At last, the corridor opened into a vast inner chamber. The torchlight revealed a ceiling stretching high above, where enormous silk curtains swayed in a breeze. Beneath them lay a clutter of giant eggs, bulging and sticky, pulsating faintly as young spiders shifted inside. The scent of rot and musk was overpowering – the very air seemed alive with the promise of life.
And at the center of it all: the Broodmother.
She dropped down from the ceiling in a shower of silk strands. In that moment, she looked like something from a nightmare – at least twice the size of the Fangclaw spiders, her legs long and spindly, her body a grotesque oval black and purple mottled with venom stains. A fan of jagged eyes glittered in the torchlight, and two revolting mandibles clicked hungrily.
Tomlin let out a strangled cry. "Holy—" He didn't finish the sentence as the Broodmother reacted instantly. With lethal speed, she reared up on her hind legs and whipped her front pair across the space.
Liam and Tomlin split in opposite directions. The ground reverberated under the impact of the colossal spider's attack. Half of the chamber rocked, throwing them each to the ground.
They scrambled up. The Broodmother was unrelenting. She unleashed an onslaught of venomous acid spatters from her front jaws; Tomlin narrowly ducked one, feeling its sizzling droplet hiss on the stone behind him. Liam dodged a heavy stomp as a massive leg came crashing down where he had stood moments before.
"Keep moving!" Liam screamed, spinning his sword. His left arm cramped from carrying the torch, but he kept it aloft for vision.
Tomlin circled, trying to find a safe angle. He hurled his spear, and the tip sank into one of the spider's forelegs. The beast howled and snapped the limb off, sending Tomlin skidding back a few feet.
"Ow!" Tomlin grunted, but he was grinning. "Got your leg! Oh, does it hurt, mama?"
Liam shot a brief glance. The Broodmother recoiled, raised an uninjured leg as if to strike, but Tomlin was already moving. "Thanks for the opening!" Tomlin shouted. He plunged forward with the remaining fragments of his now-broken spear, aimed directly at the spider's abdomen.
The Broodmother twisted away at the last second, and Tomlin skidded past, flinging out a string of silk behind him. "She's fast!" he hollered.
Liam's heart hammered in his chest. He realized they were pinned in an overwhemlming fight. Using every ounce of focus, Liam closed his eyes for a split-second to activate the Eye of the Abyss. The world didn't go dark – instead, his vision sharpened. The swirling shadows of illusion fell away, and he saw, glowing faint red, the heart or weak cord pulsating under the spider's massive belly.
"There!" Liam yelled, pointing. Tomlin snapped his head around.
The Broodmother hissed and lunged at Liam, sensing something amiss. Liam jumped aside as a flurry of silk gushed from her spinnerets, narrowly missing his legs. Instead of slowing her down, the spider spun gracefully back to center.
Tomlin shouted in time. "Underneath! Strike at the belly!"
Liam nodded. He dashed to the side, feinting high, then spun in low. "Get ready," he called.
The Broodmother turned, sensing them coiled in front. She planted all eight feet firmly. Liam recognized that stance: she would shoot another silk blast, but then fall into a lull where she waited to strike.
As the spider let loose a quick webblast, both hunters dove out of the range. The blast hit the far wall with a splash of steaming fluid, hissing loudly.
"Now!" Liam screamed, channeling all his remaining courage.
He ran in, sliding on one knee, sword outstretched. The gleam of his blade caught the big spider's glowing weak point squarely under her belly. In a spray of dark ichor, the sword plunged through sinew and vein.
The Broodmother shrieked, an ear-piercing, rattling cry that echoed through the cave and perhaps beyond. Her legs thrashed wildly. The barked-out scream threw webs loose everywhere. The torch almost slid from Liam's hand as he struggled to remain standing against the tremor of the dying giant.
Tomlin lunged in that moment of chaos and jammed his knife into one of the spider's compound eyes. The Broodmother's death throes convulsed once more, and then—silence.
The colossal spider sagged. Its many legs collapsed under it. Her body hit the floor with a dull drum, the sound echoed up the web-draped walls.
Breathing hard, Liam and Tomlin slowly backed away. The dust settled. A few remaining baby spiderlings scattered in fear, disappearing into cracks.
For a heartbeat, no sound but their own labored breaths and the dripping of acidic guts from the silk-curtained ceiling.
"We... we did it," Tomlin said in a hushed tone, almost in disbelief. Liam just stared at the fallen queen.
Liam finally wiped the torch's flame from his face. He saw his reflection in the glossy black eyes of the dead spider as he passed it by. "We'd better make it look convincing," he said quietly, eyes narrowing with determination.
They approached the still body. Liam set down the torch and began to cut away some of the thick webs that clung to his armor. Tomlin knelt beside him, gingerly retrieving a handful of the spider's eggs, marveling at how they pulsed with life. He carefully stashed them into a cloth. "These will fetch a good price," he said softly.
Liam nodded. Even as the intensity of combat faded, a thrill lingered in his veins. This was as real as it got. He said to himself, partly proud, partly in awe, "We're hunters now."
They spent a few minutes gathering parts of the Broodmother and eggs. Venom sacs and hardened fangs went into Tomlin's pack; Liam scooped a nest of silk from the walls to tuck into a spare sack. Each item had value – a price earned for their deed.
At last, with heavy packs, they set off. Liam gave the cave one last glance, then pressed forward, carving a small mark on the rock wall at the exit. Tomlin followed closely, humming a quiet tune that was half relief and half triumph.
Two figures, dusty and bruised, emerged from the cave's maw into the afternoon light. Their journey had been hard, but together, Liam and Tomlin walked back toward Redhaven, richer in spoils and friendship than when they entered.