Different countries have varying techniques to sabotage the enemy. Some use money to buy up the nobles and corrupt the government from the inside. Others use a more straightforward approach employing shadowy assassins or even an order of dark magi such as the Black Hand. There were as many ways for covert operations as imagination allowed.
Spider Kingdom wasn’t above underhanded methods, after all, if the enemy could be defeated without bloodshed it was for the better. To weaken the Imperial Army, the first of the spider saboteurs were assembled by the Spider King himself. The spiders were distant descendants of spiders once known as Jesters, and later as scouts and explorers. However, this bunch focused their evolutions on increasing their stealth and mobility skills. The spider saboteurs, while otherwise small and on the weak side of the power spectrum, were however extremely hard to detect, especially at night.
The spider saboteurs were ordered by the King to undermine the Imperial Army, undetected and from the shadows. And they were perfect for the task. A multitude of perks and equipment were layered to strengthen their natural abilities. They were covered from head to toe in black garb, leaving only a small slit for four yellow eyes. The garb was made from a very special plant grown by the Drow, ShadowAgave; it had an affinity for Dark enchantments. The light clothing hid a plethora of concealed pockets, and the pockets were stuffed with anything from daggers to strange powders. Their magical arsenal was compact, but the spells were powerful: Shadow Stealth, Shadow Form, and Shadow Walk.
They used Shadow Walk to traverse great distances in a matter of few days. The Shadow Form allowed them to blend into the night’s shadows and stalk around when arguably invisible. The Shadow Stealth was there when they needed a more corporeal form to interact with the world and to manipulate objects inside their pockets (the other two spells didn't allow such luxury) without being easily detected.
The spider saboteurs employed all the above to catch up with the Imperial Army just right when they crossed the border. As ordered, they began by observing the army from the shadows, and understandably, the spiders were left appalled. No, it was not about the way the enemy walked, talked, or did other otherwise normal human things, no, it was about the food they ate. The army ration was simply inhumane! The spiders looked with pity at the humans, they knew no joys of TomGrape; it was just too much to bear. In the end the spiders couldn’t just watch and do nothing.
There wasn’t enough TomGrape to share with the humans, and the spiders needed their own rations to survive, however, the solution was simple: even the blandest and hardest twice-baked biscuit could be improved with some good spice. This was the least the spiders could do. And so, then the army rested after the long journey, the charitable spiders spiced the Imperial Army’s food. The spice came in the form of a special blend of spores, spores generously provided by the Myconid Queen. In the humble spider’s opinion, the mix was just about average, but it did give that zesty oomph when consumed. This was exactly what the bland biscuit needed. Unfortunately, the humans didn’t appreciate the improved flavour and ended up expelling it from either end of their holes. It just didn’t agree with their stomachs. And the spores took it upon themselves to multiply further spicing the entire human camp. Well, stuff like that happens, what’s good for a spider isn’t necessarily good for a human.
It seems that the bland food was the least of their troubles. The humans here were poor sleepers too, barely catching four hours of sleep a day. Well, that might have something to do with the nightly assault of the shadow creatures. But those weren’t in the department managed by the spider saboteurs. The ‘shadow creature’ complaints should be passed to the department managed by the Darkness the Slime. Anyway, the spiders pitied the humans, so they decided to offer them sleep aid in a timely lullaby.
In retrospect, the spidery forms might have manifested seemingly out of nowhere while still clad in their spooky shadowy garb, and then they started to chirp in a language humans had no way to understand. Actually, it had only upset the humans, ending up with spiders being forced to flee the tents. But hey, it was the intention that mattered, and the spiders had the best of intentions! Maybe it was just a lullaby the humans didn’t like, so each night they tried a different one.
By the fourth night, the spider saboteurs found the one that worked. This one didn’t cause the humans to swing their weapons in the vague direction of the singing spider. Instead, they would curl up under their blankets and cry at the beauty of the lullaby. Well, they weren't sleeping but this was an improvement in the right direction. Eventually, the spiders will find the right lullaby! The one that would move humans to sleep! – They operated under this assumption.
Indeed, these humans were really pitiful. Once, it was obvious they had gotten themselves confused and started walking in the wrong direction without realising it. The spiders couldn't interfere during the day but at night they doused everyone in Blue Dust making them fall asleep; maybe they should have used that from the beginning and not the lullaby, but that’s beside the point now. Then they carried everyone throughout the night towards the correct location. Naturally, there were a lot more humans compared to spiders, like 1000 to 1 so the overall distance everyone was moved wasn’t that great, however, hopefully, that will allow them to realise their mistake and continue the march In the right direction,
The reaction of the humans was utterly bizarre, it made them even more confused! But hey, at least the vigour they displayed with all the shouting and hair ripping showed that they had a lot of energy, no doubt all thanks to a good night's rest. But the whole hair-pulling ritual was slightly strange… Were they changing their fur for a new climate? Some animals did that in the Ancestral Forrest, but the spiders could only guess. Hmm, actually, maybe the ever-helpful spiders could be of assistance again? If the humans didn’t want all those hairs, of course, the spiders could offer a free midnight trim. Why else would they pack so many daggers if not for pioneering that improvised army haircut?
Admittedly, the spider saboteurs were sent here to stop the Imperial Army, they knew that, they did… but those folks were just too pitiful not to want to help them, you know, just give them that little push in the right direction. Something the Spider King might disapprove of, but every spider knew that the generous King would understand if they explained. It was obvious that without the essential help from spider saboteurs the Imperial Army would have collapsed a long time ago. It would be disappointing if they never reached the Aurelian Capital at all, wouldn’t it?
Another night came. “Spider Saboteurs roll out to help!” A spider chirped.
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Hence the spiders followed the Imperial Army’s slow march and helped the humans from the shadows as much as they could.
…
Darkness the Slime, or just Darkness, was tasked with demoralising the Imperial Army. Yes, the Darkness was sent in conjunction with spider saboteurs, but those two parties worked separately. The Master didn’t explain why he duplicated the task, but Darkness understood this as some sort of competition and a chance to prove itself.
From the very beginning, the odds seemed rigged against its favour. While it was allowed to take all of the shadow creatures, they were extremely dumb compared to the intelligent spiders. So, the entirety of the success of the operation rested on the tactical genius of the Darkness.
However, some small favours were bestowed by the Master. Darkness was gifted a bag of Dark Spirit Stones, which could be used to replicate the shadow creatures. So, if there was a need to replenish the numbers, it could do that rather easily.
Darkness tapped into the Mind Web and managed shadow wolves from the distance. The order was to assault the sleeping humans and Drain them. The goal wasn’t to kill them, but rather scare them because the dead didn’t tell tales. The drained survivors would talk about their experiences lowering the morale as a whole, and as a plus their weakened state further drained the army's resources and time. Unfortunately, the shadow creatures weren’t perfect and so there were casualties on both sides.
Apparently, the spiders had a better idea, it was poisoning the food. The darkness jiggled in frustration at itself for not coming up with that idea first. The shadow creatures were able to drain the vitality not just out of humans but their food, however, the darkness didn’t want to copy the spiders. Way too often the Master called it a copycat; whatever it was supposed to mean Darkness understood the negative connotations of the monicker.
“I understand the copy part, meow, but what the cat bit is about?” It seemed entirely irrelevant. “I might be copying things, meow, but I’m not cat’ing anything.” It jiggled. “Meow. I need a different plan to win this contest.”
Darkness looked at the various shadow creatures it brought here.
“Yes, aerial assault. Meow!” It retrieved a bunch of spirit stones to replicate shadow stingrays.
The combined assault of wolves and stingrays proved to be extremely effective. The inquisition could get the wolves rather easily, but they struggled to down the flyers. It was working!
Later Darkness noticed the peculiar behaviour of the spiders. For whatever reason, at times they would break out of their Shadow Form in front of unsuspecting humans and start singing. The tunes were mellow and even the Darkness could appreciate the pleasant chirps, however, the spiders wore clothing made out of ShadowAgave and hence their forms inflicted humans with Terror.
“Tch.” Darkness clicked the non-existent tongue. “They stole my minion's ability.”
Yes, shadow creatures also could afflict their targets with Terror, especially if someone was mentally exhausted.
“They are always a step ahead of me.” Darkness jiggled in frustration but then a realisation struck it. “No, wait, meow. What if instead of competing with spiders, we work together? Meow! That’s what Master must have intended from the very start. Yes.” It quivered in resolution to change its tactics ever so slightly.
Darkness used its ability to puppeteer its minions from the shadows. The order was simple: assist the spiders and drive humans to the depths of the despair.
…
The Spider King was cruising leisurely aboard the Galleon Whale. The Aurelian Capital was only a day away. During the entire trip, for some unknown reason, the Centauri Champion kept barging in his cabin when he was sleeping; she was up to something nefarious, so he had to place spider guards by the door. It was hard not to feel threatened by her persistent ambushes, after all, she had a very formidable set of dangerous weapons, and he was still a man. Funnily enough, during the day she would just pretend nothing had happened.
“Is she sleepwalking?” He asked no one in particular and reached for the Slug Jelly bottle on the nearby cabinet. “It’s time to call Johny.” It was a part of his daily ritual.
Recently, some disturbing reports were reaching his mind. His best friend told him in great detail what was happening within the ranks of the Imperial Army and the Holy Inquisition. It was only getting… worse, or maybe better; it depended on perspective.
“They’re going a bit overboard.” It was an understatement.
At one point the army decided to turn back, but the next day they found themselves only closer to Aurelian Capital. They wanted to retreat, reinforce and resupply but they weren’t allowed that. Various crazy rumours were spreading within the human ranks. Also, as unfortunate as it was, various war crimes were happening… More soldiers died at the hand of themselves than from the Drain; it was just sad. The Inquisition was the only thing holding the army in place. According to Johny, the Army Tactician went bald overnight, that was proof of how much stress he was going through.
“I just hope I won’t be the reason for the birth of some sort of War Convention…” Like the Geneva Convention.
Either way, he had to tell the spider saboteurs to tone it down. Their tactics were just too effective! The humans were so terrified that they refused to desert. That was rather ironic and the opposite of what the Spider King expected to achieve. Apparently, they just felt safer in a large group and somehow they got the idea that turning back wasn’t an option at all.
While the spiders could give live reports to Johny, sending orders to the spiders was a more difficult task; Johny could not communicate with them directly, only read their experiences and emotions. Admittedly, he could summon Darkness with his perk, but it was unadvisable to leave shadow creatures unsupervised.
“It’s quickest if I go and see them myself.” After all, he wasn’t far.
In the end, the solution looked rather simple. He just had to undermine the last column holding the army together. And Johny’s reports gave him an exact plan of how to do it.
After some time, at the darkest hour of the night, Galleon Whale reached the Imperial Army, hovering in the clouds right above it. He descended using Shadow Walk and observed the humans from the shadows. It was worse than he thought. The people were empty husks of their former selves, their bodies gaunt, faces pale, with big black bags under their eyes. Everyone was on edge and clearly expecting something horrible to happen at any minute.
Soon enough he witnessed the Shadow Creature attack. They struck where the humans were vulnerable and once detected employed hit-and-run tactics. These shadow creatures behaved completely differently from the ones he fought in the Darkness War. The one behind the increased intelligence of otherwise dumb monsters must have been the Darkness. He’ll have to give it honest praise. The shadow creatures were a natural counter to your average warrior since mundane steel did no damage to them.
However, soon a radiant hero ran out of her tent and assaulted the shadows with a burning passion for retribution in her eyes. She was highly skilled and quickly turned the tides of the fight.
“So, this is a Paladin.” He was impressed by her ability to use magic and sword in tandem. He could learn a lot from her. “No, this is an Angel.” Even he couldn’t help but feel slightly awed by her radiant form. She was literally glowing!
Her presence restored the morale of the men. Everyone was chanting “Radiant!”. Soon after, the shadows were pushed back into the darkness.
Indeed, she was the only reason this army was still holding it together.
“She has to go.” It was risky, but he decided to attempt it. “[Shadow Walk].” He weaved carefully and out of sight of nearby inquisitors to avoid detection. The destination was the tent of the Inquisition leader, Radiant Sword, a fervent believer in the Holy Light, and angel wannabe.