Book of Kings

Chapter 34

There was a searing pain in my right leg and arm and warm liquid was running down.
There was something sticking out of them.
I crawled over to where the torch landed and saw two arrows lodged into each of them.
More arrows were scattered on the ground.

"How the fuck did I get stabbed by two arrows at the same time while falling?" I dragged myself to the wall under Eta and Walsh.
I was in pain but not the screaming kind.
"You guys okay up there?" I yelled up.
"Walsh is bleeding from his head and he's not awake," I heard Eta answer
"No, no. I'm awake alright but I think I broke my arm," Walsh groaned dizzily.
"I'm fine," Eta said after, "scratched up but fine."
"I'm not," I told them
"Why is that?" Eta asked
"Look down here."
I saw her head peeking down from above.
"Are you alright?!" She said shocked.
I raised up the torch in my unharmed hand, "yeah but who knows how long I'm still going to be. Got a rope or something?"
"Well, you had the ropes in the bag and it's too far to jump down there and there doesn't seem to be a way down there. Can you throw up the rope?"
"Lovely idea but I don't think moving would be smart right now," I said, "and I don't think I can throw it that high at the moment. Come to think of it, if it weren't for the arrows I could try myself to climb up. The fall itself didn't do that much to me."
"Can you pull out the arrows?" Eta asked, "you won't cut yourself up if you do, they're bodkin heads not barbed ones."
"That's good to know. I'll give it a go."
I grabbed the first arrow in my arm and pulled it quickly.

The words were sucked out of me as I did.
"Quite painful," I said with deep breathes, "here comes the second one."
Another pull.
I teared up but at least there were no arrows in me.
I rummaged through the bag to find the medical supplies and bandaged up the newly created holes as best as I could with one arm.

"So what are we going to do now?" I asked them, "can you guys get out of here? Because I sure can't, even if I could jump I wouldn't be able to reach your ledge and you guys would break your legs when jumping down here. Is there something up there to even attacked a rope to?"
"No," Eta said.
"No matter, with a broken arm Walsh's no help too."
I thought about what to do next.
"I guess leaving me and looking around for help would be the best thing to do. It's not against the guild's code or something to do so, right? And there no need to be embarrassed, accidents happen."
"Are you okay being stuck down there for some hours?" Eta asked.
"Of course, something like this has already happened to me once, just worse in every way. This ain't too bad if I know you're coming back."

I heard them climbing up their ledge to go outside.
"Stay strong," Walsh said, I even saw his hand waving.

Well, I'm at this point again.
At least I got a torch so it's not dark like last time but still alone in a place like this.
How does everything always go so wrong?

After several minutes I tried and successfully stood up. I limped and looked around with my torch in one hand and loosely holding my sword in the other.
Lots of cobwebs, a very large amount of them but where are the spiders, maybe they ran away too.

Not far from where I heard another strange sound, drumming? Or a kind of purring?
If it was purring that would mean that there are animals here.
I backed up but what I heard now was skittering and now I knew what it was.

Gigantic creatures like spiders or monsterized spiders, who knew which one was correct.
There were four of them and they were as big as a dog, ugly creatures to be sure.
Dark brown, long thick legs like tree branches, I didn't have time to count them now but at least ten legs which turned yellow at the end.
Eyes like big black crystals.
They weren't fuzzy like other spiders I knew of but smooth which I liked even less.
And the most strange was their claws.
Normal spiders don't have those, right? Not as far as I can remember.
But what can I do now? Tell them, "you don't have those?"

I changed the places of the torch and the sword in my hands.
They already saw me, I held the only things that gave light, very noticeable in fact.

"Get back ye foul demon," I quickly stabbed the nearest one which bared its fangs in-between its many eyes.
As far as I could tell it died right there, its legs curled up as a normal spiders' would.
I took another step back and the rest of them skittered towards me.

I took another swing and missed, they were faster than I thought.
One of them took the opportunity and bit my side, its fangs penetrated the leather armor I was wearing.

I fell down and couldn't move my body.
I was paralyzed.

I had accepted my fate though there was no need, a bolt zipped past me and into one of the spiders.
The impact was brutal, it was like the spider exploded and in rapid succession, two more bolts hit the rest of the spiders.

I looked up, "having a good time?"
I could still speak but not move.

And in a moment the person was down to where I was.
They didn't jump, did they?

"You okay?" It was a woman's voice, "I guess not. I can see the holes in your armor, you've been bit. These are tenegrade spiders and their venom is deadly and will even kill the biggest of ogres. I'm sorry but I do not have antidotes and any place that would have is too far. I do not think you'll have long to live."
The torch was too far away for me to let me see her in great detail.
I first thought her eyes were red and they pierced me in the darkness but it turned out that her glasses had red lenses.
"No, that's fine," I said, my mouth was harder to move now, "I had a full life."
She squatted down next to me and examined me closer.
"Are you seriously wearing a cape? No, no, I can see it's a coat with a hood, still strange fashion sense I'd say," a bit of blood mixed with spit was seeping from my mouth.
"At least I'm not dying," she responded dryly.
I turned to her as far as my body would allow it, "who're you anyway?"
"My name's Valentine," she held out a necklace, "licensed adventurer."
"So, Valentine, come here often?" On her back was a strange gadget, "you shot them with that thing on your back?"
"Yes, it's like a new kind of bow, hits very hard and there is not much downtime between shots."
"Great to hear. You met my friends outside?" I tried pointing up but of course, couldn't.
"Yes, the injured man and the tall woman, just outside here. They're wounded but not helpless."
"How come you're here anyway?"
"There's been a mix-up with the requests. I was supposed to come here and hunt these monsters and I did now, I'll just make sure there aren't more here and take care of eggs if they have been laid. And you were supposed to have an easy time talking to the villagers in Cheles. I already thought it was strange that there was a village where I was supposed to go and when I talked to them and they told me that I was in Cheles I rode back to Prore to talk with whoever handled the requests. A young man named Ayke, maybe you know him, panicked, sent me here the second he realized what happened. 'Maybe it's not too late?' He told me, but for you it is."
"Unlucky for me to come here but what can you do, mistakes happen."
"Anything I should tell anyone but you go? Your family or friends perhaps?"
"I'd like to say something to my sister but she wouldn't understand me any, she'd be two or even three by now. You got any sisters?" I asked her.
"No, I do not, no brother either. Most of my family is dead, I'm sure I have cousins somewhere but I do not have contact with them."
"Something we almost have in common."

She was silent for a moment.
"I'll stay with you until it's time," she said in an unhappy tone.

And there I lay with her by my side,
but after several more minutes, nothing happened.

I didn't die but I could raise my arm now and with great effort I did, "when is the dying going to start?"
I could see that she was confused as well, "I don't know?"
Even more confused she said, "can you move now?"
"Now that you say it, I think so!" I wriggled my legs.
It felt like they were asleep, that could have been the poison also.
"I don't think that this is natural," the faintest surprise in her voice.
"Are you sure these spiders are dangerous maybe they just use their venom to paralyze then eat their prey?" I suggested.
"No, I'm sure what they are, but I am unsure what you are then. You must be really lucky or special in a way."
"I tell you I am not lucky."