Kiera's thoughts: Spiders

[marsden_online]

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There is some time left in the day. We go to see the mage Callisti, and elven woman whose charms and potions store is situated beside the town brothel. This week they have a 2-for-one sale on "Love Potions", I suspect this is a regular and profitable thing.

Lyam shuffles up to the counter, declares in front of all the other customers, that he is an unregistered mage, and asks for help maintaining this situation. Whoever said mages had to be intelligent made a mistake, being descended from a dragon obviously does not automatically confer common sense.

Fortunately Callisti seems to think all the others in the shop can be trusted, but she gives Lyam a verbal dressing down before showing us through in the back room and offering around drinks. On the topic of fake papers she offers us a deal - 500 gp is the going rate, or we can kill a paladin for her. This paladin has apparently been helping the mage underground in exchange for payoffs and other assistance, but has recently been made a captain of the Guard and knows too much.
This doesn't sound like very paladiny behaviour to me, nevertheless this doesn't sound like a very good deal. No-one else in the party seems to think so either, so we politely say we'll think about it. We could if we pooled out resources probably afford the 500 anyway.

I show her the notes in old eleven from our awakening, but she also does not know enough of the language read them. If I can transcribe them into a modern language she may be able to make sense of the contents.

Leaving we hesitate in the street for a bit before Meera determinedly heads into the brothel. Lythari follows her, obviously reluctant to let any of the party go off alone. This seems a reasonable precaution. We seem to have come to an agreement that we will stick together until we find out what was done to us and why, which sets my mind at ease.
Back at the inn I fail to learn anything interesting by listening to the locals, and eventually we all retire for the night. I am sharing a room with Lythari, who pulls the blanket off the other bed and curls up on the floor in front of the door. Midway through the night we both awaken from the same dream...

I am back in the cocoon, struggling to get out but unable to do so. I am completely covered in tattoos, to the very tips of my limbs. I fight, but the fleshy membrane refuses to give way. Outside there is a light, growing brighter and as it comes closer the tattoos are also glowing. Brighter and brighter until it is too painful to see.

We awaken and our tattoos are glowing. Hearing noises from the other rooms I check, and yes every one of us has had the same dream. Meera alone seems unbothered by it.
I theorise that it could be something to do with no longer being in the forest, or with someone scrying for us in the same way that the church can scry for registered mages, but these are just theories. Surprisingly I sleep deeply and dreamlessly for the remainder of the night.
After breakfast Branson, Finlay and Meera collect their new armor and we prepare to deal with the spiders in the basement. The hatch is open and Finlay activates a sunrod, sending the 3 dog-sized spiders at the bottom of the stairs scuttling out of the light. Lythari shifts into wolf form and leads the fighters into the cellar while I keep track of who gets bitten so I can quickly treat their wounds for poison after the fight.

In total 5 spiders are dispatched from the cellar with minimal harm to the group. After the fight a pure white cat emerges from behind a crate and darts upstairs.

A large crack leads into tunnels beneath the city - in good form we proceed following the marks of something being dragged through the tunnels. More spiders lurk and we face several before reaching the main lair. Branson and Lythari have taken the front and clean most of them up - Meera has taken the second rank and is frustrated by not being able to get close to the action. Lythari returns to human form briefly to cast a healing spell that affects the whole party, although as yet I have not been injured nor had to call on Her favour for anyone else.

We reach the main lair wherein lurks a spider of massive proportions - larger than a horse - in a web festooned with unsanctified corpses. There are animals, but also humans, elves, dwarves, goblins, orcs ... I act first and summon a weapon of the divine harvest to attack the beast. It is charged not only with divine power but also the power of my tattoo, and it strikes deeply* into the monster.

Branson and Finlay unlimber bows and fire arrows into the beast while Lythari (almost) dodges the mob of smaller spiders around the web to attack. Meera starts on the smaller ones as they mob us, two attack me and I am bitten, the venom takes hold immediately. A spell of sanctuary holds one off but does not prevent the other from biting a second time. Meanwhile the huge spider has bitten Lythari - he falls to the floor resuming human shape. I cannot tell if he lives, nor can I get to him.

Quickly though we are victorious. Finlay makes it to Lythari to activate the druid's heart tattoo (something we just become aware we can do, activate another's tattoo, but only the healing one). I pray for my own strength back, but receive the barest measure, and as the poison takes further hold am left barely able to stand. Some of the others are also noticeably weakened.

Lythari has survived, so I invoke the Lady's favour to return him to consciousness.

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* the first real spell the character has cast, Spiritual Weapon - Scythe, and it scores a critical on the first hit (x4 damage). Unfortunately the rest of my spells this fight had minimal effect.