Valthur scratches at the mop of hair underneath his helm and looks blankly to the others. "It that supposed to mean thank you or something else? I can't tell with these little guys."

He refrains from saying anything else, hoping Aldara or Eoni will deal with the riddle-speaking Grigs.

 Marklin tossed the severed head of the Kobold down in front of the mushrooms. " Are ye telling me, the little buggers want something else from us? Blood stained gods, do we work for them or the Alchemist?"

 Marklin leaned upon his spear and looked to the Dwarf.

Eoni squatted down to be closer to eye level with the Moonsong speaker and asked, "Do you happen to know where we could find any Bloodrose Moss?"

She wanted to ask if they could take a few of the broken mushrooms that Marklin had damaged but thought it would have been insensitive.  They would make do with what they had.

The Grig responds to Eoni's query in rhyme:

Happen to know, yes we can say we do
Wresting it from her would be quite the coup
Tricky she is, you will certainly see
Up, up you go, to the top of the tree
But mind your wits as you seek out this clue

A chorus of spritely giggles are heard in the mound. Then, the Grig speaker vanishes from its perch.

Sarah glances up at the ledge she occupied so long ago.  "Spider web.  Fresh, too."

"Lovely..." Aldara grimaces in the direction Sarah is looking.  She sniffs.  "Well, I've got some rope."

Eoni brushed at her dress as she stood.  The damp tree mold was taking it's toll on it.

"I guess we go up," she said, looking in that direction for as far as their torchlight would travel.

"Sarah," she asked, turning to the young girl, "do you think you could climb up there again to attach the rope?"

Sarah nods; buoyed by her prior success she is less hesitant than last time.  Pulling out the spikes and she was provided before her earlier climb (which she never returned), she ascends.

Once near the ledge, and before hoisting herself up, she peers cautiously at the area where she saw the web.  So long as there are no arachnids (or worse) present, she completes her climb.

Once on the ledge, Sarah stays as far away as possible from the spider webs.  Keeping one eye on the darkness that lies at the end of the torch light -- and taking care not to touch any of the silvery strands -- she looks for a place to affix the rope.


09:04, Today: Sarah rolled 38 using 1d100 with rolls of 38.  Climb (88).

 The Warrior watched Sarah, as she climbed the "wall" like some sort of bug. Marklin was somewhat impressed by her feat, but that did not distract his remaining alert for any movement  on his level.

 If, and when the rope was secured, he would attempted to climb up.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:33, Fri 23 Dec 2016.

With full knowledge of the suspect rungs, Sarah ably leads the party up the rope ladder with little difficulty.

Once atop the ledge, the scene is much as it appeared two days ago:

The rough wooden ledge is stable, but its surface is bowed and warped, and littered
with scraps of peeled bark, rotting leaves and debris. The ledge widens to 15 feet at a few
points, but tapers down to 10 feet along most of its length. The great trunk is slightly narrower at this height, and the edge of this shelf overlooks the circular patch of moonsong mushrooms below.

The ledge begins in the great tree's northmost quadrant and wraps around the edge of the tree, counterclockwise, through the south quadrant, though details beyond 30 or 40 feet are shadowy at best.

Spiderwebs drape over the northwest quadrant creating sort of patchwork canopy above this portion of the ledge, The web is littered with tree debris in addition to the husks of a few dead animals, primarily small birds. The canopy itself is about 20 feet wide and attached to the side of the ledge, though it is possible for even the tallest party member to traverse beneath the web without disturbing it.

"Liam and I can wait here with one of the torches to watch your back," Eoni proposed.  "Yhus can light your way with the other."

She didn't feel the need for everyone to threaten the ledge with their combined weight and it wouldn't take all of them to pick some moss if they did find it.

"Try not to light the web on fire," she added as an afterthought reaching out to lower Liam's own torch.  "We don't want to burn the tree down."

 Once they Warriors were up top, Marklin wound ready  his shield in his left hand, with his spear in the right. He would point with his spear  in a south by southwest direction.

“We move along , one keeping his eyes level on the ledge, the other keeping an eye above us. This is a bloody spider, and I doubt it be a small one. It mayhap drop down on our heads. Let’s keep a slow but steady place, Master Dwarf.”

 All the time Marklin had been  speaking in a low tone, his eyes attempted to penetrate the gloom, to what was beyond.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:19, Fri 23 Dec 2016.

"I've got the ledge," Valthur mutters through clenched teeth to Marklin. "You keep your eyes above."

The dwarf strains to see into the shadows. His darkvision, impaired by the torchlight, helps little, even beyond its flickering radius. He considers asking Yhus and Liamm to shield them, but realizes that his improved vision would come at the cost of everyone else's.

Valthur and Marklin take lead while the others remain back near the rope ladder, watching their progress. The dwarf and fight pass underneath the webbed canopy with little issue, no huge hairy spider lurching down at any point. Beyond the webbed canopy the rough ledge continues to wind around the tree toward the south.

Along the wall to the south, the pair spot a round hole roughly 10 feet in diameter, just
before the wooden ledge tapers off to nothingness against the wall of the massive tree.

Based on your observations of the tree from outside, this appears to be the rotted-out knot
of one of the larger broken branches. Most of the great limbs were twisted and broken, and
neither Marklin or Valthur think it could extend much farther than 15 to 20 feet from the trunk.

The pair are about 30 feet distant from the hole and can faintly see what looks like a red velvety moss blanketing the round hole's interior...the bloodrose moss!

Marklin looked to Valthur. " I'll go ahead and test the ledge with my spear to test its strength."

 If there were no objections from the others, the Warrior would use his spear as a prod as he slowly walked forward.

Valthur follows along with the fighter, nudging him as he makes out what appears to be the elusive bloodrose moss. "There, Marklin. Do you see it? Down that little side passage." He points to the tunnel made by the rotting branch while calling to the others. "I think I see it, but I got a bad feeling about this. There's a spider around here somewhere and she's probably as big as she is hungry."

Sarah readies a pair of darts, just in case.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:03, Mon 26 Dec 2016.

Marklin did, indeed, see the last thing on the group's shopping list. But as pleased, as the sight was to the warrior, he remained alert for threats.

"Aye, I see it, Valthur. But until we slay whatever is up here, it might as well be leagues from here. Beware the edge of the ledge. That thing might be under us waiting to come up here and ambush our flank or rear. Lemme try something, make ready."

Marklin took the butt of hear spear, and touched one of the webs and tugged.

After passing through the webbed canopy, Marklin pokes at one of the anchoring web strands in an attempt to elicit a response from any spiders which may be lurking above. The action has the desired response. A large, mottled brown spider is seen skittering above the canopy, moving quickly down it to search what manner of potential prey has entered its web!

The large spider draws to within melee range of Marklin, its eager mandibles snapping wildly as it closes the distance quickly...

Large Spider
AC: 5
HP: 14/18


Aldara   8    4/4  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Eoni     8  10/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Marklin  6    8/8  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Sarah    6    6/6  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Valthur  4    9/9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Yhus     6  10/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20

[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14
]

PCs are UP!!!

This message was last edited by the GM at 08:28, Tue 27 Dec 2016.

Sarah zings a dart at the spider as it advances.  The missile nicks the spider.  Barely.

15:07, Today: Sarah rolled 14,1 using d20+2,d4 with rolls of 12,1.  Throw Dart (14 to hit AC 5).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:08, Mon 26 Dec 2016.

 Marklin saw movement upon the web. The source, was a rather nasty looking spider. He thrust his spear at the thing.

16:04, Today: Marklin rolled 3 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 2.  Spear damage on Spider.
15:58, Today: Marklin rolled 19 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 18.  Spear thrust at Spider.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:20, Mon 26 Dec 2016.

Eoni readied her staff to protect Liam where they stood near the ladder.

"I hope there's only one of them," she added hesitantly.

Grimacing at the sight of the spider, Aldara readies her silver dagger in her right hand, and one of her regular daggers in the other.

Not gonna risk throwing upwards...

Given the narrow web-free confines, Yhus finds it difficult to get into an effective position to lend aid to Marklin and Valthur in the front ranks. The cleric uses his torch to provide light for his companions, all the while gripping his mace for the eventuality his martial prowess or divine blessings may be needed.
This message was last updated by the player at 17:28, Tue 27 Dec 2016.

"Blargh," Valthur cries in a combination of shock and disgust. "I knew it!" The dwarf steps toward the spider and swings, but the surrounding webs misguide his attempt. His blade catches a few silky strands from the ceiling, but none of his intended arachnid opponent.

15:59, Today: Valthur Ironhelm rolled 6 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 4.  sword vs. spider.