For the Pop-up Spider injury piles upon insult! Not only did the pincers miss spectacularly - its prey also landed a slap as hard as a club blow on the chitinous plates of its head, staggering it for a moment.
But the predator is quick to recover with an indignant roar!
Koran, Ardana, Elias and Tarysaa are up! Any order.
Elias, still crouched by Ardana as she rises to her feet with a grim, determined fire in her eyes, feels a fierce relief surge through him. The magic of her god, Helm’s strength, flushes the poison from her veins, and he sees her grip tighten back around her sword, the paladin restored to herself once more.
He barely has time to catch his breath before Mival’s cry from the corridor snaps his head up.
“It’s here!”
A curse rises in Elias’s throat. His fingers tighten around his arcane focus. The damn thing was smarter than it looked—hitting and running, testing for weak spots.
He pushes up to his feet, moving swiftly but staying just inside the doorway, not wanting to stumble directly into an ambush. From the corner of his eye, he sees Woodrow, blade raised, prowling the edges of the room—ready to strike the moment the creature dares show itself again.
And then—the thud of Mival’s counterattack—a mighty slam that actually staggers the spider back.
“Good hit!” Elias calls out, his voice cutting through the rising tension. “Stay sharp—it won’t back down now!”
He lifts his free hand, beginning to gather arcane energy at his fingertips. The spider was wounded, yes—but a cornered creature was often the most dangerous kind.
His voice drops into a calm rhythm as he braces for the next strike:
"Draw it in. Force it into the open—and then we end this."
Behind him, the dim, half-flooded armory feels like it's holding its breath.
Elias lifts one hand, fingers spread slightly, palm facing the creature. The other hand presses lightly to his lips, as if to whisper a secret meant for no other ears. His mouth moves, but no sound escapes—not to the others, at least.
Only the spider can hear.
The words come like a scalpel. Sharp. Personal. Destructive. A whisper that slices directly into the mind, laying bare primal terrors the beast could not name but could not escape.
Elias stands perfectly still, arm extended, hand trembling slightly as he pours the venom of thought directly into the creature's mind. His face remains composed—grim, focused, almost cold—but his eyes burn with a quiet intensity, as if each whispered word carves a wound more vicious than any blade.
((Elias casts Dissonant Whispers - DC 13 Wisdom Save - 7 damage on a failed save))
Pop-up Spider rubs its head painfully with two of its many legs - as if they could tear the words that are hurting it from its mind. The monster is starting to look like it's having trouble... and in fact the oversized arachnid suddenly runs away, towards west, as fast as it can, momentarily disappearing from the party's sight!
And as the monster turns awkwardly to escape, hampered by its own size, Mival takes advantage of the situation to strike it with a punch from top to bottom, this time on the chitinous plates that protect its abdomen, extorting a new cry of pain from the fleeing predator.
Tarysaa listens to Elias and the strikes upon the spider. She moves into a position to see the creature as it reels and tries to recover. Gripping her staff as the glyphs engraved begin to shine with a cold blue-white light, she holds forth her other hand and sends for a mote of fire Fire bolt
Tarysaa listens to Elias and the strikes upon the spider. She moves into a position to see the creature as it reels and tries to recover. Gripping her staff as the glyphs engraved begin to shine with a cold blue-white light, she holds forth her other hand and sends for a mote of fire Fire bolt
To Hit: 11 Dmg: 5 fire
Tarysaa tries to move into a position to see the enemy... but even when the Harpells' envoy climbs onto Geados' boat, she can't see the monster! It must have moved fast enough to turn the corner.
What will Tarysaa do? Will she give up on throwing fire at Pop-up Spider? Or will she ask Geados to maneuver the boat so that she can chase the fleeing enemy?
Tarysaa was totally prepared to send forth a fire bolt but, when she sees nothing, she pulls her energies inward to negate the release.
Turning to the others, she reports, "It has scampered off again. Probably to lick it's wounds before attempting another surprise attack."
She will ask Geados to move the boat southward so she can step onto the southern landing directly across from the 'arms room'. This will give her a better view if the beast tries to drop down in the waterway.
“It’s gone around the bend!” he says quickly, voice sharp but composed. “You’ll have to chase it down if you want a clean shot.”
He gestures toward Geados’s boat, which still rocks gently in the water.
“The boat’s there—risk a quick move if you’re willing. Otherwise, we hold and let it come back to us."
He glances over his shoulder toward Koran and Ardana, who are tightening their grips on their weapons, ready to surge forward if needed.
“Tarysaa—your call. Pursue, or set the trap here?”
Elias doesn’t bark commands. He trusts his companions to choose wisely—and this decision, to risk chasing or to prepare an ambush, could shape the next few heartbeats of survival.
He stands ready, eyes cutting toward the dark corridor, waiting for the glint of monstrous eyes to return... or the rush of footsteps if they chose to hunt it down instead.
Tarysaa calls across as she is ferryed to the southern alcove, "Let it come to us. A solo person going off on the water to chase that creature could be just the trap IT plans for us. Let us not split the party any more than necessary."
She thanks Geados as she steps into the alcove. "I will hold here until this is resolved."
Taking a copper from her pouch, she will invoke Light and tosses the glowing coin into the southern room.
The party members take their countermeasures and wait for the elusive opponent to reappear... but this time nothing happens. Time passes, but the spider never reappears. In the end, it seems logical to conclude that everyone's reaction has convinced him that this group is too tough a prey for him at least for now.
End of combat (at least for now); you can act outside of rounds.
To examine the southern room, Tarysaa needs to open the solid wooden door reinforced with iron a little more - but the door poses no problem, since it is slightly open already.
The copper thrown by the elf briefly illuminates a room that measures 10' x 50'. Unfortunately, the floor has mostly collapsed - so the copper sinks more and more... and its light is soon no longer able to illuminate the room.
With her Darkvision, however, the Harpells' envoy is able to notice that very little furniture remains in the room (perhaps also due to the collapse of a good part of the floor). Only three beds remain, barely recognizable as such, their lower part, rotted in the water, has given way, favoring the ruin of the remaining parts as well - two are against the north wall (one in the easternmost area, the other in the westernmost area) and another is against the south wall, in the westernmost area.
The tension lingers for a long moment after the spider disappears—each second stretching thin and tight like a drawn bowstring.
The party remains poised, weapons ready, listening, watching—but the monster does not return. Only the faint echoes of dripping water and their own breathing fill the gloom.
After a few more heartbeats, the mood shifts, not relaxing exactly, but settling—the logical conclusion dawning quietly among them:
The spider had decided they were too much trouble.
Elias lets out a slow breath through his nose, the barest exhale of relief. His muscles, tight with adrenaline, begin to ease. But he knows better than to celebrate. Predators don't give up easily—they just look for easier prey.
As the others turn their attention toward the southern door, murmuring about what might lie beyond, Elias steps carefully back toward the center of the room, drawing in a slow, focused breath.
"I'll continue the ritual," he says simply, nodding toward the southern hall. "In case anything... hidden lingers."
His fingers sketch slow, looping glyphs in the damp, heavy air, each symbol flickering faintly before dissolving. His whispered incantations thread between the steady sound of the others moving ahead.
This time nothing prevents the bard ftom completing the magic ritual, followed by the curious green eyes of a Doppelganger adventurer.
As the magic empowers his senses, however, Elias discovers just that no magic lingers in the room.
Mival, in the meantime, grabs 2 javelins and tries to balance them in hand and to figure out the best throwing technique: "Do you think I should keep them? I could learn to use them effectively... then I would be able to fight from range too!"
After looking about in the southern chamber, Tarysaa will move back onto the 'doorstep'; scanning about the area (up, down, west, east) to make certain nothing is wall (or ceiling) walking toward them.
Perception: 5 (( DnD roller .. I swear it was an 18 but, the app says '2' was more 'face up'. *sighs* ))
She calls to Geados and asks if he would kindly ferry her back across the join the rest of the party.
In fact, nothing in particular catches Tarysaa's attention... so the Harpells' envoy is transported by Geados to rejoin the others.
"Well fought" comments the helmsman, as he makes the short journey. He does not utter any more words. The tone in which he uttered them, however, while lacking emphasis, seems sincere.
[[ OOC: Since you are all reunited again and you have all paid Geados... if you still have something to do in these two rooms, go ahead... otherwise, the first one who wishes to resume sailing along the wide corridor can do so. It is not mandatory that Ardana must go first this time too (although nothing prevents her from doing so). ]]
Elias lets out a slow breath as the ritual completes, the weave of magic settling over his senses like a second skin. Colors shift faintly in his vision, subtle halos ready to appear around anything magical—and yet... there is nothing.
No hidden enchantments on the walls, no lingering auras clinging to the weapons or the armor racks. Only the dead weight of old iron, old wood, and old dust.
He rises smoothly to his feet, brushing dampness from his knees as he turns his gaze toward Mival, who is enthusiastically testing the balance of two salvaged javelins, tossing them lightly from hand to hand with an almost boyish excitement.
"Keep them," Elias says, a trace of warmth in his voice. "Every tool you master gives you one more way to survive. And someday—one more way to protect someone else."
His green eyes flick briefly toward the deeper corridors beyond, keeping his senses sharp as he stands with the others, the faint aura of Detect Magic still pulsing softly behind his gaze.
"Thank you!" Mival then keeps the two javelins "I will learn to make good use of them".
Elias, looking at Geados and his boat while his vision is still enhanced by magic, realizes that the helmsman and his boat both have magical auras... An indefinable aura of Transmutation emanates from Geados, while a reassuring aura of Abjuration comes from his boat.
The ferryman, impassive, now that he has brought Tarysaa back, waits... ready to load the first passenger on the continuation of the journey - when the party is ready to continue.
Upon her return to the party, Tarysaawill recount what she discovered in the southern chamber.
"This northern chamber was the weapons room and the southern chamber was apparently the guards or soldiers' sleeping area. The floor has collapsed due to the flooding below."
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Round 2
For the Pop-up Spider injury piles upon insult! Not only did the pincers miss spectacularly - its prey also landed a slap as hard as a club blow on the chitinous plates of its head, staggering it for a moment.
But the predator is quick to recover with an indignant roar!
Koran, Ardana, Elias and Tarysaa are up! Any order.
Combat Stats (those interested can peek):
Initiative Name Status
20 Woodrow Undamaged
19 Pop-up Spider 15 Damage
17 Mival Undamaged
17 Koran 2 Damage
10 Ardana 14 Damage
8 Elias Undamaged
6 Tarysaa Undamaged
Elias, still crouched by Ardana as she rises to her feet with a grim, determined fire in her eyes, feels a fierce relief surge through him. The magic of her god, Helm’s strength, flushes the poison from her veins, and he sees her grip tighten back around her sword, the paladin restored to herself once more.
He barely has time to catch his breath before Mival’s cry from the corridor snaps his head up.
“It’s here!”
A curse rises in Elias’s throat. His fingers tighten around his arcane focus. The damn thing was smarter than it looked—hitting and running, testing for weak spots.
He pushes up to his feet, moving swiftly but staying just inside the doorway, not wanting to stumble directly into an ambush. From the corner of his eye, he sees Woodrow, blade raised, prowling the edges of the room—ready to strike the moment the creature dares show itself again.
And then—the thud of Mival’s counterattack—a mighty slam that actually staggers the spider back.
“Good hit!” Elias calls out, his voice cutting through the rising tension. “Stay sharp—it won’t back down now!”
He lifts his free hand, beginning to gather arcane energy at his fingertips. The spider was wounded, yes—but a cornered creature was often the most dangerous kind.
His voice drops into a calm rhythm as he braces for the next strike:
"Draw it in. Force it into the open—and then we end this."
Behind him, the dim, half-flooded armory feels like it's holding its breath.
Elias lifts one hand, fingers spread slightly, palm facing the creature. The other hand presses lightly to his lips, as if to whisper a secret meant for no other ears. His mouth moves, but no sound escapes—not to the others, at least.
Only the spider can hear.
The words come like a scalpel.
Sharp. Personal. Destructive.
A whisper that slices directly into the mind, laying bare primal terrors the beast could not name but could not escape.
Elias stands perfectly still, arm extended, hand trembling slightly as he pours the venom of thought directly into the creature's mind. His face remains composed—grim, focused, almost cold—but his eyes burn with a quiet intensity, as if each whispered word carves a wound more vicious than any blade.
((Elias casts Dissonant Whispers - DC 13 Wisdom Save - 7 damage on a failed save))
Pop-up Spider's DC 13 Wisdom Save: 6
Round 2
Pop-up Spider rubs its head painfully with two of its many legs - as if they could tear the words that are hurting it from its mind. The monster is starting to look like it's having trouble... and in fact the oversized arachnid suddenly runs away, towards west, as fast as it can, momentarily disappearing from the party's sight!
Mival's Attack of Opportunity as Pop-up Spider flees: 8 Damage: 7 (bludgeoning)
Round 2
And as the monster turns awkwardly to escape, hampered by its own size, Mival takes advantage of the situation to strike it with a punch from top to bottom, this time on the chitinous plates that protect its abdomen, extorting a new cry of pain from the fleeing predator.
Koran, Ardana and Tarysaa are up! Any order.
Combat Stats (those interested can peek):
Initiative Name Status
20 Woodrow Undamaged
19 Pop-up Spider 28 Damage, Seriously Wounded, Scared
17 Mival Undamaged
17 Koran 2 Damage
10 Ardana 14 Damage
8 Elias Undamaged
6 Tarysaa Undamaged
Tarysaa listens to Elias and the strikes upon the spider. She moves into a position to see the creature as it reels and tries to recover. Gripping her staff as the glyphs engraved begin to shine with a cold blue-white light, she holds forth her other hand and sends for a mote of fire Fire bolt
To Hit: 11 Dmg: 5 fireTarysaa tries to move into a position to see the enemy... but even when the Harpells' envoy climbs onto Geados' boat, she can't see the monster! It must have moved fast enough to turn the corner.
What will Tarysaa do? Will she give up on throwing fire at Pop-up Spider? Or will she ask Geados to maneuver the boat so that she can chase the fleeing enemy?
Tarysaa was totally prepared to send forth a fire bolt but, when she sees nothing, she pulls her energies inward to negate the release.
Turning to the others, she reports, "It has scampered off again. Probably to lick it's wounds before attempting another surprise attack."
She will ask Geados to move the boat southward so she can step onto the southern landing directly across from the 'arms room'. This will give her a better view if the beast tries to drop down in the waterway.
“It’s gone around the bend!” he says quickly, voice sharp but composed.
“You’ll have to chase it down if you want a clean shot.”
He gestures toward Geados’s boat, which still rocks gently in the water.
“The boat’s there—risk a quick move if you’re willing. Otherwise, we hold and let it come back to us."
He glances over his shoulder toward Koran and Ardana, who are tightening their grips on their weapons, ready to surge forward if needed.
“Tarysaa—your call. Pursue, or set the trap here?”
Elias doesn’t bark commands.
He trusts his companions to choose wisely—and this decision, to risk chasing or to prepare an ambush, could shape the next few heartbeats of survival.
He stands ready, eyes cutting toward the dark corridor, waiting for the glint of monstrous eyes to return... or the rush of footsteps if they chose to hunt it down instead.
Tarysaa calls across as she is ferryed to the southern alcove, "Let it come to us. A solo person going off on the water to chase that creature could be just the trap IT plans for us. Let us not split the party any more than necessary."
She thanks Geados as she steps into the alcove. "I will hold here until this is resolved."
Taking a copper from her pouch, she will invoke Light and tosses the glowing coin into the southern room.
Round 2
The party members take their countermeasures and wait for the elusive opponent to reappear... but this time nothing happens. Time passes, but the spider never reappears. In the end, it seems logical to conclude that everyone's reaction has convinced him that this group is too tough a prey for him at least for now.
End of combat (at least for now); you can act outside of rounds.
To examine the southern room, Tarysaa needs to open the solid wooden door reinforced with iron a little more - but the door poses no problem, since it is slightly open already.
The copper thrown by the elf briefly illuminates a room that measures 10' x 50'. Unfortunately, the floor has mostly collapsed - so the copper sinks more and more... and its light is soon no longer able to illuminate the room.
With her Darkvision, however, the Harpells' envoy is able to notice that very little furniture remains in the room (perhaps also due to the collapse of a good part of the floor). Only three beds remain, barely recognizable as such, their lower part, rotted in the water, has given way, favoring the ruin of the remaining parts as well - two are against the north wall (one in the easternmost area, the other in the westernmost area) and another is against the south wall, in the westernmost area.
The tension lingers for a long moment after the spider disappears—each second stretching thin and tight like a drawn bowstring.
The party remains poised, weapons ready, listening, watching—but the monster does not return. Only the faint echoes of dripping water and their own breathing fill the gloom.
After a few more heartbeats, the mood shifts, not relaxing exactly, but settling—the logical conclusion dawning quietly among them:
The spider had decided they were too much trouble.
Elias lets out a slow breath through his nose, the barest exhale of relief. His muscles, tight with adrenaline, begin to ease. But he knows better than to celebrate.
Predators don't give up easily—they just look for easier prey.
As the others turn their attention toward the southern door, murmuring about what might lie beyond, Elias steps carefully back toward the center of the room, drawing in a slow, focused breath.
"I'll continue the ritual," he says simply, nodding toward the southern hall. "In case anything... hidden lingers."
His fingers sketch slow, looping glyphs in the damp, heavy air, each symbol flickering faintly before dissolving. His whispered incantations thread between the steady sound of the others moving ahead.
This time nothing prevents the bard ftom completing the magic ritual, followed by the curious green eyes of a Doppelganger adventurer.
As the magic empowers his senses, however, Elias discovers just that no magic lingers in the room.
Mival, in the meantime, grabs 2 javelins and tries to balance them in hand and to figure out the best throwing technique: "Do you think I should keep them? I could learn to use them effectively... then I would be able to fight from range too!"
After looking about in the southern chamber, Tarysaa will move back onto the 'doorstep'; scanning about the area (up, down, west, east) to make certain nothing is wall (or ceiling) walking toward them.
Perception: 5 (( DnD roller .. I swear it was an 18 but, the app says '2' was more 'face up'. *sighs* ))
She calls to Geados and asks if he would kindly ferry her back across the join the rest of the party.
In fact, nothing in particular catches Tarysaa's attention... so the Harpells' envoy is transported by Geados to rejoin the others.
"Well fought" comments the helmsman, as he makes the short journey. He does not utter any more words. The tone in which he uttered them, however, while lacking emphasis, seems sincere.
[[ OOC: Since you are all reunited again and you have all paid Geados... if you still have something to do in these two rooms, go ahead... otherwise, the first one who wishes to resume sailing along the wide corridor can do so. It is not mandatory that Ardana must go first this time too (although nothing prevents her from doing so). ]]
Elias lets out a slow breath as the ritual completes, the weave of magic settling over his senses like a second skin. Colors shift faintly in his vision, subtle halos ready to appear around anything magical—and yet... there is nothing.
No hidden enchantments on the walls, no lingering auras clinging to the weapons or the armor racks.
Only the dead weight of old iron, old wood, and old dust.
He rises smoothly to his feet, brushing dampness from his knees as he turns his gaze toward Mival, who is enthusiastically testing the balance of two salvaged javelins, tossing them lightly from hand to hand with an almost boyish excitement.
"Keep them," Elias says, a trace of warmth in his voice. "Every tool you master gives you one more way to survive. And someday—one more way to protect someone else."
His green eyes flick briefly toward the deeper corridors beyond, keeping his senses sharp as he stands with the others, the faint aura of Detect Magic still pulsing softly behind his gaze.
"Thank you!" Mival then keeps the two javelins "I will learn to make good use of them".
Elias, looking at Geados and his boat while his vision is still enhanced by magic, realizes that the helmsman and his boat both have magical auras... An indefinable aura of Transmutation emanates from Geados, while a reassuring aura of Abjuration comes from his boat.
The ferryman, impassive, now that he has brought Tarysaa back, waits... ready to load the first passenger on the continuation of the journey - when the party is ready to continue.
Upon her return to the party, Tarysaa will recount what she discovered in the southern chamber.
"This northern chamber was the weapons room and the southern chamber was apparently the guards or soldiers' sleeping area. The floor has collapsed due to the flooding below."