Arachnophobia [Open]

[Arden]

In a dark wood, South of Nu Jeruxalim.

4 : 21

Sweat soaked his clothing. He could barely see. “Bags! Stay ahead of me Penelope!” The horses had fallen quickly in their struggle against the spiders’ webs and deadly poison. He had been bitten twice now. His blood burned.

She was in a panic. The spiders were driving them forward. Holy magic scorched the ground, casting eerie shadows and killing countless spiders. Her efforts seemed to be for naught. Each spider she killed was replaced by two more. “Help!” A nearly invisible wall of silk entrapped her as she collided with it. Some of the strands were as thick as a thumb. She knew the spider’s silk was as strong as steel.

Dragan turned to face the horde of red eyes that approached them, cutting and hacking at anything that got too close. He was tired. His breath came in ragged gasps. “Come get some you little fuckers.” These spiders were as big as large wolves. There was nothing little about them.

[sunbreaker_]

Indeed, it is their size, along with their number, that makes their nature moderately difficult to discern—that is, rather than knowing in an instant if these creatures are a natural blight upon unwitting travelers or if they are the result of tampering, he must spend a short time considering them.

Though it is not his right to interfere with the course of nature, it is his right to do away with any external force manipulating it. Soon, he will know how to proceed.

[Arden]

Darkness came on, armed with a thousand red eyes. This was a time for heroes! They had within them the potential to be great heroes but this was not their time to shine. Without assistance these gems would never sparkle, crushed under times heel, and escorted coldly into his sands. She struggled to act, divine power surging through her. “Omnipotent power, creator of all things, forged by the gods from eternal chaos, throw off these false garments and reveal thy true forms!”

The spiders retreated, trying to shield their eyes from the light. He turned and sent his blade screaming at the silk that entrapped her. “Run Penelope!“ Silk cords snapped, cutting and slicing flesh in their path as their tension was released. A spider jumped upon him, knocking him prone and pinning him. He rolled, narrowly avoiding its fangs and thrusting a dagger into its thorax. Vile green blood coated his arm as the spider collapsed on top of him. He was quickly charged from all directions.

She held her ground, elven blood fell upon cold dead leaves. “Creators of all things, become a shield to protect us!” Radiant golden light flared from her, pushing back the darkness and the spiders. She shone brightly but with each passing second her radiance dimmed. She helped the warrior up to a sitting position, supporting him with her thighs and her chest, kneeling behind him. She whispered in his ear. “It was an honor Dragan.”

“Aye.“ He reached for his sword.

[sunbreaker_]

It becomes evident that these creatures are not acting of their own volition. At that moment of clarity is when he acts.

A circular area just below the travelers suddenly becomes the crown of a rising pillar of earth, one which makes no effort to push them from it. The space allotted them is wide enough for adjusting their positions, but it would not allow for much movement of any other sort. Within three seconds, they have reached a height of ten meters; a look below would show the column to be thicker at its base, with forest undergrowth beginning to ascend it.

With the travelers safe from ground-based harm, he begins to rise from the ground. Though his presence is as natural as the trees themselves, blood flows within him as it does any other beast. The spiders are not unlikely to attack him.