“I think it’s a terrible idea,” said Marina, shaking her head and then massaging her forehead. She looked into Friedrich’s eyes and could see that there was no dissuading him. “Fine, if you must. Go and do it quickly, but make sure you don’t get caught.”

  Friedrich glanced down the alleyway that led towards the courtyard where the concealed fountain resided. He bit his lip, nervous about the prospect of venturing into the depths of the guild hideout, but he had to learn whatever he could about the guild if he was to track down Corick and Caldorin.

  “As much as I desired your help,” said Ilyria, looking at Friedrich guiltily, “I agree that this is most unwise. We fill find another way. Perhaps a stakeout is what’s required and we will eventually see the Feldorians leave.”

  “Who knows how long that could take?” said Friedrich. “This could save us days or even weeks of searching for these guys.”

  “Can you not give the spider mask to someone?”

  “If you can convince him to part with it without cutting one of our legs off, feel free,” said Marina more callously than she intended.

  “I can pass the mask over if I want to,” said Friedrich.

  “Alright, try it,” said Marina, holding out her hand.

  Friedrich placed his hand on his scarf and felt his wrist tensing. “No,” he said.

  “Even the spiderling has a hold on you, Friedrich.”

  “It hasn’t once tried to harm me.”

  Ilyria looked at him with concern written all over her face. “You are soul torn, Friedrich. You have used your powers often and it is wearing you down from the inside out.”

  “My powers allow me to do good.”

  “At the cost of losing your being should you remain bound to them forever. One will fight for dominance eventually, Friedrich.”

  “They do my bidding and we have an understanding. There need not be any fear, Ilyria.”

  “Soul magic is not to be trifled with. There will be something we can do to help remove—"

  “The longer we stand here, the likelier it is that we get caught,” said Teleri, folding her arms. “Get in, look around, and get out. We can discuss matters of the soul in a more appropriate place and at a more appropriate time.”

  “If you aren’t back within the hour, we’re marching down there and pulling you our, lad,” said Pheston, clapping Friedrich on the back. “Thieves be damned. If I need to drag the lot of you back to Corobath with me, I’ll do it. Me the boys will keep you safe should anyone from Orion Tower come looking for you or your father.”

  Friedrich laughed dryly, gave his friends a salute, and then transformed into a fox. He ran along the street, zipped into the courtyard, and leapt onto the fountain. He turned back into a human for a brief moment, only to turn the anklet on the statue of the man holding the frog. As quickly as he could, he grabbed the spider mask and placed it on his face. The soul magic took effect, turning him into a footlong spider as the stairs ground into place.

  Slinking into the shadows and leaving the outside behind, Friedrich felt alone and isolated. That feeling was only exacerbated when the stairs vanished and he was left with an inkling of torchlight radiating from somewhere up ahead. As his spiderling eyes adjusted to the low light, Friedrich climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling. His precious time in this form was going to run out quickly and he hurried down the sloped roof until it levelled off in a dark and damp passageway lit by a series of torches.

  Fellow spiders, of much smaller sizes, sat on their webs, feasting on the flies and grubs that were fool enough to touch the sticky threads. Friedrich could hear the cracking of the chitin and it both disgusted him and filled him with hunger. Pushing down the arachnid’s instincts, he rushed down the corridor, moving as quickly as his spindly legs could carry him.

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  After a short while, he came to a small, damp chamber where a lone round table surrounded by several chairs sat. Occupying one of the chairs was a wolfen man, whose black fur was mattered and clumped around his face. If he was a guard, he wasn’t very good at it, choosing instead to roll dice in a cup and then scatter them across the table. Sometimes he would let out a small chuckle, while other time he would grumble irritably to himself.

  Friedrich could hear murmured voices speaking from a door at the other side of the chamber. As the wolfen continued playing his game, Friedrich crept across the ceiling, making sure to stay out of sight at all times. He watched the wolfen’s ears twitch, but he didn’t bother looking away from his dice and cup.

  Approaching the door, Friedrich could see glints of multi-coloured light up ahead and all the while the voices grew louder. Unlike the almost empty chamber with the inattentive guard, this one was filled to the brim with all manner of treasures and trinkets piled up in corners, stuffed into cabinets, and balanced atop tables and podiums. The torch and lantern light shone through and reflected off the kupons, spreading the lights that caught Friedrich’s many eyes.

  He crept closer and closer, keeping to the crevices of the ceiling as he looked from person to person. There were at least a dozen people here, only three of whom were bothering with the treasures. The others were all in deep discussions and, much to Friedrich’s surprise, he recognised three of them. The first was Gerrith, who looked around nervously, but more shockingly was a Mercian man who Friedrich knew to be the wine vendor from the market. Beside him was a young woman who was chewing on a small pipe. Friedrich was convinced he’d seen her wondering around the city before, but he could not remember where exactly he had seen her.

  Ignoring these people, his eyes focused on a wood elf who was twirling a dagger between his fingers. He had tanned, almost red, skin and black hair he had tied back in a ponytail. His face was clean-shaven and his tunic was pristine, despite being holed up in the damp and dark underground with his fellow thieves. Friedrich wondered if this elf was either Corick or Caldorin.

  As Friedrich pondered, he realised his time was running short. He would need to find somewhere to hide and quickly before he fell from the ceiling as a human and was promptly executed for trespassing. He supposed he could turn into a minotaur and slaughter the entire guildhall if he had to, but he couldn’t be certain the slippery thieves wouldn’t have a trick up their sleeves that let them get the better of him. No, he would hide for the time being.

  He started crawling away, but he could hear a slapping plip-plap following him as he made his way around the back of the wolfen. He looked around and saw a two-foot-long bright orange salamander following him with its beady eyes watching every step he took.

  “Eh?” asked the wolfen, looking at the salamander. “What’s the matter, Firebrand? Something wrong, boy?”

  “Kyep!” screeched the salamander, his eyes still fixed on Friedrich.

  The wolfen looked up as Friedrich scurried away. “Good grief!” he barked, pulling out a bow and nocking an arrow.

  The unleashed arrow pierced Friedrich’s leg and hit the ceiling with a dull clink before both arrow and spider fell to the chamber floor. Firebrand bounded towards the downed spider, his legs flailing wildly as he ran. Friedrich was stuck in this form for at least another thirty seconds and knew he would have to hold off the amphibian until he could transform back to normal. No matter how things played out, his cover was blown.

  As the salamander approached with its small, jagged teeth bared, Friedrich spat a mess of web from his rear. Running in a circle and dragging his injured leg behind him, he wrapped up the salamander who was trying to gnaw through the web and escape. All the while, the wolfen was staring on in confusion.

  With the salamander restrained, he bite its leg in revenge and scarpered towards the far door of the tunnel. The wolfen drew back his bowstring once again and shot another arrow. However, this one did not strike the spider. Instead, it bounced off a young man’s shield and was flung halfway across the cavern.

  “Lads! Ladies!” howled the wolfen, aiming at Friedrich as he stood in the cavern.

  “There’s a perfectly good explanation for this,” said Friedrich, tempted to transform again, but opting to hold off. He hurriedly stuffed the spider mask under his scarf behind the cover of his shield.

  “Is that so?” asked the wolfen as several of his guildmates rushed into the chamber.

  “Yes,” said Friedrich, trying to think quickly. “I wanted to join you. And I believe my abilities would make a good addition to your already great pool of skills.”

  A dark elf woman frowned at Friedrich as she addressed the wolfen. “What happened, Renick?”

  “This lad thought he could infiltrate our guildhall,” replied the wolfen with a sneer. “Transformed from a spider into a human right before my eyes.”

  “You’re a druid?” came the gruff voice of a sharp-toothed orc. “Funny, you don’t look much like one, human.”

  “What should we do with him?” asked Renick as Friedrich’s knuckles turned white from the tight grip he kept on his shield.

  “We will bring him to see Redd,” said the dark elf, her lips curling into a small smile. “He passed the first test, but the true test is what comes next.”

  Friedrich gulped. He should have listened to Marina and Ilyria and remained outside.

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