There is not much Varrus can do. He is not very skilled with the bow, and he doesn't see a path to get to the spider.
But Angus needs him to do something. He dismounts and takes a shot, hoping he won't hit Angus.
Tiff slaps her forehead, "Oh of course, arachnid giganticus! No wonder my horse was broken, merely a common fear response. Makes total sense now."
Then it registers to her that Angus is being eaten alive. She cheerfully exclaims, "Don't worry I'll save you. But maybe some precautions first." She casts mage armor and moves closer.
The spider takes Varrus's arrow right in the abdomen and hisses, but maintains its grip on Angus. It starts to scuttle backwards, hissing as it goes, and it refuses to let go of the horseman. The party can see a slab of wood, earth, and webbing forming some sort of top for a hole, and the spider is right next to it!
Striding forward, Sethiel draws his bow but thinks better of letting an arrow fly. I don't have a clear shot here, and I don't want to hit anyone. He touches his sword-and-sunburst symbol to release some of his goddess's healing energy.
Seeing Angus struggle against the spider's grip, Alyssa moves closer and casts a spell, targeting his armor.
"Hang on Angus! I hope this helps!"
As she finishes casting, a thick layer of grease covers his armor.
Varrus tries another shot with his bow - there appears to be no way to get a clearer shot.
This time, his arrow goes wide.
At least Angus is free now.
Alyssa's Grease spell does, in fact, help Angus to escape the spider's clutches. A moment later, Angus's horse chomps the spider, which Sethiel's channel heals just a bit, followed by a vicious hoof-strike.
The spider, looking a bit dazed, chitters and scurries away from Angus and into its hole. A moment later, the lid springs down over the arachnid, covering its body.
"Leave it. Doubtless this land is full of hungry creatures; one more won't make any great difference. And now we know a place to avoid; those we're hunting may not." Sethiel steers his horse closer to Angus. "Are you hurt?"
Angus's fears are unfounded. While the wounds he took from the spider's fangs are certainly dangerous, they're not life-threatening or crippling.
The ride turns south, toward the Kamelands hills. Here and there, a tree pokes its head up, but the land grows increasingly barren, and little more than grass grows in most places. Small, dry creeks criss-cross the plains, but for the most part, there's little sign of life.
It's afternoon approaching evening when the party arrives at the base of a hill with a tree on it. In fact, the tree looks not unlike a claw reaching up into the sky. The hill is tall enough to take a good look at the surrounding terrain.
Sethiel steers his horse up the hill to get a better view of the surroundings. "Few enough places to hide out here. If I were a bandit I'd choose somewhere that takes less effort."
Varrus rides along quietly, trying to keep an eye out for any other dangerous creatures.
Missed that spider.
"I see it too. Yes, let us see what it is."
The digging, as expected, takes a good twenty minutes, but before long, the diggers hit something with a softish *thunk*. What's uncovered is a leather cloak wrapped around a well-crafted dagger, a wand*, a silver ring, and a book of spells. Most of the book is damaged, but Alyssa can see the spells mage armor, identify, reduce person, silent image, and unseen servant.
= = = = = = = = = = =
It's a partly cloudy morning with a chill in the air that awakens the party the next morning. After a quick breakfast, the party rides to the west, angling slightly north to explore a section of the Kamelands near the Narlmarch. A dry creekbed runs toward the forest, and, following it, the party spots an old, abandoned watchtower. Below the watchtower is a cave entrance, its front seeming to have been boarded up a long time ago, judging by the rotten pieces of lumber.
"Do we have time to examine the tower? It's possible someone has just skillfully replaced the boards and is actually using it as a hiding place."
Sethiel nods. "I was thinking the same. Just because those boards aren't new doesn't mean the place is empty."
As the party rides closer to the tower, it's clear that the place is, in fact, not empty. A small head, puffy and blue, peers out from a window on the top floor of the likely three to four story tower. A moment later, it slams a shutter shut over the window and starts screeching and yelling away to someone inside in a bizarre language. While the language itself sounds like it could be creepy or intimidating, the speaker's attempts at tough leave much to be desired - its voice squeaks and cracks as it shouts.
This close to the tower, it's easy to see that the side of the first floor has collapsed, offering an easy way inside by scrambling up the rubble.
The formerly-barred-off cave sits well below the tower on the hill. Its entry gives the impression of a not-small cavern behind it.
Sethiel draws his bow and rides closer. "Looks like our intuition was good. And they certainly match the description of the pests we're after."
"Let's look around and be careful. Does anybody know anything about these creatures?"
He does have Trap Spotter (and a +9 Perception, which is okay but not great) so he gets a reactive check if he happens to come within 10' of any traps.
---=== At the tree ===---
Alyssa looks over the book of spells as Angus hands it over. "Not really. I don't get my magic from books, not unlike some of the fey. In fact, Nadyra is the one who thaught me to cast the ones I know. But maybe I can take some ideas from the ones in this book?"
"I think the wand shoots forth a fan of flames on command. The magic feels a bit... Different from my own, though. I'm sure me or Nadyra can force it to work, but probably not as reliably as we'd like"
---=== At the Tower===---
"Well, that's definitely a mite. They pretty much hate everyone else, and like Bokken said, they can command various types of vermin, like those centipedes that bothered him so much."
The digging, as expected, takes a good twenty minutes, but before long, the diggers hit something with a softish *thunk*. What's uncovered is a leather cloak wrapped around a well-crafted dagger, a wand*, a silver ring, and a book of spells. Most of the book is damaged, but Alyssa can see the spells mage armor, identify, reduce person, silent image, and unseen servant.
Does the silver ring bear any inscription?
Oleg didn't say the ring had any inscription, nor did he mention any identifying characteristics, but this could be it.
"I think we should figure out where they expect us to go, and then not go that way. I would expect traps and ambushes - a natural way for a smaller foe to try to even the odds."
As the party peers into the cave's darkness, it's clear that it's not an entrance. However, there is a large section of white crystal in the back - quartz, perhaps - that's jammed between the darker stones of the hill.
Sethiel rubs his hands together and places them over Angus's wound. "Small miracles are what I bring to this merry band."
"I suppose our normal silent approach won't help here, since they know we're coming." He looks at Alyssa. "You know more about these than I do. Any ideas?"
Alyssa shakes her head at Sethiel's question. "Don't know much more that can help. I think Varrus has the right idea - we should try looking for another way up there besides the one they're expecting us to take. But there's no guarantee there is one."
"I'll call Nadyra to help us out. Not sure if she'll have a better idea on how to proceed, but she can help us look for another way in, and help us if we get into a fight with the mites"
Nadyra joins the party, Angus's inspection of the rocks shows little danger in a scramble up them and into the tower itself, and Sethiel's small miracle heals Angus of just a few of his wounds. The party's view of the somewhat broken tower ahead shows a pair of doors, each well-sized for everyone present. The continued piles of rubble in the southern door's entrance indicate that it's probably filled with similar stones and bricks. The path to the north, however, has been haphazardly cleared of such rubble and wreckage.
Bow at the ready, Sethiel heads toward the northern entrance. He mutters a brief spell to illuminate the tip of Angus's weapon. "May the Inheritor's light pierce the shadows."
There is, in fact, something lurking beyond the northwest door. Something clitters and clacks in the darkness until Sethiel's light shines on Angus's weapon. Then, it becomes clear what it is.
An insect with a hard carapace and far, far too many legs, easily the size of a wolf, skitters around the room. Others sit on small mounds of some sort of mucus. As the light brightens the space inside, all four of chitter, hissing and clacking their pincers at the intrusion.
16.2
15.5
Varrus follows up behind Angus. "Looks like something jumped out."
He doesn't know what Angus's plan is, but he readies to loose an arrow if he has a clear shot at any of the insects.
Alyssa moves near Nadyra and casts a protective spell on her, who moves gracefully next to Angus, smiling at him while she readies her spear as well, waiting for the creatures to approach.
"Seems like a wise plan. The two of us should be able to hold them off here"
Sethiel casts a spell on his bow, to increase its deadliness.