(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 3)

[DracoOmega]

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

>You shift your other arm onto the ledge and pull yourself up after it. It is comforting to have solid ground beneath your feet again.
>The spider remains essentially motionless while you do this.

[Hello Purvis]

>Next, let's move away from the precipice.

[DracoOmega]

>Next, let's move away from the precipice.

>You move a couple feet further inward, stepping away from the edge of the cliff. The spider remains still.

[Hello Purvis]

>What does the air smell like?

[DracoOmega]

>What does the air smell like?

>Like spider. You think you're very close now; the source of it seems to be somewhere east. The whiff of spitter acid in the air is stronger, too, but still vague.

[Hello Purvis]

>"So, what're we doing, my little green friend?"
>Can we head east without turning our back to the spider too much?

[DracoOmega]

>"So, what're we doing, my little green friend?"
>Can we head east without turning our back to the spider too much?

>The spider shows no sign of reaction to your question
>The spider is roughly northeast of you. The terrain here is navigable enough that you could walk past it while continuing to largely face it, with only the occasional glance for footing.

[Oldmansour]

You thinkin' about going around this little guy?

[Hello Purvis]

Yeah. I'm a marshmallow, perhaps, but I don't like attacking things what ain't attacked us.

We're gonna adopt him.

[Oldmansour]

Hah. Sure. Why not. It'll do until we get Honey back.

>Launch an Ice Trap towards the spider, quaff a potion of haste, then begin channeling Tame Beast.

[Hello Purvis]

Shit, Honey's going to need a noble steed.

>More for reals, make our way around him, and hear eastward toward the spider hole. Do be ready for him to do something.

[DracoOmega]

>Launch an Ice Trap towards the spider, quaff a potion of haste, then begin channeling Tame Beast.

>An 85 flies by and one-shots it a half-second before you finish taming. A cry of 'kek' can he heard on the wind as he disappears just as quickly as he arrived.

>More for reals, make our way around him, and hear eastward toward the spider hole. Do be ready for him to do something.

>You make your way eastward, keeping a careful eye on the spider as you proceed. It is still and silent, although you swear it rotates position to keep facing you in the moments that you glance away to check your footing. Nonetheless, you make your way past it without it taking obvious action.
>The terrain before you slopes downward into something of a gully, its walls thick with scrub. It twists its way from north to southeast then curves out of sight.
>As you get about 20 feet past the spider, you hear it make a series of short high-pitched noises, almost like chittering. Glancing back, it does not seem to have moved.

[Oldmansour]

>Damn you, kill-stealing ally! Just wait till I get my lock out here! I'll see you in GOLDSHIRE!

>Does that noise sound like the one we heard before we retreated the first time?
>How accurate are we at throwing kunai at relatively small targets, like, say, that spider's head?

And I know you may not like sniping it if it hasn't attacked us, Purvis, but we almost got swarmed the last time one of these things made a sound like that (at least I'm assuming it's the same sound) and I'd rather avoid that if possible. The less noise, the better.

[Hello Purvis]

Bit late if you ask me. Also a good chance of it falling off the cliff if we toss a kunai. But I leave it up to you; my suggestion is if we're going to deal with it, use the pitchfork to pitch if off the cliff.

[DracoOmega]

>Does that noise sound like the one we heard before we retreated the first time?
>How accurate are we at throwing kunai at relatively small targets, like, say, that spider's head?

>It is less shrill and sustained, though still pitched beyond the range of human hearing, you expect. You don't know what significant the difference in tone would imply.
>Your marksmanship skills are quite competent. You're certainly capable of reliably hitting a target that size from this distance. The main issue would be if the target decided to relocate itself in the meantime.

[Oldmansour]

I have consulted my flipping coin, and it advises me not to shoot it. The way my track record's been lately, I trust the coin before myself.

>Do we hear anything else other than that noise? Other sounds of spiders moving, or signaling?
>Unsling the pitchfork.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we hear anything else other than that noise? Other sounds of spiders moving, or signaling?
>Unsling the pitchfork.

>You don't hear any other unusual noises at the moment, nor does the spider seem to be continuing to call out.
>You take a moment to work the pitchfork loose from your pack again.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we note any activity toward where we suspect spiders are?

[DracoOmega]

>Do we note any activity toward where we suspect spiders are?

>You neither see nor hear anything moving in that direction at the moment.

[Oldmansour]

>How high are the walls of that gully down there? Could we climb them without much difficulty?

[DracoOmega]

>How high are the walls of that gully down there? Could we climb them without much difficulty?

>From what you can see, they're rarely much higher than you are, and the slope is actually fairly gentle at several points; you could pretty much walk into it.

[Oldmansour]

>Adress the spider, "Good. Now stay that way."
>Make for that gully. Slowly.
>Prepare a kunai, just in case Shrimpy starts squaking again.

[Oldmansour]

Stepping out early, I seem to be developing a migraine. Carry on as/if you see fit.

[DracoOmega]

>Adress the spider, "Good. Now stay that way."
>Make for that gully. Slowly.
>Prepare a kunai, just in case Shrimpy starts squaking again.

>The spider is predictably taciturn.
>You continue cautiously towards the gully, keeping a kunai at the ready with one hand while you hold the pitchfork with the other. The spider remains still and no others burst out to accost you, nor do you hear a swarm bearing down on you through the brush. You skid down a short incline and reach the base of the gully without incident.
>Faintly, you hear movement from the spiders' position. The slope at the edge of the gully blocks your sight of it now, however it does not seem to be moving directly towards you.

[Hello Purvis]

Climb onto the opposite slope?

[Oldmansour]

Well. This must be how Kilga feels most days.

>Which direction DOES that movement appear to be moving in?

[DracoOmega]

>Which direction DOES that movement appear to be moving in?

>It sounds like it's heading roughly east-northeast, making its path perhaps 30 degrees north of yours.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, suppose that's better than attacking, or signalling for help.
>Geography check. The gully travels down in a roughly southeasterly direction. Does that seem in keeping with the trail we were following, seem the direction we'd want to go in?

[DracoOmega]

>Well, suppose that's better than attacking, or signalling for help.
>Geography check. The gully travels down in a roughly southeasterly direction. Does that seem in keeping with the trail we were following, seem the direction we'd want to go in?

>Unless it's fetching help, of course...
>You take a moment to sniff the area and look for trails. There is a fair bit of ambient spider scent about, and far from all of it is coming from that direction, though you are fairly sure that the gully has seen more travel by spiders than the immediately surrounding area; scent markers on the ground here are more distinct than they have been in most places you've been.

[Oldmansour]

>Might not be the best idea to stay in the gully, then.
>Examine the grounds around the gully walls. Does the terrain up there seem especially treacherous, or show any visible signs of spider activity?