choose your own adventure, episode 11a

You decide to help Sir Thomas against the urvaalg attacking him. Ulacht held his own against the urvaalg in the woods south of Victrix, and you’re not sure if Sir Thomas has faced such a foe before.

You spin and charge at Sir Thomas, and see that you made the right choice. The urvaalg springs upon Thomas, driving the knight to the ground. Thomas manages to get his shield between him and the urvaalg, which keeps the beast from biting his head off. The urvaalg snarls and rakes at the shield, its talons tearing splinters from the thick wood.

Fortunately, Thomas holds the urvaalg’s attention, which makes it quite easy for you to step forward, Heartwarden a blur of blue light in your fist, and take off the urvaalg’s head. The misshapen head rolls across the white floor, the body thrashing. You kick the corpse off Thomas, leave the knight to get to his feet, and race to aid Ulacht.

The orcish headman has faired better, whipping his massive club around his head as if it were a light baton. He’s hit the urvaalg in the face several times, and knocked out about half of its fangs, driving the beast to a maddened rage. In its fury the urvaalg remains focused on Ulacht, and you plunge Heartwarden into its side, the soulblade tearing through furred hide and thick muscle to seek the beast’s vitals. The urvaalg screams, and Ulacht’s club comes down in a massive two-handed blow atop the creature’s skull.

The scream comes to a very abrupt end.

You wrench Heartwarden free just as the spiderling finishes her spell. Her body ripples, wavers, and disappears entirely. A spell of invisibility, then. You remembering learning that urdmordar wielded tremendous power of black magic – and it seems a half-human, half-urdmordar spiderling has some of that power, as well.

Fortunately, you have resources of your own. Drawing on your bond with Heartwarden, you access the soulblade’s power to protect from magic, and extend that protection to Ulacht and Sir Thomas. The air ripples, and the spiderling reappears a few feet from her previous position, all eight of her brilliant green eyes blinking in surprise. You suspect she planned to use her invisibility to rip out your throats.

Sir Thomas staggers to your side, sword and shield ready, and for a moment you stare at the spiderling, waiting for her next move.

“You slew Mother’s pets,” says the spiderling at last. The pincers rising from her mouth click, as if annoyed. “The dark ones bred them for her, long ago. She will be wroth that herd animals slew her pets.”

“We will try,” says Thomas, “to contain our disappointment.”

“And you, orc,” says the spiderling, shifting her gaze to Ulacht. “Your kind once accepted your proper place as herd animals, and worshipped Mother and her sisters as goddesses. You should return to your former wisdom before the great culling begins.”

“No!” says Ulacht, angrier than you have ever seen him. “Once we were slaves, to the blood gods and the dark gods and the urdmordar of old, but no more! The High King and his Christ came, and no more do we offer our children as sacrifices to your sort!”

“You should have,” says the spiderling. “You could have been Mother’s favored servants. Now she will kill you with all the rest.” The eight green eyes fix on you. “I suppose she shall forgive me the urvaalg once I bring her your heads speared upon that soulblade.”

The muscles in her thin limbs tense, and she is preparing to make a move.

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