For a while now, the warm ground slithered. At first an occasional from slowly shifting over my feet, slowly more. They were constricting around my ankles, letting go and others came. They either moved under my next step each time or covered everything.

Their shapes were not visible in the darkness. Neither did they emit any sounds. Just warm long shapes, hugging my feet and ankles. They weren't biting, but I could feel their cold tongues taste at my skin. Keeping fire around my legs did not deter the creatures, nor did it make them visible.

I felt something brush my face. I looked around, but everywhere it was just dark. I trudged on through the snakes and more strings broke and stuck to me. I brushed them off, smearing the spores and blood on my face. It stung.

I touched my eyes, they seemed to be fine. I tried opening and closing them, the coagulating blood made it difficult so I tried to clean it out. Maybe I succeeded, maybe I didn't. Were my eyes fine? I couldn't see.

Something light landed on my head and skittered towards my back. I blew mana from myself, but the thing kept going. I tried to slap and wave at myself, and after a few attempts, finally hit the thing.

I felt sudden pain from my right hand. Tiny legs run from the inflamed spot and I couldn't feel them on me anymore.

"Honey? Honey!!", a familiar voice came from behind me. "Come, mama will take you home."

My eyes welled up with tears. Madeline's memories of being hugged by mommy rushed to me. The shop filled with all sorts of colours and among them Urh'shga Zhagihal, her black dragon. How I hugged it all the way back home. How I hid behind it when grandpa came.

"Fuck off," I growled, in my squeaky voice. Gentle hands touched my shoulders. I released my frustration in a bout of as much flame as I could muster.

A shrill voice screeched behind me and a wave of spores came all over my body.

With the mana coming closer and closer to exhaustion, I felt cold. Where was Tiamat? I could hug Tiamat.

Suddenly, I could move my legs. The snakes were up to my knees and one bit my thigh. I grabbed it and ripped it out, throwing it away. I boosted up. It just made me move up a tiny bit, the creatures constricting to keep my grounded.

I put my mana on a constant burn and pushed to go up. More snakes bit into me and I began to feel faint. I ripped them out, one by one and finally... they released me. I broke through spider webs and hit my head on a branch.

At the last second, before I fell into the snake-mire, I puffed mana and formed mana platforms on my feet. I had trouble keeping my head up.

I stumbled and had to puff more mana to straighten up. There was a will-o-wisp ahead... I didn't care, any light would do.

The little fire bobbed, moving the slightering shapes in and out of its light. It seemed as if faces formed among the bodies, shapes of people coming up and back into the swarm.

Suddenly, the silence was over. Whispers came, begging for release, threatening to drag me in...

"Hey, hey girly? I will bring you peace." An elderly woman spoke. "Why did you not listen?" Tom asked. "Take me away, take me with you!!" Screamed a child. "They're... they're eating me!!" Screeched the little spider. "They died because of you, little whore." Grandpa barked at me.

I wanted to push them away, but I'd collapse into the snakes without mana. I swiped my left hand at the flame and it Burned. I squatted and hugged my arm. I needed to go. But I stayed too long, the snakes were up to my ankles again.

With a small puff, I extracted myself and kept going, beyond the flame, away from the voices.

The light was gone, but the voices didn't cease. Pale heads peaked through the dark from behind the shapes of trees. They were crying, lamenting my fate. They regretted one so young, would join them. They cursed me, that my friends suffered the same, for coming in after me.

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"No one can save you...", they whispered. "... again, you will die alone..."

I kept going. I wanted to have more adventures. I wanted to visit Horace... He had such amazing beds. I wanted to sleep. I kept walking.

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Mads walked into Leshy's wood. "No!! It's a cursed forest!!" I tried to stop her... but it was too late. She dissolved into the shadows.

I thought to run in after her... but I couldn't. I wouldn't likely enter the same layer she did. I punched one of the birches. "Fuck."

I paced the edge of the wood, wrangling my hands. Was there anything I could do? I.. I didn't want to lose a friend. I looked over to the spiderling. She was just staring into the distance, holding a box of popcorn in her spider legs and a large paper cup of some carbonated drink.

I sighed and dropped to the ground, taking a sit. We could only wait... did the spider even notice Mads was gone? I opened the book on magic circles. I could try to practice.

My hands shook and I couldn't concentrate any mana. I hung my head. Maybe with the spiderling wanting to adventure with us, the Spider would look after Mads. The goddess never showed interest in saving mortals, but if one of hers cared? No... 

I got up and paced again.

I didn't know, how long I just walked back and forth, punching at the trees and looking into the trees. I imagined a smiling Mads would suddenly just jump out of nowhere, excited how silly the old wood spirit was. I hoped. Hour after hour, I didn't see my friend.

Candidates died sometimes, but it wasn't more than few a century. Mads was a Reborn too, they were stronger, right? She wouldn't be our years' casualty!! She couldn't be.

What if, when she came out, she'd be too hurt? I leapt to my bags and fished out all of my healing potions. I put them near the trees, so they'd be in easy reach.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement.

It was just the spiderling, stretching her long limbs, scratching at the birches.

I paced again.

I imagined the little devil eaten by beasts, drowned in a mire or poisoned to death by the venomous creatures of the wood.

Something poked me on the shoulder. I looked up, the spiderling was hanging on her limbs before me and poking me with her human hands.

"What?!" I yelled in frustration. She just gave me a tired look and pointed towards the forest. I turned my head... 

There she was!!

I leapt towards Mads... but she was in terrible shape. Her hair was dishevelled, her face as pale as ash and there was blood all over her. She could barely walk, swaying from side to side. There were weak, shaky flames around her legs. She looked up. Her eyes were puffy and red, tears streaming down her face. My friend noticed me, but in her eyes was a crazed curiosity. She raised her right hand, gathered mana in it and collapsed.

I picked her up and poured a health potion into her mouth. Almost nothing got through, so I poured another, drop by drop over her wounds.

I carried Mads over to our bags and carefully placed her on the furs. I noticed I could see a reflection of the birch trees in the barrier, it was open.

"Spider, can you help me with the bags?" I asked the little girl.

"Sure." She nodded and picked everything up with a net, spread between four spider legs. She raised herself on the other four and walked out of the dungeon. I collected the last potion bottle and followed after her.

The rain was over and the angry deity from before, nowhere to be seen. I sighed and returned to the road.

We walked in silence, the spiderling satisfied with just looking into the distance. I.. I couldn't think about what to say. Mads was in bad shape.

I looked towards the mountain looming over the horizon. They would help her deal with the trauma, right? They failed.. they failed to keep her safe, but they could help her recover.

The spider began playing some cheery tune on a violin.

"Could you stop? With Mads in such terrible state..." I got interrupted with a manaball to my head. I looked up.

"I'm not in a terrible state," Mads said, puffing her cheeks. She put down her violin and massaged her face... smudging the blood.. and ash. Beneath was her usual, light brown skin.

"Where are we?", she asked.

"On the road..." I wasn't sure where we were since I didn't pay attention to the road. I looked around. The birches were no longer visible behind us. Ahead... there was a small hill to the left of the road. It was.. it was...

"We are near an earth golem dungeon. It should be half a day away from the grove we've been before and four days from the wood surrounding Academy farms." I answered after some thought.

Mads looked ahead and after a second nodded to herself. Then looked back and shrugged. "A shame, it was the best fucking Haunted House thing I've ever been to!! I wanted all three of us to get a tour."

She was smiling. After I worried so much... the little idiot was smiling. I run up to her and hugged her. "I worried, you know?"

"I suppose I was close to dying... but it was exciting, you know?" She patted me on the head. I squeezed and pulled at her cheeks. "Idiot."

She giggled. The idiot giggled. I joined, I couldn't stop. The laughter just came out on its own.

"Could you keep it down?", the spiderling spoke up. "It's a good episode." She waved at us and kept looking into the distance.

I fell to the ground in a laughing fit. 

I took a deep breath once I regained control of myself. The sun was setting, basking everything in orange, golden light. I turned my head towards Mads. She was trying to climb on the spiders' legs, complaining about the lack of mana and stupid snakes.

I got up and picked Mads up, then put her on the bags. She patted my arms and sat with the violing prepped under her chin. She played some cheery tune I didn't recognize.