No plan survives contact with the enemy

You creep through the forest towards Drux's lair, flanked on either side by a line of forest spiders. You've been lucky so far. Drux has not sent out any scouts or patrols, opting instead to keep his spiders close to home. It makes it harder for his troops to be taken out by piecemeal ambushes, but it leaves him **** to a surprise attack just like this one. Drux has misjudged your response and it will cost him.

As you move forward now, your gait changes, your legs **** to fight against the slight pull of the sticky web that blankets the ground every time you take a step. The trees around you become dark looming pillars, covered in dense mats of webbing that makes the bark underneath almost impossible to see. Above, the bright daylight of before now grows dim as it tries to push its way through the canopy chocked with thick layers of cobweb. It's just as you remember; you're getting close.

One of the spiders next to you gives a quiet hiss. "We cannot go any further without them noticing us Great One."

You nod in acknowledgement, and hunker down to wait.

It's not long before a spider come rushing up. "Great One, we are all in position."

You nod silently for a second time and then say, Signal the attack.

Two spider hurry off, spreading your message down the line. Then, you rise from your position and begin advancing forward. You are quickly overtaken by the forest spiders, who rush ahead in a wave of green and brown. As the hollow comes into sight you let loose a roar of challenge, filling the air with sound. The spiders next to you join in, adding a chorus of menacing hisses and shrieks to your acoustic barrage.

The black spiders are caught off guard by your sudden appearance. They remain frozen in place as the first of the forest spiders reach them, several of them dying without even striking a blow. However, the enemy's shock does not last forever. By the time you charge into the fray, Drux's followers have organized a defensive line, while reinforcements come streaming out to support them.

Perfect. By starting the charge with yourself and having it move down the lines from there, the section of line closest to you ended up charging before the section farthest away. It's your hope that you and those near you can draw the attention of the majority of Drux's host, allowing the rest of the forest spiders to charge unnoticed and cut off all chance of escape.

As far as you can tell, the plan is working. The defensive line of the enemy, swollen with heavy reinforcements, has begun to counter attack. A giant, chitinous, black wave comes crashing forward to smash against your line. While you take few casualties, you are unable to hold your ground, even if you wanted to; the enemy number too many to make that an option. Instead, you and your forces slowly fall back, careful to maintain the integrity of your line, while trying to draw the enemy as far out as possible.

You can tell when the rest of the spiders finally make contact with the enemy. A piercing cry rises from the other side of the hollow, and almost as quickly as it came, the wave recedes leaving behind a much more manageable **** as the black spiders are **** to defend their rear and flanks.

The knowledge that they are surrounded on all sides cause the fighting of the black spiders to take on a **** note. You can almost see the enemy's morale plummeting. It's moments like these you wish you could smile.

The even lines of combat now begin to break up into smaller clumps of vicious melee, as the black spiders start to lose their cohesion. You notice two of your allies facing a group of eight black spiders. You start making you way towards them.

The two forest spiders are sticking close together, trying to keep the enemy from outflanking them, but there is only so much they can do. Two black spiders hold each forest spider in place, alternating attacks, preventing their target from being able to focus on either one. Meanwhile, the other four make their way around the forest spiders' sides, preparing to surround them

You aim towards the holding ****, charging in from the side. You use your weight to push them back, allowing the forest spiders to confront the black spiders on their flanks. Caught out of position, the black spiders are unable to coordinate their attacks. **** to face the forest spiders individually, they are easily dispatched

Meanwhile, you start thinning out the holding ****. You don't allow them to repeat their previous ploy with you, using Vine Lash to keep them at a distance, while still causing them damage. One of the spiders tries to close in, and leaps up, flying towards your face. You casually smack it out of the air with your Vine Lash, sending it flying into a tree, killing it. Unnerved by this show of ****, one of the black spiders breaks off, fleeing for safety. You let it go, and focus on the remaining two.

Finished with dealing with the other four black spiders, the forest spiders move to support you. They close in on one of the remaining spiders, leaving you to deal with the other. You make short work of it, pummeling your victim to **** with Vine Lash, while the forest spiders quickly take down their own target. Finished with your task, you nod to them, and they bob in thanks before rushing off to rejoin the fray.

Taking advantage of the brief lull in the fighting, you scan the battle field around you. There! You see a familiar body in the mass of brawling spiders. You snap your head towards it: Drux. You feel cold, hard rage fill your gut. You remember your terror at the thought of losing Dana. He did that. In that moment, you don't care about any of the other spiders on the field. You came here for ****, and you will get it.

The miserable bastard is leading a thick ball of his followers against a larger group of your allies. Well, he wasn't coward, you'd give him that much at least. You immediately start making your way towards him. Black spiders try to rush you, but you just flick them aside contemptuously.

You reach Drux. You see him turn to you. From his stance, it looks like he wants to engage in some banter before the two you start fighting. You're not in the mood. You push pass the spiders surrounding him and bring a foot down on top of him, squashing him like the bug he is.

Half of Drux's companions fall back, while the others attempt to take you down in retaliation; they are easily dispatched. You look down at the crushed body beneath you. It's not there; it's already dissolved. You stare at the ground a moment longer, and then shrug. You got what you wanted. You wade back into the fighting satisfied.

As the battle progresses, you notice something strange. Originally, you and your compatriots were doing quite well, surprise and the quality of your troops working in your favor. However, as time went on, more and more of the forest spiders began to tire and be overwhelmed by superior numbers. There were far more black spiders than Hrax's estimate of a third to a half more than your ****. There had to be at least three to five times as many of them as there were of you. It was almost as if the spiders have unlimited numbers.

You stop fighting briefly to scan the battlefield, searching for answers. You notice one black spider rallying some of his brethren to charge against your forces. He seems eerily familiar. Then, you recognize him. No! It can't be. He's dead. He couldn't have... come back. Realization slowly dawns. The hollow was the black spiders' respawn point. It didn't matter how many of them you killed, there would always be more.

This is your fault; how could you be so stupid? You were supposed to be the brains of the operation. You should have known this would happen, especially given your experience with the Cave Troll. How did you not think of this?

No, you knew why. You let yourself become so consumed with the desire to hurt Drux that you had just gone blindly charging in. Now, it was all for nothing. The only saving grace was that your own casualties would be respawning as well. Not that it did you any good. Wherever they were respawning, it wasn't here, and by the time you sent for them, it would be too late.

Then, you realize something: anyone killed in this battle would return to their respawn location. That meant... You could still turn this around. You might not be able to kill Drux or any of his followers, but you could still hurt him.

You search for the nearest forest spider and beckon him over. You begin to relay orders to him. Go find Hrax and tell him to prepare to withdraw. On my signal, we start to disengage, and fall back. With any luck, the enemy won't follow.

The spider just stares at you silently.

Do you understand? you ask.

The spider bobs.

Good. Make sure Hrax waits until my signal.

The spider bobs again and hurries off.

Now, time to make Drux pay. You turn towards the center of the hollow, looking for the three figures you know must be there. Hanging in a semicircle, bellies bloated with eggs, just as you last saw them, are the three heroes you helped capture. The black spiders had done their best to keep the fighting away from them. They had given up several other positions just to shore up the defensive lines around the heroes. Still, you were sure you could break through.

You start moving until you are directly in front of the heroes.

Spiders of the Forest, to me! You cry out. Drive back the enemy! Forward to victory!

With that, you charge head long into the fray. You smash through the black spiders, using your height and mass to your advantage. Forest spiders pour into the gap behind you, forcing the black spiders back, and securing your rear. You wade forward, intent on reaching your objective. However, the enemy realizes your purpose.

A cry goes up, "He's trying to kill the breeders! Stop him!"

Drux's followers practically abandon the rest of the battle to focus on you.

You face a veritable sea of spiders trying to halt your progress. Unable to cause you much damage, the black spiders try to use their mass of numbers to stop you. The forest spiders have also realized your intent and are attacking their enemy with renewed vigor, trying to give you breathing room. At this point though, neither of their efforts make much difference. You make slow, inexorable progress forward, wading through the sea of dark bodies.

Eventually, there are too many spiders to **** your way through, but it's already too late; you're in range of your Vine Lash. You bellow, as you shake spiders off of you, clearing enough room for you to swing your arms. All it takes is three strikes. The spiders have kept the heroes so weak they're barely alive at all. The three corpses dissolve into the air, as you gain the XP from the kills.

Fall back! you call out, Fall back!

You prepare yourself to fight your way back through the ocean of spiders, but fortunately, the forest spiders following you have secured a line of retreat. Even more of your allies charge forward to cover you're withdrawal.

You feel slightly guilty, knowing that quite a few of them will probably die doing that, however you remind yourself they will respawn. You start making your way into the woods, with the army of forest spiders following close behind.