The Festival of Greeving Part 3

Spiders' larder.
There is a very light rain shower. Ethereal strings of gossamer lichen stretch between the boughs of the trees and cover the undergrowth with a filmy mantle of green in this mysterious glade. The lichen hangs down from branches and lays a gentle hand upon everything it touches, bringing life and fertility. Animals and insects are abundant, birds sing and noble dragonflies flit about, celebrating nature in all of its forms. Light filters down from gaps in the treetops high above, making its way to the forest floor past the numerous ephemeral strands, refracting off the moisture on each one. Nothing resists the touch of the silky filaments; they adorn nearly every surface in the glen, havens for small creatures. Nearly everything has a coating of ethereal lime green. Hidden deep within the environment lies a mystic pathway. Settled within the branches of an ancient and skeletal tree roosts a murder of crows, their voices harsh and deafening as their caws peal through the air. Rising tall overhead, a totem of shadowed wood sits here, decorated with the offerings of the Glomdoring forest. A solstice stocking has been hung here. A blackthorn sapling clings tenaciously to the ground here. Casting darkness all around, a shadow totem thrusts up from the ground, chilling the air. There are 3 plain wooden kegs here. Rising from the forest floor itself, an overgrown table presents a wyrden bounty. There are 30 rainbow cupcakes here. There are 3 glittering spiderweb streamers here. Thaldorn Thornfist, the White towers silently here, a stern gaze on his face. A leopard lurks in the shadows, curiously watching anything that moves. Nothing more than a puffball with cerulean eyes, a seal lynx point ragdoll kitten lies here lounging languidly. Standing majestically, a lady-like penguin with a sparkling, opalescent scarf surveys the surroundings. Kosuke, the cloud-bound Long is here, floating majestically. Aknarin Stormcrow is here. She wields an etched, blackened katana with both hands. Luce is here, wringing his hands nervously. He wields a delicate crystal staff in his left hand and a functional steel spatula in his right hand. Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters lingers nearby, the air about him singing with the rush of the ocean. He wields a dazzling white staff crowned by a platinum pearl in his left hand. Tikki with an Angel face stands here, his presence perfuming the air with the warm scent of mouth-watering confections. He wields a Silver Spoon in his left hand and a spectral measuring cup in his right hand. A jet-black malevolent demon crouches here, red eyes burning upon the canvas of the darkest night. Psalmist Auraelia, the Trusting is here. She wields a percussive lyre with a tunable sound cavity in her left hand. Lilei, the Ruffian is here. Perpetually in a dramatic pose, the inflated silken form of Avechna the Avenger towers here, ebony muscles gleaming.
You see exits leading north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest.

Lifting her head, Ilistala looks at you hopefully.
You pet Ilistala, an enormous leopard ingratiatingly.
A loud rumbling emanates from Ilistala as she rubs against you.

In a chirpy tone, Psalmist Auraelia, the Trusting says to Lilei, "Think I may head home now. Would you like to accompany me?"

You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

You have emoted: Cheliyi fidgets, looking faintly nervous.

Auraelia blinks.
Sutekh chitters at you with energetic clicks of his mandibles.
Caressing your ear, the voice of Tikki whispers, "All is well, you're doing fine."
With a dream-like echoing resound, Gabe Ladyn says to you, "Thank you for all of this, Cheliyi."
The melodious voice of Kistan resonates in your mind, "Deep breath, count to three - inside your head. The first word is the hardest."

Slowly smiling, you say, "So, when I was very little, I could hear the Glomdoring. My siblings could speak to me, tell me stories, and share jokes. They were my family, and I am forever grateful to them."

Kistan smiles softly at you.
Auraelia stands back, holding Lilei's hand as she watches you.
As if their very heart has become audible, the pulsing beat of the Drums of the Dead thrums through Xenthos's form.

Leaning from one foot to the other, you say, "I have not heard them in almost a decade now, but... their song should not go unheard. So, to show the bounties of our home, I would like to sing what I heard."

Gabe leans against Aknarin , a thoughtful smile in her eyes.

You think to yourself: **a deep pang, you miss them so much, but... you will do this.**.
You have emoted: Cheliyi bows, and smiles. "So... I hope you enjoy."
You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

Auraelia tilts her head and listens intently to you.

You have emoted: Cheliyi stares out at all of those gathered, a faint smile gracing her lips. With a soft exhale, she bows her head and closes her eyes. "May your veins flood with rain, let your lungs swell with vines..."

You have emoted: Her eyes open, the orbs swirling with shadow as Cheliyi continues her soft croon, "We will be here, till the end of Time."

You think to yourself: It is so quiet.

Alarin tilts their head and listens intently to you.
Thaldorn Thornfist, the White tilts his head and listens intently to you.
Quietly, Sutekh gazes at the sky, as though longing to sail into the far reaches of space.
Sutekh tilts his head and listens intently to you.

The wind whistles eerily through the branches overhead.

You have emoted: Cheliyi falters, her echoing voice weakening in a forest that has seemingly gone still to listen. The Master Ravenwood almost seems to shift for a moment in the distance, as if the shadows swirling in its shadow grow deeper.

Growing fainter, you sing, "May your soul be overgrown with moss, your eyes torn from lies, the Wyrd reigns supreme with the truth of Night..."

You think to yourself: **an oppressive silence, you can't...**.

You have emoted: Cheliyi trails off, the entire forest silent to her call. All is still, and mugwump seems to shrink on herself, dwarfed by the massive canopy surrounding her.

You think to yourself: Do they not hear me? It is so silent.

You open your mouth to say something, but speech fails you.

Caressing your ear, the voice of Tikki whispers, "It's okay. You can do this."
Aknarin inches bashfully over to Gabe and nuzzles her tenderly.

Suddenly, as if breaking rank from the looming edge of the forest, a lone rowan tree begins to creak and sway in a musical manner, as if its leaves and boughs were an instrument all their own.

You have emoted: Cheliyi's eyes widen, and tears fill her eyes.

You think to yourself: Brother -Rowan-.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the treeline follows suit, a willow, then a blackthorn, then a ravenwood, all resonating in tune with the thrumming Shadowbeat.

Sutekh's elytra clack together sharply with a loud, if low, tone.

Eyes wide with joyful disbelief, you sing, "Stop to smell the roses, spiders dance in our halls, Nothing matters but Glomdoring, our beauty greatest of all!"

Gabe lifts her eyes to your, murmuring "That was rather impressive".

The Shadowbeat hangs heavy in the air, shadows pooling around your feet, pulsing in tune as if the Glomdoring itself were a giant, awe-inspiring symphony. The shadows pull and draw at your senses, as if to entice all further into their siren-song.

You have emoted: Cheliyi closes her eyes and clutches her hands close to her chest, swaying in time with the countless trees surrounding the clearing. "Your struggles are in vain, thorns grip your hide, become -one- with us, further our might..."

Her voice resonating with countless others in a shadowy timber, you sing, "Shadows pool in our boughs, feathers flood our skies, for we are truly free, crowing in flight!"

You have emoted: Cheliyi spins in a circle, pulling up with her the scent of roses and sickly-sweet damp earth. Thousands of red eyes stare from the boughs of the Master Ravenwood, judging all in their presence. The earth shakes, but not from a timequake, rather the Master Ravenwood itself joining in a deep, rumbling tone.

As the sun passes below the horizon's edge, Mother Night unveils her terrible, shadowy beauty, spreading darkness across the land.

Like a gentle ripple in a crystalline pool, you sing, "Stop to smell the roses, fools drawn in our thrall."

Like a gentle ripple in a crystalline pool, you exclaim, "Glory be to Glomdoring!"
Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "Glory be to the Glomdoring."

Somewhere, a crow cries out in vicious joy.

Growing soft once more, you sing, "Her creation greatest of all."

You have emoted: There is another beat of silence, Cheliyi surrounded by a pallor of glimmering shadows, like a held breath. Then, she exhales, and the shadows slink away. The treeline grows still once more, the forest as it was.

You have emoted: Cheliyi covers her mouth with a hand, eyes glimmering with tears of joy as her frills twitch this way and that.

Barbed tail poised to strike, Acosris, the giant scorpion, skitters in from the north.

Tikki congratulates you with some wild clapping.

Kreon leans close to Irilara and gently lays a kiss upon her forehead.

You think to yourself: **you can hear them you can hear them they're -here-**.

Kreon tilts back her head and inhales deeply while twitching a wolf's snout.
Kistan applauds you heartily.
Gabe beams broadly at you.
Alarin applauds politely with his padded paws.

You have emoted: Cheliyi bows, looking absolutely overjoyed.

Auraelia congratulates you with some wild clapping.
Sutekh lowers his head, ponderously.
Luce offers polite applause.

You have emoted: Cheliyi whispers "Thank you muchly," but to whom it is aimed at is unclear.

Wyrden Idolator Kistan, of the Sanguine Refrain says to you, "I can see why you do not go to the stage! You would bring the house down!"

You blush furiously.

Caressing your ear, the voice of Tikki whispers, "I'm so proud of you dear, and it seems your siblings are too. That was beautiful. Spooky! But beautiful heheh."
The melodious voice of Kistan resonates in your mind, "Marvelous!"

With a dream-like echoing resound, Gabe Ladyn says to you, "I hope 'tis penned in a book, to be preserved in the library."

Stuttering, practically overwhelmed, you say, "I... I thank you all for listening, yes. The day... today's festivities will end at sunrise, yes. In that that, please visit our shops, have some of the food, and enjoy yourselves, yes."

Alarin tilts back their head and inhales deeply while twitching a wolf's snout.
Gabe smiles softly at you.
Alarin shimmers with incandescent energy as the images of the Nine Seals blaze into existence along their arms. After a long moment they fade, though their eyes blaze with light for some time after.

You have emoted: Cheliyi's frills twitch rapidly as her gaze grows distant, and she quickly wipes away tears.

Tikki hugs you compassionately.
You smile brightly at Tikki, your frills puffing with joy.
You hug Tikki as best as you can, pulling them into a tight embrace.

Thaldorn Thornfist, the White says, "That was a grand performance indeed."

Auraelia nods her head enthusiastically.
Zeliyah arrives from the north.

A gleamingly muscled Avenger says, "Indeed."

You study your surroundings with a critical eye before you find an ideal space for veneration. With a prayer for Mother Night and her chilling, terrible beauty, you carefully hang the dark crystal in your hands and then step back to admire it.
Seething with a quiet, violet glow, a seven-pointed star turns slowly on its vine as it settles into place.

A bulbous spider scourges Auraelia with its legs.

You blink.

A bulbous spider scourges Auraelia with its legs.

Kreon ponders for a moment and says "Hrm..."

Auraelia clears her throat in an attempt to gain a bulbous spider's attention.

You give a trillingly melodic laugh, your frills resonating with joy.

A bulbous spider scourges Auraelia with its legs.

Tridemon peers at a bulbous spider unscrupulously.

Wyrden Idolator Kistan, of the Sanguine Refrain says, "Spiders are back."

A bulbous spider jumps onto Auraelia, biting deep into her flesh.

As if their very heart has become audible, the pulsing beat of the Drums of the Dead thrums through Xenthos's form.

Auraelia plays a percussive lyre with a tunable sound cavity and directs the soothing notes towards a bulbous spider.
A bulbous spider shakes his head, ignoring the soothing tone.

A bulbous spider spasms before shooting yellow pus at Auraelia from its spinneret.

Xenthos hangs up a tenebrous lantern alight with wyrden flame gently, his fingertips streaked with rivulets of blood.

--->everyone takes turns trying to pacify the spider

Beads of sweat break out on Luce's face.

In a low, soothing voice, Shadow Regent Kreon Zayah, the Blood Rose says, "Mother's spiders are hungry again."

Like a gentle ripple in a crystalline pool, you say, "I think the spiders are awake. Please follow me back to the Master Ravenwood."

You make a beckoning motion to no-one in particular.

Devotee of the Tah'vrai, Irilara says, "Or stay here and let the spiders feast."

You smile wryly at Irilara.

Ilistala, an enormous leopard opens her jaw wide and inhales deeply. With a sudden roar, she exhales and blows a stream of powdered candy in a bulbous spider's direction. The powder catches in his throat and he is suddenly wheezing and coughing amidst a delicate cloud of peppermint-scented particles.
Xenthos has scored a CRITICAL hit!
Xenthos points Kiakoda's Eternal Wand of Apocalyptic Stars at a bulbous spider, blasting him with streams of blazing fire.
A bulbous spider is blown apart by streams of blazing fire.
A bulbous spider has been slain by Xenthos.

In a chirpy tone, Psalmist Auraelia, the Trusting says, "C'mon, I don't WANT to fight you-."

Kreon snickers softly to herself.
Tridemon reaches over and ruffles your hair with a fond expression.
You give a trillingly melodic laugh, your frills resonating with joy.
Ilistala, an enormous leopard paws the ground and shuffles about impatiently.

In a chirpy tone, Psalmist Auraelia, the Trusting says, "Oookay, or that could happen."

You hug Tridemon as best as you can, pulling them into a tight embrace.
Auraelia giggles happily.
Gabe tilts back her head and inhales deeply while twitching a wolf's snout.

Like a gentle ripple in a crystalline pool, you ask, "Is this everyone?"

Spirit Warden Xenthos An'Ryshe, the Ebon Strategist says, "If all else fails, coat the spider with a layer of sugar and then roast it."

You grin mischievously at Xenthos.
Kreon giggles happily.

Ocean waves echoing softly behind his voice, Tridemon Regalis, Keeper of Pure Waters says, "When the spiders attack, you are allowed to fight back. Anything that intends to eat you must contend with the fact that you can kill it."

You nod your head emphatically.

You point off into the wild blue yonder.