They took to the trail once again after a short break for rations. As they ventured down its winding path, the forest seemed to deepen in stillness, the canopy above growing thicker as if it were twilight.
One glance up and they realized why. The trees above were starting to fill with large spider webs that glistened as they caught the sunlight. They all shuddered a little but continued onward, noticing that the trail was slowly declining down the side of a hill. As it bottomed out to flat land once again, huge webs covered nearly everything before them, so thick that they even formed tunnel like shapes over the trail. Cautiously, they ventured into the heart of the cove. It wasn’t long before the trail began to split in many different directions, which gave them pause.
“Well, I suppose we should have a look around. This is clearly Spider’s Cove.” The others nodded but did not yet move forward. She sighed angrily. They were all cowards and she would not let their over-cautious nature stop her. Angling to her right, she took a hand ax and cut through some of the webbing to search in the underbrush beyond the trail. She heard the others start to move and figured they would follow her. It was only when their footfalls began to fade that she straightened back up and looked around. She was just in time to glimpse the large round form of a bear that she knew was the halfling disappearing down another trail with the others. Cursing under her breath, she turned and stepped back through the hole she had made in the web, angrily consoling herself that it would not be her fault this time if she got separated from them.
Just as she stepped back onto the trail, a thick rope-like web dropped around her shoulders and tightened instantly, pinning her arms to her sides, and making her cry out with shock and pain that flared from her shoulder wound. The ground shook some from just behind her as a giant spider dug its way out of the ground it was hiding it. It quickly grabbed her with a few of its legs, fangs clicking hungrily as it spun its thick web around her, soon encasing her in a thick cocoon. She struggled helplessly and the spider tried to sink its poisonous fangs into her. With an angry hiss she felt the handle of her hand ax jerk as it bit the blade. “Serves you right!” she snarled, yelling with a mix of fear and rage as she continued to struggle against the tightening bonds.
The rest of the group heard her muffled yells from down the trail. “What has she done now! Lucerin spat and they all turned and ran back the way they had come. Two more spiders had appeared with the first by the time they came upon her squirming, mummified form. Sensing the threat, the first spider who was preparing her for its meal, dropped her and scuttled back, preparing to fight. She thudded to the ground, continuing to struggle.
She could barely see through the web encasing her, only hearing the roar of Gelwyn the bear as it engaged one of the spiders. In the next moment the air around her lit up as Lucerin shot bolts of lighting from each handing, landing squarely in the spiders eyes as it surged through the sockets and out the back of its head. It dropped dead instantly. A spraying sound came from behind her the animated skeleton breathed acid on another spider. And all the while she jerked and writhed to break free. With a howl of rage she finally broke the bonds as the webbing dropped around her. She leapt up and swung her great ax at the nearest spider furiously, barely missing its legs as it scurried back. Seeing that this was no longer going to be an easy meal, they suddenly turned and scurried up into their webs, quickly hurrying out of site.
The Whitney Scott 