The group is led through a corridor within the wall of thread, the floor soft yet firm like a thick carpet emplaced upon stone. A gentle breeze washes through, steadily pushing away the putrid scent of sulphur and mud in place of stale earth and the distinct warmth of fabric. Light spills from the exit, wrapping around the visage of the arachnid ahead of them as they step into the open air once more. Bright red stone stands juxtaposed to the bridges and roads dyed in pastel patterns of abstract mosaics and symbols. Structures of shimmering white speckle the horizon, joined together by a web of paths and gripping from floor to ceiling in the shape of two-way funnels.

Stopping along the brightly lit bridge spilling out from the corridor exit, Chach'n turns to face the group. A flawless black carapace shimmers under the light, adorned by a cloak of long flowing pink moss, strands hovering millimetres from the floor as if hosting a challenge in control. Dull spikes tip each joint of the eight robust legs, resting on the fabric road with small pincer claws. "Now that we're out of the pit, I'd like to welcome you again to upper haven. We are currently above Chn, the third city. Have any of you been to haven before?" Fluffy steps up, the grime and dirt now covering him making him look more dishevelled than ever, in spite of his lax attitude. "I've been a few times. If I recall correctly the city I visited was Nu, or... no, it was Ch'nu... Or was it N'chu? It would have been to the opposite end of the layer." "Chun'nu, the fifth city." "Ah, right. That's the one."

"I take it the rest of you are new then." With a series of nods to confirm, the chu'sha turns to face each of them in sequence. "A fleshy one, I believe you call yourselves human?" "Elf." "How confusing... And then we have a demon and a child of Denkha." Goldy narrows his eyes, scratching his ear in confusion at the term of address. "I know no Denkha." "So I've heard. The last of your kin was the same, he didn't recognise his own progenitor either. Divine beast Denkha, he who could forge a blade from a mountain. He is not ours to revere, but we know of him still, and your kin should too." Eyes widened, Goldy steps back, bowing his head before losing himself to his own thoughts.

Eight pale eyes turn to match eight cyan ones atop Aleph's head, the smaller arachnid meeting the stare-down with unwavering confidence... and excessive competitiveness. "You are not haven kin, I take it? In fact, if I'm not mistaken you are a divine beast. You bear the mark." "Fuahaha! Yes! It is I, divine beast Lyla, most powerful of all arachnids!" "You'd best be careful with those words. Some of the more zealous haven kin would take offence on behalf of elder Ch'cha." "I'll take on anybody who wants it! Come at me!" "How energetic... Ch'cha accepts challenges freely, though that can wait for now."

Her eyes finally land on Aleph, locked in a daze as she drowns within the abyss of the young dragon's gaze. Pulling away, she straightens her body to a remarkable symmetry and lowers to a respectful bow. Somehow the moss draped over her back refuses to touch the ground, seemingly shortening to remain a fine width from contact. "I greet my elder." Aleph tilts her head, Lyly tilting her entire body and nearly falling off. "Elder? She's not even a year old! She's only like... one-hundred-forty-something days!" "Aww, you were keeping such good track before." "Hold on, I have it written down somewhere..."

"A gaze can tell me no lies. Physical age aside, this one is by all standards, an ancient. We are not unfamiliar with reincarnation, I myself have undergone five soul moults. That is what makes me chu'sha." "No, no, that can't be right. Hold on..." Lyla hops off her perch, flashing the threads binding the floor a highly opinionated glance before skittering by the larger arachnid to whisper well within audible range of the entire group's enhanced senses. Chach'n politely leans in to listen to the smaller spider. "She's actually a time traveller, I'm sure about it. The whole thing makes total sense, it's a conspiracy about a second calamity involving unknowable eldritch horrors of the deep. I'll tell you more later." She thinks I'm a time traveller?

"I don't think time travel is possible." It isn't. "But it is cool." It is. "Point... taken? I think?" I think so too. Scratching her jaw in confusion, Chach'n lifts herself from the ground, shaking her head to be rid of the distractions. "We shouldn't linger much longer than we need to, or we'll get in the way of the local workers once the feast commute begins. Follow me and I will lead you to the city where we can arrange lodging for the duration of your stay." Turning around, she skitters forward, each step a choreographed tiptoe whispering quietly against the fabric. Aleph breaks into a trot to keep up, Didi and Goldy opting to just ride atop her back while Fluffy jogs. Lyly follows closer behind, performing a perfect imitation of the motion, though whether it is to mock or to compete is unclear.

Aleph picks up the pace to catch up and trot beside. "You're pretty friendly towards strangers. Out of all the worlds I've been to I feel like that's quite rare. Any particular reason why?" "Oh, we love guests! Those from the surface bring us stories, and it is through stories that we can experience wonders beyond the confines of our cramped little cave. The fact there's five of you is even better! I can only imagine what tales there could be from other worlds. You wouldn't believe how boring the last guy was..." Her gait slows a minute amount, her head tilting towards Aleph. "Your scepticism is understandable though. There have been incidents in the past, but that's what the chu'sha are here for. If anything does happen, we are the most capable of handling it. I'll be acting as your warden during your stay, but as far as I'm concerned that just means I get a front row seat to any stories you tell!"

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Her pace picks up again, Lyly now unable to keep up the imitation with her smaller legs as she clambers back to her perch. The road bends and splits into junctions, their path winding across the network of paved fibres and leading to an intricately carved vertical tunnel. A set of wide spiral staircases twist the circumference from peak to base, walled by a mesh of webs imbued with woven patterns and depictions of innumerable tales and events. Dozens of spiders, ranging from tiny to wolf-sized clamber up and down the thread wall in clusters, their shells each coated in a variety of different breeds of moss. Chach'n leaps to one of the several threads suspended in the centre of the tunnel, a taunting glint in her eyes as she slides down. "Try to keep up why don't you?"

"She's far more energetic than the last chu'sha I met..." Fluffy remarks, failing to notice Aleph as she leaps down after her. Goldy winces at the sudden vertigo, Lyly simply staring ahead, completely used to this by now. Pictograms and diagrams grow more dense as they plummet, passing by a surprised arachnid and spooking some of the local commuters before flaring her wings as the space opens out.

A city sized web sprawls around in a fractal of ever decreasing thicknesses. All directions from the horizon to the base are covered in a gradating spectrum of threads, blocking any view beyond. Spherical structures lay suspended by thick joints, countless dots of vibrant moss covered inhabitants skittering along each joint and across the many disparate threads between.

Aleph lands herself on one of the thick wires of thread, the large spider following shortly behind. "Never expected an outsider to just take the plunge like that, they usually just take the stairs." "This idiot has zero sense of self preservation. Don't judge her the same way you would any sane person." Aleph flicks her tail at the rude fuzzball atop her head, who in turn skitters under her chin to escape retribution. "Say, where's the fleshy one? He didn't follow behind?" "He's coming." Fluffy plunges head first from above, his hand deftly reaching out to catch a thick bar of web and missing completely, landing and tangling himself in a mesh of hair-like webs.

"Well, that's why we have those." "Should we maybe help him? He's getting himself more stuck..." Didi asks, gracing him with a concerned glance. "We usually have a policy of letting people break out of our own tangles. Helps the kids who can't cling properly yet build some character." "He too is an idiot with more muscle than sense. He'd sooner tear himself out and fall again than actually untangle." "Hey, I'm not that bad!" "You're already snapping some of the threads." "Maybe I should help him out after all... Those safety nets are kinda expensive."

Through a combination of determination, patient unravelling, and snipping some of the threads somehow woven into his hair, they manage to free the elf and pull him up to more stable ground. "Well, it was an unorthodox entry, but here's the city of Chn in all of its over-saturated glory. The people here tend to have a lot of free time, so we get a lot of bored artists painting the walls to kill time. Some say it adds character, I say it's too much." She announces with a flourish of her pedipalps. "I can lead you to lower haven straight away if you'd like, but I know a bunch of folks who'd appreciate you sticking around for a few ponds."

"Do we have much reason to stay? A safe place to rest is nice, but beyond that I don't see much reason not to just continue." Aleph queries, turning to the test of the group, still mostly situated on her back. "I could do with a new sword." Fluffy responds, prompting a few confused glances. "You had a sword?" Aleph narrows her eyes sceptically. "He did, but aside from training he used it like... once. And then it broke anyway." Lyly scoffs dismissively. "There's no way... I used it all the time, didn't I?" "You usually just punch everything, even when you had a sword. Not once have I seen you do anything other than a plain vertical swing with it." "No, that can't be right... I trained extensively with the sword, it's like a part of my identity! I was just holding back when I didn't use it." "You could've just held back with the sword."

A soft tapping pulls their attention back to the chu'sha, an indeterminate expression etched between her fangs. "So, are you staying? If so I can recommend a blacksmith, and if you're lucky you might be able to convince Ch'cha to give you a piece of his carapace. You'd find no sharper blade than one forged from the hide of the eldest haven kin." "Well-" "We're staying. I need a new sword, if nothing else but to prove I'm actually a swordsman." "Excellent! I'll take you to your lodgings, then I'll have to file some truly cataclysmic paperwork, and then we can see about prying some good stories from you guys!" "And my sword." "And your sword."