And so our Champions ventured through the wicked 10 feet wide corridors of this not-so- abandoned ruin to find the quest that was promised; some seeking power, others glory, and some perhaps only hoping to be amused by what the Game Master had prepared for them.
They had their differences and their cooperation was fuelled by the situation they had found themselves in, and thus their combined strength was that of four individuals, and not of one powerful whole, but that was about to change, for they now entered a vast cavern of giant webs and rot, and they were about to encounter a foe whom they couldn’t best alone.
“Judging by the webs, their patterns, their size, and by the look the Game Master has given me when I asked them for guidance, it looks like we entered into a lair of a giant spider.” told Clary to the group after a brief prayer to her deity.
“A giant spider!” shouted Roderick with valour.
“A giant spider?!” shouted Lightshadow with happiness and curiosity.
“A giant spider?!” shouted Magizor with fear and horror.
“A giant spider.” confirmed Clary calmly
Upon realizing his moment of weakness, Magizor tried to hide his insecurity and fear behind his usual wall of arrogance and hostility, but the damage had already been done.
“This is obviously the wrong path you imbeciles, this just looks like some nest and not part of an ancient ruin. We should return and try the other doors because I don’t see a point in eradicating some worthless creepy crawly unnatural twisted foul arthropod.” Magizor’s speech might have seemed consistent were it not for the shaking and frantic looking at the ceiling while saying the last words.
“I see your point Magizor, but ‘twould be cowardly to retreat from a spawn of evil once it is within our grasp. I say that we challenge this monster to a duel to the death so that their unnatural life can be ended justly.” Was Roderick’s response to Magizor, one that wasn’t taken very well.
“How about you go trap yourself in that webbing over there imbecile, to lure the spider, and once it is close I shall burn set it all on fire.”
“A valiant strategy my elderly yet still well-preserved compatriot from another land, I shall duel this enemy whilst you set me on ablaze so that my sword will burn the spider with righteous fire.”
“Yes Roderick, for once your simian brain sees reason, now go and…”
“No!” Stopped Clary the entire plan
“Lady Clary, can’t you see that this mook is adamant on continuing deeper into this worthless lair, he has forfeited his life to his own stupidity!”
“This is the right path.” said Clary without much emotion
“What?!”
“The Game Master has told me.” said the cold stern voice of the cleric
“Well…that’s…I…”
“Are you afraid of spiders dear Magizor” asked the cleric with the sweetest most innocent look she was capable of.
“Not afraid, just…I find it hard to concentrate on my spells with these things lurking around on the walls and hanging from the ceiling.”
As Magizor was doing his confession, smiling Lightshadow intruded into the conversation. His voice was now one quiet and filled with passion and innuendos, a vastly different character from the brooding assassin, dramatic thespian and excitable child that have been seen from him so far.”
“Don’t worry Magizor, I shall watch your back with utmost passion.”
After this display Clary gave Lightshadow a very strict look and he promptly added:
“Unless you object of course, It was just an honest strategic proposal, it’s not like serving you causes intense throbbing in my heart.” This addition didn’t lessen the strictness of Clary’s glare, and so Lighshadow continued on, but now with the childlike wonder again.
“But can’t you just make the spiders vanish or something, you said you are hundreds of years old and I’ve heard that old wizards can do incredible things like summon a rain of fire, or turn someone into sheep, or teleport hundred miles away, or make some weird illusions, or create undead, or…”
“Silence you annoying brat, I can’t believe I’m growing to despise you more than the brooding one. But I shall be candid with you, my spells are delicate and unlike other wizards of this era, I cannot waste them on mundane tasks. And those cantrips they teach now are too weak for my taste, to use them would be to admit defeat and I will not have that, that is why I seek power here, I seek a way to circumvent the contemporary curriculum and return to my former glory. So that I can be the most feared and powerful wizard there…”
The moving speech was cut short by a very feminine shriek of horror, to everyone’s surprise it didn’t come from the only female of the group, but from the speaker himself.
You see noble readers, it was shortly prior to the girlish shriek of fear that Roderick noticed a strange cluster of webbing on the crevice of the tavern. He decided to start throwing rocks at the thing to bring it down, and once his aim was true, it fell right on Magizor.
An ordinary item wouldn’t unveil such emotion from the mighty wizard of course, but this wasn’t exactly something of ordinary notion. To his misfortune and horror, it was a small nest of spiders that broke upon impact and dozens of these spiders started crawling upon his body.
They also weren’t keen on their home being destroyed and they focused their fanged frustration at the frightened foe whose fair fearful face they found after their fated fall and whose fighter friend fabricated their unfair suffering.
Magizor was going through venomous mayhem, Clary and Lightshadow were trying to help him, and Roderick was heartily laughing.
“I have vanquished the younglings of the beast, that will surely lure it to us. Now what is this green volatile liquid that is falling upon my pauldrons?”
