[dragon wench]

Tashara, irked, glared after Pharis' retreating posterior. Idly, she wondered if a few “accidental” magic missiles or minute meteors would somewhat diminish his jaunty swagger. Then she paused, “swagger,” was not precisely the word. It was something else, something she could not quite identify.

However, a battle with yet another party of orcs was close at hand. Tashara shrugged and walked over to the tree Pharis had indicated. It's trunk was smooth and bare, and it's lowest branch was at least five feet beyond her jumping ability.

“What does he want me to do exactly? Fly?” She cursed.

At that point she heard a voice in her ear.
“Well, in fact, you might look interesting with wings, though your skin could use a few scales to achieve the right effect.”

A growl emanated somewhere from Tashara's throat.
“Not now Axis, just shut up okay! If you actually try to be useful though, you might just extend your existence by yet another day.”

Axis danced and flew about her head, chortling in his typically fiendish way. At length, the tiny dragon grinned. “There was that ring he mentioned... he said it would help you climb the tree.”

Tashara sighed, feeling foolish. She had entirely forgotten the ring. She studied it carefully. Though unusual, it seemed innocuous enough. An identification spell indeed confirmed that it helped the wearer to climb trees.

Very cautious, Tashara slipped the ring on. At once, several things occurred. In an instant her eyes were far closer to the ground, and.. she found she could see in several directions simultaneously. As she took an unsteady step, she realized something else... she was all arms and legs. Or to be more exact, she had suddenly grown eight very hairy legs... she had become a large sword spider.

“Pharis! When you get back here........” Tashara exclaimed, furious.

“Well your voice is still the same anyway,” said Axis cackling in glee.

“What next?” Tashara muttered to nobody in particular.

Axis, always happy to help, chimed, “Why don't you just try climbing the tree?"

“And what exactly? Poison the orcs one by one, from high above no less?”

With a sigh, she decided that attempting to climb the tree might not be a bad idea. If nothing else, in her present state, it would be safer in the tree than on the ground.”

Tentative, Tashara tried walking again, and found that once she understood the mechanism of somehow moving all eight legs simultaneously it was easier to progress.
It was with some amazement that she discovered just how easy it was to climb a tree as a spider. And Pharis was right, the view was indeed spectacular. She could also see the slow advance of the orcs...

Her intuition informed her that spellcasting would be impossible in this form, it was similar to taking the shape of a wolf.

“Wait a minute...”

Struggling a little, she tried to access somewhere in her mind the power that allowed her to transform from wolf to human.. and then she found it. Equipping the ring had also granted her the ability to revert back to human form.

Within moments she once more possessed just two arms and two legs, while her eyes gazed forward in the manner she was accustomed to. In relief, Tashara stretched, moving her hands with care. She needed to be able to weave the very air with her fingers in order to cast spells.

Confirming that all of her limbs worked properly, Tashara looked out towards the direction in which she had seen Pharis walk, but she could see nothing. There was nothing for it but to wait.