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Absalom Teak

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

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

DM

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

Corin Bray

"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

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

DM

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

DM

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

DM

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

Hesper Vout

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.

DM

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

DM

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

Marek Stang

"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.

Absalom Teak

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

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

DM

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

Corin Bray

"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.

DM

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

DM

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.

DM

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

Hesper Vout

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."

DM

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

DM

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

Marek Stang

"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."

DM

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

Absalom Teak

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

"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."

DM

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

DM

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

DM

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

DM

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

Hesper Vout

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."

DM

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

Marek Stang

"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."

DM

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

Absalom Teak

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

"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."

DM

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

DM

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

Corin Bray falls.

DM

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