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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7584080" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p><strong>Cracks in the Darkness - 03/27/2019</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><p style="text-align: center">Cracks in the Darkness</p><p></strong></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><em>I wasn’t popular in the Gatehouse as an orphan. As a child, I could always make something glow with light, and apparently as an infant I always lit up something in my…whatever it was they put me in, to chase away the dark. But this woke up all the children in the room, and in turn they woke the Bleakers watching over us.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>Soon, I was the only orphan that had their own room, just so everyone else could sleep. Eventually, it was an imaginary friend, keeping the dark away. It wasn’t until I was three or four…I think that I was put back with the other kids.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>But by then, the damage was done. I was different. I was special. And the other kids resented that. Life was miserable from then on. The kids never wanted to see my “friend” and there was at least once where I got a severe beating for even turning it on.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>But it was when I was older that I discovered, that people would pay good jink for a lit escort to their kip, after a few too many bubs. It was a discovery that would eventually allow me to pay off my debt to the Gatehouse.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>It’s all about need.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p><p>I was awakened, by a light touch on my shoulder. In the dim grey haze of my sight I saw it was Beepu. I nodded; time for the last watch. I leaned forward, close to his right ear and whispered, “Anything?”</p><p></p><p>He shrugged, “Iesa told me about the noises, but nothing at all like that. And nothing else to mention. Thanks for the light earlier.”</p><p></p><p>“No problem. Get some rest,” and I pulled myself off the floor, and watched as Beepu made himself as comfortable as possible in my spot. I stretched my sore limbs and let my breath out with a sigh of resignation. While I had least gotten a fair amount of rest, I wasn’t looking forward to the boredom ahead. While I could have started the day, Beepu still needed more time to recover his magical facilities.</p><p></p><p>I quietly made my way over to Iesa and ever so carefully I examined his leg wound. As I had hoped it had healed and wasn’t showing signs of rot or poison. I then stepped over to Daneath. His coat was, at one point draped over him, his chain shirt discarded on a nearby crate. But the coat had shifted during his sleep and exposed his torn shirt. Below were bruises, which were probably turning ugly colors. But for now, dark grey was fading to lighter grey.</p><p></p><p>Satisfied, I centered myself. I was as rested and needed something to do. Starting with Daneath, I began the process to magically mend his torn clothes. Whispering the chant under my breath slowly rents in cloth, and tears in leather all closed again. I then started to chant a different spell, to clean up the spots of blood and gore that stained his coat and breeches. It took a bit of time as I would pause and listen again for our hallway stalker. </p><p></p><p>I did the same with Iesa, who had less damage to his clothes, but had far more ichor covering his breeches. Beepu by comparison was only a bit dusty, as was Nestra.</p><p></p><p>Looking down at myself, I was a bit dirty, and the crinoline was a disaster, but the dress itself was fine. I really wanted to return it intact if possible. The tailor said it wasn’t necessary, but it was important to me. Some minor tears fixed, and it was good enough until I could see everything in color again. </p><p>Looking around again I saw a small barrel with an open top along a wall, and above it clay mugs rested on a shelf, covered in dust. Examining the barrel, I found it to be old, but serviceable, whatever it held was long gone. Flexing my powers, I worked over the barrel; fixing rots and making the staves within the hoops, as tight as they were the day the cooper finished it. Or at least I hoped so. It took some time, all the while listening for noises in between my chanting. Once finished, I then cleaned the interior of dirt, wooden remains, and whatever else was left. I then mentally wiped out the three mugs on the shelf.</p><p></p><p>I nodded; it would do. I reached into my component pouch and pulled from it two items. The first was a bronze symbol of a skeletal hand holding aloft a balance, the second was a necklace which I set aside for a moment. Holding the symbol, I centered myself and focused on the light within me. I felt myself coax it, stirring it slightly. I could feel the energy, respond and resist as if a spoon were stirring in a liquid. After a second or two of this I mentally pushed the energy to the barrel.</p><p></p><p>Softly, the barrel began to fill with water in the first time in many years. The barrel was perhaps half full when the water stopped rising. I eagerly took a mug, and quietly submerged it in the barrel. I brought it to my lips and sipped. It was clean, fresh and sweet. The Gatehouse’s water all tasted of iron and rust but at least was safe. The same couldn’t be said of most sources in the Hive; and no one would dare would drink from the Ditch willingly. But this was the reason there were so many bars; the water had to be good enough to brew ale or beer. And so, drinking bub like that was far safer than water from unknown sources. Didn’t help the poor who couldn’t afford much in the way of bub though, but if you could drink bub when you wanted, it was a sign you were moving up in the world.</p><p></p><p>I moved and sat on the crate blocking the door, next to the ever vigilant Foggle, cup in hand. I quietly offered the owl a toast. Then, I sipped more of my creation and rested and waited for either Foggle to tell me, or the others roused themselves from their own slumber.</p><p></p><p>I put the symbol around my neck, and then regarded the necklace. It wasn’t much; a tangled knot of metal, grey in the darkness. In the light it was a mixture of loops; some gold, some silver. All knotted together, with a chain threading through the loops. I frowned; it was the only token of wealth I had beyond the few coins I carried in my pouch. The reality was it wasn’t originally mine; it belonged to Markell a Sensate that I…cared for.</p><p></p><p>No; that was a lie. I loved him. And I watched him slowly die in front me. I wasn’t sure what broke my heart more; his slow agonizing death or the discovery that he never loved me at all. I had sacrificed a lot for a lost cause, and I endured great pain as part of that sacrifice. But because of that, I took his necklace as a reminder.</p><p></p><p>Not to trust.</p><p>Not others.</p><p>Not yourself.</p><p></p><p>That was five years ago, and now I questioned the wisdom of it. Here I was in the darkness forced to trust others. Others that with all good intentions tried to save me from death. They could have easily left my corpse to rot in the plains, stripped of anything of value…including this neckless. But they didn’t; they found a way to return me to life. And they did it for less than love and they did it with no guarantee of reciprocation. They took a chance. That I was worth such a risk said much about their faith in me. And I found myself honored to be valued in that way. </p><p></p><p>And yet I loathed it. It was a debt of honor that I couldn’t easily repay. A debt with strings attached for us all, that imperiled us on so many levels. I felt trapped and afraid.</p><p></p><p>That I was being setup again.</p><p>That I wasn’t worthy of their trust.</p><p>That I still couldn’t trust my own instincts.</p><p></p><p>I sipped my water again and listened. My ears straining to hear something to distract me from my thoughts. Beyond the breathing in the room, nothing else was audible. Certainly not the sounds of the…thing that stalked the halls.</p><p></p><p>After an eternity had passed, Foggle started to move and made a solitary quiet “Beeppooo.” About time I was thinking. I flexed, and focused my energy on Foggle, and instantly his golden body flooded the room with a soft light. Then, I moved to gently wake Nestra and the others.</p><p></p><p>Everyone was sore; we didn’t have much between the floor and our skin. Looking over Daneath and Iesa, the magic I cast last night appeared to have made an impact. No open wounds remained on either human. Beepu handed out the last of the food that he had been carrying with him, and afterwards I showed everyone the barrel.</p><p></p><p>“What? You just drank out of it?” Iesa said dubiously.</p><p></p><p>“No, I created it.”</p><p></p><p>Beepu looked at me, “Your magic is peculiar,” and he took a deep drink “But certainly effective. But we need to find a way out. Fresh water is good, but more food is in order. And more light!”</p><p></p><p>“Well this temple can’t be that big,” Daneath said finishing buckling on the chain armor again. “We just need to avoid any more trouble. Iesa, help me move this out of the way.” And then the pair pulled the crate away from the door.</p><p></p><p>“Hey…I thought I tore this…” Iesa said looking at his breeches.</p><p></p><p>“I was bored last night,” I said.</p><p></p><p>He patted himself down, like he was trying to see if I bobbed him. Satisfied that everything was there he muttered “Well, what can’t you do?”</p><p></p><p>“Right now, food, and having a clear idea how to get out of here.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, as I recall Foggle found a passage past the open door at the end of the hall, and some doors beyond. Might as well start there.”</p><p></p><p>“Sounds like a plan. Light me Myr,” Daneath said having hefted the shield back onto his arm.</p><p></p><p>A quick flex, the warmth again and the light faded from Foggle, and once again, the shield would light our way. While I did this, Iesa listened again at the door, motioning us to remain quiet with his finger in front of his lips. </p><p></p><p>“Sounds clear,” and with that he opened the door to the darkened hall. Before entering it, he knelt down to look at the floor. Frowning his eyes swept back and forth, until finally he noticed something in the dust. Not in the middle of the hall, but near the edges. Parallel to the walls in front of us, and the wall near us were sets of prints. They were in a rough line, with round imprints in the dirt.</p><p></p><p>“Two track sets,” he said after a moment. “Must have been what you and I heard last night Myrai.”</p><p></p><p>I shook my head. “No. That’s just a large single track.”</p><p></p><p>“Wait no… “ and he looked again at the marks in the dust. His shoulders then sagged. “You’re right. It’s one big…spider I guess.”</p><p></p><p>“That’s larger than most horses!” Daneath said.</p><p></p><p>“Well let’s find a way out, before it finds us,” I said.</p><p></p><p>Iesa took the lead, with Daneath right behind, followed by Beepu, Nestra, and myself playing the rear guard. We quietly made our way to the partially open door. Without touching it, Iesa was easily able to move into the hall, with Daneath shining a light.</p><p></p><p>We all followed and found ourselves in a short hallway that ended just to our right, with a door in front of us, and a second one at the end of the hall on the far wall. To the left, the hall opened into a larger room, covered in webbing. With the barest sound of beating wings, Foggle flew into the darkened room.</p><p></p><p>Iesa had turned his attention down the short end of the hall when he exclaimed, “Well, who do have here?”</p><p></p><p>Daneath turned his shield towards Iesa, and what was once a shadowy hall with nearly formless shapes, now was lit with a very clear shape of a body on the ground.</p><p></p><p>Whoever it was, it seemed to meet an untimely end appearing to have fallen suddenly forward onto the stone floor, with an arm extended forward towards the wall. Its robe had nearly rotted away into dust, and the remains of its skin pulled taut against the bones of his face in the dry air. It still had the hairs of a moustache and beard attached. </p><p></p><p>Iesa was kneeling next to it, prodding the form with his sword. “He was stabbed in the back it appears…a long time ago. And before the spiders…no webs over him.”</p><p></p><p>“They must have come later,” Daneath said.</p><p></p><p>“Well…Foggle does not see anything but more webs and dusty furnishings. It winds a bit though.”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s check the doors here then,” and Daneath opened the door to the first room. The door made little sound, even though the hinges were dusty with disuse. Soon his shield revealed a sparse room, with the remains of some beds, and some open chests. The dust was thick here, and there were again no large spider webs in the room; just smaller cobwebs from normal spiders.</p><p></p><p>Daneath then moved to the other door and opened that one, it also making little sound. “Another resting chamber.”</p><p></p><p>“But that chest is closed…let me look at it!” and Iesa darted inside.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the darkened hall, I could see well enough. I moved past the nervous Nestra, and the distracted Beepu and knelt by the body. I placed a hand on its back and said a quick prayer:</p><p></p><p><em><p style="text-align: center">You are never alone, in life or death,</p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em>May Death grant you peace.</p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em></p><p></em></p><p>Daneath looked at me, as he pointed his shield into the room and nodded simply. But as he looked at </p><p>the corpse his eyes furrowed. His head turned back and forth from between the outstretched arm, and the wall.</p><p></p><p>“What was he reaching for? It looks like he tried to move after he was struck down.” He kept looking at the wall, undecidedly. “Finish up in there, I need the light.”</p><p></p><p>“Done! Why? What did you find?”</p><p></p><p>Daneath lit the wall up with the shield. It looked unremarkable. A finished grey piece of stone. “I don’t know. Something?”</p><p></p><p>Iesa moved to the wall, and then looked at the corpse. Frowning, he traced his hands over the wall just below shoulder height. He then stopped, and then leaned close to the wall, with his cheek barely brushing the surface. He then pursed his lips and blew a steady stream of air. As he blew, a small cloud of dust appeared…as did a thin straight crack in the wall. He continued blowing, and several puffs later he was rewarded with the outline of a square, one hand high and one hand wide.</p><p></p><p>“That’s subtle,” I said impressed with the find.</p><p></p><p>“This is strange.” Beepu spoke up. “There is not an exit anywhere this direction. A bunch of desks and …a …I think I’ll have Foggle get…that!”</p><p></p><p>We looked at each other. “No exit…I bet this might open something.” Iesa said.</p><p></p><p>“Might as well,” Daneath said. “I really don’t want to back down to those Troglodytes if I don’t have to.”</p><p></p><p>Iesa nodded and pushed the square stone. It scraped the nearby stone softly, and he kept pushing until we all heard an audible click. </p><p></p><p>Then we heard a loud scraping sound, coming from the hallway we were in before. I moved over to look down it, and saw a door pivot outwards directly across from the storeroom that we had been sleeping in. It was even louder in the hall, as stone ground against stone as the door scraped itself open.</p><p></p><p>This got Beepu’s attention, “What is that racket?” and his eyes focused on the group again, and finally at Iesa. “What did you do?”</p><p></p><p>“He opened a door,” I said simply and I pointed.</p><p></p><p>We moved toward the still scraping door. It was now open at a right angle from the wall and was still opening. Shining down the opening, the shield revealed a long hallway, which turned to the left.</p><p>“That’s promising.” Iesa said, and he started to move down the hall. The rest of stood in the hall, and I was looking first towards the doorway we had just come from, and then I looked towards the hall leading back to the dry well. I was about to turn my head again, when I saw something move.</p><p>It was at the edge of my vision, but I saw…eyes. Eyes that had caught the light leaving the edge of the shield. Four…no eight glittering black orbs facing down the hall. And they were starting to move towards us.</p><p></p><p>“We have a problem…Move!” I said in a loud whisper.</p><p></p><p>Nestra just ran forward. Beepu turned to look down the hall, and I saw his eyes widen, and he took off down the hall shouting, “Big spider! Big Spider!”</p><p></p><p>I moved into the hall and Daneath backed into it with his shield in front of him. We both stood there a second, and we started looking at the side of the wall, looking for another trigger. We were looking at each other with wild eyes seeing nothing.</p><p></p><p>“Iesa!” we both shouted. “Do you see a switch or something?”</p><p></p><p>“What…no. I can’t see, bring the shield here!”</p><p></p><p>“That’s not happening,” Daneath shouted.</p><p></p><p>I felt the rush of air go by me, as Foggle flew over my head and almost got a face full of a leather satchel in the process.</p><p></p><p>“Sodding…trust me Daneath.” I flexed and shifted the light to the satchel as it flew by.</p><p>I could see Beepu’s face light up suddenly, at first perplexed and then nodding vigorously. “Light is here, Iesa” and grabbing the satchel he moved around the corner, with Nestra in tow.</p><p>Daneath was breathing heavily as I stood next to him, his arm poised to strike.</p><p></p><p>“You know I can’t see right?”</p><p></p><p>“I’ll be your eyes, I’m not leaving.” The spider was moving cautiously, but it was getting closer as the soft sounds in the hall grew ever so louder. I quickly peeked around the corner and with my vision saw it was half-way down the hall. It was slow and patient, certain we weren’t going anywhere.</p><p></p><p>“Iesa! Finding a switch would be good about now!” I shouted down the hall.</p><p></p><p>“I’m looking!”</p><p></p><p>Suddenly the spider scuttled sideways and was now in front of the open doorway. “Swing sword…BLOCK!” I shouted, while keeping one hand on Daneath’s back, so he knew where I was. He swung blindly with the sword, but the shield made solid contact with the forelegs of the spider batting it away. The spider was being cautious seeking its prey and it backed off. I quickly cast a bolt of energy at it, and the purple blast shot over the monstrosity, impacting the wall.</p><p></p><p>The flash was enough for Daneath to get a glimpse of his opponent and he swung again, knocking back a leg against raising his shield in time to prevent the spider from getting a hold of either of us.</p><p></p><p>Then, we heard the sudden scraping of the door, and the distant shout of “Found it!” from Iesa. The spider reacted to the loud noise and backed off from the closing doorway. It made no vocalization or sound beyond the scraping of its furred legs on the walls. If it was angry or frustrated it wasn’t clear. But it was unwilling to move towards the closing door. It backed off, moving backwards to the well room still facing us. </p><p></p><p>The door slowly shut in front of us, but I still spoke to Daneath acting as his sight. “It’s closed, we’re good.”</p><p></p><p>He nodded and turning around we could see the distant light from around the corner. Squinting a moment he spoke, “Well um…is the path ..”</p><p></p><p>“I’ll lead you for a bit…I don’t see anything that you would trip you.”</p><p></p><p>“Must be nice to able to see like that.”</p><p></p><p>I smile briefly, “It has its moments…still prefer real light. Come on.”</p><p></p><p>In a moment, I guided the large man down the hall and together we turned the corner where the rest stood looking at us.</p><p></p><p>“Well, glad you held the door,” Iesa said panting.</p><p></p><p>“It’s a good thing it didn’t know I couldn’t see. But a sword swinging blindly can look impressive I suppose,” Daneath responded.</p><p></p><p>“Can’t you make more of those lights?” Iesa asked.</p><p></p><p>Shaking my head, “No…only one at a time.”</p><p></p><p>“What about you Beepu?”</p><p></p><p>“Clearly he can’t” I said.</p><p></p><p>“How would you know?!” Beepu glared at me and started to waggle his finger at me.</p><p></p><p>“Because you would have done it already.”</p><p></p><p>Beepu stopped mid waggle and shut his mouth frowning. Finally, he said, “Good point. And correct.”</p><p>I finally looked past the others and saw that there was another doorway open in front of us, revealing a room.</p><p></p><p>“Anything inside there?”</p><p></p><p>“No, No. Foggle just did a fly by, and nothing appears to be in the room.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, that’s good. Shall we?” said Iesa.</p><p></p><p>Iesa then strode forward into the room, and suddenly there was a flash of light.</p><p></p><p><strong>Session notes:</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Light is a hassle. I was the only source, and course no torches or even a lantern to share. I’m pretty sure looking back at the notes, the we probably ignored the rules on light, until it was important. Like the spider. A lot of this was counter to most of the players experience, as the DM mentioned that the last several games all had races that could see in the dark. He also mentioned that there was always an elf, which made watches a bit more work.</p><p></p><p>That also highlighted that we didn’t share any language other than common. I don’t think that any of us spoke a language that we shared with another party member. That also rarely came up, but it did mean that we didn’t have a good way to share things privately…until later.</p><p></p><p>So why the fear of the spider? It was a CR 1 monster, and honestly, we felt “Fragile.” This was intended to be a gritty campaign, and while I managed to survive death once, no one want to repeat that. More importantly, we had it in our heads that the “weakest” person was Nestra. And if Nestra died, we would all be up the creek. </p><p></p><p>1433</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 7584080, member: 6971069"] [b]Cracks in the Darkness - 03/27/2019[/b] [B][CENTER]Cracks in the Darkness[/CENTER] [/B] [CENTER][I]I wasn’t popular in the Gatehouse as an orphan. As a child, I could always make something glow with light, and apparently as an infant I always lit up something in my…whatever it was they put me in, to chase away the dark. But this woke up all the children in the room, and in turn they woke the Bleakers watching over us. Soon, I was the only orphan that had their own room, just so everyone else could sleep. Eventually, it was an imaginary friend, keeping the dark away. It wasn’t until I was three or four…I think that I was put back with the other kids. But by then, the damage was done. I was different. I was special. And the other kids resented that. Life was miserable from then on. The kids never wanted to see my “friend” and there was at least once where I got a severe beating for even turning it on. But it was when I was older that I discovered, that people would pay good jink for a lit escort to their kip, after a few too many bubs. It was a discovery that would eventually allow me to pay off my debt to the Gatehouse. It’s all about need. [/I][/CENTER] I was awakened, by a light touch on my shoulder. In the dim grey haze of my sight I saw it was Beepu. I nodded; time for the last watch. I leaned forward, close to his right ear and whispered, “Anything?” He shrugged, “Iesa told me about the noises, but nothing at all like that. And nothing else to mention. Thanks for the light earlier.” “No problem. Get some rest,” and I pulled myself off the floor, and watched as Beepu made himself as comfortable as possible in my spot. I stretched my sore limbs and let my breath out with a sigh of resignation. While I had least gotten a fair amount of rest, I wasn’t looking forward to the boredom ahead. While I could have started the day, Beepu still needed more time to recover his magical facilities. I quietly made my way over to Iesa and ever so carefully I examined his leg wound. As I had hoped it had healed and wasn’t showing signs of rot or poison. I then stepped over to Daneath. His coat was, at one point draped over him, his chain shirt discarded on a nearby crate. But the coat had shifted during his sleep and exposed his torn shirt. Below were bruises, which were probably turning ugly colors. But for now, dark grey was fading to lighter grey. Satisfied, I centered myself. I was as rested and needed something to do. Starting with Daneath, I began the process to magically mend his torn clothes. Whispering the chant under my breath slowly rents in cloth, and tears in leather all closed again. I then started to chant a different spell, to clean up the spots of blood and gore that stained his coat and breeches. It took a bit of time as I would pause and listen again for our hallway stalker. I did the same with Iesa, who had less damage to his clothes, but had far more ichor covering his breeches. Beepu by comparison was only a bit dusty, as was Nestra. Looking down at myself, I was a bit dirty, and the crinoline was a disaster, but the dress itself was fine. I really wanted to return it intact if possible. The tailor said it wasn’t necessary, but it was important to me. Some minor tears fixed, and it was good enough until I could see everything in color again. Looking around again I saw a small barrel with an open top along a wall, and above it clay mugs rested on a shelf, covered in dust. Examining the barrel, I found it to be old, but serviceable, whatever it held was long gone. Flexing my powers, I worked over the barrel; fixing rots and making the staves within the hoops, as tight as they were the day the cooper finished it. Or at least I hoped so. It took some time, all the while listening for noises in between my chanting. Once finished, I then cleaned the interior of dirt, wooden remains, and whatever else was left. I then mentally wiped out the three mugs on the shelf. I nodded; it would do. I reached into my component pouch and pulled from it two items. The first was a bronze symbol of a skeletal hand holding aloft a balance, the second was a necklace which I set aside for a moment. Holding the symbol, I centered myself and focused on the light within me. I felt myself coax it, stirring it slightly. I could feel the energy, respond and resist as if a spoon were stirring in a liquid. After a second or two of this I mentally pushed the energy to the barrel. Softly, the barrel began to fill with water in the first time in many years. The barrel was perhaps half full when the water stopped rising. I eagerly took a mug, and quietly submerged it in the barrel. I brought it to my lips and sipped. It was clean, fresh and sweet. The Gatehouse’s water all tasted of iron and rust but at least was safe. The same couldn’t be said of most sources in the Hive; and no one would dare would drink from the Ditch willingly. But this was the reason there were so many bars; the water had to be good enough to brew ale or beer. And so, drinking bub like that was far safer than water from unknown sources. Didn’t help the poor who couldn’t afford much in the way of bub though, but if you could drink bub when you wanted, it was a sign you were moving up in the world. I moved and sat on the crate blocking the door, next to the ever vigilant Foggle, cup in hand. I quietly offered the owl a toast. Then, I sipped more of my creation and rested and waited for either Foggle to tell me, or the others roused themselves from their own slumber. I put the symbol around my neck, and then regarded the necklace. It wasn’t much; a tangled knot of metal, grey in the darkness. In the light it was a mixture of loops; some gold, some silver. All knotted together, with a chain threading through the loops. I frowned; it was the only token of wealth I had beyond the few coins I carried in my pouch. The reality was it wasn’t originally mine; it belonged to Markell a Sensate that I…cared for. No; that was a lie. I loved him. And I watched him slowly die in front me. I wasn’t sure what broke my heart more; his slow agonizing death or the discovery that he never loved me at all. I had sacrificed a lot for a lost cause, and I endured great pain as part of that sacrifice. But because of that, I took his necklace as a reminder. Not to trust. Not others. Not yourself. That was five years ago, and now I questioned the wisdom of it. Here I was in the darkness forced to trust others. Others that with all good intentions tried to save me from death. They could have easily left my corpse to rot in the plains, stripped of anything of value…including this neckless. But they didn’t; they found a way to return me to life. And they did it for less than love and they did it with no guarantee of reciprocation. They took a chance. That I was worth such a risk said much about their faith in me. And I found myself honored to be valued in that way. And yet I loathed it. It was a debt of honor that I couldn’t easily repay. A debt with strings attached for us all, that imperiled us on so many levels. I felt trapped and afraid. That I was being setup again. That I wasn’t worthy of their trust. That I still couldn’t trust my own instincts. I sipped my water again and listened. My ears straining to hear something to distract me from my thoughts. Beyond the breathing in the room, nothing else was audible. Certainly not the sounds of the…thing that stalked the halls. After an eternity had passed, Foggle started to move and made a solitary quiet “Beeppooo.” About time I was thinking. I flexed, and focused my energy on Foggle, and instantly his golden body flooded the room with a soft light. Then, I moved to gently wake Nestra and the others. Everyone was sore; we didn’t have much between the floor and our skin. Looking over Daneath and Iesa, the magic I cast last night appeared to have made an impact. No open wounds remained on either human. Beepu handed out the last of the food that he had been carrying with him, and afterwards I showed everyone the barrel. “What? You just drank out of it?” Iesa said dubiously. “No, I created it.” Beepu looked at me, “Your magic is peculiar,” and he took a deep drink “But certainly effective. But we need to find a way out. Fresh water is good, but more food is in order. And more light!” “Well this temple can’t be that big,” Daneath said finishing buckling on the chain armor again. “We just need to avoid any more trouble. Iesa, help me move this out of the way.” And then the pair pulled the crate away from the door. “Hey…I thought I tore this…” Iesa said looking at his breeches. “I was bored last night,” I said. He patted himself down, like he was trying to see if I bobbed him. Satisfied that everything was there he muttered “Well, what can’t you do?” “Right now, food, and having a clear idea how to get out of here.” “Well, as I recall Foggle found a passage past the open door at the end of the hall, and some doors beyond. Might as well start there.” “Sounds like a plan. Light me Myr,” Daneath said having hefted the shield back onto his arm. A quick flex, the warmth again and the light faded from Foggle, and once again, the shield would light our way. While I did this, Iesa listened again at the door, motioning us to remain quiet with his finger in front of his lips. “Sounds clear,” and with that he opened the door to the darkened hall. Before entering it, he knelt down to look at the floor. Frowning his eyes swept back and forth, until finally he noticed something in the dust. Not in the middle of the hall, but near the edges. Parallel to the walls in front of us, and the wall near us were sets of prints. They were in a rough line, with round imprints in the dirt. “Two track sets,” he said after a moment. “Must have been what you and I heard last night Myrai.” I shook my head. “No. That’s just a large single track.” “Wait no… “ and he looked again at the marks in the dust. His shoulders then sagged. “You’re right. It’s one big…spider I guess.” “That’s larger than most horses!” Daneath said. “Well let’s find a way out, before it finds us,” I said. Iesa took the lead, with Daneath right behind, followed by Beepu, Nestra, and myself playing the rear guard. We quietly made our way to the partially open door. Without touching it, Iesa was easily able to move into the hall, with Daneath shining a light. We all followed and found ourselves in a short hallway that ended just to our right, with a door in front of us, and a second one at the end of the hall on the far wall. To the left, the hall opened into a larger room, covered in webbing. With the barest sound of beating wings, Foggle flew into the darkened room. Iesa had turned his attention down the short end of the hall when he exclaimed, “Well, who do have here?” Daneath turned his shield towards Iesa, and what was once a shadowy hall with nearly formless shapes, now was lit with a very clear shape of a body on the ground. Whoever it was, it seemed to meet an untimely end appearing to have fallen suddenly forward onto the stone floor, with an arm extended forward towards the wall. Its robe had nearly rotted away into dust, and the remains of its skin pulled taut against the bones of his face in the dry air. It still had the hairs of a moustache and beard attached. Iesa was kneeling next to it, prodding the form with his sword. “He was stabbed in the back it appears…a long time ago. And before the spiders…no webs over him.” “They must have come later,” Daneath said. “Well…Foggle does not see anything but more webs and dusty furnishings. It winds a bit though.” “Let’s check the doors here then,” and Daneath opened the door to the first room. The door made little sound, even though the hinges were dusty with disuse. Soon his shield revealed a sparse room, with the remains of some beds, and some open chests. The dust was thick here, and there were again no large spider webs in the room; just smaller cobwebs from normal spiders. Daneath then moved to the other door and opened that one, it also making little sound. “Another resting chamber.” “But that chest is closed…let me look at it!” and Iesa darted inside. Meanwhile, in the darkened hall, I could see well enough. I moved past the nervous Nestra, and the distracted Beepu and knelt by the body. I placed a hand on its back and said a quick prayer: [I][CENTER]You are never alone, in life or death, May Death grant you peace. [/CENTER] [/I] Daneath looked at me, as he pointed his shield into the room and nodded simply. But as he looked at the corpse his eyes furrowed. His head turned back and forth from between the outstretched arm, and the wall. “What was he reaching for? It looks like he tried to move after he was struck down.” He kept looking at the wall, undecidedly. “Finish up in there, I need the light.” “Done! Why? What did you find?” Daneath lit the wall up with the shield. It looked unremarkable. A finished grey piece of stone. “I don’t know. Something?” Iesa moved to the wall, and then looked at the corpse. Frowning, he traced his hands over the wall just below shoulder height. He then stopped, and then leaned close to the wall, with his cheek barely brushing the surface. He then pursed his lips and blew a steady stream of air. As he blew, a small cloud of dust appeared…as did a thin straight crack in the wall. He continued blowing, and several puffs later he was rewarded with the outline of a square, one hand high and one hand wide. “That’s subtle,” I said impressed with the find. “This is strange.” Beepu spoke up. “There is not an exit anywhere this direction. A bunch of desks and …a …I think I’ll have Foggle get…that!” We looked at each other. “No exit…I bet this might open something.” Iesa said. “Might as well,” Daneath said. “I really don’t want to back down to those Troglodytes if I don’t have to.” Iesa nodded and pushed the square stone. It scraped the nearby stone softly, and he kept pushing until we all heard an audible click. Then we heard a loud scraping sound, coming from the hallway we were in before. I moved over to look down it, and saw a door pivot outwards directly across from the storeroom that we had been sleeping in. It was even louder in the hall, as stone ground against stone as the door scraped itself open. This got Beepu’s attention, “What is that racket?” and his eyes focused on the group again, and finally at Iesa. “What did you do?” “He opened a door,” I said simply and I pointed. We moved toward the still scraping door. It was now open at a right angle from the wall and was still opening. Shining down the opening, the shield revealed a long hallway, which turned to the left. “That’s promising.” Iesa said, and he started to move down the hall. The rest of stood in the hall, and I was looking first towards the doorway we had just come from, and then I looked towards the hall leading back to the dry well. I was about to turn my head again, when I saw something move. It was at the edge of my vision, but I saw…eyes. Eyes that had caught the light leaving the edge of the shield. Four…no eight glittering black orbs facing down the hall. And they were starting to move towards us. “We have a problem…Move!” I said in a loud whisper. Nestra just ran forward. Beepu turned to look down the hall, and I saw his eyes widen, and he took off down the hall shouting, “Big spider! Big Spider!” I moved into the hall and Daneath backed into it with his shield in front of him. We both stood there a second, and we started looking at the side of the wall, looking for another trigger. We were looking at each other with wild eyes seeing nothing. “Iesa!” we both shouted. “Do you see a switch or something?” “What…no. I can’t see, bring the shield here!” “That’s not happening,” Daneath shouted. I felt the rush of air go by me, as Foggle flew over my head and almost got a face full of a leather satchel in the process. “Sodding…trust me Daneath.” I flexed and shifted the light to the satchel as it flew by. I could see Beepu’s face light up suddenly, at first perplexed and then nodding vigorously. “Light is here, Iesa” and grabbing the satchel he moved around the corner, with Nestra in tow. Daneath was breathing heavily as I stood next to him, his arm poised to strike. “You know I can’t see right?” “I’ll be your eyes, I’m not leaving.” The spider was moving cautiously, but it was getting closer as the soft sounds in the hall grew ever so louder. I quickly peeked around the corner and with my vision saw it was half-way down the hall. It was slow and patient, certain we weren’t going anywhere. “Iesa! Finding a switch would be good about now!” I shouted down the hall. “I’m looking!” Suddenly the spider scuttled sideways and was now in front of the open doorway. “Swing sword…BLOCK!” I shouted, while keeping one hand on Daneath’s back, so he knew where I was. He swung blindly with the sword, but the shield made solid contact with the forelegs of the spider batting it away. The spider was being cautious seeking its prey and it backed off. I quickly cast a bolt of energy at it, and the purple blast shot over the monstrosity, impacting the wall. The flash was enough for Daneath to get a glimpse of his opponent and he swung again, knocking back a leg against raising his shield in time to prevent the spider from getting a hold of either of us. Then, we heard the sudden scraping of the door, and the distant shout of “Found it!” from Iesa. The spider reacted to the loud noise and backed off from the closing doorway. It made no vocalization or sound beyond the scraping of its furred legs on the walls. If it was angry or frustrated it wasn’t clear. But it was unwilling to move towards the closing door. It backed off, moving backwards to the well room still facing us. The door slowly shut in front of us, but I still spoke to Daneath acting as his sight. “It’s closed, we’re good.” He nodded and turning around we could see the distant light from around the corner. Squinting a moment he spoke, “Well um…is the path ..” “I’ll lead you for a bit…I don’t see anything that you would trip you.” “Must be nice to able to see like that.” I smile briefly, “It has its moments…still prefer real light. Come on.” In a moment, I guided the large man down the hall and together we turned the corner where the rest stood looking at us. “Well, glad you held the door,” Iesa said panting. “It’s a good thing it didn’t know I couldn’t see. But a sword swinging blindly can look impressive I suppose,” Daneath responded. “Can’t you make more of those lights?” Iesa asked. Shaking my head, “No…only one at a time.” “What about you Beepu?” “Clearly he can’t” I said. “How would you know?!” Beepu glared at me and started to waggle his finger at me. “Because you would have done it already.” Beepu stopped mid waggle and shut his mouth frowning. Finally, he said, “Good point. And correct.” I finally looked past the others and saw that there was another doorway open in front of us, revealing a room. “Anything inside there?” “No, No. Foggle just did a fly by, and nothing appears to be in the room.” “Well, that’s good. Shall we?” said Iesa. Iesa then strode forward into the room, and suddenly there was a flash of light. [B]Session notes: [/B]Light is a hassle. I was the only source, and course no torches or even a lantern to share. I’m pretty sure looking back at the notes, the we probably ignored the rules on light, until it was important. Like the spider. A lot of this was counter to most of the players experience, as the DM mentioned that the last several games all had races that could see in the dark. He also mentioned that there was always an elf, which made watches a bit more work. That also highlighted that we didn’t share any language other than common. I don’t think that any of us spoke a language that we shared with another party member. That also rarely came up, but it did mean that we didn’t have a good way to share things privately…until later. So why the fear of the spider? It was a CR 1 monster, and honestly, we felt “Fragile.” This was intended to be a gritty campaign, and while I managed to survive death once, no one want to repeat that. More importantly, we had it in our heads that the “weakest” person was Nestra. And if Nestra died, we would all be up the creek. 1433 [/QUOTE]
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