Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It starts off so vaguely that Chilchuck isn’t even sure he hadn’t dreamed it; The light hitching cry of a child in distress.

It pulls him from a deep sleep and he sits up grumpily, resting one arm across a raised knee and rubbing at his eyes as gravity attempts to drag him back down to the blankets. He listens, trying to focus over the odd cacophony of breathing and snoring from his companions, but the noise is gone. He makes eye contact with Senshi, who is on watch, then nods in greeting before taking a swig of water from his water-skin and promptly returning to bed.

He doesn’t think about it again until much later.

The area of the dungeon they’re traveling in is somewhat cramped, a series of long winding hallways with branching rooms that were once outfitted presumably to accommodate guests, now picked to bare bones by exploring parties.

There isn’t much in the way of monsters to eat, edible or otherwise, but they had been prepared for that, stocking up on anything they could get their hands on before entering this specific area. They were resigned to eating what Senshi had told them was called “pemmican”, which he had created with leftover dried kelpie meat and fat. While plain and somewhat hard to eat, it was actually kind of tasty when added to a stew.

Which is what they’re eating the next time Chilchuck hears the sound, floating in and out through the pauses of a conversation and distracting him to the point that he stops eating to listen for it.

Marcille notices first, trailing off in the middle of a sentence when she sees that he’s not paying attention, more concerned than annoyed- probably because the last time something like this had happened, Chilchuck almost became mimic food.

“Chilchuck?”

He glances at her, then back in the direction that he thought the noise was coming from, but it’s gone. Just like the last time.

“Hm?”

“Everything okay?” She’s careful about her prying, but it’s obvious she’d like him to trust her more, ever the open heart.

“…it’s nothing, just thought I heard something.”

“You sure?”

Maybe he’s overly tired, hearing things that aren’t there.

“Yeah.”

But the noise gets louder after that. Still distant enough that the others won’t hear it, but more than enough to keep his attention as they continue winding their way forward.

It starts and stops with an odd frequency, but always sounds equally distressed. It’s only when it gets obviously loud that Chilchuck really starts to doubt his own sanity as the others continue chatting ahead of him oblivious to the noise.

He puts his hands over his ears, the crying becoming overwhelmingly piercing, and opens his mouth to say something when the ground beneath him shudders then gives way.

There is a split second where he gets to see the shocked faces of his party before he falls, Marcille already making a dash for the hole, but it’s too late.

There weren’t supposed to be traps here.

The fall lasts less than a few seconds, landing him on a hill of debris that sends him rolling into a crashing stop against a wall. It knocks the air from his lungs, leaving him wheezing and curled in pain. It takes far too long for him to realize that he’s left in an almost pitch black room, the only light filtering down from the hole three stories above. He can hear Marcille and Laios calling out to him, so he forces himself up- feeling every new bruise along the way- to drag himself back to the pile of rubble. He can just see them as distant silhouettes peering down.

He takes a lungful of air.

“HEEEEEY!”

Marcille cries out in relief, then leans further down to call out to him.

“Are you okay?!”

Chilchuck pauses, taking a quick inventory of himself, extremely displeased when he finds a good sized gash on his arm but ultimately satisfied that nothing is broken. He takes off his scarf, finding a rip and tearing it the rest of the way to use as a bandage for the time being.

“I’m in one piece if that counts!” He tightens the green cloth around his arm with a wince, then tries to survey the room he’s in. “I’m going to try and find some stairs, there’s got to be a way back up right?! I’ll meet you half way!”

Who knows, maybe he’ll find a hidden shortcut.

“…if you’re sure?!”

Followed by Senshi’s-

“Now don’t go and do anything stupid!”

Boy did Senshi know how to push his buttons sometimes.

“I’m sure! Who do you think you’re talking to!? I’m not Laios!”

“…hey” “Okay then! Just be careful!!!”

“I will! See you soon!”

And with that they disappear from view.

Chilchuck takes a second to really look around this time, spotting his ripped travel pack lying near the wall but finding nothing else that could be useful. He checks the bag’s contents, which had taken the brunt of his fall, though only having broken a few smaller items deems it good enough. His sewing kit is still intact, so he mends the broken straps, almost glad to just sit for a moment and let his aches settle.

Then comes the next task: light.

He had been relying on Marcille’s magic up to this point so there was no need to carry any extra weight, like torches. He’d have to hope they all hadn’t been plundered and he could find one on a sconce.

Which he does with a lot of tripping and fumbling in the dark and more than a few chosen curse words. When he finally manages to get it lit and the room comes into full view, he realizes that he’s actually in a hallway similar to the one they had been in. That makes things easier, he’ll head in the same direction they were going. If he keeps his head down and doesn’t snoop around too much he should be able to meet the party in no time.

He’s been walking for what feels like hours when it happens.

There’s a skittering noise at the end of the hall, and the light of his torch catches on something pale at the back of the corridor, which flinches as he moves forward. When he gets close enough to make it out he freezes in place, heart thudding in his ears.

There’s a small child, skin paper white, silver hair unnaturally long and disheveled, wearing what looks like a fuzzy black cloak that covers them completely, making it appear as though their neck and hands are floating in the shadows. The child covers their face with their hands and cries, the familiar soft sobbing that had been haunting Chilchuck since before he had been separated from the party. It makes his heart wrench.

Who in their right mind would take a child into the dungeon?

“H-Hey…” He trips over the word, his throat tight with an unnamed anxiety. He takes a step forward and reaches out his free hand, then once again stops when the child moves further back into the shadows.

“Wait! I’m not going to hurt you,” he takes another step forward, and the child doesn’t move so he continues, slow and careful, making sure to make his movements obvious, as if approaching a startled animal.

“Are you okay?”

When he gets too close, the child backs further away, this time disappearing around a corner. He follows, listening for the sound of crying when he isn’t able to locate the kid.

The further he goes, the more eroded the hallway becomes, floor littered with broken stones and shredded tapestry, walls partially collapsed exposing dark holes into rooms too vast to catch the light of his torch. He steps around the litter, weaving his way forward until his boot catches on something and he almost trips. He looks down, breath halting when he realizes that he’s stuck on what looks like a large piece of a spiders web. Unnaturally large.

The sobbing stops.

tik

tik

The sound of something solid and sharp tapping against stone, echoing off the walls.

tik

tik

Everywhere and nowhere, though somehow drawing closer.

tik

tik

tik

tik

Too close. Chilchuck swivels around, torch biting through the black of the hall, making the shadows of debris dance while exposing the emptiness therein.

The hair on the back of his neck stands on end, and he takes small gasping breaths, heart racing.

tik

tik

tik

Right next to him.

The crying starts again, loud and wailing…from the ceiling.

Chilchuck snaps his head up with a yelp, only to be met with a pale face peering at him from a large hole above. It has white skin and wide black eyes, face split with a facsimile of a grin, mouth lined with needle sharp teeth. Its jaw drops open, unhinged as the monster clatters through the hole, exposing its large spider like body to the light, one large leg at a time until it stands suspended on the ceiling.

He can only watch paralyzed with fear as it reaches out its humanoid hands, torso twisting as it clambers down the wall to reach him. It places one freezing hand against his cheek, its twisted face so close he can feel the frosty chill of its breath. Without warning it grasps the side of his head and slams him to the ground.

The pain is excruciating, traveling like a shockwave from his cheek and temple through the rest of his body. His thoughts scatter like marbles, panic taking over as he tries to scramble up and away, but the monster is too strong and leaves him pinned down. He can’t breathe, can’t make a sound beyond a wheezing whimper that pitches to a scream as the monster clamps its teeth into his shoulder, his blood hot as it splatters across his collarbone and onto his cheek.

The sensation of a thousand stings coupled with the rushing sensation of ice in his veins and the pain of being slammed into the ground accumulates and he’s unable to cope with the weight of it, vision whiting out then fading into a dark and painless abyss.

Chapter Text

Laios knows something’s wrong- or at least Kensuke does. The sword-bound mollusk keeps shifting restlessly inside its hilt and peering out to look behind them, only to settle down again minutes later. It occurs at odd intervals and each time his sword acts up Laios is immediately on guard.

He doesn’t want to be too conspicuous, having no doubt about the fate his small friend would meet should Marcille catch wind that he’s been smuggling it, but he still keeps a wary hand on his waist- close to the hilt but casual enough to forgo suspicion.

The problem is: he has no clue what could be alarming it. There’s no hint or trace of monster activity, no footsteps or grunts, not so much as a misplaced shadow.

Was it broken? Could monsters break like that?

He makes an effort to put it out of his mind, joining in a speculative cooking conversation with Senshi about the many uses of slimes. While Chilchuck seems impartial, silent at the back of the group and lost in his own thoughts, Marcille doesn’t seem to care much for the subject at all. Laios refuses to curb his enthusiasm though- there’s a whole new culinary world at his fingertips and he plans to explore it all!

He’s partway through enquiring if slime innards could be used as a substitute for Udon noodles when Kensuke begins to shake. Not a tremble, but a violent shaking that Laios has to smother in a tight grip in order to conceal. He straightens, at first looking forward, once again puzzled at the complete lack of anything monster related, but then the ground trembles and a yelp from behind is all the warning he gets before a section of the stone floor gives way from under Chilchuck’s feet.

They panic at first, each clambering for the edge of the hole to try and grab him, even though by that point it’s too late to do anything.

It’s nothing if not a small miracle that Chilchuck seems to be okay, if not a little roughed up. Still, Laios can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen- that it’s already happening.

It couldn’t be a coincidence could it? The dungeon was old, but to just randomly crumble like that? It seems unlikely.

Chilchuck would have known if there were traps in this section too, so that couldn’t have been the case.

What exactly was going on? Why was Kensuke so worked up?

Laios unconsciously grips at the hilt, running a soothing thumb over the leather grip as they continue forward, letting Marcille lead the way. Senshi slows to join him, arms crossed as he nods toward the sword, keeping his voice low,

“Something’s got you on edge. What’re you thinking?”

Laios pauses before he speaks, trying to find a way to word things in a way that doesn’t sound like he’s taking advice from a sentient sword.

“This whole thing seems…off. I have a bad feeling about it and I’m worried about Chilchuck.”

“So you noticed too did’ya? Whatever’s going on here, it ain’t natural,”

Of course Senshi knows the dungeon better than anyone, he’d be the first to tell if something wasn’t right.

“Problem is, I think I know what’s to blame, but I want to be sure. No need to raise the alarm just yet…but if I’m right…well, let’s hope I’m not.”

Laois gives Senshi a sideways glance, puzzled at his unusual reluctance,

“What do you think it is?”

Senshi slows his pace even more, creating a larger gap between them and Marcille,

“Have you ever heard of an Arachne?”

—

plink…

plink…

plink…

The first thing he’s blearily aware of is the rhythmic sound of dripping, echoing from somewhere above him. Then comes a blinding pain, radiating from his right shoulder so intensely that he can feel it throbbing down to his fingertips with every beat of his heart.

plink…

plink…

plink plink

Everything felt backwards, wrong and confusing, like gravity was pulling him toward the ceiling.

He tries to move, suddenly aware that he can’t feel the ground beneath him, but his arms feel like leaden weights. The world tilts and sways as he struggles and panic begins to settle in when he realizes that he can’t move his legs.

He forces his eyes open, pieces clicking into place at the horrible realization that he’s hanging upside down, a thick web wrapped around his ankles dangling him a good few meters above the stone floor.

His arms are left unbound, hanging above his head and allowing a small but steady stream of blood to flow from his shoulder wound, saturating his sleeve and glove and falling from his fingertips into a small basin below.

An image of a pale child flashes across his mind, needle sharp teeth and a haunting cry…

That thing…

It was collecting his blood.

The thought makes him sick, but he can barely move to cover his mouth. His breathing picks up, dangerously close to hyperventilating so he forces himself to calm down, taking long deep breaths between gasps until his thoughts begin to clear.

Chilchuck knows he’s not made for situations like these but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t go out without a fight.

He slowly tries to lift his arms, hissing in pain then dropping them back down. He stops and breathes through it, then tries again, this time succeeding in curling himself upwards until he can grab the back of his knees. He strains to hold himself in place, core muscles trembling as he gasps harshly through his nose. He carefully releases one arm, wriggling a bloody hand through the webbing around his ankles until he can reach into his boot.

He almost cries out in relief when he finds what he’s looking for, carefully pulling a fine dagger from its hiding spot sewn into the lining.

Now comes the difficult part. If he lets himself fall straight down, he’ll most definitely hit the basin. Not only would that cause extra injury, but it would make a considerable amount of noise, and if the monster is nearby he’d be screwed before he even made an attempt to run.

He takes stock of the room below, finding a few patches of ground clear enough to aim for and trying to ignore the vast piles of humanoid bones littering the floor.

Chilchuck starts to swing back and forth, slowly cutting away at the webbing around his ankles until he’s certain he’s got enough momentum to carry him, then he times his cuts, stopping on the backswing and sawing with more fervor as he arcs forward.

The silk finally gives way, his weight snapping the last few cords and sending him hurtling toward the bare patch of ground. He tucks his shoulders into a roll, muffling a scream when his injured side makes contact with the ground. It leaves him curled on the cold stones for far longer than he’d like, gasping through the pain and waiting for the black spots to clear from his vision.

Over the haze of pain, Chilchuck can hear the faint clicking of the spiders steps, rocks shifting as they are displaced, and the chilling laughter of a child at play growing closer.

He had to move or he was going to die here, like really die. Left to turn to bones, soul bound to the dungeon for the rest of eternity.

There was no way he was going to just sit and let that happen.

Hell, his companions probably didn’t even know he was in danger, he was truly on his own here.

He doesn’t have many advantages to work with, just his size and his knowledge of traps. If there were any in this area the spider was likely to know of them as well, but that didn’t mean it knew how they worked. If he could set one off from the inside, he may just have a fighting chance.

With that in mind, Chilchuck quickly drags himself to the smallest opening in the wall he can squeeze into, praying for just enough time to make a plan as he shuffles along the narrow corridor, all too aware of the trail of blood he leaves in his wake and the deceptively innocent laughter approaching from the other side of the room.

Chapter Text

Chilchuck has never felt so small.

In the most literal sense, he felt like a mouse-skittering between the walls and hoping the cat doesn’t find him.

A cat with eight legs and nightmare teeth that will have him grimacing at small children for the rest of his relatively short life.

The laughter had stopped some minutes ago, leaving a silence weighed by tension in its wake. Now every creak, scuff and tap had him on edge, nervously glancing in all directions and mentally cursing at the shadows.

He has little choice but to move slowly, extending a hand to feel along the walls to carefully inch his way forward. There had to be some alcove he could duck into, somewhere he could hide out for a moment to recoup, maybe see to his shoulder wound that was somehow still bleeding.

His foot catches on a loose stone causing him to stumble into the opposite wall and he cries out in pain, cutting himself off by biting down on his knuckle. He strains to hear anything over the sound of his muffled gasps, fear wrapping itself around his spine so tightly that he feels like an overwound spring.

But no noise follows.

And somehow that makes it worse.

Chilchuck gathers himself, now using the wall as a support as he feels his energy flagging. The mixture of blood loss and the constant throbbing of his irritated wound make it hard to concentrate, his adrenaline abandoning him too soon and leaving him feeling hollowed out.

He’s barely aware that he’s walking, feet moving on their own, steps clumsy and faltering. There’s a voice at the back of his mind yelling at him to keep going, that he had family waiting for him outside the dungeon.

The thought spurs him on; of his daughters living the rest of their lives never knowing what happened to him, of his wife waiting for him to return with an apology that never comes.

Would they even miss him?

A lump forms at the back of his throat, a combination of misery and frustration that makes him more angry than upset.

He didn’t have time to wallow in self pity!

Chilchuck forces himself up, pushing away from the wall a bit and continuing his path forward until his hand finds an opening in the stone bricks. There’s a junction in the walls here, maybe to a store room or closet, but it’s just small enough to squeeze himself into with a bit of room to maneuver into a sitting position facing the entry.

The stone is cold at his back, and it feels good against his throbbing shoulder. He closes his eyes, giving himself a moment to breathe and letting his head fall back to rest against the bricks.

As it is, he’s moving too slow. This thing has the home advantage here and can navigate the ins and outs of these floors with ease.

Chilchuck on the other hand is running nearly blind and is injured on top of that. There’s already little hope of him getting out of this, so he needs to figure something out and fast.

The first thing to come to mind is his boots: a big part of his problem being that he’s making far too much noise tripping and stumbling. If he can feel his way around with his feet that might help some.

His shoulder is becoming a real issue, so instead of taking the boots off by hand; he shucks them off by catching the lips of his heels against the floor and dragging his feet back one by one. He then grabs one of the boots to retrieve another hidden dagger, twisting to tuck it into his belt within easy reach.

Something brushes against his cheek.

He stops breathing, shoulders taut and eyes wide, staring at the floor. A pit of dread pools in his stomach at the distinct feeling of being watched. He knows what he’s going to see when he looks up, but he’s not ready for it.

He doesn’t get a choice when the spider angles itself down, silvery hair and cold breath ghosting over his face, two large black eyes flanked by a slew of smaller orbs encompassing his vision, stark against its pale skin. It has that creepy smile on its face, the same as the first time he’d seen it.

Like it was having fun, like this was a game.

The monster is standing upside down with its limbs spread across the opening halfway up the wall, only its torso is small enough to reach into the space. It opens its mouth, a giggle weaving its way out through needle-sharp teeth. Chilchuck clambers to back away, flattening himself against the wall as far as he can, breath hitching.

It follows him, grabbing at the walls to pull itself forward in a lunge, an inhuman clicking noise issuing from its throat as its jaw opens further, revealing two recessed mandibles that extend from the insides of its cheeks.

His vision whites out momentarily and he kicks upward, landing a solid hit to its chin that has the spider reeling back with a screech. He doesn’t stop to think, seeing a split second opening to scramble his way out of the opening under its body.

He doesn’t look back, running as fast as he can while trying not to stumble over the degrading remnants of the building. The enraged shriek of the monster ringing out behind him followed by the telltale clicking of its legs against the stone are all that he needs to know that it’s already giving chase.

Something snags at his shirt collar, a sharp breeze swiping past the nape of his neck that has him doubling down on his efforts to get away.

That’s when he spots it. A divot in the floor ahead just big enough to run a wire through, and a heavy wooden beam situated in the wall directly behind it. It’s designed to crush, triggered by a trip-wire in the adjacent room which releases the weighted beam, toppling it on whomever is unlucky and stupid enough to set it off.

If he times this just right…

He grabs the dagger from his belt and dives forward, snagging the wire with the blade and giving it a great pull, then uses his momentum to roll back to his feet, pushing off the floor and sprinting ahead, clasping at his shoulder with gritted teeth.

There’s a mighty crash as the beam hits the ground, the monster howling in agony as it struggles against the weight, but Chilchuck only glances at it, unwilling to take any more chances now that he’s bought himself more time.

He can see something in the distance, a pinprick of light floating in the oppressive black of the corridor. It feels like hope and he grasps on to it with such focus that the world begins to melt away around him. Just the light and the sound of his gasping breaths as he stumbles toward it.

It’s almost too far to make out, but there’s a small crumbled opening in the wall there, something shining from the other side slowly growing brighter. His legs feel like jelly, knees knocking together as his bare foot lands on a particularly sharp stone and he trips forward with a tired gasp.

Almost.

He reaches for it, forcing himself up to lean against the wall, dragging himself along until he can almost see the room on the other side of the opening, vision growing blurry. He thinks he can hear voices, though he can’t make out what they’re saying.

Help me.

Help me!

“Hel-mph!”

An icy hand covers his mouth, jerking him backward as something punctures his injured shoulder, muffling his scream as an arm loops around his chest and drags him away from salvation.

Chapter Text

There was a noise coming from behind the walls, Marcille was sure of it.

The group was already wary going down to this level; having heard a thunderous crashing just as they had exited the stairwell, though they had yet to find the source.

Now she had thought she’d heard some kind of animal cry as they were passing one of the many cracks littering the walls. She pauses to examine it, cautiously squinting into the darkness with her staff raised, ready to send one of her light orbs in to check it out when Laios marches past her. He looks grim and determined, hand on his sword and head swiveling about as if he’s expecting something to pop out.

Laios’ instincts were usually dead on.

“H-hey wait up!”

Senshi was also acting odd, unusually aloof as he followed behind them, stopping every so often to kick at the rubble- though she’s not exactly sure what he’s looking for. She feels like she’s being left out of the loop, and she’s getting fed up with it.

She jogs in front of Laios with a huff, hand on her hip as she waves the end of her staff at him,

“Okay that’s it! You two are hiding something, I know it! Now out with it!”

Laios for his part seems genuinely surprised at her accusation, hands raised in a placating manner, eyes wide.

“Marcille…”

But Senshi walks right past them, ducking under her elbow and ignoring the look she shoots him. Growing more agitated- Marcille whips around to pull him back, but he’s on one knee staring intently at something on the ground. Curiosity immediately overrides annoyance and she steps forward to glance over his shoulder, an icy chill sweeping through her veins when he lifts a bloody length of green cloth into view.

“That’s Chilchuck’s scarf…”

Senshi turns the cloth over in his hands, examining it closely as he speaks, tone sensible and calm, “Now don’t jump to conclusions just yet. The kid took one hell of a fall earlier, he could have just lost it stumbling about in the dark.”

He folds the scarf into a square, then tucks it away before getting back to his feet, pushing off his knees with a quiet grunt.

“R-right…” There was no use in getting worked up about it.

“Guys.” Laios seems to have found something too, kneeling next to a patch of ground near the opposite wall, palm flat against the floor.

This discovery leaves little room for doubt.

Chilchuck’s pack lies open, contents scattered along the edge of the wall as though it was violently thrown to the side, droplets of blood splattered across the leather and over the stone floor, fanning out from the spot Laios is crouching.

She watches as he swipes his hand across the ground, plucking something shiny and threadlike between his fingers and holding it up to Senshi. The dwarf takes it from him with a nod, face grim.

Marcille feels like she’s going to burst.

“What’s going on? What happened here? What is that?!”

“Arachne, no doubt about it.” Senshi holds out his hand for her to inspect. 

Arachne?

She glances at the silky thread, now recognizing it for a spider’s web but-

“But those are just bedtime stories used to frighten little kids. They’re not real…are they?”

“Oh they’re real all right. And probably a good deal worse than your stories. Problem is they don’t hunt very often, and when they do they like to isolate their prey. S’pretty hard telling a story when there’s no one left to tell it.”

“No way…”

Arachnes: mythical humanoid spider creatures that liked so feed on naughty children.

In all of the tales she’d been told growing up the Arachne would lure kids out in the dark by mimicking the sounds of other children; taking advantage of the shadows to drag them away, never to be seen again.

Nothing but a cautionary tale about playing with strangers and wandering off in the middle of the night.

Or not.

Marcille fixates on the bloody floor, hands wringing at her staff unconsciously as she turns the new information around in her head.

“What do we do now?”

Senshi flicks the web from his fingers, rubbing them together to rid them of some residue before examining the wall, running his hand upwards and turning his gaze toward a hole in the ceiling.

“We track it down and kill it.”

Marcille blinks, taken aback by the gruff finality of his words.

“Because they don’t hunt often they like to keep their food alive. Chilchuck may not like to fight but he’s still pretty scrappy, I imagine he may not be in the best shape but he’s definitely still alive.”

Somehow that doesn’t make her feel any better about the situation.

“These monsters like enclosed spaces, but they need somewhere big enough to nest, areas like these are ideal for them. Lots of space inside the walls and plenty of rooms blocked off by debris. All we need to do is find the right room.”

Laios nods, taking a look around the hallway with his hands on his waist before he spots the crack in the wall that Marcille was staring at earlier. He turns back to her and points at it.

“What had you so interested in that spot Marcille?”

“I thought I heard a noise…wait, do you think…?”

“Yeah, I think maybe they’re a lot closer than we thought. It’s a good place to start at least.”

He puts a hand on the hilt of his sword and frowns before stepping over to the opening, and trying to peer inside.

“Do you think you can open this up some more with your magic?”

Marcille eyes the crumbling walls nervously, but decides it’s worth the risk.

“Yeah, you guys stand back. I’ll try and contain the damage.”

She steps in front of the hole and holds her staff out, imagining a compressed ball of mana as she chants under her breath. There’s a small explosion, shaking the entire hallway and sending dust into the air. A few loose stones fall from the ceiling but the hall remains relatively intact, now sporting a door sized gap where the crack had been, partially revealing an empty room and a hidden narrow space between its walls.

When the dust clears, she gingerly steps over the remnants of the wall and into the room, guiding her lights towards the exposed gap. It’s just big enough that she could fit inside, but she doubts that Senshi or Laios could manage, so they’ll have to find another way through.

She takes a step inside, pausing to look back at the two as they enter the room.

“I’m going to go take a look, if I can make it through I might be able to get us going in the right direction.”

Senshi doesn’t look too pleased but doesn’t say anything, Laios gives her a thumbs up.

“Just be careful Marcille!”

“I will!” She waves back at them, then slips between the walls, grateful to have her magic to light the way.

Chapter Text

Of all of the things that could possibly happen, this had to be close to a worst case scenario.

Senshi had been hoping to pass through without interference from any Arachnes but apparently their timing had been horrible.

He should have known something was going to happen, should have payed more attention to the way Chilchuck had been acting before this whole mess started- maybe even tried to prepare the party for it- but the likelihood of one actually being on the hunt had been so slim that he had let himself grow complacent.

Which is how they find themselves following the sound of Marcille’s voice from between the walls.

Within minutes of entering she had let out a horrified cry that had sent he and Laios running to try and knock their way through, but then her muffled voice had come through informing them that she had found fresh blood streaking the walls.

The thought of what could have happened in there has his blood boiling, but most of his anger was directed inward. He should have known better, should have been more prepared. They could have avoided this all together and then their smallest member wouldn’t have been hunted like game.

A little further in, and they find a partially collapsed doorway leading out into another hallway. They have no issue squeezing their way past and Laios leads the way, almost face-planting in the dark when he trips over a low strung wire, instead slamming his armored knees into a large wooden beam that must have been part of an old trap.

Marcille makes a noise of disgust from inside the wall.

“There’s something sticky and green all over the place here, what the heck is this stuff?”

Senshi feels a little swell of pride when he realizes what must have happened.

“Arachne blood. Looks like Chilchuck managed to do some damage.”

But then a thought occurs to him,

“Which means he pissed it off but didn’t kill it. We might need to pick up the pace, if this thing is angry it might not bother keeping him alive.”

He turns to Laios,

“And you! Try and be a little more careful, we don’t have time to play with any more traps.”

The tall-man nods, looking slightly ashamed.

“Yessir…”

They continue on in silence for a while, straining their eyes in the dark for any more triggers and hoping Marcille can warn them about some of the more hidden mechanisms, though it seems so far that it was just the one.

From what Marcille has shakily told them, she’s been following a trail of blood droplets nearly the entire time, which has Senshi worried.

How much blood can a half-foot lose before it becomes fatal?

He’s hoping they don’t have to find out.

There are three more rooms down the hallway before it comes to a dead end, and they’re just passing the second to last when one of Marcille’s light orbs phases through the wall. They squint at it, watching as it floats toward the closed door. When they get close to the light it disappears back through the wall and Marcille starts speaking to them in a horrified whisper.

“It’s here! It’s got Chilchuck and it’s feeding on him.”

While he’s not surprised, it still makes Senshi’s gut twist.

Laios makes a strangled noise, “It’s eating him?”

There’s a tense pause,

“No, not eating him. It’s- eugh- it’s drinking his blood.”

Senshi has a white-knuckled grip on his axe, fighting the impulse to kick down the door.

“Marcille how bright can you make those orbs of yours? While they can’t hear for shit, Arachnes have sensitive eyes. If we can temporarily blind it, we should have no problem taking it down.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

There’s no hesitation, no stopping to try and strategize any further, just action.

A huge flash of light issues from under the doorway followed by enraged shrieking. Senshi and Laios take this as their cue to charge the door, splintering it off of its hinges and battering their way into the room in time to see the spider’s legs retreating into a hole near the ceiling. It must have taken Chilchuck with it, leaving the room barren aside from a small basin of blood at its center.

“Damnit! Marcille it’s in the walls!” Laios shouts, drawing his sword and running further in. Senshi clambers after him.

Marcille quickly ducks through an opening, joining them near the basin where they stand back to back, weapons drawn.

“It’s still got Chilchuck so be careful!”

They shift around warily, trying to see signs of the Arachne. Senshi knows this thing likes to ambush, so he tries to find the least obvious spot it could be. Somehow Laios beats him to it.

The knight straightens, then dodges to the right just as the monster drops down from above. Marcille yelps, jumping back as Senshi tries to take a swing at it, but it sweeps him off of his feet with a wide swipe of its legs before once again retreating into the walls with a hiss.

“Damn thing!” He surges back to his feet, turning in a frustrated circle. Marcille speaks up from behind him,

“If I don’t aim carefully I could end up sending the roof down on top of us. It’s not safe for me to do anything here but if you two can keep it distracted I may be able to find Chilchuck.”

Senshi sees the sense in it.

“Laios and I can take it, just get him back safe.”

It comes not a moment too soon as Laios snaps his attention to the floor, the stone tiles rumbling before the Arachne bursts from beneath and tries to make a grab at Senshi. He’s not having it, flipping his axe and trapping its hands against the floor with the handle.

“Now go on!”

“Right!” She dashes away, shuffling sideways through the opening she’d come through, whisking from view.

Senshi turns his attention back to the struggling monster as it leans forward to try and snap at his hands, kicking it back and allowing Laios to get it into a choke hold, dragging it out into the opening as it shrieks and claws at his armor.

While large for any kind of spider, it still only stood at about half of Laios’ size which means he’s able to manhandle it with surprising ease.

Right until the point that it bucks back with all eight legs, sending them both crashing into the wall. The knight releases it, stunned, but Senshi is ready and jumps into its path as it tries to scramble away.

The Arachne growls and hisses, shooting forward with its jaws wide, mandibles extended. Senshi steps back, raising his axe in defense causing it to clamp down on the chipped metal, mandibles scraping over the surface in a useless attempt to reach him.

Laios tries to sneak up on it, sword raised for a definitive strike but the spider notices him, spitting out Senshi’s axe and evading him at the last moment.

This continues for some time, a back and forth dance of block, deflect, attack and dodge that begins to wear them down.

They weren’t getting anywhere like this.

“We need to find a way to incapacitate it!”

Senshi struggles to push the Arachne back as it takes another lunge at him, and Laios grabs it by the hair, making it arc backwards as it tries to grab at him, twisting and writhing. It employs the same trick that it had with Senshi earlier, swiping Laios off of his feet before turning on him. He manages to block it with the flat of his sword before it can strike, but the weight of it almost pushes him flat.

Laios grimaces at the pressure, straining to keep his sword level with such effort that it’s visibly shaking in his hands. He looks at it, then at the Arachne and Senshi can tell he’s forming some kind of plan.

“Senshi are these things sensitive to vibrations?!”

He’s pretty sure he knows where Laios is going with this.

“Almost as much as they are to light! If we hit something close enough to it, we may be able to overwhelm its senses!” He releases his cooking pot from his back, “Can you hold out a little longer?”

Laios falters for a moment, then pushes back with a grunt and an aborted attempt to kick out.

“Ngh! Yeah I’ll be fine, just hurry please!”

Senshi slings off his pack, throwing items to the side until he finds a length of rope. He secures it to one of the pot’s handles, hefting it up so that it hangs like a gong.

He nods at Laios who gives the Arachne a mighty shove, making it stumble back toward him. He quickly raises the pot by the creature’s head and swings the flat end of his axe into it with a loud echoing BANG.

The Arachne shrieks, tripping over itself as it shakes its head, raising its hands in attempt to block the vibrations.

It’s exactly the opening they were hoping for.

Laios runs his sword through its abdomen, skewering it to the ground as it writhes and screeches, grabbing at the armor on his legs for purchase. He looks down at it, face blank as he jerks the sword out and steps away.

Senshi raises his axe, ready to make the killing blow, but the spider bursts into flames before either of them can move.

A splash of blue on the other side of the room alerts them to Marcille’s presence, angling her way out of the walls with murder in her eyes, clutching a limp and bloodied Chilchuck close, staff angled forward from an arm looped under his knees.

Chapter Text

Marcille would like to think that she’s not an impulsive person.

That there was always time to stop and think things through before any significant action was taken in order to lead to the best outcome.

But that really wasn’t the case.

What tended to happen was that she was logical until the logic didn’t work, which is exactly what happens when she finds Chilchuck, pale and ragged and bloody.

She rushes to his side, at first feeling numb- the kind of absence that comes when there are too many emotions to process so the brain decides on none.

By nature half-foots were short, and by comparison Chilchuck was actually pretty tall, but in that moment he looked so small lying there curled on his side. Like a child’s doll left forgotten on the side of the road.

“Chilchuck?”

She reaches out a careful hand, placing her fingers on the pulse point of his neck and waiting with bated breath, heart in her throat at the iciness of his skin.

There’s a flutter of a heartbeat, far too weak to be healthy but still there thrumming all the same. She gasps in relief, moving her hand to his cheek and leaning forward anxiously.

It’s as if he’s just asleep, features relaxed and breathes shallow and even, like he can’t feel a thing. But his complete lack of reaction to her touch puts her on edge.

He’s lost a lot of blood, she’s all too aware of that- following the trails like breadcrumbs back to the spider’s lair- but even if she hadn’t seen the walls and floors painted in it, it was all the more evident just looking at him.

His skin is deathly pale, making a patch of bruising along the side of his face stick out starkly. Marcille pushes some of his hair away to get a better look, grateful that the skin isn’t broken but still worried at its placement.

She then rolls him onto his back, doing her best not to aggravate his wound as she lifts him to examine it. His shoulder is a mess, littered with dozens of punctures and saturated with blood so thoroughly that the entire sleeve is dyed red. What’s more alarming is that it seems to have been actively bleeding for some time, going by the rust brown stains littering the cloth mismatched with the fresh patches closer to the source.

Better to heal him now than to wait.

She lays him back down, palms hovering over his torso as she incants with practiced ease- but nothing happens.

Marcille swallows down her panic, trying to rationalize with herself: Maybe she had gotten something wrong? Did she not use enough mana?

She tries again, and again nothing happens.

Panic turns to dread as she tries a few more times unsuccessfully, pushing a little more mana with each desperate attempt.

The problem is that she thinks she knows why it’s not working, and the thought leaves her with such a sense of hopelessness that she has to choke back a cry.

She forces herself to move, scooping Chilchuck up under his shoulders and knees and making sure to tuck his head up against herself before twisting awkwardly to grab her staff. It’s hard to ignore how cold he is as he hangs limp in her arms, so she bundles him as close as she can before rushing back towards the room.

There’s only one reason she can think of that his body wasn’t responding to her magic: some kind of impurity was actively blocking her attempts to heal him. Most likely in his blood, and very likely a venom.

Chilchuck’s life was hanging in the balance, she couldn’t do a thing to help him and it was all thanks to that monster.

She hears screeching followed by a thud and a grunt on the other side of the wall, and sees red.

The room comes into view and she lets her anger flare into rage, harnessing her feelings into a single concentrated blast that engulfs the Arachne in a ball of scorching fire.

She makes a beeline for Senshi and Laios, only half watching as the monster flips on to its back with a horrible squeal, attempting to roll out the flames until it finally succumbs, limbs curling inwards as its body continues to burn. She doesn’t bother with trying to put it out.

“Laios I need bandages! Senshi I need you to boil some water!”

They both stare at her in bewilderment, Senshi still frozen with his axe raised above his head.

“Now!”

This snaps them into motion, and Marcille leaves them to it circling toward the basin in the center of the room. The thought makes her sick, but if she can manipulate the blood in it with her magic it should give her a definitive answer.

She lays Chilchuck down nearby, arranging his arms over his abdomen and untying her capelet to drape over him before returning to the bowl. She doesn’t make more than one attempt this time, choosing not to waste her energy when there are other things she could be doing.

Unfortunately she’s right; the blood in the basin yields no reaction to her magic.

“Marcille?”

She looks over her shoulder to see Laios kneeling at Chilchuck’s side, looking at her confused and slightly alarmed.

“There are too many impurities in his blood, I can’t heal him.” She tries to bite it back, but her voice still wavers in frustration at the situation.

“Oh.”

Laios’ demeanor shifts, calm and focused as he leans over their companion, voice low as he tries to rouse him. When that doesn’t work he lifts back her capelet to examine Chilchuck’s injured shoulder and Marcille doesn’t miss the way his eyes narrow in concern, lips drawn thin at the damage there. He makes a blind grab for his pack and retrieves a small blade from a side pocket, then begins to cut away at the ruined cloth so he can get better access, meticulously removing smaller pieces from the open wounds.

There really isn’t much else they can do until Senshi returns with the water.

Marcille kneels down across from him, running a hand through Chilchuck’s hair, unsurprised by his lack of reaction but still feeling hollow at it.

“I think it’s some kind of venom, the same with his shoulder. It should have started clotting by now.”

Laios glances at her and then nods before returning to his task.

“That makes sense, spiders paralyze their prey to keep them alive as long as possible in order to feed, maybe it’s the same for Arachnes. As for the blood, I guess it makes it easier to ingest?”

“You’re not too far off.”

Senshi reappears with his cooking pot filled with water, gingerly setting it to the side before going about the room to collect wood for a fire.

“Arachnes use two kinds of toxins. One for immobilization and one as an anticoagulant. Their saliva has the anticoagulant, and their mandibles carry a venom. From the looks of it Chilchuck got a good dose of both.”

Marcille watches him as he breaks down an old chair for pieces, still absently running her hand through Chilchuck’s hair which does more to reassure herself than anything.

“What does the venom do? Can we expel it somehow?”

Senshi bundles the splintered wood under his arms and picks a spot relatively close to them to start a fire, snapping off a smoldering piece of the spider’s leg to use as kindling.

“I guess the best way to put it is that it puts you to sleep- you can’t struggle if you’re unconscious. And these monsters are so rare that no one has come up with an effective antidote as of yet, not that we really have any thing to work with now…”

He jabs a thumb over his shoulder at the Arachne’s smoking remains, causing Marcille to flush with guilt.

“But don’t you worry- It’s not lethal, he’ll come out of it eventually. We just have to be patient.”

When the pot begins to boil, he removes it from the fire and brings the entire vessel to their side, dunking some clean rags in the steaming water to soak and disinfect before it begins to cool.

He takes a spot next to Laios to inspect his handiwork with an approving nod before moving on to look at the large bruise on the side of Chilchuck’s face with a frown, prodding at the area lightly to judge how badly it’s swelling.

“Looks like it got him pretty good, we’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

Collectively, they find a few more cuts and bruises, and a single scabbing gash under his shoulder wound that was previously hidden under the torn sleeve. Most of the smaller wounds center around his hands and feet but luckily they’re not significant enough to warrant any special attention besides a light bandaging.

When the water gets to a manageable temperature Senshi wordlessly hands Marcille a wet cloth before handing the other to Laios. She sets about cleaning Chilchuck’s hands as Laios works on his shoulder, glancing up curiously when Senshi leaves and returns with a small cloth satchel from his pack.

“Slime powder, makes for an effective coagulant. Should help stop the bleeding some.”

The oddity of it raises her spirits somewhat, that it’s become so normal that she doesn’t even question it. She gives him a small smile but again her worry washes the expression away, ears dropping as she gives the limp hand in hers a squeeze before setting it down to retrieve some of the bandages Laios brought.

She tries not to look at Chilchuck’s mangled shoulder as she passes, dark with bruises and welling with fresh spots of blood that Senshi covers with the pale green powder.

By the time they’re finished, Chilchuck looks somewhat like a little mummy, hands, feet and shoulder all wrapped in bandages. Marcille thinks she sees some color returning to his cheeks as well but it could be wishful thinking on her part.

They redress him in one of his night shirts after Senshi doubles back to retrieve his scattered belongings, rolling out his bedroll close to the fire and tucking him under not just his own blankets but Senshi’s too when they notice him trembling in his sleep.

Senshi seems mildly put off by his discomfort, going so far as to empty his waterskin to fill with hot water. He tucks it under the blankets near Chilchuck’s feet as a warmer, keeping a watchful eye until the trembling abates, then moves off with a satisfied hum and a fond pat to his head.

While the urgency of his situation feels far less dire, their lingering concerns means no one really gets much sleep that night.

Chapter Text

The party rests for half of a day before they decide to continue on.

In that time Chilchuck has shown little to no improvement, nearly comatose and still alarmingly cold to the touch. Despite Senshi’s assurances that he’ll eventually come out of it, they’re all getting restless.

They don’t have much in the way of food or medicine, and the nature of Chilchuck’s injuries means that transporting him won’t be a big issue.

Moving on just seemed like the best option.

Their goal is to reach a large area of greenery that was once the castle’s garden, though it was not originally somewhere they planned to stop. This section was usually overlooked by adventuring parties in general, mainly because it was out of the way and had little in the way of treasure- but it was the perfect place to stock up on herbs and other wild growing vegetables. It was also one of Senshi’s personal favorite cultivating spots as it tended to be warmer than most areas, enchanted by ancient magic to keep a consistent warmth and humidity.

In short, it had exactly what they needed.

Laios volunteers to carry Chilchuck, having the others help bundle him onto his back still wrapped in a blanket, arms draped over the knight’s shoulders to keep him balanced as Laios supports him under his knees.

Senshi takes Laios’ pack, and Marcille takes Chilchuck’s, neither particularly bothered by the extra weight. Ideally Laios would have taken off his armor too, but there was only so much they could carry.

The party sets a good pace, stopping every few hours to rest and eat whichever meal they can scrounge together with their meager supplies, mostly supplemented with the leftover stew from the day before. They make idle chatter, but their hearts aren’t in it, mostly sitting in silence and watching their smallest for any signs of recovery.

But he remains silent and still, barely even capable of taking in water when Senshi tries to get him to drink, spilling most of it down his front. Senshi seems to lose some of his assurance then, looking somewhat frazzled when Marcille swoops over with a dry cloth.

“He may be a little worse off than I thought, I figured he’d be coming out of it by now...”

Marcille doesn’t say anything, looking downtrodden as she pats Chilchuck dry. Senshi watches her work, gaze sliding up to the darkening bruises on Chilchuck’s face. While they don’t seem to be swelling, they still looked painful and the thought gives him an idea,

“Hey Marcille, can you freeze that cloth with your magic? Wouldn’t hurt to put some ice on those bruises.”

As he expects, Marcille perks up at the suggestion.

“I can, give me just a second.”

She wicks away the rest of the moisture on Chilchuck’s shirt, then politely asks for Senshi’s waterskin to soak the rest of the cloth before folding it into a small sodden square. In moments it’s frozen solid, and Marcille hands it to Senshi with an air of satisfaction.

“Perfect Marcille, just what I needed.”

Senshi lowers Chilchuck a bit, letting his head roll into the crook of his elbow so that he can more comfortably reach the bruises before placing the cloth directly over a particularly bad looking spot on his cheek.

He very nearly pulls it away when Chilchuck makes a distressed noise, brows crinkling at the freezing sensation against his skin, hand gripping loosely at the cloth of his shirt, but the moment ends so quickly that all Senshi can do is pause in surprise, watching closely as he settles back into unconsciousness.

It’s as if a cloud has finally moved away from the sun.

Marcille gasps in relief, sitting back on her heels and lifting her hands to her face with an airy laugh, causing Laios to perk up from the other side of the room.

Senshi takes a deep breath, releasing a long shuttering sigh out his nose and closing his eyes in silent thanks to whatever diety saw fit to look down on them.

“There’s a good kid.”

With a growing sense of solace, he pulls Chilchuck in a bit closer as he continues applying the frozen cloth to his bruises.

Despite his earlier movement, Chilchuck still had quite a ways to go before his condition could be considered improved.

He had begun to shiver again not too long after the cold compress had been applied, so they had doubled up on the blankets again, tucking them around him securely before loading him onto Laios’ back, giving him the appearance of a decorative backpack.

At first, the only sign that they get that he’s waking is the curling of his fingers, a slow opening and closing of his hand from where it rests over Laios’ armor. It stops the blonde dead in his tracks, trying to crane his neck to look back just as Chilchuck blinks his eyes open. He doesn’t focus on anything, staring ahead blankly as his mind tries to catch up.

Then without warning he shoots back, inhaling sharply and pushing away from Laios, causing him to drop him to the floor in surprise. Chilchuck’s legs get tangled in the blankets and he fights desperately to free himself, movements clumsy, eyes wide and pupils blown in panic.

“Woah, hey Chilchuck?!”

Laios turns to drop to one knee, attempting to reach out to him, but Chilchuck cries out-falling back onto his elbows and jarring his wounded shoulder. He hisses in pain and covers it with his hand as he scrambles backward, fresh spots of blood surfacing through the layers of bandages.

It may not be the best course of action, but Laios doesn’t want Chilchuck hurting himself any further- so he snaps forward grabbing both of his wrists and taking them into one hand, pinning them against the half-foot’s chest and pulling him into a tight hold as he struggles, his free hand cradling the back of his head and pushing it against his shoulder.

He takes a measured breath, keeping his tone calm and even,

“It’s okay, Chilchuck, it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Chilchuck continues to struggle, lungs heaving as he twists and bucks, but he’s no match for Laios’ strength. The knight just holds him in place, repeating a calming mantra as Marcille and Senshi watch on with concern, unable to provide any assistance.

He eventually slows, legs splayed in exhaustion, head falling forward against Laios’ armored chest as he gasps for air. Laios eases his hold, releasing his wrists and letting Chilchuck’s arms drop to his sides, other arm lowering to support him around the shoulders. They sit like this in silence for a couple of minutes before Laios speaks up, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back.

“Chilchuck, you with me?”

“…’aios?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Chilchuck nods against him, turning his head to the side to gaze blearily at the other two members of the party.

“…’cille, S’nshi…?”

“Mhm, they’re here too.”

“…kay.”

He slides sideways out of Laios’ arms in a dead faint, and Marcille rushes forward to catch him with a yelp, just keeping his head from hitting the floor.

Senshi steps in to look him over, thankful that he at least looks to be at rest, breathing calm and slow, the only signs of his earlier distress a cold sweat on his brow and the spots of blood staining his bandages and night shirt.

“That really took it out of him…Let’s get him patched up and let him rest some. Laios, you got an extra shirt he can borrow?”

Chapter Text

Chilchuck comes around to the rustling of chain mail, the creaking of leather, and the sensation of something cold against his aching cheek.

It’s as though a weight has settled itself across both his body and mind, leaving him to languish as his thoughts slip by like fine sand through his fingers.

He’s aware enough to know that he’s being carried, rocking along in tandem with the sounds of someone’s steps, chilled but wrapped in something soft and warm, held secure by an arm across his back and under his knees.

It feels safe but-

An image flits across his mind of the leering face of the spider, with its large eyes and needle-sharp teeth. It fills him with dread, and he tries to move but his body won’t cooperate, locking him in place as his heart thuds in his ears. He tries again, this time barely managing to shift, a quiet whimper bubbling its way past his lips as he tries to curl inward and his shoulder throbs in protest.

“Chilchuck?”

The voice vibrates through the cold surface against his cheek, and he immediately recognizes it as Laios. He recalls flashes of memories- pure white panic and fear, then pain and the horrible need to escape as a calming presence worked to reel him back to reality with firm hands and encouraging words.

And his worries melt away, drenching him in a flood of relief so thorough that he’s barely aware when a stray tear tracks it’s way down his cheek.

The footsteps come to a halt, and not long after that Marcille’s voice pipes up from beside him.

“Is he okay?” a pause, then: “Laios what did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

A soft hand ghosts over his cheek.

“That isn’t nothing! In fact, it’s a really big something!”

The two bicker like siblings, and usually he would find it kind of grating but in that moment it was oddly comforting.

“Now, now you two…”

Good old Senshi the mediator.

Someone tucks the blanket up closer to his chin and he relishes in its warmth, listening to his companion’s banter as he drifts back into the land of slumber.

The next time he wakes, he’s able to collect his thoughts a little better. Unfortunately, with the growing clarity comes pain- a consistent pounding in his shoulder on top of a headache that’s making him slightly nauseous.

He slowly blinks his eyes open, confused when his visions clears and he’s met with the sight of a distant cavern glittering with small jewels in an imitation of stars. They’d seen something similar at “night” on the second floor and he wonders for a moment if they’d turned back, but the ceiling there had been much closer.

“Looks like you’re awake.”

Senshi appears at his side, settling down on his knees with a steaming cup in one hand. Whatever it is has a strong herbal smell and Chilchuck wrinkles his nose at it, which makes the dwarf chuckle.

“Do ya think you can sit up?”

He doesn’t take long on the self-assessment, trying and failing to lift his head and dropping back onto his pillow with a grunt and a gasp when he pulls his shoulder and his head begins to throb.

“I’ll take that as a “no” then, let me give you a hand.”

Senshi sets the cup to the side, pivoting on to one knee and reaching down to slide an arm under his shoulders. The sudden change from horizontal to vertical is jarring, culminating in a swirl of extreme vertigo that has Chilchuck rolling out of Senshi’s grasp in time to empty his stomach into a nearby bush.

His shoulder is absolutely screaming, arms trembling against his weight as he coughs and sputters. He tries to breathe through it, but the nausea wells up again accompanied by a lancing throb to his head.

His body can’t take the strain and he feels like he’s on the verge of collapse when Senshi catches him. The dwarf kneels awkwardly, rubbing his back and propping him up until most of his weight is against him.

“There you go, let it out. You’ll feel better for it.”

The nausea abates after his second round of heaving and he leans completely against Senshi as he recovers. He didn’t have much strength to start, and now he feels worn and hollow, body trembling with exertion. He can only watch in exhausted silence as Marcille and Laios rush over to them from the camp.

“What happened? Is everything alright?”

Marcille drops to her knees beside them, eyes flicking momentarily to the mess by the bush, face twisting in mild disgust.

“Concussion got the better of him. T’s my fault, I should have been a little more careful.”

Senshi continues to rub his back, and Chilchuck is grateful for the warmth of his hand.

Laios steps around to their other side, offering a second supporting hand to Chilchuck’s uninjured shoulder as he kneels down to look at him.

“You okay?”

Chilchuck doesn’t know if it’s better or worse to be addressed directly, but he can’t scrape up the energy to be annoyed about it. Honesty was looking like the best option, so he shakes his head and hums a negative, closing his eyes against another small wave of nausea and breathing deeply through his nose.

To top it all off his head feels like it’s going to burst, causing him to raise a shaking hand to his temple with a grimace- which does little to alleviate the pressure. Something freezing touches his forehead and he cracks his eyes open, unaware that he had shut them in the first place. Marcille is leaned over him with a cooling cloth in hand, brows crinkled in concern.

“Hurts pretty bad?”

Chilchuck takes a short hitching breath,

“…yeah.”

Senshi pats his back sympathetically.

“Why don’t we get you back to bed and we’ll see about getting you something for the pain.”

“…kay.”

Laios takes up the mantle, carefully pulling him in and lifting him slowly to try and keep him from throwing up again, then taking the few steps over to his abandoned bedroll. Marcille jogs ahead to straighten it out, pulling back the covers so that Laios has an easier time depositing him.

But they don’t lay him down quite yet, sitting and waiting for Senshi to reheat the medicinal tea from earlier. By the time he returns Chilchuck can’t even lift his hands to hold the cup, too overwhelmed and bone tired. He lets Senshi hold the vessel to his lips, pushing past the honey-tempered bitterness of the concoction to take small sips until it’s gone; feeling more grateful than ever when Laios finally settles him down into the blankets.

He’s not sure if it’s his exhaustion or the medicine that finally pulls him under.

Chilchuck is beginning to wonder at which point biting someone would be considered a justifiable action, and he’d be more inclined to do it if he didn’t think Laios would be right behind him with gleaming eyes asking him how it tasted.

The first few days after his encounter with the Arachne had been a blur. He’d been weak, and in pain, and had spent most of his time in and out of consciousness as his system worked the venom out.

It was an experience he was anxious to never repeat.

But now he was on the mend, able to sit up and hold conversations without much issue, he was even staying awake for longer periods.

The problem was that Marcille was now sticking to him like glue, and if she had to step away for any reason- one of the other two would be in her place. He just wanted a little solitude but none of his attempts to shoo them away had been effective.

He’d taken to glowering until Marcille had teased him for pouting, which then soured his mood into simmering irritation- not anger, not yet anyway.

It’s not like he didn’t understand- what had happened had been terrifying and he only knew his half of the story. If he was really that bad off when they found him he could only imagine what it was like for them.

If something like that had happened to one of them, or even to one of his daughters…

The thought sends a cold chill down his spine and he crosses his arms over his chest with a shiver.

Marcille reacts immediately, pressing the back of her hand to his cheek to check his temperature. Chilchuck swats it away with a growl.

“Would you knock it off?! I’m fine!”

Marcille doesn’t even blink,

“No can do Mr. Grumpy-pants. Not until you’re on your feet again. I can’t heal you with my magic so you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

She says it in a light teasing tone but Chilchuck knows that’s it’s a sore subject.

She had tried a few times in the last few days to work her magic on him, but there was still just enough venom in his blood that the incantations had little effect besides leaving him with an odd itchy sensation.

Healing sucked but at least it was a one and done kind of situation, he could deal with that- for the most part.

Maybe if he found another way to make Marcille feel useful she’d lighten up on him a bit…

It gives him an idea, one that he almost immediately ditches because the thought is embarrassing, but-

“Uhm, Marcille? Do you think you could help me clean up a bit?” He feels a flush crawling across his face, but it’s too late to turn back now, “I feel so gross and I can’t really get to my hair all that well with my shoulder like it is…”

Marcille does blink at him this time.

“…sooo, you want me to wash your hair?”

He nods, but can’t look her in the eyes.

“…yes please.”

“Of course!”

She claps her hands together and rushes off to dig out what’s left of the soap she’d made using the kelpie’s fat.

When she returns some time later, she’s carrying a small basin of steaming water, a bowl, and a towel; humming happily to herself as she sets them down. Chilchuck thinks he sees flowers floating in the water, and the sweet scent that wafts from the tub only confirms his suspicions. She was really going all out.

Marcille takes her pack and makes him lean back against it so that his head is over the basin. This ensures that he doesn’t have to make any extra effort to hold himself up as she throws the towel over his shoulders and scoops water into the bowl to pour over him.

“Okay, close your eyes and lean back a little more.”

She pushes back his bangs holding her hand in place to keep the water from running down his face. It’s the perfect temperature and Chilchuck feels himself relaxing back into the pack as she works, content to keep his eyes shut as she runs her fingers over his scalp to lather the soap.

“Awe!”

Laios.

Chilchuck’s eyes snap open, and there he is watching the two with a stupid smile and a flowery air about him before returning to whatever task he was working on. The embarrassment immediately creeps back in, and Chilchuck goes beet red but has no choice but to sit still and endure it as Marcille rinses the rest of the soap out of his hair.

When she’s done she helps him towel off before leaving the basin for him to finish washing, cheerily stepping away to give him privacy.

Chilchuck has to fight the impulse to drown himself in it. 

Admittedly, he does feel leagues better now that he’s clean, and Marcille was finally letting up on him a bit- popping by occasionally when she gets bored of exploring the vast garden but more content to leave him alone for longer periods.

Laios was doing his own thing, happy to find a few new species of man-eating plants to record, and bringing things back to camp when he wants to check with Senshi about their edibility. He reminds Chilchuck of a dog playing fetch.

What really got him though, was that Senshi seemed restless- keeping a close eye on him and staying as close as possible without being too obvious. The only problem is that Chilchuck is observant by nature, and it hadn’t taken him very long to clock that behavior.

He figured it probably had to do with his concussion and the fact that he’s had little to no appetite lately. He’ll drink the herbal tea when it’s offered, but the thought of anything with real substance had left him queasy, so he had been avoiding meals.

Now his appetite was returning, and the thought of the kelpie-pemmican stew they had shared before the incident with the Arachne had his stomach growling loud enough that Senshi gives him an intense side-eye.

“Oh, I guess I’m pretty hungry.”

Senshi puffs up like a preening bird,

“Well of course you are, you’re still a growing boy!”

He’s not. But he’ll let it slide for now, too famished to argue.

“I know it’s inconvenient, but would you be willing to cook something?”

“Nutrition is never inconvenient. Is there anything you’re wanting in particular?”

“Maybe that stew from before? Something with meat sounds really good..."

Senshi for his part- was excited, going on about how nice a stew would be with some of the vegetables from the garden- which then turns into him warring with himself over which ones would offer the best nutritional benefits. Laios readily joins the debate, citing some of the vegetables he’d found on his excursions while also enthusiastically pointing out a patch of edible mushrooms they could add to the mix.

It’s kind of endearing to be thought of in such a meticulous way.

When they finally decide on the best options Senshi sends Laios out to collect the ingredients while he prepares the ones he already has. Chilchuck sits up to watch him cook, making mental notes when he does something unusual, and asking questions that Senshi is all too happy to answer.

His mouth really starts watering when the dried meat hits the pan, joining some sauté’d onions. It smells so good that he’s almost ready to ladle the stew out with his bare hands by the time it’s finished.

He very nearly forgets about his earlier annoyance until he slides out of the bedroll to stand and three sets of hands shoot out to grab him. Maybe now was a good time to start biting.

“I’m fine, look!”

While the blood loss and concussion have left him a little wobbly on his feet, it’s been long enough that he can at least hold his own for a short time. He manages to stay relatively upright on the trip to the fireside, but it has also been a few steps at most and he was not going to admit that he felt drained by the time he plops down next to it.

“See?” He huffs, “Fine!”

Marcille gives him a flat look, “Uhuh, sure.”

Okay, maybe he looked more tired than he thought.

Senshi ignores their squabbling, shuffling over to hand him a bowl. Chilchuck can’t hide the way his eyes light up at the heavenly smell.

“Don’t go eating that too fast, your stomach won’t be able to handle it. Most of what I gave you there is broth but if you’re feeling up to it later I’ll give you some of the heartier bits.”

As eager as he is to dig in, he takes Senshi’s advice to heart- not wanting a repeat performance of his adventures in bush decorating. Instead he takes measured spoonfuls and lets himself savor each bite, amazed at the richness of the flavors and saltiness of the kelpie meat. Senshi was really something else when it came to cooking.

“So good!”

He’s not tearing up over a stew, he’s not. It’s the steam getting into his eyes!

Laios and Marcille take the spots beside him, readily digging in to their own bowls with similar reactions. It makes him feel a little less self-conscious-

Right until he catches sight of a spider inching its way over his bare ankle.

He immediately flips out, bowl going flying as he windmills backwards, desperately shaking his leg to get it off. The second it disappears from view, he scrambles up onto Laios’ shoulders like a frightened cat while Senshi mourns the loss of his stew and Marcille casts tiny fireballs after the arachnid, very nearly setting the entire garden aflame.

He now had a whole new set of issues he had to work through, and that was going to take some time- but at least he didn’t have to do it alone.