Unknown.

Jeb was running. He wasn't sure what he was running from, he just knew that he needed to get as far away from something as possible. Something that told whatever primal part of his brain to run and hide. That he had no hope of fighting whatever was chasing after him and his only recourse was to keep running and pray it's enough.

But it didn't seem like it would. No matter how fast he ran the dark woods seemed to grow closer like the walls of a cell while the thick mist that hung in the air clang to him like grasping hands. Their cold touch seeping into his very core. His breath came ragged and unsteady. Fear overrode every sense and emotion he had as he could sense something closing in on him. He couldn't hear it so much as he could sense it, feel it, draw closer and closer to him.

His eyes darted franticly around, but nothing but trees, mist, and darkness filled his vision no matter where he looked. Even the ground beneath his feet was obscured to his sight. He couldn't even tell what was beneath his feet! It could be dirt, pavement, hell it could be molten lava for all he knew! He couldn't hear the sounds his feet made on the ground. He couldn't hear anything more than his breathing and the thundering of his heart in his ears as he fled from the thing chasing him down like a hound chases a hare.

Yet no matter how fast he pushed his limbs, no matter how many trees he ducked behind to put between him and it. It just kept getting closer and closer. Like trying to run away from a tsunami, Jeb would've thought if nothing but sheer terror didn't consume his mind.

Then he broke from the suffocating woods and into a clearing. Though it wasn't exactly clear for a clearing. The thick mist still saturated the place and the woods were only sparse and not completely gone. But it was something a little different compared to what he's been running through for so long.

He turned and looked behind him, but still couldn't see what was chasing him. He could only feel the dread and terror that emanated from it as it drew closer to him. He turned back around and tried to continue on. But found the trees had seemingly shifted together and formed a impenetrable wall all around him. No exit, no entrance. Just a solid wall of blackened wood and mist.

But he didn't feel safe. He felt trapped. Like a prisoner in a cell. Or prey within a trap, he thought fearfully as his thoughts cleared for but a moment before being saturated in terror once again and he looked around desperately for a way out. Yet no matter where he looked or how hard he tried to get past the trees, there was no escape. Not even when he tried to dig through the mist was he able to locate an escape.

Then he felt it. That sixth sense within his brain telling him that something was happening that his other senses couldn't pick up on. He turned around and his eyes darted frantically around. But the trees were as solid as before. Nothing had changed.

But his brain was insistent that there was danger VERY close to him! He looked this way and that. Up, down. It didn't matter where he looked or how many times he did it, all it managed to do was send his mind into a frantic state of hysterical terror. The longer it went on the more he felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest or his brain would fry!

Then like a ripcord everything stopped. He stopped looking around. He stopped pacing and running back and forth. Then he turned and looked towards where two orbs of eerie blue light seemed to glare at him within the mist. Then they rose. The mist obscuring its form save for the two orbs of fire that burned. Yet all Jeb could feel was a cold dread within himself as the form rose higher and higher.

It was massive, was all Jeb could think as he stared at the giant thing hidden within the thick mist as it glared down at him with a cold indifference like one looked down at the ants along the sidewalk. Like he was nothing compared to this creature that had chosen to focus its eldritch attention upon him.

There was no escape.

There was no hope.

There was a part of Jeb that still raged and fought within him that cried out to fight back at the creature. To go out swinging at least. But all Jeb could feel was how insignificant he was to this creature. Then like a tidal wave the creature fell upon him with a force that didn't allowed even the barest hope of survival.

-----

Lair of the Broodmother.

Jeb awoke with a start. His eyes darted frantically around the darkness. Searching for danger or any sort of sign of the creature that had pursued him like a grim force of nature. His breathing and heartrate steadied though when he realized it was only a nightmare. He closed his eyes and took a some deep and comforting breaths. He laid back down and threw his arm over Ruby and their eggs for comfort and protection. Or he would if they were beside him.

He opened his eyes again and found Ruby and their eggs both gone from his bed. Except it wasn't his bed. He propped himself up and looked down. He was laying in a bed alright, but it wasn't the dusty worn mattress and sleeping bag. It was a bed that looked like it wouldn't be out of place in a royal palace! It was soft and smooth against his skin.

Speaking of which, he was naked. Or so he thought at first, but when he looked down he found that his clothes had been replaced with silken garments dyed a deep burgundy. The silken vestiges were form fitting and accented the curves of his muscles like a body suit. He could also see that he had on some sort of gilded armor. But he couldn't quite make out the details in the dull light his eyes gave off.

So instead he cast his eyes to his surroundings instead and found himself in some sort of spacious room with a tall ceiling that the glow of his eyes couldn't quite illuminate the top. All around him were silken drapes and curtains dyed the same burgundy as the garments he wore. Except these had intricate patterns woven between the threads. The light glinted off the patterns and Jeb realized that it was gold!

But that wasn't all that hung around him, he realized as among the silken curtains was also strings of webbing. Among the webbing was a mixture of macabre and gaudy. Specks of jewels and precious metal glinted off his light and bone of various lengths and sizes were seemingly patterned in a way that looked both luxurious and grotesque at the same time.

He crawled off the rather large bed and threw his legs over the side and stepped down onto a floor that was covered in more webbing. This wasn't the sticky annoying mess like back at the spider den though, this stuff was fashioned in a way that it almost seemed like a soft carpet or fine rug.

The gilded boots he wore barely made a sound against the woven webbing as he walked out of the bedchamber and along a tunnel, or perhaps hall would be a better word for it. Like the bedchamber, this hall was decorated rather lavishly. Precious metals, jewels, and bones were formed into elaborate and breathtaking murals and mosaics along the walls as he made his way down it, his only light being his eyes that added an eerie look to it all. The walls were covered in webbing as well, but they didn't stick when he touched them. The ceiling was tall and webbed arches where bones and wealth hung down on glistening threads as they crossed at regular intervals.

As he walked he felt like he was walking through a mansion or castle. Probably the latter, Jeb thought as Morty's place seemed like a rundown tenement compared to the opulence displayed so purposefully yet regularly. Whoever designed this place knew what they were doing if they wanted to impress someone, he thought as he came to a intersection. No matter where he turned it seemed like there was yet more signs of lavish wealth on display.

He stopped himself when he realized he was already several steps down the left hall. He turned around and glared at his surroundings as if something nearby was the cause. But he saw nothing. No signs of an enemy or anything else that might've explained it.

He looked back at the other halls and sighed before continuing down the left one. If they wanted him dead they would've done it already, Jeb thought as he continued on. He became aware however, that whenever he came to another intersection he would feel something touch his head, or mind, he realized when he rebuffed it the next couple times. It was leading him somewhere.

So he begrudgingly followed the feeling. It felt like a cool refreshing breeze to him whenever it touched him. Left, right, straight ahead. The feeling continued to lead him somewhere. But never more than that, he thought as he remained alert despite the feeling upon his mind now and then.

He felt it one last time as it guided him down a hall that gradually gave way to a chamber that seemed to be a sort of sitting room. The large circular room was spacious like the rest of the place, and just as consistent in theme as grave and gaudy filled the room. There was a wooden table finely decorated and carved nearby and thick tomes on shelves carved into the wall. His eyes then turned towards where he sensed movement and found them running over someone sitting on a piece of reflective black furniture with their back towards him so he wasn't able to see their face or really any of their features other than glistening black hair tied up in a pony tail adorned with the same metal he had on his own body. Yet the hair was long enough that it prevented him from seeing anything else.

"Who're you? Why am I here?" Jeb demanded to the figure.

"Oh?" The figure spoke in a smooth feminine voice as she cocked her head to the side before continuing.

"My apologies My Lord for the rather impromptu meeting. I would've rather had time to prepare a proper and more worthy introduction. But alas, I feared such a thing would've been impossible. There aren't any third parties to speak of my accomplishments and titles. No gifts I have would've been sufficient for one such as you. I feared that time would not be kind enough to allow the lengthy and elaborate introduction necessary."

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Yet you still haven't answered my questions." Jeb replied curtly.

She hissed and seemed to calm herself and giving a chittering laugh.

"I seem to be making even this rather hastened introduction worse aren't I My Lord? You have my apologies once again and I hope you will find no intended offence."

Jeb was about to speak when the woman moved, and what he thought was black furniture moved with her! What looked like a giant spider creaked as it shifted and moved before skittering around and giving Jeb a look at exactly who, and what, he was dealing with.

Her skin was a pale blue save for her lips that matched the color of sapphires crowned with an elegant nose to go along with her fine sylvan features. Just below where her hips were positioned, flesh turned abruptly into a black chitinous spider's body. Owing to her semi-spiderness, she had eight eyes on her face. Two were where the eyes usually were, positioned just below slender dark brows, four more just behind them forming a sideways triangle formation, with the last two at the top of her face where her hairline was. To the side of her face were two ears with long tips that poked out between strands of dark hair.

Despite the spiderness of her, she radiated a seductive charm with a body that matched it. Her seductive figure was dressed in similar garb as he was. Her chest and c cup bust were adorned in burgundy silk that hugged and accentuated her figure and seemed to caress her flesh as she moved and gilded metal that seemed more as accessory pieces rather than actual armor. But where he had pants, she had a lavish sash that covered the space where her flesh and chitin met. Her arms were bare except for the same burgundy colored silk along her arms that ended in sharpened nails.

Her spider lower body was no less decorated as he could now see that a fine silk cover woven in an intricate pattern was laid across the abdomen with glinting jewels beaded and hung across the sides. Her legs were covered in more of the gilded metal, though it seemed just as decorative as the rest was.

Then there was the fact that she was fucking TALL, Jeb thought as he had to look up to meet her black-eyed gaze, yet with a brief glance he could take a guess that if she wanted to be taller she could if she adjusted her legs. Yet she didn't.

She curtsied, which was something he didn't think was possible for someone like her to do. The movement would've, should've, looked awkward and unnatural. Yet she pulled it off with a smooth practiced grace that turned into a bow.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself My Lord. I am Annash'teha Vordeka Dre Kyerix-Khern. Mistress of Spiders and High Priestess to the Goddess of Spiders Herself. Desire of a hundred villages, a dozen cities, and three nations on two of the continents. Desired and envied by countless mortal men and women alike. Patroness of the Korver Korsairs and Bloodwood Brigands. Feller of the mighty Elder Dragon Karnatex. Broodmother of Spiders. Mistress of Chains. Holder of Lives. Magistrix of Shadows. Silken Weaver. And Mistress of the Arena. At your service My Lord."

"That's... quite alot of titles." Jeb remarked as he wasn't quite sure how to follow that up.

"Alas, most have since been stripped of me either by time, choice, or both." She stated with her head low and eyes still closed.

"Still impressive." Jeb stated which earned a charmed smile from her.

"Thank you for your praise My Lord. I am glad that my accomplishments, shadows of a time long since past some may be, are to your liking." She replied before ending her bow and standing before Jeb.

"I'm Jebadiah Jefferson. Uh, sorry that I don't have alot of titles to share or any really. Certainly not as many as that." Jeb said.

"That you are aware of My Lord. But a being such as you, and the power you display will have earned you fitting titles already." She replied.

Jeb's thoughts turned to the dwarves, and even the kobolds. Sure the Chief called him Master Jeb. But did the rest of the tribe call him something other than his own name with an honorific? He was all but sure that the dwarves called him something different, especially after the shitshow at his house. He also knew that the people from town had more than a few nicknames they gave him growing up. They stopped being said in front of him after Dan and his friends died. He stopped hearing them all together in hushed whispers when he got older.

"So I take it that those spiders from before were yours?"

"They were indeed."

Jeb cringed.

"Sorry about that."

But she waved it off.

"No need My Lord. You made it obvious that the area is yours and will suffer no competition."

"Still, sorry I killed 'em."

"Your sorrow is misplaced My Lord. They would've died anyway. Either to you or to something or someone else. That is their purpose and they fulfill it when and where desired." She stated plainly as if it were obvious.

Wouldn't really call it sorrow, Jeb thought. A little awkward to be talking to someone whose pets, or maybe children, you killed after all. Before he could continue though, Anna, because he wasn't going to try and butcher her full name, sauntered up to and then past him. Running a hand across his arm with a hum of approval.

"Allow me to give you a proper tour of my home My Lord." Anna said as she strutted away with a practiced grace and refined elegance of a runway model. Jeb stood around for a moment before feeling awkward and following after the arachne. She actually wasn't as far ahead as he thought she'd be, he thought as he barely had to try to catch up to her.

"Nice place." Jeb remarked as they went down hall after hall filled with yet more decorations of bone and wealth.

"No need to be polite My Lord. I'm aware that my domain isn't as grand and lavish as it once was." She said with a hint of sadness.

"No, I mean it. I love the color." Jeb said as he gestured to the burgundy silk.

She gave a chittering laugh.

"Thank you My Lord. Spider venom turns blood a delicious~ color does it not?"

Jeb liked it far less now. Especially as he recalled he was wearing silk dyed a similar color. Thankfully it allowed him to ask a rather pressing question.

"What happened to my clothes?"

"Oh those dirty old things? They were barely held together after your recent cleansing of those vermin, and they were hardly fitting for your form My Lord. So I had you adorned in something more fitting. Though I'm afraid it still doesn't quite suit you, even if they do wonders for your form~" She cooed, causing Jeb to blush a little as he remembered how form fitting it actually was.

"So you didn't do... anything while I was out?" Jeb asked. Causing her to stop, forcing him to as well.

"My Lord. Do you truly think I would need to force myself upon someone?" She replied as she turned around. She ran her hands over her figure as they flowed and caressed her curves and form as she played with her lip teasingly.

She chuckled as she looked at Jeb's face that told her all she needed to before she turned back around and continued on her way, a bit more of a seductive saunter to her steps than before.

"Forcing one's self upon another is crude and bestial and only those that don't know the finer points of charm and seduction ever resort to something so crass and barbaric. Why would I ever need to force myself upon someone when I can just as easily make them desire me all on their own?"

"So that feeling I felt when going through these halls wasn't your doin'?"

"Oh it was. I apologize again My Lord. But I wished to give you a proper tour and much of this place is still ill-suited for myself let alone you. So I used a bit of magic to guide you here. But nothing more I assure you."

"You seem fine for someone that used magic." Jeb replied as he looked over the arachne.

"Hm? Oh, you mean the way magic seems to work in this world? It is rather bothersome. Especially since I've been unable to properly illuminate my wonderous halls."

"So what did it cost you to guide me here then?"

"Nothing at all." She stated simply.

"Nothin'?"

"Nothing. For how could casting nothing require something?" She stated somewhat cryptically.

"I don't get it."

"Illusion magic is rather simple magic. It is all about projection of desires. It costs me nothing more than my concentration to cast. Especially on something so simple as guiding you to me My Lord. The only cost is the concentration needed for something more advanced. Like an illusionary feast, or ghostly soldiers rushing towards your enemy. But that's no different than my world."

"So how does it work?"

"It's simple. I merely conjure an image of what they desire. Food? With a wave of my hand I can conjure a feast complete with spices that burn your nose and succulent juices that drip down your chin. Or drink that quenches your thirst."

"But with how magic seems to work surely that has a cost."

"But cost what? I've made nothing more than a mirage. A fake imitation. Merely projected an image. I conjured no real feast. Your gut still hungers even if it doesn't know it. Your thirst is still unquenched despite seemingly drowning yourself in wine."

"There has to be more than that." Jeb stated unbelievingly.

"Of course there is. One can't simply conjure a meal and expect all to grow hungry at the mere sight of it. One has to put effort in making sure that they smell what they want to smell, taste what they want to taste, feel what they want to feel! A taxing endeavor that requires tedious effort. But the results-"

"-Speak for themselves." Jeb jumped as she vanished from in front of him and he felt her voice against the back of his neck.

He darted his eyes back and forth from where the arachne was and where she is.

"How?!"

"Simple. You don't know the layout of my halls My Lord so naturally you would desire for me to lead you. All it took was taking that desire and projecting it before you."

"But I didn't feel anythin'." Jeb said a little worryingly.

"And only the most adept would My Lord. When you expect something it's so much easier to weave an illusion. Like when I wanted to lead you to me. You desired to find who it was that had brought you here, even if you weren't aware of it. So I guided you. But you were wary and so you were able to feel my guiding influence." She explained as she skittered past Jeb and led him on.

"How so?" Jeb asked, though he reminded himself to be more alert from now on.

"During a battle you naturally expect to be attacked. You may not be sure of how many or how exactly but the feeling remains the same. You can imagine how illusions could be useful for elevating one's numbers for such an occasion. Especially if you mix in real enemies among the illusions. Especially if you narrow it down to where a sword or arrow would strike. Even the thought that a potential enemy could be a fake, or a sword swing could be as well, can be the difference between life and death. A shame many believe the school to be rather weak compared to others. Then again, hurling an actual bolt of lightning at someone is preferred over hurling an illusionary one."

As Jeb was about to speak they left the ornate halls and entered a grand chamber. The floor was the same silken flooring designed into intricate and elaborate styles and curtains of similar design lined all around. All around were tables filled with utensils made of gold and candelabra and chandeliers made of what looked like gilded bone that were cold and dark. In the center of chamber hung massive bones that Jeb could barely picture with his own light in the darkness. Suspended in the air by cords of web as thick as he was.

"That's-" Jeb started to speak when he turned his eyes down and noticed Anna sweeping her hair to the side and offering him a view of her unblemished, and bare, pale blue back.

"Breathtakin'." Jeb muttered as he stared.

She smirked as she turned her head to the side.

"Thank you My Lord. I'm quite proud of it."

Jeb blushed and stammered as he tried not to look at the spidery supermodel before him. She sauntered over towards the center before turning around.

"Would you be so kind as to provide us some light My Lord?"

"Light?" Jeb asked and looked around.

"Yes. A bit of light to illuminate this place would be so wonderful My Lord." She said with a bow and a gesture towards a rut in the floor.

Jeb conjured a spark of balefire and looked around.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna burn all this."

"I'm sure you will be more than capable of controlling it My Lord." She said earnestly.

Alright, if you say so, Jeb thought and flicked the flame into the groove in the floor. Praying it didn't engulf the whole place and the two of them with it. He watched with a held breath as the flame latched onto something in the groove and spread along as it followed the grooves and ruts within the floor. Then it moved up the walls and into sconces that blazed alive. Then towards the entrance where a pair of braziers he hadn't noticed burst to life before the flame continued on in grooves that he hadn't noticed at the edge of the walls.

He could actually see now, Jeb thought. He could before but it was like using a flashlight compared to a floodlight. He could now see everything in much better detail. For starters, the reason he felt naked before was that he kinda was. Sorta. His silken garments were form fitting indeed. But everything from the top of his pelvis to his pecs were exposed except for a few interlocking strands of the burgundy colored silk. A twist to look was enough to see that the back wasn't much better as his lower and upper back were entirely exposed save for the connecting strands. The burgundy silk covered his skin beneath the metal of the gilded shoulder pads and gauntlets that ended in sharpened claws.

The metal was intricate. Gold fashioned into shapes and designs that depicted spiders, blades, bones, or screaming faces. His light gave the screaming faces a haunted look to them and he swore he could hear actual screaming coming from the metal. His pants were much the same as his "shirt". Crotch was covered thankfully, he thought, with the silken thread. Even if it was very form fitting and left Jeb feeling rather exposed. His legs were covered with the silken thread until his knees where it was covered with gilded sabatons with a similar design to the gauntlets. The reason he felt naked was that the silk was so light that he only felt it when he paid attention when he moved. Even the gilded metal had little weight he could feel. It felt as natural to him as his own skin was. Of course it was dyed in the burgundy color that he now remembered was blood. Still impressive though, he thought as he tried to bury the thought he was wearing literal blood stained clothes.

His balefire illuminated the chamber and gave it an eerie glow that gave the skulls adorning the room a haunted look to them. He looked up at the bones and his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as just above him was a massive skeleton. A massive DRAGON skeleton.