Long Lost Leaves

[Curufin]

'Make myself useful...' he grumbled. 'I save her life at great personal risk and she chastises me and tells me to 'make myself useful.''

Nonetheless, he put away his bow and retrieved his dagger, going to free the others who were hanging from the tree. Cutting them free, he found himself amazed by the rag-tag and motley group who had invaded and violated his peace.

Looking for the leader, he found a tall man with a white beard and a hat, and approached him.

'An explanation, if you please,' he said tersely.

[orithil]

Three spiders came scuttling toward hedrim, the lead one went straight for him and he bought his boot straight down on its head then knelt down and finished it with a dagger.

The second and third one ran at him the second one launched himself at hedrim who just barely managed to cut it in half but the other one tackled him and was attempting to bite his head off with his pincers, unable to use his sword, Hedrim rolled the spider over and got the spikey bit of the armour on his elbow and gutted the spider. He then realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled.

He grabbed his sword and looked around.

[feawen]

Nami was part tending, part defending her newly freed fellows. Seeing Abasi stroll off to Radagast to start another arguement with the old gentleman, Nami cursed him under her breath. "Damn elfs, why are we so stuck up!"

Nami caught hedrim's impressive fighting, giving him a slight nod as he killed the last of the three spiders. Nami set her feet and made ready for the next spider.

[me9996]

Being freed Ferrin quickly made use of himself by tripping over the next spider he saw. "Hmm, the venom must still be affecting me" Thought Ferrin "Never the less, I'll bring these little bugs an early grave!"

Ferrin managed to stay alive as well as anyone else by randomly tromping about in heavy boots (Not his finest hour) at this point Ferrin realised the oddity of useing weapons on spiders.

[orithil]

"Shouldn't we be off soon" Hedrim said in a bored like tone, "those spiders will be back and next time we will not be so lucky I fear, we should set a rear guard so those spiders can't ambush us on our travels" Hedrims head suddenly shot up to look at the tree's "Actually he said Nervously "we should be moving, now!"

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

A rustling was heard from one of the web-sacks. It seemed that whoever was in there was alive!

[Acalewia]

During the fighting, Aelfwine could barley keep track of the silk strands. She had noticed the strange arrow, but had ignored it. Until the elf appeared out of nowhere and helped them fight while offending Nami. When the battle was over, Aelfwine saw the elf walk up to Radagast and demand an explaination of their presence.
"Who is that elf?" One of the web-sacks moved. Aelfwine twirled around, nocking an arrow, but not firing. "Someone's still up there!"

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

The web-sack was moving more so now. And this time it started talking- "Mmmm! Mmmelp mmmee!"

[Earniel]

"You'll have any explanation you want, master elf," said Radagast somewhat hurriedly, "but it will have to wait until a more convenient time. Now if you'll excuse..."

Radagast cut the last silk bundle open. The funny thing was that no one else from his group was missing, so he wasn't quite sure what he'd find inside. He hoped he wasn't cutting open one of the spiders' egg-sacks, since that could bring a whole new level of nastiness. But then again, spider-eggs seldom muttered 'help me.'

To his surprise an unknown dwarf rolled out of the silk. Radagast helped the last victim of the spiders to his feet. "Well met, master dwarf," He said. "Introductions will have to wait until some better moment, but it would strike me as advantageous if you stick with us for a while, at least until we get out of this sticky business."

"Retreat back to the camp!" Radagast shouted. "Then let's get out of here! We aren't out of the tight spot yet."

And indeed they weren't. The spiders, furious for their losses and their escaping supper, took to the trees, and started weaving sticky strands and nets, which they hung between the rescuers and their camp, trying to entrap them. Now the group had to battle spiders as well as cut themselves a way back through the silk treads.

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

The unknown dawrf pulled out a throwing axe and threw it, hitting one of the spiders right in the face. "Haha!" he yelled and then ran to catch up with the others.

[me9996]

Ferrin (A fair bit more coherent by now) drew the two-handed sword he had slung behind his back, and started cleaveing some of the bigger spiders clear in two!

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

The dwarf drew his axe and turned to see a spider lunging at him. He swung his axe and cleaved the spider clean in two.

[Willow Oran]

Haldis was currently in trouble. Those spiders not dead or engaged in re-trapping their escaping prey had turned their attention to the less mobile beasts of burden and by extension, to the members of the company who had remained in the camp.

Initially the stomping actions of Barliman and Betsy had served to deter the spiders, but now the oliphaunt and her master had stomped just a little too far to be of any help to Haldis and the spiders were beginning to realize that these, a woman and laden mules, were easier targets.

Dodging the pincers of one of the larger spiders Haldis mentally kicked herself for not reminding Radagast to start setting wards around the camp. Such a precaution would have made this night much calmer. Too late for that now...
Rolling from under a stabbing stinger her hand fell against Radagast's pack, more specifically against a scroll sticking out of the top. Haldis grabbed at it reflexively. Haldis was only barely literate, but Radagast had been teaching her some. Sheltering under a wagon Haldis unrolled the scroll hoping it would be something both useful and readable. She was no wizard, but, as most of her neighbors knew, she had a little power of her own, at the very least she might startle the spiders a little.

The word in the center was written in what she recognized as the old elvish language. Haldis read it out, drawing on her skill and pronouncing it as best she could.

Spoken in the voice of a wizard, or a moderately talanted witch, the word was a spell. Not actually meant for any use offensively, but fortunately Haldis misread it just right. The resulting explosion definitely startled the spiders. And then some.

[The last sane person]

Not to mention singeing off a good bit of Carnehilion's facial hair, seeing as the poor sop had been rather rudely kicked into action by the rough boots of his fellows and the furry legs of the spiders. In a bit of a dither, and angry at being so unceremoniously woken from a very pleasant dream, Carnehilion launched into his fanged foes with an unholy fury.

However, as much as he was good on his feet, once Betsy got going on her own private rampage, he steered very well clear and ended up retreating to relative safety with the mule train,and was doing quite well for himself among the spiders. Right up until Haldis misread the scroll.

"BLEEDING SON OF A WARG...! AND YOUR MOTHER WAS A...! FATHER OF A....!" as our valiant man was trying to slap out his face fires, it is best not to write what he was shouting, but his intent was well understood. More or less clutching his face and his ears still decidedly ringing (very loudly) he blundered as best as he could back twoards the center of camp and towards the group.

[orithil]

a spider came running toward Hedrim, he kicked the camp fire into its face and it scuttled off burning, he then turning his attention to the ones above him and he started cutting them down and lopping off a few bits of body.

He suddenly heard a loud boom which he turned immediatly to see Carnehilion on fire and lots of spider bits.

[Curufin]

Abasi kicked the ground in frustration, and sat heavily on a boulder some ways from the fighting. He had done his part, and while his fighting skills were as good as any other, he did not particularly feel like using them at the moment.

Let those who disturbed the spiders pacify them... he thought spitefully, watching the fight from his rock.

[me9996]

Ferrin (Hearing the explosion) suddenly remembered that as a hermit he could use some small magic against the spiders.

Then he remembered something else, he realy stank at magic.

But thankfully he had some herbs on him that could burn through spiderweb (And made dandy tea) so he threw some of those at the webbing that came between them and the webs burst into flame and burned away as if they were made of paper.

Ferrin contenued to fight and the only other magic he managed to use was to turn most of the spiders in a half-mile radius hot pink.
(This was more for his amusement than anything, but it oughta help people spot them)

[Willow Oran]

Unfortunately for Abasi, hungry spiders have never been known for their ability to differentiate between antagonistic travelers and native elves having a sulk and indeed, many spiders on the outskirts of the fight spotted and inevitably attacked the seated, spiteful elf.

Meanwhile Haldis had come out from under the wagon and was attempting calm to (quite rightfully) panicked mules. This was made a little easier by the fact that the spiders (singed and confused by their newly pink hides) were able to recognize magically originated explosions when scattered by them and were currently giving the woman a wide berth. Hunger would overcome this caution in time, but Haldis was using the brief reprieve well.
As soon as the mules were calmed enough to not run helter-skelter into the woods. She went to her own pack and retrieved her weapon, an object of a more mundane nature than the botched spell and feared by carnivores throughout her stretch of the woods, the well-used, much-sharpened kitchen knife glinted dully in the gloom. Thus armed, Haldis joined the melee, aiming for the eyes.

[The Sasquatch of Fangorn]

The dwarf was fighting like a man possesed. "Ha-ha!" he shouted as he took out yet another spider.

[Curufin]

Abasi, caught off guard by this attack (thinking, as he had, that he had been far out of the fighting), was hit rather hard and knocked onto his face. Righting himself, he rose with his dagger drawn, and slashed wildly around him at anything that moved.

When he finally freed himself from the most imminent danger, he found himself surrounded by four spiders, coming at him from four very different directions. Problem was, he was only one elf, and had lost his bow when he was knocked down.

Staring death in the face, he steeled his expression, and cried out in a strange, harsh language, before throwing himself into a fight for his very life...