:Ailmea VOP

  I ended up visiting Rourke's lumber mill in the hopes that I could talk to Martin Rourke at his mill just south of town. Yeah I figured that if I searched for Chesterton, then it's gonna end very quickly and I want to milk this situation for as long as I can conduct an ‘Investigation’.

  When my crew of invest—adventurers and I arrived at the lumber mill, the front entrance was an archway. There’s a sign that reads: Rourke’s Lumber LLC.

  What’s interesting is looking around the mill, I’ve noticed two things. One there's no cobwebs anywhere, and two every single machine is turned on, despite the fact that all the workers are just standing around staring at the forest.

  I saw a worker hauling a wheelbarrow filled with chopped wood pass by the archway.

  I ran up to him, “Hey!” I called out, causing him to jump in fright. I gave an awkward, and scratched the back of my head, “Sorry! Uh anyways, what do you know about the current situation?”

  He frantically looked around, then turned his attention to me, “Look aint know nothin, cept for the infestation. Me an the boys noticed none o’em spiders creepin on the ole mill while the machines runnin. So we kept em runnin all day an’we keep one runnin at noight at the spot quarters. But ah, recently we noticed them big spiders prowling the forests, the biggest I’ve ever seen!”

  Then his eyes narrowed, “You’ve heard of Chesterton eh?”

  I nodded.

  The man continues, “Well I saw him walk into ta forest at noight carryin jars of some glowin liquid and candals, doin lord knows what. Rourke’s ben mighty suspicious telling us that the hysteria is getting to us, and that, and that Chesterton’s done notthin wrong! But I know better. I got the keys to his office, it's that little hut oe’r there.”

  He hands me a blue key, and points me to a small thatched roofed hut on the far side of the mill, and he continues hauling the wheelbarrow. Well then time for some breaking and entering!

  Unlocking the wooden doors revealed a minimalist office room. Seriously there’s nothing here except a desk with a ledger and stacks of paperwork, two chairs and an almost overflowing trash bin filled with crumpled paper. Alright Mr Martin Rourke what secrets are you hiding?

  “Gals search the room, make sure everything is exactly as it was when you're done.” Right after I gave the order, the three of us fanned out. Let’s see what ya got in your ledger?

  I was severely disappointed that all I found in his ledger were financial losses over the years. Oh wait, what's this? Last page of the ledger, my man’s been dealing in shady business dealings with a crime syndicate! Ooooooo, this just got interesting~

  Time to check the drawers, what’s inside of drawer number one? Nothing, how about number two? Also nothing.

  “Ma’am I found something interesting in the trash bin!” Jeannette said, showing me a crumpled piece of parchment paper.

  I take it of her hands, uncrumpling it and read:

  Rourke. Your debts are piling up, and my patience is wearing thin. Win that election and make sure our ‘arrangement’ stays intact. Fail, and you’ll be the next one we find in a pine box. Time is running out.

  Signed,Benedict “Benny” Morrelli

  This may not incriminate the local lumber magnate, in the infestation plaguing the town. Yeah it’s still pretty incriminating nonetheless. It’d be a shame if, you know this and ledger were to ‘leak’ to the guard, a real shame. I pocket the parchment, and the ledger. While Earalyn magically created a perfect replica, he won’t even know the original is missing.

  “Alright I think we’re done here, let’s ask around some more.” We exited the office and questioned the other workers, suffice to say we didn’t learn anything new. What’s interesting is that all of their testimonies include this Chesterton guy in some fashion. They told me the location of his house. It’s a one story log cabin, with a roof painted red located on the eastern edge of the town.

  It took about an hour of us walking, till we were in front of the house that match the description that the mill workers gave. Before we could walk in Earalyn took me aside.

  “Great Mother, please listen to what I am about to say.” Earalyn cautioned, “The magic residue emanating from that abode, is… off.”

  Oh I know exactly where this is going and I don’t like it one bit. Still I motioned for her to continue.

  “It’s just… I don’t know how to describe it… it feels wrong, unnatural, foreign, sinister even. In ways that not even dark magic evokes.” Earalyn shuddered, “Just thread carefully.”

  That pretty much describes Mythos magic in a nutshell, although there's more to it than that. Yeah man I’d say Mythos magic is more dangerous than actual fantasy dark magic. Because dabbling in Mythos magic you are essentially asking the malevolent deities of Lovecraft’s Mythos to give mind-shattering spells and are always dangerous not just to the user but also to everyone else. Yes, even the most beneficial spells Mythos spells one can cast are dangerous. All Mythos spells always have an associated cost other than losing your mind, which varies from depending on the various Mythos Deities. What worries me is that if this Chesterton guy is dabbling in Mythos magic, then I shudder to think of the catastrophe that’ll befall upon this town should this Chesterton succeed…

  There is a silver lining, any hallucinations caused by dabbling in the Mythos can be very easily explained as just being ‘illusion magic’ not sure about any freaky nightmares and dreams.

  “Earalyn, what you’ve described, and if it’s exactly what I think it is, then you’ve described Mythos magic. A type of magic that is more dangerous than dark magic. That’s saying something.” I state, causing the girl’s head to tilt in confusion. “I’ll elaborate as to what Mythos magic is, at least my understanding of it when we get back to the Dungeon.”

  She nodded, actually more relieved than she was previously. After which we entered, sidenote the front door was unlocked, and searched the house top to bottom and honestly there’s really not much I can tell you. It’s just a regular house and not a single cobweb in sight. There is however a greenhouse in the backyard filled with all sorts of plants, what’s really interesting is that there’s spiders encased in glass tubes filled with some kind of green viscous liquid. Some were unnaturally large by Earth standards, however these could be local fantasy fauna like those spiders found in this certain game that a certain company never stops releasing. Still I wouldn’t rule anything out.

  Other than that no, we found nothing. We’ve really hit a dead en-

  “Hey I found something in the master bedroom!” Jeannette exclaimed.

  Earalyn and I rushed inside the master bedroom, finding Jeannette standing over a hatch with the rug tossed aside.

  I unsheathed my saber, “Gals, before we go in. We need to have one of us guard the hatch just in case.” I then turned to Earalyn, “Listen, if you don’t want to come. Then I understand.”

  Earalyn shook her head in response, “No. I’ll go.”

  I nodded, “Alright then, Jeannette stand by and keep watch, alert us if something happens.

  Jeannette saluted as I opened the hatch and descended down the hatch, Earalyn following closely behind.

  What we found is a basement is a chaotic mess of lab equipment, books, papers haphazardly strewn about. But more importantly more spiders of varying sizes encased in glass tubes, again filled with that same viscous liquid from the greenhouse.

  Earalyn tapped my shoulder and pointed at a leatherbound book sitting on top of a counter right next to some lab equipment, “I’m sensing… heavy amounts of sinister aura emanating from that book…”

  I approached said book, which looks like it was recently written. The front cover depicts some kind of arachnoid with twelve red eyes and a large open jaw, displaying razor sharp fangs. The title of the book is called ‘The Silken Scriptures Of The Eternal Weaver’… I spoke too soon with my earlier comment didn’t I?

  I’m almost too scared to see what’s inside but I might as well. Who knows, maybe there’s something that might put an end to the spider infestation. Um, let's see…

  Most of this is written in some language that I can’t understand, alongside notes haphazardly strewn about on every page, occasional freaky illustrations of spiders and other arachnoid-like things and diagrams, actually a lot of diagrams. Nothing so- oh wait, here's a translated page, albeit it’s partially translated… okay so from what I can understand there’s some kind of ritual that’s performed and that it requires an anchor, a focus or a location, and sacrifices to appease something. I can’t understand the rest.

  Gonna have to thoroughly read through this book, to fully grasp its contents. In the meantime, I’m gonna keep this book, it’s too dangerous to leave it out here. I’ll even go as far as locking it away inside my dungeon or maybe if possible, destroy it… I stored it away inside my coat, might need it later.

  Oh what’s this? Pages that look to be torn from some kind of journal? Let's take a read shall we, page one reads: The specimens respond well to the serum. Growth and aggression exceed expectations. Spiders are the perfect beings: industrious, adaptable, and lethal. I must test and refine the serum further.”

  O-kay so bro is doing some experiments on poor spiders that didn’t deserve nor asked to be experimented on. I just glanced at the next page and this is where the writing starts to get erratic, it reads: I have found it. The Silken Scripture of the Eternal Weaver. The Eternal Weaver spoke to me through the threads. Its power can secure my victory, protect this town… but the cost is high, even so the cost will be worth it.

  This guy ain’t protecting squat! Anyways next page and whoa, this is completely erratic and incoherent, but I can try to understand what some of it says: forest altar ready. Veil will thin. Eternal Weaver will come. My destiny awaits.

  Damn that last one was hard to read! Shaking my head, I turned and glanced at Earalyn behind me, who’s quivering in her boots behind.

  “Come on let’s go, we’re done here.” I state, causing the girl to nod vigorously, she’s just as eager as I was to leave this house. “We’re going back to the lumber mill and inquire more about those spiders prowling the forests”

  ——————————————————————————————————————————————

  Amelia POV:

  So after asking around at the lumber mill for more information about these giant spiders, they pointed me to an area of the forest northwest of the mill, and one guy told me quote ‘Them’s creatures be prowlin those woods at night everytime I go on patrol!’.

  “Ladies, keep your eyes peeled, we’re threading unknown grounds here.” I plainly stated. The two girls offered silent nods in response, clutching their muskets tight as we ventured into the forest.

  The moment we entered the forest, I noticed something unsettling—it was eerily silent. Not a single sound could be heard, not even the rustling of the wind. The only noises were the crunch of our footsteps and the faint hum of the mill's machinery, growing fainter with each passing minute.

  We’ve walked for fifteen minutes now and we've encountered nothing thus far. Then I noticed something shiny poking out from the ground, just up ahead. Looks like somebody tried to bury whatever that is.

  I motioned for my companions to stop, causing the two to curiously eye at the object. Crouching down, I dug the object out of the ground, wiping the dirt an—OMG THAT’S A MORION HELMET! SPECIFICALLY A CITY GUARD VARIANT!

  I was taken aback by my discovery, which caused me to drop the helmet, landing with a loud thud. Then I heard the leaves and branches rustle above. I stared up, only to find in horror… a body suspended upside down on a branch, wrapped in a silk cocoon. His skin extremely pale, his face frozen in fear, not only that but he’s wearing a guard uniform.

  Whatever was keeping the body suspended, snapped and it fell right in front of me with an audible thud, “L-let's just continue.” I stammered.

  As we continued to cautiously trek through the forest, we began to notice more bodies suspended on tree branches along with webbing stretching between the trees. As we trekked deeper, even the ground became blanketed in this silk-like substance, at one point the tree canopy became engulfed completely in silk blocking out the sun. It’s like we entered a cave made of silk. Our only source of light is Earalyn’s blue orb that she conjured up.

  This is really freaky, and I don’t like it. All around us we find belongings laying on the ground and a mixture of human remains and desiccated animals line the walls of the web-covered trees. Wait, what is that shining badge? I move closer, bending down to pick it up, netting me a clear view of the badge and it depicts the guild’s logo… there's some good and bad news. good news I found out exactly what happened to the first team, bad news I found out exactly what happened to the first team… yeaaaahhhh let’s continue on. Keeping the badge though to turn it to the guild and deliver the bad news.

  Eventually we came across what looked to be a clearing, with a stone slab in the middle, before I could approach it. Earalyn placed a hand on my chest, stopping me in my tracks.

  “I sense a great and foreign evil emanating from that slab, allow me to handle it.” Earalyn stated, handing the orb to me, and approached the stone slab and began to cast magic upon it.

  Immediately however I heard skittering from behind us, I instantly turned only to face two giant spiders making a beeline towards Earalyn! I drew my pistol and fired, hitting the abdomen of the spider to my left. It turned its attention to me.

  I blinked, and that’s when it decided to jump at me with a hiss, I dodged and drew my saber, inadvertently dropping my pistol as I countered by stabbing one of its eyes. Causing the spider to step back- skitter back? Anyways it opened its mouth and before I could react, it shot a web at me. It wrapped itself around my torso, constricting my arms.

  I somehow kept my balance, my one saving grace is that my legs are still free. In An act of revenge, I ran towards that goddamn spider that shot a web at me and I delivered a mighty kick to its face.

  Which did absolutely nothing except anger it even more. Okay in hindsight that was pretty dumb huh. Then I felt its sharp fangs dig into my left ankle delivering a jolt of pain throughout my body.

  I TAKE IT BACK IT WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA! With my other free leg, I desperately kicked the spider’s head in a vain attempt to free my ankle from its fangs, and certainly before it began injecting its venom into my bloodstream.

  Jeannette appeared and pierced the spider’s head with her bayonet, killing it instantly. She cut the webs holding me tight. I stood up wincing in pain as I did so. Fortunately Earalyn finished whatever spell she’s casting and stared at my ankle with a worried expression.

  “Let me heal it.” She said in a stern voice.

  This is not the best place to heal right now, “Wait hold on-”

  Earalyn shook her head, “You are in no position to run in case we get chased, let me heal your wounds.”

  As if to prove her point, I winced at any pressure placed on my ankle. “Jeannette keep watch while I heal, this’ll only take a moment.”

  Jeannette nodded, and stood guard, while Earalyn crouched down placing her hands on my ankle as a golden glow emitted from her hands, and I could feel the burning sensation begin to die down and the bleeding to stop.

  She stood up, “There that should hold for now, at least until you receive proper treatment. You should be able to run to some capacity, but not at a full sprint.”

  I nodded, feeling grateful. “Thanks Earalyn… I-I, thank you.”

  She offered a smile in return. “We have to alert the town of this… nest and they’ll get it sorted.”

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  I shake my head, “While I agree to alerting the town, this will not end until the root cause has been dealt with. And for that we’re going to need to confront the perpetrator head on.”

  So far all the evidence gathered thus far, minus the blackmail material against Rourke, points at this Chesterton person. And I don’t even know what he looks like! Nor has he shown his mug. Still I’d like to conduct more investigation, more knowledge couldn’t hurt. Especially against the entities of the Mythos.

  ——————————————————————————————————————————————

  Amelia pOv:

  It took us three hours of trekking through the forest back to town. Much longer than it took walking to whatever that place was, purely because of my leg injury.

  Along the way Earalyn explained to us that the slab back inside that nest was recently used, and that it's connected to some kind of ritual, which for one reason or another that ritual site has been abandoned for whatever reason, but it's linked to another ritual site. She reckoned that with enough focus, the foreign magic could be traced to its partner.

  At least from what I can understand, as she used a lot of buzzwords, jargon, and all manner of fancy words that reminded me of all those tech bros explaining tech to someone clueless. Basically what I’m trying to say is that a majority of what Earalyn said, went in one ear and right out the other.

  Anyways we entered town, and the first I noticed was an increased guard presence. Actually some of them I recognize are from Dragdville, can’t blame the town for requesting reinforcements from nearby settlements considering that the local guards struggled to maintain the peace.

  I even talked to some of them who explained to me that they were urgently deployed after receiving a carrier pigeon delivering a letter detailing Karnetsia’s plight. Which is great that this town hasn’t been cut off. Another thing I noticed is that there’s an increase in missing persons posters.

  As we walked through the town, passing four sometimes five man patrols, with some of the guards from Dragdville recognizing me! I noticed a sign posted on a lamp post that read: Urgent Council Meeting! Where? Karnetsia Wellness Center, 112 E Dartley St. Time? 2:30 PM.

  It's understandable that people are too scared to hold a meeting inside the town hall considering the literal army of spiders hiding in the basement.

  After asking for directions, plus a couple of minutes. We found the street and a building that looks like a gym, a pretty big one at that. We stepped inside, checked in with the receptionist who directed us to a set of double doors past the hallway behind the desk.

  We entered a giant room, the size of a football field, with a set of five row bleachers on each side. At the far end of the room there's a makeshift stage with a podium. Whoa man this place is packed! A man dressed in work clothes stepped off the stage as Alderson Gray took his place.

  Suddenly I could feel someone, a disheveled old man frantically pushed past Jeannette and Earalyn, “HEY Y’ALL I SAW CHESTERTON TALKING TO THE SPIDERS AND PERFORMING SOME NASTY EVIL GOD WORSHIP!” All eyes were on him, as the crowd whispered amongst themselves.

  Alderson shook his head in disapproval, “Now that’s just some nonsense, clearly the mass hysteria that has gripped this town has gotten. In fact it has gotten to me! Clearly this is nothing more than the spider population growing too quickly and must be quelled, lest they get even more out of control and spread to other towns!”

  “B-but you have to-” The man’s plea was cut off by Alderson slamming his fist onto the podium.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment, “No buts! There will be no such slander of the town’s resident biologist and assistant to Doctor Willward! Guards throw him out.” Alderson stated, as a pair of guards dragged the man away who began screaming.

  Alright, these guys are completely useless. Probably should talk to that guy, see if he’s got more to say. I signalled for Jeannette and Earalyn to move out. Exiting the building, we immediately spotted that same disheveled man lying to his side, knees against his chest akin to a fetal position. muttering stuff beneath his breath.

  Crouching down so that I could be at eye level with him, I snapped fingers in front of his eyes as his head snapped to face me. “So mind telling me what’s up with this Chesterton person?”

  “I- I saw him! In the forest just now, h-he-he-he was doing something with a circle, and and I swear, I swear. I saw him speaking with those blasted spiders, as if he was having a normal conversation!” He stammered, still in his fetal position. “Then I f-followed him to an abandoned church! I saw g-glowing light coming from the windows! Please, you have to believe me!”

  “Hey, hey it’s alright. I believe you.” I replied, “I just want to ask, can you describe to me what he looks like? You know his outfit, hair, etc. And the location of this church as well.”

  He stood up, “When I saw him just now, he was wearing some kind of robe that has this giant black spider that’s got some weird symbol etched on its abdomen on the front and back. He’s of average height, has short brown hair and he wears a pair of bronze spectacles, his face was uncovered so I know it’s him. Last I saw him was by the church, I dunno what he’s doing there but I’m telling he’s up to no good! Conducting some strange evil god worship!” The man paused, taking a deep breath, “The location of said church is on the northern edge of town!”

  Oh dang! If this guy is there, then we’ve got to stop him before he completes this ritual. “Um okay listen, I don’t have time to explain, but uhh.” I search around my pockets for something to give him. I found nothing so I ended up requesting Earalyn for an Illusionary copy of my guild card. “This is a copy of my card from the Adventurers Guild, this illusion will expire in twenty-fours. Use this to alert the Guard Commander so that they may rally the town guard and assault the church, hurry!”

  I handed him the copy and he nodded then ran off, while we ran to the northern edge of town, true to his words there lay a rundown church with vines growing along the exterior, the only building on this side of town, with the nearest being a farmhouse. This solitude is the perfect location to hide a ritual. That is if the farmers nearby don’t catch wind of it.

  As we inched closer, clutching our weapons tightly, I had to resummon a new saber and pistol because I left them back at that freaky web cave. Another detail I noticed is the windows are covered in cobwebs making it outright impossible to peek inside, save for a faint blue light emitting from the tiny cracks. Earalyn also informed that the partner is located inside that church.

  My hand reached the door, taking a deep breath in and exhaled out. I gazed at my companions, Jeannette nervously clutching her musket, while Earalyn showed a look of determination.

  I slowly opened the door and crept inside. The interior is completely covered in webbing, all around even tethered to the ceiling are large eggs the size of a bobcat. And in the center is a circle drawn in blood emitting an almost blinding blue glow and a man kneeling in front of it arms raised up to the air.

  I can’t make out what he’s saying if any at all, cause all I hear is a mixture of chittering and hissing from his mouth. “Hey You! Chesterton, or whoever you are!” I yelled hoping to get his attention. He turned around alarmed, and stood up. Yep this guy matches the description that disheveled man gave “Whatever you're doing is a bad idea and you should cease it right this instant.”

  The man broke it in a fit of maddening laughter, “The man you speak Chesterton. Is. No. More! For I have been reborn to serve something GREATER than myself!” The man or rather Chesterton cackled. “You are so naive you think you can stop me? You are merely delaying the inevitable! The Eternal Weaver will arrive and It’ll bring about a new age for this godforsaken planet! Nothing and I MEAN nothing will dare stop it!”

  Oh my god this guy has completely lost it. “By doing this, you’re putting this town in jeopardy! People have died!”

  “I did them a favor! It was so clear to me now, ever since I stumbled upon my master’s tome in the forest. it began whispering to me. And everything became clearer, those ‘gods’ we worship are nothing more than false gods! I’ve been a fool to worship Casellia, the so-called Kurzian ‘Goddess of Medicine, and Vitality.’ But now the wool has been lifted from my eyes and I know the truth! The Eternal Weaver brings salvation.” He declared, with a deranged smile that’s threatening to tear his face.

  I cannot believe what this guy is saying, the worst part is that this ‘Eternal Weaver’ is absolutely bad! And is most definitely a Mythos deity and they’re leagues worse than evil gods native to this world, in fact I’d even go as far to say that evil gods pale in comparison to this ‘Eternal Weaver’ and its peers!

  I shake my head in disappointment, this guy long far gone. There’s nothing we can do, “I don’t want to have to do this… but you leave us no choice.” I replied, “Girls light em up!”

  Jeannette and Earalyn wasted no time in firing their muskets, as ‘Chesterton’ dove behind an egg. He poked his head out and let out an ear piercing screech. Forcing me to cover my ears. Once the screeching died down all of the opened as smaller versions of those large spiders crawled out.

  ‘Chesterton’ pointed to us, “Drive these non-believers out of this sacred sanctum!” All at once they bared their fangs and hissed, the closest ones began jumping at us.

  Fortunately these guys were easy to deal with since they’re all freshly hatched, the same could not be said for Chesterton who retreated behind the podium and hurled webs and a viscous green liquid at us. I can only assume that this liquid is a type of venom.

  “Gah these damned spiders are endless!” Jeannette exclaimed, as she impaled one right in between its head and abdomen.

  “Keep up the pressure.” I said, knocking a spider mid jump, while simultaneously sidestepping to the right, narrowly avoiding a web, which sailed past my side.

  Earalyn shot a lightning bolt at ‘Chesterton’ hitting him square in the chest, specifically right in the heart and he soon fell down convulsing, killing him instantly. The spider assault momentarily halted, before all the spiders keeled over and died.

  Wow that was eas- ‘Chesterton’s’ body began to glow a mix of black and blue as his body levitated in the air causing it to contort as legs began growing on his sides. Blood spurting out, his arms folded turning into pedipalps and razor sharp fangs, his torso began growing and soon a large abdomen burst, spraying blood. His legs, much like his arms twisted and folded until they disappeared merging and eventually turning into some kind of stinger. In place of his human head now sits that of a spider. I won’t elaborate as for what the noises it made during this… transformation, just know that it involved the sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking.

  It kept growing, and grew large enough to demolish half of the church, which wasn’t tall to begin with. It stopped growing once it reached the size of an African Savannah Elephant. Why can’t this just be easy? I want to go home! “Good lord, look at the size of that thing!” And behind the giant spider was a crowd of guards and townsfolk all armed to the teeth.

  The Chesterton-spider let out a bellowing hiss and charged at me! Jeannette, Earalyn and I scrambled to dodge its attack. We narrowly avoided getting impaled by one of its legs. This leg injury that I sustained, is not making this any easier. We had managed to exit the church in time.

  Its charge left the remainder of the church destroyed, as we found ourselves surrounded on all sides by guards and towns folks. I turned to address the crowd of bewildered bystanders, “DON'T JUST STAND THERE KILL THIS THING NOW!”

  My yell whipped the bystanders into action as they began attacking Chesterton-Spider. All these are in vain as our attacks, melee or ranged harmlessly bounced off its chitin. Even spells weren’t doing anything.

  “Keep it busy, I’ll request reinforcements from the military!” The familiar voice of Commander Donaghue shouted, from amongst the crowd.

  Chesterton-Spider roared in rage, and shot a blue liquid hitting an unfortunate guard melting him instantly as everyone around him scrambled to get away.

  I clicked my tongue in frustration. If its body is armored and nothing is penetrating it then how can we damage it? That was then it hit me, if its main body is well protected, then- eureka! That means its underside is less protected and wait, if loud noises were enough to deter those spiders from entering the lumber mill then…

  A smile formed on my face, I might’ve figured out how to defeat this monstrosity! “Everyone!” I yelled, somehow drowning out the sounds of chaos and battle as I dodged a leg strike, “We have to lure this monstrosity to the lumber mill! Then attack its less armored underside!”

  I received a chorus of ‘yes ma’am’s’ in response, we set out to work slowly but surely luring this monstrosity, as it demolished buildings it’s path, and along the way we suffered losses, as well a whole lot of near misses, but eventually after three hours of slogging it out with the creature we reached the lumber mill south of the town.

  There waiting for us were the mill workers armed with axes and- yo no way it's the guild wagon from the second team! I honestly thought these guys died! There’s seven individuals who I presume to be adventurers standing alongside the mill workers.

  “Hit it!” As the order was given, the mill workers rushed to turn every single machine on, and we watched the monster recoil at the sudden noise.

  I nodded, “Everyone hit it with everything you got!” I aimed my pistol at its underbelly and fired. I can see a bullet hole, but dang it’s not enough! An axe thrown by one of the mill workers managed to lodge itself by the base of one of its legs.

  The creature let out a mighty roar that sent shockwaves causing everyone to stumble and fall. It turned its attention to the lumber mill, and began a slow and steady approach towards the mill. It's going to try and disable the equipment! However the loud noises emitting from the machines nearly made it impossible for the spider to move.

  It then launched a web at a sawmill, engulfing it webbing, however the blades easily tore through the webbing like it was made of butter and continued operations as normal. It sprayed its venom falling just flat.

  I stood up, and watched as the townsfolk around me began to lose morale at the sight of this monster still relatively unscathed with only superficial damage on its underside. Our only saving grace thus far has been the lumber mill essentially stun-locking the creature. Oh no this continues and this creature somehow breaks free then… I shudder at the thought of what is to come.

  “Everyone listen up! Our current weapons and spells aren’t working. We need more firepower, something big. Explosives.” Rallying the townsfolk around me, “I need a team to stay with me and distract that monster, everyone else start fashioning explosives out of whatever, MOVE!”

  At my command the townsfolk scrambled, while the guards and the mill workers stayed, “Everyone else use ranged, ditch any melee weapons you have. If you find yourself running out of ammunition, retreat, rearm, regroup. For everyone else, fire and dodge.”

  The mill workers retreated and began crafting makeshift bows, using that monster’s web, while the few guards armed with crossbows and crystal muskets, aimed and fired.

  Good, that monster’s attention is back onto us. I turned and ran towards Earalyn who’s with Jeannette hiding behind a boulder. “Earalyn do you have anything that can help?”

  She shook her head, “I am afraid not, my proficiencies in water and lightning magic contain no spell that’ll aid us in this fight.”

  Drats, well it was worth a shot. “Just keep peppering it with lightning, remember if you're running low on mana retreat and rest.”

  “Madame, I am running low on cartridges and gunpowder.” Jeannette now voiced her concern.

  I offered her my gunpowder flask and musket cartridge pouch, “Here take them. I didn’t bring my musket, but fortunately I had the foresight to bring them.”

  Jeannette takes the aforementioned items, “I wish you gals luck, I’ll be out on the field.” I stepped back out onto the field and witnessed a guard get impaled by one of the monster’s legs.

  Yikes, if we’re going to lose this war of attrition if we keep taking loses. It was then that I noticed a stack of barrels and what looked to be fireworks slowly being piled behind the spider, by the townsfolk. Bingo if this doesn’t kill it, then at least injure it enough to where it’ll be permanently immobilized.

  I swiftly reloaded my pistol, almost dropping my ramrod in the process and fired at it. I must’ve hit something vital cause now it’s staring right at me! It sprayed venom at me, and I managed to dive out of the way, though not unscathed. As due to my leg injury I wasn’t fast enough to avoid little droplets landing on my legs.

  Which yeowch has dissolved through my clothing, and further dissolving down to the dermis. Suffice to say I am feeling extreme pain despite there only being little droplets. It's basically like being hit with acid.

  As if sensing my vulnerability the spider readied to spray venom at me when a loud explosion erupted behind it causing the spider to roar once more as its back legs were torn cleanly off. Now immobile it frantically swiped with its remaining legs. Anyone who had the misfortune of being in range was cut cleanly in half by its sharp legs.

  That thing is still alive, but we have more breathing room now, seeing that there's nowhere for it to run, the mill workers began shutting off the machines one by one. And as a bonus, parts of its abdomen are completely exposed!

  Just then Donaghue arrived on horseback with an ecstatic expression, “The military is here!” The guard commander exclaimed, which was then followed by the trumpets blaring in the distance.

  A unit of soldiers on horseback arrived lugging behind cannons, horse artillery to be specific. The soldiers, wearing half-plates with a cannon and crossbuck ramrods engraved on the chestplate along with shin guards, and Morion with black feathers. Dismounted and began setting up the cannons.

  Followed by more soldiers arriving on horseback, also with an image of a horse engraved on their chestplate, and instead of Morion helmets, they wore those English Civil War versions of the lobster pot helmet. And all carried what I presume to be carbines, they too dismounted and aimed at the spider.

  Once the cannon crews finished setting and loading the twelve light cannons on scene. The cavalry fired a volley, which expectedly didn’t do much save for grazing the chitin. However the followup volley from the cannons delivered the killing blow as the creature roared for the last time before collapsing to the ground as a puddle of green ichor formed beneath.

  Cheers erupted from the beleaguered townsfolk. Me? I’m just glad this whole ordeal is over. I’ll blackmail Martin Rourke some other time, I need to sleep! I regrouped with Jeannette and Earalyn. The latter proceeded to apply first aid to my acid venom wounds, which helped a lot. I doubt this town is ready to treat my wounds, I think it’s much better to seek treatment In Dragdville. Either that or bite the bullet and wait for my avatar to regen back in the dungeon.

  I also grabbed this freaky book out of my coat and tried to light it on fire. Of course it didn’t work, cause why would it. I grumbled to myself as I stored the book back inside. Oh, I see Commander Donaghue flanked by two guards approach us.

  “Ladies… if it weren’t for you showing up and inadvertently saving this town… from the bottom of my heart, thank you.” The man bowed and expressed his gratitude, “Is there any way that the town can repay you?”

  Hmm, this is a tough one. I don’t need nor do I want anything since I can literally create what I want in the dungeon. I shrugged, “I honestly don’t know.”

  The Commander shook his head, “No, no please I insist. Plus some citizens will have my head for not rewarding the saviour.”

  I nodded, “I see well, in that case you can reward me by… sending someone or a team over to try my dungeon?” I finished, flashing a very awkward smile.

  He recoiled in shock, shaking his head rapidly, “Wait Dungeon?!”

  Raising an eyebrow, I gave a slow nod, “Yeeees… is that not what I said? Look, I can prove it.” I took out my guild card and raised it to his face.

  The Commander narrowed his eyes before suddenly growing wide. “So old man Dave wasn’t lying, you really are a D-D-D-D-D.” Commander Donaghue suddenly passes out as the two guards flanking him swiftly catch him before the man could hit the ground.

  “Is he gonna be okay?” I asked, the two guards nodded.

  “He’ll be alright. It’s been a long week for all of us.” One of the guards replied with a solemn expression, “Man, to think that Mason Chesterton was the one behind this, I never would’ve imagined the sweet biologist would be so… yeah…”

  The other nodded with a frown, “I had a couple of beers with him.”

  I don’t know who this guy was before this whole mess, so I won't comment. Oh right it’s probably a good idea to alert them of this freaky web forest, “Oh right before I forget. Somewhere northwest of the mill is this large chunk of the forest covered in what I assume is spider webs. In that forest, but anyway there’s a lot of bodies encased in cocoons there.”

  The two guards stared at each other with grim expressions. “I see, thank you for informing us of… this, we’ll send a squad out right away.” One of the guards replied.

  I nodded, “Well if either of you or the Commander wants to talk to me, you can find me at the ‘Yokkako Dungeon’ name still pending, in Dragdville. Now without further ado we’ll get going and report this to the Adventurers Guild. So goodbye for now.” I motioned for Earalyn and Jeannette to follow me as the two guards waved me goodbye with their free hands.

  Oh man I can’t wait to crash on the grass inside my Core Room. You know I’m never going out in the foreseeable future, not even to prove a point. The only exception being something dire occurs requiring my attention.

  Until then I’m gonna brace my dungeon for deranged Mythos worshiping cultists to start appearing. That’s gonna be so fun.