It occurs to me that these two dwarfs have other stuff that could be useful, but I simply cannot carry it all. But, hanging on the wall next to the door to the cell was a ring of keys. I would grab anything I think may be useful, drop it all in those rooms, including my spare torches, which are bulky, and lock the door behind me. That gives me a supply dump within the complex.
It takes me a few minutes to carry all the gear to the living room area. I grab the keys and prepare to leave.
Will the key turn in the lock? This is probably unlikely… No, because… the lock is siezed solid.
Oh well, it would have been nice to be able to secure it, or lock myself in and take a recovery break if I had to. I hang the keys back on their peg. No need to raise anyone’s, or thing’s, suspicions.
Now I want to try and hunt down that spider. I look to see if it left any tracks in the dust as if left the site of the fight with the dwarfs or if it is trailing any blood.
Perception(searching) Success with 6 SP. I take Resources at Hand, and I give myself a Tracking Focus for tracking this particular spider, I spend the last two SP on Speedy Search.
When I fought the first spider it took me down to 2HP and it was at 3/4 hitpoints. It seems fair to say that two against one would have allowed the dwarfs to do a bit better than I did on my own. If I find the spider I will give it 17HP instead of its normal 35HP.
My first Perception (tracking) roll is a success and generates another 3SP, I spend it on Object of My Attention to get a further +1 on my next tracking attempt.
I head down the corridor and a set of steps rise up in front of me, a cautiously edge up the flight of stairs, prepared for the spider to drop down on me.
My map now looks like this:
I want to ask some scene-setting questions. Is this place full of web? Likely, No, but… on the edge of my light there is web on the raised dias further into the room.
Is the spider here? Likely, No. OK, so that is a surprise. There are three ways the spider could have exited, where does the trail lead? 1-2 left, 3-4 right, 5-6 straight. 5, straight ahead.
Is there another threat here? 50/50, No, because… this is the domain of the spider and it eats anyone.
My prompt words are Its, There, But, She. This almost reads as a kind of sentence, I think that all the dressings of this room relates to the lady in the cell, portraits of her, and ancestors, on the wall. Carved details in the plaster of the walls show the same coat of arms that I saw on her robes.
I follow the spider trail as it crawled its way across this hall. It has taken an almost direct route over the top of the highest point of the dias. I can only assume that it is in the webs at the top of the dias, between the pillars. I have to circle around the room to get to the stairs at the back of the dias.
I see portraits on the wall, and I recognize the coat of arms, both in the portraits and in the decoration of the hall.
Do I recognise the images in the pictures as the body I saw in the cell? I think evelauation is the best focus. Success, The Stunt Die is a 5 so this is a high degree of success, I am sure that this is the same woman.
It looks like some kind of shrine or mausoleum to the dead woman. Everything is here except the living people, her, and her court.
I need a full set of new inspirational words, I roll and get Most, More, Not, See.
I slowly make my way around and up to the top of the dias.
As my back is to the south exit, making my way up to the top, does the spider attack with surprise? 50/50 No. Well that was lucky!
I make it to the top of the dias, and it is even more like a shrine to the dead woman. Countless personal effects are embedded in the spider webs. Disconcertingly, there are come dwarven bodies wrapped in webs hanging from the ceiling.
The spider isn’t here. I need to find where it went. I look around for tracks or signs of there it went.
Perception(tracking) success with a 6 on the Stunt Die. I take Speedy Search and Resources at Hand again.
I turn around and track the spider down the stairs and out of the back of the hall.
1-3 the spider went left, 4-6 the spider went right, 5, left. Is the spider here? Likely, 5, No. Did it leave by the side passage? 50/50, 10, No, because, It used the spiral stairs. 1-3 up, 4-6 down, 6 up.
(The spider could have cut in to the central passageway, but I felt the stairs and a new level would more interesting. If the oracle had not had the ‘because’ modifier, I would have rolled to see if the spider had gone down the side passage, up or down.
Are there any other threats here? 50/50 7, no.
I track the spider to the stairs and see the blood on the treads heading up. This is going to be difficult with a longbow. I pause here to load the Arquebus. It will be easier to fire on the stairs.
I will leave today’s play here, and start the next session on a new level.