Chapter Fifteen: Glemberfang, the Light Devourer
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[Sage ---> Winter System Notification]
[Glemberfang, the Light Devourer]
[Creature Type: Phantom Spider]
[Health: 6738, Stamina: NA, Mana: NA]
[Skills & Abilities: NA]
[Vulnerabilities: NA]
[Resistances & Immunities: Poison (Immune)]
[Unique Drop(s): NA]
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Blue light refracted from the dark eyes of Glemberfang, as the rest of its pale, shock white body lurched out fthe murky shadows of the faraway ceiling. Two legs by two, it pressed down the length of the chamber, shifting its massive body across the darkened stonework, before coming to an abrupt halt.
A low-frequency chittering noise filled the air suddenly, contrasted by the sounds of Bredic’s desperate attempt at escape. The deeply resonant tones made Bly’s skin crawl, though he was too stunned to move otherwise.
All at once, Glemberfang reeled back, its face wrinkled, and a stream of green material spewed from its mouth.
“Swift shield—” Blychert cast.
Scrambling somewhat, he grabbed ahold of Lisel in his other arm and pushed her down. Stooping low himself, he thrust his spellcasting hand upwards above their heads. It wasn’t a moment too soon, for as the barrier spell took effect, a deluge came pouring over top of it. The yellow energy sputtered, and acidic substance splattered across the ground all around them.
“Ah—!” Lisel winced, quickly pulling her leg closer to her body. Sizzling resounded momentarily, and Bly looked at where the substance had burned a hole straight through her pantleg, leaving a blotchy red mark on her skin.
“Okay?” He asked.
Lisel grimaced with a nod, “Thanks.”
Turning quickly, Bly managed to catch sight of the latent shimmering of Vineta’s own barrier magic, as it began to dissipate where she and Xander were standing. Bredic was still on the far side of the chamber, his back pressed tightly against the door, though at least he seemed to have been outside the radius of the spider’s attack.
Movement stirred overheadsuddenly, as Glemberfang began crawling down towards the chamber floor.
“Formation!” Xander shouted, “Now!”
Bly and Lisel rushed forward. Nearly tripping over himself just to get into position, Blychert took up his normal spot towards the rear of the party, situating himself just in front of Vineta. Just by proximity, he could feel the pull of her magic aura, which was growing in power; a telltale sign that she was preparing herself to expend as much magical energy as they needed, prompting Blychert to do the same.
Glemberfang was drawing even closer now, and Bly had no idea what they were even going to attempt this time. There was no way their normal tactics were going to hold out against something this powerful. And yet, everyone was focused. Lisel had an arrow notched, Vineta had her mana flowing, and even where Xander stood an unusal clunking sound could be heard all of a sudden. Something round and metallic had taken shape on his right arm. It was a shield, the first time Bly had seen the swordsman don such a thing.
“Bredic!” Xander shouted, his neck craning. Amidst the chaos, Bly hadn’t even noticed the pyromancer was still glued to the door, his face flushed and terrified, “Bredic, damn it—get in formation!”
Bredic’s head shook petulantly, no words in response, but his fingers dug into the stone behind him as if he were trying to simply seep through it.
If his own surviva instinct hadn't been running rampant, Bly might have been able to empathize with Bredic. Blychert was beyond scared too—couldn’t move an inch but a few moments ago—and yet he’d acted just the same, to do what had to be done. Bredic needed to find that same will to fight as the rest of them seemed to have, and he needed to find it now.
The wizard’s feet trembled, but he peeled himself from the wall, nonetheless. Step by step, he slowly began to work his way across the bridge towards tthem.
Come on. Bly thought hopefully.
“Brace!” Xander’s voice exclaimed suddenly, snapping Blychert’s attention back to the front.
Above them, the spider’s forelegs dangled for a moment, all before the creature detached itself, freefalling the remaining thirty feet downward. However, and as its body adjusted slightly through the air, it landed on the chamber floor in such a way that it had cut off Bredic from closing the distance any farther than he already had.
“Bredic—!” Xander leapt forward.
At the exact moment he did, Lisel let loose an arrow. The familiar twang resounded, and the purple glow of her void-imbued arrowhead sparked violet through the air momentarily, before bursting across the creature’s abdomen. Blychert immediately followed up with an icicle spell of his own, mentally gesturing for a scatter shot to hit Glemberfang at the abdomen joint on each of its hindlegs.
Glemberfang hissed, twisting around feverishly as one of its forelegs snapped in Xander’s direction. Brandishing his shield, Xander thrust his right arm outward in an attempt to parry the oncoming attack. Though in an unexpected turn, he was instantly blown back in the direction of the rest of them. He hit the ground hard, clambering across the stone for several feet before coming to a halt. Lisel kneeled down to help him, but Glemberfang wasn’t done there.
It skittered forward and thrust its maw towards where Xander lay defenseless. But Vineta seemed to have been holding steady for this exact moment, because her barrier spell shimmered around the party in an instant. The wall of yellow energy boomed against the force of the phantom spider, cracking in several places as the creature reeled backwards.
Lifting both his hands, Blychert initiated several more icicles, shooting them forward from his grasp to strike at Glemberfang head-on. One by one, they dug in, leaving a trace of cold magical energy in their wake as the creature skittered left. It didn't seem too affected by Bly's attacks, but at least they'd negated its advance.
As the spider moved in again, Bly noticed Vineta’s barrier was just about spent, and so he dropped his icicle in favor of readying a shielding spell of his own. He’d have to dig deep for this one, but what other choice did he have?
“We need to get to him…” Xander groaned, clutching his armaments as Lisel helped him up to his feet, “I need to—”
Suddenly, a burst of fire blasted across the Glemberfang's abdomen, causing it to hiss and maneuver around. Vineta dropped her barrier spell the moment the lull presented itself, and that’s when Blychert noticed Bredic standing opposite Glemberfang, with a familiar red sigil above his head.
“Come on, you shit-eating spider!” Bredic shouted, his voice cracking somewhat above the sound of his spellcasting, “Have some of this!”
Glemberfang cried out, buckling under the rate of fire. But just as it seemed Bredic had found them an opening, Glemberfang twisted, leaping in to close the distance between itself and Bredic completely.
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“No—!” Xander dashed forward again.
“Swift shield—” Bly flung his arm outward frantically.
But the simple barrier was nothing compared to the Glemberfang's overwhelming size. Yellow energy burst into dust, and in a matter of seconds Bredic was locked up in its maw.
A helpless shriek of pain echoed through the chamber as Glemberfang clamped down. Xander’s shimmering blue sword split through the air a moment later, slicing down across the spider’s front in a series of strikes. Lisel fired off arrow after arrow, Bly combined icicle with firebolt in attempt to maximize his elemental damage, and Vineta began working the terrain, desperately trying to ply rock between Bredic and Glemberfang's mouth.
Though if it had any affect, it wasn’t showing.
Glemberfang simply leapt upward, catching itself on the wall but keeping Bredic close at hand. Suddenly, a pale, stringy material began wrapping around Bredic’s entire body. The wizard had fallen silent, and completely still, and in a matter of moments, he was fully encased in spider silk. Climbing upward, the Glemberfang easily stuck Bredic to the wall with more silk, before turning back into the volley of arrows and spells as if they weren't even there.
“Regroup…” Xander huffed, rushing over to join the rest of them, “I need to—we need a new strategy. We need a strategy.”
“Xander. Venom.” Lisel pointed out, her voice uneven, “We have to get him down.”
“I know—I know!” Xander insisted, “But we can’t do anything about that right now.”
Blychert paused from his own spellcasting.
His heart pounded, and his breath was heavy too. Bredic had been incapacitated within barely a few minutes of the spider showing up, and they’d barely managed to hurt it at all.
“Look, it’s coming down.” Xander swung his sword and shield back into position, “We hit it just like we hit the rock thrasher; take its legs out right from underneath it. I'm on point; Lisel hits my marks. Vineta, you run interference, keep that terrain moving, and keep it guessing. Trelen, max effort on barriers. Once it’s weakened, we hit it fast. We do that as many times as it takes. But one way or the other, we’re taking this bastard down… for Bredic.”
“For Bredic.” Vineta agreed, and Lisel simply nodded.
“…For Bredic.” Bly murmured.
Glemberfang reached the chamber floor a moment later, and the ground trembled slightly as it did. It shifted across the stonework slowly, seemingly content to study its opponents—its future prey—for a time.
Blychert gulped, swallowing his fear as he began to prepare for his allotted role. He wasn’t certain about any of this. But he was willing to trust Xander. At the moment, that was all he could do.
Glemberfang sprung.
Blue-green light flashed as Xander parried and countered, strike after strike. Despite its overwhelming size, Glemberfang was agile and more than clever. Within only a few exchanges, it began side-stepping Xander entirely to strike from the sides of the group. But Bly was more than ready for the assault, expending mana to maintain a barrier at all times. The earth at their feet shifted too, causing Glemberfang some difficulty as it tried to reconcile with Vineta’s terrain magic. Where it pushed, she pushed back. Where it shifted its attack, she blocked the path, all the while giving free opportunity of attack to both Xander and Lisel, who were able to successfully open a few wounds, even drawing blood.
But just like before, Glemberfang adjusted its tactics.
Its speed seemed to increase, as it began to shift around the party, almost as if it were simply phasing in-and-out of corporeal space. Xander was hit several times, Lisel once, and even Bly was caught on the hip by a wayward leg. When the front or the sides didn’t seem to work, Glemberfang simply lurched up and over them entirely, crashing down with force as it tried to pry another member of the party from their ranks.
And yet, they were holding. Some of them were injured, but they were holding their own. Blychert couldn’t help but notice out of the corner of his eye that his short-term mana was dropping fast. He didn’t have many more barriers of the caliber he’d been casting at his disposal, but he might be able to squeeze by if they kept this pace up.
After a long series of exchanges, Glemberfang simply leapt up and flung itself away from the fight, hissing and chittering as it looked back down upon them.
Blychert dropped his barrier, gasping for air as he said, “Vineta, swap. I need a moment.”
“On it.” She agreed, her face flushed with sweat and heat as she worked her magic. Panting, she added, “We need to keep this momentum. Xander, you're hurt. You should take the healing pot—”
It happened in the blink of an eye.
One moment Vineta was standing in the middle of them, preparing her barrier spell, and the next she was gone.
Bloodcurdling screams echoed across the chamber as her body flung through the air. Blychert barely had enough time to tun and look, before he saw her—tethered to thick strands of silk—in Glemberfang's clutches. It had used its webbing from afar to pluck one of them out? Her screams turned into sputtered groans and gasps, before she went silent. Soon, she too was spun into the spider’s webs, far up and placed on the opposite wall of where Bredic was.
“I…” Xander stammered, his sword arm falling slack, “Damn it…”
“Xander.” Bly rushed up, hitting him on the shoulder, “What’s the plan? Xander!”
“Give me a second to think—” He growled, “Just—give me a second.”
“I can get to them.” Lisel replied, “I can mask my sound, and I can climb the walls. Won’t be able to stop the venom, but I can slow it.”
Xander didn’t reply, and so Bly took it upon himself, nodding, “Go.”
Like that, Lisel turned and made for the edge of the chamber floor.
A heavy thud resounded, as Glemberfang dropped down once again. Bly stepped up, side by side with Xander now, and glanced at the party leader out of the corner of his eye.
His expression was stone-cold, his fingers now gripped so tightly around the hilt of his longsword that they were turning white. The faint blue of his blade paled in comparison to the burning flames of the lights around them, but still it shone. He wasn’t done fighting yet.
“I’m with you.” Bly said sternly, turning to look up at the swordsman, “Whatever it takes.”
“Trelen, I…” Xander stammered, glancing down to meet Bly’s gaze. He paused, and his expression shifted, as he nodded, “Whatever it takes.”
Glemberfang rushed them.
Everything happened so quickly and in such a blur that Blychert wasn’t even certain what he was doing, let alone what he was looking at. Xander’s shield parried, his sword flashed from blue to deep green, ice and fire escaped Blychert’s hands at rates he seldom ever cast before, and in-between them spots of instantaneous shielding but only when he needed them. They were both hit more than once, and it took every ounce of willpower for Bly to work through the pain. And yet each time one went down, they managed to help each other back up, or at least stall long enough to give the other just enough time to get back to their feet on their own.
One exchange after the other, the two of them flung themselves haphazardly around the lair just in an attempt to fight for their very lives. They couldn’t hold out like this forever, but it was having an impact. Finally.
Glemberfang was visibly injured, and at least one of its hindlegs and one of its forelegs were in rough shape.
It was progress, but it was too slow.
“Trelen—” Xander huffed, his voice edged by an uncertain tone. A break in the spider’s movements as it skittered backwards gave them a few seconds reprieve, and so he added, “I’m going to do something now—try something, I mean. I should have done it before, but—I don’t know what will come of it. But we don’t have any other choice. I’m sorry…”
What are you saying—? Bly thought, but his eyes widened as Xander forced him back a few paces.
As Blychert stumbled onto the ground, Xander started forward at the same time, mumbling something under his breath, but to faint to make out. Though as the swordsman took up his fighting stance, wielding his sword and shield once more, Glemberfang lurched in a flash. A red light rose from Xander’s weapon, but it was too late.
“Swift shield—!” Bly thrust his hand up from the ground
However, the shield didn’t make it in time. Before Xander could even do what he was trying to accomplish, Glemberfang's foreleg hit him at full force. He flung through the air for a few seconds, until his body rag dolled against the door on the far side of the chamber, unmoving.
A low, resonant chitter filled the chamber—like laughter—taunting Bly as he watched on in horror. Glemberfang turned to face him, looming large above him. Despite himself, Bly rose to his feet as quickly as he could, his hands open and ready to cast. He was exhausted, but he wasn’t giving up yet. He still had one trick up his sleeve; one trick that this damned spider surely wasn’t counting on.
If this was going to be the end, then let him squeeze his experience pool for all its worth.
As if acknowledging Bly’s resistance, Glemberfang offered a slow hiss. The pale hairs on its body quivered, and suddenly, a cool draft whipped up through the area. Before long, a vortex of wind had grown into the lair, circulating around the phantom spider itself, and causing Bly to squint as the gale struck him.
One by one, the blue flames of the candles when out, as if sucked into the vortex, or even into the spider itself. And where once was a bright, blue chamber, was now dim and getting darker by the second. Blychert watched Glemberfang grow darker too, its body disappearing into the shadows. The black orbs of its eyes—and the light gleaming off them—were all Bly could see now.
Blue flame had gone, light was devoured, and total blackout had eclipsed the chamber. In an instant, Glemberfang had cut its noise, and everything was silent.
Could it have done this from the beginning? Had this creature just been toying with them the whole time?
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> [Magical Darkness] detected.
> Visibility reduced to [0].
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“An ace. Every spellcaster should have at least one... for that make-or-break moment.”
For some reason, Alyse’s words hit him like a whisper in the dark all of a sudden, a guiding light. The hairs on the back of Bly’s neck stood tall, and he raised his arm, trembling somewhat as he muttered, “System command, input spell override: execute light—double illuminate.”
The light billowed out in a small radius centered on himself, just barely able to fight the darkness back. But it was enough.
The spider was out of sight. But Bly was here. He was alive. And while he still drew breath, this wasn't over.