Oh shit. I backpedaled, but not fast enough. Small, round bundles that trailed legs began to rain from the sky. Some of the hard little bodies landed on me. If it wasn’t for the residual effect of Copperbeard’s spell, I think I might have fainted or had a panic attack.

  As it was, I was frantically brushing at myself, making sure all of them were dislodged. If anything had attacked me in that moment, I would have been an easy target.

  The spider babies hit the hard stone floor and bounced slightly and I could see they were moving, just really slowly. The freeze spell hadn’t killed them. I quickly stomped on the closest of them.

  The mass of its young had protected the enormous spider from the worst of the blast. It was still moving steadily, only slightly slowed and dropped to the ground a few seconds later. The impact caused a few more of the spiderlings to dislodge.

  I shuddered.

  Dekka was still harassing the one with the broken and missing legs, but they were on the other side of the massive spider and its many friends.

  I glanced over to see where everyone else was. Not just out of interest but also to see if anyone was coming to help, and to check if I would hit them when I started flailing around with my club.

  Arjun was hyperventilating, inconvenient but understandable. Darkraven looked stricken and fascinated, but her staff was glowing and I think she was ready to cast another spell as soon as things came off cooldown. Copperbeard was strumming again.

  I looked at the many many little spiders, the body of each one about the size of kitten, but with long spindly legs and no cute fluff.

  “Hey, any chance you have a song for speed?” I called out, an idea forming.

  Instantly he began singing and this wasn’t his usual rollicking shanty style, I don’t know what I would have called it.

  “Fleet of foot and quick of hand,

  Swift as wind across the land

  Lightning legs and racing heart”

  Run like fire, in you dart!”

  Copperbeard stumbled back as a spiderling, now warmed again, scuttled at him, but he kept going.

  “Faster, faster, never slow,

  Let energy build and power flow,

  Rush of thought and pace of deed,

  For you are swiftness, you are speed”

  Yes, yes I could feel an almost electric jitteriness, like the ultimate caffeine overload. I whipped my club around and started smashing all the spiderlings, my feet moving swiftly as I darted and spun staying out of the way of their mother.

  There were so many spiderlings. My club was covered in gore, and the ones I hadn’t smashed had all warmed up and were advancing like the world’s most horrifying carpet across the stone.

  Dekka and I couldn’t tackle this alone.

  “A little help here!” I screamed as I felt the wall at my back.

  A shot of ice magic hit the area before me, and the few feet between me and the spiders turned to ice.

  This made the spiderlings fall all over themselves, but it also meant I was still trapped, and it looked like the ones behind were just going to crawl over the ones in front.

  Good thought, bad plan.

  “Guys? Anyone?” Panic caused my throat to constrict and my voice to raise in pitch. Those little spiders were going to crawl all over me and start biting me. Their little feet were going to pull on my clothes, their tiny fangs were going to sink into my skin, the mass of them was going to smother me…

  But then I felt a hand grab my shirt and pulled me off my feet sideways a few feet till I was out of the way and free from the ice.

  But no one there was there. I looked around what the..?

  “Mage hand!” Darkraven gasped. “Sorry” She was almost doubled over, she must have poured a lot of mana into that spell to save me.

  I forgave her for trapping me.

  Arjun, looking like he had just broken free of some paralysis, likely of his own mind, I don’t think a spider had bitten him, started laying into the spiderlings headed his way. His sword made shwinging sounds and sent a few sparks flying as it glanced off the stone floor.

  Did he have to sharpen that sword? Or need to get it repaired? I’d have to ask him later.

  I steadied myself and started swinging.

  Dekka yelped. I looked up trying to find her. She was nearly covered in spiderlings . My dog was trying to fight through the carpet to get to the spider matron. She didn’t seem freaked out about the spiders crawling over her. So I panicked for her.

  “Come, Dekka, here.” I called. I could see a shadowy ear swivel in my direction. But she was intent on the large spider. I called her again and whistled.

  She gave a great shake, but that only sent a few flying off. Dekka gave a yelp and then changing her mind about her predicament she ran towards me.

  That yelp told me that some spiderling had managed to get through the shadow form to her actual body.

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  “Darkraven.” Do you have enough juice to hit Dekka with a low grade freezing spell?”

  “Maybe?”

  “Don’t waste your mana on a companion,” snapped Ayerelia.

  Fuck her. Dekka had done more in this fight than the elf had.

  Thankfully Darkraven’s moral fibre was of a quality greater than her friends. A pale blue light enveloped Dekka and the bodies started to drop off.

  When she got to me there were only a few, tucked in places the spell had a harder time reaching. They reminded me of ticks the way they clung in the folds of her ears and behind her elbow. And like ticks they were burrowing in, trying to reach a spot to bite.

  Grimacing I reached my hand around one of the bodies and pulled. It let go of her and latched onto me with its fangs.

  It felt like being stung by a dozen bees in one spot. The pain was white hot and I saw spots before my eyes. Pulling my hand back reflexively the spider came with it, it’s fangs burried deep in the meaty part of my palm below my thumb. I slammed my hand on the stone and squashed the small, relatively speaking, spider.

  That really fucking hurt. My right hand throbbed with my rapid heartbeat and could feel it hand swelling.

  That was bad. I needed that hand to wield my club.

  I was about to yell for some healing when I felt the cool sensation of Ayerelia’s spell wash over me. The stinging faded and the tiny holes closed up.

  Dekka yelped again and spun in a circle trying to bite at herself.

  “Go for the big spider.” Ayerlia ordered, I think at me, but I was saving my dog first. She could get stuffed.

  One of the spiderlings was embedded deep in her shadow flesh, a hole open behind it. I could see its legs wiggling as it was straining to force its way into the terrier snack centre.

  “Stay still”, I told my dog firmly and reached into her flank to grab the spider. I pulled off its back legs on the first try. Second try, I got the thing’s body.

  There were still a few more, but none were as deep as that one. “Good girl,” I murmured, staying focused, checking her over. My dog was eager to get back to the fight. I yanked off three before she refused to stay still anymore and launched back into the fray.

  I guess she was fine. I pulled up my club and followed her.

  The majority of the spiderlings were dead, their bodies dead and their legs curled under them scattered around waiting to trip someone.

  “Coming up on your left,” I said as I approached Arjun who was dueling with the massive spider. I could hear that he was whispering something as I got nearer. I didn’t recognise the language, but the tone of pleading reverence was universal. He was praying.

  The spider looked a bit smaller without its brood clinging to it, but it was still massive. The size of a mid-sized car. How were we supposed to kill that?

  Dekka crouched low and tried to grab a leg, but the spider kicked her and sent her flying.

  Rude. Spiders shouldn’t kick.

  Someday I was going to write a strongly worded email to the game dev on the liberties they were taking with the behaviour of their monsters.

  I aimed at the legs on one side. [Trip] had a ridiculously long cooldown and wasn’t available yet. So I used [Mighty Swing] and really put my back into it. I still wasn’t sure how much my acting on the skill affected it, but I wasn’t going to play around with it now.

  The spider dodged my swing! How? I had never had a creature dodge a skill before. It just picked up all those legs for the brief second my club swung past. That wasn’t fair.

  The spider didn’t even appear to look at me and stayed focused on Arjun. Though with eyes all around it’s head how would I know what it was focusing on. Maybe it could focus on both of us.

  “Everyone, close your eyes and try not to get hurt. I am putting a lot of manna in this time” Ayerelia shouted. I saw Dekka squint her eyes shut just as squeezed my own and threw an arm over my face for good measure. Ayerelia cast her blinding spell. [Blinding Light]

  The spider started wiping at its eyes with the little appendages beside its mouth and backed up slightly.

  Dekka grabbed a back leg and bit down. Arjun muttered Cleave and sliced off a leg right at the body. I assume that was a skill, or it could have been a prayer. Either way, it seemed to panic the spider; it seemed confused as to why it couldn’t see us.

  [Trip] was off cooldown, so I used it and swung at it. The spider didn’t dodge, likely because it could see. It didn’t fall all the way down, but its right side buckled and its body collapsed. Dekka’s efforts inhibited its ability to get back on its feet easily.

  Arjun hacked at it again, but his sword was having a hard time slicing through the carapace. My bludgeoning tool was working better, but there was only one of me.

  I was looking for an opening. The spider was partway down, but it was grabbing at things wildly with its claws, and I didn’t wish to be caught and swept towards its face. I am sure it could bite even while blinded.

  “Arjun, I’m going to try to make it brittle,” Darkraven said, making me jump with how close she had gotten.

  A deep blue beam hit the spider where the legs met the body on the side that was still up.

  “Yessss,’ said Darkraven. “Hit it there with your sword” She yelled at Arjun as he blocked a flailing leg with his shield.

  He did so and the, whatever it’s called that joins a spider’s legs to its body, just shattered like glass.

  The spider gave a shriek that shook the cavern, causing a few small stalactites to fall, making us all duck and panic. But the cave ceiling didn’t fall on our heads. The spider was now down on its abdomen, with no legs on its left side, a hellhound holding its backmost right leg so all it had to work with were three legs on its right side.

  And its fangs.

  It was oozing venom in its pain or anger. It was hard to tell with a spider. The green fluid was dissolving the rock under it and the noxious fumes this was creating burned my nostrils. Was it creating a toxic gas?

  “Arjun, Careful,” I said. “Don’t breathe that.” He stepped back, already coughing.

  Holding my breath, I flanked the downed monster and used [Crippling Blow] on the other side of its body. This crushed the leg mechanism on that side.

  Now the spider was continually shrieking. It couldn’t move its body, but moved its head from side to side and its fangs opened and closed frantically.

  Where was that scream even coming from?

  We just stood there, watching it. Someone was going to have to get in close to those fumes and finish it off.

  “Will one of you fighter types get on with it already?” Ayerelia complained. “That racket is giving me a headache.”

  I was just about to step forward and try to bludgeon its head in when Copperbeard of all people, darted between us, his shirt tied as a mask around his nose and mouth against the fumes. I noticed he had a very hairy chest. And stabbed a wicked-looking dagger into the top of the spider’s head.

  30XP! CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE LEVELED UP - You are now a level 7 Fighter+ 3 to Strength, + 2 to Constitution, + 1 to speed. You have one skill point. Would you like to allocate your skill point? Y/N

  I shook my head after choosing N. I still wanted to find the option to turn off auto notifications.

  This very heroic moment for a bard had only been slightly marred by his slipping in the ichor and venom on the floor and needing to be stabilised by Arjun.

  The high-pitched shriek had cut off abruptly, but the fangs continued to spasm for a bit as we stood around and watched it.

  Now what?

  As if on cue, a glow formed at the far end of the cavern-, lighting up what looked like five treasure chests. Loot boxes.

  Was this it? Had we cleared the dungeon? Or was this a trap?

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