PreCursive

  “We o find him,” Grey said firmly, to a round of nods.

  Well, obviously.

  “So, we’re going with the theory that this is the work of another Prime, then?” I asked my mentor.

  Grey nodded. “Yes, and possibly some kind of spider, judging by the webbing.” He said, gesturing to the tless dehydrated victims webbed to the walls. “These caves are more extehan you know. If there is a cluster of spider monsters being directed by a sed Prime, then they could be anywhere in here. We’ll o search them top to bottom to find young Aurum.”

  “Then what are we bleedin’ waitin’ on?” Bel said impatiently, tapping her fingers on her sheathed cutss. “An invitation? Every moment we waste down here is another me crew doesn’t have backup.”

  “As you say,” Grey said, inkling his head to the pirate Captain. “I suggest we proceed through the caves in a circur formation, our backs to each other. Whatever monster kidnapped Aurum is well versed ih tactics, if it was able to do so silently and with little trace. If we watch for it in our search for young Aurum, then we’re less likely to be ambushed.”

  We all did as he said, drawing our respective ons and arranging ourselves into a circle. I ended up he froo Grey, with Sylvia to my left. Venix took the rearguard, which made seo me. I’d suspected that he was the stro person in our party other than Grey for some time now.

  As Grey took the vanguard position and started to lead us through the still-freezing cold caverns, I was strangely relieved. Of all people, I’m gd that it was Aurum that this mystery spider had taken. I mean, the guy was solid metal fod’s sake. It’s not like he had any juices for a spider moo suck from him.

  But that raised a question. Why had it singled him out in the first pce?

  ……………………………………..

  Grey led us through the caverns at a good pace, appearing to know his way fairly well. The rest of us kept a. Several times, I swear that I saw movement from behind us. I made sure to mention that to the group, but whenever someone else tried to see it as well, it was gone.

  That wasn’t creepy at all, I assure you.

  If it wasn’t for my alent helping to suppress my fear, I was sure that I would be freaking out harder from the near horror movie sario we’d found ourselves in. As it was, I was keeping myself artificially calm and focused oask at hand.

  As we made our way through the cavern passages, we opped entering bodies webbed to the walls. There would be a new one every few feet. Sometimes they would be half uncovered and visibly desiccated, while sometimes they were fully covered but appearing no less draihe fully covered ones were someuzzling, actually. From what I uood of spider-feeding practices, shouldn’t they have discarded the drained o this point?

  While my middle mind was sidering that peculiarity, my outer mind was startled when Sylvia suddenly exploded into a soundless lunge. Leading with her blue sword, Sylvia plunged her bde into a spot on the wall. To my eyes, it didn’t look like there was anything there.

  At least, initially.

  Green blood exploded from something invisible on the wall. With a chittering squeal, something materialized on the wall at the end of Sylvia’s bde.

  It ider of some kind. But not a usual one. No, this seemed like some kind of monstrous sea spider.

  In total size, I would put it to be about as big as a cat. But that was mostly from its long, spindly legs, almost skeletal in appearance. But its actual body was incredibly thin, almost appearing as thin around as one of its legs. Extending from what must be its head were two different pairs of fangs, eaearly as long as my middle fihe creature itself was a soft pink with the eight legs you would expect from a spider of any kind. Disturbingly, I couldn’t see any visible eyes on the monster.

  Thankfully, this one was in its death throws. Before it could actually die and puff out of existen a cloud of Miasma, I quickly threw out an Observe.

  Name: Juvenile FrostbrialkerLevel: 34Age: 2 weeksSpecies: MonsterAbilities: Stalk, CoThe rest of the group had quickly spun around to watch the otion that had arisen from Sylvia’s attack. We watched as a group as the Shadestalker gave one final twitch of its skeletal limbs, before lying still. Moments afterward, it exploded into a haze of Miasm, leaving behind a marble-sized Core. I scooped it up in the silence.

  “Well, damn,” Bel said, breaking it. “So it is spiders.”

  “But not a species that should be this far south,” Grey said gravely, causing the group's eyes to drift his way. “I reize the type. Frostbrine spider monsters are from the waters to the far, far north. Beyond the northern mountains, even. They hunt along the shores in that region, harrying the tribes to be found there. I didn’t even know they could survive in this clime.” He sighed. “They, or rather their Prime, must be the true reason these caverns are so cold. Their natural Aetherial bance must be affeg these environs to su extent as to mimic that frozen wastend.”

  “That’s cool and all,” I said, ign the pun I’d made iently. “But we ’t just stick around. We have work to do and people to save.”

  Grey nodded sharply at my words. “Very true. Let us ti the very least knowing what we face. Well done, Sylvia.” Sylvia ined her head at her Father’s words. “Everyone else, keep a.”

  We pressed on.

  ……………………………………..

  That wasn’t the st time we entered a Frostbrine spider on our search of the cavern passages. But it was the smallest. Several times, one of the others either stabbed, sliced, or crushed one of them that got too close to our position, hidden under a cloaking skill of some type.

  Oime, Grey eve a bolt of silvery mana ung ahead of us to traething he’d noticed. It impacted the rgest of the Frostbrine spiders we’d seen so far. You could say that this one was also the size of a cat, if you were referring to a goddamn tiger. Thankfully, Grey’s spell killed it in one shot, leaving it smoking and twitg on the cavern floor. However, it was odd. sidering Primes were supposed to be the leaders of massive paonsters, we hadn’t seen a ton of spiders yet. Just…stragglers.

  Still, in all our searg, we never found Aurum.

  Grey stopped us in front of an opening in the rock. Beyond the portal, I couldn’t see a thing. It itch b the other side. He turo address the group. “This is the final cavern,” He told us in a low tone. “Inside is the rgest cavern down here, as well as the entry point into Caer Drarrow. At this point, I believe that both quarry's that we seek must be inside. Young Aurum…”

  “And the Prime,” I finished for him quietly. Grey nodded in respoo my words.

  “Or Primes. Ready yourself, my friends.”

  I took a deep breath, mainly for show. I was finding that it was much, much easier to trol things like battle ay, when you could nearly trol your owions. Meanwhile, I could see the rest of my panions steel themselves as well. When Grey saw that we were ready, he turned back around to face the portal and stepped through. I followed right behind him.

  As I stepped through, I was able to see the final cavern that Grey had mentioned. It was massive, far bigger tharance had been with t stagmites and stactites visible throughout it. However, that wasn’t what caught my attention the most.

  It was the absolutely massive shaded figure hiding just beyond the range of Grey’s light, along the far wall. From it, the light glinted off of dozens of silverly lihat stretched from its form to…

  Somewhere above us.

  The figure yanked on the lines in a violent motion. Hearing ahshattering crack from above us, I looked up.

  Just in time to see dozens of massive stactites closing in on my position. I didn’t eve a y eyes to widen before I was tackled out of the way of death by falling rocks. Behind my now prone form, the cavern shook as a veritable ndslide struck the floor when I’d just been standing.

  And blog off the entrao this cavern.

  I go my side, to see that it was Grey who had saved my life. He gave me a brief nod in aowledgement, before scrambling to his feet. I did the same, looking around.

  Grey and I were the only ones who had made it ihe cavern, before it had been blocked off. Behind the mass of rock that was blog the entrance, I heard the sound of dozens of muffled, chittering hisses erupt. I also heard the sounds of the rest of our party engaging in bat.

  I see…

  This was a two-part trap that we’d walked right into. Oo separate whoever walked through the entrance first. And two…

  Along the far wall, I heard another chittering hiss. But this was louder, and deeper.

  And for some reason, it reminded me of ughter.

  Standing side by side with Grey, I watched as the rge shadowed form from earlier stepped into light, revealing its form.

  As expected, it ider. An absolutely massive o that. It was clearly a Frostbrine of some kind, and this was definitely one of the Primes. It was as rge as a city bus from bae, and rather than being pink in color, it was a deep, blood-red. Its form was different as well, having four sets of bdelike fangs protruding from its mouth, instead of two like the other’s we’d seen.

  But that wasn’t the biggest ge on this one. Where the other Frostbrine spiders I’d seen had no visible eyes, that wasn’t the case here.

  This spider had a single, massive eye set into its head, a clear shining blue in color. It was currently half-lidded in our dire, as if it was amused at our iion. The beast clicked each of its eight fangs in our dire together slowly, almost mogly.

  Two other spiders stepped out from behind the likely Prime. These were Frostbrines as well, and not quite as intimidating as it was. They were coral pink in color, and roughly the size of bears.

  g down hard on my fear response, I threw out three quick Observes.

  Name: Frostbrine Abyssmother (Prime)Level: ???Age: ??Species: ??Abilities: ??

  Name: Frostbrine QueensguardLevel: 61Age: 3 monthsSpecies: MonsterAbilities: Leap, Stalk, Co, Frozen Fang

  Name: Frostbrine QueensguardLevel: ??Age: 4 monthsSpecies: MonsterAbilities: ??Grey cursed to himself quietly, reag for the sheathed sword on his belt. “Five hundreds,” He said grimly. “Normally, not a problem for me, but I’m still not at full strength.”

  My heart stuttered in my chest. Five hundreds? As in, it’s level? Jesus Christ, this thing was more thaimes my level! There was no way I’d be able to help Grey with that.

  The eime that Grey and I were staring at the Prime and its escorts, they didn’t move. It was like they were tent to let us take in the sight of them.

  Grey caught my eye. “Nathan, I’ll o focus exclusively on the Prime. You’ll o deal with the guards.” Having said that, Grey drew the sword at his waist from his waist, allowio see it uhed for the first time. I’d been able to tell from its shape that it was a longsword, but not much more than that.

  Uhed, it was much more than that.

  The sword was blue. Just like Sylvia’s, it was made from some kind of blue metal or stone of some kind, but that was where the simirities ehis sword also had some kind of inclusion of white, luminous stone running through the ter of it. Both materials glowed slightly, even in the near pitch-bess of the cavern. The ehing bde was inscribed with hundreds, perhaps thousands of ruhat I couldn’t decipher.

  The sheer ambient power radiating off of the bde was nearly enough to give me a headache.

  Meanwhile, Grey held the bde straight upright in a guard position. He leaned his head down slightly to rest on the blue and white stone. “Once more, Stelrum,” He whispered.

  As if in respohe runes on the bde began to light up with an eerie bck light. The entire sword was engulfed in a haze of that ecliptic power. Satisfied, Grey snapped his sword up into a horizontal guard position, aimed at the heart of the Prime.

  Meanwhile, I drew aended my spear. At the same time, I ig The Stilnt Bde.

  All right.

  Let’s do this.

  The spiders desded on our position.

  Grey and I rose to meet them.