To Fight Against Fate

But as Priscilla slowed her breathing and her hearing started slowly coming back to her, nothing else crested over the hill. Asha didn't give any more warnings and Perry resettled into his carrier, though his gaze remained locked on the path ahead of them. Priscilla decided to trust the two of them to watch her back and turn towards the others.

"Yo, what the fuck was that?" Priscilla asked as she dismounted, eyeing Arnold who was smugly picking up the coin.

"Coin of condensed sound," Arnold said, pressing the face of the coin with obvious satisfaction. "Keep it in your pocket and it will absorb ambient sound until you press the face and toss it, and then it releases it all at once. Press the face again and it goes back into ambient mode."

Okay, that was cool as fuck, but Priscilla wasn't about to let Anrold know that because the man had an ego the size of the moon and her head hurt from the loud ass boom, so she just nodded, walking towards the antelopes. Kavil was trying to coax the remaining antelope into calmness with Sulaiman and Illnyea hovering near in case they were needed. The one with the broken leg was healed already and had run away, scrambling to reunite with its herd without a backwards glance.

Kavil was kneeling next to the antelope that had led the pack. It was larger than most of the others that had run by and had a gnarly set of horns that looked perfect for peeling the barks off trees and impaling predators. Kavil's frown was severe as his hand hovered near its midsection. Healing light emanated from his hand into the antelope's body, but it didn't seem to be having any effects.

"Any guesses about why they went wild?" Priscilla asked, eyeing the antelope who did not look like it was having a good time. Its eyes were rolled in the back of its head and there was a bit of foam at its mouth as its body shook.

Kavil chewed on his lip for a moment, staring at the antelope with concern. His frown deepened as he sent another wave of healing magic into the beast. Then his head snapped up, realization dawning in his copper eyes.

"Sulaiman, Illnyea, will you two turn it over?"

Sulaiman and Illnyea stepped forward to do as they were told. When Priscilla glanced at her sister, Illnyea seemed shaken by the encounter with the deer, fingers tightening and untightening into fists. Silently, Priscilla grabbed Illnyea's shoulder and gave a light squeeze of encouragement, and Illnyea returned the gesture with a tight smile, readjusting her grip on the antelope's body. Priscilla didn't want to get in the way, but she kept her hands hovering near the antelope's head, ready in case it thrashed and attempted to gore Kavil during his examination.

Kavil made a light sound of discovery. "There!"

Near the back of the antelope's left hindlimb, there were two small puncture wounds about half an inch across where something had sunk its fangs deep into the soft flesh. Kavil's hand hovered over that spot, light curling down into the wound.

The antelope began to spasm, its limbs suddenly thrashing as it let out a shrill cry.

It took both Sulaiman and Illnyea's weight to keep the antelope's body from moving, and Priscilla felt a prickle of pain that indicated one of them was using magic to reinforce their body. The only reason Priscilla was able to keep a steady grip on the antelope's head was because she had Asha's force to help her, the artifact hardened to steel.

Kavil frowned in concentration and took slow, deep breaths as more magic drifted into the antelope. After roughly a minute (Priscilla wasn't actually sure because she was so focused on keeping her grip on the antelope), a thick green liquid began to ooze out of the wound like an infection and began to soak into the surrounding light brown fur. The antelope thrashed harder, letting out another loud, pained bleat and they struggled to keep it in place. Kavil's eyes closed, sweat beginning to bead on his brow as the liquid streamed out at a faster pace and his breathing came a little quicker.

When Kavil opened his eyes, he looked a little unsteady but he grit his teeth and his gaze was focused on the liquid. The green ooze began to pull out of the fur painstakingly slowly and the droplets started to hover in the air before crashing into each other. When it was over, the sphere was around the size of a lemon, and the wound had almost completely healed over, the only evidence that there had ever been an injury were two pink dots and missing fur.

"Can someone…" Kavil's voice faltered like he couldn't keep concentrating on talking when he kept the ball hovering in the air.

Mr. Ordan stepped forward with his eyebrows knitted together and a container in his hands. He angled the container under the sphere and Kavil's shoulders slumped as he let go of his concentration, the green liquid splashing thickly against the metal.

The antelope no longer had the crazy look to its eyes – only the normal amount of natural wildness stared back at them, its eyes darting between the people that had it pinned and Kavil.

"He's good now," Kavil said tiredly, eyes fluttering shut for a moment before he forced them open. "He can go join his family."

Between Illnyea and Sulaiman, they quickly turned the beast away from the horses and carriage before releasing it. The beast barely struggled as they maneuvered it, looking thoroughly surprised by the turn of events. It wiggled on its back for a moment after it was freed before rolling to its feet. The antelope sneezed, nervously shifting as it stared at them, before promptly turning tail and bolting away.

Priscilla offered a hand to Kavil and he took it. Instead of using it to stand, however, Kavil used it to drag himself closer to Priscilla.

"He was poisoned by something," Kavil said, his forehead leaning against her shoulder. His fingers shook a little as he wrapped them around Priscilla's. "Took… took a moment to identify it and while I did that, it kept attacking the… the brain and nervous system. Trying to fix that damage while stopping the poison from damaging anything else and pulling it out of the body, well…" He chuckled, his breath warm through her shirt as he leaned more of his weight against her. "To borrow some of your words, it was a really fucking hard."

Priscilla leaned her head against his fluffy curls, smiling at the sound of the swear word in Kavil's warm voice as she returned the hug, letting Kavil get as close as he wanted. Kavil sighed in contentment, leaning into her touch. He had only healed someone who had been poisoned once before and this poison sounded like it was a hell of a lot more potent than the last one, but Kavil's talent shone in the way he was able to finish the healing even faster this time.

"You sound exhausted," Priscilla said.

That earned her another chuckle and Kavil didn't even try to deny the accusation, just barely breathed out, "Yeah."

"You should ride in the carriage then," Sulaiman said, crossing his arms as he stared down at Kavil with a frown. "You'll fall off onto your face in this state and then we'll have an injured healer."

Priscilla saw through Sulaiman's attempt to mask his worry and rolled her eyes.

Kavil let out a sleepy sigh, pulling back from Priscilla's shoulder and putting his chin on her shoulder instead. His copper eyes were wide and plaintive as he stared beseechingly up at Sulaiman.

"Will you carry me there?" Kavil asked, tilting his head in a way that was simultaneously sleepy and let him stare through his eyelashes at Sulaiman. If Priscilla didn't know any better, she might think that Kavil knew just how cute he was at the moment, but he just blinked sleepily at Sulaiman as he waited for an answer.

(Priscilla ignored the fact that if that look was turned on her, she'd probably fold immediately and she had already resolved herself to carry Kavil herself if Sulaiman said no.)

Illnyea let out a choked noise as Sulaiman went perfectly frozen. When Priscilla checked to see if Illnyea was okay, she had a hand clamped over her mouth and her eyebrows looked like they wanted to join her hairline.

Sulaiman opened his mouth and closed it, looking at a loss.

"Do you not want to?" Kavil asked, his face falling as he looked down. Priscilla glared at Sulaiman for putting that expression on Kavil's face and Illnyea's face went suddenly blank, her shoulders shaking. Sulaiman looked flustered, glancing between them before taking a sharp breath.

"Fine," Sulaiman said stiffly.

Kavil's mood did a 180, his smile so wide it was dazzling. He finally let go of Priscilla's hand to reach out his arms to Sulaiman.

Sulaiman lifted Kavil just as easily, tucking his arms under Kavil's knees and behind his chest. Kavil sighed in contentment as he leaned against Sulaiman's chest while Sulaiman adjusted his grip.

Illnyea burst out laughing, doubling over as the pair marched to the carriage. Priscilla spotted Sulaiman's ears flush and began chuckling to herself.

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"Sulaiman sure is strong," Priscilla noted idly, recalling how easily he had lifted her before jumping out the window. Even though they had been on the run from a mob, Priscilla had felt safe in his arms, and she was glad Kavil was able to enjoy the feeling after such a taxing event.

Illnyea gave Priscilla a weird smile, letting out another short laugh, like Priscilla had missed something. But when Priscilla raised her eyebrows to be let in on the joke, Illnyea just shook her head.

"Let's follow them," Illnyea said, and Priscilla shrugged and followed.

They all convened at the carriage, most of the mirth fading as they looked at the container of poison in Mr. Ordan's hands. It had turned sludge-like since they saw it last and Arnold was staring daggers at it, furiously writing something down in his notebook.

"Do you have an idea what it might be from?" Sulaiman asked, glancing at Priscilla.

"Based on the puncture wounds," Priscilla said, staring in disgust at the way the poison jiggled when Arnold poked it with a thin metal tool, "my bet is it's from some sort of spider. But I don't recall reading about any spiders in the area that are big enough to leave bites of that size though."

"I hate spiders," Illnyea said, nose scrunched up in displeasure as Arnold poked the poison again. "Any chance it could be anything else?"

Priscilla glanced up as she quickly searched through her brain. "I'd have to check the bestiary, but, no, sorry, I'm pretty sure we have to deal with the creepy crawlies."

Illnyea sighed and Kavil patted her commiseratingly on the shoulder.

"The faster you kill it," Kavil said, giving her a sleepy smile, "the quicker you can forget it ever existed."

"What spiders are nearby?" Sulaiman asked, ignoring the other two, his stare never wavering from Priscilla.

"Only one that shares a habitat with those antelopes," Priscilal said, tapping her fingers in a ripple against the carriage frame as she thought, "and that's the ironfang spiders, but they're only supposed to grow a foot tall at most."

Sulaiman frowned at the poison as Arnold stuck a ceramic tool into the poison and it hissed. Arnold chuckled darkly and wrote something down, while Mr. Ordan shook his head in amusement.

"We keep to the path for now," Sulaiman said decisively after a long moment, "but we stay on alert and we make camp early, far before night will fall. I want us to set up a perimeter beforehand."

"Aye-aye, captain," Priscilla said, giving him a lazy salute.

Illnyea sent Priscilla an amused glance, chuckling as she repeated the words and action, and then Kavil sleepily joined in.

Sulaiman sighed deeply, looking done with all of them as he shook his head.

Though they spent the rest of the day tense and alert, no freaky spiders attacked them while they were on the road, setting up camp, or eating dinner.

Instead, they attacked an hour after midnight.

They had found another small copse of trees to make camp in, as it would provide them a little cover. The camp was centered around the carriage, with most of their belongings still packed within it. Their horses' saddles were still on them even though it would be uncomfortable for the beasts in case they needed to make a quick getaway.

They took watch in three shifts so everyone could be a little better rested by morning.

Kavil nearly passed out in his food, so after he was transferred to the carriage, Arnold and Mr. Ordan took the first watch. After that it was planned for Sulaiman to take the second shift, and Illnyea and Priscilla the third.

But Priscilla was roughly awoken from her sleep by a sharp sting from Asha digging into her skin while flooding their bond with a hot, sharp alarm.

Priscilla came to in an instant, flinging off the blanket as Sulaiman bellowed, "Wake up!"

Magic crackled in the air as Sulaiman summoned a sphere of flame, sending the hair on the back of Priscilla's neck standing straight up.

Firelight flickered and illuminated a sight straight out of a nightmare.

Surrounding their small camp were a verifiable sea of ironfang spiders who were shying away from the flames, their mandibles clicking together as they let out a low hiss of displeasure. They had thick, squat bodies with a pair of obsidian black fangs that were night unbreakable, since they had the same genetic quirk the antelopes did to use minerals to strengthen their fangs. Their long hairy legs that skittered back and forth as they were bumped by their neighbors, the small movements rippling throughout the horde. Even though they were only a foot tall, the writhing mass of at least fifty spiders staring down at them from every angle was terrifying.

"Holy motherfucking shitballs," Priscilla whispered, swinging her bat clumsily in front of her as she stumbled to her feet. Illnyea was awake and drawing her sword, Perry's carrier already attached to her horse as she pulled herself onto the saddle. Mr. Ordan was rumpled, but he had crawled into the driver's seat of the carriage without glancing at the monstrous spiders.

"We have to leave!" Sulaiman said, mounting his horse though he kept his gaze on their enemies. He held the reins in one hand and had his shield on the other arm, his hand pointed towards the ball of flame. Six arrows peeled off the sphere and shot off into the mass of darkness like deadly rays of sunlight.

There was a high pitched whistling sound as Priscilla hurriedly climbed onto her horse. When she glanced back at the horde, the dying light cast from the flame arrow illuminated something that sent chills down her spine.

A spider that towered above the others lurked fifteen feet away, slowly walking towards their camp. It had to be at least six, seven feet tall, and it had been staring directly at her in a way that made her heart squeeze with terror.

The darkness quickly hid it once more, but now that Priscilla knew it was there, her mind was racing, wondering how many more were hiding just out of sight. That surely must have been what attacked the antelopes, and now it had hunted them down as well.

Mr. Ordan snapped the reins and the carriage lurched to a start as the wheels unstuck themselves from the dirt. A spider launched itself at the side of the carriage and Priscilla reflexively slammed her bat into so hard that yellow spider guts splattered across the metal surface.

Illnyea had led Kavil's horse to the other side of the carriage and sliced through a spider on the other side, her expression half-scared-out-of-her-wits and filled with a single minded rage to destroy every insect that came across her path.

Priscilla's back ached with pain as Sulaiman sent a barrage of fire arrows into the edge of the hoard, buying the carriage enough time to pull away. She couldn't see Arnold or Kavil, but she assumed they were awake and staying safe within the carriage.

Spiders kept nipping at their heels and Priscilla lost count of how many she batted out of the air, hurtling them back into the darkness like she was in a particularly horrific batting cage that never ended. They were just barely staying ahead of the spiders that were chasing after them, jumping from tree to tree to lurk above them before launching themselves at the carriage. Sulaiman's flames kept them from being swarmed, but he only used targeted attacks rather than a sweeping wall of flames that might light the trees and brush on fire as well.

A particularly dense mound of spiders lunged ahead, spilling out on the path and Mr. Ordan had to turn the carriage sharply to the left, the cart thundering dangerously close to Priscilla's horse. She just narrowly dodged being run over, her thighs aching as she used them to stay atop her horse.

Another tense minute where all Priscilla could hear was the sound of her panting, the hiss of spider's joints as they were roasted, and the crack of a carapace under her bat. There were flashes of light from Sulaiman's arrows as they shot forward, but the sphere was racing along with Mr. Ordan to help him see, so Priscilla was mostly flying blind, trusting her horse to stay with the carriage.

The feeling that something was wrong kept plaguing Priscilla, like a woodpecker to her mind, but she couldn't focus on it as she hit another spider out of the air.

Her world was narrowed down to the next spider she had to stop, and she hoped that they were heading in a direction that would bring them out of this patch of forest as soon as possible. Another mound of spiders fell into the road and Mr. Ordan swore as the horses tried to bolt in opposite directions.

Two pairs of freakishly long legs burst through the dark brush, hovering in the air menacingly. The carriage horses turned to the right, united in the terror to run together once more. The clawed tips pierced the ground easily as they slammed down, nearly skewering the back leg of Priscilla's horse, only missing because the horse had reflexively jumped in terror.

The saddle bit into Priscilla's thighs as the horse's hooves hit the ground, but she could only stare up at the giant iron-fang spider looming above her. It was over six tall, far taller than the bestiaries said it should be able to grow. Its legs were easily long enough to keep it suspended between two trees than had ten feet between them. It was positioned so it could attack anything that rushed by, and it pulled its legs free of the ground without effort.

But despite Priscilla being so close she was able to see a dark green poison beading at the tips of its fangs, the spider didn't make any move to attack Priscilla again. Its eyes glittered as they made eye contact, and then it skittered out of sight of the light once more, just barely dodging a flame arrow sent its way. It slipped surprisingly quiet back into the darkness for its size and Priscilla's mind finally voiced what was wrong.

We're being herded somewhere, Priscilla realized, her eyes going wide with shock as her horse kept up its frantic pace to get out of the reach of the predator.

But there really wasn't anything that Priscilla could do about it right now, not when their horses were being pushed as fast as they could run.

It was a fast and desperate pace they set while they blindly fled the spiders, but finally they pushed through a break in the trees, the carriage thundering into open space. She nearly felt like collapsing in relief, but Priscilla pulled at the reins as she cleared the trees, turning her reluctant horse sharply to the side so she could see behind her. Sulaiman rushed past her, sweat dripping down his face, but when he caught sight of Priscilla coming to a stop, his face twisted in frustration. He pulled his horse to a stop, his ball of fire floating close enough that Priscilla's shoulders ached with pain.

"What are you–..." Sulaiman's voice trailed off as he saw what Priscilla had.

At the edge of the trees were the shines of hundreds of spiders' eyes that stared at them, piling atop each other to form a black mass as they covered every inch of trees and brush.

But not one spider stepped past the edge of the trees to chase them into the open space.

"Why did they stop?" Sulaiman whispered, scowling at the spiders before staring at Priscilla like he hoped she would have the answers.

Priscilla swallowed hard in between deep breaths, eyes locked on the large shadow moving just behind the spider horde. But the massive spider didn't attack again or move into the light, and slowly the dull roar of chittering spider maws grew quieter as they slowly dispersed.

"Don't know," Priscilla panted, licking her lips, "but I don't think they'll fuck with us anymore as long as we stay over here."

Sulaiman didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but Priscilla ignored him briefly as she turned where they had been herded by the spiders.

Just ahead of where Mr. Ordan had pulled the carriage to a stop, stood a small wooden sign hammered in the ground that proclaimed, "Welcome to Crystal Falls."