Trollguard [Mineal and Sarai ~ open] [fetch]

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1st cycle of Aperitus era XV


The town slept safe in the knowledge that the Carmelya’s Tears would keep them safe from harm maybe the odd denizen turned and tossed in dream filled slumber but for the vast majority of the good folk of Natura another darkening passed in refreshing sleep. The city patrol walked their beat on a darkening warm and soft aired, the moons were at their lowest ebb and the stars shone bright but never enough to fully illuminate the city. Nothing ever happened in the dog candlemarks of the late night, perhaps a gird yawned and leant against his pole arm to catch forty winks, who knows? The guard will never admit he might have slept a while but what was certain was there were intruders in the town. Shadows slipped between houses testing the maxim that no one ever locked their doors in crime free Natura.

Twisted shapes slipped slided through the city testing sleep and watchfulness in equal quantities. Distorted shadows opened doors and entered houses silent in the main. And eager hands sought the larders and kitchens of these unfortunates , pockets and bags were filled with provisions as and where they could be found …Not all these shadows went unseen.

…..The house of Dingly Pottly had a restless child who dozed fitfully in the deepest darkest part of the night perhaps she had eaten too much strong cheese at Pracenda ..who knows but she woke and screamed at the shadow in her room …. mama it’s the bogie man I can sees it…..

Soft footfalls slipped away through the little house and unseen again passed into the city leaving the Pottly’s to comfort their child and search under the bed and in the wardrobe for the bogie man before the child would settle for what remained of the darkening. This was only the second encounter of the darkening, the snoozing guard swore blind that…

it were ’orrible a great sweaty hairy paw over me mouth guv and his breath. Gor blimey it stunk like a swamp in full summer ….yeah I passed out, not me fault and I needs new regulation underpants as well

The morning dawned fresh and bright and the full impact of the previous darkening began to be realised ….the larders were bare of foodstuffs almost every family had lost something, a sack of apples, a cold meat pie, a saddle of goat, hung for a special occasion, bags of flour and many good barrels of strong sweet cider ….. Robbery!

The dastardly deed was investigate the guard quizzed, young Pottly was questioned about the bogie man she had seen no longer dismissed as the fantasy of a child with an inappropriate Pracenda liking for strong cheese.


The rangers were consulted as being the experts on all matters relating to crime and theft and as a consequence the call went out for volunteers to get to the bottom of this dreadful deed. The search for these thieves was on!

[Venn Drega]

He was going to take Connard on a long ride morning and had just finished cinching the saddle when the sound of hooves echoed outside his barn. Someone was calling his rank and name with a strained voice that was at once excited and worried.

“In here!” he called out, beginning to lead Connard toward the door.

The face of one of the younger paladins appeared, contorted with the effort of catching a breath. Venn’s silver brow furrowed slightly. Were this a matter of small import they might have sent an acolyte or squire to fetch him, but here was a full-fledged paladin, albeit a newly minted one, which meant that whatever was to be spoken of required a guarantee of being delivered promptly.

“There’s been a robbery!” Karl gasped.

The Temple commander took a slow deep breath in order to check his exasperation. “Put one of the Silver Wolves on it. I’m sure they can handle the matter.”

“No, commander, it’s not just one robbery. There have been a multitude of reports all over the city,” the messenger added, finding enough air now to say more. “And legitimate reports too... ” he began and looked about out of reflex before finishing, “... of bogeymen!”

Venn was now concerned, although he was unsure whether it was over Karl’s sanity or the fact that there was an indication of outright theft. This was unheard of in a town where even petty crime was practically non-existent. Still not entirely convinced but curious over the matter, Venn mounted his warsteed. “Alright then, let’s get to the bottom of this,” he indicated to his fellow Silver Star. He followed the messenger to wherever the matter was being decided having abandoned all though of a pleasant ride along the mountain paths. Such was a life of duty.

[Mineal Shade]

It was by no means an entirely foreign concept. When one stayed with others he was supposed to pull his fair share to make up what he could for his burden. Mineal had pondered if the rangers took that notion to the extreme. It seemed often enough that the rangers of a certain hall were more than happy to send their visiting brethren out to do their job.

But Mineal was not complaining. Even if it was an investigation of robbery the mosat found it more interesting than staring at the ceiling of his room in the hall. The ranger liked to relax but too much of it made his legs restless and they pleaded for him to move in some form or fashion. Maybe he was just struck with the wanderlust, a lot of rangers seemed to get it.

Standing in a doorway of one of the scenes the ranger lifted the brim of his conical hat and sniffed at the air, looking for any sort of clue that might light up his more delicate nose.

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And for Venn duty was his life! The story of the darkenings raid was explained in detail to him not that there was much detail. The guard had told him of a smell and a great hairy paw of a guttural language that may once have been commons he spoke of the arm being impossibly strong “it could have broken my neck no problem but it were gentle very strong but gentle …it did not mean me no ‘arm but it were ‘airy like a great big old bear“

The little girl clutching her dolly was adamant stamping her foot she declared “ it were a bogeyman I tells yer a big old hairy black scary bogeymen.

She would have a certain fame amongst her peers and the charming little Halfling child knew about that , she had been scared in the darkening but in the light of a brightening she was going to make the most of her brush with a bogeyman.

Reports filtered in, all that had been taken was food and drink no valuables were missing no small trinket that could fetch a price on a stall in the market of some of the bigger cities was missing.

One of the Silver Wolves reported in saying I have been looking at tracks its confusing but I count twenty different tracks all different sizes and there is something odd hardly a single track is complete or clear its as though they were dragging their feet or limping not walking, shuffling, there is one track where the individual scrapes its knee on the ground anyway they all lead in and they all lead out going north west into the Dolwoods.

What ever or who ever had raided the town had to be summoned that was decided upon and a small party drawn from the paladins and rangers was decided upon they would try and tack the riders back to their lair.

For Mineal his delicate nose was a valuable tool accepted as a ranger by the hall he would be a welcome addition to the hunting party and his sense of smell was telling him ….of a musky scent animal like but not entirely but for all of the overarching muskiness there were other smells on the air, unclear masked but if the Rodenti could give the smell a name it would be …..illness!

[Venn Drega]

Venn closed his eyes and leaned back in a chair to consider the details at hand: twenty hairy creatures of various sizes that took only items of subsistence and caused no physical harm or injury. Even more curious was that they all seemed – incomplete, perhaps wounded or disfigured, given their tracks. This was turning into a supreme mystery indeed. Who were these thieves and what predicament were they in that they would limp into town to take only what they needed to live? There was a marked lack of malevolence in the crime and the crime itself, in the paladin’s mind, was now of lesser consequence than the underlying motive for it.


“It appears to me that we have the opportunity to help a group of unfortunate creatures,” he said to his companions, eye now wide open. “For some reason they were either unwilling or unable to request help and so helped themselves to our goods. They obviously mean no harm even when given ample opportunity to. We must be careful not to judge them harshly and think if we might not do as they did if our own families were starving... and as disfigured.” Venn would provide the reasons for his deductions if asked.


“What remains hidden, however, is the reason for this nocturnal raid. Is there something more sinister that would drive these creatures to such an extreme act of desperation? Who and what are they? What is behind their lack? And where are they now? These are the things we are to solve and perhaps even more,” he commented to his cohorts.


The time for examination, investigation and conjecture had now come to a pause. Those chosen to deal with the incident now stood at one of the trails that led into the Dolwoods. For some it held dread but for others it was a place that demanded cautious curiosity. Venn was among the latter. He allowed the Silver Wolves to take the lead in the chase, their tracking abilities being premier among the talents needed at this point. He simply followed on, keeping a sharp eye upon the woods around them to detect any sign of a sentry or observer. Small as their group was, it would be hard to conceal their movement even with their skills in stealth.


Venn had thought it wiser to leave his full armor behind, favouring the mobility afforded by his adventuring kit. He did however retain the use of his obsidianate-lacquered ardentium gauntlets, bracers and greaves. He also kept Arbiter, his soul-blade, at his side. Over this he wore his cloak of the Silver Wolves that shimmered and camouflaged him as he moved. In this manner he matched the look of some of his ranger compatriots.


Before they began their foray into the Dolwoods, Venn took the opportunity to become more familiar with certain companions he did not know well. Among them was a Rodenti. He quickly introduced himself and learned Mineal’s name. “I think your particular talents would be of great help to us this brightening,” he said, noting that Mineal’s sense of smell and size complimented the band well.


And so they proceeded.

[Mineal Shade]

The ranger had spent the majority of the first brightening criss-crossing over Natura and investigating the different incidences of robbery. He was mainly silent during this time, he knew very few of the rangers from Natura and even less of the people who actually populated Natura outside the hall. Nonetheless at every crime scene he put his nose to work, there was the tell-tale of animal scent, hair and skin oil, matting, mild mange and the like. But along with it was vaguely humanoid smell, a certain strange familiarity within the multiple layers of animal scent. At first the rodenti had thought it little more than residual from the occupants of the home, but it was in every scene, the same strangely foreign yet familiar thing that tugged at him like an incessant child.

But above that, the preeminent smell that permeated each location was a sense of unwell. Not vomit, nor rotten food or spoiled drink. But something wrong, a definite scent of unnatural, of something off kilter. Sickness, blight blanketed the whole place like a mish-mash of quilted patterns.

At least it explained the tracks that ran rampant through Natura. They were strange, none of them normal for beast or man. Mineal spent an inordinate amount of time looking at the tracks he found that included the fallen knee scrape across the dirt. Perhaps innocuous to most but for someone like Mineal it was very telling.

Soon enough a party had been assembled and due to his insight Mineal had been wrangled into the group. But not only were they rangers who went but people with more girth, more weapons and less discretion. He learned that they were paladins. Subsequently a paladin had to be explained to him. A person who battled in the name of a god, what an odd thought. More so when he found out not all paladins were followers of war-like deities. Very peculiar.

From the Silver Wolves Mineal had asked and acquired one green cloak, which he kept over him in stead of his snow cloak or sand poncho. Perhaps it was the innate respect Mineal had for camouflage, to him it was a necessary thing. A need to keep out of sight and out of mind. It wrapped around him and in the green, spring of the Dolwoods he could hide efficiently. But before he had left Mineal had also taken, spirits, tar and sap and rubbed them into the outside of the cloak. Many angry rangers and a broken explanation later Mineal explained his reasoning for soiling the cloak. A solid color stood out in the middle of a forest, but something with broken colors and shades was less-likely to be noticed.

Outside the Dolwoods there was a meeting of the paladins and rangers. It was easy to tell who leaded the paladins, a half-elf who was sure to meet every ranger evenly. The leader of the rangers was perhaps harder to find, that was if one was to say the rangers truly had a leader. It was entirely possible they simply swirled around like a swarm.

Venn met the mosat, a strange creature with tannish fur and an awkward handshake considering the rodenti's lack of a thumb. Perhaps more curious were the bracers on his arms. Unlike the paladin's ardentium the ranger had strange grayish purple bracers that were hard but also speckled with black dots. They were not made of metal or some other worked substance but living tissue carved from a giant spider in the tunnels leading to Herozzal. Hard as metal but light and comfortable over the rodenti's arms.

Mineal was a taciturn person, though awkward and perhaps silly in meeting. Over his eyes were large goggles, nearly black as the darkening sky to keep the sunlight out of his eyes. It let him move with sharp eyes in the brightening and once removed he had eyesight rivaling the katta at night.

Answering Venn Mineal pulled his hood up and the shadow partially engulfed his face, "we will find out." There was not malice or circumstance in his voice, but a plain and level tone. The rodenti was perfectly content to not take point but made sure his nose, tattooed with the scent of the illness, followed just in front of the paladins but behind most of the rangers. Staying off the trail he flicked in and out of sight as he ran on all fours and hopped over a certain obstacle.

He raised up on two feet and seemed to appear out of the surroundings. "Paladin Drega. We are not looking for animals. We seek people, though afflicted people. They have the smell of blight and walk without normalcy." Perhaps that did not convince the paladin. Mineal drew his scimitar as he walked towards Venn while keeping pace on his foward motion.

"You have seen the knee mark in town." Mineal tapped the top of the paladin's knee with a soft click against the greave. Then he turned the blade upon himself and tapped his own knee. That's when it became truly obvious. The paladin's knee was on the front of his leg when Mineal's, like most animals, was on the rear of his leg. It was impossible for Mineal to break a fall with his knee.

It only added to the circumstantial evidence they had from the guard and the tracks themselves. The tracks were straight in to food stores and there was no sign of tearing through packaging. It was a premeditated attack and well-organized one with a single purpose. They were dealing with a humanoid, a humanoid with a well-structured thought process. This was not a thing of bears or wolves but, some strange hairy humanoid.

Mineal hopped off the trail side and back into the underbrush and his form disappeared like a swimmer beneath the sea.

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The party was small Venn Drega the Paladin, the Mosrat Mineal Shade a ranger of wide experience with an artfully talented nose. Four other rangers accompanied them led by the cether Aviat Goodtrack, master bowman and tracker. If Venn wanted to employ some of his paladins they were welcome to join the party but this was not a war party set on revenge and justice the group were set to track and discover the whereabouts and reasons for the raid on Natura.

Venn had summed up the aims and objectives of this small mixed troop with succinctly chosen phrases and allowed the others to gather their kit in order that they were ready to face the perils and mysteries of the Dolwoods.

In good order they set off out of the sanctuary of Natura and into the hostile environment of the woods. Aviat led the group steeping lightly across the paths he picked at the trail reading it like a story book. The Mosrat had earned his admiration and he had slipped Menial on the back and gave a gruff nice work lad , that nose of yours is quite a tool

The trail wandered often unclear as they progressed over stone and hard earth sometimes clear as sunlight but the rangers were to a man experts at following game in hard country, they marched deeper into the Dolwoods the heavy oppressive woods seemed to loom over them conversation was muffled as if the very air was trying to prevent conversation. They had trekked about three miles, well outside the beneficial range of the druids spring and were all on alert.

Perhaps the Mosrat with his nose might be the first to get a whiff on the breeze he could still distinguish the strange ordure of malady that the midnight visitors had left on the air but this was different older, stronger, rotting meat and earth, primeval. Perhaps Venn might hear a chittering and rustling on the breeze, tiny footsteps on old tree boughs , many footsteps…..something was close and something in the Dolwoods spelled trouble……. Spiders, they dropped out of the trees around them on skeins of silk, spiders large as a mans hand , dark as the pits of Jalat, hungry for flesh that they would absorb with unfeeling urgency into their bodies, many spiders.

[Venn Drega]

Seven would be enough to do good service for Natura. It would make the band swift and relatively invisible. Venn had thought of matching the rangers with a number of paladins, but the woods were the domain of the Silver Wolves and as much as he would have liked to bring along a number of Silver Stars, he allowed for only one other. Sveras was a strong and compact man that came from good mountain folk. He was selected for his experience as a hunter, his profession before he joined with the paladins. Sveras was from a clan of hunter and mountain guides and would be able to handle himself well alongside the rangers. The mountain man had decided to forgo his long experience with the bow and embraced sword, armor and magic, proving to be very capable in his second vocation. Sveras was one of the few who had survived Zerdargia a quiet bond that was shared with Venn.

Venn noted how his fellow paladin moved quickly and efficiently behind the rangers and attempted to emulate those same movements with limited success. The half-elf had spent his fair share of time in the woods but even so, it was difficult to match a lifetime of experience that became an unconscious pattern of movement Sveras displayed. He contented himself with following and staying observant. His innate ability to sense by echo-location was limited in the woods and interpreting the myriad of trees was difficult, so he relied more on his hearing than imaging.

The Mosrat showed himself to be resourceful and ingenious, modifying his cloak to become less visible and helping to follow the trail by his keen sense of smell. He had never known a Mosrat before but this proved to be a good introduction.

Venn could sense the power of the Sacred Spring lessen and eventually disappear all together as they travelled into the forest. No one was ever entirely comfortable in the Dolwoods as it kept mysteries that were difficult to fathom, warping spells and harbouring unknown terrors. There was an inexplicable sense of claustrophobia that attended the woods and although Venn was experienced enough among trees, it was difficult to shake the feeling.

Venn stopped in his tracks to look around when he noticed an unusual pattern of sound. He had thought he had heard something earlier, but it was very faint and could have been mistaken for the fall of dew from the upper canopy. Whatever the sound was it seemed muffled and masked but it had lost any sense of randomness in its patter. There was nothing around them, no sense of movement. But then he focussed upwards.

“Spiders!” Venn cried even as he snatched his sword from its scabbard. Arbiter flared to life with blue flame. The spiders were large enough to strike but small and numerous. Such a foe would require speed and precision to dispatch. Venn set about doing so beginning with the spider closest to him. He was also aware that the creatures that stalked them so stealthily were likely to be venomous and so was mindful to keep them at sword-length as much as possible. Already he was gathering ara through his battle-meditation in order to shape an appropriate spell.


OOCI'll hand Sveras over to you Fetch!

[Mineal Shade]

They were probably not invisible, especially the paladins who were more comfortable on the beaten path, even the rangers made some noise and visible motion as their forms weaved around trees like a skilled basket maker's needle moves around straw.

Along the way the cether leader clapped Mineal on the back, a motion that would usually cause the mosat to jerk forward if it was a larger person, and exclaimed to him great accord. For Mineal it was nothing new and nothing very worthy of praise. A lot of the time his ears, eyes and nose had been a means of survival. The rodenti was originally from Arakmat and in the desert means of food were few and far between. His nose, in the desert, devoid of other smells could pick up the scent of something from many miles away. Mineal had spent a good deal of his short life tracking, trapping and jerking food across the badlands of Arakmat. But much had happened in that part of the empired and beyond. For Mineal it was almost as if that part of his life had dropped away like a bad dream. At Aviat the rodenti twitched his nose slightly and hopped away into the underbrush again.

For some they were able to feel the diminishing protection of Natura. Sadly, or perhaps fortunately Mineal had never felt the safety of magic. It altered his feelings for either good or bad. But he did know that the farther they trekked into the wilderness the more wild, savage, things became. Beyond the borders of civilization grew the ulcer of wilderness and lawlessless. The mosat ranger, though a mediator of the temporal Frigid River, had found plenty of growing unease and violence in the wilderness away from his home hall. He was no infant to the strange mistress of the wild and bestial, nor a fool to its calls.

It was Mineal's nose first that picked up the scent of a difference between what they had been tracking and the smell of something that seemed to be growing stronger as they moved. Only later did he begin to hear the scraping, scuttling of a certain type of animal. As the small arachnids distended from the tree cover Mineal whacked at the nearest assault with his arm bracers. They were the bracers he had won looking for Herozzal, bracers made from the segmented leg section of giant spiders. They were tough, hard as steel nearly and light weight.

Mineal instinctively backhanded in a wide arc at the drifting spiders to send then flying with his bracers and his leather-covered hand. Once he began to gain a small amount of control over the shock the ranger pulled his scimitar and cleaved into the lane of fist-sized spiders to create himself a decent-sized hole to hold back the encroaching horde of arachnoids.

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Battle , the Dolwoods benign and friendly were also a constant battle for life death food and offspring. Spiders do not often congregate in large numbers they were usually solitary predators content to wait and trap their prey but these were different.

Sveras had his sword out in a flash and was working a circle cutting and slashing with calm concentration at the spiders … keep moving, work a circle lads steady there and keep an eye out for the bigun, the mother, these boyos are protecting the mother spider.

Years of experience had quickly brought him to the conclusion that they would soon face the biggest spider that anyone had ever seen if the babies size was any indication. Venn and Mineal were fighting hard and carefully using foot work to avoid the spiders who were coming in from the trees, flashing blades were killing the soft bodied arachnids in dozens but the spiders had the advantage of numbers.

The other rangers were standing back to back using long knives and short swords. Sveras began the process of joining of the group . Shouting Join up, join up, form a circle, Venn get in the middle we could do with some of your arcana boss.

Mineal might have some distaste for arcana but even he would see the practical reality of having another weapon on his side.

The party fought themselves into position dealing death with every stroke. The phalanx of spiders was complete only the occasional one dropped from the trees they were in formation surrounding the circle of rangers and paladins ready for some sort of signal that would send them full scale on the party heedless of losses determined to protect and feed …….

Seconds later Sveras’s prediction proved to be right through the underbrush lumbered an eighth legged denizen from the blue hells of Jalat it was huge ugly beyond description, a suppurating mass of open sores, a strange and almost hypnotic hiss came from its mouth parts, anger, hunger, pain all encompassed in a low hiss. This was the time to act!

[Venn Drega]

Venn had never found spiders to be particularly distasteful. They actually reminded him of their eight-legged undersea counterparts – crabs that were rather succulent when eaten raw one the exoskeleton was removed. Spiders never seemed as appetizing, perhaps due to the hair and venom but then these spiders were not for a gourmet palate, they were just for the killing. The individual spiders seemed easy enough to dispatch for the group but the sheer numbers of the swarm demanded constant diligence so that they would not be overwhelmed.

“A mother spider?” Venn breathed incredulously between swings. Venn had channelled more than enough ara for any number of spells and was about to shape one that would radiate outwards with an area of effect that would sweep across the endless army of spiders but now thought to wait until this anticipated danger appeared. So he opted to shape and cast the novice spell of nimbility upon his companions as he made his way to the center of their formation, changing it just so that he could cast it in rapid succession in a single sweep without having to disengage the spiders for too long. He then returned to a battle meditation while guarding against the dropping spiders from above.

He now began to weave together the spell chosen for the opportune moment. Even as he did so he knew that it would require a great deal of concentration to maintain once cast due to number of spiders and radius of effect needed. His blade sliced through a spider above him when the massive monstrosity lumbered into view.

“By the goddess!” Venn exclaimed at the sight. Any thought of sea-crabs fled his imagination. There was nothing palatable about the putrid form that now crept before them. Thankfully the spell was ready to be cast and he waited only a moment more to ensure the enormous spider was within range. Venn released the spell invocation of penitence he had cultivated within himself and cast it to sweep from the front line of their circle outwards. Tendrils of light would emerge from out of the air and extend from the small band to permeate the ranks of the spiders reaching to the enormous nightmare creature. The spell was meant to render the creatures immobile so that his cohorts could dispatch them.

Venn turned to Mineal to speak. The effort on the paladin’s face was evident. “You’ll have to watch my back, friend,” he said through clenched teeth “I’ve got to stay focussed.” He then directed his comments to Aviat and Sveras. “Hurry now, if the spell works it should hold them...”

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Spellcasting

Venn was in the center of the defending circle of rangers and as an adept Thaumaturgist he was well capable of casting his chosen spells Nimblity would act on each of the fighters increasing reflex’s mobility and dexterity each fighter would be faster more aware and skilful with their chosen weapons but only for a short period

Mineal for all his distaste for arcana would be charged faster and more dextrous his blades working faster than he could believe possible despatching spiders in a flash and always aware of his next target. Sveras working the circle of spiders grinned as he got the boost from Venn nice one boss was all he had to say before returning to the grizzly work .

Venn’s next spell at adept level was more subtle

By infusing an area with the essence of awe and righteousness, the Thaumaturgist can compel any creature of any alignment or conviction, to be bound in place if it is within the spell's field of power. The spell has a brief duration which can be lengthened through practice.

The spiders were held in bonds, static, the ghastly huge mother spider equally struggled against the bonds of Awe and Righteousness her great bulk held in invisible chains…..but not for long, defence would have to be turned to attack for the boosted warriors.

[Mineal Shade]

Mineal moved with the others until they locked in like puzzle pieces, side by side to creat a ring of defense and keep the little eight-legged critters at bay. The mosat was incredibly ungifted when it came to arcana, so dull was he to it that even feeling of nimbleness being imparted to him was easily shrugged off as a surge of energy given the situation and its excitement. Beknownst to the rodenti or not his blade moved faster and it snapped at spiders like an irate and determined viper, biting then turning and biting again at their soft little bodies.

In short time came the brood's mother and behemoth. Large, just like the ones that infested the tunnel networks beneath Acumin. Granted the ones lodged on the path to Herozzal were more timid, they were alike enough and Mineal had some mind to the large thing's abilities. But his attention was torn away from the beast, not by more of its little ones but by the paladin. Mineal turned an ear slightly towards Venn and nodded. Taking intermittent breaks between slicing spiders around himself Mineal's curved blade lashed out and would take a bite of one of the small creatures that managed to survive the writhing ring of steel and move towards Venn.

All of a sudden the spiders seemed to stop as though they had frozen in place to statues. The ranger looked past the tines of spider silk and little rotating forms to the larger beast that had stopped crowing its army onwards like field marshall. Instead it's limbs quivered with the effort of resisting the spell as its little threads of light held steady to the monster.

The rodenti managed a sharp glance over to the paladins. They were just beginning to move, too slow, bipeds. Mineal bounded forward like a small coiled spring and the jump caused a few of the hanging arachnid ornaments to spin and swing on their silken tethers. Hitting the ground on all fours Mineal rushed forward through the undergrowth like a little blur urged on by magic and his own adrenaline coursing through his muscles.

The furry ranger dug in his claws as he approached to stop himself. He remembered the large spiders had extremely tough outer armor but their undersides were softer, necessary for the joints to flex and thus making the segmentation on the underbelly weakest of all. Mineal pulled up on his hind legs and turned his scimitar until the profile of his blade lined flush with a carapace joint. Cushioning the hilt against his shoulder the rodenti pushed up with all his strength and attempt to breach the armor while the arachnid fought to break the bonds of the paladin's spell. The ranger aimed to open the belly wide and draw the length of his scimitar across the joint and spill its innards out in a large wound.

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Mineal born on wings of adrenalin blood lust and the effects of Venn’s Nimblity spell was a blur of action. It might not have been wise to slit the underbelly of a giant spider but it was damned brave!

The paladins and rangers watched with admiration as the Rodenti took advantage of the lull in hostilities to make his move. The wicked scimitar plunged upwards into the foul beast slitting through muscle and tissue and up into the stomach of the spider. Pulling his scimitar along the length of the cut he widened the breach to good effect., It was a mortal stroke but being underneath an enraged monster is not the wisest place to be. His arcane given vitality had allowed him to strike with more power than normal but the spiders body had strong defences. His cut was such that the sword could travel no more it was stuck between carapace and the internal organs of the enraged but stuck fast spider.

Sveras was a few heart beats behind Mineal and his charge was followed by the rest of the war party they fell onto the arcanely chained mother spider hacking and cutting at her as and where their blades would do the most damage, boots trampling and squashing smaller arachnids under foot as they did .The old mother was dying, the belly wound was widening as she struggled with her assailants and with Mineal trying to pull out his scimitar the inevitable happened. Her stomach wall was breached and the mysterious force of gravity caused the contents of her stomach to gush out all over Mineal beneath her.

Half digested meat stomach juices and the vile contents of the remnants of several heavy meals fell in a flood over the unfortunate Mosat.

The battle was over the surviving spiders fled the field free from the orders of the mother Venn could rest easy that his arcana had turned the course of the battle his arm might be needed to deal the final blows to the mother but essentially every man and Mosrat had done their duty with some courage and no little skill. This was a fine team which he could be proud of and he would need them all in the next few candlemarks.