The story so far episode five

The Village of Hidden Dell

Episode VII an unfortunate episode with spiders and preparations for war

Dramatis Personae

Telec - Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aetlred - Half Elf Ranger
Lalia - Halfling Thief

Heradin- Dwarf fighter mage

Dvorn the Axe- Folokkii Human Fighter

Sondan – Brandobian, Human Fighter

Fawlit – Half Ork Fighter

Nyasse - a wounded human girl

Location

The Village of Hidden Dell and the woods north of the village of Hidden Dell particularly the area known locally as the Spider wood.

Events

After an uncomfortable night in the ruins of the village sheltering in some cases rather reluctantly in the largest house which had what Telec described as a creepy cellar, the shrine as Nyasse described it rather worried him. The house had no roof and it rained enough a couple of times over night enough to make every one wake up and awaken at dawn rather damp and uncomfortable. The company had a breakfast of inadequately cooked trail rations which did little to improve the morale. During which Lalia who had aha a better night than the others sheltering in a nearby smaller house rejoined the company assured by what Aetlred had said the previous afternoon and her own eaves dropping  that it was safe to do so.

The majority of the company settled to breaking camp whilst Telec, having managed to get sufficient rest and had do the morning ritual to regain his spells, first offered to heal Nyasse’s injured leg which she having taken a healing potion the previous night demurred to conceal this and continued to act having a bad limp. Telec noticed that she was acting rather than still hurt and began to worry even more.

Aetlred attempting the role of leader which he being so very charismatically challenged  he is totally unsuited for  attempted to hurry every one along and get them moving and failing to do that he headed off to scout on his own whilst Telec Lalia and   decided to have another look at the creepy cellar  in the absence of Nyasse. Here Lalia’s practiced eye found a hidden draw built into the icon at the south end of the room big enough to hold a number of fair sized vials and empty save for some packing straw. Lalia decided that this was likely where the girl had got the vial she had seen her drink and Telec was inclined to agree.  A further search revealed a secret door in the north wall and beyond it as the door was not locked a hidden room

Mean while an annoyed Aetlred made his way out of the dell to the watch tower easily climbed the tree and had a look over the surrounding terrain form the vantage of being thirty or so feet higher up. He paid particular attention to the north whence the goblins their captives and the stolen live stock had gone.  He saw a belt of thick woods closest to him which became lighter and increasingly interspersed with areas of heath as the land rose into the foot hills of the mountainous spur of the Laggosa range  however there was not trace of where the goblins might have been heading beyond that he already knew. He climbed down from the watch tower and inspected the trunk for signs and shortly found a number of symbols cut into the north side of the trunk some time ago. These he read as beware the risk of ambushes to the north. With this in mind he warily decided to scout north to determine the nature of the ambush threat. 

The secret room was small, little more than a cell with a narrow bed made up and not slept in a wardrobe which was found to contain a selection of clothing a mixture of common travellers garb and women’s clothing form a number of cultures, some of which the well travelled Telec could put a name to some not, all apparently made for a tall lightly built individual as well as being of good but not flashy quality. The wardrobe also contained a mail shirt on a stand and a handful of longbow hunting arrows. The chest of draws had three draws all locked with a good lock but not one beyond the skills of Lalia to pick. The first two contained papers chiefly maps and plans but a couple of small books which looked to Telec likely  journals but which where written in a script the like of which Telec had never seen before, but which gave him shivers down the spine to look at,  and the bottom one neatly folded linen under tunics and other underclothes.  Telec Lalia and spent quite some time looking through all the rest of the papers particularly the maps which proved rather interesting.

Whilst that was going on the rest of the company finished breaking camp and waited with Nyasse reliving the wait with a comic song the subject of which was distinctly  unsuitable to be sung by some one her age  but caused the half ork to roll about on the floor laughing hysterically and every one else to cheer up considerably.

Meanwhile Aetlred now less annoyed and more wary continued to scout ahead. He crossed a small stream and coming to the area where the trees began to thin out again as he had seen form the watch tower came across the remains of a fight, the bodies of a half dozen goblins who had been torn limb form limb and the body of an elderly giant human wearing only a blooded and torn under tunic and covered in the sort of wounds the slashing knives and short spears of the goblins would cause. As well as having several arrows broken off and buried in his still massively muscled frame, suggesting that he had continued to fight long after they struck. The tracks here where very confused suggesting a melee containing several more goblins than where slain and the previous passage of the goblin raiders their captives and their loot. Aetlred was unable to glean much more from these tracks than he already knew and decided to turn back and see if they had finished fooling about in the village and where prepared to get on with things. He strayed off the track a little but he wasn’t lost and was making good progress following animal tracks through the thick woods and under brush. He noticed a movement to his left and looking that way whist he continued generally south spotted half concealed by the trees and under brush a huge mottled wolf spider stalking him. He sped up to a run and used all his rangers’ whiles and hunting skill to evade it. He managed to do so for a while but became aware that there was a second spider also hunting him and unable to evade both prepared to fight.    

Back amidst the ruins of the village the company finally gathered it’s self and prepared to get under way as Telec Lalia and Harask came up form the creepy cellar and joined them. They made there way slowly up to the lip of the dell where Telec asked Nyasse why the watch tower had been built and was convinced that her reply that it was before her time and she had no idea was true but he still had suspicions about her and the cellar troubled him a great deal especially all those manacles.

Aetlred fought desperately manoeuvring to keep the two spiders apart dodging around trees and jabbing with his heavy spear, striking and striking hard but try as he might the spiders still evaded his point and bit him he felt the poison surge thought him and still he fought shaking his head fighting off the poison by act of will as much as native constitution. He kicked, and one spider’s hard carapace cracked and leaked ichor from the crack and Aetlred stabbed and   horror he drove is spear into the ground. He drew it back but too late the foul thing hit again and thought he was sure he had again fought off the poison the would alone was more than he could take and the fell to one knee and then slid into darkness.

Violet was aware of the spiders before she saw them an newly mated pair of the usually solitary creatures cute she thought grimly and look there was their conjugal supper hanging from the tree branch all wrapped up like a mummy in a shroud. She peered closer it looked humanoid and too big to be the usual stupid wandering goblin. Dam it all is it some one from the Dell & why are they up here every one knows not to leave the Dell its not safe that’s why they are there no where else is safe and the spider wood even more so.  She unslung her bow and knocked an arrow drawing the great bow back beyond her up pointed ear before losing. The spider jerked as the arrow punched through its carapace and it span round looking for the origin of the arrow. She drew and loosed as she had been taught and arrow after arrow pierced first one spider then the other and they jerked and spasmed as death came to them from a place unseen. When she was sure they where both dead Violet slung her great bow and drew her hunting knife, lets see who the marriage feast is shall we.

The company at the watch tower wondered what had become of Aetlred who at least some of them had seen stride off saying something about scouting when they where still eating half cooked nut porridge and breaking camp.To his surprise Aetlred came round staring into his mothers face except it wasn’t his mother, it was quite the wrong colour for a start his mother was never pale purple. Neither did her hands glow with a soft radiant light like that. He started to remember he should be dead shouldn’t he yet his wounds or where he remembered where the spiders had bitten him and even the goblin arrows strike where hurting less and less. Then the glow stopped and he stopped feeling better and he became aware that this woman had cut his clothes to ribbons slicing him out of the spiders silk prison.  I am Violet she said in a tome which was both gentle and terrifying.  Who are you and what are you doing in the Spiders wood. Sensing that it was unwise to lie to this stranger Aetlred told her the exact situation and she helped him back to the tracks the raiders had left coming back from the Dell.

Blast it thought Violet seeing the tracks and identifying them easily the fool elf kin is telling the exact truth. Which made it another thing she was going to have to deal with as if the fact that a probable band of adventurers, and what in the blessed Guardians name where most of those except more mobile bandits with some what more diverse talents, had discovered the Hidden Dell at least this one owes me his life which might matter if he has a scrap of honour.
The woman kept chatting to Aetlred as they walked back to the towards the edge of the Dell, which should have put him some what at his ease except that she spoke with a disturbing lisp and flashed a set of teeth that looked more at home in the mouth of a snake than any sort of woman no not even an ork

Then Aetlred sighted the rest of the company gathered at the base of the watch house tree. Dvorn and Fawlit unshouldered and drew their axes and Telec recognising what manner of creature was walking next to Aetlred who was adding to the alarm looking even more than normally if he had been dragged through a hedge, or a bramble patch.  Only Nyasse reacted at all positively sliding off her horse all pretence of feigning continued injury abandoned and embraced the demon. It crossed Telec’s mind that they where all doomed and the whole thing was a malign plot.  He knew such creatures capable of such and had read reliable tales of them eating the still beating hearts of those they had seduced and worse.

Violet looked at the assembled company and thought them a sorry bunch but she was relived to see Nyasse the ward apparently in there midst of her own free will and even more so when the hose mad child slid off her horse and rushed forward to greet her. Violet brought a quick prayer the Guardian to mind and introduced herself.

Aetlred staggered back to join his companions and the half Ork said something probably in orkish and sniggered a bit or was that sneezed, and the woman with Violet skin making no threatening gesture what so ever separated herself from the girls embrace and standing alone formally  announced herself as Violet the Paladin of the Guardian of the Free.  The girl taking up a position just behind her. Telec was relived at that less so when she caught his relief and said that she was indeed half demon but that did not make her any the less that. She talked with various in the company and seemed satisfied at least for now with their replies. Going on to suggest that she and they go forth to rescue the captives of Hidden Dell for the honour of The FREE.

The conversation continued and it came out that most of the company where only here because the Landlord of A’Rakam manor had offered them ten gold each to avenge the slight that the goblin attack on the in had been. In the end both parties came to a general agreement that they should work together during the course of which Aetlred blurted out about the dead elderly Folloki man and the goblins he had found on the trail ahead. Nyasse seemed genuinely upset at this but the woman who called herself the Paladin of the free did not react.