'll certainly count herself as frontline, but she is busy figuring up what Bajik is up to so won't respond for now. Did the spider react to her moving towards it?

Xantrius draws his sword and inquires "What exactly have you found?" as he strides forward. Upon catching sight of the spider he assumes a defensive stance and cautiously edges a bit closer, studying it with both normal sight and his spiritual senses.

Knowledge (Arcana, Dungeoneering or Nature) 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Use Soul Sight (as Deathwatch)

Kothar moves up brandishing his weapon [b]"oh now would you look at that[/i]

Kothar places a hand on his companion dragon and after a moment its scales thicken
blessing my animal companion with the Scalykind blessing +1 NA for 1 min

Xantrius and Kothar, you recognize it as a giant Black Widow spider.

Ok, here is how I do combats. Initiative is in blocks. So PCs are in groups between the enemies' initiatives. I prefer combat posting formats to be something like this:
Round #

Flavor and RP text.

dice rolls

any more flavor and RP text.

and finally any reactions planned (such as parry & riposte, counter spell, etc).

Kothar takes a step for ward and tell the others what he knows of the spider

"That looks as a simple giant Black Widow spider you can tell by its size its female, be wary it is quite poisonous and i believe she can through webs to entrap its pray as well"

4d20 ⇒ (13, 13, 7, 17) = 50

A giant Black Widow spider is a powerful and deadly foe, but fortunately for you, the immense vermin is several days dead, as becomes apparent from the smell and condition of the corpse as it’s approached.

As you each creep closer, you note two disturbing elements—a muffled chewing sound and a bulge wriggling inside of the spider’s abdomen.

"Hold its long dead...what could be causing the movement from its thorax"

Seeing that the spider is dead Aleziella calls out to the old man. "I would count myself as frontline. I am quite adept at avoiding or blocking attacks and I am quite good with my rapier. Stay back for now though. We found a dead spider, but there is something moving inside it. I think we should try to avoid it, whatever it is and make our way out without coming close to it if possible. I hope it isn't blocking the only exit." Aleziella stays away from the corpse and urges the other to do the same. She studied their surroundings for what ways there might be out of here.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"They no be bothering us whatever they are, let us leave them be.:

Cavern

The squares are 10'

Aleziella is relived to see that there is a way around the spider but she furrows her brow trying to figure out how to best deal with the situation. "The only exit is on the other side of the spider, though there is plenty of room to pass around it both to the left and to the right. It would mean leaving whatever is inside it behind us though. If it's part of the demonic force we don't want to be caught between it and some other demons and end up having to fight both at once. If only we had some ways to determine what exactly it is..." She slowly starts walking backwards to the wounded people, keeping her eyes on the spider. She then says to the waiting trio. "I suppose we can start heading to the leftup on the map to get around it. Aravashinal, what spell are you offering? I plan to protect you by joining the melee."

I assume Kothar's knowledge rolls failed?

Korak looks at you. "No, ye be right. Our first priority must be getting the wounded to the surface if we can, or at least somewhere safe. I know not of any hell beasts that would eat a dead body from the inside, but they were not part of my training. We must simply hope whatever they be, that we are enough to handle them.

"Allow me to go first as I am most likely the noisiest one in our group. Should whatever is inside the spider attack, I am the best protected. If I am able to pass unmolested, we can escort our charges past it one at a time so as not to disturb it." Xantrius offers.

If everyone agrees, he edges around the spider to the left, trying to stay as far from it as he can.

Stealth: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (9) - 2 = 7

"I think we should just all go as a group with our wounded and noncombatants in the middle. That way we'll be able to back each other up immediately if something was to happen and you won't be left stranded alone. Though you can certainly go first. I can see in the darkness, my outsider blood allow me sight without light, so I should probably go up ahead as well, though I think it's better if I go between the trio and the potential danger of the spider, shielding them with my body."

Assuming no one objects Alexiella tries to stay between the spider and the noncombatants while they move their way past it. Her rapier at the ready.
stealth, though I doubt it's needed as it's hard for the thing to see from inside the spider: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

A quick thought lads and lassies, if one of yeh have a few pints of oil and a tinder twig, we could simply roast the spider and whatever be eating it.

"thats a fine idea lets hope what ever comes at us dose not just attack the clump grouped and comes at us in a direction we can defend from"

Kothar and xill move up five feet behind Xantrius

stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27
stealth{xill}: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

"That would be pretty much the same as attacking it. It would provoke it to maybe start attacking us. If it did kill the spider on it's own it could be a powerful foe and we wouldn't want to provoke it. It could also just be a natural scavenger in which case killing it wouldn't be a nice thing. I think avoiding it might be for the better. Though I must admit that I don't like leaving a potential dangerous foe behind our backs. If the rest of you want to try to find out what it is and deal with it, I'll go along with it." Aleziella is conflicted. Jumping from standpoint to standpoint just as she is jumping from foot to foot while nervously looking around given the seriousness of their situation. She keeps looking around, wary of further danger.

"We should avoid it. It won't be long before an enemy can surround us anyway, and I'd rather not make enemies when I don't need to. We have enough enemies as it stands already." Tanya says as she helps the injured folk get organized and ready to move.

Tis a hard choice. An enemy at our backs, or risk the safety of the injured. Perhaps, we could bring the entrance down behind us, nay, that be too dangerous.

"We need a decision soon." Xantrius states, keeping his eyes on the wriggling spider. "Let me try my plan, with those who are ready to fight close at hand and the rest further back to guard the injured. Either it will attack or not, but I do not wish to risk us all by a sudden rush past the thing if we do not know what it is capable of."

Bakji stared at it a moment and backed up slowly. He did not know what creature may lay inside but he knew that people had fallen for this trap before. He thought about it for a bit and tried to remember anything from his past lives.

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 6 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 5 = 22

He eyed it for a moment trying to think of all the demonkind that might be able to gestate inside another creature. "I do not think it wise to leave a foe behind us growing in power. Whatever is inside this spider will soon run out of food and we are the only food in the vicinity. Better that everyone back up against the wall, I'll plug it with an arrow and we'll have the time to prepare ourselves before it will have the chance to get to us. That...would be what I would recommend." he said as he began to back away from it more.

All right then, I think it's best to get the injured out. Xantrius, you and one of the others will take them past, as a guard, the rest of us be waiting here and if anything comes outta that we attack and provide a distraction, sound good?

"I love the assumtion of something living, being an enemy just because we don't know what it is. Lots of dangerous things out there that'll be happy to live and let live." she said with clear sarcasm.

"no I believe the safest course of action would be for us to move all of the injured as far back as we can. As we take out what ever is in that corpse"

"Yes, because assumptions are great. Why didn't we assume the little kobald is an evil little rat like most kobalds?" she says somewhat sharply at the kobald.

"yes as most humans are self-contained self serving greedy, backstabbing fools that would rather talk than take action..." kothar said with annoyance to the female as blue fog and ice began to fall from his mouth and his eyes gave a soft Blue glow

"or is that just you"

Xantrius steps between Kothar and Tanya. "Nothing good is served by fighting among ourselves! If we are to get out of here alive we shall have to work together. Kothar, I think that Tanya has a point in that we do not know if the creature inside the spider is hostile towards us. And it would not aid our goal to waste resources unnecessarily. If we must fight, we shall, but if not...
Let us just go, and let events unfold as they will."

Korak looks around. Agreed. I still think my plan is the best option. Two guards move them out, we deal with whatever's in the spider if we have to, if not, we follow. If all it is is a scavenger, then sadly, it will have plenty to eat. Korak looks around at the bodies of the people who didn't survive the fall.

"Seems we are quite split on this issue, more information would be nice. I can detect if it is magical. If it is, odds are it's not a natural occurrence. Maybe that'll help our decision. Detecting if it is a demon or evil would be more useful though." Aleziella holds her free hand in front of her and chants. "Desna, show me what magic lies before me."

Detect Magic 60 foot cone

There are no strange auras (evil or magic). Yes, you can assume that just about anything you encounter, that is not a sentient being, is hostile as you are in the vicinity of the Worldwound and it has a corrupting effect on normal creatures.

1d20 ⇒ 20

"hmm, well by the sound of it it's more likely scavenger...yes Tanya if we leave it be and don't disturb it's eating it should leave us alone. Let's give it a wide birth then"

Aleziella turns towards Bajik seeing as he is the only one holding out the position of killing the carrion feeder. "So what do you say Samsaran? You are the only one with your stance on the situation. Will you agree to go with us? It would also be delightful to know your name. You already know mine." She looks over to the wounded. "Do you have any objections or suggestions about the situation? It would also still be nice to know what spell you wanted to cast from your wand. It might aid us in protecting you, but I got some defenses of my own."

While people are getting organized, Several things become apparent. Horgus is somewhat unfriendly and complains a lot as well as being insulting to the other two NPCs. He seems to be mad at Avarashnial and distrusts Argus(he uses the word "thief" a lot in reference to him). Avarashnial seems weirdly contrite around Horgus and only reacts to the nobleman's insults with embarrassed silence. To Argus, he is unusually curt and terse. Argus is annoyed by Horgus, but seems to respect him. He is more or less neutral about Avarashnial.

Bakji nods to the others that they could give it a wide berth. He cannot recall anything from his past lives on the subject. He stares at Aleziella, his head seemingly focused on her specifically. "My name is Bakji and yes I will go with you all. My soul has lived through the First and Third Crusade but I cannot recall anything about the demons that would help in this situation." he said before returning his attention to the spider's thorax in case it suddenly bursts open.

Upon noticing how Horgus treats the others Alexiella says. "By Desna. Dear Horus, I am sure you will get your dues once we are out of here. We will make sure everything goes fine. For now, can you please stop complaining about minor things and be nice to Argus and Avarashnial? It'll help everyone keep focused and make it easier to protect you. I am sorry for the trouble, I know these inconveniences are not pleasant."
diplomacy to improve attitude with guidance against Horgus: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14
diplomacy to request Horgus to be nice: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19

With everyone in agreement Aleziella's mood brighten slightly. "Good. Let's get out of here then. Xantrius, will you take point? I'll try to stay between the spider and our non-combatants as we try to get around it. Now let's get a move on. Argus, you'll guide Avarashnial right?" Having said her suggestions for what to do Aleziella moves to put them into action.

I was trying to come up with a way to describe his spells to you, but instead he will confer with whoever the arcane caster in the group is and you will learn this list. Be aware that he cannot replenish his spells once used as he cannot study his spellbook.
Here is the list:
3rd—heroism, magic circle against evil, summon monster III
2nd—acid arrow, levitate, resist energy, summon monster II
1st—mage armor, shield, sleep, summon monster I,
true strike
0 (at will)—acid splash, arcane mark, detect magic, flare

After taking note of their spells and such, Tanya asks the npcs, "We have your names, but who are you? Like, what did you do for the city or whatever?"

All of that while walking, if the group is moving.

Bakji takes up the rear guard. Moving carefully, ever watching the spider in case anything breaks free and begins to set upon the group to give the alarm and react. His bow at the ready.

"Fine, I'll try not to hurt their feelings." Horgus responds to Aleziella, but you can tell he is a little less grouchy, especially towards Aleziella and Korak.

OK which way? Top or bottom?

Cavern

Korak stands to the side, doing his part as a prepared attacker, should anything come out he rushes in to attack it and distract it from the injured.

We've said since the start we are going to the left aka top.

Xantrius nods and starts edging his way along the wall to the left, keeping his eyes fixed on the spider until he reaches the point directly opposite it. He grips his sword tightly and raises his shield as he circles around. His eyes start to flick back and forth between the corpse and those following, ready to lunge forward if anything comes at the group.

OK, real quick, give me an exact marching order and who has what light sources.

How wide is the tunnel? Most people didn't specify where they wanted to be, I imagine something like this, with the noncombatants hugging the wall where it's wider than 10 feet:
-------------WALL----------------------------------
Bakji Horgus Avara Argus Tanya Xantrius
_____ Xill Kothar Korak Aleziella __

Xantrius got magical light from his shield and Bakji from his holy symbol, but other than that there is nothing. Aleziella and Xantrius and Xill got darkvision 60 ft.

The tunnels are about 10' wide and 15' tall.

Bakji would be last one out so that he can see anything coming from behind and handle it and he would be able to join battle from the front easier then the others from range.

Works for me. Tanya will keep up detect magic and dancing lights. The lights will be red (to reduce detection, strangely it works and leaves nightvision intact too) and up high where she will be watching for dangers or others things above.

Korak sidles along keeping a strong line between the civilians and the spider, prepared to charge forward and distract it.