To Chuck, the noise was sharp and grating, like sharp fingernails tapping insistently on the cave floor, every third or fourth tap morphed into a harsh slide. His heart pounded as he strained his eyes in the suffocating darkness, desperate yet failing to uncover the source of the unnerving sound.
Glyrgaph’s roots shot upward. “It’s crawling on the ceiling.” He shouted from above.
Chuck shuddered at the sight of the monstrous creature before him. It resembled an overgrown spider, its body a chaotic mix of red and black hues, with an unsettling overabundance of legs that skittered ominously beneath thick, segmented armor.
Under the glow of Brytha's light and the smattering of sunlight, the creature's mandibles gleamed as if freshly polished, their serrated edges glistening ominously. Those things could take an arm off in one bite. Above the sharp mandibles, two longer, whip-like appendages writhed with a life of their own. They lashed out with a sudden, fluid motion, aiming to ensnare Glyrgaph and drag him closer to its waiting jaws.
“Back out and get behind us, Glyrgraph. That thing will tear you apart.”
Glyrgaph paused and then flew back and hovered near the row of openings in the wall.
As the monster unfurled the initial section of its grotesque form from the ceiling, Chuck's eyes widened in horror, his breath catching at the nightmarish fusion of spider and centipede features. The creature's remaining two-thirds clung to the jagged rocks above, while the front portion contorted menacingly in Chuck and Brytha's direction. Suddenly, two streams of viscous liquid erupted from its body, hurtling toward them with alarming speed. Chuck's instincts screamed at him to move, and he dove desperately toward a nearby pile of leaves. Despite his efforts, the spray splattered across his back.
“Arrrrrr, that burns!” Chuck screamed, his voice echoing over the sharp sizzling sound of his searing skin. He staggered and fell through the leaves.
A sharp pain shot through him as he landed with a heavy thud in a shallow pit. “Spikes, ahhhh, lots of short spikes. Avoid the leaves,” he warned, teeth clenched against the overwhelming pain. “Gaarrr, it hurts.”
“I can’t get over there to help, yet. Not enough room for me to fly or maneuver.” Brytha answered.
This burns. There must have been something on the spikes and acid from that spideped thing. Chuck heard a gasp from Brytha. Need to get back up and help. He tried to push himself up, but his body refused to respond. With a growl of agony escaping his lips, he made another desperate attempt, but it was futile. He elongated his neck and forced his head to turn one hundred eighty degrees so he could see what was happening.
The spidepede's tentacles were twisting and stretching toward Brytha. Chuck guessed that was the case, though he couldn’t actually see her.
Glyrgaph spoke up from the other side of the cavern. “There is another of these things coming in on the ceiling behind us.”
Chuck shuddered from the pain and elongated his neck further, looking around, trying to spot the other one.
Brytha called out. “Going to try something, may want to shut your eyes.”
Chuck followed her instructions, then thinned out the eyelid—he couldn’t see great, but caught glimpses of wings spinning over the hole. A groan erupted from his throat as a wing brushed close to his face, causing him to flinch. Sharp pain shot through his body, leaving him momentarily breathless. As the throbbing subsided, he blinked his eyes open to a swirling cloud of dust and debris settling around him. As the dust settled, Chuck's gaze fixed on the first creature, a grotesque spidepede, its segmented body writhing from side to side, antennae twitching as it searched for a target.
Chuck grimaced and shot a short jet of flame at one of the sections clinging to the ceiling. The monster screeched and fell to the floor, its legs flailing as it tried to roll itself upright. Brytha’s sword made fast work of the spidepede before it regained its bearings. With three quick strokes, her blade had killed and beheaded the creature.
A high-pitched trill helped Chuck find the other. Glyrgaph had his roots cracking like whips at the monster, seemed like he hit it about half the time.
Chuck gritted his teeth and strained to lift himself off the spikes, but each effort sent waves of searing agony coursing through him, his body betraying his mind's commands. Giving that up, he elongated his neck some more so he could view the whole chamber. He saw Brytha turn toward the second creature, sword in front of her. With a surge of desperation, he unleashed another fire spell at the monstrous spideped. Its shriek reverberated through the chamber, yet it clung fiercely to the ceiling, its many eyes swiveling menacingly toward Chuck. It paused, reared backward, and spewed its corrosive spray toward Brytha and Chuck.
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Brytha snapped her right wing forward with a powerful thrust, sending a gust of wind barreling toward the creature, scattering the misty spray it had fired at them. She gasped. Chuck noticed black spots rapidly appearing on her wing and winced for her.
Fortunately, her wind blast deflected the majority of the attack from hitting her, and it entirely bypassed him.
The spideped dropped from the ceiling, twisting itself as it fell. Its front-end landed first. The moment its tail struck the floor, it rebounded with a snap, curling ominously over its back. The tail lashed out, hurling a barrage of barbs at Brytha and Glyrgaph, piercing them both. Three barbs embedded themselves into Brytha’s wing. At the same time, Chuck could only guess how many struck Glyrgaph, as he watched in horror as the grass quivered violently before collapsing toward the floor.
“Glyrgaph!!” Chuck called to his friend.
Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck saw Brytha throw something towards the monster. Its shriek drowned out Glyrgaph’s reply.
“Are you okay?” Chuck yelled at Glyrgaph.
Brytha charged the spideped.
“I hurt, but am okay,” Glyrgaph answered from across the chamber.
Brytha took a massive swing at the monster. It raised one of its armored legs to block her attack, the sword bit into the armor. The leg snapped backward, ripping the sword out of Brytha’s hand. She tucked and rolled to the side, avoiding one of the snake-like tentacles coming for her.
Chuck cast another jet of flame, which splashed against one of the segments. It didn’t seem to hurt the monster. It turned toward Chuck, shifting closer to him.
Finishing her roll, Brytha popped back up with two daggers in her hands. She leapt at the creature, driving both daggers in behind the uppermost pair of eyes.
The monster's screams pierced the air, a deafening cacophony that echoed through the chamber. Its bluish-purple blood erupted like a geyser, splattering everything in its path. Brytha let out a startled cry and sprang away, tumbling across the floor until she collided with the rough stone wall. Panting heavily, she sat up, desperately rubbing her hands against the ground and her tunic, trying to rid them of the stinging blue-purple liquid.
"It burns almost as bad as the spray," she gasped, her voice climbing to a higher pitch with the searing pain.
Chuck watched Glyrgaph float over to help.
The spideped thrashed along the floor, still screaming. The geyser of blood had stopped. The thrashing slowed, and the shrill screams fell silent.
“You okay, Brytha?” Chuck still couldn’t lift himself up.
“Glyrgaph did something that soothed the burning, but it damaged my hands. Don’t know if I can heal them or not. Looks like the threat is gone, at least.”
“Yeah, any idea what they were?”
“I can’t find anything in the archive for them, Chuck.” Answered Glyrgaph.
“Too new to the Structure?” Brytha paused for a second. “Or it can’t tell us because this is the first encounter, and we’re not allowed to know anything about them.”
Chuck replied. “Whatever the answer, I don’t want to meet anymore.”
“Agree completely.” Brytha nodded, then asked. “Are you getting any better?”
“Not hurting as long as I don’t move. May need some help getting out of this hole. Whatever was on those spikes is messing with my system.”
<< INTERACTION — Paralysis venom. Your body structure prevented paralysis and death. However, it reacted as a source of intense pain and interfered with movement, partial paralysis of a sort. >>
So you can talk to me in here?
<< INTERACTION — Limited and monitored. The Structure cannot provide you with personal responses to questions. Only inquiries regarding the environment, rules, and other subjects. Even then, it is limited. >>
No loopholes then?
<< INTERACTION — No.>>
I see, thanks for the information on condition. Any ideas on how to overcome?
Chuck sighed mentally. He’d guessed he’d get silence, but hoped he’d get an answer. He shared the new information with the others.
“Glyrgaph, how are you doing?”
“I have adjusted, and the damage I received is diminishing. Adventuring isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.”
Chuck barked out a laugh. “No, it ain’t.”
Everyone fell silent. The silence and lack of movement lasted for thirty minutes. Each lost in their own thoughts and healing.
“My hands may remain scarred. I’m not an advanced healer, so I can’t repair the skin easily. Can you get up, Chuck?”
Chuck groaned at the phrase, then realized Brytha probably had no idea of its meaning. He then pushed upward. He hissed with pain, but lifted himself free of the spikes—for his upper half.
“As expected, I’m going to need help, but at least there is only a little pain, and my body is doing most of what I tell it to do. So vast improvement.”
“Glyr and I will be over there in a second. It may only be twenty or so feet, but right now, that is a long way to move. I haven’t had to fight on the ground without the ability to fly in a long time. That took a lot out of me.”
“Glyr? I like that, as long as you do, Glyrgaph.” Chuck said.
“I find no reason to not answer to Glyr.”
Another thirty minutes passed before they helped Chuck out of the shallow pit. Chuck shifted back to his humanoid shape, groaning in the process.
Brytha raised her eyebrows. “Still painful?”
“Not nearly as painful as before. There’s some pain, mostly when I reformed—but it was more like morning stiffness than the stabbing pain I got earlier.” Chuck took a few steps, turned around, and took several more. “Seems like I’m good to go.”
“In that case, let’s do so.”
Brytha cast her light spell and took the lead, Chuck and Glyr close behind.
