Session 18. (31/7/09)

Menkakush, the Yakumo headman, asks Kokuma and the ex-Wajin warriors to rid the area of spiders once and for all. Kachamaru and Mineo being otherwise engaged, Miyoshi, Yoshi, Kokuma and Haku set off to search the coastal strip, the wide Yakumo river valley and the many narrow ravines for the burrows preferred by the trapdoor spiders. While searching they discuss the finer points of archery and bow-making, and all learn a little.

Kokuma manages to follow spider tracks to one burrow. Yoshi uses his hunting prowess to locate another. Yoshi sneaks up to it while the others gather outside - Miyoshi has a plan. He calls out taunts to the spiders, hoping to draw them out into an ambush. However, the totate-kumo are experts at the ambush, and, alerted to the hostile presence, two of the three-foot monsters dart out and attack the nearest targets, Yoshi and Miyoshi. Fortunately the fangs skitter off their armour. Miyoshi strikes back, spearing a spider for minor damage. Yoshi swings both swords and connects with both, doing enough damage to kill the second spider. Kokuma swings his big club and contacts the first spider, injuring it further. It tries to bite Miyoshi but rolls 17. Miyoshi tries Precision Strike but is imprecise. Yoshi tries the hit-and-parry option but fails to hit and has nothing to parry. Haku fires a dart of water but it evaporates. So it is left to Kokuma to issue the coup-de-grace, knocking the arachnid into the next life with a critical strike.

The way now clear, the four adventurers advance down the burrow. The passage is too low to stand fully upright (especially for Kokuma), and too narrow to fight side by side, so Miyoshi is gently but firmly pushed to the front and Yoshi and Kokuma stand behind, limited to thrusting attacks with their weapons. Haku casts Forest Eyes on each member of the party and sure enough they can see a spider in front of them - but this is a very large totate-kumo, about five feet across and filling the passageway. Behind it, Yoshi notices, are a number of smaller juvenile spiders trying to get past it. Miyoshi pokes with his spear and scores a good hit for 11 damage. Yoshi thrusts his katana with difficulty in the confines, but connects for 9 damage. Kokuma prods with his staff and does 5 damage. Haku still hasn't seen the spider. Miyoshi pokes for another hit, the spider tries to attack him but misses, and Yoshi finishes off with another sword thrust.

Now released, the juvenile spiders surge forward. There are five of them. Miyoshi and Yoshi dispatch two with good hits. Kokuma can't see them in the melee. Miyoshi and Yoshi dispatch two more with further good hits. Haku fires a Dart of Water and injures the last spider, which Kokuma stomps to finish it off. At the bottom of the burrow is a nest with about 30 eggs in it. These are stomped mercilessly. Noticing that the walls are lined with silk, which not only stops them from collapsing but is also very flammable, the adventurers exit the burrow and set fire to the silk. Smoke soon pours forth from the mouth of the burrow, and a satisfying crump confirms its collapse.

Flushed with their success at the first burrow, the four spider-slayers go straight to the next one without even a pause for breath. This is of course where it all started to go wrong. Miyoshi repeats his tactic of calling the spiders out into an ambush, and they oblige with an ambushing of the humans. This time two large and two standard-sized totate-kumo scurry out, fangs dripping with venom. The two standard-sizers miss their targets, but the two large ones bite Haku and Kokuma, doing 7-8 points of damage and injecting each with a Level 4 fast paralytic poison. Kokuma's system holds the poison at bay, but Haku soon starts succumbing, his speed falling rapidly. Miyoshi fights back, spearing a standard totate-kumo critically and finishing it off with his next attack. Yoshi shings his two swords at the other normal-sized spider and hits with the spider with one but himself with the other, fortunately doing more damage to the spider. Kokuma swings and misses, then the large spiders attack again and once more bite Kokuma and Haku. Kokuma is poisoned again but Haku manages to keep it out of his system. As Kokuma smashes a spider over the head while letting his system slowly defeat the poison, Haku casts Pure Blood on himself to rid his system of the poison by magical means.

Miyoshi now rounds on Haku's tormentor and spears it for 7 damage as Haku gets out of its way and goes to cure Kokuma. Yoshi hits the remaining standard-sized spider and kills it. Kokuma swings and misses. The spider formerly known as Haku's enemy has a new plaything and bites Miyoshi, injecting him with a L4 poison. Miyoshi replies with a paltry 2 damage. Yoshi goes to assist Kokuma and hits the other large spider for 12 damage. Kokuma joins in with 8 damage, fighting the poison down another level and Haku cures 4 more levels.

Miyoshi spears the large spider for 4 damage, his only available action now that the poison has reduces his speed. Yoshi swings two swords at the other one, but the first is enough and the spider expires. Kokuma turns to Miyoshi's opponent but misses. Haku is now too slowed by poison to have an action every turn. The remaining spider bites the dulled Miyoshi again but this time he fights off the poison, though not the fangs. Yoshi and Kokuma gang up on the last spider and each scores, killing it. Kokuma's system continues to fight his poison, eventually managing it after a small speed loss. Haku casts Pure Blood on Miyoshi to cure his poison, but his speed has been halved.

The fighters feel like have taken a bit of a beating, so they decide to rest before venturing into the burrow. They set up camp at a safe distance then wait until natural healing takes its course. Two people keep watch at all times and everyone has a bow (or spell) at the ready. Yoshi has a scout around and finds plenty of evidence of spiders. Meanwhile Kokuma does some thinking and concludes that if they found two burrows so quickly there must be plenty more in and around the valley. Finally, fully healed and with two hours of daylight remaining, the four set forth with foreboding.

Haku again casts Forest Eyes on everyone as they enter the burrow. Sure enough, lurking inside is a standard-sized spider, with another of the large ones behind it, unable to get past, and a swarm of juveniles squeezing by. Miyoshi orders the party to change order, putting Yoshi to the front able to swing one sword and fend off with the other, while Miyoshi and Kokuma stand behind him reaching through with their longer weapons. Yoshi is the first to make a mistake, swinging his katana but losing grip and throwing it to land right under the large spider's mandibles. However he hits for 7 damage with his shorter sword. Miyoshi stabs with his spear and strikes for 5 damage. Kokuma uses his tetsubo like a pool cue and bashes the medium spider for 8 damage and out of its senses. Miyoshi thrusts again and kills the first spider. The large totate-kumo is now able to get through. Yoshi hits it for 7 damage, Haku hits it with two Darts of Water for 16 damage and Kokuma misses. Three of the juvenile spiders have squeezed in among the humans and two of them bite Kokuma and Haku for minor but poisonous nips - however, both resist the poison.

Miyoshi focuses his ki, concentrating on improving his chances of hitting, then easily hits the big spider for 3 damage and wishes he'd focused on doing more damage. Yoshi misses the spider, but Kokuma steps up and thwacks it for 18 critical damage, killing it. Yoshi steps forward and retrieves his katana as a total of ten juvenile spiders swarm forward and attack the adventurers. Fortunately their fangs are short and easily defeated by armour. Haku stabs one with his tanto, but it still looks feisty (it would eventually fall to Kokuma's blunderstaff as his third juvenile kill). The others are all attacked by multiple small spiders except Yoshi, who they seem to avoid. The juveniles are mopped up in three rounds with Miyoshi taking two and two shares, Yoshi three and one share, Kokuma two and two shares and Haku just a shared kill.

As dusk closes in, the four adventurers adventurously decide to sleep in the burrow, safe from any fierce creatures (except spiders).

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