Narrator POV:

  Deep in the labyrinthine tunnels of the underworld, chaos reigned.

  "Arrgh, where are they even coming from?! Blasted pests! Trash, get rid of them now!" Maleck roared, flailing wildly as tiny arachnids skittered up his robes like it were their own personal race track.

  Trash, the wide-eyed goblin, burped in satisfaction. "Trash full, master. Burp Mmm, crunchy spiders good!" He patted his round belly, oblivious to the horror around him.

  "Useless creature! Where’s that blasted spider bane? Ouch!" Maleck smacked at his shoulder as another arachnid latched on with relentless glee.

  His face twisted with a mixture of fury and panic as the tiny invaders crept up his neck and tangled in his white beard. He swatted at them with desperate, jerky motions, only for more to crawl up from the floor and down from the ceiling beams, some clinging to his sparse hair, others inching perilously close to his eyes. Maleck’s breath came in short gasps, laced with curses, as he pawed through an overflowing drawer in search of the spider bane potion—a small vial that, somewhere amidst the chaos of his hoard, held the power to repel or kill these creatures en masse.

  As the sensation of their needle-like legs brushed against his skin, a shiver of revulsion coursed down his spine. Despite being a practiced mage who’d faced monstrous foes, this was different. The relentless swarm of these minuscule creatures felt like an invasion of his very essence, making his skin crawl with an intensity that bordered on unbearable. Every second wasted felt like an hour as he was both enraged by his own disorganization and increasingly desperate to rid himself of the invasive pests.

  Before Maleck could hurl another complaint, an explosion rocked the entire cave. The stone walls groaned, and the shelves in his study quaked, threatening to topple over.

  "KEEPER! I SAID NO EXPLOSIONS, YOU BRAINLESS BRUTE!" Maleck's voice hit a pitch that made bats elsewhere in the tunnels twitch.

  Outside the Study:

  Keeper stood at the threshold of the small passage that served as his "quarters," facing a cluster of unnaturally large spiders. Their furry bodies were mashed together like overpacked luggage, each eye gleaming with malicious intent.

  ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that! Why don’t I just let them waltz in and nibble on your beard?’ Keeper fumed internally. But commands were commands: Guard the door from intruders. So, there he stood, [Slayer] in hand, spitting fire at anything with more legs than a chair.

  BOOM!

  Another spider met its crispy end, ash floating like a macabre snowstorm. The blast, unfortunately, also took a chunk of the wall with it, making more room for the eight-legged terrors.

  “KEEPER! ONE MORE BLAST AND I’LL TURN YOU INTO A CHAMBER POT!” Maleck’s threat carried a distinct edge of panic.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, as if it’s my choice,’ Keeper thought, smirking. He wished more than anything to yell that back, just to see Maleck’s face twist like a knot. But “Silence” was one of the many commands imposed on him, so he settled for burning another spider, imagining it was Maleck’s sock drawer.

  Earlier: Keeper’s POV

  CRACK! SHATTER!

  [Slayer] smashed against Maleck’s shimmering blue shield, sending a web of cracks across it and licking Maleck’s face with a teasing flame. Just inches more, and it would’ve toasted his eyebrows off. Keeper swung again, muscles coiled like a catapult.

  “Try again,” Maleck said with a grin that practically said bring it, you mangy cur.

  Keeper did, but his arm seized up, muscles betraying him as the blade froze mid-air. Maleck’s breath eased out in a relieved sigh, a smirk creeping under his beard.

  “Ah, found a loophole, didn’t you?” Maleck sneered, eyes gleaming with dark amusement.

  Maleck’s incantation hummed in the air as he rebuilt his shield, and Keeper’s teeth clenched, grinding with rage.

  “Kneel,” Maleck commanded.

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  Keeper’s knees hit the stone floor with a thud. His eyes locked onto Maleck’s like a wolf eyeing a hunter. If glares could kill, Maleck would be a smoking crater.

  “Give me the sword.”

  Keeper fought with every ounce of will. His hands trembled, fingers refusing to loosen.

  “NOW!” Maleck barked, and the sword slipped free. Keeper’s jaw tightened as he watched [Slayer] clatter to the floor.

  “Hmph, just a sword?” Maleck muttered, lifting it and squinting at the intricate carvings. He swung it once, twice. “Burn! Flame! Ignite! ...Nothing?”

  Then Maleck’s eyes caught something— a faint, almost imperceptible mark on the hilt. His expression shifted, the smirk faltering.

  “This... this isn’t human, is it? Ancient script, maybe Dwarven work? Interesting,” Maleck mused, curiosity seeping through his annoyance.

  A lick of flame sputtered from [Slayer], climbing up Maleck’s fingers. He yelped, dropping the sword as if it had bit him.

  “Argh! Cursed blacksmith trickery!”

  ‘My darling [Slayer], you’ve learned so well,’ Keeper thought, struggling to keep a grin from splitting his face.

  “Take it,” Maleck said darkly, waving him off. “But betray me again, and that sword finds a home in the hottest volcano.”

  Keeper nodded, retrieving [Slayer] as though cradling a wounded friend. He almost growled when he heard Maleck mumble about a “rabid dog on a leash.” Keeper’s eye twitched. Dog? Please.

  “Goblin trash! Fetch that gland, now!” Maleck’s voice was as sharp as the crack of a whip.

  Trash, who had been loafing in the corner and picking at his teeth, leaped up as if bitten. With wide, jittery eyes, he scrambled toward the spider carcass, fingers moving deftly as he tore through its innards. Goblins, despite their reputation, had a certain finesse when they worked under pressure. Within moments, Trash held the gland aloft, sticky and glistening, and began his triumphant shuffle back to Maleck.

  “Wait!” Maleck barked, eyes narrowing.

  Trash froze mid-step, an eyebrow twitching nervously.

  “What is that smell?” Maleck's nose crinkled as he sniffed the air, searching for the source of the offensive stench.

  “Smell?” Trash parroted, blinking in confusion.

  Burnt spider, maybe? Keeper thought, smirking to himself.

  “That foul odor, like rot and sulfur... Goblin, get inside! Now!” Maleck's tone slipped into panic. “Keeper! Defend the door! Don’t let a single one past!”

  A chill skittered down Keeper’s spine. That noise—a clicking chorus of legs and mandibles—echoed from the tunnel’s depths. It was a sound he’d heard before. Giant spiders.

  “Trash scared. What happening?” Trash whimpered, shuffling back with quick, frantic steps.

  “You bumbling simpletons! The cave spider pheromone! You’ve drawn them right to us!” Maleck snapped, eyes wide with a mixture of fury and alarm.

  Phero-what? Keeper thought, momentarily baffled, before turning sharply toward the sound, [Slayer] blazing to life in his hands. The sword’s flames flared brighter, casting flickering shadows against the jagged walls.

  The noise swelled into a chittering wave, and then they appeared—an unholy swarm of small, brownish cave spiders. They poured into the corridor, cramming together and over one another, their many eyes glistening like droplets of oil. From floor to ceiling, they formed a writhing wall of bristling legs and clicking fangs.

  A... amazing! Keeper’s mind buzzed with a rush of adrenaline as a fire awakened within him, mirrored by [Slayer]’s sudden blaze, illuminating his makeshift battleground.

  The spiders hesitated, hundreds of tiny eyes reflecting the angry glow. They seemed almost one entity, a living, many-eyed monster sizing him up.

  Come at me, you fiends! he yearned to shout, heart pounding in defiance.

  But words were a luxury “Silence” denied him. Instead, Keeper glared, eyes blazing red. And then, as if answering his silent challenge, the spiders surged forward.

  The first wave struck, a living tide that surged forward and latched onto Keeper’s boots, crawling up his legs in a relentless, frenzied assault. He swung Slayer in a brutal arc, cleaving through the closest cluster. A wave of fire pulsed from the blade, igniting the spiders with a sharp hiss and the sickly-sweet scent of burning chitin. The small burst illuminated the cavern, casting monstrous shadows that writhed like demons on the jagged walls.

  Crack! A sudden snap underfoot nearly made Keeper lose balance. The stone beneath him had been weakened from Slayer’s earlier fiery detonations. The ground shifted, and tiny pebbles skittered away into the blackness. Keeper adjusted his footing, gritting his teeth as his calves strained with the effort of staying upright. He swept Slayer upward, slicing a cluster of spiders leaping at his chest. Their legs flew in separate directions, landing with hollow thuds as their bodies disintegrated into smoking cinders.

  Another cluster surged in, flanking from the left. One managed to sink its fangs into the exposed joint of Keeper’s shoulder armor, and a sharp, electric pain shot through him. He staggered, almost dropping to one knee, but forced himself up with a snarl. His blood dripped to the floor, adding a gleaming red sheen to the charred stones.

  Slayer’s flames began to flicker erratically, the blade's power waning as Keeper’s energy ebbed. The spiders sensed it, their movements becoming more aggressive. They swarmed in waves, clambering over the bodies of their scorched kin to reach him.

  With a sudden, feral burst, Keeper spun in a tight circle, swinging Slayer like a flaming scythe. The blade connected with a wave of arachnids, spraying burning ichor across the walls and ceiling. The creatures emitted high-pitched screeches, a collective sound that made Keeper’s ears ring and set his teeth on edge.

  Still, they came. One spider lunged from above, its fangs poised to plunge into the soft flesh of Keeper’s neck. He barely caught it in time, his gauntleted hand crushing its body before tossing it aside. But more spiders clambered up his back, skittering over his shoulders as their needle-like legs scratched against his armor.

  He twisted sharply, slamming his back into the wall, crushing them in a sickening crunch. His vision swam, tinged with red not just from Slayer’s dim light but from the strain and the blood loss weakening him.

  The battle seemed endless, the spiders relentless. His knees buckled as he fell forward onto one knee, Slayer embedded into the stone floor to hold him upright. A fresh wave of spiders closed in, their eyes catching the dim light like sinister black pearls, reflecting nothing but hunger.

  Back to Present:

  The floor of the corridor, now an extended cave chamber, was littered with singed spider legs and blackened shells. Keeper’s once-pristine black armor was streaked with crimson, his strength ebbing with every heartbeat. His vision blurred, and [Slayer]'s light faltered to a dim glow.

  A giant spider lunged, six eyes glistening like ink, fangs poised to deliver its deadly kiss. Keeper couldn't lift his arm. He slumped, breathing ragged, as the creature loomed, jaws expanding—

  And then, heat and light. His fading sight swam with a blinding red and yellow blaze, the familiar embrace of fire. But his mind slipped into darkness, even as his body felt... soothed.

  And just like that, nothingness swept over him.