Nurin tears at the webbing, but again can't free himself. "Kill it, Lothar! Put it down!"
Bali's longhammer slams into the skis'raal's abdomen with a sickening crunch. Green ooze splatters onto the cavern wall as the spider shudders once and stops moving.
Away from the action, Grimdahl winces as he sees the gash the spider-thing left in his armour - and his side. He nods approvingly as Bali smashes the skis'raal with a mighty blow. "Good one, cousin!"
With a wrench, the druid tears at the webbing surrounding him ...
... and succeeds in freeing himself. He stays where he is, waiting for the melee types to finish the job.
Ivy, let's overwhelm the thing!
GM, is it allowed to (on my next turn) move, then as a standard action, 'ready action to attack the skis'raal once Ivy is in position'? I only ask because I'm not sure of initiative order.
Reginald steps out from behind Ingrid and points. A bolt of acid bursts from his finger and strikes the offending spider.
[dice=Know religion for "white spider?"]1d20+7[/dice]
As the spider clamps its fangs on her arm, Ingrid swings her axe down in a swift arc, leaving a trail of golden-white light in the air.
Ivy smiles and nods at Bali, as she sprints to the side of the skis'raal, avoiding its flailing legs, leaping and stabbing her knife into its exposed back.
The knife glanced off the creatures armored back.
Lothar continued to lunge with the spear, ignoring the many legs and focusing on the central body. The Dwarf fought in a crouched, focused posture.
Round 3
Active Effects -
Holy Strike (Ingrid's Warhammer)
Entangled (Pravic, Nurin)
Map (Round 3) -
Current Damage -
Lothar - 2
Nurin - 5
Grimdahl - 6
Skis'raal 1 - 8 (above)
Skis'raal 2 - 21
Skis'raal 3 - 10 (below)
Notes -
Ivy and Nurin are currently flanking Skis'raal 1.
Pravic and Ingrid are currently flanking Skis'raal 3.
Nurin finally succeeds in tearing out of the webs, pulling the sticky strands clear of his axe. He tries to get the spider's attention away from Ivy so she can strike.
Bali moves in behind Nurin at takes a whack at the disgusting vermin.
Blast ye back to the depths! Pravic spouts. Frustrated at the webbing, he decides squishing this bug all tangled up is just as good as squishing it not tangled.
for
Gritting her teeth as the spider bites at her again, Ingrid spins her axe, striking in from a low sweep and tying to cut the beast's legs out from under it.
Grimdhal reviews his wounds and mutters an incantation:
Feeling better as the magic surges through him, knitting him back together, he moves back into the fray, ready to attack if necessary.
It begs for mercy.Reginald translates. He won't tell the Tarnhammers what to do. It's not his place.
Focusing for a moment, now that the immediate threat appears to be over, Pravic centers his breathing and his balance. With a grunt and a roar, he bursts the sticky, strong bonds that tied him up. With that accomplished, he glares at the stricken spider.
Why do ya think ye deserve mercy? And what makes ye think a group of dwarves would offer, especially since ye were about to have our new friends for dinner? Speak quick, and ye might save yer hide yet. Why should I let an evil spider, who shouldn't even be in these tunnels, live?
Reginald translates Pravic's challenge back to the spider.
Ivy sees another opening in creatures flank, and thrusts the dagger forward into its underbelly, glancing off its armored hide again.
Lothar shifts to place the skis'raal between his spear and Nurin, free from the entangling webs. He jabs at the spider's face as it tries to snap at him again.
The spear finds its mark and impales the wounded spider in a bulging cluster of eyes. The skis'raal's shrieks immediately stop and it slumps to the floor.
Nurin kicks the still form of the skis'raal. "Overgrown spider." He turns back to the wrapped gnomes and the magical aura. "Let's free them and get back to the wagon." He begins cutting at the webs with his axe.
Ingrid stays her axe as the spider and Reginald talk, but remains ready to attack once more if the creature turns hostile.
And how do ye think I am supposed to tell my new Deep gnome friends, the ones ye were just about to eat, that I let ye live? Whats to say ye don't go find another dark hole just to steal more of them later? My brother's pretty smart, and I've got a pretty thick head. Maybe we can find out things about the dark elves on our own...
Pravic huffs, blowing a few stray mustache hairs away from his mouth, which in turn catches some of the now loose strands of spider web still hanging en masse on his body, tickling his nose. He sneezes and rubs his face vigorously and with a bit of frustration to clear the cobwebs.
Ye better spill everything ye know, and We'll decide if its enough ta save yer hide.
Bali will take double moves to get back down to the caravan.
Nurin's spell finds nothing magical, however, hidden among the cast-off bones, junk, and webbing, you find several interesting items:
- a platinum badge of office that bears the sigil of Fasturvault
- a mithral ring inscribed ‘G&E forever’ in gnomish script
- a masterwork short sword with a sigil matching the badge
- a bag of 20 pp with elvish writing that reads “Hail Satha, Baroness of Vothys”
- iron key with gnomish ‘A’
- a bolt of silk worth 80 gp
- 77 gp worth of miscellaneous coins (mostly gnomish)
- a masterwork greataxe engraved with a dwarven runic D
Six of the seven trapped svirfneblin are alive. The seventh is identified as Sheriff Gunther, the sheriff of Fasturvault. His throat was sliced deep, nearly to the bone, but his drooping snow white mustache is clearly recognizable. The rest of the deep gnomes gather around the older man with a scraggly grey beard and tired eyes. Once he is free of the web, he addresses Knivey Ivy. "Iverna, miten sinä hengissä hyökkäys ja jotka ovat näitä kääpiöitä?"
When combat ends, Grimdahl leaves the others to talk to the gnomes (he lacks both Gnomish and Undercommon) and wanders back down to the cavern. He spots the cleft that Pravic briefly looked at, and easily tracks his brother's footsteps into the small cave. He spends some time looking around.
As Nurin cuts the webs, at first he's taken back by the Svirfneblin's words. "What the hell are you babbling-...Oh, right, Gnomish. Olemme ystäviä, jotka vain pelasti henkesi. Nyt jalat. Ivy, tell 'em."
"We're friends who just saved your life. Now on your feet."
Nurin piles the items on the ground. "These yours?" He waves the gnomes to the items before spotting the dwarven rune on the great axe. "Hey, this is dwarven make!" He grabs it greataxe to show the others.
"Let's get all this down below, and we can all talk."
Ivy rushed over to the gnome speaking to her. Veli heti olentoja hyökkäsi, minä väisti rainasta. Jäin piilotettu välttää niitä, koska he pitivät partioivat alueella. Kääpiöt ovat pinnalta, heillä on pieni asuntovaunu alhaalla, ja etsivät matkustaa kaupunkimme. She motioned down below towards the exit.
Hyvä nimismiehen Fasturvault, olemme bändi kääpiöt etsivät oman ylpeä kaupunki. Kohtasimme Ivy täällä, ja auttoi parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla. Kunpa olisimme voineet olla mukana aikaisemmin, se näyttää jotkut ystäväsi ei tee sitä. Meidän pitäisi päästä pois tämän reiän ja palata pää Fasturvault niin, että ryhmä voi toipua.
The older gnome, Harvald, responds to Bali. "Forgive me, friends. We are forever grateful for the rescue. I fear hunger and venom makes us a tad grumpy." He smiles weakly. "What brings you and your cousins to Fasturvault? Our city has not seen dwarves in many years."
Another gnome, Pettri, younger and sickly from the skis'raal venom replied to Nurin's questions. "The badge and sword were Sheriff Gunther's. The ring too. It was his wedding ring." Tears welled up in the deep gnome's eyes. "He was the greatest gnome I ever knew. He deserved better. He deserves justice..."
Nurin responds to Pettri. "That he does. You should bury his badge and sword with him. His ring...returned to his wife, perhaps. But what of the bag with elf script and this axe of dwarven make?"
"Do you have any idea why the skis'raal would attack you like that or kill the sheriff for that matter? It's a bit unlike them." He
Pettri looks at the bag of platinum coins, blinking away tears. "We were going to Kladdenvalt to seek help to expel the drow from our city. They sent an emissary to deal with Lord Geirni. Gunther tried to tell Geirni they meant no good, but Geirni wouldn't listen! So Gunther went to get help. Now he's dead."
Pravic takes in all of the discussion about the gnomes and their belongings. He is a little surprised to hear about the drow infestation of Fasturvault.
Drow in Festervault? It looks like Bali will be gettin her wish sooner rather than later! Are ye under seige? It seems to me that our fates have been tied tightly with yers. I don't know how a meager party of dwarves can turn the tide of a war, if that's what yer fighting, but ye can count on the Tharnhammers to be there to do our part. He says to the gnomes, determination set in his face.
Turning back to the spider,
What do ye know of the Drow, and where do they hide their stuff? Which one of ye cut the throat of the sheriff when ye ambushed the gnomes? And ye still haven't told me what ye are doing in these tunnels.
Kladdenvalt, I've never heard of this place. Is it another city of yours? And who are 'they'?
Kladdenvalt - City of Svirfneblin
Geirni - Lord of Fasturvault
"Wait, settle down. Now start from the beginning. The Drow are in your city? Not Fasturvault, but another one? And your Lord is treating with them? What do they want?"
You have no knowledge of a Lord Geirni. The deep gnome lord of Fasturvalt, as far as you know, was named Lord Geiri.
Harvald quiets his more excitable companion with a glare. "Aye, Kladdenvault is another svirfneblin city. No, Fasturvalt is not under siege. But the drow are there. Right now. An emissary and some soldiers. What was his name? Malafarn? Molothorn? I can't remember. He came asking to speak to Lord Geirni. To renegotiate the terms of our trade now that Lord Geiri, rest his soul, has passed. Sheriff Gunther wasn't having none of it though. He never did trust a dark elf, no sir. Not as far as he could throw one. He knew the drow were up to no good, so he took a few of us militia to ask for aid from King Olvain in Kladdenvalt, in case the drow try something funny. I don't know if I believed Gunther, but I'm happy for any chance to get out of Fasturvalt." The elderly gnome grinned, showing a shiny gold tooth.
A few feet away from the gnomes, the skis'raal flinched from Pravic's interrogation.
"The drow payed us to kill the sheriff! They said we had to make sure to kill him. The others we could have for food. We were outcasts, exiled from our homes. We made a home here so we could survive. Please don't squish Azraak. I'll lead you to their hiding place and you let me go, yes?"
Bali hefts her hammer menacingly near the spider thing. Shut your mouth! What are we going to do with this one? I'm all for taking it up on its offer. We may need it alive.
"We might need it as a prisoner to show Lord Geirni that the Drow are not to be trusted."
I, myself, not the spider, think that having a first hand witness who may be able to name names would strengthen our story greatly. I suggest we hold it as a prisoner.
Now we're getting somewhere. Pravic mutters as he hikes his breeches and tightens his belt a bit.
Turning to his companions and the Gnomes, I'd be all for squishing this spider flat right now, if only for the Justice that the good sheriff deserves. But if his story proves true, then it seems that Justice won't be served until the Drow and their evil plan are uncovered and brought to light.
I think the Sheriff was right, and the Drow are up to something. I for one wouldn't trust a drow as far as the end of me big nose. That's mostly because I could probably throw one of those skinny things a long ways. We need to figure out what it is they're up to, and finding out where they're hiding is the first step. This Vermin can bring us there, and keeping him prisoner should make sure he has motivation to not lie to us. He says the last part with a wicked glare at the spider's bulbous eyes.
Take us to their hiding hole spider, Yer life is hanging by a thread.