Raina hesitated. There were so many spiders bearing down on me, eager to claim at least a morsel of the meal that was rapidly escaping. Even if she did come to help, what could she do? She was one person…and I was just a familiar. By my very nature, I was built to be expendable: the sacrificial lamb to prevent corruption in the caster. Amsiii’s description of me was clear. I was made for one purpose. What happened to me didn’t matter as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

But, as far as I was concerned, I was not expendable. I raged, thrashing against the restraining webs that clung to my fur. My dagger flew through the air, slicing off spider legs and dying my prison with cerulean spider blood.

A cold pain sank into my back leg. I flipped around, only to see one of the venomous spiders sinking a single fang into me. One was all it needed for the electrified venom to course through me.

The pain was short-lived, though. It gave way to an unfeeling numbness that quickly spread throughout my body. My struggles became so much harder as every limb seemed weighed down with lead. I still fought, sending my dagger flying straight between the eyes of the spider next to me. It backed up, screeching in pain as I pulled the blade free. It would be a small piece of defiance, but it was all I had…

As the venom did its work, everything became harder and more laborious. My eyelids drooped and I reached with my only free paw towards Raina.

“Raina!” I called one last time, hoping, praying that she would come to my rescue.

The venom cut off all means of resistance, including my mana. Even as I fought against the numbness, I felt it creeping into my mana pool, forcing it to be still and silent. The dagger that was my only defense clattered to the ground at Raina’s feet, unable to resist the forces of gravity any longer. My head finally rested against the webs that held me.

It was over. They were going to leave me behind…just as I would have…

* * *

System Activation of Memory Catalogue

Accessing Mental Catalogue for Individual: Malzy

I clawed at the darkness, desperately trying to stumble to freedom. My injuries were great, but that wouldn’t stop me…it couldn’t. Everything I’d ever worked for, everything I’d built, every deal I’d made, every secret I’d gathered…it would all be for nothing if I let myself falter here. The enemies would not bring me down. I wouldn’t let them.

A prospect easier said than done, however. The battle had been intense, and I’d been vastly outnumbered. I knew for sure that I was bleeding from my hands, my arms, and a few unsightly holes in my side, but there seemed to be more hurts than I could account for. The blood trail I was leaving would bring the enemies ere long. I needed to flee faster.

And they said memorizing the secret tunnels beneath the city was a waste of time. Ha! Just shows their short-sightedness. Had it been anyone else caught in the ambush, they’d have surely perished, but not me. No, I was far too clever to be taken down by a bunch of idiots with lava rocks for brains. I was one of the greatest beings in the known universe. Did they think they stood a chance?

My hands reached the stone on the other side of the tunnel. I probed the surface with the remnants of my magic. Finding the marker I’d left there an age ago, I followed it deeper into the tunnels. No one but me could find the markers, of that I was quite certain. I’d be safe if I just kept going.

Shouting echoed down the tunnel behind me, followed by pounding footsteps. They’d found the entrance. That was…less than ideal. I’d hoped to have a little more time. Their tiny brains must have been working on overdrive today to have figured out how I’d escaped. Good for them. That was a one-in-a-million occurrence that likely would never happen again in their lifetimes.

Still, I needed to pick up the pace. I urged myself forward, navigating entirely with the magical threads I’d stitched into the walls for just this eventuality. Footstep after footstep, I stumbled forward in the darkness. I twisted and turned my way through the maze of underground tunnels. Just a little farther, and I’d make it to one of the seven escapeways that led back to the surface. Just a little farther, I was sure.

My feet stumbled over a stone dislodged from the roof. I couldn’t stop myself before I toppled forward, my hands only barely catching me. Wet dirt rubbed into my injuries, making me hiss in frustration and pain. What was that rock doing there? Didn’t it know that it was in the way of my glorious escape? Stupid thing.

I took a deep breath. I just needed to get back up and keep going. I had to keep going. Nothing else mattered.

Gingerly, I pushed myself back to my feet, leaning on the wall for support. A few steps later, my feet kicked against another loose rock, then another. Why was this tunnel so filled with rocks?

A sick worry began to fill my stomach. I’d picked these tunnels because they’d been clear of debris, and every few years I came back to ensure that they continued to fill that requirement.

I had to risk it. I needed to see what was before me. Magic swirled around me and a tiny orange light appeared in my hand. After blinking away the spots that swirled in my vision, I squinted at the tunnel.

It had collapsed. Nothing but rubble lay before me. Shock held me in its solid grip as panic began to creep around the edges of my thoughts. The tunnel had collapsed. My escape had been blocked. Where could I go? The enemies were behind me. Could I make it to the next crossing in time to escape? And what if that one was blocked, too? There were seven other paths I could use to make it to my destination, but they were not so clearly marked to my magical senses. I’d need a light and that light could give away my position to the shadow hounds. They’d find me in an instant.

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“He’s got to be this way!” a voice shouted behind me. I backed up, still leaning on the wall. If they wanted a fight, they’d get one. I might not be more powerful than any of my enemies, but I knew how they fought. I knew every little detail about them. I knew every secret, every sin, every niggling little thought that could turn them against one another.

But…that hadn’t worked so well upstairs. No, I needed to flee. I turned, stumbling back up the hall to make it to the nearest crossing. I could make it. I had to.

I rounded the corner, only to run straight into the search party. They’d been closer on my tail than I’d thought.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here, boys,” the hulking leader snarled through yellowed teeth. His beady yellow eyes gleamed in the dimlight and his horns came very close to scraping the top of the tunnel. Pity. They could use a good dulling…

“Scared to fight fair, hmm?” I asked, flicking my eyes to the three shadow hounds and their handlers.

“Why fight fair when you don’t have an honest bone in your body?”

He had a fair point. I made a point to never fight fair. It’s what’s kept me alive this long.

The Hulking One, for that’s what I’d called him in my mind, leveled his crossbow at me. He had a name. I even knew that name. But using it would only give him a satisfaction that would be unfitting of his station.

“Surprised you can find allies to fight for you,” I began, leaning back on the wall. “Given that you’ve shot your last three close allies with that very crossbow and hidden their bodies.”

The Hulking One’s grip tightened. “Nice try, but you can’t talk your way out of this one. Chain him up!”

It hadn’t worked…I was helpless. I flared my magic, trying to summon any sort of attack to ward off the minions. They backed off a bit at first, but the first crossbow bolt to my shoulder shut that idea down just long enough for them to reach me.

Chains dug into my flesh, and the rest was a bit of a blur. I remembered being dragged out of the tunnels, struggling every inch of the way. The Hulking One dragged me before the other enemies, all the rest of whom were equally beneath me. They mocked me, hurt me, but never let me die.

They stuffed me in a frozen box, so they might play with me later. My senses numbed down to nothing. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel. And yet, even with every nerve frozen to the point of permanent damage, I could still feel the weight of the chains clinging to me in my mind. I was defeated…

No one would come for me…why would they? I had no loyal followers strong enough to rescue me. Those allies who might have come to my aid did not care enough to put themselves at risk. They were going to leave me behind…just as I would have…

* * *

A light flashed before my eyes. The world returned and I was in the spider nest again. I was still trapped, chained down by spider webs as they clung to my fur.

I blinked the spots away. Five arrows coated in flames had slammed into the webs around the walls. The webs ignited, sending spiders reeling back from the growing fire.

Raina was already halfway across the distance between us, Terrowin at her heels. She radiated with cold mana to keep the two of them safe from the growing inferno. A few brave spiders descended on them, only to meet with the business end of Terrowin’s blade.

They…they were coming to rescue me? But…why? I was just a familiar. Other than my obvious mental superiority and tactical genius, I didn’t amount to much in the way of value. I had no great claw of metal like Terrowin, nor a great wall of wood and willpower like Aelisra. Everything I could offer, Raina could do without me.

Another twanging sound sent a shockwave through the room, knocking Raina to her knees and blowing out much of the fire from Cithrael’s arrows. I clawed at my bindings with as much strength as the venom in me would allow…which wasn’t much, but I tried.

The spiders returned with a vengeance, bearing down on Raina and Terrowin with a fury and hunger that would soon drown them both in their own blood. My witch crawled forward as another TWANG ricochetted through the cavern. The thunder spiders would not be denied, and their brethren were just as dangerous. Another sparkhopper streaked across the ceiling, leaping at Terrowin. He spun with mana-heightened speed, cleaving the spider clean out of the air.

“Malzy?” she asked. “Please tell me you’re still there. Malzy!”

“Raina…” I whispered weakly. “You came back…”

“Of course I did! Did you think I’d just leave you behind?”

“Yes.”

“And here I thought your genius knew no equal,” she muttered. “You’re bleeding, but I’m going to try and pull you free. Can you move?”

“Only a little.”

Raina nodded and wrapped her hands around my middle and pulled. I was stuck tight, but my witch was determined. She pulled and pulled. My body stretched uncomfortably, but I bit my tongue to keep from crying out. I would bear the pain if it would see us freed.

One of the purple striped venomous spiders made it through Terrowin’s defenses, sinking its fangs into Raina’s leg. She cried out and kicked the thing away.

“Raina, please…don’t leave me!” I begged, knowing full well that I was asking her to die. She wouldn’t get me out of the bindings…not before paralysis numbed her body.

She cast a glance at the bite in her leg, then shook her head. “I won’t leave you, Malzy. We’re going to get out of this together.” With one final burst of energy, she yanked me as hard as she could. The webs ripped…along with several clumps of fur…and Raina tumbled back, clutching me in her arms.

“Terrowin! I got him!”

The knight nodded, immediately shifting his efforts to retreat back to where Aelisra valiantly held off three spiders at the exit tunnel. Raina stumbled to her feet, limping towards the safety of our allies.

But, it was too late. Three spark hoppers intercepted our path, and Aelisra was set upon by another of the large thunder spiders. There were too many enemies, our exit was blocked.

“Terrowin, we have a problem,” Raina shouted, throwing a shard of ice at one of the spark hoppers. It sliced through the creature’s body, but it wasn’t at the same strength of the ones earlier. Her magic was being affected by the venom, just as mine had.

“We have many problems. I’m working on it.” He was not uninjured either. Blood dripped from a number of bites from spiders that had gotten lucky enough to get past his spinning blade. He turned, evaluating the situation at a glance before sighing. “Everyone close your eyes!” he shouted.

“WHAT?! Have you lost your mind?!” Aelisra shouted as she liberated a spider leg from its owner.

“Just do it!”

I needed no encouragement. Even if it was dangerous, it wasn’t any worse than our current prospective future as spider food. At least this way I wouldn’t have to see the monster that would end me.

A moment later, light surged around us, I could see it through my eyelids. Spiders hissed in rage, and I could hear them scurrying back. Terrowin took Raina’s hand and pulled the two of us forward. By the time I opened my eyes again, we were in the tunnel, and everyone ran as fast as they could.

“This way!” Terrowin shouted as the tunnel branched to the right. We turned, following his lead in the desperate hope that we wouldn’t find ourselves in the middle of another spider nest.

Entering Safezone for Shaleheart Spring

Dungeon Monsters will now retreat.

A clanging of gear and armor followed the collapse of every member of the party. We’d survived.

“Guys,” Aelisra murmured. “Look around.”

Eyes widened as we beheld the crystal waters filled with brilliant blue light. Mana prickled against my fur. There was no doubt in my mind.

This was the real Shaleheart Spring, the mana nexus we’d been searching for.