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Skyrim Spartan
Chapter Twenty-Five: Bleak Falls Barrow
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Segeant Carsis was in a state of disbelief as he led the rest of the group up the steps to the first stone platform outside the entrance to Bleak Falls Barrow. Arrows littered the steps, many with bent or crumpled arrowheads. Some arrows were even broken in half.
When they ascended to the platform, they saw the corpses of the recently deceased bandits littered about, bloody displays of Kratos' ruthless efficiency in battle.
Carsis was an experienced guardsman, loyal and trusted, and it was because of this that he had been assigned this mission by Commander Irileth personally. The orders apparently came directly from the jarl himself. Retrieving the dragonstone tablet was of paramount importance, which was why they were now here at Bleak Falls Barrow, but just as important was his secondary objective: he was to observe the new thane closely during this quest, making note of every action and display of strength and skill.
Carsis knew that the new thane was powerful. You would have to be deaf and blind not to see that simply by looking at the man. Not to mention his supposed feat in killing a dragon mostly on his own, which was confirmed by Commander Irileth herself. Along with the testimony of the fellow guardsmen who saw the battle with their own eyes, there should have been no room to doubt the thane's strength.
And yet, Carsis had been skeptical. It was one thing to be told someone was so incredibly strong as to rival heroes of legend, and another thing entirely to see it for yourself. Part of his skepticism was pure jealousy—any man, any warrior, would want to be so powerful. But another reason was simply because it sounded too farfetched for one man to have all that power. It was the level of power known only in legends, rarely seen anymore in this day and age.
Now though? He was starting to believe. Well, he had yet to actually see the thane in action, but he could see well enough the aftermath of a fight against him. And Carsis was both impressed and concerned. Commander Irileth had been very clear about one thing, and Carsis definitely agreed with her now.
"Do not antagonize or oppose this man. He must be handled carefully. He is not someone we can afford to offend, let alone make an enemy of," she had said to him with utter seriousness.
Carsis swallowed hard as he glanced at one of the broken, lifeless bodies. He had seen his share of blood and gore before, having once been an adventurer himself, but this was the first time he had seen a human body contorted into such an unnatural position. And the man's head had been…
What a terrible way to die, he thought with a shiver. Even if these men had been inexperienced bandits, they had had the advantage of numbers, range, and positioning. But that had apparently meant nothing to someone such as Kratos. He had swept through them as easily as someone might crush an ant with their boot.
He heard the other guardsmen whispering among themselves too, and knew they felt the same as him now. Kratos was definitely not someone they wanted to ever piss off, not that they had even been remotely entertaining the idea in the first place.
The other object of the sergeant's observations was a young blonde Nord girl who exuded an aura completely opposite that of Kratos: innocent, harmless, and inexperienced. Why he was tasked with keeping an eye on her behavior as well was beyond him, but he did not think to question his betters.
Said girl rushed up the steps ahead of them once their group caught sight of Kratos. She came to a stop in front of the massive warrior, who sat off to the side on chunk of fallen rock from one of the broken arches.
"I thought you said we wouldn't take the direct path?" she asked, almost accusingly. She obviously tried to keep her voice low, but it wasn't low enough since Carsis could still hear her.
Her tone momentarily alarmed Carsis until he reminded himself that the girl's relationship with the thane was different than the others. He doubted anyone else here would even dare to speak to him in such a manner.
"I said no such thing," Kratos replied, his voice the shadow of a rumbling earthquake.
Anske placed her hands on her hips. "What was the point of asking me all those questions then?"
Carsis was intrigued as he came to a stop a short distance away, careful to make it seem like he wasn't paying too much attention to their conversation. He had wondered why the two had gone on ahead earlier by themselves, but with the thane's two housecarls—he knew of the one but didn't realize he had so quickly gotten the services of another—staying behind with them he did not dare to send anyone ahead to spy on them.
"To teach you to think," Kratos said.
"Yes, you told me that. And I did think. I did learn. You told me I did well, didn't you? So, wouldn't it have been bet—"
"Enough! I never said what we would actually do, girl. I only asked what you would do in this situation." Kratos got to his feet, towering over her and everyone else. "You are not me, and I am not you. What you can do is different from what I can do. Remember that."
Anske thought for a moment, then merely said, "Oh, right," sounding sheepish. "People… resources…" she whispered to herself as if she were remembering something important.
With that concluded, Kratos then addressed Carsis, who nearly jumped at the sudden attention. "You there. You will want to question this one. He has promised to talk of their crimes in exchange for his life." He gestured vaguely off to the side, where Carsis realized another bandit lay sprawled on the ground. Surprisingly, the bandit was indeed alive, though unconscious.
Apparently, Kratos was capable of restraint, though he supposed he should have expected that, since he did bring back a prisoner last time too—a bandit captain, if Carsis remembered correctly.
Carsis nodded. "We'll take care of it," he said, ordering his men to secure the bandit. Once they were done here, they would bring him back to Riverwood and throw him in jail before returning to Whiterun City. He would let Captain Adray deal with that mess—this was her jurisdiction, after all.
It was then that the two housecarls stepped up onto the second platform, coming to a stop near Anske. Lydia eyed the giant stone doors nearby with interest while Uthgerd looked at Kratos, her warhammer resting across her shoulders with both hands holding either end of the long handle.
"Master Kratos, I would like to request vanguard duties for when we enter these ruins," Uthgerd said. She glanced around at the fallen bandits. "Because at this rate, I won't get to swing my hammer at anything with you in the lead."
"Uthgerd!" Lydia hissed, elbowing the armor-clad woman.
"What?" Uthgerd looked confused, maneuvering her hammer to rest upright at her side, hammer side down. "We can't let him have all the fun, right?"
Lydia bowed to Kratos. "Master Kratos, forgive us. What Uthgerd means is that we, as your housecarls, cannot in good conscience let you do all the work while we stand by and do nothing. Please understand. We only mean to fulfill our duties and serve you well." She elbowed Uthgerd again, who finally got the hint and bowed to Kratos as well.
Kratos stared at them, then grunted. "Fine."
Uthgerd grinned, while Lydia said, "Thank you, Master Kratos."
"I was told there are at least twenty bandits still inside," Kratos announced, having learned as much from the new prisoner.
Sergeant Carsis nodded. "My men and I will follow your lead, thane."
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They did not take long to get organized before they finally entered the ruins of Bleak Falls Barrow. They left four guardsmen outside to look after the horses, watch over the lone prisoner, and to secure the entrance from any who might attempt to enter after them. They were given instructions that if they saw too many enemies approaching, they were to fall back into the temple and defend the doors from inside.
The rest of the guardsmen—Sergeant Carsis plus five others—joined Kratos and his party into the ruins.
As agreed, Uthgerd led the way this time. A few steps behind her, Lydia followed with her sword and shield at the ready. Behind them were two of the sergeant's men. All of the guardsmen had shields, and either swords or axes. Kratos and Anske were next in the formation, with Sergeant Carsis and three guardsmen taking up the rear.
The large stone doors that marked the front entrance opened up into a smaller than expected, but still sizable, entrance hall. A network of vines had crept in from various cracks in the stone, covering large swathes of the hall. Two rows of stone columns lined the hall, holding up the high ceiling. One of the columns had been destroyed, and part of the ceiling it supported had collapsed, the crumbled remains having fallen over some time ago in a long heap of broken stones that blocked some of the middle section of the hall.
Unable to continue straight through without having to climb over the rubble, they went around it slowly, aware of the faint echoing of voices up ahead in what seemed like the next hall. None from their party dared to speak, everyone on alert for potential threats.
The interior of Bleak Falls Barrow looked truly ancient, given the state of its disrepair. It must have been crumbling for hundreds of years at least, if not thousands. More vines sprawled and twisted across the stones on the ceiling, walls, and floor from numerous holes and cracks.
At the end of the entrance hall was another set of large stone doors engraved with depictions of dragons flying in the sky over mountains wreathed in clouds. Except these doors were partially destroyed, the stones chipped and with cracks all over. The left side door was partially skewed, having been torn off the doorframe by some violent force long ago.
Uthgerd tensed slightly as she stepped through the narrow opening created by the skewed door. Thankfully it was wide enough for her, and there were no immediate enemies waiting on the other side. Surprisingly, even Kratos managed to fit through the gap, though it was a much tighter fit than he would have liked.
The next hall was much grander in scale, with a ceiling that was higher and columns that were thicker and more ornate. It was also longer than the entrance hall, stretching back farther. The same level of dilapidation could be seen here though, as even more vines and roots had broken through the stone.
Sunlight poured in through a giant hole in the ceiling, where dozens of roots and vines creeped in from the outside. Some snow had gathered beneath the hole, but not much since it was warmer inside, even with the gaping hole in the ceiling. Patches of green moss were everywhere among the crumbling ruins of the place, and a few corners even had mushrooms growing. There was plenty of dust and cobwebs all around too.
At the far end of the hall was a firepit with a cooking pot hanging over it, and around the fire stood several more of the bandits. Four of them, to be exact. There was one other bandit present, stationed not too far from the doors that Kratos and company had slipped through.
It was not a stretch to assume this man was assigned to watch said doorway. But he raised no alarm at the appearance of their group for he was fast asleep, arms crossed as he leaned against a nearby stone, snoring softly.
Uthgerd went right up to him and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, which jolted him awake.
"Wha—?" the man said, disoriented. He was greeted by a grinning Uthgerd, but before he could even process what was happening, she kneed him in the abdomen, forcing much of the air out of his lungs in a pained hiss as he doubled over.
Uthgerd finished him off by delivering a punch to the side of his face powerful enough to knock him out, sending him sprawling to the ground with a broken jaw and maybe even a cracked skull.
Given how quiet it was beforehand, the brief fight echoed loudly across the hall, alerting the other bandits to their presence. Not that Uthgerd was trying to be stealthy to begin with.
"We're under attack!" yelled one of the bandits.
"Shit, it's the guard!" another called out, recognizing the guardsmen for what they were.
They seemed to discuss something between themselves, but they were too far away and talked in quieter voices, making it impossible for Kratos' group to hear what they were saying. Not that it mattered, because the bandits all drew their weapons, signaling their intent. One had a bow, while the other three had various melee weapons.
Without hesitation, Uthgerd roared a war cry and charged at them, soon followed by Lydia and the two forward guardsmen. Kratos remained where he was, gesturing to Anske to use her bow. Sergeant Carsis and the others remained in reserve, watching with weapons at the ready in case they needed to join the fray.
"Leave the melee fighters to the others. Aim for the archer in the rear," Kratos said, eyes on Anske as she nocked an arrow and began to draw on her bow, lining up a shot.
Anske nodded an acknowledgement.
"Keep your elbow up," Kratos continued calmly. "Feel your heartbeat. Slow it down. Time your release between the beats."
The whisper of an arrow flying close overhead startled her, causing her to flinch. She let loose wildly, her errant arrow nearly hitting one of the guardsmen in the back.
Kratos suddenly grabbed her by the arm. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he bellowed, making everyone around him jump.
Anske looked at him with a terrified expression, and frankly so did everyone else.
Kratos' eyes widened ever so slightly upon seeing her fearful eyes staring up at him. He blinked and looked away, letting out a long breath to compose himself. In a much calmer but still gruff voice, he said, "Do not get distracted. Fire only when you are ready to fire." He let go of her, and she instinctively took a step away from him, lowering her head.
Ahead of them, Uthgerd had already crushed the first bandit she encountered with a few mighty swings of her hammer while Lydia engaged the second with her shield. The third bandit fought one of the guardsmen while the fourth bandit, the archer, fired several arrows into the shield of the second forward guardsmen who was charging at him.
It was too late now to support them with ranged weapons, not with an archer of Anske's skill anyway. Firing into a melee was challenging even for experienced archers, since the risk of hitting one of your own was high. As if to deter any thoughts of trying again, Kratos stepped into her line of fire. Not that she seemed like she wanted to draw her bow again at that moment.
The skirmish was over fairly quickly, the bandits clearly overmatched. The four at the end were soon dead, while the first bandit, who was only knocked out, was bound and gagged. They made sure to remove any weapons that were within easy reach of him and planned to pick him up later on their way out of the ruins.
"Well, that was disappointing," Uthgerd declared, rolling her shoulders to loosen them up some more.
Nobody had anything to say to that, though the fact that nobody disputed it meant they agreed.
Anske was quiet as the remaining unused arrows from the bandit archer's quiver were handed to her on Kratos' order, which at least meant he wanted her to keep using the bow. There weren't that many arrows to transfer, but it was enough to completely fill up her own quiver. Anske kept her head down the whole time, looking at once dejected and in deep concentration about something.
Lydia noticed something was off and looked questioningly at her, then at Kratos, but he ignored her unspoken question. When she glanced at Sergeant Carsis, the man merely shook his head.
"Keep going," Kratos said before Lydia could figure out what had happened, and so they pushed forward.
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The next several chambers and hallways were devoid of any enemies, though there was plenty of evidence of fighting. Some of it was old, but some of the signs of battle were recent. It seemed those bandits had cleared out whatever guarded these areas before–draugr from the looks of it, given all the broken skeletons and ancient Nord armor and weapons strewn about.
There were splotches and streaks of dried blood too, meaning there were at least some injuries to living combatants. They also passed two bandit corpses, and from the looks of them, they had died fairly recently. Within the last two or three days at most.
As they pressed onwards, Kratos paid careful attention to their surroundings as they moved through the ruined temple. He noticed that there was nothing of significant value left. Broken or opened vases, pots, jars, and containers were everywhere, devoid of any contents. Everything interesting or worthwhile had likely already been stripped and taken by either the bandits who were ahead of them, or others who came before even these bandits over the years.
The group of bandits this time around apparently had no name, at least according to the man Kratos had interrogated personally outside. They were a rag-tag collection of desperate thieves, criminals, and murderers, brought together by someone called Arvel the Swift. Apparently, he was a dark elf, or Dunmer, who had led them here in search of riches after acquiring some golden key.
This special key would let them access the deepest parts of the temple, which had been securely locked away all this time. That meant there were plenty of unexplored sections to discover, and likely lots of treasure to loot. Especially in the inner sanctum of the temple. That was why so many had followed him here willingly, despite the dangers. They had thought the potential rewards to be worth the dangers.
Kratos had not really cared much for their backstory, nor why they were here. All that mattered to him was finding out how many enemies had gone inside the ruins of the ancient temple. Assuming the prisoner's information was correct—Kratos did not detect any lies from him, but the man could have miscounted or been misinformed—there had to be about a dozen bandits left after the ones Kratos and company had already taken care of.
It was likely that those who remained were the most skilled fighters of the bandit group as well. These were the ones who had been given the responsibility of accompanying the leader of their group to delve into the untouched depths of the temple and brave the unknown dangers there in search of treasure.
With bandits and other dangers present in such enclosed spaces, Kratos and company had to be cautious. Or at least, everyone else besides Kratos had to be.
One thing that was curious was that when Kratos had asked the man about the dragonstone, he seemed to have no idea what he was talking about. That meant these bandits were either ignorant of its existence, or the dragonstone wasn't actually here. The jarl's court wizard seemed completely convinced that it was here though. Or maybe only this… Arvel knew about it, hiding the knowledge from his compatriots in order to keep the thing for himself.
Why was the dragonstone so important anyway? What power did it have? From the name alone it could be inferred that its importance related to the dragons. Did it perhaps have some power over them?
Well, Kratos would find out for himself soon enough.
The thought of dragons once again reminded Kratos of his new… pupil. Dragonborn. He would need to find an opportunity for them to explore whatever powers she might have related to that. But for that to happen, they would need to get rid of the guardsmen following them around. He did not think either Lydia or Uthgerd would tell anyone of their secret, but he doubted the guardsmen would be able to keep their mouths shut even if he asked.
Eventually, they came upon a barred metal gate that blocked their path. They could see through the bars of the gate into the hallway beyond, which turned abruptly to the left after a few paces. It was a sturdy gate made of thick steel bars. Kratos thought he could break through it with enough effort, but after a quick glance around, he realized it would be fairly simple to open it, and was therefore not worth the effort to force his way through.
The chamber they were in was small and somewhat cramped, one corner of which having completely collapsed beneath the dirt and rock of the mountain above. Whoever had built the temple had delved deep into the earth, and Kratos had a feeling they had further to go until they reached the end.
Near the center of the chamber, and several paces directly in front of the gate, was a long lever built into the floor. Most likely, it activated the gate, but when Lydia was about to reach for it, both Uthgerd and Kratos told her to stop.
Lydia immediately stepped backwards, reaching for her sword as if the lever might all of a sudden turn into a snake and lunge at her, but nothing of the sort happened, and she and a few of the guardsmen who had also tensed for combat eventually relaxed.
"Places like this often have traps for intruders like us," Uthgerd told her and anyone else who might not have known. "Which means things ain't often as easy or as simple as they seem, such as merely pulling a lever to open a gate."
"Why is the gate closed, anyway? Shouldn't it have been opened already? Those bandits went ahead of us." Anske said with a confused look.
Uthgerd shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe one of those fools we encountered closed the gate and then went back to their little camp. But I'm betting there's probably a way to activate the trap and close the gate on the other side of it. Wouldn't be surprised if the bastards did that to stop anyone else from following after them. I mean, I'd probably do it too if I was in their shoes."
"It would make sense if there was another lever on the other side of the gate," Sergeant Carsis chimed in. "As a defensive measure. This place was a temple first, before it became a tomb. If the temple were ever attacked, the defenders could hinder the attackers that way."
Uthgerd laughed. "You're brighter than you look!" she said, causing the sergeant to glare at her and grumble, which in turn made her laugh some more.
Lydia frowned. "If you hadn't stopped me… What would have happened if I had pulled the lever, then?" She glanced around, trying to find signs of the trap associated with the lever that Uthgerd seemed so sure existed.
"Everyone step back," Uthgerd said with a grin.
For a brief moment, nobody moved, instead looking to Kratos for guidance. When he said nothing, they all assumed he was fine with whatever it was Uthgerd was trying to do, so they followed her command and backed away from the lever.
Kratos continued to be silent as the big warrior woman crouched and reached for the lever with her hammer, catching it with the hammerhead and then using her impressive strength to pull on it. It looked somewhat comical, but he could see that this was probably the safest way for her to trigger the trap.
Although… triggering the trap at all merely for the sake of a demonstration was an act of complete foolishness, especially if you didn't know the nature of the trap itself, which they didn't. He had a feeling it wouldn't be anything terrible, but Kratos figured that if Uthgerd ended up killing herself, she only had herself to blame. And if that were to happen, perhaps Anske might learn something from it too. Hence his allowing for the foolishness to proceed.
As soon as the lever was pulled completely, the sound of various hidden mechanisms echoed across the chamber. It came from beneath the floor, and behind the walls. Maybe even from the ceiling. Then, suddenly, bolts of something whistled through the air from several places high up along the walls, converging on the spot where someone would have to be standing to use the lever. Each bolt that was fired was accompanied by a sound similar to that of a crossbow firing.
The bolts, at least a dozen of them, thankfully hit no one and embedded themselves deep into the stone floor wherever they landed instead. Several of their company gasped with shocked looks on their faces, including Lydia and Anske. The guardsmen looked around warily, holding their shields up slightly from their resting positions.
After a few seconds, the lever cranked back to its original position on its own, and the sounds of hidden machinery abruptly stopped. Nothing else happened for another tense minute, and then Uthgerd stood back up to her full height, grinning from ear to ear.
"Exciting, eh?" she said, her gaze sweeping across each and every one of their faces as she rested her hammer across one shoulder and placed her other hand on her hip.
Sergeant Carsis gazed at the lever thoughtfully. "How do we open the gate without triggering the trap?"
"Solve the puzzle," Kratos said.
"Puzzle, master Kratos?" Lydia glanced at him. "What puzzle?"
Uthgerd gestured towards three stone statues on one side of the chamber, which most everyone had ignored until then. The statues were shaped into small, identical three-sided obelisks about as tall as Lydia. And upon each face of the obelisks was a different carving of an animal.
The three different carvings were: a hawk, a fish, and a snake.
Sergeant Carsis and Lydia stepped cautiously towards the obelisks. When she was close enough, Lydia reached out a hand, running it along the cold stone surface of one of the obelisks. Then, grabbing an edge firmly, she pulled with enough force to spin the obelisk around. With the sound of grinding stones and hidden machinery, the obelisk spun just far enough that a different symbol now faced them.
Seeing what she had done, Sergeant Carsis also tried it with the obelisk nearest him, and was able to replicate her feat.
"I had heard of puzzles like these from adventurers before," the sergeant said with a tinge of wonder in his voice. "I never thought I'd get to see it for myself someday."
Anske looked at Kratos. "How did you know?"
"Experience," he said.
Silence followed for a few seconds, as if people were expecting him to elaborate. He did not.
Lydia spoke, unable to hide the curiosity from her tone. "So, I'm guessing the right combination of symbols on these statues will deactivate the trap… and safely open the gate?"
"Aye. It's pretty simple. I've seen far more complicated ones before. And far deadlier traps than this too," Uthgerd said. "Small puzzles like these, the solutions are usually in the same room. Just need to be a little clever to figure it out."
Anske spotted it first, having already started looking around the chamber more closely. "Look! Above the gate."
Sure enough, along the upper wall over the gate were three symbols that matched some of the ones on the moving statues, although the first symbol in the sequence was partially obscured by the collapsed section of the chamber. They could just barely make out that it was a snake.
The combination on the wall turned out to be: snake-snake-fish.
Lydia stepped forward to turn the obelisks until they matched the combination of symbols on the wall.
"Are you sure this is right?" she asked as she stepped back, sounding slightly nervous. "What if it's supposed to be the other way around?"
Uthgerd stepped right up to the lever. "Hah! Only one way to find out!" she said as she pulled it almost gleefully.
"Wait!" several people cried with alarm, but it was already too late.
The lever clicked as it was activated, and then the hidden machinery sounded again. But this time, no bolts were fired. Instead, the gate actually opened. The whole process was rather loud, but it was quick, and soon quiet settled once more.
Uthgerd beamed. "See? Nothing to worry about."
Sergeant Carsis rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed while Anske couldn't help but smile at Uthgerd's antics. Even Lydia had the faint trace of a smile on her lips, though she would deny it if anyone asked. Kratos was his usually silent and seemingly glowering self.
Uthgerd beckoned them towards the now opened gate, hoisting her hammer and slapping the handle against the palm of her off-hand. "C'mon you lot. Enough standing around. I'm itching to smash some more skulls."
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They descended deeper into the ancient temple, going through more empty passages and ransacked chambers, and down several flights of stairs. The deeper they went, the darker it became, with less and less active light sources to illuminate the way. It also got progressively cooler and damper, further evidence that they were heading deeper underground.
Every now and again there would be the remains of what appeared to be draugr, but none came to life and accosted them, much to Uthgerd's disappointment. And Anske's too, she had been hoping to see some with her own eyes.
"Draugr are undead, right?" Anske said after a while. "Once you… erm… deal with one. Couldn't it come back? Shouldn't it? I mean, this temple has been explored before, right? So, there had to be draugr back then. And yet you said some of the fights with draugr remains looked recent."
"Huh. I don't actually know," Uthgerd said, adjusting her grip on her hammer. "Never really thought about it. And I've never needed to explore the same ruin more than once before."
"It would make sense that they can come back, but maybe it takes time for them to return?" Lydia said. "That would explain why people keep encountering draugr over time, despite all the people fighting and wiping them out throughout history."
Uthgerd kicked a cracked skull on the ground, sending it clattering away. "Whatever the reason, I wish they'd hurry up rebuild themselves or something. I could use the warm-up."
More concerning than the lack of draugr, though, was the fact that the deeper they went, the more spiderwebs they saw. Sometimes, whole pieces of furniture or entire sections of chambers were engulfed by the pale webs of spiders, with dozens upon dozens of tiny spiders scuttling about. It was obvious that some of the webs had been previously built across the path they walked, but luckily the webs had already been cleared by the bandits that had come before them.
"I hate spiders," Anske said under her breath, but given how quiet it was, most everyone heard it.
"I'm pretty sure everyone does," Lydia said.
"Aye. They're filthy beasts, those spiders," Uthgerd said as she scowled at a collection of tiny spiders on a thick weave of web as if it were a direct affront to her very being.
After a certain point, it got so dark for long stretches that they were forced to use torches to light the way, which the guardsmen had plenty to share. Everyone got one, including Kratos. Entire sections of the temple were plunged into total darkness, and their progress slowed in those areas as Uthgerd led them cautiously through, wary of possible traps and ambushes. But nothing happened, and they continued to move through the ruins of the ancient temple without incident.
A while later, they entered into a narrow, high-ceilinged chamber that was absolutely covered in spiderwebs. The ceiling was so high that they could not even see it, their torches not bright enough to reach that far. The webs all around them were layered so thick they could have been mistaken for enormous white tapestries draping the walls. In fact, it looked like the spiders had decided to cover every inch of the place in webs, as if redecorating the place to suit their tastes.
It was here that they saw the remnants of a big battle. Pools of blood, partially dried, covered the floors and stained some of the webs a dark red. There were also splotches of dark green liquid all over too. But oddly, despite the amount of blood and the various weapons and even pieces of armor scattered across the floor, there were no bodies.
"These are… egg sacs," one of the guardsmen said with disgust, having looked closer with a torch at some of the odd-shaped objects seemingly buried within the many layers of webs.
There were dozens of egg sacs, all of them grouped into clusters in various locations. Some were even attached to the walls. Most of the ones they could see appeared to have already hatched, the sacs cracked open and looking dry. Whether they hatched long ago, or recently, was difficult to tell.
"This must be a nest for giant spiders," Uthgerd said with obvious disgust. "Frostbite Spiders, most likely. They're native to Skyrim."
Lydia drew her sword, and the guardsmen followed her lead and readied their own weapons. "I've heard Frostbite Spiders are poisonous."
"Most giant spiders are," Uthgerd said pointedly. "They can spit poison too."
"If this is a nest," Lydia said as she also raised her shield a little higher, "Where are all the spiders?"
"I don't like this," said Anske, drawing closer to Kratos, who looked around suspiciously. He could sense danger nearby, yet he could not see any enemies.
That was when they heard it. The faint sounds of labored breathing from somewhere up ahead. But they could not see anyone. Their torches only illuminated up to a certain point, and the light failed to reach the ceiling or the far end of the hall, shrouding all of those areas in darkness.
The sound of labored breathing stopped, replaced by a fit of coughing that clearly came from up ahead, and everyone froze for a moment. Then the clear sound of labored breathing could be heard again, echoing lightly across the hall. Then a voice spoke, weak and in pain.
"Is… Is someone there?"
Uthgerd and Lydia shared a look, then they advanced together, weapons at the ready. The two forward guardsmen held their shields up and followed slowly. Everyone was on high alert as the looming sense of danger filled them, and they moved along carefully through the web-infested hall, slowly following the two housecarls who had gone ahead.
Sergeant Carsis stood next to Kratos, swallowing nervously as his eyes scanned for any enemies. Enemies that he hoped weren't actually Frostbite Spiders, though he knew that was unlikely given their surroundings. He was next to the thane to protect him, not because it somehow felt safer. At least, that's what he told himself.
Kratos glanced upward sharply, then his eyes narrowed, and it made Sergeant Carsis suddenly wary.
"Do you see something, thane?" he ventured to ask, whispering as he too stared into the darkness above.
Kratos did not answer him. He could see well enough through the darkness overhead, but he saw no enemies yet. What he saw instead were several cocoons strung up all along the webs that crisscrossed the ceiling. He now knew where all the remains of the bandits had gone. And beyond the webs and cocoons were large dark holes in the ceiling. He had a bad feeling about those holes, and his instincts told him that danger was coming.
The spiders that nested here likely knew they were there.
Anske reached out and grabbed hold of Kratos' forearm for comfort and was taken aback for a moment at the unexpected feel of rough cloth. She had forgotten that there were cloth wraps around his forearms, and the lack of skin contact when she was expecting it made her briefly worried that she grabbed someone or something else. Why did he have those cloth wraps anyway?
She didn't have much time to ponder as the sounds of conversation reached her ears. Uthgerd and Lydia had found the source of the unknown voice and the labored breathing.
Completely stuck in a doorway at the far end of the hall that was covered with thick spiderwebs was a Dunmer who looked like he had been there for a while. His lips were cracked and dry, and his blood red eyes squinted against the sudden light from the torches in their hands. Dried blood caked his head, parts of his face, and even his leather armor where it was visible between the webs that entangled him. At least some of the blood appeared not to be his.
"P-Please… help me…" he croaked. "Cut me down… before they return."
"They? Who's they?" Lydia asked.
"The spiders, you fool!" the Dunmer spat, but then grimaced. Whether because it had caused him pain, or because he realized he was being rude to his potential saviors, was unclear.
Admittedly, Lydia should have guessed that much, though she just wanted to clarify if there might be other foes to worry about. Of course, the most dangerous thing in a space full of spiderwebs and eggs had to be spiders. The thought made her skin crawl, so she tried not to think about it too much.
"Where is the rest of your party?" Uthgerd asked, neither she nor Lydia made any moves to free the elf.
"Dead," he said, but not with sorrow. More like disbelief. Then he looked straight at Uthgerd. "As we all will be… if you don't cut me down from here."
Lydia turned to Uthgerd. "We should leave him here for the spiders to finish their job."
"You can't!" the dark elf said, sounding both panicked and confused.
"Oh? Why is that?" Lydia said.
"Because… foolish woman… this passage is the only way forward," he wheezed for a moment, then continued, "Unless you wish to give up… and go home empty-handed… You'll have to cut me down… to get through."
Before they could say anything else, Kratos' voice suddenly thundered through the hall, sending bolts of alarm and fear through each and every one of them.
"Look out! Above us!"
Both Lydia and Uthgerd quickly looked up, and immediately regretted it. The light from their torches was suddenly reflected on what seemed like hundreds or more tiny moving dots overhead.
The eyes of dozens of giant spiders.
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Lydia raised her shield skyward and readied her sword while Uthgerd prepared to swing mightily at any of the spiders who dared to get close.
The spiders quickly became visible in the torchlight, and most of the first spiders to reach them were smaller than expected with bodies the size of large dogs. Though there appeared to be even larger ones further up, making their way down slowly.
"C-Cut me down! Now!" the dark elf growled at Lydia, sounding utterly afraid.
When the first spiders were close enough, they launched themselves at the party. One of the rear guardsmen cried out in terror and pain as he was instantly overwhelmed by five of the dog-sized spiders jumping on him at once before. His brothers-in-arms couldn't do anything about it as they too were attacked, though they were luckier in that they only had to face one each.
One of the spiders jumped at Kratos, but he backhanded before it could land on him and sent it flying without much effort. The impact of his hand alone caused a squelching sound as he partially crushed it. If it wasn't already dead once he hit it, it definitely died from the impact force from when it tore through a few layers of webs and smacked into a wall.
Another of the small spiders landed on his shoulder and tried to bite him, managing only to give him a brief moment of discomfort where its fangs tried to pierce him through his coat. With a growl of annoyance, he smacked the spider off, and it let out a pained scree as it flew away and tumbled across the ground, blood spilling from various fissures that had opened up from the blow he had delivered and leaving a trail of blood and ichor across the ground.
He stomped and smacked on several more spiders before they started to avoid him, looking for easier prey.
Sergeant Carsis and the two remaining guardsmen killed the initial spiders that attacked them, then joined together to kill four of the spiders that had landed on their comrade in the first wave. While the remaining spider immediately jumped away and scuttled quickly along the web-covered walls, looking for angles to strike.
The guardsman who had been overwhelmed fell limp to the ground, breathing heavily but somehow still alive. Sergeant Carsis scrambled forward, kneeling down to check on him as the two other guardsmen protected him. Using his torch, he checked the man's wounds. It did not look good.
Despite that, he said, "Hang on!" as he fumbled for the satchel of potions on the guardsman's body. Every member of the Guard carried a similar satchel for emergencies precisely like this one.
On the far side of the hall, Uthgerd roared as she smashed one of the small spiders into a bloody pulp. "Come at me, you disgusting beasts! Come at me if you dare!" she yelled in challenge.
Lydia had also sliced in half one of the dog-sized spiders that had attempted to jump at her, the momentum of its jump covering her in a spray of spider blood. She thought it was disgusting, but not enough for her to outwardly react to it. There were more important things to focus on at the moment. Such as staying alive.
"Cut me down! Please! I beg of you!" the dark elf pleaded again, struggling feebly against the webs that held him fast. "I can help! I can help you fight! Really!"
At that moment, Lydia, deciding it was better to cut him free and open up a possible path to escape if needed, turned towards the elf and began to hack at the webs around him. Besides, another body and pair of hands to fight against the spiders was probably a good thing. Even if said hands were the untrustworthy ones of a bandit.
"Finally!" the dark elf said as she frantically tried to cut him free.
One of the small spiders, noticing Lydia's lack of attention as she concentrated on cutting the Dunmer free, tried to leap at her from behind. But Uthgerd caught it in midair with her hammer with impressive precision, splattering its remains across the hall.
"Don't even think about it," Uthgerd growled at the other spiders close by, though a few still tried anyway. She killed nearly all of them, with one managing to get past her and scuttle up to Lydia's left leg, biting through her leathers. Terrible pain erupted from her leg, feeling as if it might be ripped off.
"Ahhh!" Lydia cried, instinctively kicking the spider off, or at least she tried to. It held fast, biting harder until she finally stabbed it in the head with her sword, instantly relieving the pressure on her leg as the spider spasmed and died.
The elf thudded to the ground heavily next to her, but Lydia could not spare any more time to check on him. Now that he was free, he would have to take care of himself.
The pain of Lydia's fresh wound threatened to overwhelm her after only a few seconds, and she couldn't put much weight on her leg anymore, but she pushed through it and adapted as best as she could, holding her shield up as she propped herself up next to the web-covered doorway.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was probably poisoned, which was definitely not a good thing. She had an antidote potion in her satchel, but that would mean putting her sword away to get it. Not the smartest thing to do as the spiders continued their assault. She gritted her teeth and hacked at another dog-sized spider that dared to get close enough, and the battle continued.
Another of the guardsmen cried out as he went down, succumbing to several of the smaller spiders that bit and tore at him. His screams of pain echoed through the hall, unnerving all the remaining guardsmen.
"Steady, men! Steady!" Sergeant Carsis yelled, though he barely sounded in control of himself either, the fear evident in his voice.
After dispatching several more of the smaller spiders, Lydia dared to turn around, wondering what had happened to the elf; he should have started helping by now. She scowled fiercely when she realized he was gone. The bastard had left them. Coward. She should have expected that. Gritting her teeth as another wave of pain emanated from her injured leg, she returned her attention to the fight, hacking away at any spiders that came close.
It was at this point that the situation escalated further, for Kratos could see that the sheer number of the smaller spiders might eventually overwhelm his allies. They had killed many of the pests already, but more continued to descend. And the larger ones were still lying in wait. Probably biding their time as the smaller spiders whittled down their numbers and exhausted them.
Given the options available, the best way to curb their numbers was probably…
"Use the torches!" Kratos called out urgently. "Burn the webs!" He threw his torch at the web-covered wall closest to him, and the webs immediately caught fire. All around him, the others followed his orders, though they held on to their own torches instead of throwing them like Kratos did.
Kratos had discarded his because he really did not need it, being able to see well enough in the dark with his own two eyes. More importantly, he knew he was going to need both hands to better protect everyone. Well, everyone who mattered at least.
It was a risky move, to be sure. Fire would certainly burn many of the spiders, possibly even forcing some of them to flee. But it could also burn Kratos' allies, or at least hinder them because of the heat or the smoke. Their bodies were not as durable as his. Everything was covered in webs in this hall, which also meant that burning any part of the thick layers of webs would result in the whole place catching fire eventually.
But it was a necessary risk that would aid the others in surviving longer. Besides, Kratos did not plan for them to stay in this hall long enough to be engulfed in all the flames anyway.
As he had predicted, a momentary break in the fighting ensued as the flames spread quickly across the webs, burning some of the smaller spiders who couldn't get away in time while sending many of them fleeing back upwards from where they first came. Some of the empty eggs began to burn too, along with the few eggs that had yet to hatch, and the air quickly filled with the smell of smoke, burnt flesh, and burnt… other things.
Kratos turned to Anske, grabbing the nearly catatonic girl with both hands. "Snap out of it, girl!" He shook her slightly, and she glanced up at him with a dazed expression. "Do you hear me, girl? You must get a hold of yourself!"
She looked so afraid, and Kratos was reminded of the terrified look she had given him earlier. But this time, instead of being scared of him, she was scared of these creatures. She was absolutely horrified of spiders, it seemed, and seeing a small army of giant spiders descending upon her proved to be too much for her to handle. It was strange to think this was the same young woman who had dared to fight a dragon.
"Control yourself. Conquer your fear," he told her in a powerful voice that seemed to finally shake her from her stupor. "I will need your help. Do you understand?"
Anske blinked, then nodded slowly, swallowing hard.
"I need you to use your bow. Even if only once in this fight. Can you do that?" He raised her hand up, the one holding her bow.
Again, Anske nodded. She understood. She had regained some of her wits, and a part of her was yet again embarrassed at the show of weakness and inexperience in front of Kratos. But she couldn't help it. She was really, truly terrified of spiders. Still shaking, she withdrew an arrow from her quiver and tried to control her breathing.
"Inhale. Focus. Exhale. Release," Kratos said as he let go of her.
The heat was intensifying around them, and the screeches of the spiders were getting louder. Angrier. The hall was brightly lit now thanks to all the flames, and they could see at least fifty more of the small spiders scrambling around overhead, seemingly in a panic.
The larger spiders looked agitated, and had retreated a little, but they did not yet seem as if they were going to back off completely. In fact, their killing intent seemed to intensify. At this rate, Kratos was unsure he could protect everyone. He needed to move them all to somewhere safer.
He glanced at the nearby guardsmen who were tending to their fallen comrades. There was no time. They only had a small window to get out of there before the spiders decided to ignore the flames and rush them. He was sure of it.
"Run!" Kratos bellowed, pointing to the end of the hall where Lydia and Uthgerd were holding their ground.
The guardsmen tried to carry their injured comrades, not willing to leave them behind, which meant that they were slow to move. They only managed to take a few steps before they had to stop as large, dark shapes dropped from the ceiling, blocking their path.
The larger spiders had come forth at last.
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Kratos growled, skin tightening around his eyes as he assessed the spiders positioned in front of him.
Three were of similar size, with two of them facing him while the third one faced Lydia and Uthgerd. The fourth and largest of the Frostbite Spiders also faced Kratos and was in the middle of the three smaller spiders. Ignoring their size differences, the spiders all looked nearly identical to each other. However, they did not look like the spiders that Kratos was familiar with from his old world, now that he was looking at them more closely in the now brightly lit chamber.
These spiders had five black round eyes instead of eight, two of which were much larger than the rest and set to either side of the upper part of his head, with the remaining three smaller eyes arranged in an upside-down triangle in between the two larger eyes.
Each spider had ten hairy appendages, four of which were legs used for movement on each side with small black claws at their tips while the final two were forward-facing appendages protruding from either side of its head. The two forward-facing appendages were for attacking and latching on to prey, for at their ends were sharp spikes that looked almost like blades, one side of which was jagged.
From the front of their faces, beneath their eyes, protruded two large chelicerae with fangs at the end, forming upper fangs. Beneath that were two more chelicerae, slightly smaller, ending in two lower fangs. And hidden between these chelicerae was the spider's mouth, which was large enough to bite off an average-sized human's head easily.
In short, these spiders were definitely deadlier than the spiders Kratos knew of in his old world.
Not that it mattered in the end. Their opponent was Kratos, after all.
The closest of the large spiders lowered itself, ready to pounce, and Kratos was ready for it when it jumped forward with surprising speed for its size. Its two blade-tipped appendages stabbed downwards at him while its fangs widened, eager to pierce his flesh as it neared him. The guardsmen cried in alarm, and behind him Anske gasped. But Kratos calmly dashed forward, lowering himself and tensing his legs as he wound up a right-handed uppercut.
The blade-tipped appendages missed him, passing harmlessly over and behind him and piercing into the stone floor. The spider's fangs also barely missed their mark, and Kratos quickly found himself directly beneath the spider's abdomen. Using the strength from his legs, he punched upward, causing the spider to screech as it was lifted up into the air and its legs folded inward from the sheer force of the blow.
His other hand grabbed one of its legs, keeping the spider from sailing even higher into the air. Instead, using his momentum, he spun and then threw the screeching spider into the second spider nearby, which had been about to attack the guardsmen.
The two spiders collided, tumbling into the wall with a mighty crash punctuated by pained screeches.
"Your bow!" Kratos reminded Anske, who was still shaking and standing behind him. Of course, he did not actually need her help. But he knew this was an important moment for the girl to overcome her fears and emerge stronger, if she had the willpower to seize the opportunity.
Kratos did not wait for her to respond or react. He wanted to finish off the two large spiders that were now dazed, injured, and entangled with each other. Running forward, he reached behind him and finally drew his sword. He was capable of killing them easily enough with only his bare hands, but using the sword was much faster.
As he leaped into the air towards the downed spiders, he swung his massive broadsword overhead to cleave both spiders in one strike. But movement in the corner of his eye caused him to twist in that direction and alter the path of his sword, battle instincts kicking in.
Kratos let out a grunt as he was barely able to deflect the powerful attack from the largest of the spiders, who had lunged at him with one of its bladed appendages. The spider's chitinous blade clanging against the metal of his own.
The spider was stronger than its kin, befitting its larger size, and since Kratos was in midair when it struck, the force of the strike sent him flying back towards the doorway they had first entered the hall with. He slammed into a wall in a cloud of dust and broken stone, rolling across it before falling to the ground heavily almost in front of the doorway.
The largest of the spiders did not waste any time, swiftly skewering one of the surviving uninjured guardsmen with one of its bladed appendages before bringing it to its mouth. It bit into the man in a bloody display filled with the man's anguished screams and the terrible sound of crunching bone and squelching flesh.
Almost simultaneously, the largest spider's other appendage struck another guardsman, who managed to block it with his shield, though the shield was almost broken in half from the strike as the blade got caught in it.
Sergeant Carsis took this opportunity to strike, rushing forward and swinging with his sword, cutting deep into the appendage but failing to sever it completely. He simply lacked the strength and skill to do so. The giant spider screeched in pain and anger, drawing back for a moment as it was unexpectedly injured by what it deemed weak prey.
The guardsman whose shield was ruined quickly discarded it, gingerly favoring his left arm, which had taken the brunt of the strike behind his shield. Only two uninjured guardsmen remained, plus Sergeant Carsis.
The least injured of the two spiders Kratos had engaged earlier finally threw off its more injured sibling, sending it rolling away until it came to a stop and shakily tried to gather its strength.
The largest of the spiders, though injured, now faced the surviving guardsmen as its second bodyguard spider prepared to join the fray. The odds were not looking good for the guardsmen.
The sounds of fighting from the far end indicated that Lydia and Uthgerd were engaging the third of the spider leader's bodyguards. It was clear that the other spiders thought that Kratos and the guardsmen were a more dangerous threat, for they paid no attention to that fight.
Above them all, the fire had reached halfway up the hall, and continued to burn away much of the webbing that had been layered across the walls. Few of the smaller spiders remained, most having retreated into the holes whence they came.
Kratos quickly rose to his feet, none the worse for wear. With a snort of annoyance, he rolled his right shoulder that had taken the brunt of the impact against the wall, then he angled his large blade to the side and then dashed back into the fight.
Either seeing or sensing him approaching, the second bodyguard spider leaped over the bewildered guardsmen, landing behind them and directly in Kratos' path. If he were to guess, Kratos thought the spider might be glaring at him. Focusing a little more than at the beginning of the battle, Kratos did not stop running forward as the spider stabbed at him with both blade-arms—that was what he decided to call their bladed appendages.
Before the blade-arms hit him, Kratos leapt to the side, swinging his sword across and upward, easily slicing off both blade-arms at once at one of the middle joints. The spider screeched in pain. Still spinning around, Kratos then cleaved the front left leg of the spider, blood and ichor spurting everywhere from its suddenly severed appendages.
It screeched again, trying to bite him with its deadly sharp fangs, but he ducked and rolled underneath it, and the fangs closed on nothing but air. Once he was in position, Kratos did not hesitate to plunge his blade straight up into the spider's head, and the blade emerged above and behind its eyes as it spasmed and died.
Kratos shoved it off him with an audible shlick as it slid wetly off his sword, its large body thudding to the ground. He turned and frowned as he saw the largest spider devour another of the guardsmen. Sergeant Carsis was still standing, as was one other guardsman. Another was sprawled on the ground, unconscious. One of the injured from earlier in the fight.
As the spider leader finished crunching on its latest victim, dropping the mangled, bloody corpse to the ground, it turned its attention to the two remaining guardsmen. Raising its menacing blade-arms up high, poised to strike at them both at the same time from the looks of it, it suddenly spat something at its targets.
A mass of puke green liquid almost phlegm-like hurtled through the air from its mouth at Sergeant Carsis, causing the other guardsmen to cry out a warning, but thankfully, the sergeant had his shield up and it splattered onto it harmlessly.
As soon as the poison spit hit the sergeant's shield, however, the blade-arms moved to strike. But in that split-second as it initiated its attack, the spider abruptly jerked to the side and screeched in pain, and its strikes missed their mark, impaling themselves into the stone floor instead. The spider scuttled about, reeling in pain from something.
Had Kratos not been paying close attention, he might not have seen it. An arrow had pierced the giant spider in its large left eye, embedding itself halfway into its head.
Kratos let out a pleased snort. Good job, girl.
Right then, as if to mark the start of the climax of the battle, flaming debris fell from the sky, each one exploding somewhat as they smacked into the ground, flames flaring.
The fires had finally reached the multitude of cocoons—the wrapped remains of past victims—hanging all across the high ceiling at the mouth of the spider holes, and they were now dropping down on the combatants below. Some of the falling debris were also the burnt carcasses of dead spiders that had been caught in the flames.
Kratos looked up, eyeing the raging flames above. He could feel the temperature in the hall had skyrocketed in only a matter of minutes. Smoke filled the air, and more than that, it seemed harder and harder to breathe. Not that he really needed to, but it was somewhat of an inconvenience. And if he noticed these things, it was likely affecting his mortal allies even worse.
He should probably get on with it, and fast. With a decisive flick of his sword, he sent much of the blood and ichor on it flying off. His blade now mostly clean, he surged forward one more time.
It was time to finish this fight.
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Anske's heart beat rapidly in her chest. She had done it. She actually managed to make a move despite the almost oppressive fear she had felt since catching sight of the seemingly endless horde of giant spiders. Even better, she was able to hit the giant spider exactly where she had been meaning to—in the eye!
Well, one of its eyes, at least. It had four more, but she thought she had done well enough to injure and hinder it given her current condition. She had done far more than she thought she could handle only minutes ago, when all she could think about was how frightening giant spiders actually were.
Of all the monsters they could have faced, it just had to be spiders. The creatures she was most terrified of. Still, she managed to get a hold of herself enough to fight back, even if only a little.
She had Kratos to thank for that. There was something about his presence, and his powerful voice, that had brought her back from the brink. And of course, watching him dispatch one giant spider after another, even throwing the larger ones around as if they were nothing, helped to inspire her. It showed, at least, that they could definitely be beaten. The terrible creatures could be killed. And burned. That had made her feel a lot better, watching some of them burn. Truly a wonderful sight.
It was pathetic, she knew. She had, only a short time ago, charged at a fully grown dragon with nothing but a spear and sheer determination, fully intent on killing it or dying in the effort. For her to freeze up in fear in the face of mere spiders…
But spiders were admittedly on a different level of terrifying for her. She had never liked them ever since she was little. Something about them simply screamed wrong to her, and that she should stay well away from them as much as possible. And that had been when she had seen normal-sized spiders.
Like many other beasts of Skyrim, she was well aware of the existence of giant spiders. Frostbite Spiders were the most common breed here in Skyrim and were a well-known pain to deal with. What she never would have expected, nor ever wanted, was to actually see them up close.
Maybe she could have handled seeing one or two at most, especially with Kratos and the others around, but instead her first encounter with the terrible beasts just had to be an entire army of the Oblivion-damned things!
Anske was no milk-drinker. At least, she didn't think of herself as one, and definitely didn't want to be one. But she was ashamed to admit that her actions just now were… cowardly. There was no getting around it. And it shamed her.
What was the point of learning to handle a sword and a bow, if she were incapable of using them when she needed to? What was the point of striving to be strong, if merely the sight of these spiders was enough to make her so weak? How was she supposed to be the Dovahkiin if she was afraid of giant spiders to such a debilitating degree?
She was in danger, that was obvious, but more importantly the people she cared about were in danger, and there was precious few of those people left. She needed to do something to help them, to protect them. To not be a burden. That was what she was doing here after all, trying to gain strength, skill, and experience so that she could protect not only herself, but those she cared about. So that she wouldn't lose anyone else.
In the end, it was Kratos once again who showed her the way. Despite her egregious mistake earlier, nearly injuring or possibly even killing one of their allies, he still wanted her to use her bow. He trusted that she would do better. Trusted that she had learned.
Kratos' words echoed in her mind as she had drawn her bow. Inhale. She took a breath and held it as she aimed. Focus. For a brief moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. She concentrated on where she wanted the arrow to go, staring at the beast's left eye. Exhale. She slowly let out the breath she was holding. Release. Her bowstring twanged and the arrow was gone.
The arrow struck true, and the beast screeched and recoiled.
Then she saw Kratos appear again, rushing forward with his sword in hand. A big sword for a big monster. It seemed fitting. There was no doubt in her mind that the spider was going to die now that Kratos was fighting it, no matter how large it was.
Adrenaline still pumping through her, she reached for another arrow. She could help him.
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Kratos dodged as the giant spider spat poison at him as he closed the distance. Then it lashed out with its one remaining blade-arm. He deflected the attack with some effort. The spider seemed to panic, and leaped back to give itself some more room, raising itself up slightly to better expose its fangs and ready its blade-arms even higher despite one of them being useless and practically falling off, dripping blood.
It tried to spit at Kratos again, but his movements were swift, his large frame more agile than it should be, and the glob of poison splattered on the floor harmlessly. He noted the angle the blade-arm was going to take to get to him as it loomed above him, and he prepared to counter it.
A fiery cocoon landed on top of the spider, disorienting it. It stumbled back some more, screeching angrily. The threat of the blade-arm no longer immediate, Kratos prepared to lunge, but his instincts told him something was coming at him from the right. It was too late to dodge, so he relied on his superhuman vitality and durability to carry him through.
The first of the larger spiders had finally recovered enough to rejoin the fight. It tried to pounce on Kratos, fangs at the ready, and he met it with his sword. The fangs latched onto the sword and Kratos was pushed back, but he put he planted a foot down firmly and quickly stabilized himself.
The spider leader prepared to strike from his flank now that he was occupied. Another arrow flew, and the spider leader screeched again as it was hit, delaying its strike, and giving Kratos enough time to overpower the spider bodyguard. Using the sword still firmly between the spider's fangs, he pulled the spider around just as the spider leader struck with its giant blade-arm.
The blade-arm plunged into the top of the spider bodyguard's head, instantly killing it as it sliced through and was stopped by Kratos' broadsword. Using the force of the incoming blade-arm, Kratos disengaged and slid back, and then rushed forward as the remaining spider's blade-arm was being retracted.
It tried to spit poison at him again, and he ducked as it passed overhead, much of it barely missing him. A few drops landed on his head and face, and he scowled. Broadsword low and trailing after him, he swung it forward and leaped, slicing at the giant spider.
It sacrificed its already useless blade-arm to evade the strike aimed at its head, and the blade-arm was chopped off easily by Kratos' sword. The spider continued its momentum, hopping to the side and bringing its remaining blade-arm to bear as it screeched at him.
But as soon as Kratos landed on his feet, he was already moving before it could strike again. He swung his sword around, making the spider rise up and lean back, narrowly avoiding its face from getting sliced. Kratos rushed forward, barreling into the spider with his shoulder and shoving the spider against the wall, underbelly exposed.
With a quick step back, he swung his broadsword overhead and promptly sliced open the spider's giant thorax and even bigger abdomen. Blood and ichor spewed forth as the giant spider screeched mightily. Kratos stepped back as the spider teetered. Weakened and dying, it made one last ditch effort to take Kratos with it to its doom.
Fangs fell upon Kratos, who dropped his sword and reached overhead with his hands to grab at the bigger upper fangs. The lower fangs stabbed into his sides, beneath his ribs. Pain emanated from where they managed to pierce his skin, if only a little, and he let out a low growl.
The spider's remaining eyes—Anske's arrow still protruding out of its ruined leftmost eye—glared at Kratos and he returned its gaze with a cold stare. Then, he abruptly pulled outward with his hands, violently breaking and ripping the fangs off the spider.
It screeched again and shuddered before he brought the now detached fangs and stabbed them both into its remaining eyes in one swift motion. With that, the largest of the spiders finally went still, and the battle was finally over.
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AN: Happy New Year! May 2024 be a better and brighter year for all of us.
PS - Tbh, I'm not completely happy with the spider fight scene and may rewrite sometime in the future. But I want to keep moving the story along since I'm eager to get to even more exciting moments and plot points ahead, so I published the chapter anyway. Heh. Til next time!