No! I managed a weak protest as my body went limp and consciousness began to fade. Not again, I just escaped from a lair, now I’m being dragged into another… At least I hoped I was just being dragged and not directly eaten.
When I next came to, I was completely wrapped up and hanging in what felt like a suspended prison. The sticky material of the spider's web compressed my body into a tight cocoon. Claustrophobia set in, and I began to suffocate, thrashing wildly. But it seemed neither beast nor anything else cared about my plight. Panic surged through me, and for a moment, I felt like I was dying, deprived of air.
Help! I wanted to scream, but only muffled sounds escaped my lips. Not that it mattered – there was no one around to hear me. I'm done for. The fear was there, but it was overshadowed by anger. Angry at myself for being this careless, angry at that God, and lastly, infuriated with the damn spider that was trying to make a meal out of me.
In my struggle, I realized something vital – I could actually breathe through the web, just barely. Of course, I could. Otherwise, I'd be dead already. The problem was that only a small current of air could penetrate the web, and in my panicked state, I was demanding too much. Gradually, I forced myself to calm down, convincing myself that the dizziness wouldn't kill me.
Once the suffocating sensation subsided, I began to assess my situation by feeling around. The pain in my leg was consistent with a sting, accompanied by swelling. Good news, I guess? My back only hurt slightly, so it probably wasn’t broken. Yay for small victories.
Now, the challenge was escaping. Completely restrained, my options seemed limited until I felt something solid and slightly sharp in my hand. The gem? No way! I mentally laughed at the irony. That stupid spider had wrapped my hand around the gem before I could drop it. 'Serves it right!' I started to laugh for real, but then... the laughter turned into suffocating gasps. Sorry, serves me right for being stupid, I thought, as I refocused on the task at hand – using this unexpected boon to somehow engineer my escape.
Fire would be a good option, I contemplated. Would the dragon track me here? The possibility seemed unlikely, though I had no idea where 'here' even was. However, using fire at such close quarters would likely harm as much as the web, especially since I was essentially tied to the gem.
How strong is this web, anyway? Could I cut through it with something sharp? That idea was quickly discarded – too risky. The gem might end up cutting me instead. Wait, what about-? It was risky and could potentially send me flying back, but in my dizzy, near-unconscious state, it was the best I could come up with.
Focusing intently, I hoped the green smoke of the enchantment wouldn’t alarm any nearby creatures into action. I took my time, carefully visualizing each component of the technology and the magic weaving it all together. This was Transmutation, a tricky business. One wrong move, and the gem would be useless.
After sending the combine command, I waited, holding my breath. The gem remained solid in my hand. Good, the enchantment worked. I cautiously squeezed the gem, activating the magic.
Holy moly! I couldn't help but scream as the web constricted painfully against my skin before bursting open, freeing me. The effect was as abrupt as I'd anticipated, yet surprisingly effective at tearing through the web. In the blink of an eye, I was airborne, launched into the dark expanse of what looked like a massive, damp cave. My eyes quickly adjusted, making out more webs around me in the dim light. As I plummeted downwards, I cursed my luck, silently praying I wouldn’t die from the fall. How in the world did I end up hanging so high off the ground?
Ahh! Before I even had time to process my own scream, my legs slammed into the ground, and the momentum sent me crashing onto my back. Not the back again! The pain in my previously bitten leg escalated dramatically, sending sharp jolts of agony through my body as I writhed on the damp, cold, stony cave floor. I knew I needed to keep quiet to avoid attracting more predators, but suppressing my moans was beyond me. I had to recover quickly.
I can’t just lie here waiting for another attack; I need to be ready. But my body wasn't cooperating. The gem I'd enchanted with an air blast effect – a simple technology that could launch compressed air – had slipped from my grasp during the fall.
If I wasn't howling like a banshee, maybe I would've heard where it landed. Amidst the waves of pain, I forced myself to start patting the ground, desperately searching for my only means of defense. If that spider decides to attack now, in the dark, I’ll be more than defenseless. I’ll be a liability to myself.
Terrified and nauseous, I pushed through the pain, my hands groping blindly across the rocky surface. Then, a distant hiss cut through the silence. It sounded angry, dangerous. Without a second thought, I fumbled for another gem in my robe, this time focusing on enchanting it with a simple light effect, visualizing the inner workings of the most basic lamp. The hissing grew louder, but I didn't let it distract me. My entire focus was on completing the enchantment.
Come on! I urged silently, waiting for the green smoke, faintly visible in the darkness, to clear. It seemed to take an eternity, or maybe time was just playing tricks on me. Finally, it vanished, and the gem remained intact. Good. If I couldn't get this simple enchantment right, I'd be done for.
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The gem lit up suddenly, its brightness nearly blinding me. Stupid, Alan. You just had to ruin the moment by forgetting to protect your eyes. Squinting through the glare, I braced myself for whatever was out there, the hissing still echoing ominously in the cave.
Forcing my eyes open despite the glaring light and the tears that followed, I couldn't help but let out a gasp. Oh my Gods! I was completely surrounded by webs, and not just webs –spiders, lots of them. Each one was smaller than the monstrous beast that had captured me, but by Earth's standards, they were still horrifyingly large. They were everywhere, lurking in the corners, dangling from the ceiling, nestled between rocks and gaps. This is a freaking spider hell.
My limbs felt momentarily paralyzed. Might as well add arachnophobia to my list of conditions now, I thought grimly. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it – the giant spider, racing towards me with terrifying speed. Panic surged through me, but then I spotted the other gem, the one with the air blast enchantment, lying not too far away.
I lunged for it, desperate to reach it before the spider could. Luckily, the smaller ones seemed content to just watch the show. I crawled, snatched the gem, and without a second thought, pointed it at the oncoming spider and blasted it.
The force of the blast, far more potent than I had anticipated, knocked me back, but it also sent the spider crashing into a nearby rock. The creature let out a screech that was music to my ears. Gods, that was close! Holding onto the gem for dear life, I knew it was my only chance. I'll fight my way out with this.
The spider was quickly back on its feet, its eyes glaring hatefully at me, but it seemed more cautious now. Disappointingly, there was no visible damage – no missing legs, no spider guts oozing out. Of course, nothing can ever be easy for me.
I gripped my two gems tightly, ready to defend myself at a moment's notice. With spiders on the wall behind me, I dared not get too close to it. We were at a stalemate, but I still felt like prey, trapped in this nightmarish den.
In that brief moment of relief, I quickly scoped out the exit. By the dim shafts of light piercing the cave, it was obvious that the way out was in the exact opposite direction of the massive spider. Well, isn't that just my luck, I thought, feeling a flicker of relief mixed with a heavy dose of irony.
With cautious steps, I began inching towards the exit, my gaze locked on the giant arachnid. It hissed menacingly, but thankfully didn't advance. Step by step, I was getting closer to freedom. But then, a harsh realization hit me.
The path to the exit was a minefield of webs. I couldn’t move forward without upsetting the already delicate balance. The idea of tearing through the webs seemed like a direct invitation for the spider to go on the offensive. I imagined it wouldn't take kindly to me destroying its home and potentially harming its offspring.
Just as this thought crossed my mind, the spider's hiss morphed into a more urgent, aggressive sound. I barely had time to process it as the creature, along with every other spider in sight, lunged towards me.
Fuck! Instinct took over – probably saving my life – as I blasted the mother spider with the gem and spun around, launching another attack at the webs blocking my path. In that moment, nothing else mattered.
I dashed towards the exit, tripping over rocks and bulldozing through webs and spiders alike. A sharp pain shot through my hand as something bit into it, but I didn't falter. Realizing that the beasts weren't going to let me escape easily, I began to enact my emergency, absolutely insane, last-ditch plan.
As I sprinted towards the exit, I channeled every ounce of concentration I had left into enchanting the lighting gem, hastily adding a second, explosively reactive effect. I don't need finesse, I just want to wipe out these damn spiders.
Rifling through my mental catalog of potential effects, I didn't waste time deliberating and chose a combustion chamber. Sure, there might have been easier effects to enchant, but hey, I'm literally running for my life here.
When the green smoke engulfed the gem, I didn't hesitate. I hurled it backward, losing my only source of light in the process. But that didn't matter now; the exit was near enough, and I could see the way well enough in the faint light seeping in.
For a heart-stopping moment, I thought it had failed. My every hair stood on end when I heard the spider's hiss ominously close behind me. But then, it exploded, just as I had planned – though perhaps a bit more dramatically than intended.
The explosion sent both me and the beast flying. I could swear I heard the screams of the countless spiders caught in the blast. I crashed against a rock near the end of the path, barely registering the impact as I watched the spider collide with the wall above me. The exit was right there, a hole in the ceiling leading out of this hellish lair.
Ignoring the searing pain from the collision and any potential injuries, I leaped to the side to dodge the flaming monstrosity falling towards me. I wondered how did I move so fast, realizing it was probably the sheer terror of being crushed by a burning spider.
It wailed and thrashed around, burning but not dying quickly enough. I had miscalculated the blast's strength. Had the spider not absorbed much of the explosion, I'd probably be on fire too. Too many close calls with fire lately. Does the element have a vendetta against me or something?
As the monstrous spider loomed over me, a surge of panic shot through my veins, and I backed into the cold stone behind me. The last enchanted gem in my possession teetered perilously in my hand, threatening to slip away. No, no, no! I mentally screamed, clutching it with a desperate strength born of fear.
Just as the spider lunged, its grotesque maw aiming for my head, I unleashed an air blast from the gem. For a horrifying second, my face was mere inches from the creature's fangs, a nightmarish image forever carved into my memory. Then, propelled by the force of the blast, the beast slammed back against the wall. It thrashed violently, its death throes echoing in the cavern, until it lay still.
I'm not sticking around to check if the rest of the spiders are dead or to see if there's any loot worth collecting, the very idea making my skin crawl. I was too shaken, too saturated with fear to even entertain such thoughts.
Gathering the remnants of my strength and energy, I focused on climbing out of this hellhole. Thankfully, the hole leading out wasn't too high. As I clawed my way up, a part of me couldn't help but complain, Was a good night's sleep really too much to ask for? The answer, it seemed, was a resounding yes.