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The sun, fearing the moon made for the horison. Its orange glow the final definace at having to pass rulership of the sky. Drathe looked to the hevans, his ale in hand as he stood before the tavern. Taking a sip he swilled it around his mouth before spiting it out into the hedge. Warm, just like everything else on this island and if it wasnt warm it was hot.
Not that Drathe had a problem with hot. Afer all women made his blood run so. But the throat drying heat of the days had lost their novelty.
He walked into the tavern and stood at the bar. The clamy heat still hung in the air, as to did the all to familar smells of smoke, sweat and years of spilt ale. He leant on the counter his mind drifting off in thought.

Twania Green, the name echoed over and over in his mind. He knew her not save for two small encounters. Tho the way she had spoken to him was of a rather informal manner, almost as if she knew him well.
It was commonly said that Elves had an ethereal qulaty which Drathe was incliened to believe, especialy the females. But after seeing Twaina, she was in his mind the definition of the word made flesh, and that... that little glowing sphere she spoke to only made her seem more so.

She had given him a warning, beware the spider lady for you have already met her. The words all tho simple enough to understand. Did not make sence to the woodworker. He had never met the spider lady, and after all she was as the name sugested a spider. Tho the warning had intreauged him, what did this spider lady look like in the flesh.
Follow the stranger, was another of her sayings and tho she had given him a name. He over looked it and followed the lady from the tavern into the decimated south woods.
An ork had jumped them on the way, he was quickly dispatched, but Drathe wonderd how Twaina had know there was to be trouble this way.
She was not long in leaving, Drathe had taken his eyes of her for a just a moment. Upon looking around she had gone, a gentle thud was all that marked her dissaperance.

Drathe turned easing the weight from one foot, the motion knocking over his glass and spilling the last of the warm ale over the wooden top. The glass was quickly snatched by the bar keeper, the fluid expertly wiped up in a single motion of his hand.
The woodworker took his leave walking to the river aside the the tavern.
'I suppose I had better do what she asked,' He spoke softly to him self. 'Tho be sure it will cost her at least a kiss from thos etherial lips of hers.' He chuckled and continued on his way for find the man she had asked him to follow.

Upon the depot Drathe frequently used was a sheaf of folded parchment so frail it would have disintegrated in a mist. A white gauzy substance adhered it securely.

I trust you have not forgotten our agreement for I come to claim my prize.

Sleep Tight


Eight tiny dots in a circle served as the signature.

The spider lady… interesting…

Yesterday Konstantin was walking through the desert, finding nothing but dead scorpions that were killed by Grant Herion’s storms. The hooded man’s loyal and regular companions – Silverdaggers, a camping bag, and a couple of medicine potions were ready for any action to come.
Konstantin walks through the sands, and accidentally he comes across a nest where giant scorpions still survived. As the creatures spotted the stranger, they immediately attacked, so Silverdaggers went into action. K defended himself from the scorpions with ease, but he suspected there would be more in the nest, and decided not to bother them, and was on his way.
Suddenly, and elven woman appears, dressed like an experienced traveler and warrior. She shouts to him in a loud, demanding tone:
-Hey! Help me!
-How? – Konstantin replies.
-Where are the scorpions? – She requests.
Konstantin points his head in the direction of the nest. – Why? – he asks.
-That is not of your concern. – she responds.
-How can I help you then if I don’t know the cause?
-I just asked you where they are, now go away.

Konstantin decided not to argue, but his natural curiosity did not let him go away too far. He stood several yards from the woman as she approached the nest, and watched her. -Come my pets, my babies, your mom is here. – the woman said, and a bunch of scorpions started to crawl out of the nest, and surrounded her, without biting. She petted the beasts, and K couldn’t help asking:-You breed giant scorpions?
-No. Be gone now. Go away.
K decided to listen and went on his path.

A couple of minutes later, he saw scorpions catching up with him through the sands. A large herd was crawling towards him at a decent speed. Behind the herd he saw the woman, and she looked like she was loosing control of the creatures, since she was not able to keep too many of them by her side. Scorpions rushed towards the hooded man and attacked so fast, that Konstantin only had a chance to unsheathe his Silverdaggers, and in a split second they were already in scorpion blood. As he was putting down some more, the woman screamed:
Stop! Don’t do that again!
Konstantin killed the last scorpion in a herd, and they retreated a little, towards the elf lady, but more kept coming out of the holes in the sand, and it was clear that they would attack again.
-Please, either take control of them or watch them die.
-If you kill them, I will kill you. Got it?
-I understand that, but I disagree. If they attack me, I will kill. – K felt that the woman is very experienced and it was not a good thing to make her mad, but taking her rules could mean something worse.
The woman looked hostile, but still was not able to control too many scorpions, she tried to hold them back, but one or two kept running towards the man. Konstantin crossed his daggers, but the woman shouted:
-Don’t kill them! I’m warning you!

Konstantin listened, wiped the blood off his little blades, and hurried to the rocky mountains away from the sand. He seemed to have lost the beasts, but after a minute or two walking the trail among the rocks, he heard a hissing behind. As he turned around a single scorpion was crawling after him with his sting ready to hit. He jumped on Konstantin, but landed already dead with a ripped stomach, as the man quickly took out one of the daggers.
Immediately, the strange woman appeared again, shouting:
-Where is he? The lost scorpion? What did you do to him?!
-He attacked me and now he is dead. – Konstantin answered honestly and calmly, pointing at the body.

The next thing to happen was the woman unsheathing her sword and taking a great shield in her hand. She engaged. It happened so fast, that although Konstantin had fast reflexes and a good reaction speed, all he managed to do was to take out the second Silverdagger, before the blades crossed with force.

The battle lasted for about three minutes – a hooded man in a black coat with two daggers against an elven woman armed as a warrior. Konstantin was surprised to discover that the woman doesn’t lack speed and strength at all, and that he cannot outspeed her. She didn’t cut him any slack, and seemed to guess all his moves. Even his signature hit that rarely failed, the double 180 degrees throat slicing dagger spin – didn’t work. He tried the best combinations of dagger art that he knew, but most seemed to fail. After a minute he realized that he needs to take out his small shield out of his backpack or at least switch to his primary weapon, but she didn’t give him a chance. Very soon, she gave him a couple of bleeding wound, so he had to use some of his medicine, and drank potions to kill the pain. It helped a lot, because right after he was able to give her a deep wound at the end of the second minute, and another successful dagger strike followed that one.
The woman never lost her concentration though, and after a series of unsuccessful attacks on the man, she forcefully kicked him in the chest with her foot, and sent him a yard back. Konstantin spinned his daggers angrily, ready to continue, but she yelled:-This is the last warning! – and sheathed her weapon.Konstantin sheathed his blades and wiped the blood of them, and walked away.

When he arrived in town, he found one of Drathe’s posts on the wall, and added his:

Rumors go that you talk of Spider Lady. I think I might have encountered someone like that in the desert, although she seemed to be more fond of scorpions. But if she is able to do the same thing with spiders that she does with scorpions – I would worry.