The forest seemed unnaturally quiet as the group walked in single file through the tangled brush.
Presently, the group arrived at the trail leading to the paved stone path. Sanjaya motioned everyone to gather round. "This is where we turned towards the river, and look," he pointed towards a tree, "the spiders are still there". Sure enough, two spiders, roughly the size of large cats, were waiting motionless under a branch, almost perfectly camouflaged. Even when pointed out, some still had difficulty spotting them. Murmurs of concern ran through the group as they realised how difficult it would be to avoid an ambush.
"The ruins should be just up this path", Sanjaya gestured.
The path was almost completely overgrown with thick strands of web crossing it and clogging up the trees and bushes. The air was still….
"I don't think it's possible to avoid all the webs and if we touch a web, the spiders will definitely know, so I think we should have fighters in front, archers in the middle and scouts at the back to keep an eye out for a sneak attack. Any suggestions?"
"I'll take the lead with Stuart," declared Jack. "Brax, Dylan, join the rear guard. We can march two abreast. Clive, Hannes, you two behind us and you spearmen behind them. If we engage Clive and Hannes try to flank and spearmen look for opportunities. The rest of you, fall in where you see fit."
In short order, the group arranged itself and set off along the ancient, paved walkway, trampling the tenacious growth that had sprung up from the gaps and cracks between the stones.
A smell, similar to burnt hair permeated the air as Stuart, torch in one hand and shield in the other cleared the way. Webs shriveled away from the flame leaving blackened remains. Fist sized spiders scurried in panic as their homes were destroyed and within the trees, multitudes of eyes observed the encroaching humans….
Near the back of the group, Prād contemplated in silence. A spider was crawling away in obvious pain having been burned. Destroying these creatures' homes wasn't right. That spider had done nothing to deserve this fate. But leaving the 'spider masters' unchecked also wasn't right, then what is the right path?
"Hahahaha, look at 'em squirm," chortled the man next to him. "I hate spiders. Serves 'em right for taking over our forest."
Prād blinked as he remembered his guru's words: "You can only control your own actions, you cannot control the actions of others. Choosing to take no action is also an action. That is the way of karma." Distracted by his thoughts, he failed to notice the camouflaged forms slowly closing from behind.
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"Incredible," exclaimed Sanjaya as he gazed upon a huge stone doorway. The walls on either side were about the height of three men and the doorway itself was double the height of the walls. The massive, half-rotten doors were slightly ajar since one of the hinges had rusted away leaving the door hanging at an awkward angle. Atop the doorway were multiple layers of carved statues forming a pyramid shape and the entire structure was cracked and crawling with webs and vines.
"I'll go have a look," said Prād, his eyes lighting up as he eagerly made his way to a vine-covered section of wall. "This looks easy to climb." Breathe in…. The rough texture of the vine in his left hand and the stone under his right. The pleasant strain of his muscles as he easily pulled up his weight. The challenge of perfectly and efficiently placing his feet in the crevices. Within seconds, Prād sat squatting atop the wall, admiring the view of the courtyard beyond. Breathe out….
Prād nimbly hopped off the wall, rolling to absorb the impact and trotted back to the group. "Well?" Asked Jack. "It's an old temple. There are webs everywhere but I didn't see any spiders. There are some low buildings and plenty of places for them to hide. Nothing near the entrance though." "Alright men, lets go," commanded Jack as he pushed his way through the gap between the towering, doors.
From within the forest, beady eyes watched as the prey entered the web. The ettercap drummed its feet on the ground, the vibrations signaling its pack of hunting spiders. This would be a feast for the whole nest….