A naga

Teysa stalked through the winding caverns. The spear was not her preferred weapon, but her order had required that she at least be passing familiar with a variety of arms, so she hefted it with confidence.

The "proving grounds" were a series of tunnels linked by small grottos. Teysa couldn't tell if they had been artificially connected, or if they naturally formed a labyrinth. She saw evidence of the driders' passage: webs against the wall, the occasional glow-jar. The path had been cleared of most stalagmites and rocky outcroppings to allow for somewhat easy passage.

Teysa pushed onward. The caves were even dimmer than the drider cavern, so she tried to open her ears. Gradually, the thousand tiny sounds of the cavern filtered in. She heard the trickle of faraway water, the susurrus of spiders spinning their webs, and the scrape of movement in the distance. She supposed Zir'ekk had been right; armor would ring out in here like a bell. Teysa padded along on her bare feet. She hadn't seen another living thing so far. She had heard a few distant bellows or thumps but had tried her best to avoid them, taking Zir'ekk's warning to heart. The Underneath had always been a fabled land of monsters to those on the surface.

A sudden splash took her attention. Somewhere ahead of her, something had just moved around in the water. She had passed quite a few rivers and pools and at least one vast underground lake, but without seeing any life inside. She moved toward the sound slowly and carefully, her neck craned to get a glimpse of whatever it was.

Abruptly the corridor opened into a vast open cavern. Water dropped from stalactites above to pool in little puddles, but the majority of the space was dominated by a wide open lake. Stone pillars broke the surface of the water every so often to form little island chains.

The source of the splash was by the shore. It was a creature of a kind Teysa had never seen before: a snakelike lower body with a man's torso, arms and head. His skin was dark green and scaly and he wore a sort of leather bandolier. One arm clutched a trident while the other hauled on a cord that disappeared into the murky water of the lake. Teysa steeled herself. The creature wasn't armored, but his scales looked tough. Without armor, she was ****. The trident worried her too. She had no experience fighting against such an unusual weapon.

Teysa crept closer as quietly as she could. The snakeman stiffened and she quickly ducked behind a rock. "Eh? Tu vos macht, el adonne?" His voice was reptilian and it spoke in some unfamiliar tongue, but the meaning was unmistakable. She heard a heavy slither across the wet rocks. It was coming this way. Now would have to do.

With a piercing cry Teysa leapt over the rock, spear above her head. The surprised creature barely managed to get his trident up to block in time. He hissed at her and narrowed its eyes. "Ves kan ga, et turell!" Teysa spun and stabbed again, but the creature's sinuous body slid out of the way. He stabbed downward and she barely managed to block the strike, grunting with effort as her spear caught two of the tines. By Agamor, he was strong! This must be one of the naga, she realized. She had never seen them in person but had heard of their subterranean empire; worshipers of a strange shark-goddess they pillaged shoreline communities in her name and retreated to their fastnesses under the earth or in the ocean.

The combatants circled each other, both feinting and jabbing with their weapons. Teysa stepped carefully to avoid losing her balance on the rocky beach, while the naga was not so impeded. He was trying to herd her toward the water, she realized. She couldn't let that happen. She feinted left and lunged right, lashing out with her spear. The naga caught the feint but had to reel backward to avoid her thrust and she managed to slip past him. Spinning, she clubbed at him with the butt of her spear. It caught him a glancing blow across the temple and he hissed angrily. Teysa grinned. She could see a bruise already forming. "What's the matter, creature? Too slow?" She wasn't sure if he understood her words but the mocking tone was clear. The naga responded with a flurry of jabs that had her giving ground.

Suddenly the naga surged forward. His turn of speed was impressive. He shoulder barged into Teysa, sending her sprawling. Her spear skittered away across the stone. She rolled away from his downward stab, but that left him in between her and her weapon. Grinning toothily he advanced on her.

Suddenly Teysa remembered her net. As the naga raised his trident to deliver a killing blow she unfurled it and spun it towards him. The prong of the trident tangled in the net and Teysa pulled. The naga sawed desperately at the net, but its tough strands did not part and Teysa's yank pulled him off balance. He landed heavily with a crack, but she was already vaulting over him, running for her spear. She scooped it up in one hand and spun around. The naga was struggling with the net. With a triumphant howl she lunged and speared him through the chest. The naga's hissing howl scorched her ears and it writhed like a hooked fish, green blood spurting out around the spear. Teysa waited until the thrashing died away and the creature slumped to the ground.

She pulled out her spear and inspected it. The shaft was splintered around the head from the **** of her stab, but it was mostly intact. Her net was a different story. The naga had managed to tear it in a dozen places. It was too tangled to even try to undo. Teysa grabbed the thing's tail and heaved. Her muscles flexed under her skin as she strained, but she was used to walking in full plate and managed to drag it along.

Navigating back to the driders' warren posed a new challenge, but she followed the webs. As they grew thicker and the skittering of spiders louder she knew she was on the right track. Rounding a final corner she almost ran into another one of the armored guards. This one regarded her for a moment from behind the visor of a bronze helmet before effortlessly scooping up the dead naga and gesturing for Teysa to follow.

Only then did she realize how fatigued she was. She leaned heavily on the spear as she followed, and in short order they arrived at another new chamber. This one had the feel of a trophy hall. The walls and floor had been smoothed down by some process Teysa couldn't even guess at. They looked like dressed stone rather than the natural walls of the cave. The room was perfectly circular and, most surprising of all, held actual furniture. There were a few chairs that looked perfect for a human or elf and some of the low, curved benches the driders seemed to favor. An actual rug covered the floor, not just a web of woven silk. It had patterns of spiders, of course, but the perimeter also held scenes of drow and driders hunting together. They sent spiders the size of dogs out after a variety of prey: kobolds, troglodytes, minotaurs and less familiar creatures.

Teysa tore her eyes away from the carpet. The soldier had dropped off the netted naga in the middle of the rug and quietly left. Teysa was alone. She wasn't sure if she should have a seat, or if that was part of the test, or...

Suddenly the drider matron skittered out of the gloom. She unwrapped the naga easily and discarded the torn net. Inspecting the slain snake-man, she gave no hint of her feelings. Her flat black eyes sized up Teysa for a moment, then returned to her kill. The paladin fidgeted nervously.

Finally, the matron spoke. "Hyou have done well, sssssssurface-dweller. The naga are vile creaturesssss. Hyou are lucky hyou caught one alone." She let the corpse fall with a squishy thump. "Hyou must rest. Hyour next test will be ssssssssoon." She snapped her fingers and a smaller drider scurried out of the gloom. This one was no more than six feet tall, with white hair done up in a tight bun. Her only clothing was a gauzy black veil. The matron hissed something at her and the smaller drider bowed deeply. "Go with thissss one, child." The matron retreated into the blackness.

The smaller drider looked at Teysa expectantly, then turned and headed off into one of the side passages. The paladin followed. She noted that they had not confiscated her spear. Well, that's a good sign. Using it as a walking stick she limped through the corridor. The drider turned off into a side room partitioned with a webbed curtain. Pulling it aside she gestured for Teysa to enter.

The room was a surprisingly cozy, well-furnished cell. It contained a pallet of silk that she supposed was a bed, along with a short wooden table and a chair. A pool in the corner sent up wisps of steam. A natural hot-spring? Here? It seemed her capacity for surprise had not been reached. The drider pointed at it and held her hands open invitingly. It seemed she was waiting on Teysa's decision.

The weary paladin slid into the pool. It was warm, but not scalding, and there was a rocky shelf just below the surface for her to sit on. She sighed deliriously as she felt the heat unknotting her muscles. A touch on her back made her jump. The drider was looming over her, her talons massaging Teysa's shoulder blades. They were as warm and soft as human hands and the drider was cautious not to prick her, so Teysa said nothing, feeling relaxation wash over her.

The drider massaged her for a half hour or so then made a gesture of obeisance and presented one breast. Teysa was shocked for a moment until her stomach gurgled and she realized how long it had been since she'd eaten. She popped the glistening nipple in her mouth and drank deeply. The warm ambrosia filled her stomach. It was like sunlight blooming in her mind; she felt more relaxed and content than she had in ages. The drider waited patiently while Teysa suckled, then bowed deeply and took her leave. Teysa pulled herself out of the pool and flopped onto the pallet.

Sleep came easily. She awoke to find her spear gone, but a silk robe in its place. She donned it and felt the fabric in wonderment. It was as light and airy as anything she had ever worn, but warm and snug as well. She had been naked for so long she had stopped noticing it, but having something to wear again felt good. She noted that it was a little rough in places, as though the driders had had to guess at her proportions. She figured they did not often have occasion to make clothes for humanoids. She explored her room but found little of interest. Outside, a guard-drider stood to attention. She looked down as Teysa stepped through the curtain.
"Can I leave? Is that allowed?"
The drider gave her a quizzical look, then pointed into the room. Teysa took an experimental step forward and found her way barred. So it's going to be like that, huh? "Thank you," she said sarcastically, "you've been very helpful."

She stretched in her room, then shed her robe and did some calisthenics. Already the pain and soreness was receding. Hanging on the wall of the dismal breeding cave seemed like a distant memory. Still, she was bored.

She was in the cell for a week at most, she reckoned, though time was hard to track down here. The smaller drider returned periodically to feed her, and though Teysa asked her many questions she gave no indication that she even understood them. The paladin whiled away the time training her body and experimenting with the silk. It was fantastic stuff, thin and soft but tremendously strong. She wished she had some tools to knit or weave it.

Finally her jailer returned, this time inviting her to follow. Teysa donned her robe and strode confidently down the corridors. Whatever the second test was, she was ready for it.