by Sam Ferguson
“And before you get all orcishly uppity with me, I’d like to say once again: no magic involved. Well, at least I don’t think so. I mean, I assume the demon teeth just simply ache to be with other demons, but since I don’t exactly have tea and biscuits with the void on a regular basis, I’m not quite sure of how ‘void essence’ works. Maybe a little bit of void magic to combat void warriors isn’t so bad? Meh. Probably nothing to worry about, my orcish friend.” She patted him reassuringly on the shoulder and sauntered over to rest in her own curve of the taproot, ignoring the looks of awe and fear the Kuscans openly displayed on their faces.
Chapter 5
As Torgath and the Kuscans packed their bags with the items Teolang had laid out for them, he couldn’t help but pause every few moments to stretch with the new armor which covered his body, and examine how it looked from various angles. It all but covered his green skin from his neck to his ankles, and yet was comfortable and easy to move in. He’d never experienced anything like it. The looks of envy and distaste he was receiving from the Kuscans didn’t bother him so much as the idea of being slowed down by unproven fighters who clearly had a lacking sense of honor.
Though he had only known Teolang a short while, he did not doubt her when she promised they would each die an agonizing death if they broke the terms of the contract she had imposed upon them. They were to remain with him until the marks faded from their arms – which she assured them would happen as soon as Tui and Kiuwa had learned how to follow the path of honor. While he did not doubt he could instruct in the proper ways of orcish honor, he very much doubted these two had the capacity to learn.
Perhaps a dangerous battle would rid him of his wards sooner than Terramyr’s all-seeing eye? He would have to find one for them at the first opportunity.
“All right gentlemen,” Teolang broke the uneasy silence between the three companions, “I believe you have each been properly instructed as to the terms of your contract, and the purpose laid out before you for the foreseeable future, yes?”
They each nodded half-heartedly.
“Excellent, then allow me to give you one last bit of advice before I send you to your first demon lair,”
“Wait, our first lair? Right now? Are you serious?” Tui protested, but she rode right over the top of his words.
“Keep your wits about you, learn to rely on each other’s strengths, and behave.” With that she snapped her fingers and an enormous flower pod unfurled itself and enveloped Tui in one sweeping motion. Torgath and Kiuwa cried out and reached for their weapons. Torgath had only just brushed the tips of his fingers against the handle of his dragon bone sword when he was swept up by enormous, moist, putrid petals which compressed him uncomfortably and inverted him before sucking him into an oozing, whooshing plant vein.
Wishing he hadn’t expelled precious air crying out before being eaten alive by what he assumed was the flendle plant Teolang had referred to before, he tried to focus on keeping what air he had in his lungs. He had a vague sense of being moved through the fibrous and wet innards, but couldn’t think past the sense of discomfort and panic at being completely encased inside a massive plant.
A minute later, he found himself slopped onto a hard stone floor. Tui and Kiuwa were discharged from nearby root ends moments later. He gasped for air, and desperately wiped at his face to remove the thick, sticky goo that covered it. It had a mint-like scent, and was drying quickly. He discovered that as it dried, it became easier to remove, peeling off in long strips that left both his skin and his armor smooth and dry. The two Kuscans were also busy peeling the quick-drying root sap from their hair, skin, clothes, and gear, making noises ranging from frustration to disgust.
“What now, oh great Daevek?” Kiuwa asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He removed a long strip of sap from his boot, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it at Tui, who looked up in surprise and began to quickly make sap balls of his own to pelt his brother with. The game of sap ball continued for several minutes as Torgath finished removing the last of the sap from himself and surveyed the cavern in which they now found themselves. It appeared to be a storage room, and was filled with dusty crates and barrels of all sizes and shapes.
Torgath ignored the two brothers as he opened a few lids and found little of interest and even less that would let him know where they were. He continued moving through the storage containers until he found himself in a narrow corridor of smooth stone. He glanced back at the Kuscans for only a moment before deciding to move on without attempting to get their attention.
A few yards into the corridor he heard one of the brothers say, “Hey! The Great Daevek has left us! What a slime! Where did he go?”
“Well, look around. He’s big, green, and dressed as a Kuscan Demon. How could we miss him?” the other answered in annoyance.
“Hey, there’s a tunnel over here, let’s go!”
The sound of footsteps grew louder as the two closed the distance to him in a matter of seconds. Torgath rolled his eyes and half grunted, half sighed when they reached him. They were so loud, so undisciplined. If they didn’t get themselves killed in the first battle they entered, they may very well get him killed.
“Hey, Great Daevek, why’d you just leave us behind? Don’t you remember, we’re your sworn blades now?” Tui was clearly looking for a reaction. The disdain with which he spoke the words ‘Great Daevek’ positively coated every syllable.
“Teolang told you to behave. Whether to behave as you were or to behave as me is your choice. I will not dictate to you what your behavior, or the behavior of any other man should look like. Follow or don’t follow.”
“Huh,” Tui, it seemed, wasn’t sure how to respond.
They followed the winding corridor for nearly half a mile before reached its end. The ceiling sloped away and up, but the sides of the corridor remained at their shoulders’ height as it dipped down into an enormous chamber which appeared to have been excavated by hand. It was difficult to immediately gauge the full height of the chamber, as a sulfuric smelling smoke was drifting across the upper portions of the space, spewing from holes in the rocky walls every fifty feet or so. The channel weaved its way across the floor of the chamber and intersected with a confusing jumble of pathways, some as deep and some more shallow than the one the three companions stood in.
From their vantage point they could see a host of strange, gnome-like creatures with sallow skin and white cloths tied across their eyes marching up and down the maze of channels, each carrying bundles of various sorts.
“Would you look at that!?” Kiuwa slapped Torgath and Tui on their upper arms and stood silently gazing up at the ceiling of the cavern.
Torgath turned his eyes up and at first could not tell what the Kuscan was so in awe of. Roughly visible through the drifting smoke, the tall, ribbed vault of the cavern’s ceiling was not so unusual for a community’s main place of government, though, he considered, it was possible a small-time pirate may never have been inside of a properly constructed council dome, palace or temple. After a moment longer however, it dawned on him. He was not looking at support beams, or even decorative vaulting. He was looking at the legs of a truly enormous arachnid, nearly the exact color of the gray stone the cavern had been hewn from.
Now that he was aware of what demon inhabited this lair, he scanned the smoky air more carefully, and could now make out where the threads of the demon’s web were strung chaotically across the upper half of the chamber. He may not have seen them but for his orcish dark vision. The threads were nearly transparent, and the foul smelling smoke concealed them most effectively.
He closed his eyes to call up the visions Teolang had burned into him. In his mind’s eye he could see the countryside which surrounded the entrance to this lair, and the location of the demon’s seat of power. In order to truly destroy a demon, one had to do three things. First, slay the body, second capture the spirit so the phantom can’t become a wraith or other malignant ghost, third, destroy the demon’s seat of
power; an artifact or relic wherein the demon concentrated his or her own essence.
The seat of power for this demon was at the top of this chamber, directly under the inverted spider’s belly. Just as important, if perhaps not more so, Torgath recalled part of the vision that showed him fighting the spider. His lips curled into a smile as he realized that Teolang had not only helped them travel faster, but had given them the weapon they needed.
“Come with me,” Torgath told the Kuscans.
The brothers glanced to each other and then looked back toward the spider.
Torgath, unaccustomed to being questioned, turned an angry stare at them and put the mask of the Daevek over his face. “Think of it this way, if we follow my plan and I fail, then you will have the armor back.”
Kiuwa nodded and then quietly backhanded Tui. “We’d be free of these marks too, I bet,” he said. Tui grinned and the Kuscans followed Torgath back out the cave.
“What’s the plan, oh powerful and wise Daevek?” Tui said once they were outside.
Torgath rushed to the plants that had deposited them onto the ground and hacked into one with his sword. The fibrous tube fell apart and gushed its sap. “Roll around in the sap,” Torgath said.
Kiuwa stopped and frowned. “What will that do?”
“You should treat that armor with respect!” Tui warned.
Torgath paid them no mind and jumped into the oozing puddle of goop. Once he was fully covered, he stood and walked away, allowing the sap to mostly dry before bending his elbows, knees, and other joints. When it was fully dry, he held his hand out to Tui. “Don’t peel from the edges, but try and grip my wrist.”
Tui laughed and seized the orc with both hands.
“Have a good hold?” Torgath asked.
Tui nodded. “Shall I throw you over my shoulder now?”
Torgath smiled behind the mask and gave a nod. “You can try.”
Tui turned and heaved, but Torgath’s hand slipped from Tui’s without the orc so much as flinching. The large Kuscan fell to the ground and barely managed to put his hands out before slamming his face on the grass.
“You son of a finless shark!” Tui cursed as he jumped up.
Torgath put out his hands. “It will protect us from the spider-demon’s silk.”
Tui stopped and looked to Kiuwa.
“Let me see,” Kiuwa said as he came close and stroked a finger along the dried sap. A mischievous grin crossed his face and the large man gave a chuckle. “I believe he might be right.”
“Wait until the sap is nearly dry, then work your joints so they will remain flexible. If you stand fully still until it’s all the way dry the joints will be brittle,” Torgath instructed.
The two Kuscans moved to the mess of goop and jumped into it like pigs in slop. They rolled around, getting a good thick coat on their bodies before the stood up and cleared their faces.
Torgath surveyed their work and gave a nod as they waited for their protective suits to harden.
The three then walked back into the cave.
Torgath couldn’t help but notice that the minty fragrance in the sap protected his senses from the putrid smoke in the cave. It was a pleasant bonus to the fact that the sap would act as a web repellent.
When they entered the main chamber once more the gnome creatures were acting differently. They were standing about, their noses stuck in the air sniffing loudly. Torgath motioned to a large trio of stalagmites. Tui and Kiuwa instantly understood and moved to hide behind the rocks. They drew their swords and waited. Tui watched around the side of the stalagmites while Kiuwa kept his eyes on Torgath.
The orc took a deep breath and moved toward a singular web attached near the bottom of the chamber wall. He knew the vibration would wake the spider-demon, but figured better to test his sap-suit theory now while they could still regroup in the smaller tunnel if necessary. He reached out and slid the back of his hand over the thick, cable-like web. His moved as smoothly as if gliding over a patch of moss after a heavy rain. The web didn’t vibrate visibly either.
“Gashnack!” one of the gnome creatures called out suddenly.
Torgath drew his sword and watched the sallow figure intently.
Each of the creatures removed their blindfolds, but Torgath was surprised to see they had no eyes. Instead of eyes on either side of their pointy noses they had folds of skin that opened and closed slowly with each breath.
What manner of creature is this?
One of them turned to face Torgath and screeched so terribly that Torgath physically recoiled and shuddered at the sound.
The room came alive in that moment. The little bipedal gnome-like demons leapt from the middle of the great chamber to land within feet of Torgath. The orc moved in, his sword easily cutting through the small bodies two and three at a time. More leapt toward him, but Tui and Kiuwa emerged from behind the stalagmites and intercepted the horrid creatures with a fury that would have rivaled any orc’s. Tui hacked three of the creatures in half, booted another in the face so hard that its neck snapped before the body flew backward in the chamber. Kiuwa was equally as deadly, spinning through the flurry of small arms raking at him with jagged obsidian daggers and blades they tied to their arms.
The three of them worked through over a score of the creatures before the spider-demon above began to stir.
A high-pitched squeak echoed through the chamber followed by a series of clicks. The demon dropped from the ceiling, turning upright nimbly and landing upon its legs as gracefully as a smaller jumping spider might. Its many eyes glowed red as they scanned the room. It looked down and bit one of the gnome-like demons in half, working the flesh into its mouth and quickly crunching the thing down.
The other gnome-like demons squealed and began to panic, flailing their arms about as they scurried for small holes in the chamber walls. A few of the gnome-things stopped long enough to pick up their fallen comrades, but to Torgath’s disgust they began to gnaw on the fallen, eating their own kind as they retreated from the spider-demon.
“Don’t see that every day,” Tui announced.
The spider-demon reached in with one of its legs, but Kiuwa dodged to the side and came back at the thing with a chop heavy enough to sever the arachnid’s leg.
Torgath smiled. The Kuscans may have been mouthy, but they had more skill and courage of heart than he had thought. Foolish though, for he knew the demon wouldn’t be wounded for long.
The spider-demon recoiled and its leg grew back within seconds. It hissed and then shifted around to the side, firing a heavy web at Kiuwa. The big man was struck with the web before he could move, but the sap-suit was too slick for the web, and the spider silk slipped up and over the man’s bulk. When the spider demon spun abruptly the other way, it pulled back an empty web, which made the spider so angry that it hissed and thumped the ground with its legs after biting at the empty web’s end.
“Move!” Torgath shouted.
The spider-demon leapt up and fired several blasts of web to cover the cave entrance, then it began excreting web in all directions. The spider dropped and then swiped at Torgath with a leg. The orc ducked under and slashed his dragon blade, catching the first third of the spider’s leg and severing it easily. The spider hissed and shot a single strand of web to the ceiling, pulling itself up with lightning speed.
“It didn’t grow back!” Tui shouted.
“Keep it busy, I’ll try to get behind it,” Torgath shouted.
Whatever reticence the Kuscans had to following Torgath’s command was gone now. Kiuwa and Tui came out from the rocks, each armed with a crossbow. They fired over and over, pelting the beast with sharp bolts and forcing it from the ceiling to deal with them. A couple of the shots took out several eyes, angering the demon and driving it into a frenzy.
Torgath slipped over and around the web strands easily with his sap-suit, brushing along some strands that would have surely snagged him without the protective substance. The spider lunged at the Kuscans, and they re
sponded with such brutal force that even despite the demon’s healing abilities they drove the spider back from them.
Bits of leg fell all along the cavern as the spider hissed and chomped at the Kuscans, but they were nimble and quick, deftly escaping the large spider’s attacks as Torgath rushed into position from behind.
The spider leapt back suddenly, its abdomen and large stinger just barely missing Torgath as the orc hunkered low to the ground.
Here was his chance. He pointed the sword up and thrusted it deep into the abdomen. Green blood showered from the opening as Torgath ran toward the far wall, dragging his sword through the spider with each step he took.
The spider shrieked and gasped, then it collapsed on the ground. The legs pumped several times trying to raise the spider’s body, but to no avail.
The spider-demon hissed and began spitting its venom at the Kuscans.
“Take cover!” Torgath shouted. “I’ll do the rest.”
The spider turned and then a flash of light filled the cavern, blinding Torgath for a moment. When he regained his senses, the spider-demon was gone, replaced instead by a shapely woman with long, silky hair. Her stomach was cut diagonally from hip to ribcage. She held out a hand and pleaded with her eyes.
“Help me,” she asked Torgath. “Please. You have to save me.”
Had Torgath not known what demons were capable of, he might have fallen for the treachery. Instead, he played the fool in order to finish the assault. He lowered his sword and stepped closer, knowing at any moment she might retake the spider shape and try to feast on him in an effort to regain strength.
“Please,” she said.
Tui started to walk toward her, but Kiuwa grabbed his arm and jerked him back behind a rock. Torgath came within ten feet, watching the woman’s every move.
“Take my hand,” she said. “Help me up. The curse is broken now.”
Torgath knew she was lying. She was waiting only for him to come within biting range. The orc lunged in, the point of his sword aimed for the woman’s heart. Another flash of light erupted, but this one was cut short as the dragon blade plunged deeply into the woman’s chest. Her abdomen and legs had regained the form of a large spider, but the transformation had not been complete. Her shoulders, neck and head remained human, her eyes wide with terror and pain, her jaw working up and down, revealing curved fangs dripping with venom. She tried to bend toward Torgath, but the orc kicked the woman-spider back, yanking his sword free in the process.
