The group position themselves around the room, unsuccessfully scanning for any sign of the web weaver. Maria approaches the large orb, studying it carefully. Nothing she sees would indicate that her theory isn't anything but spot on. The young investigator is convinced that she's correctly identified a large spider egg and its source as a giant spider.
Ysildaë and Toraim step up to the stone wall, flanking the iron bound door. The dwarf tries the latch, but finds that it is locked.
Finding the door locked and no giant spider nearby, Toraim puts away his tanglefoot bag away and resolves to break the lock as he did the one to the bakery...
Both glittering snakes and jewel-toned spiders are sacred to Miravynn. The Weaver appreciates the admixture of beauty and danger. Her far removed descendant however is much less appreciative of their charms.
First Mother of the Celes, forgive us should we fight one of your favored creatures.
"Is the great weaver a new inhabitant of this place? Would the baker's family be sanguine about such a guest?"
"It's possible we make the creature leave without harming it, though it might be difficult to make it leave its young. However, if we are able to relocate them, perhaps... I would like to avoid the thing, and given the current state of things it may be to our advantage to leave it alive elsewhere. If that's desired, it might be possible for me to make something to repel the creature, but it will take me some time. It may be more expedient to kill it."
"I don't see what good can come of having your basement infested with spiders," argues the dour dwarf, shaking his head before turning to Maria with a determined look. "Now, if you can rid us of the pest without our having to fight, that is great. But it has to be a sure thing, and it has to be now. We didn't come back to finish this job, only to turn right back around!"
"Now would be impossible. It seems that our only choice is to kill the weaver of this web. A shame."
Toraim's mighty boot meets the iron bound oaken doors with a booming THUD! The dwarf stumbles backwards with a look of bewilderment. The door does not budge. Toraim turns and shrugs at the others. Over Maria's shoulder, he sees the globe shudder briefly before becoming still once again.
Toraim looks at the door and grunts. Brute strength won't suffice. He studies the door, hoping to find a weak point, which he could exploit with the knowledge of the Forgemasters...
Maria gestures at the egg sack, seeming irritated at the attempt to force the door.
"Perhaps we should handle this first, or we'll have a swarm of infant spiders on our hands! Does anyone have fire? I should have listened to that idea in the first place!"
Maria turns to the egg sack and draws her rapier, searching for the mother and preparing while the others attempt the door. Frustrated by the focus on the door, Maria will pull out her flint and steel and attempt to light the webs herself, though she knows it is likely futile.
While Toraim fiddled with the door, Akula lit a torch, then lit a second off the first and handed it to Maria.
"Thank you!"
Abandoning the flint and steel, Maria holds the torch under the egg sack, rapier in her other hand.
Knowing his companions to be right, Toraim whispers a prayer and prepares himself for the worse. Once again, he readies a tanglefoot bag.
Toraim hands his companions an empty sack, ”Maybe this will work?”
"That's a much better idea," Akula said with a small laugh.
Maria places the torch under the egg sack as Akula and Toraim discuss the merits of another approach. The ball of spider silk ignites brightly and bursts open. Countless tiny white spiders erupt from the sack, spreading out over the room. "Oops," mutters Maria as the ladies jump into action. Toraim struglles to pull out a bag from his pack when he finally notices the spiders crawling everywhere.
A shudder of revulsion ripples through the shrine maiden, but she is brave and true. She leaps up on a crate and then jumps down among the spiders seeking to stomp as many as possible.
White spiders the size of kittens, everywhere.
"Oh, ew," was all the word Akula had time for. She dropped the torch in her hand, took a knee and swung her sword in a low arc.
The tight quarters made her attempt fruitless.
Maria leaps away from the emerging swarm, rapier in hand and torch abandoned on the ground. She stabs desperately at the spiders as she jumps away, relying on skill to risk the jump onto the boxes behind her.
Ysildaë leaps into action, stomping several of the spiders. Amidst the crackling sound of crunched aracnids, Akula drops to a low crouch swing through the swarm and failing to damage it. Finally, Maria scrambles on to the boxes behind her, skewering four of the tiny spiders in a single thrust.
The flames spread to the surrounding spider silks as it tickles the dry timbers of the floor joists above. With the egg sack destroyed, the fire dies down in the corner. The spiders turn toward Yslildaë enveloping the elf, biting and stinging her. Her blood rejects the poison but the feel of the aracnids crawling on her skin is overwhelming, and she screams swatting at them in a vain attempt to rid herself of them.
"Don't set fire to the bakery!" Toraim shouts, noticing the flames licking the dry timbers. Stepping to his left to flank the swarm, he drops his sword and reaches for his hammer, which he brings down hard.
Akula swung again.
[/b]"Perhaps if we wet the wood and seal the entrance, the flames will run out the good air and fade! But first, the spiders!"[/b]
Maria takes another stab at the spiders, impressed at the success of the first strike, thinking they will shortly be dead.
Noting the fire's spread, Maria descends on the other side of the boxes and moves behind Akula.
Toraim quickly surveys the timbers above him. The dryness of the beams makes it clear to the dwarf that the fires could spread to the bakery even though they are burning out quickly after consuming the silk spider threads. As he turns to strike the swarm, his mind wanders and wonders about the flames. I'd guess they only have one shot to light the joists... maybe 1 in 6 chance. With the thought eching in his head, he shouts a warning to the group as his hammer strikes down many of hte spiders, scattering the swarm.
The dwarf reaches for his tanglefoot bag, but the need is gone. Whether it would have worked is for another time.
Ysildaë leaps away from the fire, frantically searching her clothes for spiders.
Akula glanced around looking for a bowl, bucket, or anything else that would hold water.
Maria drinks another concoction from her belt; she seems overwhelmed by its effects, eyes wide and flighty. She begins searching for anything useful, be it a container or even salt which could choke the fire. "If this room fills with smoke, we leave and shut the entrance! That should make the fire die out!
Ysildaë looks at the swarm hoping for an essence to arrive but it does not. As the flames grow around the group, Akula looks about the basement for anything to hold water. Yet, all she finds are the closed crates. Maria drinks the magical concoction trying to rack her brain for a source of water.
It dawns on the investigator, just as the thought arrives to Akula. The pair of women look at each other. "The Well!" they both exclaim, remembering the small well in the square to the east of the bakery. Maria darts up the stairs and spies several bowls and a large bucket in the kitchen. The flames in the basement continue to spread out in all directions on the ceiling of the basement. Having burnt away the webs, the fires still hasn't caught the wood on fire... yet.
Braving the flames, Toraim prays to Valthyra to douse the flames nearest the timbers for fear that they should catch fire. He finds himself thinking of the forge where this prayer was used to temper metals...
"Maria! Throw me a bucket!" Akula called after the faster woman. "And one for Toraim too!"
Maria rushes to get buckets to Akula and then Toraim as soon as possible, taking both herself since she moves with incredible speed at the moment.
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Over the next minute the flames race across the ceiling with Toraim's prayers to Valthyra bringing a flow of water over the flames. On two occasions the flames catch the wooden beams on fire, but the dwarf is able to dowse them. Upon inspection the long dead carcass of a giant spider is found in the northeast corner of the room, tucked between the floor joists.
Covered with soot, Toraim emerges coughing and teary-eyed from the smoke-filled basement.
"We'll have to remember that," he notes with a wry smile meant to alleviate the tension. "Now, let's finish this once and for all, and head back. I really could use a few pints!"
With that, he heads back down into the darkness below...