Rogue Firefury

SPIDERS, SPIRITS & AN OLD MAN

Music: Spirit War composed by Adrian von Ziegler

A portal conjured by one of the guild's resident mages opened in Deadwind Pass. From within its opalescent centre, The Crimson Blades recruits and their Guild Master emerged, stepping into a grey, harsh environment. For all it was approaching mid-morning, the place was eerily half-dark. The portal snapped shut behind them.

Sauren gathered his recruits, ordering them to move into stealth at least until he had time to gauge their surroundings. The wind whistled and moaned through craggy, crumbling, crevices, sounding like children crying or indescribable creatures wailing. He could almost see the shivers running down the team's spines.

It was time to move out, Sauren leading the way, Tiene and the others following closely. The tall towers of Karazhan loomed ahead, their spires presenting a strange architectural phenomenon within the uncultured terrain. The team kept moving forward, approaching large boulders on either side of the pass. Sauren slowed, the team followed suit.

The sound of skittering feet on stone reached their ears. Tiene moved swiftly to Zach's side and placed her hand over his mouth. His eyes had bugged-out as he saw an enormous articulated leg appear from behind a boulder; Tiene held one of her mother's daggers to her lips to shush Zach. She could feel the boy shaking behind her hand.

Sauren continued moving around the boulder. The spider leg flinched. Sauren stopped, biding his time to assess how many more spiders there were.

Tiene signalled for Thil'las to take her place and keep Zach from having a panic attack. The elf obliged, his tall frame dwarfing Zach as he moved in behind and covered the boy's mouth. Tiene looked at Sauren. She pointed to the top of one of the boulders. He nodded, and she moved to the rock-face, smooth and quick.

Looking over the side, she counted the spiders; Zach was not going to be happy. She turned and held up her hand, spreading her fingers. Five! Five huge, deadly looking spiders with red diamond-shaped markings on their dark grey abdomens, the pattern, repeating between each section of every leg. The creatures skittered as they sensed movement nearby.

Tiene scanned the area around the boulders. Silk, unusually delicate considering the size of the beasts which had spun it, lay around the bases of the rocks and up over the dry wood of the withered trees. She signalled for the others to pay attention to the ground and close in - apart from Thil'las and Zach who remained a good distance back from the boulders.

Shenyssea and Emmek ran up the opposite boulder while Keeaen and Tish moved in beside Sauren.

The first of the giant arachnids - its pedipalps combing the vicinity as its senses detected a potential meal - shifted out from behind the boulder on which Tiene crouched. It was quickly joined by another two.