Chapter 85: Remnants of Web

Alcar didn’t have far to go this time, because the rest of the group had stopped a mere twenty yards further on. There, the passage met a side tunnel, and then widened out. Olynka was at the back of the party, holding Brutus firmly by the collar.

“Hurry, guys,” Alcar called out as he reached them. “The goblins will be hear any second, and...”

But he fell silent when he saw what the others were looking at. Ahead, a massive web filled the entire corridor, its strands as thick as ropes. And at the center was a spider with a body larger than that of cat, and hugely long legs. Its previous prey was clear to see, too – several humanoid figures were suspended from the stone ceiling.

Clearly this wasn’t a safe way for the goblins, or for adventurers, either.

“That way, then,” said Alcar, stepping up beside Olynka and pointing to the right. T,he side corridor sloped downwards for around five yards before curving around, the rest of its length out of sight.

“It’s the roaring from that direction that’s putting me off,” said Etienne, still clutching a dagger in his hand. “And by the way – your eyes are glowing.”

Alcar frowned; sure enough, an angry roaring and clashing of metal could be heard from down the side passageway. It sounded like it was just around the corner, too. He focused hard on the stair, trying to look through the walls as he had managed before, but could see nothing. Either they were too thick, or the earlier enchantment was starting to wear off.

“It might be our best option all the same,” said Leppie, taking one step into the side corridor with her warhammer raised.

But at that moment, a troll – undoubtedly, in Alcar’s view, the second of the trolls that he had once moved from the bridge using his portal spell – appeared around the corridor. And it was engaged in furious hand-to-hand combat with the three goblin warriors that Alcar’s spell had recently transported from from the dais.

“Fuck!” cried Olynka.

“Forward it is, then,” shouted Alcar, looking back at the web. “Ola, maybe could you shoot that spider and...”

But he stopped short when he saw that the spider had now scuttled up the web and out onto the ceiling above them. Etienne swung his dagger at the creature but despite jumping, could not quite reach to connect with the its bulbous body. In response, the spider spat out a gobbet of black liquid which hit the halfling in the face. He screamed, and fell to his knees.

Behind, there was the sound of boots hammering on the stone floor; the rest of the goblins were almost upon them.

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Leppie stepped back down the corridor to face the onrushing goblins. As she slammed her warhammer down onto the nearest one, Alcar began to focus his magical energy in the opposite direction again. “Olynka – be ready to grab me if I collapse,” he murmured.

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“Mmh.”

There was a twang, as Olynka took down the nearest of the trio of goblins in the wide side tunnel to their right.

Alcar then stared at both the spider and the web, doing his best to hold his fingertips directly in line with them, even though the very concept of focus, of attention, now felt slippery and elusive, and the noise in his head had become more like the shrill whistle of kettle coming to the boil.

“Rac et weimannia!” he cried, and flung the mote of purple flame that appeared between his fingers.

A cone of flame shot out, engulfing the web ahead of them and catching the spider directly in its center. Aflame, it began to shriek and writhe, and then fell to the ground, its legs curling in on itself.

But by that point, the companions were already running forward. And as she passed, Leppie thumped her warhammer down on the spider, ensuring the kill. As she did so, her strike passed right through the soft spider’s body and clashed loudly with the floor. This caused the weapon’s head split into several pieces, leaving Leppie holding just its wooden handle.

Behind, the troll had now advanced into the main tunnel, and was smashing one goblin after another into the wall. It didn’t take long for the burned goblins who had come along the corridor from the dais to retreat, at which point the troll – unable to pursue the goblins along the narrower section of corridor – turned and began to move towards Alcar and his companions.

Just then, there was a yelp from down at their feet. One of the spider’s webbed and half-scorched victims had sat up, and was pulling what remained of the web away from his singed greenish face.

A goblin?

No! Alcar was sure that he recognised the individual, though the face was covered in soot, the person’s hood smouldering, and some of his hair-like tentacles looking badly scorched.

It was Ubund.

“You freed me,” groaned the guide.

“Ubund!” cried Leppie.

“And you,” said Ubund, stabbing a pointing finger towards Alcar. “You burned me!”

Alcar noticed that Ubund was clutching a book in his other hand.

“Troll!” yelled Olynka. She loosed an arrow, and then raised her machete as the creature twice her size loomed closer.

“Not again,” murmured Ubund.

The troll was advancing quite slowly due to having to bend almost double to fit into the current corridor, but the way was plenty wide enough for it. And before long, Alcar knew, the passageway would become larger still. They could not escape by running ahead of it...

His head was still acutely painful, his senses starting to feel fuzzy, but as long as he was still conscious, he had one last throw of the dice.

“Rac al sintreta!” he cried, thinking that the troll would grow to fill the space, get stuck, and be unable to proceed.

And indeed, with very little effort on his part, that is what began to happen, as the magic took hold. But then, unexpectedly, the troll started to shrink. It reduced to the size of a halfling, then grew again for a moment until it was slightly larger than the tallest goblin. Its arms spontaneously began to elongate and thin, and finally two tiny additional legs sprouted out of its sides.

As Alcar watched on, pressing his knuckles to one temple and wincing in pain, the troll charged towards him, long arms flapping around, but it shrank further and further as it ran, such that when it reached him it had reduced to the size of a rat.

Alcar then took one step forward and stamped on the tiny troll.

Crunch.

The miniaturized monster flopped own, after which Brutus bit it, shook it firmly from side to side like a rag, and then flung the crushed remnants of the tiny troll towards the still-crackling carcass of the burned spider.

“By the gods,” murmured Leppie.

“My eyes,” groaned Etienne, who was still rubbing at the patch of spider goop.

The companions moved on, though Ubund couldn’t manage more than a limp, Etienne had to be guided by Leppie, and Alcar was clutching his head in agony.