Talia hastily casts Speak with Animals, hopefully speaking before too many of the spiders can slink off.
"If we find these sceptres for you then we are free to hunt the goblins here, and then for us and our armoured friend to leave?" Deliberately reading more into the King's words than he had probably intended, Talia hopes that speaking for his followers to hear might serve to hold him to this. "Agreed. And we thank you for your good will."
Out of ear-shot of the king, Talia murmurs to Med. "Better than a fight, I guess. And if it all goes wrong, I say we make a run for it. Unless you can undo the king's transformation?"
John: Sorry if Talia is hogging the action, but chances are we won't be talking to giant spiders all that often!
Med waits while Talia and the Spider King come to an agreement. He notices the spiders in the hallway retreat and he turns to Brother Landrau and says with a wry smile on his face, "And so the flys are entering the spiders’ web, of their own choice no less. My good brother, be on alert for treachery while we retrieve Pral." They then make an attempt to retrieve and revive Pral if he is still alive, Med will try to avoid going through as many spider webs and debris as possible.
After Pral is retrieved from the spider lair and brought to in the main cavern, Med voices his concern to Talia, Elendil, and Brother Landrau out of earshot from the spiders.
"I do not trust this spider king, nor do I have the power to break such a curse. A man with such hubris to attempt to become a king of men and of dwarves must have done something to warrant being transformed into a spider. Think back everyone, see if you know of any tales about such a thing. Ask your patron gods for guidance, for I fear to think of the repercussions should we break a curse they placed on this man. In any case, I do not believe we should provide the spider king with all three scepters. What if they free him from his curse and we unleash an old problem anew onto the land? If we could trick the spiders into allowing us to rest, I could prepare a spell that would allow me to know if something has magical properties, this would let us know which if any of the scepters are magical as well as the spider king. We could claim to have traveled far today and with Pral's wounds it is not safe for us to go forward without resting."
Med looks to the others anxiously hoping for their response. If none are forthcoming he nervously begins removing strands of spider webs that have stuck to his robes. He probably fails to fully hear and comprehend what others may say during this time as he is solely focused on bringing cleanliness and order back to his person.
Matt: I have no problems with Talia speaking first and for the group when dealing with nature-related things. I would think Elendil would probably take lead in dealings with elves. Med would take the lead when bantering with a warlock/sorceress. And Pral would take lead when dealing with the local bandit leader, probably intimidating them into leaving us alone
Talia shrugs. "I would not feel safe resting here - even if the Spider king allows it, I would not trust his subjects not to get hungry. But if you wish to ask the king whether we might return on the morrow to find his sceptres, I have no objection."
John: Though I may be getting ahead of myself here, as I think this conversation happens after Talia has spoken to the spider king, not before!
Matt: I too would think this conversation happens after the negotiations with the spider king and after Med and Brother Landrau have retrieved Pral from the spider's clutches. Also what aid or insight can Brother Landrau add to our adventure?
"Huh? Yes, yes. It simply wouldn't do to sleep so close to the king's minions." Med mumbles as he's bent in half at the waist trying to remove some particularly sticky spider's webbing and dried leaves from the bottom hem of his robes, the sound of frustration is starting to creep into his voice. "Ha, got it! Finally the last bit of it,” Med says as he stands upright once again and he turns towards Talia to speak. However, he is mostly focused on trying to shake the sticky strands that are now stuck to his hand. After several good shakes the webbing flies from his hand towards Talia.
"Terribly sorry about that. It would seem that you have impressed the king and his charges with your ability to speak with them. Perhaps you could use your influence to get more of his story or to give us the time to rest? We could rest outside of the cave all the while keeping watch for goblins. Should we have to retrieve these scepters I still believe we should not give them to the spider king but will abide by the choice of the party."
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