Thank you, God, for the potion. Spence sat up and turned to his right. Morgan stood on Spence’s cloak and had another arrow nocked. Behind her, Caleb and Trey were still cutting themselves free from the web. “Never mind, guys. We’ve got it.” Spence couldn’t resist a dig. He wiped his dagger on the tarp, sheathed it, and stood. “When you get free, walk on my cloak over here. We must find a way out. There might be more of those beasts down there.”

Morgan arrived first. Caleb freed himself next and crawled onto the cloak. He then stood and walked over to them. Trey arrived a minute later.

“Dang, that was a freaky monster! Like giant spiders aren’t scary enough.” Morgan reached inside her tunic and brought out her phone. She snapped a picture of the dead spider mantis. “Shoot, I can’t get over to it for a selfie.”

Trey pulled out his phone and looked down at it. “Damn it! Battery dead.” He slid it back into his front pocket. Spence quickly checked his phone and ascertained it was also dead. Caleb just glared at all three of them.

Trey turned to Spence. “What in the heck got into you? You were like a freakin’ superhero.”

“Yeah, ole Spence was flexin’ all up on that beast!” Morgan said.

Spence considered lying about the potion, but they would know something had to explain his newfound prowess. “I drank a white potion. It did give me strength, but the main thing is what it did to my mind. I can pretty much remember everything I’ve ever seen and read. I remembered all the fight scenes from movies, TV, and books, and my body just knew what to do without thinking. It’s like in the movie Limitless.”

“Damn, why do you get all the good stuff?” Trey asked.

“Because I’m a wuss without it,” he said without argument.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Caleb asked, looking at the opening above.

The effects of the potion were already wearing off. Spence’s mind became a little cloudier, and mundane fears and doubts started returning. He had to figure out how they could escape before the effects were totally gone. The opening was twenty feet above them. The sides were dirt with some roots sticking out here and there, but not enough to climb up with. He scanned around them and only saw the tarp, cloak, spider mantis, and web. Then he noticed something else move beneath the opening at the bottom of the funnel. “Guys, there’s more.”

The three turned and saw the movement Spence stared at. There was more than one shape but smaller than the dead spider mantis. “And, of course, it has babies,” Caleb said.

“Caleb, take your rope out. Tie your dagger to the end of it and then cut loose a patch of web with your sword and wrap the top few feet of the rope with it. Then throw the dagger out of the opening. The web should stick to the ground, and we can climb out.” The idea came to Spence in a flash. “Morgan, keep an eye on the spider mantises. Trey, can I use your back to activate my staff?”

Caleb went to work preparing the rope as Spence had instructed. Morgan walked to the edge of the tarp and nocked an arrow. Trey turned his back to Spence, and Spence struck the butt of his staff on the middle of Trey’s breastplate. Trey had to step forward but didn’t lose his balance. The staff activated, and the orb lit the sinkhole. At least half a dozen spider mantises gathered at the web entrance. The first one was just crawling through the opening.

Spence considered using the fireball, but it could set the entire web on fire. He didn’t want to experiment with the button he hadn’t tried yet. So, he chose lightning bolt. “Brace yourselves. This will be loud.” He leveled the staff at the head of the first monster and pressed the button. Fryin’ time. The staff recoiled and unleashed the bolt of lightning. The bolt struck the lead spider mantis and continued to spread to the ones behind it. A loud burst of thunder followed the loud crackle and sizzle. The entire web vibrated violently. Caleb was already on his knees, but the other three fell onto the canvas. Trey’s leg slid off the edge, instantly sticking to the web.

“Nailed it,” Spence said. As the last effects of the potion wore off, fatigue rushed in. He was suddenly exhausted, mentally and physically.

“Hey, I can use that,” Caleb said and used his sword to cut and peel the web away from Trey’s leg and wrap it around the rope.

Caleb coated the first four feet of the rope thickly with web strands until it resembled cotton candy. He then stood and began swinging the dagger over his head like a cowboy roping a calf. He let out more slack and then let the rope fly toward the edge of the opening. The dagger sailed high above the rim and disappeared. He pulled on the rope and slid several feet of it back until it stopped moving. “I’m not sure about this.”

“If we can just get one of us up, then they can tie the rope to a tree to support the rest of us,” Spence said.

“Then we should go with the lightest first. Morgan, you feel like climbing?” Caleb asked.

“Oh, great. It’s tenth-grade gym class all over again.”

“Except without Coach Perv,” Trey said.

“Oh, don’t remind me. I think he liked the boys better, though. OK. But catch me if I fall.” Morgan slung her bow on her back and walked over to the thick rope. Her gloves provided a firm grip and protection for her hands. She reached up and grabbed the rope with both hands and tugged experimentally. The rope held. She pulled herself up and wrapped her legs and feet around the rope. She then began inching her way up, pulling with her arms and gripping with her knees and feet.

Spence cut his cloak free of the web and stuffed it into his pack. Morgan was only a foot from the surface when the rope began slipping, and she started sliding back. She removed her right hand off the rope and reached out and grabbed the lip of the hole. Morgan teetered momentarily but then slowly began moving again. She eventually managed to pull herself over the edge and out of sight. A few minutes later, she yelled for the next one to come up.

Caleb went next, having little trouble with the rope. Trey took a little longer, but his strength made up for his size. Spence stared dubiously at the rope. The potion had worn entirely off, and he faced the reality of his actual physical prowess or lack thereof. He remembered the rope climb in tenth grade. He had made it six feet and then clung there for five minutes before sliding back down, burning his hands and the insides of his thighs in the process. He hadn’t gotten appreciatively stronger since then, had gained a few pounds, and the battle had drained him.

“Guys, you’ll have to pull me up,” he said weakly. He dreaded the response.

“Hold on tight,” Caleb called down.

Spence looped the rope around his staff a few times and held tight with both hands. “OK.” He then wrapped his legs and feet around the rope. The rope began moving, and he was slowly pulled to the edge. At the top, Trey and Caleb reached down and hauled him up. He received no teasing, comments, or even sneers. Maybe he had finally earned some respect. They helped him to his feet, and then Caleb pulled up the remainder of the rope. He cut off the web-covered end Morgan had tied to a nearby tree, returned the coil to his pack, and sheathed his dagger.

“Oh crap!” Caleb said.

***

“So much for your pets,” Odin said.

“I am a little surprised they didn’t slay any of them,” Artemis replied. “The praying mantis modification greatly increased the creatures’ ferocity and lethality.”

“I think you gave the party too much power,” Odin interjected.

“No more than any other group,” Artemis said. “Besides, the weapons are nothing without the questors having the courage and wisdom to properly wield them.”

“True. They are special,” Ra said.

“You have chosen well, Artemis,” said Enki. “I think they are too young and naïve to give in to fear and despair as the other groups have.”

“But unless one heeds our call, they still have to make their way through the dwarves and the Draconians,” Odin replied.

“We only need one,” Enki replied.