...

  I don't need to tell you what Stella felt when she fell tens, if not hundreds of meters, do I?

  Well, the good news was that it was less of a deadly, crushing death and more of when a generic high school bully beats the absolute crap out of the stereotypical nerd. Still sucks, but...

  "Ugh..." Stella's eyes fluttered open as she took in the unbearable soreness that invaded her body. Not even when she had the upper hand did Maro cease giving her a hard time.

  Speaking of that hellhound, she couldn't see him anywhere. Weirdly enough, a bewitching light shone through the space between two boulders, not as big as Dwayne but complicated to haul out of her way in her state. Nothing could be seen when she looked upwards, meaning either the door closed or she was too far down to see the light.

  Whatever. Stella decided to sit down and enjoy the dim light and the silence of the wee room she landed in. It reminded her of when she once dared to seek shelter in a broom closet. At least the people there didn't kick her out like a stray dog...

  Fuck. Thinking about dogs made Stella remember Lien and her Namadi-forsaken cousin. If he had broken all her legs and arms, it would've been less of a dick move than trapping her in a cave full of-

  "Hello!" An unfamiliar voice prompted the Human to ignore the pain and stand up on high alert. "Golly! Another visitor!?!" they giggled. "Have you come together?"

  Stella swallowed hard, her eyes darting in every direction. Their voice was clearly coming from the same room she stood in, yet she couldn't even detect a stray shadow!

  The entity laughed again. "Oh, my! How rude of me!" The girl felt something pouncing on her shoulder. "Could you open your hand?"

  Stella reluctantly complied, opening her palm so the creature could present themself. You can imagine the uncontested regret that ambushed her mind when a black arachnid burst into her field of view.

  The Human screamed like a female character in those cheesy 80s slasher films while shaking her hand to toss the disgusting invertebrate as far away as possible. However...

  "W-Wow!" The Spider clung to her hand with an iron grip. "You definitely came with the pup!"

  Oh, Namadi's light... Of course, he could speak...

  The sentient arachnid adjusted his navy blue bowtie, twinkling with glitter, which he wore on his abdomen. "Good grief! I'm very sorry for spooking you!"

  Stella had to admit his "friendly British gentleman" voice killed most of the fear factor he naturally carried. It's hard to hate on such a sophisticated-sounding arachnid...

  "I-It's fine!" She forced a smile. "You won't bite and poison me, are you?"

  He laughed louder than before. "Oh, you're hilarious, curious one!" His eight fuchsia eyes sparkled with interest. "What's your name?"

  "Stella."

  "Anut, at your service." He extended one leg at her, which she shook with two fingers. "By the looks of it, you two have suffered quite the fall. How are you feeling?"

  "Well, everywhere hurts," Stella admitted. "But it isn't THAT bad, all things considered."

  "Impressive! You must be a strong child!" Anut praised. "You are a child, correct?"

  "Yup."

  "Well, allow me to assist you anyway!" The arachnid Monoke started to spew purple silk on her hand, then began to crawl all over her in a terrifying blur, cladding her body in a sticky, constraining web.

  She frantically tried to regain her arms' full mobility, fiercely fighting against her restraints. "What the hell!? Why are you-" Her distress was interrupted by a warm, soothing sensation raining down on her. The ever-present ache slowly packed its bags and retired for the day, just in time for the silk to dissolve. "Wow..."

  "Bragging is not my strongest suit, but..." He stopped atop her head, his voice dripping with pride. "I am quite knowledgeable in healing magic."

  Stella stretched her limbs with newfound energy. "Hell yeah!" She made a short hop. Anything more, and she'd be bashing against the rock ceiling. "Thanks a lot, little guy!"

  "You're welcome." He jumped onto her shoulder. "I'm not strong enough to carry you back to the surface, but my wife does. In fact, I have sent your friend to her direction."

  She rolled her eyes. "Maro's not my friend. He's..." She sighed. "My girlfriend's annoying cousin. I hate that guy."

  Anut tapped her shoulder. "Your soulmate's family, huh?" He slowly rubbed two of his legs together, creating this... hissing sound that tickles the deepest parts of the Human's ear. "I remember trying to convince my mother-in-law I was worthy to mate my sweet Jakaang. It was the most stressful task of my entire life..."

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Stella touched the two boulders that were barring her from the rest of the underground atelier. "How did you convince her?" she asked with genuine interest, empathizing with his past plight.

  "I had to compete with hundreds of other males, but my sperm proved more fertile in the end."

  Stella deeply blushed. "Yeah, let's... talk about something else..." She handily rolled the stones out of the way, exposing them to the multicolor glow.

  Her eyes widened with an odd mix of wonder and dread as she gazed upon the gigantic, intricate web connecting Stella and Anut to the rest of the Spiders' atelier. The danger lay in the gaping abyss below it, which threatened to swallow everything and everyone like a slumbering titan. The underground hub was illuminated by multiple sikpha crystals stitched throughout the thick silk bridge like the world's most expansive Christmas lights.

  Initially, the path was littered with glowy mineral formations. Then, as the trails branched out at the center, the light was replaced by seven colors - crimson red, tangerine orange, canary yellow, neon green, sky blue, indigo, and lilac, each assigned to follow through one of the tunnels.

  "Wow..." Stella kept admiring the arachnid handiwork for an imperceivable period, her mind running with questions like "Was it an army of Spiders who made all this or a HUGE one?"

  Anut's voice brought her back to reality. "I know. Us Spiders proud ourselves of how we've built this atelier..." His legs poked her cheek. "My wife's workshop is in the yellow path over there." He pointed at the tunnel diagonally to her left, at the other side of the hub. Of course, it had to be one of the hardest to reach...

  The girl stepped on the thread of silk a few times. "Is this really made from a Spider?" She pressed her foot harder on it. "This is a freaking rope! A thick one at that!"

  Anut giggled. "We can manipulate our silk's properties to enhance their durability and nullify its adhesiveness, for example." He jumped out of her shoulder and started to crawl on the thread. "We needed that to adapt our home for passage for our business partners from the surface."

  Stella lowered to her knees and slowly reached out for the web. "This isn't very safe for children, is it?"

  "Well, in our defense, kids from other species are not allowed to traverse these caves, especially after..." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing his legs together. "...the Destroyer..."

  Stella abandoned the solid floor, holding the rope for her dear life. "W-What?" Cold sweat trickled down her face as she felt the thread wobbling slightly.

  "Forget it. No need to dwell unnecessarily..." He walked rearward, guiding the Human through the supposedly reliable net. "Take your time, and don't worry about your trip back. My wife shall carry you through this without issue."

  That was a tiny relief, though she still would need to drag herself on this rough rope. The thought of someone spewing these from their mouth sent shivers down Stella's spine. What kept her mind somewhat tranquil, however, were the shimmering sikpha crystals, warm to her touch. She wondered if she could steal a single unit for herself, justifying to herself that it made virtually no difference. Regardless, how would she even remove it from the rope?

  Ah, fuck! She looked down! When the abyss stared at her, her body and soul froze. She stood in place, shaking for a solid minute before Anut slowly and gently approached her.

  "Hey, hey..." His pointy legs caressed her nose. "You're a strong kid. If you don't mind what's beneath you, it won't hurt you." He chuckled. "It's an old Spider saying..."

  His words of motivation and her inhuman strength slowly pushed her through this ordeal as she reached the center, where the colors branched out, in about five minutes. From there, she noticed in better detail that each tunnel had a circular embroidery atop its entrance. The yellow path showed a representation of a dress of matching color.

  "Your wife makes dresses?" Stella assumed.

  "Indeed, she makes!" Anut's fuchsia eyes glowed with glee. "My dearest Jakaang is relatively new to the sewing business, but her ambition shines brighter than any Spider in this atelier!" He giggled while the Human sat on the net's center, more to regain her morale rather than physical fatigue.

  Stella pondered further about her undesired companion. "Are you sure Maro went along with your order? He's not the type to take a tiny guy like you seriously..."

  The Spider shrugged. "Best to give him a little more credit. He looked frightened enough to not question my aid."

  "If you say so..." Stella crawled again towards the thread with yellow crystals. "How's your-"

  A loud howl reverberated from their selected tunnel. The girl shook when a horde of Spiders the size of Anut fled from it and quickly crawled towards a different one.

  "Anut?"

  Her Monoke guide climbed her hair. "I heard it."

  "I'm pretty sure that's Maro." She frowned. "Explain."

  "That doesn't make sense. There shouldn't be anyone hostile over there, except-" Anut abruptly stopped. "Oh..."

  "WHAT?!" Stella snapped, the screaming in the dark depths shaking her to the core.

  The Spider sheepishly giggled. "So... I might have forgotten a tiny detail..."

  For fuck's sake...

  "The one guarding the yellow tunnel today is Akuru..."

  "What's his deal?" Stella hesitantly crawled forward, her mind running with possibilities about this Monoke's appearance...

  "He's not a bad Monoke, by any means! But... he's a little too much of an overachiever..."

  "That means...?"

  "The Golden Matriarch has temporarily prohibited the transit of foreigners after an incident with a Wolf pup a year ago." He jumped in front of Stella, locking his eight eyes on her. "I don't want to bore you with the politics, but Akuru, in particular, greatly insists on enforcing her law under any circumstance."

  An incident with a Wolf pup, huh? Come to think of it, was it the same as Asra mentioned? Was Lien responsible for a mighty blow on Sayama's economy by accident?! Who are we kidding? Obviously, she was!

  "What's the plan, then?" Stella questioned as her hands finally grasped solid stone again.

  Anut climbed on her shoulder. "Akuru is somewhat weak, as far as our sentries go. If I reach my wife in time, she can give him a good spanking!" He anxiously rubbed his legs together. "But I don't know if she can save him in time. If he's not already captured, that is..."

  Stella planted her feet on the rocky floor. "If that dumbass is still resisting arrest, I can lend him a hand." She started to stretch her neck. "I need something to punch after what he put me through."

  "W-What?!" Anut's eyes shook. "You think you can-"

  "Beat him? Probably not." Still, her fists clenched with the excitement of battle. "I'll buy you time. Is either this or nothing."

  The tiny Monoke sighed. "Very well..." He jumped further into the tunnel, whose interior was visible by two lines of sikpha crystals encrusted on the left and right wall.

  Stella ran behind the arachnid, her smile expanding by the second. Maro's ego would shatter when she saved his ass...