by C. M. Carney
“She did it for love,” Sillendriel said.
Yes. And for love she put all the Realms at risk. Love made her weak and the Princes of Chaos used that weakness, corrupting her, giving them the foothold in the mortal realm they have long sought. Now, she is their anchor, and with each passing moment that anchor becomes more firmly latched to this realm. If we do nothing, that foothold will become a full-on invasion. We must kill her, and we must kill her now.
Another heavy silence hung.
“Putting aside the ease with which you condone killing your mom, I’ve got a question,” Lex said, hands raised like a kid in class. “Why didn’t these order lord chaps just build another Order Lance? Seems a better solution than sending a bunch of bugs to guard against a chaos rift.” The NPC glanced at the egg sack. “No offense.”
None taken. And to answer your query, they cannot build another Order Lance. It comes down to the Balance. The Lords of Order built 129 Order Lances and 129 Order Lances remain. Constructing another would upset the Balance.
“Wait, what?” Lex sputtered. “For guys who like logic and order and crap, you are terrible at math. There were 129 Order Lances. Then one got all blown up, which means there are 128 Order Lances left. So, build another and bam 129 again.”
The Order Lance from this valley still exists, it is just … elsewhere.
“Elsewhere?” Barrendiel asked. “Where?”
We do not know. It was lost during the Nimmerian’s attempts to build their Realm Gate. Neither its archon nor its mortal caretaker have been seen since.
“Should I assume that the Lords of Order have searched for the lance, and that we cannot rely on it being found?” Gryph asked.
That is an accurate statement.
“How do you lose a skyscraper?” Lex asked, aghast. “I lose my Player and get a shit ton of crap. Your order bosses lose a whole building and, what … no management change?”
“You’re not helping handsome,” Yrriel said, the warmth in her tone disturbing to Gryph given what he’d learned about the older elf mistress and his NPC.
“What happens if we kill your mother?” Sillendriel asked. “The rift will still be open. Chaos will still leak into this realm.”
Then I will take over my mother’s burden, and she can finally rest.
*****
Several hours later Gryph and his Adventure Group lay hidden behind a fallen wall in the Nimmerian ruins, waiting on the warborn and the rangers to provide their distraction. There had been some debate that Akashiri should stay behind, but the unhatched spider queen would have none of it. Not only did she refuse to let Gryph and his people fight her battles without her, she convinced them she could very well be the reason they survived.
Even if we kill my mother, her children’s corruption will remain. They will be rabid for vengeance. They would overwhelm you. But, I should be able to control them.
“Should?” Lex asked, his voice a bit squeakier than he liked. “You better or we’ll be deader than a doornail.” He paused. “Anyone ever wonder where that expression comes from?”
“No,” Vonn said.
Death would be the best you could hope for. More likely you’d be twined in silk and slowly fed upon, or a new queen would metamorphose from one of my siblings and use your bodies to incubate her eggs. Only then would you die.
“Can I go back to bed?” Lex asked, but did not move. He gripped the handle of his war hammer and cast a sideways glance at Gryph. After a moment he nodded, silently as if saying ‘I’m with you.’
But I will be with you and with Sziilloth gone, I will hatch and become the new queen. Then I can force them to end their lives.
“Like a kill code?” Gryph asked.
Yes, the unborn queen sent, the emotionless cool of her tone unnerving.
Realizing they needed her, and knowing he could not deter her, Gryph added the unhatched spider queen to his Adventure Group’s normal line-up of Lex, Ovrym, Vonn and Errat. As the bond formed, an unexpected prompt appeared.
Your Adventure Group has been granted the Boon: Order Armor.
While in the presence of Akashiri, all members of Gryph's Adventure Group will be surrounded by an invisible field of Order Magic. It will absorb 50% of all damage delivered by chaos creatures, or creatures infected by chaos, until damage equals its health drops to zero.
The field also protects the bearer from succumbing to the chaos corruption as long as the Order Armor possesses health.
Maximum Health: 300 - Current Health: 300
Akashiri’s boon wasn’t the only aid they received. The Round Table had stepped up with a variety of aid. Errat received a bracer, once worn by an Illurryth, that enhanced the efficiency of his Aether Magic. They gave Vonn a Cowl of the Shadows that increased his already impressive Stealth skill. Ovrym received a pendant that bolstered his mental defenses. To support Lex’s love of smashing things with his hammer, the NPC now wore a pair of gloves that powered up his Blunt Weapons skill.
Gryph even got some sweet new swag.
You have been given a Ring of Dual Tier Ability.
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Active
This basic iron ring allows the user to use a single Tier Ability twice as often as normal. Any Countdown is ignored. This ring is usable once per day.
You have been given a Globe of Air Elemental Essence.
Item Class: Base - Item Category: Active
This crystal globe contains the concentrated essence of an Air Elemental. Smashing the globe will unleash this essence and increase the power of any Air Magic spell or effect by 1000% for five minutes. This is a one-use item.
As they waited for the warborn and rangers to do their part, Gryph fingered the ring. His mind sorted through the various uses for his new toy. Perk Surety would guarantee a Perk of his choice would succeed, regardless of odds. Refraction would allow him to send all damage from a single attack back at the attacker. Swift as the Wind increased his speed. Shift allowed him to move a distance of ten feet as if he’d teleported. The options swirled through his mind, and he thanked the crafter of the ring for not forcing him to choose in advance.
Gryph returned his attention to the present. Ahead of them lay an entrance to Sziilloth’s lair. From where Gryph crouched, it looked like nothing more than the shadow cast by an ancient tree, but Akashiri insisted it led straight into the heart of the crystal arachnid’s nest.
“Am I the only one who feels itchy?” Lex asked in a low voice. The NPC had been fidgeting since they’d reached their current location. Gryph couldn’t really blame the guy, considering the army of car-sized spiders assembled between them and the tunnel into the nest.
The swarm of arachnids resembled the spider carrying Akashiri’s egg, having the same clear, crystalline body as their odd ally. But where the crystal arachnid shimmered white, these beasts pulsed with violent surges of magma colored chaos energy. Their erratic twitching suggested they were in constant pain.
It is the corruption, Akashiri explained.
A pair of the eight-legged abominations dragged a large mass of webbing into the clearing. Something was moving inside, and the muffled sounds of a terrified animal flowed to their ears. A dozen spiders lunged towards the struggling creature and sunk their fangs through the webbing. Several other chaos spiders lunged at each other, fangs bared and legs stomping down. The sickening sounds of the feeding spiders made Gryph wish his allies would hurry.
Whether it was the vileness of the spider’s feeding or his inherent inability to stay quiet for more than a few moments, Lex soon spoke. “So why now?”
“Why now what?” Gryph asked.
“First those effing weirdos the Vex try to take down the Order Lance in Harlan’s Watch and now a swarm of creepy crawlies try to smash open the doorway to the Realm of Fuck You. Why now? What has changed?”
Silence hung heavy over the group. The only sound was the inane chittering of the chaos spiders as they fed. Nobody offered an answer to Lex’s query. Why now indeed?
Gryph asked himself. A deep unease threatened to overwhelm Gryph, but as he always did when faced with untenable situations, he closed his eyes and breathed.
He could not control the world around him, a lifetime of experience and training had taught him the folly of that endeavor. What he could control was himself. If he or his men let panic take them, then they’d be dead before ever setting foot in the lair.
“Trust in the plan. Trust in each other,” Gryph said, the nervous energy fraying his nerves threatening to show in his voice.
Providence stepped in at that very moment, as the raucous war cry of the rangers and warborn filled the air. Volleys of imbued arrows and arbalest bolts exploded into the front wave of arachnids. Explosions did not muffle the sound of spider carapaces being torn apart, their crunch sounding like thousands of crab's legs being cracked at once.
Hisses of pain and rage pulsed from the eight-legged fiends and those who’d survived the surprise onslaught thundered towards the hidden army. War horns boomed, calling for a retreat and the spiders followed. The path to Sziilloth’s lair was clear.
“Move,” Gryph said and his odd band rushed towards the lair. For several moments the group was exposed, sprinting across an open field. They ran hard and without complaint. Even Lex, with his oft denigrated ‘stumpy legs’ kept up and kept quiet. They reached the dark entrance and pushed past a tangle of webbing.
“Everybody knows this is a trap, right?” Lex asked.
"Of course," Ovrym said. "Subterfuge is the primary tactic of all arachnids.” The xydai reached up and plucked at a thick strand of webbing. It vibrated like a guitar string, sending a warning deeper into the lair.
“Why in the fornicating fornication did you do that?” Lex sputtered in a harsh whisper.
“She felt our footfalls the moment we entered this tunnel,” the adjudicator said, challenge in his voice. “I am telling her we know she knows, and that we are coming for her. I am telling her she should feel fear.”
“You honorable warrior types are giant pains in the asses,” Lex grumbled and pushed past the others to take point. “Errat, I could use some light up here.” With a grin, the warborn activated his Light Bomb Wand and a volley of light globes shot down the tunnel and stuck to the walls. “It’s smashing time,” Lex harrumphed and walked into the depths.
Making use of their Telepathic Bond, the group went into silent mode and followed the NPC. After descending for several minutes, they emerged into a large cavern. Just before entering, Gryph activated Inspire. The Leadership skill Tier Ability gifted his people with a range of bonuses, including +25% to hit, +10% chance of earning a Critical Hit and +5 temporary levels to any one Martial Skill of their choice. Gryph chose his Staves/Spears skill.
They eased their way into the cavern. Scattered shards of blue-white crystal embedded in the cavern walls and ceiling dimly illuminated the cavern, their light dimmed by the webbing covering every surface. Hanging from that webbing were several dozen spiders. None of them moved.
At the far end of the cavern, atop an outcropping of web laden rock, sat a massive spider. This was Sziilloth, the Chaos Spider Queen. She stared at them through dozens of eyes. Gryph locked his eyes on hers and her mandibles clacked in sadistic joy.
Errat, Vonn, blow the entrance, Gryph sent. The last thing we need is for this bitch to get reinforcements.
You know that blocks our only retreat, right? Lex sent.
Their spider ally reached one of its legs up and touched a strand of webbing that led back up the tunnel. They are already coming, Akashiri sent.
Errat and Vonn pulled several crystal bottles from their bags. Each one resembled the phials Gryph used to amplify his new throwing knives, but these were much larger. Nodding to each other the warborn and the rogue tossed the bottles as far down the tunnel as they could. The tinkling of crystal hitting stone came to their ears and the entire Adventure Group took refuge away from the tunnel’s mouth.
Several seconds passed and then the cavern shook, and blue-black flames belched forth like fire from the maw of a dragon. Spiders screeched in pain and then the tunnel collapsed. The Adventure Party activated Boons and defensive spells. Errat cast Aether Shield, and the group formed up in a defensive half-circle behind it. A moment later the queen screeched, and her children rushed forward, skittering across walls and the ceiling.
Any last-minute advice Your Majesty? Lex sent to Akashiri, eyeing the queen’s massive guardian warily.
Do not let them bite you. The Phage infects them. If it gets into your system, it will consume everything you are and let her control your body like a puppet hanging from strands of silk.
This day get could not get any worse, Lex muttered through the link.
As if mocking the NPC, a howl of pain exploded from Ovrym, drawing all eyes to the xydai. He tore the bracer from his left forearm, and all watched as the magma colored energy of his dormant chaos infection became active. Malignant tendrils, like gnarled vines, tore through his skin and twined around his wrist and up towards his elbow.
The Phage, Akashiri sent, her tone filled with dread.
13
Ovrym’s howl tore at Gryph’s sanity. He had heard the sounds of pain and terror a thousand times in his life, but he had never heard anguish like this. The adjudicator’s yellow eyes snapped up, tears pouring from them. “Take the arm,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Wha … wha… what…?” Lex sputtered, his eyes wide.
Before Lex sputtered further, Vonn pushed him aside and with a flash of steel brought his blade arcing down. The strike was true, and Vonn’s blade sliced through flesh and bone bare millimeters below the xydai’s elbow. Ovrym screamed as the infected arm dropped to the ground and fell to his knees. The crystal arachnid carrying the unhatched queen rushed to the adjudicator and spun a layer of webbing around the xydai’s stump.
Our webbing has healing properties, the queen sent. I am sorry that it will not help with the pain.
“Pain, I can handle,” Ovrym said through gritted teeth as he got back to his feet with Gryph’s aid. Sweat beaded on his brow but he nodded to Gryph and drew his Bleed Metal Saber with his right hand.
The first wave of spiders slammed into Errat’s Aether Shield and the world went dim. Gryph looked up. Above and in front of them a swarm of twining limbs and bloated bodies smothered the shield. He stabbed upwards with his spear. The sound of the point puncturing through the underside of the spider’s head reminded Gryph of lobster festivals he’d attended as a kid. The spider squirmed, but Gryph wasn’t done.
Yrriel’s Maelstrom triggered and a torrent of jagged electrical bolts surged through the arachnid’s head. The red mass that was the beast’s brain boiled causing the crystalline chitin to explode outward. The bolts, unhindered by brains or body, arced out striking every spider in physical contact with the one he’d skewered. The force of the lightning strikes pushed a half dozen more spiders off the shield, letting a bit more light into the interior.
Gryph took a quick survey of his team. Ovrym looked pale and pained but stabbed through the front of the Aether Shield with his sword. He twisted his wrist and a sickening crunch snapped through the room and the spider fell to the ground. The xydai is one tough son of a bitch, Gryph thought.
Vonn sent flurries of Order Bolts lashing through the shield. Each one doing significant damage because of the chaos spider’s weakness to the white energy. The rogue’s sharp tongue seemed to be the least of his potent weapons.
Errat grunted as the strain of holding the shield hit him, but he pushed through the pain, refusing to let his own discomfort endanger his fellows. The warborn’s selfless bravery humbled Gryph. Despite having been built in a lab, Errat was a better man than most he’d known back on Earth.
We will aid him Lord Stone, Akashiri sent and the crystal arachnid placed a leg onto the warborn’s leg and began to feed mana into him, bolstering the strength of the shield, and easing Errat’s burden slightly.
“Stay strong big gu
y,” Gryph said and fired a Flying Stalactite into the ichor slathered maw of one spider who’d had the bad grace of slamming itself onto the shield above Gryph’s head. The missile knocked the creature from the top of the shield but did not kill it. Its legs moved wildly in an attempt to dislodge the shard of stone, earning hisses from its infected brethren.
He felt Lex back up against him and he glanced down at his friend. “You good?”
“Spiders, man. This is like my worst nightmare,” Lex said, shivering. He thrust forward through the porous side of the shield with his Spirit enhanced hammer. The maul smashed into the nearest spider’s underbelly. For a moment nothing happened, but then the force of the blow pushed through the spider’s insides and a jet of ichor exploded from the creature’s back.
Before he could comment on his friend’s arachnophobia, an odd motion caught Gryph’s eye. Ovrym’s severed forearm writhed and started to blister. Thorny barbs and coils of twining growth burst through the skin of the severed arm and then the fingers started to pull the infected limb towards Lex. Gryph’s mouth opened in shock and horror, but he warned Lex. “To your left.” Lex looked down and saw the severed forearm advancing on him.
“What in the…?” Lex roared and stumbled, falling backwards onto his ass. The amputated arm skittered faster as Lex scrambled back like a scuttling crab. He only got a few feet before his back smacked into a wall.
Gryph slashed at the hand with his spear, but it rolled aside. The arm advanced on Lex, who brought his hammer over his head. The clumsy motion dislodged an ancient animal skeleton from the webbing above his head. The upper jaw of a long dead wolf fell onto Lex’s shoulder, startling him even more and dislodging the hammer from his left hand.
