Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 190098 times)

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #570 on:** April 13, 2017, 05:18:50 pm »

How about we talk this out, instead?
You release some of the pressure from your leg. The ratling's eyes pop open, and she appears confused. She looks at you like you just grew a second head, and eventually just frowns a bit more and closes her eyes again.
Do not mock Ra'at. You come to remove potential enemy. Ra'at respect that, Ra'at would do same.
I'm not mocking you. Come on, work with me here. I swear I'm not the other drider you must have seen. She would have eaten you already.
The ratling looks at you for again. She seems to be judging you, and then she moves on to sniffing loudly. Her gnarled muzzle twitches, and she puts her nose right on your spidery bits. She takes multiple long sniffs, and you're somewhat glad that you don't have a lot of nerves there. Eventually, Ra'at speaks again
Your smell is... different. Less magic, more forest. Also smells of the forbiddens, but not as much as first time. Fine. Ra'at believe you.
Right, I'm going to let you go now. But let's keep talking, alright.

The ratling snorts, but seems to concede. When you remove your spindly leg from her, she gets up a little to sit instead lie. She digs around in her chest fur for a while, and pulls out a small pipe, stuffed with moss and hair. She pulls a match out of a pocket in her pants, and strikes it using the stone she sits on. The pipe takes a while to light, and smokes horrendously. You don't know how bad the smell is, but you cough from the thickness alone. The ratling looks at you, still trying to figure you out.
You wanted talk... Now talk. Ra'at of the Fungustalkers listens.
Ok... Where did the first drider go?
I suspect she went to grand temple. She blows a cloud of thick smoke. It center of sewers, hard to find, harder reach...
We hunt at outskirts for small hounds and frogs. Deeper means bigger and tougher. More sickness. Some tribes say it cursed, other say it holy.
And you?
I believe it center of sewers, and has more scraps. Meaning bigger beasties. Not all is magic in the world. Oftentimes it just make sense.
And how would we get there? Danica has a cold tone to her voice, as if she was talking to walking garbage. She's not too fond of ratlings, it seems. Ra'at does not miss the disdain, and takes a slow, steady drag before puffing out another massive cloud of black smoke. She sniffs, and then answers to you instead of Danica

It hard route, especially for large ones. Our tribe can use the small tunnels, but you not fit. And besides, you would drown.
Then tell us the right direction, you little- Enough! I'd rather not antagonize the only one who knows her way around, if you mind!?
Danica huffs, and leans against a wall with a bit less moss on it than most. She seems to be grumbling to herself. Let's hope she doesn't remain touchy...
Sorry. Could you show us the way?
To what end? Would you join sister? Or perhaps the roach, instead?
The roach?
Your sister is not only threat now, though they follow same goal. Both wish domination. Roach is strange and spindly. Ra'at call it "roach" because it has similar legs sometimes.
"Sometimes"? Your father asks, eyebrow raised. He seems to have gathered his wits very quickly after his little hallucinogenic spill.
Ra'at and scouts never saw him well, but shape seemed strange. Changing, perhaps, or just strange. Smelled like forbiddens. Even worse than spider-sister.
They aren't sisters, you know
They are of one soul. Look same, talk same... Just not act same. Sound like sisters to Ra'at.
Well, I figure most sister don't try to eat their sibling or mind-control a whole tower to get somebody. I'm going to kill her so she can't. Anyway, the way to the temple?
Ra'at seems to chew on her pipe for a bit. She smokes it for a while, puffing some smoke every now and then as she thinks. You decide to be patient. You've dealt with this type before, the miller boy was like this in your village. The rest of your companions seem less patient, however. Some are tapping their feet, some are trying to keep themselves busy, Eveline is scraping moss off the walls... Eventually, Ra'at answers.

You need map, or escort. You seem like friend, even if your friends are not. You show respect to me, even though none is deserved. If you promise to free my tribe from your sister, and to not kill tribesmen, Ra'at will guide you personally.
That seems like a... really good deal. What's in it for you?
Either return of my clan, or honorable death. Both are goals for Shaman.
And the loot? Anatoli adds, his booming voice seems to fill the whole room as it echoes.
...Shinies small price for safety of clan. Ra'at wants to keep part.
How about this. You take what you want to keep the most, and my companions take what they want from what's left. I need to pay them, after all.
...Deal.Ra'at not take long.

She puts out the pipe against the stones and begins to rummage through the chest. She takes out the music box, one working clock, and a large collection of the mostly worthless scrap metal. The spiked rings, monocle and sewing supplies are for your companions. None of them seem to be complaining, and they quickly gather the stuff and put it in a bag on your back. Danica keep the spiked rings on her person, perhaps for emergencies, perhaps to make sure she gets them. Ra'at doesn't look too pleased, but she just shakes her head and grabs her spear.
This way. Back to where you began. Stay close, don't fall.
Ra'at begins marching back to the tunnel you came through. The journey back is uneventful, and Eveline torch fits perfectly in your new guide's gnarled hands. When you get back to where you started, Ra'at says that the next tunnel is filled with frogs. They can pack a mean punch, and they prefer trying to knock people into the sewer-water to drown them. Considering that your companions don't swim as well as the ratlings, you should probably prepare appropriately.

You should find a proper way to prepare for pushy frogs, as well as further dangers you might think of. The road ahead is a mere two meters across, and it seems twisting.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #571 on:** April 13, 2017, 05:37:52 pm »

Sniff out the shaman's smell, and try to figure out why you couldn't see her soul earlier.

Amphibious appendages are... awkward...
We... didn't bring rope... I blame the other readers...
We could... put some stone in potato sacks and tie them around ankles. This could go very badly wrong for obvious reasons, but in theory, the rock should be inclined to stay on dry land long enough for someone to grab it and should make a difficult target for froggies.

Or we could just use the rope we brought... Tie everyone together with dridersilk? It could, again, go horribly horribly wrong, but hopefully we will never lose enough weight at once to pul the rest of the group down, and we can try to activate the same magic that lets us stay on ceilings to keep us on the ground... At least attach strands to everyone so that there is something likely to stay behind that can be used to pull people back onto land.

Note to self:
Things Danica has pocketed:
Spike rings.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #572 on:** April 14, 2017, 06:27:43 pm »

So nobody's weirded out we're proteced by butt-rope? Danica asks, only partially as a joke.
Spider-silk is exceptional in quality. You could do some amazing stuff with this.
Don't get too comfortable. My silk's not quite as good as that of the giant spiders. It's about as tough, but not as sticky. If your knot comes loose you'll be in trouble.
Hush! Frogs not deaf, you know. If we lucky, might avoid them.
Everybody shuts up from then on. The tunnels are as dark and twisting as you feared, and it seems like you wouldn't need the frog's help to fall in if you weren't careful. You're pretty much safe thanks to your excess in legs, not to mention the added stickyness. You are going to serve as an anchor, if it comes down to it. You don't look forward to that possibility, but you need to finish this mission. You sniff in discomfort, and note that Ra'at is that hay-like smell you noticed before. Thinking back, the only reason you didn't detect her was because she just disappeared in the inferno of souls above you. The city is bustling at this time, after all. With walls hardly being a problem with your soulsight, sheer quantity of souls is.

The winding path proves a bit troublesome. The damp stone is slippery, and patches of moss turn a treacherous road nearly murderous. Your companions slip and almost fall quite often. The only exceptions to that rule being you, Ra'at and Eveline, strangely. You hear the water roar and splash ever-harder as you continue, and Ra'at raises her spear. She does not call out quite yet, possibly out of fear it may unleash the terrors beneath the waves of filth and waste. Handing the torch back to Eveline, she holds her spear with two hands, ready to strike at any pelagic nightmare that may jump out. While that is most certainly a fine preperation, it hardly helps when the enemy strikes at the back. You feel it before you even hear it, a horrid tug on your whole body as you hear your uncle yelling. Your silk holds up, but your whole party is thrown about by the shock. Because your uncle is at the back, you can do nothing to help. You can only hope that the rest of the party can defeat the creatures. You dig in and make sure nobody falls. Ra'at, not bound by the rope like the others, charges to the back. Soon after, you hear a low croak that seems to peter out. The pulling stops, and Ra'at comes back to the front with blood on her spear.

After that, people began walking a little closer together. People are more scared of getting attacked than stepping on each-other's heels, but you still have trouble seeing the very back. The waters remain wild, and you hear a splash up ahead. You raise your sword and shield in anticipation of an attack, with good reason! From beyond the range of the torch, a pelagic nightmare flies towards you. It hits you feet-first, and kicks off against your shield. Even with your eight legs, you are staggered for a bit. You don't give any ground, however, and quickly stab towards it as Ra'at moves to the sides. The pelagic nightmare is not used to such a quick response, and dodges just a bit too late. Instead of avoiding the blow, it manages to rend itself asunder! Blood spills over you as the creature falls into the water, making a final dying croak. It's throat bulges up as it does so, as if it wishes to give a final insult. You make a clear hand-gesture back.
From now on, you keep your weapons up at all time. Everybody is nervous, except for Ra'at, who seems quite used to this.

Suddenly, the tumultuous waters calm. No more waves splash against the sides. Some of your companions sigh in relief, but Ra'at suddenly speaks:
GET READY! HERE IT COME!
All at once, a dozen frogs pop out of the waters! They croak together to form a hellish hymn that seems to vibrate through your body like a battering ram. You clench your teeth as the first one jumps towards you, intent on bashing you like the previous one. Your simply point your sword in the correct position, and the watery hell-spawn pierces itself on your blade. The soft flesh quickly gives way, and you release your sword through the creature's gut. The other one seems to be more cautious, and it seem to hop around, trying to find a better angle. As it focuses on you, it fails to see Ra'at leaping through the shadows and planting her low quality spear on the creatures bulging throat and out it's head. The spear breaks, but the frog dies without a sound. With those two down, you can focus on your companions. The tugs and pulls are not bad enough for you to be in trouble, but you can only move slowly. Shouting and fighting reverbs through the dark tunnels, and you suddenly see the whole tunnel light up even more! Eveline has set one of the creatures on fire, and you hear her roaring in a rage you hadn't expected from her. Suddenly, the pulls become much harder and you even give way for a step! You hear splashing and panicked yelling at the back end, and your father yells: LIAM! HOLD ON!

You see the frogs dive back into the water, and soon the pulling becomes far too tough for just you. Fortunately, your companions gets the message and simply begin pulling on their silk ropes. Ra'at dashes to the back to help pull there as you serve as an anchor. You slowly move backwards, and soon the panicked yelling of your uncle begins to die down. Your uncle is brought to the front, looking to be in deep pain. Your tell them to put him on your back. He's REALLY heavy, especially with the existing weight you have to carry, but you can manage. Barely. You were forced to remove his safety rope, as well, so he could properly be with you at the front.
We denied meal-time. Nearly at end! Safe-space soon.
While the water never seemed to quiet down, no more attacks happened. There is a light visible at the far end of the tunnel, and it proves to be very welcome. When you enter the large, stone chamber, people breathe a sigh of relief. You have a massive surface to stand on, and there are gratings over the water. This is about as safe as you can make it. A large sewer-grate allows more light than the previous ones, and based on some scorch marks on the stone, ratlings must regularly set up camp here. You place your uncle down to look at his wounds. He is clutching his chest, and claims his ribs might be broken. On top of that, his firehead has a nasty cut that looks to be bleeding pretty bad. The gash looks to be quite deep, and it will most likely need stitches...

Your uncle has broken ribs, a nasty gash on his forehead, and just went swimming in sewage. How do you proceed?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

From now on, some choices may prove to be a bit difficult.

RAM · « **Reply #573 on:** April 15, 2017, 05:41:26 pm »

We... never bought a needle and thread... Well, our handkerchief is probably the healthiest material that we have, unless it is used, we'll tease some thread out of it.
We want to get the filth off, that stuff can't be good for healing, we can use some of our drinking water(please say that we have some of that at least...) and ask around, mostly to Eveline, we did come prepared for injuries(sort of, the shopping action really could have used some more love from the readers), but don't ignore other input.

But, ultimately, all we can do is get Eveline's help, use Stitch to close the wounds, and then splint up the bruises where possible. That and carry him for stretches to give him some more rest than the others.

Also, if this is a common campsite, then it ight be watched. Spare a brief moment soul-searching...

If a reptilian wanted to complain about silk then that might make sense but mammals really aren't in a position to complain about something as innocuous as rope. It is just a perfectly normal synthesis gland. I mean, she didn't even complain about wearing stuff that came from a creature that also produces venom and that souping agent. Really, it is pretty much just like hair, but specialised for the purpose so it isn't covered in dodgy oils and the like. Relly, it could be much worse, we could be asking her to eat cheese... I suppose cheese is a speciality item and this is a commercial district so it may not be common knowledge how it is made.

Actually, on second thought, our silk is probably as good a thread as we are going to get, provided it is fine enough to stitch wounds with. I still doubt that we can justify sterilising the needle, it is not like we want to cauterise the wound or anything...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #574 on:** April 16, 2017, 04:55:37 pm »

...Alright, we can fix this... Eveline?
It's not as bad as it looks, at least. Headwounds always bleed a lot. Guh, really a LOT. A-anyways, this one's up to you, m-mostly. I'm feeling a bit queasy...
Have him drink this, it'll dull the pain.
She hands you a bottle filled with a thick white liquid. You uncork it, and give it to your uncle, who slurps it down with some dfficulty. He soon seems to be in a lot less pain, although he's still bleeding. You resign yourself to the fact that this is going to get really ugly as you pull out the sowing needle from the ratling stash. Against all expectations, it's actually quite clean. It looks to be polished to a relative shine, although it still looks a bit crooked. You give it a once-over with the handkerchief you found in your pockets after waking up in the count's castle. So you've got a (relatively) clean needle, but you need some thread...
It's sad to see such fine embroidery and material go, but this is for a good cause. You put your canines at a corner, and grind a hole in it. Once you made a hole, you slowly coax a bit of thread from it. You end up wasting quite a bit of it in useless tiny strands, but eventually you manage to get a long enough wire. You put the thin thread through the eye of the needs after a few attempts, and then you tell your uncle to brace himself. He responds by draining the last of the opiate out of the bottle, and putting his club between his teeth. By now, quite a bit of blood is covering his face, but the painkiller seems to be working well enough that he doesn't seem to care overmuch. He may be a bit anemic after this, but that's a problem for later.
You've got to put things in another face again.

First things first, you need to clean this wound. You get some drinking water, lay your uncle's head back and pour some over his head. The blood washes off, and you can see the gash quite clearly for just a moment. Blood soon covers the wound again, but you know where to sew, now. You lick your lips nervously, take a deep breath and stick the needle inside the flesh. Your uncle seems a bit "gone" from the drug, but he still gasps at the intrusion to his body. You have your carapaced hand forcing his head down so an errand twitch wouldn't be so bad. You start pouring mana inside the wound as you grind your teeth and poke it through the upper part of the wound. Seeing the needle poke through the torn flesh almost makes you sick, but after the things you've seen, you're able to disregard that feeling fairly fast. Your breathing slows a little, and soon you find yourself in a bit of a rhythm. The thread isn't quite as long as you would have hoped, but it seem to hold up for now. You would have been better off with some proper thread for this kind of operation, but that's just a problem for later. You should be grateful that you even have a needle. Sticking the needle through the flesh again and again soon turn routine, and soon the wound stops bleeding. You clean his bloodied face with some more drinking water, and then sigh in relief. You look towards your companions, which seem to be very interested in the ground or ceiling. Eveline is staring at your operation, although it would be more accurate to say she's looking through it. You wave your hand in front of her, which seems to shake her out of her funk.

Alright, now we should... splint the bruises, I suppose?
With what? We don't have wood with us.
You not as prepared as I expected.
Don't mock us, please.
Splinting ribs would be rather difficult. Although, they're just cracked, most likely. If they were broken, his lungs would be in trouble. He needs rest,
though. I think it'd be best if we could get him outside the dungeon.
We are NOT getting a wounded man through those frogs. Is there an alternative way?
Rest of the dangers different. Hounds more passive... If we make de-tour you can bring your clanmate to outside... Would cost many hours, however, and somebody must carry clan-mate.
I can't carry him AND the loot. Not for multiple hours, anyway.
So we gotta split the loot between us?
The ropes are set up for Sydney's frame, but we could figure something out, I think.
The main question is how we're going to get Liam to safety from here. Either we take a serious de-tour, or we return.
Or we just push on. Cracked ribs are survivable, easy. Just have to make sure he doesn't take another blow to the chest like that.
I respect safety of clan-mates, even not my own. Say what you wish, and we go.

Your uncle is stable, but still wounded. Not to mention drugged. Choose what to do next, and think carefully. You will lose half a day if you use the safer route to go outside, you will risk the frogs again if you go back directly, and you risk further injury if you push on.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

EDIT: followed up RAM's proposal to change the party's names to their respective colours.

RAM · « **Reply #575 on:** April 16, 2017, 07:14:07 pm »

How is the roof of the frog area? Could we leave everything behind and take Uncle Liam along the ceiling by ourselves? Can we carry that much while upside-down? It would be risky to travel alone especially with an injured party to tend to, but if it is out of reach of the frogs and we have already been through the area without being harassed by known opponents than it could be the safest option, and we can move quickly by ourselves on the return trip. It all hinges on our magic supporting the weight and the frogs not being able to reach that far. That and the lack of anything worse up there.

Our enemies are quite insideous, and I wouldn't trust the froggies to stay in the water, so leaving him here alone is not an option.
Splitting the group doesn't work either, nobody is a reliable match for our double, let alone this "roach" thing. And who knows how many random predators might check this spot for anything sheltering from the frogs.

I vote take him back. That half-day will cost us, they always do, but... Uncle Liam...

* RAM casts summon reader commentary!

P.S.
It might help if the names and/or titles in the party list were coloured the same as the speech is coloured.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #576 on:** April 17, 2017, 04:52:53 pm »

I guarantee you, I cannot carry him upside-down! You yell for the fifth time. Danica does not seem to understand the concept of limitations to magic, and it's starting to grate on you.
But you don't have to carry the loot or anything, just re-use the rope to get him out of here. The frogs can't reach you up there. she says, apparently forgetting the last few times you explained the issues.
I don't trust that moss, and the weight is too much. I'd fall and drown.
But it's half a day with a wounded man! We are going to lose too much time!
Your father interjects: We are not putting both my daughter and my friend in more danger! Now shut it! We are going to get him outside, and that's final!
Thanks, dad. If everybody is done staring a hole through the wall, we're moving!

Ra'at seems as glad as you are that the argument is over. She's been itching to get going again. Hm. This way, to the left. . You have the illustrious role of carrying your uncle on your back while he sleeps. You use your silk to bind uncle Liam to your lower back, while the existing ropes are now used by your companions to carry the existing supplies. Some people carry more than others, but most of it is divided fairly. Some grumbles were heard about Eveline only carrying her own supplies, but pointing out that she's half their size and around a fourth of their weight is enough to make it cease. You enter another tunnel, this one more brightly lit than the frog-tunnel, if just barely. The moss hasn't covered most of the holes, is what you mean. Even then, it gives little more than slivers of daylight. The ground, fortunately, remains safe to walk on. There is a grate over the stream of sewage in the middle, and the side-paths are much wider. There's even some artwork on the wall here, although most of it has deteriorated to the point of being unrecognizable. Whatever isn't crumbled is covered in more god-damned moss. This moss can't be normal, at this point. There is far, far too much of it and the types don't seem to match up. You ask Eveline what's up with this, not really expecting an answer. Surprisingly, she DOES know.
It's the collection of magic. Any location that's considered dangerous because of a thematic threat and has enough size turns more magical over time.
Myths and somesuch increase the effect. I figure the moss is just the beginning of a lot more. Our spider caves turned into a pretty big dungeon because of all the folk-lore and fear of giant spiders. My family saw it grow from just a hole in a mountain to a sprawling labyrinth. Some types even change their lay-out every couple days, but those are really rare.
You sure do know a lot.
My mother always said I was a scholar at heart. Of course, i'm useless outside of trivia...
I'd say this goes beyond trivia, Eevi. And besides, alchemy's more than a little trick.
Oh please. I don't know much useful things. My transfusion potions are basic stuff, and anybody can make a fire-bottle.
You're selling yourself short. *hnnf* Damn it... You uncle shifted in his sleeping state, putting more weight on one side of your body. As stated before, he's quite heavy for you. You shake a bit to move him back to the middle. He's still a bit too drugged for you to request anything from him. Eveline looks worried, but doesn't take action.
S-should I... Push?
Yes please, I think i feel my carapace shaking on leg number four.
R-right! Uh...

Eveline climbs up, and pushes your uncle back in the middle. Based on the groaning, that seems to wake him up for just a second, but he soon returns to sleeping. Eveline's weight alongside your uncle forces you to stop for a small bit. Your companions are spread out a bit, and after Evemine gets off, you and her need to up the pace to catch up again. You also get your leg stuck at a grate at one point. The small surface area of your "feet" makes it a bit hard for you to stand on those without carefully checking where you're going. You'd think you could navigate a web, but here we are. You reach another room without issue, this one having two ways to go. You go straight ahead, as Ra'at leads the way. She warns you that things may seem quiet, but danger could sneak up from anywhere.
It doesn't. You walk for a few hours until, eventually, your legs are shaking a bit too much. While you don't have muscles in a traditional sense, it's still tiring for you to walk that long. Your companions also seem to agree on the idea of a rest. Ra'at calls you all a bit weak, but will accept it. She has time, after all...

While you lack fire-wood, Eveline is able to use her torch-powder (firesalts, she calls it) to make a long-lasting fire in the middle. Even among the damp stone, it burns brightly. Eveline says that she has more than enough of the stuff, but strongly advises against ever throwing the bag. If it burns all together, it could melt through even the thickest metal, nevermind people. After that little lesson, people sit down on the most dry patch of floor they can find. With a little help, you manage to put your uncle down. After the hours that passed, you uncle is awake again. He even has the ability to make complex sentences, and claims that he can walk. Seeing him wobble as he sits makes it clear that is not quite the case, however. The break won't take long, you figure, and nobody seems to be talking much. Eveline seems to be a bundle of energy, and she spends her time scraping moss and cutting mushrooms. She even asks for your cookbook so she can help prepare for the food later. You happily hand it to her, and try to relax. You lie back on your spider parts and even come close to falling asleep. Just before you properly start dreaming, a high-pitched scream fills the room! It's Eveline's voice!

You jump up in alarm and turn around. You see a rail-thin man bearing over Eveline, wearing strange rags and a mask. Before you can even yell at everybody to attack, a dagger plants itself into the man. Danica has throw one of her blades right into the man's back. Which would have been more impressive if the guy even reacted. You hear a labored breath come from him before he throws himself on Eveline, using his almost skeletal hands to grab her by the throat. Eveline is soon lifted up, and the man turns to look at you. The wooden mask is a solid piece of wood, but it bears something you didn't want to see. A copy of your mark has been painted on the mask, making your breath halt for just a moment. Then a second dagger strikes the masked man in his ribs, all of which are visible. He still doesn't react, and he begins choking the life out of your kobolt friend! Before it gets too bad, however, a familiar hook jams itself into the man's shoulder, and he is pulled towards your father with a mighty heave. The distance is just a bit too much, however, and your father doesn't reach him quite yet.
You do.

You decapitate the skeleton of a man with a single well-aimed stroke. Blood sprays out of the stump in time with the still-beating heart, but after a few seconds it slows down. Just as you're about to breathe again, your father gives another shout of alarm. You hear the danger before you see it, snapping jaws and loud growls. Moss-covered hounds are running out of the darkened tunnels, intent on running you down. There are only three of them, but their milky-white eyes and foamed mouthes show that they don't particularly care. Your father begins the scrap by splitting the first one's skull with a single chop of his axe. They aren't quite as capable as normal hounds, and it really shows. Ra'at is actually riding one of the beasts, and the last one is sent flying by a well-aimed hit from Anatoli's warhammer. It slams against a wall, dead.
Ra'at riding skills have also killed her hound, after repeated stabbings from her spear. All in all, this was extremely easy. If all of the battles could go like this, you'll be done in no time!
Not be too happy. These hounds were stragglers, banished from pack. Look... They attack out of desperation. Rail-thin.

You've still got some time left on the fire, and everybody may be pleased for a bit of rest. Of course, you also have some sewer-hounds corpses available to you, right now. The cookbook mentioned them to be edible... Or you could move on immediately.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'll give you a bestiary next update, i'm a bit tired right now.

RAM · « **Reply #577 on:** April 19, 2017, 12:12:30 am »

Attempt to revive two of the hounds. It would be nice to try the man, but it would be a lot larger than anything we have tried before, and mixing our magic with anything connected with Old Jesty seems ill advised, at least while we are still learning basic spells... Otherwise, as stated, hydraulics don't have muscles to feel tired, but still burn energy, so we could be more hungry than we think. Ra'at doesn't seem overly worried about haning around so stopping for a meal seems fair.

Just generally keep many eyes open for any chance to gain undead minions. we are seriously depriving ourselves of magic at this point. A few frogs changing sides could have really saved our collective bacon back there. They probably aren't used to proper warfare in their own element. They probably fight better in duels but getting ours to gank theirs three-to-one is probably not the frog way. We could have marched through with our own little undead horde and started a regular frogeddon? fregicide? Frocalypse? Either way, meat-shields > human-shields > people-who-have-bodyparts/bodyplans-in-common-with-humans-used-as-shields. some nice expendable cannnon-fodder would be welcome!

Further saga of butt-rope:
Aside from metals, pretty much all rope is extracted from living things(do metal golems/elementals count?) and none of them seem "nice". Some of the best rope comes from sinew, think about where that comes from... Do you ever want to see that being extracted? Not exactly clean. Wool rope is sheep-covering and has probably been hanging off of the sheep's various parts for weeks/months and is definitely exposed to all that the world has to offer the back of a sheep... Cotton? Isn't that used in reproduction? Conventional silk is butt-rope except it is a grub's nest. Some wriggly thing has been living in that... Hair is yet another animal covering. It gets in between the animal and whatever the animal doesn't want to touch... Plant fibres? Plants make some of the nicest corpses you will ever find, doesn't stop people finding gooey surprises once in a while. Enjoy your whole-corpse teased into threads then wrapped together. It doesn't help that plant fibres tend to make pretty sad ropes, mostly because they were never intended to be used that way...

Spiders, on the other hand, make rope. Ever hear of a rope-bridge? Webs are the same thing, but better! Want to lash things together to make a bundle? Spiders have been doing that for eons. Binding your victims to keep them passive? Pretty much the spider-trademark. Tying a rope atop a cliff to climb down is a pretty good idea, spiders got over that so long ago that they don't even notice anymore, to get them to think about it they have to drop from a ceiling into clear air or lay a line before jumping off a ledge. Spiders are very nearly the only natural source of rope. Butt-rope is the ropiest ropey-rope you'll ever be roped into. The only way your get something less offensive is metal cords/chains or magically-summoned super-rope. Guess what rope made by a magical creature counts as... To hear a mundane mammal(mammals being literally named for the secretions they feed their own newborns) complain about magical spider-derived wonder-rope is just sad...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #578 on:** April 19, 2017, 04:44:57 pm »

Alllright, now we've got some potential... You start stretching your shoulders and trying to warm yourself up. It's mostly for show, but how often are you going to get such a prime shot at making something bigger than a mouse!? Speaking of mice, you just realized you forgot to check your traps for dead vermin. Of course, if you really wanted to, you could have made use of the copious amount of dead vermin that you can find naturally in the sewers. Still, you feel as though your author might be a complete and utter moron. Meta-complaints aside, you've got a dog to resurrect! First things first, of course, you try to think about how you resurrect vermin to begin with. Flooding the corpse with magic would be a good way to make it explode, if you had to make a gander, so you need to take this slowly. Usually, you fire a little bolt of lightning, so perhaps...
You try to think of a bolt of light, and begin bringing energy inside your arms to zap the mos-covered hound. Just a bit before you get ready to fire, however, you get something stuck in your throat. With your concentration broken, the spell fizzles as you hack up a ball of black goop. It was essentially just the stopper before a torrent of the stuff flies out of you. Most of your companions jump back in surprise, all of them yell in disgust, and you manage to roll your eyes through your scrunched up face.

The information you got was that you were entirely correct about how to resurrect a larger creature. That, and that these larger creatures INVEST a bit of mana. This will cut into your maximum mana reserves until the creature dies. That's a nice tidbit, but it probably wasn't worth seeing Danica panic to the point of hopping and yelling. Who knows what might have heard it. Also, the corpse is covered in goo. You shrug and just complete the damned spell already. One thunderclap later, the corpse twitches to life. A tongue lolls out of the mouth, and then it manages to crawl back up. The wounds that slew the beast are still visible, but they do not bleed. Ra'at's spear did some proper work of the creature's back, but it honestly doesn't look that much worse compared to before. The next one you resurrect is going to be the one Anatoli slammed. Another bit of information you picked up was that a completely crushed head makes it impossible to revive something the normal way. While it IS possible, they would technically be flesh golems, and that is a very, VERY complicated process, meant for somebody with far more mana,time, materials and general knowledge than you. The hound seems to look around with it's white, empty eyes, and the looks at you. It rolls on its back immediately, possibly asking for tummy-scratches. You elect to ignore the lively moss-covered corpse and move on to the one that still has a solid understanding of what it means to be dead. Anatoli sure did a number on it, but most of the damage looks to be internal. Another lightning bolt of purple magic jumps out of your fingers, and the creature jumps to life much faster than the other one. You nearly gag when you see that the left side of the creature is essentially a bag of meat and splintered bone, sagging and jiggling as it jumps up. It doesn't seem to affect the dog or anything, but it sure is uncomfortable to look at.

Ra'at really has no words. We kill creatures, and now they are pets? What was even the point. Ra'at looks at the dogs with disgust. She doesn't seem to like necromancy overmuch.
Cannon fodder. You say. Or general companionship. Undead are pretty easy to tale care of.
What is dead should stay dead. But Ra'at will leave it.
Danica is still coming down from the panic attack about the vomit earlier. Even though Eveline explained it thoroughly what's going on, she's still a bit frazzled. I'm going to be honest, drider... You scare the everloving SHIT out of me, you know that? God-damn it.
The comment hurts a little, but you just shrug and move on. You open your cook-book and look around for some recipes. Considering your limited supplies, you decide to go for roasted sewer-hound. As it turns out, this stuff is really easy to spice, considering the average sewer-hound is ALREADY covered in all types of taste-bud pleasing plants. Of course, you need to remove the more dangerous types, all the red ones for starters. You put your pot on the fire, grateful for the little legs it comes equipped with. If it was just a flat pot, you would be incapable of putting it on the fire at all. To continue preparing the beast, you cut off the mangled remains of the head, and the tail. The tail is mostly fat in this case, and the book suggests crushing it to create something resembling butter. It's note even close, the book admits, but it will stop the meat from sticking to the pot. Your companions mostly just sit around the fire and talk about random subjects as you work. The potential for food seems to justify the extended stop. Making it now will mean you've got a decent bit to work with for a while!

After the pot has heated up, and the crushed tail (thanks to Eveline and her mortar and pestle) has spread itself along the bottom, you start throwing in pieces of hound in the pot. You cut the creature up into small chunks, so you can just shake the pot around to make sure both sides are evenly baked. A proper pan would have worked if you weren't making an entire dog, so it's not perfect. Some smaller chunks come loose, and it's not a meal you can chew off the bone. In a round-about way, this is closer to stewed meat. But after a small amount of time under the fire, your dog-salad is finished! You reach inside the pot and take out a piece of leg.
The taste is... odd. It has the consistency of a very crunchy type of vegetable, with a tougher inside. The taste is somewhat salty, but not unpleasantly so. You wonder where the salty taste comes from, as there's very little salt in this place. Still, questions for later.

Eveline and Danica both help themselves to a piece. Eveline heartily tears into the meat, using her canine set of chompers to go to town. She's a bit of a messy eater when it comes to this, as she's more inclined towards tearing the meat. Danica eats very carefully. While she doesn't seem too excited about the taste, she doesn't seem to dislike it, either. You keep most of the dog inside the pot, where it will keep it's heat for a while. Anatoli's armor will prevent the pot from roasting him while it cools down.
It looks like you're all ready to move on.

You will continue along the path Ra'at has set. In half a day, you will be outside again to deliver your uncle. He will remain on your back for the time being, but may soon be able to walk. Is there anyway you would like to proceed differently?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Bestiary of the fantastical: Sewerhounds

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

crazyabe · « **Reply #579 on:** April 19, 2017, 04:56:54 pm »

Nope, nothing Different.

RAM · « **Reply #580 on:** April 19, 2017, 08:18:18 pm »

Where should we take him?
Slums: There are people who like us there and may be willing to tend to him. No security and the people have their own issues.
His place: Do we even know where that is? Is it just more slums?
Ye Olde Medicinal Shack: there must be somewhere people take their workplace dismemberings... Probably expensive and not equipped for long-term care.
The Count: They ought to owe us one, but can't see them agreeing to that perspective, no chance : (
The beaks: Ummm, no. Not after recent events... That is a long conversation that we don't have time for and they don't talk enough for...
Kasimor: hates us, or something, maybe just has the sense to notice how much bad luck gets clogged up inside us and sometimes spills out onto those nearby...
Meandra: Currently has appropriate medical care? Still seems to regard us as not completely terrible? might benefit from someone having a similarly bad time to herself? Still a huge imposition though, not really any sort of appropriateness to this sort of interaction. "Ohai! You know those friend of mine that almost killed you? One of them almost died! You should have an almost-died party together while we run off to get almost killed!"... Just do not see that working...

Best to just let him go wherever, he probably has a plan of some sort...

Oh, we should totally mention that our double hasn't demonstrated any necromancy that we know of, so that is a thing that might separate us. Also, the black vomit is basically all the parts of messages from a being that keeps dead gods in its garden that are too incomprehensible for little-miss-sticks-to-walls-and-plays-with-corpses-and-is-personally-aquainted-with-an-eldritch-god-that-came-back-from-nonexistence-and-regards-the-human-body-as-a-puzzle-to-be-solved... It ought to be extremely difficult to fake, even for something split from our own self, but it is a little difficult to pull off on command. Also note that because it is more of a concept than a physical thing, it is reasonably impossible to interact with and should be harmless. That said, it is liquid insanity, so if you do somehow find a way to interact with it, don't...

What our double DOES have(and we seem to lack, which lends credence to the different magicks theory.) is mind magic. So those who would rather not bring words(or more likely incoherent babbling) to a swordfight might want to prepare some sort of antimagic. If only we had some sort of magic-resistant butt-rope...

Oh, and if Danica is scared of a sweet little drider-girl, then she may become unreliabe when confronting the things that scare said sweet little drider-girl... Perhaps we should just gently broach the subject of body-horror and gauge the reactions. Start with something simple, like necromancy. Like, these are just dogs, dogs that we have never met before. It is basically just picking up stray pets or buying guard dogs, except they run off of your magic and are technically dead. We would still be sort of disturbed by animating people with coherent faces and such, undead have sort-of odd mannerisms afterall. It would be massively disturbing if they were people you actually knew, especially after they went ripe and bits started falling off, can you imagine seeing one of your friends with their face half rotted-off? If they can't handle a little decomposition then they might not do well fighting pigmen. Umm, other type of pigmen, former men now piggish? Pig-exmen?

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #581 on:** April 20, 2017, 04:08:43 pm »

The next few hours were surprisingly easy. A lot of walking happened, and little else. People saw the occasional glimpse of a sewer-hound, and Danica swears high and low she saw a few men and woman staring through the holes in the walls. She's the only one that can see them, however, and she's skittish as it is. Not quite as prim and proper as she appeared when the going gets a little tougher, it seems. After about an hour, your uncle is able to walk on his own accord. He's not nearly as fast, of course. His stamina's in the drain, and he's still in quite a bit of pain, but you could use the little break. Eventually, however, the party decides that slowing down is not something that you can afford to do, so soon enough it's back to carrying your uncle. He makes sure not to lie down in bad positions, so you don't have to reposition him when he moves wrong. The roads that are taken become less and less impressive. Where once you had stone pathways worthy of the dwarven fortresses of yore, you now have cramped tunnels. Sometimes, you even need to take a walk through the ankle-high sewage. You're not affected in the slightest, considering your carapace and lack of shoes. Some of your companions are annoyed, but most wear boots. The only one who doesn't is Eveline. She got a ride on your back, out of sympathy. Your uncle walks the distance, although you give him a shoulder to hurry things along.

Eventually, after a LONG amount of walking Ra'at says that the exit is very, very close. There's just one little snag, of course. This particular sewer entrance has a few connections to dangerous parts of the city. The tunnels that span an uncertain distance throughout the city. It's in those tunnels the slavery ring was kept, and that was the least of the troubles. Ra'at speaks of spirits and shadow monsters, although she has trouble describing them. In this case, it may legitimately be nothing more than stories. Still, your party is very much on edge as you continue through the pipings and crumbling sewers. This place is more recent, and somehow much more wrecked by the passage of time. You see the occasional door or staircase to the side, but you swear it disappears if you look away. The shadows dance from the torch, and soon enough most people are shaking. The slightest sound causes people to jump and point their weapon. Your father throws many fruitless hooks into the darkness, but eventually you have to concede that there is nothing. Nothing at all.
N-nothing at all.
Nothing nix nihil.
Nothing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WAKE UP! WAKE UP! SYDNEY!!!
You shake your head out of a strange sort of stupor. You feel like you were just sleeping or something! Eveline is slapping you.
O-ow, hey! HEY! I'm ok, what's... oh.
The situation just got very, very weird. All of your companions are on their knees in front of your, staring glass-eyed. they seem to be mumbling something, but you're not about to start lip-reading in a situation like this.
What the hell is going on!?
I-i don't know! It's some kind of mind-control... I've got experience, I can break out of it reliably, but... I don't know what this is!
M-my double?
I, uh, no. This looks different than the tower. Right now it looks more like they're... praying to you?
H-how do we get them un-controlled?
Uh... Slapping seems to work? She shrugs her shoulders and attempts an awkward attempt at a smile.
There's a pregnant pause as you look at each-other for a bit. This is going to be stupid

A chorus of clapping sounds echoes through the empty hallway. As Eveline said, it seems to knock some sense into people without much trouble, though they tend not to appreciate it. As your companions listen to Eveline explaining the situation, you suddenly hear a strange voice from the side. You don't speak immediately, and decide to listen.
Why don't you love me anymore? I gave you what you want. Come back to me...
The voice echos and seems blocked, in a way. Like somebody trying to talk through water.
Please... I can't embrace you anymore, and it's so cold. Please hold me again. Please!
You decide to outright yell the problem to your companions instead. The voice doesn't seem to react to your doing that, but your companions have a bit of a bigger reaction. They are all on guard now, even more than before. Then, Ra'at speaks.
Spirit fall in love with you! They want to stay... We need to go, NOW!
Nobody seems to disagree, and everybody begins sprinting! Your uncle hops on your back, and you force yourself a little to get away from the dark and shadowy surroundings. Soon, you see a light at the end of the tunnel. Your whole party barrels out, yelling in relief as you reach the outside. Everybody sits down again and revels in the evening sun. Except for Ra'at, who is squinting and scurrying over to the shade. There is a small detachment of guards looking at everybody with the most bewildered stares you've ever seen in your life. You walk over to them, and gasp out
G-got a wounded man *hhh* Can't keep him *gah* around... *hah* We just ran from a ghost...
We'll, uh... We'll take care of him? We were told to guard this place, but we can probably spare a man to get your man to the barracks...
Okay thanks...*Gasp*

You have just left the sewers, and will soon return. Your uncle will be taken care of, but now you need to figure out how you're going to go back inside. You can't afford to waste much time, so you MUST enter again.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The spirit doesn't get a bestiary entry. They don't count as a "creature".

EDIT: I'd like to ask viewers to give a rundown on what they believe should be improved in the story. I'm aware there are plenty of flaws, but a checklist of them may aid in eliminating them, not to mention there are plenty don't even notice.

RAM · « **Reply #582 on:** April 21, 2017, 01:00:50 am »

Pfft, the spirit is only a minor eldritch abomination. It just took us by surprise, and Eveline seemed to have a handle on things. Besides, now that we have our wits about us it might be nice to take a look for this spirit and see if it maybe has a soul with which to mess... We can also try to tell our hounds to administer the proper prescription should we, umm, whatever the symptons are, ask Eveline about that, or... Does Eveline have the pieces of our brave little lizard friend? It would be so good if we can revive it again, and it is just the right size to travel on our shoulder and give us a whack every so often. It... It just took us by surprise! A necromancer has got to be one of the top three things that spirits never want to mess with! We just.. We get a jar, and line it with silk, and then, then... then splash a little of our blood around it, and throw in some necromancy and force it to stick. Then we grab the thing by whatever soul-like thing is sustaining it and shove it into the jar and let it stew in a magic-resistant cage until it learns some manners, or we need a battery... and if that doesn't work, then just grab all the recently deceased vermin the sewers have to offer and hurl them at the thing. Let's see how a spirit likes an infestation of spirit-rats... If we can't handle some dinky little ancient amorous apparition's antics then what chance do we have against the proper horrors we are marching off to meet? That said, do try to convince someone to try out some web wards. Does Yunikki need a fresh application or something? If neither us nor Yunikki had any resistance at all compared to the others than it sort of bodes poorly for our mental defenses. That reminds! Yunikki didn't fair over-well against the mind-control at the tower either, this may be an ongoing issue with mind-control ignoring our natural drider superiority...

TheBiggerFish · « **Reply #583 on:** April 21, 2017, 10:40:51 am »

Huh. I saw that coming. I mean, mid-update, but, like...Well.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #584 on:** April 21, 2017, 05:51:22 pm »

We're going right back inside. Just keep your wits about you, literally... Eveline, can you keep us in working order if something happens?
That's a risk you don't WANT to take, you know!
...Good point. I'll just use the dogs.
You give them a repeated order to use escalating force if something happens. You... haven't ever done that before, but you figure it should work. Your companions are a little nervous going back in there, but they don't outright refuse, at least. The tunnel makes you rather on edge as well, but you need to get moving before anything really bad happens. The tunnels start off easy enough, without the blind panic it's actually sort of alright, mostly. Of course, then you get to the place where the shadows seem to get a little thicker, the torch a little less effective. Soon, you hear the voice again, sounding as desperate and distant as ever.
You came back! Oh my light, my warmth! Your desires are my desires! Allow me to...
Please don't mind-control us.
...Oh. So you don't love me?
Ah fuck.
If you will not love me, YOU WILL DIE

The shadows shift, the torch becomes dimmer! And soon you hear a squeaking that you're fairly certain you'll hear again in your nightmares. Thousand of blue pinpricks appear behind you, illuminated through the darkness. Then, you hear the scurrying and scratching of a thousand paws. The snouts enter the frame, and you see a literal flood of rats flowing towards you. You have a few precious seconds to do a few things. The first one is to start screaming. The second is to grab your kobolt. The last one is to start running at a speed that makes it difficult to see you feet. All in all, a fairly average way of going about a run-away situation. The next part is considerably less entertaining. All of your companions run to the best of their ability, which is fortunately quite fast. Everybody manages to stay ahead of the ratty situation behind you, although Ra'at does so by hopping on your back. Considering that she's about as heavy as a chicken, you don't really mind. After about one minute of running, the skittering begins to falter, and not even one rat manages to keep up. Your companions are fine as well, although Anatoli looks like he's about to burst with exhaustion. His boots are covered in blood and guts, implying that he spent some time running on top of a few rats. Fortunately, his massive girth prevented him from slowing down much. Everybody is catching their breath in another one of the cross-road chambers. The spirit doesn't seem to go beyond the tunnel you found it in. You're not even winded, all things considered. You do give everybody some time to catch their breath, but your party still looks ready to go. You notice your two hounds managed to keep up beautifully, so they haven't lost any speed when they got revived.
This was a surprisingly uneventful chase, despite the scary buildup. You don't really want to think what would have happened if somebody fell behind, but thinking about that is a good way to get a nervous breakdown in general.

Okay... Maybe a bit of a bad time for it, but remember when you told me to collect you lizard bones?
Eveline hands you a small bag of bones. Inside, you find all the bones of your dear little lizard! But there is one issue...
You can't resurrect a haphazard collection of bones! You need to put these things back together properly, and you don't know enough about lizard anatomy to do such a thing. You put the small bag of bones in your pocket, for later. However, you can still make some additional friends! Resurrecting the dead rats the hounds have on them should be a cinch! One quick bout of zappings later, you have three new friends! They look a bit worse for wear, of course, but you just need their eyes.
You remain there for about ten more minutes, and then you continue moving along.

Considering the last time wasn't that interesting, it really only makes sense that the same counts for the way back. Still, you can see that daylight is fading rapidly, and according to Ra'at, you still have a solid two more day's travel if you want to get to the center... Which is absolutely ludicrous, if you think about it! How could a sewer system take multiple days when you can cross the city in slightly over an hour! Unless of course, the tunnels go under eachother... They aren't perfectly straight, they do seem to slope downwards just a tiny bit... You spent most of your travel-time thinking about that. Of course, it's not JUST walking. There are a few things that need to be done to have a safe passage. If the water stands higher, you need alternative routes, if a horde of rats scurries by, you need to hide... It's just that there are no fights, or anything that really costs you anything except time! By the time everybody seems a bit too tired to continue comfortably, there has been no daylight shining through for quite a while now. Yunikki is the first to request to set up camp, and everybody soon follows the idea.

Dinner is rather un-eventful. You heat up the pot filled with sewer-hound meat, which feeds you, Danica and Eveline. The meat did NOT improve in the slightest from "resting", and it has turned very chewy. Still, a meal's a meal!
Ra'at says that she expects patrols of some sort during the next day, so perhaps preparations should be made for that. Also of note, you need to figure out how the sleping is going to go.

You're about to spend your first night in the dungeon. Decide how the watch will be handled, and if you would like to perform any other actions such as asking how your companions are doing or finding some way to make sure the fire keeps on burning.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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