1

Janna was the first one awake on the sixth day. She could see specks of dust drifting through the rays of sunlight beaming through the aperture at the top of the tower. Janna lingered in the bed for a few minutes, enjoying the serenity of the moment. She looked around the room and frowned. Angie was sitting cross-legged, facing the portal, with her back to the sleeping group.

What if something came through the other portal? Janna thought.

With Zack snoring in front of her, she glimpsed over her shoulder to see if anyone else was awake. They were fast asleep. Well, a deal is still a deal, she thought and craned her arm to nudge both Damon and Harper, who were snoozing behind her. She felt their bodies tense immediately. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m just waking you up for the skeleton-hunting trip.”

God, that sounds ridiculous! she mused.

Damon and Harper rose from the bedding while Janna shook Zack’s huge shoulder.

“Huh? Wha…” he groaned loudly.

Janna chuckled. “Get your ass out of bed, stud,” she teased. “You do remember our agreement?”

After dressing, the four members strolled over to Angie and asked how the night had been.

“Brett was here,” she replied bluntly as she stood. Her features were strained, and her eyes were bloodshot. She told them about the shadows that had appeared in the courtyard and her decision not to wake anyone. Damon put his arm around her shoulders and noticed Ethan rising from the bedding. He called him over.

“Can you do guard duty while Angie catches a few winks?” he asked.

“Sure. No problem.”

Damon dispatched Angie to the bed and turned to Janna, Harper, and Zack.

“Let’s make an excursion to the tower entrance,” he said grimly.

2

Finding no signs of Brett, the four early risers headed straight to the sixth room, intent on upgrading their weapons and getting some valuable XP. On the way, Harper told the four members that she had decided to focus more strategically on their attribute points. “We each have a set of six basic stats,” she said. “Now, this isn’t really maxing as I will be picking three stats that I’ll concentrate on.”

She told Damon that she wanted Ethan to be the primary tank, explaining that Damon’s recent arm injury played a part in her decision.

Damon agreed.

“So, we’ll max dexterity and endurance with all the orcs, but Damon’s and Zack’s third stat will max on constitution while Ethan’s will be strength.”

As they passed through the fourth room, they noticed that Jordan and Emma were up, but Angie was fast asleep.

“For the hunters,” Harper continued, “Jordan and Angie will be similar. They’ll both get maxed on constitution and endurance, but for Angie, I’ll focus her third stat on dexterity. Given the weapons she has, she will be more of a ranged hunter. Jordan will get the bump on strength, making him more suitable to close combat.”

The four members concurred.

“Finally, Janna and I will max on constitution, intelligence, and wisdom.” She paused. “I might change my strategy as things develop or if you’re falling too far behind in one particular stat.”

“Just make sure you fill in the other members,” Damon said.

Harper nodded.

3

The skeleton hunt went as expected. Zack, Damon, and Janna stayed near the perimeter wall, chopping down the mobs with their swords while Harper amused herself with the Acid Fly trick again. Janna was more comfortable killing the skeletons as they, technically, were not living creatures.

The two orcs transformed their falchion swords and axes with the bone upgrades. Janna tried her flamberge sword, but nothing happened. Harper suggested it was because of the sword’s wavy blade.

Janna killed eleven skeletons, giving her 275 experience points and bringing her overall XP to 670. That pushed her to level 27. Harper asked her to drop her 44 attribute points as 15, 15, and 14 into constitution, intelligence, and wisdom.

Damon bagged fourteen skeletons and gained 350 XP for his efforts, raising him to level 34. He placed his 56 points as 19, 19, and 18 into dexterity, endurance, and constitution.

Zack killed twenty mobs and collected 500 XP, reaching level 28. He dropped his 80 points as 27, 27, and 26 into dexterity, endurance, and constitution.

Harper had the most kills at 39 dead skeletons, thanks to her fly trick. That gave her 975 experience points and rocketed her past level 50, triggering the new XP system. A “next level” metric appeared in her stats. She rose to level 53 and dropped her 96 attribute points evenly into constitution, intelligence, and wisdom.

4

Upon returning to the fourth room, Damon, Zack, Harper, and Janna were greeted with breakfast. Jordan and Emma had cooked the contents of their individual inventories. That translated into ten squirrels, five ptero birds, and three rabbits, which satisfied all the members.

While they snacked, Harper informed the remaining members of her point strategy, then suggested a change to their formation. She wanted Damon to enter the rooms first, then she would follow ahead of the other two orcs. “I need the extra time to evaluate every room,” she said. “The rest of the formation can go as planned.”

Everyone agreed.

The teammates finished breakfast, taking large gulps from their wineskins. Equipping their new weapons, they walked through the portals leading into the tower’s seventh room.

5

As Harper passed through the portal leading into the seventh room, she slammed right into Damon’s back. “Move forward, Damon,” she said, frustrated.

“I can’t.”

She at once identified two things: the portal was suspended three feet off the floor, and Damon was being held up by an immense spider’s web that stretched through the room. Zack came through the portal next and bumped into her.

Harper struggled to move her feet, but the web’s silk and a fluid that was beaded along the strands kept her pinned.

“What the hell? I can’t lift my feet,” Zack grunted.

A sudden vibration rippled through the web, and they lost their balance, tumbling forward onto the web. Damon’s landed face-first in the sticky trap as the web sagged from their combined weight. Harper could see the stone floor beneath the web. Another heavy weight settled upon them and she knew it was Ethan.

“Ethan, are you stuck?” she asked.

“Ugh. Yeah, I can’t move my feet.”

I have to get us out of here quick, she thought, or we’re just going to keep piling onto each other. She struggled to move her arms, but with every additional weight, the web stretched and adhered to the sides of her body. Her arms were pinned. Harper tried to will Fire Scorch and Mana Reject, but nothing happened because she couldn’t use her arms to cast the spell.

Above her, the members were struggling against the web, swinging their mass of bodies from side to side. She saw Ethan’s sword stab into the web, but the weapon didn’t penetrate and got stuck on the sticky lining. A moment later, his fist smashed into the web, a decision Harper immediately thought was foolish. Ethan’s hand was now fixed to the web, anchoring them further.

Another body landed on the pile and the web stretched even more. Now, she and Damon were hovering only a foot from the room’s floor. Harper noticed with disinterest that the floor was constructed of a bluish marble.

Harper felt a steady tapping vibration against the web now, and she craned her head to see what was approaching. At the far end of the room, a pack of spiders, each two feet tall, scurried across the web’s scaffolding. Her Creature Description information appeared.

BROOD SPIDER (Level 2)

HP: 45

MP: 0

STRENGTH: 7

CONSTITUTION: 4

DEXTERITY: 8

INTELLIGENCE: 1

WISDOM: 1

XP: 36

DESCRIPTION: Arachnid species that dissolves flesh.

Harper saw at least a dozen spiders coming. They were only fifteen feet away now. She heard cries of anguish from above as her teammates saw the approaching danger. Harper called up her spell list, desperately hoping for something she could use. She heard the Song of Distraction begin and knew Emma was trying that spell. The spiders were unaffected, though, and kept tapping toward them.

“Oh, god. We’re going to die!” Janna cried.

Above Harper, the struggling escalated to a frenzy as all eight members attempted to break free. Their mass of bodies swayed back and forth against the web.

The spiders reached them now. In her upper vision, where her HP and mana stats were displayed, Harper saw them jumping onto the pile of bodies. Janna screamed. Harper blocked out her shrill cries and concentrated on her spell list. Basic Heal, Defense Buff, Offense Buff, Firefly, Acid Fly… these are passive or targeted offensive spells, she realized with growing alarm.

The members continued their struggles on top of her, and Harper’s head was getting dangerously close to adhering to the web. From above her, an oily liquid splattered onto the marble floor. It was a clear liquid, but Harper saw blood mixed in with it. Acid Fly, Auntie Dote, Glow, Fire Glow… dammit, these are no good without my arms!

Their combined weight descended another few inches, and the web stretched at a more acute angle. Harper jerked her neck to avoid getting her forehead stuck to the web, pressing it against Zack’s chest. She cried painfully as her muscles spasmed. God! Fuck! Fire Glow… Acid Reflux…

Her eyes widened with sudden realization. Acid Reflux—it comes out of your mouth! She cast the spell and belched the purple acid onto the web, feeling her bile want to come with it. The web’s beaded white threads started smoking and disintegrating, but some acid bounced on top of Damon’s head. He screamed and jostled beneath her.

“Acid Reflux, everyone,” she yelled, grateful all the team members had the spell. “Use Acid Reflux against the web!”

Within seconds, projectiles of acid were landing on the web in front of her, dissolving the web’s scaffolding. A moment later, the web was breached and all eight members fell roughly onto the marble floor, on top of Damon.

Harper tried moving, but her arms were now glued to Damon, who was stuck to the floor. She felt the team scramble off of her and heard swords slashing and bows twanging. Harper exhaled. What a beautiful sound, she thought. Spiders started dropping around her.

One landed on her back. She shrieked and began screaming, but the dead creature was soon kicked away from her body. She strained her neck and counted eight dead spiders. Some of them were still twitching, but none were a threat. Fluid trickled from their bodies and filled the area with a putrid smell.

The noises of battle were lessening now. Harper asked Emma if she had time to help her.

“Yup. What do you need?”

“Can you test a couple of spells to detach me from Damon?” she asked. “Try Firefly first. See if it will burn through the web.”

Emma tried the spell without success.

“Fuck! I was hoping to avoid using Acid Fly. Cast that and try moving the fly against the strands attaching me to Damon. Hopefully none of the acid will spill on us.”

Emma cast the spell and guided the fly, which seared through the web without burning the two trapped members. Harper pulled herself from Damon, who remained fixed to the floor. She looked around the room for the first time.

6

The ring-shaped room had no walls other than the exterior one that followed the contour of the tower. The thick spider’s web that had ensnared them stretched across the entire space.

“We’re on one of the top floors,” Harper informed the group. “Remember? They didn’t have any walls.”

Under the disintegrated hole that the acid had burned through the web, sixteen spiders lay scattered on the marble floor. Harper noted there weren’t any Epiphany clouds floating over the carcasses. She surveyed the members.

Janna was lying on the floor, moaning in pain. A series of cuts were burrowed lengthwise down her leg. The nurse was casting healing spells on her injuries. The members' feet were stuck to the floor with the same glue that had pinned them to the web. Angie had simply untied her boots and slipped out of them. Harper instructed the other members to follow her lead.

Emma and Jordan weren’t so lucky. Without boots, their footpads adhered to the floor. Meanwhile, Damon remained stuck facedown on the marble.

As she stepped out of her boots, Harper wielded Fire Scorch at the remaining web in their area. It burned like tissue paper and produced a noxious, burnt smell. Harper was glad they were in an open-air room. “Zack, pull out your gladius and lay it on the floor.”

He stared at her, puzzled. “But the skelchion is better?”

The mage shook her head. “The short sword is good for what I want to do.”

He shrugged and placed the sword in front of her. Harper waited a few more seconds for the Fire Scorch’s cooldown before launching a stream of fire at the weapon, focusing solely on the top of the blade. Moments later, she picked up the sword by the handle and walked over to Emma. “I’m sorry, this might hurt.”

She wedged the blade between the bottom of Emma’s left foot and the marble floor. Emma gasped painfully and reacted like she was on hot coals. She pulled her foot as Harper pushed the blade further down the length of her foot, separating her pads from the floor. As Emma raised her left foot, she balanced on her right.

Positioned beneath her, Harper noted Emma’s footpads were slightly burned, but the spider’s adhesive gum had turned black.

“Try putting that foot back down,” Harper told her.

Emma hesitantly planted her foot on the marble floor and then lifted it again. “It worked,” she exclaimed.

Harper got back to work, finishing the job on Emma before releasing Jordan as well. She gazed at Damon and sighed. The entire front of his body, including his face, was stuck to the floor. She blasted the sword again and knelt beside him. “This is going to be—”

A loud hiss bounced off the chamber’s marble wall. Harper looked up. An enormous spider was approaching them on the remnants of the web. Her Creature Description details popped up.

THORN SPIDER (Level 17)

HP: 230

MP: 121

STRENGTH: 33

CONSTITUTION: 23

DEXTERITY: 45

INTELLIGENCE: 12

WISDOM: 1

XP: 59

DESCRIPTION: Arachnid with exoskeleton covered in thorns.

The arachnid was ten feet tall, twenty wide, and had four black eyes mounted on the top of its head. The spider’s exoskeleton was blanketed with rows of three-inch-long thorns. Two blue chelicera claws descended from its mouth, snapping at its imminent prey. Mucus and venom dripped from those claws and slid down the web before spilling onto the floor below.

To give the team more space, Harper wielded a long stream of Fire Scorch to burn away more web. The spider climbed onto the floor as it approached them. Zack and Ethan, barefooted and growling, strode in front of Harper to defend her. They raised their swords and shields.

The Thorn Spider reared up and fired a thick strand of silk that struck Zack’s shield, snatching it from his hands. The monster discarded the shield under its body. A silk strand hurled at Ethan next, but he jumped to his left, avoiding it. The silk barely missed Harper.

“Thanks a lot, Ethan,” she barked.

He mouthed the word “sorry,” but Harper was already racing from the orc’s position to the exterior wall, joining the hunters. She thrust a half-charged Fire Bullet at the spider, but the beast darted to its right, evading the blast. The fireball shot into the courtyard.

The Thorn Spider moved away from the orcs and locked in on her. Harper retreated a step and started charging another bullet. Ethan and Zack charged at the spider with their bone-axes. Zack’s blade punctured one of its eyes while Ethan’s blade sunk into the monster’s thorny flesh. The creature squealed and turned back to the orcs. It raced forward and swiped at Ethan with its tarsal claw, cutting a large gash across his chest. The impact propelled Ethan across the room, where he landed on his back, stunned. Blood trickled down the sides of his torso.

The Thorn Spider lunged toward Zack and slashed its other claw at him. Zack swung his skelchion to block the blow, slicing the tarsal claw off, but the beast slammed into his chest. The impact blew the air out of his lungs, and the spider’s long thorns impaled him.

Zack fell to the floor, heaving, suddenly unable to breathe.

Emma rushed to his side, casting healing spells. She looked around desperately for Janna and saw her lying passively on the floor. Her injured leg wasn’t fully healed. “Janna! Get the fuck over here!”

Janna glanced up slowly, then quickly realized the situation. She hurried over, squatting beside Zack and Emma.

The spider was three feet away from them now. Emma jumped up and swung at the beast with her skelchion sword. The beast fired another strand of silk that seized her weapon and sent it skittering across the floor. She equipped her nagamarrow sword and plunged it into the spider’s underside. The creature squealed and retreated a few feet.

Below her, Zack continued to gasp for breath.

“It’s a punctured lung, but not severe,” Janna said, peering at the spider’s thorns. “It’s a good thing those thorns are thin.”

Emma used her bow now, but the arrows were ricocheting off the spider’s exoskeleton.

Sending healing spells to Zack, Janna stood up, equipped her whip, and started lashing at the enormous spider. They heard a roar and saw Ethan charging back into the fray. With blood dripping down his chest, he ran past them and swung his sword across the monster’s eight legs, severing three.

The spider slumped to one side and backed away. From the chamber’s right side, Harper fired a fully charged Fire Bullet at the spider, but the monster swerved out of the way. The fireball pounded into a marble column, jettisoning chunks of rock. “Angie, Jordan, take out its eyes!” she shouted.

Seconds later, arrows and throwing knives were hurtling through the air. Two more eyes exploded. One more to go, Harper thought.

The beast turned away from Zack’s group and charged at Harper and the hunters. Angie and Jordan jumped to their right while Harper dove to her left and landed hard against the floor. The spider’s head pounded into the exterior wall with a ground-shaking impact. Is this thing a spider or a bull? Harper wondered frantically.

With chunks of marble embedded in its head, the spider pivoted and jumped at Harper, but with three severed legs, its trajectory was off.

Harper rolled away as it stomped its heavy weight to the floor.

Rising from the ground, the spider tapped its crab-like legs against the marble and swiveled to face Harper again. The Thorn Spider spewed a thick patch of silk onto her, covering her entire chest and anchoring her to the ground.

Harper struggled against the silk, but couldn’t move. Her arms were, once again, pinned to her body.

The monster scampered over her body.

Harper saw Emma’s nagamarrow sword protruding from the spider’s underbelly. A clear liquid seeped from the wound onto her legs. She cried in disgust, but the fluid caused her no pain. “Someone help me!” she screamed.

More silk shot from the monster’s spinnerets. Harper felt the sticky substance coat her legs, restraining her even more.

Ethan lunged at the spider from Harper’s right, but was flicked across the room by one of its remaining legs.

The spider tipped toward Harper and regarded her with deadly, insectile callousness. It spat its digestive fluid onto her left shoulder. Harper felt the leather melt away. Her armor’s metal studs landed like dimes on her shoulder. Then the fluids reached her body.

She screamed as her skin began liquefying.

7

As the spider attacked Harper, Jordan ran to the far side of the room and turned. He sprinted and leaped onto the back of the spider, feeling immediate agony as the creature’s thorns plunged into his groin and thighs. He screamed.

The monster jumped up, trying to buck him and shambling away from Harper.

Jordan sank his cat-claws into the crevasses of the spider’s armor and held on.

The spider started shooting strands of silk erratically around the chamber. It attempted to buck him again, pushing up the rear of its body this time. The maneuver caught Jordan by surprise and he lost his grip on the spider, tumbling forward. He grasped onto the monster’s head at the last moment. More thorns pierced his hands and forearms. Vaguely, in his peripheral vision, he saw Ethan and Janna swing their swords at the creature’s legs. In his display, his hit points plunged to 131.

Jordan clung to the spider’s head, swinging side to side as the monster tried to shake him off. His feet dangled perilously close to its chelicera claws. He spun his legs, trying to evade them. I need my sword, he thought, but that will make me lose my grip! He grimaced and called up his boney bastard sword. The weapon materialized in his right hand and, as he expected, he lost his grip on the monster’s head. As Jordan hung on with his left hand, he plunged his sword into the spider’s head.

The monster screeched and shuddered. In that bare second of the spider’s distress, Jordan reached up with his right hand and climbed back onto the monster’s back. Facing the spider’s rear now, he reached back and pulled his sword out.

Screaming desperately, he drove the sword into the spider’s back. The blade pierced the husk of its exoskeleton and sliced through the spider’s flesh, impaling its heart and killing the monster instantly. The Thorn Spider’s legs fanned out as it crashed to the floor, dribbling its toxic fluid onto the blue marble.