The Spider and the shadow
(Generic Warning)
Sibuna the Barbarian
The Spider and the Shadow
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Atrus snapped at his guide. The gaunt bat muttered in his tribal tongue and stepped out of the way. He was a tale and slender panther, Clad in a long kilt and tunic with a suit of light armor.
"Master, must we stop each time the savages see a lizard track?" Arem asked in an exasperated tone, Atrus paid the cheetah no heed.
As he kneeled down and examined the footprint in the soft marshy soil. His guides were two Uzia Tribesmen. In any other circumstance a Rashanian would shun the association with a 'savage' race... which was every none Rashanian. But in such a foreign land like Kura he had been forced to find a guide.
He was a hunter... A hunter of men and a hunter of beasts, he now pursued both. From his ancestral lands where he had proven his worth as a bondmen. He would travel to corners dark and deep to catch his quarry.
Only two days of travel with the members of the Uzia bat tribe had repulsed the panther. He had first become discussed with the manner the stilt village had been run; men and women mingling together, children aloud to run about naked, and the vowel heavy language.
Their manner of dress had only served to fuel his prejudice; clad only in a loincloth if you were lucky, many of them were content to simply wrap their genitalia up like a parcel in thin cloth and many more were content to travel only in their various piercing and fur dyes.
The two bats were only hired because they were the only two that could understand the panther. And after two days they wished they could not, the cat had promised them each a pound of silk as acting guides, this was the only reason they did not simply leave while he slept.
Why any one would wish to go through this unholy place was a complete mystery to them; the swamp was thickly grown with trees and vines some eighty feet tall make it dark while the sun was high and impossible to tell if a pool of stagnant water was one or one-hundred feet deep, it was filled with countless ponds and quagmires that were covered with moss and weeds which betrayed the walker into the hungry black mud.
Both were curious as to what the panther and Cheetah was seeking, but suspicious; despite the Uzia tribes isolation from the great ports and cities of the world they were no fools. They had learned that men that came by ships wielding steel swords and iron shirts never came just to trade...
- + + +
"You! What markings are these?" Atrus demanded. The bat looked carefully at the indent in the soil.
"Arana..." he said in his deep booming voice. The other clutched his spear tightly.
"Just what is an 'Arana'?" the panther said in a flat tone.
The Bat thought for a moment before pulling something the nearby grass "...Spider... BIG Spider..." he handed what looked like a piece of silk.
The Panther lost interest almost as quickly as he lost his respect for such 'savages'. He began to look at more tracks and found what he wanted...
"You! Tell the other we go further,"
The bat stood motionless "...We go back... no cloth in world worth Arana..."
The Panther began to growl, this was the first open defiance he had encounter "I say when we turn back! Now tell your friend we... Where is he?"
The bat spun around, the younger was gone... his spear lay on the moss, the older ones face grew worried "Osia! OSIA!!"
"Master just tell the savage that he is not being paid to worry over the other savage," Arem said
The panther had no time for this "We go forward,"
"I find Ozia!" the bat cried as he began to push his way into the brush. The panther felt himself grow angry "Forget pay then," the bat mumbled something in his own tongue, and Atrus guessed he was better not knowing what he said...
- + + +
Atrus slowly pushed his way through the weed; if he could survive twenty days alone in Rashan's desert he could survive a little thicket. The footsteps were fresh he suddenly stopped... Atrus was an arrogant man, even a haughty man! But by no means a stupid man. He sensed something bad in this spot.
Suddenly a small sound caught his ears, but a single twig snap...
From behind the brush a Frightful apparition burst forth! The cheetah shrieked but was cut off as he crumpled to the ground, neck gaping like a pit in the earth. Again the blur rushed forth! The panthers saber flashed forth and struck against a blur of steel producing a handful of sparks!
"RASHANIAN CUR!!"
The panther looked up, ahead stood his quarry... Sibuna. The jackal firmly gripping his sword, other then this was nothing, no loincloth, no armor. His pitch-black fur was crusted with blood and mire. His eyes burned like a hunting tiger.
"So... you still walk the earth old friend... I was expecting a beast of better training," the panther laughed haughtily ignoring the fallen body of his comrade.
The jackal shrieked like some terrible beast and charged, the panther wasted no time in parrying the blow and drove the hilt into the base of the jackal's spine!
"Hmm, that is your inferiority... you savages rush forward with such stamina but have no refinement in fighting, tis why your kind fell to my fathers yoke," Atrus said with a vicious smile.
Sibuna made a terrible snarl and charged again! The panther parried each blow with a shower of sparks, despite his attempts to get behind the jackal he found the barbarian fueled by some savage vigor!
Sibuna made a terrifying roar and raised his blade high! The panther positioned his saber to block the steel!
The sound of shattered metal pierced the humid air! Shards of metal fell to the earth... both swords now lay ruined in jagged pieces that glinted in the minimal sun.
The panther roared and attempted a rush with the ruined hilt of a saber! Sibuna caught his wrists and fell backwards down the deep ravine all while gripping the panther's hands!
The two rolled down the mossy hill; bouncing over rocks and rotting logs both refused to relinquish grip of each other.
Finally the slammed against an open patch of ground... And fell through!
Both landed on a soft bed of moss with a thud. Both groaned in pain from the stiff landing. They did not groan long, it took only a minuet for the jackal to pick himself up, the panther a minuet and one second...
The jackal threw himself at the panther! The panther had just barely risen to his feet before the jackal tackled him again sending them both tumbling down the dark eerie tunnel.
"FILTHY BARBARIAN SCUM!" Atrus shrieked as he slashed at the jackal's chest with his sharpened claws! Sibuna dodged the slashes until he was against the wall and he felt warmth flow down his chest.
He yelped in a mixture of rage and pain before latching onto the panthers shoulder with his teeth, Atrus screamed in agony as the jackal's teeth sank like a knife into butter!
He slashed Sibuna across the face sending him back, a raised his arm to slash again but a swift kick from the dog's foot sent the panther stumbling back!
The Jackal roared and punched the cat in the ribs, causing the panther to fall back deeper into the cavern and away from the sight of the jackal.
Sibuna spat a bloody wad of saliva off to the side and began to crouch anticipating the panther to reenter the fight. He began to scan his surroundings; the room smelled earthy and musty at the same time, the ground seemed to be coated in some sticky resin he could not identify.
His eyes quickly darted up to the ceiling, the hole that the two had made, it was perfectly clear that no one would make it back through. The cold moistness made the barbarian uneasy, the terrible feeling of danger consumed his mind and with great reluctance he set to creeping forward...
- + + +
When the waste cur knocked him back Atrus went tumbling deeper into the cavern and into a dim cave pocket. The panther painfully but quickly pulled himself to his feet fully expecting the jackal to be upon him.
The air was cold & damp it made the cat shiver, all around him wisps of spider webs glistened in the dimness like the tattered robes of a spirit. Strangely enough the shadow-shrouded stalactites seemed free of the silky webs.
The Panther quickly lost interest in this as he heard distant footsteps of the Waste-jackal. He slipped silently behind a stalagmite in anticipation of the blundering dog to walk by...
Sibuna carefully descended into the dim cavern. No sooner then he did, he felt the skin on his back crawl, every rational sense told him to flee this cursed place, not the sense a coward but of a veteran who knew when enemies were but a door away ready to slice and chop.
Still he carefully stepped into the cavern looking for any exit. Only the peculiar stalactites seemed to warrant his attention, aside from finding his exit and careful guard against Atrus.
Thin Wisps of silk blew in an unseen breeze above him, like the reaching tendrils of some mad forgotten god of the dark; it sways gracefully and effortlessly as it does in its own unsettling unvoiced fashion.
Ahead shadows of long boulders littered the floor. In narrow corners and small holes odd bone fragments were haphazardly stuffed as is only pushed in. Sibuna stopped... something moved...
Ahead of him a gigantic shape fell from the roof of the cavern, the thing landed silently upon its eight spindly legs, six soulless black eyes jutted from the monstrously malformed head!
Almost on cue the hundreds of stalactites began to quiver as is they too were thin strands of silk.
"BY XALA!"
Sibuna whirled around and sprinted to the other side of the cave. One by one gigantic spiders dropped soundlessly to the cave floor. Atrus rose shrieking from his hiding place and followed the jackal, not to attack but to escape.
Set against the wall was a shadowed exit to the room; Sibuna did not care as to where it led so long as it lead away from the giant spiders. He darted into the opening and climbed with every bit of vigor his muscled body could manage, he heard the cat behind him and at this point did not care. He only cared to ascend the sheer tunnel and escape from this nightmarish cave.
His hand tightly gripped the edge of the overhang and he pulled himself up! Hundreds of web wrapped things littered the floor. Sibuna shuddered to think of what ghastly things the would contain, ancient bones lay splintered on the ground, dead animals and birds lay with their skin tightly stretched over their frame.
No sooner did his foot touch the edge of the crag did his sprint continue across the cavern. Atrus was halfway up the shear tunnel then the first monstrosity enters and begins its pursuits of its meal...
Sibuna was running as fast as he could, he jumped over web wrapped corpses and skeletons, fresher meals lay bloated all around their faces and skin melting from the spiders horrific venom. The light grew brighter as the barbarian sprinted across the cavern.
Atrus had reached the edge and almost jumped over. The spiders were only a few yards behind him.
As Sibuna ran towards the mouth of the cave he stumbled over an unseen corpse, when his foot struck it the web wrapped mass squirmed. He sprung to his feet almost seconds flat, before turning back the squirming body, with his large paw he tore a large patch of web from the muzzle, Almost instantly the unknown creature began to scream in a tribal dialect, Sibuna eyed the exit but did not leave the rodent.
Sibuna tore a large patch of web from the head forgoing his own safety to free the bat, the terrified rodent took a deep breath and looked around wildly, Sibuna was engaged in tearing more webs from his chest when a shadow silently but quickly swooped from the ceiling.
The bat screamed and Sibuna whirled around, but the spider already stood over him, its fangs flexed angrily dripped venom, its black soulless eyes locked onto the jackal without betraying a single emotion.
Sibuna tried to scramble away from the aberration but the spider butted the jackal onto his back! Its alien legs latched onto all but his left arm. He felt a sticky warms upon his feet and realized with horror that it was wrapping him like some fly or moth, he flailed his one free arm but encountered nothing but pebbles...
His fingers searched wildly for his escape but encountered nothing. Then as if it was a stroke of luck he felt the bones of some creature and latched onto the femur of the poor forgotten beast. While any normal man would have sank into a fit of shrieks Sibuna did not even breathe out. With great force he stabbed the bone into the soft underbelly!
A terrible alien screech filled the cavern, and almost on cue more and more screams filled the air. Sibuna gazed up in horror and saw the hundreds of stalactites writhe as though feeling the bone had sunk into them as well. With no further wait hundreds of dark alien shapes descended from the roof of the cavern to avenge their fallen kin
The dying spiders legs flailed about crushing the bones strewn about to splinters! Sibuna took no further time to watch as forced himself out from under the squirming fiend and break the sticky web from his feet. Blackish green slime oozed from the beast as it shrieked in its death kneel! As crawled out from under the beast it used its last breath to spit a thin line of poison across the jackal's chest! Sibuna Gasped and clutched at the open wound that the poison bubbled and fizzed in!
He pulled himself to his feet, clutching his wound and turned to the bat. Forgetting his pain he grabbed the squirming rodent and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of wheat and bolted towards the exit from this alien hell.
Outside the cave the sounds of yelling grew loader until the frightful image of a bat being tossed up through the hole in a hill followed by a large nude jackal crawling out of the hole appeared.
When he had finally freed himself from the cold damp hole he took a deep breath of the steamy jungle air, it entered his lunges like a hot fog. This was of little comfort though as he heard the sounds of scurrying behind him, he turned expecting one of the monstrous spiders to grab him like a fly!
Atrus bust out of the hole, he panted in terror knowing the demon beasts were only feet behind him!
He set his hand on the overgrown grass to pull himself out, Suddenly a mud covered foot rested upon his shoulder. Atrus looked up to see the outline of the jackal stare down at him.
"NO-" The panther began to scream. He was cut off as the jackal pushed him with all the strength left in his tired legs back into the twitching hell.
The sounds of the panther hitting the ground then shrieking as the silent monsters swarmed upon him reached Sibuna. He took no pride in having to do such to the Rashanian, but it was either leave his enemy for the spiders so he could make his escape or risk the beasts coming for him and a fight with the panther... it just didn't seem fair. The sounds of his struggles grew loaders as more and more alien appendages held him.
He began to descend the hill away from the hole when he felt sudden heaviness upon his limbs, he began to stumble, feeling drained away from him. Vision began to spin and fade away; finally he fell alongside the webbed bat, paralysis began to creep into his veins.
The last sight he saw were many legged spiders creep out of the hole and advance towards their paralyzed meal only to stop and rear back... he thought he heard yelling...
- + + +
Cold sweet poured down Sibuna's sides; he sat upright on the thin woven mat panting in confusion. The scent of burning herbs stung his nose and the sounds of gentle flowing water caressed his ears.
"Atuwanai!"
Sibuna turned his sore neck. An elderly bat sat pounding some white root into a chalky paste. He craned his neck out the doorway of the hut.
"Where am I?" Sibuna asked, his voice was like a drunks after a night of drinking.
The elder only cocked an eyebrow and again called 'Atuwanai'. He sound of light paws on wood soon followed and a tall bat followed by a younger entered the hut. The older bat spoke a few words that the jackal did not understand before standing and leaving.
The older bat looked at him and spoke a few words. Sibuna caught them as Currash; unfortunately he did not understand the consonant heavy language to save his life. The younger said a few more, Kuthish. Which the barbarian also did not understand.
Finally the older looked at him and said "you understand me now?"
Sibuna caught this as Kurian and nodded slowly.
"We find you in forest, Ozia Tell me you save him," He said motioning towards the younger bat. His Kurian was poor was understandable.
He proceeded to tell the sore jackal that after he had lost sight of his companion he went back to search and encountered a group of hunters looking for jewel birds, the helped him search and came across Sibuna as he fell and when the first Spider came out of the hole, they scared them back with arrows and the web bound bat told them how Sibuna had saved him, this was the only reason they did not leave him as a distraction for the spiders.
Sibuna listened and after they had left him back in the car of the elderly healer he let his sore head fall back on the mat...
(Questions? Comments? Don't be shy I would love to hear your opinions or questions; I encourage you to tell me what you think. And don't be afraid of constructive criticism it's the only way I will improve my writing. Feel free to use my settings and characters and I would love to see others use them -Pierce)