(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 4)

[DracoOmega]

>Take a couple seconds to glance down both tunnels, see if our eyes can see anything our other senses can't.

>The western tunnel seems clear as far as your light extends. The eastern one twists out of sight after no more than 30 feet, but what you can see of it is nondescript.

[Oldmansour]

>Is there anything here we might be able to tie some twine to to make a tripwire?

[DracoOmega]

>Is there anything here we might be able to tie some twine to to make a tripwire?

>Unfortunately, the rock here is smooth and doesn't present any particularly suitable outcroppings to tie a tripwire across.

[Hello Purvis]

Rancid meat does suggest dead things, I can't imagine we'd find much of use there.

>Go east.

[DracoOmega]

>Go east.

>With the spiders hot on your back, you decide to take the eastern fork. As you step into the tunnel, a shrill cry rises from your pursuers; you hear it echoed down the chain of spiders behind you, and then from further corners of the cavern. Curiously, you don't hear it answered from ahead of you.

[Oldmansour]

>Does this noise sound like any other noise we've heard them make before?
>Does the sound ahead of us appear to have changed from what it was before that cry went out?
>Quick visual inspection of the tunnel to see if anything's amiss.

[DracoOmega]

>Does this noise sound like any other noise we've heard them make before?
>Does the sound ahead of us appear to have changed from what it was before that cry went out?
>Quick visual inspection of the tunnel to see if anything's amiss.

>It is not dissimilar to earlier cries, although perhaps not exactly the same. You're not certain what, if any, significance this might have.
>Not appreciably so.
>The tunnel ahead looks perfectly mundane and not especially different than the one you were following a moment before.

[Oldmansour]

>Continue on.
>Try to pin down how many distinct sounds are coming from ahead of us. As in, how many spiders we think we can hear.

[DracoOmega]

>Try to pin down how many distinct sounds are coming from ahead of us. As in, how many spiders we think we can hear.

>Part of the issue is that the sounds are not especially distinct. This implies there might be more than a couple, but fairly distant. At the moment, you can't be certain.

>Continue on.

>You continue onward, following the tunnel as it twists downward in something of a wide spiral. You hear noises still echoing into the distance, and though you're not entirely certain of it, you almost feel as if the spiders chasing you are moving more quickly than earlier. You're still managing to outpace then, though.
>After some distance, you spot another tunnel branching off from the left wall. It is narrower - not much more than a crawlspace for you - but one feature about it is striking: just beyond the entrance, the entire width of the tunnel is sealed off with some sort of thick webbing.

[Oldmansour]

>Can we see through this webbing at all?
>Does this seem to be the source of the unfamiliar scent?

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see through this webbing at all?
>Does this seem to be the source of the unfamiliar scent?

>Only enough to suggest that there is open space behind it, but you can tell little more than this.
>You do think some of it may be coming from behind, but also that this is not the only source.

[Hello Purvis]

>How much webbing does there seem to be?

[DracoOmega]

>How much webbing does there seem to be?

>The webbing spans the entire diameter of the tunnel. It seems spun of multiple layers of silk, though the weave of each of these is neither uniform nor extremely dense; the opacity varies a little from place to place. If you had to guess its thickness, you might say around a half inch, though it's a bit hard to tell.

[Oldmansour]

I realize this probably means fighting the ones chasing us, but I think this tunnel is worth exploring. It's really piqued my curiousity here.
And if we have to fight the chasers, this seems a decent time for it, since nothing's coming at us from the other way.

[Hello Purvis]

Burn it. There's a fair chance the spiders are not going to want to get close to it.

[Oldmansour]

Probably the fastest way through, too. Let's try it.

>Press torch to webbing till it ignites, then see what happens.

[DracoOmega]

>Press torch to webbing till it ignites, then see what happens.

>You press the torch against the webbing and wait a moment. While it does not catch alight, you see the strands starting to whither and shrivel beneath the flames.
>One of the green spiders pursuing you comes around the bend and into view again, about 15 feet away. It sounds like the other spider you passed in this tunnel is close behind, with several more a little further than that.

[Oldmansour]

>Withdraw torch from webbing, and brandish pitchfork before us.

[DracoOmega]

>Withdraw torch from webbing, and brandish pitchfork before us.

>You pull the torch back and brandish your pitchfork in the oncoming spider's direction. However, unlike earlier, it stops moving once it gets about 10 feet from you. The second comes around the corner and moves to join it.

[Oldmansour]

>Move torch towards web, but not close enough to affect it. Let's see if that provokes a reaction.

[DracoOmega]

>Move torch towards web, but not close enough to affect it. Let's see if that provokes a reaction.

>You move the torch a little bit closer to the web again. Other than appearing to visually track your movements, the spider makes no obvious reaction to this.
>The second spider reaches its companion and then also stops moving, standing abreast of it. The other spiders sound like they're getting much closer now.

[Oldmansour]

>Hoping to gang up on me, eh. Not today.
>Draw a kunai, dash forward.
>Throw a kunai at the second spider, and be prepared to bring up pitchfork to counter the other one's attack, if there is one.

[DracoOmega]

>Hoping to gang up on me, eh. Not today.
>Draw a kunai, dash forward.
>Throw a kunai at the second spider, and be prepared to bring up pitchfork to counter the other one's attack, if there is one.

>You shift one hand off your pitchfork and draw a kunai, then dash towards the spiders. The moment you shift forward, they bolt apart, each scampering quickly up the opposite wall and towards you.
>You fire the kunai at the spider on the left, but it suddenly changes trajectory, springing back to the ground before the projectile has even fully left your hand. It narrowly misses, clattering against the rock where the spider had been just a moment ago. It lands near your leg.

[Oldmansour]

>Impale the thing upon our pitchfork before it can bite us.

[DracoOmega]

>Impale thing thing upon our pitchfork before it can bite us.

>You bring your pitchfork around and stab at the spider as it appears to try dashing past you. Though you miss impaling its midsection as it scampers around your ankle, you do manage to drive the tines through several of its rear legs, tearing one off completely and pinning another other against the ground.
>In the corner of your eye, you see the other spider spring from the opposite wall and land against your shoulder, or perhaps more accurately half your left side, such is its size.

[Oldmansour]

>Does this impact knock us off balance/off balance?
>Is it more on our back, our side, or front?

[DracoOmega]

>Does this impact knock us off balance/off balance?
>Is it more on our back, our side, or front?

>These spiders seem surprisingly light for their size. The impact alone was not enough to seriously affect your balance.
>It is hanging somewhere between your front and side, with several of its forelimbs grasping over to the back of your shoulder. Its mandibles are poised above the front of your shoulder, below the joint.

[Oldmansour]

>That makes things simpler.
>Pull the knife from our belt and stick it in this things guts.
>Try to shove the thing off once it's been shivved.

[Hello Purvis]

If it didn't burn, we should have tested how strong the webs are and see if we could just fork them aside, rather than getting into cornered and unnecessary combat. This is going to be endless and achieve nothing but a bunch of dead spiders at the best of cases.

Also, if there's room, let's try to fling one onto the webs.

[DracoOmega]

>That makes things simpler.
>Pull the knife from our belt and stick it in this things guts.
>Try to shove the thing off once it's been shivved.

>Keeping one hand firmly pinning the first spider to the ground, you pull the hunting knife free of its sheath. As you do, the spider drives its fangs into your skin, feeling not unlike a pair of stilettos, you imagine. Gritting your teeth against the pain, you slip the knife in between the spider's limbs and stab it through the underside, nearly piercing clear through. The spider's reaction is shrill and immediate. So near your ears, its cry borders on physically painful and the sensation of its many limbs twitching against your body remains distinctly unsettling despite the far more immediate pain from its bite.
>Pushing against the knife, you try to shove the spider off your shoulder. While the convulsing arachnid itself offers no apparent resistance, you feel the fangs catch in the wound as you push. You wince a little. With a bit more effort you feel them tear free, eliciting another grimace from you. The spider flops off your shoulder and onto its back, twitching ineffectually as ichor oozes from a large puncture in its abdomen.
>Looking ahead, you can see a third green spider round the corner.