Into the Spider's Den

It took three days of tracking before the party found their quarry. The skittering tracks left behind by the spiderlings all, inevitably arrived at one place. A massive cave hewn into the side of the mountain with spiderwebs emerging from its entrance like twisting vines. This was the lair of a Arachnae Queen. The formidable prison where any survivors from the spiderling raids had been dragged.

All around you, men and women readied themselves for battle. The hunters were gathered in groups, checking their gear and warming up for the perilous dungeon dive ahead. Sir Knowles took you and Jaden aside to lay down the rules.

"The most important part is to avoid being separated. The Queen has thousands of eyes down below, so we have no hope of surprising her. She'll seek to pick us off one by one, using all manner of tricks." He leveled his glare at you, "Rhona, that means you specifically. Nothing reckless. You stay with the group, you don't charge off alone."

"Yes, Sir." You said, struggling not to roll your eyes.

"Swords are good for the spiderlings, but they won't cut through the webs well. Use your torches. Don't let it burn out, no matter what. Then you're as good as spider food."

To demonstrate, he lowered a torch towards a patch of webs near the the cave's entrance. Within the blink of an eye, the thin fabric vanished, as if a single touch of the fire made it melt.

"The spiderlings will try to bite you. Their toxins can be lethal, but you've both been amply provided with anti-venom. Give yourself a dose after every fight with them, even if you don't think they knicked you. Better safe then sorry."

"What about the queen?" Jaden asked. "Her bite's got to be stronger, right?"

A concerned look crossed Sir Knowles face. You didn't understand it at the time, but soon you would.

"Yes and no," The knight answered, "She has these forepincers, huge nasty things, if you get stabbed by one of those you're as good as dead. There's no anti-toxin that counters the chemicals in there."

"Her main mouth, both the human mouth and the spider mouth, have their own special venom though. It's an...incapacitating agent. Meant to leave you stupid and pliable. She uses it to keep her captives calm too. If you take one of those bites, you'll live. So long as she lets you anyway. You still don't want any part of it though. I've never seen it first hand, but I'm told that that the substance is highly addictive."

That made sense to you. She wouldn't want a lethal venom if she mainly used it to keep captives in line. Something about the addictive line made your ears perk though. Was that to keep her captives dependent?

"That's all pretty obvious, right?" You asked. "Keep your fire going, don't get lost , don't go your own way, don't get bit. We're not stupid, Sir. Let's just get in their and squash this fucking bug. We owe it to the people of that village."

"Simple." Sir Knowles scoffed and strapped his helmet into place. "Nothing's ever that simple, girl. Especially not with you. Or with monsters like this..."

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