Year 2948: Putting down roots

[Vladim]

Nori begrudgingly follows after his companions as they decide to follow the river-maiden deeper into the woods. Shaking his head, he brings up the rear of the group, jogging behind them to catch up and make sure he is not left behind. Coming to a slow stroll after the group stops in the clearing, apparently having lost the trail of the river-maiden, and then seeing the Woodman with his bow at the ready, those about Nori may hear his hands tighten about the handle of his axe, his palms making the wood sing slightly as skin rubs against worn wood. Gritting his teeth, the dwarf begins to look in the direction the Woodman pointed, his eyes narrow to try and make out what has his attention… and worry.

Catching glimpse of the river-maiden only moments before a large spider attempts to ensare her, Nori jerks his head back slightly as he notices the horde of Mirkwood creatures. At first, there’s confusion – why are such massive specimens here of all places? While the woods were certainly far from safe, they were cleared out to the point such beasts should not hunt nor make their home here. But the confusion soon gives way to anger and the dwarf takes a few quiet steps forward to get even with the vanguard of the fellowship. He doesn’t seem compelled to charge into battle, but seems quite ready to bury his axe in a thorax if needed. For the most part, he seems patient – letting a boiling rage build.

[Vladim]

"What are those creatures ? Spiders are supposed to be much smaller ! After that monstruous moving tree, we now have giant spiders. Forest are definitely not for dwarves !"
Now Fundor takes his sword in hand, he's ready to go to fight.

[Vladim]

You want us to help this man, Duskwater? So be it. Gramtyng did not hesitate in drawing his bow, seeing how the majority of his companions didnt seem to want to leave these skittering maggots prowl unhindered. "My arrows, Belgo." The horselord stretched his hand out, the squire passing two arrows into his open palm. Settling one foot on a stone, he aimed and fired: once, then twice, but both arrows missed their mark. Not so with Ingi's, however, and the bard mentally congratulated the Lakeman while cursing his own clumsiness. "Be sure to observe the fight, and keep your wits about you." He nodded to Belgo, who gulped, pulling out his own sword. Gramtyng didnt think further about what to do: He needed to be somewhere where he could help the most, and that was in the middle of battle! With a battlecry of Rohan, he charged at the wounded Great Spider, sword in one hand, shield in the other.

[Vladim]

Seeing the fellowship has crossed the point of no return by letting arrows fly, Nori starts to bend his knees a bit - preparing himself for the battle that is to take place. The arrows will certainly harm the spiders, but they will likely not kill them and will certainly attract their attention. At that point, arrows may need to give way to steel that can be aimed in more tried and true fashion.

When Gramtyng hurls himself forward with shield and sword, Nori soon follows after, letting out a bellowing shout to cheer on his comrade and bolster his own vigor. Raising his axe up over his right shoulder, the rust haired dwarf charges into battle, heading for the biggest, open target he can find - as is his bold (maybe even arrogant) nature. Drawing the axe up high, he brings it down on the spider with as much strength as he can muster, hoping to bury it deep into the creature's face and make this fight a quick and one-sided affair.

[Vladim]

This the first time that Fundor fights a giant spider, that's unusual for him and even if his first attack is a hit, still he feels unsure of what tactic to use against such creature with many legs, fang and sting. That's why he keeps the same tactic of attacking the attercop while not taking too much risk.

[chilliness coming from his failed Valour roll]
[Open stance]

[Vladim]

Ingi looks about the company and sees all ready to attack. Taking this as his que he loosens two arrows from his bow while the spiders remain unaware of their presence and thus more vulnerable to attack. While the first flies true, the second fall short of his mark. Exclaiming quietly under his breath Ingi becomes aware of his quickening heartbeat and notes to himself that to loosen arrows in sport is a very different occupation than to loosen them while ones friends and ones person is in danger. Refocusing his mind back to the skirmish at had he notices Idunn, in combat with a spider but also within its range. Thinking quickly he lets another arrow fly, and with luck it is true to its target.

[Vladim]

Opening volleys and Round 1 summary

The arrows flew through the foliage, some striking their intended targets, others missing. But before the companions had a chance to launch more of them, the spiders were upon them. Idunn charged against one of the largest spiders, striking it with her spear. It recoiled, lifted its bloated body on its hindlegs, and prepared to retaliate, but a well-aimed arrow from Ingi struck it down. Quickly, another took its place, ensnaring the huntress in thick webbing.

Upon seeing the Great Spider slain, the remaining spiders hissed at the companions, making threatening sounds in their strange tongue.

 

Nori only

To Nori's great surprise, he discovers that he can understand the spider-speech, even though this is the first Great Spider that he has ever encountered. The spider seems to be threatening the companions, proclaiming that this forest is their hunting ground, and that, having blundered here, they are fair game. Judging from the lack of a reaction from his companions, Nori can tell that only he can understand what the spider is saying.

 

Fighting by Idunn, Nori and Gramtyng did not fare much better: they, too, were ensnared in spider-webs, and now the great spiders were furiously attempting to sting them and poison them. So far, they had failed, for the two companions were well-armoured, but their failure made them even angrier.

A smaller spider was attacking Fundor, but it posed a lesser danger, and the stout dwarf was managing to keep it at bay with its sword. As for Ingi, he sought a new target, but before he had time to unleash another arrow, an attercop came forth with a great leap, attempting to trap him in silky spider-web. Its reckless attack did not endanger the Lake-Man, but before he could thank his luck, his gaze met with that of the great spider. Although Nori kept it at bay, the creature seemed unfazed, and its cold, lifeless eyes were now fully upon Ingi, as if trying to entrap him in some spell.

'Fire!' cried the Woodman hunter. 'They fear fire, and they are weaker in the light!' But as soon as he had spoken these words, the attercop that had attacked Ingi tried to leap on him with alarming agility. The hunter, forced to abandon his plan, drew a long knife and prepared to defend himself.

 

OOC

Round 1 results summary:

1. All companions must pass a Valour check at TN 16. If they fail, they cannot spend Hope in this fight.
2. Ingi must pass a Wisdom check at TN 14. If he fails, he cannot attack Great Spiders (Attercops are still ok).
3. Idunn, Gram and Nori are ensnared. They cannot switch stances and their parry modifiers are halved (round up). They can escape the webs by giving up their attack and passing an Athletics check (TN 14 for Gram and Nori, or 13 for Idunn). Or they can keep on attacking their current target. Or they can be cut free by another companion using an edged weapon (TN 13 or 14).
4. Gram is stung for -4 Endurance.
5. Nori is stung for -4 Endurance; in addition, he must pass a protection check (TN 14) to avoid becoming injured.
6. Characters in Defensive stance can use the 'Protect companion' task on the Woodman hunter by spending 1 point of Hope. If they do so, they take the attack by Attercop 3, but they allow the Woodman to light a torch.
7. Alternatively, unengaged companions can attempt to light a torch themselves, by spending their turn to make a successful Craft (TN 14) check.

Companion stances and statuses:
Fundor - Open - engaged with Attercop 1
Idunn - Open (cannot change) – Webbed – Engaged with Attercop 2
Ingi – Rearward – unengaged
Gram - Forward (cannot change) – Webbed - engaged with Great Spider 1
Nori - Open (cannot change) – Webbed - engaged with Great Spider 3

Spider statuses:
Great Spider 1: Damage taken – 12 – Hate used: 1
Great Spider 3: Damage taken – 7 – Hate used: 1
Attercop 1: Damage taken - 5
Attercop 2: No damage taken - Engaged with Idunn (Weary because of hound) - killed in round 2
Attercop 3: No damage taken – Hate used 2 (Weary) - Engaged with Woodman hunter

[Vladim]

Idunn struggled to rid herself of the webbing, but in vain. The strange hissing of the great spider send shivers down her spine, but trapped as she was, she could do little but press on. As the attercop launched itself against her, she thrust her spear forward, slaying the creature in one stroke.

Overcoming her initial shock, she looked around to see her companions struggling against the larger arachnids. Quickly, she set to freeing herself from the webs as quickly as possible, so as to take the side of her comrades.

[Vladim]

Round 2

Player actions:
_Idunn (Open, Ensnared, cannot spend Hope) kills attercop 2
_Ingi (Rearward, cannot spend Hope, cannot attack Great spiders) kills attercop 3
_Woodman lights torch, denying Great spiders their 'denizen of the dark' ability
_Ghorin (Open, cannot spend Hope) hits Attercop 1 for 5 damage
_Nori (Open, cannot spend Hope) avoids a wound and breaks free of the webs.
_Gramtyng (Forward, Ensnared) hits Great Spider 1 for 10 damage, and restores 2 endurance to himself and Nori.

Spider actions:
_Attercop 1 attacks Fundor, fails, is killed by an arrow from Woodman (Gandalf rune)
_Great Spider 1 attempts called shot on Gramtyng, fails
_Great Spider 3 attempts to ensnare Nori, succeeds

Remaining enemies:
Great Spider 1: Damage taken – 22 – Hate used: 1
Great Spider 3: Damage taken – 7 – Hate used: 1

Please correct me if I've done anything wrong!

[Vladim]

Another arrow whistled through the woods, burying tip, shaft and fletching into the attercop. The creature was slain instantly, and the woodsman turned to see Ingi holding his long-bow, and thanked him with a quiet nod. Then, he quickly lit his torch, and threw it towards the spiders.

The spiders paused for a moment, clearly fearful of the torch, unused to such bright light as they were. But it was only a momentary respite; soon they redoubled their efforts, clawing and stinging Gramtyng and Nori, but to no avail.

Next to them, Fundor struck another blow against the attercop, and an arrow from the mysterious hunter struck it dead. This signalled the turn of the tide: only two great spiders remained, and on seeing the rest of their kin fall, they begun reconsidering their plans. Their attacks grew weaker, and they focused on defence instead: each of them sought an opening to flee as quickly as it could, to save its own hide.

[OOC: To speed things up, I’m going to tell you than on Round 3, each spider plans to use Holding Spell on Gram and Nori, and then they will try to flee. If they succeed with the Holding spell, I will rule that they can flee automatically (unless another companion engages them).]

[Vladim]

Emboldened by his successful strike on the giant spider, Gramtyng entirely ignored his wound and the web that ensnared him, giving a wide grin to the strange-faced spider and shouting an encouraging battlecry to his companions: "Come on! Lets finish them off and keep going, three are already down! Squash these pests!" As he shouted, he'd recalled a small rhyme his mother repeated when he was a lad and had problems with spiders - it was just a little thing, but it helped kill his fear back then. Now if he could remember all of it, maybe Belgo would learn it just a memory exercise, of course. He was far too old for that kind of thing. As his sword nearly missed the spider, slashing across the eyes which exploded with some foul-smelling substance onto his armor. The rohirrim made a disgusted face which quickly turned into a grimace of rage as he felt the call of the Fey Mood take him - this was not a good place to do it, Belgo really didnt need to know about that tradition of the Rohirrim. Dammit... Growled the bard under his breath, looking at the spider in front of him fiercely. This fight needed to end NOW.

[Vladim]

"Blasted arachnid!" Nori shouts as he's ensnared once again, finding it impossible to escape the creature's grasp. His arms are free enough to swing his axe, but he's unable to get away from the giant spider's reach. Instead of struggling to free himself, he decides to bring the fight back to the spider. Urged on by Gramtyng's shouts, the dwarf craftsman hoists his axe up high and brings it back down on the spider in solid form, as if splitting a piece of wood. While it is wild enough to do some considerable damage with the two handed weapon, it is not precise enough to end the struggle in a single swipe.

[Vladim]

[Out of Character: The odds are now strongly in favour of the fellowship. Instead of doing more dice rolls and back-and-forths for a few more rounds, I am just going to speed things up and say that the fellowship is victorious.]

As Idunn and Fundor joined their companions against the great spiders, more arrows flew from the Woodman. Outmatched and outnumbered, the spiders did what they could to resist the onslaught, yet neither spells nor stings could drive the fellowship back. In desperately seeking to retreat, they were surrounded by the companions, who cut them down, making short work of them. The bloody butchery was quickly over, but it was as disconcerting as the fear the spiders had inspired moments before.

Following their victory, the companions rested for a brief few minutes, seeking to catch their breath after the exertion of combat. The Woodman was the first to break his silence.

’Good to see you again, Idunn.’ he first said, somewhat apprehensively, before adding: ’I see that the rumours were true: you have taken strange company.’

Idunn did not respond; it seemed that there was bitterness between those two. So the hunter turned to the companions instead, in order to introduce himself: ’Name’s Evoric, of Black Tarn Hall.’ He took a small bow, but did not thank the companions for their timely intervention, instead proceeding to unsheathe his blade again. This was not an act of aggression; instead, he started working on the slaughtered spiders, dismembering them, perhaps to collect a trophy or two. All the while, he spoke on.

’Perhaps if you had not blundered here I would have captured my quarry,’ he said, his words betraying some frustration and bitterness, ’but the creature has escaped again.’ He sighed in a resigned manner and shook his head. ’Now the spiders will eat him, and none shall claim the reward. What a waste!’ In frustration, he hurled a piece of a spider he had dissected away into the nearby stream.

’No matter. These spiders will have to do for now.’ And with those words, he set out to cut away the spiders’ stings, something he did methodically, with the air of someone who had practiced this many times. Soon, a small mound of stingers lay at the companions’ feet.

’Ingomer pays good coin for spiders, and if it weren’t for you, I would not be able to kill them all.’ The hunter knelt by what remained of the spiders, poking his blade into them now and again, as if to examine something. Then he continued, while still working on what was left. ’We’ll share the reward in Rhosgobel. What do you think? Fair is fair, and you did help.’

Then, as if struck by some kind of inspiration, the Woodman set out to cutting the bellies of the bigger spiders. Soon, he called to the companions enthusiastically. ’Ha! I was right! These are big spiders, nice and fat.’ He pointed to their entrails, where some small gemstones shone amidst all the gore. ’They like to consume gems, you see: they hate their light and their brightness. These ones must have hunted in the forest for centuries, bloated as they are. I wonder how many elf-lords they must have consumed to contain such treasure…’ The grim thought did not seem to disturb him, and he picked up one of the stones from amidst the gore, polishing it against his cloak. ’As good as the day it was cut!’ he exclaimed proudly, before stepping back and allowing the companions to take their share.

 

Treasure

[OOC: The company has found a small amount of treasure (rating 10**), exclusively in gemstones and jewellery, in the gizzards of the spiders.

Step 1: Because of the gory and tainted nature of this treasure, any companion seeking to take their share must make a corruption check (Wisdom check) against TN 16. Failure results in gaining a temporary shadow point.

Step 2: After that, each companion can roll the feat dice (1d12) twice. If they roll anything other than a Gandalf (12) or a Sauron (11) on any of their 2 rolls, they just get their share, i.e. 2 treasure points. If they roll a Sauron before rolling a Gandalf (or just a Sauron without a Gandalf), they must pass another Wisdom check against TN 16. Failure results in gaining a temporary shadow point.

Step 3: If a Sauron or Gandalf is rolled, then the companion can invest any number of experience points (from 1-6) that will be gained later on to roll an equal number of success dice (d6s).
If no 6s come up, then the companion gains a Precious Object (roll 1d6 to determine its worth).
If one 6 comes up, they can either spend half of the XP invested to gain a Wondrous Artefact with one Blessing (determined by the LM) OR gain a Precious Object (roll 1d6 to determine its worth).
If two or more 6s come up, they can either spend all of the XP invested to gain a Wondrous Artefact with two Blessings or one greater Blessing (determined by the LM) OR gain a Precious Object (roll 1d6 to determine its worth).

No weapons or other war gear for now - it's too big for the spiders to swallow!

Because all of this is a bit complex, I will first roll for Idunn as an example.

[Vladim]

After the agonizing death throes of the last spider, Idunn was relieved. She planted her spear into the ground and rested for a while, holding onto its shaft. She was weary, and had to draw several deep breaths before she could speak.

Though there was much she could have said, she held her tongue. Instead, she eyed the Woodsman suspiciously when he spoke. She knew him well: he and her betrothed had a strong rivalry, and she disliked him for his coarse manners and cynical demeanour. In her eyes, he was no better than a mercenary, hunting for gold and for trophies instead of doing it out of need. So she turned away her head in disgust when Evoric removed the stings and then proceeded to cut open the spiders. The hunter’s grim words offered no reassurance that he had changed for the best during the past three years.

After a few moments bent over the spider-corpses, Evoric finally produced Idunn’s share of the treasure: a small, blood-red ruby that hang from a golden chain broken at the ends. Perhaps it was a necklace once, belonging to some elven noble.

’Such a fine gift you have never received…’ Evoric commented with a sly smile, but Idunn’s attention was too focused on the gemstone to take offense at his words. She held it up and saw the many reflections of the dark trees of the forest, coloured crimson through the gem, and its beauty captivated her. She had held precious treasure in her hands before, but no gold or dragon-scale had been as beautiful as this ruby.

[Vladim]

Fundor fought with difficulty against this unusual creature (for him) but they finally got over the spiders and that was a good point. Then Fundor looked at the unknown hunter talking and Idunn's attitude concerning this man, even after she's given that red gem.

But then while Fundor looks at the woodman who is full of spider blood on his arms and hands, his look is attracted by something in the remains of the spider. Going few steps ahead, Fundor picks up a metal object and after cleaning it with water, Fundor discovers what seems like a belt buckle. All the leather of the belt is gone since a long time but the buckle seems to be quite intact and made of some silver-colored metal with 4 small inlaid green gems. Fundor wonders what's its origin as long time ago, many men and dwarves travelled through the forest on the old dwarven road.