
Silken cords bite around your wrists and ankles as torchlight breaks across the chamber. A young adult woman mage, slender, with warm brown skin, cropped black curls, and a copper nose ring, in a violet cloak, a scarred middle-aged man with a sword, lean and weathered, with close-cropped gray hair and a battered brown leather coat, and a broad-shouldered adult woman barbarian, with tawny skin, a thick red braid, a broken-nose profile, and a fur-trimmed brown vest, hack through the webbed entrance.

Mara
There! Someone is bound in the nest. Hold fast, we are cutting you free!
A vast cave spider, its black chitin marked with pale bands and four glossy red eyes above its fangs, drops from the darkness between you and the rescuers, its many legs spreading over the stone. Its swollen abdomen sways while venom glistens on its lowered fangs.

The Male Swordfighter
Back, Mara! Brakka, keep it from the prisoner!

The Female Barbarian
Aye! Spider, choose a harder meal!
The barbarian charges, axe raised, as the swordfighter circles wide. Blue fire gathers around the mage's fingers, but the spider lunges first, fangs hovering inches above your bindings.

Mara
Do not move! I need one clear moment to burn through those webs!
âś“ Quest Accepted
Get free
“*Evelyn struggles to get free but can't as she webs holding her are too strong and too sticky. She panics and thrashes*”
FAILURE (Fair Strength, rolled +1)

You wrench against the silken cords, twisting your wrists and kicking hard. The webbing holds, stretching painfully, then snaps one ankle strand loose enough to reveal a narrow gap beneath it.

Evelyn
The bindings are weakest where the web crosses the stone.
Your thrashing pulls the webbed bundle sideways across the floor. The cave spider recoils from the sudden movement, lifting its forelegs as the barbarian's axe sweeps near its legs.

The Female Barbarian
Keep wriggling, captive! Give Mara the opening!
The movement exposes a darker seam in the stone beneath your left wrist. A sliver of broken webbing hangs there, close enough to scrape against if you can reach it.

The Male Swordfighter
Mara, burn the cords now! Brakka, drive it back!

Mara
I see it. Hold still for one breath, and I can reach the weak seam.
Blue fire brightens between Mara's fingers while the spider retreats a half step. Your bindings remain tight, but the exposed seam offers a different way out than brute force.
“*Evelyn rubs her wrist againat the jagged stone. However, the spider is rushing at her*”
FAILURE (Fair Strength, rolled -2)

You drag your bound wrist against the jagged stone seam, seeking the exposed edge. The webbing grates harshly, but your wrist slips before the fibers part, leaving only a reddened mark.
The loosened ankle strand shifts beneath you, pulling the webbed bundle away from the stone. The narrow seam vanishes beyond your reach as the cave spider surges forward.

Mara
The opening is gone! Keep your head down!
The cave spider's many legs hammer across the floor, her pale-banded body rushing toward you. Her lowered fangs gleam as she bears down on the bindings.

The Female Barbarian
Not while I have breath!
Brakka steps into the spider's path and swings her axe across its advance. The blow forces the cave spider to veer, but one foreleg catches the webbing and yanks your bound body sideways.

The Male Swordfighter
Mara, now! Cut her loose before it circles back!
Director's notewhole tale
Mara cuts Evelyn free

Mara thrusts both hands forward. Blue fire arcs beneath the spider's raised foreleg and races along the webbing, scorching the cords without touching your skin.

Mara
Hold steady. I have you now.
The bindings blacken and split in quick succession. Your wrists come free first, then the ankle cords loosen as the spider recoils from the sudden heat.

The Female Barbarian
Back into the dark, beast! You will not take her again!
Brakka plants herself between you and the cave spider, axe sweeping low. The creature skitters sideways, its pale-banded abdomen brushing the cavern wall.

The Male Swordfighter
Mara, get her clear. Brakka and I will hold it here.
The last strand falls away. You are free, though the web clings in loose strips around your clothing, while Mara reaches toward you and the swordfighter turns his blade toward the spider.
Quest Complete
Get free
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Fair→Good