Strangely, now that everything was falling apart, Caelan Whitfield had finally become a satisfied customer. Gideon shouted for the man to run but he seemed oblivious to the danger, mesmerized by the spectacle engulfing the courtyard.

In a panic, Gideon dropped to his knees and placed his staff’s case before him. His hands fumbled with the clasps, and he cursed under his breath before finally steadying himself enough to undo them. Drawing out his staff, he looked around and tried to assess the situation.

It was chaos.

Countless spiders poured into the courtyard while the broodmother towered above them, her body as large as the gatehouse itself. Gideon was still shocked—not only could she talk, but she somehow spoke Gleurican Common. She was focused on Clonk, who had leaped off the stage and was running towards the rack of weapons at the edge of the courtyard, up against the wall.

Gideon hadn’t known, until Clonk’s story, that there had once been an entire armory. There was almost nothing left. He didn’t recognize the weapon Clonk had mentioned in his story on the weapon rack. None of the armaments looked magical.

The broodmother seemed to anticipate Clonk’s movements as she slashed one of her legs down towards him. As Gideon looked closely, he realized her legs ended in three short claws, each gleaming in the moonlight, as sharp as a blade.

Clonk dodged to one side, nimbly sidestepping her attack. She struck the dirt, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured Gideon’s vision.

Marcus hadn’t moved from where he stood next to Gideon. He waved his hand, and a light burst from his fingers. Two copies of himself flickered into existence on either side of him, then ran in opposite directions.

Most of the other guests started running as the spiders grew closer to the dining tables. Only a couple of them were still rooted to their spots. One of the caravan guards, realizing that Caelan Whitfield wasn’t coming, ran forward and grabbed his arm. He pleaded for Caelan to flee.

Meanwhile, the spiders drew closer.

Quickly, Gideon rose to his feet and placed the crystal of his staff against the ground. Though he’d been getting better at targeting his [Quake], he didn’t think he had the time for such precision now. He took a deep breath, charging the staff’s crystal with his mana until it glowed in the darkness with a bright green light.

When he cast [Quake], a tremor passed through the ground in a large arc in front of him, shaking the tables and chairs and causing Caelan Whitfield and the guard to stumble. Gideon walked forward, continuing to channel the spell as he moved. The earth where he walked was stable—everywhere in front of him, however, began to rupture and fragment.

For a brief moment, he cursed himself. This was going to take a lot of effort to clean up.

As the [Quake] reached the spiders, they began to trip in the cracks and crevasses, losing their footing on the uneven ground. If he could buy enough time for the guests to make it into the castle, they could bar the doors. It would be easier to defend from the inside. Hopefully, by then, Kelvan would hear the commotion and come to help them.

Gideon released his staff’s [Echo], an aftershock following the [Quake]. The two spiders closest to Caelan were both trapped. Gideon lifted his staff and cast [Hail of Stone] at each of them. The rocks found their targets, striking the spiders on their heads and eyes as they howled in pain.

The dust had settled, and Gideon looked to where Clonk was holding one of the broodmother’s legs above his head. She must have tried to attack him again, and rather than dodging, Clonk had decided to grapple with her.

Despite his small size compared to the spider, he seemed more than her equal in strength. He pulled with all his might, and the broodmother stumbled forward, plunging off the roof of the gatehouse and falling towards him.

She slashed at him with one of her other legs, and Clonk ducked beneath her blow. But his grip on her loosened, and the broodmother pulled herself free. However, he took advantage of the moment and managed to reach the weapon rack, grabbing a spear.

Gideon focused his eyes on the broodmother and used [Appraise]. It was time to know as much as he could about what they were dealing with.

Status Name: Silkspinner Matrifex Level: 17 Attributes Might: 16 Brilliance: 13 Fortitude: 10 Willpower: 10 Finesse: 19 Properties Moon-Touched Skills Further Information Obscured

Gideon had no idea what it meant to be moon-touched or what a Silkspinner Matrifex even was, but as he read over the spider’s stats, his hands tightened around his staff. Though Gideon couldn’t see her skills, he thought that must imply she did have some, which was terrifying. How did a spider, no matter how powerful, learn to speak or use magic?

Clonk thrust his spear at the Silkspinner Matrifex, but she parried his blow with one of her claws, then jumped backward, putting some distance between them.

Gideon turned his attention back to the broodmother’s children. The guard had finally gotten Caelan to budge, though the man seemed in no great hurry.

“Get inside!” Gideon shouted as he ran forward, shooting another [Hail of Stone] toward the next group of spiders that were advancing toward them.

On Gideon’s left side, Marcus ran forward, waving his arms in the air. “Come get me,” he shouted. “I’m delicious!”

I’m going to assume that’s an illusion, Gideon thought. He could no longer keep track of which one was real. Another copy of Marcus had jumped on stage and started to dance.

Gideon finally reached Caelan and shouted to the guard, “Get him inside!”

“This is incredible,” Caelan said, beaming at Gideon.

“This isn’t a show, you idiot,” Gideon said as he channeled another [Quake] towards the wave of oncoming spiders. Though he thought he’d killed a few and injured many more, they kept coming.

Gideon risked a look over to Clonk, and his heart soared. Clonk’s spear was embedded in the broodmother’s abdomen. She was shaking her body, trying to throw him off, but he held on.

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“Attend me, my children!” she shouted, and abruptly, the wave of spiders halted. As if possessed, they turned toward the broodmother and charged at Clonk.

Gideon cast [Quake] again, but he already knew it wouldn’t be enough to stop them all. Though many spiders fell into the newly-formed fissures in the earth, others managed to keep advancing, in many cases treading on the trapped bodies of their siblings. Gideon released another [Echo] from his staff, then poured more mana into another spell.

[ Low Mana Warning! ]

“Shit,” he muttered. He could tell that his core had strengthened recently with the levels he’d gained. His mana reserves were deeper, and his spells stronger, than ever. But with the way he’d been casting, it was only a matter of time.

“You can’t save him,” Marcus said from right behind him, and Gideon jumped. Over on the stage, a few spiders had decided to check out his dancing illusion, only to be surprised when they bit right through it.

Gideon poked Marcus in the arm. He felt solid. “You should have gone into the castle.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Marcus said, grinning like a madman. “You should go into the castle. You might still be able to save yourself.”

Myself? Gideon thought. He looked back to the keep. The other caravan guard was holding the door open, and most of the guests had made it inside. Even Caelan, though he’d dragged his feet, was almost there. “I can’t do that,” Gideon said.

As the spiders approached Clonk, rather than attack him directly, they began to fire webs from their spinners. He jumped backward, trying to dodge, but some of it wrapped around his legs.

It’s just like in the story, Gideon thought. If they can entangle him, his strength and speed no longer matter.

There were too many targets to stop them all, but there was still the broodmother herself. If he could distract her, it might buy Clonk some time. Raising his staff, Gideon combined [Hail of Stone] with [Enhancement], launching a razor-sharp volley of projectiles toward the broodmother’s eyes, then using his staff’s [Echo] to follow up.

Though her children had often been able to dodge his projectiles, the broodmother was focused entirely on Clonk, and she was a much larger target. Though part of the spell missed her, a shard of rock struck true, impaling the Silkspinner Matrifex in one of her large eyes. The broodmother screamed in agony, a wail that pierced Gideon’s ears and caused him to flinch.

Her undamaged eyes flicked towards him. “You,” she said, and once again, her voice sounded like it came from everywhere around him.

A chill passed through Gideon as he realized the truth. It wasn’t that she knew how to talk or that she could speak Gleurican Common. She was able to project her thoughts directly into his mind. Into all their minds.

The Silkspinner Matrifex jumped upward, finally shaking Clonk free of her now that he was partially webbed. His spear still hung from her abdomen. She twisted in mid-air, launching a web that hit Gideon in the arm with the force of a hammer. He tried to aim his staff towards her and cast another spell, but another glob of webbing hit him in the chest, and he fell backward.

He tried to pull himself up, but the broodmother charged directly at him. She danced around, firing more webbing, wrapping it around his body with her legs, pinning his arms against his torso. She stretched one of her legs towards him, and he screamed as she grabbed him with her claws and lifted him off the ground.

She pulled him closer until he was directly in front of her, and he could see his terrified face reflected in the red orbs of her uninjured eyes. “Everything changed when you came here, little wizard. They never interfered in my affairs before. Explain yourself.”

“I…” Gideon began. He found he couldn’t look away from her. Something was happening to him. A hazy cloud had enveloped his mind. “I’m so sorry,” he said, though it didn’t sound like his voice. “I’ve been a fool.”

“Yes, you have,” the broodmother said. “But you’re going to obey me from now on, aren’t you, Gideon Moody?”

“Yes, yes, of course…” He shook his head, trying to free himself from her spell, but he found it hard not to agree. She knew best, after all.

He felt so tired. It had been so long since he’d slept. The world felt so heavy, so it might be best to take a short nap. Indeed, everything would be fine when he woke up…

“Hands off my nephew!” Kelvan shouted, and Gideon’s eyes snapped open.

Kelvan’s mirror was floating in the courtyard, and his glowing red eyes burned with an intensity Gideon had never before seen. Kelvan’s reflection reached out his hand, and a beam of green light lanced out of the mirror, slicing through the broodmother’s leg.

There was a rush of air, and Gideon realized he was falling to the ground. Gideon landed on his back in the dirt, staring into the sky as the wind rushed out of him.

The broodmother screamed and ran. Gideon tried to look to where Clonk was, but he couldn’t see anything. His head was spinning. Kelvan’s mirror flew past, shooting another beam at the retreating broodmother and her children.

Is that it? Gideon wondered. Were they safe?

He realized he had a pile of notifications hovering in his vision, but they kept fading in and out of focus. He dismissed them—he would have to read them later.

Ondine appeared above him, floating down, her hair streaming behind her. Her hand took his own. Though it felt cold, her presence reassured him. At least he was not alone.

She pressed a glass vial into his hand containing a bubbling red fluid. “Drink this, dear,” she said.

“Are they okay?” Gideon asked. “Where is Clonk?”

She gave him a weak smile. “Everything is going to be fine,” she said. “Just drink it.”

“You’re a bad liar, Lady Ondine,” Gideon said. The potion burned on the way down, acrid on his tongue, before his exhaustion finally overtook him.

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Sometime later, Clonk waited patiently while hanging from a spider web.

After immobilizing him, a team of spiders had carried him and a couple of guests down the mountain and into the caves while Lord Kelvan fought the broodmother.

During their journey, Clonk learned the system of caverns extended far deeper than he had known—no wonder he’d never managed to get rid of the infestation. The cavern where they’d been deposited was huge and located deep beneath the castle.

He knew this because of the moonstone pillar extending from ceiling to floor along one side of the chamber. It glowed with an ethereal purple light. The broodmother rested next to it, ignoring them for the time being, no doubt waiting for its energy to heal her wounds. Her children surrounded her, some riding on her back as they huddled together in the moonstone’s aura.

It would take time before the broodmother was fully recovered, however. The residual energy of the goddess Celestra’s artifact wasn’t a miracle, and there was no way a spider—no matter how clever—had figured out how to harness the moonstone’s energy directly.

Thankfully.

Clonk heard a groaning from the web next to him. Though he couldn’t move, he tried to swivel his helm and thrash his arms and legs. The web swayed but held fast.

“You’re awake,” Clonk said.

“Oh, fuck.” It was the voice of the one called Marcus. The rich one. Clonk had trouble recognizing faces, but the accent of a nobleman was too obvious to ignore. “They bit me.”

“They tend to do that.”

“There’s a chunk of my thigh missing,” Marcus said. “But I don’t feel any pain. How strange.”

“Both their venom and the enzymes they use for digestion contain anesthetic. I’m surprised you’re even awake.”

“How could I miss a moment of this?”

Clonk couldn’t blink, but he would have if he could. “What?”

“This is a real fucking experience, isn’t it?” Marcus said. “God, I haven’t felt alive like this in years. I knew it was real. That’s why I had to paint it. From the first moment we were attacked in the mountain pass, I knew it was all real. I knew you weren’t really an inn.”

“We are an inn,” Clonk said, trying not to sound defensive. “Admittedly, we’re still ironing out some operational details.”

Marcus began to laugh like a maniac.

Someone else groaned from nearby. “Who’s the other one?” Clonk asked.

“One of the guards, who was trying to rescue me. His name’s Filibin. Say hi, Filibin.”

The other person groaned again but said nothing. Clonk wasn’t sure if they could. He could sense their presence, and they seemed to be in a bad way. His knowledge of human anatomy was mostly limited to knowing where to stab, but he didn’t think it was good for a person to be missing such a large piece of their torso.

“Ah,” Clonk said. “A pity it isn’t Caelan Whitfield. That would have saved us from a bad review.”

The other man whimpered.

“It’ll be okay, Filibin,” Marcus said. “I’m sure Lord Kelvan will come to rescue us any minute. Did you see that death beam?”

“No,” Clonk said. “I was somewhat preoccupied by that point.”

“Well, it was just like your story. I can’t wait to paint it. He can certainly take care of these spiders.”

“I’m afraid he cannot,” Clonk said.

“What do you mean?” For the first time, Marcus’s voice contained a hint of fear.

“Though he has taken the mirror as a vessel, he is still a spirit and cannot leave the castle grounds. If he knew we were directly below him, perhaps he could tunnel down to get us. But he can’t follow the trail left by the spiders. Lady Ondine has the same restriction—like Kelvan, she is bound to the site of her death.” Clonk paused, considering the situation. “Which means our fate is now in the hands of Gideon and Grimsby. A level eight wizard and a chef.”

“Oh, shit,” Marcus said, then he started to scream.

“I thought you wanted a real fucking experience,” Clonk said serenely. “How exciting.”

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