Black Webs, Dark Heart

[Eclecticon]

Has Hathcyn been able to do his Night-goer thing?  That's why we waited overnight, after all.

[tomcat]

I wasn't sure if it was happening, so if he wants to do that, I can morph that into the last post that narrates what everyone else deals with.

Give me until tonight to update.

In the meantime, Tom - what is it you are trying to do or achieve in your beast-form?

[Telcontar]

  yes, the night trip was for taking a shot at Night Goer. Hathcyns goal is to to try and cover more ground looking for any sign of the other members of the boat. Either confirmation of their deaths or signs of their living. The next goal was to get an idea of a possible way out of there. Im assuming he'll get no rest as a result and probably suffer some fatigue. If not somehow captured or killed in spirit form. I thought this would be a neat opportunity to play with the night goer mechinic and see how ir developed narratively.

[tomcat]

Awesome, I was going to write a post tonight, but we just finished our live Roll20 game and I am mentally drained on creativity. I will post in the morning.

[GandalfOfBorg]

  I apologize, I missed the updated.  Use the Honey-cakes, I'll spend what I need to regarding the Corruption.

[GandalfOfBorg]

The bear within clawed and growled deep within Grimbeorn.  Instinctively he could feel that he was being toyed with, that he was beset by some foul sense and he couldn't make out what it was.  The party grew discontent and noisome -- how could he keep watch if they continued to distract him?  It took all his willpower to not snap back at them all, not to let out the beast within.  But it grows...

[tomcat]

If they whispered to one another, the sound of their voices seemed louder than intended, which caused them to clip off their words before the thought was complete. If they moved, the sound of crunching leaves and other detritus was horrible and surely signaled their location to anything that might be near.

Hathcyn's Night-goer trip below is inserted here into our story line - 1 spent  

Yet the only thing that bothered them through the night was the shadows and their own fears. Like a heavy blanket of despair laying over them all, each watcher sat in nervous silence as the night passed. But pass it did and slowly the darkness brightened into the gloom that was daytime under Mirkwood.

As Arbogast took the first watch and the others lay close to sleep, Hathcyn allowed his mind to drift into a trance-like state - not asleep, but no longer aware of his immediate surrounds. The Beorning thought of the totem animals to which his kindred were tied and though he was of the bear, again he took on the much more preferred mind of the fox - wily and quiet.

The Fire-watcher heard the strange, ghostly sound of barking yips, even as Hathcyn entered his night-goer's state and left his body. Strange was the sound, as only insects and frogs had been heard since the river.

Moving at great speed, the spirit-form began to roam the forest surrounding the hollowed tree in an ever-widening circle, in search of the remaining survivors. The trees stirred above it - not from the wind, but by other living things - things of shadow and darkness.

What is it? came a hiss.

It moves but is not there, but is, came a reply.

In his spirit-form, Hathcyn could hear and understand the wicked voices that spoke.

It seeks something. Watch it go.

Can we kill it? Can we eat it? I hunger! She would not give us the last.

Above the fox, the trees moved.

The spiders were large, but incredibly nimble and fast. They weaved through the maze of branches and leaves, following and leaving a trail of webs, as they went. As Hatchyn advanced, more followed and soon the leaves rustled with their passing. Still, the spirit-animal paid no heed and raced on through the darkness.

There it was. The river.

Near its edge, Hathcyn, saw that a web draped the span between a huge outcrop of rock and a tree that grew close at hand. Two cocoons of silk were hanging within the web - neither moved. The fox sniffed at the air and smelled only death.

"WHO ARE YOU?" came an inquisitive voice. It was old, but eternal. Feminine but made of nightmares. It filled Hathcyn's head, as it filled the area around the mass of rock. The spirit-form felt a presence surrounding it now and looked to see many spiders encircling where it stood. Above, a darker shape slid down the side of the rock.

"OHHH... I SEE WHAT YOU ARE. FLY HOME TO YOUR BODY, SWEET SPIRIT. WE WILL BE DRINKING YOUR LIFE JUICES SOON ENOUGH." There came a skin-crawling giggle. "AND LET THE FIRE-WATCHER KNOW...WE NEVER FORGET."

With an unseen signal or unheard word, the mass of spiders around the fox suddenly surged forward and fell onto Hathcyn's spirit form. Fangs sank deep into the animal and it was crushed under the weight.

Back at the hollow, the Beorning cried awake - panting and sweating. His companions jumped awake at his cry, and all stared in wonder at what looked to be a neat set of two punctures in his torso. The pain burned, but they were not deadly.

Around them, the forest slowly began to appear as the gloom of morning appeared.

[tomcat]

I am rolling the following tests after the fact, but I want to see how well you did in spirit-form:

Explore
TN 14 explore 3d

1d12 : 2, total 2
Rolled 3d6 : 2, 3, 4, total 9

Stealth
TN 16 stealth 2d

1d12 : 4, total 4
Rolled 2d6 : 2, 5, total 7

Travel
TN 18 travel 2d

1d12 : 10, total 10
Rolled 3d6 : 3, 4, 4, total 11

Wisdom

Rolled 1d12 : 2, total 2

[tomcat]

RESULTS

• fails explore with an 11 - he does not remember and so does not know where the river is, or the large rock

• fails the stealth roll and so is watched by the spiders along the way

• succeeds at travel and so does not gain any fatigue from his nightly roam

• fails the wisdom test, which needs to be a result, and doesn't gain the benefit of that test.

Hathcyn takes 2 damage from the spider bite that sent him back to his human self.

As noted above, he used 1 to engage Night-goer

Also - Grimbeorn is now Miserable

[Telcontar]

  Is everyone ok with me using a point of Hope from the Fellowship Pool for Night Goer? We have those Hope points and never seem to use them as a group.. Also, we get those back.

[Telcontar]

Hathcyn awoke with a start and a gasp. He had never experienced any other travel like that in his spirit form. His mind raced back to the death of his brother, a death he was attributed to and he was slow to recover. His companions saw him bolt awake with a start and a whimper, and then his eyes steadied onto to the present moment and the companions around him.

"We should go and quickly." Hathcyn said with a start and the edge of fear in his voice.

 The great spider knows we are here and her servants seek to ensnare us, they are many and above us in the trees. She is ancient, evil, and cunning and now she has bent her will against us. Even the other spiders fear her and hunger because she claims all the treasures, even the ones they trap on their own."


Hathcyn sat up and examined the wounds in his chest. "Firewatcher, your knowledge is beyond mine and I have no idea of what hurt they may have caused me, even in spirit form."



Arbogast bent and examined the wound while the Beorning steadied himself.


"Well, what did you find that was useful?" Asked the dwarf. 

"I saw the river, a great rock and an ancient tree. This is where I found her, a great arching web that dominated the riverway and like the water branched out in many directions. Lines of her hate gripped all unmoving things. There in her web were two more cocoons, like those we saw yesterday, but these held only the dead. I was pursued and hunted, but I made my way there where she spoke to me. I have never heard such an ancient and evil being speak. We have no beast in our history to compare it to. They fell upon me and I awoke, but they know we are here and seek to trap us. I am sorry but the way was crooked and bent in the spirit world as it is here and I do not know the way to or from where I was."


"One more thing. Firewatcher. She knows you by title if not by name. I know now why your folk are secretive about your names for she knows the Firewatcher and seeks him. She knows you are here and her hate and revenge are bent upon you."

[tomcat]

Is everyone ok with me using a point of Hope from the Fellowship Pool for Night Goer? We have those Hope points and never seem to use them as a group.. Also, we get those back.

I am not interfering with this decision, but the Fellowship Pool is where the Hope points are restored from at the end of an Adventure Phase.

Paul and I talked and we agreed that having the never-ending pool of Hope that you get when playing at the table, takes away from the game.

That said - they are there to use.

[GandalfOfBorg]

Grimbeorn growls.  "How many of these nightmares are there?!  Did we not drive one back before?  I know I wounded that one grievously.  This axe, this claw of bear yearns to make it bleed." If any were really paying attention, he was looking at his hand instead of the axe in his other.

[Telcontar]

  granted, but the Fellowship Pool refreshes at a rate that the characters levels do not. I also see its use for party specific actions as more appropriate than for passing an individual skill roll.

[Telcontar]

"Wolfslayer, I will go where and when you lead. However, we came here to find these people and recover those we could. Whole the spider is a danger and a threat we did not come here with the desire to kill it. I fear our party has not the skill or weapons to confront this beast right now. For such a task a wizard should be consulted, or the elves. And to answer your question, the forest top moves with the sheer number of these lesser beasts."