(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 3)

[Hello Purvis]

>Recall where we are, and what's around here.

[DracoOmega]

>Recall where we are, and what's around here.

>You are in the southwest end of a shallow rise that cuts across a steep roughly crescent-shaped ridge of hills extending from north to southwest. Based on the scent you have been tracking, you believe the spider lair is either among the higher reaches of hill to the north, or just beyond. Either way, it is fairly close; you were looking for either a path up the hill or a route around it when you first found this area. Easthaven is quite some distance to the southwest.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow the spider for now, looking for ways to go north.

[DracoOmega]

>Follow the spider for now, looking for ways to go north.

>Following the spider would mean roughly retracing your own steps from some time back. You originally reached the west slope of the hill from much further north and followed it south, looking for a way to move inward, which this area provided. Given the spider's trajectory, it might eventually meet up with the approach you took the very first time you came this way. Do you still wish to do this?

[Hello Purvis]

Thoughts, Sour?

[Oldmansour]

I have flipped a coin, and it tells me to let the thing go, and resume our course over the top of the hill. Even if that involves some climbing.

[Hello Purvis]

>Back toward the north and the hill.

[DracoOmega]

>Back toward the north and the hill.

>You leave the spider to its flight and head northward. The sounds of its travel are evident for a short while before they fade into the distance.
>As you walk, you grimly note that the tines of your pitchfork are thoroughly ichor-coated, and spotted with the occasional bit of... something that probably belongs on the inside of a spider. Once you think you're safely out of range of any second thoughts the spider might have, you take a moment and clean it on a suitable bush. It is... somewhat improved for your efforts, though only somewhat. Wryly, you ponder the futility of cleaning a weapon that may only meet the innards of another spider in a few minutes. Still, at least you don't have to smell it as much in the meantime.
>Soon enough, the gentle rise of the terrain grows rapidly steeper until it is too sheer to walk up. The hill face is about half exposed rock, dotted with small patches of thin soil and the occasional scrawny tree.
Glancing around, it appears to continue this way for as far as you can see in both directions. Of course, with all the tree cover, this isn't much. Sizing up the rock face, you think you could climb it with a little difficulty, although there may be a more accessible path further along. The pitchfork may be something of an issue with the former plan, however.

[Hello Purvis]

>How high is the cliff face?
>Walk along it a bit, see if we can find a spot that won't take climbing. Don't wanna fight the spiders on their turf.

[DracoOmega]

>How high is the cliff face?
>Walk along it a bit, see if we can find a spot that won't take climbing. Don't wanna fight the spiders on their turf.

>The ascent is not a single shear face, but multiple staggered slopes broken up by small ledges and gentler inclines that retreat from view before rising up once more. You cannot see the very top of it from here, but you would guess it could be a couple hundred feet, anyway. It is, however, probably only a little over thirty before the nearest walkable path. You can't see from here whether it leads anywhere useful, or just to more sheer inclines.
>You walk eastward for a little bit, searching for a easier way up. After a couple minutes, you find something of a narrow pass, cutting into the hillside and rising upwards. It would not provide an unbroken ascent, but it looks like it might enable you to reach higher ground with several shorter segments of easier climbing.

[Hello Purvis]

>Survey the way up. If we were a spider, are there any places we can see that we'd use as hiding spots?

Thoughts, Sour?

[DracoOmega]

>Survey the way up. If we were a spider, are there any places we can see that we'd use as hiding spots?

>There is an overhang or two that could provide some concealment and you can't see the terrain much further back past the first few 'plateaus', but by and large the ascent offers much less cover than the forest did. There are few fewer trees along the steeper parts, and they are smaller - almost universally too small to hide the larger spiders. For that matter, given their apparent inability to scale trees earlier, you think one might have difficulty navigating this terrain at all. It is possible there could be a smaller spider tucked away in a few places, though.

[Oldmansour]

This seems a better option than trying to climb where we were before. The alternative is to walk all the way around the hill, and I myself would rather take the direct approach, especially now that we've found this path here.

[Hello Purvis]

Spitters are the problem, really. But let's do this.

>Head up this path.

[Oldmansour]

A reasonable concern, so let's adress it.

>Are there any hints of the chemically smells we know the spitters and their acid produce? Or of suspicious burns or holes in the area?

[DracoOmega]

>Are there any hints of the chemically smells we know the spitters and their acid produce? Or of suspicious burns or holes in the area?

>You see no signs of suspicious burns or anything at all suspicious in any way, for that matter. There is a faint hint of that acrid smell along the various scents wafting from the north, but nothing nearly pungent enough to suggest either a spitter or the signs of its handiwork are nearby.

>Head up this path.

>You head roughly northward, following the path as it rises and twists along inclinations in the topography. It is a steep trek, over and around exposed rock and loose soil. Several times you are forced to use your hands to scale an obstacle or work your way around a narrow section, but by and large the ascent is manageable. Glancing behind you as you proceed, you find that the spot you started from rapidly disappears from sight, obscured by bends in the terrain and simple altitude. After some time, the path sweeps out westward in a series of small rocky plateaus, separated by sheer outcroppings. The spot affords a very clear view of the forest below; you would say you're at least 100 feet up at this point.
>Surveying the area, you think you can trace a path onto higher ground by navigating around the outcroppings to the west and connecting with a narrow path that seems to double back east, above them. Judging by what you can see of it, there appears to be a wider grassy area above above you. The last leg would require scaling a relatively sheer rock face for 20 feet or so, though it looks uneven enough to provide the handholds necessary for the task.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do there seem to be enough cracks or dirt and such for kunai to be useful as climbing aids?
>Regardless, if the path looks clear, go for it. Keep a kunai close at hand.

[DracoOmega]

>Regardless, if the path looks clear, go for it. Keep a kunai close at hand.

>You work your way westward, skirting carefully around the sometimes narrow sections of navigable terrain. Pleasantly, this is broken up by patches where you can simply walk at ease. You keep a kunai close at hand, though nothing more hostile than a unsteady bit of rock presents itself along the way. Eventually you start to work your way back east, perhaps 20 feet above where you started. You can see the lip of the plateau above you grow closer, as it slopes downward while you rise. Soon, the path you are following comes to an abrupt and precipitous stop, and you are left with the rock face to scale. This is above the shortest distance between the ledge above and any terrain you can otherwise see a way to reach.

>Do there seem to be enough cracks or dirt and such for kunai to be useful as climbing aids?

>Looking at the rock face, there is little dirt, but a few cracks that could let you use a kunai as a climbing aid. It would probably be best to figure out what to do with the pitchfork, though; this climb will require a bit more precision than the others you've done on the way.

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we sling it on our back, slipping it through our pack straps and such?

[DracoOmega]

>Can we sling it on our back, slipping it through our pack straps and such?

>You think you could probably slip it through the straps crosswise. The size of the pitchfork head would make it unlikely to slip out when stowed that way, although it might have enough maneuverability to bring the tines uncomfortably close to your head. Perhaps not, though. At least it should probably be ok if you're not going to be making any sudden leaps or falling backwards. And really, if you're going to be falling backwards while scaling this rock face, the pitchfork is going to be the least of your concerns.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do that, and if the coast seems, sounds, and smells clear, get to rock climbing.

[DracoOmega]

>Do that, and if the coast seems, sounds, and smells clear, get to rock climbing.

>You work the pitchfork in between the straps of your pack, giving it a few tugs to test its security. It seems good enough, you think. Then you take a last moment to satisfy yourself that the coast is clear and set to climbing.
>You slowly work your way up the rock face, using a kunai in one hand to anchor yourself along suitable cracks while you feel around for grip with the other hand. Your feet can find only very narrow purchase as you ascend, but it's enough for you to manage. You shift from handhold to handhold, angling along a thin rising fissure in the cliff. In this manner, you steadily gain one foot after another until the top of the rock face is almost within reach.
>As you near the top, you hear faint sounds of motion from the grass above your head.

[Hello Purvis]

>What kind of motion? Big spider motion, little spider motion, bovine motion, a hinacle miracle?
>How is our position right now?

[DracoOmega]

>What kind of motion? Big spider motion, little spider motion, bovine motion, a hinacle miracle?
>How is our position right now?

>It doesn't sound like it could be a big spider, but there's a chance it's a smaller one. It isn't immediately overhead, but some feet further inward. It doesn't seem to be moving directly towards you.
>The kunai in your left hand is wedged into a crack about two feet below the edge of the plateau, and you were in the process of shifting your right hand to the one last handhold you would likely need before you can put the other over the top and pull yourself up. Your right foot is wedged into a decent toehold at the moment, but your left is essentially dangling.

[Oldmansour]

>If that's a spider, odds are it's gonna know we're coming whether we go fast or slow. So increase speed, get to the top before we get ambushed here.

[Hello Purvis]

>Also focus on getting out left foot somewhere and then getting that kunai free. If the spider tries something, giving it a face full of blade may be an effective deterrent.

[DracoOmega]

>If that's a spider, odds are it's gonna know we're coming whether we go fast or slow. So increase speed, get to the top before we get ambushed here.

>Also focus on getting out left foot somewhere and then getting that kunai free. If the spider tries something, giving it a face full of blade may be an effective deterrent.

>You do as much as you can to pick up the pace, digging the fingers of your right hand into an indentation and shifting upward. You shift a little to the side and try to wedge your left foot into a crack alongside your right, then shift the right to higher ground. You hoist yourself another foot and throw your left arm over the top. In another moment, your head crests the top of the rock face.
>Before you stretches a large reach of comparatively level ground. It is bumpy and uneven, but no more than the base of the hill was, making it very much walkable. The ground is covered in rough grasses, and trees are more plentiful than they were for much of the ascent. Further west and far to the north, the hill continues to rise up, but this terrain carries on for some distance to the east. You can't see how far its extent is, for trees. What you can see, however, is a small green spider, about 15 feet away. It turns and looks in your direction.

[Oldmansour]

>Small green spider? Like the one that led us into that ambush?

[DracoOmega]

>Small green spider? Like the one that led us into that ambush?

>It does look similar, yes.

[Oldmansour]

>First things first. Let's get on top of this rock, get our feet under us.