“She can’t mean that she wants the pattern that's in his soul, right? She wants to trade for the pattern, have him show her the forms he uses to recharge his mana or something?” Gabe asked incredulously.

The last of his anger had been replaced with a mixture of shock and concern for Drevock. There was no way Professor Alrik could agree to this trade. They were already free to leave, it might take them a bit longer without the queen’s guidance, but they could find the Vlatiryx settlement on their own. Drevock didn’t need to sacrifice his soul for this.

Around him, none of the others could meet his eyes. Simon shifted uncomfortably, Professor Arik was looking at Drevock, and Drevock was staring intently at the spider queen. She hadn’t moved since making her offer, but when Gabe cast a glance her way, there was something about her expression that made him feel uneasy. From the disjointed way she spoke, he assumed she was well on her way to senility, but now he wasn’t so sure. It was difficult to tell with such an inhumane visage but he felt a smugness radiating off of her, almost as if they were doing exactly what she wanted.

“Why? Why are we doing this?” demanded Gabe once he returned his attention back to the others. “We can just leave, find the settlement without her help. Professor, Simon has already shown that this stone isn’t as warded, your tracking and location spells must be more effective now. Why are you even considering letting her do that to Drevock?”

Whatever response Professor Alrik was about to give was masked by a loud clang that caused all the spiders in the area to jump and chitter. The source of the noise was Drevock’s axes which he’d dropped to the side and clattered against the stone floor. With slow, deliberate motions he began undoing the straps that held his chest plate together.

“No, he doz not ‘let her’.”

He spoke with a calm determination as his fingers nimbly worked the leather knots with practiced ease.

“It’z my choice. I am Estariqu, I am Titan. I stand strung so oders live. Thees iz my fate.”

Two smaller clanks followed as he allowed each shoulder guard to fall to the ground once the straps were undone. He ran a finger along one side of the armor which must have served as the activation for a size enchantment as the chest plate expanded enough to allow him to slip his arms through, pull it over his head, and cast it to the side like the rest. Wearing just a simple linen tunic, Drevock finally looked away from the spider queen and met Gabe’s eyes.

“I vaz chosen to protect my people. Even if zey cast me aside, I vill honor my oath.”

With a single fluid motion, he removed his tunic. Gabe let out a gasp as he took in Drevock’s bare chest. A large tattoo covered his chest and upper abdomen, an intricate design with swirling loops and sharp lines in black ink that stood in sharp contrast to his honey-colored skin. And cutting across the tattoo were six long scars. Thick, raised, and almost the color of the tattoo ink, there was no way Drevock earned these scars in battle. Three stretched across the chest horizontally, two extended diagonally forming an ‘X’ in the center of the tattoo, and the last bisected the others straight down the middle.

Being a healer, Gabe had gotten up close and personal with a variety of different types of injuries but he had never seen anything that would produce such a result. Instead of clean lines, these scars had ragged edges that distorted and inflamed the skin around them. There was no way these weren’t a constant source of pain and irritation. Gabe didn’t know how the man could stand there so calmly, let alone fight with such ferocity.

“What…what happened to you?”

“I did what I must, az I vill do now. The Storm Giants rumble and the rivers vill soon run red. The old vays are returning and ve must be ready. If ve cannot have peace, then ve must be strong. Sometimes strength comes not from holding an ax, but from dropping it.”

Drevock stared into Gabe’s eyes, willing the younger man to not just hear his words, but to internalize them. Gabe knew he was trying to convey something important, something consequential and so he nodded his head. Satisfied, Drevock turned to face Professor Alrik. He spoke something in Delariq to which Professor Alrik replied in turn. While Gabe couldn’t understand the words, the exchange had the feel of something practiced and he guessed it was likely some form of custom from Drevock’s tribe. That finished, he faced Simon.

“Complete the puzzle for me. Itz a worthy challenge for one of your talents. And vhen the time comes, aim true. He iz burdened enough.”

The young earth mage’s eyes began to water as a couple of small tears cut paths through the grime on his face. He doesn’t nod or shake his head or say anything, just stares up at the man whom he traveled across the continent with preparing to sacrifice himself. His farewells completed, Drevock turns his back on the three of them and makes his way to the spider queen. Standing before her he does not kneel or bow his head. Instead, he stands tall, his scarred and tattooed chest displayed proudly. In a loud booming voice, he declared.

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“I am Drevock Qzetyki, Estariqu of the Kyztec Tribe. I offer the mana in my soul so zat you vill guide my companions.”

With slow, deliberate steps the spider queen closed the few feet of distance between the two of them. With her front right leg, she lightly touched each of his scars. Raising the stub of her missing leg, she began to speak.

“Blemished but not broken from strikes of blood and kin, the threads of fate already weave between us. Drevock the Titan, Skarnarra the Queen, titles bestowed and titles removed, yes, yes. Once more the Soul Weavers will wear the mark of the Starfallen and once more the marks of the Starfallen will roam the surface. Mana contained, focused, and strengthened, one form from many threads. As one unravels, another shall form, yes, yes. This is balance, this is fate.”

As she spoke, one of the small soldier spiders climbed down from the pillar to their left. This one was slightly larger than the ones they fought in the tunnels, but still smaller than the one that had dug the hole through the ground. The gray skin that stretched across its carapace wasn’t as dull as the others and gleamed with an inner light. It stopped right next to Skarnarra and Drevock, its mandibles quivering slightly even as its legs were stock still.

When Skarnarra spoke next, it was with a resoluteness and lucidity that they had only heard a few times from her.

“Be prepared Titan, weaving souls is not the same as threads of mana. You stepped forward willingly and I will honor such strength.”

Leaning back on her hind legs, Skarnarra raised her front legs into the air and they started glowing with a white light. Quick as a flash she struck Drevock with each glowing limb. Even braced for the attack, he still took a half step back as he coughed up some blood. Deciding that Drevock’s life wasn’t worth the trade, Gabe started forward, his hands already weaving through the air. He was stopped by Simon’s hand on his shoulder pulling him back. Tearing his eyes away from Skarnarra, who at this point had removed two of her legs from Drevock’s chest, thin pale orange lines trailing behind them, and stuck them into the body of the spider at her side,

Gabe looked at Simon, a mix of anger, disgust, and sorrow contorting his face.

“Let go of me! I can help him, we can find a different way, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Gabe, it’s too late,” Simon choked out, the tears streaming freely down his face. “She’s already started. Even if you heal his wounds, you won’t be able to heal his soul.”

“There must be something we can do.”

Simon didn’t respond, just simply shook his head and looked past Gabe to Skarnarra and Drevock. Gabe felt Professor Alrik grab his hand. He looked down and locked eyes with the gnome. He’d always seemed old but in this moment, he looked ancient. The lines of his face were deep crevices as the burden of what was transpiring weighed on him.

“Gabriel, I understand that this is difficult, but Drevock made his choice. All we can do is honor it and be there for him when it is all over.”

Gabe pulled his hand away from Professor Alrik. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to watch what was happening. Drevock’s chest was bleeding freely from a dozen small incisions as Skarnarra continued to pull out threads of pale orange mana. Taking advantage of her many limbs, she was able to pull out threads and weave them into patterns as she transferred them into the spider. It too was leaking ichor, but whereas Drevock was beginning to grow pale, it seemed to be growing healthier. Not only did its skin now glow with an obvious light, if Gabe wasn’t mistaken it was also growing larger, its legs now twice as wide as they had been before. As she worked, Skarnarra sang.

“In the days of starlight’s grace, the starfallen wove a sacred trace. Magic threaded through their souls, many strands make a larger whole. A great cataclysm with skies ablaze led them to forge their hidden maze. Together in caverns, deep their alliance grew, with this gift the bonds form anew.”

At the end of her song, she removed all of her limbs from Drevock. For a heartbeat, he just stood there before collapsing to the ground. Skarnarra and the other spider, who was now several times larger than it had been before and now loomed over them all, retreated back a few steps. Now that the ritual was over, no one stopped Gabe as he rushed forward, hands glowing green by the time he reached Drevock. His healing magic washed over the man and instantly the wounds across his chest began closing.

Despite this, Drevock was still deathly pale, his body shaking with small tremors and sweat pouring down his face. Simon and Professor Alrik were there a moment later, but there wasn’t anything any of them could do. Gabe worked through his whole repertoire of spells, layering Restorative Shields and tier two Repairs on him until he ran out of mana. As far as he could tell, Drevock had been healed back to perfect physical condition, but still, the man shook and let out small whimpers of pain.

Skarnarra’s voice entered their minds once more.

“A pact was made, a deal was honored. A Titan lost and a Titan gained, yes, yes. You will be guided to your prize, but you need not leave in haste. Stay and be safe, as the old bonds reform.”

Skarnarra and her new Titan spider turned and climbed up one of the pillars, the rest of the spiders following behind them. Well almost all of them. A single spider remained. The small cut across its back let Gabe recognize it was the same spider that had guided them to the nest. Ignoring the creature, he turned his attention back to Drevock as he lay there dying.