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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Plane Sailing" data-source="post: 470150" data-attributes="member: 114">After a short discussion, where the voice promises to let the people go if the intruders leave, the heroes refuse to accept the offer. They step forwards into the barn, to get a closer look at the eyes glinting between the rafters - and suddenly sticky webs are cast down across each of them!None of them can get out the webs quickly, and three foul-smelling ettercaps slide down web strands and dart forward, each biting one of the heroes and then quickly retreating away, to watch their poison get to work. Trajan is favoured by Asura, and quickly throws off the poison, but Anne-Marie suffers a little. Zeph flies in and forms a little whirlwind around Arilyn, helping her to free herself from the clinging strands, and she ducks back out of the barn.The ettercaps fling more webs over Trajan and Anne-Marie, and a horrible sliding, gasping, slithering sound is heard from up above.“Now you are forrrrrr it!” cackles one of the creatures. “Now Motherrrrrrr comes!”A charnel stench flows over them, and a vast black bulk becomes visible at the edge of the hayloft. Slowly it’s huge, sagging bulk is lowered over the edge on a web strand like a cable. Eight glittering red eyes take in the scene before it lunges forward and bites Anne-Marie. Poison like fire courses through her veins and she finds that she is losing all control of her muscles.Arilyn invokes one of her prepared spells, launching her electrical static bolt spells at the Ettercaps, encouraging them to retreat while Trajan rips Anne-Marie free from the webs that ensnared him and his companion.Miraculously the monsters hold back, retiring back into their loft amongst the suspended parcels of their living larder, and the heroes have a chance to fall back and plan.Their first objective must be rescue of the farmers and Jard; that is going to be much harder with Anne-Marie out of action (since she is currently so weak from the poison that she finds it difficult to hold her rapier, much less fight with it).They decide to attempt to smoke out the ettercaps. Arilyn casts a fly spell on herself and on Trajan. Then they creep down to the front of the barn and throw torches inside. The straw which litters the floor of the barn catches fire quickly, and they hear a  chittering sound, which is presumably the creatures conversing with one another. Both of them then fly around to the other end of the barn, and Trajan chops through the silky covering which bars one end of the hay loft closed. They can hear the sound of splintering wood from the other end of the barn, but proceed with their plan. As soon as the door is open Zeph scoots in and after a quick circuit informs them that the ettercaps have broken out the roof of the barn. Flames are roaring below, and smoke is starting to fill the barn. The wooden floor is illuminated by flickering light from between the boards, and it is very hot as Trajan and Arilyn fly in, quickly cutting down the human-sized cocoons and flying out again. They alight in the farm clearing, well away from trees, and watch as the barn blazes alongside the farmhouse which is also well on fire. They cut the victims free, and find Jard and the Farmer and his wife alive but paralysed by the creatures venom. Anne-Marie staggers across to help them as they carry their unconcious cargo back to the Long Bottle.(darn it, I lost my notes and with this being a couple of months old now I couldn't remember the details - hence a rather sketchy portrayal of these events)Cheers</blockquote>

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