The Spider
The barely more than a meter tall figure gasped, her hand leading the ax began to tremble. But this was not yet the moment to indulge in effeteness.
For a brief moment, the two opponents paused. The giant spider backed away a few steps to measure her. The dwarven woman known by the name of Katwynn Warbrewer looked at the beast with a wary eye.
None of the two gave anything away in this fight. Both were tired, but neither would give up. This was a battle of life and death.
Katwynn took a deep breath and tightened the grip on her weapon.
Nobody comes into this forest unbidden! You hear me! This grove is under my protection, she yelled. The arachnid replied with a hiss before she charged for her next attack.
Quicker than she would appear, the dwarf evaded the spider’s touch, pouncing to the side and nimbly climbing up the next tree to jump on the beast’s back. She clawed her hand into the fur. The venom burned horribly on her bare skin, but she did not give in.
Her other hand led the ax. Strike after strike after strike. Though the beast tried to shake her off, the woman held her position.
Hopping mad, Katwynn smashed the blade of her ax against the protective shell of the giant spider until she broke and shattered it. Now she could drive the edge deep into the underlying flesh of the beast. Each hit made it twitch and hiss.
At first, it seemed unimpressed by the wounds the metal carved. Finally, as Katwynn’s arms already felt numb and were about to soon fail their service, the creature collapsed dead.
Exhausted, the dwarf slid from the spider’s back and fell into the battle-ridden undergrowth of the forest.
When Katwynn slowly came back to her senses, the moon was already standing high above the grove. Her left hand was still burning from the spider’s poison. The beast’s corpse now rested motionless next to the woman.
She scrambled to her feet. Every muscle was hurting in protest of the sudden movement.
She let her gaze wander across the battlefield that showed an unpicturesque scene with young trees uprooted, the undergrowth churned, moss, ferns, and flowers snatched and trampled. At the same time, the forest rested more quietly and peacefully than it had for so very long.
The beast had sneaked into this grove on a moonless night to build her nest. Since then, she has caused a lot of damage.
A sigh escaped Katwynn’s throat. She realized how thirsty she was.
Oh, a cold beer would be so awesome right now, she thought a little wistfully before she started inspecting the carcass. But first I’ll have to finish my job here. What is given to us by Nature has to be returned. Never shall Nature’s gifts be wasted or spurned.
It took hours to break the remains of the giant spider. Some parts of the shell would come in useful for Katwynn. But first, she would have to wash off the poison from its fur. She managed to remove the venom sack from the spider’s insides undamaged. It had enough poison to produce tincture for her arrows and traps. The meat, however, she would leave behind for the scavengers.
Every animal had its place and function in this forest. Although not born as part of it, the dwarf was well aware of the natural balance inherent in the creations of Sylvanus and Mielikki.
She paused to look at her work then, stowed everything she could easily carry in her leathern backpack, and began to search for the spider’s nest.
The arachnid had been very productive. Katwynn found a couple of thousand eggs in the cave the beast had used as her breeding ground. But fortunately, not much time had passed since they were laid. The beasts inside were still small and poorly developed. She would be able to burn these eggs safely.
As she got an overview, she noticed one of the eggs slightly off the clutch on the floor. It was smaller than its siblings, its shell a lighter color.
Katwynn picked it up and saw that its skin was not brighter but nearly transparent. She could directly see inside and recognized the small body of a growing spider.
She wanted to crush the egg in her hand, but something stopped her. She took another look and could see the tiny creature moving.
What if, she thought, there is a reason this egg is not with the others. What if this spider will not become a creature that only knows how to destroy and poison?
And so she decided to keep and carry it until it would hatch and reveal its secret and fate to her.
This is a short text I wrote for one of my D&D characters who took part in the unforgettable Broblin campaign mastered by the incredible Ekrem Atamer and partially preserved here by my amazing fellow heroine Kara Payne starring as Aidru.
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