The trio began to search the surrounding area for any ideas of what lie in store for them inside the church. They began to walk the cemetery grounds that outstretched around and beyond the church. Many graves here were created with unmarked tombstones, leaving them to guess they were passersby whom died without any reveal of their identity. Mae spoke briefly on the topic. " Many adventurers who pass end up laid to rest far from home, sometimes only brought to the nearest town to get patched up only to succumb to their wounds. Sad stories that never get told. Never leave my body in some long out town away from my homelands of I swear I'll haunt you to your end." E and Bean gave gentle nods in response.
After a good walk around it's premises the only thing the trio noticed was that even in the gentle snow the church barely had any on it. It's direct surrounding lay bare dirt and small puddles as if the church itself was heated enough to melt the snow fallen around it. The made note of it but didn't quite find any reasons as to why. After a good gauge of the land they decided to approach the building closer.
After getting close the the west side of the building they realized just how warm the church was as the air here was considerably warmer, perhaps due to the wind block, but it puzzled them further. Mae step forward and touch it's stone exterior. " Warm to the touch. Very strange"
The walls to the church only had a few windows that were boarded up, but the large pains of stained glass could be seen the the gaps in the wood. It obviously had a second floor as at the top the glass was visible as many smaller windows were there. Some had cracks and holes in them outright or just completely missing altogether. Some of the empty panes up top were webbed as If they were home to trapdoor spiders, prompting them to move away a bit quickly. The church gave off a very ominous feeling the more they stared on at it. The trio moved to the front of the church yet again and E lay out a plan.
" We've two days of manure, we need to make a small fire and dry it. While I do that Mae you make a large trench on the main road here. Bean go the far side of the area here and gather as many large sticks as you can and any broken tombstones that lie around gather the rubble, After that we will cover the trenches and make torches as markers. I'll prepare our defensive position towards the gate. I don't have any explanation as to why the church is warm but if I'm willing to bet there must be a considerable amounts of bugs inside. We cannot afford to enter until we have cleared most of them out."
Mae responded with a quick conjecture
" How do you expect me to dig a few holes? Are you still going with that same battle plan? You saw how many windows their are, and their all boarded up. How do you expect to flush them out? The main door to the church? Did you not see the webs at the broken windows they will obviously use the top floor as an exit. I'm sorry but this isn't a good enough plan."
" I read a bit up on the spiders on our travel here, the only thing I found really concerning is that they are territorial, which begs the question as to why Manepedes would also live here. Not to mention Manepedes apparently live in cool damp climates or jungles and are not known to be in this region. If they are here it's because they were brought here. And the two species wouldn't make a home of the same place only one would come out a victor in that struggle and it wouldn't be the spiders. Seeing as there are webs I think the spiders are here, but the rest of this information must be wrong. We must first deal with what we know and not worry about what's inside until we lure them out mostly. The Wiregrove spiders are no bigger and a large dog, mainly due to their legs. The main body of the beast is usually around 45 centimeters. Which will make my arrows to be in need of more time between each shot. The real benefits we have are three main points. One they are larger but not that fast, if they move to quick they will trip themselves up because they have extremely adhesive stickers on their feet. Two they are weak to fire, so I will also want a border of sticks to be laid on the path behind their retreat to cut them off. And three, they are aggressive and easily antagonistic, agitate them enough and they will come after you. Which works to the original plan. Mae I just need you to be ready to swing your sword wildly at them even if you just end up swiping their legs off it should serve to slow them further. Bean throw everything you got at them once you have their attention and you guys are overwhelmed retreat to me on the path with the pitfall trap, CAREFULLY. Then we will group up and slay the rest that make it past."
Bean who had been quiet most of the time finally spoke out with a bit of reluctance. " E.. what if they make me mad? no offense but when I get mad.. It takes awhile for me to calm down, and I'm very incorrigible. You will have to douse me down with water or knock me out. If that happens I won't really be thinking of the plan. Also.. What about my javelins, am I not throwing them as well?"
E felt a little dismayed at Beans response he thought back to when he was almost angry with him for laughing at his name.
" Hmm well they can't make fun of you, they aren't bullies in that way. They are stupid. Don't get mad it's only gonna be a game. Think of it on how many of THEM you can piss off, then get behind Mae and let her deal with them. Of course you will have one of you javelins, but you won't be able to retrieve them. Due to their design they make poor spears as they might get caught in the carapace of the spiders. So only use it as a defensive manuvering tool. Mae if it gets stuck in one, rip or kick it out break it even we need him armed. Once throwing sticks and stones isn't an option anymore get back to me. I'll ignite the path behind them and force their advance. Sound good? "
Bean and Mae felt a little more comfortable now that E seemed to fill his role a bit better. His tactic and understanding of the spiders and the battle they would face seemed sound. They quickly lost that comfort as E continued to speak.
" Now I will tell you of the bad things we have going for us. Firstly, the spiders are able to spit webs quite quickly. They can shoot them up to five feet away and they are quite strong. Heat is their weakness, Mae we will likely have to submerged your sword in some fire for a lasting radiance of heat. You will also have to use it at it's tip to the best of your ability, don't let them get close. Second, the spiders can jump up to five feet. So swing in small arcs in front of you not widely, but wildly in front as a deterrent. Bean that also means throw straight and not high. And if possible throw mud or dirt and blind them. They dislike fire so the torches next to you guys will help them from coming at your sides. Thirdly, The venom.. I don't have the requirements to make an antidote. It requires their venom as an ingredient thankfully the book had a recipe for a poltice to stave off it's effects but we will have to seek out a alchemist to create a proper cure. At most we would have a week before whomever is bitten to pass away, but loss of limb if bitten can occur it slows your heartbeat causing the victim to coagulate in their limbs as their skin husks and it's interiors muk. Not a pleasant passing. So anyone is bitten and we retreat immediately. Lastly.. " E was almost done and Made cut him off.
" Nope, this is insane are you kidding me I'm out. Forget this your expectations for how this plays out are assanine. We are not prepared for this, we need more people! And Armor! Damnit" Mae began to walk away towards the gate.
E sighed as she pushed passed him bumping her shoulder to his and staring down at him in scorn. E had thought about this happening and hoped he didn't have to use his trump card but he turned around to her and called out to her.
"MAE!... Need I remind you of your obligation? Understand me when I say this I got you for threeeee quests!" He held up his fingers. " Broken bones and broken souls and adventures we make, you're doing this like it or not! We have 6 months to shape up or die!" E blushed as she turn around to him also realizing he spoke a bit to much he lowered his voice and continued. " Ahem.. When the war breaks out, where will you run? Back home to your village? What if it pushes into the Wildlands then? Will you fare any better? And are you really going to leave us after we are here?! We have just begun."
Mae stopped and stared at him seemingly glaring at his soul. She was steaming as the snow fell. She began to walk towards him as she spoke down to him. " Do you want to die so soon?! you want to take us down with you?! You're still level ZERO! Reading a book is the last thing that will help you win this fight! You dare bring up a pirates inscription that you don't even have the balls to do yourself! COME HERE! I'll Show you who's In CHARGE!"
As Mae got closer she threw her sword to the side and huffed out her chest. As she got closer each step began to thud louder.
E knew she meant to fight, his stomach churned at the idea but he dug deep for resolve. He had seen Mae wrestling before and knew she meant business. He looked at Bean who was in shock. He took off his bow and quiver and tossed it to him. He stepped forward and looked at Mae as she got closer to him now only ten feet away. They both stared hard with an awkward pause. Mae put up her fists then E followed suit. He had only a bit of hand to hand training with his father but he felt confident as their strength seemed similar. After a moment the two leaped at each other with their fists flying out.