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9th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

Why is it always spiders?

by Luke Thomas

Dear Diary,
 
The weeks of preparation are done. We are moving on Hillfield.
 
Our target is the source of the mind-control spores: Lady Magnolia’s garden. But a frontal assault on the gates would be suicide. Fortunately, Ileas unearthed old records of an ancient mine running beneath the city—a backdoor that could lead us straight into the sewers and up into the noble district. We just had to find the entrance.
 
Finding it was a lesson in the difference between arcane study and... whatever it is Gael does. While Gael spent twenty minutes trying to interrogate a local wood pigeon—struggling to explain the abstract concept of a "tunnel" to a creature worried about worms—Hayley and I swept the area. I found it, of course. A concealed entrance in the hillside. I couldn't help but beam with a bit of pride as I called the others over. The bird, for the record, refused to go near it. Wise bird.
 
The entrance was boarded up with heavy planks. Gael found tracks nearby—large spider prints that seemed to jump around, appearing and disappearing, completely unfazed by physical obstacles. Ethereal travel. Wonderful.
 
I set up my Tiny Hut for the night, a dome of safety against the unknown. We slept, but the unease was palpable.
 
This morning, we breached the mine. Prying the planks loose made a terrible amount of noise, echoing into the dark. In response, we heard a skittering sound from deep within. When the light finally hit the space behind the planks, we realized why it had been sealed. The floor was littered with small sacrifices—coins, trinkets, small crude effigies. The locals weren't trying to keep people out; they were trying to keep something in, or at least appease it. We boarded the planks up behind us. There is no turning back now.
 
The tunnel stretched into the dark, aiming for the city’s underbelly. There were no tracks on the ground, but the ceiling and walls were scarred with the prints of those same massive spiders. We reached a junction with six tunnels: two marked with an =, two with an arrow up, and two with an arrow down. We found an old mining cart and, deeper in, a massive industrial elevator.
 
The controls were cryptic: S, S, M, F. Next to it stood a small control shack, locked tight. We broke the lock—another thunderous noise in the silence. Immediately, a deep, resonant movement answered from the depths. And then, it hit us. A sudden, overwhelming wave of hunger. Not natural appetite, but a magical, gnawing starvation. We had to stop and eat just to function.
 
We boarded the elevator. We set it to the second 'S' and began a slow, creaking descent. We switched to 'M', picking up speed, the darkness rushing past us. We stopped at the fifth level when Gael spotted a body.
 
We investigated. It was a human, or what was left of one—mummified, drained, a husk. The wave of hunger washed over us again, sharper this time. I cast Detect Magic. The aura is suffocating down here—enchantment and necromancy, designed to induce this ravenous state.
 
Then Gael froze. "Footsteps," he whispered.
 
They emerged from the gloom—pale, emaciated horrors with gaping, endless mouths. The Hungry. We hoped to stay hidden, but luck was not with us. They shrieked and sprinted toward Liliana and Alistan with terrifying speed.
 
I did what I do best. I summoned a Fire Elemental, a roaring avatar of heat to draw their ire. But in the chaos, I lost track of Ileas. He wasn't fighting. He was wandering away, his eyes glazed, following some unseen lure down a side tunnel.
 
One of the creatures lunged at Liliana. Rhyme, her spirit wolf, intercepted it. The beast tore into the wolf with brutal efficiency, shredding Rhyme’s form until he dissipated into mist. Liliana screamed, but held her ground. I sent my elemental slamming into the fray and unleashed a Fireball, scorching the stone and pushing the shadows back.
 
But Ileas... he was gone. From the darkness where he vanished, a single, terrible musical note resonated. A dissonant chord that hurt to hear.
 
And then the air shimmered.
 
Phase Spiders. Dozens of them. They blinked into existence all around us, drawn by the sound. One materialized right next to me, its mandibles clicking.
 
I am writing this as we run and hide, flee and fight. I am casting Fireball behind me, burning the webs, burning the dark, but they keep phasing in. Two of the sorrowsworn are dead, but the spiders... they just keep coming….
— Luke

Continue reading...

  1. A test of magic
    24th of Aran, Y126 Year of the Tree
  2. Trades and Punishments
    1st of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  3. Homecoming
    15th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  4. The price of a ring
    16th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  5. A Festival of Foxes and Frolics
    30th of Dagda, Year 121, Era of the tree
  6. Elsa
  7. Adventure Ahead!
    1st of Lug, Year 121 of the Tree
  8. Rosebloom's Bookworm
    4th of Lugh, Year 121 of the Tree
  9. What to do when your hostess has a Secret Society Membership
    5th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree
  10. The most useful kind of magic
    6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  11. A Betrayal of Satyrs
    7th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree
  12. Maladies of the Mist
    8-11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  13. The Hunter
    11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  14. A Hidden Path to Logvale and Beyond
    12th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  15. A Master of Fire
    13th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  16. Too Many Goodbyes
    20th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree
  17. Letter to Hayley I
    1st of Ogan, 122 Year of the Tree
  18. Letter to Hayley II
    3rd of Solstice, 122 Year of the Tree
  19. Letter to Hayley III
    24th of Edon, 123 Year of the Tree
  20. Letter to Hayley IV
    17th of Gobu, 124 Year of the Tree
  21. Letter to Hayley V
    7th of Daga, 125 Year of the Tree
  22. Letter to Hayley VI
    14th of Mannan, 125 Year of the Tree
  23. The Reunion
    14th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  24. The Emissaries of the Fenhunter
    15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  25. The Fall of Cairn Fussil
    4th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  26. Festival Frenzy
    10th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  27. The Terror of Ravensfield
    13th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  28. Dragon Bones in the Dark
    15th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  29. The Determination of an Undead Kobold
    16th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  30. Battle at the Burning Village
    17th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  31. A Reminder to Take Action
    18th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  32. A Grand Ball of Intrigue
    20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  33. The Search for Norgar
    20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  34. Why you can never trust a bard
    20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  35. A Royal Reward and a Challenge
    28th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  36. An apple a day...
    29th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree
  37. Dealing with the fey
    30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree
  38. Aunty's Wrath
    3rd of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  39. Best served cold
    9th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  40. Venturing into dangerous waters
    11th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  41. The Fury of the Marsh
    11th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  42. The young stag and the undead wolf
    20th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  43. Anaya's Prison
    21st of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  44. Tales of Immerglade
    22nd of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  45. The festival of Wolf's Rest
    26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  46. Battle of the Bards
    26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  47. Undead at the Cathedral
    30th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree
  48. Elves and worms
    4th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  49. How we got Sixteen Cows
    8th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  50. Descent into Acid
    9th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  51. Sorry we stole your hoard
    10th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  52. Strange Dreams of the Northern Wetlands
    12th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  53. Latebra Velora
    15th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  54. The Tragedy of Alistan De la Roost
    17th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  55. From Keralon into the Feywild
    22nd of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree
  56. A Feywild Festival
    ??, 126 Year of the Tree
  57. Into the Jaws of the Warg King
    ??, 126 Year of the Tree
  58. The birds have wings
    ??, 126 Year of the Tree
  59. Sneaking into Whitewail
    ??, 126 Year of the Tree
  60. Arrival at Nimmerburg
    29th of Gobu, 126 Year of the Tree
  61. The Fey Tournament
    1st of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree
  62. Lumiria
    1st of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree
  63. Homecoming
    2nd of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree
  64. The dinner party
    4th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  65. The Mausoleum
    11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  66. Chain of Souls
    11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  67. Sister Willow's Story
    15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  68. The Briar's Ritual
    15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  69. The Water Temple
    22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  70. An unexpected journey
    22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  71. Temples of Sand and Air
    22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  72. Haggayn
    22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree
  73. The beginning of the end
    30th Mannan 126 Year of the Tree
  74. Ashes of Wolf's Rest
    30th Mannan 126 Year of the Tree
  75. Exiles of the Silver City
    10th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  76. The Prison of Rosebloom
    15th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  77. The Darkness around Hillfield
    16th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  78. Setting the stage
    16th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree
  79. Why is it always spiders?
    9th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  80. The Ethereal Bard
    9th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  81. Trimming the Greenery
    10th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  82. The road to Ghenna
    10th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  83. Back to a changed Keralon
    15th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  84. The bitter taste of defeat
    15th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  85. A Hard Choice
    16th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree
  86. Dragons and Elves
    2nd of Hagan, 126 Year of the Tree
  87. The Primordial Storm inside
    7th of Hagan, 126 Year of the Tree
  88. Rumours of my death are somewhat exaggerated
    11th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  89. The Beast of Butchery
    12th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  90. Stalked in the Maze
    12th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  91. The dangers of trying to steal from hags
    13th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  92. Moving planes
    17th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  93. The Queen of Immerglade
    17th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree
  94. All Hail the Ice Queen
    3rd of Solstace, 126 year of the tree
  95. Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-Snowmeny
    4th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.050 © 2017-2025 [en] | Anvil Time: 05:02, Jun 8 2026