Chapter 10 #2
Sylvia steps over. “Yes,” she says. “They have children, too. Like your eggs and spiderlings, they need protection but for even longer. They need sunlight to grow their crops. In fact, their health can suffer greatly if they don’t receive enough time in the sun.”
All (twenty?) of the spider’s eyes look downward. “I didn’t realize t-t-tuh.” She lifts her eyes and squints again. “But they threatened our t-t-tuh families by taking our home!”
“What if you shared a home?” I ask. “What if they turn their Temple of Athena into a Temple of Arachne?”
“T-t-tuh…A temple to our t-t-tuh mother?”
I nod. “Yes, and I bet there are other ways they can help you. How you can help each other.”
The spider clicks. “Talk to the humans t-t-tuh,” she says. “Let me know what they t-t-tuh say to this idea.”
“Absolutely!” I agree.
We all turn toward the gap in the webbing we’d just passed through, but the spider jumps ahead of us. “I’m not t-t-tuh stupid. Just you t-t-tuh can leave. The rest of your group are t-t-tuh staying with me.”
My friends all grow pale.
Damn, is Joshua crying?
I don’t have a choice. We wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against this daughter of Arachne.
Even if we did, we can’t hurt her without risking a goddess’s wrath.
I give a solemn nod to the spider and then to my friends before making my way downward in silence.
As I descend, I hear my quest log ding. I open it the moment my feet hit the ground. “Negotiate Peace,” it reads.
Well, I better get on that, then.
It takes a while for my eyes to readjust to the darkness below, but when I do, I see all the spiders gazing upward. I suppose they’ve been wondering where their friend went, especially now that some fucking elf girl is coming down.
Most spiders are solitary creatures, but obviously Arachne’s children are the rare kind that live in colonies.
Maybe their community is more of a hive.
One of the random factoids I know from pursuing so many unfinished degree programs is that in South America, there are spiders called Anelosimus eximius who cooperate using a hive mind.
If Arachne’s children are like that, they can communicate telepathically and understand what happened above with their friend. I hope.
I gulp and make my way down the temple webbing, then walk down the road with cautious steps and my hands held up in what I hope is a sign of peace and not antagonization.
“I-I’ve come on behalf of your friend up there,” I say. “Sh-she w-wants me to talk with whoever is in charge of the humans down here.”
A chorus of clicking echoes around the town. It’s so loud that I realize there are many times more than the dozen spiders I’d seen before.
Don’t shit yourself, Lauren.
One approaches me. “Uttu sent you t-t-tuh down here?” they ask.
“To negotiate on your behalf,” I answer.
“T-t-tuh, the human you are seeking t-t-tuh lives inside t-t-tuh the Temple of Athena.”
“Okay,” I say. “I’m going back there now.” I duck my head as I swivel toward the temple and whisper to myself, “Please don’t fucking eat me.”
“Eat you?” the spider asks.
Shit, they heard me.
I gulp and turn around. The spider looks like they’re going to puke at the suggestion. I am certain that’s not a predetermined NPC reaction.
“We don’t t-t-tuh eat humans,” the spider says. “We eat the dead t-t-tuh animals we t-t-tuh find in the forest.”
So, they’re scavengers—beneficial, even. Because of these creatures, humans wouldn’t have to deal with animal carcasses themselves. This is something I can use when I negotiate.
“Seems there’s a lot that humans don’t know about Arachne’s children,” I say. “And vice versa.”
“Elves, t-t-tuh too,” they say in response.
I turn around and head to the temple. Before we’d come to the village, Alexander had explained to us how it was laid out. He’d mostly spoken about the temple, though, because he was certain that the spiders were here seeking vengeance in their mother’s name.
Athena had punished Arachne for daring to believe she was a better weaver.
The spiders seemed to prefer being spiders, though.
So far, they’d made it very clear that they thought humans were gross.
If Arachne hadn’t become a spider goddess, her children would have been humans, too.
Why would they seek revenge? Still, I’m sure it was a slap in the face that the very people who took their home put up a temple in honor of their mother’s enemy.
I hope whichever human I speak to is amenable to changing that.
It’s no surprise that when I try to open the temple door, it’s locked. I knock, timidly at first, but when no one answers, I pound on the door. “Hey, I’m not a spider! Let me in!” I shout.
“Go away!” a man shouts back. “We’re not opening the doors for anyone.”
“What about the person coming to rescue you?” I ask.
I’m greeted with silence, but after a nerve-racking minute, there’s a scuffling of footsteps and numerous clicks from the other side of the door. A man peers at me between the half-inch crack he’s made in the doorway and gasps upon seeing the way I’m dressed.
“A cleric! Thanks be to Athena!”
Oh great, this guy’s the religious type. Convincing him to make this a temple to Arachne might prove difficult.
He yanks me through and slams the door shut behind me. As he clicks all the locks back into place, he says, “My name is Andreas. I am the head priest of this temple.”
“Well, then you’re the exact person I need to talk to,” I respond.
“Come, follow me,” he says, motioning for me to walk down a hallway.
What I see when we reach the end makes my heart sink. There are dozens of people here, mostly women and children. By the dark circles around their eyes and slow movements, I can tell they’re unwell. There’s coughing, the small, high-pitched kind that babies and toddlers make.
“It’s such a relief that you’re here,” Andreas says. “We’ve been trying to eat as little as possible, but it’s almost gone. We have a few days at most.”
“Sounds like many are sick as well,” I say.
The man responds with a grim nod and asks, “How do you plan on getting rid of the spiders?”
I clear my throat. This isn’t going to go over well. “I’m not.”
Andreas backs away, anger flashing in his eyes. “You lied! You just wanted to eat our food and—”
“Stop,” I say. “I didn’t lie. I am here to rescue you from the spiders. Just not in the way that you’re thinking.”
“Then…how?” Andreas asks.
“Let’s find somewhere to sit. This is going to take a while to explain.”
Andreas leads us to a bench near the altar, which is clear of any would-be eavesdroppers.
As clearly as I can, I tell him about my conversation with the spider named Uttu and what her point of view is.
I describe her reaction to learning about the humans and what they’re going through.
I also tell him that the spiders don’t want to eat humans, but that they can help get rid of dead animals that otherwise could spread disease.
“So,” I say, “Uttu has asked that you reach an agreement with her and the spiders. She will take down the web and help the village in any way that she can on two conditions.”
“What are they?” Andreas asks. “We’ll do anything!”
“Stop taking away their forest habitat,” I say.
“Done. We don’t need to expand.”
“And make this a Temple of Arachne.”
Andreas stares at me in horror. I’ve asked him to do the impossible, to betray his goddess. This isn’t just changing the temple to another deity. Athena would surely abandon him if he honored one she had punished.
“I…cannot. Athena—”
“Did nothing while a bunch of giant spiders took over your village,” I say, completing his sentence in a way I’m sure he didn’t intend.
Andreas stares down at his lap. I stay quiet, letting him take his time to consider everything I’ve said.
I get it; this is a big ask. But there are only a few days of food left for the villagers here, and so many are sick already.
It’s either betray Athena or watch those he clearly cared for die a slow, agonizing death.
Just like everywhere in the village, it’s dark in this temple, but I can still see the silent tears sliding down his cheeks. He isn’t like me. He chose to worship Athena, to spread her word and blessings. This choice is painful, like cutting off a family member or a part of himself.
Going down that train of thought makes me once again think about how NPCs are starting to act less like NPCs around me. The man sitting with me is having a crisis of faith. I was just supposed to destroy a web. Negotiating with him, sharing such a deep moment…This should be impossible.
I decide to break the silence. “I’m asking too much of you. I’m sorry.”
Andreas shakes his head. “No, what must be done must be done. It doesn’t matter what I want, when so many might die. Let the spiders know I will agree to their requests. I just hope that Athena forgives me.”
This stuns me. I was certain just a moment ago that I was going to fail. Yet Andreas relented. Without lifting a blade or casting a spell, I’d fulfilled the conditions of my quest.