Forging Destiny

by Marc Alan Edelheit

  As they continued forward, there were more desiccated bodies, and the webbing underfoot seemed to become thicker and possibly older, for it did not cling to his boots.

  Then the base of the webbed shaft came into view. It opened up at floor level, and the entrance leading into it was easily several feet taller than Tovak. With Greku at his side, and his heart hammering in his chest, he kept moving inexorably forward.

  He glanced over at Greku. It seemed so extraordinary, outlandish even, that he should find himself in a krow lair with a Vass at his side and in the company of a gnome too. Heck, this entire day had not gone the way he had thought, not one bit.

  Shaking his head slightly in disbelief, he returned his attention to the matter at hand and focused his mind, looking and listening for even the faintest movement or sound. They continued forward. A deep alcove that had been cut into the back of the chamber came into view.

  Numerous cocooned and desiccated bodies filled the area on either side. They had been stacked up in piles, several of which were taller than Tovak and even Greku. Many of the bodies were embedded into the webbing of the floor, or stuck to the walls. One of the bodies, somewhat visible through the web shroud, an orc, looked as if it had been sucked dry of all its insides and now was a shriveled mockery of its former self. It was possibly the most gruesome thing Tovak had ever seen.

  The sight of it all sent a chill through him, but that wasn’t what almost stopped his heart. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips and he blinked in startlement. Folded up at the back of the alcove was the largest spider Tovak had ever seen. Curved, foot-long fangs glistened under the light of his magical torch. What served as its head was as large as Tovak’s torso, and its black, furry thorax was at least eight feet across. Its abdomen was lost in shadow behind a cluster of folded legs.

  Tovak’s breath caught in his throat and he dared not breathe, for the spider seemed to be resting, possibly even sleeping. The monstrosity twitched slightly. Like a great lumbering monster, the krow shifted its body, turning ever so slightly so that its head faced him squarely. Black, soulless eyes, each the size of an orc’s fist, glittered from within the shadows. Tovak felt a deep knife of terror stab at his heart. The monster was most definitely not asleep. Its full attention was now wholly focused upon him.

  Tovak took a step back. The creature shifted again within the alcove, and he could just make out the massive stalks of its legs, flexing against its body. Each one was thicker than his own leg.

  Tovak’s heart, already hammering in his chest, began pounding harder, if that was possible. Despite the chill of the underground, he felt sweat break out on his brow. All he wanted to do was run, only he knew he could not. He must face and kill this terrible nightmare. It was either that or die trying, for that’s what he had come here to do.

  The krow shuddered once, issuing forth a rasping hiss, and then began shifting its legs inside the alcove. Tovak took another step backward, as did Greku at his side.

  “Are you going to eat this one too?” Greku asked.

  Tovak glanced over at the Vass and realized that it was a poor attempt at humor.

  “Let’s just make sure it doesn’t eat us first,” Tovak replied, returning his gaze to the monster.

  “From your lips to our gods’ holy ears,” Greku said fervently. “May it be so.”

  Making an almost angry, guttural hissing sound as its legs unfolded, the creature stood. The legs extended almost a dozen feet around its black body. Underneath where it had been lying, Tovak saw thick webbed orbs that he suspected were eggs.

  The spider hissed at them again.

  Greku growled in reply. The sound of it raised the hair on the back of Tovak’s neck and caused him to jump slightly. As he did, he almost dropped the torch and, for a moment, plunged them into near darkness. He gripped the torch tighter and the light brightened. The spider seemed to flinch back at the flaring of brilliance. The hesitation lasted but a moment. Then, it began advancing towards them, its legs rising and falling in a maddening order that was almost frighteningly hypnotic.

  “I wonder.” Tovak glanced at the torch in his hand and recalled the smaller spiders in the catacombs flinching away from its light. He waved it before him, as if it were a burning brand. The krow stopped, hesitating again. It hissed at him. He backed up another step, and as he did, he glanced over at Greku and almost dropped the torch again. The Vass was nowhere to be seen. He quickly looked around.

  Greku was gone.

  Hard realization struck home. Tovak had been left to face the spider alone. He felt a stab of bitter anger at having been tricked and then abandoned so callously.

  The spider issued another terrible hiss that drew his attention back to it. The creature’s entire focus seemed to be on him. It resumed its advance. Tovak waved the magical torch wildly in the air before him. Again, the spider hesitated for a heartbeat, then continued forward, slowly and deliberately. Tovak began backing up faster and raised his blade in a defensive stance.

  To Tovak’s left was the web-covered wall of the tomb. As he backed up, the spider followed, coming closer and closer. He moved nearer the crypt. As the creature neared, it seemed to tower over him. The spider stood almost fifteen feet tall and Tovak wondered how he could possibly fight such a monstrosity. Who single-handedly could?

  Its razor-sharp jaws clicked as they snapped together. The spider continued to move forward, almost hungrily, as if anticipating the meal to come. Tovak could imagine it wanting to feed upon his web-wrapped body until he was nothing other than one more desiccated corpse in this forgotten tomb.

  “That will not happen to me, you bastard,” Tovak shouted at it.

  The shout seemed to be what burst the dam. The spider surged towards him with shocking speed. Tovak took several rapid steps back and swung his sword out before him. His blade connected with a leg, halfway up to the joint, and with a THUK cleaved neatly through.

  The krow hissed in surprise and what was clearly pain. It drew the injured limb back, rearing on its hind legs as it raised the front part of its body off the ground.

  “How did you like that?” Tovak shouted at it. “Not used to your food fighting back?”

  The krow uttered another terrifying hiss and then surged forward again. Dodging to the right, Tovak ducked, just as it jabbed its fangs at where his head had been moments before. He thrust upward with the volzjain, aiming for the krow’s fangs, hoping to cut them off or damage them. As he was off balance from dodging, the effort was poorly done. He missed and felt the blade bite into its armored shell, but only with a glancing scrape along the spider’s underside.

  The creature took several steps back, as if startled, eyed him for a long moment, and then lunged forward. It happened so quickly, there was no dodging. Tovak could not believe that something so large could move so fast. It jabbed its fangs into his chest. There was a hard clacking sound that echoed around the chamber. The spider jerked back, hissing angrily and flexing its fangs.

  Tovak glanced down and, to his astonishment, saw that his armor had held. There was not even a scratch or dent upon it, but a splash of some liquid, which he took to be venom. Though his armor had protected him, the blow had hurt. It felt like he had been punched powerfully in the chest. It had almost been enough to steal the wind from him.

  The spider attacked again. Tovak managed to jump out of the way by throwing himself to the left. He hit the ground and rolled. Tovak came up to his feet and found himself before the front of the crypt. The spider had clearly lost sight of him. It was turning in a circle, searching. Then it saw him. Tovak turned and sprinted for all he was worth, dodging around the far side of the crypt. He half expected the spider to follow, but it didn’t.

  He continued along the side of the crypt, moving towards the back of the structure, where the alcove was located. Turning the next corner, he put his back against the wall of the crypt. Heart hammering and breathing heavily, he froze, trying to hatch out some sort of a plan against the creature.

&n
bsp; The chamber had gone silent. Then he heard it, the krow’s footfalls, echoing off the cavern’s walls. They sounded as if it was now following him around the building. He looked back around the corner of the crypt, the way he’d come.

  Nothing.

  The spider was not there. Where was it?

  He cursed Greku for abandoning him as he looked to his right and strained, listening for the monster. The footfalls had stopped. The cavern was once again silent, except for his pounding heart and ragged breathing, which he was doing his best to suppress.

  Where was it?

  As if in answer, a droplet, or really a gob, of liquid passed in front of him and spattered onto the floor at his feet. Tovak cursed himself. He should have dropped the torch. Of course it would know where he was, based on the light. Another gob of liquid passed by his face to the floor.

  He looked up and saw the spider atop the crypt, hovering over him and poised to attack. Blood or something like dripped from the severed limb. Tovak felt a terrible dread steal over him as he looked into its black and uncaring eyes. Then the spider jumped and Tovak threw himself once again to the side. He landed painfully on his left arm, which already was hurting. There was a heavy thud from where he’d been standing. He rolled and lost the torch. The chamber was plunged into dimness, the only light source now high above.

  The spider did not hesitate and did not seem to be affected by the lack of light. It spun and came on, striking out at him. Tovak rolled to the side. Less than a heartbeat later, fangs punched down into the ground next to him. One attack after the other, flashing almost faster than Tovak could see or react. More than once, the fangs hammered into his plate armor. Tovak realized he was still holding his sword. Gripping it with both hands, he blocked the next attack, knocking the fangs away, then dodged the attack after that.

  A leg hammered down to his immediate left. Tovak swung hard, as hard as he could. There was a crunch as his blade carved through the leg. The spider screamed. Then he was hit by something large in the chest and tossed into the air, like a child’s toy. He slammed down on the ground. The spider was on him before he could react. A leg hammered down and clipped the side of his helmet. The blow hurt and a flash of light filled his vision. He felt the warmth of his own blood sliding down his temple from under his helmet.

  Ignoring the pain, almost impossibly, he still held his sword. He scrambled to the right and, desperate almost beyond reason, stabbed up at the creature, which seemed to be standing almost completely over him. The sword hit the creature’s carapace but did not penetrate it. The carapace seemed hard as forged steel and Tovak felt the impact communicated through the blade. The spider hissed at him in reply. He punched the sword up again, this time harder, with more strength behind the strike. There was a crack and the sword punctured the carapace just a little. Tovak almost shouted out in triumph, but the krow beat him to it, screeching in what sounded like a mix of rage and pain. It backed up and away from him. Tovak scrambled to his feet and held his sword out before him, point towards the massive creature.

  “Come on!” he shouted at it. “There’s more where that came from. Come on.”

  Hissing, the spider moved to attack again. As it did, there was a shout from above. As if materializing out of thin air, Greku jumped from the roof of the crypt. He had a large sword in his hand. Landing atop the spider’s back, he drove it into the creature, stabbing deeply. The spider screamed again and spun around, as if trying to reach its tormentor. Only Greku, holding on tightly to his sword hilt, was firmly latched onto its back. The creature began to buck in an attempt to throw the Vass off.

  Tovak saw his chance.

  He charged forward and swung mightily at the nearest leg, about halfway up its full length. The blade sliced through, showering him with a spray of dark liquid. The krow screeched again, but he ignored it and stepped forward, swinging with all his might at another leg. He severed that one closer to the body. A gout of thick liquid coated him. He could taste it in his mouth and found it quite foul.

  Still bucking wildly, the krow sidestepped and attempted to scramble awkwardly away, as if it now comprehended the danger it had placed itself in. Another slice and the spider, squealing, collapsed to the ground. Greku stood upon the spider’s back, pulled his sword out, and stabbed down deeply again and then again. Each time, the sound of his sword punching into the spider’s carapace cracked around the tomb in a sickening echo.

  The spider shivered as the sword went in a fourth time and tried to stand. Tovak stepped up and, putting all his effort into it, drove his sword right through the center of the krow’s thorax. The spider seemed to give a hiss of escaping breath, shuddered violently, and then fell still.

  Tovak pulled his blade out, took two steps back, and then fell to his knees. He was thoroughly spent. He wiped his face free of the sticky liquid that had sprayed across it. He wanted a drink to wash the foul taste of the spider out of his mouth but knew his waterskin was dry.

  He lay his sword down on the ground and then looked at his hands, which shook under the dim light from above. In fact, now that he realized it, his entire body was shaking, trembling uncontrollably. He could not believe he had once again beaten the odds and survived.

  Greku jumped off the back of the spider. He regarded it for a long moment, then turned to Tovak.

  “Well fought, paladin,” the Vass said. “Facing the krata was a difficult challenge. This”—he gestured at the krow with his sword—“was different, more impressive. Even amongst the Vass, not many would willingly face an adult krow like you did. That was bravely done, and I see now why Thulla has taken such an interest in you. This day you earned what I think your people call Legend.”

  “I thought you left me,” Tovak admitted.

  “Never,” Greku said and managed to sound offended. “We have entered into an arrangement and I mean to keep it. To do otherwise would dishonor me and my family. I would rather die than see that happen.” He pointed at his sword. “While you were distracting it, I snuck around behind the creature and retrieved my sword.”

  “Spider dead?” Hess asked, from their right. The gnome had come up to them and was eyeing the spider’s body with serious wariness.

  “Yes,” Greku said. “It’s done. No thanks to you.”

  “You no pay me to fight,” Hess said. “That cost more.”

  Greku grunted at that but still seemed far from impressed. “I don’t pay you at all.”

  With a groan, Tovak dragged himself to his feet and stood there, staring down at what was surely the greatest of all krow. He couldn’t believe he’d just helped to kill it. Nobody would ever believe him, not in a thousand years. They would think he was mad. He wiped his blade clean off the hem of his tunic and then slid the weapon back into his scabbard. Tovak glanced around and spotted the torch, lying where it had been dropped. He went over and picked it up. As his hand wrapped around the shaft, the torch flared to life, filling the chamber with its magical light.

  Turning back to the monster of a spider, he sent up a silent prayer, thanking Thulla for seeing him through this ordeal.

  “This was a good kill.” Greku threw his head back and gave a mighty roar. He shook his sword and pounded his chest with clear satisfaction.

  Tovak just watched. He was weary, spent, and wanted nothing more than to leave this cursed underground and return to the surface.

  “It was a very good kill,” Greku said.

  “You done?” Hess asked Greku, his squeaky voice filled with clear irritation. “Can you make louder noise? Or does the dumb kitty want to play with more spiders? This underground bad place.”

  Greku looked over at the gnome, clearly unhappy, but he said nothing. He seemed almost to deflate, and his hand returned to his injured side.

  Tovak glanced around. “I vote we go.”

  “I need my pack first,” Greku said and started for the front of the large crypt.

  “What is this place called?” Tovak asked, following after the Vass. “Do you know?”


  “You are in what was once the kingdom of Askamatu,” Greku said. “This tomb belongs to a past king, Hargana or something like that.”

  Tovak looked at the large crypt that towered over them as he followed the Vass around to the front. “You mean thane? We don’t have kings.”

  “I mean king. Askamatu once had kings, Dvergr kings.”

  “My people don’t believe in kings,” Tovak said.

  Greku moved to his pack that lay on the ground and knelt before it. The Vass looked back at him as Tovak came up.

  “They did.” Greku pointed at the crypt. “Your cousins moved on long ago.” Greku opened the pack and began sifting through the contents inside. After a moment, he gave a soft sigh and his shoulders seemed to sag with clear relief. He tied the pack back up.

  “Do you know where they went?” Tovak asked, glancing back towards the crypt.

  “Some think they went to the west, across the sea. I am not really sure.” Greku stood and hefted the pack onto his shoulders. He winced as he did it. Dark blood was freely running down his leg. The Vass followed Tovak’s gaze and looked down at the injury. “When we get to the surface, I will need to bandage it. I’d rather do it up there than down here, if you know what I mean.”

  Tovak did understand. They both wanted out.

  “Across the sea?” Tovak asked, thinking through his geography. He could not remember there being such a thing nearby.

  “There is a great ocean,” Greku said. “I have never crossed it myself, but others I know have. They say there are more of your people on the other side, a lot more.”

  Tovak felt his heart beat faster at that. His own people had come to this world centuries ago with the Horde pursuing them. They had thought themselves alone and on their own. Now, he knew they weren’t. Tovak fully realized this information might change everything, including the Great March. Perhaps, if they could find a way to cross this ocean, locate their cousins, they might even be able to push back against the Horde or at the very least combine strength to hold the enemy at bay. It was definitely something to pass along to the warchief.