Arachnophobia!

Just outside the city is a small home that's clearly been abandoned for some time. It's still standing at least, and as you approach it you'll notice that it's there was a garden at some point which has grown up and over part of the house. There's a desolate air around the place, the kind of vibe that only long-abandoned places get. All in all it's quite creepy and the information about some kind of spider infestation doesn't make it appear any more welcoming.

The group is presumably moving along together, and Dax is actually the shortest person here. And she's drinking a little bit of ale, and then huffing, she squints up ahead to see the building. "Up tere, looks like." Mistress of the obvious as she keeps trudging along toward the house. "So, ya thinkin' these spiders are like wha'... this big?" She spreads her hands to about a foot of width, "Tha' be some pretty fierce sized spiders, if'n ya ask me. Jus' stomp'em." And she kicks out her foot for practice against the ground, and then chuckles, shaking her head. One last motion slings her wineskin over her shoulders.

Regular work has been... Nice. There is little pressure to do more than pick up this heavy thing, and put it there. For someone with too much on her mind most days, the simple exertion of physical labor is practically a vacation of itself.

But the restlessness has been gnawing, and with her Clan-kin in hiding, perhaps it's time to do more to sharpen mind and eye. .....And for some reason, confronting the horror of a spider infestation actually seemed like a good idea at the time. Now? Not so much.

"Gold they pay for othersss to ssslay them," Arzaneth rumbles, red eyes turned suspiciously up to the house. "I think, perhapsss, that if we are lucky they will only be the sssize of a large dog."

"Could you not talk about the spiders and their size? I'm already having enough time not running away screaming as it is.." pipes up Halana, who does not, at all, look happy to be out here doing this little mission. Spiders, suck. She exhales rather deeply and looks up at the house herself, and stops for a moment. Then, Arzaneth, whose she's only just met has to go and talk about spiders the size of a dogs. There's a very obvious and loud exhale from halana, followed by some obvious shaking before she takes a rather large inhale, and tosses out a second rahter lengthy exhale. "So, you two do smashing of spiders and I'll just stand over there" and she points at some random tree a few HUNDRED feet away, cause eff spiders, "and cast spells. Sound good?"

Dax scrunching up her face to the others, the human redhead just sort of shakes her head, hard enough that her tight braids bounce about her armor and make noise. "Fer fucks sake. Spiders. They ain't gettin' the size o' dogs. She's jus' makin' fun o'ya." That mostly said to Hala, as she offers over her wineskin, "Fer courage, if yer needin'." And if Hala doesn't take it she'll just sling it back over, "Ya want me ta go in first then, so I don't 'ave ta smell ta pissin'?" Chuckling at that she's more than happy to go first. The unperceptive, slightly drunk Human.

The inside of the house suggests that the rumors about spiders of giant size might not be wholly inaccurate. There are spider webs all over the inside. They cover the walls, coat the tables and chairs that were left behind. Even the floor is coated with a thin layer of webbing while the ceiling drapes cobwebs downward from overhead. There is no sign as of yet of the spiders themselves, but the webs certainly do paint a picture.

Receiving the commentary of her associates with nothing but a long, slow sigh pushed through her nose, Arzaneth lumbers into the house, slipping to one side to clear the doorway. Her head swings left and right, tail slithering among the dusty webbing. "Saaah... how long ago, wass the bill posssted?"

So much for her armor, weapon, and shield, this Hearthguard isn't doing all that hot. She shoots a glare at Dax, "Don't, do that. I've been through a lot alright?" she snaps, quite literally annoyed. Once Arz and Dax are inside, she moves with them, hand on her blade should she need it.

Shuffling through her pouch of coin, Dax pulls out the one stone that's actually in there and she taps it twice and a torch level of light comes from it. She then lets it go and the magic of the stone has it starting to float around her moving about with her person as she walks forward. "Alright, there gonna be a lotta these crawlin' bugs. So, watch yer step'n be ready fer them." There's a shrug of her shoulders to the question, "Ain't catch a time, just 'eard they were needin' help." In response to Hala, Dax shakes her head a little more, "Ta weak won't make it 'ere..."

GAME: Halanaestra casts Light. Caster Level: 4 DC: 13

Dax ohs, and continues to head further into the house... deeper into the web of mazes.

GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+8: (10)+8: 18
GAME: Arzaneth rolls perception: (19)+9: 28
GAME: Halanaestra rolls perception: (20)+7: 27
GAME: Dax rolls perception: (8)+0: 8

As you go downstairs you'll notice that the webbing is becoming thicker and thicker. Now it is as though you are walking through a stairway of webs. The basement is covered in them so thickly that it's clear that this is a nest of some kind. However there's nothing immediately apparent... Until you look up. And there hanging above you is the biggest spider you have ever seen. It takes up the whole ceiling with its mass. It is a dark brown color with orange stripes, and venom glistens on it's massive fangs. The massive spider stares down at you with glittering eyes.

".....*Much* bigger than a dog," Arzaneth notes, knuckles crackling as she flexes her clawed hands.

So, apparently the former slave cleric of charn has never seen a spider, OH MY EFFINF GAWD WHAT IS THAT?!, big before. She stops dead in her tracks, and to no one's surprise at all, there's suddenly a very very girly and very very sudden, scream. ALso, who knew elves could curse like sailors? Cause like, "^^^ A**&!! (*(*&^!@!@"

Swinging her claws to cut through webs, keeping her arms in front of her face. "Fer fucks sake these webs are thick." Dax complains as she's just clodding down the stairs, making noise, stomping on webs, chopping things up. And she doesn't look up, she looks a little over her shoulder, "Ain't bigg'rn a dog, yer jus' scarin' the pretty one." She waves her hand dismissively in the direction of Halanaestra, "Now this one time on ta Serenade, there was some rats ta size o' dogs..." She chuckles with a bit of a smile.

GAME: Halanaestra casts Bless. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14

The spider seems surprised by Halana's scream and skitters backwards a few steps before making an odd chittering noise. Then it... speaks. "What are you doing in my house?!?" It's voice is high and vaguely odd sounding. Perhaps it's the fact that there's a /voice/ coming from the /spider/.

It talks. ....It.... *talks.* For a moment, the looming Sith hunches even lower, crest rising as she stares up at the tremendous creature. "....Your housssse," she repeats, nerves making her sibilants all the more drawn-out. "....This doesss not ssssseem to ussss, a housssse a ssssspider would build."

Halana considers that things /may/ go sideways here, and in a stroke of some level of courage, calls forth ALthea's Blessing in a very small prayer, all done whilst clutching her pendant. In a second show of courage, she looks to the spider, "I, uh, who are you?" she asks of it, because it does, talk, so, it has a personality maybe? "We" and she mentions to everyone, "were sent here to, well, deal with an infestation. Can you tell us why you're here?"

Dax turns around when there's a voice, and she's looking at the floor level, and then notices the skittering spider from all the screaming. And she blinks backing up a few quick steps and putting up those long dire wolf claws she calls weapons, and she is putting them in front of her face. "Kill it?" She questions glancing back to the others, and then looks up at the spider, "It's a witch fer sure. They change shape... careful not ta look it in ta eyes." Dax holds up one of her arms to help block any evil eye coming her way.

GAME: Halanaestra rolls diplomacy: (12)+7: 19
GAME: Halanaestra rolls diplomacy: (12)+7: 19
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+1: (15)+1: 16

The spider stays where it is, eyeing them all at the same time with its many eyes. "We did not make it. We live in it. We live here!" The spider shakes itself a little and the webs sway from side to side. There's a low quiet chittering from further in the basement. "Infes'stat'tion." It says the word choppily as if it has never heard the word before. "Do you mean men? The men who came!" It seems angry now.

With combat not -- perhaps thankfully -- a definitive reality, Arzaneth slooooowly rises from her crouch. "...It knowss not what you ssspeak of," she rumbles to the cleric. "Better, perhapsss, to ask how it came to live here. When, if it knows what when isss."

GAME: Halanaestra rolls diplomacy: (14)+7: 21
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+1+4: (9)+1+4: 14

Halana's hands come up very slowly, "Hey, hey, calm down. You are a very different type of spider than any of us has ever met." She steps closer a little, "What men are you talking about? What did they do? You need to tell us what's going on, because I'm sure we'd all really rather not get in to a fight."

Dax watches as the others are starting to talk to the giant spider. And then when the spider rears back and chitters, Dax bares her teeth a bit and makes a small growling sound, though she's not moving till someone else tells her to attack. "Are we seriously talkin' ta giant spider?" And that is mostly quietly said to the other two with her. Despite Halanaestra moving forward, Dax stays mostly where she's at, at the front of the stairs by a few feet, ideally still in front.

"We live here for'rev'ver. Then men come. Leave big things. Come, come, come. I grow big!" The spider seems calmer now, though it's hard to tell since it doesn't have any distinguisable facial features. "We grow big!"

From across the room the webbing sways and four dog-sized spiders burst forth headed right toward you!

"NOT FOOD," Arzaneth roars as the smaller spiders lunge forth. "WE ARE NOT FOOD."

GAME: Halanaestra rolls weapon1: (10)+4: 14
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d8: (8): 8

Somehow, somewhere, someone taught Halana how to fight. So much so that her reaction is really actually quite on point. She reaches for her blade, draws it, and attacks a spider in one sweeping motion, which seems to connect with said spider.

GAME: Dax rolls weapon1+2: (9)+9+2: 20 GAME: Dax rolls 1d6+5: (3)+5: 8

As Hala runs up to attack the spiders, who would have thought? Of the group present, Dax, the lightly drunk aggressive fighter, Arz, the feisty monk, either of them would be more likely to break the peace. Instead, it was Halanaestra the golden child of Althea. "We... killin' now?" Dax questions, a little confused, as the elf moves up, but she's not one to back down from a fight so she moves forward to do much the same. Swinging her claws at the same spider that's approaching, and stabs right into it, wrenching her claws free and ichor and goop come out with her claws that she shakes off onto the floor.

"MY BABY!" Screams the spider and drops to the floor.

GAME: Halanaestra casts Summon Monster I. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (7)+3: 10
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (20)+3: 23
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (6)+3: 9
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d4+2: (3)+2: 5
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1+1: (2)+9+1: 12
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+1: (13)+9+1: 23
GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+5: (2)+5: 7

Halana's only attacking in self defense, because the other spiders jumped out at them. Being as there's several though, and she already has her blade in her hand, she instead chooses to help even the odds a little. She says another prayer, brings her spare hand to her divine focus, and with a flash of light a celestial eagle explodes into existence. The eagle itself, goes full tilt for one of the spiders, going at it with it's claws and beak.

How does the saying go? In for a copper, in for a gold? Now that one of the babies are dead, it's a fight. A full on brawl between giant spiders and their natural predators... adventurers. Moving forward as the priestess starts to say some prayer, Dax slices out, missing the second in line, but she crouch-spins and rakes with her left arm swinging out against the spider, leaving gashes, but not slaying this baby. Baby killers, that's what they've become!

GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+2: (2)+2: 4
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+2: (8)+2: 10
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+2: (2)+2: 4
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+2: (20)+2: 22
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+2: (13)+2: 15
GAME: Halanaestra rolls fort: (11)+5: 16
GAME: Razen rolls 1d6: (3): 3

An angry noise like rattling fills the air as the creatures lash out at those that attacked them. The attacks are mostly futile. The babies in particular hardly seem to do anything but flail. The mother however seems to know what /she's/ doing and manages to bite Halana on the shoulder; pumping venom into her body.

GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (7)+5+2+1: 15
GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (6)+5+2+1: 14
GAME: Arzaneth rolls 1d6+2: (4)+2: 6
GAME: Arzaneth rolls 1d6+2: (3)+2: 5
GAME: Halanaestra rolls weapon1: (5)+4: 9

For a moment, it seemed as though they wouldn't have to fight at all; the great spider seemed, if not friendly, then willing to treat. This is good, because *it's a spider the size of a room and just no.* It was Arzaneth's hope that perhaps a brief admonishment would keep the lesser creatures at bay, that they could continue to talk.

But a single fearful action has sent the entire course of the talks scattering to the breeze. Perhaps there is a lesson in this.

Holding back and biding her time, the great Sith seemed.... puzzled... to find that she was not considered a threat. Perhaps it was simply that she did not act first? Whatever the case, the moment the spider lunged for the Cleric, her own course was decided. The coiled spring loosed, and the Sith lunged forward to sink both of her hands wrist-deep into the mother spider's body. "....*No,*" she growls, yanking her hands free.

GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (4)+3: 7
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (19)+3: 22
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 2d4+4: (4)+4: 8
GAME: Dax rolls weapon1: (16)+9: 25
GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+1: (1)+9+1: 11 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Dax rolls damage1: aliased to 1D6+5: (4)+5: 9

Seeing the two ladies taking on the mother, so-to-speak, Dax stays with the eagle with the babies. Can't get surrounded. She moves forward a little bit of distance, raking across the back of the spider and leaving long trails of ichorish blood, but then when she goes to swing her left arm at it, she tips, off balance, she stumbles a few feet, and misses completely and utterly.

GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (1)+3: 4 (EPIC FAIL)

The young ones continue to flail at the Dax, emitting a high pitched screeching scream. The mother however is beyond rage, snapping wildly at Halana but missing her. She's the one emitting the chittering noise, and she lets loose an agonized wail. "MY BABIES. YOU PEOPLES ARE ALL THE SAME."

GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (2)+5+2+1: 10
GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (4)+5+2+1: 12

The flailing is making it difficult for Arzaneth's claws to gain enough purchase to strike, but the admonition sets her eyes to narrowing and her crest back. "Perhapsss we are," she says, struggling to find a good position to attack from. "We all are fearful of great thingss which may kill uss."

GAME: Halanaestra rolls weapon1: (7)+4: 11 GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (4)+3: 7 GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (9)+3: 12 GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (13)+3: 16 GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d4+2: (1)+2: 3 GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (17)+3: 20 GAME: Dax rolls weapon1+3: (10)+9+3: 22 GAME: Dax rolls weapon2+3: (10)+9+3: 22 GAME: Dax rolls damage1: aliased to 1D6+5: (1)+5: 6 GAME: Dax rolls damage2: aliased to 1D6+5: (1)+5: 6

Seeing as there's lots of conversation and such going on between the big giant horrible spider, and the other adventurers. Dax has been busy trying to get at all the little ones, and then decides. Finish her. Moving away from the young ones she just moves fast enough to avoid the bite from one of those spiders, and instead rakes both her claws against the big momma as she moves.

GAME: Halanaestra rolls fort: (1)+5: 6 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Razen rolls 1d2: (1): 1

The spiderlings flail about, but their mother lands another solid hit on Halana and again subjects her to its potent venom!

GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (4)+5+2+1: 12 GAME: Arzaneth rolls melee+2+1: (10)+5+2+1: 18 GAME: Arzaneth rolls 1d6+2: (4)+2: 6 GAME: Halanaestra casts Sanctuary. Caster Level: 4 DC: 14 GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+1: (15)+1: 16

If there was a chance of salvaging this mess, it's gone now. Thus, it's with a heavy heart that Arzaneth continues to go on the attack, claws lancing deep into the spider's side. At one point, she begins to speak an apology, and stops; the words would be hollow and meaningless, in this moment. Perhaps another.

GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (10)+3: 13
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (19)+3: 22
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d4+2: (3)+2: 5

Halana has nothing else to say, the spiders jumped out at them, and in her fear she attacked thinking they were attacking. It's all going horribly, horribly wrong and the type of person she is is not capable of dealing with it. Let alone the fact that she's being munched on by this thing in what is arguably self defense. The eagle, is still present and does it's thing, what little that counts for.

GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (1)+3: 4 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+3: (5)+3: 8

The spiders continue to attack, but they're so blinded by pain and rage that they hit nothing. The mother spider glares at Halana. "Why!?! WHY?"

"*Fear,*" Arzaneth says, shaking her leg as a baby spider tries to bite her. "It doesss not *pleassse* us to do thisss, we do not *want* to do thisss, and we would *stop* if we knew we were not in danger! The death of your babiesss... it *hurts,* and we would cause *no more* hurt. But we cannot ssssimply go, for there would be othersss after usss, and for thisss to ssceassse thisss cannot be your home any longer!"

GAME: Arzaneth rolls diplomacy: (5)+2: 7
GAME: Razen rolls 1d20+1: (11)+1: 12
GAME: Halanaestra rolls weapon1: (1)+4: 5 (EPIC FAIL)
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (14)+3: 17
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (14)+3: 17
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 1d20+3: (11)+3: 14
GAME: Halanaestra rolls 3d4+6: (6)+6: 12

It's, dead. A talking spider, that just wanted to defend its children. It's children, that no doubt weren't attacking, are also dying. It's also, entirely Halana's fault, all of it. So, the fight is now on Arz as Halana falls apart and breaks down after her eagle finishes up the job.

With their mother dead the remaining two babies flee out the way you came in, running as fast as their eight legs can carry them. As the mother spider dies you can hear her whispered words under Halana's tears. The whisper of... "whyyyyy".

As you look around the room you find several barrels marked with a mysterious Z with circles between the tines, and two dead men. One of whom is holding a map of Alexandria with one corner where there is a cave marked with an X.

You also find several dessicated baby spider corpses.

"We are ssssorry," The Sith rumbles, lowering herself to one knee and bowing her head. A moment later, she looks to the sobbing cleric, crest falling back as she just... observes Halana's grief for a moment. "....Cleric," she rumbles, finally. "Thisss isss not a thing that can be taken back. But. It isss a thing that may be learned from." Lifting her head, she looks about the room... then rises to her feet, lumbering toward the back of the basement. "...And it isss a story which may have only jussst begun," she says, stooping to pick up the map.

Halana just gives Arz a nod in response before she herself decides to just, leave the house and return to Alexandria.

-End-