Anyway back to myself as pretty as you are. You men seem to not like women I'm not modest to take the form of most things I must shed my clothes first a she lion body doesn't wear a dress well. I'm proud of my body its touched by magic you don't learn magic as a Shapechanger you are magic. My children someday if I have any have a chance to be touched by it.

Dysis would you carry my clothes and things for when I'm changed to a` beast when such isn't practical including my share of coin I feel I can trust you? she returned to normal seemingly at ease more than before smiling as she sat down by the fire moving her clothes and bedroll as they dried.

 Lysandros did his best to rally everyone to return to the mine. " Wecome to our new companions. I think we should now return to the mine and cleanse it of whatever foulness that remains."

Dysis' lips curled faintly.

"I believe my companions like women just fine.   It's just that they're professional enough to not mix pleasure and business where it could be a distraction, or become messy.   And they are noblemen, as well; the sort whom seem to believe that their own conduct should set an example."

As to the other matter, she nodded-  "I think I can accommodate you in that, Dionae.  The one advisement I'd give though, is that I am a spell worker, and at least one hand must be free when I cast.  But I imagine I could put your things in a sack, and have it over my shoulder."   

"I travel light, on purpose, I'll give you half of any coin and precious things for your help and will teach you about my kind but magical treasures we will see about. Unless given to me by my beloved goddess Hecate which I must keep.," Dionae said to Dysis as she stared into the fire not needing the wealth.

August 29, 313 - 9:00 AM

Having welcomed the newcomer, Dionae into the group, the party had lounged a bit further in their shelter while breaking their fast and watching the rain continue to steadily as morning turned into day. From there, there is a bit of surprise as Itylus suddenly announces that he will accompany Iranato, Rosellea, Tereys, and Regnferth back to Thena. Speaking to Arthanos, Dysis, and Lysandros in confidence, who were friends to him, he states: "I would not go otherwise and leave you my friends, but I have felt unsettled by our mission. Something has not felt right about the Dimas' family intentions for this artifact. Perhaps with the resources from our young friend Tereys I can learn more before it is brought back to the Dimas family.

"Besides. My skills are best suited towards in the woods. Not in the caves."

Clasping his comrades Arthanos and Lyandros arms in goodbye, and giving a hug to Dysis (and a polite nod or shake of the hand to Dionae and Tancea) he goes to join the other four as they depart the mines.

---

From there, Arthanos, Dysis, and Lysandros, now in the company of the healer Tancea, and the shapeshifter Dionae, return to the mines following the path that Tancea had taken to save them some time and eventually return to the northern passage. As they do so the echos of the Blacksmith's words comes to mind.



In front of them, blocking further passage was yet further thick webbing, such that had to be cut down again by the warriors, with flame from torches provided when possible by the others in the group to burn away whatever webbing remained. Fortunately, this time there is no taunting voice from the darkness calling out at them.

Going forward cautiously the party eventually finds that they reach a dead end, though it is clear that the spiders had made this their nest as on the ground and on the walls encased in webbing are hundreds of egg sacs. Now, the majority of these are quite small indicating they belonged most likely to more common spiders rather than the giant variety, however there are three much larger egg sacs as well which the group can only surmise would produce either a cave spider like they had faced, or perhaps even another Daughter of Arachne... if that was how they reproduced that is.

Looking around the cavern further, Dysis sees a faint glimmer from the walls. Brushing away some of the webs to get a better look she discovers crystals that appear to be a clear quartz that had been covered by the spiderwebs.


Actions?

.               __                    ______
.              | %|                   \  P /
.              \  /                    \  /
.               ||                     {  }______________(Exit to upper level)
.              <  >                    / /
.              <  >                   / /
.               ||                    | |
.               ||                    |&|
.              _||_                   | |
.             |    |_______           | |
.             | $   ____  |           | |
.             |____|    | |           | |
.                       | |           | |
.                       \  \__________| |__________________/\______
.                        \____________  ___________________exit to upper level
.                                     | |                  \/
.                                     | |
.                         ?           | |
.                    ----{?}-----     | |
.                    |           |    |*|
.                    |    B      |    | |
.                    |           |    / /
.                    |____D______|   / /
.                        | |________/ /
.                        |___________/
.

P = party location
* = dead human found in southern passage
$ = battle site with the floating eyes
& = battle site with cave spiders
% = mining site
D = unusual door
B = Blacksmith

Dysis assented to Dionae that her offer was generally acceptable, and said that she much respected Hecate, though her own devotion was for another.

She was not happy about Itylus' departure; yet understood his decision. She returned the hug, then watched as he and the others departed.

And then, it was back into the den of the spiders. It would have been nice if their victory over the Daughter had served to purge her own phobia, but of course it had not.     She grimaced in particular at the sight of the larger egg sacs.

"We should put a torch to those," she remarked, intending to do it herself, if no one else did.        However, she was first diverted over to the crystals.

"These would be some of the minerals our smith acquaintance made mention of, I believe."   

Arthanos was sad to see Itylus go and wished him luck in his travels. His slightly morose thoughts filled his mind until they entered the tunnels once more. Arthanos felt his fears slowly crowd back into his mind, and he once more began to mutter occasional prayers to Athena as he walked.

---

When they reached the spiders' nest, Arthanos walked around a little with his torch, looking at the webs and nests.

"I concur Dysis. Burning this all would be best. I'd also say we should put a blade through the eggs just in case, especially the biggest ones." he says, glancing at her and raising his torch and holding towards the walls.

"Anyone got a reason not to?" he calls out to the others.

"If this is valuable they might guard the crystals I suggest smash and burn those, the little spiders are part of nature those aren't.," she takes out her knife planning to get some crystals but got distracted with a small spider on her hand she lets go.

"They are pretty and kill pest bugs so are good these should be in fields and barns not here there are too many.," she looked sad like unnatural forces are at work.

Looking back and forth between the eggs and the people talking around in circles about them Tancea doesn't even take a moment to assess the situation before answering their combined concerns.

”Some of the spiders may be more dangerous than we can afford to leave behind unattended for long but for now at least the egg sacks seem to be reasonably stable and the last the we want to do is tip any of the active ones off by lighting a giant fire, let alone the risk of burning down anything we may need to investigate here or spreading the fire to somewhere else, if you need to assure yourself of the fate of the spiders in the larger eggs the sword is no doubt the correct plan.”

 Lysandros considered a moment, then voiced his opinion." Might not those that dabble in the mystical arts, purchase the larger eggs? If that is not an option, then I say destroy them."

Pushing things forward...

Resolving to leave the spider eggs alone for the time being, and having cut a path through to the chamber, the party turns back and heads towards where they had found the blacksmith. Once again they find the strange door though this time it asks no riddles of them and instead gives way, allowing the party members to enter once again into the blacksmith's forge...



The blacksmith has been waiting for them, and after the party members enter he speaks to them, his words slow and laborious. "A boon I promised if you would help me. The Daughter and her kin have been slain. The Floating Eyes that enslaved are dispatched. My servants can now obtain fuel for the forge and I may continue my work"

With that, in a flash the two smaller humanoid creatures wreathed in flames burst out from the blacksmith's forge and head past the party from where they had come from, presumably off to the corners of the mines to obtain minerals and the like.

The blacksmith gestures for the party members to step closer towards them, if (or as) they do so, he brings forward some strange items from a table by his forge. "Protection from the Undead I promised and protection these will provide. use them wisely."

The massive behind then gestures to the passageway behind him. "If you are ready, seek the dog-skin and your destiny."

Examining the items on the table, the party members find five ethereal cloaks. Examining them, the substance is almost like a shadow and if you look at it long enough it seems to phase in and out of reality as the light bounces off of them. One minute you see it and it looks real, the next minute it is almost gone. Touching them is like touching ice and a chill runs through you as you do so. If you put on the cloak you similarly feel the same chill, leaving you feeling ill at ease as if you were in the initial stages of a sickness.

There are weapons on the table as well, also strange in their nature. For each person is a stiletto dagger, but unlike the cloaks there is no ethereal property to these weapons. If you hold them there is a warmth that counteracts the coldness of the cloaks. It is almost as if there is a living flame inside the thin metal blades.

Additionally, for the two warriors, Arthanos and Lysandros, the blacksmith has forged two short swords. They do not give off the same feeling of warmth and security as the stiletto daggers do, but like the ethereal cloaks these weapons seem to phase in and out of reality from minute to minute. They feel awkward in the hands of Arthanos and Lysandros compared to their normal weapons.

OOC:

In gameplay terms:

1. The Cloaks provide additional stealth bonuses if worn amongst living creatures (in effect it doubles your danger evasion bonus on stealth rolls). Amongst undead creatures you can pass by without arising their ire, but should you engage them in combat or otherwise provoke them then the benefit of the cloaks for stealth are nullified. A penalty is that it provides zero EDC whatsoever against mundane weapons, but will half the damage taken by magical weapons or attacks such as life energy drain attack). There is a penalty associated with them as they are not of the living world, and so prolonged use will temporary weaken your character where they suffer progressive penalties to all attributes.

2. The daggers have elemental fire forged into them such that will provide extra damage on attack against an undead creature, and have a set damage of 1d6+1, plus a chance of instantly destroying an undead creature. (10% chance on a 1d100). Against a living creature it does only a normal 1d3 as any other dagger would. Although the daggers provide that feeling of safety and warmth they will not stave off the effect of the cloaks forever.

3. The two shortswords are similar, but their damage is equal to 1d6 + Skill Modifier for their users against an undead creature. There is no chance of an instant kill. Against a living creature the weapon will only do normal damage of 1d6. A penalty here is that the Weapon of Choice benefit does not apply as they are awkward to handle.

Dysis selected one cloak and one dagger.   The cloak, in particular, with its shadow like essence, was interesting to her from a professional perspective.   She planned to study its nature and composition more carefully, one day, when she had the leisure for it.

"Thank you, Master-smith, for keeping your word, and providing us what you have.   As for being ready..." 

That will depend.  Did I get enough sleep during our down time to regain my spell points?   Because I had spent most of what I have.    And, definitely not marching off into this, w/o being reloaded.  Although: 

Dysis reflected that Corporeal undead -- ghouls, animate corpses and such - would be affected by her Air magic as any physical foe. The incorporeal sort, however - that would be a different story.   Neither did she expect them to be susceptible to the powers of shadow, as it was their native element.   But she was armed, as were they all, with a blade that could wound them.

And too, there was the Belt of Apollo, that she still wore about her waist.   How would the undead like its pure and bright light?   She was very certain she would find out.

Arthanos nods his thanks to the smith while he keeps an eye on the flame creatures. He wondered why if the creature could summon beings of flame, what threat the creatures they killed had been to them.

"Your gifts are much appreciated. Would you like us to return these once our work is done?" he asks the smith.

Remembering how slow the creature was to respond, he moved over to the items to appraise them. While the dagger and sword drew his eye, he focused on the weird pile of fabric. It blended and flowed as he stared at it, and he felt shivers go down his spine, something warning him to be careful. Raising a wary hand, he went to touch the cloak before picking it up, and nearly wrenched his arm away at the feeling of cold. Muttering a quick prayer to Athena and Apollo, he decided to explore the weapons before picking up a cloak.

Lifting a dagger, he marveled at the feeling of warmth before attaching it to his belt. He then carefully picked up the sword. Making sure he had room between himself and the others, he moved through some basic forms, a grimace going over his face. While the blade was nice, its balance just did not feel quite right. Putting it down to needing to adjust, he carefully sheathed the blade and held it in his arms. Looking at the cloak, he decided he wouldn't pick it up until he absolutely had to.

Watching the others experiment with the cloaks and daggers Tancea does not seem particularly surprised by the experience of handling them herself, strapping the dagger's shieth on under her robe more like a tool than a weapon and wrapping the cloak in a piece of cloth from her pack before putting both away.

”Perhaps we could go over that thing about the undead again, any information about what type to expect would be particularly helpful, or quantity.”

"The boon holds no conditions. They are yours. Use them wisely." the blacksmith says in reply.



"The underworld you seek is house to those who kept their familiar faces but have frozen in their wit, and the nameless: the bones that rattle and those who hunger endlessly." the blacksmith says.

She gazed up at the smith, and made an attempt to obtain more clarity - "Those with their faces but frozen wit --  animate cadavers, something like this, is that what you mean?   And the Nameless --  phantoms, that hunger for the warmth of the living, something along those lines?"   

Arthanos nodded at the blacksmith's response to his question, though the second one seemed slightly confusing.

"That makes sense Dysis...though the 'bones that rattle' may also refer to skeletons," Arthanos says in response to her comment.

"The underworld is vast and inhabitants are of legion and numerous are entrances to the realm. Many inhabitants dwell but are frozen in wit, frozen in time. They are the familiar: family, friends, lovers and enemies. They are shades - phantoms without substance or form."

"The nameless do not inhabit the underworld as the familiar do. They hunger and hate, and cannot be sated by sacrifice. They are the bones of men that walk the ground and the spirits who have lost their name and seek only to drain life from the living. The underworld is not their home, but their prison. Be wary of the nameless."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 20:26, Mon 17 Feb 2020.

Dionae spoke up ,"If we are entering the Underworld it is good to sacrifice to the mighty deities in dominion there and we should try to enter where the normal shades reside. And I fight as natural things a dog or bear but one can fly and might serve us well as a scout. But am not sure can these creatures do ranged attacks with bows and similar?"

Pondering the situation she finds herself suddenly tossed into it takes Tancea a moment to catch up to what is going on, but when she does a few ideas come to mind.

”The undead without physical bodies are probably most vulnerable to magic, and while the ones made from bones might not have bows even if they once used them in life the floating ones may be able to chase down flying birds fairly well.”

"And too," Dysis added, "we may not be the only ones who wield or work magic.  Ancient lore makes some note of undead who were occultists in life, and retained power in the art."  She shrugged.

"Anyway, my own patroness, Persephone, is wife of Lord Hades.   I do plan to sacrifice to her.   And, adding something for her husband would be, I think, a good idea. Hecate as well, of course," she nodded to Dionae.  "And perhaps others."   

Listening to the women speak, Arthanos nods in agreement.

"It is only right. That said, are we going to pull back long enough to offer proper sacrifices, or do we want to stick with prayers but continue on? Also, if we're raiding a place that is protected by servants of the gods, do we want to draw their attention and possible ire? If we pray to the wrong one, it may alert them. That said, they may actually allow us access to the helm..." he finishes and trailing off, his mind trying to work his way through the possible outcomes.

"Hecate is the enemy of Hades she covets his power and place her claim is challenged going to his realm puts me in some danger but Hecate might be amused if I succeed in this mission. Could the normal shades there aid us many heroes and champions are there some might find it a short cure from their boredom?," Dionae said as she packed away the cloak for later.

In reply to Dionae (msg # 225):

 "Those that have entered then returned from the realm of Hades, are accounted great  heros. I shall offer sacrifice to Athena, so I might prove worthy." So said Lysandros.

The party proceeded forward...

THREAD CLOSED