Munch Drags a Spider
H02: The Felwood
It's Korday, Daeshen 06 11:32:54 1020. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and slack. Chilling rain pours from thick grey clouds, driven by a furious northeast wind.
It's a nasty day, even by the standards of the Felwood. A cold rain pours down, driven by sharp bursts of wind, which for some reason smells vaugely of old socks. Which is odd, even around here. The metal man of Munch doesn't seem to mind, but he doesn't seem to have a nose either. The rain also doesn't bother him much as he trudges though the muck towards the city, dragging a large corpse behind him. Which isn't too unusual for anyone who knows the golem.
As they pass through the blackened forest, Ga'Elian steps out and waves. He holds his bow casually in one hand as he says, "Good hunting this day?" His griffon comes out into the open as well.
Stirling rides his sturdy Arvek horse through the wooded paths, rain plinking on the chrome armor that shields him from the worst of the weather. "Find your lunch?" he comments as he pulls up beside Munch.
Munch buzzes happily and waves to both before shaking his head, setting down the pair of legs. Five more legs drag behind the horse sized body of a large spider. It's best not to ponder too close the fate of the eigth leg. "Nah, it found me. Back tracked about a mile before I lost the trail, but it made a beeline for me across that distance. Used to happen all the time, spiders just throwing themselves at me, but has been a while. Wonder if maybe the new generation has grown big and doesn't know better, or something. Taking it to the Society, see if they can find anything unusual. Other than being one of the Fel spiders, that is."
Ga'Elian smirks and points off in the general direction of Alba's ranch, saying, "Have you consulted with the witch that cultivates the spiders of this wood? I'd expect that she could evaluate your specimen." He waves to the chrome-plated arvek.
Stirling looks down at the spider, grimacing before returning his gaze back at the road. "Maybe they are just growing smarter? The ones stupid enough to attack you are all dead by now." he comments wryly, nodding to acknowledge Ga'Elian. "The witch would likely know, do you eat the things in the Felwood?"
Munch blinks with a soft click. Blinks again. Blinks a third time. "...I had utterly forgotten about Alba. That is a good idea. And yeah, I've eaten all sorts of stuff from the Fel. Most of it is pretty gamey, but never had any real side effects."
Ga'Elian wrinkles his nose at the comment about side effects. He come forward to get a closer look at the spider. He say, "How widespread have you found their colony?"
Stirling shrugs "Your a wargolem, I wouldn't worry too much about it, nothing that cannot be fixed I am sure in any case. Perhaps you have killed most of them?" he offers as an explanation as to why more aren't showing up.
Munch shrugs. "Never really found a colony, just individuals. Maybe this is a straggler. Bigger than average, but not really tougher. I'm not bothered by the attacks themsevles, they're more annoying than dangerous, but was talkign with some druids the other day, the ones with the really good mushrooms, and they were talking aobut some sort of eco-balance thing? Like, if you wipe out all the spiders, the stuff the spiders eat get out of control and cause all sorts of trouble?"
Ga'Elian listens and says, "Yes, that sounds true enough, but I think the ecology of these woods hasn't been so fel for long. At least before Sandy ripped the sky open, maybe before that, I believe I'be heard that this forest was green and delightful. Mind you, I hadn't left my own home forest that long ago, so I don't know from first hand experience."
Yelrona steps out of the woods not too far from the others. She is soaking wet from the rain, but there are still traces of battle on her, blood and guts stuck in odd corners of her armor and boots. She seems reasonably hale and hearty, though. When she gets close enough to recognize Munch's cargo she laughs, at some private joke, and joins the others. "A trophy?" she asks Munch, curiously.
Stirling shrugs "If they are an issue, burning the nest out would be a good idea to solve the problem. A few fireballs would likely solve the problem. Just have to make sure you get it all." he comments from a top his horse. "Let me know if you want help."
Munch shrugs again. "Felwood has been like this as long as I remember, but that isn't long. Couple years, at least." He raises a hand in greeting to Yelrona, and shakes his head. "I don't do trophy's. Too hard to lug around. Specimen to examine." He nods to Stirling, and shugs. "Not sure it's one nest. Little ones, big ones, hunter type, web spinners, the funny looking ones with over sized fangs, they all seem to think I look delicious... even before I'm in sight."
Ga'Elian says, "I can't imagine why." He walks back to the griffon and hops neatly onto the saddle. Erithamiel approaches Yelrona and nods his feathery head at her.
Yelrona tilts her head to one side, surprised by Munch's comment. "Er... so, I apologize if this is an impolite question, but..." she is briefly distracted by Erithamiel, who gets a vigorous scritching of his head-feathers in greeting, "is any part of you actually edible? I mean, to something other than rust monsters?"
Munch buzzes in mild annoyance. "I am neither delicious nor nutritious. Most of me is pretty toxic, and several parts outright poisonous, at least to humanoids. You start getting into things like dragons and demons, all bets are off anyway." He ponders a moment. "Pretty sure someone told me demons don't need to eat, they just like the sensation of chewing flesh."
Ga'Elian nods at Munch's response. He agrees, "Yes, Munch. I rather think of you as happily devouring the food chain, as if it were a big spahgetti noodle."
"Demons eat, I think, but they don't need to eat flesh... their diet is more spiritual, as I understand it. She starts Mending tears in her garb, and as her chewed-up boots start knitting together she looks at Elian with sudden inspiration. "Oh, hey, that reminds me -- I was thinking of getting a pair of boots enchanted with a Haste spell... there are fewer things I need to run away from these days, but it would still come in _very_ handy, especially if the Felwood is getting overrun with giant insects, which seems to be the case. Can you do that?"
Munch nods. "Like to think of myself as an Apex Predator. Used to just eat whatever, sorta use the legend of the tarrasque as a role model, but I'm a little more picky these days. Mostly for that whole eco-balance thing, and avoiding lynch mobs." He nods to Yelrona. "Those are a good thing to have. I had my foot bones enchanted with something real similar, though i'm almost never running -away- from something. Reminds me though, what did you run across to get all ripped up?"
Ga'Elian nods, "Sure, Rona. I'll set you right up. It shouldn't take even two weeks." Then to Munch, he says, "Why does your aspiration to follow the Tarrasque's model surprise me? Anybody else? Not so much, but I can see it with you." He chuckles, then adds, "I might even have to start calling you Tarra once in a while."
"Excellent!" Rona reaches into her bag to pull out a rather large pouch filled with platinum and gems. "I think this should cover it," she says, handing it over to the ranger... "if not, just let me know. And... hm?" she replies distractedly to Munch's question, then "Oh! Well, funny you should ask... giant wasps, I think they were. Or at least they looked like wasps, and they were about the size of a condor... though also they were purple, and one of them had a pair of tentacles like a squid's, so I don't really know. I've never seen anything quite like that, but this _is_ the Felwood, so..." she shrugs. "So between us I think we are keeping the eco-balance, well, balanced. Lucky for me, even giant wasps' nests are flammable."
Munch waves vaguely. "Nah, the tarrasque is cool and all, but pretty much just rumor and ledgend. -I- am very real." He nods to Yelrona. "Wasps I've ran across, never really had problems with them, just went our seperate ways. Have seen ones with purple markings, but tentacles is new. And I'm more into acid than fire." As the green scales might suggest.
Ga'Elian takes the moneybag and slips it into his haversack. He says, "Wasps make reasonable target practice. And the big ones are spicy. I think some of the chili at the Ox uses giant wasp flesh. Now I bet such spiders as this would manage to control the wasp population somewhat."
Yelrona shrugs. "They're more of a challenge for some of us than others... especially in bulk. I've never eaten one, though. That I know of, anyway."
Munch nods, and idly thumps the very wet spider corpse. "Not this one. Is a Hunter Type. Little faster, little tougher, little nastier fangs, but doesn't really do the whole web thing. I mean, they make webs, but just live in them, don't use them to trap prey. Not typically. I guess it might go after a wasp, but think deer and horses are more it's speed. And whatever humanoid happens to be walking past, of course."
Ga'Elian shrugs and says, "Ah, the friendly sort. So, you want to have it checked out to determine whether there is anything unusual about this one? What if there is?"
Yelrona listens with interest. "Alba might have some suggestions," she observes. "Though she might take exception to you killing it."
Munch shrugs. "I've got two skill sets; Break Things and Hurt People. This research stuff I'm making up as I go. But yeah, gonna try to talk to Alba, see if that clarifies anything. If not... eh, not like a few spiders comming at me is really dangerous or anything. Even the big ones like this just sorta bump into my armor."
Ga'Elian says, "Well, anyway, the ranch is a whole lot closer than the Society, plus you'd likely raise the hackles of everyone you passed on your way there... including the guards at the City gates.
"You think so?" Rona asks Elian, surprised. "I would have thought they'd pretty much gotten used to everything by now."
Munch nods, and buzzes cheerfully. "Those guys are fun to mess with. The Captains or whatever in charge have been around, but the recruits that get stuck standing at attention all day are pretty green. But yeah, the ranch seems the best choice. I should get headed. Spider corpse don't hold together real long, and i doubt the rain is doing it any favors."
Ga'Elian comments, "Folks in Alexandria are used to seeing a bunch of things, for sure, but He Who Eats dragging a horse-sized spider? I think that would still freak a bunch of folks out." He waves to Munch.
Yelrona waves to Munch as he heads off, spiders in tow. "I should probably get in out of the rain myself," she observes. "I'll need to rest before I'm any use patrolling the