The Two That Came To Ilarnek

Chapter 4

Katemperos-Tsa had entered Ilarnek on foot, with no trouble, but he was reluctant to leave his horse, of which he was quite fond, in the cedar wood, although he had left her in trusted hands. His gaunt frame flitted through the shadows in search of the house of Xaltos the sorceror.
    The mage traversed a seemingly endless maze of narrow alleyways and shadow haunted streets. Twice he fidgeted at his wrist, reassuring himself of the dagger concealed at his wrist. Scanning around himself quickly, for prying eyes, he gathered himself into a thick clump of shadows and drew out his map. He was going the right way.
    The streets were nearly empty now, devoid of life, save for a few rats and rock pigeons, and one small, scruffy looking dog seeking a meal amidst a pile of refuse. Katemperos-Tsa could hear the low sounds of revelry, and knew most of Ilarnek's citizens were gathered in the great square before the broad stone ghats that lead down to the edge Lake Thune. The Festival was well underway.
    The mage continued his journey through the labyrinthine alleys until the streets became wider and more well kept. He now was able to keep hidden in the shadows of stone walls and verdant gardens. He was close to his destination now. Then he saw it: a stone building amidst a riotous arboretum of strangely gnarled cypresses.
    Katemperos-Tsa knew he needed to be cautious. Although he knew Xaltos would be expected to be in the company of the king, at the Festival, he could not be sure the sorcerer's home would be unguarded. He crept into the profusion of trees that stood, like misshapen sentinels, before the sorcerer's house. As he sidled closer he noted that amidst the trees were gardens and ponds holding a variety of plants and flowers appropriate to the needs of one steeped in the black arts.
    As the mage approached a heavy black door of ebony he took in the monstrous looking abode that stood before him. It seemed to him, like a great squatting toad carved from dark stone, a menacing creature lying in wait, for anyone foolish enough to cross the threshold and enter its waiting maw.
Katemperos-Tsa mumbled the words of a detection spell, but he instantly knew it was futile, Xaltos had set up his own spells to counter such eventualities. There was no choice but to try the door.
    To the mage's surprise, the door was unlocked, and swung noiselessly open upun well-oiled hinges. A long passageway of stony and ebony stretched before him. The corridor, was to his surprise, not entirely dark. A dim amber glow emanated from small crystalline globes set at even intervals along the passage, casting just enough meagre light to beat back the shadows.
    As Katemperos-Tsa crossed the threshold he shivered as he noted a large murder hole just above the inner entranceway, its deep recesses completely hidden in a shroud of darkness. He stepped quickly forward, so as not linger beneath the yawning murder hole. Once inside he cast another detection spell, this time it was effective, and he knew the hallway was not defended by magical traps, that did not, however, preclude the possibility of physical traps, so he proceeded slowly and cautiously, feeling the floor floorboards ahead with his staff.
    Something stirred silently in the murder hole as the mage started down the corridor. A black shape descended noiselessly upon a sticky silken thread, and set its malign yellow-green eyes upon Katemperos-Tsa's back. An octet of eyes burned with a malevolent intelligence, never leaving the mage's slowly receding form. The creature alighted stealthily on the floor with feline grace, its eight powerful legs gathered beneath it that it might leap upon its oblivious prey.
    The mage's senses flared at the unseen danger. He heard nothing, but he seemed to feel watchful, predatory eyes boring into him from behind. He whirled, suddenly, staff held defensively before him, and his eyes looked upon horror.
    A huge black monstrosity, fully as large as a large mastiff, crouched as though ready to spring. Its eight eyes glared evilly with a cold intelligence, spiny black hairs sprouted from its eight legs and chitinous black body like thorns. Katemperos-Tsa cursed his own foolishness in coming to this place.
    The creature made a detestable chittering sound as its pedipalps tasted the air, its chelicerae oozing venom. It sprang, and Katemperos-Tsa threw his body to the right hitting the wall painfully, as the creature brushed heavily past him. As it landed the words of a lightning spell were already on the mage's lips, but the massive arachnid wheeled with incredible celerity, and as the bolt of hot blue lightning cracked from the end of his staff, he was engulfed in an inky black fog.
    The black fog evaporated like a shadow in the sun. He heard the chittering again. He had missed. He saw the creature spring again and he leapt to the side, just as one of its horny claw-like appendages raked at his shoulder. He spun to face his foe, and as his magical lightning lashed from his staff once more, he saw the beast wheel, a jet of inky black aerosol billowed from glands near its spinnerets. He had missed again, and his powers were fading quickly.
    Katemperos-Tsa was a quick-witted and learned man, and he quickly deduced that this monstrosity had evolved to have something like the ink of an octopus, a quickly evaporating aerosol that it could employ to camouflage itself or to confuse either an aggressor or prey. The spider was quick, and the black cloud was a distraction, by the time his electrical bolts hit, it was already someplace else, causing him to expend his much needed energy to no effect.
    He knew he could not keep it up much longer, as the arachnid skittered towards him, eager for its human meal. It lunged again, but this time, as Katemperos-Tsa leapt aside, he aimed his last electrical discharge not at the beast, but where he anticipated it would be, a moment after it discharged its ink cloud.
    The black ink-fog blinded him. Lightning flashed out one last time, with the overpowering scent of ozone. There was a terrible hissing shriek, like the sound of a huge, angry, and injured cat. The fog cleared, disappearing completely as each time before.
    The mage looked at the smoking thing that lay in the corridor with disgust. The scent of ozone still hung in the air, but not added to it was a horrid smell akin to burning hair. The dying spider still hissed and chittered, as it lay on its back, its legs moving listlessly. Then it was still, and Katemperos-Tsa moved past it continuing his way down the passage.