When spiders swarm 11JUL20
13
JUL/20
Agreements and collecting the tools for travel:
“Alright, it is agreed than, we will head south,” Oni said with great pride. They all walked outside to rest and rebuild. Oni longed for the day when they could just rest. That day was not anytime soon. Traveling south was going to hard. He knew that, but tonight they could rest. They could make plans for emptying the mine.
Oni found a small hidden space and studied the book. He felt like it was starting to make sense. He could not read it, but he could understand it. He practiced the hand motions and started to say the magical words. Nothing happened but he knew he was close. The hairs on his arm rose and his whole body tingled. Power was flowing through him. He needed supplies. He knew that. He also knew that if reading was illegal and evil, casting spells must be even worse. He was becoming an enemy of everyone.
He pulled out the piece of cloth Mar’iya gave him. Oni started to sew the silk into pouches on his belt. He would need to hide his spell craft. He worked slowly and carefully. He was so excited, his hands shook. He moved the thread through the silk and the leather. He finished up and examined his work. The thread lines were sloppy and crooked. He laughed at his own work. He knew it would function, but it was not pretty in any way. He put his belt back on and examined it more. He could reach into each pouch and he thought it was mildly hidden.
Oni started to think about the mines. He knew they needed a digging tool. He moved through the oasis looking for a good strong piece of wood. He looked over at the ship wreckage. That petrified wood would be prefect. He grabbed a piece and headed over to tool from the tribe. Some hammers and chisels, a little sweat and a pick was crafted. Oni was a little prouder of this work. He enjoyed making tools.
They all moved back into the mines. They started to make plans. Joe and Yas wanted some of the obsidian. It made nice sharp blades. I little brittle but sharp. Oni looked into the big pit and said, “I would like those gems.” Oni shifted over to the smaller pit, “I will go down and try and free some obsidian.”
Oni slid down the ladder. He moved his hand up and slammed the pick down on to the rocks. None of the obsidian came loss. The misty creature above did come loss and descended upon the party. Joe yelled, “the obsidian must be their eggs or food.” Grey misty fog rolled down upon Oni. It was filled with red veins that struct out and attacked him like a 100 tiny pin pricks.
The mist disappeared into the air. The only thing left were these piles of red blood-filled veins lying in a pile of ground. Oni stared at them for a moment. he looked at Rain, “Can I have that rock that you cast light on?” Rain looked at him with confusion and then understood. He handed Oni the lit stone as he picked up a new one. Rain smirked, “Just in case I need a new one.” Oni thinking about all the times he juggled, started to toss the light in the air. He wanted to force light into every corner of the ceiling if he could. Bring light to the darkness, Oni thought.
Yas headed down the ladder and picked up the pick. “Let me try,” she said in her strong dragon voice. She was by far the strongest person in the tribe. She was a marvel of strength. She smashed down with the pick. She broke loose several pieces of obsidian. They were small, but they would make great daggers. She went to hit the wall again, but the pick was destroyed. She grabbed a piece of rock and dug another stone out.
Yas broke her sword during the fight with the mist creatures. Oni starting to believe in the magics of the book, ask Yas, “Can I have some of that obsidian and your sword. I might be able to fix it.” Yas handed him the sword and rocks. Oni set the sword on the ground. He sat over the sword. He started to speak in magical words and phrases. He moved the obsidian over the top of the broken blade. Magic filled him and he started to move it down into the blade. It would not take it, or he could not move it into the sword. Oni gave up and handed the sword back to Yas.
Oni looked at her, “I am close. I can feel it.”
They moved over to the big pit and the gems. They started to talk about how to kill the beast. Oni, did not need to kill it. He was actually fine with not killing it. He thought he could move down there and back up the ladder again, so fast it would not even know. Joe and Mar’iya wanted it dead. Well, it was safer, if it was dead. They gathered up the bones and dropped them in the pit. The sand stirred but the creature could not be fouled. Before Oni could try and convince the group to not kill the three-armed monster, Yas moved over to head down.
Yas and Joe headed down. Oni was going to head down but when Joe headed down, he stayed there. The party hit the creature from all sides. It’s strange one large eye formed a huge tear as they killed it in its very home. It cried out one last time. Oni had remembered how the group had treated the defiler. How was this any different. Had he and all of them just become defilers.
With a heavy heart Oni scooped up the gems. Some Rubies, Diamonds and an Opal. As sad as killing this creature was Oni was now knew he would be able to cast the chromatic orb, at least in a limited fashion. Magic and the pursuit of Magic was consuming Oni. Is this how defiling starts he thought to himself again.
With very mixed feeling Oni and the rest walked out of the mines.
Spiders Much:
The Party came out of the mine. It was dark but maybe the safest place in the entire oasis now. They have killed the three-armed stone eater and the misty vampires. The only real danger were those chains. Oni wanted to check them before leaving the tribe here. Oni wanted to make it as safe as possible. As they walked out into the light Oni started to speak again, “we need to figure out those chains before leaving the tribe here.” Joe and Rain looked at him with great concern. Joe started but Rain was ready to back him up, “we will head south Oni.” Joe said it in his older brother all-knowing voice as he continued, “but, we are taking the tribe with us.” Rain just nodded in agreement.
Oni looked over to his sister. He had lost this fight. The tribe was going to go with them south. In is mildly dejected voice, “well okay. We will take them all with us.” Oni looked over to the others, to the rest of the tribe, “we need to train them, or they will all die.” Yas and Mar’iya did not have a lot of skin in this game but both looked at Oni. They were backing Joe and the rest. Mar’iya was willing to be on either side, he just seemed to want to be on the winning side, “yep, they need to go with you.” Oni thought it was odd he used the word “you” and not “us”. That was a thought for another time.
After a little rest they all moved back into regular jobs in the tribe. Joe and Yas worked on new weapons, Mar’iya moved to the top of one of the rocks, Selise had disappeared, Rain was looking after some of the plants around the oasis and Oni took up a position on the other big rock. Everything was calm until it was not calm.
Oni stood up. The air was wrong. He looked out over the desert. He looked over and Mar’iya was doing the same thing. They both scanned the horizon, looking for something, anything. Yas screamed. Oni had never heard that giant beautiful dragon kin ever act that way. Then they showed up. The entire area was filled with large spiders. They were everywhere, without any warning.
The spiders attacked without mercy. Mar’iya was dropped in the opening move. Oni looked out. He wanted to group up. Rain and Yas were back to back. Joe was close to them. Oni thought he might be able to shift over to them. He thought of moving down to fight with Yas, but then he saw Mar’iya fall. He moved with great speed and bounce from his rock to the other rock to protect him. Rain saw him drop too and healed him. Oni smiled at Mar’iya, pushing his confidence over to him, when Mar’iya looked back and ran.
Oni stood his ground as spider after spider attacked him. He watched in horror has the spiders swarmed and attacked everyone in the group. He wanted to join Mar’iya, knowing it was the smart move, but he could not leave Joe and the others. He fought on. He felt what should have been a lethal does of poison flow through his body, but he fought on. He watched Joe fall to the ground. Rain again rose him from the very dead. Another spider dug deep into Oni’s side, but somehow, he stayed on his feet.
Oni looked and saw that the spider count dropped to single digits. He smiled for the second time in this fight. He was hurt and could feel the poison, even more. Every bite added more poison to his system. He thought they might make it. A spider bit deep in his side and he fell, his body falling next to his brother Joe. Even as he fell hope did not leave his thoughts. Somehow, he knew Mar’iya and Rain would finish this fight for all of them. He would be reborn again.
Recovery and Lingering Wounds:
Hours later Oni woke. He could barely move but he was alive. He looked around. He wanted to make sure all them were still okay. They were lucky this time. A new dawn would still come for them all. He could still feel the poison running through his body. His left side looked like a giant bruise, and when he touched it, he felt nauseous. He lifted himself up. He needed to look strong for the others. He needed make them all know; they were going to be okay.
Oni walked through his pain for a few minutes and once he could do it without pain on his face, he moved out and among the tribe. He walked over to Agis, and Paulu. Joe was right. There was no way they could leave the tribe here. It was selfish of him to think that way. Now he needed to turn them into a team. They needed to be able to defend themselves, as his team could. They would move south and keep each other alive.
He gathered Paulu and Agis together. “there are obelisks in the desert that speak of greatness. We need to travel south and find them.” They both looked at him. Paulu had worry on her face, but Agis seemed to know this was coming. “I believe we will find a better future in the Pyramids in the south. But. These are evil places too and it will be tough. If we do not prepare, death awaits us.” Paulu looked more concerned. “If we say here death awaits us anyway. Help Joe and the other prepare so we can go south.”
With a slight smile Oni walked off. He moved to the other side of the rocks and through up. He looked down and he saw blood in his vomit. He was still in trouble. He looked up at the sun. It was starting to set. He thought, “Tomorrows dawn is are chance to be reborn again.” He smiled as the sun started to disappear.
“Mar’iya,” Oni yelled. “I think we should move into the mine for the night. I think it will be safer there. Oni grabbed his bedroll and started to head towards the mine. The others started to gather the supplies and headed into the mines as well. They moved into the mine and slept for the night. This was another good night. The tribe set up watches. One person from the group and one person from the older tribe members. They were now working as two units of the same team. They had all been reborn once again.
Oni and Pakku took the watch during the sunrise. Oni loved the sunrise. The colors in the desert were amazing. He looked over at Pakku, but he had disappeared. Pakku had a Selise like ability to just disappear. Oni closed his eyes, to expand his mind. He looked for Pakku in his very thoughts. He opened his eyes. He still could not see him, but he knew he was there, and his crossbow was out and ready for action. Oni thought he would try and always do watches with Pakku. The conversation was so low, he could always meditate. Oni did a small prayer to the dawn.
They all moved back out into the light of dawns early light. Oni started to help make breakfast. They were roasting lizards. Oni could smell the fermented dates. Breakfast was good but Oni could barely keep it down. He was still not feeling well. Rain came by and applied some ointment to his side. It did not make him feel better, but he hoped it would in a day or two.
He strolled around to find the others. Yas and Joe were working on some new bolts for his crossbow. “Yas, can I see your sword and shield again. I think I understand how to fix them now. It came to me last night in a dream.” Yas without words handed him the broken pieces of the sword and shield. Using a piece of obsidian, he had found in the mine, he started to say magical phrasing. He moved the obsidian across the pieces, and they melded together. He wanted to smile but feared it would break his concentration and stop the spell. They were mending. He gathered them back up and handed them to Yas. “That should do the trick,” he told her with a big smile on his face. “A new day and a new way to fight.”
Later, Oni gathered the youth again. He had started to like giving speeches. He liked the process of gathering the others; of informing them of his thoughts. He liked getting their by in as a team. He knew where he had to go, knew they had to go with him. “Joe, you are right. We must take the tribe with us. We need to head south and find the clues to find this Pyramid. It is our only salvation.” Oni started to repeat some of the messages they have been told.
“A mighty pyramid lies to the south, rumored to have been built with white stones, all who have tried to steal from it have never been seen again.”
Oni moved about the group. Pain shout through his side once again. They all watched as he almost fell. He caught himself and stood strong again, in spite of the pain. “We will need to rest and prepare before we go. We need to recover. I think we should plan to leave in a week.” He looked at all the wounds of his family. To Oni they were all his family now. Oni spoke another message.
“One of the greatest Pharaohs of the ancient days cursed his land and set to ruin all his fertile domain. Yet even after his death, the people worshipped him — for he had a power even from beyond the grave.”
Oni looked them. “I think this pharaoh is Tiamat herself. I think this path places us in conflict with her and her forces. Know this as we move forward. A great wrong occurred, and our job is the fix it. Are you all still in?”