The Antventure Begins

12. The Trail

This is an exciting development. The colony is calling me, lighting the beacon to bring long lost Anthony home.

Still, let’s not get carried away. Remember what happened the last time you got carried away, Anthony? You still haven’t returned to max HP!

After inspecting the source of the scent on the tunnel floor, I move back to my comfortable stealth position on the ceiling and continue down the tunnel. I’ll have to keep going down this path until I can pick up the trail somewhere.

The tunnel itself is becoming more irregular in direction, zigging and zagging through the earth even as it continues its downward slope. The farther I go, the more I begin to feel vibrations in the air from down the tunnel. Something is happening in front of me. Must proceed with all caution!

Thirty metres ahead the tunnel splits once again. I’m starting to feel that these tunnels and caves are going to be splitting into a very messy network. This is going to be hard to keep track of.

[Tunnel Sense has reached Level 2.]

This is what I’m counting on! According to its description, this skill helps maintain a sense of direction while underground. I suspect because of this effect I’ve been able to know which way the tunnel is sloping or curving almost without having to think about it. I’ll have to depend on this to navigate and remember which way is which.

Since I can’t detect any pheromone trail from either tunnel, and one seems no safer than the other, I decide to place a mark in the ceiling right at the split to indicate which direction I’ve taken. If I create and maintain a simple set of symbols to mark the tunnels it will hopefully help my memory.

After scraping a simple arrow into the rock with my mandibles, down the right-hand path I go.

Ten minutes later I have returned to the juncture.

Well then! Not going down that way anytime soon. It hadn’t taken long to discern something was wrong with that tunnel, and without having to travel far I encountered an area wherein the tunnel widened slightly, creating a sort of hollow occupied by a group of wolf lizards. Five of them were lounging on the rocks, gnawing on bones of what appeared to be recently killed prey. I wasn’t prepared to try and sneak past them so I turned tail and returned.

What symbol should I use for instant death?

In the end I scratched a rough X for danger and a simple curved swoosh shape next to the X to represent the wolf lizard tail. After marking the left tunnel with an arrow, I headed in.

Hopefully this path is a little more manageable.

After a few hundred-metres things seem quite safe, almost pleasant, as tunnels go. Perhaps this might—

Hold it!

I freeze, one foreleg poised in the air, ready to advance as I stare hard at the space in front of me. Is this… what I think it is?

Before me is a barely visible, thin, silvery line of delicate thread stretched taught across the tunnel.

Very gently I bring my leg back towards my body and take a few steps back in order to examine what’s in front of me.

Without having +2 Eyesight, there is no way I would have been able to notice in time, absolutely no chance.

Reflecting the soft blue light of the rock walls is a web of whisker thin strands stretched across the tunnel. I had been so close to walking headfirst into a welcome I would not have survived.

Monster spider! I shiver, unable to not feel indignant.

Stupid spiders. You think you’re the king of the insect world, huh! You let your webs do all the hard work for you. Not an honest, straight forward worker like an ant. If I had two hundred of my kind here, boy, you’d have to watch out!

After inspecting, I can’t see any spider on this web, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t nearby.

Hesitation keeps me locked in place. I either have to move through this tunnel or back to the family of wolf lizards and try to sneak through. Since I don’t like my odds of sneaking past that many monsters, I may have to try and gather some information about this spider monster to make an informed decision on the best path forward.

After some consideration, I move to the floor of the tunnel and gather up a few loose rocks. I practiced a bit using my mandibles to toss them a short distance, with the impact sound of rock-on-rock echoes reverberating through the tunnel.

After getting the hang of it, I line up a few rocks close to the web. Swinging my head, I lob my first projectile. The stone hits the strands, causing the entire web to shake, but it doesn’t stick and falls to the ground. Without waiting I throw a second one and scurry away to hide in the shadows to observe.

At first, nothing happened. The shaking of the web makes it easier to see, a neat pattern covering the whole of the tunnel’s width. Eventually the motion stops but still, I wait.

Here it comes! I almost missed it at first since it was moving on the ceiling, the show off! One leg and then the next emerges from the shadows as the monster inspects the prey that shook its web.

Ugh, this thing is hideous! Eight furry legs, clearly too many, support its fat bulbous body as it begins to daintily touch and examine the web.

Now as I recall it, a spider is an arachnid, which is not an insect like me. I have three body segments—head, thorax and abdomen—and six legs. A spider on the other hand has eight legs, yuck, and two body segments—head and abdomen.

This spider is not part of the mighty insect family, he’s lower on the food chain. It appears to be roughly my size as well. It’s possible this is not a high-Level monster.

The spider moves off the rock and onto the web itself, inspecting the strands more closely. An idea is beginning to form in my mind. Let’s just wait a little for our many-legged friend to sit still for us.

While the spider continues to determine the cause of the disturbance, I’m carefully pointing my rear at the target, trying to accurately judge the distance.

Hold… Hooold… Fire!

I blast out a mighty shot of acid, trying to force the attack at my maximum range. Immediately after letting the acid fly, I change locations to see the effect of my artillery.

At this range the accuracy was a little lacking and rather than hitting the spider straight on the abdomen as I’d hoped, the acid sprayed across its legs on the right side.

The spider reacts immediately, flailing around at incredible speed. Loathsome fangs are bared, dripping dark fluid as the beast turns this way and that, its many eyes glaring into the tunnel as it attempts to locate its antagonist.

This is something the spider clearly has over me. Even upgraded, my eyesight is probably no match for the natural eyes of a spider. Most spiders have up to eight eyes! As solitary hunters, they need excellent senses, much for the same reason I do.

The stealth skill is currently displaying its strength as my foe is unable to identify my location. Perhaps I was able to catch it unawares while the creature’s attention was focused on the web rather than observing the tunnel.

I watch the movements of my target like a hawk. After scrambling for a while, the spider calms down and moves defensively to the side of the web, near the walls. Its eyes gleam slightly in the tunnel light. It clearly thinks it has hidden carefully.

Stupid spider, I’ve been watching you all along! And now you’re perfectly still.

Moving slowly, oh so slowly, I turn and prepare to fire a second shot. Consider the elevation and angle. No breeze to worry about. Calculate the arc…

Fire!

I turn just in time to see my acid shoot over the spider’s head and spray onto its abdomen, sticking and clinging to the monster’s hairy body. It wails an audible hiss of pain as once again it thrashes and charges about behind its web, trying to find me.

But I am long gone! Once I confirm the hit, I put the jets on and run the heck out of there.

Chase me if you want, you dumb spider! If you’re brave enough to leave your web that is.