Walking down the corridor, the group comes across a bloodied and exausted Illianka resting by the corpse of a drider - apparently slain singlehandedly. Drider ichor is splashed in various spots all over the corridor - the fight moved about a bit.
Illianka has a large, spider shaped mark on her cheek which is bleeding faintly.

Schnickle rushed over to Illianka. "Illianka! Alright are you?"

The half-drow seems fairly unresponsive as she sits on the ground, legs folded out to the sides and then back under so that she's sitting between her calves. Her face is hidden by her hair as her head droops forward, and she seems wracked by exhaustion and weakness.

"I failed..." she whispers, likely for the svirfneblin's sake. "They escaped..."

"Who? Driders?"

The deep gnome started to wave over some Minotaurs, to get them to track the driders.

"My sisters..." she mutters, before finally stirring herself and looking at the Drider corpse. With a sigh, she takes the ring from it's finger and the two shortsword-sized daggers it carried, secreting the ring in a belt pouch and strapping the daggers to the small of her back, hilts crossed over so that she'd be able to draw them one into each hand if she chose. Surprisingly, the drider's harness needs little adjustment to fit snugly against her midriff. "They are... not your concern. If you wish... I can leave the group. It would be safer for you." Though she's turned back to face the gnome, she's looking away as she lets her piwafwi hang down to cover her equipment once again. [Private to DM Daniel: not a piwafwi as in the magic item, just as in the style of cloak.]

If they serve the Illithid, then you will find them again. Kharona said to the woman as he moved past her down the corridor, peering ahead as if they would return.

After many moments he turned back to the half-drow kneeling sullenly on the ground. You must forgive my hesitance to aid you before. The Drider were not my concern in these caverns. I hunt the Devourers and often times their blasphemous faces are all that I see.

With a nod of his head he spoke gravely,

I am Kharona Azahl, Master of the Soul's Blade. Our missions have crossed paths and now we will travel together and you will not be left alone to fight unless necessity demands it. I ask you, stand, in the knowledge that you have acquited yourself bravely and still yet live to hunt.

"Stand..? Barely. She has cursed me, and I know not the cure... even now, I feel it eating at me from within. I do not think that you deserve to suffer for my weakness, and I fear that it may come to encompass all those I associate with."

"Driders for sisters? Eww..." Schnickle muttered, then said to Illianka "If these driders you did destroy, then safer are we with you."

He went on to say "Leave us you mustn't. Attack the monsters will anyway, for any reason that does not matter. Safer are we all if together we stay."  Here Schnickle paraphrased a traditional Svirfneblin saying, even if nobody could or should recognise it.

"Now a healer we must find for you."


OOC: Sorry, only cure potions here.

Deepwalker shakes his head, If your battle prowess wasn't up to the task why did you chase them?  You could have come back and gotten the rest of us when they stopped to rest instead of engaging them in combat by yourself.  Foolish it was and hopefully it's a lesson well learned.

"It was my fight. I was there prey... they had to become mine. Nearly... I nearly had them. If I'd waited for you, they would have escaped. That... will cause more problems now. My only hope is... that with this curse, they will stop. Alauniira said that her mission was completed..." she raised a hand to her cheek, touching the spider-shapes scar there. "I'm sorry, Stoneswiper, but I don't think you have time to find a healer for me before we must destroy the Illithid... and I don't know how much help I'll be. The longer we wait, I fear that the worse I will become... and the more chance of the curse moving to you as well."

Schnickle thought for a moment. "Minotaurs perhaps have a shaman for healing. Invasion force not very good without. Check I will."

The svirfneblin rushed off to find some minotaurs, to ask if a shaman capable of healing was present.

Deepwalker allows his expression to soften, We're here to do things as a team.  Don't be afraid to ask for help if you want it.  That's what team mates and friends are for.

Edit: Fixed.
Several members of the raiding party are skilled at medicine, but none have magical healing. Minotaurs tend to rely on being tough.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:21, Fri 29 Sept 2006.

Edit: Fixed


Schnickle trotted back to Illianka. "Healing shamans there are none. Sorry."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:21, Fri 29 Sept 2006.

"I'll.. I'll help however I can, then... I'll try not to do anything foolish." she looks at Deepwalker, feeling a strange emotion she'd not encountered before as she takes in both he and the gnome. "Thankyou... for your..." she stops, then, as though she can't think of the correct word to express what she means. "For your trust and aid..."

The city is two days away still (one if you really hustle). Unless anyone has anything to post in that time, I'll speed up time.

Yuthel and I can lead the way to the city of the Devourers. I lobby for haste.

OOC:I'm all for speeding it up

Though weakened, Illianka follows where they walk as best she can... though she seems to be travelling at the back of the group, weak and unable to keep up with the stronger members of the warparty.

ooc: same.

Schnickle made a grand sweeping gesture, waving over the minotaurs and pointing off down the tunnel. "Onwards!" he squeaked.

After hours of travel, the minotaur leader declares the current spot as being a good place to camp for a few hours. Throughout the night, several minotaurs begin to shake and cough, as do the original members of the party. Each of them is beginning to show signs of a spider-shaped patch on their cheek - especially deepwalker, who seems to be suffering even worse than Illianka from this unnatural disease.

[Private to Illianka: You feel your illness burning into you through the night. The spider on your cheek is more pronounced, and you are beginning to see it appear on your comrades faces. (Take 3 CON damage)]
[Private to Deepwalker: You feel a burning sensation - you awaken in the night to find your face flushed, sweating and - chitinous? A patch of skin has turned hard and glossy. You cough, sending shudders of pain through you and leaving flecks of blood in your hand. (You are diseased; take 3 points of CON damage and 1 point of CON drain)]

[Private to Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper: You are woken up by Deepwalker coughing and hacking loudly. Your head is filled with a scraping sound, and you feel terrible (Take 2 CON damage and 1 CON drain.]
[Private to Kharona Azahhl, Yuthel Astid'Malaad: You feel fine, but your comrades look distinctly ill.]

"Schnicklegulp, Deepwalker... everyone... I'm afraid that if we have another day like that one... none of us may survive the fight, if we even live to reach it. I don't know if it'll work, but... if I had known the curse would act so quickly, I would have gone and never looked back. Since none here can remove it... you must end the curse." She turns to face the jortunbrud and gnome, spread her arms to the sides, palms open. "I guess I always was intended as a sacrifice... please, have my body consecrated to some merciful god, and do not let me fall into the spider queen's clutches..."

[Private to Deepwalker; DM Daniel; Kharona Azahhl; Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper; Yuthel Astid'Malaad: http://www.radioblogclub.com/o...20%20Promised%20Pain ]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:43, Wed 04 Oct 2006.

Schnickle woke in great pain and dizziness, and felt quite weak. He was horrified to see that everyone else was in the same situation. "Ergh... Wrong something is..."

When Illianka explained, he was horrified and disgusted even more than this sickness made him. "No! You cannot!" he cried.

But he couldn't think of anything else that could be done. There was no healer or curse-breaker nearby that he knew of. And the curse would defeat the army before it ever could get to the Mind Flayer city. Ever the pragmatist, Schnickle knew that there was no other choice. It had to be done.

"Very well." Schnickle spoke solemnly and slowly, endeavouring not to muddle the event for Illianka with the typical svirfneblin speak. "Our Deep Brother Callarduran Smoothhands will keep you safe and hidden." the svirfneblin promised. "How do you want us to do this?" He drew his sap from his bag. He would be sure to make it painless and quick.