Company+of+the+Phoenix+Session+3

 ** Session 3** **1-23-2016**    **Spiders, Knightswood, and Down the Hole in Search of the Missing Nobles!**

Pressing on, Alix lead the way through the woods. Rodney, with his one left arm, continued to accompany the small group of companions through King's Forest. A fresh earthy scent wafted from ahead. Following the trail of tracks, there was an open meadow... and the tracks vanished halfway into the clearing. Charlemagne tied a rope around Alix's waist, and Alaric looked the meadow over to find no obvious magical presence. The stealthy slayer crept out slowly into the meadow. Tracks of three men had walked out, one of them deeper from wearing full armor. "Is there a pit out there?" Alaric called from the edge of the meadow. Alix shook his head, and began tapping the area with his bow. All of the sudden a trap door lifted up from the earth, and an enormous spider leapt partially out just long enough to scoop up the noble young slayer and pull him back into it's cave, the ground quickly shutting behind it! It's pincer mouth clamped harshly around him, biting into him as he screamed out in pain! "It ate Alix!" Tiri called out wide-eyed and ran into the meadow toward the trap. "I'll pry open the door," Charlemagne nodded to Alaric, "You be ready with your fire." The muscled warrior quickly followed the priestess into the meadow, his long brown side braids trailing behind his cheeks. The golden haired sorcerer nodded and quickly followed them in. Tiri made it up to the edge, using her blade to find a seam in the earth with Charlemagne coming up to quickly join her, using his great might to lift the earth! With the door gapped open enough to see in, Alaric lodged his spear inside to brace it. Alix struggled in the pit with the enormous spider drooling over him. He tried to fight it off with his sword, but the tiny cramped cave gave him no room to maneuver. The spider shoved him down deeper where the slayer found himself resting on a pile of spider eggs, and then the spider leapt up, charging at Charlemagne... only to thrust itself into the braced spear, dazing it for a moment.

The blue haired priestess sent out a wave of warm pure energy to heal her companions. Charlemagne reached in, grabbing on to two of the large furry black legs, and pulled the spider from it's home with the earthy lid slamming shut! Alaric stepped back, unleashing a cone of fire from his hands to wash over the back of the spider! Alix crept up the slope of earth toward the sliver of daylight seeping into the dark hole. The lid was heavy as he pushed on it. His voice deeply muffled by the earth, he called out for help as he dug at the edge with his hands. The spider leapt forward and bit into the great warrior holding onto it, thick poisonous saliva dripping from it's piercing mandables! Tiri moved behind the spider and slashed at it with her longsword, but the blade bounced off it's thick hide. Charlemagne struggled with the spider with both of his hands, unable to hit it with his sword. Alaric blasted it with another bout of fire, this time catching it's underside, melting away part of it's flesh with the fur! A piercing wail came from the spider as it writhed in agony! Alix continued to dig frantically, and thrust his sword through the earth to carve a small hole that allowed the sun to come into the darkness. He screamed out through the hole as he heard the skittering of the baby spiders crawling out of their eggs below, "Tiri! Get me out of here!" Tiri turned around to the sound of the slayer's voice, and slipped her blade into the seam, "We'll lift it together! Push!" The brown haired warrior separated the spider's head from it's body with his blade as he held it back with his other hand! "Alix is screaming... we better get him out of there," Alaric nodded to his cousin as he headed quickly to join Tiri as she lost her balance trying to pull on her sword, and ended up falling to the ground. The young mage grabbed a hold of her blade and heaved with all of his might. The young priestess blinked at him in surprise... had his eyes become slitted like a dragon for a second? Or was that just her imagination? With the edge just open enough, Alix quickly rolled out, patting his legs quickly as he flailed, "Close it! Close it! Close it!" "What's in there?" Alaric asked as he let go of the blade, dropping the door back down. "Spiders! So many spiders!" the slayer shuddered, still searching himself for any remnant. "You're okay. You're out now," Tiri laid a gentle hand on his shoulder trying to calm him, "The spiders are gone." Charlemagne and Alaric opened the door and the mage scoured the inside with fire, burning all of the spider young to ash. Inside they found the remains of 3 desiccated corpses, draped in webs... along with 120 gold, 2 suits of leather armor, and a suit of scale armor. They collected their badges to report to the authorities and their families. The group quickly set up a small camp as the sun faded to twilight. Roasted over the fire, they ate spider steak for dinner and then set up watches. Tiri pulsed healing over her companions, healing them before sleep. Alix sat near the low burning coals, watching the others sleep. The sky was clear and the moon was bright. In the distance he could hear the lone howl of a large wolf. An hour or so later, it howled again farther away. In the morning the group discussed the howling wolf with the clue of the large wolf prints in the area where the missing nobles were last seen... but decided getting Rodney back to Knightswood was a higher priority. Traveling through the woods for half of the day, they arrived back into civilization.

Knightswood was busy with several groups coming and going. The group made sure Rodney was taken to safety, and handed in the badges of the fallen from the orcs and the spider. The bounty on orc heads was 20 gold! The group turned in 9 orc heads for 180 gold, adding to their found pile of 150 for an equal share of 82 gold each. Tiri searched the area and found Iowyn, hugging her in greeting. There was no sign of Urd or The Nocturnes stopping in the area. Iowyn and small patrols had been maintaining a clear path along the river about a day to the north and to the south. A surprising number of orc heads had been brought in rather than goblins. "Orcs..." Iowyn spoke the word with disgust and spit. New braids of orc hair adorned her bow. Tiri smiled and nodded to the bow, "Corellion would be proud." "I live to serve," the young elven ranger smiled. The two sought out the quartermaster to get information on the missing nobles, talking as they walked. "You know the one that they call Reigneir ...?" Iowyn whispered close to her priestess friend. Tiri nodded, "The warrior I travel with... Charlemagne... Reigneir is his uncle." "He is... impressive," the young ranger emphasized the compliment. "Oh?" Tiri leaned in closer with a teasing voice, "How impressive?" "Well I wouldn't know //that!//" the elven ranger blushed, looking down quickly as white and blue tendrils of hair fell to cover her cheeks. Tiri giggled, leaning gently against her longtime friend, and patted her shoulder, "Well... I didn't know how friendly you were getting with him." "No, no... he was in charge of leading the patrols along the river... he moves like an elf," Iowyn looked up at her more seriously. "Really?" Tiri blinked with pleasant surprise, "Well that //is// impressive." Iowyn nodded, reiterating, "He is impressive. He doesn't leave tracks... he is one with the wild... though quite the opposite of his brother, I'm told." "Oh," Tiri nodded, "I believe his nephew is more like his brother. Big, strong, and goes in swinging." The two found out that the missing were a large group of 8 nobles, going under the company name of the King's Leaves. Ranger, rogue, fighter, cleric, mage... a well rounded group. They had family from the Wyvernspur. Tiri pondered for a moment, "I've heard that name before... Lionel... and Luke... two of the men traveling with Urd." The talk of the camps was that they were seeing a significant influx of foreign nobility... several coming in for the wedding that was to be held in the early fall. Princess Kalaree, the sixth daughter of the king, was set to wed Sebathian Hawklin , a second tier noble. It was all the talk among the crowds. The two met when Sebathian had helped to stop an attempt on the King's life. Kalaree took on a scar from a blade to her face during the attack. She was going to be the first of the 7 princesses to marry. The first princess had been betrothed, and it was well known that she and her fiance weren't exactly happy with it. She died before they could marry... no one in the kingdom really talks about it, but the rumor was that she and her fiance were on a boat and she had fallen out and drowned. Since then, her betrothed noble family came under dark times... others treating them poorly and suspiciously due to the death of the princess. Since then... the princesses were not keen on marriage. Nazoun, the second princess, who had been very close to the first... swore off of men and joined a church. Filfaeril, the third princess, wanted no part of noble life, ran away, and went missing.  Nilyniel, t he fourth princess, joined the warmages guild when she discovered she had a talent for it. She leads the warmages out of Suzail.  Ily'Aleera, t he fifth princess, has no interest in the crown, but runs the finances for her father and all of Cormyr.  Al'Asahy, t he seventh and youngest daughter of the king, wields her station and her looks like a weapon. She dresses scandalously, and rumors fly that half of the court has slept with her. "We'll have plenty of time for princesses later," Alaric nudged them along as they shared stories. The group headed out, using the river path to start, traveling northwest in the direction Alix had heard the howls of the wolf. The woods were plentiful with wildlife. It was mid-summer and the sun was warm as it shined through the opening in the canopy of the trees. The day of travel was uneventful. Charlemagne took the first watch as the others nestled in to sleep around the camp. As he glanced at his book of poems by the firelight, he felt oddly watched, and kept glancing around. As he looked around the area, nothing was amiss, but he felt tingly all over. He nudged the mage back awake, "I have a feeling like we're being watched..." Alaric nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He cast outward, searching for any magical presence, but found nothing. With the strange tingling sensation running over him further, he nudged the priestess awake as well. Tiri yawned, "I'm still sleepy... is it my turn already?" "I feel all tingly..." Charlemagne tried to explain, "I thought maybe you could help me with that. There might be something wrong with me." She frowned, sitting up, and looked him over with concern, looking for any sign of poison or illness. He appeared healthy and normal. She walked the perimeter of the camp, weaving magic lights. Finding nothing, she turned to the muscled warrior, "Well... why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll trade watches with you and stay awake." Charlemagne nodded to her, "Alright, let's try that." The strange tingling faded, and he fell asleep. The rest of the night went uneventful. "How are you feeling this morning?" Tiri looked over Charlemagne. He nodded, feeling back to normal, "Everything seems fine." The group made a quick breakfast and then headed back into the trails. The ancient smell of earth hung in the air as they rounded an outcropping in the woods. Breathing it in, the young priestess whispered, "Maybe it's a green dragon? I hear they like to live in the forests." Charlemagne looked over at her incredulously, "Why would you say that?!" She laughed softly. "Maybe it's a sickly kobold... with one leg... and blind," Alaric suggested firmly. Tiri giggled, "That poor kobold..." "Or maybe it's a cave... we should find it," the mage continued. Alix searched around to find a natural deep hole in the earth. It was massive, deep, and almost perfectly circular. Half a dozen booted tracks were in the area, and ropes that had been tied off to the trees hung down into the sinkhole. It appeared dark as they leaned over to peer in. The ropes were good quality and there were four. Tiri wove a divine blessing, praying over herself and each of her companions. Each of the four took one of the ropes and climbed down. Charlemagne and Alix moved down quickly with Alaric and Tiri taking their time and moving cautiously behind them. Second ropes were tied together 100 feet down. The warrior and slayer looked around at the bottom as the other two continued to take their time. A waterfall spilled out of a crevice, deep down in the hole that flowed into a small stream. Foliage had grown in around the area. Tracks and old bandages were on the ground. Some thin saplings had been cut down to make something... perhaps a splint or makeshift cot to carry the wounded. Heading south in the tunnel below, Alix continued to scout tracks. It was dark, and the ground was firmer down here... more like rock. A feint clicking skitter could be heard from ahead. The young slayer warned his companions and continued further ahead, silently into the dark. The clattering skitter became louder and something shined from the dirt... a shield that had been dropped... it was polished, and had the slightest etching along the edge marking the family of Wyvernspur. An enormous praying mantis stood 30 feet tall. It was busily eating something on the ground as Alix peered around the curve. He waited patiently as the others moved in quietly. Alix launched an arrow to pierce it's hide, and then moved back! The mantis turned around angrily, and launched itself down the hall, flittering it's wings to land solidly on the ground with a heavy thump, clawing the spot where the slayer was standing only a moment before! Alix fired another arrow that bounced off it's thick hide as it continued to run toward them. The mantis charged in, gashing into the slayer's chest with it's sharp and heavy clawed hand! Blood spattered around his feet. Alaric raised his hands, bursting out fire over the great green beast, and Charlemagne ran his sword fiercely upward, nearly taking off it's arm! Tiri circled around to lay her hands on Alix, mending his wounds. Alix scrambled back to his feet just as the mantis moved to slam into Charlemagne! Alaric laid his fiery hands on the beast, burning it into ash! Tiri sent out small pulses of warm healing energy to mend the wounds of her companions. Charlemagne found what was left of a robed man who's head was eaten off. The badge attatched to him was from the missing noble group. Another dead praying mantis was a little further away. Alix gave the new magically enchanted shield of +1 to Charlemagne, Alaric found a wand of 3rd level magic missile with 9 charges, and Tiri got a wand of cure light wounds with 8 charges. LEVEL TWO!! Ding! Woot!

