Erik woke up rested, refreshed... and uo move.

  He also couldn't see, hear or feel anything.

  What's going on?

  Beginning to panic, he struggled to move even a finger, but to no avail.

  Curses!

  With nothing to do he waited, and preyed that no monster would e for him... if he was even alive at all.

  Time passed painfully slowly. And after a while he heard a noise, very faint and rhythmic, which sounded like the echoes of water drops on stone. Was he near water? In some sort of closed off space?

  Then the feeling of touch returned, and he could just barely twitch his fingers, and ch his jaw. That's when he felt the sticky ropes that were biding him pletely. He also realized that he was bound in an upright position.

  Are those the spider threads?

  As more of his senses returned, he became sure that this was the case. Which meant that he was inside of a co.

  How did he find himself here, he did not know. But his guess was that whatever had spread those spiderwebs through the valley had found him during the night, and ed him up as a snack for ter.

  Well at least I am not dead... for now, he though despoly.

  When more strength returo him, he strained his muscles, but the threads did not budge at all.

  Rag his brain for what to do, he got a brilliant idea—to spit.

  Well, more like dribble his saliva down the side of his mouth.

  Before, when he had tested the spider threads, they had lost their properties while wet. He was hoping that he could replicate this.

  His idea worked to aend. The silk treads on the right side of his body loosen up a little just as his mouth was running dry. He wasn't free, but it allowed his right arm that was bound to his thigh to move. He wiggled it towards his waist.

  His real goal from the beginning, was the waterskin that he hoped was still at his belt.

  Luckily for him, it was.

  With a lot of effort, he unscrewed the top with one hand, and squeezed the body of the waterskin as hard as he could. Water shot out of the vessel and soaked all the treads around his chest, freeing his arms. He thehe rest of the water to free himself pletely.

  However, he still could not see anything. Wherever he was, the pce was in plete darkness. But now he could hear the echo from the drops far more clearly. That, and the fact that the grouh him was solid rock, led him to make a tentative clusion.

  Some sort of a cave or maybe the mines?

  It was likely that whatever kidnapped him over the night, had dragged him in here. And whatever it was, it had most likely poisoned him or paralyzed him, since he did not awaken when he was transported here. The absence of his senses when he woke up only reinforced that.

  As he was getting his bearings his foot bumped into something, which made hollow sounds as it rattled off on the floor. Erik held his breath, waiting to see what would happened, but nothing did.

  Getting down on one knee he felt around with his hands, and his fingers came across... bones. He found a lot of bones.

  He was both scared and relieved at this moment. Whatever was in here, had experience hunting and killing, but fortunately for Erik this creature's habits ing its prey to the same pce would actually help him.

  He wasn't sure if there was a plete skeleton in front of him. Or in what ditiohe bones, heless everything would be of help in this situation so he decided to give it a go, and used his Ability.

  Two teal sparks came to life in the darkness, illuminating part of the skull that held them.

  Satisfied, Erik used his Ability again, raising another Undead. There were a lot of human remains here. But then he felt that he was now running a bit low on essence. Which should not have been the case.

  The poison, this pce or... the spider threads? Something has prevented me from rec my essence.

  He would o be extra careful.

  Looking arouill could not see anything. The small teal sparks that served as eyes for his minions were not enough to illuminate his path. Though, looking at them made him wonder what they could see, and how much exactly. So he decided to test it.

  "Give me the lo bone you see," he whispered an order, direg it at one of his minions.

  The teal sparks rotated around the space, his minion seemingly looking around. It then bound away for a doze before bending and rummaging through what was likely a pile of bones.

  Then it came ba and he felt a thick, long leg bone being dropped into his outstretched hand.

  Success! This means that they see in the dark, and it also tells me a bit more about their intelligence.

  "First things first, do you see any living creatures around us?" he asked both of his minions.

  Their otherworldly eyes sed the darkhen turo him and... they made some rattling noises with their jaws.

  Erm... alright. Let's try this again.

  "Tap me on the shoulder if you see any living creature or if you see anything that moves, if you don't, then look down."

  Both of his minions looked down. Well, from his perspective it looked like their teal sparks disappeared so he just assumed they looked down.

  That's a relief.

  "Great, tap me on the shoulder from now on if you see anything that moves. Also from now on, nod if you uand my orders," he gave another and.

  Both his minions nodded.

  "Do you see a backpaywhere here? Nod if you do," he said.

  Erik had fallen asleep with it, just in case something happened during the night, and he o make a run for it. But it was not on him when he woke up.

  Two Undead both nodded.

  Thank Nelum!

  "Bring it to me."

  His minio off to do just than, and in a dozebeats he was holding onto his backpack. He was missing some of the stuff that he had taken out at his camp site, but most of the things were here.

  Erik had what he o make a fire, but he wasn't sure that he should. It would most likely attract whatever was down here. On top of that, with his two helpers being able to see in the dark he didn't as much.

  Still, he ed a piece of cloth around a long bone and soaked it with the alcohol he had, then readied two fire rocks—used fhting fires—from his supplies. This way, he could ighe torch at a moment’s notice.

  After a few mestures and exges with his minions, he uood that he was standing in a rge room filled with spiderwebs, cos, and corpses. There seemed to be only ounnel leading out.

  "Each of you, grab a bohat's long and thick, and use them as ons if something attacks us."

  This was going to be aest.

  Alright... let's go for a walk in the dark.

  "Lead the way."

  He assigned one of them to be in the front and one behind him. With his hand pced on the shoulder of the Undead ahead of him.

  Slowly they made their way dowuhey had to gh a lot of spiderwebs, but thankfully he mao fill up his waterskin a little bit from a p the tunnel where he had heard the water drops. There was a small puddle there that had build up, it seemed that there was small stream going through the mines.

  After a while, they came across a fork ih, and the tunnel split in two dires. One going down and one tinuing at a level. Although it made less seo go down if he wao leave here, there was a light breeze ing from that path—and a breeze meant the outside. So they began headed into that tunnel.

  It kept going down for a while with the wind pig up, as well as a lot more spiderwebs barring their path. There was also a low humming felt slightly familiar, but Erik wasn't sure what it was.

  At one point the skeleton behind him tapped him on the shoulder, and he prepared to battle whatever was down here, but nothing happened. Steeling his nervous he moved forward.

  Eventually, the tunnel opened up to a massive cavern. Finally he could see a little, far above there was a rge hole in the roof the cavern and it opened up to the cloudy sky of the Whisper. And a dreadful sight unfolded before him due to that.

  Erik almost wished he could not see at this moment. Because the entire pce was full of mosquitoes. The humming from earlier had turned into a deafening buzzing. Most of the cavern was covered in spiderwebs, but in the pockets were there wasn't any, the dreadful is were tless.

  For the moment he was safe as the mosquitos were avoiding the threads, ao have pht, but he didn't want to test things, and see if they were willing to brave the spiderwebs to get to him.

  Just then he also saw that there multiple bck figures moving across the floor of the cavern.

  He barely made them out—bck spiders the size of small dogs. Grotesque, with sharp fangs, spindly legs, and slick bodies. Wavy gray patterns covered their forms, helping them blend even further into the darkness and jagged rocks. Each bore the marking of a gray human face, twisted in a horrific, eternal scream, etched into their backs.

  The two species seemed to be in a stant battle to e each other. Wherever there were a lot of mosquitos caught on a spiderweb, the crawlers immediately rushed to the pce to eat them. But if any of them were left too mu the open, a cloud of the flying is would swooped in, and suck the araida dry in moments.

  The chaos appeared to be in a stalemate, which all ged when a mosquito flew a bit too close to Erik.

  Like the one he first had e across it gave off a deranged battle cry, and dove directly for him. This alone would not have been a problem, exept it attracted the attention of every creature in the cavern.

  "Crap!" Erik cursed.

  They all screeched, and came directly for him.

  "Run!"

  He turned, and with his minions dove bato the tunnel. With a host of creepy abominations in his wake.

  While runni the torch. The light allowed him to see where he was going, as well as the situation behind him.

  He gnced over his shoulder and saw the host of is collide into each other as they tried to rush into the tunnel after him.

  "Hold them off!" he ordered his Draugr.

  His two minions turned on their heels and sped off in the opposite dire.

  Each of them struck a spider with their bone clubs, easily killing them. They were then swarmed by the mosquitoes, but surprisingly this did not affect them. As the flying is apparently could not damage them.

  There were however, too many of them. He only had two minions and they would not be able to stop the bugs.

  heless it worked out well as the is fot about him, instead entangling each other in frenzy to eat each ain. Still some followed, and were quickly catg up to him.

  Erik pushed his muscles as hard as he could. Breathing heavy, some of his wounds started bleeding again.

  He reached the fork iunnel before anything else could happehe entrance of the path he had e from, there were more skeletal remains. And he used his Ability on one of them. Immediately he was very lightheaded, but carried on running, while shouting over his shoulder and pointing.

  "Hold them off!"

  The Undead sprang to its feet, and rushed towards the spiders and mosquitos, ensuing in another chaotic mess.

  Erik tinued running oh he hadn't taken, nothing happened for a while. And he was starting to hear buzzing from behind him. The infernal things were catg up to him. Desperate he ran faster.

  His breathing being more bored by the moment, and his wounds leaving a bloody trail.

  Thankfully there were far less spiderwebs on this path.

  Erik came across two more forks iunnels, but this time, eae had a path leading upwards. Which he took both times, and before long he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

  He threw away the tord ran faster.

  The buzzing was only a few dozen yards behind him.

  Erik burst out onto the foothills of the mountains, the midday light of the outside blinding him. The is followed, but the moment they were exposed to the light, they burst apart, sh everything around in dark blood and a visess.

  He bent over, hands on his knees, breathing hard as he tried to catch his breath. Grateful to be outside—or as much as one could be in a Whisper—he straightened up and took stock of his surroundings.

  And was greeted by quite a peculiar sight.

  A few dozen yards in front of him, not too far from the entrao the mines, stood a short... snowman?