Dinner and a show
If you're going to be surrounded by about a thousand potential enemies, you need to learn how to deal with a multitude of them at the same time. You look around the campsite for a training area of some sort. After about an hour of searching, you gather that they don't have one of those. At best, you have a few open areas that have some blood clinging to the sand. You assume that will have to do. Fortunately, that hour of searching means that the entire camp is just about awake. The people that could had their breakfast, but most didn't. Supplies aren't quite so great that they have enough food for three meals a day. Based on some of the fights you saw breaking out, it's also not a good idea to try having breakfast if you aren't strong enough. The smaller, less skilled bandits get beaten down by the bigger ones. Power hierarchy is the name of the game.
So let's abuse it.
You decide to choose an open area close to the forest. You don't have wooden swords, and you don't quite have the know-how or time to carve them out. You do go rock-hunting, however, in order to create a few bolas. A few scouts kept watch on you from the trees. Vvulf must have given them the order to keep you in. Those crossbows look like they'd hurt. Despite the looming threat of a bolt, you manage to collect and create around five bolas, using your web and some hefty rocks. They aren't nearly as good as a proper pair of bolas, of course, but you can't really start making balls out of these rocks. They will have to suffice, and they probably will.
When you wander back to your chosen area, you see that a fight is already busy. Two smaller bandits are wrestling on the floor, grabbing and clawing at each-other like men possessed. You break up the fight by pulling one of them up by the scruff of his neck and keeping three feet on the other. Your body gives you amazing stability, so you can handle keeping one of the back with just one arm. You order them to stop struggling, and the one you're holding stops instantly. The one under your feet struggles a bit more, even attempting to kick the underside of your belly. To little effect, as he can hardly reach. A little squeeze with your legs makes him stop.
What are you morons fighting about? you ask, annoyance in your voice. One of them explains that they're having a squabble over a debt. One made a bet with the other, and now the loser doesn't want to pay. You explain to them that there are far more important things than an amount of money that couldn't even buy you a single carrot. You then tell them that they've been volunteered to spar with you. They don't look very excited about that. As you don't have the time to make a proper wooden training sword, this is going to be an unarmed fight. You may be more trained in sword & board, but the essentials are the same:
Hit them more than they hit you.
You order them to stand opposite to you, and that they must take you down. They look at each other, and then proceed to charge. Seeing how that is as predictable as it gets, and you've been dealing with Tommen's overly aggressive tactic for six years, you know how to deal with it. This time, you use both his momentum and yours to slam your fist in the stomach of the faster one of the two. He crumples together, and the other one attempts an attack from your side. You backhand his arm away, and then bumrush him. Due to your superior size, you topple him with ease, and stamp your legs down on his body. Perhaps a little harder than needed, but whatever.
You're pretty pissed anyway.
Too slow, and no teamwork. You won't be able to beat me like this... Catch your breath and try again!While they rest up for a few minutes, you climb one of the lookout towers dotted at the edges of camp. The look-out yelps in surprise when you crawl close to him. You try to see some other schmuck. Eventually, you see one laying on the ground. You crawl over to that one and poke him with your leg. He yelps and crawls away with surprising amount of speed. He's a spirited one, you can tell. You order him to follow you and to explain why he was just lying there. He explains that after getting a stomach-punch and having your money stolen, he found that just staying down for a bit is generally better. "Makes for the difference between a pain and a shank, y'know". He's a surprisingly amiable guy. When you return, the two men you beat down look ready to go again. You tell them to stand together, and try to take you down.
As they groan on the ground, you have to admit that one more man makes all the difference. You took some solid hits, and you'll have a collection of bruises to show for it in the morning. Still, you won. Your spider body really gives you the edge in combat. A crowd has begun to form around you, making the next man to join the fight easy. You select one from the crowd, the one who was cheering loudly. He's a bit heavier-set than the rest, but otherwise average. The fight that follows is... brutal. You can easily win from the original two by this point, but the amiable guy is fast and clever while the newest one hits a lot harder. Your new armor plating's really doing some work, and you suspect it made the difference in getting a broken rib or not. You're fairly sure you're at your limit, but you decide to try another. The next one to join looked like more of the usual fair, but by this point they have wizened up to your size and shape. They all rushed together, attacking your human front and forcing you down with their combined weight. Call in your defeat very shortly after, although some of them keep hitting you. They eventually let up, though, allowing you to get your bearings. You clock one of the original two, the one that continued beating you, in his face before wandering off to rest. You've definitely got some bruises now, but you learn from it.
Opponents with little experience or tactics go down easy in a non-lethal fight, but enough numbers can overwhelm anything. Furthermore, your incredible stability and size give you the edge over most humanoids, not to mention your stinger (which you intentionally neglected to avoid killing someone).
Of course, in a real fight, it just takes one mistake to fall. You cannot possible handle more than three in that scenario, not unless you can perform some sort of trick.
While you don't quite feel like you could fight without getting seriously hurt, you do decide to reward your opponents with your freshly crafted bolas. You give an example of what they can do with the other one that kept hitting you after you gave up. He falls on his face, and clutches his bleeding nose as you free him. As you expected, you don't have quite the range or power as a proper bola, but it can certainly tangle someone up. Not to mention your webbing is hard to easily cut. You give them a quick lesson in how to throw it. They are quite excited about it, and the nice guy (the one you picked off the ground earlier.) is a quick learner. He seems to like you a lot, for some reason.
You can't possibly teach yourself how to deal with a horde of enemies consistently in just one day. That will come with experience. However, you've been fighting for multiple hours now, and you are hungry. The smell of food fills the air, and you feel hungry. A man bearing the same paint that marks him as a lieutenant tells you to come to the bonfire in front of Vvulf's tent. The man does not look special, apart from the paint, and is quiet on the way there. When you arrive you hear a terrified yelling coming from the bonfire, which remains unlit. The wood has been stacked, however, and one man is holding a torch. The yelling is coming from a naked woman tied to the post in the middle. There is a cold sense of dread in the pit of your stomach as you realize what is happening. They are going to burn her alive.
And they're going to do it while they just eat their lunch. You see your "seat" is right next to Vvulf.
Please! I'm sorry, it was just a dare! Don't kill me like this!You stole from me. You got caught! I will not accept incompetent traitors in this army!What to do about this?
Kill the victim yourself.Burning to death is too painful for anybody! Kill her quickly, to spare her the pain.Accept it and just eat your dinnerThe nightmares will pass in time, hopefully.Attempt to convince Vvulf to let her go.You will need a good reason, of course. Puppy eyes don't work on that... monster.OtherSomething of note. Remember that not eating will leave you weakened.Level: 3
HP: 7/20
Mana: 10/10
Equipment:
Sharp studded leather armor
Leather harness
Steel sword
Wooden shield(Well-made)
Skills:
Poison Stinger (Potentially lethal)
Major experience in blocking and swords.
Climber
Crafty: Bolas
Author
Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 189672 times)