The Dreamweaver awoke from Ash Druga's mind with a jolt and a gasp. Kerrick was leaning against a nearby tree, and promptly strode over to her.

"Ma'am," he said simply.

The Dreamweaver looked over at Ash Druga with pity, "the Matriarch's venom is too powerful. Physically she's healthy, but mentally-- it's a mess in there."

"Anything we can do?" the ranger asked.

"She's quite literally battling demons in there," the Dreamweaver rose to her feet, "best we can do is to keep her sedated so she doesn't start fighting us, and hope her body works out the venom naturally. Wouldn't hurt to have a cleric look her over, though."

"They've just arrived, ma'am, I'll get someone on it."

The Dreamweaver nodded, "who's taken charge in Druga's place?"

"Sergeant Cole, Ma'am."

"Have him find me."

A short while later, the Dreamweaver stood just outside of the rendezvous camp with her hands clasp behind her back. She stared out into the dark woods towards the Matriarch's web, just barely visible between the rows of redwood trunks. Her thoughts lingered on what she had witnessed within Ash Druga's mind. She recalled the scene as a perfect vivid memory, as if it were playing out before her again.

A peaceful Orc city in faraway mountains had been transformed into a nightmarish realm with magenta skies and blood red moons. Blood rained from the cloudless sky and ran like streams through the city streets. Horned creatures with onyx skin, bat-like wings and clawed hands rampaged through the city, killing everything in their wake in grotesque and gratuitous displays of violence. Ash Druga fought in a frenzied rage, ripping the creatures limb from limb with her bare hands, crushing skulls beneath her feet and tearing off chunks of flesh with her sharp tusks and teeth. Any semblance of sentience was gone, and within her eyes was only rage.

Cameron Cole stepped up behind the Dreamweaver and announced himself.

"You asked for me, ma'am?"

"Yes," she replied suddenly, then paused for a short moment to bring herself back to reality, "I need a briefing on our situation. We have time for the details."

Cameron stepped up beside her and looked out in the same direction, assuming a similar posture, "we have twenty-five still incapacitated, twelve deceased, six unaccounted for. The arrival of the healer contingent is promising, however, and we're expecting most of those incapacitated to be at fighting strength by the morning. The Matriarch fled into her webs, as you know, but one of our scouts was able to place a tracking ritual on her during the battle, he claims he can lead us right to her. Reports from the last to see her indicate she has a crippled leg and is blinded in half of her eyes."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"We're in for a hell of a battle if we fight her in her own web," the Dreamweaver observed.

"Haven't we already been through a hell of a battle, ma'am?"

The Dreamweaver gave him a pitying glance, but didn't answer, "what are your thoughts on how we should proceed?"

Cameron looked taken aback that she would ask his opinion, but quickly recovered. He mulled it over for a moment before replying, "we could burn our way through, that seems to be effective. Though the rains might make progress slow. No chance at a stealth mission, assuming she can sense disturbances in her web. If we try to hack our way through, we'll just be subjecting ourselves to one long, unending ambush. Maybe we could draw her back out?"

The Dreamweaver shook her head, "do you know how beasts like the Matriarch come to be?"

Cameron started to answer as if it was obvious, then stopped himself and thought for a moment, "actually, I guess I don't."

"The dreamweaver spider is a naturally occurring creature native to the Giantrock region" she noticed his raised eyebrows and chuckled, "yes, that's where my name comes from. Usually, though, they don't get much larger than a fingertip. Their bites cause some intense hallucinations, but they're manageable without treatment and wear off after a few hours. Some people even use their venom recreationally. The Matriarch is an example of what can happen when a relatively harmless creature stumbles across a Thread of Power."

Understanding crossed Cameron's face, "the Matriarch is a threadbearer."

"Mhm," the Dreamweaver said, dropping some of her professional demeanor as the conversation moved, "a lot of different things can happen when an animal becomes a threadbearer, but the most notable is longevity. A regular dreamweaver spider might live for a few years, but a Thread of Power can turn that into decades. The thing is, some spiders never stop growing. They'll grow and molt and grow some more, over and over until they die. Typically, the bigger and older an animal gets, the smarter it gets."

The Dreamweaver turned to look at Cameron, who had a subtle but growing expression of horror. She felt the trepidation in his aura like ripples in a pond.

"You're saying it's intelligent?" he asked quietly.

The Dreamweaver nodded, "what we just experienced was a coordinated attack. The Matriarch had her brood lying in wait while she flanked and ambushed us. She attacked the moment I noticed her, and her brood followed suit. She underestimated us, sure, but now she knows what she's up against. She's smart enough to wait us out, I doubt we'll see her outside of the web again. If we go in after her, it'll be a game of tactics, and she'll have the field advantage."

Cameron was silent for a while, then spoke up, "what about her offspring? They can't all be threadbearers, can they?"

The Dreamweaver shook her head, "she's passing on some of her power to them. It's exceedingly rare, but similar abilities have been documented in people. We're getting off topic, though. The question is, what do we do?"

Cameron sighed, "honestly, ma'am? I don't know, I didn't even want to be a sergeant, let alone acting lieutenant. I'm not cut out for strategy, I'm just trying to fill the role I've been given."

The Dreamweaver laughed, "I appreciate the honesty. You're doing a fine job, and I don't expect you to have the answer, don't worry. Go see to your troops, and send Lieutenant Kerrick my way if he's done attending to Ash Druga."

Cameron Cole nodded and hurried off, obviously eager to escape the situation. It was a shame he wasn't more taken to leadership, she thought to herself, he was a good fit. She turned her attention back to the woods, savoring the relative peace of the moment for as long as she could before her thoughts found their bearings. In truth, she had hoped that the young sergeant somehow would have the answer to her dilemma. As best she could reason, the only way to continue to the mission was to send her expedition into a massacre.