PreCursive
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Chapter 106 - Come Into My Parlor
🕑 Added 2023-11-15 18:00:05 +0000 UTC“We need to find him,” Grey said firmly, to a round of nods.
Well, obviously.
“So, we’re going with the theory that this is the work of another Prime, then?” I asked my mentor.
Grey nodded. “Yes, and possibly some kind of arachnid, judging by the webbing.” He said, gesturing to the countless dehydrated victims webbed to the walls. “These caves are more extensive than you know. If there is a cluster of spider monsters being directed by a second Prime, then they could be anywhere in here. We’ll need to search them top to bottom to find young Aurum.”
“Then what are we bleedin’ waitin’ on?” Bella said impatiently, tapping her fingers on her sheathed cutlass. “An invitation? Every moment we waste down here is another me crew doesn’t have backup.”
“As you say,” Grey said, inclining his head to the pirate Captain. “I suggest we proceed through the caves in a circular formation, our backs to each other. Whatever monster kidnapped Aurum is well versed in stealth tactics, if it was able to do so silently and with little trace. If we watch for it in our search for young Aurum, then we’re less likely to be ambushed.”
We all did as he said, drawing our respective weapons and arranging ourselves into a circle. I ended up near the front next to Grey, with Sylvia to my left. Venix took the rearguard, which made sense to me. I’d suspected that he was the strongest person in our party other than Grey for some time now.
As Grey took the vanguard position and started to lead us through the still freezing cold caverns, I was strangely relieved. Of all people, I’m glad that it was Aurum that this mystery spider had taken. I mean, the guy was solid metal for God’s sake. It’s not like he had any juices for a spider monster to suck from him.
But that raised a question. Why had it singled him out in the first place?
……………………………………..
Grey led us through the caverns at a good pace, appearing to know his way fairly well. The rest of us kept an eye out. Several times, I swear that I saw movement from around us. I made sure to mention that to the group, but whenever someone else tried to see it as well, it was gone.
That wasn’t creepy at all, I assure you.
If it wasn’t for my new talent helping to suppress my fear, I was sure that I would be freaking out harder from the near horror movie scenario we’d found ourselves in. As it was, I was keeping myself artificially calm and focused on the task at hand.
As we made our way through the cavern passages, we never stopped encountering bodies webbed to the walls. There would be a new one every few feet. Sometimes they would be half uncovered and visibly dessicated, while sometimes they were fully covered but appearing no less drained. The fully covered ones were somewhat puzzling, actually. From what I understood of spider feeding practices, shouldn’t they have discarded the drained ones at this point?
While my middle mind was considering that peculiarity, my outer mind was startled when Sylvia suddenly exploded into a soundless lunge. Leading with her blue sword, Sylvia plunged her blade into a spot on the wall. To my eyes, it didn’t look like there was anything there.
At least, initially.
Green blood exploded from something invisible on the wall. With a chittering squeal, a creature materialized on the wall at the end of Sylvia’s blade.
It was a spider of some kind. But not a regular one. No, this seemed like some kind of monstrous sea spider.
In total size, I would put it to be about as big as a cat. But that was mostly from its long, spindly legs, almost skeletal in appearance. Its main actual body was incredibly thin, almost appearing as thin around as one of its legs. Extending from what must be its head were two different pairs of fangs, each nearly as long as my middle finger. The creature itself was a soft pink in color, with the eight legs you would expect from a spider of any kind. Disturbingly, I couldn’t see any visible eyes on the monster.
Thankfully, this one was in its death throws. Before it could actually die and puff out of existence in a cloud of Miasma, I quickly threw out an Observe.
Name: Juvenile Frostbrine Stalker
Level: 34
Age: 2 weeks
Species: Monster
Abilities: Stalk, Cocoon
The rest of the group quickly spun around to watch the commotion that had arisen from Sylvia’s attack. We watched as a group as the Stalker gave one final twitch of its skeletal limbs, before lying still. Moments afterward, it exploded into a haze of Miasm, leaving behind a marble sized Core. I scooped it up in the silence.
“Well, damn,” Bella said, breaking it. “So it is spiders.”
“But not a species that should be this far south,” Grey said gravely, causing the groups’ eyes to drift his way. “I recognize the type. Frostbrine spiders are from the waters to the far, far north. Beyond the northern mountains, even. They hunt along the shores in that region, harrying the tribes to be found there. I didn’t even know they could survive in this clime.” He sighed. “They, or rather their Prime, must be the true reason these caverns are so cold. Their natural Aetherial balance must be affecting these environs to such an extent as to mimic that frozen wasteland.”
“That’s cool and all,” I said, ignoring the pun I’d made inadvertently. “But we can’t just stick around. We have work to do and people to save.”
Grey nodded sharply at my words. “Very true. Let us continue, at the very least knowing what we face. Well done, Sylvia.” Sylvia inclined her head at her Father’s words. “Everyone else, keep an eye out.”
We pressed on.
……………………………………..
That wasn’t the last time we encountered a Frostbrine spider on our search of the cavern passages. But it was the smallest. Several times, one of the others either stabbed, sliced, or crushed one of them that got too close to our position, hidden under a cloaking skill of some type.
One time, Grey even sent a bolt of silvery mana launching ahead of us to track something he’d noticed. It impacted the largest of the Frostbrine spiders we’d seen so far. You could say that this one was also the size of a cat, if you were referring to a goddamn tiger. Thankfully, Grey’s spell killed it in one shot, leaving it smoking and twitching on the cavern floor. However, it was odd. Considering Primes were supposed to be the leaders of massive packs of monsters, we hadn’t encountered a skittering horde of spiders yet. Just…stragglers.
Still, in all our searching, we never found Aurum.
Grey stopped us in front of an opening in the rock. Beyond the yawning portal, I couldn’t see a thing. It was pitch black on the other side. He turned to address the group. “This is the final cavern,” He told us in a low tone. “Inside is the largest cavern down here, as well as the entry point into Caer Drarrow. At this point, I believe that both quarry’s that we seek must be inside. Young Aurum…”
“And the Prime,” I finished for him quietly. Grey nodded in response to my words.
“Or Primes. Ready yourself, my friends.”
I took a deep breath, mainly for show. I was finding that it was much, much easier to control things like battle anxiety, when you could nearly control your own emotions. Meanwhile, I could see the rest of my companions steel themselves as well. When Grey saw that we were ready, he turned back around to face the portal and stepped through. I followed right behind him.
As I stepped through, I was able to see the final cavern that Grey had mentioned. It was massive, far bigger than the entrance had been with towering stalagmites and stalactites visible throughout it. However, that wasn’t what caught my attention the most.
It was the absolutely massive shaded figure hiding just beyond the range of Grey’s light, along the far wall. From it, the light glinted off of dozens of silverly lines that stretched from its form to…
Somewhere above us.
The figure yanked on the lines in a violent motion. Hearing an earthshattering crack from above us, I looked up.
I was just in time to watch as dozens of massive stalactites closed in on my position. I didn’t even get a chance for my eyes to widen in alarm before I was tackled out of the way of death by falling rocks. Behind my now prone form, the cavern shook as a veritable landslide struck the floor when I’d just been standing.
And blocking off the entrance.
I glanced to my side, to see that it was Grey who had saved my life. He gave me a brief nod in acknowledgement, before scrambling to his feet. I did the same, looking around.
Grey and I were the only ones who had made it inside the cavern, before it had been blocked off. Behind the mass of rock that was blocking the entrance, I heard the sound of dozens of muffled, chittering hisses erupt. I also heard the sounds of the rest of our party engaging in combat.
I see…
This was a two-part trap that we’d walked right into. One, to separate whoever walked through the entrance first. And two…
Along the far wall, I heard another chittering hiss. But this was louder, and deeper.
And for some reason, it reminded me of laughter.
Standing side by side with Grey, I watched as the large shadowed form from earlier stepped into the light, revealing itself.
As expected, it was a spider. An absolutely massive one, at that. It was clearly a Frostbrine of some kind, and this was definitely one of the Primes. It was as large as a city bus from back home, and rather than being pink in color, it was a deep, blood-red. Its form was different as well, having four sets of bladelike fangs protruding from its mouth, instead of two like the other’s we’d seen.
But that wasn’t the biggest change on this one. Where the other Frostbrine spiders I’d seen had no visible eyes, that wasn’t the case here.
This spider had a single, massive eye set into its head, a clear shining blue in color. It was currently half-lidded in our direction, as if it was amused at our inspection. The beast clicked each of its eight fangs in our direction together slowly, almost mockingly.
Two other spiders stepped out from behind the likely Prime. These were Frostbrines as well, and not quite as intimidating as it was. They were coral pink in color, and roughly the size of bears.
Clamping down hard on my fear response, I threw out three quick Observes.
Name: Frostbrine Abyssmother (Prime)
Level: ???
Age: ??
Species: ??
Abilities: ??
Name: Frostbrine Queensguard
Level: ??
Age: 4 months
Species: Monster
Abilities: ??
Name: Frostbrine Queensguard
Level: 61
Age: 3 months
Species: Monster
Abilities: Leap, Stalk, Cocoon, Frozen Fang
Grey cursed to himself quietly, reaching for the sheathed sword on his belt. “Five hundreds,” He told me grimly. “Normally, not a problem, but I’m still not at full strength.”
My heart stuttered in my chest. Five hundreds? As in, it’s level? Jesus Christ, this thing was more than ten times my level! There was no way I’d be able to help Grey with that.
The entire time that Grey and I were staring at the Prime and its escorts, they didn’t move. It was like they were content to let us take in the sight of them.
Grey caught my eye. “Nathan, I’ll need to focus exclusively on the Prime. You’ll need to deal with the guards.” Having said that, Grey drew the sword at his waist from his waist, allowing me to see it unsheathed for the first time. I’d been able to tell from its shape that it was a longsword, but not much more than that.
Unsheathed, it was much more than that.
The sword was blue. Just like Sylvia’s, it was made of a blue metal or stone of some kind, but that was where the similarities ended. This sword also had some kind of inclusion of white, luminous material running through the center of it. I couldn't even tell what it was, with how alien it felt to me. All I knew was that it was so powerful that it made my eyes ache to look at it. Both materials glowed slightly, even in the near pitch blackness of the cavern. The entire blade was inscribed with hundreds, perhaps thousands of runes that I couldn’t decipher.
The sheer ambient power radiating off of the blade was nearly enough to give me a headache.
Meanwhile, Grey held the blade straight upright in a guard position. He leaned his head down slightly to rest on the blue and white stone. “Once more, Stellarum,” He whispered.
As if in response, the runes on the blade began to light up with an eerie black light. The entire sword was engulfed in a haze of that ecliptic power. Satisfied, Grey snapped his sword up into a horizontal guard position, aimed at the heart of the Prime.
Meanwhile, I drew and extended my spear. At the same time, I ignited it with The Scintillant Blade.
All right.
Let’s do this.
The spiders descended on our position.
Grey and I rose to meet them.
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Comments
Ammad asgher
Nice can't wait for more, the story has me hooked.
