Imperious 012 - Trapweavers

Finding a place to refine her essence turned out to be easier said than done. She was attacked more than once by low-level prowlers when she finally felt like she found a bit of privacy. Truth be told, given how spread out the massive trees were and how clear the forest floor was, there weren’t a lot of places to tuck oneself away. Even so, she’d tried at the very least, but even after managing to refine herself to level one she struggled a little with getting it right when she sat down. 

These encounters of course led to a few more kills, some more coins, and some more essence. One surprise attack had been frantic enough that she’d had to use her mana barrier spell several times to keep the furious cat off of her.

Anna glowered as she trudged past another samey section of trees and rubbed her eyes. I was planning to head back and get some shut-eye back in the lobby but now I’m all turned around because of that last prowler. What the hell was wrong with that thing anyway? It kept darting around like its fur was on fire.

She shrugged, It’s dead now anyway, who cares?

She yawned, “Man I’m tired,” she grumbled, There’s gotta be a place I can take a nap without trouble. Unfortunately, just wishing for it to happen didn’t bring her any more fortune than she had before. It was two hours later when she, practically dozing off as she walked, spotted something strange at the base of one of the trees. For a minute she thought she was seeing things in her exhaustion but eventually she had to accept that she was seeing a cluster of presences beneath one of the trees.

She looked back at a few of the others nearby and didn’t see the same thing. She rubbed her eyes again and squinted, approaching the tree and walking around it. The hell? What’s down there? 

She tapped the ground around the tree a few times experimentally, watching the little blots of mist shift now and then in reaction but never move in her direction. The soft tapping of her shoe against grass and solid ground went on for a little while as she examined the base of the tree up until that sound changed. 

Whupwhupwhup, whupwhupwhup, thop thop thop!

Bingo.

She crouched down and ran her hand across the grass at the base of the tree where it sounded a little different and found a seam. She raised an eyebrow and stood up again, putting her foot on the spot one more time and applying some pressure. Not a trap, she thought, Entrance to a lair then. She reached down and grabbed at the seam, pulling up and revealing a large circular opening just a bit bigger than she was. She frowned a little at what she saw inside. Webs. Webs that were faintly illuminated by something deep inside.

“Spiders,” she muttered and reached down to run her palm along one of the webs, glancing up at the clusters of mist inside. One of them shifted and started to move. That’s right. You know there’s someone who’s not supposed to be here, come on out and check.

She rose and stepped back behind the lid of the trapdoor, nudging the web a little bit more with the end of her club before pulling it back as the first cluster of mist entered the tunnel. She took a stance, reared her weapon back and…

CRACK! SKKRRIIIIITT!

A spider the size of a doberman popped out of the hole in the ground only to be on the receiving end of what had to be her best golf swing ever. Unfortunately for the monster, a combination of power strike and a good portion of its lower body still being inside the tunnel led to it being bent in half as it was knocked free and sent splattering onto the ground to the left of the hole. It twitched once before falling still. That was easy, I don’t understand why people are so scared of spiders. They’re just another kind of animal.

She glanced down in the direction of what was probably their nest and watched two more collections of mist scurry out towards the tunnel, leaving a large mass behind. And you must be the one in charge. 

She made short work of the other two, the passage was narrow enough that only one could come out at a time without obstructing the other. That made it just a matter of swinging her club like she’d done for the first one and creating two more spider corpses. She scratched at her neck and rubbed her eyes as she waited for the big one to make its move. Seconds passed into a full minute and her eye twitched. Seriously? Oh come on, she sighed and walked over to loot the bodies.

Would you like to loot Stygian Trapweaver? Yes / No

“Trapweavers,” she muttered and looked back at the trapdoor, “Makes sense.”

No idea what their level was seeing as they didn’t come out for long enough for me to use identify, she thought with amusement while the first body dissolved. Oh well, I can guess based on the amount of essence I get.

You have received: 19 Iron Coins and 67 Essence Points

You have received: 19 Iron Coins and 67 Essence Points

You have received: 19 Iron Coins and 67 Essence Points

Stage 1 Bonus Condition: Slay 10 Creatures (9/10)

She raised her eyebrows, The hell? That’s a lot. They’re obviously a higher level than the prowlers but why are they so weak? She tilted her head and frowned, Kinda pathetic. Am I just strong or… She glanced at the first spider that had been bent in half by the circumstances of it’s death. Or it isn’t prepared for this kind of attack, she peered down into the hole. The other one isn’t coming out. Is it too smart or too big? She crossed her arms and threw her head back with a groan, I was hoping it’d come out and I could deal with it outside of its lair. Man I’m tired.

She stepped over to the opening, It doesn’t matter, I need a place to hide and rest and you’re in the way. If you have the brains to, chalk it up to bad luck.

She hopped inside and shut the lid behind her.

When she landed at the bottom of the pit she found that the webs managed to brace her fall. She had a feeling they would since the trapweavers were the kind of creatures that dragged large prey back into their nest. She ran her foot over the webs at her feet. The spiderweb here isn’t sticky, obviously. They don’t want to get stuck on their own webbing, she turned her attention to the rest of the passage. The tunnel tilted down a bit before going deeper beneath the tree’s roots. She could see a faint glow coming from within. Looks kinda like mana but not quite. Something else? She checked the opening, The tunnel here is a bit bigger too. I should be able to fit okay.

She crouched a little and made her way forward. The faintly luminous tunnel of rock and dirt was entirely coated in the strong reinforced webs of the trapweavers.  It wasn’t very long and after a short time she was able to see fairly clearly into the heart of the lair beyond. It was a small space no larger than an average suburban garage. The floors, walls, and ceiling were coated in webbing for the most part. Where the webbing stopped, small mushrooms and glimmering stones cast steady greenish light on her surroundings.

Bundles of webbing stuck to the walls and hung from the ceiling here and there making it pretty obvious what parts of the place she shouldn’t touch. The most impressive thing, of course, was the large cobweb that spread across the entire rear wall and the big beastie clinging to it. It had eight long, thick legs and a body the size of a pony. Chitinous armor spread across its exoskeleton that was a stark contrast to its unarmored young.

Alpha Stygian Trapweaver - Level 6

She frowned, staying within the tunnel for a moment, Level six, One level higher than a skeletal hound and one level lower than the Alpha Prowler. I’m still level one. This is kinda asking for trouble isn’t it? She thought warily, Tricking it’s kids is one thing but taking it on like this is another thing entirely. I got lucky with the hound.

Even as she thought that, though, she couldn’t help but notice she was grinning. Her blood felt hot in her veins and she was itching to see just how far she could push her luck. She clicked her tongue, Not like I have much of a choice. I either find a place to sleep soon or I pass out and the prowlers finish me off, she thought and scanned the room again. What do I know? It’s armored, soft belly maybe, it’s probably fast, and is used to navigating its lair I’m sure, she peered at the sacks hanging from the ceiling, Bodies of prey, a few look big enough to temporarily block line of sight but it can navigate using vibrations like its kin. 

If it doesn’t move around a lot it’s used to this light, I’m guessing. Do I have time to deal with some of the light sources? No probably not, she scratched at her head in frustration, Damn it, I’m gonna go in circles at this rate! Her head felt heavy, this is what she got for pushing too hard. Arrogant. She felt so strong going in but rushing to hunt monsters and gain essence quickly had only brought her to a hole in the ground staring down the many eyes of a giant spider as sleeplessness hounded her.

I’m so fucking tired.

I need this place to sleep.

You’re in my way.

Anna stepped out of the tunnel and the spider shifted. She glowered back at it as its many eyes fixed on her. It adjusted its legs, flexing them a bit as she moved further inside. She adjusted her grip on her club as they continued their little staring contest. You’re gonna make me come to you? Not likely, she growled as a spot of pressure built in her head. It built and built and built as until she was standing in the center of the room. Then it popped. It felt for a moment like she had leaped out of her own skin, like she had roared without making a noise, it felt familiar but also not. Like something she’d experienced in a far more delirious state. She knew that feeling.

The alpha trapweaver didn’t like it.

SKRIIIIIIITTTTTTT! 

The monster shrieked with fury, scampering off of its web and charging at her, its fangs finally bared. Venom dripped from the pearly white mandibles, its many eyes wide and staring off in all directions. Its legs pulled it across the distance so fast she only had time to swing her mace up and into its jaw with a power strike. Its head teetered back only a little before it snapped back down and one of its legs whipped out like a wrecking ball. It collided with her, sending her hurtling back as pain washed across her chest.

A startled moment of clarity was the only thing that stopped her from colliding with the sticky wall behind her. Her hand snapped out to grab hold of one of the many hanging sacks of web. Her momentum pulled it free but the pause was enough to stop her from becoming spider food. She hit the ground and rolled, looking up just in time to see the spider hop on top of her. She rolled again, throwing herself beneath its body and quickly adjusting her grip on her weapon. Haven’t used this end yet! She thought as she stabbed upward, driving the pointed end into its abdomen.

It shrieked again and moved to pull off of her. She grit her teeth and pushed up harder, yanking to the right with its movement and tearing a nice gouge in its flesh. Ichor poured onto her face and she spat, quickly moving to get up as the wounded spider retreated. She wiped her mouth and glanced at her resources.

Resources:
HP: 42/60 | SP: 21/30 | MT: 0/60

This thing hits hard! One hit took a third of my health, she thought, Can’t let that happen again. Hurting its belly works.

It shrieked again, racing towards her in whatever blind fury she’d stoked in it. She threw out a hand as it neared her and cast a mana barrier in the path of its face. The spider collided with it, the spell cracking like a pane of glass immediately but giving the monster enough pause for her to roll beneath it again. She jabbed up again, and again, stabbing and tearing wherever she could as the creature squealed in agony and leaped straight up. She watched as it practically flipped its massive bulk in the air to attach itself to the ceiling and scrambled to her feet.

The spider opened its mouth and a foamy white glob launched out. She threw up another mana barrier and darted to the right only to immediately feel her left leg stiffen. She glanced down to see another glob of foam splattered across her knee, immediately hardening into an odd transparent glue. Shit! She glanced over her shoulder, wheels turning in her head as adrenaline and the fire in her blood kept the sluggishness at bay. With a thump the spider landed back on the ground and she retreated, pulling back towards one of the walls as it took its time pursuing her.

She slid to a stop near one of the many bundles of web on the wall and spun, facing the trapweaver. It hissed at her and hesitated, its eyes not looking as frenetic as they had been a moment before. It’s calmed down, I need it mad otherwise it’s going to kill me. How did I do that earlier? How does it work? She grit her teeth and focused, feeling the blood burning beneath her skin. When I’m angry? No, it’s not anger. 

The spider took a few more curious steps forward, its mandibles snapping as it considered her. Thinking of the easiest way to kill me, you fucker, she snarled, Just charge at me already. Do it! I want you to fuckin’ do it! Bring it on!

That searing heat built again and it hit her as the words bubbled out of her chest into a shout, “DO IT!” she bellowed and she felt that sensation push out of her, pressing down, a wave of ‘Anna’ that washed cross the room and collided with the spider. 

It definitely didn’t like that.

SKRREEEEEEIIIIIKKKK!

It charged, snapping out a leg to spear her as she threw herself to the side one more time. She felt a sharp pain explode in her calf just as a noisy crash heralded a litany of shrieks and furious howling. She panted, rolling onto her back as the pain nearly overwhelmed her. She looked down at the hole in her leg and croaked out a sobbing laugh as she watched the massive spider struggle against the thick adhesive webbing of its own make. Every second it only seemed to make the situation worse for itself, its powerful limbs doing the opposite of freeing itself. 

Webs that were adhered to the wall tore off in places, binding against its limbs as it struggled and flailed about. She glanced at her resources and dragged herself to her feet.

Resources:
HP: 17/60 | SP: 11/30 | MT: 9/60

“Ouch,” she grunted and turned her baleful eyes back on the spider, raising her club over her head. Her lips set into a grim line, “Nice place, I’ll take it,” she snarled and swung.