История Королевы Эльфов / The story of the Elf Queen: Глава девятая. Мастер. Новый успех и новые проблемы Архиврага Героя Королевы Эльфов

Chapter Nine. Master. New Success and New Problems for the Arch-Nemesis of the Hero of the Elf Queen

Camrad_RIP 23.09.26 в 21:13

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Camrad_RIP 22.09.26 в 18:50

The Underworld. Diyarten.

Camrad_RIP 23.09.26 в 21:14

An unusual level of activity—by the standards of this long-dead city—was underway, though no one outside its walls had any inkling of it. Nearly a hundred large spiders, ranging in size from a big cat to a medium-sized dog, bustled ceaselessly near one of the side walls of the vast underground hall where Diyarten lay. This was the very spot where the Terror of Diyarten had recently rampaged, damaging the buildings in its path and punching a hole through that side wall. The opening had been sealed shut almost immediately, though the resulting collapse caused further damage to the nearby structures. Yet, it was not only the houses and the section of the side wall that had suffered from the tread of the ancient dweller of the depths.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 08:26

The thing that for a very long time had invisibly and tightly enshrouded the long-dead city sustained severe damage; the very thing that had, in large part, caused the demise of its inhabitants. Right then, a hundred large spiders were busily crawling over the collapsed, fused ruins of houses and the debris of a side wall. With a remarkable coordination and organization—traits more typical of and expected from ants—they were dismantling the wreckage and clearing the damaged area. Without any fuss, they simply dragged the bulk of the debris and stone fragments—including quite large pieces—to the section of the city-splitting chasm furthest from the site of the damage and cast them into the bowels of the earth.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 08:30

This process was overseen by about a dozen far larger arachnid creatures, each of which had once been a bipedal inhabitant of the Underworld. Now, however, each possessed eight legs, and the number of eyes on their faces had increased significantly. One could recognize them as former humans, dwarves, or dark elves only with a great deal of imagination. Towering over the worker spiders—which were small by comparison—they directed the clearing of the rubble, lending a hand with particularly massive debris when necessary. They did not do this directly, of course, but rather by attaching amulets to the debris that temporarily reduced its weight.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 08:31

At the same time, a pair of these creatures—formerly gifted in the magical arts and still retaining their talent—were engaged in a different task. With great caution, they spun—much like true spiders—threads of gossamer fineness, nearly invisible to the eye, using them to carefully patch the gravest damage inflicted by the recent Terror of Diyarten. Gently and unhurriedly, they unwove and rewove the sections scorched by the fires of the deep, restoring the integrity of the cocoon that sheltered the city.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 08:33

Yet this was not the only place in the ruined city where work was in full swing. Nearly a hundred more spiders, overseen by several arachnid monstrosities, were divided into groups and busy weaving a single, massive web over the chasm that had split the city apart. Some of the strands formed taut, cable-like bridges spanning the gap, while others descended along its walls—down into the very bowels of the earth, the place from which the eight-legged invaders had emerged. Several other groups of spiders—dozens strong and likewise directed by the once-bipedal denizens of the Underworld—were occupied with scavenging for supplies within the ruined city. In the centuries since Diyarten’s fall, the place had grown wild in many areas, and subterranean flora and fauna had proliferated abundantly in certain spots.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 10:50

And even though a new generation of larger game had not yet emerged in the shattered city, there was plenty of smaller prey to be found. Right now, that prey was being actively hunted down by coordinated squads of spiders. Some of it was consumed on the spot, while the rest was stored for later use. Paralyzed by venom, subterranean creatures—such as molerats, or the snakes, fish, and amphibians inhabiting the city’s ponds and canals—were wrapped in individual cocoons and carried to the main work site; there, inside one of the abandoned, partially collapsed buildings, a stockpile of such "provisions" was already accumulating.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 10:51

And this work never ceased for a moment. No sooner would one group of eight-legged laborers and their overseers head off to rest than another would immediately take their place. Steadily and surely, the appearance of the ruined city began to change. Rope bridges made of webbing—not just one or two, but many—stretched across the chasm that had split the city, securely linking its two halves. Similar bridges appeared between individual buildings and even spanned entire streets, making it easier for the spiders to navigate the city and reach areas richest in prey. Much of the devastation wrought by the Terror of Diyarten had been cleared away, and the damage his flames had inflicted on the cocoon enveloping the city had largely been repaired.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:00

At a certain point, the arachnid overseers supervising the work along the side wall grew satisfied with their subordinates' efforts and turned their full attention to the web that cascaded like a waterfall of natural silk deep into the chasm. With their assistance—in addition to the bridges already spanning the gap—another structure took shape. Several dozen incredibly thick strands (by these spiders' standards) were strung taut; though comparable in thickness to ordinary twine, they were hundreds, if not thousands, of times stronger. They all converged at a single point directly above the center of the chasm, joined together in a unique configuration. From that junction, several more of these same "thick" strands were lowered straight down into the bowels of the earth.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:02

Once everything was ready, about fifty small spiders and several of their handlers descended the webs strung along the walls, returning to the depths of the chasm. The rest split into two groups: some continued gathering supplies, while others worked to further reinforce the new structure suspended over the center of the fissure. After some time—difficult to track in the sunless Underworld—the entire swarm of spiders and handlers stirred into simultaneous action. The signal was a sudden increase in tension in the strands that ran straight down into the depths of the chasm. Positioning themselves on opposite sides of the rift, the small spiders latched onto the taut, thick strands and began pulling, hoisting something up from the depths using this "web-crane."

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:03

This went on for quite some time; their handlers repeatedly swapped out the teams of worker spiders, whose legs moved with impossible synchronicity. But at a certain point, a pair of enormous spider legs emerged from the depths of the chasm, hooking onto its rim. And then, *it* appeared in the underground city.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:03

Just as the arachnid overseers towered over the worker spiders scurrying about, so too did the creature that had emerged from the depths surpass them. In size, the monster rivaled a dragon—young, perhaps, but one that had already taken confidently to the wing. Its massive body was reminiscent of a spider’s, yet far from rounded; instead, it was heavily elongated and immensely ponderous. Eight powerful, long legs struggled visibly to hold its weight aloft—and even then, they required the aid of a dozen weight-reducing amulets suspended along its flanks.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:05

Another pair of long, relatively slender limbs—bearing no resemblance to spider legs and ending in hands with long, thin, clawed fingers—was positioned at the very tip of the creature's bulky abdomen. They held a firm grip on a dozen strands of silk of varying thicknesses that trailed from that same tip. Additionally, the creature possessed a pair of huge, powerful pincers at the front, similar to those of a scorpion.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:06

Just like smaller arachnid creatures, the massive monster that emerged from the fissure featured a humanoid torso rising from where a normal spider would have its cephalothorax, towering over the bulky spider-body. Yet, even though this torso was significantly larger than that of an average orc or male taur, it appeared incongruously small against the rest of the body. Moreover, it retained far fewer humanoid traits than the other creatures; there was virtually no neck, and the head was fused directly into the shoulders. There were more than a dozen eyes arranged in two rows; the top two pairs were exceptionally large, while the others were smaller, yet together they occupied almost the entire upper part of the head.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 11:07

There was no mouth as such; instead, there was a pair of massive mandibles armed with menacing fangs. Furthermore, two pairs of limbs sprouted from the once-humanoid torso. The lower pair, emerging from the mid-torso, consisted of yet more pincers—though these were noticeably smaller and resembled those of a praying mantis rather than a scorpion. The upper limbs, meanwhile, still retained a humanoid appearance, albeit significantly elongated and tipped with the same slender, clawed fingers found on the rear pair near the abdomen.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:56

The only feature that could reasonably be described as humanoid was the hair. A massive cascade of silky, ash-white hair covered the entire back of the humanoid torso and part of the spider-like body. Without a single tangled strand or wayward lock, the creature’s hair looked as though it had been flawlessly combed just moments before. Moreover, it seemed to stir; if one looked closely, it appeared as though waves were rippling through it now and then.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:56

Having hauled itself out of the bowels of the earth with visible strain, the creature paused for a moment at the very edge of the fissure, scanning its surroundings with its many eyes. That required it to turn its entire humanoid torso. Seemingly satisfied with what it saw, it leisurely made its way toward a spot by the side wall that had been cleared of debris. Smaller, spider-like creatures followed respectfully in its wake, while the worker spiders froze—every single one of them—in place. Pausing before the cleared area and surrounded by its obvious subordinates, the creature scrutinized the site critically for some time, while some of its many eyes flared intermittently with magical fire.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:00

Having finished its inspection, it clicked its mandibles in displeasure and waved a humanoid limb. Instantly, the worker spiders—which had previously been motionless—scurried into action at triple speed. Most of them, accompanied by their overseers, scattered in various directions across the dead city. A smaller group remained behind, dragging over several cocoons containing captured subterranean beasts; the massive monster began to carefully hook these—first with its scorpion-like claws, then with its mantis-like ones—before sinking its mandibles into the helpless prey.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:28

One by one, the monster drained its victims—now essentially reduced to a nutrient-rich broth—while simultaneously setting to work. Its hind legs rapidly gathered the finest strands of silk; a pair of middle legs hooked the threads and passed them to the front humanoid limbs, which then carefully patched the cocoon damaged by the Terror of Diyarten. It was clearly dissatisfied with the work done by the pair of gifted arachnid creatures nearby.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:30

While the gigantic creature that had emerged from the depths was busy perfecting a damaged cocoon—pausing every now and then to "drain" yet another victim—its numerous worker spiderlings, supervised by senior minions, were actively scouring the dead city. Some of them were still hunting and capturing prey, but others were searching for something else entirely.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:33

One rather large group, led by several arachnid commanders—some of whom possessed magical gifts—targeted a large, partially ruined city building. It had once been the home of a wealthy local Dark Elf House and still harbored a potent, albeit wild, magical source. The spider-handlers had to contend with the building's remaining defenses, but they eventually managed to break inside. They immediately set about establishing a lair there—or rather, a nesting site.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:34

Following the main creature, worker spiders that had previously descended into the chasm splitting the city began to emerge. Each hauled a cocoon containing the eggs of fellow worker spiders, which were immediately carried along pre-laid web-paths to the site of a new clutch—the location of the magical source that the elder arachnids were working to restore. There, the eggs would develop faster and thrive.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:37

Meanwhile, other squads of worker spiders, led by their handlers, began scouring the buildings that had remained more or less intact, searching for anything even remotely connected to magic. Naturally, they were drawn first to the largest surviving structures. Yet, gaining entry to most of them—even after the centuries that had passed since the city’s fall—proved far from easy. And in the buildings that could be entered without difficulty, there was often nothing left to take. But the eight-legged visitors from the depths possessed boundless patience and diligence; it was as if they were not spiders at all, but bees or ants. Having breached one of the palaces belonging to the former inhabitants of Diyarten, they began hauling out every amulet, wand, staff, loose mana crystal, and piece of enchanted weaponry or armor they could find—in short, anything that held, or might hold, a magical charge—and dragging it all to the chasm that split the city in two.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 21:19

All of this was sorted by a pair of gifted assistants serving the leader of the creatures; some finds were set aside, while the rest were taken to one of the magical sources—located within the ruins of a wizard's tower—that the spiders had seized control of near the rift. There, the selected items were infused with energy following a standardized pattern. Anything capable of being turned into an explosive amulet was converted into one. Regardless of their original quality or potential utility—even existing wands and amulets—the items were repurposed exclusively into simple, reliable, single-use weapons.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 21:21

As soon as a sufficient number of these magical bombs had been gathered, they were immediately woven together and lowered deep into the bowels of the chasm. And they weren't merely woven together; they were linked by a shared network that allowed them all to be activated simultaneously with a single command. The tally of these bombs was already in the tens and steadily approaching a hundred, yet the spiders continued to scour the city—albeit not as quickly as they would have liked.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 06:20

In one of the dark elf palaces, the defensive system—despite the passing centuries—proved to be still fully functional. And despite all precautions, whether a worker-spider accidentally triggered it or one of the gifted handlers was simply too careless, the outcome was disastrous. Defensive weaves suddenly sprang to life, while amulets and rods embedded in the walls unleashed a simultaneous assault on the unsuspecting spiders. The senior spiders commanding the squad were killed by the initial strikes, after which the worker-spiders—deprived of their leadership—were swiftly finished off. Only a handful managed to escape the palace, which had shifted into siege mode and was subsequently left undisturbed for the time being.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 06:24

As for the other dark elf palace—which had seemed so promising—the spiders that managed to infiltrate it found almost nothing of value. Evidently, some of the city's elite had survived the fall and returned later to carry off nearly everything; the spiders scouring the premises discovered only the most basic amulets and wands—though they took even those for repurposing.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 06:30

At yet another palace—arguably the most opulent in the entire city—the defensive wards proved to be not only remarkably well-preserved but also highly complex. Moreover, the senior spiders, having learned from the bitter experience of their peers, proceeded with great caution, causing the process to move much more slowly than they would have liked. The chief entity that had emerged from the depths could certainly have assisted them—possessing, as it did, an abundance of both magical power and skill—but it was entirely preoccupied with other matters.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 07:23

First and foremost, of course, came the repair of the damaged section of the cocoon. A significant portion of the largely immaterial strands—clearly visible to their creator—was completely unraveled; subsequently, a dedicated group of worker spiders, operating under the creature’s absolute and direct control, spun them anew and wove them into the cocoon’s overall fabric. Yet the creature that had emerged from the depths did not limit itself to merely repairing the damage. Those same worker spiders, directed by its will, scurried ceaselessly across the expanse of Diyarten, weaving ever more strands into the surrounding cocoon—making it denser, more secure, and more substantial.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 07:25

And not just weaving threads. The monster that had emerged from the depths—having settled in complete comfort right next to the damaged section of the cocoon, where worker spiders had woven it a cozy nest and regularly hauled in fresh prey—was crafting something else besides silk. Using magical artifacts or materials found in the city ruins—items that had not been used to create magical bombs—it worked alongside several arachnid assistants to fashion various amulets. The worker spiders would then distribute and place these throughout the city, affixing them to the side walls and the ceiling of the hall—precisely where the key nodes and woven structures of the cocoon shielding the city were located.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 07:27

A gifted individual well-versed in ritual magic or witchcraft would have quickly recognized the ongoing operations as preparation for a massive undertaking—one anchored by the very cocoon enveloping the city. Moreover, someone truly knowledgeable in these magical disciplines would have grasped the objective behind the work: the entity that had emerged from the fissure splitting the city clearly intended to sever it from the rest of the world. It was not merely a matter of sealing the chasm—a task for which wave after wave of magical bombs was being deployed. No, the cocoon shrouding the city was meant to enclose the vast underground chamber entirely, transforming it into a colossal spatial void—a pocket dimension accessible or escapable only at the whim of the one controlling the cocoon.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 07:29

The undertaking was grand and more than ambitious, demanding both immense effort and rigorous preparation. Yet, the latter had largely already been accomplished. The cocoon was already woven and enshrouded the entire city; it merely required densification and some minor additions. There was no shortage of energy, either—Diyarten possessed an abundance of sources, which was precisely why the city had been founded there in the first place. True, many of these sources had gone wild over the centuries, though they had lost none of their former potency, while others remained in perfectly serviceable condition.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 08:02

All that was required was to bring them into some semblance of order and channel their magical energy to amplify the cocoon's effect—a task also being undertaken by some of the main monster’s arachnid minions. Starting with the minor sources that were easiest to access, they moved on to the more powerful ones concealed within the city’s abandoned palaces and largest buildings. One by one, they channeled the energy along specially woven strands into the cocoon, saturating it and preparing it for the decisive impact.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 08:40

Work was in full swing and steadily nearing completion. The chief monster—working tirelessly with its limbs—spun threads for the cocoon and crafted an endless stream of amulets; it often used those same threads to weave several components together, imbuing the resulting objects with magic. On top of that, it was constantly gorging itself. Worker spiders dragged over the carcasses of captured beasts—already partially digested—one by one; the monster drained them dry in rapid succession, with ever-shorter intervals between meals. Of course, one could attribute this voracious appetite to the fact that it was spinning its endless threads almost without pause—a task that demanded a great deal of energy.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 08:41

But at some point, the creature practically stopped pausing between meals altogether; a cocoon containing prey, being slowly drained of its fluids, was constantly held within its mandibles. It was as if it could never sate or quell its ravenous hunger. Then, at a certain moment, the monstrous creature began laying eggs. From the tip of its abdomen—which seemed somewhat distended from constant feeding—a long, sharp ovipositor-stinger emerged near the spinnerets. Plunging it into the carcass of an exceptionally large mole-rat—paralyzed yet still alive, and carefully dragged into position by worker spiders—the creature deposited several dozen eggs, each one several times the size of a chicken egg.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 15:24

The living incubator was immediately dragged off to a new nest, while another piece of prey—captured in the city ruins and completely paralyzed—was hauled over to the giant monster, which had settled in total comfort within a woven lair; this victim met the same fate as the molerat. But a third batch followed the second. And then a fourth. And a fifth. By the sixth, no suitable living incubator could be found; after all, there hadn't been that many large animals in the city to begin with, and the worker-spider squads had already rounded up most of what was there.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 15:16

And so, the creature—which never stopped eating, spinning silk for its cocoon, and crafting amulets for it—eventually began laying eggs outside the incubator. Worker spiders would instantly weave a separate spherical cocoon around each new clutch and drag it straight to the nest; there, alongside a source that was already fully under their control, the offspring could develop properly without the need for living incubators. The crucial thing was ensuring there would be enough food for the new workers when they hatched. Yet, that was precisely where problems might soon arise…

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 14:03

For the main monster kept on gorging. True, it did not abandon its primary task, yet at some point, it began performing it almost mechanically—executing the work flawlessly without consciously registering the action. The creature’s undivided attention was focused solely on eating and producing new clutches of eggs—or, to be precise, on the pleasure derived from feeding and the equal satisfaction felt as each batch of eggs emerged from the ovipositor. To facilitate this process, several worker spiders used their legs to continuously and gently massage the rear section of its abdomen, which had grown significantly in size. Meanwhile, one of the senior herders—the smallest and lightest of them—had climbed atop the creature and was carefully massaging the base of the ovipositor itself.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:41

At some point, to ease and accelerate the process, it began grasping the ovipositor’s stinger near the base—the moment a new egg entered it—and forcing it out. And, just as with the feeding, the master monster eventually shifted from laying eggs in clutches to doing so continuously—one after another, with only brief pauses. All the while, it continued finalizing preparations to create the lacuna, yet without even realizing it; its consciousness was utterly consumed by the pleasure derived from two of the most basic, primitive instincts...

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 13:38

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Camrad_RIP 23.09.26 в 21:16

A heavy yet relieved sigh broke the tense silence in the former study of a long-deceased, unknown Matriarch. Closing his eyes, Master leaned back blissfully into the ultra-comfortable chair at the head of the wide desk. Besides him, the room held Violetta and her two children, his pair of priceless "puppets," Nodri, and also Shira and Naidira. The former group sat to the left of Master’s chair—or rather, only Violetta was seated on a sturdy armchair, while her children stood behind her. Master’s puppets stood at his right hand. Well, except for the Petty One; the blonde halfling sat perched in the crook of Bazita’s massive arm—her bare feet dangling—looking for all the world like a small child.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:43

Everyone present wore an expression of extreme tension and concentration; their gazes darted incessantly across the reflections in the five mirrors arranged in a semicircle on the workbench—mirrors that captured the image of spiders scurrying about Diyarten. Among them was the "Chief Neighbor-Spider"—a name Master had bestowed upon the creature for reasons known only to himself. Just as Master exhaled in relief and leaned back in his chair, everyone turned toward him in unison, awaiting an explanation. Yet he simply sat there, leaning back with his eyes closed, remaining silent. Lady Edelhart was the first to lose patience.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:52

"Master?" Violetta asked cautiously.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:04

Opening his weary eyes, he lazily raised his hand; an enchanted silver goblet—filled with water of the utmost purity, saturated with magical energy from the now-pristine spring in the palace dungeons—glided smoothly from the edge of the table into his grasp. After taking several eager swallows and setting the goblet back down, Master straightened up in his chair and pointed to the largest central mirror, which reflected their spider neighbor in the act of draining yet another prey-filled cocoon.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:36

"Victory. The final defenses have fallen, and our dear spider-neighbor’s mind is now under my complete and secure control. Right now, she is focused exclusively on two primal urges known to the rabble as "feasting and fuckinging."

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:05

Casting a look of distaste at the mirror, which reflected his spider-neighbor in every detail, Master grimaced and corrected himself.

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:06

"Or rather, in that twisted ersatz form of copulation she employs to spawn her worker minions... One could hardly call it full-fledged intercourse, yet our dear neighbor does derive a certain carnal pleasure at the moment of laying an egg..."

Camrad_RIP 24.09.26 в 12:35

Dacius, standing behind his mother and shifting his nervous, disgusted gaze from one mirror to the other, asked with no less revulsion in his voice.

Camrad_RIP 25.09.26 в 08:42