Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Teneb" data-source="post: 1399759" data-attributes="member: 3572">Now that's a spider.    After making a sizable donation at the church, Oskar was resurrected.  We spent the next few days recovering from the assassination conspiracy, with much of the party doing some shopping.  The cleric and I worked together to create a pair of boots for the rather clumsy Gruck.  I find myself warming slightly to the other dwarf – perhaps I can temper his religious zeal somewhat.  I guess we’ll see.    Much interesting news reached us during our downtime: Greely publicly apologized for the treatment of his former fiancé.  His advisor Kaitin, who was supposedly responsible for the assassination attempts, was hanged.  We’re all fairly sure Greely was actually the one directing the attacks, but with no further proof that line of inquiry has hit a dead end.  I fear we haven’t heard the last of Greely Prime.  As for Ianthe, she has disappeared along with the sage Quentin.  Edward apparently knows where they are, but is tight-lipped.    A letter arrived one afternoon at the inn we were staying at, delivered by none other than Padris.  The lad was somewhat frightened of us due to our previous encounter with the boy.  Gruck growled at him a bit but was otherwise restrained.  The letter was from the mayor, inviting us to a banquet at his home in our honor.  We prepared ourselves and set out.    The meal was simple country fare, but it was plentiful and very tasty.  After the meal the mayor led us outside and presented us with six fine horses, a two-axle wagon, and two donkeys to pull it.  He apologized that this was all the village had to offer by way of reward for our assistance; to my mind it was quite generous.  [OOC: Gruck made some comment under his breath about gaining access to the village virgins, stating “Hey mayor, want a quarter-orc?”]    After spending a few more days resting and relaxing, my companions started putting out feelers for employment opportunities.  I’ve had a rollicking good time with these boys and decided I’d continue on wherever the winds took them.  Before too long we were approached by a merchant named Theraf, who bought us all drinks (prompting Sam and Gruck to immediately declare Theraf to by an upstanding citizen).      The job Theraf had in mind for us was straightforward: he wanted us to escort him to Meloral for the Festival of Life.  We readily agreed and prepared to set out the next morning.  With a heavy heart I bid Porkchop farewell; I know my friend would not be comfortable around city dwellers, and it appears my path goes through such urban areas for the foreseeable future.  I located a small boar heard in the area and spent some time getting Porkchop acquainted with them.  After promising to come back and visit, I joined my companions on the road to Meloral.    The trip was relatively short, but perilous.  Scouting ahead in raven form, I was able to warn my companions of an enormous spider hiding in the trees above the well-worn trail.  A vicious struggle ensued (the thing was nearly twenty feet across!).  Oskar beseeched Suldane for aid while I laid some enchantments upon Gruck and Sam.  The two of them were able to beat the creature into a messy pulp, but not before it speared Tarrick with its massive stinger, pumping the unlucky rogue full of venom and knocking him unconscious.  Searching the nearby area for the spider’s lair, we discovered an elf wrapped in spider silk, barely alive.  He was dressed in the garb of a Meloral town guard, wearing their distinctive facemask.  We cut him free and treated him as best we could.      Taking to the air again, I scouted once more while Sam likewise moved forward on the ground with the wagons coming along behind.  Ahead was a small clearing with a stone obelisk conspicuously located in the center.  Sam moved to investigate when I noticed a very large owlbear skulking along the edge of the clearing.  Such creatures are abominations of nature, and I immediately dropped a flamestrike on it.  Sam, thusly alerted to its presence, downed a potion of enlarge and engaged the beast in combat.  The two wrestled for a time, but Sam’s superior skill was no match for the brute.  In the creature’s defense, we noticed (after it was dead) that it had apparently been attacked recently; we surmised by the spider we killed earlier.    Oskar was able to decipher the script on the obelisk: “May those that spawn below forever remain below”.  Whatever the meaning, it didn’t sound good.    We reached Meloral without further incident, dropping off the injured guard with his colleagues.  It’s an elvish town, full of trees and platform houses.  Great tables were laid with all sorts of foods and delicacies, all free for the taking.  Theraf paid us the agreed upon sum for our escort, and everyone went their separate ways to enjoy the festival.  Early the next morning, Theraf woke screaming and ran from camp.  Sam pursued him, eventually bringing his unconscious form back to the town-center.  The rest of us investigated the merchant’s tent, finding nothing out of the ordinary that would cause him to flee.  He apparently had some sort of fit or dream, feeling as though he were being pursued and herded to a particular part of the forest.  We decided (being heroes and all) to investigate the direction in which Theraf fled.  After a brief excursion we discovered another of the stone obelisks.  Ominously, this one was tipped over, revealing a chasm in the earth.  With a minimum of investigation, we were assaulted by what appeared to be human heads with bat-wings from within the hole.  They put up a horrible dirge, spooking all of us.  We were resolute, however, and slew the creatures with a minimum of difficulty.  It’s strange; peering down the hole I feel a sense of dread, but also a feeling of……home.</blockquote>

Verification