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[Edge1.1.2] Welcome To Brimhill

“Hey, Art! Good to see you again. Welcome to the city that never sleeps.”

“Thanks, Johnny! Good to see you too. Sorry for the delay though.” Art replied.

“Nah! C’mon. Don’t mention it.” Johnny said. “I know it wasn’t your fault. I’m just happy you’re finally here. We’ve been trying to make this happen for a long time now.

Art smiled back at the large, burly man with the pointed nose who was almost twice his size. He had only met Johnny once before, but he already felt like an old friend. There was a relaxed, open vibe that surrounded Johnny and made it really easy for Art to connect with him.

Johnny had the gift of gab and knew how to shoot the breeze without boring you out of your mind. And he was also an excellent listener. He knew how to talk people to draw them out of their shells. But Johnny also knew when to shut up to make them feel understood and appreciated.

Art attributed the first part to Johnny’s upbringing in Brazil. Almost everyone there seemed to be born with that warm, friendly vibe. But the second part about him being a good listener was a completely different story. He could tell that was a talent that Johnny cultivated very purposefully.

His new friend was extremely intuitive which spooked Art initially. He felt like the burly man could read his mind. But after talking with him for a bit, Art realized that the man was cold reading him.

Art knew about cold-reading because of his Aunt Georgina. She was a gypsy on his mother’s side of the family. Well, she was married to his mother’s brother. So, she wasn’t a blood relative.

Georgina had traveled with a circus. She made her money as a fortune teller before meeting his Uncle Marcos. She was a nice woman and very fond of Art. She always gave him candy and treated him like an adult even though he was only twelve at the time.

Uncle Marcos was a wealthy man and didn’t want his wife working. He said it offended him if she didn’t depend on him and let him support her. But that didn’t stop her from scrying or reading cards for people when he was out of the house.

Art was there once when his uncle came home and saw her putting her cards and crystal balls away. Marcos screamed at her about doing that devilish stuff under his roof. Art felt bad and tried to apologize to her for his Uncle’s behavior. But she just laughed it off.

Georgina had a bit too much to drink that day and confided to Art that she never got any secret info from angels or contacted the dead. She even confessed to him that she wasn’t a direct descendant of the Gypsies. It was just a persona she had taken on after joining the circus.

The Gypsy woman who traveled with the circus knew she was dying. So, the circus master had paid the old woman a healthy sum of money to teach Georgina to take over her work after she died.

Georgina explained to Art the basic principles of cold-reading that afternoon before passing out. He asked her about it later. But he could tell she was scared he would tell his uncle she wasn’t a real Gypsy and let everyone else know she was a hoax. So, she tried to blow it off. She never did talk to him about the cold-reading process again, but Art didn’t need much theory to understand how it worked.

Art was very observant and watched her like a hawk when she did her thing. He acted like he wasn’t interested. The boy would just sit around the house and pretend to read. She caught on to what he was doing after a while, but he had already gained her confidence by keeping his mouth shut.

Georgina eventually took him under her wing and consented to teach him more about the topic. He knew she never taught him much more than the basics though. And even then only if he asked about it. Art wouldn’t have called himself proficient in the use of cold-reading, but he knew how to recognize it when someone was using it. That’s how he knew what Johnny was doing after talking to him for a few minutes.

Art even brought up the topic of cold-reading during their first meeting. But Johnny acted like he didn’t know what Art was talking about. Art didn’t know if the burly man was lying to him, or if he was a natural who really didn’t know what the term meant.

But either way, Johnny was excellent at asking questions to extract information from people. That was his real power. Later in the conversation, he would feed back what people had told him in a slightly reworded way. It made them think he was able to read minds. There was more to the process than that of course. Things like reading body language, making educated guesses, and using vague words that could be interpreted different ways. Johnny did all of it even though he acted like he didn’t know anything about cold-reading.

The nice thing about Johnny though, was that he didn’t do it a weird, creepy manner. The man did it in a way that was so subtle that most people didn’t even realize what was going on. It had an almost hypnotic effect on people that made them want to tell Johnny their deepest, darkest, innermost secrets.

Art kept that thought in mind coming into these negotiations. He considered Johnny to be a nice guy, but he knew the man would act professionally in this situation. He would use any information Art gave him to help his boss gain the upper hand in the deal. That was why he had become so successful in such a short time after moving here from Brazil.

“Have a seat,” Johnny said. “We’ll keep this brief because of the hour. But I feel it’s important to give you an overview of what we’re looking at here. We’re on a deadline, so I need you focused. Then you can catch up on the details later over the next few days.”

Art sat down and looked around the room. It reeked of money. And not the gaudy kind of wealth that middle-class people liked to fling around to convince themselves they had made it in life. There was a classy elegance designed to make it look like they hadn’t spent as much as they did.

Art liked that. He considered it to be classy. That’s the way he wanted to be when he became rich someday. Nobody would have called Art tight-fisted or a miser. But he was frugal and didn’t waste any more than necessary. He was also big on saving up for the future. He ran a tight ship at home and never spent more than he made. He even had his bank account set up to automatically transfer thirty percent of his money into short, mid, and long-term savings accounts each month.

Johnny smiled at him and waited patiently as the secretaries finished laying out a small banquet of fruit and finger food. They poured Art and Johnny each a cup of juice, water, and coffee. It seemed a little over exaggerated considering the late hour, but maybe Johnny was just being thoughtful after his long journey here.

“I was in a meeting till just before you got arrived,” Johnny said with a boyish grin. “And I didn’t have time to eat supper. So, I asked Jane to stock up on something for us. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Thanks,” Art said as he reached out for a tart, green apple. Art realized he was hungrier than he thought because as he raised it to his mouth, he gleeked saliva all over it. He had learned to squirt a stream of saliva out of his mouth whenever he wanted to as a kid. But it had been years since he had done that.

He looked over at Johnny. The man had filled up his plate with food but hadn’t actually eaten anything. He was just pushing pieces of chicken through yellow rice leaving long stripes and strange symbols. It looked like the letter S inside of a circle split in half.

“What’s wrong, Johnny?” he asked. His friend looked up at him, and Art thought he was going to cry. Johnny swallowed hard and pushed back his plate.

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[Edge1.1.1] Tuesday – May 15

I’m feeling so excited about this trip. I can’t believe it’s really happening. A few months back, this guy named Johnny contacted me out of the blue. Somehow, he knew about the project I’ve been working on and showed a real interest. He actually came down to visit me and wanted to learn about my company. After he left, we kept touch off and on although I never really thought much would come of it.

But then last week, he told me to pack my bags and sent me a passage with all expenses paid to America. This is such a dream come true for me. I’ve always wanted to travel abroad, and now that the opportunity is here I kind of nervous. I wish I had more time to prepare and get ready, but Johnny says that it’s very urgent.

I wonder what they want. They’ve spent a lot of money this trip, and Momma always warns us that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. So, I sure there will be strings attached. Momma said that they might make me a job offer, but I don’t think that’s it. I mean if that were the case, they would have approached me about it first or sent a headhunter after me.

I still think this is related to my project, although I’m not really sure why. I mean, we’re doing some pretty cool stuff, but it’s not really in line with what Johnny’s company does. I asked Johnny about it, but he wouldn’t really say much. He just said that he was doing what his boss told him to and that I would get more details when I arrived personally. It seemed like he was actually trying to talk me out of coming.

Johnny actually invited me to come last week, but I told him I wasn’t able to go on such short notice. I told him I could go this week though. So, he went on about it probably being too complicated and might not work out. I told him that it wasn’t a problem for me though. In the end, he changed the date on the ticket for me to come this week.

I still don’t understand why he didn’t ask me when I could go before buying me a passage. It’s pretty strange. Then he seemed upset when I said I couldn’t go on those dates. Anyway, I apologized, and he seemed cool with it by the time we got off the phone. But he still asked several times if I didn’t want to cancel my trip. So, weird. But he’s a really cool guy when all is said and done.

Anyway, my bags are packed, and I am ready to roll. I’ve already told Momma and everybody goodbye. My ride should be here in a few minutes. The app says it’s about three minutes away. So, I guess I’d better wrap this up and go downstairs.

This is gonna be a whirlwind trip, so I probably won’t have time to update my journal every day. But I will make sure to fill in all the details when I get back. Wish me luck. I got my fingers crossed.

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[Edge1.1.0] Forward

I first met Art in an online community. We hit it off pretty quick. I’m not even sure why other than the fact that he was very persistent in trying to get my attention. I just thought he seemed really friendly.

In hindsight though, I often wonder if he was targeting me. Well, maybe not me specifically, but someone who could help him write this story for him.

That’s because Art felt his life was in danger. He was afraid that something bad was about to happen to him again. I say ‘again’ because as you’ll soon find out by reading his story, that his life was full of tragedy. I often wonder how someone could survive everything the poor guy went through.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Going back to how we met, Art mentioned that he had read one of my other books. He made a few nice comments about it to butter me up. Then he asked a few polite questions to get the conversation going.

From there, it seems like we talked about everything. Art was a really good listener and had a lot of interesting stories to tell himself. He made me feel like we were old friends right from the start.

Before I knew it, he was telling me all sorts of crazy stories about his past. I’ll tell you some of them in this book that you’re holding in your hands. As you’ll see for yourself, some of this stuff is pretty far out. So, of course, I didn’t believe him at first, like you probably won’t believe the stories he tells either. Which is quite alright. It’s a good story even if you read it as a complete work of fiction.

At first, I just listened out of politeness. I rolled my eyes a few times and tried to change the topic. But the guy was adamant about getting some of this stuff off his chest. He started naming names of real people. I couldn’t believe it.

Then he sent me copies of documents to prove it. I still didn’t believe it. So, Art pointed me to different resources online where much of this stuff is common knowledge. People discuss it, like you and I talk about the latest celebrity gossip.

It really weirded me out. I wasn’t sure how to take it. First, because he was very persuasive and convincing. But secondly, because he backed it all up with documented proof. Okay, well not all of it obviously. I do take that back because it would be an exaggeration. There were something things that he just told me without actually trying to prove it.

I don’t know if he didn’t have a way to prove it, or if he just never got around to showing it to me. But anyway, he showed me enough things to convince me he wasn’t just making this stuff up. Honestly, it really freaked me out.

You know how it is. Something tells you something. They go to get you something and get sidetracked along the way. Then they start telling you about something else, and one thing leads to another. Before you know it, you’ve talked about half-a-dozen other things and forgot what started that whole conversation in the first place.

Like I said, at first I just blew him off, but once I realized that Art was really serious, I started keeping notes to try to catch him if he lied or fudged some of the details. But he never once backpedaled or changed his story.

I don’t think he even met to tell me half the stuff he did. But Art ended up spilling the beans because he really wanted me to believe his story. And in the end, I think it was just such a relief for him to spill the beans and get some of that stuff off his chest.

Art sent ended up showing me his journals. The guy was meticulous about writing things down. He said it was a habit he got into back during High School. Sort of a way for him to cope with problems he was facing. That kind of stuff.

Anyway, to make the long story short, he felt someone was after him. Art wanted to make sure that all this information didn’t die with him. So, he made me promise I would publish it all online if anything should happen to him. I agreed mostly because of his insistence, but I didn’t really expect anything to happen to him.

Now, that conversation all took place over a year ago. We texted for a while. He kept sending me proof to his claims. Mostly things like pictures and videos. After a while, we started talking on the phone. We even did a few video conferences.

Of course, Art was always worried about security and made sure we talked on a secure network. He even sent me one of those little raspberry things that’s supposed to make impossible for ‘Big Brother’ to spy on you.

Not that I really think it’s that effective. I mean, if they want to keep tabs on you, they’ll find a way to do it. Personally, I think they create that kind of technology and distribute just to make us feel safe. But in the end, they have access to it all just the same. Know what I mean?

So, I don’t even go out of my way much to try and stay hidden. If anything, it just makes you look suspicious. Like you’re trying to hide something which would naturally make them curious and even more inclined to spy on you. But enough of that rant.

After a few weeks of chatting, Art seemed to have told me everything. Well, I’m sure there was more. I got the impression that he left a lot of things unsaid for whatever reason. I never really pushed him on anything he didn’t want to tell me. Maybe that’s why he ended up telling me everything he did. Like, if I had tried to push it, Art would have clammed up earlier.

It seemed like Art had gotten as much as he needed or was able to get off his chest at the time. We kept on chatting and sharing ideas about the topic of the group like normal people.

We were still good friends and talked every week, but just not about that stuff from his past. And over time, I just kind of pushed the whole thing out of my mind. Like, it was just too big and too crazy to process. I didn’t know what to do with that kind of information.

It’s not like anyone would have believed me anyway. I did try a few times. I would mention it out family and friends, but they just laughed at me. Or gave me worried looks like I needed serious mental help. So, I didn’t push it.

That’s actually the reason I’m publishing this as fiction now. I mean, c’mon? You won’t believe it either, which is okay. It’s still a great story. Right? I know you’re gonna love it if you can just suspend your belief long enough to get past all the things you currently believe right now.

So, whether you believe or not, isn’t the point. I know 99% of the people who read this book, won’t. And that’s okay. Maybe a few will. That’s okay too. I’m not out to prove anything. I’m just doing what Art asked and sharing his story.

Yep! Unfortunately, it’s been just over a week since I last heard from Art. That’s pretty unusual for him. Like I said before, the man is meticulous to a fault. The longest I ever went without hearing from him was three days. But that was because there was a storm in his area that wiped out power in the whole city.

I was able to contact a mutual friend who lived an hour or so away who was able to confirm that ol’ Art was alive and kickin’ still. But this time around, no one’s seen or heard from him. That would be suspicious in and of itself, but several other things happened recently that are unlikely to be a coincidence.

First, he felt like he was being trailed again. Art told me a few days prior that he felt like this time something was really going to happen to him. Secondly, there were other people staying with him, and sources tell me that they have disappeared as well. And finally, I checked in on the servers where Art kept his journal and documentation. Everything was gone. The hard drives wiped clean. It’s almost as if Art never even existed.

That’s the real reason that I’m writing this story now. Art did ask me to wait a month before publishing his journals and documentation. But if the people after him really were keeping tabs on Art, then they know about me. Which means that I might not make it until the end of the month.

I don’t know if I’m going to publish this just yet. I may wait to see how it all plays out here. But if you are reading this, there is a good chance that something happened to me too. I’m considering the idea of leaving this file scheduled to publish automatically at a future date.

As long as I’m okay, I can just reset the date and keep pushing it forward. But, if something happens to me. It will show up eventually which is probably how you got your hands on it and started reading it now.

I’m sorry, I no longer have the official documents to show you. But I will add footnotes and links to resources to things that are already known. You can look them up if you feel so inclined. If not, that’s okay too.

Otherwise, you can just read about Art’s journey like you would any other piece of fiction and still enjoy it. Because it really is great. So, grab yourself a cup of coffee or whatever your beverage of choice is. Then kick back and enjoy the ride.

Update #1: As I wrote the story, I remembered Art sent me portions of his journal way back in our first conversations when he was trying to prove he wasn’t crazy. I was able to dig back through my account and salvage some of the very first files he sent me on that particular platform.

Update #2: Please stop asking for the name of the online community where we originally met. I have changed the names of people and places to protect Art’s identity as well as any of the other people involved.

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Edge of the Universe: Season 1 – Read Now!

I’m currently writing a new book series called Edge of the Universe. Episode 1 is ready at 34,730 words (about 100 pages). More episodes are on the way. Read now on Gumroad (PDF, epub, or mobi for Kindle) >>

Here’s a brief description of what it’s about:

“When an international technology company, offers a naive young scientist billions of dollars for his technology to splice DNA, Art thinks he’s made it and is living the life of his dreams. But when jealous colleagues, greedy corporations, and corrupt politicians get whiff of its true potential, Art will have to do whatever it takes to keep his invention from falling into the wrong hands.”

I think this will be about 4 episodes long, but then I always write more than I plan, so I think it may be as many as 10 episodes.

I’m calling this series Season 1: Run! as I originally planned out 3 Seasons for it. But then again, I won’t know until it’s written. I’m hoping to finish this series by the end of the year, but we’ll play it by ear. I don’t want to rush the muse.

If you’re patient, you can wait…or you can go ahead and start reading Season 1 as I write it on Gumroad >>

 

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New Cover for Fall of Myxol

Did you ever do something, but you just weren’t happy with it? I felt that way recently over the cover I created for The Fall of Myxol. So, I found this really great artist who created a new cover for the book.

It captures the essence from the part of the book where the old man who helps Olijolf has to fight off Chilyrium, the Dragon Master who is called up by the Locrylian rebels.

I don’t want to spoil the story if you haven’t read it yet. But basically, there is this old mage who helps Elijolf escape to the center of the world and begin his journey by teaching him to open a portal of blue light.

But before they can save Kadlin and open the portal, they are attacked by a band of rebels and the Dragon Master himself.

If you haven’t read it yet, make sure to check it out!

Read on Amazon Kindle >> 

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The Fall of Myxol

When the city of Myxol is burned to the ground by the rebel slaves who once served his family, Elijolf struggles to avoid getting caught while saving his friends with the help of a strange old man. But when an ex-slave holds Kadlin hostage and the slaves call up Chilyrium the Dragon Master out from the caves, Elijolf must do whatever it takes to fight off the rebels and avoid being burned to a crisp while he opens a portal to save his friends. Read The Fall of Myxol & Rise of Chilyrium now >> 

Update: May 24, 2018 – I recently had a new cover created for this book, that looks much nicer.

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[NorthWorld] Thorgaut Kabbisson: Chapter 42 – Homeward!

“Halldora!” Thorgaut shouted with glee.

He jumped up and ran over to her. He grabbed her in his arms and spun her around genuinely glad to see her.

“I thought I’d never find you again,” he said after putting her down. “You cloaked your place good.”

She blushed at his enthusiasm at seeing her and beamed with pride over his compliments.

“Well, it’s a trick I learned from an old friend,” she replied. “It seems you’ve picked up a few skills yourself since I last saw you.”

“Not because I went looking for them,” he said. “That’s for sure. I got waylaid along the way over and over again.”

He noticed a flicker of worry briefly cross her face as she frowned. She caught herself though and smiled him right after.

“What is it?” he asked. “And where is Vriobrum?”

“Vriobrum can’t walk very fast and would have held me back,” she said with a laugh. “I came running as soon as I sensed your presence. Besides, someone has to stay back and keep an eye on the house. There are a lot of creepy guys running around in the woods these days.”

Thorgaut chuckled and then turned serious. “Speaking of creepy guys, have you seen three of my friends who are out there looking for me?” he asked.

Halldora grinned sheepishly. “I have,” she said. “Would you like them back?”

“What did you do to them?” he demanded with a scowl. A sudden realization of what Halldora could have done hit him, and a look of horror crossed his face.

“You didn’t,” he said. “No!”

“What?” she asked mischievously.

“You didn’t turn them into shufflers to join your undead army. Did you?”

She laughed over that one and punched him in the arm.

“Of course not, silly.” she managed to say once she stopped laughing. “You seem to think I’m an evil person. I’m not like those wicked, old witches from the fairy tales your mother used to tell you when you were a child.”

Thorgaut breathed a sigh of relief. “So, what did you do to Liut and his companions?” he asked. “And yes, I want my friends back.”

They started walking back to the rest of the group who were still eating by the fire. Halldora took his arm with one hand and hitched up her blue dress with the other.

“Not the best outfit for a walk in the woods, but I left in a hurry,” she said. “Anyway, your crazy friends tracked you to my home. You were gone of course. They thought I had eaten you or used you to perform some evil ritual. Then they saw Vriobrum and tried to kill him.”

“So, what evil spell did you cast on them?” Thorgaut asked. “Did you turn them into disgusting-looking toads. They’ll live in the lake until a charming princess comes along to kiss them.”

Halldora smiled and wrinkled her nose. “Yuck,” she said. “I hate toads. So, no! That would be too cruel. I put them to sleep until I could find you and prove that I hadn’t done anything to you.”

“Well, then let’s go get them,” he said.

“Relax,” she said. “They’ll wake up and be here shortly.”

Thorgaut shook his head. He was still trying to wrap his mind around all these crazy events and strange people he had met here in these woods. He had only been here a week, but he would miss this place once he headed home with his friends.

He introduced Halldora to Svart, Katla, and Ariana. She seemed extremely excited to meet the spider. She said she had heard a lot about them and always wanted to meet one.

Ariana seemed nervous around her. Thorgaut probed her to find out what it was, but she wouldn’t tell him. He perceived that Katla was jealous. She politely offered Halldora some of their soup and chatted with her about the weather. But after Halldora turned to talk with Svart, Katla scowled at Thorgaut and gave him a dirty look.

Thorgaut shrugged his shoulders and pretended to look confused. But he didn’t need to use his mind-reading skills to figure out what was wrong. He had sensed that Katla had a crush on him for quite some time. She never came right out and mentioned it, but he had a gut feeling about it.

They had a little fling when they were younger. Thorgaut kissed her once and thought she was the love of his life. And then she told him that he wasn’t her type. It had devastated him because soon after that she had started hanging out with his best friend, Liut. Later, Liut had broken things off with her.

After that, things were awkward between the three of them. They each went their separate way for a while. But over the past two summers, they had gone on several raiding parties together. During that time they had all patched up their friendship. They had all gotten along great after that.

Over the past few months though, Thorgaut had a gut feeling that the Katla was hoping to be more than friends. He sensed that she regretted having rejected his advances. But it was too late. Thorgaut had long gotten over his feeling for her.

He didn’t want to put himself back in that situation. And he didn’t want to complicate his friendship with either Katla or Liut. Besides, there were plenty of other women in the world that he could choose. No need to get all bent out of shape over Katla.

So, he found her attitude towards Halldora moderately humorous under the current circumstances. He tried not to smile or show it though when she looked at him. Katla was a charming girl and a good friend. No need to blow things all out of proportion over nothing. Besides, Halldora had blown him off, and there was no reason for Katla to be jealous of her.

Thorgaut asked Katla for another bowl of soup. He ate a little more slowly this time and relished the delicious flavors in each bite. Katla was a great cook. She blushed and smiled when he complimented her. But then she scowled right after when she saw Halldora.

He knew she was dying to ask what had gone on between them, but ignored her unspoken questions. He kept shoveling spoon after spoon of the delicious food in his mouth. He didn’t know if the food was really that delicious or if it seemed that way because of his heightened sense of awareness. Maybe it was due to his extreme hunger after all these adventures. He didn’t pause to overthink things too much though. He just sat back and enjoyed the meal with his friends.

A little while later, he heard more footsteps coming through the woods. He motioned everyone to be quiet. He heard Liut’s voice first. He jumped up and grinned as they came into view.

“Welcome back boys,” he shouted out. “What took you all so long to get back?”

Liut grinned and strode toward him. They greeted each other with a typical Jorundarfell forearm handshake. Then Thorgaut gave him a big hug. He didn’t think he would ever see his friends again.

Thorgaut greeted Bior and Grimar. They all turned towards the rest of the group and noticed Halldora sitting beside Svart. Bior and Liut jumped backward and pulled their swords out.

“It’s that witch woman!” Liut shouted.

Grimar charged forward running headlong straight toward the surprised woman. Before he got to her though, she waved her hand and wiggled her fingers. He fell at her feet as though dead.

“Silly men,” she said. “I told you that I didn’t do anything to Thorgaut.”

Thorgaut put out his hand on his Liut and Bior’s arms.

“It’s okay,” he reassured them. “Halldora is a friend.”

They looked at him like he was off his rocker, but obeyed by putting their swords back in their sheaths.

Katla held out a bowl of soup for each of them which they accepted. The men sat down on the other side of the fire from Halldora so they could keep a wary eye on her as they ate.

Grimar was so concentrated on Halldora that he didn’t even notice Ariana was a spider. Grimar started to sit on her as if she was a log. The spiderling hopped back, and the man fell on the ground. He tried to hold his bowl of soup up during the fall, but it poured out all over him.

Liut saw Ariana the giant spiderling and threw his bowl in her face before grabbing his sword. “Spider!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. “Look out, a spider!”

He looked wildly around at everyone. They continued sitting calmly as if this were a typical everyday occurrence. Liut didn’t understand why no one did anything. They seemed more surprised to hear him scream like a little girl than to see the spider in their midst.

“Don’t you guys see it?” he asked in a shaky voice.

Halldora started laughing first. Everyone else followed along right after. They roared at the hilarious scene that had played out in front of them. Svart rolled on the ground holding his stomach.

Thorgaut found it funny as well but tried not to show it too much. He wiped a tear of laughter from his eye and snorted his laughs as he introduced Ariana.

The spiderling didn’t seem to find the situation funny at all though. Ariana scurried off to the other side of the fire beside Halldora. The spider put as much space between herself and the screaming man as she could.

Halldora woke Bior from his sleeping spell, and Katla gave the men all another bowl of soup. They told him about the spider though before he saw her so there wouldn’t be any more surprises.

It took awhile for Thorgaut to give them a brief rundown what he had been through over the past few days. He glossed over the craziest parts. He focused on meeting Halldora and being attacked by the wolves in the woods. He told them a condensed version of escaping the strangers in Svart’s house and their trip down the cave.

He didn’t mention anything about undead wolves or the NightWalkers though. He also didn’t tell them about his run-in with Abyss Snarer. He portrayed the spiders as friendly like Happy Feet and her children.

Thorgaut didn’t want them knowing about him being bitten by the undead. They’d tie him up and wait for him to turn as Arnulfr had done. And he definitely didn’t want them knowing about his new mental and healing powers.

Liut, Bior, and Grimar all thought they had only been gone a day. They had left the day after Thorgaut when he didn’t return. That would have been the day Thorgaut got caught in the snare. They had tracked him to the campground where the shufflers attacked him. From there, they had trailed him into Halldora’s meadow.

Halldora put them under a sleeping spell when they attacked Vriobrum. Then she left them there while Thorgaut recuperated at Arnulfr’s house. She had located his presence when he had regained consciousness that night. She told him that she had planned to pick him up the next day. But she lost him when he entered the cave to escape the men with the strange device.

She told him that the strange men were undead bounty hunters trying to make a name for themselves. They had been in the area for the past several months. They were the main reason she had cloaked her section of the woods. Halldora had set up the shield to keep their device from locating her shufflers.

Thorgaut was happy to have completed his crazy journey through Knulkforrest. It had been a freaky adventure, but he had come out stronger than ever. His new abilities were an added bonus. And on top of that, he had discovered a new appreciation for life and was ready to embrace his destiny. He knew his purpose was to rule over Jorundarfell and be a good leader for his people.

Thorgaut urged Halldora to return with them to Jorundarfell, but she declined. They both knew that she wouldn’t be welcome there. He knew the people of the town would try to burn her at stake.

He tried to feel Halldora out about creating an undead army for him, but she refused. He made it sound like he was joking about a crazy idea that came to him in a dream. But she immediately shot the idea down saying it was dangerous and risky.

Halldora hinted that there was an extremely terrifying threat behind his idea which left him intrigued. He could sense the fear lacing her words and wanted to ask why that was. But Katla came barging in with some silly excuse to interrupt him. Thorgaut didn’t get a chance to talk with her alone again after that.

“It’s already dark,” Halldora said. “I shouldn’t have left Vriobrum alone. He’ll come out looking for me.”

She gave Thorgaut a long hug and bid everyone farewell. Then she disappeared into the woods. Thorgaut watched the woods swallow her up. He sat on a stump by the fire looking into the darkness long after she was gone. Svart and Katla went off to sleep. Ariana had gone into the woods to find something to eat.

Thorgaut talked with Liut for a while before heading to his spot to get some sleep himself. Liut and Bior offered to keep watch in the night since they had just woken up from a week-long nap.

The next morning the group woke up early and ate a quick breakfast that Katla had prepared for them. It was a strange mix of roots she had discovered while they were gone. She cooked it up with some rabbits Ariana had caught for them in the night.

And then they were off. The small group traveled back down the river the way they had come. They made for an odd group. Five adults, one boy, and two large spiderlings. Ariana had invited her sister who had also joined them as they were leaving.

Thorgaut was finally headed home. It had been a marvelous journey. The adventure of a lifetime that he would never forget. Only he didn’t realize that for him, it was only just beginning.

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[NorthWorld] Thorgaut Kabbisson: Chapter 41 – Sunlight!

Thorgaut walked down the tunnels. He followed the maps in his head that Happy Feet had left him. He probed out mentally for Ariana. He didn’t sense her presence. Either she was too far away, or she was cloaking her mind.

He debated whether to head back to his friends or try to locate Halldora. In the end, he decided to find his friends first. It was important to reassure them that he was okay. That way they wouldn’t be searching for him. Also, he knew he might not even find Halldora’s meadow. It was well cloaked, and Thorgaut didn’t know if he could locate it even with his recent, mental powers.

His trip to the cave entrance was uneventful. He saw many new, fascinating species of animals. Strange and exotic creatures that he never knew existed.

He sensed the presence of a few giant spiders probing out at him. He didn’t want to end up as spider bait or have to fight them. So, he mentally slapped them and shredded at their minds painfully to scare them off. He projected an enormous, ferocious version of himself down the rest of the tunnel.

Not one of the spiders attempted to mess with him after that. They didn’t even expose themselves as he walked through their caverns. The spiders pressed back into their webs weaved in dark corners. Others pushed themselves farther down their crevices trying to avoid his mind probes. He chuckled as they strived to make themselves smaller and less detectable

Thorgaut also sensed the presence of weird creatures that he didn’t recognize. He couldn’t tell if they were human or animal. Some seemed to be a cross between the two. Others were wholly different and foreign to his senses.

The Viking didn’t stop to discover who or what they were. He was curious, and someday he knew it would be fun coming back to explore further. But for now, he was anxious to get home.

There was one interesting thing he came across. It was a plant species with a certain amount of intelligence. They actually seemed to be able to communicate with him at an elementary level. He approached them warily as he probed for danger.

The plants didn’t seem to be a threat nor think of him to be one. Thorgaut noticed that it seemed to exude an aura of healing intelligence. They actually seemed to be offering their services to him if needed.

Thorgaut knew his body had fully healed itself of everything he had been through and experienced. So, he politely declined and thanked them for their gracious offer. He quickened his pace after that. He knew he was arriving at the cave entrance.

As he exited the cave, he could see the river a short distance away. It was late afternoon, and the sun was low on the horizon behind him. It took his eyes a minute to adjust to the sunlight.

“Sunlight!” he thought. “It felt so good to be out in the open and breathe fresh air once again. He inhaled deeply, paying attention to each and every scent that assailed his senses.

An awareness of Ariana’s presence pressed into his mind. She greeted him excitedly as she popped out of the forest. She scampered over in his direction.

“Hey there,” he greeted her back. “I see you made it safely. How is Svart?”

“He’s doing well,” she replied. “He snapped out of Abyss Snarer’s control soon after we entered the tunnel. What happened after I left you?”

The spiderling probed his mind for a mental image. He played out a brief vision of the spider jumping at him. Then showed Ariana a scene of him stabbing Abyss Snarer in the forehead with the fang. And finally, a view of himself ripping off the giant spider’s head.

“Wow! Nice job,” she muttered admiringly. He could tell her level of respect increased immediately. He thought he even sensed a bit of fear tinge her emotions as she realized how fast and powerful he had become.

He held back the images of Abyss Snarer biting him and wrapping his body in her thread. He felt it was unnecessary. And frankly, the Viking warrior felt a bit miffed at having been caught off guard like that.

He also didn’t want to reveal the extent of his healing powers. The less Ariana knew about his healing capabilities, the better. She might share it in the collective mental web. They might use that kind of knowledge against him someday. Besides, keeping it a secret could come in quite handy at some point.

“How did my friends react when they saw you?” he asked.

He imagined the look of shock on their faces when they saw the spiderling and chuckled to himself. Even though Ariana was small for her kind, Ariana was still much significantly bigger than any spider the humans had ever seen.

“To say I surprised the girl would be an understatement,” she replied. “She screamed and climbed a tree as soon as she saw me.”

Ariana suppressed a giggle as she pushed a mental image into Thorgaut’s mind. He could see Katla hanging onto the branches and screaming hysterically. They both chuckled at the thought but stopped when they saw her coming through the trees. It was hard to keep a straight face as he reviewed the scene in his head.

“Thorgaut!” Katla screamed in delight. “You’re alive, and you’re back!”

The pretty girl raced in Thorgaut’s direction. Her wild, red hair streamed in the wind. Katla threw her arms around Thorgaut when she reached him. She squeezed him tightly for a long time. She finally let go and wiped a tear from her eye.

“It’s good to see you too, Katla,” he said brushing his hand against her cheek to wipe away another tear.

“We thought you were gone for good and that we never see you again,” she said swallowing a sob. She grabbed Thorgaut again and held on. He hugged her back now that she didn’t have his arms pinned to his sides.

“Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“They’re out looking for you,” she replied. “Liut, Grimar, and Bior left a week ago to track you down. I haven’t seen them since.”

Thorgaut’s heart froze in his face paled.

“What is it?” Katla asked. “What happened to them? What happened you all this time?”

Thorgaut shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he replied. “There are a lot of dangerous things out here in these woods. Anything could have happened to them. We need to find them though.”

He mentally asked Ariana if she could still tap into the collective mind.

“Of course,” she replied. “You want me have the spider scan the caves.”

“Yes,” he answered. “Have they seen any humans wandering around in there.”

“No,” she said. “But I have asked a few to head back up to the entrance underneath Svart’s house. They were already heading in that direction anyway.”

The three of them walked back towards the camp where they met up with Svart. Thorgaut was happy to see the boy safe and sound. He gave the blond-haired lad a big hug. Svart seemed pleased to see him as well.

“What a crazy adventure. Huh?” Thorgaut said.

Svart laughed and rolled his eyes. “You can say that again!”

Ariana tapped into his awareness. She let him know that the spiders had arrived at the entrance to the boy’s house. They hadn’t seen or sensed the presence of any humans in the cave. The spiders had even entered and scanned the house. But Thorgaut could see that everything was in place just like he had left it.

Thorgaut mentally ran back over the path he had taken to arrive at Halldora’s meadow. He knew that he had circled around and come back in this direction. Knulkforrest couldn’t be that far away. If knew its exact location he could cut straight through the trees and get there quickly. But there was a good chance of him getting lost again. He assumed that was what had happened to his friends.

As he traced his route, there was an area of his memory that seemed to be blanked out. Thorgaut figured that was where Halldora was cloaking her home. He tried probing around that zone mentally, but was fuzzy and out of focus. He could almost sense Halldora’s presence. He quit examining and analyzing those thoughts after a few minutes though. He felt angry at himself for not being able to pin the location down.

He felt frustrated because his senses didn’t function at a great distance. If he could pick out Halldora’s presence, he knew she must be close. Even though it was barely perceptible, he could still sense her. He sat down on the log and considered his options.

Katla had busied herself over the fire. She had been stirring something in a pot, and it smelled terrific. Soon she was serving the humans large bowls of soup. She offered Ariana a bowl who declined with a funny look on her face. But she tried to be gracious and thanked her for the kind offer.

Thorgaut could see the questioning look in Katla’s eyes. He knew she was dying to ask him what had happened and how he had met the spider. But he wasn’t in the mood to tell her the whole story right now. So he smiled and kept shoveling the delicious warm food in his mouth.

He scraped the last of the stew from the bottom of his bowl and smacked his lips. His sensitive hearing detected footsteps coming through the woods. They were soft and barely perceptible. He couldn’t tell who it was, but there was a faint scent drifting in the breeze that seemed familiar.

The Viking put his bowl down. He turned in the direction the steps were coming from. He motioned for everyone to be silent and put out his hand to take Katla’s sword. Everyone froze and watched him in silence.

He gasped has dark figure stepped out of the woods and came into view.

“Going to kill an old friend who comes to visit you, Thorgaut?” a quiet voice said lilting softly over his name.

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[NorthWorld] Thorgaut Kabbisson: Chapter 40 – Headless!

Thorgaut was already a little distance away. He considered making a run for the tunnel. He might make it if the spider was still weak. The Viking warrior decided against it though.

He had seen how far the spiders could jump in the earlier fight. And he knew Abyss Snarer could close the distance between them in a single bound if she was feeling back to normal. He would rather face her head on and have a fighting chance, then have her tackle him from behind. He didn’t want her sinking her fangs into his back as she had earlier.

Abyss Snarer was anxiously tapping her feet and moving sideways. She lowered her head and raised her abdomen. He circled to put a stalagmite between him and the spider hoping that it would block her jump.

“I’m leaving and going back to my home,” he said. “I don’t plan on coming back and won’t ever bother you again. So don’t attack me and I won’t hurt you.”

“Silly human,” she hissed. “Humans will never accept you for who you’ve become. You are one of us now. You may as well stay here in the cave with me.”

Thorgaut started backing away toward the tunnel. He tried to keep the stalagmite between him and the spider as much as possible.

“Are you scared yet?” she asked.

The man shook his head. He honestly didn’t feel afraid of her because she had already tried to kill him and failed. He also knew what she was capable of doing and knew he could put up the good fight. The only thing he had to do was avoid her fangs. And yet he still wanted to avoid the conflict.

“Not necessarily,” he replied. “But my mama always taught me to be nice and play fair. She told me to live and let live as much as possible because death never did anyone any good.”

“Your mother wouldn’t make a good spider,” she replied. “We have to kill to eat and survive.”

Thorgaut shrugged. He knew the spider was trying to goad him into a fight, but he wasn’t in the mood. He just wanted to get back to his friends. He was so close to reaching them after having come this far.

The giant spider kept edging closer in his direction, and he kept backing up. Abyss Snarer tried to fake him out like she was going to jump, but he didn’t flinch. The warrior was ready for her attack and waiting for her to make a mistake.

He had been actively probing her mind the entire time. So, he knew there was little chance she would actually jump straight at him. He hadn’t been able to activate an open connection yet to perceive exactly what she was thinking. But he had enough of a read on her to sense her feelings and intentions.

Thorgaut did know that she didn’t plan on letting him leave the cavern. She would pick a fight soon. So, he bided his time, analyzed his options, and prepared for an attack of his own.

She was eyeing an area of the cavern roof behind him. He sensed that was where she wanted to jump to begin her attack. He didn’t know yet exactly what she would do after that. So, he stopped moving to stall for time. She paused as well.

“I guess we are in a deadlock,” he said. “We’re both now undead creatures who are gonna fight in this cavern for all eternity.”

Abyss Snarer chuckled. “You should be proud of yourself, Thorgaut,” she said. “You’ll go down in history as a myth and legend. Don’t worry though. I will make sure to tell everyone I kill down here about you before I eat them.”

Thorgaut started backing up again. This time he edged off to the side to avoid the area of the roof that she was watching. She realized that he had caught on to her plan, and took the leap.

It was amazing to watch. With an increased clarity of vision, Thorgaut could make out the twitches in her muscles. He could see all the subtle details in the movement of her body. He didn’t move an inch though. He followed her only with his eyes while admiring what she could do.

He knew Abyss Snarer was trying to fake him out again. As soon as she landed on the stalagmite, she would push off in his direction and attack him from the side. He watched her legs reaching out for the edges and then begin to push off again.

The instant she committed herself to the leap in his direction, Thorgaut jumped back and to the side. The spider realized she wasn’t going to reach him. Abyss Snarer stretched out her legs as far as they would go in his direction, but she couldn’t quite make it. She landed right where the human had been standing an instant before.

One of her front paws was close enough for him to grab with his right hand. He held it firm and smashed down on it with his other forearm. Like Happy Feet, her skin wasn’t as hard as it looked. It snapped under the crushing blow. Green spider goo squirted across his arms and hands. She screamed in pain and fury.

The spider hobbled backward on her other seven legs to get away from him. But she wasn’t fast enough. Thorgaut was already in her face. He stabbed ‘Terror,’ the fang in his right hand, straight down into the middle of her forehead. She screamed in hissed in his face spraying spider spittle and venom at the human.

Abyss Snarer laughed and waited for him to fall over paralyzed once again. But the poison didn’t faze him in the slightest, because his body had already built up an immunity to its effect.

The spider had stepped in close to spit in his face. But Abyss Snarer was still wobbly and backed away too slowly. Her body hadn’t had the time to heal fully like Thorgaut’s.

He reached out to grab her other front leg with his left hand. He grasped it firmly and held on for a moment as he wiped his eyes clean with the other. Then he brought his right forearm down hard and crushed through her other leg.

Thorgaut reached out and grabbed the fang still protruding from her forehead. It slid out exposing her brains. The spider clutched her head with mangled paws. She tried to back away. Thorgaut slashed the fang across her eyes before she could get away. He completely blinded her two large eyes up front and the three smaller ones to the right.

The giant spider stumbled backward and tried to turn so she could see him with the eyes on her left side. But Thorgaut moved along with her staying to the right. She screeched and jumped in his direction, feeling for him with her six good legs. He ducked to avoid them and stepped in to meet her swollen underbelly.

The fierce warrior drove the fang deep into her soft gut. It was still gorged with all that she had sucked out of his body. The Viking pulled the prong up. It tore through the flesh across her abdomen. Before he could pull it back out though, her weight came crashing down on top of him.

Thorgaut fell to the ground with her weight on top of him. He struggled to get out from under her massive body. He managed to roll out and stay away from her flailing legs. He stood up and realized that Terror, the fang, was still stuck underneath her.

He pulled the other fang out of his pocket and considered stabbing her with it for good measure. He didn’t want to use it though because Happy Feet and given it to him for a reason. It wouldn’t be wise to waste it unnecessarily on this enemy. Thorgaut watched Abyss Snarer to see what she would do.

She lay on the ground and moaned pitifully. Her legs pushed uselessly against the ground. Thorgaut knew that her body would heal itself given enough time as he had. Somehow being bitten by the undead gave them almost unlimited healing power. He realized that this ability must be what made the undead unable to die.

Thorgaut walked around to her left side to look into the three good eyes. She hissed when he came into view. She pushed a leg in his direction, but he kicked it out of the way. He stomped on it the second time she tried. The spider screamed and cursed him. But she gave up trying to push him back.

The man knelt down in front of her probing her mind softly. He could see the desire for revenge burning in her eyes. He continued to poke around until he felt a soft spot in her mental barrier. He forced it open and savagely pushed himself deep into her thoughts. He could sense her mental processes tearing like she had done to him earlier when they first met.

“I’ll chase you down to the ends of the earth and rip your head off,” she growled at him.

She projected a mental image of traveling through the caves to Jorundarfell. He could see that she find him and kill everyone he loved. She even threatened to drag the other spiders of her race in an all-out war against humankind.

Thorgaut stood up and took a step closer. He placed both hands on the sides of the spider’s head and pressed his foot against her shoulder. He gave a hard twist to the left and yanked back with all his might. Her neck snapped, and the spider’s head tore off in his powerful hands.

“Heal that,” Thorgaut said as he held the head up before his eyes.

The warrior locked the spider’s cranium in place under his left arm. He ignored the green blood and goo dripping down his side. He grabbed one of her fangs and gave it a hard yank. It popped right out of her jaw. He did the same to the other fang as well.

Thorgaut now had three giant fangs. And the new ones were almost twice as long as Happy Feet’s. He tossed Abyss Snarer’s head back down on the ground in front of her.

“Thank you for your generous contribution to my war!” he said and walked away.

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[NorthWorld] Thorgaut Kabbisson: Chapter 39 – Free!

Thorgaut came to and jerked awake with a start. It felt like he had been asleep for days. He lay still trying to remember where he was or what was going on. His head felt heavy and fuzzy. He vaguely remembered meeting and interacting with spiders in a cave.

His eyes felt heavy, as he tried to open them. Everything seemed out of focus and wavering. He noticed several large black spheres floating around in front of him. As they came into focus, he could see that they stayed fixed in relation to each other.

Thorgaut started to make sense of what he was seeing. Then the man realized where he was. He was still in the same cave with the Abyss Snarer. The black spheres were her eyes. They looked like the NightWalker’s eyes. She must have transformed after she bit into him.

Her fangs were still in his abdomen. Had he passed out and come to a few minutes later? Or had he been out for several days, and she was still feeding off him?

Abyss Snarer removed her fangs from his body as she lifted her head. She smacked her lips and shifted position. Her swollen underbelly brushed against his knees.

“What a meal!” She exclaimed. “Normally, it would take a prey twice the size to fill me up like that. The last time I felt this full was when that mammoth got lost in these caves and fell into my trap.”

She poked Thorgaut with her front leg and muttered something about him not having shrunk. The spider raised her legs to step over him but didn’t get them up high enough. Abyss Snarer was still weak and wobbly. She tripped, and half fell to the side.

Her hind legs landed on Thorgaut with a thud. He could feel them moving as she tried to lift them off. His sense of feeling seemed to have returned, so he attempted to wiggle his fingers and toes. They worked.

Thorgaut tried to move his arms and legs, but they were still firmly wrapped in the silvery thread. Abyss Snarer had stood up and noticed his movements. She rubbed her two front feet in glee.

“Well, well, well, my little friend,” she said. “Being undead has made you quite the prize. I’ve eaten all I can from you, and you’re as fat and sassy as ever. I could string you up and the feast on you forever without ever having to hunt again for another meal.”

Thorgaut grimaced as he struggled against the thread she had wrapped them in. But it was no use. They were too dense and wrapped too tight. He wouldn’t be able to wiggle loose very easily. He finally gave up and stopped struggling. He remembered the pain and suffering she had put him through before passing out. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

“No use struggling, Sonny,” she said. “You’re in Abyss Snarer’s trap, and there is no getting loose for you.”

She giggled and plucked on a thread as if to show him how tight it was. The spider moved off to the side a little way. She laid down and complained about her stomach being too full to relax.

Thorgaut continued to move his hands and wiggle his fingers through the thread. They were too thick and too tight though. He looked at the spider, but couldn’t tell if she had fallen asleep because her eyes were still wide and black. He didn’t even know if spiders could close their eyes, so he wasn’t sure if that was a way to tell if she had fallen asleep.

The rising and falling of her abdomen had slowed down considerably though. The shifting patterns on her sides had also stopped changing shape. Thorgaut had noticed that the more excited she became, the faster they moved around.

Thorgaut remembered the fangs in his pocket and tried to move his right hand up to reach ‘Terror.’ It was impossible though because his arm was wrapped too tight against his body.

He tried moving his left hand, but he was laying on top of it. So he rocked his body back and forth. He managed to roll over onto his other side.

He didn’t like being in that position because he could no longer keep an eye on the spider. But he was able to move his hand up and reach his pocket. Thorgaut managed to grip the edge of the other fang he had called ‘Chelicerae.’

His hands still felt a little numb from the effects of the poison in his body. But he managed to work it out of his pocket. It took him several minutes, but he was finally successful. He rolled back over far enough to keep the spider in his sights. Abyss Snarer hadn’t moved an inch.

Thorgaut wrapped his hand around the top edge of the fang. He was careful not to poke himself with the point at the other end. He twisted the point up towards the threads and scratched at them to tear them apart. He kept working up and down in a slow and steady motion. He took great care to scratch himself with it.

After a few minutes, he noticed that he could move his hand more freely. He continued plucking at the threads with a sharp point of the fang. A little longer and he felt his hand come entirely out of the thread blanket that surrounded him. It was such a relief to feel a soft, fresh breeze blowing across his sweaty fist.

He twisted the fang around so that the point was up at an angle. The man kept plucking at the threads above his wrist until he was able to move his entire forearm. Once he was able to bend his arm at the elbow, he reached across to start plucking at the threads around his other hand.

Thorgaut had worked part way through the threads. He could feel his other hand moving a little more freely when he lost his grip on the fang. It fell out of his hand and on to the rocky cavern floor. He swore at himself for his clumsiness and mentally kicked his own keister for having dropped it.

The fang made a sharp clinking sound when it hit the ground. Abyss Snarer stirred in her slumber and lifted her head towards his direction. He lay perfectly still without blinking. She put her head back down and twisted into a more comfortable position back in the other direction.

The Viking way or breathed a sigh of relief and rolled back over away from the spider. He reached out his hand, feeling around on the ground for the fang. He couldn’t find it, so he pulled back to spot it with his eyes. He saw where it was and then rolled his body back in the direction to detect it with his fingers. This time he grasped it and hung on to it even more carefully than before.

A little bit longer and his other arm was free too. He was able to reach into his other pocket and pull out the fang with his right hand. He continued working with both fangs until his upper body was completely free of the thread. And after that, it was a simple matter of tearing away the strands around his legs.

Thorgaut had never felt so happy to be able to move in his life. He felt like he had died and resurrected. As if someone had given him a new opportunity at life. He swore that he would make the most of it. He would go back home and be the best king he could ever be for his family and people. No more wasting time in his life.

He wiggled and moved every part of his body and excitement. He didn’t feel any aftereffects from the poison. There was no pain in any part of his body. It had completely healed itself. It was a marvelous realization.

Thorgaut stood up easily. He looked down at his hands and arms. He scanned his body down to his feet. Everything seemed healthy and he felt great. No, he felt better than great. He felt better than he’d ever felt in his entire life.

He took a moment to scan through his other senses. His hearing was impeccable. He could hear the whispers of a rat brushing against the rock on the far side of the cavern. He detected the flutter of a moth’s wings as it flew through the air behind him. His nose picked up this musky scent of the spider. He could tell exactly where she was without even looking at her.

His vision was as sharp as ever. He could see subtle differences in the texture of the cavern walls. His eyesight could even pick up the faint glimmer of what looked like gold specks on the far side of the cave.

Even his taste buds seemed well honed. He could pick out the subtle flavor of the enzymes the spider had released in his body. He could distinguish it from the venom that had paralyzed him before that.

Thorgaut stretched his strained and weary muscles, careful not to make any noise. It felt great to be able to move again. He kept a wary eye on abyss snarer as he tiptoed to the cavern entrance Ariana had taken Svart through earlier.

But as he slipped past the spider, one of the joints in his knees popped making a loud cracking sound. Abyss Snarer stirred and breathed out a loud sigh. She turned her head in his direction and jumped to her feet when she saw him walking.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded in a loud, angry voice.