(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 3)

[Hello Purvis]

>Halt, turn, get ready to jump if we see or hear anything coming at us!

[DracoOmega]

>Halt, turn, get ready to jump if we see or hear anything coming at us!

>You stop and turn, getting ready to jump out of the way of anything charging you. The spider has already scampered halfway down the tree, and is continuing to descend. Quite quickly, at that! You don't see or hear any other movement just yet.

[Oldmansour]

>Draw another kunai.
>Hold position and observe the direction it moves in.
>If it charges us, leap to the left and throw the kunai in our main hand at it.
>If it moves in another direction, observe where it goes but take no aggressive action.
>Come to think of it, are we right or left handed?

[DracoOmega]

>Draw another kunai.
>Hold position and observe the direction it moves in.
>If it charges us, leap to the left and throw the kunai in our main hand at it.
>If it moves in another direction, observe where it goes but take no aggressive action.

>You draw a second kunai in your off hand.
>You hold position and watch what the spider does. It finishes scurrying down to the base of the trunk, then disappears into the undergrowth. You can hear it moving off northeast-ish, widening the distance between you slightly, but moving in what is distinctly not the opposite direction.

>Come to think of it, are we right or left handed?

>You are right-handed.

[Hello Purvis]

>How large is that spider, in terms of height and diameter?



Hopefully it wouldn't be able to get through thick brush too easily.

[Oldmansour]

>Stow the kunai in our left hand away.
>Follow that spider. Might lead us back to its lair.
>Carefullly and quietly, of course.

[Hanzo K.]

Judging by the research I've done, thanks to the additional info, I've come to the conclusion that it's related to the Diaea dorsata a member of the Crab Spider family of spiders.
Since it was found in a tree, that would correlate with the Diaea dorsata's status as a Leaf-dwelling Spider.
The color also generally matches due to Diaea dorsata's chameleon-like ability to change color.\

>Yeah we should follow it, might be important.

What do you guys think, could it be a scout-class meant to watch for anyone coming?
But if that's the case, a Jumping Spider would be better-suited, having the best vision of any member of the spider families.
of course, if it wasn't the source of that shrill sound, then whatever's behind the spiders was the source.

[Hello Purvis]

I don't think Nazrin would actually know any of that. Assuming it applies to what's happening here.

>How traversable does the path it followed look?

Edit: Also, should we be assuming it has a master? I mean, we are pretty chill with mice, but it's not like we have a minion army. And I am pretty sure Nazrin would have set up lookouts if she could have just for having information to use.

[DracoOmega]

>How large is that spider, in terms of height and diameter?

>It was close to two feet in diameter, counting to the tips of its legs, and probably no more than a half a foot tall.

>Stow the kunai in our left hand away.
>Follow that spider. Might lead us back to its lair.
>Carefullly and quietly, of course.

>Yeah we should follow it, might be important.

>You put the second kunai away again, the follow after the spider. Maybe it'll lead you right back to its lair, or somewhere else important?
>You move towards it quietly, but after you've closed several steps, the spider seems to pick up its pace. You think you're likely to lose it unless you sacrifice at least some measure of stealthiness. You're also moving away from the largest concentration of the scent you've been following.

>How traversable does the path it followed look?

>About as traversable as much of this forest. If you followed straight after it, you might be slowed by undergrowth you had to weave around or over, but the general direction it's going is still navigable.

[Oldmansour]

>It couldn't be scared of us, could it?
>Pick up the pace a scootch. Don't want to lose it.
>Can we hear anything out of place other than the scurrying of Diaea Legs ahead of us?
>What does the air ahead of us smell like?

[Narouge]

well crap. my power goes out and look what i miss. I actual like spiders. i no where close to an expert however. the hole from before seems to be something like a shot of acid. like acid spiting spider. I sure hanzo can say its not unheard of to have acid spiting insects. Spiders also do pour their stomach acid into their prey to drain the gross insides up like soup, so its not impossible.

the acid probably makes some fums or gas. which is never good for plant life.

i have a sneaking suspension that we just heard an important member of the spiders nest, i say a leader, if so lets hope youkai we can talk to.

[Hanzo K.]

Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that fact! Thanks for reminding me man.
It's true, Spiders do eat like that.
And besides, Nazrin doesn't have an army of mice simply because we've not bothered to gather one.

>If need be, we can take a few shortcuts to catch up right? We did grow up in this area afterall, both as a mouse, and a Youkai.

[DracoOmega]

>If need be, we can take a few shortcuts to catch up right? We did grow up in this area afterall, both as a mouse, and a Youkai.

>While you did grow up in Easthaven, you're far from intimately familiar with every corner of the woods out here. By this point, you're actually quite a bit distant from the village and have only a general idea where you are in relation to it. You don't know of any shortcuts, per se, nor in fact what is waiting ahead of you. That being said, while the spider's size gives it some advantages over you in terms of avoiding obstacles, you're clearly quite a bit faster than it, if you were to run.

>It couldn't be scared of us, could it?
>Pick up the pace a scootch. Don't want to lose it.
>Can we hear anything out of place other than the scurrying of Diaea Legs ahead of us?
>What does the air ahead of us smell like?

>You have no idea what sort of instincts a spider like this might possess, although you've rarely seen mundane spiders exhibit obvious fear in the face of proportionately larger creatures. At least not those who've yet to do anything to it.
>You pick up the pace to avoid losing the spider. This makes your pursuit rather non-subtle as you shift brusquely over and through foliage, although you're inclined to think that it could sense you even when you were being quieter.
>Not at the moment, although the sound of your own swift movement through the brush would make it hard to pick up anything as subtle as the sound of a spider's legs against bark that you noticed last time.
>The wind is fairly dead at the moment. There's a general scent that you've come to assume is a result of the spiders' presence through these woods, though it doesn't seem quite as strong in this direction.

>Your pursuit takes you further north, and slightly east. Every now and then, the spider makes a sudden course correction, and then another in a different direction when you try to compensate. While each of these movements narrows the gap between you, they eventually serve to muddle exactly which direction you've traveled compared to where you started, and indeed how far you are away from that position. This being said, you think you could overtake the spider at any time, should you choose to.

[Oldmansour]

>Choose not to, and just keep pace with the thing for a little while longer. See where it takes us.
>Can we still determine, at this point, the direction we detected the stronger concentration of scent from before the chase began?
>How many kunai are we currently carrying?

[DracoOmega]

>Choose not to, and just keep pace with the thing for a little while longer. See where it takes us.
>Can we still determine, at this point, the direction we detected the stronger concentration of scent from before the chase began?
>How many kunai are we currently carrying?

>You continue to keep pace as the spider as it darts one way, and then the other. It's beginning to seem almost like it can't quite decide where it should be going.
>You're not fully certain. You think you've crossed another couple scent trails and the wind is still. It might take some time to get your bearings again.
>You have one in hand, and two more on your person.

>After chasing it around and over some more rocks and bushes, the spider suddenly all but doubles back on its course - you nearly trip up in it the process. As you turn to follow, you catch a sudden flash of movement out of the corner of your eye to the left as a cluster of massive spidery limbs burst out from the foliage next to you, arcing down above your head!

[Hello Purvis]

>Throw self to the side!

[DracoOmega]

>Throw self to the side!

>You throw yourself to the side, hitting the dirt hard and rolling. The spider legs stab into the ground mere inches away from you. Each of them is quite a bit thicker around than your own limbs, dull brown and green and covered in stiff hair. They waste no time scrabbling towards you once the first strike misses.

[Hello Purvis]

>Roll up to our feet, if we can, and back away, kunai ready.
>"Stop it!"
>If we have time, assess opponent.

[DracoOmega]

>Roll up to our feet, if we can, and back away, kunai ready.
>"Stop it!"
>If we have time, assess opponent.

>You roll back to your feet and back away. The spider surges forward more quickly than you can step backwards, however.
>You yell out at it, but it either cannot understand you or does not care. It raises its forelimbs for a second pounce.
>At a moment's glance, it is substantially larger than the first spider, and in fact quite a bit larger than you, though not as tall. It is thick-limbed and stocky, with a pair of scary-looking mandibles flexing beneath its eyes.

[Oldmansour]

>"Alright, ugly. You wanna tangle? Fine."
>Brace legs. When it pounces, leap to one side and slash at its legs as it goes past.

[Hello Purvis]

>If time permits, take a kunai in each hand.

We're doing this right. Serial killer style. >=|

[DracoOmega]

>"Alright, ugly. You wanna tangle? Fine."
>Brace legs. When it pounces, leap to one side and slash at its legs as it goes past.

>If time permits, take a kunai in each hand.

>You call out a taunt to the spider and hastily draw a second kunai as it pounces. With no more than a moment to spare, you leap hard aside and slash out at its legs as you pass. You score a graze on one, and a deeper gash near the bottom of the second. Your weapon comes back trailing a thin line of blueish blood. The spider rounds on you almost immediately.

[Oldmansour]

>Blue? Is it supposed to be blue?
>How much ground clearance does that thing have?
>Is our jumping skill enough to allow us to clear it in a leap without a running start?
>Throw the kunai in our offhand at the spider's.... head? Where its eyes are.

[DracoOmega]

>Blue? Is it supposed to be blue?
>How much ground clearance does that thing have?
>Is our jumping skill enough to allow us to clear it in a leap without a running start?
>Throw the kunai in our offhand at the spider's.... head? Where its eyes are.

>You have no idea what is normal for a giant spider!
>There's probably no more than a foot distance between the underside of its body and the ground.
>Certainly not, and even with a running start you doubt you could get high enough to clear its forelegs if they were reared up.
>You throw the kunai in your offhand at the spider's head as it turns. Its motion throws off your aim a little, but you still manage a solid hit on the left side, although the kunai doesn't penetrate very deeply. Still, the reaction is immediate. The spider flails and screeches. It is a harsh, grating noise. So much so that you almost miss the faint rustling in the brush behind you.

[Oldmansour]

>One problem at a time...
>Dash forward, slide under the big spider, and drive our kunai into its belly with both hands while it's still flailing about.

[Hello Purvis]

>One problem at a time...
>Dash forward, slide under the big spider, and drive our kunai into its belly with both hands while it's still flailing about.

>Don't do this.

It'll fall on us.

[Oldmansour]

That's why God invented rolling after we shank it.
Have you got a better idea?

[Hello Purvis]

Not immediately, but how are we going to roll through the legs when they're thicker than bits of us?

I'm thinking we need to move so they're both facing us. With luck, the one what got stabbed in the eyes is now done with us. It is a wild animal.

[Oldmansour]

Believe it or not, I was considering that plan, as well. I just figured dealing with the one at a time was a better approach.
But fine, we'll try it your way, see what happens.

>Leap to the left, and turn to give us a field of vision including the big spider and the brushes that were behind us.

[DracoOmega]

>Leap to the left, and turn to give us a field of vision including the big spider and the brushes that were behind us.

>You leap aside and turn. As you do, you hear the sound of scraping against the ground where you'd just been standing. A new spider, of similar appearance and only moderately smaller size than the last one stands among the bushes, forelimbs extended across your previous position.
>The first spider's thrashing steadies as it tries to gather itself again, turning towards you.