Seeing that the spider is going toward Serafina, Sasha and Arc move over to the sorceress, hoping in equal parts to defend her and finally get a shot at the spider.
_____________________________________________________
Erimriel narrows her eyes at the immense arachnid, grimacing and echoing Serafina's grossed out cries as the glob sails over her head. She reaches down to her belt to unfasten her sling and places a stone bullet within its the leather throng before twirling it menacingly in her right hand.
Rahaal stands her ground. Despite the sweat running down her neck she continues to speak in a steady tone of the civilizing power of the Master of the First Vault. As she does she weaves additional divine blessing into her words.
__________________
HP 12/12
Sermonic Performance 3/7
Daylight (Aasimar) 1/1
Cleric (Evangelist) Spells Remaining (CL 1st; concentration +4):
. . 1st—bless, bless [D], (unmemorized)
. . 0 (at will)—create water, enhanced diplomacy, read magic
Buffs sermonic performance (until stop)
bless (round 1/10)
Serafina shudders as she twists aside, "Ewww, ewww, ewww, what the f@+& was that?" She loads her crossbow, then sends a bolt flying at the eight-legged freak. She smirks as the bolt strikes the beast squarely in its bulbous abdomen.
Frustrated at not being able to reach the arachnid, Miloslav flings his sword aside, and pulls out his sling. He whirls it around his head a few times until it is a rapid blur and then releases one thong to send a metal bullet flying towards the spider.
Seeing that the spider is going toward Serafina, Sasha and Arc move over to the sorceress, hoping in equal parts to defend her and finally get a shot at the spider.
Erimriel narrows her eyes at the immense arachnid, grimacing and echoing Serafina's grossed out cries as the glob sails over her head. She reaches down to her belt to unfasten her sling and places a stone bullet within its the leather throng before twirling it menacingly in her right hand.
Rahaal stands her ground. Despite the sweat running down her neck she continues to speak in a steady tone of the civilizing power of the Master of the First Vault. As she does she weaves additional divine blessing into her words.
The spider launches another glob of webbing at Serafina from its spinnerets, and this time it nearly hits its mark, though the nimble woman is able to lean away from the webbing at the last possible moment and avoid being bound as Miloslav had been moments before.
Outside, the sounds of concerned bleating can be heard, and those of you that can see him through the doorway see him slump to the ground, the right side of his face drooping unnaturally.
__________
Miloslav sets his sling whirling again, and fires another bullet into the arachnid.
The sorceress again deftly dodges the spinning webs, smirking in self-satisfaction. She was better at this than she thought! Serafina reloads her crossbow, focusing on the arachnid, for now. If the fool stayed outside...well, they'd save him if they could. She levels the weapon, firing at the spider. She curses as the shot goes wide.
Seeing Erimriel reading to fire her sling, Rahaal says, ”Let the Father of Civilization guide your strike!”
__________________
HP 12/12
Sermonic Performance 2/7
Daylight (Aasimar) 1/1
Cleric (Evangelist) Spells Remaining (CL 1st; concentration +4):
. . 1st—bless, bless [D], (unmemorized)
. . 0 (at will)—create water, enhanced diplomacy, read magic
Buffs sermonic performance (until stop)
bless (round 2/10)
Sasha and Arc continue to stand guard near the sorceress, ensuring her safety even if she should be struck by webbing.
___________________________________________
Her sling clips one of the low hanging webs that wind across the ceiling and her stone lands harmlessly in the depths of a ceiling corner. Erimriel exhales, frustrated.
As the spider braces to lunge at Serafina with its fangs, Arctalan's "fist" slams into the things thorax and sends spidery goo flying all across the area.
The chamber you stand in is covered with webs and large, man-sized cocoons. The western chamber is nearly choked with rubble, though there is a single door in its eastern wall that opens just slightly to reveal a stairwell that has collapsed.
Serafina, having no shame, takes out her dagger and starts to cut open the man-sized cocoons, reasoning that there might be man-sized mans underneath. Or more specifically, the loot those potential men might have carried. She keeps an eye on the spider lying motionless on the ground, every now and then craning her neck to make sure no new monstrosities come down to hang out with her like Little Miss Tuffett.
Most of the bodies beneath the cocoons are heavily fed upon, leaving their dried up husks and bones beneath the webbing. However, one appears more recent, and must have been someone of moderate wealth, as around her neck is a necklace of lapis lazuli stones and silver.
The sorceress grins at the find, whispering to the corpse, "Do you mind?" She chuckles under her breath as she works the necklace over the head of the corpse.
Realizing being caught pocketing a valuable necklace might result in a best case lack of trust, worst case her companions beating her or more, the sorceress holds up her find for the others to see. "Nothing that will keep us warm, but a nice find, all the same!"
Serafina perks up for the first time this day, then remembers the goatherder outside. She thinks for a moment, then turns her attention to the opening in the wall, hoping one of her more compassionate companions will go check on the man.
"Good job Arc," Sasha says, after the eidolon crushes the spider. After Serafina mentions the necklace, Sasha says, "Did you check it for magic?"
There she was again, being all impulsive. There was a reason she worked better with a group than on her own. She flashes Sasha a smile, casting a quick spell to see if the necklace did indeed radiate magic.
Serafina closely eyes the piece of jewelry, trying to determine its value. She then shrugs, stuffing it in her pack, for now. "Not magic. Still, it ought to pay for a few drinks, at least." She winks at the young summoner.
"Sad, but a bit of mulled wine ought to dull the sadness." Sasha says, flashing a smile at the sorceress. "I suppose we ought to clear the rest of this bloody ruin."
Seeing that her companions are tied up checking on Andrezi, Serafina moves to the hole in the interior wall, taking a peek inside.
Secretly relieved she didn't have to get close to the grotesque spider, Erimriel looks outside to where Andrezi has fallen. Erimriel cautiously approaches the crumbled opening in the tower wall to check on their drowsy companion, hoping the guide has simply fallen asleep again.
Miloslav seems to deflate after the spider falls. The stress of successive combats seems to have worn him out. He puts away his sling, and picks up his blade. Then he leans against the wall, breathing hard. He watches Erimriel carefully, ready to leap to her aid should she need it.
The sword rage always makes me so tired. Can't let it overcome me though, we might not be done here yet.
Sasha has Arc lead the way into the next area, keeping a bit of distance between himself and the eidolon.
Serafina follows a short distance behind Arctalan, staying at the ready. She was ready to get out of the rapidly-dropping cold weather, but didn't want to wake up with some manner of beastie in her bed roll. Monsters would be bad, too.
Seeing that the next chamber was filled with rubble and debris, Serafina looks up, then over at the others. "Any of you climb worth a damn?"
Seeing that Andrezi still hasn't followed, Rahaal steps back outside. She grabs his shoulders to shake him...and immediately notices that he isn't just sleeping. With a check of his pulse she confirms what her intuition had told her.
She closes his eyelids and then--with a deep frown--she shuffles back inside just as Serafina asks about climbing skill. She looks herself over, weighed down in ill-fitting armor, and decides she doesn't need to answer that question herself. Instead she steadies her voice before speaking. "Comrades...I'm sorry to have to say this. Those bouts of bizarre sleep...they must've been more serious than Andrezi let on. He seems to have died of a stroke.
"I understand that we haven't fully explored this tower we'll be waiting out the storm in...but perhaps we should go out to say a few prayers for him first, to ease his journey to the Boneyard."
Serafina gives a doubtful look about going outside. If the majority goes outside, she will join them so as not to lose face. Otherwise, she stays inside in the relatively warmer tower.
If no one volunteers to climb to the upper reaches, the sorceress just shrugs. She is more apt to break her neck than make any real progress, so she starts to clear out a place for her bedroll, leading her horse inside to be protected from the elements, as well.
Miloslav seems to shake off his post-battle torpor after a short time. He sheathes his sword and grunts at the news of the sleepy sheepherder's demise. "I am a decent climber, but I would feel better if I had a rope to aid me. Does anyone have a grappling hook?"
"What a strange man, odd he passed in such a way. Without the man, the goat is naught but a goat once more, Miloslav." Sasha shrugs noncommittally as he speaks, not having known the chronic late sleeper well enough to develop much of a bond.
"Roast goat does sound rather nice this evening. A pleasant distraction from our usual fare. I'm sure the local wild onions will thank us." The sorceress smirks, the comment only being partly a joke. She looks to Miloslav.
"I have no rope, sir, my apologies. I'll have to invest in some, on our next trip to civilized lands. Let us set up camp, then, if no one dares to brave the ascent. The goatherd never took a watch, anyway, so it's not likely to affect us much.
Unless someone decides to climb, Serafina will serve her watch, otherwise sleeping fitfully through the cold night.
Frowning and a bit confused, Erimriel tries in vain to nudge Andrezi's motionless form awake a couple of times before admitting he's gone. She gathers some looses stones and rubble from the tower's ruin so she can give him a quick burial later then returns her attention to the tower.
Sasha has Arctalan help Erimriel gather the stones for a cairn. He wouldn't want his companions to leave his body for whatever creature or monster happened upon it if he died, so he'd do the same for them.
More than willing to let the others prepare things for Andrezi's imminent interment, Serafina keeps an eye on things in the tower as Miloslav starts trying to climb the interior. She calls out occasional instructions or encouragement, but generally just makes sure to stay away from where he would fall if he loses his grip.
The group takes a short moment to inter the body of Andrezi, before being forced by the rapidly dropping temperature to continue their search for safe shelter.
As the group begins to climb one-by-one, Sasha and Miloslav manage to make their way to the second level by using the rough, crumbled edges of the collapsed eastern wall as hand holds. Once there, they secure the rope and help the others make the slow climb up one at a time, until finally everyone is on the second story of the tower. Whatever room had stood here is obviously gone, but there are two red doorways leading into rooms to the northwest and southwest.
__________
"I vote southwest. Nothing good ever happens in the northwest." This is delivered in a perfectly calm, reasonable tone. She lines up a little ways away from the southwest door, leaving space for someone a bit more meat-shieldy in front of her.
You're pretty sure she's full of crap.
"Sounds amicable to me," Sasha says, shrugging. He stands well back, directing Arctalan to take up a position near the sorceress.
This octagonal room is covered in a fine layer of dust. It's clearly been abandoned for a long time. Everyone can clearly see faint reptilian tracks in the dust in front of the northwestern door. Everyone, that is, except Serafina, who seems distracted by the latent filth in the chamber.
Rahaal looks down, unsure how exactly she managed to pull herself up here in this ill-fitting armor. She looks down, feeling a bit dizzy.
Seeing the tracks, she holds a finger to her lips, points to them, and then goes over to the door to listen.
Nodding to Rahaal, Erimriel moves to flank the door opposite the Abadaran. The room seems too dusty for there to be too much trouble waiting for them, but her mind is still swimming with confusion about their guide's sudden death. A target to vent her frustration on would sit just fine with her.
Getting about 10 feet from the door, but between the two ladies flanking the portal, Serafina nods at them to signal that she is ready, should they open the door.
Sasha stands a bit behind the others, while Arctalan moves up beside Erimiriel.
As Erimriel opens the door, a javelin launches from a hidden location nearby, burying itself deep in her right shoulder blade, nearly knocking her over with the force of the impact.
__________
Serafina gasps as the javelin embeds itself into Erimriel's shoulder, her eyes searching into the room for their foes. Hoping the others back her up, she hurries into the room, getting into a position to catch as many of the foes as she can with a blast of scintillating colors.