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.
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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…
