C.P.D. Harris's Blog, page 6

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.61T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

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“We can’t let her go,” said Uyage, eyes wide. “What if she escapes?”

“You can shoot me in the leg if I run,” shrugged Albyursia. “The thread on your friend’s life is fraying, Wildborn. I can save her, if you trust me.”

Retaak looked at Uyaashie. The Hob woman veins were all black and her skin was ashen. She lay there, limp, her breathing laboured, occasionally letting our a pitiful whimper. Letting her die would be the prudent thing to do. Ushochhushi had compelled them to deliver Albyursia to him at all costs. Failing to do so would lead to death, or worse. But Retaak was not like most spawn. He was Wildborn and he was willing to defy the Dread Lord and his underlings so save a friend.

He also trusted Albyursia. She was remarkably calm, even in the grips of the Desolation, and seemed to find a reason to laugh at everything. What was more she knew much of the world, the wider world which he longed to be a part of.

“Give me your word of honour that you will not run,” said Retaak.

“Of course.”

Retaak waited. Albyursia rolled her eyes and sighed. “I give you my word of honour, as a freelander and a scion of Aven wood, that I will not run. I so swear.”

Retaak strode over to the elven woman, noticing that the flowers in her hair were somehow still fresh, even after the Desolation. He fumbled with the collar for a moment, releasing the catch. It fell to the ground. The Elf woman looked at him and smirked, but she did not run.

Without ceremony, Albyursia knelt on the ground beside Uyaashie, moving the bedding scraps so that hey knees we on the soil and grass. The gesture struck Retaak as significant. He knew little of Magic, even the small spells performed by Kuzat and Uyaashie; those Fellspawn who had it guarded their secrets zealously.

The elf put her hand on Uyaashie. The Hob stirred under her touch, moaning in pain. Uyage reached for an arrow, but Kuzat forestalled her as Albyursia began to whisper. Something changed in the clearing, akin to moment just before two battle lines collide. Retaak found himself holding his breath. Verdant runes, so small and delicate that he could hardly see them began to appear in a circle around Albyursia’s finger where it rested on Uyaashie’s arm.

“It is high magic,” whispered Kuzat, awe cracking in his voice.

And as they watched the black began to snake out of Uyaashie’s veins, slowly at first and then quite rapidly. The wind blew all around them and the tall trees swayed and soon enough Uyaashie was free of poison.

“That seemed easy,” said Retaak.

Albyursia laughed. “They why didn’t you do it?”

Before Retaak could respond, a distant wail, like that of a woman screaming drifted out of the Desolation.

“It appears that Karniloth does not appreciate being denied her victim,” said Kuzat, smiling.

“Perhaps not,” said Albyursia, looking around. “But if we have drawn her attention, then we will have attracted other eyes as well. Be wary.”

<>

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.60T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

“What kind of spider bit you?” asked Kuzat.

“Little one,” said Uyaashie. “Red markings, like a skull… Heard a woman laugh when it happened… used an antidote… so stupid.”

“Hush,” said Kuzat. “That antidote saved your life, Uyaashie. The Red are are the most poisonous.”

Uyaashie smiled weakly and collapsed into a stupor. Retaak looked to Kuzat. asking “Will I harm her if I carry her?”

“I think not, Retaak,” said Kuzat, motioning the Ogre to speak with him a few paces away from the convalescing Hob. “She will not last more than a few hours I’m afraid. The Red spiders are Karniloth’s enforcers; nothing I have heard of can cure their bite.”

Retaak looked at Uyaashie. Already he could see that the poison was spreading, blackening her veins.

“One problem at a time,” he growled, setting aside his fear for his companion. “I assume sucking the poison out is not an option?”

“Not even a hardy Orc or Troll would survive tasting it,” said Kuzat, looking tired.

“I will not give up on brave Uyaashie,” said Retaak, turning back to Uyaashie’s form and gently picking her up. “Lead us to the others, perhaps they know something that we do not. Uyage is woodwise beyond even you, friend Kuzat.”

“Yes, she is,” said Kuzat, though he did not sound convinced.

<>

Stunted trees crowned the hills at the edge of Karniloth’s desolation, their twisted branches bearing few leaves and yet the wood showed no signs of rot or withering.

Uyaashie shuddered and groaned in Retaak’s arms. He could smell death on her, but he pressed on in the hopes that Uyage or Albyursia might have some answer.

Kuzat was silent beside him, no doubt blaming himself for her looming death. The goblin man was fond of Uyaashie and her tricks, he could tell.

Retaak plodded ahead, taking care not to jostle Uyaashie, who groaned frequently. He could smell vomit and blood and sweat coming from her, as well as a sharp scent that could only be the toxin.

Soon enough the trees grew taller and straighter and far more green. The miasma of the Desolation seemed to lift from them. Retaak felt his spirits ease as he saw the site where they were supposed to meet the others only to have them fall when he saw no sign of them.

“She’s nearby,” said Kuzat. “Uyage would never wait where you expect to find her.”

Retaak nodded, hoping that his friend was right. He ran to the sheltered clearing and slowly lowered Uyaashie to the ground. She looked even worse now, and his heart tightened to see her like this. He tried to get the Hob woman to drink some water, but most of it simply ran down her chin.

“What happened to her?” asked Uyage from behind him. Retaak had not been aware of her approach.

“Poison,” said Kuzat.

“And a deadly one at that,” interrupted Albyursia. “I can save her, but I will need my magic. Take the collar off if you want her to live.”

<>

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.59T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

Retaak stumbled toward the shouting of his friends. It seemed to be real, even if uncharacteristic of Uyage and Kuzat. Unreal, and yet he could feel it to be true, it was them, and not some illusion created by Karniloth.

“I’m here,” he said, loudly, but not a shout. He stumbled toward the sound, his head swimming. The immensity of his encounter with the Demon-spider was almost too much for his mind to contain it seemed; even now his memory rebelled against it, not wanting to hold such a strange and terrible thing within it, like Waachear’s tortures.

Uyage and Kuzat ran out of the haze of mist and webbing, stopping when they saw him. Uyage’s bow was broken and she held an axe and dagger in her hands, which dripped with spider-gore. Kuzat had an ancient spear in his hands, also bloodied.

“Is it him?” asked Kuzat.

“It is,” said Uyage. “I would recognize those knotted brows anywhere.”

“We can talk later,” said Retaak, suddenly understanding that Karniloth might simply be using him as bait for his friends. “She is near, we must go!”

“Have you seen the Elf or Uyaashie?” asked Uyage, her eyes roving.

“No,” said Retaak. “We must find them, but they are not here.”

“What is that bracer?” asked Kuzat.

“I will tell you later, friend Kuzat,” said Retaak, urgently. “But we cannot linger here. I have gazed on the face of the Demon-spider once today and wish to be gone from her realm. Go.”

<>

“The Elf is near,” said Uyage. “I’m surprised that she survived.”

“I am not,” said Retaak. “She has powerful magic and is quite resourceful.”

Uyage snorted.

“What?” asked Retaak.

“Nothing,” grumbled Uyage. “The tracks lead out of the desolation. We should be able to find her easily enough, she does not hide her passage.”

“Can we search for Uyaashie then?” asked Kuzat. “She is still in the Desolation and I fear she may be hurt.”

Kasuukak pulled Retaak, nagging at him to fulfill Ushochhushi’s will. He ste aside the compulsion with an effort of will.

“Uyage, you must seek out Albyursia,” said Retaak. “Kuzat, you know the desolation well, you and I will search for our friend.”

Uyage nodded and they parted ways quickly. The sun was slowly sinking down to the mountains and Retaak had a strong feeling that they could not survive another night in the desolation.

<>

After hours of searching, Retaak and Kuzat found no further sign of Uyaashie. Spiders watched them from every nook and crevasse as the sky began to darken. At least Retaak turned to Kuzat. “We must go, Kuzat.”

Tears stained the goblin’s cheeks as he turned to Retaak. “I will stay and search. This is my fault Retaak.”

“If you had not led us through the desolation, our heads would be decorating the walls of Greyrock or Gurgumaars belt,” he said. “Uyage has wise eyes, she will be able to see what we cannot on the morrow. I will not leave here without Uyaashie.”

Kuzat nodded and they began their ascent back out of the desolation to the place wehere they had parted ways with Uyage. As they sighted the path that led to their goal, Kuzat gave a little yelp and ran toward what Retaak thought was a rock. The goblin out his hands on the surface of the rock and it shifted, falling away to reveal Uyaashie. The hobgoblin woman was pale and shaking holding a dagger in her hand and the map case in another. The veins on her face stood out, throbbing and black.

“Help,” she croaked. “Poison.”

<>

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.58T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

“You must accept it first.”

Retaak frowned. 

“Well, little Ogre?” asked the Karniloth, her great maw stretching into an approximation of a smile, twitching mandibles and all. “Will you accept my gift?”

“I will accept nothing without seeing it first, Karniloth,” said Retaak, sounding more defiant than he felt facing such a creature. Could his sword even pierce that hide? What about the eyes?

The Spider-demon hissed. and clacked, taking a few steps toward him. Retaak held up his blades and prepared for the worst. Then she said, “you test my patience, why refuse a gift, Wildborn?”

The Spawn had many tales of Karniloth. Retaak had though many of them fables, especially the ones where she played games with or bargained with her prey, until today. Now he wondered how much of it was myth and how much contained a nugget of truth.

“Because some gifts bring only humiliation and destruction.”

The Spider-demon’s eight eyes narrowed angrily, but then she laughed uproariously. “It does not know what it says. Yes, yes. The gift that destroys is already in play, Wildborn. I simply want to join in the fun.”

“Fun?”

“The game that you are a but a pawn in, little Ogre. A contest played by your Dread Lord, his minions and rivals, the Archmagi of the elves, and even some you have not met. It is the most exquisite fun.”

“You wish me to carry something harmful back to the warrens for your amusement? I will not!” Retaak bellowed the last words, his voice echoing off the ruins and rock walls around him.

“No, that never works,” said Karniloth, matter-of-factly. “Fellspawn were created to destroy… disease and dark magic will not earn us a seat at the table.”

Retaak shook his head. He understood what Karniloth wanted, he thought. but it seemed like another of her tricks. Was she so bored that the antics of the spawn excited her?

“I am no fly struggling on your web, Karniloth,” growled Retaak.

“No, not on my web, little Ogre,” said Karniloth. “And by my gift, none will enmesh you again. What I offer you is freedom. That is all I will tell you.”

Freedom.

Retaak knew it was a trick, a lie, or part of some gambit. And yet he was still inclined to gamble his life for the promise of freedom. What else was worthy?

“If it brings me freedom, I will accept your gift, gladly, Karniloth.”

The Spider-demon laughed. As she chortled a dozen smaller spiders, each the size of a goblin, scurried out from her shadow and off through a side passage in the ruins. As he watched them go, Retaak realized that the opening in which he stood was once a city square and that it was also filled with bones.

Soon enough one of the spiders scurried back, a glimmering piece of metal that looked very much like an over copper horse-shoe, over-large and smooth with round balls on the ends.

“It is a torc,” said Karniloth. “It fits the neck of a human, but should work as a bracer for you. Wear it and be free.”

Retaak took the Bracer from where the spider dropped it. The metal was cool to the touch. He saw faint etchings on it, but could not make them out.

“Retaak!” came shouting from nearby, the voices of Uyage and Kuzat. He looked up, Karniloth smiled as she backed into a side passage and disappeared, leaving him with one last, horrible wink and the memory of her cackle.

 

 

 

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.57T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’ s entry.

<>

Retaak watched as the illusion faded. The forms of Uyage, Uyaashie, Kuzat, and Albyursia melted into the demonic, grinning visage of Karniloth. They regarded each other silently. The ogre could feel his heart hammering in his chest and then slow as he accepted the severity of what he saw.

As big as a house, Karniloth’s mandibles could easily encircle the largest Ogre Bull, stuffing the mangled body into her cavernous maw to be devoured with ease. The chitinous plates that covered her body looked thick enough to turn all but the best weapons and while Retaak could see weak spots he would have to brave terrible jaws and scuttling legs to get to them.

But that was not what daunted him. Behind the powerful body, he saw the dark intelligence in those eyes, read a hate older than he could fathom. Karniloth could warp his mind with her illusions, who knew what else she could do.

The spider-demon smiled at him, lips parting over mandible and fang in a grotesque, but unmistakable gesture. “What is your name, Fellspawn?”

He voice was somewhat distorted by the fangs, but the Demon-spider’s voice was beautiful. Retaak hesitated, wondering at her game. Was she stalling while one of her children tried to attack him from behind? He sensed nothing. Wary, he decided to play along, if only to buy himself time.

“I am called Retaak,” he answered.

“You seem different than the Dread Lord’s usual pawns, Retaak-ogre,” said Karniloth. “What scheme of his brings you to my realm?”

“None of his,” said Retaak.

“Beware lying to me, little ogre,” said the Spider-demon. “I still have half a mind to eat you.”

“It is a scheme of Ushochhushi, the Dread Lord’s seneschal,” said Retaak. “I am his pawn in this.”

“Ahhhh,” said the Spider-demon. “The dabbler makes his moves. Yes, yes. I see now. But what of you, Retaak, are you a willing pawn?”

“No,” answered Retaak, bristling at the though of Ushochhushi with Albyursia. He did not know the elf woman well, but he liked her far better than the one who currently compelled him. “I was born free. One day I will again be free.”

“A Wildborn, and with so much pride,” she spoke. “Pride tastes wonderful, little Ogre, a perfect seasoning for such lovely meat.”

Retaak growled and hefted his blades, but the Spider did not move. Was she lulling him with another illusion? he did not think so.”

“Tell me Retaak, was it the elf that travels with you that Ushochhushi seeks?”

Retaak tried to respond, but magical compulsion kept the words from forming.

Karniloth cackled. “Of course it is. Fool Ushochhushi answers my question with his own compulsion. Tell me Retaak, do you know why he seeks her, what she is?”

“No.”

Karniloth laughed again, longer this time. Retaak could sense real mirth in the Spider-demon’s tone and it chilled him.

“Perfect, perfect,” the Spider-demon crooned. “Tell me Retaak, do you want to live?”

“I do,” said Retaak. “But I will not give up my friends to you, Karniloth.”

“No, I suspect not,” she answered. “But that is not the price, Wildborn. I have a gift for you, something as wild and dangerous as you are. Take it and I will let you leave. Reject my gift and you will know my rage.”

“What is your gift?”

<>

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.56T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’ s entry.

<>

Retaak ran, following the lead set by Kuzat. All around them spiders, skittered and hissed. A huge, hairy arachnid leapt out in front of him, rearing up. Retaak bellowed and swung his Falchion. Rather than connecting, the blade sliced through empty air and he stumbled. A smaller spider darted out and he felt pain as it bit through his boot, followed by a satisfying crunch as he stepped on it with his other foot.

Then through the storm of spiders that plagued his vision, both illusory and real, he sensed something huge move nearby, akin to the feeling of a tree falling. He threw himself aside, and caught a brief glimpse of the enormous bulk of Karniloth as her leg came down where he had been sitting. Enormous eyes, both alien and all-too human stared at him with a depth of hate that was difficult to fathom.

“The others have left you to die, ogre,” she sang. “Come, I will give you the glorious death you dream of…” With that, her enormous bulk vanished from sight, hidden by a veil of illusory arachnids drifting a haze of webbing.

Retaak, fear cutting through the confusion of what he saw closed his eyes and scrambled away. He felt the vibration of that huge body as it moved after him, pushing through trees and ruins. He felt a spider jump on his back and shook it off heaving to his feet and running. He opened his eyes again, but saw only a nightmare mandibles and alien eyes. Running blind was better, so he kept his hands on the passage sides and ran. He tripped over rocks and roots, flinched away when something chitinous moved under his hand but kept moving away from the vibrations behind him.

“Retaak!” Uyage’s voice, closeby. He risked a look. His vision was clear again. He saw Uyage up ahead, but in hand, leathers spattered with blood. Kuzat, Albyursia, and Uyaashie were pressed into a small alcove behind her. There was no sign of Karniloth, save for the gauze of webs that obscured visibility.

“Retaak!” Uyage’s voice again, calling him.

Retaak froze. He Looked carefully at the alcove. It was a trap. Karniloth was in his mind, playing tricks.

“My friends would never hide in a dead end, Spider,” said Retaak, standing tall. “Nor would they call out to me if it would draw enemies to them.”

The scene melted…

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.55T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

Retaak was the last to turn and run as a tree toppled on a rise just east of them and a great leg, as long as three bull ogres lying head to toe reached up over the ruins. What followed next was an enormous body like that of a spider, but much larger and covered in jagged spines. The head was like that of a human or elven woman with golden hair and pale skin but the mouth was stretched and split to reveal a horrific set of mandibles and the eight eyes were all red and hateful. The expression on the beast’s face was one of enraged indignity and the whole of the valley seemed to shy away from her dark presence. Karniloth!

“Run, idiot!” hissed Uyage.

Retaak tore his gaze away from Karniloth, and ran. He felt the beast give chase, the very ground shaking as her eight legs crushed earth, stone, and wood as she game at them. He was aware of a feeling that came with her, a kind of dread that was not born of natural response, as fearsome as she was.

They scrambled up out of the passage and over a wall, following Kuzat through the maze of ruins. The pounding grew closer. Then, just as Retaak was sure that he would have to turn and face the beast to save his friends, it stopped.

“I remember you, little Goblin,” came the voice, speaking their tongue fluidly, even beautifully. Retaak was expecting Karniloth’s voice to match the ruin of her form and environment, but the sound called to him to turn and listen. “You left me the sweetest gift…your sister. I savoured that one for a long time.”

Ahead of him, Retaak saw Kuzat drop to his knees. Albyursia and Uyaashie flanked the little one as and his grief and range boiled over.

“We need to run!” shouted Uyage.

Karniloth laughed. “Run to where, little orc? I am queen here and my guards are all around you you.”

And they were there. Thousands of them, huge and terrifying, and small and scuttling. Retaak gripped his weapons in his hands as they crawled out of every shadow and from under every rock. He could see no escape.

“Its a trick, its a trick,” said Kuzat, wiping his eyes. “Keep going, they are illusions. Ignore her voice. Keep going.”

Karniloth laughed. Kuzat got up and ran, the spiders reached out for him and Retaak was certain that he would be snatched, but he kept running. Uyage followed, and then the others did. Retaak wanted to turn and face Karniloth once more, but he stopped himself; losing track of his friends would be fatal. So he ran.

(This was written using wordpress’s block system. As the old adage says: ‘if it ain’t broke keep trying to fix it until everyone gets annoyed’)

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.54T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

The largest of the Spiders scuttles forward toward Retaak, filling the passage with scrabbling limbs. Mandibles the size of daggers clicked in anticipation as it charged. Retaak held his falchion up in front, blade pointing at the creature’s hate filled gaze. Behind him Uyage’s bow sang, each twang followed by a distinctive thump as the arrow hit home on the smaller beasts running at them from the side of the passage, scrambling over broken ground and trees that would be impossible for any of them but Kuzat.

The Spider charged looming up over Retaak at the last moment, bring its legs slamming down. Retaak stepped back at the last moment, and the limbs slammed against the stone. Before it could recover he brought the heavy blade of his axe-cleaver down. There was a crack and the spider shrieked, a sound like the bellow of a bull-ogre and not at all like a spider. The blade did not bite deep however and the spider sprung toward him, knocking the Ogre back against the passage wall. The mandibles opened wide and darted in. Retaak dropped his weapons and  grabbed the beasts drooling jaws. He roared and pulled with all his might as that toothed maw tried to close on him.

As he struggled he could see Uyaashie and Uyage, fighting back to back with Albyursia below them lashing out at spiders with her boots. The passage was littered with goblin-sized bodies, but more leapt toward them.

Uyaashie tossed a handful of powder into the mob, and several burst into flames, filling the air with smoke. From somehwere out of sight, Retaak heard Kuzat give a triumphant whoop.

The huge spider scrambled, trying to bull him into the wall. Retaak now has his feet underneath him however and leaned into the beast pushing with his entire body. The eight legs skittered against the hard ground and battered his legs, but he did not give. The jagged teeth, very unlike those of any spider, dug into his hands as the scything mandibles snapped inches from his face, dripping liquid that seared his flesh where it hit.

“I will not yield, beast!” growled Retaak, strength surging through him.

“Naaawwwww,” shrieked the spider thing, trying to scramble away now, eyes panicked.

Retaak held fast, and puled the jaws apart. There was a horrific cracking sound as the beasts mouth sections pulled apart under the relentless pressure. The mandibles sagged and a wordless shriek came from deep within it. Retaak kept pulling as the shell around the mouth ripped and blood drooled out. It moaned and the thrashed weakly. Retaak kept pulling.

Just at he was about to rip the lower jaw right off the head and arrow blossomed between the eyes. The beast shook once and stopped moving. Retaak let drop, looking down on it as he panted.

“Are you alright?” asked Uyage.

Retaak nodded, looking up. Uyaashie was bandaging Kuzat’s arm while Albyursia sat on the ground smiling, heedless of the carnage around her.

“We need to go,” said Kuzat. “This will attract others.”

As is to emphasize his point a tree to the east of them toppled, followed buy another a moment later.

Albyursia sprang to her feet. “Karniloth! she comes!”

They ran.

<>

 

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.53T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

“They say that Karniloth’s hate twists the vegetation, even the soil itself,” Albyursia’s voice pulled Retaak back from his examinations of the roots of a tree that were slowly trying to reach him with what looked to be stingers. The tree itself appeared to be a conifer, but was so twisted and scaled that it was hard to compare to its regal cousins that crowned the mountains.

“What is she?” asked Retaak. “Do you know?”

“Many of my people blame her on the first Dread Lord,” said Albyursia. “But they blame the cause of their current troubles for everything. This valley was once home to a prosperous kingdom of Dwarves and Humans. When one of their enemies attacked and they were on the brink of defeat, the Queen made a pact with a dark power and Karniloth was born. She defeated the enemy but the kingdom soon fell victim to her predations. The people who lived here were trapped here until she and her spawn consumed them all.”

“How much of this is myth?” asked Retaak. The Fellspawn only knew Karniloth as a demon an the Desolation as a place not worth conquering.

“I cannot say,” said Albyursia, leaning back against a moss-eaten stone wall. “I have heard different stories about her identity. In some tales she is the Queen, twisted by the power she wields or cursed by those she used it against after the danger was passed. in others Karniloth is what was summoned, a weapon from beyond the world that went out of control. The former is certainly more poetic.”

“Let us hope we never find out,” whispered Uyaashie, gazing down the approach to their little hiding spot and up to the trees above as if they might come alive at any moment and attack.

<>

After scouting ahead Uyage and Kuzat returned, leading them down a narrow passage. The ground crunched under Retaak’s feet with every step even as he tried to move stealthily. After a moment he realized that he was walking on broken cobbles and bones.

“Keep moving,” whispered Kuzat. “This part is dangerous.”

Uyage’s arm snapped up. The whole band froze, save for Albyursia who bumped into Retaak.

Up ahead at the end of the passage, Retaak could see movement. A thick-limbed spider the size of a horse slowly wandered past. It stopped and looked at them. Retaak’s hands found his falchion and he pulled it from the sheath without a whisper of sound. He could see that this was no normal spider, the mouth twisted around the mandibles and the face below the eight eyes was disconcertingly like that of a human woman.

The spider made a clicking sound. Uyage drew back her bow. The hackles on the back of his neck stood up as they often did when he was about to be ambushed.

“There are more,” whispered Kuzat, looking at the overgrown ruins to their right. There, carefully concealed, Retaak spotted another spider.

Uyage’s bowstring twanged. The large spider began to barrel down the passge toward them while overgrown ruins seemed to erupt with smaller spiders that scurried toward them.

“On me!” bellowed Retaak, setting himself in front of the large spider as the battle was joined.

<>

Thralls of a Dread Lord (1.52T)

Welcome to my weekly serial. This is a rough draft that I am working on, for your reading pleasure.

It is a fairly grim tale, so be warned.

Here is the first post from this series.

Here is last week’s entry.

<>

Uyage led them into the Desolation under the cover of darkness. In the early morning grey, rock walls loomed over them as they traveled down into the valley that housed the terrible spider-demon. Retaak was aware of the growing silence as they moved; no song-birds or even the fearless hunting owls from the nearby forests could be heard here.

As the sky brightened and they entered the Desolation proper, Retaak got his first look at the Region. The valley was a vast ruin, covered in webs. Crumbling buildings and half-hidden fortresses could be half-glimpsed through the gossamer strands that veiled them. Even the trees around the edges of the place were webbed. The only signs of life he saw were the cocoons in these webs, some ancient, others fresher. The whole valley was shrouded in webbing giving it a ghostly look; desolation, indeed.

“Karniloth’s children as are as dangerous as she is,” said Kuzat as they stared. “The smaller one scan swarm and the largest of the spiders are of a size with Retaak. They will hunt us relentlessly within their territory, but few of them claim more than a stretch. Keep moving, watch for hidden spiders, and do not touch any webs. Above all, remember that the one thing that all of these creatures truly fear is their queen and mother, Karniloth herself. She prowls the ruins, eating any that she finds, even her own children. Her hunger is endless.”

“How did you make it through here?” asked Uyage, her eyes searching out paths in the ruins.

“Why were you even in this place?” asked Uyaashie, her eyes wrinkling.

Kuzat looked down. “Our mother came down with a coughing sickness; Rotlung they said. We needed money and smuggling elfen treasure from Oystkivat to the Twilight halls was lucrative. Problem is every spawn wants his cut and by the time we got back to the Warrens the regular route, it was not nearly so profitable. The Desolation allowed us to avoid the gangs and warbands. As for how we made it through… it was dangerous, I lost two brothers and a sister down here. One to a trap-spider. One to venom. And… one to something else… maybe even Karniloth herself. Something big and fast, she yelled at us to run and then fled in another direction. After we gathered our courage, we went back and looked… found her shoes, neatly placed next to each other. We never came back.”

He shook his head, as if trying to chase away the memory. “Be wary of everything here, especially the webs. If we are lucky I can get us through before nightfall. We will stick close to the best route that we found.”

“Wait.” said Uyaashie. “What about your mother? you never finished the story.”

Kuzat gave a pained expression. “Most of the money went to paying off Waachear once he found out that we were smuggling into his territory. We made enough to buy some healing, but she was never the same afterward. She kept asking after the lost ones. She died soon afterward. Her last words were their names. Klott, Nikpar, and Gelma.”

“Long may they be remembered,” said Retaak, breaking the silnce before it could become grim.

“Long may they be remembered,” echoed Uyage, Uyaashie, and finally Kuzat.

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