Preston acknowledges the dragonborn with a nod, replying simply, "Preston. Preston Severn." He kneels over the body, trying to avoid most of the blood as he examines the dead man.

"Would he be carrying anything that should go home to his family?"

Chief shook his head, but added some words to let them know that it was not a no. "I don't know. We never spoke about family."

The dragonborn removed his sailor's hat and ran one hand over his head. "Could something here have affected this Thaylan or was he the villain all along? Shall we pursue him right away or search this place for any other nefarious allies, clues or evidence?"

Sereyna, still grim faced, looked at the dragonborn. "We didn't know him long, like Kerrek, but he seemed a stand up guy. He could have hidden his true nature, but just to do this, doesn't make sense."

She looked around. "I say we finish what we started here. Thaylan already has a head start, and if someone else here lives and we leave, they may suffer a similar fate. I don't know if it was this house or just him, but I want to make sure either way. Let's finish upstairs, move down here and get this done. We can bury or burn Kerrek's body after we are done with the house."

She removed her cloak and.placed it over Kerreks body, a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you....rest well my friend until we meet again."

She then looks at the others. "Sylvy...let's finish that room and then the others. Preston, Chief, you follow and keep a sharp eye for any sounds. You..."

She pointed at Ned. "Go to town. Tell the guard of what you saw. Tell them we finish our job and will return when we find answers. If Thaylan is still at large, then we will help hunt him down and get justice. Now, go."

Sylvy sent a long hard look at Ned. Her eyes were flat and blank. Finally, she shrugged and stood up to stalk back to what she had been doing. Kerrek had not been a friend of hers, at least not enough she was going to worry over-much about his death. it was regrettable, but it was done. Whoever was guilty would live with it or not. She had work to do.

Once more in the room, she paused to relocate the shiny object then began the slow crossing again.

Chief was as used to taking orders as giving them. He was a leader among his fellow crewmen, but certainly no officer and definitely not a captain. He just gave Sereyna a nod of confirmation, although he didn't mention that he was slightly hard of hearing on one ear and his scarred eye was somewhat lacking in peripheral vision. With that in mind, he tried to be extra vigilant as he followed the others, guarding their rear. Thoughts of his murdered friend lingered on his mind, however, leaving a grim expression on his face.

Ned's lips parted as if to protest that he didn't want to go to Saltmarsh alone, but caught the look on Sylvy's face and shut his mouth. "All right, all right," he said in a slightly shaky voice. "I better not run into that killer on the road..."

He looked around at everyone there and finally gave a firm nod. "You've my thanks again for freeing me," he said. "I'm truly sorry about your friend here." With that, he walked out the room and headed toward the front hall and the exit.

Everyone else returned to their exploration of the house, heading back upstairs to the room they'd just been about to enter when all hell had broken loose.

Sylvy quickly spotted the glittering object in the fireplace and crept forward to investigate. Just as she reached the edge of the fireplace, the sound of thousands of tiny, clattering legs filled the air, as a swarm of spiders poured out from behind a nearby mass of webs on the wall, moving quickly right toward Sylvy.

Please roll initiative all and declare initial action. The spiders are moving quickly; their initiative is 19.

The dragonborn sailor reacted fast at the sight of the swarm of spiders. His single hand swirled through the air to form an incantation, paired with arcane syllables escaping his lips. A streak of blue-white light sparked from his fingers, with frost spreading across a part of the swarm - unfortunately not affecting very many of the spiders.

Initiative 20
Action: Ray of Frost hits AC 20 for 1 hp cold damage.

Equally as fast as the Dragonborn at her shoulder, the half elf muttered a singe word in sylvan, a handful of fire appearing in her hand. Almost on reflex, she threw it at the swarm, protecting her friend.

<OOC: Sereyna rolled 20 using 1d20+2.  Iniative.

Casts produce flame and throws it at the swarm

Sereyna rolled 16 using 1d20+4.  Produce flame attack.
Sereyna rolled 7 using 1d8.  Produce flame damage.>
 

Preston, caught just about flat-footed, fumbled into his pack for a torch to light.

13:53, Today: Preston Severn rolled 6 using 1d20+1.  Initiative.

Sylvy audibly squeaked upon seeing the mass of spiders crawling her way. "By the hells!" Sylvy reacted by trying to move away as fast as her feet could take her.


01:09, Today: Sylvy rolled 18 using 1d20+3.  init.

Chief and Sereyna barely flinched at the sudden appearance of the spider swarm, reacting with precision to unleash an attack of fire and ice on the angry arachnids.

Squeaks and chittering sounds filled the air as the spiders seemed to screech at the elemental attacks. Dozens of spiders laid frozen or smoldering on the floor, but the swarm kept coming, surrounding Sylvy's feet.

But the nimble halfling twisted and shuffled around the nasty little beasts, avoiding any real harm!

OOC: Swarm is hurt but still moving. Everyone is up now, with Sylvy and then Preston's actions first in line. Sylvy, let me know where in the room you are moving--back toward door where the others are or further away into the other part of the room.

Preston gets a torch lit and burns any and all spiders that come his way.

Again calling on her elemental nature, the druid opened her hand, fire aain sprouting in her palm. As the spiders ran across the floor, she rolled the fire almost like a ball along the floor, with an underhand throw

<OOC: Casts Produce Flame

Sereyna rolled 22 using 1d20+4.  produce flame
Sereyna rolled 7 using 1d8.  damage - produce flame.>

Chief Pieros liked how they were destroying the swarm of spiders with fire from one side and ice on the other. The recent loss of his friend, however, was a weight on his spirit. He was far from his usual merry self. Venting some of his frustration on the many little creatures, Chief sent off another blast of cold light, hitting them well.

Attack: Hits AC 19 for 4 hp cold damage.

The pressure to scream bubbled up inside Sylvy like bear foam trying to overflow a glass. Still, other instincts had her tamping the need down fiercely. She had long operated in a profession that valued stealth and silence. Her lips pressed together in a familiar pain as she twisted and slapped at her own form to escape the miniscule horrors accosting her form.

Still, a certain presence of mind was more than she could muster. Beyond that, she moved without paying attention to where she set her feet. Instead of moving back along the trail she had followed before, she moved more into the center of the room. Anything to get away from chimney as fast as possible.


Moving toward the center of the room as long as that is away from the chimney. Throwing an "unarmed attack" at the spiders to represent slapping at them as the climb her form.

Sylvy rolled 20 using 1d20+2.  attack.

Pretty sure that is just a point or two or bludgeoning damage. Sylvy is on the edge of panicking here.

Sylvy slipped into the center of the room, trying to get away from the fireplace and the swarm. She swatted as she went, managing to crush a few of the nasty creatures.

Preston lit a torch and tried to thrust it into the swarm, but the spiders seemed to sense the flame coming and for the most part skittered clear of the torch.

Sereyna and Chief continued their elemental energy assault on the swarm, dozens upon dozens of spiders either freezing brittle and cracking apart or being consumed in fire.

The swarm was scattered now, most of its number dead, but the creatures' primitive instincts persisted as the arachnids pursued Sylvy. Their tiny fangs pierced her feet and ankles.

((Sylvy takes 4 HP damage.))

Status:8/12hp

Sylvy continues her dance. The pressure of the scream built within her throat and her mind. She felt her heart fluttering in her chest as she beat at the things, killing one or two here and there but feeling like the stings of their bites overwhelmed her efforts. She could not see the dissipating mass of the swarm, only the things crawling on her. Hyper-focused, her attention flit from beast to beast as she swatted until her own skin glowed red. Hope of escaping faded as she twisted in place trying to slap each new source of pain.

Standing still now. Floor is safe?

11:24, Today: Sylvy rolled 22 using 1d20+2.  slapping.

Critical slapping! Still just a handful of points of bludgeoning damage.

The dragonborn sailor scanned from side to side, seeing the spiders scurry about. More cold energy radiated from his hands, but he only managed to hit a few of the creatures.

Attack: Hits AC 23 for 2 hp cold damage.

Sereyna, smiling but with beads of sweat, looked around. "Never used this spell much" she muttered as she again produced fire in her hand, seeing a clump of spiders, threw it like a child would a ball.

<OOC: Produce flame

Sereyna rolled 18 using 1d20+4.  produce flame.
Sereyna rolled 6 using 1d8.  damage - produce flame.>

The onslaught of fire, ice, and halfling slaps finally stilled the swarm. A few scattered spiders scampered back into their webs or skittered up towards windoes, but the threat was passed.

Sylvy continued to dance and slap long after the last actual spider was gone back into its hidey hole. Eyes wide enough they looked white and panicked grunts continued to emit from her dancing form. Still, she contained the screams and slowly slowed her dance.

She had the presence of mind to turn a rather bright shade of crimson as her sense returned. She rather pointedly did not look at her companions. "Terrible creatures." She collected herself and took note of her placement within the room. She wanted to make sure she was not on the weakened boards now.

"I'm not a good friend of spiders myself." said Chief. The cold blue light around his fingers died out as there were no more spiders to kill.  "Let's continue." He didn't lead as they moved along, but kept up with the rest of the group.

Sereyna couldn’t help but hide her smile at her friends distress despite the disappearance of the spiders. At chiefs comment, she nodded. “They have their place, but I’ll admit to not being a fan of them myself.”  She looked at Sylvy and spoke. “Look at what you saw earlier and we’ll move on”

Preston offers to hold the now-lit torch up for Sylvy to get a better glimpse of the bauble that caught her eye.

Pressing her lips together firmly as she momentarily considered the possibility of another swarm. She visibly shuddered and then cautiously approached the location she held in her mind again to seek the bauble. If all this was for a single silver coin, she was going to scream.