Luis was not accustomed to feeling angry. He found it an unpleasant emotion, one that rarely resulted in any productive outcome, and so had spent much of his life practicing resisting falling into its throes. People were better off just letting life roll off their backs. There were too many things that one had no control over to waste time being upset about them. That was why when Luis had found himself suddenly pulled into what was basically a real-life video game dungeon with little more than the clothes on his back he had shrugged, decided that complaining about the situation wouldn't help, and got right to figuring out how it all worked.

Sometimes, though, even he had to admit that anger was a justified reaction. Not only that, but it could also be a powerful motivator. Letting anger drive your decisions was dangerous, he'd known more than one person who had thrown away their future with reckless actions taken in the heat of the moment, but in this instance, he embraced it. The monster of this darkened jungle, whatever it was, had mercilessly killed two people in what he imagined must have been a slow and terrifying death. When Luis thought about how easily one of his sisters could have been taken into this world rather than him, he was filled with an unfamiliar fury that told him to crush the creature that had done this.

"Halfway there." Jade said from above, clambering to the next branch. The four of them were ascending one of the jungle giants, a task that was made possible by an overabundance of gnarled branches that twisted out from the trunk at regular intervals. Even so, clambering up more than 5 stories while equipped with their weapons and armor was no mean feat. Except for Jade, who made the task look trivial with how she lightly sprung from branch to branch.

Actually, Siora looks at home up here too…

Was that an elf thing? It was probably an elf thing.

Luis heaved himself up to the spot his companion had just vacated, then turned to offer a hand to Naomi. She took it, carefully stepping up beside him while pulling her guitar strap tight to stop it from bouncing around.

"We've got this, chica." He said, forcing a half smile. "Be there in no time."

Naomi simply nodded, not wasting breath on a reply. Her expression was grim, holding a mixture of fear and determination. Luis knew that combination well, but it was his responsibility to keep the party optimistic. It was a role he had played his whole life, caring for four younger siblings in a home that was constantly facing some sort of crisis. The people had changed, as had the dangers that faced them, but the need to stay positive hadn't.

Luis let her pass, shifting to climb behind Naomi so that he could help steady her if she lost her footing. Siora brought up the rear, a pensive expression on her normally cheerful face.

"What was it that Naomi took from the bodies…?" Siora whispered from below Luis, quietly enough that no one else could hear.

Luis glanced down at the elf, pausing to reply. "Their ID's." He explained, taking a moment to catch his breath. "It tells us who they were."

She nodded in understanding, and they resumed their ascent. Naomi had insisted on searching the deceased for any identifying documents, explaining that their families deserved to know what happened to them. She was a kind soul, one who shouldn't have had to face the dangers of this world. That threatened to anger him as well but, for the moment, he kept it in check.

They had nearly reached the elevated platform of interconnected branches that was their destination when the trunk of the tree they were climbing suddenly rippled, as if the bark had turned to water. Before Luis could do more than take an alarmed, shuffling step away along the broad branch he stood upon, a familiar figure emerged from the tree. As in, literally stepped out of it as if it weren't there.

Juniper straightened, the dryad's emerald skin blended well into the dimly lit verdant foliage that surrounded them. Luis relaxed, only now realizing his entire body had tensed at her unexpected appearance.

"Next time…" Luis breathed out. "Could you give us a warning before you do that? It's pretty freaky if you don't know it's comin'."

"Juniper!" Siora exclaimed, her expression brightening. She paused on the branch below Luis. "You made it!"

"I meant to arrive earlier." The dryad said, her voice the sound of swirling leaves. "I apologize for being late. The presence of this monster has roused others in the valley, and there is much to tend to."

"We're just glad you're here." Naomi said from above, looking extremely relieved. "I was getting worried Jade was going to have us fight the boss ourselves."

"That wasn't going to happen." Jade said, giving her a flat look. "I was about to suggest we stop to wait for her."

They were nearly at the top now and would be able to mount the platform of branches with another minute or so of climbing. The five of them clustered onto a pair of adjacent tree limbs so they could talk more easily. Luis wasn't an expert on trees, but he found it odd that the branches were still so thick this high above the ground. Some of them were nearly as broad as his shoulders.

"Do you know what the monster is?" Jade asked Juniper. "We think it's a big spider, like the ones near your tree."

"I do not know for certain." Juniper said, tilting her head skyward. "But I can sense it. We are close. There is one large creature above us, and several others that are much smaller."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"It has friends?" Naomi asked. "That doesn't sound good."

"Maybe it's like a video game." Luis offered. "Where the boss has some weak minions that distract you while you fight it."

"What if I don't want to be distracted?" Naomi asked, annoyed. "Do you know how hard it is to stay on rhythm while a monster is trying to bite you in half?"

"We'll keep them away from you." Jade assured her. "Juniper, Siora, if we focus on the main boss, could you keep the smaller monsters busy?"

"My magic is well suited to that task." Juniper said.

Siora nodded her agreement as well.

"I have a few more potions I can use for that."

"Then that's the plan." Jade said. "I'll go first and set my traps. If we can lead the boss into them, we'll get an early advantage."

Luis gave her a thumbs up. Knocking or leading monsters into Jade's binding traps was one of the more successful strategies they'd been practicing recently. "Let's get to it."

----------------------------------------

Jade pulled herself up the final few feet onto the network of crisscrossing tree limbs that formed a sort of platform high above the jungle ground, lithely swinging up to land in a crouch. She froze, scanning her surroundings for any sign that she'd been detected. There was nothing. No movement caught her eye, nor did any sound alert her to unseen danger. The twisting branches that formed the uneven floor were eerily still and quiet, without even a hint of a breeze to sway them. As they'd seen from the ground, the few gaps between the boughs were filled in with strands of thick, white webbing, intricately woven into mesmerizing geometric patterns.

Tearing her gaze from the distracting sight, she focused on the task at hand. The platform itself was surprisingly sturdy, if lumpy and uneven. It wasn't quite as dangerous as it had first looked from below, but navigating the rough surface with any speed would be difficult in the dim light. Still, she was glad that a simple misstep wouldn't be enough to send one of them falling all the way to the ground.

Jade didn't wait for any enemies to show themselves, opting to take advantage of their absence to cast her spell without risk.

"Ligaricto Manemm" She murmured, brushing her hand against the surface of the living floor in front of her. There was a pulse of violet light as mana flowed through her body and out her fingertips, coalescing into a collection of glowing arcane runes that formed a hovering circle just above the gnarled wood.

* Spell: Chains of Shadebloom

* Rating: D level spell

* Cost: Medium mana

* Duration: 30 seconds

* Cooldown: 1 minute

* Effect: Place a magical rune trap on a surface you touch. The rune glows brightly for a short period after casting and then fades, becoming harder to detect. The next creature who comes within range of the rune triggers the trap and is restrained by umbral chains for the duration. You may extend the duration of the spell for an ongoing low mana cost once it is triggered. Chains of Shadebloom rune traps persist until they are triggered, you remove them, or you exceed the number of runes you can sustain at once. Current limit: 3 simultaneous Chains of Shadebloom runes.

After several seconds the light faded, the runes sinking down to phase into the branch. If Jade hadn't just watched the process unfold, she would've been hard pressed to detect the telltale signs of the runic trap now that it was fully set.

Unfortunately, the powerful spell came with drawbacks. Despite her ability to maintain three separate traps at once, she had to wait a full minute between each casting. Even if that weren't the case, its mana cost was high enough to put a noticeable dent in her reserves. Jade was wary about using too much magical energy before a fight began, she hadn't invested much into her willpower characteristic yet. As a result, she regained mana at a less than ideal rate at the best of times. Considering that she often fought in her true demon form, which cut that score by 40%, she had to be judicious in the use of mana.

After a moment's thought, Jade decided that she could afford one more. Creeping her way towards the center of the vaguely circular platform, still vigilant for signs of trouble, she searched for a good location to place the next rune. Behind her, some thirty feet away, the rest of her party had finished clambering up to join her. She had just invoked her spell again, priming a second trap, when a sound caught her attention. The scraping, pattering noise was a stark contrast to the stillness of this place and immediately set off alarm bells in her mind. Jade didn't waste any time, backing away towards her companions before she even laid eyes on the approaching creature.

The monster, which was indeed a spider, clambered around the side of one of the massive trees that stood at the edge of the arena-like platform, moving with a heavy, lumbering gait. The reason for its ponderous progress was immediately clear; most of the arachnid's body was covered by some sort of chitinous exoskeleton. It clung to its form like the armor of a scorpion, overlapping plates providing protection to the outside of its many legs and a good portion of its body. Without warning it leapt from its perch, dropping to the floor with a heavy thud and a crack, its sharp legs piercing several inches into the wood beneath it.

Jade reached her companions, resisting the urge to immediately shift into her succubus form as the monster turned to face them from the other end of the makeshift platform. It would be better if she could regenerate as much mana as possible before transforming. That and, as much as she was trying to ignore it, the spikes of anger and wild emotion that accompanied her demonic body were growing more and more disconcerting. Even in her human form, catching sight of the monster that had likely killed those two people below intensified the tumultuous fury that simmered in her core.

Jade could sense much the same coming from Luis as the large man drew his even larger sword. She tasted his anger, sharp and fiery, as he glared across the open expanse at their foe.

But her private misgivings weren't enough to stop her, the power was too useful. When she needed the strength of her demonic body, she would use it without hesitation. The boss began to approach slowly, hunched low with its eight glowing red eyes locked on them. None of the monsters they'd faced so far had been this large or intimidating. Clad in its armored shell, the seven-foot-tall spider looked more like a tank than a creature. Jade glared back, forcing down a flutter of fear that gripped her stomach. She pulled up its information, which the Voice read in a more dramatic voice than usual.

* Jul'vara, Armored Spider Queen

* Level: 8

* Creature Type: Beast (Monster - Regional Boss)

* Origin: Labyrinth-born

* Note: This monster is a quest target.

"Huh?" Jade blinked. Despite the tension and imminent onset of battle, the info box had distracted her. "But spiders don't have queens…"

"We have more important things to worry about, Jade!" Naomi hissed from behind her, incredulous. "Take it up with the Labyrinth later!"

"Maybe I will…" she muttered, drawing her daggers and dropping into a crouch. Naomi and Luis stepped up beside her, with Juniper and Siora hanging slightly further back. "But first, it's time for payback."