FR PbP

"And below too, right? We came gradually up as we made our way here. I don't particularly want to delve into this place. You're right though, we should probably help secure what we can.", Eline adds in while securing her armor and frequently yawning. 

"I asked about this morning. A few of the folk will head back to collect water and deliver it to the other excavation. I'm sure Grayshard and Ironrune are keeping Tomi and Norman busy, but no one expected all of this.", she ways around before stifling another yawn. 

Pulling together with a few of the militia leaders or foreman, they lay out a map of what they know with some corrections. 

"Now, we didn't have that upper room you burned out and I'd imagine there more like to be them giant spiders in the east side. The map ledger is wrong, you can see.", he waves around the area. "The space is more 1 square to ten feet, more or less."

"The calligrapher put the main floor and the mezzanine on the same surface too. We haven't been through any of the doors up their on either side."

"The doors on the mezzanine and this floor mimick each other."

"This main floor that way north west passage is that smithy and apothecary." 

"The rest are roughly sketched out based on old notes."

"As you can see, this main floor is twenty feet high in the center, ten feet high in the subsection as the mezzanine is also roughly ten. That second floor is roughly forty feet high. I don't know anything about that third floor up and we haven't found any passages to the lower levels."

https://media-waterdeep.cursecdn.com/attachments/5/750/map-axeholm-pc.jpg

Eline claps TT on the shoulder, "Ha! I knew there'd be a underground!" 

TT just looks at her and rubs her shoulder. 

"Sorry, sorry."

(( Where do you want to go? ))

Wolfsong stares at the map not fully understanding it or the description the man had given grumbles a little while rubbing his chin before speaking up, "If we wish to clear this place completely then I would say we start at the highest point and work our way to the lower levels. My guess is there will be more spider on the higher levels then more of those undead things on the lower ones." 

Wolfsong takes a step back looks up at the celling thinking for a moment, nods, then continues, "The spiders will be the tougher hunt as they have some intelligence to them unlike those walking corpses, so they could hide and surprise us, we will have to be on our toes." He then turns back to the others, "What say the rest of you?"

Rinn cocks his head to the side then gives a curt nod. "I suppose it would probably be best to deal with them first while we're fresh. Would hate to get caught napping or distracted by those spiders.

Eline looks at Wolfsong with some confusion, "I thought you and the blue elf were talking about herding the spiders or something last night. I don't remember. This sounds challenging. I'm in, but I'm bringing light."

"Hearding the spiders will be difficult if we do not exactly where the spiders are," Wolfsong shrugs then gives a smile. "Just finding them here in their home will be enough of challenge, this should be a good hunt. Ambush predators hiding waiting with traps set..." Wolfsong gives an excited chuckle, "Yes, yes will be a good hunt."

Eline gets an excited smirk and gleam in her eyes.

((( Tempus, Lord of Battles - It's all about glory! )))

TT sighs a little and nods. ((( You all keep her much closer to death than she ever truly imagined. )))

Seeing Eline get excited Wolfsong chuckles a little then goes over and give her a light knock on the shoulder, "That's the look of a hunter." Turning to Rin Wolfsong calls out, "Looks like me got ourselves a third..." Wolfsong glances at Cleaver, "No make that a fourth for a hunting party. More the marrier, and the greater the beasts we can hunt. Now let's get this hunt started." Wolfsong licks his lips as he begins to make his way out of the room but stops just before making it to the door turning back to the group, "So what direction should we go?"

Rinn gives Wolfsong a quizzical look, "Uh, up?" Then laughs and picks up his things. "Maybe we just back track and work our way from there."

Eline and TT laugh amiably. 

Eline nods, "With so much of this", she gestures to the map, "unexplored, that's probably best. The arachnids may have other nests or have largely scattered. We do not know. Watch repoted all accounted for in this place. I have no word on the camp outside."

"To be honest, I haven't faced arachnids or ghouls outside of the books of the family library before last night.", she continues in a frank manner. 

"Nor those ooze or him.", she finishes gesturing toward Cleaver.

"I'm ready for the challenge.", she finishes with a crisp nod.

TT sighs, though her tone is again bright, "Niether have I. I only heard of this arachnid", she uses the word as if testing its flavor, "giant spiders in a book where big insect herding people farmed them like cattle. I thought it was but a story until I heard you (Wolfsong( and that apothecary (blue elf) last night."

"The tribes of Orcs, Goblin, Men, Mer, Dwarf, well I saw all their ilk in the city.  I knew things were wilder out here and once we survived the dragon, I was, am ready for anything. I just didn't expect so much that has...", she hesitates looking over at the large feline its ears twitching.

The uneasy feeling Cleaver's attention and presence brings her shivers through her again and she recalls feeling it from something else upstairs. 

     (nothing natural) she thinks 

     "nothing.", she says aloud. 

"I will pull my gear together."

She goes the short distance away to do so.

When you start moving, Cleaver will stretch, shake himself and follow Wolfsong. 

“Five!…”, volunteers Robwin from the back, meekly, with his slender hand half way up, when Wolfsong starts counting off hunting-pack members…

Something does look a little different somehow, about Robwin this morning. He looks almost smaller and yet bigger at the same time. Like a huge snake coiled into a tiny space, or a preying mantis with all its legs and claws pulled back small.

He attempts a little smile but his breathing is also a little heavy too, only a little, like he’s struggling not to shout something inappropriate at a funeral.

”F-f-f…”. He stops… “B-b-b…”. He composes himself, aware of everyone watching. “T-to the top! And back down”, he manages, with a vigorous nod.

His hands go back to their nervous patterns that some of the party might remember from their first meetings. He hasn’t done that for weeks or months now, but settles back into them now. His left hand seeming to conduct a tiny orchestra off to one side, his right seeming to stroke the side of an invisible animal.

Feeling the strings of weave around him both calms him and panics him in equal measure. His hands and fingers continue to twitch as he moves forward and upward with the group.

As the party ascend, he instinctually snuffs any still-smouldering material with prestidigitation as they go… not wanting too many naked flames around him right now.

(( And there aren't many... as you make your way up the stairs and halls all but Robwin initially came down. This time, TT has her lantern out but hooded. She's providing enough light for Eline and herself without damaging the rest of the parties darkvision. They are bringing up the rear as they did in the cave the previous day. It's twenty feet of stairs into the mezzanine, then the switch to the next staircase and twenty feet to the second floor were the party had battled the Ghouls. Then a forty foot climbing open staircase to the level where the spiders were encountered and the fire started.

Robwin’s spell does wonders dissipating the choking smoke that heavily lingers.

A thick black of overbooked stone and ash coats the floors and walls. 

As previously described, the chamber is some sixty feet high. It appears to be six sided in a trapezoidal layout, getting narrower farther south, into the mountain. There are doors visible on this, west side of the chamber running south from the staircase, opening west. There is also, you know, another door around the north of the stair. You entered from the chimney in that room.