"You will die here today. Will you be missed" Devargo asks? "I don't think so. Fools are often overlooked and forgotten."
"You're right, Devargo. My best friend in the whole world was killed by someone like you selling her some bad junk to line his own pockets. There isn't anyone left to mourn me. That means I've got nothing to lose. You and me Devargo. How about you save me some time and tell me where you stashed your blackmail material before I kill you?" Kendrick does not wait for an answer and instead walks confidently up to his opponent, abandoning his original plan for some vengeance. He grabs the bastard sword with both hands and swings with all his might, hoping to hack one of Devargo's arms off with a hard slash into his shoulder.
His taunting successful, Devargo leans away from Kendrick's telegraphed and furious attack. Kendrick's blade cleaves right through part of the Spider King's throne before slashing deep into his shoulder. The force of the blow pushes him to the side enough that he can easily reach a hidden button. Suddenly the floor slides out from Kendrick and he drops like a stone down to the next level.
Kendrick finds himself in a dark chamber, riddled with dizzying tunnels and twisting corridors formed by thick cobwebs. The floor is a sticky, lumpy mass of webbing and dozens, if not hundreds, of bones—many of which appear to be from humanoid bodies. Some of the webs seem to shimmer and dance, almost as if reflecting rainbows in their silken forms. Dozens of of eyes stare hungrily out.
She hears the tolling of the town bell marking the start of another hour.
Looking in the direction Kendrick went.
Humm, he’s been gone just about long enough to have gotten into trouble. Time to go and check.
Sizing up the worried looking men in front her, Nuriel plans her actions
The one on the left, nearest the edge of the pier. Yeap, you are going in the water.
Drawing her longsword and raising her shield
”A Maiden has drawn her sword. Know that it cannot be sheathed until blooded. Whose will it be?”
[spoiler=Should they attack]
Rather than curse the darkness, Kendrick opts to cast a spell to brighten the gloom and give him a chance to see his foes coming. He then moves to put his back to the bulkhead behind him, then, if the path is clear enough, move to the port side corner.
Dax notices Nuriel's patience wear as Nuriel draws her sword.
"It's go time." Dax thinks to herself and she takes a step to put her back againts the boats railing and casts Bull Strength on herself.
"I don't know if you can her the Maiden from up here but she doesn't seem to be in a good mood. I would suggest you leave immediately." Dax shouts to the men on deck as she grips her halberd in anticipation of and attack.
Light floods the web-filled room and Kendrick can see that most of the webs aren't just gray, but rainbow-colored. He also notices eyes in almost every corner. Two child-sized spiders hide in the north west corner. A larger man-sized spider sits before a door in the north east corner, and some kind of man-sized, half-spider, half-man cowers in the south west corner.
The man-spider chitters noisily, and tries to scuttle back farther into the corner. The man-sized spider turns and launches a glob of webbing at Kendrick. It smacks into Kendrick's leg with a wet smack.
The thugs begin looking around and at each other nervously. Two crazy women walking into the den of thieves just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Especially two law bringers. They must be scouts for a larger force!
Every square in this room requires a DC 10 Reflex save to avoid contact with the webs.
The man-sized spider is a giant spider, and like most spiders, rather poisonous.
"Whoa!" Kendrick groans when he sees the array of spider-like beings. "Are you kidding me with this, Devargo? Do you know what sort of fines Nuriel is going to want to levy on you? I'm sure there are 'exotic pet taxes' that apply. Plus something about habitating a condemned structure, I don't know." Kendrick gulps and keeps his back to the wall. He waits for them to come to him.
Seeing the odds are still against her, Nuriel looks for a way to draw some of the thugs away.
Spying an unattended lantern sitting upon a crate on the pier. She concentrates and casts mage hand sending the unattended object flying into a nearby pile for refuse. Hopefully setting it aflame.
Then brandishing her sword.
”You can fight me or the fire. Which will it be?”
Mage Hand
School transmutation; Level bard 0, magus 0, psychic 0, sorcerer/wizard 0, summoner/unchained summoner 0
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
EFFECT
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one non-magical, unattended object weighing up to 5 lbs.
Duration concentration
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
You point your finger at an object and can lift it and move it at will from a distance. As a move action, you can propel the object as far as 15 feet in any direction, though the spell ends if the distance between you and the object ever exceeds the spell’s range.
"Easy choice, luv" the nearest says. He swings his sap hard at Nuriel. Most of the blow is absorbed by her shield, but she can feel the blow into her arm. Another thug swings as well but miss. The goon behind him sneers at Nuriel and makes a few obscene gestures and some obvious threats. "Don't worry las, we'll be sure to cuddle ya before tossing ya into the waters.
Two more thugs more up to surround Dax, while the rest hustle about the connected docks trying to make their way towards the commotion. The refuse pile begins to slowly smolder.
Seeing herself being surrounded, Dax cracks a slight smile. "Okay, don't say I didn't give you a chance." she says as her halberd begins to glow and she strikes out against the thug to her south.
Dax's halberd nearly cleaves the man in two, but somehow, he remains on his feet. The two smaller spiders approach Kendrick. Kendrick's blade erupts in a blinding flash of light, but the spiders don't seem to notice. One spider sinks it's teeth into Kendrick's leg and he can feel the poison being pumped in, but is able to resist it. The other spider misses. The giant spider lumbers forward and bites Kendrick in the hip. Again he can feel his body fighting off the poison. Kendrick loses sight of the Ettercap in the commotion.
Though only giving minor attention to the Thug’s words. Nuriel is more disturbed by the distance between herself and allies. She decides to concentrate on defense until she clears her head.
She activates her Protection Judgement, granting a +1 sacred bonus to AC
She finally takes a swing with her sword. More to keep the Thugs at bay then really hoping to land a blow.
"You want to know what's happening to your business right now, Devargo?" Kendrick says as he grits his teeth and hisses from the pain of spider bites. "The Maiden is costing you a fortune while the Hellknight is hacking your people into tiny bits! It isn't too late to save yourself a lot of trouble and give me what I want. You can grab a hidden stash and split town."
Thinking quickly, he picks the one thing down here he truly understands and knows and brings his sword down hard in an attempt to decapitate it.
Kendrick's blade carves into the giant spider with a sickening crunch. Blood begins pulling around the spider as it slumps to the floor and doesn't move again. Nuriel's sword somehow finds a way through the thug's guard and draws blood. The two thugs try to bring Nuriel down but cannot get through her defenses. Other thugs hustle from ship to ship trying to join the brawl. One shouts threats and curses at Dax as three others try to smack her around. Two of them land blows.
Dax winces from the blow from the sap but gatheres herself and a bit of her arcane energy before attacking the hug to her south.
"You can leave, or I can cut you all down one by one. Your choice!'
Dax's halberd drops the thug like a sack of potatoes. Mandibles from both dream spiders clack and nip at Kendrick's legs and one manages to score a gash. Kendrick can feel blood running down his ankle as the wound begins to burn.
A creeping numbness crawling up his leg informs Kendrick that bite carried some sort of poison along with it. He snarls and tries to stab the offending creature, but the webs coating his body make that difficult.
Still distracted by not being able to see all her allies. Nuriel continues to concentrate on defense.
She spares a quick glance at the slowly spreading fire on the dock, then swings her sword again at the thugs.
Kendrick's blade leaves a gouge in the floor as the dream spider dodges aside. Meanwhile, the thugs have found new respect for Nuriel and are wary of her steel. Still, they are more afraid of their employer and know their job. Both thugs move to try and push Nuriel into the water. Seeing it coming, she is able to maneuver her sword just in time to catch the first thug in the shoulder. The second thug is able to get pash her sword though, and Nuriel falls off the dock with a splash.
More thugs rush to surround Dax. Her halberd dances around keeping most of the thugs off-balanced enough, but one manages to land a hard blow upside her head.
Dax hears the splash Nurel going overboard. Being surrounded, Dax defensivly takes a swing at one of the Thugs before jumping into the water.
Dax's halberd manages to keep the thugs off balance as she enters the drink. The dream spiders close in again on Kendrick's legs, but are unable to find flesh.
It's okay. I'm fine. Right now Dax is surrounded by a pile of corpses she made and the rest are running from Nuriel to go hide their undeclared income. I just have to hang on for another minute or so, Kendrick thinks to himself as he remembers to take a breath. "Let's try that again, okay Mr. Weird-spider-thing that's trying to eat me?" he tells the dream spider he missed a moment ago. The large man narrows his eyes and tries to stab down hard.
Kendrick's blade bites deep into the dream spider. It collapses to the floor, it's legs still slightly twitching.
Seeing the thugs rush her and realizing they intend to push her into the water, Nuriel tries to disrupt their action. Only managing to hit one of them.
She is suddenly falling, then water closes over her. Concentrating to keep grip on her sword and shield while attempting to get back to the surface.
ACP -4
Unfortunately she is trying to do too many things and c%~!inues to sink
A resounding cheer erupts on the dock as the outsiders land in the drink. Numerous guards begin to put out the small fire smoldering on the dock and even a few patrons help out.
Dax swims under the dock to link up with Nuriel.
"We gotta find Kendrick, any Ideas? Oh, you have any healing, got beat up pretty good back there?"
The remaining dream spider tries to bite Kendrick again but misses widely. Seeming to phase out of the webs filling the room, the ettercap emerges behind Kendrick and bites deep into his shoulder. The wound ignites in burning pain.
The roll20 map has been updated.
Kendrick howls with pain from the ettercap's fangs, then hisses as a fiery burning spreads from the wound, poisoning his blood. His hands shake from the venom. Despite the pain, he grips his sword hard and takes aim at the other dream spider
"I w-wondered w-where you w-went," the marine hisses at the ettercap, stuttering slightly from the nerve damage. "You're going to have to w-w-wait you're turn! "
Nuriel notices Dax’s arrival beside her in the water. She tries to hear what the Teifling is saying.
Terrible conditions -5, distracted -5 Vs DC 0 hear normal conversation.
Then makes another effort to get up to the air.
ACP -4 vs DC 10
But she is again unsuccessful.
The Eel End guards quickly douse the fire before it has a chance to burn the sodden docks. They then begin to slowly spread out, looking down into the dark water, waiting for the women to resurface.
Dax moves further up the dock trying to find a place to pull herself up.
The lone dream spider continues to harass Kendrick's feet but misses its attack. The ettercap has no such luck with Kendrick's back exposed. It opens large gashes before its fang deliver another dose of vile poison.
Once again Nuriel attempts to swim.
Vs. DC 10
Finally managing to break the surface, she gulps in air.
Then swims to the nearest dock pliling.
Kendrick cries out in pain when the ettercap's fangs sink into him again. "Hey, pal, guess what? It's finally your turn!" he tells the ettercap as he spins about, aiming to take the creature’s head right off.
Nuriel manages to haul mouthfuls of air back into her lungs as she breaks the surface of the water, despite the weight of her armor and shield. Kendrick's sword bites deep into the ettercap's shoulder as it manages to avoid being decapitated. It hisses in pain as it staggers back and looks ready to bolt.
The enforcers begin to spread out, looking for those that went into the drink.
Dax uses her move action to pull herself up and then cast Vanish to give herself a few rounds of reprieve.
The ettercap slinks away, back into the darkness and webs. With finally a moment's reprieve, Kendrick realizes that the fog in his mind and the stiffness in his joints is not getting worse, not better, but at least not worse.
Kendrick watches the ettercap scurry away and breathes a slight sigh of relief. "I don't want to see you in this town again," he grumbles a moment before chanting the words to a healing spell. His mental reserves turn out to be somewhat depleted, and he knows he won't be doing any serious magic without getting some sleep and time to recover.
With great difficulty Nuriel manages to haul herself up onto the dock. Once there she leans to the left and right. Each of these movements is accompanied by copious amounts of water spilling from her armor. Finally raising the visor of her helmet she spits a stream of water from her mouth. Turning to Dax. She utters a praising psalm to Abadar, and touches the Tiefling.
After the water dump. She eyes the thugs. Gripping her sword and shield she readies for action.
Nuriel surfaces and manages to climb back on the docks. The thugs point and shout, moving over to cut her off. "Now's your chance las. Git, while the gitten's good" one sneers, but Nuriel is unphased by his empty threat. Another thug rushes forward and takes a swing but the sap clangs harmlessly off Nuriel's shield.
Dax stands behind Nuriel cast long arms on herself.
Obscured by webbing, the ettercap slinks away into the shadows.
Reaching into his web-covered pack, Kendrick draws one of his healing potions and swallow the thick red liquid down.
"See that?" he calls out to the ettercap. "Feeling a little healthier now. So you know the deal, right? You let me walk out of here in one piece, I'll let you walk out of here in one piece."
Water still dripping from her Nuriel surveys the situation.
Things are going so well. I am back at the edge of the dock, after a dip in the river. We have heard nothing from Kendrick. And speaking of We, where has Dax gotten herself too. And to top it all off there are eight thugs baring her way. Although several of them are bleeding.
Eyeing the men before her. ”Okay, assault on an agent of the crown has been added to your rapidly growing list of crimes.
DC is +5 due to multiple attempts in same hour.
She also continues to fight defensively.
The thug nearest Nuriel, his knees nearly shaking, half-heartedly swings his sap in her direction. The others behind him continuing pushing and shouting, but his sap comes no where near Nuriel.
From behind Nuriel, Dax suddenly appears as she uses her long arms to attack Thug with her magic infused halberd.
Dax's halberd misses the thug, who seems to want no real part of her or the woman in front. Kendrick can hear the ettercap scurrying around the room, but the webs make it difficult to spot the creature.
Seeing the man in front of her move back she edges forward to fill the gap.
I can tell you we are not going away. You may defeat us. But you will not defeat those that come later. From the Maidens, from the Hellknights, from the Sable Company. They will not be pleased.”
DC is +5 due to multiple attempts in the same hour.
” We are only here to give your boss a large sum of money for information. If you allow us to complete our mission, I am sure he will share some of it with you. No? Probably not. Well maybe a few coins. Maybe I could give you some of the money. To allow us to chat with your boss. We are not here to harm him or you. But as you see we will defend ourselves. Show how about I buy your lives for, Oh say 20 gold each?
She also continues to fight defensively.