Skittering and Lost [Namrul Reil]

[Whim]

Niahi wood had remained largely untrampled by the clumsy feet of men. This was especially true in the old growth; not even the sidhe wandered there. The canopy of ancient trees left it black as night and it was the domain of ugly, crawly things the fey would sooner forget.  It held treasures as well as secrets: mushrooms which turned back ageing, troves of primordial amber, and spider-silk strong as steel. The King of Serendipity had begun financing bands of explorers to flush out its secrets.

Ellis hadn't much cared for the band he traveled with. They were a slovenly bunch and a hair away from turning to banditry. The alchemist took off to the woods alone while the camp tried to dislodge their supply cart from a web-covered pit. The woods seemed full of odd little snares that made progress slow and annoying. He was much more interested in spider eggs. The venom of the Niahi giant spider was quite potent in its ability to induce a comatose sleep without killing. Very handy. And so he set off with his pack and hunting sword, dutifully marking a trail.

The journey was largely uneventful. Ellis struck a sunstone to light the way, and most of the woodland beasts gave berth to the alchemical lantern. After an hour's walk the boy had no need of it; phosphorescent fungi lit the way. He took a slow pace, appreciating the alien beauty and  checking carefully for any signs of webbing. And then he found it.

***

The spider laired in a grove of petrified trees joined by a messy thatch of thick webbing. It twinkled green and blue in the light of the fungi. The spider herself was horse-sized; legs spanning 5-feet. The alchemist pacified her with dream salts (just barely. he'd surely have died if the philter hadn't taken effect). Ellis was free to help himself to the clutches of eggs. A half-dozen should do it; he could incubate them back in Serendipity. The young man felt a twinge of guilt over the egg-theft, though he was sure spiders didn't value their young as humans did. Did they?

A twig snapped behind him. Ellis turned.

Behind the alchemist stood a small figure. From the waist up it was a boy, pallid and emaciated; from the waist down a goat, black and shaggy. The faun was garbed in gossamer and bits of insectoid carapace. It was grim for a satyr. "Return what was taken, manling. Your trespass will be punished."

Ellis darted back in surprise, resting a hand on his blade and calmly dropped the sack of eggs. "Your spider, I suppose? I'd hate to steal if you want to... bargain." But the odd little shaman didn't seem the bargaining sort.

"You fight me not for riches? A queer thing!" Amusement danced across the faun's face as Ellis dropped his prize. The shaman stepped forward, sniffing the air. Ellis darted back. "Your nature is different. You'll do well."

Ellis gave a wry smirk. Letting his guard down. The spider-loving-goat-boy didn't seem keen on fighting. "Well I do like to stand apart. Prettier... smarter... I can't imagine your spider needs 'all' these eggs. Most won't survive I gather. If I can just offer--"

"Be still. There is a higher purpose for you" the little shaman stepped forward and placed a grubby hand on his chest. "Ortu vas!"

The world around Ellis became a haze. His body turned numb. The alchemist tried to reach into his pack for curative, or a poison, but his muscles refused to answer.

[Gaius The Solemn]

Hiding in the canopy of one of the many trees, Multis watched his work unfold," gotcha.." Their wagon was trapped for a while, giving him time to spook some of the stragglers from this group.

As he unfurled his legs and crept from tree to tree, he thought about the increase in traffic coming into the forest, pushing further and further before he can force them out. It wouldn't be long before he had to relocate his home if he was to maintain his anonymity. While he circle the group the dull red glow of his spider caught the aura of one of the group leaving. He turned his attention from the wagon, it won't be a problem for awhile.

He slowly traversed the treetops as he followed this scout. Using the tips of his legs to silently go from branch to branch, he watched. It wouldn't be long before he is far enough from the group for him to play some tricks.

He would've done something sooner but the guy had some sort of light source, keeping him from setting up any decent trap. So instead he just watched, waiting for him to lower his guard just enough for him to make his move.

Following him all the way to the den, watching from the web as the man snatched up the eggs. This was a perfect time to set as trap for when he starts making his way back. He would get caught up in the webs and he could take the eggs back without him being none the wiser.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Multis lowered himself to the forest floor using the webs of the giant spider.  Once down, he start spinning hair thin lines of silk across the way that Ellis had come from. While his spider legs worked, he listened for the sounds of Ellis' return. With the determined thumping of footsteps through the dirt, Mutlis crawled back up to watch the intruder walk right his trap.

But he didn't come, the vague sounds of conversation could be hear as they rolled up into the trees. Curiosity got the best of Multis and he started his way over to the source as quietly as he could, climbing amongst the webbing he caught a glimpse of the man. Stand still, obviously in some sort of pain. Multis furled his legs up and watched for a moment yet, he couldn't be sure that is was a good idea to make himself known quite yet.

[Whim]

"Agh!" Ellis yelped in pain and stumbled back onto the forest floor, his muscles too weak to grasp anything. The youth felt a throbbing pain in his abdomen. Was it some kind of poison spell? He didn't want to die. "You're killing me f-for eggs that will likely die anyway?! I've potions, magic, gold. I'm more valuable to you alive!" he wheezed in desperation.

"Your spirit is not irredeemable." The little creature gave him a placid look. "All life in Niahi flows from this place. To nourish it is your charge."

Ellis clutched his churning stomach and nodded his head in agreement. His lower back felt swolen to the point of bursting, and he wanted it to stop, "Alright... alright... I'll help you. But you've got to cure this poison."

"The pain will subside. Your role will be made clear in the coming days. It is best you rest, for now." the faun peered into the forest, his keen eyes briefly met Multiscruris' gaze. The creature seemed familiar to the spider walker. The faun trotted off wihout a word, disappearing into the thick undergrowth. It was clear to Multiscruris, with his keener vision, that the druid was 'gone' and vanished by way of some sorcery.

"Wait!" Ellis sputtered, but the boy's voice broke. The intense pain subsided as the enormous, furry abdomen of a spider grew out from his lower back turning his britches to shreds. He gasped in fright and tried to stand up, but his legs were unused to his new weight and center of gravity shifted. He fell onto his back, struggling to stand up again.

[Gaius The Solemn]

He couldn't believe was he was looking at. Multis watched from his branch brimming with curiosity with a dash of fear. Standing in front of the invader was a... goat person? Multis knew there could be a variety of people-animal hybrids out there, himself for example. There was just something off about that one though, his uncanny attention to Multis' presence struck some nerve in him. Then followed up by his disappearance from Multis' sight altogether. All this made Multis wary of coming down.

So he watched, waiting for what came next. What he saw was not something that he was expecting. The sudden rush of legs bursting from Ellis caused Multis to duck back into the branches.
He whispered to himself, "What...? Well.. okay." He slowly climbed back to his vantage point, double checking on what he saw.

Yup, that man has spiders legs now, and an abdomen to add. This brought up a few questions in Multis' head. He looked at him struggle to stand, bringing a bit of a smirk to Multis' face. It was a bit funny to watch, but nevertheless, he was going to help him out. It wasn't like he could go to his people now, not like that.

Multis unfurled his legs after taking a quick glance around. Nobody was here, they were pretty deep in after all, just for some spider eggs. He traveled branch to branch, slowly descending and approaching Ellis. Once the distance was closed to about 15 feet above Ellis, Multis stopped. This would be one of the first people to see him in a while, it could be refreshing. He dropped out of the tree and plopped on the ground a few feet from where Ellis lay. A few of the smaller branches nipped him on the way down.

He took a deep breath and looked at Ellis, "Uh... hey there!" as he spoke he put a smile on his face, trying to not freak him too bad.

[Whim]

An alien sensation overtook Ellis. He no longer felt two pairs of legs, but eight, as they burst from his sides, flailing around as he struggled to right himself. Rocking to and fro he managed to roll over. His mouth was aghast with horror: from the waist up he was human, from the waist down was the furry abdomen and legs of a tarantula. Out of morbid curiosity he reached out to touch his new carapace. It was definitely his; he felt the touch.

Then something monstrous descended from the tree. The creature resembled a man – more of a man than he was but for its many eyes and four arachnoid limbs it walked upon. Ellis skittered backwards, surely as he would've jumped aside with human humans. Of course, it was smiling. Ellis stared in shock before speaking up, "H-hello... the fae's curse touched you too?"

"I-I'm an alchemist by trade." he scanned the forest floor, not yet moving. "If we find my satchel I have something to reverse this, so we're not stuck monsters. Fae magic is terribly primitive."

[Gaius The Solemn]

(OOC: Again, sorry about the long time to respond, I think I've worked out a timely method for getting posts out.)

The sensible response was a refreshing reaction from somebody that had seen him for the first time. Most people would have ran screaming for their life by now, but this situation is quite a bit different. He shrugged as he asked about that little goat man, "I don't really know... but I think I have seen him before."

Multis watched for a moment as the man as he tried to find his misplaced belongings.  "An alchemist, eh?" He started looking around himself for the bag. It wouldn't take long, his old scent was all over it.  Which was to say, a more human one. He picked the satchel off of the ground with his leftern most leg.

Slowly he got closer to Ellis, his limbs moving just as easily with one leg occupied. As he brought the bag up to Ellis, Multis tilted his head, "Do you really think you have something that can reverse all this?" Multis hadn't really thought about what would happen if he were human again. It was a daunting thought to leave this forest now.

He watched Ellis closely, he reaction to the change was filled with more discontent. His new found spider buddy may not be around too much longer, but that would be his choice.