If they act like mindless monsters, they will probably just charge in a straight line, and it’ll be easy pickings. There was only one way to find out they were going to react, was by acting first.

  Marion lined up a shot with the first spider on the ceiling, the hope was for the corpse to slow the second spider on the ground. So that is what she did, she let the arrow go hitting the spider in the brain, blocking the second spider on the ground.

  That gave her just enough time to put down the first spider on the ground before the other spider that was on the ceiling was on her.

  Marion dropped her bow and pulled out her rope dart and sent the spike spiraling through the air to hit the spider in the eye but not kill it.

  She pulled the dart back and with fluid motion she wrapped it around her to build up motion and send it right at the fourth spider. This time the dart hit the bullseye, and it was lights out for the spider.

  When Marion went to attack the other spider, she noticed that it had bled out. Taking a steady breath, she retrieved her dart, cleaned it and grabbed the bow that was laying on the ground and went to harvest the spiders.

  About two-thirds of the way down the hallway, Marion came across another door. The door stood out because of the near pristine condition it was in. It did seem a bit suspicious, so Marion tried to look for traps connected to the door but found none. So, without further waiting she slowly opened the door in case there was a trap waiting.

  Once the door was open, Marion could see that it was a nice office, with bookshelves and expensive furniture. Not to mention the elaborate fireplace with a painting of a man, probably used to be a noble or something. On the desk there was a book with a quill and ink pot.

  The books on the bookshelves didn’t seem to be in English, but in a script that reminded her of the Elven script from movies back on Earth. Marion couldn’t read any of it, so she left the books on the shelves.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The only thing left was to check out the desk. The chair looked comfortable, but something felt off about it. She started going through the drawers, not finding too much, there were more quills, a couple more ink pots and a few silver coins.

  With a bit of trepidation, Marion set her bow down on the table and opened the book on the desk and read the first entry.

  Journal,

  Today I had a visitor. No, it wasn’t my beloved. Instead, it was old hag looking for handouts. Of course I sent her away! I don’t have any time to spend with trash! My betrothed is to be here any day now. The wedding will be wonderful, but more importantly I will have access to more resources for my private research!

  Marion skipped forward several entries.

  Journal,

  The research goes well! I have successfully hatched a batch of eggs, but they didn’t last very long after hatching. That still needs work. This new species can’t survive in these lands, but once I am able to figure out how to get them acclimated, they will provide excellent guards, maybe I will be able to integrate them into the army! Nobody will be able to stop me, and we will see who is laughing at the end of this age when the name Inigo Mohrhart will be feared!!

  “Man, this guy sounds like an egotistical ass hat” Marion mutters to herself. The next entry she found was more unhinged.

  Journal,

  She wants to leave me! Apparently, my research scares her. She doesn’t see the big picture! I’m so close to finding out the solution! The spiders no longer perish right away after hatching!

  “Wow, I feel bad for this guy’s wife. I don’t think it’ll end well for these people, especially this Inigo character” Marion says shaking her head. The next entry read as follows.

  Journal,

  I have succeeded in adapting these new spiders into this world! It seems my experiments were successful! I’m going to release a prisoner for the spiders to hunt. This way I can test them. They don’t seem to like stationary prey. I had to lock Amanda in a room, after she tried to sabotage my research. I’m sure she will come around eventually…

  The next entry Marion read seemed to get more irrational.

  Journal,

  They follow my orders! It’s only the most basic orders so far, but spiders are not known for their intelligence. It is just me and my children now. Amanda tried to escape, by breaking her window. I sent one of my children to bring her back to me. Unfortunately, Amanda didn’t survive. I suppose it is better this way, now I don’t have to listen to her complaints about her distaste in my experiments.