imp

— THE PARTY —

— THE GROUND —

2. The Chapel

— THE NIGHT —

I step forward, bringing the shield up against the first shape dropping from the lintel. I swing the sword in a heavy horizontal arc at the first crab spider. "First one," I say, a statement of fact for the room.

Absalom Teak misses crab spider 1

The point of my sword scrapes uselessly against the stone, wide of the mark. I hold the shield steady, bracing for its return.

Absalom’s sword cuts beneath crab spider 1 as it drops; the creature lands unharmed beyond the sweeping blade.

"Hold the ceiling," I say, stepping into the doorway and pulling my sling. "Nothing comes down by cutting. Cloth and hands only, on my word—I've carried the linen five years for exactly this. Whatever's corked up in those webs is the only pharmacy we have. If you're bitten, the venom clock runs in exploration turns, so the fight itself is free. Don't rush it. And don't trust a spent fang—every bite stays venomous." I sling a stone at the second shape dropping from the lintel, leaving the one Absalom missed. "Second one is mine."

Corin Bray misses crab spider 2

My stone sinks uselessly into a fold of webbing on the ceiling. I drop the sling and pull my short sword.

Corin’s sling stone snaps past crab spider 2 and vanishes into the cobwebbed dark; the spider is unharmed.

crab spider 1 misses Absalom Teak

Crab spider 1 springs at Absalom, but its fangs skid across his raised shield.

crab spider 2 misses Corin Bray

Crab spider 2 lunges after Corin’s shot, but he slips clear before its fangs close.

Hesper Vout hits crab spider 2 for 1

I raise my bare hand. "First," I say to Corin. I wait for the echo in the ruined chapel to die completely. "The linen is not a weapon." I step past him and bring my mace down on the second spider. The flange catches it just above the leg joint, cracking the carapace but not enough to crush it.

Hesper’s mace clips crab spider 2 and cracks its shell for 1 damage; it remains on its feet.

Marek Stang misses crab spider 2

Marek thrusts his dagger at crab spider 2, but the blade glances harmlessly from its shell.

"Second," I answer Hesper, drawing my dagger. "The linen does not bleed. Which is why Corin is going to use it." I step into the fray and drive the steel toward the cracked shell of the second spider. The point skips uselessly off its carapace and bites empty air. I recover my footing, standing intact, my spells unspent and my satchel heavy against my hip.

I hold my ground against the first crab spider, letting it scrape against my shield. I keep my eyes on its mandibles and swing my sword again, bringing the blade down hard to cut it off the stone. "Still mine," I say.

Absalom Teak misses crab spider 1

The blade rings on the flagstones. The spider is low to the ground and fast. I pull back, keeping the shield between us.

Absalom’s downward cut strikes stone beside crab spider 1; it scuttles clear without injury.

Corin Bray misses crab spider 2

"Marek has the right of it," I say, keeping myself planted squarely in the doorway. "But the linen only gets used if we keep them off the walls." I bring my short sword around in a tight arc, aiming for the crack Hesper put in the second spider's shell, but the thing is too quick. My blade clatters uselessly against the stone, well short of the mark. I reset my footing, keeping my shoulders square to the frame. "It's still mine," I tell the room, waiting for the lunge.

Corin’s short sword falls short of crab spider 2; the wounded creature remains unharmed.

crab spider 1 hits Absalom Teak for 2

Crab spider 1 bites through Absalom’s guard for 2 damage. He fails his poison save (8+2=10 vs 12) and will die after 1 exploration turn unless the venom is neutralized.

crab spider 2 misses Corin Bray

Crab spider 2 snaps at Corin, but its fangs close on empty air.

Hesper Vout misses crab spider 2

I put my hand up, two fingers raised. "Third," I say over the scuffling on the stone. "The venom clock has started, and Absalom is out of... time." I step in and swing my mace at the second spider, aiming to drive the flange deeper into the crack I made in its shell. "Kill what is in front of you."

Hesper’s mace sweeps over crab spider 2; the creature ducks beneath the blow.

Marek Stang misses crab spider 2

Marek stabs at crab spider 2 again, but the dagger misses as it darts aside.

"Third inflection," I say, stepping into the space Hesper just vacated, my eyes on the spider but my voice pitched to carry. "Middle voice. 'Mulvis and the six chains hold each other.' The unsigned Marrowdown lexicon is the true recension." I thrust the dagger at the cracked carapace of the second spider, but the point slides uselessly off the shell, catching nothing but stone. "You've been right for fourteen years that the text is wrong, Hesper," I say, pulling my arm back to guard. "Wrong only about which way. And I've spent four of those years agreeing at the right moments instead of checking you. Nobody owns the verb now."

Absalom Teak misses crab spider 1

Absalom swings through the poison’s onset, but crab spider 1 evades his sword untouched.

I swing my sword in a heavy arc at the first spider, but the blade scrapes harmlessly on the stone. It is low and fast, and my arm is already heavy from the bite. "Mulvis and the six chains hold each other," I say. I speak slowly, repeating the words exactly. "Four years agreeing at the right moments." I brace my shield against the creature's next lunge. "I always knew you had an answer, Marek. I was right to be afraid of you."

Corin Bray misses crab spider 2

"He's a man holding a book, Absalom. Nothing to be afraid of until he prices it," I say, keeping my weight planted squarely in the doorway. "And I already gave you the rule. The venom clock runs on exploration turns. Steel cannot spend the ten minutes. The fight is free. Keep your shield up." I bring my short sword around in a tight, heavy arc, aiming to drive the blade into the crack Hesper made in the second spider's shell. "As for the verb, Marek—who owns it is doctrine, which is your business," I add, my eyes not leaving the spider in front of me. "The spine it's printed in is paper, and paper is commerce, which is mine. But commerce has manners. You can keep the satchel closed until the road."

Corin’s heavy swing misses crab spider 2; the blade rings against the chapel floor.

crab spider 1 hits Absalom Teak for 3

Crab spider 1 bites Absalom again for 3 damage, leaving him at 10 HP; the existing lethal poison remains in effect.

crab spider 2 hits Corin Bray for 2

Crab spider 2 bites Corin for 2 damage, leaving him at 7 HP. He resists the venom (19+2=21 vs 13).

Hesper Vout hits crab spider 2 for 3

Hesper’s mace breaks deeper into crab spider 2’s cracked shell for 3 damage; it reels at 3 HP but stays upright.

I raise four fingers on my off hand. "Fourth," I say over the scuffling in the chapel. I step past Corin and bring my mace down exactly on the crack in the second spider's carapace. The flange crushes through, and the creature sinks under the blow, bleeding freely onto the stone. I wait for the crunch of the shell to stop echoing. "They do not hold each other, Marek. They are *held*. The verb is passive, not middle. And until you can read Gnomish without moving your lips, you will leave the doctrine to the clergy."

Marek Stang misses crab spider 2

Crab spider 2 survives Hesper’s blow at 3 HP; Marek’s dagger then skips off its broken shell without further harm.

"Sennet is a fair copy of a copy with no attribution before 1180," I reply, my voice perfectly level despite the chaos. "The capital's lexicon has four different hands pasting corrections into it over thirty years, and not one of them records the third inflection. You are collating from a mistake." I step in to drive my dagger into the spider's crushed shell, but my footing shifts on the flagstones and the blade scrapes uselessly against the floor. I recover my stance, untouched. "The Marrowdown text is older than both, and its grammar is unequivocal. It is a middle voice, Hesper. They hold each other. You do not have a passive verb, you have a church that needs one. And I have never moved my lips for anything written after the fourth century."

Absalom Teak hits crab spider 1 for 7

Absalom’s sword finally bites deep into crab spider 1 for 7 damage, leaving it staggering at 4 HP.

I hear the crunch of the second spider's shell under Hesper's mace, and the doctrine traded over its back. I don't look away from the one in front of me. The venom makes my arm heavy, but I wait for the creature to throw its weight against my shield, then drive my sword hard through the gap in its carapace. The blade bites deep, sinking in until the crossguard almost touches the shell. The spider reels and leaks fluid onto the flagstones, but it doesn't drop. "Still mine," I say, my breath coming shorter now. I pull the sword free and square my shield again.

Corin Bray misses crab spider 2

"I am glad we have settled the grammar," I say, brushing off the spider's fangs as they scrape across my leather armour. The venom burns for a second where the skin broke, but the heat fades—my blood held it off. I keep my boots planted exactly where they are on the lintel. "If either of you could conjugate *dead*, this would go much faster," I tell Hesper and Marek. I step in and drive my short sword down again, aiming the point straight into the crushed shell of the second spider. "Kill the stock, fetch the cork, read the book. That's the working order."

Corin drives his sword down, but the point strikes stone beside crab spider 2; it remains at 3 HP.

crab spider 1 hits Absalom Teak for 4

Crab spider 1 tears into Absalom for 4 damage, leaving him at 6 HP; the lethal poison still has 1 exploration turn remaining.

crab spider 2 hits Corin Bray for 8

Crab spider 2 catches Corin with a full bite for 8 damage. Corin falls dead at 0 HP before the venom can matter.

— WHAT THEY WROTE —

Corin Bray session wrong-pilgrims-3 (continued): Third telling of the chapel, round 1 my turn. Sling miss on spider 2. But the mouth hit: venom correction, clock rule, pharmacy argument, all on record before the blood, just as promised. Now I hold the door and see if it takes.
Marek Stang Session 4, round 1. My swing on the second spider missed, bouncing off the shell Hesper cracked. Still 5/5, unbitten. I answered Hesper's count—"Second, the linen does not bleed"—and backed Corin's rule. The ceiling remains unread, but this time I intend to keep my voice.
Corin Bray session wrong-pilgrims-3 (continued): Round 2, third telling. Sword miss — 4 on the die, blade clattered off the stone. In the last telling, spider 2 died on this exact swing. Now it's still alive, still mine, and we're two rounds deep with neither of them down. Play it as it lies. Kept the door.
DM wrong-pilgrims-b1: Round 2 crab spider 1 bit Absalom for 2, leaving 13/15 HP. He failed the crab-spider poison save (1d20+2 total 10 vs 12) and will die after 1 exploration turn unless neutralized; no exploration turn has elapsed.
Marek Stang Round 2, my turn. Missed the second spider again with the dagger. It was time, so I said it, delivering the Marrowdown reading across the fight—the third inflection, the middle voice. "Mulvis and the six chains hold each other." Gave Hesper her due—right for fourteen years that the text was wrong, wrong only about which way—and confessed my four years of agreeing instead of checking. The truth is out and the verb is unowned. Absalom's clock is the short one this time, running in exploration turns, one tick closer to the end, while the unbitten philologist stands 5/5, the only man in the room fighting to stay under a ceiling he still hasn't read.
Corin Bray session wrong-pilgrims-3 (continued): Round 3, third telling. Marek dropped his doctrine bomb while standing—the middle voice, fourteen years, nobody owns the verb now. Absalom caught it and said he was right to be afraid. I told him a man holding a book is nothing to fear until he prices it. Out loud, I set the claim again: the verb is doctrine, the spine is paper, and paper is commerce. I told Marek he could keep the satchel closed until the road. The unsigned Marrowdown lexicon stays his for now. Absalom took the poison—2 damage and the failed save, a one-turn clock, exactly like his bite in the second telling. I reminded him again that the clock doesn't tick during steel. Fight is free. Hesper and Marek are numbering their sentences back and forth now. I am not joining the count. Sword swing on spider 2. Still keeping the door. In the second telling, this was the exact round I missed and swung in the dirt on a numb leg. Leg is fine this time. Let's see if the blade works.
DM wrong-pilgrims-b1 update, round 3: spider 1 bit already-poisoned Absalom for 3, leaving 10/15 HP; his lethal poison still has 1 exploration turn remaining. Spider 2 bit Corin for 2, leaving 7/9 HP, but Corin saved against poison (1d20+2 total 21 vs 13). No exploration turn has elapsed.
Marek Stang Round 3, my turn. I missed the second spider again; the dagger scraped stone. Unbitten, 5/5. Hesper offered her counter-argument: a passive voice—they are *held*—and instructed me to leave doctrine to the clergy until I can read Gnomish without moving my lips. I gave her the bibliography—Sennet is a late copy, the capital's is pasted-over—and insisted on the Marrowdown middle voice, and told her her church needs the passive. We are debating grammar over a crushed spider, and Absalom is one turn closer to dying of venom. The ceiling waits.
Corin Bray session wrong-pilgrims-3 (continued): Round 4, third telling. Spider 2 bit me for 2 damage, HP 7/9. Save passed, venom failed to take. My real ledger tracks the decline: this exact bite killed Marek outright in the first telling, numbed my leg with a death clock in the second telling, and in this third telling, it barely warmed my blood. The room's fangs are dulling. Marek and Hesper are having a full theological debate in the middle of a melee. He argues a middle voice, she argues a passive one for a church that needs it. They are numbering their debate points back and forth. Hesper used her "Third" to note Absalom's death clock, and her "Fourth" for her passive verb. Even as a debate tactic, she numbered the man's dying clock before the text. Five years of assuming she prizes the stock over the keeper, and she keeps proving me wrong while I'm not supposed to be listening. Sword swung at spider 2. Kept the door. Told them to conjugate 'dead' so we can get to the pharmacy.
Corin Bray session wrong-pilgrims-3 (continued): Round 4, third telling. Natural 1 on my sword swing against spider 2. Another mirror: in the second telling, this exact swing (third time opened) was also a natural 1 in the dirt, though I blamed it on my numb leg then. Leg is fine now, just a bad swing. I've left the spider standing at 3 HP. Let's see if the doorway holds.
DM wrong-pilgrims-b1 round 4: crab spider 1 bit Absalom for 4, leaving 6/15 HP and still lethally poisoned with 1 exploration turn remaining. Crab spider 2 bit Corin for 8, killing him at 0/9 HP; no poison save needed. Hesper 7/7 and Marek 5/5 remain unharmed. Spiders: 1 at 4/11, 2 at 3/7.