Arachne

 

- Koros -

 

Tsk.
Business is going poorly.
One would think that a life of raiding houses, robbing those well-off, and selling them to any interested parties would at least pay off on the financial side, but screw it!
Recently, we’ve just had no luck.
The last haul, especially, was a complete flop.
Not to a small degree because my men are fucking imbeciles.
We could've had some use for that man, but they didn't even try to immobilize him.
No, just wreck him like rabid dogs!
Well, just coming from the look in his eyes it was quite clear that he wouldn't step down, so I'm not too upset about this.
However, the woman was completely unnecessary.

As if that would've been the first rabid wench we had to subdue!
Well, it certainly looked like it was.
Seriously, is it so hard to get into your head that you're stronger and could have just held her arms?
No, apparently not!

But the worst was that they let the girl escape.
Not only because she had quite the value.
Some nobles have peculiar tastes after all and will pay quite a lot to scratch that itch.
But on top of missing out on the money, Bron never returned from chasing after her.
Despite the rumors that the forest is safe on the western side, I can't think of a better explanation.
It certainly wasn't the girl, and Bron has some experience in chasing down runners.
I know better than to go looking for him.
So this left us down three usable slaves.
Quite the loss.

And would you think that there'd at least be something in the house one can sell to make money?

No!
Poor like beggars!
Even the earrings of the woman were fake.
The plates were wood, even the cutlery was literal trash!
Just for this, I wish I could kill them a second time!
No, things are certainly not looking great.
We could really use a change of pace.

It wasn't always like this.
We started out as a well-organized mercenary unit, taking all kinds of jobs for the different lords in the warring states directly south of Zeranis.
It's basically paradise for mercenaries, with the varying lords sometimes getting replaced on a daily basis.
One day you fight for one side only to change your employer the next day.
We had a stable income and simply couldn't complain.
Naturally, I made sure to always take the best offers.
Someone is always willing to pay after all.

Sadly, they came to the conclusion that terrorizing the locals isn't going to help secure their position in taking over territory.
That and our growing reputation of being "undependable" made our prices drop so hard that it just didn't make sense anymore to continue.
One lord even tried to get rid of us for good.
Luckily, we got out there in time after setting a nice little fire to his town as a distraction.

Now we switched to making small raids in Zeranis and once the deed is done we return to Diroen.
A small city in the closest neighboring principality.
This way, we don't need to worry about any repercussions, as for a little hush money the authorities look away regarding stuff that didn't happen in their jurisdiction.

Yet this is another factor hitting our treasury.
I can barely divert anything to my own purse.
So it seems like we should get ready for a bigger thing.
Maybe I should call all of our group together so we can raid a village or two.
Yet for something like this to happen, we need to all be in the same place.
However, Darren's group is already long overdue, so I'll have to find out what happened to him before suggesting such a thing.

At least our hideout is a good place to dwell as of now.
Located in the red light district, there are barely any controls.
We can do as we please with no one coming after us.

So after a good day, I'm returning from a session with my favorite girl in the nearby establishment.
The price I paid bothers me a bit, but sustainability is a factor.
What else would I use my money for if not something pleasant?
A professional still bests a slave, after all.
So I'm in a somewhat good mood when I return to the base.
A nice little barrack building that is spacious enough to accommodate everyone.
However, once I arrive I can't shake off the feeling of being watched.
But when I search the environment there's nothing to spot.

After some time I give up and move to open the door.

 

"Hsss"

 

Wha-

Shit!
There's a huge spider next to the door knocker.
Half as big as my fist.
But the strangest is the coloration.
It's bright red with black stripes and thin black legs.
This kind of spider is totally out of the ordinary in this realm, so it's quite the riddle how it got here.
Something as exotic as this might be valuable, yet the way it's hissing at me I shouldn't be reckless.
This creature is very likely poisonous, so reaching out with my bare hand would be stupid.
But having it run around our place could end up being bothersome.
So I unsheathe my sword, but before I can act the spider scampers up the building and is gone.
So much for this.

I finally enter and look for my second in command, Rodin.
That idiot is hot-headed and not very competent, but at least he does as he's told.
More I can't demand from my assets, given the limited options I have in this regard.

 

"Boss?" (R)

"Rodin, is there anything to report?" (K)

"No, sir. Everything's calm. Some of the men got a little rowdy after drinking too much, but I had them beaten up. They won't act up anymore." (R)

"And the others?" (K)

"Well, either sleeping, drinking, or playing dice." (R)

"What about guards?" (K)

"Uh, guards?" (R)

 

It's not too surprising.
Usually, we don't do shifts, as it's safe enough in town.
I only demand from my men that they be ready when the next raid comes.
But those who can't even meet this most-basic requirement get severely punished.
However, today is a bit different.

 

"Get some on the lookout. I've got a bad feeling." (K)

 

One of the advantages of being the boss.
My whims matter.

 

"Sure. Anything specific we should watch for?" (D)

"No idea. Suspicious people, crawling in on our shack. Passerbies staying a bit too long. Oh, and I saw a strange spider. Looked poisonous. Tell them they should look for that as well. Might be worth some coin. But if anything I don't want our people to drop out from this." (K)

"A spider? Okay." (D)

 

I'm not sure how dutifully the men will follow their orders, but it's not like I care if one dies from something like this.
But if it gets them, they shouldn't expect me to spend any money to save them.

With this out of the way, I walk to my quarters.
In all my time in this business, I gathered quite an assortment of fancy stuff.
Also, I can't complain about my lodgings.
Maybe I can rest a bit. I put myself on the bed and try dozing off.
Yet the moment my gaze drifts along the ceiling, it’s interrupted by a red spot hanging directly over me.
The spider!

Instinctively, I lash out and hit it.
It flies to the wall.
Yet before I get there it's gone.
Is it behind the stash?
I push it away, but can't find anything.
Damn, now I won't be able to rest anymore.
Just good that I'm somewhat paranoid.
As it's required in my position.

 

"Dong, dong, dong"

 

The bells?
But there's no sermon.
This means...
It's an alarm!

What is going on?!
Is the city under attack?
In that case, we should look out to stay uninvolved.
But maybe this could also be an opportunity.
However, first and foremost we need to assemble and figure out what's going on or this is all just guesswork.

I rush out of my quarters, only to find the appointed watchman sleeping while standing even through all this noise.
Not caring in the slightest for his sleep balance I shove him awake.

 

"Hey, asshole! Get up already you lazy pig!" (K)

 

"Whump"

 

Okay, that's a deep sleep.
At least if it leads to dropping on the ground without any attempt to mitigate the fall.
Shit, what is happening?

I walk to the main floor only to find more of my men sleeping.

 

"Rodin! Where are you?! What is going on here?!" (K)

 

Once I find him I get almost overwhelmed by the urge to end him for good.
That asshole lies with his head on the dice table, together with the others.
He probably didn't even notice how everything went to shit here.

While I try to wake him up, I notice a small wound on his neck.
Like two tiny stabbing wounds.
After quickly checking the others, I realize they all have the same marks on their skin!
Forget it, I'm not staying a second longer in this shit house of a situation!

With quick steps, I advance to the exit.
Yet shortly before I get to open it, my instincts spark up and I jump to the side.

 

"Thud"

 

Just in time to dodge whatever landed where I was a moment before.
At first, I only see red, but then my excitement fades and my sight narrows down.
That's fucking the same spider as at the door and in my room!

 

"Hiss"

 

And just as unamicable as before.
Wait, that can't be a coincidence.
This spider must be responsible for my men passing out.
But how could a single spider...
Oh, shit!

 

"Thud"

 

Another one just jumped at me.
This one is yellow, with black stripes.
This isn't good.
I have no idea how many there are and why they're so fixated on me, but it's clear I need to get away.
About the sheer ridiculousness of this situation, I can ponder later.

 

"Aaaaahhhh!"

 

That came from outside the door.
While it's certainly not a good idea to run towards the screams, staying in here isn't any better.
I jump to the door and smash it open, only to find myself face to face with the biggest spider I ever saw.
It might even be as long as I'm tall, but this is no time for me to contemplate measurements.
I draw my sword, ready to strike.

 

"Splotch"

 

Shit!
This fucking thing just spewed some gluey stuff at me.
I can barely move now.

 

"Sstck"

"Ackhh!"

 

My ankle!
I look down there and find one of the yellow spiders, that quickly scampers off.
Fuck, it got me.
Now, I should probably...
probably...
Probably go back to bed.
I'm so fucking tired.

 

"Whomp"

.

.

.

"Skreech"