Episode L002: Exiting the Lorella Canyon in Blood

General Summary

After looting the site of yesterday's battle, Hasdraek and Grigg are at a loss for how to get out of the Lorella Canyon. Grigg speaks sharply to Hasdraek for not having asked directions from Estival before he and his brood departed. This slight comes on the heals of another disagreement the two had had earlier concerning how to divide the loot. Hasdraek's anger at the older man smoulders as he plots ways to be shot of him.
Finally the two blood hunters decide to strike north, keeping within sight of the escarpment, to their right, until they find a slope that they can climb. The traveling is slow, as they slice their way through thick underbrush, having both seemingly forgotten Grigg's earlier injunction not to touch the trees.
By mid morning, tired, bruised and scraped and sweating, the pair find a stretch of the escarpment that slopes gently upward and begin their climb out of the Lorella. But they are both gripped with an imminent sense of peril. Hasdraek quickly slips into the bushes, leaving Grigg alone and exposed. The older warrior angrily joins him just in time to see a troupe of giant spiders - the same kind of creatures they slew the night before - enter the glade they had just vacated.
Five giant spiders enter slowly, their sharp-ended legs awkwardly managing the soft, loamy earth. Shortly after the spiders enter the glade, three sinister forms emerge from the shade of the trees. They are the size and shape of children, but grotesquely fused with some of the characteristics of the spiders. Their bodies are covered in sparse, wiry, grey fur, that grows into a full head of wild black hair. Three pairs of eyes are set into their inhuman skulls, and mandibles protrude from their mouths. They have three sets of limbs and walk upright. They do not to speak to one another, but their coordinated movements lead Hasdraek to suspect that they are in some kind of telepathic communication with each other.
They move through the glade and continue into the forest, and Grigg and Hasdraek both heave a sigh of relief. But Grigg, thinking the threat has passed, begins talking as he emerges from the bush. The creatures re-enter the glade and set upon him. Hasdraek wants to leave the old fool to his doom, but changes his mind and joins the fray.
The creatures are fierce, and soon Grigg is down on one knee, bloody wounds on his legs and shoulders. He dispatches two spiders and a chitinous spider child, but the last kill falls on top him and he lies exhausted on the ground.
Hasdraek, remembering the spiders' hatred of fire, splashes oil on two of the spider children, but fails to ignite it. A thin line of oil just before him does catch fire, causing the spider creatures to step back and reconsider their next actions. They turn their backs to him and move to attack Grigg instead.
Out of desperation, Hasdraek grabs hold of his glaive by its middle point and leaps over the flames. He hooks the two spider children by each end of the weapon and heaves, making a rowing motion. The creatures, caught by the glaive, fall backward into the flames, both of them catching fire. One spider child, already wounded succumbs to the flames. The other, panicked, tries vainly to stamp out the flames, succeeding only in spreading the burning oil over more of its small body. Hasdraek ends the creature's confused gesticulations with a fell blow from his glaive. He then quickly dispatches the last giant spider as it tries to escape. Could this have been the same cowardly spider from yesterday's fight?
The field of battle is now quiet, save for the low lapping of flames on the grass. Hasdraek takes a moment to savour the victory - his victory - before going to the aid of Grigg.
Thinking of how Estival was able to speak to him telepathically, Hasdraek quiets his mind and sends his own thoughts out to the dragon, hoping to communicate their need for succour, but is answered only by deep, inscrutable, and slightly unnerving silence - as though someone was indeed listening but opting not to respond. Instead, he reaches for his medicine pouch, and working quickly, skillfully staunches the flow of blood. He bandages Grigg's wounds, and the older man gradually opens his eyes.
At last, the two emerge from the Lorella, battered and bloodied, but alive. Hasdraek feels fresh strength course through his body and soul. He looks upon his fellow blood hunter with certain degree of contempt, now, as he replays in his mind the stupid moves on the older man's part that lead to their encounter with those hideous monsters.
Hasdraek is ruminating on why he went to the aid of such a pathetic fool when suddenly, a voice enters his mind and crowds out all other thoughts. It is not that of the cheerful and irreverent Estival, the cat-sized dragon, but a much more powerful and commanding voice.
It says to him, "Blood Hunter, attend."

Campaign Date
13th day, Left Leg of Autumn, 4078

Campaign

The Lorella

Protagonists

Report Date

05 Jun 2019

Timeline
The Lorella Campaign
Actors
Hasdraek Deepbrand
Grigg
Spider Children
Giant Spiders
The powerful and commanding voice