Ghaelya found the bottom of the shaft carefully, feeling her way through the dark, and slumped against a curved wall. Little bits of web stuck to her fingers, and she wiped them away on her cloak in disgust, stretching her hands and flexing them into fists. The spiders had almost taken her, and she wondered if she’d have ended up in just another tunnel in the ground, one perhaps that led to Tohrepur. She shivered, much preferring to reach the ruins by her own means and with a sword in her hand.
The others crawled down and joined her in the dark. The chamber’s size and shape was defined only by the sound of their breathing echoing softly against the earthen walls. Their stranse hosts seemed to have moved on. leavin? them alone as the lightning drew near. Thunder rumbled closer, shaking the walls like an army of mountains marching to war. Ghaelya’s heart pounded as it neared, though she was relieved to hear and feel anything besides the singing of spiders and the clinging grip of webbing across her body.
“Spiders…” Brindani muttered sibilantly from his place against the wall. “Spiders… in the dark.”
Before anyone could respond or quiet the half-elf, the chamber shook violently, an explosion of lightning strikes pummel ing the plains as the Tide passed over. Though deafened by the tempest, Ghaelya started to make out details of the chamber as a knotted system of roots overhead glowed with blue energy. The intricate designs reminded her of her own skin patterns as they raced with a burning light.
As she marveled at the brilliant glow, her eyes caught a faint glint of pale green against the far wall, and she slowly made out a figure, sitting quietly in mouse brown robes. She tensed and reached for her blade, but the man never movedhe merely observed her curiously with eyes the color of milky jade. Dust and clumps of soil rained from the ceiling as the lightning passed over, and soon the figure removed his hood to reveal angular, almost elven features. They were touched with a slight, predatory smile that suggested a familiarity With killing and cruelty despite his calm disposition.
“You were brave to face the Lightning Tide,” he said as the thunder faded and the lights dimmed. “Spring is not kind to travelers on the Lash.”
“Who are you?” she asked, her fingers clenching on her sword as she noted the webbing laced across the walls around them. Uthalion was guarded as well, his own blade at the ready as Vaasurri saw to Brindani’s wounds as best he could.
“I am Chevat’teht ti-Skhalles’teht, but you may call me Chevat,” he said, angling his head in a slight bow.
“Fine. Chevat,” Uthalion growled, leaning forward. “Are we trapped here, or is there a safe passage south?”
“There is a passage south,” Chevat replied and leaned forward as well, a delicate finger tapping his chin as he regarded the human. “But I have not yet decided whether or not you are trapped… you see?”
“What do you want?” Ghaelya asked, and Chevat turned, flashing her a sly grin of white, sharp teeth.
“I suspect I only want what you want,” he replied and sat back against the wall, lacing his long fingers across his lap. “I have been very curious to meet ‘the twin.’”
With a sharp intake of breath her blade cleared its scabbard in an instant and leveled on the seemingly amused Chevat as Uthalion followed suit with his own sword. Ghaelya had heard enough of twins from Sefir; she had no intention of letting another monster spout prophecies and blessings without first twisting a sword in its gut.
“The twin… the Prophet…” Brindani’s voice was barely more than a raspy whisper, but it carried through the chamber like the breath of a dragon. Ghaelya pulled away from the half-elfs side, looking at him in shock and horror as he turned darkened, sorrowful eyes upon her. “She who would sing the world into ruin…”
“I see you are not entirely ignorant of the danger you face,” Chevat said, breaking the awful silence that fell in the wake of Brindani’s words. The half-elf looked around blearily, as if he’d forgotten where he was or what he’d been doing, and was overtaken by a coughing fit that wracked his body.
“What do you know of Tohrepur?” Uthalion asked, pressing the point of his sword closer to Chevat’s face. “Are you in league with?”
“The Choir?” Chevat interjected. His mysterious smile was unending and overly wide for his sharp features as he flnwul Maialltr mim lltimoil’o Hollo “Xfft tVimiotl T 0i1LmtmbL you mind your weapons and your manners carefully, for my people do not, by tradition, hunt during the Lightning Tide. However, should they feel threatened…”
Chevat let the statement hang on the air as he glanced from Uthalion to Ghaelya, his eyebrow raised as he considered their drawn blades. Ghaelya shared a swift glance and a frustrated sigh with the human before withdrawing her sword, though she did not yet sheathe it. Uthalion took a moment longer, but did the same.
“Your people?” Ghaelya asked.
“Aranea,” Vaasurri answered. “Shapechangers.”
“Spiders…” Brindani added in a sibilant rasp.
Chevat bowed his head once and smiled as if enjoying the sudden discomfort of his guests. Lightning flashed again through the tight edges of the trapdoor, and the glowing roots flickered, allowing Ghaelya’s imagination to shape the shadows on Chevat’s face into a myriad of chilling, insectile features.
“What do you want?” Uthalion grumbled angrily as the thunder faded.
With precise, graceful movements Chevat rose till he stood tall over them.
“I shall tell you on the way, but we must be quick,” he said, turning to a southern tunnel. As he placed his hand upon the wall, he added, “Not all of my people are aware of, or would even agree with, your presence here in our warrens. We’ve had much trouble of late with those that come seeking twins from out of Tohrepur.”
“On the way to where?” Ghaelya asked, her voice angry and frustrated as she stood. “And what about Brindani? You said you would help him!”
“Ah, indeed I did,” Chevat replied, producing a small flask from beneath his robes and tossing it to Vaasurri. “That should counteract the poison, though I doubt he shall ever recover as once you knew him.”
“What do you?” Ghaelya began, but the aranea had already slipped into the shadows of the southern passage, ignoring her questions and her confusion. She fumed and turned away from the tunnel, her attention inevitably returning to the trapdoor above as she considered their chances on the surface. She caught Uthalion doing the same, but before either of them could speak, Vaasurri helped Brindani to his feet and made for the southern passage.
“No use in dithering now,” the killoren said sharply. “In case neither of you have noticed, we are out of choices. You had your chance.”
Ghaelya stared after Vaasurri as he and Brindani entered the dark behind Chevat. She had not expected such vehemence from the killoren. Uthalion sighed and followed, stopping to catch her eye before moving on.
“He wanted to turn back last night,” the human said thoughtfully. “Was he right?”
“No,” Ghaelya answered without hesitation and forged ahead into the flickering shadows. She ignored her own disgust as she felt along the walls, collecting tiny threads of web on her fingertips. Ahead, beyond the silhouettes of Vaasurri and Brindani, she caught the watchful jade eyes of Chevat glittering in the dark and suppressed a shudder, still imagining the spider hiding behind his face. She matched his stare coldly and descended bravely into the warrens of the aranea, a kingdom of spiders.
Uthalion felt the walls closing in as they progressed deeper and deeper into the caverns. The ghostly light of the knotted roots above flickered and flashed with energy as the walls shook, the stormy Tide rolling overhead with deafening rumbles. Down long side-passages and deep, from the dark. Occasionally, the pale green eyes were in somewhat comfortable pairs. But those were rare cases, and the clicking-squish of sharp unseen mandibles, salivating with poison, was unmistakable.