A Web of Vines

The closer we got to the entrance the greater the foreboding pressure I felt. What ever lay in wait in there, it knew we were out here. It knew and it was excited about it. I am sure we would make a great snack.

"This will be a hard fight, Mistress." Stated Vendaval at my back. His fur was on end and his eyes were locked on the abys before us. Vale stood in front of me, examining the vines and keeping silent for now. Kassidy and Markus were to my left, discussing battle strategies or some such. To my right was Roran. Apparently, he was feeling less combative right now as he had stopped shooting me death glares a while ago and was, instead, squinting into the darkness.

"If the circumstances were any different, I would have suggested we turn back." Said Vale after a couple minutes. His break in silence had the rest of us paying attention. "We are an underdeveloped party, facing an unknow enemy, with a time limit hanging over our heads to boot. I can not guarantee that we will make it out with our lives."

"But?" I asked. There had to be a but. There was always a but. I have said 'but' way too much...

"But these are harsh times for our nation." He said seriously. "The Demon King has returned, the kingdoms are unstable, people don't know if their livelihoods or families are safe from one day to the next. What keeps the peace during these times is the knowledge that we have our heroes on our side. And one of those heroes is in need right now." He looked back at Kassidy who looked worried.

"Sure, lay on the pressure." I mumbled, irritated at the man.

"It is not fair. I know. And you have said it multiple times on be half of our heroes as well Sin. But it is reality."

"The heroes are needed." Stated Roran, still staring off into the void. It was a monotonous statement, like a refrain he had repeated many times. It kind of creeped me out.

"The fact of the matter is that Hearth needs the other-worldly strength that heroes bring to defeat the Demon King. But we do not expect you to have to bare this burden alone. It is why the Nine Squadrons exist after all. During peaceful times we train. We teach new recruits and train some more. We do this so that when the Demon King returns, and the Heroes are summoned, they are not alone."

I could see the resolve hardening in both Kassidy and Markus's eyes. It felt good, knowing you weren't alone. I was only beginning to understand that myself.

"Right now, Lady Kassidy needs a magical staff." Continued Vale. "There is one just ahead of us. All that stands between us, and it are some vines and a single S ranked monster. Better than the Demon King I think."

"Was that supposed to be a pep talk?" I asked, flabbergasted. "Don't worry, its just a murderous death beast, not a murderous death beast with a crown?"

"Leave it to a demon to kill the mood." Mumbled Roran, not even looking my way.

Smiling, I sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. I'm in. Let's do it."

Kassidy chuckled. "You know." She spoke. "I don't get why you are still here. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful! But you have no obligation to risk your life. You are not a hero nor a member of any squadron..."

"What can I say. I am too nice for my own good. Besides, if I help then that means the heroes owe me a favor." I smirked, making Kassidy laugh and Markus shake his head.

"Demons...," said Roran.

"What do you think is in there?" I asked Vale after I stuck my tongue out at the back of Roran's head.

"I do not know. I never came to this place the two other times I entered this dungeon. I didn't even know of its existence. But what ever it is, it likes the darkness. I also assume that it does not eat its prey right away. That or it only likes certain parts of it. The reek of death is too strong not to have rotting corpses of some kind in there."

"Rotting corpses... lovely. Not like I wasn't freaked out enough or anything. And what do you mean you were here twice before. This damn dungeon only opens every ten years."

"I am older than I look. My clan was blessed with long life and greater than human strength." He said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Oh really? Well, how old are you then, Abs-for-Brains?"

"How old are you?" he shot back.

"Two and a half months. Approximately." I spoke. At his surprised and confused look I laughed. "It is all a mater of perspective. Maybe I will tell you some time."

"Tch. That is the second time you have told me that."

"What can I say, I am a woman of mystery."

"Any more flirting and I'm gonna go in on my own, just to save me the embarrassment." Grumbled Markus, while Kassidy laughed nervously. Both Vale and I just gave him a dirty look.

"Well, standing around outside is not getting anything done." Vale said eventually. "And we are burning daylight. We will use the same formation as yesterday and Vendaval will hang back with Sin. This is no joke. Keep formation and do not get separated. We take it slow, and don't pull any heroics. Even if you are a hero."

We all nodded our accent and then got in our line up with Vendaval and I taking up the rear. It was surreal, entering the vine cave. Like going from day to night in an instant. The ground was drier in here and crunched beneath our feet as we walked, and the smell was really bad. I even tried to see the ceiling, but it was too dark to see even that high up. For some reason that freaked me out most. Some instinct inside of me warned of enemies falling from above.

I sunk a hand into Vendaval's fur. Not just for the comfort but also because he was invisible in here. If I couldn't see his eyes, then I couldn't see him once we got past where the light from the entrance penetrated the deep dark. Even my night vision needed some light to work.

Our foot falls echoed, and I found it distracting and nerve wracking. It made it hard to hear if I was being snuck up on. And the smell of decay made it so I couldn't smell much else either. I felt truly blind in here. Half my senses were useless, or nearly so at least.

I had the urge to talk, to say anything. It was like I needed to affirm that my ears still worked, like I still even had a mouth. I was beginning to wonder if I even existed. But I couldn't speak. If I spoke it would be like breaking a spell and we would be found. If I spoke, I was sure that some monster would find us and devour us.

I did not know how big this weird vine nest was, but we had been walking in a straight line for nearly fifteen minutes without hitting a wall or running across a single monster. It was weird. It got to the point where I was thinking we weren't moving at all.

That's when I heard it. When we all heard it, I would guess given the slight gasp I heard from just ahead of me. I nearly crashed into Roran when I came to a stop.

"What was that?" He whispered causing me to wince when even that slight sound seemed like an alarm.

"I- "Started Kassidy, when the sound rippled again.

It was a dry, skittering, brushing sound. This time followed by clicks that made my skin crawl.

I heard a small groan. "Oh please, anything but that..." hissed the voice of Markus.

"I really don't like this." Trembled Kassidy.

"What?" gasped Roran. I could tell that the Heroes apprehension was making him afraid.

Again, the skittering, and this time Roran jumped a little. "Do you know what this is? How?" Asked Vale, his voice low but not exactly a whisper. No doubt he knew that what ever stalked us already knew where we were, and whispering would make no difference.

"How do you not?" I said and jumped myself when the tell tale sound seemed even closer, followed by two quick clicks. A shiver went down my spine. "Its definitely a spider monster."

"Clearly a spider." Agreed Markus, sounding sick.

"If its anything it is a spider." Squeaked Kassidy.

"How do you know that?" Asked a trembling Roran.

"Cause its obvious." Said the two heroes and myself at the same time. It would have been laughable if we all weren't about to pee ourselves.

"It's the only thing that makes that noise. I mean if you have seen one spider horror movie then you know it. Its very distinctive." Said Markus.

"I may have seen a few." Agreed Kassidy. "But suddenly the idea of seeing the real thing..."

"Yeah."

I had to agree. I was not an arachnophobia sufferer, but the thought of a massive, hairy tarantula coming at me right now was horrifying.

When the ground vibrated, we all grouped up together. I felt sick.

"Can I please light this place up?" I asked, in a tight voice.

"If you can do that then why didn't you do it before?!" Snapped Roran.

"Because it would just be for a quick burst!" I snapped back. "Drogin can use a fire spell, but it only lasts for a few seconds. If I cast a strengthening spell on him, it can be a larger blast but it would still only light up a small area."

"We should have made torches." Snapped Roran.

"You didn't think about it either!" I shot back.

"Not the time." Growled Vale. "Do it. If you can, cast the spell every twenty seconds."

"If Drogin does that he will run out of mana before we can do anything. If I cast Gigantium on him then his mana will grow if the spell is active."

"Do it. We don't have time to debate it."

There should be plenty of room here considering it had been so long since we hit a wall.

"Okay Drogin, once you are big, start casting flame every twenty seconds. Help as you can but do your best to not trample us. The most important thing is to cast the spell." The newt squawked and I nodded. I tossed him to my left, not wanting to get him too close to the sounds we could here from the front. I heard his wings unfurl as he glided a safe distance before I said. "Gigantium!"

It was so dark that I couldn't even see Drogin increase in size. There was just the feint glow of a magic circle in the direction I had tossed the little newt.

"Be ready!" Shouted Vale at the same time Drogin let out a great roar. "This fight starts now!"

There was a huge flash and I had to squint against the light. Fire gushed forth from the red illuminated jaws of my dragon and lit up thirty feet in front of us. There was a high-pitched screech and I saw a flash of acid green amongst the flames before it vanished, accompanied by the sounds of many spider feet scampering back. How could it move so fast?

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Another flare blasted across the battlefield. This time we could properly see what we were up against. It was a spider. A spider even bigger than Drogin in his current form. Each of its legs was as long as a school bus and as thick as an oak tree, with round head as big as a car covered in fist sized black eyes. The flame did not light up its whole body but from what I could see it was acid green and furry.

As the light began to fade again, the massive spider screeched. It was a sound so piercing I had to hold my hands over my ears and suppress a scream myself. I faintly heard Markus utter a curse and watched as he and Vale raised their weapons. Vendaval Shot up next to them, teeth bared and fur on end. I took up a defensive stance in front of our healers.

"Drogin, again! Hit the damn thing directly and set it on fire if you can" I shouted, claws up and tail at the ready.

Drogin roared and shot a flame where the spider had been a second before. It was a direct hit! The creature screamed again but did not flee this time. No, it made a rush straight for the boys. Markus let out a battle cry and charged ahead, axe held high, its dark mettle glinting in the embers that still burned on the spider's furry hide. Vale cursed and followed the larger man, a sword in each hand.

"Vendaval, go for the head!" I shouted to the wolf. "Don't get hit! No one can see you in this lack of light."

"Yes Mistress!" Growled the wolf and in a flash, he had leapt onto the monster's head. I heard the tell tale zap of electricity and knew the wolf was raking his claws into the nasty bugs exoskeleton.

"You two, stay behind me." I told Roran and Kassidy. "Keep and eye out on all sides. If there is a big one, then you can bet that there is going to be a bunch of smaller ones."

"How do you know?" Asked Roran, dagger in hand.

"Haven't gone out to fight monsters much have you?" I asked. Mostly I was thinking it because any game ever played has one big monster and a bunch of smaller, but similar monsters. But it was also true when fighting monsters in this world, more often than not. "Where there is a big monster there is bound to be a bunch of smaller ones."

"And by small, she means something between wolf and horse size given the size of the big baddie this time." Breathed Kassidy.

"I will take on as many as I can but if we get over run, Kassidy will need to throw up a barrier. Roran, are you able to heal from a distance?"

"Yes, but only weak spells. For any critical healing I would need to be closer to the target." He said. I was impressed that he was keeping it together to be honest. He was shaking like a leaf.

"Alright, well if Kassidy gets preoccupied with a shield, then we are going to have to rely on you to keep our boys alive as best you can."

"My spells will not work on your monsters." He spoke. He was too afraid to put too much venom behind his words at least.

"I know. I have a spell for that myself. The problem is that the Gigantium spell takes a ton of my mana. I will have to be careful with what I have left."

Another burst of flame lit up the area, this time missing the bug. That was intentional, however. After all, we had people on the spider trying to chop it to bits. A flash of green to my left had me twitching. I could here many more feet over the screeching of the giant spider and the shouting from the men.

"Here they come." I said.

Within seconds I had three Doberman sized green bugs on me and could see many more besides. I cursed as I slammed my fist through the gooey insides of one bug and my tail cut another in half. I did not have time to think, just move. One after another I shattered through the creatures. I tried not to think about the fact that I was covered in nasty bug juice or about the disgusting sound the things made when you crushed them. Some how bug guts were far more gross than people guts.

Kassidy screamed. I shot to her side and kicked the green spider away as another blast of fire lit up the area, this time streaking past my group and setting about twenty small bugs alight. Drogin roared then made a mad dash for the giant spider. He must have used up his mana. I swore. He would be fighting with his fangs and claws now while trying to avoid friendlies.

At least I had light now. Apparently, the smaller spiders were more flammable than the big one as they stayed lit, screaming on the packed earth. I turned and slashed as fast as I could, getting more than a few minor cuts in return. I could hear both Roran and Kassidy casting healing spells, no doubt trying to keep Markus and Vale alive.

I could sense that Vendaval had taken a nasty hit to the rib cage but was still functional. Drogin was fine but I could tell he was frustrated. He was having a hard time landing a blow when his allies were darting about.

Suddenly there were two spiders on my back, and I screamed. One got its mandibles into my thigh while the other was trying to get at my face.

"Lock!" Shouted Kassidy and a large spell circle spread out beneath our group.

I slashed my tail across the spider on my legs, jerking free of it with a wince. The one on my back went sailing over my head and I rolled onto my back and saw that Kassidy had kicked it off me. I had sprung to my feet and sank my claws into its nasty face.

Spinning around, looking for more enemies, I saw that Kassidy had gotten a barrier around us. It was about ten feet in diameter and eight feet tall at its peak. I let out a sigh of relief, relaxing for only a second before leaping to my feet and getting back on alert. All around our bubble swarmed large spiders, some trying to break in and others rushing to where I could hear the others fighting.

I cursed. "Damn it! I wish there was something I could do." I sighed, sat on the ground with my legs crossed, and began to visualize the spell circles I was intending to cast. "I am going to send Vendaval and Drogin some support buffs. You two do what you can for the boys."

I didn't wait for a response and began casting my spells. Strength and defense buffs, a poison resistance one too just in case. I shot a healing spell to Vendaval, but the distance cut its effectiveness. Between spells I glared at the smaller spiders. There had to be something I could do about them. If I could then I could maybe get closer to the large bug and help.

No. I had to protect these two. And in all likelihood I would just get in the others way. I snarled inwardly at my own inaction. I wanted to help. I hated not being able to.

"Look out!" I heard Vale shout. I hardly registered that he sounded closer than he should have when Kassidy screamed.

Seeing she was looking up, I did the same, only to let out a shout of my own when I saw a massive, green, hairy spider leg coming down over our heads. Judging by Kassidy's scream it was a safe bet that the shield would not hold up to a stomp from a four ton spider.

"Move!" I shot forward, wrapping an arm around Kassidy's waist and my tail around whatever part of Roran I could get a hold of. With a grunt I sped away just as the barrier shattered, pale blue light dissolving around us. The ground vibrated with the impact of the hairy foot as I dragged my companions through a field of smaller hairy monstrosities. "Drogin!"

The dragon roared and the ground fairly bounced with his foot falls as he hurried to my side. I tried not to hurl as green splatters flew every where his massive paws fell, looking even ghastlier in the dim light of the other smoldering corpses.

"Kassidy, Roran! Get up on Drogin's back. Hurry. I can not protect you from this many bugs. Damn it."

Roran hoisted himself up the side of the dragon then reached back down for Kassidy's hand. I kicked a spider off my side and gave the dark-haired woman a boost. Once I was sure both were on, I hopped up as well. Three of us would be heavy for him but I wouldn't be on his back long.

"Get us over to the fight Drogin. We need to kill that thing now." I said, pointing toward where I could here Vendaval growling. "You bite what ever you can reach. Preferably the legs to stop it moving as well as, so you aren't accidentally munching on us."

Drogin stomped his way through more squishy spiders on our short trip through the near dark. Soon the embers would be gone, and we would all be plunged into darkness. We needed to make use of the light while we could. It didn't take long for Drogin to reach the fight. It was difficult to see but with my night vision and the small amount of light from the embers I was sure I could see better than the others. The dragon waisted no time latching on to the nearest nasty leg and I heard both Roran and Kassidy begin casting their spells again.

I jumped from Drogin's back, onto the leg he had clamped in his jaws and began running along it to the bulbus main body. Up close I could see that it had many wounds but was still pretty lively. I raced for the head, passing Markus yanking his axe from the body. I couldn't see Vale or Vendaval, but I could still hear them fighting some where under the spider.

When I got to the head, I could tell the spider was not happy about it. I screamed and I winced. Then again, maybe he was just mad in general. We were beating it up after all.

One thing I learned coming to this world is that no matter the size, eyes were a weak point I could exploit. And this creepy bastard has a shit ton of them. I began attacking them en mass. Tail and claws stabbing and slashing at will. I didn't have an axe or swords to administer a killing blow, but I sure as hell could blind the bastard, right here in its web of thorns.

"Keep it up Sin." Called Markus. I saw his silvery form dash my way and stop where the round head attached to the fat bottom. He raised the axe up high and then began hacking at the intersection. It was the thinnest part of the siders body. "Hey! Wolf and Vale! Attack where it connects!"

Neither Vendaval nor Vale answered the heroes call so I did not know if they heard him, but I could feal that Vendaval was alive and still fighting. As for Vale, I had no way of knowing. So, I just continued with my own part. I hacked away at the eyes; my arms leaden from the effort. And I never would have guessed a tail could get tired but mine sure as hell was. It usually felt light and I often forgot it was even there. Now it was like someone had tied a ten pound weight to it. And it hurt like an over worked muscle, much like every other part of me I suppose. Still, I attacked and attacked. If my efforts helped, even a little, then I would keep going till I dropped.

"I think we almost got it!" I heard Vale shout out over the clicking and screeching of the monster. "don't let up!"

Markus roared and began hacking even harder. I found myself glad that my night vision was in greys and silvers. I wasn't sure my gut would hold out if I saw all that green slimy bug gunk. I made my way over to another section of the head, trying to reach more eyes, when it gave one massive jerk, its whole body careening to one side. My foot slipped in the blood and I went sliding off the creature and into open air. There was a second of weightlessness followed by a bone crushing impact and then a rib shattering roll.

When I came to a stop I flipped over to my stomach and coughed, finding it difficult to take in air. Shit, I punctured a lung, which meant that I probably broke a rib or six. Still struggling to take in air, I tried to get to my feet but searing pain had me slumping back to the ground. I had to get up! I had to help my friends and I sure as hell had to get up off this floor before I got eaten by the little spiders.

"Sin! Sin, answer me!" I heard Kassidy call, but I couldn't even get enough air to breath much less do as she asked. "Someone! Sin is down and hurt bad!"

The words were barely out of the hero's mouth when a large chunk of night laded lightly next to me with hardly a sound. "Mistress!" Growled my Storm Wolf. I tried to answer him, but the pain was too great. I gritted my teeth and tried to force myself to speak anyway. Just as my lips parted there was a hoarse shout of victory and the ground shook once again, making Vendaval crouch lower to the ground as if he thought he may lose his footing.

"Sin!" I was peppered with dirt as a pair for knee length leather boots came into view. "Shoot! Wow you are in a bad way..." It was Kassidy. Good, I could really, really use a healer about now.

"Sp-spider...?" I choked out. The metal taste in my mouth, a clear indicator that I had some kind of internal bleeding.

"Its dead. Don't worry, they cut the thing in half. Just stay still, I'll do what I can to get you back on your feet at the very least. Gosh that thing threw you hard!"

A series of green and blue spell circles began flashing over and around me, and I began to feel better instantly. More then the power of her healing spells, I was impressed with the speed Kassidy could cast them. Yet another aspect of this life I was weak at. Not being a spell caster, for the most part, was no real excuse. I'd be more depressed about all the skills I was lacking later; I was in far too much pain at the moment to wallow in self pity.

"Hey, I see light." Said Roran. I hadn't even realized he was here too, and I did not have the motivation to look around and see where he was exactly. It would hurt too much. "Over there, back where we first saw that mammoth spider."

"Your, right... Its flickering, like fire light." Said Kassidy between spells.

"Something is happening." Vale's voice called out, and the sound of multiple foot falls announced that the other two were coming our way. And the scraping and slight earth tremors told me Drogin was coming too. "We defeated the spider and now it appears that torches are lighting a short distance away. Its likely a path for us to follow to claim our prize."

Markus laughed. "That was not easy! Its not like the spider was super powerful or even magical really, but the damn things HP was off the charts! Good God-"I guess he finally caught sight of me. "You got thrown hard."

"No Shit." I gritted out as bones began to set. I decided to risk moving my head and saw that the boys had been right. Maybe a hundred feet away there was a path of dim torches lighting up, creating a path off into the distance. "Where did all the little spiders go?"

"They took off when the boss spider bit the dust." Explained Markus. "And look at this!" He smirked and held up a massive magistone with a smirk. The milky pearl was the size of his head! Damn. "I'm surprised you weren't tempted to tame that thing."

"No way. Creepy, hairy thing." I said in a husky, worn out voice. "And it was stupid. I am surprised it was such a high rank."

"No, it was an S rank, without a doubt." Said Vale, kneeling next to me and looking over the wounds Kassidy was in the process of mending. "Yes, its intelligence was poor, and it appeared to have no really magical ability, but its shear physical strength was immense. And as Markus pointed out, it had the HP of an S Rank without a doubt, not to mention the stamina. Honestly-"He looked me in the eye. "With out Drogin holding the thing still and Vendaval helping to keep it distracted, I think the rest of us may have ended up looking the same as you."

I wouldn't admit it to Abs-For-Brains, but it did make me feel better, knowing that my tames at least were of some use.

"You think we are in trouble of being attacked again?" I croaked.

Vale shook his head. "No, not anything close to what the boss spider was at least. We have defeated the boss of this part of the dungeon, so I doubt we will be bothered by anything major."

"Good." I sighed. I reached a hand out to the sleek red dragon. "Gigantium Rei." Within seconds I had a little red dragon newt curled up on my chest. I laughed. "Good work buddy. You too Vendaval."

"Of course." Rumbled the wolf. "I haven't been able to fight like that in years. It was an honor to fight along side you Mistress."

"You know," said Vale, giving me an irritated look. "You seriously need to work on your landings. If you had done it properly than you wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly."

I got up on my elbows and snarled at the man. "Who asked you? You don't think I realize that? God, you are such an ass."

"Do you mind not riling up my patient?" Snapped Kassidy. "Unless you have the skills to heal four broken ribs, a punctured lung, broken arm and what is probably a massive concussion, all while the person is jumping all over the place!"

"I can not." Smiled Vale.

"Tch." I said, laying back flat.

"If you like, I can eat him?" Said Vendaval.