Two stealthy scouts moved through the night bearing a stretcher. They were on a secret mission to deliver a brave fallen warrior to a place where the spies of the Master Healer wouldn't find him. Normally, Tweedle and Ringtail would avoid the Tower of Strife at all costs. It was a perilous place full of books and lessons. There were horror stories of brave Shadow Skulkers being trapped inside for days on end, forced to do long division problems until their heads exploded.

They raced across the marketplace, dodging around people while saying, "Excuse us! Important mission!"

Running up the steps to the Tower of Strife, the way was blocked by two of the older students. "Whoa! Stop! Where the hell do you two think you are going? And who is that under all the bandages?"

"We are brave scouts."

"Our mission is secret, so you should forget you saw us."

The two students, wearing elaborate robes with a green lizard on the chest, refused to move. "I don't know what you are up to, but we don't need Shadow Skulkers playing tricks in here. We study late into the night and don't like playing Surprise! early in the morning."

"I must stress that we have little time to make silly words with you!"

"It is best for all of us if we take this poor soul into the tower, and everyone pretends we were never here."

The two Emerald Wyverns looked at each other and smirked. "Nope."

Tweedle looked at his brother and made anxious glances behind him.

Ringtail shrugged and got serious.

"OH, NO! Spiders!"

"So many spiders!"

"Magic spiders with wands!"

"They insult the Tower by their very presence."

"To arms, fellow wizard-people!"

"Call the Puffy-Fuzzies and the Green Marmots!

"House Jellybean must be triumphant!"

"Special dueling day to defeat the hugely scary monster that comes hither."

Windows and doors opened, and excited students ran to see what was happening. Ringtail and Tweedle stepped expertly to the side of the first group as they swept aside the two Emerald Wyverns. More students were coming down the stairs. The twins leaped to the railing and ran along it, spiraling up into the tower. They shouted as they went, assuring everyone that it was dueling day. Some professors grabbed their wands and echoed the scout's commands.

One daring student was sliding down the banner. Tweedle saw him coming and alerted Ringtail. The horrified student swept under them as the brothers jumped high into the air and came back down on the railing. Ringtail pointed at the student.

"20 demerits for your Clan. No sliding down the banister."

"And 20 demerits for people pointing at us. We are going UP the banister."

"Perfectly Legal!"

Upwards they raced until they got to the small library on the top floor. They freed Tallsqueak from the bandages holding him to the stretcher and propped him up in a comfy reclining chair. Ringtail put warm slippers on his feet, and Tweedle looked for the kitchen. A man-servant met him with a tray of cookies, a healing potion, a piece of cheddar, and a mug of tea. "Take this to the horribly injured professor you dragged up here, and don't touch the cookies!" Tweedle was so scared by the person's efficiency that he didn't even consider disobeying.

Below, striding across the marketplace with terrible purpose, was Gendifur. She strode to the Tower of Strife, where three-dozen students and two professors blocked her way.

She smacked on large fist into her palm for emphasis and said, "Move. You're between my patient and me."

Some of the students seemed inclined to stay where they were, and the resolve of the others stiffened. Gendifur looked at them. "Have it your way, but I'm memorizing faces, and the next time you come to me for a burn or sniffle, it's not going to be pretty."

One of the professors reacted to that. "Don't be fools. That's the new Master Healer. Move aside." Ranks parted, and Gendifur marched up the stairs. A cowering set of scouts and a polite butler met her at the top. "Where is he?! He's supposed to be resting, not experimenting with strange weapons and spells!"

Tweedle ventured a comment. "The patient is sleeping."

Gendifur glared at him. "Sleeping? After you ran him all the way up here?" The twins tried to get further into their corner. The butler stepped forward. "Excuse me, miss. I am Gershwin, man-servant to Professors Arlothe and Cremona. Professor Tallsqueak is indeed sleeping. I spiked his tea with a double dose of sleeping powder. He should be out for at least twelve hours."

Gendifur relaxed. "Good. It's what he needs. Let me examine him. Why did you idiots bring him up here?"

"Scout Master's orders."

"If he had to be cooped up for days,"

"Then he wanted to be here."

"Quiet and Safe!"

"Books to read, if you like books."

"Food and tea."

"Professor Tallsqueak does take naps up here quite a bit. I promise he will not leave this room for three days and will alert you if he misbehaves. Will that suffice?" Gershwin put a pillow under Milo's feet, took the last two cookies, and tossed them to the twins. Gendifur looked at Tallsqueak. He had new burns and was clutching a silly-looking screwdriver in one hand. But he was asleep and smiling and not moving. She nodded to Gershwin.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"That will do. And please, no experiments with the other Professors."

The Butler looked a little alarmed at the thought. "Heavens no, miss, whenever he and Professor Arlothe get together, I'm sweeping up broken glass for a week. It's worse with Professor Cremona. I've lost more mops to cleaning up spilled poisons than I can count."

Gendifur checked Milo's bandages once more and, satisfied, took her leave. She grabbed each scout by an ear and dragged them down several flights of stairs. "You two are coming with me. I have two little girls desperate for playmates. They wore Brutus and me out with dancing this afternoon. I'm hoping the two of you can teach them a simple game like checkers. I have a lot to do, and you two are going to help!

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Outside the Hollow, the bulk of the spider army was on the move. It had been hard keeping the army together. While the nearly mindless rabble could sit for days waiting, the nobles grew impatient. The Princess had bitten off more than one head to keep order. This Hollow had proven much tougher than anyone had suspected. Probing raids had been turned aside. Thousands of spiderlings had been killed, weakening her information network. A doomed charge led by a foolish noble had actually advanced further than she had expected but been stopped when gigantic guards, a contingent of sorcerers, and a massive fiend had attacked from surprise.

She hated the fiends. Nothing else truly scared a noble spider. The rats had been clever to breed them. Malign sorceries had warped their innate love for cheese into a powerful mutagenic effect that created monsters from mice. They had turned the tide of the wars, and nowhere could the spider empire advance without encountering a Hollow protected by fiends. Eventually, they made peace and expanded in other directions. The Queen had no desire to begin another war, but word had reached her that the rats had bred a new type of fiend. A monster that could think and talk. If the rats were breeding fiends, it meant they planned on attacking the spiders while most of their armies were deeper into the Under Empires. The Queen had decided to strike first.

The Hollow was quiet now, thinking they had repulsed the enemy army and unaware that a much larger force was surrounding them. The Princess gave the order to attack, and her forces moved toward the waiting Hollow.

The front entrance was easily forced. Fast-moving wolf spiders attacked the two guards before they could call the alarm. Her forces surged into the Hollow to link up with the forces attacking through the mines and from the gathering fields. The mines were soaked in blood as dwarven mercenaries with superior weapons mowed down her lighter scouts. But elsewhere she was victorious. Assassin spiders attacked the leaders, leaving the Hollow directionless. Their paralyzed bodies would be used as egg sacks. The fiends they encountered caused massive casualties but eventually were pumped with so much poison that they couldn't move. Within an hour, the only forces still active were in the mines.

The damned dwarves with their black hearts and huge guns had to be negotiated with. They left the Hollow with huge wagons of ingots taken from the Hollow's storehouses and a bag of gems, drunk on rum and the joy of looting. She decided she didn't care. She had won. Wurchwitz Hollow was hers and would make no more fiends.

The lesser rats were herded to the center of the Hollow. They stared around, confused, turned into idiots by their own cheese. She looked them over. "Who is in charge here?" The rats mumbled and looked at each other until one stepped forward. It was ugly, even for a rat, with huge, fuzzy feet and a fat belly. If it wasn't for the oversized ears, she would have thought it was a halfling.

Stumpy Big-Toe looked at the Spider Princess, then shrugged as if the answer was obvious. "You are."

The spider liked that answer. Her multiple eyes stared at him. "Why is a halfling dressed like a stupid rat? Take those ears off. You're in charge now. If you can get this shithole meeting its quota of small mammals and mushrooms you won't be eaten at the end of the week."

Stumpy didn't care. Gangrene had said the same thing to him each week. Different boss same pay, but he didn't have to wear the ears. "All right you stinking cheese eaters! Let's get to work! We have quotas to fill. No cheese for any of you until I see some output!"

"Not bad, you found the one person in this Hollow that isn't stupid on cheese. He's motivated and he doesn't seem to like his former employers much." The old scout chuckled to herself. The Princess was pleased to take credit for the small bit of luck. "We'll see. If he meets the quotas, he can rule this little Hollow and become a citizen of the Empire."

The scout dared a further question. "And what of Limburger Hollow? The little we have heard is disturbing. You won't even have to ambush Gangrene on his return. He swallowed a meal that swallowed him back."

The Princess was thoughtful for a moment. "Let them be. They were peaceful until attacked, and are far stronger than reported. As long as no one from that Hollow causes trouble, I'm not sticking my foot into their web."