| The Death of ...
The party moved on, desperate to reach Doraps and (hopefully) their ship. They were still two days away. Vido had just moved to the river to see if he could fish something up, and indeed he did.
Before he even had a chance to react* Vido's being dragged into the water. Something rushed up at him, some kind of water spider! His left arm gropes for a weapon but its fangs are already in his chest, pumping lethal venom into him. He starts convulsing, his vision growing dim as he sees the others attacking, trying to save him...
Everything goes black for Vido.
The others lash out in anger and dismay. They were only a moment away, but the great spider that is dragging their dead friend into the water got the drop on Vido... Arrows, spells from Urick, more; the creature falters and dies, but another is darting from the water! The battle rages for a few brief moments more, and the spider darts in at prey of its own, finding Flipper and sinking its fangs into her leg. She twists away, staggering, falls to her knees; another of the party has fallen!
The spider dies, pierced by Lyr's harpoon. With a groan, the remaining members of the party look on the ruin of two of their friends. Almost, they despair; but then they rally, Lyr and Malford both restoring the determination of the others. Urick shudders as Vido's chest and Flipper's leg purple and swell even in death, as if the poison could reach into the afterlife.
*In all fairness, I figured the various pcs would go off to the river by themselves at intervals (nature calls, whatever) and rolled randomly to see who it was going to encounter. Then I told Vido to roll for surprise. He was surprised; it attacked, hit, he failed his save... never even got to act.
Next Time: To Yafall! | 
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