CHAPTER 8: FINALE!

BIOLOGICAL SACKS

At some point the sound of the Cave Arachs woke him. Once they had passed he climbed down into the main tunnel, ready to continue the grind. As soon as he started his runs, familiar thoughts began to rise again, the image of Caleb’s face appearing in his mind's eye. He let the anger rise, feeling that it was within his control now that he understood it. It was no longer a wild flame threatening to burn him alive, but the heart of an engine brimming with controlled power.

Towards the end of his first run, a large Aura appeared down a side tunnel, flashing with alarm as he passed. He paused and went into Stealth, waiting to see if it would come after him. When nothing came out, he crept back and peered around the corner. Whatever it was, it had apparently noticed him but was showing no signs of aggression. Its Aura radiated something like startled anxiety and hesitancy, as if it hadn't expected him to be there and was hoping he would go away. Its Aura and behaviour were different to the Cave Arachs, but it still had a ‘spidery’ quality. He Analysed it.

[https://i.imgur.com/R5NFcIb.jpg]

It was another species of Arach!

Only 2 Agility, so he could outrun it easily. The 5 Strength was intimidating. Not to mention the idea of it spitting acid. If his Character Sheets could be believed then this species lived off hunting the Cave Arachs. That explained why he had never seen them come past his alcove on the way to the surface. These two species of Arach had formed their own little ecosystem deep underground.

As Lucas continued to watch its Aura, he realised that it was as much of an imposter here as he was. Somehow it recognised this similarity also, and a reflected recognition was passed between their Auras.

‘Let's just go our separate ways buddy,’ Lucas thought. The thought had been apparently broadcast as an attempt to communicate, because it responded with a jumble of incomprehensible spidery gibberish from its Aura.

He had no desire to get his face melted off with acid and it seemed to have no interest chasing him. Lucas stayed and watched, not wanting to resume his exercises while it was lurking nearby. After maintaining the standoff for another minute, it turned slowly and retreated deeper into the side tunnel. Lucas made a point of remembering this tunnel and began scouting it before starting his speed runs. A second species of spider down here was a surprise. Their combo of shielding and spitting attacks was presumably well suited to beating the Cave Arachs Agility.

Lucas was very deep into the cave, at the limit of what he had mapped so far, when the Cave Arachs moved out to hunt. He activated Stealth, pressing himself against the cave wall as they passed. This was a good opportunity to venture deeper, since they would be gone for a long time. He began adding new territory to his Map. Instead of mapping the entirety of the new areas, he ventured deeper, planning to lay some groundwork and give himself a clear escape path when he came back to add all the details.

As he continued, the air grew warmer and took on a dank moistness. It smelled like his dad's fish tank when he hadn't cleaned it for a long time. The tunnel quickly widened and took on a deep hollow quality, giving the impression that he was in a large empty chamber. Lucas’s foot touched something cold that rang slightly as it skidded on the stone. He paused and waited to see if the sound had alerted anything, then crouched to investigate. It was a metal plate, so badly rusted that it flaked away in his hand. Perhaps the remnants of some ancient armour?

A few steps later he encountered a pile of rotting fur propped up by ancient bones that crumbled as he touched them. The smell that drifted up, when disturbed, made Lucas fight to keep himself from gagging. Despite the sickening smell, and the slick oily film that covered everything, he continued and was soon stepping through all manner of dead and decaying things he couldn't identify.

The smell gave the darkness a nightmarish quality. His imagination was accustomed to using the pitch black like a canvas for his fantasies, and soon the darkness was being populated with evil creatures that seemed to reflect the growing disquiet in his mind. The silence became heavy and smothering as he threaded through the ancient dead. He couldn't shake the thought that he would end up rotting here in the darkness, another pile of bones. Groping along the cavern floor, Lucas’s hand touched something smooth and round. A notification appeared. It was so sudden and unexpected his heart almost shot through his chest.

[https://i.imgur.com/nL5aLHA.jpg]

Lucas’s eyes went wide. It was treasure! He had no idea what a Silver Crown was, but it sounded a lot like money. Blinding powder might be useful, and a rope was absolutely useful. The Regeneration Bracelet sounded literally like magical equipment. The atmosphere of dread was blown away like mist in the wind as wonder set in. There could be decades, or centuries, worth of loot. He had no idea how long the Arachs had been nesting here.

He continued stirring up the rotting dead, which soon created another popup;

[https://i.imgur.com/L4MBWXP.jpg]

‘Alright! I hope it doesn't smell like this place,' Lucas thought.

He took his time to keep picking through the organic lumps and mounds, trying not to let the stench and ancient grease get to him. Against the cavern wall he found large biological sacks.

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[https://i.imgur.com/SM2nkX9.jpg]

‘Spider Eggs,’ Lucas thought with a grimace.

There were several sacks. In total he ended up with 354 Arach eggs. He took one out, it was about the size of a pea, soft and wet.

Rounding a bend while tracing a strange shape with his hands, he was suddenly confronted with a massive spider Aura that immediately engorged with hostility. Lucas instantly froze and activated Stealth. It was too late. The Aura flared up with killing intent and lurched its immense weight into motion. It was so huge that he could hear its body dragging over the rocks, crushing old carcasses. Its legs resounded with massive impacts against the stone as it hauled its mass towards him. It would barge right into him if he stayed hidden. Lucas bolted, almost slipping over some wet rotten fur as panic took hold

The power of its Aura was washing over him as he ran, swollen with wrath. It had built up momentum fast and he could hear it catching up. Eight legs hammered on the rock like rolling thunder, echoing madly around him. In desperation he pulled out the pouch of blinding powder and threw it into the air above him. A sharp crackling sound filled the cavern, accompanied by a bright flash of white light. The whole area was painted in jarringly bright detail, like a bolt of lightning had struck overhead. Lucas stumbled into a frantic scramble on all fours, his vision stained with overlapping afterimages.

The effect on the creature behind him was apparently even worse. The light had flashed right in front of its face. Its legs rammed into the stone, desperately trying to halt its momentum, and the sound of stone cracking and shattering filled the chamber. Its Aura was suddenly overwhelmed with terror and confusion. A precious moment of silence fell around him as Lucas ran full tilt out of the nest.

He had scarcely reached the exit when the thundering began again. He was screaming as he ran but could barely hear himself over the massive impacts of the eight legs behind. The power of them was shaking rocks and debris from the cave ceiling. It was almost on him by the time he hit the starting point of one of his cave running circuits.

Muscle memory suddenly transformed his mad scramble into smooth practised motion, and his fear hardened into determined concentration. Lucas let his reflexes guide him and soon the wind was rushing past his ears. He vaulted over entire rock formations with practised ease, tilted in to wall-run along the bends, and contorted to slide between narrow gaps. He was getting ahead now but could still hear shattering impacts behind him. The immense power of its monstrous body allowed it to smash straight through mineral formations in frenzied pursuit.

Soon Lucas passed his alcove and continued full speed towards the cave entrance. Here the cave was wide and clear. As soon as the creature reached this level ground, its speed picked up enormously. Lucas’s muscles were burning, but he sprinted with all his might as the thundering legs drew closer. He reached the rockslide at the bottom of the entrance. Moonlight was pouring in, shining over the scattered rocks as he scrambled up from one to another.

His lead bought him enough time to get out of its reach when the creature made impact with the rocks below. Its massive bulk caused a small avalanche to fall around him. He didn't see the rock that hit him, but felt the impact jar his head, vision spinning madly. Terror pushed him on, trembling legs struggled to lift his weight, and dizziness threatened to topple him off balance. Despite the blood flowing freely into his eyes Lucas peered down. Titanic legs lanced into the loose rocks as it hauled itself up. A cluster of monstrous eyes reflected moonlight like a collection of smooth gemstones, gleaming with hatred.

Its grotesquely bulbous abdomen filled the cavern behind it. Lucas regretted looking down as he went cold with fear, his arms trembling. He leaned against one massive boulder as he attempted to push himself up to another, but it began to tilt. Lucas remembered avoiding this boulder when he first entered the cave. Bracing his legs, he put his back against it and pushed hard. The boulder rolled off its delicate balance, nearly taking him down with it.

He looked down as it tumbled and bounded, crushing and dislodging smaller rocks. The massive Arach saw it too, trying to press its huge form into one side of the cavern, but the boulder was spinning wildly through the air. It slammed into the creature's face with a thick crunching sound. Rock and spider both plunged back into the darkness below. An explosive wet pop was followed by a torrent of powerful Aura energy blasting up through the tunnel.

Lucas stayed still for a while, breathing hard as the adrenaline retreated and his muscles became limp and useless. He climbed down very slowly, knowing that he couldn't rest because the smaller Arachs would return soon. As he reached the bottom the air was dense with a thick wet stench. The cave was slick with organic goo that had been splattered over everything. The great spider lay at the bottom of the climb, its legs curled in odd angles amongst the wreckage of its body. Its bulbous abdomen had exploded like a balloon full of slime. Shreds of ripped spider skin draped over the rocks and floated amongst the organic muck that was pooling on the cave floor.

[https://i.imgur.com/eZqHnvF.jpg]

Lucas dismissed the popup, limped through the remnants of the Broodmother, and stumbled his way towards his alcove. Blood was dripping in a steady stream from where the rock had hit his head. He withdrew the Badger Pelt from his inventory and held it against his wound, not wanting a trail of blood leading to his alcove. He climbed up slowly and lay there for a long time as his breathing calmed. The sweat that drenched him evaporated and his muscles cooled. The Cave Arachs began to return with the victims of their hunt. They didn't seem to react immediately to the Broodmother’s remains. However, they didn't settle in to nest like usual. Soon they were swarming angrily all around the cave, seeming disoriented and even fighting with each other.

Lucas peered down from Stealth to watch them scramble about madly, holding his head throbbed from where the rock had hit it. None of them attempted the climb up to his position so he stayed there, watching them while he had enough Mana for Stealth. The Arachs remained in this frenzied state for many hours, until at last, they seemed to have spent all their anxious energy and made their way back into their nest one by one.

When Lucas hadn't seen a spider Aura for perhaps an hour he withdrew his bear pelt. It was massive and thankfully didn't smell bad. When layed out, it took up as much space as a king sized bed. Lucas laid the fur side down, which created a wonderful cushioning. After sleeping so long on hard rock it felt like a dream of luxury, pure comfort. He curled one edge over himself. It was so warm, soft, and cosy that tears welled up in his eyes as he drifted off to sleep.