Kingmaker+Session+7

7-11-15 The 2nd floor of the Emerald Spyre

Vorst, Aeon, Sen, and Zura returned to Oleg's with a fresh shipment of supplies from Bloodstone to the smell of burnt wood and wafts of smoke coming up from the trading post. Hurrying in through the gate, they seen that one whole side of the main house had been burned along with one of the towers and part of the stables. A couple of guards were picking up sharp metal caltrips off of the ground. A few bodies had been wrapped in burlap sacks in the corner and 2 others had already been buried.

Oleg nodded to the small returning group, "Glad to see you back. Some of the Stag Lord's bandits attacked during the night. Luckily your friends fought them off. You can go and talk to them in the bunk house where they're recovering." "I'll go see to them right away," Sen nodded, hurrying off toward the bunk house with the others following her, still looking over the damage.

The warpriestess and Jhod had already done what they could for the companions who were resting in the bunk house in bandages. Vorst and the others walked in to see Lorwynelle sitting on the edge of her bed watching Thrice and Nahiir who were standing next to a bandit tied up and suspended down from the rafters. Sen blinked at the scene, and then without a word, she broke off to go assess damages and heal.

 The short gnome's shocked eyes looked at the dangling bandit, hanging by his feet, and then turned his gaze expectantly at his companions, "Hail! What has happened?" "The Stag Lord and his filth attacked us during the night," Lorwynelle replied. Naahir turned and grinned a fanged greeting to Vorst and the rest of his companions, "It is a catfolk new year and we were just about to play with our pinata." Lorwyn laughed softly. "Want a swing?" the dark furred and whiskered slayer offered the staff in his hands toward Vorst. Vorst chuckled and shook his head, "I'm... too short." "I'm sure we have a chair," the red-haired arcanist nodded to him, the dangling piercings in her ears making a light jingling sound. "Lower the pinata," Naahir nodded. Thrice giggled with glee, clapping her hands together, "I can't wait to see what goodies are inside!"

Vorst turned to face the red-eyed alchemist with a raised eyebrow, and took a long slow look around at the group of his companions... a tiefling, catfolk, elves, half-elves, the aasimar, and that strange unearthly eidolan... he felt like such a simple gnome among such an array of races. He turned his gaze back to the swaying body hanging upside-down from the rafters. Naahir nodded to the gnome's gaze, "The Stag Lord's minions... cowardice as they are... attempted to set fire to us in our sleep... Isn't that right, coward?" The catfolk swung the stick into the hanging prisoner once again with a solid thwap, "This lad has volunteered to show us where the camp is." The dangling bandit squirmed and grunted behind his gag. "Oh! Hooray," Vorst nodded. "It //is// very kind of him, yes?" Naahir nodded, giving the bandit another smack with the stick. More grunting came from behind the gag that sounded like a muffled 'help me' and the catfolk smacked him again. Sen blinked over at them in shock. "They killed a number of our guards... and tried to burn us... in our sleep," the catfolk explained to her again. The silver-eyed aasimar nodded. "And they left broken glass all over the ground," Thrice muttered glancing at her bandaged feet. Sen frowned, "Are your feet alright?" She moved over to examine the tiefling and noticed that Naahir's feet were also bandaged. "Yes," the catfolk answered her and smacked the dangling bandit once again, "Where are those caltrips at?" "So... they left caltrips on the ground for when you ran out awakened by the fire?" Vorst blinked in surprise. "It was well thought out, yes?" Naahir nodded. "We couldn't even put our armor on," Thrice agreed, "It was awful!" "The women were out there running around in their nightgowns... it was tragic," the catfolk nodded. "Hmm," Vorst answered thoughtfully. Sen put a soothing salve onto Thrice's feet and healed her, then moved over toward Naahir. "Only on the bottoms... do not get it into my fur!" Naahir shook his head at her. Sen giggled, applying the salve, "It's quite soothing, you're going to love it." "We could just shave that part," Vorst nodded. "Nooo it is itchy when it grows back," Naahir shook his head quickly.

Over the next couple of days, Sen and Lyssa got everyone all healed up and there were discussions about taking on the Stag Lord, but needing to draw him out as it would be too dangerous to take him on on his own terf. "We could tie him to the ground over a sprouting tree... letting it grow up and through his body... for a long and slow death," Naahir nodded. "You're creative!" Thrice blinked at him, "My mother would like you... and not in a good way." "You can not have Naahir's fur," the catfolk shook his head at her. "Not even just a little?" the enticing tiefling batted her eyes. "Well... just a little," Naahir pulled a small tuft of his fur and handed it to her, "But that is all. Do not ask for any more." The alchemist smiled happily, agreeing, and tucking the fur away into a sealed jar. It was finally decided that it would be best if a small group went out to the spyre to try and get magic items to help them against the Stag Lord while others stayed behind to protect the trading post.

Aeonill, Zura, Lyssa, and Lorwynelle stayed behind while Thrice and Sen lead Naahir, Vorst, and Keerinaal with Uriel back to the scary green glass spyre. The fresh smell of fall was in the air as the group traveled across the grassy plains into the woods. The leaves were just starting to turn colors in the thick canopy of trees. They briefly ran into Tyg and Perlivash who told them the bandit activity had been low in the forest and they were grateful that Tuskgutter and the tatzlwyrms had been taken care of. Sen asked of any sightings of an elf traveling with a large snow tiger and the fey told her they had indeed seen them in the woods. "The tiger was gigantic! We stayed away," Tyg told her. Sen nodded, "He is kind of big and heavy, and he'd probably squish you even if he was just playing, so that was probably best that you stayed away."

Eventually the group made it to the towering broken green glass spyre jutting out of the ground. Chunks of the strange translucent dark green material still laid strewn about. Going through the first level into the spyre, the strange thick magical darkness still remained, but there was no sign of any goblins. They made their way to the winding stairway going down. Light seemed to function normally again about halfway down the spiral to the second level.

 Greenish-white furry mold dimly lit the area with it's soft phosphorescent glow as it fed on the dust-like spider dung. "You're telling me that dust is poo?" Sen tilted her head at the alchemist. Thrice nodded, "All that white dust that you're currently breathing in... is dung from the spiders." The young oracle nodded and tied a pale green scarf around her face. Naahir scrunched up his nose, "This place is filthy." He nudged open the slightly ajar door in the hallway, "I see another room of mold and dust." "Let's just go through here," Thrice pointed to a secret door hidden in an alcove behind an extinguished torch. "I would have suggested it," Naahir nodded to her, playing along like he'd already seen it, "But I didn't know if such things were practical." Sen giggled, "Well you opened the last door... so I'll open this one." "You are the healer," Naahir shook his head, and pushed her behind him, "I will get it." He opened the door and glanced inside to a small dead-ended alcove with another extinguished torch, "It's like a secret closet... where they can keep their boots." "What? How odd," Sen peeked over his shoulder. Thrice slipped inside and managed to find a second secret door on the next wall to open all the way through. Naahir raised an eyebrow, "A secret closet... with two doors... in case you forget your slippers... or you want to hide your unsightly bedclothes." Sen laughed, peering again over his shoulder to look through to the next room.

A larger room with a curving wall of bulging green crystal, much like the green crystal the spyre itself was made of. Vorst moved over to look through the slightly translucent crystal, but couldn't quite see anything through to the other side, nor up or down.

A stout wooden table stood along the opposite wall with three corpses and the remnants of a moonspider. As they grew closer, they could see that one of the corpses had all of it's extremities severed and its torso was open to reveal the internal organs. Another of the corpses had moonspider legs sewn on in place of it's removed limbs that were neatly arranged next to the remains of the moonspider. A bucket of rotting blood sat on the floor near the table and a pair of needles were stuck inside a block of wax atop the blood-stained table. Thrice approached it with great intrigue while Sen looked on at the table in horror. "That's... that's an issue," Vorst shook his head at the table in disgust. Sen nodded in agreement, laying her hands on the cautious alchemist who she bestowed with divine guidance. She looked over the table long enough to see no clothing and to briefly identify the corpses, "None are female... but all seem human." She turned her gaze back away, satisfied that none of the bodies were the mage, Tiawaz, that they were looking for.

As Thrice moved carefully across the room, a giant cage fell from the ceiling! The nimble tiefling was just able to avoid being captured as the heavy bottomless cage of metal slammed against her on its way to the ground beside her! A skeleton came free of his harness inside the cage and reached his arms through the bars angrily at the alchemist as she backed away, holding her wounded arm. "Are you alright?" Sen moved closer, being careful to avoid the cage. "No! I'm going to have a horrid bruise on my arm!" Thrice shook her head, blood seeping from her arm, "And that skeleton is trying to give me a bad touch!" Naahir tilted his head at the cage, "Naahir is confused as to the purpose of this... 'feeding the skeleton' trap." Thrice nodded to him, still stepping backward, but now looking over the cage curiously, "Hmm... maybe that's where all of these bodies came from!" She gestured back to the table. The catfolk moved in to smash the skeleton trapped in his own cage. A flash came from the bulging crystal wall and the skeleton reformed outside of the cage! Naahir jumped back in surprise as he and Vorst quickly resmashed it out of sheer shocked response! The skeleton stayed down the second time. Sen carefully skirted the cage to heal the wound on Thrice's arm.

The alchemist moved up to look over the table. Vorst sheathed his hook-hammer and drew his bow, standing at the ready with his back to Naahir. Thrice found two healing potions and a scroll tube. A parchment with a sigil was also on the table. The catfolk scrunched up his nose, moving the bucket of blood carefully over as Sen pointed to a key that had been lying beneath it. Naahir pocketed the key and set down the bucket.

The group found another secret door in one of the other walls of the room. Naahir nodded, preparing to open it, "I bet this is where they keep the brooms!"

"What's in the secret room, Naahir?" Sen stepped on her toes, trying to look past the catfok. "It appears to be a secret hallway more than a secret room," he nodded, peering inside at the narrow hall that curved to the side. "Are there really brooms in it?" the young oracle inquired. "Yes! And a dustpan!" he glanced back at her, "Though it is filthy... they do not use it." Sen giggled. Naahir stepped carefully down the hall, peering around the corner to another dead end alcove, "It's just a large closet." "Are you sure?" Thrice poked her head in, "The last secret closet had two doors." Sen moved in next to Naahir, pointing to the wall at the end of the curved hall, "There... do you see something strange in the wall?" "Oh," the catfolk moved in closer, "Yes, yes... I must have missed the sign on the wall there... of course." He nudged open the next secret door to peer inside.

A large stone chamber held four stone caskets, two on each side of the room. The only room without the phosphorescent mold, it was dark and silent. In the middle of the room, a large iron brazier, covered in soot, smelled of past fires. Cobwebs clung to the ceiling. Sen shuddered, "It looks kinda creepy in there..." "I will go light the torch," Naahir nodded. "You don't want to light //that//! It looks all ceremonial... I mean what if it brings skeletons out of those stone caskets!" Sen shook her head. "Then we shall kill them," Naahir nodded confidently. "Oh..." Sen nodded, "Okay... well I'll just light it from here then. Are you ready?" "Yes," the catfolk nodded to her, unsheathing his claws.

The oracle called back over her shoulder, "Everyone get ready. We're lighting the ceremonial brazier!" "We're WHAT?!" Thrice whipped her head back around the corner of the secret hall toward them, "Should we be in the room when you light that ceremonial fire?" "I'm just going to light it from here," Sen shook her head back at the tiefling. "Okay... let us know what happens," Thrice nodded back. A spell of sparks flew from the oracle's fingertips to light the brazier that awoke with green flames. "Oh... green... I don't like this," Sen stared at the brazier. "Why did you light it green?" Naahir looked over at her. "No, I didn't, I mean..." Sen shook her head. "You did! I just seen you do it!" Naahir accused her, pointing at the brazier. "I just //lit// it... I didn't do anything to make it //green//!" the oracle shook her head again. Creepy shadows danced on the wall from the green fire in the center of the room.

"Is everyone still alive?" Thrice poked her head back around the corner. "Yes, but it's really creepy and green in there," Sen replied, glancing back. "Why did you light it green?!" the alchemist blinked at her. "No, all I did was //light it//! I didn't make it green!" the oracle shook her head again.

Sen stepped cautiously into the room, nearer to one of the caskets as her heart pounded with fear. The room dimmed and a sudden chilly breeze blew across the room. A score of eyeballs appeared, drifting with the breeze, and peered eerily at the two of them before fading away. "N-Naahir? Did you see those eyeballs? Or was that just another haunted thing for me?" Sen glanced back at the catfolk standing in the doorway. "Naahir saw it too," the catfolk nodded, patting his pockets, "I will get a jar." "What? We don't want those," Sen scrunched up her face. "The alchemist will pay me handsomely for them," Naahir nodded. "Well... that's probably true," the aasimar nodded in agreement. "But we have been seen," the dark-furred slayer glanced around the once again still room.

Sen agreed and moved deeper into the room to examine the brazier and look for symbols on the caskets. Naahir moved into the room to knock on of the stone caskets. "Are you //trying// to wake it up?" Sen blinked at him from the other side of the casket. Thrice moved up into the doorway to peer into the room, noting a door on the other side, "An //ordinary// door?" The tiefling looked slightly offended, "...we only travel through secret doors." Sen giggled. Naahir shoved the lid off of one of the caskets to peer inside as Vorst moved into the doorway with the alchemist. A skeleton stood up in the casket, followed by the other three, leaping up out of theirs! "Naahir!" Sen blinked in the center of the room as the four skeletons appeared all around her. "They were inside the boxes," the slayer turned to the door, nodding at Thrice and Vorst. "Well then... eviction time boys," the alchemist nodded, stepping into the room.

The skeletons clattered forward with supernatural quickness, two of them surrounding the oracle and striking her with rusty swords! One struck out at Naahir, but the catfolk leapt backward! The fourth struck viciously into Thrice, but Vorst struck expertly with his hammer, sending parts of the skeleton across the room! The dark-furred slayer struck back with his blade, but the sharp weapon simply slid between the ribs of the skeleton. Senathliel screamed, sending out a burst of positive green energy around her and cracking the bones of all three of the skeletons in the room! Thrice stepped back, flinging an alchemy bomb of fire into the room, but it slipped from her fingers last second, dropping a little too close to Naahir, catching him in the fiery explosion! The catfolk quickly patted his hands over his body to put out the fire burning his fur!

The two skeletons barely held together continued to attack the oracle, spraying her blood off of their rusty swords! The other again got a lucky stab into the tiefling's soft flesh! Vorst quickly moved across the room, with the alchemist shouting, "Where are you going?!" behind him. "I'll be back for you," the gnome called back over his shoulder as he smashed into one of the skeletons on Sen! Keerinaal sent Uriel into the dim green chamber to barely smash into the skeleton with her claws attacking the alchemist. Naahir leapt in with his blade, but the sharp edge slipped along the bones, leaving the skeleton unharmed. Sen threw a burst of green life energy into herself and her companions, healing some of their wounds.

One skeleton slashed across Thrice's bluish flesh while the other barely missed the oracle. Vorst smashed viciously with his hammer, shattering the bones of the skeleton! Keerinaal stepped into the room as the entire group tried to hit the last skeleton, but he moved with such supernatural speed that everyone missed! He nicked into the oracle again, and Vorst was finally able to smash the bones, dropping him! Panting, Sen looked around the room, "Is everyone alright?" "Mostly," Thrice nodded, moving into the room. Naahir and Keerinaal searched the caskets, finding a shiny sword, a ring of keys, and an ivory-banded silver horn. Thrice picked up the horn and cleaned it off with a rag, shining it up.

Naahir opened the ordinary door and everyone fell into place behind him. Part of the doorway was blocked by old rubble with a still skeletal hand protruded out of it. Long strands of cobwebs came down from the ceiling to the old dusty rubble, showing that it had been there for some time. There was a door to the south and to the east out of the room. Naahir carefully moved over the rubble, noticing something shiny in the rocks. Four leather waterskins, four small wooden coffers of heavily salted food, and 50' of rope attached to a shiny grappling hook.

The dark-furred slayer moved on to use the keyring to open the locked door in the room, carefully maneuvering it to look like he was able to pick the lock... with everyone commending his skill. Inside, the once again dimly mold-lit room had long draping wisps of spiderwebs from the dusty cobwebbed ceiling, a giant long-dead spider on the floor, and a stout, free-standing, and a bulging wardrobe in the corner of the room.

The slightly still-wounded tiefling stuck near the aasimar in the doorway as Naahir, Vorst, and Keerinaal moved into the room with caution to examine the wardrobe where the slight sound of sobbing could now be heard. Naahir looked at the gnome, "I'm going to open the door... are you ready?" Vorst nodded, raising his hook-hammer, and holding at the ready. The wardrobe fell open, the four walls hitting the floor flat and a zombie popped out! Expecting perhaps a mimic, Keer squinted at the corner of the room, "A zombie? What kind of zombie hides in a wardrobe?" Before he could take another step forward... a giant net fell from the ceiling covering the middle of the room and entangling the summoner and his eidolan who struggled against the heavy weight of the thick roped nets! Naahir blinked at the gnome who still stood frozen, posed ready. He slashed at the zombie with his own claws, but the zombie moved with supernatural speed and reached out to claw a hole into Naahir's chest! The catfolk sprang back with furred hands to his chest, gasping out, "It moves like a ninja!" "Zombies aren't supposed to move like that!" the divine oracle shook her head from the doorway in agreement as blood seeped between Naahir's fingers from his gaping wound. She moved in quickly, striking into the zombie's decayed flesh with her longspear over Vorst's frozen ready pose, "But pointy things work on these!" Thrice moved into the room, trying to help Keer out of the net, but met with all of their thrashing about, she found it difficult to untangle them, "Stop resisting! Hold still!" Vorst brought down his mighty hooked hammer to smash into the zombie, and blinked wide-eyed as it turned toward him, "Oh no... I think I made it mad!" "Hit it again! Hit it again!" Naahir shouted, as he struck out with his blade quickly, severing it's head off from behind him!

Thrice got Keer and Uriel untangled from the nets and the summoner panted, finally calming down. "Are you alright?" Sen looked him over carefully for any cuts from the netting. "I think so... I was trapped... safe from the zombie... it was tragic," Keer nodded to her. Naahir found another secret door in the south wall. Thrice nodded to him, "That's more like it." The catfolk peered inside to a long dusty hallway, joined by the tiefling who pointed out the second secret door beyond it. She nodded, "It feels comfortable traveling through all of these secret doors... this is how it should be." Naahir nodded his agreement, "It is out of the way. I feel less conspicuous." He nudged open the door.

Wisps of spiderwebbing clung to the walls. The ceiling was bare except for one round silvery medallion of metal inset into each corner. A pedestal was set in the center of the room made of a single 5ft slab of stone. Sitting atop the stone was a closed chest. Naahir crept into the room with caution and lifted Vorst up to examine the medallions. Along the edge of the ceiling, there was a gap between it and the wall. There was a simple door on the north wall of the room, but looking around revealed another secret door to the south. Everyone filtered into the secret closet beyond the secret door to the south and found yet another secret door. Naahir peered into the room.

Shabby mold-covered tapestries hung from the ceiling depicting faded images of old hunting scenes. A plain wooden chair of massive construction sat with it's back to the tapestries to face into the room. A large wooden table stood in front of a stone wall with weapons and other items displayed as if for sale in a shop. Four skeletons stood around the large simple throne-like chair. A booming voice came from the area of the skeletons, "Who dares to intrude upon the sanctum of Gorlath the Undying?" The catfolk found it strange that none of the mouths of the skeletons moved when the voice boomed. Naahir pulled his head back to whisper to the group, "It appears we have intruded on the sanctity of Gorlath the Undying..." "Oh! Umm... wrong door?" Sen smiled. Naahir turned back to the skeletons who looked at him expectantly, answering, "I am Naahir of the Soft Foot Clan. I am hear to peruse your weaponry." "Is he shopping?" the young oracle blinked, "Who would have a store in this place?"

"Come closer, Naahir of the Soft Foot Clan," the voice boomed again, and the catfolk stepped with caution into the room, followed closely by the aasimar. "You have gold then?" the voice asked. "Silver," Naahir nodded. "Excellent! It will fund my further experiments," the voice replied and then commanded, "Kill him!" The four skeletons rushed toward them as Thrice slipped in through the door, launching an alchemical fire vial into the midst of the skeletons, rolling out fire over three of them! Vorst moved in behind her, smashing one of the skeletons into oblivion with his hammer!

Thrice was overcome with a sudden panic, freezing in terror! Two skeletons slashed against Vorst. Keer slipped past the trembling tiefling to see three burnt skeletons fighting against the group, wondering what his companion was so afraid of. Naahir cracked into one of the skeletons with his blade. Sen turned around, calling out, "Thrice!" unable to stop or calm her as their alchemist companion ran deftly back the way they had come. Vorst smashed into another of the skeletons, scattering it's bones across the floor. Suddenly he froze in place, still raised for his next swing. Sen blinked at him, "Oh no! It's just like with the zombie all over again!" Keer stood behind Uriel who missed the skeleton, but he stabbed at it with his longspear.

Naahir looked back toward the throne, wondering where the mysterious voice was coming from and who was fearing his companions. He spied a pair of boots sticking out underneath one of the tapestries. The catfolk nimbly dashed past one of the skeletons, leaping off of the throne to slash through the tapestry into the hiding figure! The curtain tore away as bones from the ribcage of the skeleton behind shattered outward! Sen jabbed her longspear into another of the skeletons, but the sharp end simply slid between the bones. Thrice continued to run at full speed back the way we had come. Vorst struggled against the paralyzing hold against him, but still seemed to be unable to move. The skeleton before him, slashed into him!

The powerful skeleton looked shocked, grabbing up his sword in both hands, "Curses you have found me!" and jabbed the blade deeply into the catfolk, leaving him gasping for breath as blood spilled to the floor! Uriel lashed out with both of her claws into the skeleton before her as Keerinaal broke the rest of it with a strike of his longspear. Naahir struck the powerful skeleton back as he still staggered from the vicious strike. Sen quickly slipped up behind the catfolk, laying her hands on his back to heal some of his wounds. Thrice continued running until finally calming down back near the laboratory until she realized she was now alone... she turned around, looking for any sign of her companions. Vorst finally broke through the hold on him as the powerful ancient bone priest stepped around the catfolk to strike into the aasimar healing his foe, splashing her blood onto the tapestries around them!

Uriel clashed her claws against the skeleton's bones, but Keer sent in a splash of acid to eat away at it's bones! Naahir growled at the skeleton, angered that he would dare step around him, and wrapped his sharp claws against the skeletal priest, giving Sen the opportunity to take a couple of steps back and heal some of her gaping wounds. Alone, Thrice wove a spell around herself to run faster and quickly bolted back toward her friends with renewed courage! Vorst blocked off the bone priest's retreat and smashed into him with his hooked hammer, shattering off bits of bone.

With the oracle protected by two, the bone priest slashed into the catfolk in his way! Blood sprayed out and Naahir fell to the ground, unconscious! The bone priest tried to suck up the furred slayer's soul, but Naahir had a strong will to live even unconscious. Sen grabbed his furred body, pulling him back to her and sending in a wave of green life energy, "Stay with us, Naahir!" He fluttered his eyes open, coming to consciousness, and managed to get back on his feet, still swaying. Thrice moved with super speed, running through the halls back toward her friends, and arrived in the room to see the catfolk standing back up. Vorst smashed into the skeleton skull with his bludgeoning hammer, dropping him to the ground! Sen used a wand to heal up more of the catfolk's wounds and then sent out a full wave to help heal everyone.

"Where did you go?" Naahir raised an eyebrow at Thrice. "I ran to get that safety net back there... but it was secured... securely," she shrugged. Searching the room, they took a bastard sword, a dagger, a scroll tube with a scroll of two spells, a few longswords, a buckler, a belt, a healing potion, bone dice, a vial of silvery liquid, a thumb-sized token of green glass with runes on it, and bags of gold and silver. They also found peep holes cut into the tapestry where the bone priest had been spying through.

The dark-haired tiefling pointed out another secret door, and the half-elven summoner sent a grappling hook back out to the other room to pull a lever near the chest. The ceiling came crashing down with a whoosh, leaving about a foot gap to the floor. Pulling the rope to flip the lever back... the ceiling raised slowly. Naahir carefully went back in and used the keyring on the chest, bringing the ceiling back down, but he managed to drop flat to the ground in time. Inside the now-open empty chest was a simple note that read, "Curiousity kills. Another fine device courtesy of Addington's Fine Traps and Defenses." "Naahir will find this Addington... he is filthy," the catfolk dusted himself off and joined the others back in the tapestry room. "He does play dirty," Sen agreed, patting the dark-furred slayer on the shoulder.

Everyone slipped through the next secret passageway into another room to find where grey webbing filled the chamber. Huge cocoons of spidersilk hung suspended in the webs where countless thousands of tiny pale spiders. A swarm of tiny spiders headed for the group with the open door. Sen lit the webbing on fire with her magic, and the chamber was filled with a sharp trill of screaming spiders. Naahir happily applauded their death. The swarm of spiders persisted, the spark of fire not enough to thwart their advance. Sen slammed the door, "Wrong door! Sorry!" Still the swarm marched forward, coming from under the door and crawling up her legs as she shrieked and pushed the others backward. Thrice threw a flask of burning alchemical fire on the swarm, burning the spiders alive much to the catfolk's continued delight.

With the swarm dead and the webbing burned away, everyone went back to check the other secret passage that took them to a hallway that curved to the right and had two ordinary doors. Naahir stepped into the hall, but before he could make it to the first door, the floor fell beneath him dropping him into a pit where multiple sharp spikes waited below! Sen shouted out, reaching to grab the catfolk, "Nooo! That's the trap with the smart spider! He'll pull the lever to seal the floor! Stop him!" Naahir landed nimbly away from the spikes to see a large spider flip a lever that sealed the trap door above him!

Sen and Thrice quickly tied off Vorst and secured the rope, letting the gnome leap onto the trap floor to drop safely above the spikes. Drawn by the new tasty meat snack dangling in the room, the giant spider spit out a wad of sticky webbing that plastered the gnome to the wall! Uriel used the rope still attached to the sticky gnome to get into the pit, avoiding the spikes. Naahir used his blade to nick into the spider as Sen sent a spark on the webbing gluing Vorst to the wall, freeing his arms as the webbing melted, but burning him in the process. Uriel tried to strike at the spider with her claws, but was unable to find the soft and squishy bits beyond the giant hairy legs. Keer tried to jab it with his longspear, but the difficult angle and full pit made it difficult. Still stuck to the wall from the waist down and on fire... Vorst heroically pulled his bow and sank an arrow deeply into the spider! The spider bit into Naahir with it's mandible, and the catfolk resisted it's poison and struck back with his blade into the spider's body! The fire burned away the rest of the webbing, freeing Vorst and burning his flesh! Sen sent out a powerful wave of healing over everyone as Thrice sent in a bolt from her crossbow to nick into the spider's body. Uriel struck into the underbelly of the spider with her claws and Keer stabbed again with his longspear, unable to sink into the spider's body. The half-elven summoner looked over the longspear to make sure it wasn't rubber. The spider bit into the eidolan, pouring poison into her body to sap her strength! Uriel struck against the spider again with her claws, tearing it's head off as it bit her! Thrice, Sen, and Keer pulled the others back up with the rope and carefully got everyone over the trapfloor to peer into the next room where they found the pit room with the large circular hole in the floor. A heavy iron ladder descended straight down into the darkness blocked by many criss-crossing strands of webbing. Vorst poured oil around the edge of the descending tunnel and Sen sent a spark into the oil to burn the webbing back, revealing 2 large spiders clinging to the walls and climbing up. Thrice quickly threw her alchemy bomb flask in to cover them in thick flames, flailing back down the tube into the darkness... until they thumped heavily 50 feet down, curling legs in on their dying bodies. Cutting open the spiders, the group found undigested gems inside. Not wanting to push on to the third floor, everyone pushed on to find their way back out of the spyre. They returned to the Trading Post where Lorwynelle and her sorcerer companions helped them identify the loot. 1200 experience each to Vorst, Thrice, Keer, Sen, and Naahir! LOOT! 2 Cure Moderate Wounds Potions (Thrice) Scroll of Fireball and Fly (Lorwynelle) +1 Longsword (Naahir) Horn of Fog  4 water pouches and 4 rations of salted food Keyring of Keys +1 Bastard Sword (sold for 2000 gold = extra 400 gold each!) Masterworked Dagger (Naahir) 4 Masterworked Longswords (currently held for other PC interest or possible NPC use) Masterworked Buckler (Naahir) Belt of Constitution +2 (Vorst) 1 Cure Moderate Potion Weighted Bone Dice that always roll 6's (Naahir)  Vial of Silversheen (Thrice) Green Glass Spyre Token (to be used with sigils to travel in the spyre... We also have the sigil 4 and sigil 6 marks now.) 350 found gold and gems divided into 70 gold each!