Follow them

It is a strange sight, a line of naked people walking through the forest. It's even stranger to be a part of it.

The crowd makes good time, moving at the speed of the Arachne leading you rather than the slowest member, and soon you are deep in Arachne territory. Thick silk webs span between treetops, some of which have an Arachne on them, while several others have slaves.

There are slaves on the ground, too. Some have little but lust in their eyes, puncture marks visible on their necks, while others look sharper and more alert. The latter group seem to split between looking jealously at your group's still slim figures, and looking sorry for you.

Finally, you stop in front of a large, stone building, and Slavemistress Tilxe addresses the crowd.

"OK," she calls. "This is my slavemarket. Make two long lines, women on the left, your left, that is, and men on the right. Make sure to leave a large gap between the lines."

The crowd splits quickly forming the lines as ordered.

You see her head bobbing as she counts the people in each line.{if flixaAffection < 0} You would swear her eyes locked with yours for slightly longer than anyone else's.{endif}

"Women!" she shouts. "Your line is to split in half. If the person in front of you steps to the left, you are to step to the right, and vice versa. The woman at the front is to step left.

"Men, you will split into three groups. The front man is to take two steps to his left, the second man two to the right, and the third will stay where he is. The rest of you are to copy the one three people in front of you."

Following her instructions there is a rush of movement as the lines are split. The splitting happens very quickly and with no fuss as the clear instructions leave no room for ambiguity.

She then points at two of the lines of men. "Half of these two lines are to join the remaining male line. The first person should move, and the second should not. Copy the man two people in front of you."

Once the men have moved according to their new instructions, making one long line and two short ones, she once more addresses the crowd.