Stokely arrived in the vicinity of the lodge first, with his shaved head acting as a shining beacon reflecting the sun. It clearly announced his position despite watching quietly from the background while Ingrid rolled Hobe to the lodge entrance. Five sentries armed with spears stood watch. Hobe peered up at them and waved with a shaky hand. In a frail voice he said, “I must speak with whomever is in charge, please. Tell them Doctor Hobe is here.”

One guard seemed highly unsure of what to do before Stokely walked up and placed his arm around him. The hulking muscle of a man squeezed his neck tightly. “How can I be of assistance to Doctor Hobe and Archivist Ingrid?” He asked.

Hobe grinned and said, “Thank you for your patronage, Stokely. The preparations for the funeral later this afternoon are overwhelming. My nurses and doctors are tied down with patients and lack the time to transfer the deceased to the observatory. Walstaff’s deputies are busy taking care of the citizenry, and Keoma has given me half of his men to help. I need the lodge to carry the rest. We do all call for one another to be considerate during this trying time.”

Stokely crossed his arm while thinking for a moment before attempting to sound convincing. “Fine, whatever. I’ll take some men to the hospital to take the bodies.” Shifting hesitantly, he then walked inside. He returned several minutes later with two dozen men. He looked at Hobe with an assessing eye. “Go and rest old man. That axe on the back of your chair won’t do any good for a man in your shape.”

After Stokely vanished from sight, Ingrid turned to Hobe and asked, “Good doctor, you forgot to ask about checking in on your patient and the visiting surgeon from abroad. Did you message Vilsin about that?”

“Oh, my yes,” Hobe asked, “Would you boys there be so gracious as to let me visit with them? Vilsin never responded and I’ve been losing sleep over their wellbeing.”

The sentries shared an anxious look before one said, “I’m sorry, that is not possible.”

Hobe sat there with a deflated expression. “I suppose we can wait for that Stokely fellow to return, then.” He then glanced over at Ingrid.

Ingrid hurried to send a message to Walstaff and Keoma. ‘They won’t let us just stroll in. We will have to take action directly. They are down at least fifty or sixty hunters.’

Keoma and Walstaff had avoided the main road, sticking to the pines on the outskirts of town while heading towards the lodge. Walstaff looked down at his display before telling Keoma, “Hey, trying to get in and out without dealing with the leftover hunters was never good to begin with. I’ll message my deputies to get into place. We’ll force our way into the lodge and find our drifter comrades. Have you thought about what we’ll do if we encounter the spider there?”

Keoma flashed a concerned look. “Not the best scenario. We’ll have to rush to break them out so that they can keep her in check.”

The pair walked up to the lodge behind Hobe and Ingrid. Walstaff hobbled up to the guards on his cane. “I’m required to ask you boys to step aside. We are here on council business.”

The guards did not indicate they would move in the slightest. One said, “We are not allowing anyone else inside. Vilsin has retired to his chambers and hasn’t been out since last night.”

Hobe butted in with a less meek tone from before. “Even more of a reason to let a doctor in.”

The sentries didn’t acknowledge him and remained standing there. Walstaff motioned with his arm by raising it up and wielding it at the door. Two dozen deputies swarmed the door armed with swords while the men and women from the forge stepped up from the brush and pines with rifles pointed. The sentries exchanged a look of disbelief but quick reprieve. They dropped their spears and opened the gate wide. The militia rushed in and the hunters inside were ready to stand down with relief clear on their faces. Walstaff quipped, “No resistance. Although they are usually full of themselves, they were trying to help Leoris. The realization of what Vilsin was becoming after everything must have affected their morale.”

The four members of the council made their way inside. “We must hurry before the spider realizes what we are doing here.” Keoma led them to rush down the corridors flanked by members of their own guard.

Inside their cell, Cherry and Demalyn sat with their legs folded underneath them. Cherry with her face twisting in frustration, exhaled. “This meditating stuff sucks. And it is boring. At least you have something to talk to.”

Demalyn talked without opening her eyes. “It isn’t talking right now. It rarely talks to me, anyway. I promised it would play a part soon. So, it is gathering strength. As soon as we receive a signal, it’s coming out. Be ready to run. It may go wild this time. I feel that part of me is growing anxious.”

Cherry raised an eyebrow of concern at Demalyn. “I’m most worried about having to flee the town after this is over. We are going to have to try traveling using the ignition key to Ouren’s hub. We haven’t tested it out during winter.”

A commotion was brewing from down the hallway. Both stood up, looking at the door to the hall containing their cell. A lock unbolted and a grinning Keoma stepped in with the others behind him. “Found you!” He took a set of keys and opened the door to their cell.

Hobe bounded out of his wheelchair and handed Cherry and Demalyn their bags. “Presents from your warden friend. I’m guessing you will need them.” Cherry threw her arms around Hobe. Ingrid gave Demalyn an uncomfortable nod.

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Ingrid with a look of disinterest in the reunion and without being prompted excused herself from the gathering. “I will go on ahead and assist Stokely at the funeral.”

Keoma, in a motion to move things along, motioned for them to leave. “We should probably get out of here and regroup. Desdin is at the van. And we have to put our plan of action into motion now while we are disrupting the spider’s plan.”

Cherry took out a vial from her bag. “No need to wait. I can tell you at this moment what we need to do,” she said while taking a sip from the vial and shutting her eyes.

Demalyn smirked and pulled her orb out, wrapping it vines and holding it up to her eye. “I’ve also thought about it and I might have figured out a trick to finding her.”

Cherry opened her eyes first in a violet flash. She glanced through the lodge. “I can see Vilsin. He is completely dead now. The smoke coiling around his shadow keeps him standing. So she has already changed him.” She focused and peered past the perimeter of the lodge. Twenty solid shadows took form with an eerie yellow candescence. For every two of them was a blotch of darkness. “The Fallen offspring and several reanimated are approaching the lodge. She must know something is up.”

Demalyn’s orb pulsed and blinked dark purple. It now looked like an eye searching desperately around her. She observed the wispy strands forming a web throughout Leoris. Several threads were fraying and splintering off. In the east, she could see the yellow maw with its fangs gritted. “She is weakening. Losing control of the web. I don’t think she knows everything yet. She seems focused on whatever is about to happen in the east. She likely wants us to come to her.” The orb went back to normal, and she returned it to her bag.

Cherry cocked her head and turned to the east. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she concentrated. A blue mist was enveloping her. A massive cloud of pulsating black sludge appeared like a dome emerging from the earth. “Just how many. Fuck me. She must be somewhere in that mess. The conservatory.” She slammed her eyes shut in discomfort and subsequently opened them again as they returned to their normal green color.

Keoma stroked his moustache with his thumb and index finger. “I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to fight in two places. But with the incoming attack here, we may have to divide our force.”

Cherry asked for water, and Keoma fetched a jug from outside the room. The town is really stepping up to push back. The Spider couldn't speak for herself last night. She was clearly weakened, so Vilsin spoke for her. She made it seem like she was far ahead of us, but honestly, her reactions since we showed up in Leoris must have come at a cost. Our foe is losing her advantage now. Her last option is to overwhelm us. What is the plan to fight her where she is at?”

“I'm planning to send my men to the funeral in the woods, and we'll all be fully armed with explosives and weapons. Ingrid and I will join them and rendezvous with Stokely, who is on our side now. Hobe and Walstaff can stay here and rally the deputies and hunters here to make a stand. Once I set off the explosives, Desdin can join us in drawing out the spider. If we can force her back towards Leoris, we can pinch her and put an end to this nightmare. Can you both assist here?” Keoma asked.

Cherry looked over at Demalyn. “Take everyone here with you. The sheriff and doctor can help coordinate things from within Leoris. The two of us will be enough here. And if you can get her to come this way, we'll finish the job with Desdin unless he manages to pull it off alone. Your men would only be in danger if you tried to fight alongside us. You might need a new lodge once we finish here."

The council looked at each other with worry. “Alright, gather up all the hunters here, even the ones from the lodge, and take them outside. Keoma, can you try to talk some sense into them? They respect you more than anyone,” Walstaff said.

Keoma beamed at Walstaff. “They respect everyone here. The four of us together will convince the ones we just captured, along with whomever else we can recruit, and then we will hope that Stokely can do the same at the funeral with those he took with him.”

The hunters and deputies began marching out into Leoris. Walstaff strolled out before them. “My friends, I know you must notice that something odd is transpiring here in Leoris. Myself and your council standing here with you right now are imploring you to stand with us against this threat. We must head to the observatory, where we will soon take place to protect our citizens. It is a ceremony to honor those that we have lost during this crisis. Please, we beg you to help us. With or without you, we're determined to stand up for Leoris.”

Several of the captured hunters were speaking amongst themselves in hushed murmurs. Hobe stepped up next. “I’ve cared for most of you and your families since birth. And I’ve never once told any of you what to do or asked for anything in return. But just this once, I’m lowering my pride and my pleading with you from my heart. Please help this town and the people I love.” He took off his bandana, covering his missing eye and fresh wound from the monster that attacked him, bowing down to the crowd. Keoma placed a hand on his shoulder consolingly.

One spoke up from the crowd. “It is true! I saw Vilsin with my own eyes calling some strange woman his long-dead wife. He has gone mad. I will help save our home.” Several more clamored in agreement. “I knew I should have gone along with Stokely when he left last night! He didn’t give any reason, but I knew it was the right decision. I didn’t question his obvious terrible act when he showed up today!” Another hunter spoke up. “Those creeps from the clergy are just staring at everyone all over town. I don’t feel my family is safe. Tell me what to do to save them!”

From the shadows of Leoris, the cloaked clergy members emerged. They contorted and twisted into grotesque creatures. They leapt into the crowd clumsily with inhuman appendages. The men and women didn’t falter and scurry away in fear. They picked up their arms and assaulted the creatures. Easily slaying them. Seeing the truth with their own eyes, they called out in unison and chanted, “For Leoris we can do this!” The rest of the council raised their arms in solidarity and confidence.

Demalyn and Cherry stood side by side in the sandy ring of the courtyard at the center of the lodge. “I’m going to kill the creature that is now Vilsin. You, or it rather, can have the rest,” Cherry said while peeling off her white gloves. She threw her jacket and tie to the side and rolled up her sleeves. She prepared herself, taking a syringe out of her bag and attaching it to her arm with a leather band. Cherry picked up her long sword, the handle adorned with a decorative guard that fit snugly around her fist. She pointed her chrism pistol towards the entrance.

Vines wrapped over the whole of Demalyn’s body. She tossed her hat aside and pulled her hair back. The vines pulled the orb up to her hand, where it pulsated in her palm and shed sparks into the surrounding air. “I don’t know what part it will play in this battle. So be prepared for anything. We have a deal, though. No harm will come to you or Desdin.” The growls became more ravenous as they entered the lodge. A tapping of claws on stone echoed loudly, even in the inner sanctum. An odor of decaying flesh crept closer. The two stood focused and ready.