Onox struggled against the webbing, his brute strength allowed him to tear his arm and one of his legs free. His flail and other limbs were still bound in the hardened spider silk. A shadow appeared over him, he still valiantly kept trying to break free of his cocoon even as the spider descended. For a second the arachnid faltered as it wavered from the ceiling. It felt light headed in that instant and could then smell another in the chamber. Diverting its attention from Onox, the spider landed on the floor to face Sable. Only this time her form was wavering with dark magic and she had her dagger and short sword armed.
She balanced on the balls of her feet to aid with either attacking or evading. Sable raised her blades and braced for the spider to attack. Her eyes closed momentarily, a deep breath in and out, they opened to reveal that she had the green eyes of a spider. Eerily she also found herself looking back at her from her foe's perspective. The effect was disorientating at first, but months of practise had attuned her to moving while invading the sight of another.
The spider lunged forward, a spiked chitin leg moved with the precision of a spear as it threatened to impale Sable. She leapt backwards into the ankle deep channel that decorated the floor. A rune parted from her skin to become a silhouette copy of herself. The spider wildly kept striking at her, yet she kept nimbly evading its movements. With each stab of a leg and each evasion, another rune slid off her form to create another shadow copy. The copies moved on their own, blindly moving forward to strike at the spider and overwhelming the creature.
Sable could sense its panic rise as its attention shifted to the swarm of shadow puppets from Veran's enchantment. Focusing deeper into the spider's mind, she could feel how its body moved and felt a slight limp on the left side. One of the legs had possibly been damaged making it a pivotal opportunity. The weight of the spider was also heavy around the abdomen, only supported by a narrow waist. Large vessels churning continuously through that tapered passage also presenting another target.
As the distraction proved successful, Veran was now by Onox's side with a conjured blade of darkness in hand. It hacked through some of the bindings and combined with his efforts, he was able to struggle free of the web. His precious flail remained suspended in the hardened cocoon and judging by the rate the spider was eliminating the shadow puppets, Sable was running out of time.
Veran snapped a command to him "Take out the legs, we'll do the rest."
Onox shouted to Sable "Which side?"
"Left!" She jumped back, the spider collided with a nearby pillar, temporarily stunning it.
Wasting no time, Onox began to run towards the creature, his body seamlessly transforming into a dodongo in the movement. Now as a hulking monster he curled up into a ball and rolled towards the spider's left side with great speed. The spiked and hardened hide of the dodongo effortlessly crashed through the four legs and brought the spider to become lopsided. The arachnid howled as Onox raced past, bouncing off a nearby wall and struck the creature in the face forcing it back.
Sable used this attack to cease her possession of the spider. Back in her own body she charged forward, blades in hand, to slide along the ground. She passed the underbelly of the spider as Onox collided with its face. The exoskeleton around its waist was pulsing with connective tissue. Swift movements of her sword weakened the net of protective chitin. Veran then waved her hands and performed the killing blow as the spider's own shadow contorted into a spiked pillar. The monster let out a final scream as it became impaled. The uneven distribution of weight in its body resulted in the spider splitting in half over the shadowy spear.
As it breathed its last, the spider finally spoke "My curse will always live on…" Its remains erupted into writhing golden skulltulas that quickly dispersed through the palace. In its wake, there was a cyclops mask with a smiling face and tear running from its eye left on the floor.
In a moment of poor judgement, Onox reverted to his human form in mid-air overwhelmed with a sense of victory then embarrassment as he crashed into the floor. He picked himself up, shaking off any aches and pains. Sable was still on the ground and was utterly mesmerised by him. She seemed oblivious to the bloody gashes on her legs and her torn pant legs inflicted from her daring move. "That was amazing," she gasped as she picked herself up, knees shaking a little "So that's what it looks like when someone shape shifts. Ox I had no idea you could even use magic!"
He felt his face burn as he shyly admitted "Well, I'm better at that side of Gomess magic."
"Get over here," Veran called from the opposite side of the room, she pointed to the strange mask left by the spider "And don't touch that. Don't even look at it!"
"Alright, we're coming," Onox said, he walked over to her in a few steps with Sable in tow "How are we going to get Iris down anyway?"
"Let me sit on your shoulders, I'll cut her down." Sable remarked as she climbed up his back. Onox stood before the golden totem where Iris remained unconscious. In the meantime Veran finished cutting his flail free from the remains of the web with her shadow blade.
The tight bindings loosened around Iris' frame, her mind stirred as she tried to open her eyes and lift her head. She found herself face to face with Sable. In her entranced state, she could have sworn that she heard the sounds of fighting. But she never would have guessed that it actually was happening. Her body fell away from the totem and landed over Sable's shoulder. Iris heard her say "We got you now, it'll be alright."
Onox lifted Sable to the ground, then proceeded to collect his trustworthy flail and secure it to himself. He then turned to Sable, his arms outstretched "I'll carry her the rest of the way."
Sable answered "She's pretty light, I can manage."
He pointed to her blood smeared legs "But you're wounded."
"I can still walk fine. It's not as bad as it looks."
"Then you leave me no other choice," Onox coldly replied as he cradled Sable in his arms "I'm doing this for your own good."
"I'm not that helpless anymore! I can do things now."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't offer to help you sometimes."
"Doesn't count as offering when you go ahead and do it regardless of what the answer is."
"Don't argue or else we'll be here all night." Veran complained, she was already ascending the stairs that led out of the Fearful Spider House. For the past week she had been wallowing in her own sorrow and feeling miserable about herself. Tonight this was shifted as she was reminded about what was really important to her. The battle with that spider merely reinvigorated her creativity and love for crafting monstrous masks. Perhaps she would make a mask for herself to commemorate the encounter.
The heavenly scent of snapper and wolfos stew wafted through the air. Onox quickened his pace through the swamplands even though he was still carrying both Iris and Sable. A laugh escaped Veran as she remained at her leisurely pace. The moon was heading towards the west by now signalling that it was the early hours of the morning. The trees and waters parted to reveal the glade where Kotake's potion shop resided. The two witches were watching over the fire pit and the bonfire welcomed them back with an alluring glow of warmth. Koume remained by the flames while Kotake immediately ran towards them. A bottle of blue potion in hand and a wide smile on her face "You found her! Iris! I'm so glad you're safe."
Onox finally put Sable and Iris on the ground then went straight over to Koume, gesturing to one of the large pots "Is that for me?" his stomach chose that moment to complain loudly. He nervously crossed an arm over his abdomen "I'm afraid I'm a little impatient tonight."
"That's what happens when you turn into creatures that are much larger than you are," Koume nodded and added "Give it a few more minutes, boy." She saw him eyeing up a nearby crow and swatted his head with a wooden spoon "And no snacking!"
Veran entered the glade to see that some normalcy had been restored or about as normal as things got when your parental figures were witches. Kotake smiled to Iris as the Deku stood on her own, the effects of the spider's venom had weakened thanks to the blue potion. The old witch froze a crystal of ice from the moisture of the air and gave it to Iris "Here, it'll help the burning in your body."
Iris took the crystal and swallowed it whole like a tablet, tilting her head back in the process. "Thankyou Mistress Kotake, that feels much better."
As they approached the bonfire, Sable queried "What was that big spider anyway? And how did it get Iris?"
"That spider is the remains of the king of that sunken palace." Kotake grinned wickedly "Ages ago, the Deku were at war with Terminans, both wanted supremacy of the swamps. But the Terminans were foolish because they tried to build palaces and cities of opulence." She let out a shrewd laugh "Their precious buildings sunk bellow the swamp, it was hilarious."
With the stew deemed ready, Koume served up bowls of the aromatic meal. A strange greenish concoction riddled with pieces of meat, roots and plants found in the swamp. While it appeared to be unappetising, the taste was phenomenally exquisite. Their various apprentices remained around the fire to eat without interruption as they carried on.
"Oh you mean that old king, greedy fool he was." Koume chimed in as she continued the tale "Had the nerve to ask Kotake and I to raise his city to the sky. So we cursed him to become a spider monster, seemed fair at the time." She nodded to herself "Actually it's still fair now, he had it coming."
"Sadly it means he still has a bit of a vendetta against Dekus, which is why I warned Iris not to leave the glade today." Kotake frowned at her youngest apprentice.
"I realise that, but I got distracted in the Woods of Mystery, a snapper turtle was chasing me so I took longer than expected on my way home." Iris nervously admitted "It happened so quickly, I didn't even get a chance to cast a spell."
Koume mounted her broom "What's done is done child, regret is a wasted emotion."
"What matters is that you learn from your mistakes. That goes for all of you." Kotake bowed to them all "We both have early starts tomorrow, goodnight."
The two ancient hags departed the campsite on their brooms. Their apprentices often wondered what precisely they got up to when they were not teaching or running their respective businesses. In all honesty, they dare not pry into such business. Koume and Kotake may have been supportive in training them, yet there was still something terrifying about them. A wicked glint in their eyes from a lifetime of chaos and mayhem, given their long lifespans so far there was no telling what kind of magical pandemonium they wrought in their youth, in the more dangerous eras of Termina's history.
The bonfire kept dancing amidst the night as the apprentices remained seated around it in quiet contemplation. Veran finally rose from her seat, she waved to them without saying another word as she retired to her caravan for the night. Onox was still eating, abandoning his bowl and instead feeding from the pot as he took care of the leftovers. His desire to be polite was overwhelmed by the need for his hunger to be sated.
"You got something on your-" Sable laughed at his messy face "everywhere… how did you even get it in your hair?"
"Forgive my rudeness, it's just when you shape shift it really drains you so you need to recover afterwards. Not to mention the lingering beast instincts too…" Onox informed, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand "Seeing as we're packing up and leaving tomorrow I can't just sleep it off."
She tilted her head at him "So you stuff yourself instead?"
"I found it's the most effective way for me. Then again everyone is different, I'm sure you'll work out your own recovery methods once you've claimed a few souls."
"Does it hurt?"
He continued scrapping the bottom of the pot "Well… when I clearly overeat it does, also if Vera makes me run around a lot I sometimes throw up."
"No not that," Sable laughed nervously "I meant shape shifting."
"Oh that! Sorry, I misunderstood," Onox chuckled to himself "It's a little disorientating at first but then you get used to the monster's body and can use it like your own. As for hurt, the actual transformation aches the first time, but it's not too bad afterwards."
Iris nervously raised her hand to get their attention. She was almost a true wallflower in the way she could remain unnoticed. "Can… can I ask you two something?"
Sable replied on behalf of Onox, who was still busy eating "Yeah, shoot."
She blinked "What?"
"You know, tell us."
"Oh yes… um… shoot. Well, why did you help me at the spider house? Is it because the mistresses told you to?"
"Well… to be honest…" she looked to Onox for help but he shrugged back at her "We don't really know. Seems kinda silly doesn't it?"
"A bit, I mean, I don't really talk to any of you… I'm a little afraid to… you're all a little scary looking…"
"Our appearances are a little different because we're part Gomess," Onox interjected "But you shouldn't be scared, we're not bad people."
Sable then offered "I guess we helped because we wanted to."
"But that makes no sense," Iris sighed out loud "It's not that I'm ungrateful it's just people only do things for a reward so… what you're saying is completely illogical."
Sable laughed a little "Not everything needs a complex explanation, besides, not everyone is like that Iris. You need to trust people a little more."
It had obviously struck a nerve as Iris stood abruptly, she formally said "Thankyou for saving me, but now I have to go to bed."
Onox and Sable exchanged puzzled looks as the little Deku stomped off towards Kotake's home.