Greedy bastards, he thought, looking up to the heavens.
"Do we want to continue?" Tiana asked. "If we're not going to win any wealth or magical items, why bother?"
Everyone turned to glower at Rand.
"Hey! I'm a victim here, too."
"We're here," Killum said. "We might as well grind it out and get some experience. Hell, I just leveled up. Maybe I can get another level out of this dungeon. And, I did get a sweet pair of enchanted braces. It won't be a total bust."
"You're a silver-tongued demon," Asha said, shaking her head woefully. "Such an inspiring leader."
"Ha-ha," he replied. "And it's silver-tongued devil. Devil. Demons are different."
Her brow furrowed and her eyes went blank. Killum grinned. It wasn't often he made her zone out and go check a dictionary or something online. Of course, now he had to wait for her to rejoin them before they entered the dungeon.
Tiana walked over to peer into the Stygian darkness of the cave. She caught Killum's attention when she stiffened.
"Oh no," the thief said. Then she sang, "I don't like spiders and snakes, and that's not what it takes to love me."
"Spiders?" Asha asked. "Eww."
"Big spiders," Tiana said. "Like the size of dogs."
"Aaagggh," the sorceress cried, cringing and shaking her hands. "Do we have to?"
Killum was kind of agreeing with them. He'd fight goblins, liches, and even giant ogres all day, but spiders and snakes? He joined Tiana at the entrance.
"Okay, it's not too bad," he said. "Yes, I can see creepy crawlers in there, and they're big, but I can also see the entrance to the first chamber. The Game usually puts one type of barrier monster in the tunnels, and different ones in the rooms. I say we run like hell through the tunnel and get to the first chamber with minimal contact with the spiders and snakes."
"Is that all we have to do?" Fergus said. "You make it sound so easy."
"We've fought spiders and snakes before," Rand said. "They die beneath my axe just as nicely as other monsters. I say we go in."
"I'm in," Tiana said, touching her hood. "They can't bite me if they can't see me."
Killum looked back and forth between Fergus and Asha. It took a long moment, but they reluctantly nodded.
"Great. You won't regret it," he said.
"Wanna bet?" Fergus whispered. He looked into the entrance again. "Holy shit. That spider is as big as a Chihuahua."
"It's one of the smaller ones," Tiana said.
"Oh, shut up!" Asha cried. She turned hostile eyes on Killum. "You owe me for this."
"I'll lead the way," Killum said. "Then Tiana, Rand, Asha, and Fergus. Have your anti-venom potions ready." He paused, glancing around. "Everyone does have anti-venom potions, right?"
They all nodded. He smiled encouragement, and stepped up to the entrance. A sword would be all but useless in those close quarters, so he left his sheathed at his hip. Checking his weapon cache, Killum chose a pair of elven fighting knives. They were curved, razor sharp, and would pierce just about any armor. But first, he gathered up a big-ass fireball.
Right hand glowing with red fire, "Ready?"
When everyone nodded, he threw the fireball into the entrance and shouted a short spell to multiply its power. It exploded inside, filling the tunnel with arcane flames for a good ten seconds. As soon as the flames winked out of existence, Killum shouted in revulsion and charged in.
He stepped on charred, dead spiders, sending viscous ichor flying in all directions. Chitinous bodies crunched underfoot as he ran. He heard groans and grunts of disgust behind him as the others followed. Spiders and snakes began coming out of every nook and cranny. They fell from cracks above.
Killum cried out as he slashed and stabbed. One spider landed on his head, and for a second insane panic consumed him. He returned to his senses a second later to find himself covered in slimy spider ichor and the ten-pound spider twitching at his feet. He stomped on it, to finish it off, and continued running. A snake bit his left leg, and a spider chomped down on his right arm. The leg and arm both went numb, forcing him to limp furiously for the light at the end of the tunnel.
If I die like this, he thought. I'm going to be so pissed.
The end of the tunnel came closer and closer. Killum redoubled his efforts, slashing and stabbing and stomping on spiders and snakes. He received more bites, and all four limbs were getting numb, heavy, and it was getting harder to wield his killing blades. And then everything opened up. He was inside a chamber lit by glowing green lichen. His eyes locked on what guarded the tunnel across the chamber, leading down to the next chamber of the dungeon.
"Holy crap, the mother of all spiders!"
It was the size of a horse. Killum just gawked at it. Asha made a sound like she was throwing up in her mouth. Fergus cussed a blue streak, and Tiana whimpered. And then Rand bellowed in fear and rage, and charged across the chamber.
"Die! Die!" Rand screamed. His battle-axe flashed, sending ichor splashing against the ceiling and walls, and the others. He chopped a leg off, but the humongous spider's other legs pinned the dwarf to the ground, kicking and screaming. "Kill it! Kill it now!"
Killum dropped his knives and pulled the Power Sword. He activated its magic, even as Asha hit the monster spider with a mana draining lightning bolt. The spider shook that off, and then lowered his snapping mandibles. The battle-mage saw yellowish venom dripping off the mandibles as they got closer to Rand's struggling body.
"Not on my watch!" Killum shouted, swinging his enchanted blade.
He aimed for and hit the mandibles. The sharp fang on one mandible shattered, and the sword's magic zapped the spider. The ugly beast gave a pained squeal as it flew off Rand. It rolled up in a ball for a second, and then slowly regained its seven remaining feet. A hundred implacable eyes stared at Killum, as its remaining mandible moved back and forth. Venom sizzled on the ground beneath it.
Fergus stepped up and loosed a dozen arrows into the monster spider's chitinous face. Even though the arrows were infused with explosive magic, they just ricocheted off.
"Aim for that big soft ass," Rand said.
And that did it. The first arrow ripped into the monster's bulbous abdomen. It exploded with gory glory, sending the spider's innards all over the chamber. Fergus shot three more empowered arrows into it, until there was nothing left of the abdomen but some tattered scraps.
The mother of all spiders rolled over, legs curling up in death.
"I hope this isn't one of those dungeons we have to fight our way out of, too," Tiana said.
Killum gave her a dirty look. "Don't jinx us."
"Out of my way!" Asha cried, pushing between Fergus and Killum. "Let's finish this and get back to Uhrs. I need a drink."