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Arachnid Forest

Despite of their dual role of being Diamondback's Nest's founders and the leaders of the Wanderers, Narati, Raine, Kazan, and Karkas were doing well, though not as well as they thought. The two months gap Raine and Karkas missed was a troubling gap, mostly because words had gone around. The region they had settled was not as dangerous and as cautious as the one before it, as people tolerated Chaos races unless they start a trouble. But then, the region where they came from denounced Diamondback's Nest as a 'Free-town' due to the Chaos Race population, and work did not come from that direction, which was especially hard for the Wanderers, as it was a dangerous place full of work opportunities.

It was clear that, due to Narati taking the role of 'substitute leader', the Wanderers had a bad first impression. But, despite of the mercenary business not working as intended, the town was the main supplier of fish and grains around that region. Despite of having a river beside their settlements, pollutions and contamination prevented the exploits of the settlements. Somehow, many of them did not like making a settlement near the forest due to 'various reasons', and one of them was that the forest was haunted.

In a fantasy world like this, supernatural occurrences weren't just stories, but could happen, especially if the magic involved was necromancy and old magic. While very rare (due to being outlawed before the war started), the aftermath of the magic was still there, resulting in ghosts. While they were a hassle, it wasn't that apparent, and they mostly kept for themselves.

However, one of the people who had experiences with spirits was Asterios, a minotaur Karkas and Raine met in the ruins. Somehow, he wasn't just a warrior, but was also a blacksmith, as his race was best known (in his time). Asterios felt out of both place and time, as he remembered an era where marble statues and quests to fight mythological creatures were common thing. While those creatures were mostly extinct, he was glad that he could partake in one, though in the end, he was imprisoned within the labyrinth.

When asked about the explorers before Raine and Karkas, he said that he helped them escape, posing as a lost traveler himself. Though he couldn't get out without anyone opening the seal to the treasure, it was for the best, since they had given up on the treasure anyway. Raine then asked about the test.

"The test is not to defeat or kill me, though that could be a possibility. It is to test the honest heart to open the treasure, and Karkas's noble intention, however slim, was the reason it opened."

"Noble intention?"

"You fought me without trying to use cunning strategies and decided to fight head-on. While it is unadvisable, it is, unfortunately, the only way to free me from the labyrinth and for you two to get the treasure. If we fought evenly, and I ended up dead, it would open anyway."

"So, the only way for you to be free is to die honorably?"

"Yes, for the lack of a better word. But well...the things I knew back then is gone, and I'm stuck in this era of dark ages. Might as well live. It's cowardly to just die without seeing the present world."

They contemplated on his words for a moment, before Narati asked, "I've seen blacksmiths work, but your work is different."

"I'm a minotaur from the island of Minos. Is that...oh, yes, it's also gone. Or maybe not. Things might be different, though."

Leaving Asterios alone, Narati and Raine walked towards the forest, trying to find a best way to calm themselves. Raine had barely able to process the fact that two months had passed, and Narati was still coping with Teldir's death. They were still in an unstable state of mind and tried to find a way to distract themselves.

"It's kinda hard for him to have lost track of time," said Raine while eating a bacon. "I mean, losing two months of your lives is overwhelming, but for him...it might be hundreds of years. We were barely a day in there. He has been in there for ten years."

"I can't imagine how my life would've turned out if I'm stuck in there," said Narati.

"Wanna try?"

"I prefer not to. But well, while we're here, I guess we'll try gather some good mushrooms. I wish Aranis was here..."

"I know a thing or two about 'shrooms."

"Poisonous ones?"

"I know how to make a difference, okay? I'm not always an enchanter."

"Aren't you living in a desert?"

"Not everything's sand and dirt, right?"

"Like that old Fa'ars house? I get that, but isn't mushrooms supposed to grow in old forests?"

"This looks like an old growth forest to me."

"In this time and age?"

"Not everything's sand and dirt, right?"

Raine smiled while Narati grunted when his comment got turned on him. But yes, it was curiously an old growth forest, as it looked like it had never been touched for years and mushrooms sprouted everywhere. It was a rare place. Usually forests like those were planted by magic to grow faster, but the forest they were in was untouched and let to grow without intervention. Narati and Raine soon found a mushroom patch full of edible variants, and from there, they started gathering, both for food and herbs.

However, in the middle of their mushroom gathering, Narati noticed something silky on his hands, and looked towards the forest's depth. He sensed a menacing and malicious intent, before he saw eight sets of red orbs in the depth of the forest. He realized that it was a danger, so he pulled out his staff and readied for anything.

But he quickly realized that it was a grave mistake. He did not think of the fact of the animal in the shadows, as it shot a sticky substance towards Narati's staff. It yanked the staff out of the small rat's hand, and he suddenly realized his other mistake.

Before they went into the forest, Narati wanted to take some explosives with him, in case of trouble. But, his friends discouraged him from it because it would light the forest and burned everything to the ground, making them lose their primary resource in the process. He knew they would be expecting trouble, but then...it was his mistake not to pack smaller, less dangerous explosives for self-defense.

The sticky substance then hit Narati. He tried to tear it off with his teeth, but all he did was making it stick into his mouth. Tearing it was out of option as it was hard and strong. But then, he realized he was going to get taken, and in desperation, pulled off his shirt and threw it to the ground. He hoped that his captors wouldn't eat him, but in the end, they were feral beasts and not going to hear reasons. It was a good time with his friends, and he would cherish them.

But then, his mustered courage was shattered upon seeing the beast who took him. It was a spider, three times his size. He didn't know what type it was, but it was certainly big and hairy. What made his courage replaced by fear and panic, however, was what happened after.

"I hope your friendsss are sssmart enough. You'll be our hossstage, little rat."

With his mouth stuck and his body being pinned down by a talking spider, he was panicking and tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth except a muffled one, not loud enough to attract attention.

"You and the ressst of them...will talk with our queen. But it isss not fun if you ssssimply call them, yes? Lure them...and sssnatch them away."

Narati couldn't do anything except trying to scream. He had never saw a spider bigger than even him, and he was clearly not going to enjoy being their hostage.

***

Raine found as many mushrooms as he could, but then realized that Narati was gone for a while. He shouted the Fa'ar's name, but got no response. As he walked deeper into the forest, he stumbled upon Narati's shirt, then nearby, there was his pants and the rest of his equipment, being held within a spider's web. Raine then realized something wrong, and pulled out his knife and enchanted it. Just as he did that, however, he noticed a writing on a nearby wall. It was written in common language, and it said, "Delve deeper into the Spider Forest to find Arachne's Gold. There, you will find your lost treasure, as do the queen of spiders."

_ _ Reading this made Raine think for a moment, before he realized what's wrong. He quickly turned around and ran towards the settlement, while murmuring "Fuck! Why didn't I pay attention? Fuck! Fuck!"

He ran out into the open and found Karkas and Asterios, who were discussing about blacksmithing techniques. He stopped and, while catching his breath, said, "Nara's been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?! By who?"

"The forest dwellers! But who is inside this forest to take him hostage?"

"Wait. Is the forest covered in spider webs?" asked Asterios upon noticing the web-covered shirt.

"Spider webs? It's full of them."

"Then I have bad news for you. Your friend is kidnapped by the spider queen, Arachne."

"Arach...ne?"

"This place does not change even after a while, but I never thought they still live inside the forest. We do not trespass their lands, but the moment you step deeper into the forest, they will snatch you. They are harmless, but try burning this forest down, and you'll earn their wrath."

"How harmless can a spider be?! They are hideous, eight-legged freaks!"

"We did quests to retrieve hostages back in the days, and they were basically harmless. But I'm surprised that Arachne's still alive, even after all these years."

"Are they immortal?"

"How in the gods should I know?!"

"Now what? We need to get Narati back, but how the hell are we going to go to their domain without causing them to think of us as enemies?"

"You need equivalent exchange."

"Equivalent exchange?"

"You lose one, while you gain one. The prince who got kidnapped was replaced by a steady supply of meat into the forest, until the people who supplied them die. This forest is left untouched because no one dared to go inside and let themselves be captured to be exchanged with something. The spiders won't interfere with those outside if no one went in first. You need something to exchange for your rat friend's safe return."

"Like a promise of meat until we all die?"

"They need other demands, so that's not the only one. You will know once we reached the depth of the forests," said Asterios. "Oh, and one more thing. Do not bring any females with you."

"What? Why?"

"Uh, well...you'll know soon enough. Basically, she's very jealous...at least back in the day. Oh, and...no big groups. Maybe the three of us can do."

"Don't forget about me," said Kazan from behind them. "You need an elemental mage to survive in there, if this talk of spiders is right. You need to burn them with fire, right?"

"No! Don't burn them!" Asterios sighed. "But I guess the more the merrier. Come. I will show you the way. Listen to what I said and we might get out of this alive."

Raine and Karkas were ready to get in light, as they did not expect that it would be a long trip. They got ready and met with Asterios at the borders of the forest. He sheathed his giant axe and said, "Everyone ready? Let's go."

They all stepped into the forest, knowing very well what the unknown inhabitants of the forest would do. They just wished that Asterios told the truth and the spider would leave them alone if they came in peace.