Chapter 3 - Session 12

Spider Rain, Mangani, and the Road to the River

Events and Actions

The session opened immediately after the great explosion that destroyed the enormous spider nesting in the central tower of Spider Island's abandoned village. Riu's improvised bomb — a cooking pot packed with gunpowder, rocks, and assorted sharp implements, thrown down the tower's staircase — had brought the whole structure down, killing the giant spider and scattering its eggs in a rain of fire and debris. Leela had fled in visible terror at the detonation, yelling something none of the party could understand before disappearing back through the wall.

With the centrepiece threat eliminated, Mani led the group in a methodical sweep of the remaining village buildings, working in firing lines of three to deal with the medium and large spiders sheltering inside; the smaller spiders were simply driven off or dispatched by hand. Noddy attempted, unsuccessfully, to rope and tame one of the smaller specimens using his length of rope — the spider proved unreceptive to his incentives. The party piled the bodies of the larger spiders together as a demonstration of achievement, and Riu took time to sketch the specimens, noting the detail of their joints and anatomy. Discussion turned briefly to whether spider silk might be harvestable from the webs and cocoons — the silk on Noddy's rope was noted to be remarkable material — and to whether the spiders themselves were safe to eat; the consensus was that they were probably both venomous and poisonous, edible at best with the same caution one would give a puffer fish. Before moving on, someone climbed back into the ruined tower for a last look: the interior was scorched down to bare earth and thick with spider gore, and the second floor — its roof torn away by the matriarch herself — held nothing worse, only the wrapped shapes of birds and smaller creatures caught in the webs outside; no human remains turned up anywhere in the village.

As afternoon drew on, the party gathered the great spider's head, strapped to one of its leg segments for carrying, and marched back along the jungle path toward the Islander settlement to the north. Approaching the wall that separated the cleared village from the Islander community, they emerged into open ground to find the wall newly heightened, with dozens of armed Islanders lining the top — spearmen and archers watching the party with open hostility. Leela was visible on the wall but not in a position of welcome.

Mani called out using what Islander vocabulary the party had accumulated — "beeta beeta beeta hintu" — and displayed the giant spider's head as a trophy. It was an extraordinarily persuasive appeal, yet the mass of Islanders remained unmoved; one hurled a spear that landed close enough to rattle him, more a warning shot than an attack. Only Leela came down and out to meet them, climbing over the wall against visible objection from her people.

Leela approached cautiously and unarmed, and the party tried again to convey that the great spider was dead — pointing, repeating "beeta boom," and at one point firing a demonstrative pistol shot into the air. She seemed to grasp that they had killed it, but grew increasingly agitated, evidently fearing her people were being asked to feed the party to something worse, or that some older, larger disaster was connected to this one — Cosimo caught an unfamiliar word that hinted at some far older calamity. Pointing toward the distant south wall to ask whether that older disaster was connected, the party picked up their first word for "wall" — "colo," supplied through Batu Batu — though the exchange never became fully clear. With her people unwilling to let the party through the wall that night, Leela indicated with the word "anto" — later understood to mean something like "the future" — that she would return, then climbed into the trees and made her way back toward the settlement.

Left to fend for themselves overnight, the party withdrew into the abandoned village, leaving the spider's head at the foot of the wall as a parting gesture. They settled into one of the larger buildings already cleared of spiders, which turned out to have its own fire pits and stores of charcoal — evidently once used for some kind of communal work rather than habitation. With time to look around properly, it became clear the village had been abandoned in a hurry rather than packed up and left: possessions lay strewn in the streets, and a child's teddy bear was found half-buried in the rubble. Casual looting turned up a considerable quantity of gold jewellery — discs, chains, and chokers, rough-worked rather than fine — and each member of the party helped themselves to a share, several pounds apiece. The night passed without incident under a rotating watch.

Leela reappeared the next morning with a gift of fruit, which the party accepted along with her continued company. As they set off on the thirty-minute walk south toward the far wall — the one broken months earlier by whatever had come through it — the language lessons shifted direction: rather than teaching Leela their own speech, the party found it more useful to keep learning hers, with Batu Batu's greater fluency in Islander proving invaluable. They picked up words for a panther ("pinta") and some low, ground-crawling creature ("hort hort"), and pieced together gestures for pig. Simple temporal concepts also emerged — "intra" for something like the past and "anto" for the future — though Leela's people seemed to lack any finer division into specific days.

The wall itself was a colossal, pristine structure some eighty feet high, and Leela grew visibly more nervous the closer they came, warning through Batu Batu of dangers that used to come through this very gap before it was sealed. The breach was a twenty-foot-high, twelve-to-fourteen-foot-wide gash near the top, with debris and churned earth spilling down this side; nothing suggested a deliberate excavation or an earthquake, just a mass of rubble slumped from above. Investigating the near side before climbing over, the party found a rusted Northern-make musket half-buried in the mud — Werner's gunsmithing knowledge placed its origin, while its corrosion suggested it had lain there for months rather than years. Tracking checks turned up no boot- or cart-prints, only heavy animal traffic moving in and out of the gap; cross-referenced against the musket's condition and the regrowth over the break, the party judged the wall had come down roughly six months earlier. Pressed for a timeframe of her own — via a stick-count scratched in the dirt and the visible daytime moon — Leela could only confirm it had been a great many days; Batu Batu judged her people lacked any finer reckoning than that, but her answer was at least consistent with the physical evidence. Further searching turned up scattered human remains, including one body still wearing the corded remnants of a ceremonial robe, which Cosimo identified as clerical dress of the Divinity of Two.

Climbing the rubble to look over the crest, the party spotted a ship's cannon on the far side, pointed squarely at the gap, amid the wreckage of a camp — smashed barrels, planks, and scattered supplies. Giant, five-toed footprints and bodies crushed or embedded in the earth showed that whatever had broken the wall had gone on to wreck the camp itself. Crossing over, they found the cannon to be a Northern-standard sixteen-pounder on a wheeled carriage, in poor condition and needing maintenance before it could safely fire, with roughly a dozen cannonballs stacked nearby and a keg of gunpowder that had been left open to the elements. Werner isolated a small quantity of the powder to test it, using his Gunpowder Craft skill — the resulting flash was larger than intended, singeing off part of one eyebrow and sending Leela fleeing back through the wall at the noise.

With Werner's ears still ringing, the party searched the dead for anything of value or informative. The corpses were mostly decomposed, but clothing had survived where flesh had not: plain-dressed sailors alongside officers identifiable by their epaulettes, several bearing a distinctive two-coloured sash worn as a belt or bandolier. By the party's estimate, several score men had died in this vicinity. Reasoning from the cannon, the sashes, and the style of the dead, they concluded that a Divinity of Two expedition — probably the vessel they had spotted near the storm — had reached Spider Island some months before them and come to grief against whatever emerged from the interior. Werner took one of the better-preserved sashes as evidence; Mani raised the possibility that a second Divinity of Two ship might be following, either close behind or already at the island.

Leela returned, and the party tried once more to communicate, pointing to the bodies, to the sashes, and then to the gap in the wall, attempting to convey that the Divinity of Two — not the party — had made the breach. Leela listened and appeared to understand in part, offering the word "dimi," which Batu Batu interpreted as meaning something like "white people" or "more like you."

While this went on, Noddy sent Pocket aloft to keep watch. Through the bird's eyes he spotted a massive creature — a mangani, in Leela's word — lumbering out of the jungle to sniff at the cannon and the patch of scorched earth left by Werner's mishap. It was enormous, easily capable of crushing a man with a single blow. The party moved quietly behind the wall and to one side, clearing the creature's line of sight; Noddy cast Confusion through Pocket, and the mangani continued its erratic sniffing for a time before turning and loping back into the jungle at speed.

Retreating to the tree line with the recovered barrel of gunpowder, the party tried once more to reassure Leela, using Batu Batu's fluency to offer the word "mell" for "friend" alongside gestures meant to convey they had come to help. Cosimo suggested demonstrating their own capabilities — showing that they too possessed power. The discussion was cut short when drums began sounding from the south jungle: many voices, the sound of people advancing. Leela ran toward the noise, then came running back, pulling urgently northward. A mass of Islanders — dozens — emerged from the southern jungle and began advancing across the open ground. Noddy called on Thick Fog and cast it onto the gap in the wall between the two groups, producing a dense, rising mist that swallowed the advancing Islanders in confusion and screams. The party used the cover to follow Leela north into the jungle as fast as they could go.

Moving at pace down the cleared path — evidently cut when the Divinity of Two hauled their cannon inland — the party passed further evidence of past violence: bodies smashed into the earth and against trees, consistent with the mangani. The path was wide and well-made. After roughly thirty minutes of hard movement northward they reached the bank of a substantial river and found an encampment: several tents (some crushed, one intact), equipment in disarray, and — drawn up on the riverbank — two longboats. One had been left with its sail up, which had taken weather damage and partially capsized it. The other was in better condition with sails stored in the locker.

Werner and Salter set to work readying both boats while the rest of the party searched the camp in pairs. The remains of a single body were found at the camp — crushed violently into the ground, wearing robes. In one hand was a broken-hafted axe, its blade carved with stylised suns along one face and moons along the other; in the other, a broken staff, its ornamental head still intact — a depiction of the sun and moon intertwined. Cosimo identified the staff-head immediately as a Diad, a significant holy relic of the Divinity of Two normally kept in the rear of major churches and brought out only for important processions. Its presence here confirmed that a senior cleric — most likely the Censure or a high-ranking cleric of the expedition — had been killed at this camp, presumably by the mangani. There were no papers or records; anything written had been destroyed by weather and time. The party recovered powder horns, spare muskets in varying states of repair, and some additional gunpowder stores.

While sorting out who would ride in which boat, someone recalled that Leela had fought alongside them against the spiders wielding an axe of her own, and wondered whether the recovered axe head — fitted with a new haft — might make a fitting gift for her; the question went unresolved as departure pressed in. Before getting underway, Werner looked over the axe head itself — a fine blade needing maintenance after months in the mud. Cosimo's first attempt to sense anything unusual about it came up empty, but a second, far more successful effort confirmed the axe was enchanted in some way, though its exact nature remained undetermined by the time the boats had to move on. With both boats made serviceable, the group loaded their gear — including the recovered equipment, the two boats' sails, the axe, and the Diad, along with all the gold looted from the village despite the extra weight it added — and set off downstream toward the sea. The river flowed east. Knick Nab and Salter took the second boat; Werner, Batu Batu, Cosimo, and others the lead. Leela came with them, eyeing the larger boat with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty.

Moving downstream through the widening river, the party encountered two mangani on the banks — one on each shore — that had been following them. As the boats came dangerously close to shore, Noddy cast Confusion through Pocket on the smaller of the two; the creature nonetheless swatted at the second boat, knocking Knick Nab down and stunning him in the bottom of the boat. Noddy took over the rudder while Riu moved to cover. Werner fired from the lead boat, scoring a shot to the confused mangani's head that tore off a chunk of ear and stunned it into the shallows. Both boats pushed through, Knick Nab recovering from his stun, and the mangani fell behind as the river widened further.

After roughly two hours of downstream travel the river opened into a sheltered bay and the sea. The boats grounded briefly on silt at the mouth but cleared it with some polling. There was no sign of any other vessel anchored in the bay. Leela grew agitated as they turned toward the shore — she was smelling or sensing mangani nearby — and the party heeded her warning and kept their distance from the beach, abandoning a plan to search the sand there for older signs of a Divinity of Two landing, such as old campfires or tracks, since neither shore seemed safe enough to approach on foot. The group agreed to sail a short distance along the coast to find a hidden cove to spend the night, then return south the following day toward the rendezvous point on the beach where the Amada was expected.

Discussion closed the session: the party debated whether to attempt to return to the Islander village at all, and how to explain — if they could — that the gunpowder explosion near the great outer wall had not been their doing. The consensus was to spend time communicating with Leela at the coast, attempt to learn more of her language, and see whether she could facilitate any renewed contact with her people.

NPCs & Creatures

Leela — the Islander woman who had accompanied the party; continued to serve as their only point of contact with the local population; word for giant ape: mangani
Batu Batu — the Islander crew member from the Amada, assisting with translation attempts; his greater fluency in Islander proved invaluable during the language lessons on the walk to the south wall
Salter — a sailor of the "Amada," formerly of the "Advance"; present throughout, assisting with the boats
Mangani — a massive, ape-like creature native to Spider Island's interior; at least two encountered on the riverbanks; responsible for the deaths at both camps; deeply feared by Leela and the Islanders; the word is from the Islander tongue
Giant spiders (beeta beeta hintu, beeta beeta beeta hintu) — residual specimens in the village buildings, dispatched methodically during the morning sweep; the enormous matriarch was already dead from the previous session's explosion
Two unnamed Divinity of Two clergy — the remains of two robed clerics were found in the expedition's wake: one among the dead near the wall breach, identified by Cosimo from its corded vestments; the other crushed at the river encampment, carrying an axe and the Diad, and possibly the expedition's most senior cleric present

Locations

Spider Island (formerly the Isle of Beasts) — the principal setting throughout; the abandoned village, the two great earthen walls, the interior jungle, and the river system all featured; by the party's own reckoning they were roughly four days' travel into the island's interior with no sign yet of its far side, a measure of just how large the island truly is
The abandoned village — cleared of remaining spiders over the course of the morning; the ruined central tower confirmed to be the destroyed nesting site; the party camped here overnight in a large, fire-pitted building, and found evidence of a hasty evacuation (a child's teddy bear among the rubble) along with a cache of gold jewellery; drying racks and a small lake with a well-worn path lay between the village and the south wall
The breach in the outer wall (south side) — site of the old Divinity of Two encampment; bodies, a cannon, cannonballs, and degraded gunpowder stores found here, along with a rusted musket and a robed cleric's remains on the near side; as the party fled north under cover of fog, armed figures were briefly glimpsed atop the wall itself, well clear of the breach — evidence of some stair or structure allowing the Islanders to man the wall's crest that the party never located
The river encampment (north side) — a campsite on the bank of a large eastward-flowing river; two longboats found here along with crushed tents, supplies, and the robed body bearing the axe and the Diad; both longboats had mounting points for swivel guns, though no guns were aboard to fit them
The river — a navigable waterway flowing east from the interior to the sea; used by the Divinity of Two expedition to ferry their cannon inland
The bay and open sea — reached after approximately two hours' downstream travel; the mouth of the river opens into a sheltered bay

Conflicts

Rebuffed at the Islander wall (afternoon, day one) — Mani's exceptionally persuasive appeal failed to move the assembled spearmen and archers; one threw a spear that landed close by as a warning shot; no one was hurt, and the party retreated to spend the night in the village instead
Spider clearance sweep (morning) — the party methodically cleared the village buildings of remaining medium and large spiders using musket fire from doorways and windows; no significant injuries reported; small spiders dispatched by hand
Mangani encounter at the wall (midday, day two) — a large mangani emerged from the jungle to investigate the area near the cannon after Werner's accidental gunpowder discharge; the party retreated behind the wall; Noddy cast Confusion through Pocket, which may or may not have influenced the creature's eventual departure; no combat
Islander advance (afternoon, day two) — dozens of armed Islanders emerged from the southern jungle and advanced on the party's position; Noddy cast Thick Fog on the gap in the wall, covering the party's withdrawal into the jungle to the north; no direct fighting
Mangani on the river (late afternoon) — two mangani followed the party along the riverbanks; Noddy cast Confusion through Pocket on the smaller of the two, which nonetheless swatted at Knick Nab's boat, landing a blow that knocked him out of his seat (stunned for two rounds, knocked down); Werner shot the same confused mangani with a musket ball, tearing off part of its ear and leaving it stunned in the shallows (the bullet grazed its head); the party cleared the encounter and both creatures fell behind; once safely anchored in the bay, Werner properly tended to Knick Nab's bruises and he recovered without lasting injury

Learnings and Discussions

The Divinity of Two sent an expedition to Spider Island some months before the party arrived; the expedition included sailors, naval officers, at least one senior cleric (possibly a Censure), and a 16-pounder cannon. Several score men died, most likely in or near the breach in the south wall. A second robed cleric, killed by a mangani at the river camp, was carrying a Diad — indicating very senior ecclesiastical rank
The two-coloured sash on the dead soldiers is a Divinity of Two military marking, distinct from standard Northern naval dress; Cosimo recognised the same two colours woven into the corded vestments on both dead clerics, reading them as representing the Mother and the Father
The party argued, without resolving it, over whether the Divinity of Two operating on this side of the Maelstrom is the same organisation known back home, or something merely related to it
The Diad, identified by Cosimo, is a highly significant holy relic of the Divinity of Two; its normal place is inside major churches; it is only displayed publicly during important processions mounted on a ceremonial staff. Finding one in the possession of a field-expedition cleric suggests the expedition had a formally sanctioned, high-priority religious mission
Tracking near the wall breach found no boot- or cart-prints, only heavy animal traffic moving in and out of the gap; cross-referenced with the rusted musket's condition and the regrowth over the break, the party judged the wall had come down roughly six months earlier
The Islanders in the village became openly hostile after the gunpowder explosion and the party's inability to communicate that they were not responsible for the breach in the south wall; Leela's word "dimi" appears to mean something like "people who look like you" (i.e. white-skinned outsiders), suggesting she has seen or heard of the Divinity of Two expedition
New Islander vocabulary picked up on the walk to the south wall: "pinta" (panther), "hort hort" (a low, ground-crawling creature), a gesture for pig, and the temporal concepts "intra" (something like the past) and "anto" (the future); Leela's people seem to lack finer division into specific days
Two more Islander words surfaced earlier in the day: "colo" (wall), offered by Batu Batu while asking Leela whether an older calamity was connected to the south wall, and "mell" (friend), used to reassure her after the first mangani sighting
The party estimated roughly 200 Islanders at the village site alone — a number that grew to "hundreds" once the bucket-line workers building the wall were included
The black monolith (disc/platform) in the Islander settlement was discussed: the party observed previously that Islanders use it to produce seemingly inexhaustible earth for wall construction; Riu noted that the ability to draw power from such a source is itself the thing of interest, regardless of what the Islanders do with that power; this appears related to why the Medallions drew the party here
The cannon left at the south wall is on the wrong side of the wall relative to the Islander settlement and in poor condition; the gunpowder recovered is partly degraded; the party discussed but did not attempt to haul it over the wall
Two serviceable longboats with oars and sails were recovered from the river camp; they provide an exit from the island independent of the Amada
A decorated hand-axe head was recovered from the river camp, in the same robed corpse's hand as the Diad; it bears sun and moon carvings on its two faces; a first attunement attempt by Cosimo found nothing unusual, but a second, far more successful roll confirmed it is enchanted, though its exact nature remains undetermined; the party briefly discussed giving it to Leela once rehafted, recalling she fought the spiders with an axe of her own, but reached no decision
The party levelled to rank 3 at session end (Noddy and Cosimo absent, so level-up deferred for them)
Prompted by wondering whether the grenade thrown in the previous session's bomb had actually been consumed, the party clarified with the GM that it had not: Noddy still carries one grenade in addition to his smoke grenade

Items Gained

A quantity of gold jewellery (discs, chains, and chokers) looted from the abandoned village, several pounds per person
One decorated hand-axe blade (broken haft; sun/moon carvings; possibly magical — result deferred)
One Diad — holy relic of the Divinity of Two, recovered from the robed body at the river camp
One two-coloured Divinity of Two military sash, taken from the battlefield near the south wall breach
Several powder horns recovered from the bodies and the river camp
Spare muskets in various states of repair, recovered from the river camp
Kegs of gunpowder from the river camp stores
Two longboats (with oars and sails), recovered from the river encampment
Small quantity of degraded gunpowder from the keg near the south wall (partially salvageable)

Items Lost

The keg of gunpowder left behind on the hillside during the withdrawal from the Islanders (abandoned in the confusion)